A/N: Okay, so finally some actual Jackie/Eric action in this episode! Thanks for your reviews, especially those of you who have been keeping up with every chapter! Your encouraging words have definitely been keeping me inspired!
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"Leo, man… thanks for the ride," Eric said graciously as he stumbled out of Leo's car. He and Hyde had gotten lucky running into Leo just outside the bar they were at nearly an hour before. The pair had split nearly six pitchers of beer between the two of them and got way drunker than anticipated. Fez had been busy that night, and there was no way Eric was going to call Red for a ride. Fortunately, Leo usually happened to be in the right place at the right time, and this time he had a car.
"Man, you're just lucky I don't drink," Leo said, a silly grin on his face. "That stuff can really mess with you, you know."
"Yeah, sure." Eric laughed and shut the car door, heading towards the basement stairs for fear of running into his parents if they happened to still be awake.
He took each step slowly and carefully, still managing to nearly fall three times. A heavy sigh escaped him as he reached the bottom of the staircase, and he opened the door to be welcomed by the sight of Jackie, who appeared to have nodded off on the couch.
Eric drunkenly giggled. "Jackie." He poked her twice in the shoulder and she jolted awake.
"Oh… Eric, hey," Jackie sleepily greeted, and then she silently yawned.
"What are you doing down here?" Eric asked, and then he thought about it. He placed his hand on his heart. "Wait, were you waiting for me?"
"No," Jackie lied. She scooted over as Eric sat next to her, smelling very strongly of beer. "Wow, somebody's drunk."
Eric grinned, his eyes half-closed. "And it'd better not be you," he responded, lightly poking her barely protruding stomach and then let his hand remain on it. She flinched and he turned to face her, slumped down and leaning the side of his head on the back of the couch.
Jackie gave him a weird look. "Um, Eric."
"Right." He calmly removed his hand from her abdomen and set it beside him, unfazed.
"You look tired," Jackie told him, and he said nothing in response, just continued gazing up at her. "What?"
A drunken grin was plastered on Eric's face. "Jackie, that guy's such a bastard," he mumbled. "You should, like… give me his address and I'll go kick his ass."
A laugh escaped Jackie. "I appreciate the thought, but no way."
Eric heavily exhaled. "Thought I'd try to be chivalrous for once." His smile was still in tact. "He doesn't deserve you, anyway."
Jackie was surprised to hear him say that. "I know you're drunk, but do you really mean that?"
"Well, duh." He propped himself back up. "You're, like, Backie Jerkhart, right? You're beautiful and funny and… everything nice."
Jackie smiled at this; ignoring his slurring and feeling thankful that he actually saw her that way. "Thank you, Eric." She squeezed his shoulder and then leaned her head on him affectionately.
He looked down at her and grinned. "I thought you'd never do that again."
She lifted up her head and looked at him. "Do what?"
"Aw, damn," he muttered, becoming aware of the absence of her head on his shoulder. "I mean… I like when you rest your head on me."
Butterflies formed in Jackie's stomach upon hearing him say that.
"Your hair, like, always smells nice," he added, realizing even in his drunken state that his last statement may have been a little beyond what platonic friends say to each other.
"Well…" Jackie put her head back on his shoulder. "There you go."
He grinned, feeling confident as he snaked his arm around her, which took her by surprise. "You know, you're gonna be okay, Jackie."
"Why do you think that?" she inquired. Her heart was beating rapidly at his touch.
"'Cause you're strong," Eric responded. "And you have… my family to help you out, you know."
"What about you?" Jackie boldly asked, unable to stop the words from spilling out of her mouth.
He lightly drummed his fingers from where they rested on her waist. "Of course you have me."
"Good," Jackie replied, feeling slightly satisfied. She scooted closer to him and he held her a little bit tighter.
"Damn… I think Hyde might be right," Eric thought aloud.
Jackie narrowed her eyes in confusion; her head still nestled between his neck and shoulder. "Right about what?"
"He keeps saying you got me, too, and I'm always, like, telling him no, but in my head I'm thinking, like, maybe, and now I'm thinking that yeah, he could be right." Eric went on, too drunk to realize how totally honest he was being.
Jackie smiled and felt like her heart was rising up into her throat upon hearing his words. "You're kind of cute when you ramble," she admitted, her face slightly flushing.
Eric's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He looked over at his shoulder. "You think I'm cute?"
"Exclusively when you ramble," Jackie joked.
Eric felt his pulse increase even more as he pulled away from her and moved his arm, forcing her to lift her head up and look at him in confusion. He simply looked back at her.
"Jeez, I'm… sorry, Eric," Jackie apologized, feeling stupid for thinking she could get away with complimenting him in such a flirtatious way.
"No, Jackie, I…" Eric looked away from her for a moment. "I kinda really want to kiss you right now."
Jackie took a moment to process what he said. Heart pounding, she took his hand in hers, placing them interwoven in his lap. She leaned in and kissed his lips gently. It only lasted a few seconds, but Eric hungrily kissed back. When she pulled away, he looked at her in awe, suddenly feeling completely sober.
"That's one of those things I thought would never happen," he admitted, looking down at their still-intertwined hands.
"Same here," Jackie echoed, her eyes focused on the same thing.
They were silent for a moment until Eric softly put his hand behind her head and kissed her again, this time with more desire.
Jackie was eager to kiss back, gently cradling his jaw with one hand as his was still tightly gripping her hair. Eric was a much better kisser than she ever would have imagined, and she could've kept it going all the way to the finish line, but her libido was too strong and she didn't want this to be a night that either of them would regret. After about a minute of indulging herself, she slowly pulled away from him. "W-wait, Eric."
Eric stopped and felt slightly ashamed. This was the part where she asked him what the hell he thought he was doing, and he wasn't quite sure he had an answer.
"This is… really nice, don't get me wrong," Jackie said, looking bashful, "But my hormones are raging and I can't keep on going without absolutely torturing myself, ultimately."
"Really?" Eric asked in surprise. Jackie was actually horny?
"We're not going to do it," she told him firmly, even though her legs were trembling from the excitement.
"Yeah… I know," Eric told her, feeling a little awkward. "Um, sorry." He removed his arm that had been holding them close together.
"No, I'm sorry." Jackie leaned back into the couch, wondering what the hell all of this meant, but she definitely wasn't going to ask him and risk pushing yet another man away. "You're… you're just drunk."
Eric smiled at her in amusement. "Well, that may be, but that's not why I did it."
"…you sure?" Jackie asked him, concerned.
He nodded back at her and she snuggled into him, feeling more comfortable. He replaced his arm, putting it around her.
"Oh, Eric, I'm just such a mess," Jackie mumbled. "You would be stupid to want anything to do with me at this point."
"Call me stupid, then," Eric replied gently. He lightly kissed her hair and the two fell asleep on the couch shortly after.