eternalpassions · 2 years ago
Text
Kelso: I don’t know guys, I don’t know what this feeling is. I look at her and I actually like her as a person. I like talking to her, spending time with her. I can have fun with her without having to have sex with her. I want to get to know her. I want her to trust me. When she tells me to get my hand off her ass I listen to her and don’t do it again. When I see her, my heart skips a beat, I hate seeing her sad it breaks my heart man. What could this mean?
Hyde: It means you finally love someone other than yourself you dingus
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thestupidhelmet · 8 months ago
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A6
AU T7S Where Kelso Doesn't Exist on the Show
This turned into an outline/first-draft hybrid of a fanfic I would call One Difference: Michael Kelso Doesn't Exist.
Quite a few twists. Lots of Zen. Plenty for the other characters, too.
Season 1
Jackie joins the basement gang because of Fez. Jackie enjoys his flattery and attention, but she hasn't promised him anything romantic or sexual. She also keeps her time in Eric's basement secret, acting like she doesn't know Fez, Donna, Eric, or Hyde while in school.
Hyde influences Eric to be more delinquent than he otherwise would be. Without Kelso as his partner in crime, Eric fills that role.
Eric gets into more trouble with both his parents because of his shenanigans with Hyde. Donna also finds Eric slightly hotter for his rebelliousness. In canon season seven, she tells Eric she thinks it's hot when he does naughty stuff.
Unfortunately for Eric, his parents don't agree. He doesn't get the Vista Cruiser, as he does in "That '70s Pilot" (1x01). They tell him that unless and until he acts responsible enough to have a car, he's not getting one from them.
Red's opinion about Hyde is also different. Instead of seeing Hyde as a good kid who's rough around the edges, he thinks Hyde's a danger to his son and tells Eric Hyde's no longer allowed in the house. He also tells Eric to let Hyde find another dumbass to get into trouble with.
Jackie wants to go to the junior prom so badly that she accepts Fez's invitation. Problem is that she's finding herself attracted to Hyde in spite of herself. Before Red banned him from the basement, regardless of how annoyed he is by Jackie, she's drawn to him.
Hyde is the only one who fights the guy (and his friends) who punched Eric unconscious in "Grandma's Dead" (1x23). Without Kelso there, Fez tries to help but is tossed aside and passes out.
Hyde gets more than a fat lip from that bar fight. He's bruised all over. He's allowed to go to Grandma Forman's funeral to support Eric (because of Kitty).
When Red sees Hyde, he assumes the worst about why Hyde's bruised and swollen. Eric tells Red what Hyde did for him, and that significantly changes Red's mind about Hyde.
Fez is confused as to why Jackie runs hot and cold with him. Hyde and Eric both answer that she's a nutbag and he should look for a girlfriend elsewhere. Donna, though, defends Jackie. They're friends now, and Jackie's helped Donna transition her friendship with Eric into a romance.
Fez decides to fight even harder for Jackie's love, and Hyde and Eric groan.
After Edna abandons Hyde, Red (without knowing yet what happened) lets Hyde join his for dinner three nights in one week. During these dinners, Red starts to understand that Hyde is a good boy who's rough around the edges. Kitty, who always liked Hyde, is grateful for how he stood up for her son.
Once Red and Kitty learn that Hyde's mom abandoned him, he allows Hyde to live with them on probationary status. Hyde has to cut out the nonsense and stop cutting classes.
Hyde excels at following Red's conditions, so much so that Eric becomes jealous. With Hyde no longer doing senseless stupid stunts, Eric decides to do a stunt of his own. He's got way more experience in it since Hyde essentially trained him in the art for eleven years.
Eric, who's earned the Vista Cruiser a third through the season, decides to take his mom's keys to the Toyota and find out how fast and far it can go on one tank of gas. Donna, Hyde, and Fez try to convince him not to.
Jackie is present for this moment, and she encourages Eric to go with his plan. This pisses off Donna and Hyde, but Fez finds it hot (despite not wanting Eric to do it).
Hyde tells Eric if he's gonna do something so stupid, Hyde better go with him.
Eric ends up swerving to avoid another car, but the Toyota's bumper falls off and the left taillight is busted. A good measure of paint has been scraped off.
When Red discovers what happened to his car, Hyde takes responsibility for it. Eric objects and says it's his fault. They fight over it, and Red fights internally with himself whether to blame Hyde and kick him out.
But, unlike Donna and Fez who have run off, Jackie steps in and says it was Eric's idea and that Hyde tried to stop him. She's a witness. She knows Hyde will be homeless if Hyde doesn't let Eric take responsibility, and then she'll lose access to him.
Red is relieved and disappointed. He makes Eric and Hyde work to pay off the car repairs. Rather than being upset by this punishment, Hyde feels more like part of the family.
Season 2
Fez tricks Jackie into a kiss during the movies. Once she realizes what he's doing, she stops him. With no Kelso to slug Fez, Jackie runs out of the theater.
Jackie tells Donna what happened and admits she liked the kiss. She's considering dating Fez in secret.Donna has two problems with this idea: one, Fez tricked her into a kiss, which doesn't set a good precedent for the start of a relationship; and two, Jackie shouldn't date Fez in secret. If Jackie has romantic feelings for him, she should be proud to date him and not let xenophobia -- or fear of others' xenophobia -- dictate how she lives her life.
Jackie says in this conversation that she's never had a boyfriend before and she's getting long in the tooth. It's time for her to start dating already. Fez is a terrible choice. "He worships me. He's great dancer, but ..."
Donna says, "He's foreign."
Jackie says, "No. I mean yes, but you're right that I shouldn't treat him like a dirty little secret. The problem is ... I love kissing, and Fez is good at it, but I'm not sure Fez is the one I want to kiss."
Donna, shocked and intrigued, says, "Is there someone else you want to kiss?"
Jackie becomes cagey, an obvious tell, and Donna calls her out on it: "There is someone you want to kiss! Who is it? Do I know him?"
Jackie, very uncomfortable, escapes the question by escaping the conversation (and Donna).
In the circle with Eric, Hyde, and Fez, Donna does her best to keep her mouth shut about Jackie. But Fez brings up how he kissed Jackie at the movies and that Jackie ran away afterward.
Eric and Hyde rag on Fez (and Jackie): "Why Jackie? I mean ... why Jackie?" "You found the Holy Grail, man -- the secret to gettin' Jackie to disappear."
Donna, unhappy about their burns, says, "Jackie liked the kiss, you jackasses -- " which makes Fez brighten -- "but she wants someone else to kiss her that way."
Fez, Hyde, and Eric: "Who?"
Donna: "I don't know. She wouldn't tell me."
Eric: "Oh, God -- that must mean it's one of us!"
Hyde: "Donna's hot. Wouldn't blame her."
Eric: "Not Donna. Us! You and me!"
Hyde: "No way, Forman. You make her sick, and she makes me sick. She wouldn't go after her best friend's boyfriend anyway."
Donna, Eric, and Fez: "How do you know that?"
Hyde: "Uh ... "
Donna (teasing, singing): "Hyde and Jackie sitting in ... in ... have you two ever sat in anything together?"
Fez (sad): "Only the remains of my heart."
Hyde: "Look, last winter at her ski cabin, she whined to me about wanting this guy Jake Bradley -- "
Eric: "The Jake Bradley? The Vikings quarterback?"
Hyde: "Yeah. But he's dating Kat Peterson, so that's never gonna happen."
Donna (remembering): "Right! And you tried to 'comfort' her by saying Jake wouldn't cheat on Kat with Pam Macy either, so Jackie's in good company.
Hyde (chuckling to himself): "That was a pretty good burn."
Donna: "You were a total jerk that weekend -- and not just to her."
Hyde: "Yup. I was. [Sincerely to Donna] Sorry, man. For all of it. No excuses. Just a reason: head was screwed up from my ma. Wouldn't want anyone to do to me what I did to you, and I'm glad we're still cool though I don't deserve it."
Donna's about to accept his apology, but Eric says, "What did you do to her?"
Fez (morose): "What I did to Jackie."
Eric (pissed and confused, to Hyde): "You kissed her in a movie theater in Alpine Valley?"
Donna and Hyde: "The ski cabin."
Hyde: "And she slapped me good. Too bad it didn't knock sense into my skull."
After this circle, Eric is uneasy about Hyde.
Laurie, bored, finds a sad Fez moping around the Forman driveway. She gets him to open up about Jackie's latest but as-yet unspoken romantic rejection of him. Laurie sees an opportunity to amuse herself.
Laurie: "You're a virgin, right?"
Fez: "Yes -- no! I have done it with many women. Like a stallion."
Laurie: "Mm-hmm. Care to prove it?"
Fez glances around. "Where?"
Laurie holds up the keys to her parents' Toyota and nods her head toward the car.
"B-b-but we could get caught!" Fez says.
"It'll be more fun that way," Laurie says and pulls Fez to the car.
A little later, Hyde goes to the driveway. The garage door is open. The Toyota is rocking. At first Hyde thinks the Formans are having sex, and he back away. Then Laurie screams, "Fez!" in passion (and in an attempt to get caught).
Hyde is more repulsed by the idea of Fez and Laurie screwing than the Formans and flees to The Hub.
At The Hub, Jackie is eating at a table alone. Hyde brings his tray of fries, a hot dog, and a soda to her table.
Jackie (suspicious and intrigued): "What do you want?"
Hyde: "You don't have to worry about Fez anymore."
Jackie: "Huh?"
Hyde: "Look, we all know he's been after you for months, but someone caught him in her web today. He's probably gonna stay there willingly, even if the spider sucks out his insides ... leavin' him a dried husk."
Jackie (annoyed): What are you talking about, Hyde?"
Hyde: "Spotted Laurie and Fez doing the backseat bossa nova."
Jackie: "Is that some kind of dance?"
Hyde (smirking): "Some kind. Doesn't require clothes. [To himself] Hope he's wearin' a condom."
Jackie (understanding): "HE'S HAVING SEX WITH LAURIE?"
Hyde winces at her shout. "You should be happy, man. Now that she's got Fez on his back, he'll get off yours."
Jackie: "I -- well -- who's gonna ... "
Hyde: "What?"
Jackie: "You'll just burn me if I tell you."
Hyde: "Likely. [Gently] You can still tell me."
Jackie: "It's just that ... I don't get a lot of attention at home, okay? And I have no boyfriend to lavish me with the adoration I totally deserve, so now that Fez'll be all over Laurie, I'm gonna be alone."
Hyde: "Not alone. Lonely."
Jackie: "What's the difference?"
Hyde: "Trust me; there's a difference."
Jackie stares at Hyde a moment. Then she says, "I do. I do trust you."
Hyde, realizing he made a big mistake, says, "I'm gonna take the rest of my lunch to-go." He stands up with his tray of food and leaves The Hub while Frank (the manager and cashier) yells at him about it. Hyde says, "I'll bring it back!" and hurries away outside.
Fez, exhilarated and a little scared by what happened between himself and Laurie, looks for someone to confide in. He wants someone who will react helpfully, so Eric's out. Hyde's at The Hub with Jackie, so Fez can't find him. Next door, however, is Donna.
Nervously, Fez relates to Donna that he just lost his virginity to Laurie. Donna's first reaction is disgust and shock, but she recovers and asks if he's okay. "And please tell me you used a condom."
Fez: "I don't know if I'm okay -- but yes, Pépé wore a coat. Laurie said I was all right, which is a synonym for *okay,* but did she really mean it? And the first-first time lasted five seconds. The second first time was eight minutes and -- "
Donna: "Spare me the second-by-second breakdown. Please. I want to know how you feel -- emotionally. Because, y'know, it's Laurie! And how did this even happen?"
Fez (laughing): "Oh, you silly virgins and you're silly questions. Sex-education in this country is very lacking. You see, women have -- "
Donna: "I know how sex works! I mean how did you and Laurie ... *why* did you and Laurie?"
Fez: "Oh. She was bored. I was heartbroken over Jackie, and now Fez is no longer a virgin. But what if Laurie just used me to burn Eric? Or if she'll never have sex with me again? Or if that will be my *only* time having sex? Because I liked it ... about four minutes into the second first time."
Donna wishes Hyde were the one Fez was talking to. She's very uncomfortable. She's also worried about how this situation will affect Fez and Eric. She says, "Laurie is always up to something. Whatever you do, even if it's having sex with her again, don't trust her. And don't mistake sex for love. They're totally not the same thing. And I think you should tell Eric right away. Like now."
Fez: "Wow. This is a lot to think about."
Donna: "I just don't want you or Eric to get hurt."
Donna supports Fez by being present in the basement when Fez tells Eric about Laurie. Eric has a negative reaction, and Donna tries to calm him down. Hyde enters the basement amid this bit of chaos.
Hyde: "So Forman knows Fez and Laurie did it, huh?"
Fez, Donna and Eric: "How do you know about that?"
Hyde: "I was there, man. In the driveway. Saw the Formans' Toyota rattling around. Once I spotted the cause, I was outta there."
Eric, hoping to find an ally, says to Hyde, "So what now? Laurie's not hanging out with us just 'cause she and Fez committed that abominable act."
Hyde (to Fez): "Whatever you do, whoever you do, is your business, man. Just don't make it ours, all right?"
Donna: "I already warned him not to fall in love with her."
Fez grows annoyed at his friends' controlling, unsupportive attitudes. He decides that if Laurie's interested in him, he'll have fun with her as long as it lasts.
Throughout the rest of the season, Fez and Laurie's strange relationship continues. Jackie's disgusted and thankful she'd realized she doesn't have romantic feelings for him early. Red is oblivious, but eagle-eyed Kitty recognizes that Laurie is "playing" with Fez (please excuse the unavoidable double entendre).
Kitty sits Laurie down and has a serious talk with her. Kitty knows Laurie is in no way faithful to Fez and doesn't want her to break Fez's heart. Laurie tries to reassure Kitty, albeit dismissively, that the heart isn't the organ Fez is concerned about.
Dissatisfied, Kitty goes to Red. Big mistake. Red puts the onus on Fez and tries to scare him off Laurie. Fez tells Laurie about this development, which makes her want Fez more.
Jackie tries to befriend Hyde, much to his annoyance. She likes how real he is, especially compared to the guys who are part of her social circle at school. She finds in his personality and demeanor aspects she feels she lacks within herself and is attracted (platonically) by that.
Hyde shows no interest in reciprocating any friendship until he witnesses at school a nasty encounter Jackie has with a very competitive cheer squad teammate, Julie. Julie is gunning for cheer captain for the varsity team next year. She sees Jackie as a threat and uses Jackie's lack of boyfriend as a way to spread rumors about her.
Hyde teaches Jackie his version of Zen so she can protect herself. He also introduces her to the circle in between lessons. Unfortunately, being Zen goes only so far when Jackie Burkhart is a lesbian (remember, 1970s) and other untrue statements about her are written on blackboards and whispered by students whenever Jackie walks into a classroom or a school hallway.
To mitigate these rumors, Jackie starts dating Chip. Hyde is wary of this development and keeps an eye on it.
Before Jackie and Chip's third date, at school Hyde questions Chip -- whom Hyde knows is a year older than Jackie and has bragged about previous sexual "conquests". Chip says what he and Jackie have is quid quo pro. Chip goes on a few dates with her, tolerates the yapping, and on the last date he gets to nail her.
Hyde: "Is tonight gonna be the last date?"
Chip: "Hell yeah. She's a bitch."
Pow!
Hyde lays out Chip with one punch. It's witnessed by a lot of students, including Jackie. Jackie wants to know what happened. Hyde manages to get out, "He said bitch. Last date. Nail you -- "
Unlike the Jackie of T7S Prime, this one is a virgin at this time on the show. She's sexually inexperienced, and she pieces together what Chip intended and why Hyde punched him.
Unfortunately, the school principal arrives. As he hauls Hyde to his office, Jackie shouts that she loves Hyde. Many students witness this moment, too.
The principal suspends Hyde from school for the rest of the year, which only has two weeks left, but it means he can't take his finals. He'll have to attend summer school and anger management classes.
Eric and Donna's stories in season 2 are relatively unaffected by Kelso's absence except as described above.
Season 3
Jackie happy-brags to Donna about what went down and why Hyde has to go to summer school. Donna thinks what Hyde did is noble but that Jackie needs to tell her dad about it since the principal doesn't know.
Jackie thinks Donna's idea is great. She does tell her father, who uses his influence to get Hyde out of anger management and a commendation on his transcript for community spirit-- despite the principal condemning the use of violence to solve issues. Chip is expelled because of Jack's influence (and fury that someone thought to hurt his daughter in such a way).
Hyde remains suspended for one week but is allowed to return to school to take his finals.
Jackie is flustered that Hyde doesn't thank her for her intervention on his behalf. He protected her, and she protected him, so -- to her mind -- they should be really close now.
When Jackie confronts Hyde about his lack of gratitude, he tells her he never would've had to punch the guy (Chip) if Jackie didn't give into social pressure. Although this statement is victim-blaming, Jackie does think hard about how toxic her social circle is and tells Hyde he's right. She'll choose her friends better. In fact, he'll be seeing a lot more of her from now on.
Hyde complains to Eric and Donna about this latest situation. Donna's pissed at Hyde for blaming Jackie for Chip nearly taking advantage of her.
Eric, meanwhile, is still focused on Fez and Laurie's relationship and says he bets Laurie took advantage of Laurie, but no one was around to punch her before she could get to him -- not that a man should punch a lady. But if Donna had been there ...
Donna slaps Eric's shoulder and tells him to pay attention to the matter at hand.
Hyde takes to heart Donna's point about victim-blaming Jackie and wants to make it right. He apologizes to Jackie, in his own way. He says, "I get feelin' pressured, and sometimes it puts us in situations we don't know are dangerous. Chip is a sneaky bastard, and you're not used to sneaky bastards. I am, but you couldn't have seen what he had planned for ya. Even if you could -- "
Jackie: "You're rambling, Steven."
Hyde: "I don't ... yeah, okay, I do. I am. Anyway, I'm sorry for acting like a dillhole after I punched Chip. I kinda punched you, too, with my words."
Jackie: "Yeah, you did. It really hurt ... and not only because I really like you."
Hyde: "You shouldn't -- like me, I mean. I'm no good. But under your abrasive, bossy exterior is someone I can stand to be around."
Jackie (touched): "Aw! Does this mean we're friends?"
Hyde: "I knocked a guy's teeth in 'cause he called you a bitch and planned to do a lot worse, and you had your dad bail me out of goin' to summer school and more. People who hate each other generally don't do things like that, so ... "
Jackie (excitedly, hugging Hyde): "We're friends! Hey, why don't we go to the Sizzler for dinner and celebrate?"
Hyde (uncomfortable): "I'm not sure we -- "
Jackie: "I'll pay."
Hyde (now agreeable): "You've had a rough couple of weeks. Let's go, kid."
Jackie and Hyde's arc in season three is their growing friendship that they manage to conceal from everyone but Mrs. Forman. She keeps it mostly to herself but talks to Red about it. Red approves because of his experience with her in "Career Day" (1x18).
Fez and Laurie's relationship ends when Fez discovers that Laurie's cheating on him. His friends say they all warned him but still display various levels of sympathy.
Donna says, "Why did you like her so much anyway? She was mean to you most of the time."
Fez: *She had sex with me, Donna. Regularly! How could I not love a woman like that?"
Hyde: "Dude, you didn't love her."
Fez: "I loved that she had sex with me. Regularly! And sometimes strangely, which I also enjoyed very much."
To help Fez get over Laurie, Hyde takes Fez "cruising for chicks". It cheers Fez up a little, but he's relatively down the rest of the season.
Eric never gets the idea of getting Donna a promise ring because Kelso doesn't exist to give it to him. Still, Ric and Donna's relationship goes downhill because of h increasing independence and his increasing insecurity.
At the end of the season, Eric has an important conversation with Donna. He says, "When do you think we'll get married? Before college or after college?"
Donna (laughing, thinking he's joking): "Why not tomorrow? We could drive to Vegas, and an Elvis impersonator can officiate."
Eric: "I'm serious. Donna, I can't imagine my life without you."
Donna (stunned): "Are you, like, proposing?"
Eric: "Hypothetically if I were, what would you say?"
Donna: "I'd say, 'We're seventeen and have no idea where our lives will take us.'"
Eric: "But wherever they take us, you see us together ... don't you?"
This question leads to the rest of their breakup scene in "Promise Ring" -- minus the actual ring.
Season 4
Eric's depression proceeds as it does on the show. For the first half of the season, he dates random girls. Donna doesn't date.
The heartbroken Eric and Fez set up the get-Hyde-a-girlfriend party. Jackie invites Rhonda -- not because Jackie's insecure about not being the prettiest girl at the party but doesn't want to find Hyde a potential girlfriend. Fez and Rhonda hit it off.
With no Kelso and no vanity-driven insecurity, Jackie stays at the party and watches Hyde closely but sneakily. She's relieved when he doesn't seem seriously interested in any of the girls.
After a short absence, Hyde returns to the party with Melissa. Jackie recognizes how disrespectful and manipulatively Melissa treats Hyde. Once Melissa leaves, Jackie pulls Hyde aside.
Jackie: "Melissa's really pretty."
Hyde (still dazed by his attraction to Melissa): "Uh-huh ... "
Jackie: "She's also everything you hate about me."
Hyde: "What?"
Jackie: "You clearly didn't pay attention to how she acted. She was bossy, mean, and -- and -- what's that word you taught me, when you described how your mom used to give you the silent treatment whenever you pissed her off by blinking too loud?"
Hyde: "Withholding."
Jackie: "That's it! She's emotionally withholding, and she's gonna use that as a weapon against you if you date her. I can see it already."
Hyde (annoyed): "Jackie, I spent an hour with her. You can't tell all that."
Jackie: "You had one conversation with Chip, and you knew exactly what he had planned for me."
Hyde: "Because he told me!"
Jackie: "And Melissa told me. I might not have your sexual experience or whatever, but I'm an expert in manipulation. ... Just think about what happened between you two tonight before you call her, okay?"
Hyde (mostly because he wants to end the conversation): "... Okay."
But Hyde does as Jackie asks. He flashes back to how his mom treated his dad (Bud) and eventually himself. Melissa did seem to resent him already, and he'd end up resenting her. She might be a great girl -- but not for him. She clearly doesn't think he's enough for her as he is now. Not a great way to start a relationship.
At The Hub a few days later, Donna tells Hyde that Melissa told her he never called. Donna asks why.
Hyde: "You called me whipped after she left the party. That was enough."
Donna: "Oh, come on, Hyde. I was teasing. Melissa's really cool. You're cool. I don't think you should miss out on each other."
Hyde: "And I don't think you and Forman should've broken up. You obviously miss each other, but what can I do about it?"
Hyde hit the target he was aiming for. Donna, emotional and pissed, leaves The Hub.
Jackie arrives at The Hub and passes Donna, who says, "Hyde's being a jackass today. I wouldn't sit with him."
Jackie does sit with Hyde, however, and she gets him to spill about not calling Melissa and his interaction with Donna.
"Thanks, by the way, for lookin' out for me," he says.
Jackie: "That's what friends do even when it might piss their friend off like you did Donna."
Hyde: "She'll get over it. Don't know how she and Forman'll get over each other, though."
"Tornado Prom" (4x15) happens a few episodes earlier in this AU. Jackie really wants to win Snow Queen, but she laments to Hyde that she has no date. Hyde shrugs. Jackie says, "You could take me."
Hyde: "I could, but I won't. Plan on partying in the principal's office."
Jackie: "You can still do that. But if you're my date, the teacher-chaperones won't be as watchful of you."
Hyde: "Huh. ... All right. I owe you for Melissa -- and I hate owing anyone -- but no dancing."
Jackie: "Five dances, and you wear a tuxedo."
Hyde: "No dances, and I wear a shirt and pants."
Jackie: "Steven!"
Hyde: "Whatever. One dance."
Jackie: "Four and a tux. I'll rent it."
Hyde: "Two dances, and I wear the suit Bud left me after he -- well, left me the first time."
Jackie: "That mustard thing? Ew! ... Three dances, a nice suit jacket, pants, dress shirt, and tie I'll buy you, and I distract any teachers who might be eyeing you."
Hyde: "Deal."
During his dances with Jackie at Snow Prom, Hyde begins to realize his romantic, aesthetic, and sexual attraction to Jackie. It scares him. After their third dance, he definitely wants to have his circle in the principal's office. Jackie joins him with Fez and Rhonda.
Jackie falls asleep. Hyde draws a unibrow on her forehead. She wins Snow Queen, and Jake Bradley wins Snow King. Jackie is elated but can't understand why everyone in the gym is laughing at her. Then she sees her face in a mirror and knows Hyde is the culprit.
Jackie is furious, but instead of letting humiliation get the best of her, she goes Zen. Everyone is impressed, including Hyde -- and he knows now he's in big trouble.
After "Tornado Prom," Eric realizes he'll never get over Donna if he doesn't actually try. Without Jackie setting Donna up with Casey Kelso, Eric's able to focus on his own date life. He asks out Shelly ("Eric's Panties" [3x06], who is happy to go out with him.
Donna's emotional spiraling begins again. She doesn't want to date anyone, but she's afraid Eric and Shelly might actually have a chance at a relationship (unlike his previous dates).
Jackie (to Donna): "Oh, my God, you still love him!"
Donna: "Of course I do, but that doesn't mean I can be with him. He tried to control my life."
Jackie: "No, he confessed his undying commitment to you, and you rejected it."
Donna: "Because the second I carved out a little piece of my life just for myself, he freaked!"
Jackie: "Someone who loves you as much as Eric does would be willing to work through that."
Donna: "How do you know? You've never even had a boyfriend."
Jackie: "No, but I understand love and that it takes compromises and work ... and trust."
Donna: "Then I guess I don't trust Eric to work on compromising with me."
Jackie: "He compromised with you all the time!"
Donna: "I compromised with him. Until I was sick of him refusing to respect me enough to do the same."
Jackie: "Have you ever told him that?"
Donna: "I told him to trust me."
Jackie: "That's not the same thing."
Donna: "It should've been enough."
Jackie: "Obviously, it wasn't."
Donna: "Well, that's not my problem."
Jackie (mockingly): "'That's not my problem.'" [She pinches Donna's arm, and Donna cries out in pain and anger.] "Who's problem is it, then? Eric's, someone who Shelly or another girl might give a chance to let him learn from his mistakes and be happy? Or the person so stubborn she'll end up alone and miserable because she's in love with someone who needs more time to understand what he's doing wrong?"
Donna can't absorb Jackie's insight all at once, but the seed is planted.
Jackie's parents find out that Hyde took Jackie to Snow Prom. They think she's dating him, despite her protestations to the contrary: "We're just friends! He'll tell you the same thing!"
Jackie's parents want her to stop hanging out in the Formans' basement. She can go to Donna's house, but if she keeps going to the Formans', her father will cut her off financially.
Jackie has more than Hyde to lose. Despite that Donna doesn't go to the basement as often, especially now that Eric's dating Shelly, Jackie will miss all her friends there.
In the basement, Jackie announces her conundrum without saying that Hyde's the reason for it. She says her dad wants her to spend more of her spare time with her "real" friends from the cheer squad and in her own grade. She's decided, though, to get a job because she knows everyone here will miss her too much.
Eric, Donna, Fez, Rhonda, and Hyde's reactions are unenthusiastic. But in private, Hyde asks Jackie what the actual deal is.
Jackie, to her surprise, admits the truth. Hyde laughs and says, "That's ridiculous. Your folks are ... "
Jackie: "Ridiculous! I know! You'd never like me that way."
Hyde: "Right. Never. And you wouldn't date a poor, lowerclass burnout dirtbag."
Jackie: "Exactly! Not that you're a dirtbag ... or poor in the non-money sense. You're richer in every other way that counts compared to the sons of my parents' upperclass friends."
Hyde (sensing the awkwardness between them): "So you're getting a job, huh?"
Jackie: "I'm going to the mall. Maybe Halverson's is look for someone pretty to model its clothes."
Jackie ends up at the Cheese Palace, hired to hand out cheese samples to potential patrons. She has to take the bus to the mall and back because her dad took away her keys to the Lincoln.
Hyde feels partially responsible for Jackie's situation, so he drives her home from work when his own work schedule allows.
Eric catches Todd "the Cheese Guy" kissing Jackie (Todd had tricked her when she was down about her parents' lack of trust in her and low opinion of Hyde).
Jackie doesn't want Eric telling anyone because she's humiliated that her second real kiss was due to being tricked by another boy. Moved by compassion, Eric keeps her secret.
Except that Jackie feels like she cheated on Hyde in some way.
By the end of the season, Fez doesn't get terrible advice from Casey Kelso, and his relationship with Rhonda is intact.
Donna has grown completely depressed. She refuses to try to break up Eric and Shelly by telling Eric she loves him. She had her chance to work through the toughest part of her relationship with Eric, and they both blew it. She needs to get away for the summer, and she heads to the bus station -- and California -- to stay with her mom.
What Donna doesn't know is that Eric has broken up with Shelly. He's still in love with Donna, and he can accept living in the now with her and leave the future unwritten.
Jackie tells Hyde about what happened with Todd. Hyde says she doesn't need to confess to him. He's no priest.
Jackie: "I do. I feel terrible about it, Steven. He tricked me!"
Hyde (growing protective): "What do you mean by tricked?"
Jackie: "He offered to give !e a sympathetic hug because of my parents, you know? But he turned his face, and his lips pushed against mine, and we were kissing. I was so confused, but I kissed him back! Just like I was confused when Fez tricked me at the movies and kissed me -- and I kissed him back."
Jackie (tearing up): "My teammates are right about me: I'm a naive loser. God, I've never been kissed by a boy I've chosen to kiss. Who I've wanted to kiss. And -- and if you hadn't looked out for me another boy, Chip, might've done a lot worse."
Hyde (consoling): "Hey ... hey, that sucks. But it's not your fault, all right? I didn't get to choose most things about my life, either, but I got to choose my friends. Like you."
Jackie feels a little better, but her first tear falls.
Hyde: "Listen, any guy you choose to kiss someday will be lucky."
Jackie: "Any guy?"
Hyde: "Well, someone who wants to kiss you back."
Jackie: "Would you want to?"
Hyde (flushing a little): "If you kissed me ... it would be cool."
Jackie: "That can mean anything!"
Hyde: "I wouldn't hate it. ... Hell, I'd probably like it."
Jackie places her hand on Hyde's cheek. She kisses him gently. He responds gently -- at first -- then they're making out with each other heavily. Fade to black.
Eric goes to the Pinciottis' house to tell Donna about his breakup and what he's learned about trusting the moment. Unfortunately, Donna's not there. Bob and Joanne don't know where she is. They let Eric wait for her in her room. He waits a long time.
Season 5
Jackie and Hyde's romantic relationship develops over the summer. They keep it a secret because Eric is sad and mopey about Donna. They also want the relationship to be just theirs while in its beginning stages, without their friends' opinions.
Hyde gets Eric the plane ticket (using Eric's Candy Land stash) to go to Donna in California. Hyde and Fez cover for his absence.
Eric and Donna reconcile in California. Without Casey being an issue, and Eric explaining that he dumped Shelly and never had sex with her because he never stopped loving Donna, they actually deal with what broke them up.
When Fez and Rhonda catch Hyde and Jackie in the basement post-kissing -- unlike Fez -- Rhonda recognizes what they walked in on. Hyde decides to act Zen about it. Jackie follows his lead.
Rhonda: "That doesn't work on me. I know love when I see it."
Hyde (laughing nervously): "Love? I don't love, man. I tolerate."
Jackie: "No, no, no. I tolerate. You're so overwhelmed by my beauty that I tolerate making out with you."
Fez (to Rhonda): What are they doing?
Rhonda: "Acting like two in love dorks. Want to see if Mrs. Forman has any peach cobbler left over?"
Fez: "I suppose I could tolerate that."
With Rhonda and Fez gone, Jackie says, "Steven, are we dorks?"
Hyde: "Nope."
Jackie: "Are we ... in love?"
Hyde: "How's about we quit talking and get back to what we were doin'?"
Jackie and Hyde continue to make out but wonder about Jackie's question.
Donna and Eric return from California.
Without Kelso, Jackie and Hyde's arc consists of figuring out just how they feel about each other, supporting each other through life issues (e.g., Jackie's dad going to prison) and not always getting it right the first or second time.
Eric and Donna don't get engaged this season. They're too busy finding the balance between their fears, individual desires, and how all that affects their relationship.
During the senior prank, Eric, Fez, and Hyde are present. Eric tried to get artistic and paint a tribute to Donna. He miscalculated his reach and fell off the water tower. Hyde leaves Fez to check on Eric. Fez is arrested.
Jackie is afraid to admit to Hyde she loves him. Hyde is afraid he's unlovable, but Kitty reassures him and says, "Maybe Jackie has to hear it first."
Hyde: "And if she laughs in my face?"
Kitty: "Steven, you've loved that girl for years. You can deny it all you like, but a mother knows. And if you've chosen someone worthy of your love, which I believe you have, you'll hear the right thing."
Jackie, meanwhile, has gone to Red -- who doesn't want to get involved but does. Jackie says, "When did you first tell Mrs. Forman you love her?"
Red: "Between when I fought in World War II and the Korean War."
Jackie, despite knowing Hyde would never join the military and dislikes conflict of any kind, decides she'll have to take drastic action.
Jackie finds Hyde in the Formans' basement. She says she's declaring war on him.
Hyde, confused since he and Jackie haven't had any serious fights in a while, says, "Before you do that -- whatever that means -- I've got somethin' to tell you."
Jackie wants to speak first, but she's learned that she has a tiny window when Hyde is open and vulnerable enough to say important things to her. She doesn't want him to shut down, so she gestures her assent.
Hyde: "I love you. ... Okay, go declare war."
Jackie, taken a back says, "I -- I ... I admit defeat. I love you, too!"
Hyde (unsure): "You what?"
Jackie: "Mr. Forman went through one war and was about to fight in another when he told Mrs. Forman he loves her. So I thought if I declared war by telling you I love you that either we'd both win or both lose. I just needed a definitive answer."
Hyde (laughing): "You are one freaky, freaky chick. Glad we both won. Medical care for vets in this country, 'specially mental care, sucks. Have you seen that guy on Sherman? He -- "
Jackie quiets him with a kiss. "Another time, Steven. This war is over."
Hyde kisses her back.
Rhonda marries Fez so he can stay in the country. Red doesn't have a heart attack.
Eric, inspired by Fez and Rhonda, proposes to Donna at the end of the season. We don't get her answer.
Season 6
Kitty is devastated that Eric and Hyde are leaving for college. Eric says, "It's in Kenosha. We'll be less than forty-five minutes away."
As in The Middle, we get the characters' college experiences, but they're in Point Place for the majority of episodes.
We learn that Donna said yes to Eric's proposal by seeing the engagement ring on her finger. Their arcs revolve around keeping their engagement secret, accidentally revealing it, and their parents' reactions on top of dealing with college life and sharing a house with Hyde, Fez, and Rhonda off-campus.
With Donna out of the house, Bob spends his fatherly attention on Jackie. It's helpful and annoying, and then her mom returns to town. The conflict this arrival creates is handled more seriously than it is on the show with Kelso.
Hyde struggles in college. He's smart but not academically inclined. His temperament is much better suited to an apprenticeship, learning a craft by doing the craft. He's scared.
During one weekend, Hyde learns Hyde bought Wilson & Son's Muffler Shop. He asks Red if he can work there on the weekends. Red hears the uncertainty in Hyde's voice and gets the truth out of him.
Hyde says he doesn't want to disappoint him or Mrs. Forman after all they've done for him.
Red says part of being an adult is making one's own path. Red will hire Hyde full-time if that's what Hyde wants. Hyde agrees.
Hyde then has to go through the process of telling everyone else. Mrs. Forman is worried but trusts Red to teach Hyde well -- and is happy he'll be moving back into the house.
Jackie is shocked, but she ultimately supports Hyde in his decision. She's also happy he'll be next door instead of forty minutes away.
Eric, Donna, and Fez are not happy, especially Eric. He's afraid Hyde will end up like one of his cousins. But Donna says Red owns a muffler and car repair business, not a gas station. If Hyde's happier, then he needs to make this change for himself.
Once Red and Kitty learn of Donna's engagement, they try to stop it. Shenanigans enue for a few episodes until Eric and Donna finally get the chance to tell them that the marriage won't take place until after college, which they're in.
Rhonda learns she's pregnant at the end of the season.
Hyde receives a letter in the mail from someone who claims to be his sister.
Season 7
Part of Hyde's arc is learning about his biological father and that side of the family. He's been working for Red for eight months, but W.B. works in music, and that's Hyde's true calling. Red lets Hyde go from the muffler shop.
Fez and Rhonda deal with Rhonda's pregnancy while going to college.
Donna gets the opportunity to study abroad in Paris for her junior year. Eric wants to go with her, and he applies for the same opportunity. Odds are against him, but he studies hard, inadvertently distancing himself from Donna she doesn't know why.
Near the end of the season, Eric learns he's accepted. Donna finally understands and wishes he'd told her. He didn't because he didn't want to get either of their hopes up.
Jackie is accepted togoing to NYU in New York City. She's torn because Hyde manages Grooves in Point Place. W.B., though, just happens to be expanding his business into the Northeast. Hyde will run the giant, new flagship store with Angie's help.
Rhonda has the baby. It's a girl, ten pounds, eight ounces. Fez is a proud papa.
Red and Kitty face the fact they'll truly be empty nesters. "Until Eric's senior year," Red says, "when he and Donna will be back in Wisconsin."
The show ends with the Vista Cruiser driving away. We see the license plate, and Hyde shouts (unseen): "Goodbye, Wisconsin!"
Jukebox Ask Game
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springsteenicious · 1 month ago
Text
Interstellar Overdrive
This is the Hyde truth serum one. This is a space AU and all the sci-fi elements are mostly explained in the writing. The timeline of the show is the same, but they live in space. This takes place in the very beginning of season 5, with some minor changes.
TBH I don't think I had a plan for this fic beyond the truth serum scene. I don't know where this was gonna go after that. But the build up is fun! This is chapters one and two, which is all I had written.
Word count: 2,825
Pairings: Hyde/Jackie, Eric/Donna
1 - Boyfriend
1979Deep SpaceThe Formans’ House
Hyde forced himself not to smile when Jackie giggled, her nails dragging lightly over his scalp. He continued pressing soft kisses to her neck. They were fooling around on the couch in the basement, like they had been all summer. Hyde was enjoying it. He wasn’t ready for it to end when Kelso got back from whatever planet he and Donna were on. 
“Steven, that tickles,” she said breathily, squirming underneath him. 
He couldn’t help it. He smiled and gently bit her, then moved up a little to kiss her fully. 
One of her hands left his hair and trailed down his abdomen. Her fingers hooked in the waistband of his pants, slowly dragging over his skin. His breath hitched.
Her fingers were poised over his belt buckle when they heard the creaking of the stairs down to the basement. They quickly separated and tried to look normal. Hyde grabbed a Universe magazine from the table. 
Forman sat down in Hyde’s usual chair, looking put out. Fez sat in the lawn chair. “This summer sucked,” Forman said. 
“Of course it sucked, you didn’t do anything,” Hyde pointed out. “My summer was great.” 
Forman frowned. “You haven’t done anything either!” 
“Yes, he has,” Fez said. “Every time I want to hang out with him he is with a girl somewhere. I am sick of it.” 
“What girl?” Forman asked. 
“Yeah, Steven, what girl?” Jackie asked. 
“None of you know her,” Hyde said. 
“Boring.” Forman tapped his foot. “I wish I had someone to fool around with.” 
“Call Donna,” Jackie said. “You know she’s probably up for it.” 
Hyde nodded. “Unless she met a perfect robot guy on Calaria.” 
“She doesn’t date cyborgs, the robot part makes her uncomfortable,” Forman said. “But she could have found a human guy to replace me.” 
“She’s not going to replace you. She loves you. Now, go send her a transmission or something,” Jackie said. 
“Oh, I’ll help you, I love picking out the little pictures to send in the messages,” Fez said. 
“You really think she still loves me?” Forman asked. 
“I know she does. She won’t shut up about it during our calls.” Jackie flipped her hair over her shoulder. 
Forman smiled. “I’m gonna go send her a transmission. Let’s go, Fez.” 
The two of them got up and rushed up the stairs. Once the door was closed, Hyde turned to Jackie. “That was close.” 
“Yeah, it was.” Jackie bit her lip. “I’m… I’m kind of sick of hiding this thing between us. It’s annoying having to check to make sure no one’s around and everything.” 
“So… what, you want to break it off?” Hyde really didn’t want to break it off. He actually wanted to be her boyfriend. He’d been falling in love with her ever since their very first date on Galactic Veteran’s Day. 
“No!” Jackie said, too quickly. “No. I like being with you. I, um… I know you don’t do girlfriends, though.” 
“Well… I think I could make an exception. For you.” 
She grinned. “Are you serious?” 
“Yeah. I like you.” 
“I like you too!” She quickly closed the distance between them and kissed him. “And I’d really like to be your girlfriend.” 
“Really? What about Kelso?” 
“What about him? We’re done forever. I don’t love him, and I haven’t loved him for a long time. He can just deal with it when he finds out. I’m allowed to move on, it just happens to be with one of his closest friends.” 
“So, you wanna tell everyone?” 
“If you’re okay with that.” 
“Yeah. Then we won’t have to sneak around.” He smiled a little. “All right. We can tell the losers about it later. Right now… Can we continue what we were doing before they interrupted?” 
Jackie nodded. “Let’s go to your room. Boyfriend.” 
He chuckled. “Come on, weirdo.” 
Jackie giggled as they went back to his room. He had a good feeling about having a relationship with her, strangely. 
~
Eric and Fez were walking down to the basement. They’d sent a transmission to Donna yesterday, but they’d gotten no response. Eric had told his mom to let him know if they got a message back. 
“I hope she’s okay. She's probably just out, right?” Eric asked. 
“I’ve told you three times already, yes!” 
Eric shook his head and went down the stairs to the basement. He stopped short. Jackie and Hyde were on the couch, making out. Their legs were tangled together. “What the hell?” 
They parted the kiss but stayed tangled together. “What?” Hyde asked, turning to look at him. 
“You’re making out with the devil, that’s what!” 
“It was hot,” Fez said. 
Hyde and Jackie grimaced and separated from each other, sitting on the couch normally. Eric sat in Hyde’s usual chair and Fez sat in the lawn chair. “Are you two together?” Eric asked. 
Hyde draped his arm around Jackie’s shoulders. “Yep.” 
“For how long?” 
“Since yesterday,” Jackie said. “But we’ve been fooling around for almost three months.” 
“Three months? And you’ve kept it hidden?” Eric wasn’t all that surprised that he hadn’t known. He hadn’t been around very often. But it was still shocking. 
“Yeah,” Hyde said. “Jackie’s the chick I’ve been fooling around with all summer. Then we got sick of hiding it.” 
“No, we decided that we like each other a lot and we wanted to be together officially,” Jackie said. Hyde nodded. 
Eric furrowed his brow. “Hyde, you actually like her? Romantically?”
“Yeah, get over it.” 
He shook his head. “No, I refuse to believe that until I see it.” 
His mom came down the stairs, bending down to look at them from the top of the stairs. "Donna sent a transmission back! And stop picking on Steven for having a girlfriend." 
"You knew about Jackie and Hyde? Wait, wait, Donna." Eric ran up the stairs, the others close behind. 
The five of them crowded around the transmitter. Eric pressed the button, and the message came up on screen. 
DONNA: Eric, we were kidnapped. We were taken by some mysterious ship. It's just me and Kelso. You need to save us before I murder him. 
"Oh my God!" Jackie exclaimed. "Kidnapped? We have to go!" 
"Where would we go? We don't know who took them," Hyde pointed out. 
Jackie gave him a look. "We still have to go and find them!" 
"Wait, Eric, does Donna still have the location ring you gave her?" Fez asked. "The ring could send location signals so you could find each other." 
"I doubt it. But it's worth a shot." Eric ran upstairs and got his own ring, which was paired to the one he'd given Donna. Jackie and Kelso had similar ones, but Jackie had thrown hers into a black hole. He went back downstairs and pressed the center of the ring down, sending a location signal. 
Jackie grabbed Hyde's hand tightly as they waited for the signal. After a few minutes, they got one back. A small hologram appeared out of the ring. "The Kenosha Belt! That's not too far from Planet Place, we can get there quickly," Eric said. 
"There's an asteroid field between here and there," his mom said. She frowned. "Oh, just be careful. I'll tell Bob. You four go. Wait, I'll make you some sandwiches to take with you. Oh, and a first-aid kit." 
"Mom," Eric whined. 
She put her hands on her hips. "You still need to be safe. I will be quick." She rushed into the kitchen. 
"I can't believe they got captured," Eric said. "Who would even do this?" 
"I don't know, man," Hyde said. "But we'll kick his ass." He clapped Eric's shoulder. "It's gonna be fine." 
"Aw, Steven, you're so motivational!" Jackie crooned, hugging his arm. 
Hyde frowned. "No, I'm not. Shut up." Jackie just grinned and kissed his cheek. 
"See, what kind of boyfriend tells his girlfriend to shut up?" Eric asked. 
"The kind who's only been a boyfriend for one day, give me a break." Hyde left the room, following Eric's mom to the kitchen. 
"Guys! Our friends are kidnapped!" Fez said. "This is not the time to be fighting about relationships." 
"You're right," Eric said. "I'll get the ship ready." 
~
Donna groaned internally. She was stuck in a small, gray room with Kelso. All she had were her clothes and the things in her pockets. She was incredibly glad she'd been missing Eric that morning and had decided to keep the ring he'd given her in her pocket. 
"They're gonna come save us, and Jackie will be so glad I'm not dead that she'll take me back right away! We'll do it the second we're alone," Kelso said. 
"Or they'll come save us and Jackie won't take you back because you're a dirty bastard." 
"Shut up!" the guard snapped at them from the small window in the door. 
Donna rubbed her forehead. "I hope Eric gets here soon."
"Me too. Just so I can prove to you that Jackie still wants me." 
She groaned again, burying her head in her hands. 
~
Hyde sat with Jackie in the back row of the Vista Spaceship. Her fingers were drumming on his thigh. He wasn't sure if it was a nervous habit or if she was being a tease. 
"Asteroid coming up," Hyde said, pointing to a small space rock out the windshield. 
Forman turned to avoid it. "You don't have to point out every asteroid, Hyde, I can see them." 
"Just making sure, man." He leaned forward a little. Jackie started to move her hand from his thigh, but he grabbed it with his own hand. He glanced at her to make sure it was okay before he laced his fingers through hers. He leaned forward again, towards the front row. "What's the plan once we get there?" 
Forman shrugged. "I don't know. Find Donna and Kelso?" 
"We will have to get on the ship that captured them first," Fez said. "We will infiltrate the ship, then begin our search. Once we find them, we take out the bad guys and get back to the Vista Spaceship, which we will take home. And then we will all laugh at Kelso because Hyde stole his girlfriend." 
"Great plan," Hyde said. 
"It's good enough," Forman said. 
"Eric, asteroid," Jackie said, pointing to another rock floating towards them. Forman turned around it. 
"You two are made for each other," Forman muttered. 
~
"Oh, that looks like a ship that would take Donna and Kelso," Fez said. 
Up ahead was a foreboding flat ship, floating leisurely among the debris from the nearby asteroid field. Eric nodded. "I'll find a place to land, I guess." 
He found a clear expanse of space on the outside of the ship and landed the Vista Spaceship. Eric handed out masks to everyone so they could breathe until they got inside. They got out and started searching for the entrance. 
Jackie put her hands on her hips as she walked across the top of the ship. "So, what are we even looking for? Some kind of door or-" She screamed as she got sucked into the ship. 
Hyde and Fez rushed over. "Jackie!" Hyde called out. "Are you okay?" 
"I found the entrance!" she called back. 
Hyde went in after her. Fez and Eric followed. They landed in a barren hallway. It split off in two directions. 
Hyde helped Jackie up from the ground. “You good?” he asked. 
“Yeah, I’m fine. The ground’s not as hard as it looks.” She smiled. “It’s sweet that you were worried about me.” 
He gave her a look and changed the subject. “There’s two hallways, what do we want to do?” 
“Uh… Split up and look for clues?” Eric suggested. 
Hyde smirked. “Sure thing, Scooby. Jackie and I will take the left hallway. Send a signal or scream really loud if something happens.” 
He and Jackie went down the left hallway. Eric turned to Fez. “Let’s go, I guess.” 
They started down the right hallway. It seemed like no one was around. 
At the end of the hallway, the paths converged. Eric looked around the corner to see if Jackie and Hyde were on their way. They were walking hand in hand down the hall, slowly. Jackie tugged on Hyde’s hand and he turned to her, his back to Eric. 
Eric’s shout was muffled by the piece of cloth placed over his mouth as someone grabbed him from behind. The person dragged him away, and he felt his consciousness slipping as he breathed in through the fabric. 
2 - Truth Serum
Jackie pulled Hyde to face her. “What’s the plan when we find them?” 
“You sound very confident in us.” 
“Of course. We’re great, of course we’re gonna find them. What are we gonna do when that happens?” 
“I’ll kick ass and you help Donna and Kelso?” 
Jackie smiled. She opened her mouth to say something, then a door opened behind her. Donna’s voice came from inside. “Help! Someone help!”  
“Oh my God!” Jackie turned and rushed into the room. Hyde followed her. 
As soon as they entered the room, the door shut behind them. Someone grabbed Hyde from behind and pushed him into a chair. Restraints came from the back of the chair and wrapped around his arms and torso. He struggled against them, trying to see who had captured him. 
Someone in a dark cloak forced Jackie into a similar chair across from him. She kicked at the person, but none of her kicks landed. 
Once the two of them were restrained, two cloaked figures stood between them. “Who the hell are you people? And where's Donna?” Hyde asked. 
They removed their cloaks, and Jackie groaned. “Casey? Why the hell are you here?” She looked at the other guy. “And I don’t even know you.” 
“I am Tomas. I was an exchange student. Hyde and Fez left me on the rings of Michigan. I am getting revenge.” 
Hyde chuckled. “That was funny.” 
“Not to me,” Tomas said. 
Hyde looked at Casey. “What about you? Why are you here?” 
Casey shrugged. “I got nothing else to do, and Jackie’s not seeing my brother anymore so I figured I could get in on that.” 
Hyde narrowed his eyes at Casey. “Yeah, about that, she’s my girlfriend, dillhole.” 
Casey raised his eyebrows and smiled. “So, Jackie Burkhart is slumming it with Steven Hyde.” He looked at Jackie. “You could do better.” 
Jackie glared at Casey. “What do you freaks want, anyway?” 
“Tom, bring it out,” Casey said with a sinister smile. 
Tomas brought out a sleek black box. He set it on a table between Jackie and Hyde. Casey opened it up to reveal a syringe and vial of bright green liquid. “Truth serum,” Casey said. 
“And what are you gonna use that for?” Hyde asked. 
“We’re gonna have some fun, Hyde.” Casey waved his hand at Tomas, who took out the syringe and filled it with the serum. Casey turned Hyde’s arms so that his veins showed, then Tomas injected the serum into his blood. 
~
They all waited a second for something to happen. “See, you morons can’t even get truth serum right,” Steven said. “Nothing even-” He cut himself off and blinked a few times. “My head feels weird.” 
"Steven, are you okay?" Jackie asked. 
"I'm, um… I feel fine." He giggled. Jackie had never heard such a sound come out of his mouth. "I feel great." 
Casey furrowed his brow. "Tom, man, how much did you give him?" 
"Double dose. I wanted to make sure it worked," Tomas said. 
"You moron, that's too much!" Casey groaned. "Whatever. This'll still be fun. When'd you start dating Jackie?" 
"Yesterday, but I've liked her a lot longer than that. And we've been fooling around for months." Steven closed his eyes and smiled. His words started slurring. "You know, she tastes great."
Jackie felt heat rush to her cheeks. "Steven!" 
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "What? It's true." 
Casey smirked. "And how long have you liked Jackie?" 
Steven giggled again. "Since we went out on Galactic Veteran's Day. That's when I started falling for her." 
"Aww," Jackie crooned. "That's so sweet!" 
Steven smiled at her. "Jackie, you wanna know something? I'm in love with you." 
Jackie's smile dropped, even as a thrill went through her body. "What?" 
"I love you. You're the first girl I've ever loved." 
Casey laughed. "This is better than what I expected." 
"Steven, I am going to kill you if this isn't true," Jackie said. 
"Of course it is true, he's on truth serum," Tomas said. 
Steven giggled again. "This is fun, man. Jackie, isn't this great?" 
"No! Ugh, this is so not how I wanted your first love confession to go." 
Steven smiled, an infuriatingly cute smile. “You’re so cute when you’re mad. Like an angry kitten.” 
Jackie glared at him. “How long does this last?” 
Casey grinned. “We’ll find out.”
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zalrb · 2 years ago
Note
I tried searching your blog,
How did you feel about the Hyde cheating on Jackie storyline, given all of that cheating nonsense she dealt with with Kelso?
Yay, a Hyde and Jackie question! (fuck Danny Masterson, he can choke).
Um, obviously as a shipper I don't like the storyline and I don't excuse Hyde but I get it and I think it works for the character, as in it makes sense that Hyde did that because it's a defensive reaction, like
1. Hyde's parents abandoned him
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and when they were around, they were neglectful at best
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2. This is the first real relationship Hyde has and it requires a level of vulnerability from him that he isn't used to giving -- because of 1 --
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so this is all new/scary to him, it took him how long to even refer to Jackie as his girlfriend but in his own way, he’s consistently putting himself out there for her,
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including potentially losing his friendship with Kelso
3. By this point, there had already been the Annette incident
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and Kelso had been needling at Hyde and had been trying to get in between them for weeks
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and during the Annette incident, he revealed an insecurity he had about their relationship (even if not presented in that way)
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and that sort of comes back up just before he hooks up with the nurse
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So, with all of these things for context, I understand Hyde seeing them on the couch and not confronting them and just bailing
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because that's what he's used to happening to him (see #1) and he’d already done something that doesn’t feel comfortable to him, which is express how he feels
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Plus, in his mind, he'd already given Jackie a second chance by letting the Annette thing go  and he felt like his trust was violated again, and later on in the season, he tells Kelso that he’d never felt this way about a girl before
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so seeing the two of them together when he thinks the two of them had cheated deeply hurt him
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and I think it’s also important to note that in the Annette incident he talks about how Jackie “makes you stupid“ because he feels stupid for falling for her
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and this time, he says that he feels like an idiot, which I take to mean that, he gets back together with Jackie after she told him she loved him and he feels like an idiot for believing that she did
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he went against his natural defence mechanisms because he loves her and wants to be with her,
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and it led to what he thought was another betrayal and he reacted defensively.
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I know that some people and maybe myself have said that he cheated as a way of breaking up, I think that’s a bit debatable particularly because he doesn’t say ‘no’ when she asks if he still has a girlfriend
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and he couldn’t be sure that somebody would see him and the next day/episode when Kelso talks to him, Hyde at first acts like nothing is wrong, like he didn’t see Kelso and Jackie on the couch, like he didn’t sleep with someone else, he doesn’t try to find Jackie either, he just does his regular thing
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and he himself refers to it as cheating, which implies that in his mind he’s still with Jackie
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What I will say is that he doesn’t deny it when Kelso directly brings it up, and he also wasn’t trying to hide what he was doing when he did it, like Kitty was only a few feet away, Kelso works in the hotel, Jackie visits him there frequently so I think it’s more accurate to say that for him it was a they-see-if-they-see-because-I’m-doing-nothing-wrong situation, that he felt completely justified in doing what he did, kind of like tit for tat until he realizes he wasn’t justified at all
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As we see in season 6 when he has a date with another girl after Jackie chooses him, Hyde isn’t interested in two-timing Jackie or being dishonest with her
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Kelso, on the other hand, consistently lied to Jackie to keep cheating with hook-ups like Pam Macey or two-timing her with Laurie. In season 4, he says that his cheating is a direct result of her verbal abuse, which I thought was a story point that happened way too late in their relationship and that goes absolutely nowhere but even if I did take that as a story point that contextualizes his behaviour, that doesn’t change the fact that Kelso has a pattern of cheating on Jackie and lying to her
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and using her for her money
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and stringing her along
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and that just wasn’t what was happening with Hyde and Jackie so while I would of course have preferred that he hadn’t cheated on her at all, it’s one of the very few times I’ve found cheating as an obstacle for a ship to work where there’s no character assassination for the cheater.
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landwriter · 2 years ago
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Oaths | Dream/Hob | 46K | Explicit | Ongoing Ch.9: Going Out Alone (6K)
Falling In Love, Magical Realism, Dream is a Beautiful Fey Creature and Hob is a Handsome Bandit, Protective Hob Gadling, Protective Dream of the Endless, Historical References, Scotland, Middle English, Border Reiving, Adventure & Romance, Fairy Tale Retellings, Alternate Universe - Historical/Medieval/Fairy Tale, finding beauty in hard times, Oaths & Vows, Curses, Outdoor Sex, First Time Blowjobs, Frottage, Anal, Kissing in the Rain, really a lot of banging, Hair Braiding, Dirty Talk, Ballads, Duty, Friendship/Love, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication, Canon Echoes, Self-Denial, Repression, Tenderness, Confessions, Bathing/Washing, Strangers to Lovers, Lovers to Friends, Friends to Idiots, BAMF Hob Gadling, (absolutely fucking feral Hob Gadling), unhinged words and deeds, or: a man and a fey walk into a meadow and they're both equally insane
As a child, Duncan had been frightened of the dark. He thought this a well-reasoned fear, for the dark was filled with animals and murderous men, and, if you listened to the stories, which he always had, fearsome creatures that were not either. As a grown man, he liked to piss as deep into the night as he dared walk. It was peaceful, cleared his head, and reminded him he was the monster in the night now. And with this comforting thought, he unlaced his breeches and braced a hand against a tree that swayed with the drink as badly as he. He fumbled out his prick, and began to piss beatifically as any man ever had. Looking up at the stars betwixt the night’s clouds, he thought he surely understood the monks of Kelso and nuns of Saint Mary’s, robbing this little piece of Godly solitude for himself. No sooner had he named it such than was it at once sacked by the clamourous noise of cracking branches. Monster might he be, but here was the rude reminder that he was not alone in any night. His dagger was drawn and a shout was half out of his throat when a man burst into the clearing and drew up short at the sight of him. “Duncan?” He recognized the voice before he made out the face in the darkness. “Rabbie,” he said, around his hammering pulse. “What manner of danger follows you?”
A chapter about love, and peril, but mostly love. Or: it takes a village (to raise a Hob)
[Read on AO3]
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wovetalesarc · 3 months ago
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❝   thank   you   for   meeting   me   at   the   park   ,   emily.   i   hope   you   don't   mind   that   anya   &   bond   joined   us.   ❞   the   master   of   disguise   pats   the   spot   on   the   bench   next   to   him   while   his   eyes   keep   looking   back   to   watch   his   daughter   run   around   in   the   grass   ,   their   family   dog   not   too   close   behind   ,   happily   chasing   her.   he   hadn't   intended   to   bring   them   along   when   he   made   plans   to   speak   to   emily   alone   ,   but   he   had   no   babysitter   to   leave   them   with , his usual people still recovering from their summer vacation in london.   he's   sure   this   whole   scenario   probably   looks   like   a   cover   for   them   to   talk   about   work   or   their   next   assignment   ━━   he   &   emily   never   really   meet   in   person   unless   it's   to   talk   business.   however   ,   in   this   instance   ,   he   isn't   here   to   speak   about   work.   in   an   odd   turn   of   events   ,   loid   wants   to   talk   about   personal   matters   for   once   ━━   matters   that   he   never   thought   he'd   be   brave   enough   to   venture   ,   especially   with   how   busy   he's   always   kept   himself   since   joining   WISE   all   those   years   ago.   silence   falls   over   him   as   he   waits   for   emily   to   join   him   ,   struggling   for   the   right   words   to   say   ,   clearing   his   throat   but   nothing   comes   out.   SILVER   TONGUED   AGENT   IS   SUDDENLY   SPEECHLESS   .   .   .   no   one   has   ever   managed   to   make   him   question   himself   before   ,   but   then   again   ,   that's   what   makes   emily   so   special.
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❝   look   at   how   peaceful   they   are.   ❞   loid   tilts   his   head   toward   anya   &   bond   ,   who   have   now   taken   to   jumping   over small sand piles in the sandbox.   one   part   of   loid's   mind   cringes   at   the   sight   ,   since   he   just   did   anya's   laundry   the   day   before   ,   but   the   other   part   of   him   is   incredibly   touched   by   the   sight   ━━   he   loves   seeing   her   so   happy   &   carefree   without   a   worry   about   the   dangers   in   the   world.   ❝   it's   moments   like   this   that   make   the   work   we   do   all   the   more   worth   it.   if   i   can   make   anya   feel   safe   ,   then   i   know   i've   done   my   job.   ❞   loid   takes   a   deep   breath   ,   body   turning   to   face   emily   completely   ,   giving   her   his   full   attention.   ❝   i   would   like   to   have   some   semblance   of   peace   too   ,   believe   it   or   not.   i   have   given   myself   fully   to   WISE   for   so   long   that   i   hardly   know   what   it   truly   means   to   have   joy.   to   have   peace.   for   the   first   time   in   my   life   ,   i   think   i've   come   close   to   finding   it.   anya   helped   me   open   my   eyes   ,   but   she   is   not   the   only   one   i   refer   to.   ❞   the   bold   agent   takes   over   as   he   reaches   for   emily's   hand   ,   resting   his   hand   over   hers   ,   blue   eyes   sharp   &   staring   right   at   her   ━━   he   wonders   if   she   can   sense   how   fast   his   heart   is   beating.   ❝   emily   ,   ❞   he   begins   softly   ,   voice   dropping   low.   ❝   before   i   say   anything   ,   i   must   know ━━ are   you   currently   seeing   anyone   at   this   moment   ?   ❞
˗ˏˋ     ᵖʳᵒˡᵒᵍᵘᵉ·     dear   reader   ﹕   @satellitewar   as   emily   kelso.
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thatseventiesbitch · 1 year ago
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My latest drabble, where Hyde is the godfather to Eric and Donna's daughter Leia, has me thinking about this very unhinged AU I Will Never Write:
It is based off the movie Life As We Know It.
Eric and Donna have their happily-ever-after post season 8, and have baby Leia. They name Hyde as Leia's godfather and Jackie as Leia's godmother, because these are their two closest friends, even knowing Jackie and Hyde's history with each other (lost loves of each other's lives) and that they do not get along now. A lot of other stuff happens, drama within the gang, Kelso and Jackie, etc.
Just after Leia's first birthday, tragedy strikes. Both Eric and Donna are suddenly and tragically killed in a plane accident.
Jackie and Hyde are the godparents/people Eric and Donna have named in their will to take care of Leia (together) if anything were to happen to them. So after their death, baby Leia is to be raised by Jackie and Hyde (with a lot of help from Red and Kitty, who just can't stay away). Lots of growing pains ensue.
At times, everyone really questions why Eric and Donna left these specific directions in their will (for Leia to be raised by Jackie and Hyde together), but it becomes clear over time that Jackie and Hyde balance one another out perfectly and that Leia needs a balance of each of their influences in her life to thrive. And Jackie and Hyde also fall back in love with each other during this process and they all become one big mushy happy family 🥰
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70s-show-diary · 1 year ago
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Fic authors, self-rec! When you get this ask, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written; then pass this ask on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love! 🩷
Thank you for the ask @those70scomics! It's an honor to get asked this by one of my favorite That '70s Show fanfic authors!
(Since this is my That '70s Show blog, I'll specifically share my 5 favorite T7S fics that I've written.)
1.) Let's Grow Up Together (FF.net/AO3)
Summary: When one day Jackie receives a certain letter in the mail, she finds her life quickly beginning to change. Suddenly she is a grown-up navigating life on her own, drifting away from the sleepy little town of Point Place...and from her friends who can't seem to find the courage to discover life outside the Forman basement. Will her friends catch up, or will Jackie be all on her own? (Rated: T)
Comments: This is my season 7 'fix-it fic' and is my favorite T7S fic that I've ever written. Spoiler alert - everyone gets a happy and fulfilling ending, rich in growth and possibility (you know, unlike s8)!
2.) It Takes Time to Fall in Love (FF.net/AO3)
Summary: Jackie can't wait to meet her soulmate, but a dire mistake on her part leads her to mistakenly identify him as Michael, while Hyde watches his soulmate clock hit zero and immediately knows that it's Jackie. Years pass, Jackie with Michael, Hyde saying nothing as he knowingly watches from the side. Will this dynamic be permanent or will destiny bring the true soulmates together? (Rated: T)
Comments: This is the fic that I wrote for the 2017 Zenmasters Anthology project! That was the very first year of ZMA, and I was so honored to be a part of it. This was such a fun fic to write, and I really enjoyed weaving the soulmate clock concept into the timeline of the show. Plus, as part of ZMA, (I believe now former) tumblr user @/hydejackies made some gorgeous artwork for my story: Part 1 and Part 2.
3.) Between the Scenes (FF.net/AO3)
Summary: Little missing moments/one-shots from the show that serve to further develop the characters and/or plot. These scenes take place between the scenes of certain episodes. (Rated: T)
Comments: This is an open-ended project that I add stand-alone one-shots to whenever I watch an episode of T7S and feel like there was a missing moment that we didn't get to see. Stories that fit within the show (and into canon, to a degree) are my favorite to write, especially if I get to add context to a concept or plot point from the show that maybe wasn't fully realized. I love finding a seed of something from the show and growing a garden with it, which is what I try to do here.
4.) The Speech (FF.net/AO3)
Summary: When Jackie's friends all blow off her graduation party, she decides that maybe they're not her real friends after all. So when a week passes with no sign of Jackie, they all begin to wonder if they've lost her for good this time. Can amends be made? (One-shot.) (Rated: T)
Comments: I hate the way the episode "Gimme Shelter" (7.20) ends with Jackie just shrugging off the way her friends treated her, and this fic is my way of making up for it. Plus, @those70scomics adapted this one-shot into a comic back in 2015 which is the coolest thing ever!
5.) The Renewal (FF.net/AO3)
Summary: Kelso and Donna are away in California. Eric spends his days sleeping in a stupor of self-loathing and depression. Fez meets a new foe, named Fenton. This leaves Steven Hyde and Jackie Burkhart together all summer in the Forman basement. One of many things Jackie and Hyde fans have never gotten is a story for what led up to that fateful kiss on that seemingly normal day. Well... (Rated: T)
Comments: I debated whether I wanted to include this fic here, because it sometimes makes me cringe when I read what I wrote 10+ years ago as a teenager. Plus, it was my first attempt at fanfic writing and there is sooo much I would change about it if I were to write it now. (I've toyed with the idea of re-writing it, but I just don't have the time these days.) But all that being said...it was the first piece of fanfiction I ever wrote, so in that respect, I'm proud of it. I discovered my passion for fanfic writing with this fic and discovered the wonderful community of T7S fanfic writers, so it will always hold a special place in my heart.
I believe all the fanfic writers that I know here on tumblr have already answered this ask. However, if you haven't, consider yourself now tagged! :)
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tzaharasykes · 1 year ago
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“there are always problems in the J/K relationship, but that's a rant for another time”
Can today be the day that rant comes? I feel like talking to you today!
Where do I even begin?
There's really no denying how comical Jackie and Kelso are together. Their dynamic felt funny and realistic for two popular/good-looking teenagers in high school, and only high school. You know they would never make it past that, and that's the way it should have been. Because the longer they stay together, the more they keep going in circles.
Again and again it's the same thing. They gush at how hot they are, how great they look together, how much they "love" each other. He is an unfaithful lecher. She demands he be something he isn't and will never be, the type of girl to try and change a shitty man. He is an immature man-child and remains that way for the entirety of the series (being a father changed absolutely nothing, even though it should have, it didn't). With him, she is insecure, incredibly bossy, rude, and looks down on him. She wants him to be a man, desperate to make him her ideal man, but he just isn't. But he is beautiful, and she can't let go of that. This was one of her (stupidest) dilemmas when trying to choose between him and Hyde. She tells Donna, "Michael is so beautiful. And you spend a lot more time looking at someone than you do talking to them." My god.
So they fight, break up, fall back in "love", then break up. Rinse and repeat. The poor excuse of a spin-off tells us that this has not changed. Jackie is essentially a woman-child the same as how Kelso remains a man-child. It is all superficial and terrible, something the spin-off refuses to acknowledge because of reasons that don't at all matter to canon. They are the same miserable people they were decades ago.
Kelso "loves" Jackie so much that his eyes never stop roaming around other women. He begins his "love" by flirting with and kissing Pam Macy behind the gym. He is deeply sorry only once he is caught. He continues his "love" for her by having sex with Eric's sister, then eventually having sex with seemingly every woman in Point Place who happens to blink his way. He does this while he is with Jackie and while he is trying to "win" her back from Hyde. He "loves" her by betraying her trust constantly and throwing a hissy fit when she's finally had enough of it. He whines when she moves on, even though he runs off like a coward to sleep with all of California. He gives Hyde a hard time over a hurt ego, even though he has never been a respectable boyfriend to Jackie.
Meanwhile, Jackie for the first half of the original show wants to believe that he can change. He's got the looks, and the charm, and if he is able to land a good job and support her, she believes they will be set for life. She pictures a future with him that is only a fantasy. When they are apart, she idealizes him. But once she is within his vicinity again, reality hits. In this relationship, she constantly comes off as vain, annoyed, and unsupportive, especially when he began his modeling job, something she felt entitled to. She also seems to care more about her money and status than she ever did about him as a person. She doesn't respect him and dismisses his feelings. He once tries to communicate this to her, but she tells him it is the stupidest thing she's ever heard. He is a fool, yes, but the way she shot that back like it was a joke would hurt anyone. She cares more about herself than she does for Kelso. With Kelso, only what she wants matters.
It is a relationship that is doomed to either fail or be miserable forever. After over a decade since the show ended, the writers decided on the latter, erased any and all character development (primarily Jackie's, which they've already destroyed once with season 8), and attempted to glue the pieces of waste together to resemble whatever the characters once were, essentially reviving something that should have stayed buried in the landfill.
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the-bar-sinister · 7 months ago
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In Justice We Trust (139488 words) by thesavagesabretooth
catch up here
With Simon Blackquill and Athena Cykes assigned as their psychologists, the Phantom and Fulbright must grapple with their identity, their deeds, their future, and their love for the twisted samurai whom they betrayed.
All the while, Edgeworth and Wright find their relationship tested as they walk the narrow path between pursuing real justice, and the dark age of the law.
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December 25, 4:25 pm
They had some time to kill before Pearl would arrive. Simon and Halblicht had gone to speak privately for a moment in another room, leaving Athena with the nervous Apollo. Or maybe Clay. he was bouncing his leg under the table again.
Athena tucked her hair over her ear with a quiet smile. 
“Holding up okay, guys?"
She was admittedly a little nervous. All this ghost stuff sent a muffled wave of emotion through her, along with the memory of her mother’s face. Pearl the spirit medium was going to prove whether or not Bobby and Kelso were literally haunting their own killers; prove if Apollo’s close friend–more than close friend– had fallen into his body after the wretched way he’d died.
And maybe, if she was lucky, allow her to look her mother in the eyes for the first time in 7 years.
"I'm okay," he murmured. His own nerves seemed to match hers. "I was just trying to decide something…"
Athena leaned on her hand, looking at him with a curious tilt of her head. “Maybe I can help?”
"It was if I should ask Pearl not to say anything about my own situation until we get back to the hotel. it seems like… a lot to deal with at the police station. Either way that it goes."
Athena nodded. “Yeah…that’s a good question.” She reached out to pat his shoulder. “It's gonna be a lot either way, I’m sure. I guess it just depends if you wanna rip the bandaid off or not.” 
He sagged against her hand. "What about you? You're not going to ask to talk to your mom here, are you? Or are you? I guess that would be a good way to prove Pearls' abilities…"
“I…I dunno. I’ll admit I’m kinda scared to.” Athena said with a gentle smile. “But it’d prove it nice and easy if she could manage to channel mom. So I may bite the bullet and do it here.” 
Clay– or Apollo– took a deep, shuddering breath, and stared up at the ceiling. "Alright. If you do it here, I'll do it here, too. Rip the bandaid off, like you said."
Athena let herself fall against his shoulder, 
“Then we can recuperate back at the hotel. Everyone’s probably gonna need it.” She laughed weakly. “Man, how do you think Interpol would handle it if it turned out their dead agent wound up in 24’s body?” 
"I donno," Apollo shook his head. "I donno how I'll react. Do you think they'll throw a party or a funeral?”
“I…I think it’d be kinda sad if they held a funeral for someone who had to attend it, maybe? I mean, even if she’d probably still be handcuffed or under observation…I know I’d be kinda bummed out by it?” She put her hand on her chin with a furrow of her brow. “...or find it hilarious.” 
He leaned on his hand thoughtfully. "I guess if it turns out to be the case, they can just ask her."
Athena laughed, running her hand through her hair. 
“Yeah…though if that is her, she seems a little…mixed up with 24. Confused. In a mixed state.“ 
"Well I mean, you saw me– us?-- before you suggested the idea, right?" he murmured. "It's not normal to have someone else in your head. It's not the first conclusion you jump to when you start having weird feelings and thoughts."
Athena smiled delicately at him. 
“Exactly. It feels like a stretch until you really think about it. And it’s not like it’s the sort of thing most people come to on their own right away.” She gestured vaguely towards the door “...especially if you’ve had all understanding of any emotion at all beaten out of you.” 
"Yeah. If it's the case– and I'm not saying it is for any of us– but if it is, I guess I have some sympathy for her."
“Me too....emotions aren’t easy when they don’t come naturally.” She smiled a little and leaned on her hands thoughtfully. “I’m genuinely curious…I don’t know which answer would be weirder.” 
"Me either. Guess we'll have to see on the other side."
There was a hesitant knock on the door.
Athena looked up suddenly and called out almost without thinking. “Come in!!”
The door opened, and Pearl Fey slid in. Though she was only two years younger than Athena herself, Pearl always projected a youthful energy that made people guess her far younger, and the same quality was on display today as she crept into the room and straightened her robes.
"Hi Ms. Athena. Mr. Polly."
Apollo put on a warm smile for Pearl, even though Athena could feel his anxiety spiking. "Hey, Pearls."
Athena flashed her a bright smile, trying to ignore the way his anxiety bounced through her own system.
“Hey Pearl! Man, am I glad to see you!” 
"Good to see you too! Mr. Nick said you needed me! Oh, and that pretty agent lady said she was going to um, "drag detective prime time and mr. modern samurai" in here in a minute. And something about a prisoner?"
"Kelso. Or 24. or whoever," Apollo nodded. "Sorry for throwing you in the deep end here, Pearly."
She shrugged and smiled. "I'm kinda used to it. Um… can I ask what's up though?"
“....Detective Prime Time” Athena murmured with a shake of her head. The nicknames kept evolving, but somehow she suspected she’d always be ‘Miss Edutainment’ to the woman.
“Yeah ah, so we’ve been investigating a murder up here in Cauli…two dead interpol agents, while on the trail of an espionage ring. Only the Interpol agent sent to guide us was killed and replaced by one of the ring’s ‘assets’...people trained in a horrible facility to be used as weapons. We took her captive after figuring out she’d replaced Agent Sam Wan Kelso, and now she’s in custody– that’s Number 24…but she’s agreed to cooperate and help us!”
Pearl chewed on her thumb, listening, and nodded for Athena to continue.
She smiled nervously at Pearl. “...which is why we need your help. She knows things she supposedly shouldn’t…and we want you to do your spirit medium thing to see if we can confirm if there’s a supernatural hand in all this…with her, and with the man we used to call The Phantom. ...and maybe a few other ah, situations, too. Ghosts all the way down, Pearls.” 
Pearl opened up her mouth and closed it a couple of times. She looked at Apollo, and then at Athena again. "Um. The Phantom… that wasn't… the guy who was at breakfast with you and Mr. Simon this morning, was it?"
“Uh…” Athena held her hands up with an awkward but cheery grin. “Most people aren’t really supposed to know that, but yeah. That’s him. Robert Halblicht’s the name he chose for himself, though.” 
Pearl chewed on her thumb again. "Oh, I see. Um. Wow this is… super weird…"
Apollo had gone silent, just listening.
Athena’s smile twitched “....did you ah…already notice something about him, Pearls?” 
There was another sharp knock on the door, but they didn't wait for permission to enter.
It was Agent Ash, flanked by Halblicht– who was straightening his tie– and Simon, whose hair looked a little bit more askew than usual.
Athena felt her face flush red, and decided it was polite not to comment. Instead, she gave them a flustered thumbs up “Hey! Simon, Halblicht…great to see you guys! Hello Agent Ash!”
Sheila smirked, barely stifling a snicker. “Sorry for the delay, Miss Edutainment. Your compatriots decided to pass the time in their own special way.”
Agent Ash wasn’t nearly as polite as she was. She turned a deeper shade of red and smiled awkwardly. 
“Sool. So uh, Simon, Halblicht…Pearl’s here!” She gestured towards the other girl “which means we can get started!”
She could feel the waves of embarrassment coming off of Simon, and Bobby– more off of Bobby, than sSimon who it seemed was more than just pretending not to be affected by it.
Sheila turned her attention to Pearl with a wink. 
“Thanks for making sure neither of them wandered off to get into trouble, young lady.” 
"Um… no problem," Pearl nodded. She fidgeted with the charm around her neck. "So, what would you like me to do first? I heard its kind of um, a complicated situation…"
Apollo glanced Athena's way.
“W..well.” Athena’s nerves hammered in her heart, the internal discord drowning out everything else as she took a breath. “If you need to prove it to Agent Ash, you’ve got the powers you have…I h-have a possible request that could prove them.” 
Pearl cocked her head. "Oh? Um, I'm happy to prove my powers if you need me to…"
Athena took a deep breath. “...would you be able to channel my mother, Metis Cykes for me?”
Sheila leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, watching intently. 
Pearl jumped, and covered her mouth. "Oh gosh, Miss Athena… your mother? Um, of course I could… you have a picture of her?"
"If she doesn't, I do," Simon said, from the corner where he was standing with Halblicht. "But are you certain that's what you want to do, Cykes-dono? Here and now?"
"I mean, it's not like I can only channel people once or something," Pearl murmured, playing with the sleeve of her robes. It wasn't clear whether she was actually trying to be heard or not.
“I..I can always ask for a more private audience later.” Athena said with resolve, glancing towards Simon with a nod “This is very much what I want.”
She reached into her jacket pocket where she found her wallet, and tucked inside it, a folded up photograph. “alright…I just need to give you this and you’re good?” 
Pearl nodded. "I just need a name, and a face and I can channel somebody. Um, as long as they're actually dead. And not currently being channeled by somebody else. If they're being channeled by someone else, I can't do it."
.Athena noticed that Simon and Halblicht shared a glance.
“You can’t do it if they’re being channeled by someone else…” Athena tilted her head “does that include Possession?”
She unfolded the picture and glanced down at it. It was a photo taken not long after the official one hanging in the Space Museum…but this one had her in it, leaning near her mother as if trying to hide. Her mother’s face was crystal clear, smiling gently towards the camera as her hand rested atop Athena’s head.
She glanced at Simon, grimacing a little with a shrug. 
"Um, I actually don't know…I haven't run into many possessed people before," Pearl murmured. She held out her hand for the picture, and then looked over at Agent Ash. "Do you want me to summon her in here, or somewhere else?"
"Unless we need the suspect involved, I hardly see a reason to move," Simon said. He glanced at Halblicht who had moved closer to him again.
Sheila tilted her head. “It’s best not to alert the suspect until we perform the test on her. Just in case, it’s better if it’s a surprise.”
Athena bit her lip and nodded. “Here’s good. Everyone here needs to be for proof, or …or support.”
She realized she’d started shaking, and shifted to hide it by hugging her arm to her side. 
Someone touched her back, and she realized Simon– and Halblicht too– had come up next to her. "Athena– if you're not ready for this, Fey-dono could summon literally anyone else."
“I’m fine.” Athena said with a tense smile. She let herself lean into the reassurance and closed her eyes. “I know this isn’t going to be the last time, and…and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather summon than her.” 
Simon squeezed her shoulder. "If you're certain, Athena. Then the rest of us will bear quiet witness to your reunion."
Halblicht offered her a rather shaky thumbs up.
Athena returned it, her own hand shaking just a little before she stilled it.
“Thanks, Simon…The support is nice to have.” 
"You have it. Always." The two of them stepped back, giving her space.
Apollo stepped in beside her instead, and Pearl looked up from the picture. 
"Okay… I'm ready for this when you guys are. Miss Athena? Miss Agent Sheila?"
Sheila gave Pearl a little salute as she snapped her compact shut again “Please. I’m looking forward to having my worldview shaken more than it already has.”
Athena laughed a little at Sheila’s remark, before she fixed her hair and nodded. 
“I’m ready.”
She wasn’t– part of her wasn’t sure what she’d say, and she was sure Widget was flashing every emotion under the sun as she stood there smiling like a cheerful fool and waited to potentially come face to face with her dead mother.
Everyone in the room stood around Pearl in a loose circle; Sheila, Simon, and Halblicht further back, and she and Apollo at the forefront.
"Alright." Pearl put her hands together and smiled. "Good luck everybody."
Her fingers flicked in quick succession and she seemed to mutter a prayer. Athena felt all the emotions that she could sense from her go dead suddenly– and a strange aura filled the room. A tension, and expectancy.
Her heart nearly stopped at the sudden drop in emotions, the air felt heavy and strange as it weighed down upon her. An involuntary step back was aborted, only for her to stand nervously tugging her ponytail with the smile frozen on her face.
In a blink, the tension eased, and in that same blink– Pearl Fey was no longer there. 
Metis Cykes stood in the center of the circle with her hand upon her chest over the folds of unfamiliar clothes with a pensive frown etched on her face. 
There was a hiss of air behind her. "Cykes-sensei," Simon breathed, seemingly involuntarily. Athena felt his wave of emotions crash on her.
“....Well I’ll be damned in the court of Justitia…” Sheila murmured. “It's actually real.”
Metis’ head turned upwards in a slow and deliberate motion, a smile forming on her lips for the briefest moment before Athena was once more assailed with surprise.
“Simon…what in the world happened to you?” No sooner did she ask , than her eyes fell on Athena and her rictus smile. “Oh..”
“H-Hey mom!” Athena projected the joy that weakly pulsed in her own heart, lost in the ever rising volume of the emotions around her– she kept the hot, coiling feeling of anxiety pushed down and smothered instead of daring to let it show. “Mom…I..I know this probably a lot to take in…”
Metis placed her fingers against her forehead, massaging just over her nose with a quiet smile. “Athena dear…you’ve grown quite a bit, haven’t you? Which means…I’ve been dead for some time. Haven’t I?” 
"Your presence has been dearly missed, Cykes-sensei," Simon murmured, dropping into a little bow. "We're sorry to impose on you in this way."
Apollo, beside Athena, was shaking. He had started to hold himself again, and Athena could tell that he was desperately trying to hold his emotions in check as this proceeded.
Metis held up her hand with a musical chuckle “Don’t worry about that, Simon. Death is a lonely sea of cognition. If I’m honest, any opportunity to escape it I’ll be happy to take.”
She walked across the circle towards Athena, and Athena felt the swell of positive feelings from inside her even as her face remained composed and thoughtful. 
“I didn’t think I’d really get to see the way you’ve grown, Athena.” She reached over, and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “You’ve even outgrown the headphones we made you.”
Hot tears stung Athena’s eyes as she half fell against her with shaking shoulders
“Momma!” Her voice hiccuped, caught on her tears for a moment as she tried in vain to compose herself. “A l-lot’s happened, m-mom…things were really bad for a while but it’s gonna get better.” 
There was a hush over the room as the two of them reunited. Athena could hear the sound of Simon who was badly holding back his tears. Apollo– or perhaps Clay, or both– was shaking. Robert must have been present, because from him at least she felt a comforting glass pool of nothing.
Metis rubbed Athena’s back, letting her daughter cry against her as Athena tried to compose herself. The emotions of the room swirled inside her, her own rose and swirled within the ambiance …
Strangely, the glass pool of nothing was a comfort, allowing her own emotions to reflect back to where they belonged…flowing along with the tears as she looked up at her mother’s quiet smile for the first time in 7 long years…since their fight over her headphones.
“I can see that a lot happened, Athena.” Metis gave her a firm squeeze before she leaned back to look over the faces assembled with an analytical stare that Athena and Simon knew well. She was taking into account everyone in the room…listening to their voices and the sounds of their hearts, making judgements.
She spoke again, with her hand delicately atop Athena’s head. “...where are we? Is Aura around? This doesn’t look like the Cosmos Center.” 
"Aura isn't here, I'm afraid, Cykes-sensei," Simon explained quietly. He wiped his face with his sleeve. "And we are quite far from the Cosmos Space Center. Your daughter has become a fine defense attorney, and we are currently investigating a case with some supernatural elements. You've been summoned– much to our pleasure– as a mere demonstration of our medium's miraculous skill."
Athena nodded against her again, taking soft and hiccuping breaths as she wiped her face .
“I solved the mystery of your death,” she whispered, “but…but that’s a story for another time, mom. For now, I’m sorry she’s not here…and I’m sorry to have pulled you from th–”
“Death is a dream, Athena.” Athena felt the sting of sorrow and pain in those words. “It’s not a hardship to see the light again and to see how far you’ve all come since I've fallen asleep.”
She raised her hand to her chin. Just like Athena, her mother could be quiet…pensive…often keeping her emotions tightly wrapped within herself to the point that some saw her as cold towards everything but her work.
She and her mother had always shared the need for a mask between them and the outside world…it was no wonder Metis had kept a collection of Noh theater masks along with the other mementos of her heritage.
“But a case with supernatural elements, you say? Like that whole affair on TV with that Iris girl and the birdish lawyer? Pigeon Right, or something, yes?”
Athena’s smile grew performatively awkward. “Phoenix Wright, momma. He’s my boss.” 
"Our boss, actually," Apollo murmured, the first time he'd said anything at all. "But yeah. Just like that. Had to prove it was real."
Metis’ gaze turned towards Apollo for the first time, and she blinked. 
“...Justice, right? Apollo Justice. You used to play around the Cosmos Center all the time with Clay Terran, didn’t you? It’s a regular reunion, it seems!”
Athena hugged her tighter. She was sure it was obvious, both to her mother’s keen ears and to the eyes of everyone watching…she knew it would only be a short time, that it wouldn’t be forever.
She didn’t want to let her go and push her away, not again.
Metis noticed, gently rustling Athena’s hair with a furrow of concern on her brow. “You know. I heard a lot about the talents of spirit mediums from my own parents. The Ayasato clan in Japan, which became the Fey clan here in America. In a way, it feels like I’m a part of history being channeled through one of their number.”
She smiled wryly “Instead of just being history.”
The black humor drew a loud and swiftly aborted laugh from Agent Ash off against the wall…enough to snap her out of her dull and staring stupor. 
Simon laughed darkly, and shook his head."The same old Cykes-sensei. I see your humor hasn't passed away, at least."
“No, my dear protege. It wouldn’t be the same if it gave up the ghost. Or if the ghost gave it up.”
She let the joke hang there in the air with the barest laugh into her sleeve. Her mother’s famously dark humor and her academic and passionate love of Japanese history, space and psychology were a number of the things that had endeared both Blackquill siblings to her ever since she could remember.
Athena couldn’t help but laugh weakly herself. “Mom…”
Sheila had already broken down into a snicker .“not just a pretty stiff, a funny one too.”
It seemed she’d already gained another fan.
While the others were laughing, Apollo said, "We don't actually have anything specific we needed to ask you, Ms. Cykes. If you'd like to ask us anything, or if you'd like a moment alone with your daughter…"
“Ah…” Metis’ slight smile fell. “of course…”
She closed her eyes for a long moment of silence before she spoke. “Just one question..Then I may want some time with my daughter. I’ve got who knows how many years worth of telling her how proud I am to catch up on.” 
"Of course, Cykes-sensei," Simon said. Athena could feel his tension rise, though his voice was even to any other ear. "Anything."
“...” her expression smoothed into something quiet and placid, but Athena felt the low simmer of emotions inside her mother’s voice as she spoke again.
“Did we manage to launch our Hope for the future? Did it come back safely, despite my death?” Her eyes glanced down at Athena “...It wasn’t all for nothing, right?”
Tears rolled down Simon's face. "It wasn't all for nothing, Cykes-sensei. They made a movie of it, even. They called it a miracle."
The tension inside her relaxed, and she looped an arm around Athena’s shaking shoulders. Athena felt tears welling up in her eyes as she looked up at her mother.
“They did.” Athena sniffed softly. “...and Mr. Starbuck is even set to go back into space soon for another mission. It all really, really was a miracle.”
Metis chuckled. “...a miracle, hm?” It was…That stone. The stone I died for, and the hope of more like it from the probe…it was because I knew it would do wonders in the field of psychology and robotics.”
She leaned down to tap Widget with her fingertip. 
“It’s unique mineralogy was the special component that allowed this little dear and my darling Ponco and Clonco their ability to read emotions…the component that allowed me to make those headphones for Athena and help my suffering daughter and those like her. Hearing that all wasn’t lost is a weight off my spirit.” 
Athena heard Halblicht breathe in, and she felt a tremor of emotion from him– truly barely perceptible over the din of the others.
"I'm truly pleased to be able to carry the news to you, Cykes-sensei. I hope it will bring you peace."
It made a twisted sort of sense. Of course her mother had fought so hard for that rock, despite the man trying to take it from her. It was for her research– and for her. Tears fell down her cheeks again as her mother continued.
“No.” Metis held her hand up with a weak chuckle. “It brings me joy. I’m not ready to be ground up in the wheel of reincarnation just yet.”
Her hand gripped Athena’s shoulder protectively “I’ve still got unfinished business. I certainly can’t flit off to the next life without saying goodbye to Aura, at the very least. Save the wishing me peace for a little while yet, protege.”
Athena hiccuped again. “Oh.” 
Simon's breathy voice carried another wave of mingled sorrow and joy, and he wiped his eyes again. "Of course, Cykes-sensei. I should have known."
She smiled, and dipped into a deep bow. 
“I hope you’ll come knock knock knocking on the door to the afterlife for me again, to wake me from the dream. Maybe, when that time comes, lay me out some tea and perhaps some katsudon. Hang up a few streamers. Tell Aura to please show herself from whatever hole she’s working feverishly in. Maybe give me someone to scare.”
She rose and took Athena’s hand, “I’d like to see you all with smiles on your faces.”
“P-promise mom.” Athena said, making a show of a bright smile. “...promise. Next time we’ll make it a real celebration.” 
"You have my word, sensei," Simon said, also smiling as the tears ran down his face. "We'll throw a party."
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chiara-juliette · 9 months ago
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FAV BOOKS THIS MONTH
hi
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil- Ohhhh my god I loved this book. It's so lovely so well written so fun and makes me want to drop everything and move to Savannah in the 80s?? The book essentially follows the main character, John Kelso, a writer/food critic from New York who spontaneously visits the beautiful southern city Savannah, Georgia on a trip to the south, falls in love with it, and decides to rent out an apartment and live there part time when he's not in New York for work. He gets involved with a bunch of strange and eccentric characters such as Jim Williams, a bachelor and an antique collecter who throws the most popular, classiest, exclusive parties in town in his large beautiful civil war era mansion, who helped revive historic Savannah and restore it into the lively city it is in the book. John makes friends with Joe Odom quickly, attracted by the constant sounds of piano playing and voices coming from Joe's apartment, a bar owner who's house is in a constant state ofcelebration, with friends and acquiantances freely flowing in and out of his houses(that he cannot afford, he's essentially a "glorified squatter" as the book calls him, he's constantly moving around) Joe is constantly in trouble with the law for some reason or another, yet he always seems to wiggle his way out. There's Chablis, a beautiful black drag queen who essentially uses our main character as a chauffeur. A mystery unfolds at some point in the story, but I will not spoil! There are so many interesting characters in this book holy shit and this book just feels like a love letter to savannah, definitely reccomend this book.
Big Swiss- EXTREMELY different from the first one but loved it equally, the main character is Greta, a woman in her mid 40s, and a very morally questionable yet very funny character, and the reader gets to constantly listen in on her absurd internal monologue. She works as a transcriber for a sex therapist, a man named Om in Hudson, New York, however she writes the meetings from audio files in the security of her own home (an old dutch house in shambles that is infested with a bee hive that Greta and her roomate Sabine, an old friend have to coexist with) . Greta has moved around her entire life after the suicide of her mother when she was thirteen, constantly being taken in by aunts or uncles. She ends up falling in love with one of Om's clients that she has never met based solely off of the audio files. The client's name is Flavia, however Greta refers to her as Big Swiss. Big Swiss is from switzerland, she is a tall, blonde, beautiful gynecologist in her late 20s, who has never had an orgasm despite being married and regularly having sex. Big swiss's sharp, cold, no bullshit nature is what draws Greta towards her. They eventually end up meeting, and disaster unfolds after. This book is so witty, the dialogue is so good, and getting to read Greta's transcriptions of various client's sex therapy sessions is so entertaining. Her actions are horrible at times, yet she's strangely likeable? Definitely reccomend, the simplistic writing style made it a very fast read for me.
ya
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thestupidhelmet · 24 days ago
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I was just saying if it aired on fox, or any cable network, would it have longer seasons (23 episodes) And is fox different now? I haven't watched regular tv in years.
Fox Entertainment got bought by Disney a few years back.
Shows on network and cable TV haven't been guaranteed a full 23-26 episode season for a long time (streaming changed this, I believe, although cable gave shows shorter seasons before the advent of streaming).
But had T9S been given 25 or 26 eps per season, we would've likely gotten a deeper show. But not necessarily a satisfying one because of the showrunners and head writer / their creative approach to the show.
I think this is a good place to discuss ways I think Jay's character could've been organically written and developed.
In T9S canon, Jay is the product of an emotionally toxic relationship. His father is likely unfaithful to his mother, which is likely the cause of their two divorces. His father has a child, Jay's older sister, with another woman -- either during the first divorce or being the cause of the first divorce. Three years later, Jay is born.
Kelso spent three years with Brooke and Betsy, but when? During Betsy's three years of life? If so, then Jay was conceived out of wedlock, and Jackie's pregnancy with him results in her reconciliation with and remarriage to Kelso (the Fez of it all is essentially irrelevant). Another possibility is he stayed with Brooke and Betsy three years during Jackie and Kelso's divorce, but I think the first option is more likely.
Jay's mother is a Jackie who grew into an adult from her T7S season-4 characterization. That Jackie is jealous, controlling, and also has poor enough self-esteem that she believes Kelso's false equivalency between her one kiss with Todd -- which she was tricked into -- to his months of having sex with at least two other girls and that she owes him a free pass to kiss another girl so that they're even.
This faulty logic Kelso spouts and Jackie accepts directly precedes their engagement in the T9S version of Jackie/Kelso canon.
Jay is raised by a mother who is superficial, vain, controlling, equates giving and receiving material gifts with love, has low self-esteem disguised by arrogance, and is hyper-fixated on her relationship with Kelso. This is a Jackie who was never challenged or inspired to become self-reflective, to change her ideas about how love is given and received, to realize that being controlling harms a relationship, to be self-sacrificing instead of acting entitled. This is a Jackie deprived of her life-changing relationship with Hyde (real!Hyde, not the few OOC eps and the fully OOC S8).
Jay is raised by a father who is a self-entitled, selfish, narcissistic hypocrite who's a sex addict and lacks both self-control and common sense.
The Jay of T9S doesn't reflect who raised him or his tumultuous childhood. His character was created inorganically to fit an idea (i.e. a Kelso clone who finds true love with the show's protagonist).
An organically written Jay would (or could; several possibilities exist) be leery of romantic relationships because of his parents' toxic dynamic and potentially view sex as destructive (as Donna does in T7S but for different reasons).
Jackie probably is an overbearing mom while Kelso is a lax, relatively uninvolved father -- except to show up to his son's sports games, school plays, etc. so that he can take (unearned) credit and feed off his son's successes.
Jay would suffer from anxiety, be overwhelmed by his mother's warnings about infidelity and be unable to reconcile the cognitive dissonance between that messaging and her continuously forgiving his father for being unfaithful.
His parents would both push him to be popular at school but differently. Jackie would push him to make as many social connections as he can. Not friends but people he can potentially use for his own gain later in life. Kelso's own vanity would push Jay to prove the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, in order for Kelso to feel his own sexual attractiveness is validated and reconfirmed by his son's.
Jay would inherit his mother's propensity for enjoying material items because he'll have inherited her gifts equal love mentality. Unfortunately, he's unlikely to be self-aware enough to break out of this belief without help. But if he also inherits Jackie's insightfulness, he'd have the potential to grow and change with the right influences. He also might be more of a giver than a taker because he'd rebel against the selfishness he's experienced from both his parents.
Jay could very well be quite Hyde-like because of his upbringing, protecting his compassionate, vulnerable heart from being hurt the same as his parents hurt it. So he'd be withdrawn emotionally, also as a response to his parents' emotional disregulation. He'd be a loner without that one friend who shows him that his parents' world isn't the only one that exists. Nate might fit the bill, but Nate's also a (benign, more evolved) dude-bro, which Jay would not be.
Or if Jay is born without Jackie's insightfulness but Kelso's total lack of insight, he could grow up to be a narcissistic tyrant. No one would be able to get through to him because his wounding his too great and his emotional awareness is non-existent. He'd often become emotionally disregulated and even delusional like both his parents. This is not the road I'd go down as a writer. While it's a realistic possibility, it's also a very boring one.
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nikkiruncks · 1 year ago
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COUPLE
CHARACTERS: Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti
FIRST MET: 1968
TOGETHER
1st
That '70s Pilot (1.01)
The Promise Ring (3.22)
2nd
Going To California
Onward
STATUS
Married (since 1980)
REASON(S)
1st
Eric broke up with Donna when she wouldn't accept his promise ring
Aftermath:
1st
Rivalry and relapses until they both started dating other people, but never over each other
Rivals: Steven Hyde (Season 1), David Milbank (A New Hope), Casey Kelso (Season 4)
Portrayed by Laura Prepon and Topher Grace
Pivotal Episodes: Prom Night, I Love Cake, The Promise Ring, The First Time, Afterglow, The Relapse, Uncomfortable Ball Stuff, Tornado Prom, Eric's False Alarm, Love, Wisconsin Style, Going To California
——————————————————————————————————
Eric & Donna is a relationship on FOX comedy That '70s Show, portrayed by Topher Grace and Laura Prepon.
About
Eric and Donna first met when they became next door neighbors. She punched him in the stomach for looking at her funny. It was at that moment that Eric fell madly in love with Donna. In their junior year of high school, they eventually started dating.
Timeline
1. Friendship
Eric and Donna have been next door neighbors ever since they were children. When Donna first moved in and first met Eric, she punched him in the stomach for looking at her funny. It was at that moment that Eric fell madly in love with Donna. They later became the best of friends and hung out with each other all the time. Eric's love for Donna continued on and on, but he didn't admit his love for her until they were 16 in 1976, when Eric Forman takes his car out of town when explicitly told not to, and impresses Donna who decides to give him their first kiss.
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2. Relationship
They don't start going out immediately, but take their relationship slowly, unsure how to show their interest in each other and getting advice from their friends on how to act now that their relationship has changed. When the gang goes to a disco, Eric doesn't dance with Donna, but later admits that he hates disco and went because he likes her, which is the first time he tells Donna how he feels about her. They go on to discover many firsts together, like making out at the drive-in and what it means to be exclusive as teenagers, when Eric kisses another girl.
Meanwhile, Hyde is still competing for Donna's affections and they both give her Christmas gifts, while Donna in turn, give both the guys Christmas gifts, although she signals her interest in Eric by giving him the watch he wears for the remainder of the show, while she gives Hyde socks. They go on their first date on Valentine's Day and during the date, Donna unexpectedly becomes intoxicated, which only makes the experience more uncomfortable than it should have been, for Eric especially, as he wanted to give her his class ring. Despite Hyde showing up and professing his feelings for Donna one last time, Donna chooses Eric.
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(Donna and Eric on their first date)
Their relationship becomes very public when Bob accidentally finds out that Midge put Donna on the pill, then Kitty and Red find out, although Eric and Donna aren't sleeping together. They go to the prom together and consider sleeping together for the first time, but feel that the timing is off. Eric at times gets insecure about how the world views their relationship, as he himself has trouble seeing his own worth and value. This comes to the fore when a guy Eric hates hits on Donna, and when they go to a disco but only Donna is let in at first and Eric is the last to be let in. Eric is also continually insecure about Donna falling for Hyde, noticeably when Donna's parents start fighting and she suffers from it, confiding in Hyde instead of Eric.
Eric and Donna's relationship gradually grows and Donna confesses to Eric that she loves him, only for him to respond that he loves cake. Eric gets his act together after many attempts and tells Donna that he loves her as well. After Donna's parents renew their vows, Donna expresses to Eric that he was the inspiration for her vows and they have sex for the first time. Eric believing he has brought Donna much disappointment by, "Being lame in the sack", is reassured by Donna that sex can only get better from their first time.
Their relationship appears to only have become stronger, yet it gradually starts falling apart, when Donna becomes more serious about her work as a DJ at WFPP, which irritates Eric as Donna is very content focusing on her job. Eric feels that she isn't taking their relationship or him seriously, as she would blow off dates to work. Donna tries to make Eric see how important her job is to her, and that, regardless of all the rock stars she may encounter, she is mad at him for not trusting that she is faithful to him. A lot of their strain in this time stems from Eric's continued insecurity that he's never going to be 'good enough' for Donna or who she really wants to be with later in life. This was already evident when David Milbank hit on Donna and she berated Eric for not trusting her. Eric tries to hold on by giving her a promise ring and Donna returns it to him saying she can't make those kinds of promises, which breaks Eric's heart and he ends their relationship, breaking Donna's heart.
3. Exes
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(Eric and Donna first meet as kids)
Eric and Donna stay separated, but manage to figure out a way to stay friends. This is shown when Eric goes to pick up Donna to go to the prom, but stays with her while there are tornado warnings in their town. Donna develops a romantic interest in Casey Kelso (Kelso's older brother), which everyone but Eric (and later Michael) seems to approve of. When Casey and Donna break up, Donna runs to Eric to be consoled only for Eric to tell her he wasn't going to be a rebound for her. Distraught, Donna chooses to run away to California with Michael (who on the other hand is running away from Jackie). Eric realizes how much of a mistake he made after talking with his parents and leaves to find Donna, deciding to lay on her bed until she returns, only to find out later she ran away to California with Kelso.
4. Engagement
Eric goes to California at the end of summer to tell Donna how much he loves her and that he wants to be with her and they reconcile[12]. Eric decided that he wanted something big for him and Donna and he decided to propose to her on the Water Tower. Their engagement was disapproved by many especially Eric's father Red, who felt Eric wasn't being wise. Eric took Red's cruel punishment and received his blessing for doing so. Eric and Donna decided to move to Madison to start their life together and want to do so, but are held back after Red suffers a heart attack.
Donna is still moving away to college, but stays until the last bus to spend Eric's 18th birthday with him. But she proves that she can't leave him because it is too much of an adjustment to her life. Donna and Eric go through premarital counseling because of their pregnancy scare and this is where they decide to stop having sex until they are married. Eric and Donna go through all the premarital events like wedding shopping and even Eric destroying Donna's wedding dress.
As the day approaches, Eric begins to have second thoughts after a dream he has. When it was time for the wedding rehearsal, Eric was a no show only to leave Donna in anger. He comes back to explain his cold feet and Donna explains her cold feet as well. Donna and Eric remain together even after their called off wedding.
5. Pregnancy
Donna finds out she’s pregnant in A Series of Firsts, when they head to Nebraska to visit Kristie for the first time. She tells Eric, who is super supportive. Donna moves in with Eric and they both managed to finish school and gave birth to Leia in July.
6. Marriage
Eric eventually proposes to Donna again and they get married alongside Jackie and Hyde in 1980 with Fez as the minister.
7. Parents
8. Grandparents
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einsteinsugly · 1 year ago
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8-10 for the question game
Leah Forman and Becca Hyde
Leah:
8. Her insecurities stem from her sister and those who bully her, mostly (but for different reasons, obviously). She wants to be an overachieving social butterfly like her sister (it's complicated, as shown below), and be accepted amongst her peers.
9. Her relationship with her sister Kate is...complicated, to say the least. Leah sees Kate as little miss perfect. She has the perfect grades, is fairly popular, and does a bunch of extracurriculars (volunteering, working for the school paper, yearbook, various instances of political activism, etc). But then Kate is jealous of Leah for being innately athletic and physically strong, and her ability to engage in a romantic (and later sexual) relationship with James with relative ease. Kate is very hesitant to act out her idealized romantic impulses, and her lack of personal and romantic intimacy causes her romantic relationships to suffer. So they both lash out at each other, and Leah rebels to be noticed (kind of like Eric throwing a bowling ball at the TV or Donna purposely failing English in season 2), but at a much larger and far more destructive scale.
10. Her relationship with Eric is kind of like Red's father-daughter relationship with Laurie. Leah is Eric's favorite, but because she's the clear underdog like he was as a kid. He's more aware than Red was, but he tends to stick his head in the sand in regards to Leah's real struggles. Leah goes out of her way to hide things from him, spelling disaster in the long run.
Meanwhile, Donna is willingly more aware. She tries to discipline/rightfully call out Leah more than Eric does, and tries to gage her emotions, and Leah is far from receptive (most of the time). She's more nuanced, and tries to fully understand her youngest daughter, even if it falls on deaf ears.
Becca:
8. She has this classic type 4 problem; how do I stand out without looking like a freak? She doesn't want to conform to society's mold, but doesn't want to be shunned by society, either. So she's insecure about how she presents herself, like her mother, but she's not willing to admit it.
9. Becca and James are by far the closest siblings in my verse. Yeah, they drive each other crazy and they poke fun at each other like brothers and sisters do, but they have a deep, protective, and symbiotic bond. Becca is the calm voice of reason, and James pushes Becca to put herself out on a worthwhile limb. Becca is also Leah and James's secret squirrel for a major plot point in my verse, which I'm keeping quiet about.
10. Hyde and Becca are each other's support systems and are pretty chill, usually. Hyde can be overprotective, especially when someone wrongs her. Particularly her first boyfriend Danny, who is kind of a Kelso, and Hyde hates him.
Jackie and Becca are complicated. Jackie loves and likes her, of course, but she struggles to understand her. She quietly wishes she had a more stereotypically feminine daughter to do girly things with, and her goddaughter Kate sort of scratches that itch. She hates that she feels this way, though, and keeps it very hush hush. Because she adores her daughter, and fiercely protects her if need be.
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elianamarie-blog · 2 years ago
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The Things You Give: Part 27
Wow, two months just fly by. I could've sworn I posted it at least last month, but no it said it in April. I hope ya'll can forgive me. To those that have stuck around, thank you. It means more to me than you'll ever know. <3
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The room was deadly quiet as Steven’s icy eyes pierced into Y/n’s. Everyone wore shocked expressions, except for Eric and Kelso. Eric wore a shameful look while Kelso wore a deep smirk and hooded eyes, moving closer towards her.
“You…what?” Hyde breathed, anger and hurt boiling in the pit of his stomach.
“You heard the lady, Hyde,” Kelso said arrogantly and pushed his way past Hyde to stand in front of Y/n, sighing exuberantly. “She wanted me first.” He winked at her.
“Kelso,” she sighed, exasperated, and shoved him to the side causing him to stumble back down onto the couch.
“Oh, I like it when you say my name like that,” he purred. “Do it again.”
“Will you shut up?!” Hyde yelled, fighting the urge to knock him straight. He turned to a guilty-ridden Y/n. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this! Did you ever plan on telling me?!”
   “No, because it didn’t seem important!” she defended. “It was just something that I thought about one time! It didn’t happen and even it if did, it wouldn’t have meant anything!”
  “Not important?” he spit. “So, was that night we had together not important? It didn’t mean anything to you?!”
“Of course, it did! It meant everything to me!”
“What the hell makes me think that it would’ve meant something with him if I hadn’t been there?” Hyde fumed. “If I hadn’t been there, you would be married to him and carrying his kids, not me!”
“Whoa,” Kelso cut in, standing between the couple. “I wouldn’t have gotten you pregnant and I definitely wouldn’t have married you.” He scoffed. “It ain’t my style.”
“Yeah, because getting two women pregnant is way out of your style,” Fez sneered.
Donna, seeing smoke escaping Hyde’s ears, stood up and smacked Kelso hard upside the head and forced him back down onto the couch.
“Ow! What the hell, Donna?”
“Just shut up, Kelso!”
“Steven, it wouldn’t have meant anything with him because he’s not you,” Y/n said gently, trying not to poke the bear any further. “I fell in love with you, not him. I could never fall in love with someone like him.”
Kelso’s eyebrows pinched together and he opened his mouth to speak up, but Donna slapped her hand over it to shut him up.
“You were the one there that night because you were meant to be,” she continued.         
“I can’t believe this,” Steven said and wiped a hand down his face. “One of the best nights I’ve ever had and I’m runner up.”
“Steven, please,” Y/n pleaded. “Do you know how unbelievably glad I am that Kelso wasn’t there?”
“Hey!” Kelso said, hurt laced across his features. “I maybe the most desired man, but I still have feelings!”
“Kelso—!” Y/n cried out frustratingly, but decided to turned back to her husband. “Baby, please believe me.”
“How—how can I when you were looking for meaningless sex and I just so happened to be there?” he asked.
“Hyde, man, I think you’re overthinking this and making a bigger deal out of this than this needs to be,” Kelso said. “Who’s to say I even would’ve said yes?” He turned to Y/n with a glint in his eye. “I mean, I would’ve said yes.” He quickly averted his gaze away from her when her face contorted to a nasty look, but was only met with an even more infuriated Steven Hyde.
“L-look,” he stuttered and took a couple steps back from the couple. “You’re overreacting to something that didn’t even happen! Everything worked out okay?”
“Okay?” Hyde questioned. “No, it’s not okay! It’s—it’s weird! I don’t want to be in the delivery room with you and have this mental image of you two. And how it could’ve been him there instead of me. I…I need to get out of here. Don’t wait up.”
“Wait, Steven, come on!” Y/n begged. “It’s not that big of a deal!”
  “It is for me,” he replied, this time calmer. “You wanted to sleep with Batman, but instead you had to settle for Robin.” He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Y/n sighed, her shoulders slumping. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, but soon anger dried her eyes. She spun to face her betrayal of a brother. “What the HELL was that?!” She stepped closer to him; slowly, menacingly. “You couldn’t keep your mouth shut about that? I told you that in confidence! How could you do this?!”
“Y/n, I’m—I’m sorry!” he said. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“How could you believe that I would do that to Steven?” she asked. “You know that’s not how I feel.”
“Yeah, I know, but…Y/n, I can’t help but think that when you look at the facts,” he said. “It looks like you settled for Hyde when you originally wanted Kelso.”
“For a night!” she cried out, enunciating each word. “I only wanted Kelso for one night! Steven already feels like I’m going to ditch him at any point; can you imagine how hearing this makes him feel now?!”
“Yep, everyone wants a piece of me,” Kelso said proudly.
“Why does he feel like that?” Jackie asked, smacking him in the arm.
“Because of how everything and everyone else in his life before has gone,” Y/n said, feeling a wicked headache coming on.
“How was I supposed to know how he was feeling?!” Eric asked. “I’m not a mind reader!”
“No, but you don’t know how to read a room sometimes!” she said through gritted teeth. Y/n turned to everyone else. “Does it really look like that?”
They were all quiet, afraid to answer her.
“A little bit, yeah,” they all mumbled together.
“I can’t believe this…” Y/n said. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“We know,” Donna said. “But it does kinda look like that, though.”
Y/n sighed in defeat and rubbed her temples that were now throbbing. “I need to go. I need to go find Steven.” She walked out the door, leaving everybody else behind.
Jackie blew out of her puffed cheeks. “Boy, that was intense.”
“And a little terrifying,” Donna said.
“You’re right,” Eric said. “I don’t know what was scarier: the fact that I thought I was about to witness Hyde murder Kelso, or…Hyde using a Batman reference.”
Fez nodded. “Definitely the Batman reference.”
                                    --Later—
“So…you kissed the milkman?” Eric asked.
Donna ended up confessing to Eric after the matter, guilt gnawing at her. She nodded, avoiding eye contact with him as she picked at the worn couch. Instead of getting mad at her, he ended up laughing.
“What?” she asked. “What’s so funny?”
“Just…” he said between breaths. “I’ve seen the milkman and you are way out of his league. You probably made him feel like he was on top of the world.”
“Shut up, Eric,” she pouted. “I didn’t enjoy it.”
“Okay, okay,” Eric said, calming down and turned his attention back to the tv. “So…are we going to get free milk now or…?”
“Shut up!”
                                    --Meanwhile—
“Man…I can’t believe Y/n wanted you the night she and Hyde got together,” Jackie said to Kelso as she, Kelso and Fez sat in the Forman’s driveway.
“I can,” he responded. “I’m a beautiful guy. And a great lover.”
“Yeah…” Jackie said, absent-mindedly, smirking. “You were…great.”
“I know I was,” he said matter-of-factly, not picking up on her sarcasm.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey,” Fez said, a small crinkle forming between his eyebrows. “What about me?”
“Even though Michael was good,” she started off slowly. “Fez, you were the best I’ve ever had. You were better than Michael.”
“Whoa!” Kelso said, offended.
“Hoorah!” Fez cried out, pumping his fists in the air. “Suck it, Kelso!”
“Him?! Really?!”
Jackie shrugged. “What can I say? He did these moves that you wouldn’t even know about.”
“You’re welcome, baby,” Fez winked.
“Unbelievable,” Kelso scoffed. “I’ve never heard that before.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Look, you’re good, but you’re not the best.”
“BURN!” Fez cried out. “Do you need some ice and cream for that?”
“Way to add salt to the wound, Jackie! GOD!”
Jackie laughed as Kelso got up to run into the kitchen for a soda.
“Awesome,” Fez laughed, high-fiving her. “You really got him.”
  “Yeah, but everything I said is true.” She finished off her soda and placed it back on the ground beside her.
“Really?” Fez asked slowly, raising his brow seductively. “Do you want a reminder?”
Jackie gave him a deadpanned look. “No, Fez.”
“C’mon, we don’t have to get back together!” he said. “We can have a little fun in the bedroom is all I’m saying.”
“No, Fez,” she said sternly.
“Damn it,” he muttered.
“Hey, I just thought of something,” Kelso said, bringing back a coke bottle.
“No, I’m not doing it with you either,” Jackie said.
“What? No,” Kelso said as he sat down. “I was just thinking about what Hyde said about me and Y/n.”
“Yeah? And?” Jackie asked.
“Even though Y/n is smoking hot, I probably would’ve said no.”
Jackie and Fez rolled their eyes at him.
“Oh, please,” Jackie guffawed. “Getting hot girls is your specialty. That’s why you got me.”
“No, I mean, she was too vulnerable for me not to feel bad,” he said as he twisted the bottle cap between his fingers, now embarrassed that he said anything at all. “She’s my friend. I don’t know if it would’ve felt right.”
“Michael Kelso, are you saying that you’re…respecting women now?!” Jackie exclaimed.
“I don’t know, man,” Kelso replied, rubbing his forehead. “Ever since Betsy…I look at everything completely different now.”
“Wow,” Fez said. “You’re finally growing up. Congratulations.”
He laughed. “I know, man. I’m mature and good-looking. Being a single father has made even more beautiful than I already am.”
Jackie chuckled. “And he’s back.”
                                                --Time Skip—
It didn’t take long for Kelso and Eric to find Hyde. He had gone driving around town, trying to cool down and make himself think rationally. But every time he thought about Y/n and Kelso tangled in the sheets and carrying Kelso’s babies instead of his, it would make his blood boil and heart clench all over again.
He finally settled on the Hub where he sat by himself at the corner booth. He didn’t want to go home. He wasn’t ready to face Y/n. Fries laid in front of him, but he lost his appetite from thinking about them again.
“We thought we’d find you here,” Eric said as he and Kelso took a seat across from Hyde.
Hyde looked up and sighed, pushing the fries forward. “Do you want these fries? They came for me but they would probably rather sleep with you.”
“Come on, Hyde,” Kelso said. “Like we were saying earlier, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“How can it not be?” Hyde asked. “I finally find myself in a real relationship with a great girl, someone that won’t bail on me, only to find out that she wanted you first!”
“Yeah, for like a half an hour!” Kelso defended. “She wants you for the rest of her life.”
Hyde scoffed. “You sure about that? You sure I’m not the rebound?”
“Look, man,” Eric started. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?” Hyde said. “I wasn’t her first option; I was the second one!”
“You know, even if something would’ve happened between us, it wouldn’t have worked out,” Kelso admitted. That caught Hyde’s attention as he stared at him through his aviators. “It wouldn’t have been real like it is with you and her. It probably would’ve lasted—what? —a couple months before fizzing out?”
Hyde didn’t respond but shake his head and looked down at the table.
“I mean, I would break up with her first to save face,” Kelso scoffed. “I’m too pretty to break up with.”
Snapping his head up, Hyde glared at him once again.
“Not the time, man,” Eric muttered him and turned back to Hyde. “Are you forgetting that you guys had feelings for each other long before that night?”
Hyde rubbed his forehead and glared at Kelso. “Does it matter? She still wanted you. You! Out of all people!”
“No,” Eric said. “She wanted you first. This whole time. Have you ever stopped to think she wanted Kelso for one night because she didn’t know if you felt the same way? She knew Kelso wouldn’t turn her down, so he was a guaranteed cheap one-night stand.”
“Again—hey!” Kelso cried out, confused. “I’m right here!”
  “Sorry, buddy. Gotta make a point,” Eric said, shrugging.
  “Man, how would you feel if you found out Donna wanted Kelso first instead of you?” Hyde asked him.
  “She did once,” Eric responded quietly. “Casey, remember?”
Hyde shook his head. “No, man, he was the rebound. She only wanted him because—oh, crap.”
Eric nodded, a crooked smile spreading on his face. “See?”
His face turned from angry to somber. “Yeah, but every time I think of them two, I get this image that makes me want to drive my head through a wall.”
“Hyde, man, it didn’t even happen,” Kelso repeated. “She didn’t even see me that night. Hell, it barley crossed her mind.”
“Yeah, because I came into her line of vision,” he said stubbornly.
  “You know that’s not true,” Eric said. “If it were, do you think she’d have married you?”
Hyde’s tongue ran alongside his cheek as he thought about it. After a minute, he sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“I know I am,” Eric responded proudly. “Much to my dismay, you guys were meant to be together. Everyone sees it. It’s like a natural feeling with you two.”
“Yeah, man,” Kelso chimed in. “What you have with Y/n is something that happens once in a lifetime. You know if you’re looking for that sort of thing.”
Hyde was quiet for another moment before speaking. “Alright, don’t get all mushy on me. Where is she?”
“At home,” Eric said. “Waiting for you.”
“Thanks,” he responded and stood, looking at Kelso. “And if you make any comments about this, I’ll kick your ass.”
“I gotta, Hyde,” Kelso responded. “It’s like asking me not breathe.”
Without warning, Hyde slugged him in the shoulder causing Kelso to grunt in pain. “Next time, it’ll be your face.”
“Damn, Hyde!” Kelso cried out, jumping from his seat. “That’s how you thank me for helping you?”
“Fine, thank you!” Hyde said, punching Kelso in the arm.
He grunted again, rubbing his sore arm. “That’s better.”
                                                ●●●
“Hey,” Steven greeted his wife as he walked through the sliding door in the kitchen.
Y/n was sat at the table, drinking some tea to calm her nerves. She turned and looked up at him nervously. “Hey.”
The silence was deafening between them as he stood by the counter and she stayed in her seat; neither of them able to find the right words.
“Look, Steven,” she began. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just thought—”
“I know,” he said and sat down next to her. “I know why you did it. To be honest I probably would’ve done the same thing too if I were in your shoes.”
Y/n looked at him confused, but also amused. “You’d go and find Kelso to sleep with you?”
His eyes snapped to hers with disgust written on his face. “What? God! No! I would find a girl to do it with!”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his discomfort. He couldn’t help but chuckle himself.
Once their laughter bubbled down, they look at each other with gentle eyes.
“You know I’d never do that to you,” she said quietly and cupped his hand with hers. “Right?”
A gentle smile spread across his face. “I do now.”
“If I would’ve known that you felt the same way, it wouldn’t have even crossed my mind.”
“I understand that now,” he said. A beat passed. “It’s a good thing you did end up sleeping with me, huh?”
She chuckled. “Yeah, finding out I was pregnant would’ve been very awkward.”
“Yeah…” he chuckled, trailing off.
It was silent between them again as the tension in the air loosened and calmed. Looking up at him into his eyes, the eyes that were as blue as the sky and that could look into hers as deep as the ocean, she brought his hand to her lips and gave it the gentlest kiss as if he would break. “I love you, Steven.”
He grinned at her. “I know.”
Just as they were leaning into another kiss, a loud group of ‘Aweeee’ was heard behind them.
“You made up!” Jackie gushed.
“What the hell?!” Y/n cried out, seeing the group behind them. “Were you guys here listening this whole time?!”
“Yes,” Fez said, starting to get choked up. He swallowed thickly, his voice quivering. “And it was beautiful.”
“Oh, my God,” Y/n whined, looking at her friends who were smiling at them. “Can’t we ever get privacy with you guys?”
“Nope!” Eric cried out. “But if it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have made up.”
“Yeah, sure,” Hyde grumbled and grabbed Y/n’s hand, leading them out of the kitchen.
“What’s their deal?” Eric asked, annoyed and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.
“Maybe they’re going to go have make-up sex,” Fez said, making everyone giggle but Eric.
He glowered at his friends. “Because I can’t hear that enough.”
                                                            ●●●
        Wednesday, December of 1978
        5 Days Before Christmas
        Forman’s Residence
“But, Mommy, I want him!” the little girl on TV cried to her mother. Her dark brown hair hung loosely around her face as a red winter hat fit snuggly on her head. Her brown eyes sparkled as she looked at the brown teddy fluffy teddy bear, sitting on the shelf above her. The teddy bear’s beaded eyes stared down at her, as if he was silently pleading to be taken home with her.
“I know, Annalyn, but we can’t afford him right now,” the mother replied solemnly and grabbed her hand. “We’re lucky we were able to afford Christmas dinner this year.”
“But, he’s all I want for Christmas!” Annalyn wailed as her mother dragged her away.
“I know,” she replied sadly. “But maybe Santa will give you him.”
As Annalyn’s mother dragged her away, the little girl looked over her shoulder at Mr. Teddy. For a split second, she swore she saw the bear’s head looking at her with a sad look on his face. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned back around into the freezing cold.
Y/n sat on the couch, tears flowing heavily down her face with a tissue in hand. She wiped at her eyes, sniffling. The TV program cut to a cereal commercial as Y/n popped some Christmas candy in her mouth.
“Are you hungry for Buc Wheats?” an older man asks his supposed grandson.
“Yes, Grandpa!” a little boy in a yellow T-shirt answers.
“Alrighty, son,” Grandpa chuckles and walks over to his cupboard to see it empty of the cereal. “Oh, no! It looks like we’re out.”
“No!” the boy drawled out, wailing dramatically. “Grandpa, I need that cereal! I won’t be able to get the calcium and vitamins from it that will help me grow big and strong! The other kids will make fun of me!”
Y/n’s eyes welled up with fresh tears once as they raced down her face. Bringing the tissue to her nose, she hiccupped, feeling sad and emotional all over again. She balled up the used tissue and reached over, grabbing for another one.
“Hey, Y/n—” Steven said as he walked out of the den. He stopped short when he noticed her bawling. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
She couldn’t answer, but instead point towards the TV. He took a step forward, leaning to the side, turning his attention to the screen.
Confused, he said, “It’s a cereal commercial.”
“No, no, I’m watching a Christmas movie and this little poor girl can’t get the teddy bear she wants for Christmas, the only thing she wants.” Fresh tears filled her eyes. “Now, this little boy can’t get his cereal and will be made fun of.” She started crying again and wiped at her eyes. “Those poor babies.”
Hyde quirked an eyebrow at her. “Oookay.” He went to sit down next to her, but saw a pile of candy wrappers to her side. “Wow.”
“Just a snack,” she sniffed and swiped the wrappers to the side. “What’s up?”
“You really are pregnant, aren’t you?” He sat next to her. “W.B just called and said that he’s throwing a work Christmas party and asked if we’d want to go. You want to?”
“Um,” she started, sniffing. “Do I have to wear a dress?”
“Well,” he said, shrugging. “It is a formal party, so I would assume so.”
Y/n looked down to her growing stomach, pouting. “I barley have anything that fits me anymore.”
“Go shopping then,” he replied, nonchalantly.
She rubbed her belly. “I don’t know, Steven. I don’t think I’ll be able to find something to wear.”
“Sure you will,” he responded and placed his hand on her knee. “You got to have something in your closet.”
“I can go look. If not, I guess I can go shopping. When’s the party?”
“Tonight.”
“Tonight?!” she screeched. “Why are you just telling me this now?”
“He just told me,” he responded. “It’s in a few hours; I’m sure we can be find something.”
He helped Y/n off the couch. “I hope you’re right,” she said.
“I will be,” he said. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll look fine.”
“I better look better than fine.” She started walking up the stairs. “I will not go if I look like a whale.”
Steven groaned internally. This was going to be an interesting six months.
                                    Meanwhile…
“Hey, everyone!” Jackie said cheerfully as she walked into the basement arm-in-arm with a tall, handsome boy. “Everybody, I’d like you to meet Markus!”
Markus flashed a white, dimpled smile. “Hi, everyone.”
He was cute; with dark curly hair and deep, dark eyes. His brown skin glowed and gleamed making any girl that'd walk by him jealous. He was quiet and shy, but sweet.
“Hi, Markus,” everyone greeted. Eric, Donna, Fez, and Kelso sat around, talking amongst themselves.
“Markus is my date to the winter ball,” Jackie continued and leaned on his arm. “Isn’t he cute? He’s captain of the debate team!”
“That’s awesome,” Donna said. “What are you currently debating?”
“Gender studies,” he responded. “I’m fighting for the equality of women in the workplace and rights to their bodies.”
Donna looked at Jackie, approvingly. “I like him.”
“Isn’t he dreamy?” Jackie gushed, heart eyes staring up at him.
Markus shied away, chuckling. “You must be Donna. Jackie’s told me a lot about you.”
“What the hell, Jackie?” Kelso asked, offended. “We both know I’m the most handsome of them all.”
“And you must be Kelso,” Markus said with a dazzling smile.
“Damn right,” he replied and shook Markus’s hand—rather aggressively. “Just so you know, I’m the prettiest of them here. I just want to let you know that. It’s unfair to compare you to my god-like features.”
“Uh-huh,” Markus responded awkwardly. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“Shut up, Kelso,” Eric sighed and walked over to him, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you, man. I’m Eric.”
“Oh, the Star Wars nerd!” Markus said excitedly. “I’ve wanted to ask you ever since Jackie told me about you: How did you build the Death Star?” Jackie’s eyes widened as did everyone else’s. But, unlike Jackie, everyone was amused. “I bought one for me and my little brother and we can’t figure it out. It has like 3,000 pieces or something.”
Eric’s eyes lit up as a smile spread across his face. Finally, someone to nerd out with! “Oh, ho, ho, let me show you, my friend,” Eric said, slithering his arm around his new friend’s neck. “I had to rebuild mine because somebody—” he shot a glare over to Jackie. “tripped over it and broke it.”
“Well, maybe I can help you rebuild,” Markus said as Eric lead him upstairs.
“And I’m Fez by the way!” Fez called out after them. “I like Star Wars too!” He bounded up the stairs after them.
“I think you just lost your boyfriend,” Donna said to Jackie, giggling.
“Yeah, to yours!” Jackie said and plopped herself on the couch next to her. “I’m going out with a nerd now?! What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing?” Donna said, raising an eyebrow. “Dating a nerd isn’t the end of the world.”
“But I’m going to be seen with him, Donna!”
“He’s cute and on the debate team. I think it’ll be okay,” Donna responded blandly and rolled her eyes. “You need to learn to stop being so superficial. This one might be good for you.”
“Hey!” Kelso said, offended. “I was good for her!”
“No, you weren’t,” Jackie said. “You kept cheating on me!”
“Only for a little bit!” Kelso defended.
Jackie rolled her eyes and turned back to Donna. “Maybe he will be good for me. He won’t cheat on me like Michael, won’t be emotionally unavailable like Steven, or be a good fit for me unlike Fez.” She looked up at the ceiling in deep thought. “I guess I can give him a chance. I like him a lot."
“Then go for it,” Donna encouraged. “He seems super sweet!”
“And smart, and funny,” Jackie continued and turned her head to face Donna. “I see how Eric treats you. What’s it like? To be valued?”
Donna’s eyes softened. “It’s great. I never have to worry about him. I know he loves me and I feel safe with him. Even if he does piss me off sometimes."
Jackie chuckled. “I want to feel that.”
“Then give Markus a chance! He might be just that.”
Silence filled between them for a moment until Jackie spoke up again. “You’re right. I think I will.”
“Good,” Donna responded and patted her shoulder. “Word of advice?”
“Hm?”
“Don’t be yourself.”
“Donna, that’s terrible advice!”
“You don’t want him running away too soon. Give it time. See if he can handle you. No offense, Jackie, but you’re a handful.”
“More like two,” Kelso mumbled.
“Hey!” she protested. “That’s not true! I am a delight.”
“Yeah, when you’re sleeping,” Donna shot back. “Look, there are parts about you that just need a little…toning down.”
“Like what? Name one thing.”
“Well, you’re a little needy,” Donna said, trying to give it to her lightly. “And…self-centered. And selfish at times. And demanding.”
“Okay!” Jackie cried out, offended. “I said one!”
“You also have some good qualities too,” Donna continued. “Remember what we said to you the night your boob popped out?”
“What?!” Kelso shouted. A mix of shock and disappointment that he wasn’t there. “And I wasn’t there!”
“Shut up, Kelso,” Donna and Jackie said in unison.
Jackie turned back to Donna. “Yeah, I remember.”
“It still rings true.” She gave her a gentle smile. “Look, you just got to show that more than your flaws, okay? The good qualities have to outweigh the bad one.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jackie responded and sank further into her seat.
“Just show your good side, and you’ll be fine,” Donna said. "And then just slowly ease into your bad side. But again, tone it down. Because then you'll definitely lose him."
It was quiet for a moment. “Thanks, Donna.”
“You’re welcome.”
Sudden heavy and fast footsteps caught the ears of the three young adults, making them turn. Fez stood there, panting and panicked.
“Quick! Does anybody know how to dislodge a miniature lightsaber from one’s throat?”
                                          --Scene Transition—
“Argh!” Y/n screamed in frustration from her closet as she threw another dress unintendedly into her husband’s face. “Nothing fits me!”
Closing his eyes in annoyance, he plucked the nude-colored material off his face and placed it down beside him like the five others. “I’m sure you have something, doll.”
She came out of the closet with a green silk dress at her hips, struggling to pull it over her bump. “Please, can I just wear sweats?” she whined as she tried again to squeeze into the dress.
“I know, but you got to have something in there,” Hyde encouraged as he stood to stand next to his wife and noticed a cute black and white dress. “Oh, this is nice.”
“Steven, that’s a Halloween costume,” she responded. “Unless you want me to go to this thing as a sexy French maid.”
All Steven could do was give her a cheeky grin. “Well, I wouldn’t stop you there.”
She gave him a deadpanned glare. “No.” She sighed, stepping out of the dress and walked out the closet feeling depleted. She hunched over, her belly popping out more. “There’s nothing for me to wear. I don’t want to go.”
“Come on, you have to. Everybody is looking forward to seeing you.”
“Steven, I look like a whale!” she snapped, speaking fast.
He pressed his lips into a thin line, fighting back laughter. “First of all, you’re carrying twins. Not like you were going to be skinny throughout the pregnancy.”
She threw him a glare.
“Oh, come on. Be real here.” He sighed and sat next to her. “And 2nd, you’ll look great in whatever you wear.”
She shook her head, pouting. “I’m not going. I can’t wear anything without me wanting to split open the dress. And it’s too late for me to go shopping.”
“You’ll be fine. I know you’ve got something in those millions of dresses you wear.”
She thought about it for a minute. “I think I have something in mind.”
                                              Meanwhile…
“How did you get a toy stuck in your throat?!” Donna shrieked at her boyfriend.
“I was trying to prove a point!” Eric replied, choking.
“Which was?!”
“That Darth Vader’s light saber isn’t the smallest one…” he trailed off. “I don’t think I proved my point.” Donna couldn’t even respond; she just stared at her boyfriend in disbelief. “I know, I’m a dumbass.”
Donna scrunched up her face in a sarcastic smile and nodded. “Little bit.”
"So...these are your friends?" Markus whispered to Jackie.
She rubbed her forehead, sighing. "Yeah."
"Well, I can see who's the smart one," he responded and looked at Eric who was forcibly hacking and gagging to try to get the toy dislodged. "And it ain't him."
She clicked her tongue and nodded. "Yeah..."
"Ow, Donna, this really hurts," Eric said.
"Well, that's what happens when you shove a piece of plastic down your throat!" she responded, looking down his mouth.
“I’ll go get Mrs. Forman,” Jackie sighed and walked out of Eric’s room.
“Do you need us to take you to the hospital?” Markus asked.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Eric responded and coughed. “This isn't my first rodeo.”
“Wha—” Markus began, but was stopped by Donna.
“Don’t even,” she said, shaking her head.
“Besides, my mom’s a nurse,” Eric continued. “She might be able to give me something to make it go down or…pluck it out or something; I don’t know.”
Markus nodded. “Okay…” He made a gesture with his index finger. “Does this kind of thing happen often?”
“Uh…yeah,” Donna responded, crossing her arms. “Sadly, this isn’t the first nor will it be the last time.”
“Um…okay, wow,” he responded and scratched his head. “Can’t say you guys are boring.”
                                          --Time Skip—
“See, I told you you’d find something,” Steven said as he walked his pregnant bride down the stairs carefully. He adorned a beautiful suede jacket with a shirt and tie, dark jeans and boots.
Y/n carefully waddled down the stairs, uncomfortable dressed in a blue straight line dress with short flutter sleeves and a blue rose settled in the middle of her sweetheart neckline. “Yeah…as long as I don’t do anything to rip it like move, then I’ll be okay.”
“You should be happy that you can still fit into your senior prom dress,” he chuckled, helping her down the last step and into her coat.
She whipped towards him with a scowl on her face. “Prom was in March!” Her frown deepened. “Of this year!” Sighing, she looked down at herself. "I'm just lucky that I bought the elastic one, or else I'd be going to this thing in my mom's maternity dress. And it's not sexy."
He opened his mouth to respond as Kitty came around the corner. “Well, don’t you two look nice! What’s the occasion?”
“My work is throwing a holiday party,” Steven responded, placing a hand on Y/n’s lower back, guiding her towards the door.
“Where were you able to find a dress?” Kitty asked, looking at Y/n who was adjusting her tight address.
“The back of my closet,” she replied.
“It looks a little tight, dear.”
“It’s more than just a little. I feel like I’m going to burst at the seams.”
Kitty looked at her daughter up and down. “From the looks of it, you actually might.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“No, honey, I mean…you just…it looks…you know what? Just don’t bend over or sit or move and you should be okay.” She smiled widely at her, laughing uncomfortably.
Y/n couldn’t even respond, running her tongue along her cheek, annoyed. “Okay. We’re leaving now.”
Steven gently guided her out the door, shooting Kitty an apologetic look as he shut the door.
“Good luck with her,” Kitty grumbled to herself as she waved goodbye to the couple and stepped into the living room to tidy up.
As she was, Jackie came down the stairs. “Mrs. Forman?”
She turned to glace to see who it was before turning back to her cleaning. “Yes, dear?”
“Do you know how to get lodged plastic toys out of a throat?”
                                         --Time Skip—
“Steven, Y/n!” W.B called out to the couple.
The Christmas party ended up being in a hotel ballroom with a DJ, lights, tables of food and drinks. Beige walls and dark hardwood flooring were covered with Christmas décor and mini Christmas tree confetti. They were standing with some Steven’s colleagues, having a casual conversation. Steven had a beer in his hand while Y/n had a cup of fruit punch.
“Hey, W.B,” Steven greeted, turning around to greet his father.
“Thank you for coming! You guys having a good time?”
“It’d be a lot more fun if I didn’t have to drink punch,” Y/n quipped, taking a sip of her alcohol-free drink. "Did you know that it has a complete different taste without the booze?"
W.B chuckled. “Sorry about that. Wish I could help.”
“Maybe you can give me a heating pad for Christmas,” she half-joked. “My back is starting to kill me.”
That made W.B laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He looked down at her dress. “You both look very nice.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and adjusted the dress around her waist. “It’s a little uncomfortable though.”
“I can imagine,” he responded and chuckled. “I better get back to socializing with the other employees. Don’t want them to think I’m playing favoritism.” He winked at his son before he sauntered off to join a group of people. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Hyde lifted his drink to him. “See you around, W.B.” Once he was out of sight, he turned back to Y/n. “Are you really having a good time?”
“No,” she said blatantly. “I want to go home, change into my pajamas and watch TV.”
“Look, I know you’re uncomfortable—”
“And miserable.”
“…and miserable, but you being here makes me look good.”
She furrowed her brows. “Why?”     
“Look around,” he whispered in her ear, pointing to the crowd around them. “Do you see anyone else with a hot wife? Or any woman draping all over their arm?” He pointed to a middle-aged couple. "You see them? That's Bob and Margaret. They haven't had sex in two years. And word around the water cooler is she's having an affair with the office post delivery man. He's twenty-five, six-foot-tall, wannabe male model."
Y/n's eyes brightened. "You're kidding." She looked at the couple. When Bob tried to put his arm around Margret's waist, she slapped his hand away. "Ouch, that's cruel."
Steven nodded his head. "Yep, but from what everyone says, he ignores her and doesn't talk to her much. And you see that other guy right there?" A guy in his thirties was standing by the door, longingly gazing at another another man. "That's Larry and rumor has it that he's not exactly in with the ladies."
"What do you mean by th--oh," she said, realization hitting her. "He's gay?"
"Well, it's a suspicion, but the way he's staring at Hector from HR makes me confirm those suspicions."
Y/n looked over a Hector who was handsome young man with bright eyes and blonde hair. "Is he gay too?"
"Well, he ain't straight, I can tell you that much."
"They'd make a cute couple."
"Yeah, sure," Hyde responded, bored and turned to Jeremy, a short, dark haired man who was sitting alone in a chair at a table. "And Jeremy, doesn't have anybody, period."
"That's kind of sad," Y/n said, her eyes burning from tears. "He doesn't have anyone."
"He's socially awkward and can't talk to girls. But, he's also crushing on Melissa, the secretary."
Y/n saw a middle-aged woman also standing by herself at a snack table, occasionally stealing glances at Jeremy. Y/n had the strong urge to bring them together.
"So, you see what I mean? You're hot."
Smirking, she turned to him. “You think I’m hot?”
“Duh. You’re the hottest one here.”
She blushed. “Even with my big, round belly?”
“It tells all the other guys here that I got some,” he bragged and took a sip of his beer, smirking.
“Oh, yeah, those three minutes really rock my world,” she poked.
A look of offense crossed his features. “Hey! It was four minutes, get it right.”
She snorted out a laugh and kissed his cheek. “No, you really are the best I’ve ever had,” she gushed, causing him to grin. “Those seven minutes are always the best minutes of my life.”
His grin dropped instantly. “Ha ha.”
                                          Meanwhile…
“How the heck did you do this?!” Kitty asked surprised, looking down Eric’s throat with a flashlight.
“Trust me, you don’t wanna know,” Donna responded, crossing her arms.
   “Well, honey, I can either give you something to make it go down and have you digest it or I can take a small instrument and pull it from your throat."
Eric blinked. “Will that hurt way less?”
“Essentially, pulling it out of your throat. But I’ll have to stick a wand down your throat to get it out.”
“And knowing your gag reflexes, you’ll just puke it out,” Donna responded. “So, yeah, that would probably be better.”
“Aw, man, I don’t want to pass this thing through my colon,” Eric whined.
“Well, honey it’s either that or we pull it out,” Kitty said sternly.
Eric paused. “What do I need to take to make it go down?”
“Thought so,” his mother responded. “I’ll be right back with the medicine.”
                                             --Time Skip—
At the party, Y/n was at the fruit punch bowl, pouring her fifth cup.
“Thirsty tonight?” Steven asked her as he came up behind her.
“Well, I can’t have alcohol, so this is the best I can do,” she muttered bitterly and took a sip. She scanned the table of snacks and picked up some Christmas cookies. “Mhm, well, at least they have decent snacks.”
He nodded. “Remember, only a few more months of this.”
“The doctor said I shouldn’t drink because of my milk,” she pouted.
“Yeah, well,” he sighed. “Sucks to be you.”
She made a face at him. “Charming.”
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas came overhead, changing the atmosphere. The lights dimmed and a disco ball shone brightly through the elegant hotel ballroom. He held his hand out to her. “Wanna dance?”
Smiling, she placed her hand in his as he led them to the dance floor. Placing a hand on her lower back while the other held her hand, he pulled her close, resting his chin against her temple.
They danced in silence as they swayed with the music, enjoying the moment. Y/n wanted to make time slow down; wanted to live in the moment with just the two of them. Wanting to spend as much time together before their babies entered the world, before more responsibilities would fall on their shoulders.
Steven decided to be spontaneous and dip Y/n. When he leaned her back and supported her weight, there was a loud rip.
“What was that?” Steven asked, frozen in place.
Y/n’s smile instantly dropped upon hearing the noise. “I think it was my dress.”
“Are you serious?” His face held a look of amusement.
“Yeah,” she grunted as he helped her to stand up straight. When she turned around, he couldn’t help but bark out a laugh.
“What?!” she shrieked, frantically turning around so she could see the rip. “How bad is it?!”
His stomach started to ache as he continued to laugh, tears pooling in his eyes.
“Steven!”
“Alright, alright,” he said, gasping. “Let me take a look at it.” He spun her around to see a large split down her back, showing off the world her bra down to her panties. “Oh, my God,” he laughed.
“Is it bad?”
“Well, it ain’t good.”
“Oh, damn it!” she whined and turned back around. “Can’t even dance without this thing getting in the way.” She pointed at her stomach. She ran out the ballroom to the nearest bathroom.
“It’s not that bad,” Steven said, running after her. “It’s…fixable.”
“Oh, what do you know? You’re not the one turning into a cow!” She entered the bathroom and he followed in after her.
He smirked. “A sexy cow.”
She scowled at him. “Not. Helping.” She turned to look at herself in the mirror and groaned. “Man, I really liked this dress.”
He chuckled. “How bout this? I take you home and get you out of the dress?”
She nodded. “I would very much like that. Thank you.”
“Yeah, you will,” he nodded, smirking.
“Shut up and get me home.”
“Yes, dear.”
           
Later that night, after Hyde had gotten Y/n home, he did in fact get her out of that dress and made her more comfortable by propping her legs on his shoulders. They had rushed upstairs to their bedroom when they came home and wasted no time getting undressed.
Lately, her hormones had been bouncing all over the place, making her need Steven more than ever. Not that he was complaining. Their sex life had almost doubled since she entered her second trimester and all she wanted was to do it all the time. Daily, even. But, again, he didn’t complain. It was just another thing to rub in Eric’s face.
When they finished, they laid next to each other, panting.
“Wow,” she breathed. “That was—”
“I know,” he finished, staring at the ceiling with his arm resting above his head.
“I can’t tell if it’s the pregnancy or what, but sex is so much better.”
“Normally, I’d be offended, but yeah, agreed.”
She chuckled and shifted herself so she could lay her head on his chest. “This time lasted a whole eleven minutes.”
He side eyed her, starting to wonder if she was still joking. “How long is this going to go on?”
“What is?” she feigned innocence.
He snorted. “Cute.”
She giggled and hugged him tighter. “Awe, honey, you know I’m kidding…mostly.”
"Well, there’s only way to fix this,” he said, turning serious.
“What’s that?”
“I gotta prove that I can go longer,” he said, flipping them over. He shifted himself on top of her causing her to laugh.
“I was kidding!” she said in between giggles.
“Too late,” he said, kissing her.
She giggled, giving into his warm, deep kisses. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer as he cradled her between his arms. As they got lost in each other once again, a loud crash was heard from downstairs.
Y/n and Steven broke the kiss immediately, freezing in place.
“What the hell was that?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” he answered and clambered off her, grabbing his pants.
“You’re not going to go down there, are you?!”
“It’ll be fine.” He ripped on his bed shirt and walked over to the door, but not before grabbing the bat that was conveniently placed by the door.
“When did you get a bat?” he asked as he opened the door.
“When I played softball in 8th grade,” she answered as she scrambled out of bed, throwing on her plaid pajamas. “And you’re not going down there alone; I’m coming with you.”
“Like hell you are!” he whispered-yelled. “If anything you’re staying here while I go downstairs.” He made his way towards the hallway and paused. “I’d never thought I’d say this, but if I’m not back in a couple minutes, call the cops.”
Without waiting for an answer, he slipped out the door and into the hall.
“Yeah, right,” she said under her breath, scurrying out to join him. She tip-toed behind him, following him to the stairs. Silently, she leaned behind his ear. “Do you see anything?"
He let out a high-pitched shriek, almost dropping the bat. He whipped around, facing her. “What the hell are you doing?! I told you to stay in the room.”
“Do you honestly believe that I’d actually let you come out here alone?” she whispered harshly. “You’re my husband; I’m not letting you go down there alone.”
“Hey.”
They both whipped around, letting out a shriek. Behind them stood Eric, wrapped in a bed sheet, holding a lightsaber.
Y/n placed a hand over her heart and bent over, fighting for breath. “Eric, what the hell are you doing?!”
“I heard a noise,” he answered quietly.
“Forman, are you naked?” Hyde asked.
“….This is more liberating,” he deadpanned. “And it allows more airflow.” He wiggled his body little bit, mocking them.
“Okay, ew!” Y/n shrieked and shut her eyes, turning away from her brother. “Put it away!”
“What are you kids doing out here?” Kitty asked as she emerged from her bedroom, Red trailing behind her.
“We heard a noise,” Y/n responded, still refusing to look at her brother.
“Good, God, Eric,” Red scowled. “Are you naked?”
“It’s more lib—”
“Yeah, yeah, we get it!” Hyde cut in and turned back to Red. “There’s someone downstairs.”
“Yeah, we heard the noise too,” he said. “I think you guys should—”
A louder crash was heard, this time closer to the stairs.
“Alright, everyone. Get back. I got this,” Eric said and pushed himself forward carrying his toy lightsaber.
“You really think you’re going to scare someone off with a lightsaber?” Y/n whispered harshly.
“I will if I use the force,” he answered and turned it on, emitting an orange glow in the dark hallway.
“Oh, yeah, if the ‘force’ doesn’t do it, your nakedness is really intimidating,” Y/n bit.
“Or, they’ll just wet themselves laughing,” Hyde quipped, pinching back a smile.
“Will you three just shut—” Red began when he was cut off by another crash.
“Oh, that’s it,” Kitty said, pissed and frustrated that she was awake at this hour, and ripped the bat from Hyde’s hand. She stomped her way down the stairs carrying Shotsy in her other hand, despite Red calling after her.
“Kitty, wait—” he said, trying to stop his wife, but it was too late. She had stormed down to the living room and flickered on the lights with everyone on her heel.
Eric ran in front of her, sliding in the sheet and lightsaber high up in the air. He lost his footing, his foot getting caught in the sheets and tumbled forward. The sheet that covered him, flied open, revealing everything underneath.
“Whoa!” Everyone called out, shielding their eyes.
“Geez, Eric, I didn’t know you sleep in the nuddy,” said a familiar accent.
“Fez?” Y/n and Hyde asked, purposely avoiding looking at Eric as he stumbled back up.
“What are you doing here?” Y/n asked, eyeing him. He was wearing yesterday’s clothes; his shirt was wrinkled and his hair was ruffled. He stood in his socks while his shoes were thrown against the front door. That must be what we heard.
“And why are you breaking into my house at one in the morning?” Red asked gruffly. “You know, I’m making the call."
"Oh, Red, no need to call the cops,” Kitty said, placing the bat down.
“No, I’m calling immigration,” he spat.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, enough with that threat!” Kitty yelled. “If you’re not threatening to call immigration, you threaten to put your foot up someone’s ass. Pick a new threat. And Eric,” she turned to her son. “Go put on pants. Now.”
Red was taken aback at his wife’s outburst, but chose to stay silent as he watched Eric trudge up the stairs.
“Thank you, Mrs. Kitty,” Fez said quietly.
“And you!” she pointed a finger at him. “What are you doing in my house at this hour? How did you even get in?”
"The back door was open," he responded sheepishly.
"Oh, we should double check next time," Y/n said out of the corner of her mouth to Hyde.
"You still didn't answer my question," Kitty said expectantly.
“I—I need a place to sleep,” he answered nervously. “It’s too cold to sleep in my car now. And…my key to Hyde’s store doesn’t work anymore…”
“So, you were the one breaking into my store?” Hyde asked. “We had to get new locks and keys.”
“That explains it,” Fez responded quietly, fiddling with this fingers.
“Fez, why aren’t you at your hosts parents’?” Y/n asked.
Fez looked down, almost in shame, but didn’t want to be met with their pitiful stares. “They kicked me out.”
“Oh, my God. Why?” Kitty asked.
  “They found out I graduated high school.”
“Awe, Fezie,” Y/n whimpered. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I didn’t want to be a burden.”
“And you thought breaking into my house was the better option?” Red asked.
“Red, that’s enough,” Kitty said and stepped closer to Fez, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “You can sleep here tonight and then in the morning we can figure something out.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Kitty,” he whispered tiredly.
“Of course, honey. You can either sleep in Steven’s old room or we can set up a bed in Eric’s."
“I can take Steven’s room,” Fez responded and grabbed the blanket he had been cradling. “I don’t want to sleep next to Eric knowing he doesn’t have pants on.”
Y/n nodded. “I wouldn’t want too either. By the way, why were you making so much noise?”
“Oh, um, I kept accidentally tripping and tripped over some Legos downstairs.”
“My Lego Death Star?!” Eric screeched as he came down the stairs. “That’s 3,083 pieces!” He turned to his twin. “It took me a week to do re-build it.”
“I told you not to leave it by the door,” Y/n scolded.
“Alright, I’m going back to bed,” Red announced and treaded up the stairs, exhaustion taking over as his adrenaline faded.
“I’ll make the bed up for you,” Kitty said, yawning and lead Fez to the basement.
“Alright, night,” Y/n announced and waddled upstairs.
“What about my Death Star?” Eric whined.
“Well, just like what we just saw, put it away and hope we never see it again,” Hyde quipped and followed Y/n up the stairs.
                                  The next morning…
Y/n, Steven, Fez and her parents sat at the table, eating waffles.
“So, Y/n, how’s the college applications coming along?” Red asked her
She paused mid-chew, looking at her mom with fear in her eyes. “Should I tell him?"
“He has to find out sooner than later,” Kitty whispered, carefully eyeing her husband.
“I think you should wait a little bit longer,” Steven replied. “Not until you make a final decision.”
“No, no, I think it’s time,” Kitty responded. “I think he’s ready.”
Red eyed them all suspiciously. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Okay, if I tell you, please don’t be mad,” Y/n begged, shaking.
“I don’t think I can be madder at you than I already am for getting knocked up,” he responded with a fake smile.
She ran her tongue alongside her cheek in annoyance. “Thanks, Dad.”
“So,” he continued, popping some scrambled eggs in his mouth. “What’s the plan?”
“Well…I’ve decided to hold off on going to college for a while…”
Red whipped his head at her. “WHAT!” He turned to Steven. "And you let her do this?!"
"Excuse me, let me?!" Y/n asked. "This was my decision!"
"Clearly not a very good one!"
“You promised you weren’t going to get mad!”
“I promise a lot of things!” he shouted. “I promised those commies that I wouldn’t shoot them when I needed intel. I did it anyway!”
Kitty looked at her husband with disgusted shock. “Oh…I think that is awful.”
“Yeah, you and God,” he responded dismissively and turned to his daughter. “Why the hell are you putting off college?”
“Uh, hello?” she responded, pointing to her stomach. “I thought the answer would be obvious.”
  “Don’t get smart with me!” he barked. “I want a real answer besides your own doing of screwing up!”
“Because I don’t want to be in the middle of finals when my water breaks?” Y/n responded, shrinking in her seat. “I want to focus on the twins birth and then the first few months before going back. I don’t want to be sleep deprived and still have to study.”
“Well, you should’ve thought of that before you got knocked up!”
“Hey, I didn’t get this way by myself,” she retorted.
“Yeah, but Steven has his own store, making good money…what are you doing?”
“Red!” Kitty said sharply. “She’s growing two human beings. That’s exhausting enough as it is.”
“Don’t defend her! She needs to know that she can’t depend on us for the rest of her life.”
“How can you think that of me?” Y/n asked, hurt that her father would make that conclusion. “Out of everybody, you know that’s not how I am.”
“Well, you know what? You’ve proven me wrong. Before you getting pregnant, I never thought you’d be the one to do such a stupid thing and disappoint me the most.”
The air suddenly grew still and tense. Y/n could only stare at her dad with a look of hurt and betrayal. “I can’t believe you just said that,” she said, barley above a whisper. Her voice threatened to break as tears rose to the surface.
He continued to look at with a hardened glare, showing no remorse. “Well, then, tell me? What is your plan? Are you still taking that job with Sasha?”
She shook her head and looked down at her plate. “I don’t know anymore.”
Red sighed frustratingly and set down his fork. “I already have two children who haven’t done anything worthwhile and now my only child that was showing any success in her future has gone down the crapper with just the rest of them.”
Y/n felt like her heart was ripping in half. “Are you calling me failure?”
“I’m not calling you successful!” he cried out, making her flinch.
“Red, man, lay off will ya?” Steven asked, starting to get angry. He wanted to defend his wife, but was also scared of adding fuel to the fire. “I have a good job now; isn’t that enough for now?”
Red turned his cold, piercing eyes to Steven. “Don’t you tell me what to do. I’ve let you lived here for free. And now I’m letting you both live here for free with your children.”
“And that's my wife. It doesn’t mean you should be laying into her like this,” he responded calmly. “I told her I’ll take care of her while she figures out what she wants to do.”
“No,” he said shortly and turned back to his tearful daughter. “She needs to figure out what she’s going to do because I refuse to have three failures for children!"
“Red Forman!” Kitty shrieked. “That’s enough!”
“I knew you were still angry with me,” Y/n said. “I knew you wouldn’t get over it this quickly. But for you to call my unborn children my screw ups and a failure for getting pregnant so young is crossing a line you have never crossed before.” She stood up, abandoning her food. “I’m leaving.” With tears streaming down her face, she exited out the sliding door wordlessly.
Once she was out of earshot, Kitty whipped towards her husband, enraged. “What the HELL is wrong with you?!” she yelled. “Why can’t you ever keep your trap shut?!”
“Because she needs to know the truth!” he boomed back.
“I think I’m going to go,” Steven grunted, reaching and grabbed another piece of toast.
“I second that,” Fez said and scrambled out of the kitchen with Hyde on his heels.
The whole time, Kitty’s icy stare never left Red’s beady ones. “Your opinion is not the truth,” she finally said, her voice quivering from her requited rage. “Your way is not the highway! Just because her life has taken a different turn that what you expected from her doesn’t make her failure! It makes you a failure as a parent for berating her and treating her less than!”
Red stared at Kitty with an open mouth, eyes widened in shock. “How can I be the failure when all I’ve done is support her?!”
“You’ve been everything but!” she spat and stood up. She leaned forward onto her hands, getting down to his eye level. “You’ve been nothing but spiteful. I thought we could finally look past this and go forward, but we can’t do this when you're just slamming the brakes in reverse!”
“I can’t believe you’re taking her side! AGAIN!” Red boomed. “When am I ever right?!”
“You were fine up until a few minutes ago!” she shouted back. “You didn’t have to say that to her! You didn’t have to say anything at all!”
“She needs to—!”
“I don’t want to hear what she needs and what she doesn’t!” she interrupted and threw her hands in the air. “You know what you need to do? You need to be a father instead of a drill sergeant. You need to be better! Because right now, you’re failing her!”
“How dare you—!”
“Oh, shut your freakin’ trap,” she snapped. “You better apologize to her. Until you do, I’m not cooking and you can sleep on the couch.” She spun sharply away from him and stormed out the kitchen. Red sat there speechless and amazed. He had never seen her this angry before. And he never wanted to see it again.
Y/n had gone for a walk around the neighborhood to try and calm down. Once her tears had dried, pure rage had filled her. Her hands were shaking, and heart pounded against her ribcage. His words kept resonating through her head like a broken record, making her heart wrench even more.
Even when she returned home, she refused to go inside. Trying to distract herself, she picked up the basketball that had been placed in the garage and started shooting hoops. She wasn’t restricted on exercise yet, so she was able to move a little bit more before her third trimester would hit. Every time she would shoot the ball into the net, it would circle the rim before bouncing, irritating her even more.
“Come on!” she shouted after missing another shot. “Stupid piece of crap."
“You better watch your language when those kids are born. Don’t want them picking up on it,” Steven said jokingly behind her, leaning against the door frame with his hands in his pockets.
Y/n looked over her shoulder at him before turning back to the net. “What do you want?”
He pushed off the frame and walked over towards her. “I came looking for you. Been looking for a little bit now.”
“Well, you found me,” she grumbled, her voice deflated. She threw the ball into the net and for the first time it went through. A small satisfaction sigh fell through her lips.
Before the ball could hit the pavement, Hyde caught it smoothly in his hand. He moved in closer to her and cocked his head to the side, looking down at her. “You doing okay?”
She turned away from him, breaking eye contact. “Would you be?”
He shrugged. “It’d be another Tuesday for me.”
Annoyance ran across her pretty features as she stared at her husband.
“I’m joking,” he chuckled. “Mostly.”
“Steven,” she whined and grabbed the ball from him, fighting to hold back tears as she bounced it.
“I know, baby, I know,” he said gently, stepping closer towards her.
“My dad has said a lot of hurtful things in the past, but this one took the cake.” She sniffed, vision blurred. “My whole life—my whole damn life—I tried so hard to be a good daughter, a good sister, and a good friend.”
“And you were. I remember,” Hyde said, nodding. “And still are.”
“I got good grades,” she continued, bouncing the ball harder.
Hyde noticed and nodded his head. “Yes, you did.”
“I did my chores.”
  “Sure, sure.”
  “I was always back by curfew on the dot.”
  “Yes, you were.” Steven eyed the ball as she started bouncing the ball harder.
“I hardly talked back.”
   “I know.”
   “When there were times that I should’ve!”
    “I’m right there with you.”
    “You know despite doing what I was doing with you guys, I think I was a good daughter.”
“You are.”
     “Apparently not!” she screamed and threw the ball down hard on the ground, causing it to bounce back into the air and roll into the backyard. “I’m the disappointment in the family. Eric and Laurie have done worse and yet, I’m the screw up because I got pregnant.”
All Hyde could do was look at his wife with sorrow and guilt. Even though it wasn’t just her fault, he had noticed Red had been a little bit harsher towards her than himself and her siblings.
She was breathing hard, tears flowing freely. She dug her palms into her eyes, desperate for the tears to stop.
Wordlessly, Hyde stepped closer and brought her to his chest. “Come on, Y/n, you know he didn’t mean it.”
“But he did. All I ever wanted was to make them proud and I failed them."
“You know that’s not true,” he defended and pulled her away so he could look at her. “You think I’m a winner in their eyes, too?”
“Yes,” she grumbled.
“Not in the beginning.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said, wiping her eyes and stepped away from him completely. “The last sliver of hope he had for me just diminished."
“Come on, now you’re taking things out of context.”
  “Am I?”
  He shrugged. “A little.”
“Really? Because what he said in the kitchen proves otherwise.”
  “He’s just pissed. He always does this,” he said and grabbed her hands. “You remember the things he says to Forman when he’s pissed at him, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“And then he gets over it and moves on.”
“Steven, he’s had three months to get over it.”
“You know he’s stubborn and hard-headed. He’ll get over it eventually.”
“I hope so,” she whined and wrapped her arms around his torso.
“He will,” he responded and placed his forefinger and thumb on her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “You know he will.”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
He kissed her gently before pulling back. “Try not to worry about it. Come on, let’s go downstairs.”
He tugged at her arm gently, but she stopped him. “Or,” she said, halting. “We can go upstairs.”
"And do wha—oh,” he responded, looking at her darkened eyes that were beginning to cloud with lust. “We just did it this morning before breakfast.”
“Again.”
“Again?!”
“Yes.”
He looked at her for a minute with an eyebrow raised, but then a smirk grew on his face. “Let’s go.”
                                      --Time Skip—
The gang was hanging out in the basement with Y/n and Steven absent. They had been waiting on the three to show up so they could go bowling, but for Y/n and Hyde to be late was unusual.
“I wonder where they are. It’s been hours,” Jackie commented as she filed her nails.
“I don’t know; maybe they went out to eat,” Eric said from the record player. “I last saw them in the driveway talking. She looked pretty mad.”
“Can’t blame her,” Fez said, sucking on a cherry popsicle. “If you heard what Mr. Red said, you’d be P.O’d too.”
“Yeah, Hyde filled me in. My dad has said a lot of hurtful things, but that was brutal,” Eric agreed. “She must really be upset.”
“She’ll come down when she’s ready then,” Donna said, skimming through a magazine. “I would be broken up too if my dad said that to me.”
“But it’s been six hours,” Eric responded. “I want to go bowling before all the good lanes are taken up.”
The door at the stairs opened and shut, putting a pause on their conversation. A tired, disheveled Steven Hyde trudged down the wooden steps.
“What happened to you?” Fez asked as Hyde collapsed in his chair. His shirt was wrinkled and his bare feet wore socks.
“Y/n is what happened,” he answered.
“What do you mean?” Eric asked.
“Man, ever since she entered her second trimester, she’s been wanting to hop on me every minute of every day.” He rubbed his tired eyes and leaned his head back against the chair.
Fez glared at him. “Oh, boo hoo, you’re getting sex from a beautiful woman every day. What a tragedy.”
“Yeah, man. How are you complaining?” Kelso chimed in. “I’d be on that faster than white on rice! I mean, even while pregnant, Y/n is still smoking hot!”
“Not when she wakes you up at three in the morning to do it and you have to get up in four hours to go to work,” Hyde said. “And she makes it last two to three hours! I’m beat, man.”
Eric stared at his friends with dead eyes. “You know I want to be a supportive friend, but you’re making it really hard.”
“Well, you can look at it as a friend needs help instead of it being your sister,” Donna offered. “Like, instead of saying Y/n, we can just say ‘the wife.’”
“Okay,” Eric said swallowing hard, forcing himself to push the image of his sister and best friend out of his mind. He sat down next to Hyde, facing him. “Have you tried talking to her?”
“And tell her what?” Hyde asked. “‘Hey, honey, I know you want to have sex every minute of every day, but I’m all tuckered out from you needing to get on this ride, so I’m going to have to ask you to cool your jets.”
Eric shook his head, struggling not to picture his sister. “Just because Y/n—the wife is pregnant, doesn’t mean she has to disrupt your life with constant sex. Oh, God, I can’t do this.” He got up quickly, feeling his lunch churn in his stomach.
“Or you can just lay there,” Jackie said. “When I was with Michael, that’s what I had to do sometimes to get him to shut up.”
Everyone looked at her with wide eyes.
“Jackie…that’s not good. And terrible advice,” Donna said and patted her shoulder. “Just, maybe stay out of this one this time, yeah?”
Michael looked at her with an open mouth. “You told me you liked it!”
“And I also said that I would only do missionary. I say a lot of things,” Jackie said sarcastically.
His jaw fell open and looked at Fez who stood there smirking. “She didn’t for you?!”
“Oh, she did a lot of things for me,” he sneered. “And with me. More than just missionary.”
“Traitor!” Kelso screeched.
“Oh, get over it,” Jackie said, annoyed. “That ship sailed a long time ago. Go hop another one and hope it sails the water like you want.”
“Okay, this conversation is getting weird,” Hyde said.
“It’s been weird since you mentioned sex with my sister,” Eric added in.
“I’m trying to take a break before I actually break,” he responded. “And I can’t necessarily tell Y/n because then she might burst into tears. The other day at dinner, I told her to pass me the salt and she started crying because apparently my tone was hostile and took it as me being angry at her.”
Donna raised her eyebrows at her. “Wow, she’s that hormonal?”
“And annoying,” Eric said. “Ever since she got pregnant, she’s gotten more demanding. Like, yesterday she made sit on the other side of the living room because,” he raised his hands and curled his fingers into air quotes. “’I was breathing too loud.’” He rolled his eyes and grabbed a popsicle from the freezer.
“Well…you kinda do,” Donna said, fighting back a smile. “Just last week you were snoring while watching TV. I thought you fell asleep.”
“And I do hear your snoring every night,” Hyde said. “One of these days, you’re going to suck the drapes off the windows.”
“Hey, this is about Y/n, not me,” Eric said defensively. “If I have to hear her say, ‘Shut up, Eric’ for breathing once more, you’re about to become a widower.”
“She’s about to be a widow if she doesn’t quit riding me,” Hyde said and looked at Eric who was staring at him expectantly. “Figurately and literally.”
“There it is,” Eric deadpanned and walked away to sit in the lawn chair.
“I just want a nap,” Hyde groaned and ran his hand down his face.
“Steven,” a sultry voice sang up the stairs. Y/n’s head poked out from between the banisters, ignoring the group. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I know, Doll, I’ve been getting a drink of water,” he lied.
“Well, how long does it take to grab some water?” she asked, impatience running thin in her voice and trotted down the stairs in her robe. “I need your huge d—Oh, hey guys,” she said awkwardly, seeing everyone staring at her. “I didn’t—uh, I didn’t see you there.”
“Here’s an idea: when you walk into a room, take a quick scan!” Eric cried out. “I’m tired of knowing more about your guys’ sex life than I should.”
“Yeah, but you just make it so easy,” Hyde teased.
“And it’s funny,” Fez giggled, looking over at an uncomfortable Eric.
“It’s disgusting,” Eric said.
“And it’s funny,” Fez repeated, another giggle escaping him.
“Come on, honey, let’s go back upstairs,” Y/n begged, grabbing her husband by the hand. “We’re not done yet.”
“Come on, Y/n, I’m tired,” Steven said, feeling depleted. “We’ve done it five times already. Can’t we take a break?”
“This is exactly what I want to hear,” Eric piped up. “Merry Christmas to me!”
“Shut up, Eric,” Y/n said.
“Shut up, Forman,” Steven said at the same time.
“Okay, but Steven, you don’t need a break,” Y/n continued. “All you need to do is lie there and I’ll do all the work.”
“By the looks of it that’s all she’s been doing,” Fez joked causing an uncomfortable silence.
“Y/n, please, I’m exhausted. Can we take a break?” Steven asked. “I’m actually begging you for the sex to stop. Just for five minutes.”
“It’s been longer than that!” Y/n said. “Strap up, cowboy, you’re going back upstairs.”
“Oh, for the love of God, could you please—!” Eric started but was interrupted by Kitty storming down the stairs in a panic.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God!” she repeated, holding a newspaper. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What?” Y/n asked.
“I was looking for store coupons and I came across this section,” Kitty started.
“You were looking at coupons and you freak out? What—did you find a good deal?” Kelso asked.
Kitty whipped at him with a scornful look. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have another girl to impregnate?”
Kelso’s jaw dropped. “You used to be nice, but you’ve changed, lady!”
“Mom, what’s going on?” Y/n asked gently, pulling her mother back into the conversation.
“As I was scanning for coupons, I came across this,” she replied and gave her the folded up newspaper. She pointed to the section that she wanted Y/n to read.
Upon reading the article, Y/n’s heart dropped:
     Point Place’s Smartest Girl, Turned Slut, Y/n Forman, Gets Knocked Up By Infamous Burnout, Steven Hyde.
Tags: @not-shy-nanya @taysirene @jeeperky @05-feet-off-the-table-06 @mdittyz123 @undead-sierra @random-thoughts-003 @lieswithoutfairytales @xxivy-32 @chloem4a1 @srhxpci
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70s-show-diary · 5 months ago
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🔪🦋🥤
Thanks, Emma!! 💖
🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?
Since it’s my latest work, I mostly remember what I had to research for Liminal Space. There’s a scene where Kelso is going through a box of junk from the clearance shelf at Bargain Bob’s. To come up with ideas for what would be in the box, I went down a rabbit hole researching some of the most random toys, candies, and knick knacks from the ‘70s. That’s where I got the idea for Kelso to try to fit on a Sit ‘n Spin!
🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately 
Well, in the fall I’ll be going to grad school again to earn my second masters degree, and I’ve been more than a little nervous about it. But I’ve been thinking about this T7S community on Tumblr and how reading and writing fanfic and making edits for this show has given me such wonderful friends and a creative outlet. Even though I won’t have as much time to dedicate to my blog and T7S content when school starts, I’m grateful to know that this place will be here when I need that escape, and that more than anything has helped me work through those nerves! 💜
🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love
You! 😊 And all my other writer friends here on Tumblr!
I also did a deep dive on my FF.net account Favorites to find this oldie but goodie: That Whole Sleeping Over Thing by Kendra A
It’s one of the first fanfics that I ever read (over ten years ago) and still one of my all time favorites.
Writers Ask Game
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