Chapter Text
It was just his luck that Al Green was playing when he drove Donna back home with him from the Hub after he’d been hanging out with Buddy. Eric would have gladly got in Buddy’s car (and not just because it was so much nicer than the vista cruiser) and followed him home if Buddy hadn’t had to go pick up his sister. He’d really been enjoying hanging out with Buddy lately, it felt so much easier. Of course, he loved Donna so much, he always had, but whenever he was with her he felt like he was playing some sort of part in a sitcom with a studio audience where dozens of people were watching to see if he’d slip up. It didn’t feel right, for some reason Eric couldn’t exactly place.
And here the radio was, singing “let’s stay together” to the young couple and god, why did Donna keep looking at him expectantly, he couldn’t think with her staring.
“Eric-“ She started to say, but he interrupted her as he pulled into the driveway and cleared his throat.
“Hey, I really need to study for this chem test.”
She rolled her eyes playfully and punched him lightly in the shoulder, “Wow, that Buddy Morgan’s really turned you into a hardass, huh?”
He laughed awkwardly, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
Donna smiled and gave him a quick kiss, that he rushed to try to return, but ended up just making it weird, like he always did. Eric turned around on his heel to avoid seeing her laugh at him and walked to the kitchen’s sliding door where Kitty was waiting.
“Oh, Eric, honey, you got a phone call from that Buddy Morgan. Do you want to call him back?”
Eric felt his heart leap in excitement, “Uh, yeah just give me a minute.” He ran up to his room to drop off his books he’d still been carrying from school.
Kitty turned to Red, who was sitting at the table, sipping a beer, “You know, it might be a good thing Eric’s becoming such good friends with Buddy. Maybe you can make pals with his father! Might even get a good job out of it, hm?”
Red sighed, “Kitty, I don’t want to be friends with that jackass. All he ever does is talk about money.”
Kitty humphed, “Well, that’s because he’s got so much of it.” Before Red could respond, she pushed through the living room door to yell up at Eric, “C’mon, make your call! I have to call Midge before she gets any ideas about coming over here to talk to me instead!”
Eric came back in the kitchen, “Mom, we live right next door, maybe don’t yell mean things about the neighbors? I’ll call him back right now.” He grabbed the phone and dialed up Buddy. He was happy to hear the phone connect almost instantly, “Hey, Buddy, my mom said you called?” He paused to listen, “Go see Carwash tomorrow? Yeah, sure! Let’s go after school? .... Okay, see you then.”
As the phone clicked, Red pointed at him, “That better not be a dirty movie you were talking about.” But Eric was too happy to care about what Red was saying.
~~~~
“That was a great movie.” Buddy said, as they exited the theater.
Eric smiled, “Yeah. I mean, who would have thought working at a car wash could be so much fun?”
Buddy laughed and rolled his eyes, both of them getting in the car, “So what do you wanna do now?
Eric shrugged “I don't know.” Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he felt all his usual tension come back “Oh, God!”
Buddy looked shocked, “What?”
Eric realized he was overreacting a bit and tried to calm himself, “Nothing. I forgot to call Donna.”
“Donna...so she's like your girlfriend?”
“I don't know.” Eric said without thinking. But it was true, wasn’t it? “I don't know.”
Buddy turned to face him, “You know, it's okay to be confused, Eric...”
Eric thought back to how he had been feeling yesterday when he was in the car with Donna “Yeah, you know, sometimes I feel like...I don't know, like we're in a movie, right? And I'm nervous around her...and I feel like I'm playing this part, right? But it's not me.”
Buddy mumbled something along the lines of “mhm...” and leaned in and all of a sudden he was kissing Eric and Eric was kissing back. He couldn’t take a moment to stop and think, all he knew was that this felt right and he wanted to be as close to Buddy as possible right now. There wasn’t time to worry about what this meant, and he started to reach to feel Buddy’s soft hair in his hands when Buddy pulled away.
“Eric, uh...”
“Did I do it wrong??” Maybe this wasn’t how guys were supposed to kiss other guys.
Buddy laughed, “No, you’re...well, you’re great. It’s just kind of a public place, right?”
Reality set in, and Eric realized they were still in the parking lot, and there were people around who probably wouldn’t be too happy if they saw them. He nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. Should we...?” He gestured vaguely at the steering wheel.
Buddy turned his keys in the ignition and pulled out of his spot, “Do you...want to go back to my house or something?”
Yes! Eric wanted to so bad, but he knew there was so much that he’d have to deal with later if he avoided it now, “I think I oughta just go home. For now. If you can drop me off, I’m sorry.”
Buddy smiled, “I get it, Eric, don’t worry. We can catch up later.”
The ride back was impossible, all Eric wanted to do was kiss Buddy again, but he also really didn’t want to get in a car crash and die. That might be an embarrassing way to go. But soon enough, Buddy was saying goodbye and Eric was heading down to the basement, still in a daze.
When he came in, all his friends (minus Kelso, who was working on getting his fingers unstuck from a chinese finger trap) looked up at him in surprise. Hyde grinned sarcastically, “Wow, I’m honored to be in your presence, Forman. I thought you were all booked up.”
Jackie scowled at him, “Shut up, Steven. You’re just jealous Eric has found someone of higher social standing than you lot.”
Eric ignored her, “Sorry I was late, I was catching a movie.”
Donna shrugged, “We were just heading out anyways. Right, Jackie? Fez?” She smacked Kelso on the head, “C’mon, idiot.”
Eric blinked, confused, “I just got here.”
“Well, I still have homework. And besides, you and Hyde wanna hang out, right? I’ll see you,” she kissed Eric, but he had no reaction.
That got Kelso’s attention enough to yell, “BURN, Donna! No really, that’s rough, maybe you should find a better kisser than Forman.”
Donna glared, “What’s going on Eric?”
Eric laughed to try and lighten the tension, “Ha, sorry. I had a circle by myself a bit ago, if you know what I mean.”
That seemed to calm her down, “Should’ve figured you were high. Well, be sober next time, idiot.”
Eric smiled and saluted at her as his friends filed out the door. Once they were gone, he flopped down at the couch. He could almost relax, if it wasn’t for Hyde’s eyes boring into him through those sunglasses.
“Man, I know you’re not stoned because you’ve been begging me for some all week. What’s going on with you?”
Eric sighed, “It’s nothing, Hyde, I’m just thinking.”
“Only thing I’ve ever seen you really think about is some nerdy Star Wars shit, and that doesn’t tend to get you this bothered. C’mon, what is it?”
Eric was getting pissed, “It’s nothing, I said that!”
Hyde leaned forward, “You’re not doing some harder shit, are you?”
Shit, Eric hoped people didn’t think that was the case. Red already wanted to kill him for just smoking weed, he’d never do anything more. He shook his head.
Hyde paused, thinking for a moment, “You like Buddy, don’t you?”
Eric feigned innocence, “Yeah, man, he’s cool. But he’s not my best friend or anything, you know that.”
“Forman, you know that’s not what I mean. You’re gay, right? I figured, with how much you obsess over Luke Skywalker. It’s gotta be more than those lightswords.”
“It’s lightsabers and you know that. And I...” He bit his lip, “I don’t know what I am. I love Donna, but maybe not in the way I’m supposed to, whatever the hell that means. But he kissed me and it all made sense for a moment.”
“Don’t go getting all soft and poetic on me if you’re in love now.”
“Shut up, Hyde. Wait, so...are you okay with this?”
Hyde punched him on the shoulder softly, “Don’t be an idiot. You’re my best friend, and even if you weren’t, why would I have an issue with this?”
Eric noticed the weight that had been resting on his chest starting to lighten, “Now who’s all soft, huh?” Eric threw a light punch back and slowly it turned into another childish wrestling match and he didn’t have to worry about anything for a second again. Maybe that feeling was getting more common.
~~~~
He went to see Buddy again as soon as he could manage, but they spent most of their time at Buddy’s house. The Morgans were rarely home, and Buddy had way more records than Eric would probably ever have. And he had convinced Buddy to listen to some of his Led Zeppelin records, even though he knew Buddy kinda hated them. Because Buddy made him listen to disco, and Eric would rather people find out him and Buddy were...doing whatever they were than that they were listening to Gloria Gaynor on top of it.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad though, because Buddy was a good dancer and when he put his hand on Eric’s back, he would pull him into a kiss and it didn’t matter what music they were listening to because Eric would melt into his embrace and he’d feel at home.
And yeah, maybe he was being less careful lately, but it was worth it because it was Buddy.
So one night when Buddy was dropping him off, Eric leaned in and kissed him right there in the car in the Forman’s driveway. But as Buddy drove away, he felt like there was someone else there so he turned around and Donna was standing there and his heart sank in guilt and shame and regret and he didn’t know what to say except her name.
“Donna.”
“Eric.” She waved her hand at the now empty driveway, “So...you and Buddy?”
There was no point in denying it, “Yeah. Donna, I’m so sorry. But please don’t tell anyone, only Hyde knows.”
She frowned, “I’m not going to tell...wait, Hyde knows?? Are you freaking kidding me?”
He almost stopped himself from blurting out the words, “You don’t have to be so mad, I didn’t choose-“
Donna stared at him in shock, “I’m not mad you’re gay, Eric! I’m mad you cheated on me, you jerk!”
Eric felt his face go red, “So we WERE dating...?”
“Ugh, I don’t know. Just...give me a bit to think about this. I won’t tell anyone.” And before Eric could get out another word, she stormed off to her house. As she passed him, Eric noticed Kitty standing under the awning outside, “Jesus, what’s with people sneaking up on me tonight?”
Kitty pursed her lips, “Well, that wasn’t very good, was it?”
Eric walked up to her to peek through the glass door, “Is dad home?”
“No, Eric.”
He sighed a premature breath of relief before he realized Kitty had still seen all of that, “Mom, I...”
Before he could continue, Kitty wrapped him up in a hug, “Oh, honey...come inside and get some cookies. I think we need to talk.”
Eric felt a lump forming in his throat, overcome by emotion, although at this point he didn’t know why he was surprised by Kitty’s kindness. He nodded, peeled himself free of her clutches, and walked inside to sit down at the table, “Um, my friends aren’t here, are they?”
“Don’t they know?” Kitty brought over a plate of cookies and some milk and sat down.
Eric took a bite, “Well, Hyde kinda figured it out on his own, but that’s it.”
Kitty nodded, “Steven is a sweet boy. Well, none of them are here now. So...Buddy isn’t just a friend?”
He shook his head, “No, he’s...well, I don’t really know because we haven’t exactly said any labels but...yeah, he’s not just a friend.”
“You know, there’s different safety precautions with boys. I’ll get you some pamphlets, you don’t want to hurt yourself.”
Eric felt the tips of his ears go red, “Mom! We haven’t even...done anything like that. Look, can we not talk about that?” He looked down embarrassed, “Do you think Donna’s gonna forgive me?”
“How could she not? Look at your cute little face!” Eric glared. “Honey, it’s like she said, she needs time. And you need some healthy diet changes with all this stress you’re going through!”
“You really think that?”
“Of course I do, look at you, I didn’t think you could get skinner!” Kitty laughed loudly at her own joke, “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Yes, I am certain about that. Hell, I’ve been in her shoes before, and I still got to stay friends with Teddy Friedricson!”
Eric’s eyebrows shot up, “Uncle Teddy’s gay?”
“Please, Eric, haven’t you met the man?”
~~~~
Sure enough, Kitty was right, and in a few days everything was back to being okay with Donna. They’d told the others they broke up because it was “too awkward dating your best friend” and Jackie told Donna she could say if Eric was bad in bed, and they all had a laugh at Eric’s expense, and everything was back to normal.
Except now, Buddy was coming over too. If Jackie Fez or Kelso noticed anything was up with the two of them, they didn’t mention it. Besides, they liked having someone around who could buy cool stuff they could all use. So nobody ever batted an eye when Buddy would stay later than the rest. Or when they sat a little bit closer to each other, or had their inside jokes, or anything else that might’ve hinted at what was really going on. Sometimes Buddy would put his hand lightly on Eric’s knee, and he could catch Hyde give Donna a look, and laugh lightly, but it didn’t matter.
The only one who hadn’t seemed to have gotten used to the change was Red. He seemed to still be under the impression Eric and Donna were dating, and would watch them like a hawk, but ignore how eager Eric and Buddy were to be in his room alone together. They could always get away with it, if Kitty wasn’t home. But if the house was particularly empty, they would still hang out in the basement.
Eric and Buddy were alone on the couch watching Happy Days and Eric was wondering if Richie ever felt anything for guys. I mean, there was no way that that guy was completely straight. But he was drawn out of his thoughts by Buddy sliding his hand onto Eric’s knee, and the realization that no one was around to stop them from going any further. All of a sudden Eric couldn’t care less about whatever joke the Fonz was making and he threw himself on Buddy desperately.
Donna had been an okay kisser, and probably even better for someone who actually liked girls. But Buddy really, really knew what he was doing. Eric didn’t care how desperate he seemed as he pushed Buddy over on the couch and started to reach under his shirt.
Buddy laughed and pulled him in closer, still kissing him throughout it all. Eric was starting the process of getting their shirts off when he heard footsteps on the stairs.
“Eric, where’s the beer your mother hid? Believe me, my health is a lot better when I have one than...oh for Christ’s sake, get off of Donna, will you? People eat on that couch!”
Eric froze, obviously he couldn’t just stay in this position, but now that Red thought he was crawling all over Donna, this next part was going to be uncomfortable. He sat up, revealing Buddy underneath him.
Red looked surprised in a way Eric had never seen, “Oh.”
Buddy tried to quickly collect himself, “I should...” he ran out the door, leaving Eric alone to face whatever came next.
Eric stood up and faced his father, uncertain of what to say.
Red cleared his throat awkwardly, “Eric...I don’t care who you’re dating. Just do me a favor, and have a little more self respect than to feel up the Morgan boy on my couch. Go mow the lawn.”
Eric tried to process what he’d just heard, “Um, Red, it’s midnight.”
“Okay, so clean your room.”
He nodded, and started to head upstairs before pausing, “...thank you.”
“Yea, yea.” Red let Eric run off and stood in the now empty basement, thinking. He hoped he’d done that right.
~~~~
Once Red found out, it wasn’t long before everyone else caught on. The rules were more strict with Buddy and Eric, and that sucked, but it was nicer too. For the first time in his life, Eric Forman felt comfortable in who he was. Being able to say Buddy Morgan was his boyfriend, and hearing the same said about him felt amazing. And all thanks to a chemistry lab.