This is actually a story that I hadn't planned on coming back to. Tina and Hyde were so dear to me and I just... I thought that if I touched their relationship again it wouldn't be the same. I was really afraid that I would ruin them in some way and I coulnd't really bear that thought. However, someone reviewed this week and she kicked my ass into gear. What can I say? I'm a sucker for those tough reviews.

So this chapter is for all the people that have stuck around and kept reviewing even though it's been two years. You guys are the real heroes and I appreciate every single one of you for bringing me back to these two that are so dear to me. Thank you.

Chapter Eighteen: I'm Back, Bitches

"You could stay," Tina whispered the words against a set of warm lips, her fingers running along the stubble that a night created. In the morning light, everything seemed hazy, warmer in an odd way. Tina imagined for a moment that this was a moment suspended in time, privy only to the two of them, snuggled close under the warm expanse of her comforter.

Underneath her, Hyde gave a lazy rumble, his curls falling chaotically across his forehead. He made a striking profile against the lavender purple of her pillow. It was a bizarre feeling to have woken up sprawled across his chest, his hands having pushed beneath the worn fabric of her top, resting against the small of her back.

"We both know that I can't stay here, bunny." His voice was thick with sleep, gravelly. It sent a flutter of excitement through her. And somehow there was a deep longing growing in her gut, driving her closer to insanity. Was it possible to want someone this much when you already had them? She wanted to sink into him, soak in that scent of bonfires and whiskey that seemed to follow him. It was a different type of love than she had ever felt before, both terrifying and addictive.

His eyes darkened to a stormy blue as she leaned in, her fingers toying with the curls at the edges of his ears. Now that Tina knew that she could lean in and kiss him any time she wanted to, it was almost like a count down to the next time their lips met.

Her tongue licked along the seam of his lips, agitation making her impatient as she tried to deepen the kiss. Beneath her, she felt him shift, his big hands grasping her thighs as he spread her across his lap. He was playing with her, she realized as she felt him smirk beneath her lips.

"You're being mean," she whispered, pulling back with a pout as his eyes glittered up at her.

"Nah, doll," he whispered back, his hands burrowing into her hair as he tugged her closer. "You're just so damn cute when you get angry."

He took control, his teeth nipping into her bottom lip until she gasped, letting him in. His tongue played with hers, his hands angling her so that he could deepen the kiss. Fire bloomed inside of her, an ache starting somewhere deep inside of her. Was it possible to catch fire from a kiss alone?

"TINA RENEE FORMAN!" And just like that all of the earlier giddiness and unmistakable lust of the moment dissolved into pure terror. Hyde's eyes widened, both of their heads whipping to the side as they caught the unmistakable sound of Red Forman pounding up the stairs.

While Hyde and Tina had spent the morning waking up slowly, the rest of the family had gotten up at their usual times on a Saturday morning and gone about their usual business. Red and Kitty had a silent, ineffable system for the weekends. Both of them were usually off which in no way stopped them from rising at the crack of dawn and beginning the daily grind of chores and breakfast.

Usually, they left their children to wake up on their own, allowing them the bit of freedom that summer breaks and Saturdays could usually only afford them. Today was different however because the day before had been different as well.

"Boy troubles," Kitty had told him, looking vaguely startled as she came downstairs from soothing Tina from her crying fits. There was a constitute within the Formans that made it incredibly unsettling to see them cry. This trait had been passed down to their children and even Eric, the only child who looked on a regular basis like a whipped dog still hadn't cried since he was a child.

In more than one way, seeing Tina break down had shaken Kitty to her very core.

Red, on the other hand, recoiled from the very notion, his mind reeling in horror. Not particularly at the prospect of one of his children crying but more at the disquieting notion that his little girl was crying because of a boy.

"It's that little curly-haired druggie, isn't it?" Red had seen them kissing in his driveway just that Christmas. Dread made his heart go a shade colder. His fingers tightened on his coffee cup.

Kitty gave a nervous laugh, seeing the tale-tale vein in his forehead start to pulse. "Now, honey we don't know that for sure…" Quickly, she turned away, starting to make some tea to sooth Tina. "And his name is Steven, sweetie. We've known him since he was a baby…"

"I never liked that kid." Kitty resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If Red liked any of the kids that her daughter and son hung around with, it was Hyde. There was something about the curly-haired boy - perhaps the deflective sarcasm or perhaps the unaffected air that he seemed to carry like a coat - that connected with Red on a base level.

Kitty pursed her lips. "Well, she didn't say anything about Steven so me."

But she didn't have to because while parents choose to be mostly blind to the general direction of their children's lives, most were actually rather keen-eyed.

And perhaps it would have horrified Tina to realize that Red had come up with a rather direct solution to her "boy troubles." One that included shoving his foot so far up Steven Hydes ass that he would feel it tickling the back of his throat.

"TINA RENEE!" He was up the stairs now, his voice thunderous. Tina felt her heart crawl it's way up her throat as if to escape the whole situation entirely.

"Fuck," Hyde snarled as he lifted Tina off of him and rolled from the bed quickly. His eyes were half-wild, searching desperately for his boots.

"TINA, YOU BETTER NOT BE CRYING!"

"Fuck it," Hyde snarled, yanking Tina up to give her a hurried kiss before leaping for the half-opened window and shimmying out.

Stunned and still blinking at the window, Tina scrambled out of bed just as the door flew open and there was a crash from just outside.

"HI, DADDY!" Tina screamed, diving in front of the open window.

Red's eyes narrowed, his gaze flicking from where his daughter huddled, still a bit puffy-eyed and grinning at him like she had just gotten zapped by a hundred watts of electricity. "Why are you yelling?"

"Because-" Tina fumbled, sliding a hand behind her to quickly shut the window as she heard a muttered curse and some rustling from below. "Because you were yelling. I thought we were yelling today." Nervously, she tittered out a laugh, her heart beating rapidly in her throat.

Red's eyes wandered quickly over her once more, his frown deepening as he gave a slow grunt. An agonizing moment passed between them. "Your mother tells me that you're having boy troubles."

Distantly, Tina heard the sounds of pots and pans being thrown about and her mother's insistent humming. The clock on her desk beeped out a happy tune as it hit ten. Ten? Tina's mind spun. No wonder her dad had come barreling up the stairs. The Forman household didn't operate on people getting up at ten even if it was the weekends. Getting up at ten meant two things:

You were sick.

You were in trouble.

Sometimes, those two weren't even exclusive.

"Boy trouble…" Tina said slowly, her brain working to try and digest them quickly so that she could come up with a proper response.

"You know what boys want, don't you, button?" Deep horror made Tina's breath stall out for a moment. Red caught the expression, his hand rubbing anxiously at the nape of his neck as he looked around awkwardly. Usually, Kitty and he tackled these kinds of conversations together but his wife had all but refused when he had proposed the idea of having a in-depth conversation with their youngest daughter.

"Daddy, you really don't need to-" Tina breathed, her eyes wide with terror.

"They just want one thing, button!" Red declared, clasping his hands behind his back as he tried to get more comfortable. "They'll say whatever they want you to hear to...to try and…" He physically recoiled from the thought, coughing. He really should have brought Kitty.

"You really don't have to do this." A note of pleading entered Tina's voice as she stared imploringly up at her father.

Unmoved, Red gave a cough. "Your mother and I have some pamphlets on pregnancy and sex and-"

"Daddy!" Tina's hands clapped over her ears. Red paused, his lips pursed. "Daddy, I really am fine. I don't - you don't have to worry about that… stuff… with me."

For a moment, Red's face went noticeably lax, his shouldered softening. "Your mother said-"

"She was wrong!" Tina exclaimed, desperate for a way out of this conversation. And the glimmer of hope lighting her father's eyes was enough to grab onto. "There's no boy, daddy. I promise."

But there was. Currently, he was sprawled out in the bush just below Tina's window, staring up at the bluest morning sky he had ever seen, his eyes wandering between the sun and the window ledge of the girl that he had just spent a night with.

Yes. There was definitely a boy but Tina was fully aware that if she admitted that to Red then he would more than likely lock her up every time that Hyde was near.

The lie was justified, Tina tried to assure herself. But she had never lied to her parents before. And she could feel the weight of it pressing into her gut like a beating thing.

"Huh," Red grunted, taking an awkward step back towards Tina's open door. "Well… then stop crying." It came out gruff, his eyes darting around the room like he was trying to avoid any sort of errant emotions that might be dusting the air. "It uh, it makes your mother worried."

Downstairs, Tina heart Kitty hit an especially high note as she sang along to Frank Sinatra.

"Your brothers going to get your grandmother. She's going to be staying in his room tonight so you two will have to share a room." He moved towards the door.

The twins had long since outgrown sleeping in the same bed. Tina enjoyed kicking Eric in the back until he eventually pushed her off the bed and Eric enjoyed hogging all the covers until Tina drew on his face in sharpie. If the many years together had taught them anything it was that it was better for Eric to sleep in the basement.

A different kind of dread filled Tina at the prospect of having to deal with her grandmother for not only a night but an entire day.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, don't you, button?" Tina blinked, her thoughts dragged back to the present at her father's quiet words. His back was to her, his frame standing awkwardly at the threshold of her room. "I know that I may not be… I'll always have your best interest at heart, button."

Tina softened, her heart squeezing as she stared at her father's stiff back. In the Forman family, emotions were better left the secrecy of closed doors. Baring yourself hurt just as much as the actual emotions.

"I know, daddy," Tina whispered, feeling a swell of emotions run through her that was tender.

"See you downstairs," he finished, hurrying for the stairs.