The way Steve says it makes Hopper pause and he steps back into the room to properly look at him. The words feel good, especially when he often feels like he's been a shitty dad, to Sara, to El, to Bev, but he's not thinking about himself.

"Hey," he says. "You're my kid."

Then he cuffs the back of Steve's head like he would with Eleven, ruffling his hair. It's funnier with Steve, too, who cares more about his hair than pretty much anyone Hopper knows.