𝑷𝑳𝑨𝒀 𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬 - Steven Hyde

eight

8|IGNORING ERIC

Marigold sat at the small table in the kitchen eating a small bowl of crisps while Kitty fried up dinner for everyone. Hyde sat beside her, rubbing his hand gently up and down her thigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, here are my boys. How was work?" The older woman asked as Red and Eric wandered in through the back door.

"Oh, you know, just another day of restocking upper Point Place with durable household goods. Sleep soundly, Wisconsin." Eric joked with a shrug.

"I got some big news from the Price Mart home office." Red said excitedly to his wife while everyone else listened.

"Ooh! They finally gonna let you physically discipline the workers?" Hyde spoke up before chuckling to himself.

"No, but I still have a free hand at home." The older man threatened, noticing that the frizzy haired boys hand was on his nieces thigh. "And remove your hand off my nieces thigh."

"I injured the muscle earlier, he is helping me massage it. We are taking turns." Marigold lied through her teeth, giving her uncle a sickly sweet smile of innocence.

"Sure." Red sent the boy one last glare before focusing back on Kitty. "Headquarters is having every manager make a departmental training film. And they picked me for the stock room."

"Stock room. Wow!" Kitty said with amazement, looking at her husband proudly.

"Steve from Oshkosh got ice and snow management." Red continued with a small laugh. "Loser."

"Well, Red, that is wonderful." She patted his shoulder before continuing with dinner.

"Want a drink?" Hyde leaned over to glance at the spaced out girl.

"Soda please." Goldie grinned, happy he was somewhat treating her like his girlfriend.

"Every single Price Mart stock boy will be trained in the Red Forman way." Red smiled to himself as he stared off into the distance.

"Oh, you mean, undermining their self esteem until they're too weak to fight back?" Eric stated sarcastically as he stole something out the frying pan and made his cousin laugh to herself.

"You know, if you would just zip is for a second, you might be interested in hearing who I want to play stock boy." His father said it like the answer was obvious.

"Oh, look, dad, I appreciate the thought-" Eric stuttered but was cut off by his father.

"I'm gonna use this idiot." Red turned and faced Kelso who had been sitting around the kitchen, quietly snacking on food.

"All right!" Kelso cheered excitedly while Marigold and Hyde laughed in the background. "Man, I guess my movie career is getting started sooner than I thought.'"

"Kelso's playing stock boy?" The youngest Forman asked slowly.

"This is my favourite thing ever." Hyde stepped forwards and sent a happy smile to Red and Kelso.

"Well, Michael does have marvellous bone structure." Kitty tried to defend her husbands decision to her son and laughed nervously. "Oh, but you will too, honey, once you fill out."

"Oh, man. Mom burn!" Kelso laughed loudly.

"That's twice the normal burn." Hyde added before going back and sitting beside Marigold.

"They are the best burns." She gave her Aunt a thumbs up as she sipped her Coke. Goldie leaned over and whispered into the boys ear. "Want to sneak to your room, smoke weed and have sex?"

"You are the best." He patted her shoulder as she sneaked past the two Formans and down to the basement. Sbe happily sat on his bed, lightly up a blunt while waiting for Hyde to show up.

"You took your time, not as desperate as I thought." Marigold smiled suggestively. She blew out the smoke and sat on his lap, pushing him down. "O told you, I prefer to be on top."

"And I have no complaints." Hyde grabbed the blunt and helped her finish it before his hands attacked her body while his lips attacked hers.

~•~

"Oooh! What are you two baking?" Marigold questioned as she fixed her blouse and walked into the kitchen, spotting Donna and Kitty by the oven.

"Cookies! Want to help?" Kitty offered, looking at Donna to make sure it was okay.

"I would love to." She tied back her long, messy brown hair and found the ingredients the two females would shout what they needed.

"Donna, what are you doing?" Jackie burst into the room with Eric standing at the doorway.

"We invented a new cookie." Kitty said excitedly to the girl. "Its a variation of the snickerdoodle. We're calling it the "Donnakitty". Or the "Ditty". We haven't decided."

"I asked to not be included." Goldie laughed, cleaning the flour from under her nails.

"Donna, you're supposed to be sorting, as in my cosmetics." Jackie snapped.

"Oh, yeah. I'm real sorry I missed that." Donna stated with no feeling causing Goldie to smirk to herself as she cleaned up the used dishes.

"It started as an annoying, but innocent lunch." Eric explained to the girl. "And now they're inventing cookies. It's growing, man. It's the freaking Blob."

"Donna, why do you need a new friend?" The short girl questioned after Eric left the room. "Haven't I always been there for you?"

"Uh, no."

"I hope your cookies burn!" Jackie growled before storming out the kitchen.

"Don't worry, you'll always have me." Marigold spoke up, pointing towards where Jackie had just disappeared to. "We won't have to braid each others hair or paint our nails. We can beat up Eric and laugh."

"I have no idea how you and Eric are related." The ginger laughed, high fiving the girl.

"I'm from Red's side of the family." Goldie explained, watching as the information clicked in Donna's head.

"That explains so much." Donna hummed in thought, suddenly noticing the similarities between the pair.