Patchwork

Inspired by reading something in heartlessromantic667's (Angie) How it Came to Be. Chapter 58: Indifference.

(Read the whole story, it's great!) Thanks to Angie, Prissy, Marla, and Lisa who inspired me to get some writing

done this summer! Please join the conversation on our fanfic board, the link will be in the reviews.

p.s. and by the way, And in my AU world…you know where this leads. Also, due to the sidebar thing on this

site you may have to decrease your font size to see the correct spacing and such for this story. Thank you.

1972

Point Place, Wisconsin

Eric loved Thursday afternoons because it meant that his mother Kitty worked longer hours in the hospital and Red

would be at his job at the auto plant until 6:30 p.m. He looked down at his jeans with the gaping hole in the knee and

didn't know how he was going to explain it to his mother. Red would call him "a dumbass" a phrase he really was

starting to believe about himself and Kitty would coddle him to the point of smothering and then she'd sew a horrible

square mismatched color patch on it embarrassing him even further. His knee and ribs hurt like hell, but he forced

himself to run, well that wasn't right, to sprint, ahead of his best friend Steven Hyde.

"Forman, slow down, man."

"Shut up."

Eric replied. He didn't mean the words, but he said them anyway. He half expected Hyde to quicken his pace just to kick

him in the ass for the caustic comment. They were able to ditch Kelso at the Hub when a bunch of girls came in and

oohed and awed that he resembled David Cassidy. Donna had one of her boring school club meetings. It could've been

for the junior high bulletin at Point Place Jr. High School. He really didn't care. Eric just wanted to get home. That

annoying snobby twit who transferred from private school, who was one year behind them, Jackie Burkhart, tried to get

Hyde to buy a candy bar from her so they could go on some cheerleading club trip. Hyde told the loud, annoying twit, to

go away. Eric was relieved that she wasn't in his circle of friends! Eric dumped his blue backpack on the lawn chair. He

noticed Hyde never brought any books home. Kitty left the slider door open and Eric saw a note, written on yellow lined

paper, left on the counter in Kitty's nice cursive handwriting.

Dear Eric and Steven,

There's jello pudding in the fridge. I'll be home in 2 hours. Tell Steven he can stay for dinner. I love you both.

-Mom

"You can stay for dinner." Eric said to Hyde who took the bowl of pudding out of the refrigerator.

"Cool."

Eric grabbed two spoons and walked to the basement. They only had two hours to do that fun thing that Eric most

enjoyed because it gave him time to relax.

"I was just thinking…are you Dr. Jekyll or Dr. Hyde?" Eric giggled. Now they could eat the pudding and then go upstairs

for some cookies, cheese curls, and whatever snacks Kitty had in the cupboards.

"That was Mr. Hyde." Hyde looked at his watch. Kitty was going to be home in less than an hour and there was one

more thing that needed tending to.

"OUCH!" Eric flinched his body back as he sat on the yellow woven hamper in the bathroom.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt so much if you would just let me do it, Forman."

That relaxation didn't last long as Hyde dipped the cotton pad into the peroxide again. "This time don't move…"

Eric stared at the ceiling, "Shit. Did I hear Laurie?"

"No. Her class went on an overnight field trip to Milwaukee remember?"

"Now I do."

Eric didn't even feel the bandage placed over his bruise. He knew Hyde wasn't going to talk about it, but he was

grateful. Grateful that not only was Hyde his hired gun (who no longer required a fee), but his best friend. It stirred

feelings in him, strange feelings. Sticky sheets in the morning feelings.

"I'm finished."

"Thanks, Hyde."

Was all that Eric could say, but Hyde had to have known how much more Eric could've said if Hyde would let him.

"No problem."

Hyde closed Kitty's first aid box and put it back in the cabinet behind the big red hot water bottle. Eric tried to leap off

the hamper, but he lost his balance causing his hands to go on Hyde's shoulders.

"U-h. I lost my balance. Why do you always wear your shades, Hyde?"

Eric didn't remove his hands and wondered why Hyde wasn't brushing him off.

"Because."

"Cause why?"

"Just because."

Eric could feel something forming in his body that he didn't want Hyde to know so he quickly removed his hands from

Hyde's shoulders and then gently took his glasses off. He let out a light gasp over what he saw.

"What happened to your left eye?"

That explained why Eric hadn't seen Hyde all day yesterday or the day before.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. We're friends aren't we?" But Hyde didn't like ultimatums and Eric knew that so instead of panicking, he

just backtracked, "I didn't mean it that way."

"You want to know? Fine. One of Edna's boyfriends punched me in the eye because I had a smart mouth. And all your

mother has to know is I fell out of a tree."

"Since when do you climb trees?"

"Forman…I liked it better when you did this…"

Hyde gently grabbed Eric's arms to direct them back to his shoulders.

"What does this mean?" Eric asked, looking at Hyde's worn boots.

"Whatever you want it to."

"I—I'd…like to…"

That was all Hyde needed to hear to be initiator to put his lips to Eric's. It was his first kiss with a guy. He was certain it

was Forman's as well.

"You kiss cool." Eric said smiling

"You weren't so bad, Forman."

"Thanks for - maybe, there will come a time when I won't need you to fight my battles for me."

Hyde grabbed his sunglasses off the counter and put them on. "It's okay if you do," he let out a sigh before turning the

doorknob, "I don't mind."

The End