Author's Note This is my first 70's Show fic. I hate that season 8 just forgot all about Jackie and Hyde and that even in the end they didn't reunite, so I did it my own way. I always hated how they almost never mentioned their relationship again, so all in all a lot of things were left unsaid between Jackie and Hyde. This is my attempt at fixing that. I know, I know, Hyde is pretty OOC in the end, but every once in a while (when it came to Jackie) Hyde would do something completely out of character for himself. Hope you all enjoy and please leave feedback!
Everything I Never Said
It was now 1980, the 70s were officially over and everything that happened was all in the past, it was a chance for everyone to start their lives over and forget all the bad that had happened and let go of their pain. And it seemed that everyone was doing just that. The Formans had sold their house and were moving, a new beginning for both of them. Kelso was a better father than they had imagined and he and Brooke had decided to have a real relationship now that everything else in their lives seemed to be falling in to place. Eric was back from Africa, just in time for the New Year and to reunite with Donna, and find their new beginning, in a few weeks they would be moving to Madison where Donna would start college and Eric took a job working in a Daycare center during the afternoons so he could spend his morning going to school. They were back together, just as the clock change and they all celebrated a new year and new lives. And Jackie, well she had just found her dream man after one of the most hurtful relationships she could have imagined and now she was one half of the perfect couple, just like she always dreamed.
Jackie leaned farther against Fez's should, yes, this was perfect, he showered her with attention, hung on every word she said and would give her everything she wanted as soon as she asked. Yes that was the relationship she always looked for. Perfect, simply perfect and she couldn't be more thrilled. It was just like a fairy tale, The beautiful princess found the nameless prince charming who worshipped her like she was a queen and they lived happily ever after. Yes a dream came to life. Although it wasn't the same as she always dreamed, she couldn't be happier though, but there was something that was lost, something different than Cinderella. Did she have the same thrill that was supposed to come when you found your happy ending? No of course she did, that was silly thinking, this was her dream come true and that was how she was supposed to feel, she had been anticipating it for so long she built it up too much in her mind, but she was still as happy as could be, how could she not when everything was so perfect?
Jackie smiled remembering those stories in her youth when some movement caught her out of the corner of her. It was Steven. She felt that familiar tightening in her chest as she watched him stride across the basement to gab another beer. She could feel the heat rising in her chest as she eyes moved with him. She felt Fez rub her arm, while she continued gazed at her former lover. This feeling must have been hate, yes, her heartbeat had always changed when she was around 'Hyde' and her cheeks always grew red, ever since they had first met and she did hate him, that must have been it, she hated him all this time, even when she thought she loved him, that was the only explanation, right?
She tore her eyes away from Steven and looked up at Fez as he leaned down to kiss her. She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for his mouth to touch hers, yes just like a fairy tale. She felt his lips against her own, but no sparks flying through her, no shaking in her legs or tingling spreading through her body, just a kiss, just like Cinderella and Prince Charming must have had, right? She let the kiss continue, waiting for the magic to come flying through, but finding none. She relaxed her eyes, opening them slightly to look at Fez, but it wasn't him in front of her, it was Steven, Steven's lips on hers, Steven's arms around her. She shut her eyes again, leaning into his body deepening the kiss before pulling away with a smile on her face as she breathed, "Steven."
Her eyes fluttered open and she was momentarily stunned. The man holding her was no longer Steven, but Fez once again, the smile falling from his lips. She bit her lip realizing he had heard her whisper her old love's name. Her mind went wild, angrier than she had been in a long time. She stood there, silently cursing her former boyfriend for causing this moment and ruining her fairy tale, Cinderella was supposed to fall for Prince Charming, not the dirty chimney sweeper!
She felt Fez take her hand and lead her out the door to the cement steps just outside the basement. He sat down, waiting for her to join him. Jackie stared at her feet, at her pretty pink shoes with rhinestones on the buckle and even they weren't even making this moment easier, and they were her favorite pair! She sighed heavily, resigning herself to the fact that no matter how hard she tried this was going to be a difficult conversation. She sat next to Fez, watching as she nervously twisted the fingers that were almost elegantly placed on her lap. He covered her hand with his, waiting for her to look up at him. When she finally did she saw a faint smile on his face, hiding the hurt and understanding in his dark brown eyes. He took a steadying breath before he asked with a heavy accent, "Jackie, why are you with me when you want to be with him?"
Jackie looked down at the dirty ground, feeling small now, not petite like she always did, just small. She felt the tears welling in her green-blue eyes as she confessed, "Steven hurt me so much, he broke my heart." She bit her lip to hide a sob as she continued to pour her heart out to her friend, "He couldn't picture his life with me, but he could see it with Sam as soon as she walked in the door."
Fez reached over, taking her chin in his fingers and forcing her to look at him as he said softly, "Why don't you and Hyde try again?"
Jackie dropped her gaze to the floor once again and muttered, "There's no point. Steven and I have nothing left to say to each other."
Fez placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before he gently told her, "You never know. You and Hyde left a lot unsaid when you broke up, you never talked about anything and I think you both have some things you need to get off your chest before you can move on." He leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before he stood up and began walking up the stairs. He glanced over his shoulder at her and urged, "Talk to Hyde."
Jackie nodded watching him walk away after promising to call tomorrow. Fez was wrong. Steven had told her everything he needed to when he asked Sam to stay. There was nothing left, no promise of tomorrow, just hateful burns, but maybe it would help her if she forced him to listen to everything he should have done for her, remind him what an awful boyfriend he was and that she deserved better than some scruffy loser who couldn't see a future with her, even if he did make her weak in the knees, feel like the world stopped when he's kiss her and make her day when he gave her one of his approving nods. She stopped herself before she went any farther. Maybe Fez was right, maybe there were some things she still needed to say to Steven.
Hyde saw them, Jackie and Fez, holding hands, kissing, acting exactly the way she wanted. He pitied his foreign friend; Jackie had the poor guy castrated in a matter of days. Even though Fez was never much of a man, the devil, as Forman still liked to call her, even got the Zenmaster Steven Hyde to do what she wanted, but he at least put up a fight and managed to keep some of his dignity intact. Poor Fez wouldn't stand a chance. She'd break him a week, then again that was exactly what Fez was looking for, the spoiled, bitchy princess to his submissive, perverted ways. He chuckled to himself, yup, those two found exactly what they've always wanted and they were so lovey-dovey it was sickening.
He watched them kissing and felt a pain in his chest when he saw just how tightly they were intertwined during their lip-lock. He finally found the cooler, although it was more like he tripped over it while he watched his old girlfriend and friend kissing. He grumbled under his breath and missed them pulling apart. They passed by, hand in hand and left the basement. Hyde didn't know why, but lately Fez seemed a whole lot more irritating than normal, but that was probably because he had spent all day drinking in anticipation of the new decade.
He opened the cooler only to curse out loud when he found it empty. He needed another beer and he needed it now. There were still a lot of brain cells carrying around certain memories reminding him of a certain person he didn't want to think about and for that they must die. He didn't want to remember, he wanted to pass out on the floor and forget everyone he knew, one chatty brunette in particular, just because he wanted to be wasted enough that her ear piercing voice couldn't get to him and not because he kept thinking about what Jackie and Fez were doing now that they left the basement, no just to celebrate and nothing more.
He fished his keys out of his pocket and walked past the couch. He snickered when he saw Donna and Forman making out. As he past he smacked his best friend on the back of the head, temporarily interrupting the newly reunited couple's make out session so he could complain, "Make sure you have more beer next time Forman! I'll be back in a little while." He made his way to the stairs and started climbing up towards the kitchen before calling out, "And don't touch my stash!"
Eric jumped off the couch and followed Hyde to the base of the stairs while he whined, "But I wanted to have the first circle of the New Year."
"Tough." Hyde grumbled, pausing to let go of his dark mood before turning to his old friend with his trademark smirk as he said, "No one's having a circle without me."
Jackie made her way back into the basement just in time to see Eric fall onto the couch beside Donna muttering under his breath about the dark side and its hold on Hyde. Her ears perked up, trying to listen to what Eric was complaining about but his shrill girly voice made difficult for her sensitive ears. She scrunched her face at him and noticed the mischievous grin on his face when he realized she was there. He leaned back on the couch, stretching his arm around Donna and asked, "Jackie, can you get the," he raised his hands in the air to quote, "'film' out of Hyde's room?"
Jackie sat down on the chair, taking a moment before she realized she had sat in Hyde's designated spot out of habit. She crossed her arms over her chest before glaring at her Starwars-loving 'friend' before she asked, "Why me?"
Eric let out a breath through his lips, rolling his eyes and looking up at the ceiling as he thought of an excuse to get 'the devil' in trouble. After a moment he finally reasoned, "You're the only one who knows where he hides it."
Jackie thought for a while, true in all the time she had been with Steven in his room she had seen where he kept the 'film', but it wasn't like he confided it to her, she had just witnessed it and he hadn't said anything. She thought everyone knew where Hyde kept his stash, so maybe when he had let her see where he kept it, inadvertently or not, he was confiding to her, in his own way.
She noticed Eric and Donna watching her with hopeful eyes as she reminisced. She threw her arms in the air, giving them an exasperated sigh before she cried, "Fine!" She heard them giggle happily as she stomped deeper into the basement towards the tiny storage room in the back that had become a dingy bedroom she had grown very familiar with over the years.
She could smell the unique sent that was Steven wafting over her, although mild, it was still more of him than she had felt in a long time. It brought back memories, lots of memories. Then nights she crept in here with him, the way she felt when she was close to him, that difference in him when he wasn't wearing those damn sunglasses, the way it felt when he kissed her, it was all so overpowering. She felt like she was drowning in the past this tiny room brought back to her. She shook her head, trying to force Steven out like an ugly thought and decided to get the stash and get out as fast as she could.
She pulled open the old dresser pressed up against the wall, searching through the top drawer until she was close to the bottom. Her hand hit something hard under a sock and thought she had finally found the wooden box that contained Steven's stash. She pushed away the sock and was shocked when her fingers felt a smooth but still solid box. Jackie knew instantly what it was… A jewelry box! She felt her stomach twist and bile rise in her throat. Steven must have bought it for Sam before she left. Against her better judgment she took the box out of the drawer and snapped the lid open.
Jackie gasped in shock, here eyes wide. Sitting inside the box was an emerald cut diamond engagement ring in a platinum setting. It was the ring of her dreams, absolutely breathtaking. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to deny the twinge of joy she when she saw the gorgeous ring. No, she thought bitterly, it must have been a ring for Sam, since she never got a real engagement ring. And what woman wouldn't demand an engagement ring, even if she was already married.
Hyde made his way back down to the basement with a fresh six-pack in hand and a slight smile on his face, yup nothing like your own personal beer supply to ring in a new year. He groaned when he walked back inside and saw Forman and Donna pawing each other on the couch while Kelso, that moron, was playing with a paper bird on a stick. He raised an eyebrow, seeing that Jackie and Fez were nowhere to be seen. Good, he figured, now Fez had someone to fulfill his needs. He suddenly felt like he had been punched in the gut, he remembered Jackie, everything about her, the way she felt, the way she moved, how easily their bodies fit together. He felt a growing need to cut off any part of Fez that touched his Jackie. He froze when the thought entered his mind, his Jackie. That possessiveness he had towards her was still there and just as strong as ever, hell he was still thinking of her as his, but she wasn't his, not anymore. She had moved on with one of his best friends. Hyde's jaw clenched tightly, not wanted to spend another minute of his time thinking about Jackie Burkhart, the demanding, spoiled brat who still invaded his mind at ever chance. Eric was right, she is the devil and she had possessed him, he had to call a priest to get her out of his system, but for now he'd settle for downing his six-pack in record time.
He stalked off towards his bedroom, determined to be passed out drunk within the next few hours or he would do something stupid, like murdering his foreign friend over a cheerleader. He reached his doorway and froze, paralyzed when he saw Jackie standing there holding a diamond ring in her hand. He felt like a piece of him died looking at her with an engagement ring someone else had given her. That's when he saw his drawer open, socks hanging over the side and the velvet box open on top of the dresser. He broke out in a cold sweat, realizing what she had found, his heart pounded in his chest as he shouted harshly, "What the hell are you doing?"
Jackie jumped, scared senseless when she heard another person's voice. She heard the ring send a soft clink through the air as it landed on the cement floor. Jackie looked up and saw Steven's angry eyes staring back at her, looking straight through her. She dropped to her knees, searching the cluttered floor of the tiny room as she stumbled over her explanation, "I- I was… I just found- I was looking for your stash and I um… I…" She stopped talking when she saw the ring sparkling in the faint light. She reached over and picked it up, noticing something she hadn't seen before. Inside the ring was a tiny inscription that read, Forever Doll. Her delicate fingers held onto the ring even tighter, that was the endearment Steven used for her. The ring had been for her. Steven really had wanted to marry her.
Jackie stood up, trying to hide the faint smile on her lips while she was jumping for joy inside. All those happy feelings left as soon as she met Steven's furious stance, his arms defensively over his chest, his face emotionless, Zen, God that Zen attitude drove her crazy, just once she wanted it to crack. She decided on a peace offering and settled for the closest thing. She hesitantly stretched her arm out to him, offering him the ring and asked coyly, "Was it for Sam?"
Hyde stood back, unwilling to approach the powerful spirit held in such a tiny body. He visibly relaxed when she asked about the ring, she hadn't figured out a thing. He pushed his glasses higher, making sure to keep his Zen intact as he replied, "Yeah, she wanted a real engagement ring and I never got the chance to give it to her before she left."
Jackie held up the ring, making sure his eyes met the sparkling diamond before she retorted, "Then why does it say 'Forever Doll'?" Hyde silently walked over to her, giving her the answer before snatching the ring from her fingers and placing it gingerly, at least for Hyde, back in its box. She continued to watch him, waiting for him to reveal any hint of the truth but finding none. After feeling her aggravation become too much to take, she finally yelled with a hushed whisper to hide her hurt, "Why didn't you ask me?"
Hyde glared at her behind his shades, a deep feeling screaming that she had no right to ask him such a heavy question before he sarcastically replied, "Well it didn't seem like the right time after I walked into your room and then Kelso came in wearing a towel!"
Jackie placed her hand over her forehead, feeling the headache only Steve could give her before she said aloud, "I already told you nothing happened!"
Hyde stared at her, shrugging his shoulder at the truth once again before he muttered lowly, "Whatever."
Jackie felt her blood boiling, even though she missed the feeling she was controlled by her anger as she pointed a finger at him and accused feeling the truth siding with her, "You're the one who ran off to Vegas and married the stripper and even stayed married to her even after I gave up my whole future to because I still wanted to be with you!"
Hyde's voice rose to an abnormally high level, as he shouted back, "I never told you to do that!"
Jackie felt the tears stinging her eyes and refused to meet the eyes of the man she once, and might still, love so much as she asked, "If you knew I loved you and wanted to be with you…" she trailed off, covering her mouth with her hands as she weakly cried, "why would you stay married to her?"
Hyde crossed his arms over his chest, trying to shield himself from the power Jackie held over him and answered shortly, "Because."
Jackie felt the first of her tears rolling down her cheeks faster than she could control as she demanded, "Because isn't good enough Steven! I need a real answer!"
Hyde dropped his gaze to the floor, knowing she was the only one who could see through his shades and knew what he was really feeling before he grumbled more menacingly than he meant, "I already said because."
Jackie stopped her rant when she heard the tone in Steven's voice and knew immediately what he was feeling and voiced it for him, "Because what you saw still hurt?" She dropped her eyes to the floor, knowing there was nothing she could say to erase the pain he felt, no matter how many times she told him the truth of the matter.
Hyde continued to stare at the woman before him who was about to break down in tears, trying his best to hide any feelings the he may still have felt for her as she shrugged his shoulders, giving her his best form of agreement as he breathed once again, "Whatever."
Jackie finally looked up at him, seeing past the shades and to the man she had loved for so long. She was what he was trying to deny staring at her behind his eyes. She felt herself growing angrier than her perky personality would normally allow before she harshly vented, "There's that stupid Zen mask again!" She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him an unknown dare as she shouted, "If you had ever been able to show any real emotion we would still be together!"
She saw his jaw tense as he contemplated what she had just said before returning with the same unresponsive nature as always, "We would still be together if you didn't demand things I wasn't willing to give!"
Jackie stole the box out of his hand before holding it up for him to see without being able to form a doubt as she shouted back, "You were wiling to give it!"
She watched Steven falling back to his emotionless stated at he responded emptily, "Not anymore."
"Why?" she questioned as she stepped closer to him. She took the ring out of its box, holding it out for him to see before she weakly pleaded for an answer, "Why then and not now?" She looked at the man she still loved, begging for a reason she would never be able to explain and back to the ring sitting just above her finger as she desperately pleaded, "Why can't we try again?"
She watched him take a step closer before turning his back towards her as he whispered with more emotion than she had heard in a long time, "Because you're with Fez now."
Jackie took another step forward, feeling a new found strength as she admitted, "We broke up." She tried to hide her smile when Steven's head snapped up to finally meet her eyes before she continued, "We broke up outside, a little while ago." She saw his eyes drop to the floor, she knew what he was thinking, he imagined himself as her rebound and not the man she wanted to be with. She looked away from him, fearing his reaction as she softly asked, "Would you like to know why?" he refused to look at her, his gaze fixated on the wall behind her. She closed her eyes and finally commented as she walked past him, "You know that whole aloof thing doesn't make you look cool, it makes you look like a four year old having a tantrum!"
Hyde stood in stunned silence. No one had ever even dared to call his Zen face anything but cool, let alone immature. At first he was insulted but saw the hopeful look in her eyes before she turned her back to him and began walking out for his room and his life for good before he quickly questioned, "Why?"
Jackie turned around, the tone in his voice shocking her slightly before she answered with her whole heart, "Because I still love you Steven." She dropped her gaze down to her hands before she honestly said, "We both knew that and Fez thinks the two for us left a lot unsaid when we broke up." She finally drew her gaze away from the floor before watching Steven with the same expression she had moments ago and hoarsely added, "Obviously he was right."
Hyde kept his stance, knowing she was right, but refusing to admit it. He rolled his eyes and sardonically replied, "The visuals were enough for me!"
Jackie flew through the air, stopping when she reached the door. She let out the most depressed breath she ever held and began walking out of the room as she muttered in a barely audible tone, "Fine, I know there's a lot I never said to you-"
She was cut off when she felt Steven behind her, interrupting to whisper his name like he sometimes did when he slept, "Jackie…: She turned around to face him, her eyes filled with her own questions before he asked, "What didn't you say?"
Jackie felt the tears burning her eyes as she met Steven's familiar ones, even though they were covered by his shades. She took a deep breath, knowing it would be the best for her to tell him everything she had kept a secret all these months, "I never said that I wanted to be with you and all I needed was for you to ask me to stay and I would have." She covered her mouth to keep the sob within her from escaping loud enough for Steven to hear. She looked up at him with big doe-eyes and explained softly, "Every time I looked into my future I saw you there with me." She took a step closer to him, taking the comfort only he could give her as she continued to speak, "I never said that I wanted you and no one else." She flashed back to the past year and revealed, "I've had perfect and the whole time I wanted what we had." She looked up at him, her tears now falling down her cheeks as she explained everything that was in her heart, "You always protected me Steven, when you sat with me in the cabin because Michael cheated on me, when you took me to prom and bought me a corsage, when you took the fall for the weed I bought and even when I went on a date with Chip." She laughed slightly, though her tears and told him, "You might not have been the night in shinning armor I had been dreaming of but you still protected me and took care of me when my Dad went to prison and I needed a place to stay, you always have and since we broke up there's been no one for me to turn to when I needed you." She placed her head on his chest and found the same comfort she always had as she whispered emotionally, "I've loved you for a long time Steven and I tried so hard to forget that," she leaned buried her face against him and sighed heavily before she said in a barely auditable voice, "but now I know it'll never go away."
Jackie blinked back her tears, knowing 'Hyde' would never be willing to step up and fight to be with her. She reluctantly released herself from his arms and began to walk away, feeling the same shattered feeling she had before deep inside her heart, a feeling that only came from walking away from one's true love. She covered her mouth to hide her sobbing trying to pretend to be stronger then she was as she summoned all of her inner strength to try and walk away once and for all.
Hyde watched her turn on her heal, ready to walk away from him as he whispered softer than he ever had before, "Jackie…" He walked quickly towards her, taking her elbow in his hand, gently urging her to turn to him, when she finally did he began to speak again, "I'm not good with words, but there are a couple of things I never told you." He hung his head in shame and admitted, "I never told you I'm sorry that being with Sam hurt you so much and I am sorry." He stepped closer to her, the edge in his voice urging her to stay, "I never told you it hurt when I read your note saying you left early. It hurt that you didn't have faith in me to be there but it was worse to find out Kelso was." She could hear the shake in his voice as he spoke to her, reminding her of the omission he made long ago, back when he had cheated on her, showing her that he was speaking from the heart, even though he was always scared to voice his true feelings, "I never told you a part of me liked being the guy who protected you." He took off his shades, allowing her for the first time to see the tears fillings his bright blue eyes, "I never told you that when Sam first showed up, I wanted to be the one to make you feel better." Hyde struggled to keep talking, knowing it was Jackie needed to hear and swallowing his pride as he admitted, "I never told you about the ring, or that I brought it with me to Chicago and all I could think about the whole time was giving it to you and that didn't make me feel sick." She saw the soft smirk on his face that appeared whenever he was trying to keep a deep seeded confession a secret and knew he was talking to her honestly when he whispered, "I never told you I didn't think life with you would be crap or that the more I thought about it the more I realized I wanted to be married to you." He dropped his gaze to the floor momentarily before looking directly into those enchanting green-blue eyes that were uniquely Jackie's before he stepped closer to her as she did the same and quietly confessed, "I never told you that I loved you, at least not the right way, but I did…" He touched her cheek softly, caressing it while refusing to allow anymore of his body to move any closer as he confessed "I still do."
He let his arm snake around her waist, waiting for her to look up at him questioningly before he said, "Jackie I want to be with you again."
"Whatever." Jackie replied with a smile before touching her lips to his for the first time in much too long. She wrapped her arms around his neck instantly pulling him closer as he did the same, his tongue exploring every familiar pleasure points inside her mouth. He was rewarded with a moan before Jackie let her chest make contact with his as he hands ran up his back. She finally pulled away, seeing the vulnerability in his eyes before she pecked his lips with a brilliant grin before slipping out of his embrace and picking up the discarded ring box, "But next time you see this…" She held it up for him to see, meeting his eyes happily as she proclaimed, "is when I decide we're getting married."
Hyde smiled widely, trying to hide the love he felt inside of him, watching as she continued to stare at him before uttering with a airy quality in his voice, "Whatever you say Doll."
They both froze upon hearing his old endearment for her. She couldn't help the dreamy look that appeared on her face when she felt the same familiar and powerful emotions swirling through her. He took a step towards her, hesitantly kissing her lips softly before extending his hand to hers, watching as she slipped hers comfortably inside, both of them raising their eyes from their intertwined finger to the other's eyes, both knowing they were on their way to rebuilding their relationship and achieving everything they had always hoped for but never voiced before now. Hyde pulled Jackie closer and said in her ear, "Come on."
They walked out of the small bedroom in the back of the basement towards the group of familiar friends. They both noticed Fez had returned and was sitting in the lawnchair, watching them with an accepting look. Jackie smiled at him softly, both apologizing and thanking him before glancing back at Steven, who gave his friend a grateful nod. The new comers walked deeper into the basement, catching the attention of their other friends who watched silently as Hyde and Jackie returned from his room. Hyde sat down in his usual chair and looking up at Jackie with a raised eyebrow, causing her to gift him with a breathtaking smile before she positioned herself in her accustomed place on his lap before wrapping one of her arms around his shoulders. The gang watched as Jackie and Hyde comfortably rejoined them, this time not as enemies, but as another newly reunited couple.