Hello, It's Me ? Steven Hyde

It was about one o'clock in the morning when a tapping at Liz's window pulled her from her sleep. As startled as she was at first, the moonlight illuminated the figure enough for her to know who it was.

"Hyde?" She breathed, pushing the window open. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, Lizzie," he greeted softly as he pressed his lips together. "Can I, uh... come in?"

She stepped aside so he could climb into the room. With concern brimming her eyes, she asked again, "What are you doing up here?"

"Well, all the doors downstairs were locked," he said as he straightened up, glancing around the room.

Liz crossed her arms, not amused with his avoidance of the obvious. "That doesn't explain why you're trying to get in here at this hour."

Hyde's eyes eventually flicked over to her, letting out a quiet sigh. "Can I crash here tonight?"

"Well, yeah." She took a step closer, her voice becoming softer. "Why? Bud didn't start drinking again, did he?"

"No, no." He shook his head, but hesitated with the truth. As much as he didn't want to care about what happened, there was still something nagging at him—irking him. He hated it. He didn't want to care. He only wanted to care about her.

"He just... left," he finally said, avoiding her gaze.

Liz's eyes widened. "He left you?"

"I—I didn't say that."

"Hyde, c'mon. You can tell me."

When she reached for his hand, he felt his wall slip slightly. But as much as he trusted her, he threw it back up. "Look, Lizzie, I don't really wanna talk about it, okay? Can I just stay here until I figure things out?"

She let out a sigh, but decided not to push him. Clearly it was something that bothered him, no matter how hard he tried to act like it didn't. "Yeah, of course you can."

"Thanks, Lizzie." He leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. With a slight smirk, he started for her bed.

"Hey," Liz hissed, tugging him back over. "Where do you think you're going?"

"What? I can't stay up here with you?" Hyde teased, his smirk growing.

She shook her head, but managed to chuckle. "I mean, you can, but Red'll kill you if he catches us. And, to be honest, I'd prefer a boyfriend that's alive."

He joined in on her quiet laughter. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Giving her hand a slight squeeze, he gestured to her closed door. "Is my room still set up?"

"I think my mom might've put some boxes on your bed, but it's pretty much still intact," Liz explained. Despite his situation, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of him staying with them again. "Let's go check."

❁

Hyde yawned as he shuffled into the kitchen, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants and a robe. He started over to Liz, who stood by the counter and handed him a plate when he approached.

"Good morning," Liz greeted with a smile, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

"Mornin'," he greeted back as they pulled away. With a smirk, he headed over to the table, pulling an empty chair up between Red and Kitty.

They, along with Eric, stared at him quizzically as he started to pile waffles on his plate. Despite their obvious confusion, he and Liz went about making their plates as if it was any other day.