Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show or any of its characters. Nor do I own the play this story is based on. I own the idea behind bringing them together.

A/N: Hi T7S fans! :D I've missed you all and writing a lot. Sorry, my life is hectic at the moment so a lot of my stories are on pause but just for now. We started The Merchant of Venice in school and I love it so much. Shakespeare is a great writer. Brilliant, just pure brilliant. I love his writings and I was thinking why don't I do a T7S fic based on his play, The Merchant of Venice? This way I can keep writing and keep up with school. Anyways enjoy the first chapter; it's kinda just a background, in a way. It was inspired and based on the 2004 movie.

A special thank you to Prissy (nannygirl) for helping me with the cast! :)

Chapter 1: Rising Feelings of Love and Hate

It was lovely October's day in Venice. The air was crisp and just on the cold side, but it wasn't bitter. It was refreshing. Perfect weather to listen to a man of God preaching furiously about the crime of usury while watching Jews being thrown from the Rialto Bridge into the canal by infuriated Christians. Among the bustling crowd was Steven Hyde, a wealthy young Christian merchant. Hyde had a soft looking face that was a pale, creamy colour. His eyes were water blue and curly brown hair. He was undeniably a good looking gentleman of Venice. He moved through the busy crowd in order to go back to his house.

"Hyde," a throaty voice boomed.

Hyde stopped and glanced over his shoulder to see a tall man with reddish-brown hair on his head accompanied by a red hat, which all Jews at to wear to mark them as a Jew while they were outside the walls of the ghetto. His skin was crumbling and his eyes were an easy hazel, the softest feature of his face.

This man was no other than Reginald Forman, better known as Red, a Jewish moneylender a usurer. Hyde had bailed out one too many people from his evil clutches in the past. Hyde spit out the salvia that was in his mouth and watched as the substance landed on the Jew's cheek before he walked forward and headed home.

Red turned back to his fellow Jews as he wiped the mark of disrespect of his cheek. A deep anger arose inside of him. If the young merchant hadn't pushed him to breaking point already, he unquestionably had now. Silently, Red swore that one day he would have his revenge.

Night had fallen quite quickly and there was a cold bite in the air. The Jews were praying in their synagogue while three young Venetians travelled in a gondola as it was their turn to guard the locked ghetto. The friends were one friend short but it didn't stop them from their mission.

Michael Kelso sat up at the front holding out a crackling torch to light the way. The tall and lanky young man could feel the warmth of the flame near his masked face and was afraid that he'd accidently burn himself and his perfect looks would be destroyed. His two friends, Eric Forman and Fez, who were accompanying him, also feared his clumsiness. He was one of the clumsiest men in all of Venice.

Soon they arrived at their long waited destination. One of them was full of anticipation, as he would get a glimpse of his much cherished lover. They docked the gondola and Eric and Fez hopped out of the unstable gondola and onto the concrete ground before helping Kelso out of their boat along with the wild flamed torch.

Kelso led the way to the synagogue, following the flame and the sound of the Jews praying. They waited outside until the doors of the synagogue opened revealing Jews of all ages in proper garments. Among them was Red, who, when he saw them, rolled his eyes before following his friends back to his house while glancing over his shoulder every now and then to a young woman, who was walking behind him.

The young woman was Laurie, his only child. Her hair was the colour of the sun and formed into long, loose curls. She was walking with her head down and her two hands holding onto the sides of her dress. The boys watched as the beautiful girl dropped what seemed to be a handkerchief and waited until all the Jews had cleared the area before rushing over and investigating with Fez in the lead. His legs carried him fast with his heart beating at the same pace. He got down on his hunkers and gently picked up the white handkerchief that had an L embroidered on it. The tanned skinned man lifted up his masque and brought it up to his nose, inhaling the sweet smelling scent of familiar perfume that made him tingle.

"Laurie . . ." he whispered dreamily with his eyes shut. He felt a big, lanky hand squeeze his shoulder and he looked up to see Eric's masked face and smiled at his friend's small but kind gesture.

Eric looked upon his very much in love friend. He had never seen Fez so happy since the moneylender's daughter came into his life. This made Eric happy too but also made him feel like his heart wasn't yet complete and that his life was still missing something.

That something was his one true love . . .

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. It was really just foundation for the story and so you could understand the tension between Jews and Christians at that time. By the way, I don't have anything against Jews it's just the way it was back in the 1500s, sadly. Also you are probably wondering about the pairings. Well the main pairing is Donna and Eric :) but it isn't really about the pairings as it is about the friendship between the four boys, mostly Hyde and Eric. And the other pairings are as follows: Laurie/Fez and . . . Jackie/Kelso. I am a HUGE Zenmasters shipper! Zennie for life. But it's just the way everything worked out. Please fellow Zennies, give it a chance.

Also for those who have read The Merchant of Venice here is the cast so far:

Hyde – Antonio

Red – Shylock

Kelso – Gratiano

Eric – Bassanio

Fez – Lorenzo

Laurie – Jessica

If you have any cast suggestions or anything feel free to tell me :D

Please review and tell what you thought of the first chapter and should I continue.

Peace ✌~ Mystery Girl