A/N: So I'm part of the Northeast that had their lights knocked out... I had no power from Thursday until Sunday afternoon which really sucked, but one good thing came from it. I got an idea for a short little ficlet. I've never written anything for the Jackie/Hyde relationship, but I absolutely love them and I hope that I did them justice. It kills me that they didn't end up together, but I won't get into that. In this story, they're together and the hooker/wife thing never happend. The world is as is should be. Enjoy :)
Steven Hyde sat on the couch in the tiny apartment's living room, TV on, trying to ignore the sound of ABBA blasting through the thin walls from the room where his girlfriend had shut herself in – his bedroom of all places. They had gotten into another one of their arguments and while he regretted yelling at her and calling her an annoying pain-in-the-ass, he had too much pride to apologize first again, especially when she was playing ABBA.
He should have known that she was looking for a fight the moment she walked in the door. She had been totally pissed when she saw the half open bag of chips from last night was still on the coffee table, and the beer cans that he, Kelso, Foreman, and Fez had emptied were still lying around the room. Then she started about how she hated the smallness of their apartment, and finally, she got to the point where he was the source of all their trouble because he didn't want anything better for them.
Well damn straight he didn't want anything better. He had everything he wanted – damn it, even her – right there in that apartment. Aside from living at the Foreman's house, this was the best he ever had.
Naturally, Jackie pouted, kicked him in the shin, stormed off and was doing her damnedest to ensure that his life would be absolutely miserable until he apologized.
Hyde cringed as he heard Dancing Queen filter into the room, and cursed himself for knowing the name of that damned song.
Sometimes she drove him absolutely crazy, but tonight he was tired, and since he was barred from his bedroom, he was falling asleep to the sounds of the TV and the band he despised. That's life – or at least his life with Jackie.
"STEVEN!"
"God." He groaned at the sound of the shrill scream that pulled him out of his sleep. "Damn it, Jackie."
He opened his eyes. It was quiet and dark. The power was out – of course, how else could his night get any worse? He stood up, tripping over his boots in an attempt to get to the flashlight. He cursed under his breath as he stumbled into the kitchen, and after digging through several drawers, he finally found the flashlight Kelso had been playing with a few days ago in the circle.
He made his way to their bedroom, as annoying as she could be, he couldn't leave Jackie alone in the dark. She hated it.
Knocking, he opened the door, his flashlight landing on Jackie's body curled up on the bed. His heart melted when he realized she was actually scared.
"Hey Jacks. I found a flashlight."
"What do you want?" So she was still angry.
"The power's out." In the dim light he saw she was glaring at him. "Man, forget it." He stood up.
"What did you do?" She accused. So she was still angry, Hyde decided, but that didn't mean she wanted him to leave. Typical Jackie, man.
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Did you pay the electric bill or did you score a gram?"
She was still mad about them resurrecting their circle for the first time in months. Great.
"Obviously. The whole block is out, if not the whole city."
Jackie didn't reply immediately as she weighed her thoughts. Finally, she huffed and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"We're going to freeze, Steven." She put her hand on her hips. Translation: What are you going to do about this?
"You're already wearing three sweaters and boots."
"So you can't fix this?"
"No. I can't fix this." Hyde braced himself for another kick in the shin.
"What time is it?"
Hyde found the clock with the flashlight. Just after seven.
"Steven, how are we going to stay warm if we don't have heat?"
"The power's been out for ten freaking minutes."
"It's fifteen degrees outside!"
Damn it, she had a point. "We could go to the Foreman's."
"The roads are terrible." She said, making him feel like an idiot.
"Well what do you want me to do, Jackie?"
"Think!"
"All we can do is wait for the power to come back on." He sat down on the couch. Reluctantly she plopped herself on the chair across the room. "That's the way to stay warm." He muttered.
"Well I'm not sitting next to you, Steven." She said matter-of-factly folding her arms over her chest.
"Fine. Freeze."
Hours later, Hyde had grabbed the blanket off the top of the couch, draping it over himself. It was only getting colder and there was frost beginning to form on the windows. The only sounds in the apartment were breathing and the occasional movement of the two residents changing how they were sitting. Out of nowhere, Hyde heard Jackie whimpering, obviously cold.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're cold."
"No."
"You're freezing."
"No."
"Jackie, just come here. I've got a blanket and everything."
"No."
Of course, she had to be stubborn the one night when she could freeze to death at eleven at night.
"You'd really rather freeze than sit next to me."
She didn't answer.
"Come here." He said less gruffly.
"Admit you were being a jerk."
"No. You were the one who came in here whining from the start?"
"Your point?"
"Jackie."
"Steven."
"I'm the one with the blanket here, I'll be fine."
"Steven?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you really want me to freeze?"
Well was that a loaded question or what? Obviously he didn't really want her to freeze, but would he mind if she got a little cold because she was being stubborn? Probably not.
"No, Jacks."
"Do you really think I'm a pain-in-the-ass?"
"Sometimes."
"Steven!"
"I'm not going to lie to you, Jackie."
"But you love me anyway?"
Hyde could feel Jackie's eyes digging into him.
"Steven."
"What?"
"Did you hear me?"
"Mmhmm."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too, doll."
"Can I come over?"
"Whatever."
Jackie quickly came across the room, sitting on the couch and snuggling into her boyfriend. Hyde wrapped an arm and the blanket around her. She was freezing and shaking and he began to feel guilty. He should have brought the blanket over to her.
"Jesus, Jackie, you're freezing."
"It's cold." She shrugged. Hyde chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry for being so crazy, Steven."
"Don't worry about it."
"No, I don't ever want to lose my Puddin' Pop. I love you."
"I love you too, doll."
"Oh Steven." Jackie smiled, and leaned up to kiss him. His cheeks will stubble beneath her small hands. "I just got an idea of how we can stay warm." She whispered heavily into his ear before recapturing his lips into a deep kiss.
Hyde laughed as he pulled his shirt over his head. Maybe she was crazy, but her kind of crazy mixed with his, and what more could he ask for?
The End
