ＤＯＮ＇Ｔ ＢＯＴＨＥＲ ＭＥ

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔩𝔢𝔰

♛

"Come on, Princess," Steven gently coaxes, trying to pry himself from my grip.

I groan, pressing myself further into his plain black shirt. "Five more minutes."

"Kitty's making pancakes today and I'm going to miss breakfast if I don't move it soon."

I open my eyes and shimmy myself up to his level so I can speak to him at his level. "No."

Amusement dances in his eyes as he scans my probably-unattractive face. I can feel my hair sticking to my forehead, and my lips are undoubtedly crusty since, according to him, I drool in my sleep. I can't imagine how he still wants to hold me when I'm in such a state, but I'm not one to complain.

He kisses the tip of my nose quickly and swipes a thumb over the corner of my mouth. "Please?"

I press my lips to his with a small smile. "I can make you breakfast."

He raises his eyebrows with a smirk. "Oh?"

I roll my eyes and push away from him. "That wasn't a sexual metaphor, asshole."

"Well, it made you get up."

"Yeah, and you'll still be late for breakfast."

I stalk off to the bathroom and get on with brushing my teeth. I watch him through the mirror as he steps in behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, burying his nose into the crook of my neck.

I lean forward to spit out my toothpaste. "Oh, so now you want the cuddles?"

He kisses my shoulder. "What do you mean? I always want the cuddles."

"Right, for a second, I forgot that you were a big softie inside," I tease.

He glares at me playfully. "I am not a softie. Especially not a big one."

"Wow, it looks like you're also a liar," I hum.

He says nothing, releasing me and nudging me to the side so we can share the sink.

"Aren't you so lucky that you brought over your toothbrush?" I simper.

"Mhm," he answers through a mouthful of toothpaste.

"You spend half of your nights here, anyway," I ramble. "I mean, I guess it makes sense 'cause of my close proximity to Eric's house, but doesn't Bud get annoyed with you when you don't come home?"

I wrinkle my nose as he gurgles the water, taking a moment before replying. "No, not really. He isn't home most of the time, anyway, so he doesn't notice."

I frown. "I thought you said he's been taking good care of you."

"Yeah, well, that was in front of Red and Kitty. But I don't want to talk about it."

I bite my tongue, not wanting to make him uncomfortable with too many questions as we move into my room and I get dressed. A coy grin plays at my lips. "Does that mean you're finally taking up my offer to spend the nights at my house?"

He runs a hand through his hair. "Well, you're my girlfriend and you have food."

"So, is that a yes?"

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Yeah, pretty much. Let's go get some pancakes." He extends his hand and I accept it with a small smile.

We walk hand-in-hand to the Formans' home, a gesture that's fairly new to the two of us. Eric has pressured us into deciding that hand-holding is a much more viable option than "making out" in front of the gang.

Upon entering the kitchen, I notice that Red, Kitty, Michael, and Fez are the only other ones in the room. No Eric. It's very uncharacteristic of him, especially since he would kill - or, try to kill - for Kitty's pancakes.

"Hi, Mrs. Forman. Hey, Red," Steven greets, not bothering to acknowledge his friends. I offer a small smile as Red glowers at our entwined fingers and Kitty beams at them.

"Hey, kids, did you come for breakfast?" she queries peppily.

"If it's alright," I say politely.

"Okay, just pull up a chair and I'll get a plate for you, Anastasia."

It's clear that she wasn't expecting me to come, as I almost always eat breakfast at home, but it's even more overt that she wasn't expecting me to come with my boyfriend. I'm sure she knows that we didn't just meet up in the morning because we felt like it, and she knows that he spent the night at my place.

Usually, we would coordinate our walking into the household to make it less obvious that we slept together, whether we fucked that night or not, but I suppose it slipped our minds this morning.

She probably doesn't like the idea of her little Steven having sex with me. I'm fairly confident in saying that she's just barely hanging onto the unreasonable hope that he hasn't lost his innocence yet.

Kelso and Fez also sit down, although their presence is unwelcomed (by Red, at least).

"You boys are up bright and early," Kitty remarks in regards to them two, not quite used to seeing them for breakfast.

"Yeah, we're going to Funland!" Kelso grins. "Hyde, Ana, do you guys want to go?"

"Sure," Steven answers, while I decide to stay back.

"Oh, Red, remember how we used to take Eric there when he was little?" Kitty coos.

Red laughs heartily. "Remember how I used to get on the roller coaster with him, and then just before we took off, I'd jump out and wave goodbye? Boy, did he scream!"

Kitty grimaces. "Well, it sounds like fun."

"Super fun!" Kelso emphasizes. "And we figured Eric could use some fun, you know, especially 'cause he and Donna broke up."

Right. I almost forgot about that. It accounts for why he isn't here this morning. He must be taking it hard. Well, it serves him right, that asshole. Donna filled me in on what happened, telling me about how he got mad over her not clearly seeing him in her distant future. Apparently he wanted that perfect 50s-esque relationship where they could go to the same college, come back to Point Place, and live a happy life with him as a successful businessman and Donna as an obedient housewife. I mean, honestly! He knows that it isn't what she wants in life at all, yet he still tried to corner her into it. 

If Steven tried to do that - not that he would; he's even more uneasy about commitment than I am - if he tried to do that, I'd leave him in a heartbeat! Maybe not in a heartbeat; I care about him too much for that, but still! I can't believe the audacity of him, breaking up with her because he won't do what he says.

Well, after that internal rant, I feel like I need to take a deep breath, but I don't, because I know that Red would be concerned for my mental health if I randomly started sighing.

"What?" the man says in disbelief.

"Broke up?" Kitty gasps.

"Yeah, I heard Donna dumped his ass," Steven confirms.

"That's funny. I heard Eric was the one who dumped Donna," Fez frowns.

"Oh, no, he dumped her, alright," I grumble. Under my breath, just quiet enough for only Steven to hear, I add, "That prick." He kisses my temple with a short chuckle.

"Do I need to kick his ass?" Red snarls.

"Oh, yeah, you do," I scoff.

"Hold off on that," Kitty chides. "Eric must just be a wreck!"

"Should we check on him?"

"Yeah, maybe it's best if you go up and see how he's doing."

Kelso frowns when I stand up, taking a few pancakes with me. "I'm not done with breakfast, though."

"Mike, your friend is probably wasting his life away. Let's go."

The boys and I climb up the stairs to Eric's room. As I step in, I realize that I've never been in his room before.

His walls are decorated with posters of girls, rock bands, and Star Wars merch. A bookshelf near a cluttered desk holds no more than ten books, with two tiny participation trophies filling up some of the empty space. The only light in the room comes from the sun behind the closed blinds and a lava lamp, cans of root beer litter the floor, and- is that a rubber chicken? His G.I. Joes and Lego Star Wars models line the shelf atop his bed, but the real spectacle is the little pile of despair on the mattress.

Eric himself is curled up, not even on the pillow, covered by a dark blue blanket with only his feet sticking out of the end.

"Forman, man, get up," Steven scoffs.

"Yes," Fez eggs on. "We have to go to Funland before the fun is gone."

He remains unmoving as Kelso pokes and prods him. "I'm not going."

The boys glance at each other and I watch by the doorway, amused, as they drag him off of the bed by his feet. He mumbles something vulgar under his breath and claws his way back onto the bed.

"Jesus," Steven sighs. "Forman, man, snap out of it. So you had one of the hottest chicks in Point Place and you blew it. Could be worse."

"Eric, it's not all bad," Kelso comforts. "I mean, hey, think about Bob being your father-in-law. That guy would be in all of your wedding pictures."

He emerges from his blanket, and I can see a thick layer of stubble lining his jaw and upper lip. "Guys, I don't want to talk about Donna, and I don't want to go to Funland."

"Fine," Steven says spitefully. "If you're not going with us, then we'll stay here with you.

 "We're not going to Funland?" Kelso gasps, earning a punch in the arm.

They plop down onto his bed and Eric lifts an arm to smack Fez's hand away. "Don't touch the G.I. Joes."

"Eric-"

"Can we not talk, please? Thanks."

The three of them look at me desperately, as if they're begging for me to come up with some genius idea to get him up.

After an unbearable silence, Steven stands annoyedly. "Fine, we're going to Funland."

Kelso and Fez readily follow after him, and I stay by the door as they shut it behind them.

"You're not going?" Eric mumbles, somehow knowing that I'm there without even facing me.

"You're not going either," I say matter-of-factly, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, but I actually have a reason."

"Well, I have a reason, too," I bitterly scoff. "I'll be busy comforting Donna."

He keeps quiet. "If you're just going to yell at me, you might as well leave."

"I'll stay here, thanks."

"Ana, please, just leave me alone."

"No. You had unrealistic expectations, Eric, and you broke up with her. If anything, she should be the one sulking around all day."

He rolls over to look at me and sits up, bags under his eyes. "Oh, so I'm not allowed to be upset over my breakup?"

"You have every right to be upset! But this," I kick a can on the floor, "this isn't healthy."

"What do you care?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm your friend, Eric. You've called me your sister before. I'm mad at you, sure, but I still care about you. Stop acting like you're alone, because you're not."

"Shut up!" he yells.

I flinch at the unexpected outburst. "Sorry," I utter, my voice barely above a whisper. "I know you're fragile right now, and I don't want to push you. But if you have to talk, I'm here, okay?"

He stares at me silently before burrowing back under the covers. "I don't need your help."

I bite my lip and open the door. "Fine. I brought pancakes if you get hungry."

"Can you bring them over here?"

"You can do it yourself, dipshit."

♛

As always, feedback, comments, and votes are greatly appreciated!

Love you guys,

Lissy

P.S.: this song fits perfectly for Eric wha