Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.

"Where'd Kelso go?"

He asked the first question that popped into his head when he walked out his room and saw only two people in the basement where there had been three only a couple minutes ago.

After the sorry excuse for an 'understanding' he and Kelso had come to, and a reluctant handshake moderated by Donna, he had excused himself to his room. He figured he and Kelso both needed the space anyway. But he hadn't done much in his room other than pace up and down, fighting the wave of emotions crashing in his stomach.

Guilt was the biggest one - guilt he didn't even want to feel, cause Kelso was an ass, and he chose to leave Jackie, and whatever (or whoever) she chose to do in her spare time was none of his business. But Kelso was also his best friend, and Jackie's ex-boyfriend, and he had cared for her (cared, not loved).

Hyde had told him he was sorry. And he was - sorry for not being the one to tell him and that he felt betrayed. But he wasn't sorry for being with Jackie. Maybe that was what was making the guilt feel so damn heavy.

Whatever it was, Hyde had grown tired of thinking about it. So he opted to do what he'd been doing to get himself to stop thinking for months - find Jackie. So after pulling himself together, he'd walked out his room to do just that.

"He went upstairs to get an ice pack," Fez answered sadly. "You know, for his eye."

Hyde scoffed slightly and rolled his eyes. "Did it to himself," he muttered. "Literally."

"Hey," scolded Donna lightly. "Go easy on him. He's had a hard day."

He responded with a sour look, beyond tired of people pitying Kelso of all people. "Oh well that sucks, cause mine's been great," he answered sarcastically.

Donna held up her hands. "I'm not saying yours was great, but I'm betting you didn't spend an hour crying into a bowl of chocolate pudding, did you?"

Hyde chose to ignore her question. "Jackie still at your place?"

Donna let the issue go, as he supposed they all were now. They all knew. There was no more need to hide or sneak around. It made Hyde nervous. Would she start expecting other things now? Things like what? Did he want to start actually doing those things? Probably not.

"That's where I left her," Donna's voice sliced through his thoughts.

He had to find Jackie as soon as possible. He was gonna give himself a headache if this crap continued. At least it was impossible to think while making out with her.

Hyde nodded and headed toward the door. "Cool, well, I'm gonna go find her, so...see ya."

He walked out before Donna or Fez could say anything else, and left them to gossip about everything that went down today, which he knew was exactly what they'd be doing.

He took his time up the stairs, grateful that the air wasn't chilly tonight. His hands swinging limply at his sides, he was about to turn the corner of the house and cross the driveway when he realized the porch was occupied.

His body working faster than his mind, his feet refused to take another step forward, and instead they stepped deeper into the shadows. The back of his mind rang loudly, trying to remind him that this was insane and eavesdropping was completely not zen.

Seeing Jackie and Kelso alone together, though, for the first time since Kelso's return, wasn't something he'd expected to see. Which was stupid. What had he expected? That they would hate and avoid each other like the plague? Not Jackie - she'd do anything in her power to make sure everyone loved her. Kelso was no exception.

The first words he caught her saying were "I'm not gonna say I'm sorry," and despite himself, he felt his spirits lift a little. Maybe they were fighting. Maybe Jackie really was completely done and over with Kelso. "Because I wanted you, and you left and broke my heart." And just like that his mood went right back down. Over the summer he and Jackie had been so focused on ignoring the ugly parts of their relationship that he'd never really known how Jackie felt about the breakup. Now he did: she was heartbroken.

"And I like Steven now. So you need to get over it so we can all become friends again." I like Steven now. He knew that of course. She'd told him as much last night when they were in her room. He'd been too freaked out to tell her he liked her too, even though he was sure she knew. She had to know. He made it pretty damn obvious.

Kelso took several moments to answer her, and from his angle, Hyde couldn't see much except for that his head was pointed in Jackie's direction. And whatever he said in response was too muffled for Hyde to make out.

But whatever it was made Jackie noticeably soften, and she took a tiny step closer, grabbing the pack from Kelso's hand. Hyde's teeth gritted as she used her other hand to lift his cheek and the other to press the pack against his eye.

There was nothing that suggested anything other than what Hyde was seeing, but jealousy roared inside him louder than it ever had before. The way Kelso looked at her…

He didn't have to watch this crap. He wasn't the kind of guy to stand in the shadows to torture himself. And he and Jackie may not have been together together yet, but they were still together.

So shaking off whatever had paralyzed him in the first place, he set his feet in motion again and walked toward them.

Kelso saw him coming first, and his eyes darkened a little, giving Hyde a hint of satisfaction. "Hey," he said, stopping right behind Jackie.

She dropped her hands immediately and whirled around, her mouth slightly open in surprise. As soon as her gaze landed on him, a smile broke out onto her face.

"Hey," she said back, and Hyde could hear the smile in her voice. Her eyes lit up a little too, and the jealousy subsided a little. She was looking at him like that.

"I was comin' to look for ya," he said, focusing his gaze on her face. "It's getting late. Want me to walk you home?"

Her smile got wider. "Yeah. Okay, sure." She turned back around and handed Michael the ice pack. "Bye, Michael," she said as he took it.

But Kelso's eyes were focused on Hyde, who stared right back at him. It would take more than a half-assed handshake, Hyde knew, to have things go back to a new normal. After several seconds, Kelso's gaze shifted downward, almost sadly, and he nodded his head. "Later," he told them.

The guilt threatened to resurface, but the jealousy was stronger, and as Hyde and Jackie turned to walk away, he grabbed her hand and slipped it into his. The bitter parts of him hoped Kelso noticed.

Jackie smirked and stepped closer to him, leaning onto his arm. They walked like that until they turned off the Formans' street and the house was no longer in sight.

"So," she piped up a second later. She pulled her hand out of his grasp. "What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?"

"Don't play dumb."

"You gotta be more specific," he grunted.

"You and Michael just now. What was that?"

Hyde shrugged and looked straight ahead, ignoring the annoyingly bright and amused look she was wearing. "Well he just found out about us today, Jackie, things are gonna be weird for a while."

"No that wasn't it," she shook her head. "You weren't acting awkward. You were acting jealous. And possessive. I would know," she added matter-of-factly, "I used to do it all the time."

"Yeah, you," Hyde snapped. "Cause you're all jealous and crazy and girly."

Jackie rolled her eyes and smiled wider, more teasingly. "Yeah, you're right," she nodded thoughtfully. "I must be crazy. Cause there's no way you were acting jealous and possessive when I'm not even your girlfriend."

Hyde clamped his jaw shut and answered through gritted teeth, "Right."

"I mean, you know, technically, I am a single woman."

"I know."

"So you don't really have any right to be jealous."

Hyde scoffed at that one. "Let's not forget how many times you got jealous over the summer."

Jackie shot him her signature bitchy look. "Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"I don't think so."

"Do I need to remind you of-"

Jackie held up her hand and said quickly, "No. You don't."

A smile started to form on his face. "And that was back then, and this is now. So technically, if I was jealous - which I'm not - I would have a right to be. Y'know, considering that we're fucking each other."

Jackie gasped loudly and slapped his arm. "You don't have to say it like that! You make it sound so vulgar! And dirty." She shuddered.

Hyde smirked, grateful that he got under her skin as badly as she got under his. "So what would you call it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She answered blushing furiously, and the sight of it completed the smile on his face.

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, then she burst into giggles at the same time. Her happiness was contagious, and Hyde found himself laughing too, and they laughed together until Jackie said, "I hate you."

"Nah," he replied cockily, a smile still on his face. "You like me."

The rest of their walk went about as good as the first part of it did. Hyde still got amazed at how freakin' easy it was to just be around her. She was high-maintenance and easy going at the same time. Not many people made him smile as easily as she did. And he didn't want to make anyone smile as much as wanted to make her smile.

And still, the thought of becoming her boyfriend - of putting a label on things - scared the shit out of him. He was constantly reminding himself that she was still Jackie, and the minute labels came into the picture things would change. It didn't matter that they were practically dating already. To be official would mean anniversaries and gifts and expectations he wasn't ready for and didn't want.

He just wasn't sure how long he'd be able to put it off. She was fine joking about it for now (a big deal for her, he knew). But sooner or later she'd want more.

Kelso had broken her heart. And once it was put back together and she was ready to give it away again, he had a feeling he wouldn't be the only person after it. She may like him now but…

How long until she realized that this was all he had to offer? There would be no upgrading once (or if) he became her boyfriend. Hyde simply didn't know how to be anything other than what he already was. Even for her.

He didn't walk her to her door. Instead they stopped right in front of the driveway and she stopped to look up at him with a smile. "Thank you for walking me," she said, perfectly polite, and his heart flipped in his chest.

Smiling at her, he bent down and kissed her lightly, his thumb caressing her cheek with a soft touch. She smiled as they kissed, and brought her hand up to cover his, standing on her tiptoes when he pulled away to capture his lips again.

"Goodnight, Steven," she whispered.

"Night, Jackie."

She started walking up her driveway, and before he could stop himself he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back in his direction. She turned, looking at him with a frown.

"What-"

"I like you too, Jackie," he blurted out. She raised her eyebrows. "Last night. You told me you liked me and I didn't really say anything, so I just wanted you to know. I don't know about all the other stuff but...I thought you should know. In case you didn't." God dammit he was rambling.

If Jackie never let him live this down he wouldn't blame her. His cheeks felt hot under her gaze. If he ever spoke about his feelings again, it would be too soon.

Jackie smiled. "I know." He stared at her with a mixture of disbelief, exasperation, and adoration. "I mean, come on, Steven, everybody likes me." He continued staring. Jackie's smile widened. "But thank you for telling me."

She stood again on her tiptoes and kissed him, pressing her hands into his curls and pulling him closer.

"Don't expect it to be a habit," he warned her when she pulled away for a breath.

Jackie shrugged. "We'll see about that."

Then she leaned up one more time to kiss him on the cheek before finally turning and walking up her driveway and onto her property. Hyde stood outside until the door shut behind her, then he shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking back the way they came.

It had been a hard, mostly annoying, and very frustrating day.

But suddenly it felt worth it.

A/N: Hey it's been a while lol. Almost 3 weeks I think? You probably guessed it, but I took a well-needed break after working on fics every single day since I started writing in May. I just needed some time to organize my ideas and make sure I actually like what I'm writing and not writing just to post something. So I took a break but now I'm back :) I hope you all like this chapter. It's a bit shorter than usual, but then these are just missing moments anyway so none of them will be very long.

Anyway, I'm not from the US so I don't really celebrate thanksgiving but I'll still use today as an excuse to tell you how extremely thankful I am for having people actually read and comment and enjoy what I write. It makes me so irrationally happy. Thank you.

Hope you all had great days, whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not.

See you soon :)