A/N so I wrote like nine pages for an ending and then when I was re-reading it I realized that I just didn't like it, it wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't right. So, this is attempt number two to end what was originally going to be a one shot, someday I really will write a one shot….
Anyway, let me know what you think, and I have a small hope that finishing this will get me back on track with the other 3 stories I've been stalled out on.
Hyde woke up the next morning disoriented, he was warm and comfortable and had a strange feeling of contentment and safety? And it was freaking him the hell out!
He was about to jump out of bed and try to figure out what was going on when he felt a slight pressure on his chest, he glanced down and saw a slender arm laying across him? Following the arm to its owner he found Jackie curled tightly against him.
The previous night came flooding back, bud bailing on him, calling Jackie to help him clean the dive apartment, finding out that for some reason the most amazing girl he'd ever seen loved him? A quick scan of her head didn't reveal any trauma that he could see, so she must really feel that way?
She also smelled really good.
Now that he knew where he was and why, Hyde relaxed back into Jackie's soft bed and gently pulled her closer, the thought crossed his mind that this must be the happiness he'd heard others speak of, he'd always believed that people were lying about feeling this way because he'd never come close until now.
It was nice, very nice, and he didn't want it to end.
Another feeling intruded on the new happy feeling, the cold harsh feeling that his 'friends' would do everything they could to ruin this for him, and he felt a familiar rage dampen the happy. He could so clearly see how they'd react and hear the range of awful things they would say to him and Jackie, if tradition held it would range from passive aggressive to overtly aggressive.
Why did he hang out with them again?
Jackie smelled like vanilla and honey and that was making it very hard for Hyde to come up with a single reason to return to the basement and put up with the way they all treated him about Jackie, ever again. He just wanted to stay there with her and feel happy for as long as he could.
But that was a coward's way out, and even though he often avoided tough situations that was laziness not fear, if they stopped going to the basement now that they were together they would be hiding, and Hyde refused to do anything that might appear like he was ashamed of wanting Jackie.
"why are you growling?" a sleepy voice questioned from his shoulder
"was I?" he asked curiously
"yeah Steven, you really were. What's wrong?" she asked sounding much more alert now that there might be a problem.
"I was just thinking" he explained casually, hoping for once in all the time he'd known her she'd drop it,
She did not.
"traditionally that causes problems" she said with a small laugh "what are you thinking about? And don't say 'nothing', you were growling so I know it was something" she told him seriously
"I was thinking about how being here with you makes me happy" he began, and smirked when Jackie immediately made a delighted cooing noise "then it occurred to me how as soon as were around our 'friends' and I use that term loosely – they're going to do everything they can to ruin it for me and probably you too" he explained heavily
"us" she said
"huh?"
"you just used five words when instead you could have used one 'us', brevity is very important Steven" she said pointedly
"us" he repeated
"let sink in handsome" she giggled fondly, and snuggled closer to him.
"what do you think we should do about the gang though jacks?" he asked
Jackie wasn't used to being asked for her opinion, she was more accustomed to throwing them at people with deadly accuracy, like a ninja…
"jacks, you still with me doll?" Hyde asked when she'd been quiet for awhile
Jackie shook herself out of the daydream of herself as a ninja, kicking the basement dwellers asses with deadly skill and answered him.
"oh, uh…well, I suppose we should decide if we want to hide being together "
"no!" Hyde snapped furiously
"settle down handsome, ok - no hiding us, it's all how we decide to approach them, they each need to be tackled in different ways, first off is Eric. He's easy" she told him seriously
"actually, Forman's probably going to be the hardest to deal with" Hyde disagreed
"no Steven, he isn't" she told him with a certainty he couldn't brush off
"uh jacks? I think I know him a little better than you" he said carefully
"oh Steven, that's adorable" she said with a pitying expression and a condescending pout "you might know more history about them all than I do, but I've been watching all of you for years and I know how each one of them is going to react before they do." She admitted bluntly
"even me?" he checked nervously
"no actually? You've always been tough to figure out, but I stopped trying to a while ago since it's more fun to watch and see. Anyway, back to the point here. Fez won't be a problem, he likes to yell about things but he doesn't actually get upset about much, he just likes making things dramatic for fun, he won't care what we're doing if we don't abandon him now that were together. Eric will piss and moan, but if you're truly happy – he'll see it and back off, he cares about you and isn't so selfish he'll try to ruin anything for you. As for Kelso – he is that selfish, but not in a conscious way, he'll say a lot of offensive bull and he will definitely say stuff just to make you mad, but all we have to do with him is stand firm and repeat that were together, he's like a puppy he needs discipline and consistency, if we give him that he'll give us loyalty" she laid out for him almost clinically how to deal with his oldest friends,
He'd been leaning towards overt aggression – barreling in and telling them all to back the hell off or there'd be hell to pay!
But Jackie was a finesse player, and she wasn't going to waste one iota of energy she didn't need to on their friends.
"what about donna?" Hyde asked curiously
"sanctimonious bitch" Jackie muttered so low he knew he wasn't meant to hear it
"whoa" Hyde said surprised "I thought donna was your best friend?" he asked mildly
"you're my best friend" Jackie told him softly "donna treats me like I'm an idiot – and I may have been when we first met, but in my defense, I was only 14. But she still treats me like that, no matter what I do she acts like I'm pathetic and I'm tired of it. Well screw her! I like what I like and I am who I am, whether people like it or not, which is more than I can say for her!" Jackie snarled
"easy there gorgeous" Hyde chuckled "I'm not arguing, it's your call how you want to handle big red, I'll follow you" he assured her as sweetly as a dude who didn't do 'sweet' could.
"how far?" she asked pointedly
Hyde raised an eyebrow "how far what?" he asked not understanding
"how far will you follow me?" she asked, the challenge in her voice was clear.
"how far you going?" he shot back
"the woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep" Jackie murmured,
her voice was almost melodic – entrancing him, poetry wasn't his thing, but he'd drop everything to listen to that voice.
"your hand in mine, we walk the miles
And thanks to you it will be done
For you to me are the only one" he forced the words out with difficulty,
he was not the guy who said things like that, hell! He wasn't the guy who admitted he felt things those words described! But as soon as she had said those words to him the ones he'd just said had jumped into his mind.
However far the journey was with Jackie he would be there holding her hand, the future was unclear, the distance stretching out so far it turned hazy, and he didn't want to miss a single moment of whatever could happen.
He knew somewhere in his confusing brain, that it was silly to think these sorts of things at 17, that the deck was stacked against them going the distance, but a thought occurred to him then that made a smirk appear on his face – Jackie wanted him and once she made up her mind about something she wasn't one to give up, and neither was he.
"that was pretty" Jackie whispered to him shyly
"zeppelin hasn't failed me yet" he told her softly
"I won't either" she told him sweetly
"that, I've known since I met you" he admitted with some difficulty
But it was true none the less, since the moment she burst into his life he had known he could count on her, for a lot of that time it was just being able to count on her to drive them all insane, but it had been the foundation of a lot of other trust he put in her. If she said she would be there, she would be there, if she said she would do something – even if it was something she hated like fishing – she would do it.
He had never been able to rely on anyone the way he relied on Jackie, and it made him respect her and it made him trust her and it made him love her.
"I have a plan" he told her, suddenly it had become clear to him that their best bet was to divide and conquer.
He would take on Forman and big red, and Jackie would deal with Kelso and Fez, she'd have better luck not kicking the crap out of them than he would if he had to explain that Jackie was his chick and if they didn't respect that he would make them regret it.
They decided that dealing with their friends could wait until the next day, which was a Sunday, because today they both just wanted to be alone.
He had never had the slightest interest in being in a relationship, even when he had like donna he didn't want to do anything that didn't have a physical aspect to it. But with Jackie? He wanted more, he wanted to hear her talk about things – anything, no matter how mundane he wanted to hear her tell him. He wanted to do things with her (a lot of the list was admittedly physical, but not all of it). They made breakfast together and even though Jackie would never be a renowned chef, the pancakes were edible and Hyde wasn't picky.
"this is nice" he mentioned offhandedly while they did something he never would have pictured himself doing – work on a jigsaw puzzle.
Initially it had just been Jackie doing a puzzle at the coffee table while he laid on the couch behind her watching tv. She hadn't asked him to do it with her, hadn't even hinted to join in, she had been contentedly working on it alone just enjoying his company, when he had noticed something odd?
She worked from the inside of the picture out!
"you're supposed to do the edges first" he pointed out helpfully
"I don't like to" she muttered absently, too busy concentrating on what she was doing to explain further.
"why not?" he was genuinely curious because knowing Jackie, whatever the answer was it would be interesting and not what he would have been expecting.
"if I do that, it goes too quick, it's more fun this way" she explained
He had to admit, she had a lot completed doing it her way, but it was still bugging him so he joined her on the floor and started putting the edges together.
It was a nice calming memory he used to steel himself for what he was going to face when he walked through the basement door. He'd been on the step for about five minutes trying to force himself to go in and deal with them when all he really wanted to do was find Jackie and bury his face in her hair.
"dammit!" he muttered irritably and pushed the door open
"hey man, where have you been?" Forman asked curiously from his usual spot on the couch.
"yeah Hyde, we haven't seen you in like two days" donna added with a piercing look, if he hadn't been in the basement for two days the reason must be important.
Hyde took a deep breath while he walked to his chair, this was it.
"moving" he told them both simply
"what?! Why? Where? What happened?" they both demanded, like a two-headed beast that couldn't take turns.
"slow down" Hyde ordered irritably "bud took off again so I moved in with my girlfriend for a while" he explained with a casual tone that he knew would rile them up, he and the word 'girlfriend' weren't mentioned in the same sentence unless they were divided by the words 'will never have one'
"WHAT?!" the couple shrieked
"did I unconsciously lapse into Cantonese?! You heard me" he snapped
"yeah, it sounded like you said you had a girlfriend and that you moved in with her, but that doesn't make any sense, because you don't have 'girlfriends' and even if you did call some chick that you're nailing your girlfriend to shut her up, you sure as hell wouldn't move in with her! Especially since you know you can move in back here" Donna pointed out
"okay, lets break this on before it drags on into my 'threes company' time" he told them calmly
"number one – I do have a girlfriend, and I'm not calling her that to keep her happy so I can nail her, because number two – I'm not nailing her, number three – as much as I appreciate the offer to stay here, I want to stay with her because, number four – I love her" he explained bluntly
"no, you don't" donna laughed "that's a good one though, Eric why aren't you laughing?" she asked wiping a tear off her cheek
Forman was staring at Hyde thoughtfully
"who is it?" he asked Hyde seriously
"come on Eric, he's messing with us, there's no girlfriend he's in love with, its Hyde!" Donna chortled
"it's Jackie, isn't it?" Eric asked his oldest friend with his 'you better tell me the truth' look, but before Hyde could answer Donna interrupted.
"oh my god that's even funnier! Hyde and Jackie?! Hyde falling in love with Jackie?! You should write comedy Eric, or maybe science fiction with an idea like that"
Hyde ignored her statement, and looked solemnly at his best friend
"yeah man, its Jackie" Hyde answered truthfully
"what the hell Hyde?!" donna demanded angrily, although he couldn't think of a single reason she had to be mad?
"what?" he asked defiantly
"you can't date Jackie! Not only is she Kelso's ex which makes her off limits, but you two have nothing in common and seriously Hyde, you can't go from hating someone to trying to claim you love them" she told him condescendingly
"she's not a thing donna, she has the right to date whoever she wants and for some insanely lucky reason she wants me, and also – Screw you man! You don't know shit about us! We have a little too much in common actually, and we never hated each other…much, but the main thing here is that you have no damn right to offer an opinion on who either of us love!" he yelled getting to his feet in anger
"but Hyde- "Donna began arguing
"no!" he yelled angrily "get it through your head man, I LOVE HER! And you don't get to have an opinion on that! And you sure as hell don't get to say one damn thing to her about it either! Have I made myself clear?" he asked dangerously
"Hyde, you can't just go from never wanting a girlfriend to claiming you're in love – with Jackie of all people!" donna just couldn't keep her mouth shut.
"you got a problem with Jackie? Because let me be very clear about this, if you have a problem with her than you have a problem with me, do you want a problem with me Pinciotti?" he growled
"you'd really turn your back on your oldest friends just to burn Kelso by screwing his bitchy ex?!" she shrieked furiously at him.
"stop it Donna" Forman said firmly,
"Eric how can you be ok with this?!" she demanded indignantly
"because Hyde is my best friend and he's always had my back, and when I told him I loved you he respected it and I'm going to do the same for him, I'm not strong or athletic or successful, all I have is that I'm a good person and a good friend, if I belittle my best friend being in love what the hell do I have then?!" he asked adamantly, then turned his full attention back to Hyde.
"congratulations man, I'm happy for you that you found someone to love, and I'll get used to it being Jackie" he finished with a teasing grin that held no malice.
"appreciated Forman, I really didn't want to have to choose" Hyde admitted with a bit more honesty than he usually had where feeling were concerned.
Forman was about to respond when his attention was diverted by a loud tapping sound, the basement door flew open and a blur of color flew at him, depositing itself in his lap, he caught it with a muffled oomph.
"Steven! You're never going to believe what happened!" Jackie told him excitedly, her eyes huge and a wide smile on her face.
"try me" he said with a grin
"ok, so I went to find Kelso and Fez like we talked about and they were down at this contest the radio station was holding to win a van, cus you know Kelso lost his van at the lake with that stupid stunt?" she asked as if he could have forgotten it.
"yeah I recall" he assured her
"yeah of course, so anyway, I found them there and I was trying to explain that I'm with you now and they both need to respect that or were not friends anymore, but as usual Kelso was being obtuse about it – "
"hey!" Kelso yelled indignantly, having just entered the basement with Fez
"shut it!" Hyde barked at him "you were saying?" he prompted Jackie
"right, so he was arguing and making the whole thing take a lot longer than it should have, when the radio guy running the contest told me to either put my hand on the van or leave, so because I was in the middle of a very eloquent thought – "
"she was shrieking that his head was so far up his ass it was a miracle he hadn't broken in half" Fez supplied with a happy smile
"but eloquently" Jackie assured Hyde seriously "so I put my hand on the van so I'd be able to finish telling him off, and you're not going to believe this!"
"you said that already doll"
"but it's important! See, the other guys trying to win got so annoyed with me that they dropped out! And then I used my specialized knowledge of how kelsos mind works to psych him out" she told him proudly
Hyde glanced at Fez for the real-world interpretation of her statement
"she started making whooshing noises until he had to run off to keep from wetting his pants" Fez supplied dutifully, while also pointing and laughing at his friend.
"same difference" Jackie sniffed haughtily
"so, what are you telling me here doll?" Hyde asked, wondering if she could be saying what it sort of seemed like she was?
"I won the van!" she cheered giddily, bouncing distractingly on his lap.
"holy hell!" Hyde exclaimed in shock
Only Jackie could win a prize she wasn't trying to win by annoying everyone, she was amazing.
"it's so amazing! We have to do something! Something big and fun and adventurous" she told him, her excitement still dialed up to an eleven.
Hyde smirked and whispered a suggestion in her ear, making her blush a deep red. Hyde laughed softly at her reaction, and assured her he was just kidding, he wasn't and they both knew it but saying he was allowed her to talk again.
"it's three weeks until school lets out, we have that long to plan what we're going to do, also I might need some help learning to drive a clutch" she admitted offhandedly
Hyde raised an eyebrow at that
"Kelso drove it back as an apology" Fez explained
"apology?" Hyde asked suspiciously
"its fine Steven, he said some things that he shouldn't have and I explained how wrong he was and everything's ok now" Jackie assured him,
"whatever you say doll" he shrugged, relaxing back into his chair, but he didn't miss the look of relief that passed over Kelsos face, he had a pretty good idea of what he'd said that he lived to regret but he trusted Jackie to handle her half of their friends.
"what's your plan when school lets out?" Forman asked curiously
Jackie and Hyde looked at each other wordlessly and smiled
"road trip" they said in perfect unison.
"yes!" Kelso cheered
"just us!" Hyde yelled without taking his eyes off his chick
"fine!" Kelso huffed
"you're both going to bail for the whole summer?" Forman asked surprised
"no man, not the whole summer, just a good chunk of it. Jacks and I have some stuff we need to do, just us ya know?" he explained to Forman, while feeling slightly annoyed that the others could hear him too.
"if you call every week" Forman told him seriously, not caring at all that he sounded like a mother hen.
"sure, thing man" Hyde promised casually
"ooh! We should go to New Orleans!" Jackie told him excitedly
"odd choice" Forman noted curiously
"not really, her dad's creole" Hyde mentioned absently, while visions of Jackie on a riverboat floated through his head.
"he is?" more than one of them asked in total surprise
"Oui Cher" Jackie replied with a grin
"how did you know that?" Donna asked Hyde accusingly
He gave her a curious look and answered as if he were talking to a small child.
"because we talk about stuff Donna, we tell each other things about our lives and ourselves and when she told me about her family in New Orleans I remembered it" he said slowly and enunciated clearly.
"this is all some massive burn, right?" Donna said eyeing them all suspiciously
"donna, I'm the first one to suspect a good burn, I can smell one a mile away" Kelso began in as close to a serious voice as he was capable of "but this isn't a burn, I learned that during ten minutes straight of Jackie hitting me with her purse while she called me a dumbass and told me she was in love with Hyde, the first five minutes I still thought it was a burn, but around the half way mark I figured it out – they're together and they're happy. It makes sense if you think about it" he told her with a nod of certainty.
"how the hell does that make sense?!" Donna demanded
"because Donna" Fez began almost pityingly "they are both beautiful, vivacious creatures" he said with a weird expression "but they are also both lonely wounded people, who find strength through each other" he said mistily
"wow Fez, that was a really beautiful bunch of crap" Donna told him bitingly
"do not bite my head off because you are blind to all but yourself woman! Love is to be celebrated not insulted! If we do not support and raise up our friends then what is the point of spending time together? Were supposed to be there for each other for everything, good and bad. If you cannot do that for two of our friends who love each other than to you I say good day!" he didn't even wait for round two like usual, this time he swept from the basement with a flourish, letting the door slam in his wake.
"well that was weird" Donna said with surprise
"sanctimonious bitch" Jackie muttered angrily
"what did you say?" donna asked, having not heard the insult
Hyde, Forman and Kelso braced for impact, the look on Jackie's face was scary.
"I said you are a sanctimonious bitch" Jackie said coldly
"what's your problem?!" Donna asked when the shock wore off enough to talk
"you" Jackie said with a defiant tilt of her head. Hyde had to cover his grin by burying his face in her hair, he briefly considered asking her to change her shampoo because this one was too distracting.
"listen you little brat!" donna began angrily, but Jackie didn't let her get too far
"no, you listen! I'm going to make this very simple for you donna, as strange as a concept as respecting other peoples may be to you, that's the only choice available. If you can't say anything nice to us then shut your freakin' pie hole! Try thinking about someone besides yourself for half a second and then maybe you'll see what a garbage friend you've been lately! I don't know why you even come here? All you do insult us all and act like your so much better and more mature than we are, well if you're so damn above us, why don't you get the hell out of here and go find some friends that are good enough for you? Might be hard since you treat everyone around you like trash but who knows?" Jackie said it all with cutting fury and it was clear to them all that she meant every word she said and felt no remorse
"are you all going to let her talk to me like that?" she demanded of her three oldest friends
"it is kind of true donna" Kelso told her with a shrug, he didn't see what he big deal was? People pointed out when he'd done something stupid all the time.
"Eric?" she yelled for him to come to her defense, somehow forgetting everything she'd said to him in the last few months,
"what?" he answered mildly, he knew what was coming but didn't really feel like being involved
"do you agree with what their saying about me?"
"well, I mean…yeah donna, you treat us all like were stupid and beneath you, I don't know why you come here sometimes? If we all annoy you as much as you act we'd be doing you a favor by not hanging out with you anymore" Eric admitted gently
"so, you don't want me here anymore?" she asked looking as if the truth was more than she could handle, it's hard to hear the truth about how you've behaved when you've been as selfish as she'd been getting.
"none of us said that donna, we just aren't going to let you treat Jackie and Hyde like their relationship is up for debate, if Hyde's happy then we should be happy for him and Jackie, if you can't do that then there's no reason for you to stay" Eric told her bravely
"Hyde do you have something to say too?" Donna asked angrily
"sure do" he said tapping Jackie's thigh to let him get up "jacks and I are going home in her new van, were going to make dinner together and plan our trip for the summer, and were going to do some other stuff that's none of your business, that's the new reality, get on board or go away. See ya 'round" he told them with a laugh and whisked Jackie out of the basement while his friends digested what he'd said, Kelso laughed at the look of fury on Donna's face before leaving to find Fez, while Forman laughed at how different things had gotten so quickly but smiled happily for his best friend finding happiness.
Hyde walked with his arm around Jackie towards the new van.
"hey doll" he said softly
"yeah?" she answered with a smile
"I love you like nothin' else jacks" he told her with some difficulty
"and I love you madly puddin', always will"