While Hopper doesn't love the idea of Eleven dating anyone, he figures Mike's actually a pretty okay kid, all things considered. He cares about his friends, he clearly cares about El, and Hopper might not be great at being a guardian all the time, but he knows people who care about his kids are pretty much the thing that matters most.

"Good," he says, then exhales slowly. "Yeah, that- that's real good." He has the birth certificate here, he knows she's his, but it's good to hear about her going to the mall and being a regular teenager.

"You're gonna be okay here, too," he adds a second later. Maybe he doesn't know Steve Harrington well, but the way he is with the kids in Hopper's life, he figures he's a hell of a lot better man than his father ever was. He's not just going to leave him to figure this place out on his own. "We'll get you settled. It'll be okay."