Work Text:
September 1980
Madison, Wisconsin
6:30 pm
They're both a little buzzed. Like bees.
After a couple of beers, they've been actively partaking in a little thing called the bird and the bees. Or, as Hyde called it back in the day, "bird watching."
All the while, in Milwaukee, Hyde's back to bird watching with a loud-mouthed crow...fine, Dorothy, after the scarecrow scared her away and the cowardly lion barely got to second base. The tin man has found his heart, and they're back together. Hand in hand, like they should be.
And so are they, in the afterglow, at their new place. Like Dorothy would posit, there's no place like home, and he feels at home. In her arms, as the paper-thin walls surround them like a cocoon.
In Point Place, they were caterpillars, but now? In Madison, they're going to be butterflies. Before they spread their wings far and wide, and go wherever life takes them.
But right now, they're here. In their very first, official bed. Basking in the sunshine, pouring through their bedroom window. Peeking through the blinds, as Donna peeks at him. With a soothing, loving smile.
Now, her blue eyes are as blue as the late summer sky, and her scarlet locks are dancing on her pillow. An elated chuckle escapes her lips, which he hasn't heard in a long, long time.
"I've missed this," She states, pecking his cheek, "Even though it feels different, it's a good kind of different."
"It's a little thing called growing up, and there have been many, many growing pains."
Donna sighs, as if he's ruined the moment. Like he always does. "Yeah..."
But Eric continues, unabated. Maybe it's the alcohol, the bees, buzzing in his ears. "Those growing pains have been tough, but we didn't let the train hit us, did we? We jumped out of the way, just in time."
"Are you talking about our first wedding..."
"That never was? Neither of us were ready." He shakes his head, wishing he had another beer. To wash the memories away. "We should've never set the date in the circle. We should've kept that someday date, and stuck to our guns. Instead of being pushed into a corner..."
Eric trails off, as despair settles in the air. Etched onto every inch of Donna's face, in every nook and cranny, and he feels a punch to the gut.
But that pain is minuscule, compared to all the pain he's put her through. Because when he wrote that fateful letter, he just didn't want her to wait for him, like she always did.
Instead, he wanted her to emerge from the quicksand they were both sinking in, and head into greener pastures. Like he was, in Cape Town. Like a butterfly, spreading its wings.
He nervously shifts his minuscule body weight, sinking further into the pillow. Why do I always have to ruin everything...
"We're out of that corner, now." Her voice is as clear as day, as she tries to push away the ominous clouds in the sky. "Most of it's behind us."
But he can't help but think, of the past. I'm an aspiring history major, after all. "But will I ever deserve your hand..."
"In marriage?" Donna finishes, with a hopeful sigh, and a loving chuckle, "Of course, but let's not exchange vows for awhile."
Now, he feels the sun. The warmth, radiating from her body, as she pulls him closer. As she ruffles his hair, and nudges his head.
And in return, he turns around, like the Flash. Running his hands through her hair, with a familiar nudge. And with a question, on the tip of his tongue. Will you marry me, someday?
But instead, true to form, it emerges in awkward little clumps. "So, someday?"
"Is that a promise, neighbor?" With a swift, theoretical kick in the ass, Donna bravely shows her true colors. Her bottle blonde days being far, far behind her, while her smile? Lights up the room. "I'll be the bride, and you'll be the groom."
The room seems to be spinning, as Donna dances. Off the bed, and towards the stereo. She flicks through the perfectly organizing records, before settling on a tried and true. Abbey Road.
"I think we need to set the scene." Glancing around the room, she sighs. "And if I could find a lighter, I could light some scented candles."
Little darling
It's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the Sun, doo-doo-doo-doo
Here comes the Sun and I say
It's all right
"Are you proposing to me? Am I your little darling?" He squeaks, taken aback by the impromptu scene, unfolding in front of his eyes, "That's not how it's supposed to work..."
Her response is swift, like a kick to the balls. Like a tetherball, to the balls, back in the day. Courtesy of his eventual wife, the eventual mother of his children. "Times are changing."
"You mean, things are progressing?" He anxiously retorts, springing into action. Sitting up in bed, as Donna rolls back under the covers. Nudging his head, again. This time, a little bit harder. Like when she used to push him on the tire swing. "You may be progressive, but..."
A frown begins to reemerge, and he collapses into the bed. If he keeps going, she'll draw a chalk outline around his body. After she murdered him, in cold blood. "Don't ruin it."
"Fair enough." He awkwardly clears his throat, as his hand meets hers. Their fingers intertwine, like a game of cat's cradle. "But can I, Eric Forman, play an important role in your wedding, like the groom?"
"Oh, so it's a mutual agreement?" The sun comes up, once again, with a solemn reminder. A verbal nudge, if you will. "You're going to be there this time, right?"
His answer is immediate, flying off his tongue. Like a butterfly, or even a bald eagle, soaring through the sky. "Yes."
"I almost ran too," She admits, taking the wind out of his soaring kite, "I packed a suitcase."
"So you almost pulled the trigger too?" He feels a bit deflated, as the pieces of the puzzle finally meet, but he's quick to spread his wings. The past is behind us, remember? "So neither of us were ready."
"When will we be ready?"
"After college. 83, 84."
The date seems broad, and so, so far away, but Donna seems more than willing to accept it. Hell, she's willing to embrace it, as her lips willfully meet his.
Here comes the Sun (doo, doo, doo)
Here comes the Sun
It's all right
It's all right
After a moment of pure bliss, the song finally fades to black, and another little something begins to play. Something, another classic.
Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how
With those simple words, he reluctantly comes up, for fresh air.To make it official. "But in the meantime, if you don't mind...we can be engaged."
A smile dances on her lips, with the birds and the bees clearly on her mind. "Again?"
And with glee, he buzzes. Like a bee. "Again."