A/N it seems that if I want to get ideas for another chapter the trick is to say publicly that I'm done…. Because here we are, with another chapter when I said I'd maybe to an epilogue, my bad. Also, I own nothing just in case people actually think I own these characters, although to be fair I would have treated them with more respect than the people who actually called the shots.
If you asked people what their impression of Eric Forman was, brave wasn't usually on the top of the list. Neither was courageous, but he was mustering every bit of his courage to do what he was about to do. He had told Hyde that he'd look for someone to stand beside Jackie during the wedding ceremony so that he was able to stand beside his brother, the problem was he couldn't think of a damn option for who that could be!
There were hardly any people even attending, Jackie of all people had refused most of the people his mom had suggested as guests. She had vetoed the cheer squad, although they knew she was getting married somehow? Jackie didn't want anyone there that was going to be anything but happy for her and Hyde, which had also barred Kelso from attending on threat of Reds foot colliding with his ass. Hyde didn't want to admit it but, not having one of his best friends there bothered him more than he liked.
With a final muttered vow of bravery, Forman knocked on the door.
"yeah" a voice called out
Forman opened the door and walked in to face his fate – Jackie sitting at the vanity in a robe.
"Eric? What do you want?" she asked curiously, but much to his relief not annoyed that he was there.
"I was wondering if…it would be ok if…. donna could be your bridesmaid?" the words leaving his mouth caused a wave of nausea, and he knew it was a very, very bad idea what he'd just done.
Jackie stared back at him but he couldn't read her expression? She didn't look mad, or surprised or happy? All he could do was wait for her to speak and it was torture!
"what the hell are you talking about Eric?" Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow
"well, I asked Hyde if I could be his best man, and he said he wasn't going to have someone standing with him if you didn't have anyone with you, so I tried to find someone to be your bridesmaid but I couldn't – not that you're not popular! Just I couldn't find anyone…suitable? And I thought maybe since you've been friends so long it would be ok for Donna to be your bridesmaid?" he left the part 'so I can be Hyde's best man' unspoken.
"Eric, I'm sorry but I don't think that's going to work" Jackie told him with a kind smile
"look, I know she's been a pain lately, and she hasn't been too cool to you about a lot of stuff, but I think…. ok, I got nothing" he admitted with total defeat.
"Eric, I appreciate what you're trying to do and I don't mind if you stand with Steven when I don't have a bridesmaid, really I don't. you're his best friend and you should be a part of this, I don't need a bridesmaid, I don't need this to be a spectacle of a wedding because let's face it, Steven and I are in high school and its insane that were doing this at all. I don't want to have to defend our choice all day, I just want to have a nice time with the few people that understand why we're doing this, which doesn't include Donna, or didn't you hear that she's refusing to come?" Jackie asked with a smirk
"she's what?" Forman asked totally blindsided by this piece of news, he knew that she was saying some unkind things about the couple, but he hadn't yet heard that she was refusing to attend the wedding on what she called 'moral grounds'.
"don't worry about it Eric, she's entitled to her opinion, and I don't want anybody there that doesn't want to be there, I just want a nice little ceremony and some fricken cake afterwards!" Jackie exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in the first show of stress about the wedding since Hyde had asked her to marry him.
"you know what? Your right, it's not anybody else's business what you two do, and you shouldn't have to explain yourselves, at least not today" Eric said adamantly
"thanks Eric" Jackie laughed, "look seriously, you are more than welcome to stand with Steven, I don't mind at all I promise, here, give him this note so he doesn't argue" she said, quickly scribbling something on a piece of paper and handing it to him.
Forman glanced at the note and gave Jackie a quizzical look "this says don't be a dumbass" he said with a grin
"its words to live by Eric, now go!" she ordered firmly and laughed as he scurried away to do as she'd said.
On his way from Laurie's old room to Hyde's subterranean lair, Forman ran directly into the one person he didn't feel like dealing with at that particular moment – donna.
"where are you off to in such a rush?" she asked with an amused smile
"uh, I had something to talk to Hyde about" he answered with guarded honesty, hoping to avoid giving her an opening to start in on his friends again, he just wasn't in the mood at the moment.
"are you going to try and talk some sense in to him?" she asked with a shake of her head.
"no, more like – asking to be his best man" Forman admitted bluntly.
"but were not going Eric" donna stated with certainty
"donna, Hyde's my oldest friend and Jackie's my friend too, I'm not missing their wedding" Forman told her firmly
"yes, you are Eric! We need to make a statement that we think what they're doing is a bad idea and is going to bring them nothing but trouble, how can you even think of supporting this insane idea?!" she shouted at him
"the same way Jackie was the only one who supported me asking you to marry me, the same way Hyde was the one who supported me not giving up on you when we broke up, I'm going to go and watch two of my best friends promise to always be there for each other, which is something I'm starting to think we'll never be able to do" he said with quiet anger
"what are you talking about Eric?" donna asked sounding frightened
"I love you donna, I really do, but do you even remember what made us break up?" he asked with a hint of sadness
"what does that matter? All that matters is were back together now and were ready to commit to spending the rest of our lives together" donna said, beginning to look very upset about what he might be implying.
"it does matter donna, and tomorrow were going to have a long talk about what we both see for our future, but today isn't about us, today you are going to go put on your nice dress, and march up to Laurie's old room and beg Jackie to come to her wedding because she has ALWAYS been there for you and you want to be there for her!" Eric demanded more forcefully than he'd ever spoken to donna before.
But he was done with her double standard, she and he weren't better than Jackie and Hyde, they had no more right to marry young than they did, in fact from what he could tell, Jackie and Hyde had a much more realistic idea of what getting married so young meant.
"Eric, I can't do that" donna said looking almost stricken
"why not donna? Because you'll have to say sorry? Because you'll have to say you were wrong? Or because you'll have to admit that you're not better than Jackie?! Which is something I know you can't stand to admit. Look, I've spent most of my life bending over backwards to make you happy, this one time – one damn time! – I'm asking you to do something, something you should have done on you own already, I don't think it's too much, honestly, I don't think its anywhere near enough! So, are you going to go talk to her or not?" Forman demanded trying very hard to control his temper.
"I'm not wrong Eric!" donna argued, as always reluctant to admit she was wrong.
"yes, you are. Last chance donna, are you going to do the right thing or not?" he asked sternly
"it's not the right thing Eric, they're just setting themselves up for failure, Hyde doesn't even love Jackie, he's just been using her to get to me!" she shouted exasperated that he couldn't see reality that it was all a sham.
Forman stared pointedly at donna until he saw the realization of what she'd said finally dawned on her.
"not that I want him to" she added hastily
"oh donna, that's a whole other conversation, and believe me we will have it, but not today. As I already said, today is not about us." He said calmly, and turned to go find Hyde as he'd originally intended, but turned again to his gaping fiancé "it kind of sickens me that I've put you ahead of everything else in my life time and time again, and yet it's still not enough attention for you." He said in a voice heavily tinged with disgust.
"you told me you were willing to do whatever it took to be together, what happened to that huh?!" donna accused angrily, as if he had broken a promise.
"I grew up donna, you should think about doing the same" he said honestly and left before she could perpetuate the fight.
Donna was left standing in the Forman's kitchen, reeling at what Eric had said and left unsaid, she was frozen in place unsure what to do?
"oh honey, I know it hurts but the truth usually does, ah ha ha ha ha" Kitty Forman said from the doorway.
"were you eavesdropping?" donna asked accusingly
"donna, you're in my house talking in my kitchen, if you don't want people to hear what you're saying you should talk at your own house, now are you going to go and talk to Jackie like Eric wants?" she asked pointedly,
"what's with all of you thinking I have something to apologize for?!" donna snapped defensively
"because when you treat people poorly its just manners to apologize, and with the way you've been acting you're lucky red still lets you in the house" kitty told her bluntly
"what?!" donna said shocked in a way only the very self-centered can be.
"don't pretend to be so confused donna, I've known you since you were five years old and I know when you're lying, you know perfectly well what you've done – what you've been doing for some time – and you also know that it's not at all ok, I agree with Eric, you owe Jackie and apology, but it has to be real and I don't know if you understand how to do that?" she said with a stern look
"because I'm not wrong" she claimed adamantly
"yes donna, you are" kitty said calmly "you have no right to behave the way you have been, I'm not sure an apology is even enough at this point"
"I can't show up to a wedding when I know it's a terrible idea, I can't pretend to support something like this, I don't know how you can?" donna said, using her 'I'm so mature' tone
"now stop right there" kitty said turning her full attention to the incensed red head "I've turned the other cheek to a lot of cruel cold-hearted things you've said and done over the years, because I wanted to believe that under all the selfish acts you were still the sweet little girl I knew, but it's getting harder to believe that. In this instance and a whole lot of others, you are wrong." kitty said in a no nonsense way that her son and husband would have recognized easily, but donna never knew when to quit.
"no offense Mrs. Forman, but I think I understand what's going on with Jackie and Hyde a little better than you do" donna claimed pompously
"no offense honey" kitty began coolly "but that's a load of bull" she informed the neighbor girl bluntly
"Steven cares for Jackie in a way he never did you, he loves that girl and when he saw that she had been deserted by her parents, he stepped up and chose to change his whole life – his whole attitude, to make sure that she was cared for, not because of guilt, but because he loves her very much. You are going to find out very soon how easy it is for them to forget people that make their new life harder, so you get to make up your mind whether you want to be listed as a hindrance? Or as a help?" kitty laid out for donna without codling.
Leaving Donna with a lot to think about, Kitty left the kitchen to check on everyone's progress.
Not much later donna was reluctantly climbing the stairs to speak to Jackie, a seed of doubt had begun to take root, that maybe – just maybe – she didn't have the support to continue acting about Jackie and Hyde as she had been? It's easy to be righteous when you have others on the same side, but even Kelso wasn't boycotting the wedding, sure he'd been banned, but he was upset about it now that it had dawned on him that Jackie was with Hyde like she'd never been with him, he was just slow on the uptake.
Donna knocked on the door to Laurie's old room and waited for an answer.
"just a second!" Jackie called in an edgy voice, the sound of several drawers closing followed, then a call to come in.
When donna entered the room, Jackie looked surprised to see her there, mostly because she hadn't spoken to her since Donna's lame attempt at offering her a place to stay.
"uh, hi Jackie" Donna said nervously
"hello" Jackie replied suspiciously, she had no idea why donna was there?
"so, um, I" donna stopped and took a deep breath "I wanted to say I was sorry for being a bitch and that I would really like to come to your wedding" she said as apologetically as she was able to
"sure" Jackie replied with a shrug, seeming indifferent to the rare apology
Donna was stunned "that's it? 'sure', that's all you have to say to me?" donna simply couldn't believe it
Jackie turned to her with a smirk "there it is" she murmured almost to herself, she'd figured donna couldn't handle being contrite very long, it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped.
"I came to apologize and you're acting like it doesn't even matter! Do you have any idea how hard it was to come here and ask to come to this ridiculous wedding?!" she snapped
"about as hard as its been to not make you look like an idiot all these years, I appreciate the effort donna, now run along, I have a 'ridiculous wedding' to get ready for" she said smiling serenely
"Jackie, you can't do this, it's insane for you and Hyde to get married. Neither of you are ready for this kind of responsibility, you got together as some kind of scam and you barely know each other for real" she snapped adamantly at the tiny brunette in the bathrobe.
"donna, please just stop" Jackie said, rubbing her temples "it was one thing when you were being a total bitch, I could deal with that, but this pathetic attempt of acting like you know anything about me and Steven is so incredibly stupid it's hard to even listen to" Jackie told her friend firmly
"I've known Hyde a lot longer than you have Jackie, he's not a commitment kind of guy, he's going to get bored of you and you're going to be left on your own in a terrible situation." Donna told her sure of what she said.
"will I now?" a curious voice asked from the closet.
The color drained out of donna's face as the door opened and Hyde walked out looking amused.
"why were you in there?" donna asked nervously
"I missed jacks and didn't want Red to find me, so I hid, but I got to hear the crap you were just trying to sell, so that was a bonus" he shrugged amiably, he wasn't mad to be honest, more just tired of the whole thing already and was really looking forward to living at the hotel where there would be a lot less foot traffic than at the Forman's.
Donna was speechless as Hyde was the one person who could and would, call her out on her bullshit and wasn't afraid of her at all.
"look, I'm sorry, I was just upset I didn't mean any of that Jackie" donna lied quickly to avoid any trouble
"normally id point out all the flaws in your amateurish lie donna, but I'm in a good mood today so we'll just leave it at this – you will attend our wedding with your dad so that he doesn't have to choose between being the sweet man he is and keeping you happy, and while you're there you will smile like you're not a selfish brat, and in return I won't tell Forman about what happened on your road trip with Kelso" Jackie offered with an evil lilt in her voice.
"h-how do you…?" donna stammered
"how do I know about that? I'm fucking psychic" Jackie drawled coldly, and remained stony faced until donna left without another word.
"what just happened there?" Hyde asked curiously
"I told you I'm fucking psychic" Jackie smirked
"uh-huh, and I'm starting to think I shouldn't have lifted the X-Men comics ban as early as I did" Hyde replied thoughtfully
"no, no, no, lifting the ban was the right choice" Jackie assured him
"and I totally trust your judgment on this" he laughed
"I'm the best there is as what I do Steven, but what I do isn't very nice" Jackie stated with a smirk
"I never should have encouraged you and Forman to bond, now I have a chick who quotes wolverine" Hyde sighed good naturedly,
"you'd miss it if I stopped, now get out of here so I can get ready for real!" she ordered with a giggle, then the sound of the stairs squeaking made them both freeze,
"crap! I got to go doll" Hyde whispered in a rush and ducked out of the room before either Red or Kitty caught him breaking wedding day tradition.
He made it back to his room without being caught by the Forman's, and fell into his chair panting, he knew he should have been able to stay away from Jackie for one day, but when he'd woken up that morning he couldn't shake the feeling of needing to see her.
So, he'd snuck past Red and Kitty and climbed noiselessly up the stairs and slipped into her room, to do nothing more than sit and talk to her for a while. Witnessing donna's 'apology' had been coincidental, but he was glad he'd gotten to scare the crap out of her like he had, remembering how into her he'd been before he was with Jackie made him feel sick and ashamed now that he knew what she was really like.
"best random idea ever" he said to himself when he thought of how he'd asked Jackie out during that dark time.
He checked his watch and saw that it was getting down to the wire and even though he didn't need as much time as Jackie did to dress, he still should probably allow enough time to put on deodorant.
Hyde had refused to wear a tux or even a suit, and surprisingly Jackie had been fine with his choice, even while refusing to let him see the dress she'd picked out hanging on a hanger. He pulled his black slacks on and buttoned his gray shirt and then put his black vest over it, he looked at the tie Red had suggested and decided to 'forget' the tie.
Tucking his scribbled vows into his pocket, Hyde headed to his car and drove to the hotel where the wedding would be held. Roy had offered to let them use the banquet room for free and just put on the books that it had been closed for routine pest inspection, Hyde liked the idea of giving Jackie a wedding that wasn't held in a house they spent all their time at and Red liked the idea of not having people he wasn't obligated to put up with in his house, it was win-win.
The large room was decorated with surprising taste and restraint considering the two responsible for it, and as he gazed around at the pale pink flowers and white table cloths it began to hit him for real that he was about to get married to Jackie.
"forever" he murmured to himself softly, and couldn't help but smile, he could handle forever if it was with Jackie, at the very least life would never be dull.
Jackie rode with the Forman's in the Toyota while Eric made last minute runs for things like cups and chips. Her dress still a mystery under her coat and her hair covered in a red kerchief, she could hardly keep herself from bouncing and clapping like a little kid. She was about to marry Steven and she could hardly wait, she'd never felt wanted before but, Steven changed that.
"ok, I got the cups and three kinds of chips, can we get this show on the road now?" Eric asked, striding into the banquet room and joining his parents and Fez, there were a few people milling around as well but not nearly as many as he'd expected considering how social Jackie was?
"when's everyone else getting here?" he asked his mom curiously
"they are here, Jackie didn't want to invite anyone who wouldn't be legitimately happy for them, and Hyde didn't want to invite anyone who'd caused trouble, so what you see is who you get" Red explained blankly, the urge to kick the ass of each of their family's - member by member - was strong with him.
"uh, ok then…. can we start?" Eric asked awkwardly
"we've just been waiting for you dumbass" Red growled irritably
"Red" Kitty said warningly "go find your seats boys and I'll go tell them it's time" Kitty said kindly
"yeah, I was really hoping to be up there with Hyde, but I couldn't find a bridesmaid for Jackie and Hyde said if she was standing alone he would be too" Eric sighed disappointedly
"Eric, do you mean to tell me that my darling goddess needed a friend and attendant and you did not think to ask Fez?!" Fez asked with narrowed eyes
"uh, yeah buddy 'cus it's called a brides 'maid', not a brides …. guy? yeah, that didn't come together like I'd hoped" Eric mused
"don't condescend to me you son of a bitch! I will stand beside my dear Jackie and you, you can stand by Hyde and shield your eyes from our combined glory!" Fez shouted proudly and marched purposefully to the modest alter where pasture Dave stood patiently, and stepped defiantly into the maid of honors traditional spot, a few raised eyebrows and everyone decided to let it pass without comment.
Eric grinned happily and was about to go stand opposite of Fez when he caught sight of his parents heading towards the seats in the front, or to be precise – his dad.
"dad, where are you going?" Eric asked sounding confused
"to my chair" Red answered blankly, wondering if his son was on dope?
"but, if you're sitting there who's going to walk Jackie down the aisle?" he asked innocently
"I could do it" Bob offered cheerfully, making Red stop and stare at him.
"go sit down Bob!" Red shouted, then cleared his throat awkwardly and assumed a bored expression "I suppose I could do that since her dad can't be here" he said in an overly casual tone and marched to the door of the room Jackie was in before anyone could mention his behavior.
Hyde took a deep breath and walked from the bathroom he'd been hiding in to avoid talking to people, to his place at the altar, he was momentarily surprised to see Fez standing directly across from Forman, but it passed quickly when he thought of how good a friend he always was to Jackie under guise of having a crush on her, a crush that Hyde had found out was nothing but a cover for something else.
"how're you feeling?" Forman whispered as the music began, signaling Jackie's impending arrival.
"pretty good, but I'll be better soon" Hyde answered, his eyes glued to the door beginning to open, his heart hammering against his ribs as he held his breath waiting to catch the first glimpse of her.
She did not disappoint.
In a somewhat plain white sundress that fell to her knees and pale pink high heels, her hair down in loose curls, Jackie stepped out to make the walk towards Hyde, if she faltered when Red met her and held out his arm it wasn't for long and the smile that lit her face when the gruff old man was there for her, was dazzling, and Hyde felt his throat go much dryer than he preferred.
Jackie beamed at the few people there as she walked at the traditional measured pace on Reds arm, when they reached Hyde and the others Red gave him a very stern look and mouthed the word 'foot'? Hyde nodded once that he understood, and turned his attention fully on Jackie who just smiled shyly back at him.
They half listened to pasture Dave as he talked of love, commitment and a lot of other things they didn't feel like hearing about just then. Finally, Eric elbowed Hyde to draw his attention back to the pasture, as it was his time to speak.
Hyde took a breath and looked Jackie straight in the eyes, and prayed like never before that his voice wouldn't crack when he managed to speak.
"uh, so…um, Jackie I-I love you, and I swear that I won't screw up or bail – what I mean is, I promise I'll do whatever it takes- whatever is needed to make sure you are always safe and happy, and I'll be there no matter what for as long as I live" Hyde vowed quietly, but none the less firm.
Jackie smiled at him softly, then bit her lip as pasture Dave called on her to speak.
"Steven, you've always been there for me and I know you always will be, and I want you to know that I'll always be there for you too because I love you madly, and we will be a team forever and always" she said fervently.
It was all real then, he had just promised to be with her forever and she had promised the same thing back, there was no going back now.
In a daze Hyde leaned in to kiss her when pasture Dave said it was time, and when his lips touched hers he felt his heart stutter just as he felt Jackie's breath catch.
It was real.
They were married.
She was his wife.
He tried to laugh and talk with their friends and family afterwards during the reception, but his mind was on other things, all he wanted was to be alone with Jackie but that didn't seem too likely given how much fun she appeared to be having. Just when he was figuring he was stuck for another hour at least, Jackie appeared at his elbow and laid her head on his shoulder.
"you tired doll?" he asked softly
"uh huh" she said with a yawn
"too bad we can't go to the room now huh?" Hyde joked low enough that only Jackie heard
"why can't we?" she asked seriously
"uh, because they'll be pissed we disappeared?" he said gesturing towards the few people there eating and laughing.
"they'll survive, come on – lets go" she said seriously and grabbed his hand to lead him covertly out of the room and down a hallway, until he stopped her.
"our place is the other way" he explained when she gave him a quizzical look.
"our place, we have a place….im not sure whether I'm excited or terrified?" Jackie said in an awed tone
"let's go with excited" Hyde suggested thoughtfully and pulled her in the right direction with a smirk.
Roy had offered the hotels honey moon suit for the night, but Hyde had declined, he figured they might as well get used to their new home under happy circumstances just in case it was awful.
"ok, this is it Jackie – our home for the foreseeable future…here's hoping it doesn't suck too bad" he said nervously, it would be just his luck that it would be a rat-infested crap hole and Jackie would probably turn around and ask for an annulment the moment she got a look at it.
Jackie just laughed at his worried tone and waved him to open the door.
It wasn't much, but it wasn't too bad either, a kitchenette and living room area, a bathroom and a small bedroom. Definitely a step up for Hyde but a massive down grade for Jackie, and he looked apprehensively to her to see the level of disgust she felt for their new digs.
He let out a sigh of relief he hadn't known he was holding when he saw that her face didn't look anything but interested.
"uh, so what do you think?" he asked as casually as he could manage.
"I think it's better than the basement" she replied with a shrug
"something that can also be said of truck stops" Hyde pointed out dryly
"whatever, you love that dingy basement Steven" Jackie laughed, then began walking around the little apartment curiously, she didn't wrinkle her nose at anything, which Hyde took to be a positive sign, Jackie was many things but someone who held back her views – she was not.
"I know it's no mansion doll, but it won't be too bad for a while" Hyde said apologetically, feeling like he'd failed her.
"I actually kind of like it Steven" Jackie said in an absent but serious tone, she was surveying the room carefully, planning where their belongings would go.
"you do?" he asked, surprised to say the least
"well, I'm not saying I want to spend my whole life here, but it's fairly clean and cozy not cramped, there're windows so it's not too gloomy and since there's only two of us it'll be just fine for now" she explained her thinking to him.
"that's a relief, I was worried it wouldn't seem livable after your parents' house" he let slip his honest thoughts before he could stop himself, and froze in horror, staring wide eyed at Jackie as he tensed for impact.
There was no way she was going to take a comment about her privileged life without retaliation, she was very sensitive about the whole thing now that her dad had been exposed as a crook, the last mention of her wealthy upbringing had resulted in tears and that wasn't how he wanted to spend his wedding night to be perfectly honest.
Jackie's eyes narrowed and her arms crossed, and Hyde gulped.
"let me make myself perfectly clear Steven, because I don't want this to become a recurring theme." She began seriously "if I wanted to live in that house I would be, don't you dare – for even one second! – doubt the reason I'm here! It is not out of necessity Steven, I am capable of staying in that house on my own if I had to. But I don't want to, I want to be you, I want to be a team, but if even a tiny part of you still thinks of me as a spoiled brat I don't think we'll get too far" she told him with the grave maturity he was fairly certain he alone had seen her display.
"appreciated doll, but in my defense, I was sort of just referring to the difference in quality of housing" he pointed out mildly
"oh…. yeah it doesn't bother me" Jackie supplied awkwardly
"so…are you tired? Do you want to turn in?" he knew it would be hard to get his foot much further into his mouth but standing four feet apart, looking around their new home was getting dull and he didn't know how much longer he could keep up being interested in the place?
"Steven Hyde, trying to get me into bed already!" she said feigning shock
"what?! No I didn't mean that! I meant if you're tired…you're messing me, aren't you?" he realized half way to freaking out.
"totally" she admitted with a nod and a grin.
Hyde laughed and pulled her against his chest "you're lucky I love you doll" he teased softly
"I'm aware of that" Jackie agreed, smiling into his shirt "I love you too Steven" she murmured
"I'm sort of glad you do, I'm sort of glad you didn't cut your losses the first time I screwed up, I'm really glad you didn't the next few times, and I'm…. are you trying to unbuckle my belt?" he stopped mid speech to look at her questioningly and was met by a smirk.
"don't worry about it, continue with what you were saying" Jackie prompted casually, while blatantly struggling with his belt buckle.
"kind of forgot what I was saying" Hyde admitted, more than a little distracted by her actions.
"that's a shame" Jackie said with feigned regret "guess you'll have to tell me later"
"I'm getting the sense you're bored with conversation?" Hyde teased with his own smirk
"what gave it away?" Jackie asked with wide eyed innocence "now since you're done talking about our past, could you be a dear and undo this damn belt! Its thwarting my efforts!" she grumbled angrily while still trying to pull the stubborn hook from its hole.
"thwarting? Did you just use the word thwarting?" he couldn't help but laugh
"first word that came to mind, also, not the issue! Are you going to help me or not?" she demanded bluntly, and stared expectantly while he dutifully (and with ease of practice) unfastened the adversarial buckle and looked to Jackie.
"so, um…what do you want to do now?" he felt a lot less sure than he usually did, and he had no idea what he should or shouldn't be doing?
Jackie snorted and rolled her eyes, before boldly letting her dress fall to the floor. She stood staring calmly at him in her underwear, while he tried to remember how breathing worked.
"we could play cards, Gin ill spot you twenty points?" he rambled in a dazed tone, unaware what he was saying as he gaped at her without blinking.
"stop talking now Steven" Jackie ordered sweetly, but he could see that her confidence was fading with every second he didn't react.
"yes, talking – over rated" he agreed, still staring at her with something close to awe before his mind finally thawed enough for him to move.
"well, not always- "Jackie began to say, but was interrupted by Hyde picking her up effortlessly and carried her into their room, kissing her the whole way.
A/N that's all for now, more to come later, such as Hyde and Kelso talk without hitting each other, Eric and Donna have a talk and possibly more? Suggestions welcome!