Make Out Kids

Lights out, we're covered in each other's warm embrace

It had been raining in Point Place for the past two weeks. Sam had barely graced the basement with her presence, which had made it easier for Jackie – determined to act normal and move on from Hyde - and Donna to begin frequenting it again.

"I am happy you are both here," Fez told them on a particularly stormy evening. "I am frightened of all the thunder. Could we hug?"

"Aw, Fez." Jackie patted his back delicately, but kept her distance on the couch. "No way."

"You would let a friend tremble in fear rather than put him out of his misery with a warm embrace and some … stroking?"

"Yes," the two girls chorused, and Donna added emphasis with a light slap to the back of his head.

"Hyde, my friend, help me out."

"You're on your own, man."

"Oh, sure, some of us don't need to beg for boob. Some of us married hot strippers who probably give it up twice a night."

"And some of us need to learn to shut our mouths and have some tact," Donna hushed him quickly with another, harder slap and hurried to smooth over the potentially awkward moment. "Guys, can't we watch something better than another rerun? Isn't there anything else to do in this town?"

"Well, there's always porn," Hyde offered lazily.

"Not an option," Jackie vetoed firmly. Her eyes darted to his and then away again. It was the first direct interaction they'd had since the girls had shown up three hours ago. "But I second Donna's vote that we find something else to do. I'm seriously bored."

"Well, in case you guys haven't noticed, it's pouring outside," Hyde pointed out unnecessarily. "What would you suggest?"

"Maybe I should go call Eric," Donna mused aloud. "It's Friday night, right? The rates are lower now."

"Yeah, be sure to tell him how lame things have been since he left," Hyde suggested. "Let him know things are finally how he likes them – quiet, bordering on dead."

"Will do," she noted. "Anyone else, messages to pass along?"

"Tell him to eat a sandwich," Jackie commanded. "If he comes back skinnier than me, I'm gonna kick his ass."

Hyde guffawed but wisely kept his mouth shut. Donna, chuckling, said her goodbyes and took her leave.

"I am sad," Fez announced when she'd gone. "Donna has Eric to call, and Hyde has a stripper to sleep with, and Jackie has been on seven dates in the past three weeks, and I am lonely. Why does no one love Fez?"

"Aw, Fez, you'll find the perfect girl for you," Jackie comforted.

"In a magazine," Hyde snickered.

Fez glared. "I am going to call Kelso and ask him for tips. He always knew how to get the ladies." With that, he stormed out, reappearing only for a moment to grab the umbrella he'd forgotten.

"Uh-oh," Hyde chuckled, "Fez is on the prowl."

"Ladies, lock your doors," Jackie agreed, taking advantage of the sudden emptiness of the couch to stretch out and get comfortable.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Hyde could no longer bite his tongue. "So … seven dates in three weeks, huh?"

"Ha." She plucked nervously at a few threads in the couch's lining. "He's exaggerating. I had to cancel one last week when I worked late. And speaking of working late … where's, uh, Sam?"

"Her line of work requires a lot of night shifts," Hyde said, skillfully avoiding the more graphic details.

"Oh." Jackie glanced around the room, racking her brain for something else to say. Catching sight of the t.v. screen, she began to laugh heartily.

"What's so funny?"

"From this angle, Elmer Fudd looks just like Eric!" she gasped, still giggling. "Oh my God, I really thought it was him for a second."

"Let me see." Hyde moved from his regular chair to a seat on the couch, slouching low to see from Jackie's vantage point. Their temples collided sharply as Hyde squinted at the screen. "Okay … ow."

"Ow," Jackie echoed, rubbing her head. "Jeez, you have one thick skull."

"Yours isn't exactly a cushion," he muttered, tending to his own wound. "Sorry 'bout that."

She laughed. "Your sunglasses are all – oh, here." Reaching out, she removed the glasses that shielded his eyes, then gently slid them back into place. "There. Much better."

Her hands on his face were so familiar, the cool fingertips brushing through his hair, the cool palms pressed flat against his cheeks. His entire body buzzed with the sensation of just that one simple touch.

"Um." Jackie wet her lips, obviously just as thrown off by the physical contact as he was. "It's getting late."

"Yeah." Slowly, his hands rose to her hair, fingering just the tips of the silky strands. "It's raining pretty hard out there."

"Mmm. I should …" her hands dropped from his face, only to trail down his chest and stop at his thighs. "Go."

"Yeah." A deafening roll of thunder sounded outside, the force of it shaking the lamp on the coffee table, and still the spell wasn't broken. "Or you could … stay."

"That'd be a bad idea."

"Right, terrible. Absolutely ridiculous." Even as he spoke, his fingers were trailing down her bare arms. "Forget I said anything."

She shivered and grasped onto the hem of his shirt, toying with the material. "Consider it forgotten."

Later, they wouldn't be able to decide who made the first move. One moment, they were teetering on the brink and the next, they were diving over the edge; lips fusing together as if their lives depended on it. And as Hyde picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, kicking the door closed behind them, they were both thinking the same thing: that, finally, they were home.

XXX

Hyde awoke the next morning feeling better than he had in months. He'd had a lot of sex in his time, with a lot of different girls, but sleeping with Jackie was an experience on a whole other level. He felt … whole again, as if some vital part of him was missing and only by being with her did he stand a chance of regaining it.

A satisfied smile on his face, he stretched and moved to wrap his arm around her. The smile disappeared when he trapped only a pillow against his body.

"What the …?"

He sat up, somewhat shocked to find himself alone in the bed. A piece of paper lay on the nightstand beneath his shades, which he knocked to the floor in his hurry to read the note. The sight of her familiar, loopy handwriting warmed his heart until the words she'd written processed.

Hyde – Sorry about last night. It won't happen again. See you, J.

He fell back against the pillows that still smelled of her, torn between waiting her out and going to find her immediately. "Damn it, Jackie," he cursed out loud, crumpling the letter in his hands. "Where'd you go?"