Author's Note: We all know that the timeline of That '70s Show really sucks (especially for a show in which the time period is essentially the whole point), although I will try to briefly explain my interpretation for the sake of this one shot. Everyone but Jackie graduates from high school at the end of season 5. Jackie is a year younger than the rest of the gang, and if she graduates toward the end of season 7, that means that season 6 through 7 would take place in the course of one year. Ignoring the fact that there are two Christmas episodes in that year before Jackie graduates, it almost makes sense. And is also the timeline set up for this one shot. So I had two options for Valentine's Day: the Valentine's Day where Jackie and Hyde are fighting because of the whole 'get off my boyfriend' fiasco in which Jackie would be a junior and Hyde a senior, or a Valentine's Day we don't have an episode for, in which Jackie is a senior and Hyde has already graduated. So for this one shot, I went with the latter: the Valentine's Day we didn't see where Jackie is a senior.
Warning: EXTREME fluff. But it's Valentine's Day, so what did you expect from me? (But please note that I will fight to the death that even though it's fluffy, it's still in character. Without giving anything away, it is my firm belief that when Hyde is alone with Jackie he opens up and can be quite the softie.)
Disclaimer: I do not own That '70s Show. Those rights belong to The Carsey-Werner Company, LLC. Also, some dialogue is taken straight from "Angie" (season 7 episode 8).
Angie was out for blood. Steven's blood.
And Steven wasn't even remotely concerned that his half-sister had basically declared war on him. And now she was armed to the teeth, rifles and daggers aimed straight at my boyfriend.
Well, I wasn't going to have it.
I glance over to where Mr. Forman is sitting in his pea-green chair. He had a newspaper pulled up in front of his face, having long ago tired of entertaining my presence. I continue to stare at him for another few seconds before giving up. Even if he hadn't been concealing us from his view with his newspaper he probably would have ignored my pleading stares anyway.
Restlessly I rotate my body on the couch to face Steven. He meets my gaze unflinchingly. I scrutinize his posture; he is laid back on the organ bench, his elbows resting on the keys, the cacophony melody they had played had long since faded into the silence.
"So, Steven. What are you going to do about Angie?" I decide being straightforward and blunt was my best option. "How are you going to fight back?"
I'm careful not to ask him if he was going to fight back. By phrasing the question with how I hoped to proselytize the idea that Steven needed to do something about Angie. And quick.
"I don't know that I am," he says, mellow as ever. "I mean…you're asking me to fight for a job." Steven purses his lips, his face souring with that last three letter word. "That's a tough sell."
I narrow my eyes, hoping to convey a look of displeasure. "But this is my company at stake," I take another approach.
Steven shakes his head at me, but I am dead serious. "Jackie, would you stop saying that everything that's mine is yours?"
I let my thoughts about Angie linger for a beat longer before taking a breath and starting off on a much more significant topic. "Okay, Steven," I lay into him. I lean my body slightly over the edge of the couch and point my finger accusingly. "Last Valentine's Day I gave you a card that said 'Be Mine'. And you said yes."
I give him an expectant look but he remains confused…and perhaps a little nervous. So I finish the thought for him. "And by saying yes, you agreed that everything you had, have, or will have from now until the end of time is mine as well."
He's speechless. "Read the fine print, Steven."
*February 12th (Months Earlier)*
On Friday, I watch as all the valentines get passed out during homeroom, and only feel the smallest twinge of jealousy when construction paper hearts and ten cent boxes of sweethearts land of every desk but my own.
After all, my boyfriend had already graduated, so it wasn't even like it was possible for him to participate in sending a Point Place High Valentine to his girlfriend. At least the whole school knew this as well, so nobody was fooled into believing that Jackie Burkhart was valentine-less this year.
Valentine's Day wasn't until Sunday, so I had to hold out hope that this year would be better than last. Of course, it was my fault, not Steven's, that last year's Valentine's Day had been a tough one. But Steven and I have been together for over a year now and on Sunday it will have been one year since I first told him I loved him. Needless to say, there was a lot hanging on the need for this Valentine's Day to be perfect.
"No valentines this year, Jackie?" Kayla Chambers, a girl I hung out with sometimes at lunch, asks as the bell signaling the end of homeroom causes us all to rise.
I flash her a quick smile of gratitude. Since all my friends had graduated, I'd begun to hang out with some of my old friends during school hours this year. Because of this, Kayla very well knew that my boyfriend had graduated, and was now giving me the opportunity to make sure everyone knew that that's why I hadn't received a valentine. Like I said, they all already knew, but I had to make sure.
"No Kayla," I say nonchalantly, but loud enough for the rest of our homeroom to hear. "Steven graduated last year. But that's okay because his valentine for me will be so much better than a Point Place High paper heart valentine."
I hope, I think to myself as an afterthought, turning away from Kayla lest she see the uncertainty I could feel overcome my features. I hug my books tightly to my chest and turn into the hallway to navigate my way to first period.
It was going to be a long day.
o-o-o
The cold bites into my cheeks as I make my way from my car to the basement. I rush down the stairs as quickly as possible while being cautious of the fact that there could be ice on the stairs that I can't see in the dark.
I pull one of my gloveless hands out of my pocket and pray that Steven hasn't locked the basement door. He rarely ever did, but it would just be my luck that tonight was one of the few times he did lock it.
Thankfully the stinging chill of the knob twists easily in my hand and I spill into the basement, quickly swinging the door shut behind me to bask in the warmth of the basement.
The relief is short-lived however, when I realize that the basement is just cold enough to warrant me to keep my coat on. Steven, however, is sitting in his chair wearing only one of his flimsy band t-shirts for warmth.
"Hey," I make my way over and sit on the end of the couch closest to him.
"Hi," he says then reaches forward to meet my waiting lips. I smile when he kisses me. "Where've you been? It's nine o' clock."
"Been doing homework," I mumble and suppress a shiver.
"You cold?" Steven frowns.
"Kinda," I shrug.
"Hang on." Immediately Steven pushes himself to his feet and disappears into his room. A moment later he returns with the red blanket from his bed. He drapes it over my shoulders then scoots up next to me on the couch.
I smile inwardly to myself, then turn my body to the side and wrap my arms around his torso and rest my head on his shoulder, obtaining most of my heat from Steven rather than his blanket.
"So why were you doing homework on a Friday?" Steven asks and I can feel the words vibrate through his chest.
I shrug without looking up. "Just to get it done." Then I lift my head. "And so I don't have to do any on Sunday."
"Why, what's Sunday?" Steven pulls his focus from the TV to meet my gaze.
"Steven," I keep my voice steady.
"Jackie, I have no idea what's going on on Sunday," he says defensively.
"Steven," I repeat, not nearly as calm this time.
"Jackie, I really don't remember making any plans for Sunday."
"We didn't," I pout, and Steven looks perplexed.
"Then what?"
"Valentine's Day!" I try not to shout.
"Jackie," Steven groans. "You know I hate Valentine's Day."
"Yeah, but..." I start, then drift off, not really sure what I could say to change his mind. But Steven is still waiting for an answer so I just shrug.
"Look Jackie, I told you, it's a holiday designed by commercialism as just another way to make money, by making me look bad if I don't sell my soul to buy you some heart shaped diamond necklace," Steven orates his diatribe.
"But I'm not asking for an expensive necklace," I try not to get too worked up. "Just a gesture that shows how much you love me."
I don't have time to get another word in, because suddenly my lips are caught in a searing kiss. One that catches me by surprise, but that I quickly melt into.
"How about that gesture?" Steven murmurs when he pulls away just far enough so he can speak, his dizzying blue eyes piercing into mine.
I can't help but grin at Steven's flashy show of affection. And all is forgiven. "Yeah," I sigh. "For now."
o-o-o
I lie flat on my stomach and try to keep from inhaling too many fumes from the deep burgundy polish I'm using to paint my nails. Spilling on the carpets was an amateur thing, but Donna still insisted I lay down some newspaper so I didn't mess up her bedroom floor. My feet were currently crossed behind my head, and I try to remember to swing them back and forth to dry the shiny pink polish I used on my toes.
"Don't you just love Valentine's Day, Donna?" I flip my hair out of my face and glance up to where she is sitting cross-legged on her bed.
"Sure, I guess," Donna shrugs without putting down the magazine she was holding.
I frown at her lack of enthusiasm. "Donna!" I exclaim loudly.
"What, Jackie?" She puts her magazine down, looking annoyed.
"Tomorrow is Valentine's Day!" I say giddily.
"I know," Donna says slowly.
"So do you and Eric have any plans?" I ask her. I finish painting my pinkie nail, then sit up and face her, enraptured.
Donna shrugs again. "We're going out to eat and then we're going to see a movie," she says without looking up.
"Donna, Donna, Donna," I shake my head at her, disappointed. Careful not to ruin my nails, I stand up and walk on my heels to sit next to her on her bed. "Show some life, Donna. At least your boyfriend is even doing something for you for Valentine's Day," I don't even bother trying to mask my jealousy.
Donna groans and lets her head fall back. I sit quietly next to her, confused. "Why did I know that this conversation was going to circle back to you and Hyde?" she asks.
"He won't even get me a simple valentine!" I complain, taking Donna's mention of Steven as the okay for me to start talking about him.
"Jackie - " she starts, but I don't even let her get another word in.
"He just keeps going on and on about commercialism and manufactured holidays and blah blah blah," I pout.
"Jackie!" Donna says firmly, then pauses, clearly expecting me to interrupt her again. But I don't. "You know Hyde doesn't believe in that stuff, so why do you keep pushing him?"
"Because I believe in that 'stuff'." I make air quotes with my fingers when I say the last word.
"Well, maybe rather than expecting Hyde to do something for you, maybe you should do something for him."
"What?" I make a face and lean away from her.
"I mean," Donna sighs. "If you can't be Hyde's valentine, then maybe you can get Hyde to be your valentine."
I'd never admit it out loud, but what Donna was saying actually made some sense. Maybe I could get the Valentine's Day I hoped for, after all.
o-o-o
I try to remember the last time I went to the mall and all my purchases could fit into my purse. The more I think about it, I realize that this was probably the first time. But that was okay, because now I was feeling immensely better about the impending holiday.
I make sure my purse is zipped tightly closed before tucking it behind the record player in the basement.
Everyone is down here seemingly doing their own things. Michael is watching a rerun of Gilligan's Island. Steven is reading one of his Rolling Stones magazines. Eric and Donna are playing cards on the couch next to Fez who has his face buried in a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
"I see you're your own Valentine again this year, Fez?" I ask him sympathetically as I navigate my way over to Steven who has put his magazine down in his silent way of asking me to join him on his lap.
"I decided it was better this way," Fez announces while digging for another chocolate. "This way the candy is all mine," he grins, revealing a face full of chocolate.
I turn my focus to Michael who is still enraptured by the television. "What about you, Michael? Are you doing anything for Brooke?"
"Huh?" Is his delayed reaction, as he unwillingly pulls his focus from the TV.
"Are you doing something for Brooke? For Valentine's Day?" I repeat, and am met by a look of confusion. "After all, Brooke is carrying your child, Michael."
"Oh, yeah," Michael nods. "I got Brooke this giant box of chocolates," he says excitedly, holding his arms out to their full length, exaggerating the size of the box.
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" I scrutinize.
"Yeah, why not?" Michael says ignorantly.
"Pregnant women shouldn't eat chocolate," Eric deadpans without looking up from his pile of cards. "Caffeine."
"But Mrs. Forman told me they couldn't drink alcohol," Michael responds.
"There is a lot pregnant women can't eat or drink, Kelso," Donna says this time.
"Huh," Michael scratches his head, contemplatively.
No one says anything, so now I glance over to the couch at the couple playing cards. "And Eric and Donna are going on date night tomorrow, right?"
"Jackie, I know what you're doing," Steven says warningly.
"I'm not doing anything," I say innocently.
And for the most part, I wasn't. I was simply and genuinely curious about how my friends were going to spend tomorrow's holiday. With Donna's advice from earlier this morning, I had taken the fate of Valentine's Day into my own hands. And I knew that now it would be perfect.
"Steven is going to get me the best Valentine's Day gift," I gush. "And he doesn't even know it yet."
o-o-o
I planned everything accordingly. Eric and Donna were out at the movies, Michael was spending time with Brooke, and now I was just waiting for Fez to leave. But I was starting to get impatient.
I couldn't focus on the television. A sappy love story - one of my favorites - was unfolding before my eyes, but I couldn't even remember the title. The longer Fez stayed, the more time I had to think about what I was going to do. And the more nervous and jittery I got. I couldn't stop my knee from bouncing, sometimes it was hard to swallow, and my hands were actually getting clammy.
Fez doesn't get up to leave until the movie finishes. I had been treating this Valentine's Day like it were any other day, so at first I don't do anything after Fez disappears.
I don't move from my spot when Steven silently gets up, changes the channel, then joins me on the couch. We spend a lot of evenings like this once all our friends leave, but tonight I was nervous.
We sit through an entire episode of Three's Company before I find the courage to stand up and retrieve my purse which still contained yesterday's purchase.
"Where are you going?" Steven asks when he sees me headed toward the door.
"Nowhere," I smile, once I've retrieved my purse and make my way back to the couch.
I turn my body to the side so that I'm facing him and stick my hand inside my purse, but don't retrieve anything.
"Steven," I say, but he's already looking at me. It's not quite a look of apprehension or wariness. More confusion than anything, but I still almost lose my nerve.
I swallow the thick feeling in my throat. This was something totally new to me; a concept imbued in me my whole life suddenly gone into reverse. By my own hand.
"Steven," I repeat, and with a deep breath pull my hand out of my purse, revealing to him the object in my hand. "Will you be mine?" I say softly.
"You're asking me to be your Valentine?" Steven asks, his eyes softening as he shifts his gaze to the tiny plush teddy bear I'm holding out to him and the little satin heart he holds that has the words 'Be Mine' embroidered across it.
I pull out the card that I had bought with it before continuing. I needed to collect my voice and resolve before I said another word. My ears were on fire and there was already a tremor in my voice that I could not control.
"No," I swallow again, but the word comes out firmly. "No, I'm just asking you to be mine," I pause. "Minus the valentine. Because, Steven I want everything you have and do to be a part of me as well. Every moment of searing ecstasy and joy, and every moment of agonizing heartbreak and suffering."
I am unable to meet his unreadable gaze any longer, so I shift my eyes down to the teddy bear in my trembling hands. I push forward. "Always and forever. Not just today as a Valentine. Steven, I'm already yours, but will you please be mine?"
"Jackie," Steven says, but just like with his gaze, I am unable to decipher his voice. I can't look up. "Jackie," he says again, and this time when I remain catatonic, he takes the teddy bear from my hands, forcing me to look up at him.
"Of course, Jackie. I already am yours," and he says the words with such ease and candor that I feel my heart and spirits soar.
I open my mouth but nothing comes out. I shake my head in shock, but then reach forward, throwing myself into him as I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Steven," are the first words that come to my lips.
Steven says nothing, but after a short moment he pulls away. "Jackie," he says hesitantly. I try to meet his eyes, reeling at his sudden change of tone, but now he is the one who refuses to make eye contact.
"I didn't get you anything for Valentine's Day, except - "
"Steven," I reach out and touch his arm reassuringly. "Yes you did. By accepting my valentine. By being mine. That is the best Valentine's Day gift you could give me."
"Except," he continues, looking up at me now, and it only just occurs to me that he had said 'except' when I interrupted him. "I wanted to tell you that I love you."
For the second time in less than two minutes I am left completely speechless. My hands fly to my mouth, suppressing the squeal that I knew would make Steven cringe.
"I lied," I finally manage. "That was the best Valentine's Day gift you could give me."
"I thought so," Steven says quietly, but the look in his face is of pure joy. And that is not a quiet look.
"I love you, Steven," I reach him halfway. I can even feel the smile in his kiss.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Jackie."
Steven stares at me for a beat longer, his look quietly imposing. I wonder if he had just gone back in time, as I had done, to read the fine print.
But then he lets out a nervous breath and shifts his eyes across the room, letting his gaze rest on anything but me. "This whole work thing is a mess," he turns his focus back to the original issue. "I miss my glory days of being an orphan."
Mr. Forman finally drops his newspaper and says something bitter, but I don't catch that. Nor do I notice when Mrs. Forman enters the room, and I don't hear anything she says either as she proceeds to duke it out with her husband.
Because as soon as Steven had finished his smart-mouth orphan retort, his attention had finally landed back on me and he had a strangely endearing look in his eyes.
"That's the key, Jackie. The answer to my problem with Angie," he says quietly but emphatically.
"What? What's the key?" I wasn't following.
A ghost of a smile ephemerally dances across his lips "The fine print."
Author's Note: If you think carefully about that episode (season 7 episode 8, "Angie") you should be able to understand what Hyde is getting at there in the very end. But, if it's too vague for you, later in that episode we see that Hyde does decide to fight back against Angie. And Jackie's question of how? The answer is Jackie. The fine print that says what is Hyde's is Jackie's (and what's Jackie's is Hyde's) made Hyde realize that Jackie is the perfect ally and his best option...because she cares; because Jackie sees this problem not only as his, but hers too, and wants to help. And so Hyde brings Jackie to the office and ultimately gets his revenge on Angie. (Please note that I am in no way condoning that their solution was the most ideal, but I just love it when we get to see the two of them working together productively.)
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!