Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything that comes from "That 70's Show" or "Honesty (Write Me A List)" by Rodney Atkins.
A/N: This means flashbacks. This means the song lyrics.
"What? You can't take Chad to New York City with you."
"Why not? He's my colleague."
"He's been hitting on you!"
"Giving me and other female coworkers a rose for Valentine's Day is not hitting on me! At least someone is willing to come to my fist fashion show!"
"Ja--"
"Yeah, yeah, you don't have the time."
"I've got damn stores across Wisconsin to take care of, Jackie!"
"Well, then I'm sorry Steven, Chad's coming with me."
"Huh, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you and he are having more than lunches together."
"Chad is very professional and all he did was being there for me while you were on some business trips doing God knows what. You probably chea--"
"Don't you dare accuse me of that of all things!"
"Well, it's not like you haven't cheated on me before."
"Don't bring up that centuries old nurse incident! You could've gone to your other friends."
"They do have their own lives you know. I couldn't possibly bother them with every little problem I had."
"Oh gee, how noble of you. That's crap, Jackie! Stop making excuses! Grow up will ya?"
"Oh, so now I'm the immature one? You should talk, Mr. I-don't-want-kids-because-they-add-more-responsibilities! Here's the newsflash Steven: life is all about responsibilities!"
"Whatever."
"Yeah, that's one excellent attitude. I'm so Zen. I don't give a damn about other people, not even my own wife!"
"Shut your piehole!"
"No! What are you gonna do? Go whining to your slutty secret --"
"Jackie, I'm warning you. Don't--"
"You know what, I'm tired of this. All of this!"
"That's great. Because I am too!"
Jackie jumped a little when a loud honking noise was coming from behind her. Snapping out of her thoughts, she hurriedly hit the gas pedal and drove pass the green light.
Ten minutes later, she found a parking space in front of the diner. Checking herself in the rearview mirror for the hundredth time, the Point Place beauty was finally satisfied with her appearance and got out of the car. She walked determinedly to the side door, took one deep breath, and pushed the door open slowly.
Her eyes scanned the empty diner for that one person with Afro-hair who wore a pair of big dark sunglasses; she spotted him less in a minute.
There he was, sitting at a corner, sipping his coffee, wearing his old Led Zeppelin shirt and his faded dirty jeans.
'So much for having a fashion designer wife,' Jackie sighed quietly to herself at the sight of her husband of five years but kept walking towards him.
Putting down the cup, Hyde lifted his head up to glance around the surroundings; however, he found himself gazing into two familiar mismatch colored irises that he could easily recognize at any given time. Man, he missed those eyes.
"Hey," he said hoarsely, without taking off his sunglasses.
"Hi," she greeted back, settling down on a chair across from him.
"You wanna order something?"
"Yeah, coffee's fine." Jackie replied. He then called for a waitress to order for her.
"So, humm," Hyde began, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "did your lawyer tell you why you're here, yesterday?"
"Not really. She just told me you had something to ask me."
"Yeah, well, this wasn't my idea but my lawyer said it'd be good to discuss what we each want out of this divorce."
He said just think it over, and write me a list
So we can figure out what we both deserve
Jackie winced slightly at that very last word and stared at him. She didn't imagine him to be this frank like they were strangers making some kind of a deal. But he was Steven Hyde. What else could she expect?
She hardly could believe it, that their love had come to this:
Dividing and deciding his and hers
Their fight about her decision of taking Chad to New York with her two months ago was the last straw, and their marriage fell apart faster than either one of them could say, "It's over."
Everything was great the first couple of years into their marriage, but as their careers took off, they saw each other less and less. When they were together, they seemed to only remember each other's faults and take their relationship for granted.
She had temporarily moved into Mr. and Mrs. Forman's house back in Point Place, and Hyde continued his business throughout Wisconsin. They barely saw or talked to each other unless it involved the matters of their divorce. Even for that, they mostly communicated through their lawyers. Still, she couldn't deny that deep down inside, she wished that perhaps, just perhaps there might be a tiny chance for them to work out their differences before everything was final.
But not every wish came true as they did in fair tales.
But she grabbed a paper napkin, asked the waitress for a pen
'Fine, since he thinks I don't give a damn about our marriage, I'll give him a list he won't forget!' Jackie thought bitterly.
And one by one, she wrote down what she wanted most from him.
Honesty, sincerity, tenderness and trust
A little less time for the rest of the world
And more for the two of us
Kisses each mornin',
I love you's at night
just like it used to be
The way life was when you were in love with me.
Behind his dark lens, Hyde watched intensely as his petite wife busily scribbled things down on the napkin. With every item she wrote down, his heart sank deeper into his stomach yet at the same time he felt a bit of rage towards her as well.
'Huh, she really knows what she wants without giving it a frigging thought,' Hyde scoffed rancorously, 'I bet she had a list written a long time ago. Typical! It's just like--'
She reached across the table and placed it in his hand
However, the unexpected, warm contact of her soft hand on his cold skin interrupted his angry thoughts.
And said "you know this isn't easy for me"
He stared at her hesitantly for a second. After all, it was she who wanted to take a break first. All of a sudden, he was terrified to open that napkin since it would mean their divorce was one step closer to be done and also reading its contents would reveal how much it was truly going to cost him.
As he though about the new car, the house and the land
And wondered what that bottom line would be
And a thousand other things that she'd want him to leave behind
He shook his head slightly. He refused to dwell on it too much; the more he thought about it, the more he would get irritated, and he didn't come here today to have another fight with her. He was tired of fighting with her.
Five years into their marriage, they had more fights than they did before they got together plus during the time they were dating. Once she suggested that they should separate, he didn't object because he needed space as well.
After the separation, somehow everything between them only got worse, which was something he didn't expect. He thought things would cool down eventually, and they would make up as usual. They said hurtful things to each other that couldn't be taken back even though he now desperately wished he could.
But he never dreamed he'd open up that napkin and find:
Honesty, sincerity, tenderness and trust
A little less time for the rest of the world
And more for the two of us
Kisses each mornin',
I love you's at night
Just like it used to be
The way life was when you were in love with me.
He read the first few sentences and looked up at Jackie in disbelief before he continued; he felt the corner of his mouth curved up a little when he saw the word 'optional' written neatly in parentheses next to the 'I love you's at night'.
Maybe she knew him after all; maybe he underestimated her; maybe she matured without him even knowing; maybe she really cared about him; maybe she didn't want to leave him; maybe she did love him; maybe...
Well he fought back the tears, as he looked in her eyes
And said "I don't know where to start"
Judging from his reaction, she knew the purpose of that list was done.
And she said "Everything on that list in your hand
Is written somewhere in your heart"
With that, she placed some money on the table, grabbed her purse, and left the diner.
Honesty, sincerity, just like it used to be.
The way life was when you were in love with me
Those words kept swimming around in his head. Hyde stared at the direction his soon-to-be-ex-wife had gone. He was still in awed. Though, there was one thing from the list that bothered him greatly.
It was the fact that Jackie thought he didn't love her anymore. That was far from the truth. He had always loved her even if he didn't show it frequently because he was neither into all those romantic, mushy craps nor a verbally expressive person.
Right then, He determined to make her understand how he felt before he got the papers from the lawyer, but first he had to go somewhere to think clearly so he could come up with a plan that wouldn't make him looking like an idiot once he did it. He rushed to pay for the coffee and walked out the diner.
Before he knew where he was going, he found himself standing on the Forman's driveway. After taking off his sunglasses and mindlessly hanging it on the neckline of his shirt, Hyde gently opened the sliding door and entered the kitchen.
"Steven!" Kitty exclaimed cheerfully the second she saw him coming in. Dropping her red mittens on the counter, she gave him a bear-hug.
"Hi Mrs. Forman," Hyde said hugging her back loosely.
"When did you get back? And did you walk here?" inquired Kitty as she pulled back from the embrace, peeked over his shoulder and didn't see his El Camino.
"This morning actually. And yeah, I walked. I left my car at the hotel," replied Hyde and shoved his hands deep into his jean pockets.
"Are you going to stay at Point Place for awhile?" Kitty hoped for an opportunity to get her favorite adopted son and Jackie back together.
"Probably not. I've got a meeting tomorrow back in Madison."
"Oh, that's a shame. Well, lemme make some brownies for you!"
"You don't have to do that Mrs. Forman."
"Nonsense, I bet you don't eat much living on your own."
"All right thanks. I'll huh, be in the basement if anyone needs me."
Hyde headed to the basement while Kitty went back to baking.
When he set foot on the last stair, he heard someone coming from outside across the room. Turning his head, he saw a distressed brunette holding onto the door knob. They held a silent gaze for a moment.
"Hey," she said barely audible and closed the door.
"Hi," he murmured, stepping down from the stair.
"What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here now."
"Yeah, I knew that."
He went to sit in his favorite seat; she plopped down on the couch. There was an awkward silence between them.
Glancing quickly at Hyde, who had an unreadable expression on his face, Jackie took a deep breath and broke the silence, "This room holds so many memories, doesn't it?"
"Umm, sure."
"Steven, I'm gonna ask you a question, and I want you to be completely honest with me,"
"Well, being honest is my personal strength." Hyde said wryly.
"I'm being serious here, Steven." Jackie furrowed her eyebrows.
"Sorry."
"Do you honestly want to go through this divorce? If you can look in my eyes and say it, I promise I--"
"Do you want to?"
"I asked first."
"But you were the one who wanted to separate first!"
"Fine, no I don't, Steven. I believe we can still make this marriage work. I really don't want to throw away what we've worked so hard on a few pieces of papers. I still love you, but I'm not sure if you--"
"Well, I don't want the divorce either," Hyde quickly blurted it out before he lost his nerves, "And I still...you know..."
"Oh, Steven," she threw herself at him to give a startled Hyde a bone-breaking hug.
"I was so afraid that--"
"Shh, it's alright. We'll do whatever it takes to work everything out this time, ok? I promise," Hyde comforted her tenderly while holding her close to him just as hard.
"Does this mean you'll come to my fashion show too?" Jackie asked hopefully, pulling back a little to look at him.
"As long as you won't take that what's-his-name dillhole," Hyde grinned and she just rolled her eyes.
"Come on, let's go ask Mrs. F. for some brownies. I'm starving!" He added lightly, trying to change the mood a bit.
As soon as they stood up, Jackie tugged Hyde's hand and demanded curiously,
"Where is my money?"
"What money?" Hyde looked at her confused.
"The money I left at the diner."
"Oh, I used it to pay for our coffee," He just shrugged as if it were the most obvious things to do.
"What? You were not supposed to use them!"
"You left them on the table!"
"I left them so you could use the excuse of returning my money to come looking for me!"
"Well, come up with a more clever idea next time. You know I've no problem mooching off your money." He smirked; Jackie smacked his chest playfully.
Before she could pretend to storm off, Hyde skillfully picked her up from behind and carried her on his shoulder while Jackie giggled and squiggled all the way to the kitchen.
THE END