Disclaimer: All rights to That '70s Show and its characters belong to The Carsey-Werner Company. I am only a fan.
A/N: This story is from the POV of Eric Forman. It spans across several different Valentine's Days in his life - seven that he wants to remember, and one that he doesn't. It's not not compliant with That '90s Show, but there is no explicit mention of that universe. Eric and Donna, duh. There are also some brief mentions of Eric/Hyde friendship, and Jackie/Hyde.
1.
They all had the same teacher for third grade - him and Hyde, Donna, and Kelso. Mrs. Lipinsky. She was a bitch.
8-year-old Steven Hyde taught Eric that word one day coming home on the school bus, after Mrs. Lipinsky denied poor Lindsey Sayers a bathroom pass for so long she peed herself right there in her seat and started crying.
But another thing Mrs. Lipinsky was known for were her elaborate class holiday traditions.
The week of Veteran's Day, they'd written letters of appreciation to be delivered to the town's VA. For Thanksgiving, they'd each traced their hand and made a turkey hat that listed 5 things they were grateful for. At Christmas, there'd been a full-length aluminum Christmas tree set up in the corner (courtesy of Mr. Lipinsky, during reading time) and they'd had an ornament-making day with hot chocolate. And today, Valentine's Day, would be no exception.
Big, gaudy hearts in bright purples, pinks and reds decorated their cubbies and the windows as Eric, Kelso, and Hyde filed in from recess. They'd played outside on the snowbanks, pelting snowballs at each other, and now they had to take off their boots and their other winter clothing and leave them to dry on the radiator so they'd have warm clothes to go home in at the end of the day.
"Auch," Kelso snarled, jerking his head at the paper hearts. Hyde voiced his disapproval too, but Eric was sneaking peeks at Donna out of the corner of his eye.
She'd chosen to stay indoors for recess today - like most of the girls - and she was sitting alone at her desk, finishing up a coloring page. She looked down at her paper so intently, scribbling - no, not scribbling, she was being careful - with a green crayon, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth while some of her red hair fell in her eyes. Eric stared at her so hard he lost concentration for what he was doing, and stepped on a small chunk of ice. He was wearing just his sock, and the cold seeped through the fabric immediately.
"Oooh," he stumbled back into the present. "Totally," he said, when he realized Hyde and Kelso were both staring at him. "Gross."
Eric knew it wasn't cool to like Valentine's Day… and he didn't. He agreed with his friends.
He'd only made one Valentine. For one person.
Mrs. Lipinsky clapped her hands, and ordered the class back to their seats. They were to exchange Valentines with their classmates now, she instructed.
A few students shuffled forward - they had made Valentines for the entire class. Soon others took the opportunity to get out of their seats to move closer to their friends, and Hyde and Kelso slid into the desks on either side of Eric.
Eric gulped. It was now or never. He reached into his book bag and pulled out a small, pink Valentine. He'd made it last night.
"What's that?" Hyde asked him. Eric could hear the judgment in his voice.
"Um…" Eric swallowed nervously, his eyes flitting over to Donna. She was still coloring.
"Is that a heart-shaped Valentine?" Kelso asked. His voice was always too loud, and now their conversation had caught the attention of several of the kids around them.
"I - y-yeah," Eric stammered. "It's Valentine's Day."
He pushed back his chair and crossed the room towards Donna on wobbly legs. It felt like every eye in Mrs. Lipinsky's third grade class watched him reach her, including Donna's. "Um, this is for you," Eric said, his voice just as shaky as his legs. He handed her the Valentine.
Donna's expression was skeptical, but she accepted it. She unfolded it right there in front of him, silently reading the simple capital letters he'd scratched out last night on his bedroom floor: I LOVE U DONNA.
Unlike in all of his daydreams about this moment, she scowled.
"I don't want this," she announced, and crumpled it up into a ball. She threw it to the ground by her chair and went back to her coloring, trying to look completely unfazed. Her cheeks, however, were tinged with pink.
"O-oh," Eric nodded. "O-Okay."
"Ooooh!" A bunch of kids around them called. They started to laugh. Eric felt like melting into the floor.
"Walk it off, buddy," Hyde wrapped an arm around his shoulder sympathetically.
Eric shrugged him off. "I don't care," he lied.
And he didn't. He didn't expect Donna to like him. It was just a joke - why didn't everyone see that?
A few hours later, Donna rushed up to him after school let out. "Hey!" She was breathing hard, her cheeks red again, and Eric swallowed, worried about what she might say.
He'd been able to successfully avoid her the rest of the afternoon during the Valentine's party.
But she just shoved her backpack in his arms. "I left my boots in my cubby, I have to go back and get them. Save me a seat on the bus?"
"Okay," he agreed, and she ran off back towards the school.
Eric sighed - both with relief that she was apparently ignoring the situation - and with frustration that she was apparently ignoring the situation.
Look, he'd only given her the stupid Valentine because he… well, he liked her. And his mom said he should. This was the last time he'd take his mother's advice, he grumbled to himself. But he guessed now he knew Donna really didn't care, really didn't like him back. He should've gotten a clue. She'd pushed his face in the dirt enough times.
The yellow school bus pulled up, and Eric climbed aboard with the other kids from his neighborhood. He slid into a seat, and shoved Donna's backpack next to his to save her a spot.
Her backpack was open, and Eric went to zip it closed. He swore he wasn't snooping - really swore it. But a flash of pink stood out to him, and he reached his hand inside curiously.
It was his Valentine! She hadn't left it there on the floor. He pulled it out and inspected it. It wasn't crumpled up anymore - she'd carefully smoothed it out, and repaired a rip with a carefully placed piece of scotch tape. Eric's heart started thudding.
"Eric!"
It was Kelso. He'd just gotten on the bus, and he waved at him from the front. Eric hastily shoved the Valentine back in Donna's bag and zipped it up, a secret smile on his lips.
"Can I sit with you?" Kelso asked.
"Nope. Seat's taken."
2.
"It's a Lights Out party," Kelso explained to them during lunch. He looked around the table at all his friends. "You do know what that means, right?"
Eric glanced at Donna apprehensively.
Thankfully, she voiced what they all were thinking. "Um. No?"
"It's a make-out party, Donna," Kelso rolled his eyes, like he was exasperated. "Casey's hosting it in our basement, and he said we could come as long as we don't talk to him or any of his friends." He rolled his eyes again. "The chance to meet high school girls? Eh?" He looked at Eric and Hyde pointedly. Hyde nodded enthusiastically, so Eric did too.
But he didn't want to meet any high school girls. He only wanted one girl. And he'd already met her.
"Donna - high school guys? Eh?" Kelso continued.
Eric stiffened, but Donna blushed. "Maybe."
Great, Eric thought. Now he had to go.
He and Donna arrived together that night. His mom dropped them off. They told her they were going over to Kelso's to work on a class project, and she believed them. Now they walked down the stairs to Kelso's basement almost like a couple, Eric thought. But they weren't, of course. They were just friends. Best friends, really. They did almost everything together.
"Hey guys," Kelso greeted them at the bottom of the stairs with a cat-ate-the-canary grin. "You can put your coats here."
"Not in the coat closet?" Eric questioned, frowning.
"No, that's the make-out room," Kelso grinned even wider.
"O-oh," Eric swallowed.
He and Donna set their coats down on the loveseat coach Kelso had indicated. There was already a huge pile of others. Music crooned from a stereo in the other room, along with the soft murmur of lots of voices, and Eric straightened his collar nervously. There was a big party going on over there.
"You know, Eric," Donna caught his arm before they followed Kelso through the door. He turned around to look at her in surprise. She must've caught the nerves in his voice - and she had them too. "You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with tonight." She raised her eyebrows. "I'm not."
He wasn't sure why, but his heart had started to thud.
"Y-yeah," he agreed, softly.
She squeezed his arm. "Now c'mon. Let's go have a beer," she grinned.
Forty minutes later, Eric and Donna sat cross-legged on the floor, each sipping half a beer from a red cup. The good news was that they'd found Hyde. The bad news was that he was playing a game of Spin-the-Bottle, and he'd waved them over.
It was the girl next to Eric's turn. He didn't know her - she had brown hair and freckles, and seemed older. She spun the empty coke bottle. It went round the circle several times before it landed on Frank Lowry. Eric expected them to lean over the bottle and awkwardly kiss, but instead Casey stood up with a stopwatch.
"Okay, lovebirds," Casey squawked. "You know the rules. 7 minutes in heaven. Take your pick," he gestured to the bedroom, the closet, or the bathroom.
Freckles grabbed Frank by the hand, and pulled him into the closet. They both giggled, and Casey clipped the stopwatch.
"Kelso," Eric hissed. "7 Minutes in Heaven?"
Kelso grinned at him goofily. "Yeah, man. Connie Macinaw lost her virginity during this game last year."
Now Eric gulped. He was next! What the hell was he gonna do?
Casey's stopwatch went off after 7 minutes, and he abruptly knocked on the closet door and then opened it. Freckles and Frank both emerged looking sheepish and disheveled. Their clothing was out of place and their hair was mussed - they'd clearly been fooling around in there.
The room hooted and hollered, and they both took their seats in the circle again sheepishly. Slowly, eyes turned to Eric. It was his turn.
Shit. Shit!
Eric reached out and tapped the coke bottle with the slightest force imaginable - just a tap. It didn't really move, just re-situated itself ever so slightly to Eric's left. To Donna.
"Ooooooh! Forman and Donna, Forman and Donna!"
It was Kelso who started the chanting, but for once, Eric was grateful to his annoying friend. He stood up and grabbed Donna's hand, trusting her to understand, willing her to understand. She squeezed his hand, and Eric felt his heart leap up to his throat. She did.
"Yeah, um," he cleared his throat. "We'll take the…" he hesitated, "The bathroom."
"Sure thing," Casey grinned his slimy grin, and opened the door for them. "I'll be back for ya in seven minutes, Foreplay." He clicked his stopwatch, and winked at Eric before he closed the door behind them. "Enjoy."
"Donna, look, we don't have to make out or anything. I just got, um - "
"Overwhelmed!" Donna cut him off, enthusiastically agreeing. "Oh, no, believe me. I get it," she assured him. "I wanted out of there, too."
"Yeah," he smiled, his shoulders deflating as all the tension he'd been holding left his body.
"Let's leave after this, okay?"
"Definitely."
"I'd rather get shakes from The Hub and kick your ass in Scrabble, anyway," she grinned.
"Yeah, okay," Eric grinned. Relief flooded all of his senses. Kelso and Hyde could stay at the make-out party if they wanted, but Eric realized now that he wasn't ready yet. And Donna made that feel totally okay.
"So… what are we gonna do for seven minutes?" She was across the room from him, and she'd taken a seat on the edge of the bathtub. Eric leaned against the door, and crossed his arms.
"Well…" he looked around. "We could go through Kelso's medicine cabinet," he smirked.
"Yes," Donna smirked back. "That."
They opened up the cabinet over the mirror, and started shuffling through the various items.
"Ooh, anti-fungal cream."
"Hey, condoms."
"Wart treatment!"
They snickered back and forth, and then put everything in place like they hadn't touched it. Both stood near the door, arms swaying awkwardly as they waited for time to be called. Surely their seven minutes were just about over.
Eric had been just about to suggest they talk about the Packers, when she stunned him.
"I guess, if we still have some time," she'd moved close to him. "I guess we could actually… you know…"
No, Eric didn't know. Because if he didn't know better, he'd say Donna Pinciotti was about to kiss him!
They both heard Casey's hand on the doorknob in the next instant, and sprang away from each other just in time before the bathroom door swung open. "Alright lovebirds," Casey sang, "Come on out. Your time's up."
Donna walked out in front of him. Their hair wasn't mussed and their clothes weren't out of place, but everyone still hooted and hollered anyway. They'd all assume things about them - well, those assumptions were wrong. But one assumption he'd always had was right, and Eric's heart felt lighter than it ever had as he and Donna left the party.
3.
"Donna, you're all I ever think about," Eric said sincerely in the mirror as he straightened his tie. "I've been in love with you since I met you when we were kids and - " he furrowed his brow and shook his head. "No, no. Too strong," he cut himself off sternly and cleared his throat.
"Donna, you're all I ever think about. Can I be your boyfriend? Will you wear my class ring?" he practiced again. He dug around in his pants pocket for the ring, and then presented it to the mirror.
He frowned, and smoothed down a section of his hair that never seemed to cooperate. Eric felt uneasy about tonight, for some reason. And he shouldn't. The cards were stacked in his favor.
He'd reserved a table for them at the nicest restaurant in Point Place, The Vineyard. Red was giving him some extra cash. It was Valentine's Day, the most romantic date of the year. And best of all, Donna had said yes. Yes, to a date with him. He hadn't been able to sleep last night, in pure anticipation.
Would she kiss him? Agree to be his girlfriend? Wear his class ring? Thus, the relentless rehearsals in the mirror. Maybe if the delivery was just perfect, just so… then she'd agree.
On one hand, Eric knew it was silly to worry. Of course she would say yes. She was Donna.
On the other hand, of course he was worried. Why in the world would she say yes? She was Donna. He was him.
Uncertainty and hesitancy still nipped at Eric's heels as he went to meet Donna. Maybe it always would, his whole life.
But another emotion stole his focus when she walked over to the driveway with her parents - awe. She was stunning in that red dress. More stunning than stunning - beautiful, gorgeous, there wasn't a word for how good she looked to him. He was sure he didn't charismatically convey that to her, but he did stumble all over his words throughout the drive, drinks, and the first course of dinner.
That was when he realized she was drunk.
"I'm going to go get you some coffee," he wiped his brow. There was a little diner just down the block. "So no going under the table, and no singing," he ordered her. She nodded and seemed coherent enough, so Eric ran out the door.
The night was ruined, he thought to himself ruefully. Drunk Donna was fun - he'd seen her this way before, once, when Kitty'd accidentally spiked the punch at a school function in grade school - but she'd never remember tonight. The thought pierced through Eric like a stab of pain.
Tonight, which was already so special to him. Tonight, when he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. It would be their anniversary forever. They'd tell their grandkids about it. She wasn't going to remember it.
He shook his head. No, it can still be saved. You have to turn it around.
But as luck would have it, the night only got worse from there.
The small diner on the corner was closed. Eric returned to The Vineyard without coffee.
What's more, he returned to The Vineyard to find Steven Hyde seated in his chair and pouring his heart out to his date.
Donna, thankfully, was still way too drunk to take any of it in. Donna, not-thankfully, then threw up in the bathroom at The Vineyard. Eric held her hair back.
She felt much better (and more sober) after throwing up, and spent fifteen minutes cleaning up in the bathroom while Eric paid the check (and found that his chicken dinner was suspiciously missing). When she came out they drove to The Hub, which was closing up for the night but Frank took pity on them and allowed them to come in for one cup of coffee.
Eric paid for it, and then took off his sport coat and put it around Donna's shoulders. At least that was one thing tonight that went the way he imagined it would.
She thanked him for the coffee, the jacket, and for holding her hair back. They bantered back and forth for a moment, like they usually did. And then, looking into her eyes over that cheap cup of coffee, Eric found the words just fumbling out.
"Donna I wanna be your boyfriend, and you're all I ever think about, and will you wear my class ring?"
She took a beat to think about it, but it wasn't a long one. "Yes."
"Yes?" He was surprised. Happy. Was he dreaming? He had a girlfriend? Donna Pinciotti was his girlfriend?
Eric leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him, subtly reminding him that she threw up forty minutes ago and hasn't had the chance to brush her teeth yet. Normally, Eric would think that's gross. He wouldn't even think about kissing her. But she's his girlfriend. They share everything.
He leaned in and planted one on her anyway.
There, he thought. There's a story for the grandkids.
4.
For their first Valentines Day as a couple, Eric decided to cook for Donna.
It was something she'd said off-hand one day in the basement to Jackie - that she thought men who cook are sexy. Eric couldn't cook, but Kitty could, and he knew his mom would help him. So a few days before Valentine's Day, he'd planted the seed.
"What are you doin' for Valentines Day?" Hyde grunted at Donna, a few days before the holiday. They all sat in a circle, talking about their plans. Jackie, of course, had introduced the topic.
Donna looked at Eric suspiciously. "I don't know," she said coyly. "My boyfriend hasn't said anything."
"We're staying in," Eric waggled his eyebrows at her. "I'm cooking for you."
"Ooh, Eric," Donna purred. "Have I told you lately how incredibly sexy you are…?"
"Nope," he grinned. His plan was working.
They moved closer to each other and embraced, then started to kiss. Eric couldn't process anything else but her through the smoky haze - not their friends throwing M&M's at them, Hyde's disdain, or Fez's, "Sexy."
So Eric had high hopes for their evening. Especially when Kitty helped him cook a chicken and rice dish that smelled delicious and savory, and especially especially when Donna showed up looking so juicy in that green dress that hugged all of her curves perfectly.
But he'd messed it up with his gift. What else was new?
"Eric, what the hell?"
She held up the lacy panties he'd bought her, frowning.
"To replace your ugly ones," he offered.
"Eric when I said I didn't get it, I meant I didn't like it," she announced, and scooted her chair back from the table angrily.
She stalked away to the kitchen, and then he heard the sliding glass door slam closed after they had another testy exchange.
He sighed, and slumped back in his own chair. He felt like he was always messing up with her. Then again, pulling down her pants on the driveway during a game of pick-up basketball with their friends probably wasn't the best thing he's ever done. Eric cringed as he remembered, and slowly moved to start clearing he and Donna's full plates of food to the refrigerator.
He'd only done it because… he hesitated. He wasn't really sure. He frowned, as he stuck the plates of food in the fridge to keep them from spoiling.
Because he wanted to win the game? Because he was a competitive son-of-a-bitch? Because she'd been taunting him? Because it was what he would've done, you know… before. Before they were together. When they were all just friends.
But they weren't just friends anymore, not all of them. Not him and Donna. They were… Eric swallowed. A lot more.
Okay, he got it now - why she was mad, why he shouldn't have pulled her pants down. That he owed her an apology. And that he'd been a dick, and had rubbed it in worse with his "gift". The truth was, he was still getting used to this. He was still learning what it meant to be her boyfriend and not her best friend. Thankfully, she was usually patient with him when he was a bonehead.
And it looked like she would be this time, too, miraculously.
She came back about an hour after she'd left. Eric wasn't sure where she'd been, but her spirits seemed changed. Well, good. His were, too.
They both apologized - her for telling him everything was fine when it wasn't, and him for, erm, pantsing her in the driveway. He told her that he'd reflected and realized that pulling down her pants was no longer funny - not since she'd started letting him pull down her pants in private.
"Exactly," Donna said. She'd taken a step closer to him, and their hands almost touched. "I want that to be just for you."
"So are we good?" He bit back his groan and grabbed her hand, a smirk growing on his lips. He was listening for Red and Kitty, who were occupied with their own Valentine's Day - blech. It didn't sound like they were in the living room, though. Eric and Donna could probably sneak upstairs… and into his bedroom…
Could The Kid get lucky tonight? A Valentine's Day score?
But Donna had other plans. Getting-even plans. That involved him playing one-on-one basketball in just his underwear. And freezing off parts of his body that he knew she'd expressed appreciation for!
And getting interrupted by freaking Red, of all people.
"Eric. No one wants to see that," Red scolded him.
Donna giggled, and they hugged goodbye on the driveway. They could both feel Red and Kitty watching them from the sliding glass door so they didn't kiss, but he felt her gently leaf her hands through the back of his hair.
"Look across into my window in five minutes," she whispered into his ear before they parted. "I'll model my present for you," she promised, and blew him a kiss before she flounced away.
Yep, Eric smirked as he watched her go. The Kid still had it.
5.
The next year, he was well and truly alone with his fun stuff.
He and Donna were broken up - still freshly enough that the thought of trying to date someone else was nauseating. Nope, it would be just he, himself, and the girls of Sports Illustrated this Valentine's Day. He had a new copy with a redhead on the cover that he'd been saving for a special occasion.
Donna was still pretending like she was going to date Kelso's brother. Casey - he was a few grades older than them, had served in the army, and had a reputation as being a real slimeball. Donna knew all of this. Eric wasn't sure why she was suddenly fawning all over the guy, but he was sure it wasn't going to last. Casey didn't have time for a high school girl like Donna.
So he felt justified when Donna stormed through his basketball game a few days later, on Valentine's Day, and demanded Kelso answer for his brother's actions. Where was Casey? Why had he stood her up on their date?
Eric couldn't miss the opportunity to slip in a dig at Casey's expense - because surely this would be the nail in this guy's coffin, right? - but then he slipped away and busied himself with something in the back of the garage. He didn't want to seem too interested, or give Donna the impression that he cared too much about who she dated.
After all, he didn't. He was just looking out for her. Like a sister. Er… no. Not a… like a friend. A friend he still cared about. It was because he cared about her that he knew how much this bothered her - and so it began to bother him.
She was still talking about it later, when they all hung out in the basement.
"He just - he just didn't show up. Left me waiting there, for like, an hour."
Donna's voice cracked, and Eric looked up and tried to catch her eye. She kept going, though, her gaze fixed on Jackie.
Jackie cooed sympathetically, but Kelso interrupted them spastically.
"Yeah, that's just what Casey does, Donna. It's not you, it's him!"
Jackie patted Donna's hand, nodding her agreement. "Kelsos are cute, but not consistent." She sat back and smiled. "Oh wow. Alliteration!"
"I just think that if you say you're gonna be somewhere, then you should be there…"
"Oh, c'mon Donna," Kelso rolled his eyes, and casually threw back a handful of popcorn. "You're acting like you've never been stood up for a date before."
"Well I haven't," she protested shrilly, probably before she realized what she was even saying. When she did, her eyes shot to Eric's nervously. "I - " she stammered.
But she didn't finish her sentence. It was implicit. Eric had never done that to her.
And she was right - he hadn't and he wouldn't. And that look between them - that spark - it was the first real contact they'd had with each other in months.
It had to mean something. Or… or maybe it could mean something. It might mean something. Eric wasn't sure, but his casual hope propelled him over to the Pinciotti's back door after he and Red's chat that evening. Donna mentioned that without a date tonight, she planned to play board games with Bob all night and she'd sounded less than enthusiastic about it. Eric could come up with some ideas to… occupy her time.
He knocked on the door twice, and Bob answered after just a few moments. Eric didn't spot Donna at the kitchen table behind him, though.
Eric had just missed her, Bob explained. Less than ten minutes ago, she'd headed over to the Kelsos' with Jackie. Eric could probably catch up to them.
"Oh. No thanks," Eric grimaced.
"You're also welcome to stay, and play some Yahtzee. You can have Donna's place."
"Also no thanks."
"Alright, your loss!" Bob closed the door, and Eric stood there for a moment, staring at it. Why had he come here? He shook his head.
Because seeing her chase after Casey was breaking his heart. Because if he had the chance to be with her again, he'd do so much differently. He'd treat her so much better. Because he was finally - maybe - ready to say that to her.
But he was too late. She was over at Casey's.
Eric sighed, and left the Pinciotti's back doorstep. He felt a sadness start to wash over him at the thought of Donna spending Valentine's Day - their day - with someone else. But then, quickly, he started to laugh.
This is a Kelso we're dealing with, he reminded himself.
Kelsos are dumb. Donna's smart. And I'm here.
She'll figure it out.
He smiled, relieved. He'd reached the steps to his own basement, and let himself inside when he reached the bottom. He only wavered for a moment. No, no. She'll figure it out.
6.
Eric spun Donna in his arms. It was just a dingy high school gymnasium, but tonight it was transformed into a Valentine's Day Wonderland for the school's annual Valentine's Day Dance. Eric and Donna were attending with all of their friends.
"Hmm, them," Donna whispered in his ear, initiating the little game they often played on their dates. She was gesturing to a small couple dancing next to them. They had to be underclassmen, probably Freshmen.
Eric spun them so that he could see the couple, and sized them up for a moment. Donna watched him studying them, and laughed at the seriousness with which he approached his task.
"Okay," he said after a moment. "Got it." He returned them to their easy, smooth dancing pace. "They met in Biology class. He's a dumb jock and she's his lab partner who's so much smarter than him. She helps him pass all of his classes, and he pisses off her mom." Eric smirked. "Did I get it?"
Donna made a face like she was thinking, and sized them up herself. "I don't know," she mumbled. She watched the girl trip them both as they danced, and the young couple nearly went crashing into the punch bowl. "She doesn't look that smart…"
"Scratch that," Eric agreed. "They're both dumb. They met in tutoring."
Donna giggled, and he spun her to the music.
"Hey man," Hyde approached them, Jackie's hand in his. Kelso was behind them, but Annette was nowhere in sight. She must've left. Eric wasn't sure where Fez and Nina had gotten to. "We're gonna head out."
Donna frowned. "Already? But we just got here."
Hyde shrugged. "Circle at Forman's in ten minutes." Jackie whispered something into his ear, and he smirked. "In an hour," he corrected. "Circle at Forman's in an hour."
They tore out of the gym after each other, and Donna sighed. "Well I guess that's it for the dance," she said, disappointed.
Eric looked at her seriously. He cocked his head to the side. "Do you want to stay?"
Donna smiled, surprised. "Maybe for one more dance."
Eric smiled, and offered her his arms. Donna's grin widened, and she stepped into them and they started to sway to Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel.
This was the same gym their junior prom was in, and Eric found himself lost in memories of that night. Donna wore a stunning blue dress. He still remembered the satin-y feel of it beneath his fingertips as he danced with her, held her. The smell of her hair - the shampoo she used then, something that smelled like strawberries.
She must've been caught in the same memories.
"Remember prom?" Her voice was thick, and close to his ear. She'd pulled his head close to hers, and loosely wove her hand through the back of his hair.
"Yeah."
He ran his hand lightly up and down the small of her back. God, they were such different people now than they were back then. So much had happened to them, between them. But yet, really, they were still the same. Still so in love.
"Speaking of," he said, eyes glimmering. "I got us a hotel room."
Donna actually stopped dancing with him in surprise, and smacked his chest lightly. "What?"
"Yeah," he chuckled, gathering her back into his arms. They started to dance again. "I wanted to be spontaneous."
"Did you really?" she checked. She was starting to become giddy, and Eric's grin only widened.
"I did," he confirmed. "Happy Valentine's Day, m'lady."
"Eric, you're the best," Donna whispered, and pressed a loving kiss to his lips.
"Tonight you can be as loud and appreciative as - "
"Okay stop," she said, but she was chuckling. "You're ruining it."
7.
The year he was in Ghana, when Valentine's Day passed, he didn't even notice. They didn't celebrate it in the schoolhouse he taught at. It wasn't until days later when he called home that he was reminded.
Eric called at his usual time - Sunday at 4pm Point Place time - but Hyde answered instead of his mom.
"Hey," he greeted his best friend.
"Hey. Your mom's comin', she's just takin' something out of the dryer," Hyde explained gruffly. "She asked me to grab the phone. Said it'd be you."
But Kitty was gone for much longer than thirty seconds, and Eric and Hyde quickly caught up. Hyde's stripper wife Samantha was gone, for instance. Eric hadn't known that. Hyde also filled him in on Kelso's fate in Chicago, and Fez's foray into women's hair. He was suspiciously quiet about Jackie, but when Eric brought her up Hyde abruptly changed the subject.
"New guy Randy asked to borrow my store for Valentines Day," Hyde supplied. "He turned it into a bistro and had a date there. Thought you should know."
Eric frowned. "Why should I know that?"
"Because his date was Donna, man!"
"What?" Eric dropped the rec room phone like it was a scalding hot iron. He hastily picked it up; others were staring on with concern. "Um, what?" he asked, trying to speak more evenly.
"Randy and Donna had a date in my store on Valentine's Day," Hyde repeated. "According to him, it went very well."
Eric dropped the phone again.
"It went very well?" he hissed into the receiver, anger and panic seeping into his tone when he recovered again. "What the hell does that mean?"
"I dunno, man. I think they kissed." Hyde's tone was apologetic, sincere. Eric breathed in and out slowly.
"When I left…" Eric exhaled.
"Forman - " Hyde cut him off, seeming to anticipate what he was going to say.
But Eric continued anyway, his breath renewed. "When I left, I asked you to keep an eye on Donna, man. And you said that you would. You freaking promised!"
"And I'm keepin' that promise," Hyde said gruffly.
"You - " Eric paused in his tirade, and processed what Hyde had just said. "What?"
"I'm keepin' that promise, Forman," Hyde repeated calmly. "Donna's my friend, too, man." He paused, clearly uncomfortable. "Look, she's been unhappy, okay? For… for a long time. And you've been a big part of that."
Eric's heart dropped, but it wasn't like Hyde was wrong.
"She needs - she needs somethin' good in her life," Hyde continued. "She needs somethin' goin' for her. She hasn't had that for a while, and that," his voice got quieter. "That fucks with people, okay?"
Eric cleared his throat, which had grown suspiciously thick. "This… Randy. He's okay?"
"I like him."
Eric felt another twinge of jealousy, for this stranger who was coming in and taking over… everything. His girl, his best friend. His life.
"Okay," he croaked, finally.
Hyde cleared his throat. "You okay?"
"No." Eric sniffed. He put the phone down for a moment and collected himself. But he knew he didn't have any right to an opinion on this stuff anymore. Not after what he'd done.
When he picked up the phone again, his mom's cheerful voice greeted him and filled him in on all the happenings of Point Place over the last week.
As he slid into his top bunk an hour later, Eric stared at the ceiling and tried glumly to think of anything else besides Donna having her first date with some other guy on Valentine's Day, on their anniversary. Like she'd had a first date with him, all those years ago.
Eric rolled over so he was staring at a blank white wall. It was almost midnight in Ghana, and he had to be up to teach at 5:20 am. He closed his eyes, and willed sleep to come. But it didn't.
Why did it have to be Valentine's Day? he thought to himself, woefully. It could've been any other day besides Valentine's Day, and he would've understood. But not their day. Not their anniversary. He felt tears stinging behind his closed eyelids, and refused to open them, to acknowledge them. Now it would be tainted forever.
Forever
The sky was pelting down snow as Eric pulled the car into the garage. Thankfully the house was a lot warmer than the unforgiving outdoors, but it was just as dark when he stepped inside and shrugged off his heavy winter coat and boots.
He held a plastic bag, and he discarded it on the kitchen table gently before padding up the carpeted steps in his socks.
The second door on the left was cracked open just a sliver, and he pushed it open gently and peered inside. A messy mop of light brown hair was strewn across the pillow, and light snoring rose from the twin bed. He grinned, and closed the door again.
Only one light in the whole house seemed to be on: the one down the hall. Eric followed it to the master bedroom, where his wife lay in bed reading.
"Hey."
"Hey."
Donna smiled at him, and lowered her paperback.
"It's still coming down out there," he said, and he took a seat on the edge of the bed next to her.
"I can see that," she chuckled. She leafed a hand through his hair, and a few snowflakes fell between them.
Eric jerked his thumb towards the hallway, towards their daughter. "How's the patient?"
Donna rolled her eyes. "Resting comfortably. But we're out of Motrin."
"I got more Motrin."
"Thanks," she smiled at him softly, and set the book aside. "Sorry our anniversary got canceled."
He reached a hand forward, and cupped her chin tenderly. "It's not canceled," he murmured.
"What do you mean?"
Eric smirked. "I got Kahlua, so I can make us boozy milkshakes." He waggled his eyebrows at her, and Donna started to laugh.
"That sounds good, actually."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
An hour later, Eric and Donna lay tangled together under their bedsheets. Two empty glasses with remnants of melting ice cream sat on their bedside table, and Donna yawned as she lazily traced her fingers on Eric's bare chest.
"Want your present now?" he asked her.
Donna smirked. "I thought that was my present." She ran her hand all the way up his chest and grabbed his chin affectionately. "It was pretty good," she teased.
Eric raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm glad you think so," he chuckled. "But nope." He gestured for her to shift off of him, so he could slide out of bed.
He bounded, naked, across their room towards his chest of drawers, making her giggle. Then he rooted around in his sock drawer for a few moments before pulling out a small black jewelry box and returning to bed.
"Here," he gave it to her eagerly. "Open it."
"We said no presents..." she said, eyes narrowing as she fiddled with the box.
"I know," he shrugged. He didn't have an excuse. "But it's a big one," he said, referring to their anniversary.
"Eric…"
"Just open it," he laughed impatiently.
Acquiescing, she slid the box open and gasped with surprise. "Eric! Oh my god. It's… beautiful…" She slid the shimmering, silver tennis bracelet from its packaging and held it delicately in one hand. "This is so…"
"Do you like it?" he asked her quietly.
She just nodded, overcome with emotions. Her hands were shaking, so he helped her secure it around her wrist. She held her arm between them so they could both admire how it sparkled. Donna did really love it - he could tell. Sometimes he wasn't so on the mark with his presents.
"I knew you were going to…" she trailed off with a sniffle, and dabbed at her eye. "I got you something too. Kind of." She cringed. "But it doesn't compare to," she gestured at her wrist, and Eric caught her arm.
"Hey," he lifted his eyebrows at her. "We agreed not to keep score. Remember?"
She gave him an exasperated look, but seemed to admit he was right. He was definitely winning this round.
Now it was Donna's turn to slide out of bed and over to her closet. She returned in a moment with something hidden in her hands, and she didn't show it to Eric right away when she sat back on the bed.
"I, um. Found this when I was cleaning out my Mom's place," she said. "It was - I'd kept it in my things, at her house, all these years."
Eric still peered at her lap quizzically. She'd gently started to unfurl an old, delicate piece of pink paper. He didn't realize what it was until she set it down on the bed between them and he read the words: I LOVE U DONNA.
His face lit up with recognition. "My Valentine."
She smiled, softly, and grabbed his hand.
"Eric, you knew since we were kids that we were meant to be together," she said sweetly. "I - didn't always have that same confidence," she admitted. Then she hesitated. She turned his hand over in hers, studying it. She was really thinking about what she wanted to say. "At least, I didn't think so. But - " Now she picked up the worn, hand-made Valentine. It was deeply creased, from being folded into a tiny square many times before. She fingered its edges delicately. "I never let this go."
He understood what she meant. Through all of their various break-ups and make-ups, fights and arguments, his times of dumbassery and fuck-ups… she'd held onto this simple, innocent, first declaration of love he'd given her.
"I never let you go."
Eric's heart leapt into his throat, elated at her words, at what they meant about their relationship and the meaning it held for her. He leaned forward and captured her lips in a tender, loving kiss, his finger curling underneath her chin and pulling her mouth closer to his.
"Thank god for that," Eric said quietly after they'd pulled apart. He leaned his forehead against hers intimately. Then he smirked.
"And I'm glad you like the Valentine. I - I never knew. Because when I gave it to you, you said 'I don't want that!' and threw it on the ground, so…"
"It was a lie," she protested. "I was embarrassed!"
"So was I."
She fixed her eyes on him sympathetically. "I'm sorry," she whispered, gently leafing her hands through his hair.
He smirked again. "You've… more than made up for it."
Donna smirked too, and raised one eyebrow at him. "Want me to do it again?"
"Yes, please."