Disclaimer & A/N: Happy Valentine's Day, guys! A little late, but hope it was good anyway… Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, and I hope this chapter makes you happy! 

I'd Really Love to See You Tonight

Chapter 11 – I Won't Ask for Promises

He closed his eyes, slowly beginning to doze off, when he heard her voice softly say, "Steven?"

He moved so that he could see her in the dark, her eyes glittering in the light from the kitchen, which Kitty had insisted on leaving on "in case they needed to go to the bathroom."

"Um… Yeah?" he asked, wondering what was on the brunette's mind.

"My… My legs are cramped…" she replied, wanting to smack herself on the hand for even saying that.

"Do you want me to sit in Red's chair?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and already reaching for his blanket.

"No…" Jackie replied forcefully, slowly adding, "I mean, no… I'll move…"

Hyde looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Was this the same Jackie he'd known forever? It couldn't be. The old Jackie would have thought only of her own comfort. This was strange.

He shrugged as he sat there, looking at her. "No, don't do that…"

"Well," she said softly… "What are we supposed to do?"

Hyde huffed as he said, "Come on, just stretch out here…"

She looked at him strangely. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said. "I won't touch you, I promise…" He was too drunk to honestly care anyway. Unfortunately… Last time he'd been that drunk with a girl, he'd ended up married to her… By accident.

He didn't plan to do that again. But then again, he hadn't planned it the first time either. Only, that time… Well, he didn't like thinking about that time, so he didn't.

Jackie stretched out beside Steven, too drunk to realize how close they were at that moment in time. She turned her back to Steven, who turned his to her before realizing that his face was stuck in a couch cushion. "Jackie…" he began, trailing off.

"Yeah?" she replied, her words slurred a bit from her margaritas.

"This isn't workin' out so hot," he said, turning back over, careful not to push her off of the couch.

She turned to face him and realized that she'd forgotten just how blue his eyes could be, even when they were in the dark. When she saw the light from the kitchen glinting in those amazing eyes, she wished that she hadn't turned over. Looking at him like that brought back too many memories, in such a rush that even tequila couldn't fight them back.

Hyde looked at Jackie, not realizing until then how badly he'd missed her. Having her this close was a bad idea. It really was. He knew better. He couldn't be this close to her without doing something that he would probably regret later.

Jackie looked at him again, and, against her better judgment said, "Steven… I've missed you."

Her tone was low, and Hyde felt like he had a knot in his stomach. "Yeah," he replied, much to his ex-girlfriend's frustration.

She moved closer to him, shivering a little. It was chilly in the Forman's house.

"You OK?" asked the blue eyed man.

Jackie nodded, reaching up to touch Steven's face. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine now…"

He looked down at her, suddenly losing resolve and fighting back a lump in his throat that wouldn't quit. "J… Jackie?"

"Mm-hmm…"

"I don't know if…" he started, but she shook her head, begging him not to keep this from happening.

"Jackie," he said, giving it one more try. "I couldn't promise you a future when we were kids, and… I really don't know if I can now or not, and…"

"I'm not asking you to," she replied, meeting his eyes. "Steven, I'm an adult now. It's not like… It's not like I'm a teenager anymore."

She looked sad. Tequila and an ex were never a good mixture. Especially for Jackie. She'd long ago given up on finding her true love… Her future husband, the man who'd want to settle down and raise a family. In fact, Steven himself had killed that dream. But tonight, she was drunk, and she just wanted to be with him.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, his speech slurred, though not as much as hers.

"I mean that I don't think I'm going to end up married with that perfect little life I wanted before… I mean that I don't believe in those little girl dreams anymore…" Her eyes showed how much she had been through. They didn't hold that same sparkle as they had before.

Steven felt weird. He knew that long ago, that sparkle had shone just a little brighter when he was around. And he further knew that he had been the one who put it out. And for that, the Steven that hid underneath the Zen knew that he owed her a lot more than he could ever give.

So he was going to do the right thing, despite his body and the tequila telling him otherwise. He wasn't going to give Jackie what she asked for. He was going to give her what she needed.

He shook his head at Jackie. "Listen," he said, not wanting to show her his soft side, but knowing that it was the best thing he could do. "Just go to sleep tonight, OK? I gotta feelin' you're gonna regret those margaritas enough in the morning without adding me in the mix, allright?"

She shook her head, but Hyde was having none of that. He put his left arm around her waist and slid his right under her head, pulling her close to his chest. When they were dating, she never slept better than when he was holding her, and tonight was no different. With Hyde's chin resting on top of her head, she buried her face in his chest and fell asleep.

A/N: OK, this may have been a little anti-climatic and a bit mushy for Hyde, but hey, I started it on V-day, what did you expect? And I didn't want them to just go at it on the couch… It just didn't feel right. They aren't kids anymore, and hopefully, they've learned things about themselves that will make them better people… Anyways. Review, please?