A/N thanks to tears4therandom for betaing

Wedding Bells

Chapter Two: remember when…?

Everyone just stood quiet, in awe of the situation.

"Oops." Lilly laughed nervously

"You two, you're a…a couple?" Jackie questioned, suddenly feeling sick.

"The short answer would be yes." Steven bit his lip.

"But, but what about…you never seemed gay."

"Well I'm not."

"Then what?" She was still in shock.

"I don't define myself, that's saved for closed minded bigots and the government who has to box everyone in."

"My God Hyde let your paranoia about the government go." Donna butted in.

"Donna, shut up." Jackie exclaimed, turning on Hyde. "And all the time you spent with me? I thought we were in love, I…" She trailed off. "I thought we would always be together."

"Just like you and Kelso who cheated on you with a number of girls and had a two timing long term relationship with Eric's sister." Hyde was cold.

"No, Steven, I thought we were for real. Is this, is he the reason you wouldn't marry me?"

"No, Jackie, he was with Donna for God's sake, the reason I wouldn't marry you was because you gave me an ultimatum!" Hyde remained calm. "You knew I didn't like marriage and yet threatened to brake up with me if I didn't marry you. What was I supposed to do?"

"Marry me." She was shrill.

"No, Jackie. No. if you wanted me you could have had me, and if you didn't that was fine, but what you did wasn't fair."

"So you get married to a stripper." Jackie was on the warpath now.

"I got that annulled, and I only did that because I was drunk over--"

"Over me?" she interrupted. "Or was it really because of Eric?"

"Fuck, Jackie I don't know. I loved you, I really did, and to see you with Kelso…" He paused. "And Eric was my best friend regardless of anything else. I had lost him to Donna long ago, but he was still my best friend."

"What do you mean lost him to me?" Donna interrupted.

"Look, Donna, can we not get in to this? It was twenty years ago." Hyde said.

"So what! He was my best friend, my first boy-friend, first love…" She took a breath. "He was my first everything! And as much as I try to forget I can't, so can we please get in to it!"

"I am standing right here, you know." Eric exclaimed

"Donna you don't want to know…" Steven began

"I do, Hyde, and I think that everyone here has the right to hear this story." She put an angry hand to her hip.

"Fine! You want to know the story? I'll tell you!" Steven finally exclaimed just so Donna off his back, "It all started in 1976…"

1976

Forman's Basement

9:32PM September 2nd

Eric and Steven sit in the 'circle'

"So, Forman, why do you keep saying you don't like Donna?" Steven questioned just to bug Eric.

"I do not!" Eric bellowed.

"See, now that, just makes it sound as if you do." Hyde snickered.

"Shut up Hyde." Eric was pouting now.

"So you don't?"

"No!"

"Then why does everyone think you do?" he pressured.

"I don't know, Hyde, wasn't it you who started the rumor?"

"No it actually wasn't, but that's besides that point!" He took a hit. "What are you going to do man? seeing as it's not true."

Eric started babbling. "Well, I think she's hot and all and I'm not saying I wouldn't date her but…"

"But what?"

"Nothing man, nothing." Eric starts laughing uncontrollably

"What?"

"If you must know I like someone else." Now Steven, too, starts to giggle.

"Dick." Eric pushes him and Steven falls off the bed and pulling Eric with him.

Now Eric is lying on top of him and Steven is laughing even harder. Eric looks at him funny.

"What with the face?"

"This." Eric kisses Steven and quickly pulls away and sits on the couch "I'm sorry, man, I don't know what I was thinking."

"Don't be, man, it's ok." Steven sits next to Eric. "Why did you kiss me anyways?" he says, taking off his glasses.

"The rumor about me liking Donna. It got started when I told Kelso I liked my best friend, he assumed Donna, but I really…I like you." Eric gives a half laugh.

Steven just stares in disbelief.

"You hate me don't you? You are disgusted by me, by the fact I like guys."

"No Forman, I…I…I know how you feel, sometimes I like guys too. You know Buddy."

"The rich kid that every guy wants to be and every girl date, yes."

"We sort of went out, um, last year, by which I mean 'hooked up in my room when my mom wasn't home'."

"You dated Buddy? Wow, rich, smart and popular!" Eric nodded approval. "Way to clique jump, never pegged him as your type. Why did you break up?"

"Well it was the week before summer and anyways it wasn't working. Neither of us wanted to get 'outed'."

"Ah." Eric nodded his head and then kissed Steven just because he looked so sad, this time nether pulled away.

After a few minuets the two let go.

"Wow." Eric mutters.

"Yeah." Hyde says.

"So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

Eric shifted. "I mean, what's gonna happen with us?"

"Nothing," Hyde shrugged. "Nothing changed."

"How can you say that?" Eric's voice raises a little in alarm. "Everything has!"

"I know, but it can't have. I know what its like to be queer and you don't deserve it Forman, you're not ready."

"How can you say what I am…?"

"I not saying that you can't be man, I'm just saying -- not yet, don't be sure yet." Hyde pauses, lost. "Try going with Donna see if you like it, see what you think. Don't make such rash decisions, those that could ruin your life without making sure."

"And what about you, Hyde?"

A small smile crosses his face. "I lost my virginity before 9th grade for a reason."

"Oh."

"So Forman, Donna really likes you and you already said you are interested in her, so go for it, if worst comes to worst, she isn't the girl for you…"

"Or girls aren't for me." Eric adds indignantly.

"Whatever." Hyde says, aggravated.

"Fine, but what should I do? You know me I am a Pansy."

"For starters, when she gets back form vacation, show interest and try to make a move." He smiles again. "If you fail, well she is Donna so she will."

"That's it? That's nothing." June snorted.

"The only reason you went out with me because you couldn't have Hyde!" Donna screamed.

"Well not the only reason--" Steven began for Eric

"Shut-up, I can speak for myself." Eric gave a stern look to Steven, "Donna, I might have only thought to go out with you because of Steven but I never would have dated you, asked you to marry me if you didn't mean something." He took a breath. "If I didn't want you. Fuck, Donna, I did love you no matter what it sprung out of."

"Sure, that's what you say now." Donna said indignantly.

"You are the one who wouldn't accept my promise ring."

"You ran away from our wedding."

"That's because you bought a trailer and I knew you wanted to live in Wisconsin, I did it for you." Eric sighed.

"I didn't go to college for you."

"I never asked you to stay."

"You went to Africa." Donna frowned.

"You never asked me to stay."

"You fucking broke up with me." Her voice raised in anger

"Because I didn't love you anymore!"

"Come on." Donna rolled her eyes.

"You can't have been upset, Randy got in your pants like the next day." Eric returned her hostility.

"Asshole."

"Whatever, Donna. You never appreciated me until I was gone. You know what that's not even true, you only wrote me letters because you thought you had to and the only one who ever wrote because they wanted to, was Steven."

"Probably because you were dating, you probably were with him the whole time you were with me." She was cold and bitter.

"That's not true! I never once so much as kissed someone else while we were together."

"So if the two of you weren't together all along how did you get together?" Jackie asked full with curiosity.

"Steven was in the middle of that before we were so rudely interrupted." Eric said, glaring at Donna.

"So please do go on." Donna and Jackie say in sequence.

Hyde shook his head, amused. "Anyway, we didn't talk about it until the two of you broke up…"

TBC

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