Here we are Ladies and Gentlemen, Chapter Uno! I'm sorry it took so long. I had some editing to do before posting.

I will try and update a new chapter at least once a week. Hopefully more than once a week but for now I can promise one.

Disclaimer: That 70s Show does not belong to me. ::sadface::

Dedication:

To Lisa (MistyMountainHop) for giving me such great feedback and inspiration from her comics.

The Lost Boy

He parked a block down. He had seen the Toyota in the driveway but no cruiser. He was expecting Forman to be home but he could have been out on an errand. Either way he wanted to surprise them.

Hyde leaned back in his seat while he rummaged through his duffel bag. He put aside the worn out novel Forman had sent him, the dirty clothes, the granola bars, paper bags and finally wrapped his hand around a can of shaving cream.

He used the water from the canister he'd filled up at the gas station and wiped his face with his shirt as he finished shaving. He pulled on his last clean shirt (Blue Öyster Cult) and dabbed a bit of the cheap aftershave he'd gotten at the gas station on his neck and shirt. He scratched the top of his head. It was too late for a haircut.

Hyde stared at his steering wheel. The leather cover had worn out during the years and the color long faded under so many suns. Maybe it was time he got a new one. A black leather one didn't sound so bad. It would get too hot under sun though, he scratched at a tear.

Hyde was stalling.

"Damn it."

On impulse he popped out of the driver's seat, he rested the strap of his duffel bag on his shoulder and rushed down the street. He didn't bother looking at any of the houses around him. Point Place hadn't changed at all in the time he'd been gone. It was comforting.

His feet pounded on the pavement. He couldn't give himself any time to think. He'd come back for a reason and he had to stick to it. Pavement turned into concrete as he reached the driveway. Huh, funny how he could never get used to the front door.

Gripping the strap of his duffel bag he made it to the sliding doors. He only needed to look in for two seconds. She was home.

Mrs. Forman was in front of the oven pulling something out with that jig in her step that she always had. Even from outside Hyde could hear the trumpets and strings from the radio. She looked the same, with a hairdo slightly puffier than he remembered.

He watched her put the tray on the counter and moved towards the sink. Then he watched as her gaze lifted and locked onto his.

"Steven!"

He stifled a laugh when her hands went up in the air and she started bouncing in place. She kept bouncing as she neared the door and violently slid it aside.

"Steven!" she yelled again. She jumped into him and smothered him in a hug. Hyde's arms immediately went around her tiny frame.

"Hey, Mrs. Forman."

She began to rock him side to side and Hyde could hear sniffles near his ear. She lifted her head and her tiny hands framed Hyde's face.

"Oh, Steven. You're home. You're finally home," she sniffed.

He could see the little tears coming down her face. She had more crow's-feet and little wrinkles than he remembered. She smelled the same, though.

"Yeah," he nodded.

She smiled before covering one of his cheek's in a big smacking kiss. She hopped down from him and stood back to look at him.

"Oh my God, I knew it. You've starved!"

"No, Mrs. Forman," he chuckled.

"Oh!" she ran to the kitchen door. "Red! Red! Come down here!"

She zipped back into the kitchen and pulled out a chair. She patted the seat and Hyde took his cue to sit down. Mrs. Forman took his duffel bag and dropped it near the entrance of the basement. She kissed the top of his head and yanked the fridge open.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're home! It's so perfect, Eric and Donna should be here any minute." She juggled an array of ingredients she kept pulling from the fridge.

"Mrs. Forman I can help-" He started to rise from his seat.

"No! No, Honey, you just stay there," she pulled out bowls, whisks and spoons. "Red! Red, come down already!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"So, Eric and Donna got back together?" he asked.

"Oh yes," she beamed, "Almost two years now. And they- well, I'll let them tell you." She giggled.

Two years. Hyde scratched his jaw; he'd thought it had been longer. He cleared his throat. It actually felt better, knowing it hadn't been that long.

"God damn it Kitty why-"

Hyde jerked around when he heard Red's voice. He stood at the entrance, dead still and staring at him. Hyde quickly got up. They stood in silence.

"Hey-"

"Well," Red raised his voice, "it's about damn time you decided to show the hell up."

"I know I-"

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I was-"

"Finding answers?" Red took a deep breath, "This long?"

Hyde stood still as Red came closer to him. He could see a lot of white surfacing on Red's sideburns. His face was worn and weathered. Red stopped in front of him and gave him a long, hard stare.

"You dumbass."

And just like that, Hyde knew he'd been forgiven. Red wrapped two arms around his back and Hyde returned the gesture. This was no time to act tough. Both of them were happy to see each other again.

Red let go and put a hand on Hyde's shoulder.

"It's good to have you back, son."

'Thank you, Sir."

There was a click and flash as Red and Hyde turned to see Kitty holding up the camera.

"Oh, that was so beautiful!" she placed a hand on her heart and smiled.

"Kitty!" Red threw up his hands and walked towards the fridge. He pulled out two beers and headed towards the kitchen table. Hyde waited until Red sat down. Red slid a beer across the table towards him and Hyde sat down in time to catch it.

"You sure picked a good day. Donna and Eric are-"

Just as Red popped his can open, Hyde could hear the sound of a car pulling up into the driveway. Hyde leaned back to catch a better glimpse and frowned when the car pulling up wasn't the Vista Cruiser.

"Oh! It's them! It's them!" Kitty rushed to Hyde's side and started yanking on his sleeve, "Hurry, Steven. Hide!"

"What?"

"Kitty, leave the boy-"

"Stay out of it, Red." She pulled Hyde up and started pushing him towards the hallway leading to the basement. "You just stay there," she whispered and put a finger up to her lips.

"Mrs. Forman, I don't think-"

"Shh!" she giggled and ran back to the sink.

Hyde leaned against the wall as he heard muffled voices coming from the other side of the glass. He stared at the wallpaper, still the same from '79. So little had changed, he smiled. Then he heard the glass doors slide.

"I'm telling you, she's going to kick your ass when you give it to her."

Donna. Her voice was the same.

"She has to pay for last month," Hyde heard Eric's voice. His was different. It still sounded like Forman but there was something… different about it. It was almost like he had the flu. It sounded heavier.

"Hey, Pop."

Again, Hyde heard the sound of clothes being ruffled, of hands patting backs. He heard how Forman and Donna exchanged greetings with his parents.

"Mrs. Forman you okay?" he heard Donna ask.

"Yeah, Mom. You look like… you gotta pee."

"Watch your mouth with your mother."

"Awww, Dad. Did you take out a beer for me?"

It was now or never, man. Hyde slipped out and into the kitchen. He only got two seconds to take in the scene before him, but it was more than enough. In those two seconds he saw Eric lifting the beer from the table. He was dressed in a tan suit jacket, plaid shirt with his hair combed. His shoulders looked broader. He was still a lean guy but he couldn't quite use the word skinny for him anymore.

Donna was smiling at Mrs. Forman. Her hair was red again, completely straight but curved inward at the very end. He didn't have much time to process much else when he saw Donna look up and gasp.

"Nah, man. The beer's mine."

"Oh my God!" Donna's eyes grew wide and her hands flew to cover her mouth.

Eric jumped back and stared at Hyde.

"Holy crap!"

"Hey man," He grinned.

"Surprise!" Mrs. Forman spread her arms out in glee.

"Hyde!" Eric laughed and moved to hug him. Another pair of arms joined the guys. He was enveloped in a mess of arms. He wasn't really sure whose hands were whose.

"You're home!" Donna said into Hyde's ear. The trio moved apart slowly and Eric gave Hyde's arm a light punch.

"That was too long, man."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Hyde coughed. His throat was itchy.

"A pie! A pie! I gotta make a pie!"

"Hyde, man, you couldn't have come at a better time," Eric said from the green armchair. Donna sat beside Hyde on the couch. They each had glasses of lemonade Mrs. Forman had given them. She'd shooed them into the living room so that she could keep working on her pie.

"Yeah, everyone keeps saying that," Hyde leaned into the couch.

"You look good Hyde," Donna smiled at him, "Different. But good."

Eric nodded. "You look like you haven't seen a decent meal in years."

"I haven't" Hyde laughed.

Donna smiled curiously at him.

"What?" Hyde's smile faded slightly.

"You. It's just… you're definitely different. Lighter."

"Well I lost a shit ton of weight."

Donna shoved his arm with hers. "That's not what I mean, dillhole."

Hyde laughed again, "I know." He leaned forward to take a sip from his lemonade. "So what's this," he motioned between Eric and Donna, "what's with the suits?"

Donna fiddled with the buttons on her white button down blouse and took off her navy jacket. Eric leaned back proudly into the armchair. He placed his hands behind his head.

"We are young professionals, my friend," Eric grinned.

"Eric's been working as a substitute teacher until he can get hired full-time," Donna beamed from the edge of the couch.

"Donna's interning at the Madison Eagle for the current reincarnation of Hitler," Eric smiled as Donna threw him a look.

"You guys live in Madison now? Together?"

"Yeah, at least until I can find a full time job. Oh no!" Eric smacked his forehead. He looked at Donna, "She's going to want to set a date."

"Damn it," Donna winced.

"Who is?"

Donna scooted closer to Hyde and stuck out her hand. Hyde focused on the ring on her left finger. It was a square diamond embedded on a sleek band of silver.

"You guys are engaged? Again?" Hyde looked at Forman.

"Uh-huh!" Donna smiled.

"Mom wouldn't let us move in together until we got married. But I told her I wouldn't have the wedding without you. So we dodge that bullet," Eric wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. "But now that you're here she's going to insist on a date. A fast one. Damn."

"Well, I'm sorry," Hyde said sarcastically.

"Yeah, Hyde, could you, like, go away for another year or two?" Donna laughed.

"So no wedding bells yet, huh?" he asked.

Forman shook his head and looked at Donna, "No, this time we're making sure we know what we're getting into."

"You guys are killing me with the puppy stares," Hyde took another sip of his lemonade. "You guys are here visiting?"

"Actually no," Forman played with the cuffs of his shirt. "We usually come to pick up my parents on our way down to Chicago but this year they're going to stay home. We just came to pick up some stuff."

"Oh," Hyde set his glass down, "Why Chicago? Kelso?"

"We go every year for Jackie's birthday," Donna pulled at her blouse.

"For Jackie? " Hyde sat up, "Since when?" This was definitely weird.

"Well, it's sort of become this annual thing," Forman shrugged. "It's hard to explain. A lot of things are kind of different."

"Yeah. But, hey," Donna put a hand on his knee, "Come with us. We could get the whole gang back together again!"

"It'll be a band reunion," Eric mock-sighed and put a hand to his chest.

"Fez is up there too?" Hyde felt the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He scratched at it.

"Uh," Eric coughed, "Yeah, he and Jackie moved up there together."

"Wait," Hyde scratched his jaw, "It's September?"

"Yeah, it's the 18th," Donna frowned, "Hyde what date did you think it was?"

"I dunno, I thought it was June or whatever," Hyde shrugged. There was a pit in his stomach. Like he had eaten a bad sandwich or something.

"I know you went off the grid but didn't you check the date before coming back?" Donna moved her hand to his shoulder.

"Not really, I kind of came back on an impulse," Hyde crossed his arms and leaned back into the couch. "I thought it'd been about three years but Mrs. Forman told me you guys got back together two years ago. I guess all that time was in my head."

Eric frowned and leaned forward. His hands were intertwined together and he cleared his voice awkwardly.

"Hyde, man, it's 1985."

UPDATES:

This was originally twice as long but it got to be so long I had to split the one chapter into two.

What does this mean? It means I'll probably be able to post the new chapter tomorrow, as soon as I am done editing and letting my Lil' Poltergeist be the grammar nazi.

Let me know what you think! I write this for you guys so I love hearing from you :)

- RckNRll Ninja