Nine years ago:
"Man I can't believe Jackie finally tied you down man. Who would have thought I would be the only single one?"
"Everyone knew that Kelso" Hyde says to his friend. "Also, Fez is probably one stupid comment away from being single. His girlfriend always seems a little annoyed with him."
"Well when she does, daddy Kelso will be right here to catch her," Kelso says nudging Hyde.
"Glad to see some things just don't change" Hyde responds.
He looks around the dimly lit room and sighs. He doesn't even want to start thinking how much this whole thing cost. Even if they were able to cut down costs with him catering, there were so many unnecessary decorations and flowers that it couldn't have been as cheap as he was told. He spots his fiancé across the room twirling to show off her poofy white dress.
Things between them had been rocky the last few weeks as wedding preparations were underway. Many things she thought were important he thought we menial and that would annoy her. Inevitably, they would argue about every little, meaningless, detail.
What color should the tablecloths be?
DJ or band or both?
A budget…no budget…unspoken budget.
She would get annoyed when he voiced his opinions and they didn't match her vision, but also get mad when he told her to choose whatever she wanted.
"This is your wedding too Steven, you could be a little more vocal about what you want."
He knew Jackie would be a bridezilla, there was never any doubt about that, but he hadn't expected it to be this exhausting. He had no problems letting her plan the whole thing and have the wedding of her dreams; after all, she had been planning this day since she was a little girl. That wasn't enough for her though. He had to be on board, but only if it meant agreeing with her on everything, and that was something Steven Hyde had a problem doing.
"Why change perfection?" Kelso retorts.
Hyde nods his head and scans the room. He spots Fez and his lady over by the bar, he talking animatedly and she simply nodding her head and sipping her drink. For a brief second, she makes eye contact with Hyde, tips her glass in his direction and he nods.
A few feet from them he sees Donna making conversation with a woman Hyde didn't recognize and not too far from her was Eric, talking to Kitty and Red. The older man seemed less interested in the conversation, as was evident by his constant eye rolls and disapproving looks towards his son in between swigs of beer. Hyde smiles and can't help but see himself in Red Forman, only a more degenerate version of the man.
"How's Betsy doing?" Hyde asks.
"Oh man, she's so big! I knew she would get big eventually but man did she grow up fast. It's like I woke up one day and BAM" Kelso says with an upward springing movement.
"I hear they grow up fast" Hyde says and immediately thinks about the involuntary conversations he's had with Mrs. Forman about future babies and how he will have to cherish every moment he has with them as babies because it's gone in the blink of an eye. Of course, these conversations always got derailed when she started talking about her own selfish, inconsiderate children who just left her to create their own lives and he would usually walk away slowly but nonetheless, the point was that kids grew up fast.
"I tried convincing Brooke to have another one with me but she said her husband wouldn't be too thrilled with that idea so here I am" Kelso says and
"That does seem to complicate things one bit" Hyde says nodding his head.
"Man, isn't it weird that a few years I was the one who had proposed to Jackie? Sure she turned me down but now we've both proposed to her" Kelso says.
Hyde turns to scowl at his friend and rolls his eyes. He's tried to suppress any memories involving his friend and his fiancé after the way things went down between them in the past. Kelso proposing to Jackie was towards the top of his list of things to never bring up. He remembers how his heart almost burst out of his chest as they all waited for her response and not being able to do anything because Sam was standing right next to him. He also remembers the argument he had with Sam that night about the deep sigh he let out when she said no, which according to Sam meant he still cared about Jackie.
Not getting the hint, Kelso continues, "Seriously think about it, had she said yes, I could be Mr. Jackie Burkhart and this could be our engagement party."
"Kelso, I swear if you don't shut up-" says and feels his fists tightening. Even after all these years, the thought of Kelso and Jackie together still triggers him.
He looks over to her once again and, as always, is enticed by how captivating her energy is. Even just standing there, she dominates the space. He can't believe that after all they've been through and all the mistakes they've made throughout their relationship, they finally made it to this point. In just a few weeks, he'll be waiting for her at the altar and starting their lives together. A few years ago, he would have never thought they'd get here.
"Hey, I'm just trying to find a way to liven this place up man."
"Having me pulverize you in the middle of my engagement party is not the best way to liven this up" Hyde states.
Jackie turns and looks at him and smiles when their eyes meet. She quickly goes back to her conversation but in that quick, nonverbal interaction, Hyde senses how solid they really are. It assures him that despite their history, despite his apprehensions with Kelso and all the obstacles they've faced, this is what was meant to happen. In order to get to his point, they had go through everything they did and now, they could finally begin their fairy tale, just like she'd always wanted. Like he'd always wanted.
"So, are you sure you're ready to be with the same chick for the rest of your life? "
Hyde looks at Kelso and then back and Jackie. He nods his head slowly. "I'm sure."