There's a second where Hopper looks at him funny, like maybe he's suspicious, but maybe that's just Steve projecting because he doesn't say anything like that. For a long minute, he doesn't say anything at all and Steve bites his lip as he immediately reaches out to start petting Ellie, slightly comforted by her presence.

When Hopper asks what happened, Steve winces a bit, wrinkling his nose and swallowing hard. For a moment, he isn't even sure where to begin. The whole thing seems kind of stupid, because he doesn't even want kids right now. This shouldn't even matter.

"I said something stupid," Steve sighs out, wishing again that he hadn't made that joke about their kids. Except that it wasn't really a joke at all. "I made some crack about how I hoped that our kids would be smart like her."

He looks up at Hopper and plants his elbow on the arm of the sofa, resting his temple against his fist as he steadfastly avoids Hopper's gaze because he's a little embarrassed and he's never been great at talking about he feels. Then he wonders if he would be betraying Maeve's trust somehow by talking about this, but he thinks it's okay. It's Hopper. He trusts Hopper and it's not like the guy is gonna go blog about it.

"And then she told me that she never wants to have kids. Like ever. And apparently I very much do." He sighs deeply and slides his hand through the dog's soft fur. "Someday, I mean. And I just-- it sucked to hear."