Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of it's characters. I do not the episode 'Career Day' but it is one of my all time favorite episodes. I do not own any other shows, characters, or songs that may be mentioned in this story. I own nothing!
Author's Note: Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're all doing well! Today I have for you a short little oneshot that I wrote just a few days ago. I was looking for some Red and Kitty fluff but when I couldn't find anything new I decided to write my own. And while writing one of the mini-stories this scene came to mind and it wouldn't leave my head. The story takes place night following the season 1 episode of Career Day. It was brought on mostly from a wonderful and very fun conversation that I had with those70sthings over on tumblr (a fabulous That '70s Show blog, btw!). We talked about how we both thought Red and Hyde, as well as JH and RK were so much alike and about a certain little smile Red gets in the garage scene with Hyde and Jackie. It's like he sees something there before anyone else—including Jackie and Hyde. This is just my little take on this little smile of Red's, I really hope that you all like it. Thanks for stopping by to read it and if you have a few free moments please review with your thoughts, I'd so love to hear them! Thanks so very much once again to those70sthings! This one's for you! Thanks for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always please, Enjoy!
Kind of Like Us
Kitty Forman emerged from the warmth of her bathroom and into her chilly bedroom, she then soon spotted her husband in their bed and knew it was probably the warmest place in the house tonight.
Wisconsin was always much cooler at night but it was especially colder during winter nights, like tonight. It may have been nearing the end of February, a time when most people would be looking forward to spring already, but for those in Wisconsin, winter was still alive and well. And with Red only working part-time at the auto parts plant and Kitty's paycheck being barley enough to pay off the monthly bills, they'd made the decision to cut out all the little extra luxuries such as going out to dinner, buying brand-name soda, and turning on the heat. Kitty hoped Eric had enough blankets with him in his room.
She hurried over to her side of the bed but before she climbed in, she quickly shrugged off her fuzzy, pink—warm—robe, revealing her matching pink nightgown, and tossed the bathrobe onto the hope chest at the foot of the bed. When she turned back to her bedside, her arms wrapped around herself, Kitty saw Red holding up both the blankets on her side of the bed and his open arms, inviting her to come in so he could warm her up.
With a small giggle and not a moment's hesitation, Kitty crawled onto the bed, under the covers, and into her husband's arms. Red chuckled as she snuggled up to him but wrapped his arms around her and drew her even closer—all the while rubbing his open palm over her right arm in hopes of creating some warmth.
"So," he began, after giving her a few moments to warm up. "How was Career Day?"
"Oh, it was just wonderful," Kitty replied, happy to remain in her husband's embrace. "Eric was such a great helper and he was hit with all the other girls. Although, I don't think he'll be considering a career in nursing. He fainted in during a delivery."
Red laughed loudly at hearing this, making Kitty send a sharp look his way.
"At least he didn't run out of the room to get a sandwich," her quip silenced Red's laughter.
For a quick moment he looked skywards, annoyed that it was 17 years later and he had yet to live that moment down. "Anything else happen?"
Kitty's stare softened before it lowered to the quilt over her lap, "Well, we lost a patient today."
"Old Mrs. Hennessey finally kick the bucket?" Red guessed the woman Kitty often talked about, describing her as a 94 year old grouch who didn't care for the hospital's food, nurses, or beds.
"No," she shook her head sadly and looked up, titling her head to the side. "It was Mr. Anderson."
The corners of Red's mouth pulled downwards, "Oh Kitty, I'm sorry."
Mr. Anderson had been another patient Kitty talked about often, this time with happier things to say. Red knew he was one of the patient's his wife looked forward to seeing. This wasn't the first patient of Kitty that had passed on, there'd been many others, and while Kitty was strong enough not to let their deaths affect her work or home life, Red knew their passing still saddened her greatly.
He hugged her to him and she gave him a tight misty-eyed smile.
"He was a good man. I'm glad he got to dance with his daughter at her wedding. That's all he really wanted," Kitty shared through her tearful smile.
Red said nothing but smiled and nodded his head in agreement. Times like these he knew Kitty didn't need him to say anything, she just wanted him to listen and allow her to talk about the memory of her friend.
A light laugh escaped Kitty's lips as she used the side of her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes before slapping it onto Red's arm. She pulled on a brand new smile, "Okay, now, how was your day?"
"Pretty good," Red answered nonchalantly. "Fixed the Vista Cruiser's carburetor. And I finally found one of Eric's friends that I actually like."
Surprise filled Kitty and she lifted her eyebrows before her eyes began to blink rapidly. "You did? Who? Steven?" she tried to guess but then realized Steven was one of Eric's friends they'd known for years. "Oh, the little foreign boy?"
"No. The Burkhart girl. Jackie," he explained to his wife. "She's loud and she talks a lot, but the girl knows her way around the car."
Kitty noticed the flicker of a smile that started to form on Red's face and it made her giggle.
"Well, Red, I'm glad you finally made a friend," she teased earning a faint laugh.
"Steven came by too."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, he was having problems with his mom again."
"Oh no," concern and worry were already twisting inside Kitty. "What did you do?"
Red shrugged, "I gave him some Donahue approved advice, but we'll have to wait and see if the dumbass took it."
Holding in a sigh, Kitty nodded her head because she knew that's all that they really could do. Kitty's heart went out to Steven Hyde. She wanted to believe that Edna Hyde was doing her best but sometimes she wasn't so sure. And Steven was such a good boy, he deserved to have a nice loving home; it was one of the reasons she and Red welcomed him to spend so much time at their house over the years.
"They're more alike than they think," Red suddenly said, pulling Kitty from her thoughts.
"Oh, I don't know about that, Red," she shook her head and frowned just slightly. "After all, Steven is such a sweet boy and his mother is well…I mean...she's…"
"Not Steven and his mom," he interrupted the statement before Kitty could think of the next word. "Steven and Jackie."
"The Burkhart girl?"
"You remember the situation with Steven's dad, right?" When Red saw her nod, he went on. "And according to Jackie, Jack works a lot so she doesn't see much of him either."
Kitty saddened at hearing this new information, "Oh, the poor dear."
"They'll be fine, Kitty. They're good kids," Red sounded very confident in his words and then a sly smirk began to crawl onto his lips. "Think there might even be something between the two of them."
"Steven and Jackie?" his wife asked in disbelief. "But they're so different from each other. They're like night and day!"
Her question made him shrug, "So? Sometimes opposites attract and it works. Kind of like us."
Red gave his bride a little squeeze and she immediately looked up at him, her tight lipped smile meeting his roguish smirk. Kitty loved how she was one of the few people who got to see this side of her husband.
"Oh Red, that is so sweet," she really was touched by his words, then her brows furrowed lightly. "But Steven and Jackie…I can't really see it."
"Yeah, neither can they. Not yet anyway," Red admitted sounding almost somber as he said this, however, his voice became it's booming self as he continued. "But I'm telling you Kitty, if the two of them ever start something, that boy is gonna fall for her, fast and hard. Just like the way I fell for you."
Slowly, Kitty started to smile again. She was starting to understand why Red suddenly thought Steven Hyde and Jackie Burkhart would make a good couple. He could see themselves in the young teens. While Kitty had noticed quite a few similarities between Steven and her husband, she had a harder time seeing herself in Jackie Burkhart and an even harder time seeing Steven and Jackie as an item. Of course, she didn't want to discourage Red from taking an interest in the kids' lives.
"Why Red Forman, when did you become a little matchmaker?" she couldn't help but playfully ask him.
A scowl indented itself deeply onto Red's forehead. "I'm not matchmaking anyone," he grumbled removing his arms from around her, "I was just making an observation. I was observing, that's all."
"Alright," Kitty nodded pursing her lips together; maybe calling him a matchmaker wasn't the best idea. "Well you know, I can make observations too and I think you're just as cold as I am."
"Well you're wrong," he just about barked back. "I had colder nights in Korea. I'm not cold. You're cold."
Holding in a laugh, Kitty moved her head up and down, "Okay, well maybe you're right. Maybe my observation was wrong. But I just thought if we were both cold then we could both warm each other up."
In an instant Red understood what his wife was up to and realized what a dumbass he was for making her think she was wrong. He quickly tried to right his own wrong and hoped that she hadn't changed her mind.
"You know, maybe I am a little cold."
A smile played on Kitty's lips, "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Red impishly agreed as he gathered his wife back into his arms and pulled her down on the bed with him, causing her to giggle gleefully. He joined her laughter until he silenced both their laughs by capturing her lips with his own in tender kiss.
The End
Author's Note: So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Good? Bad? A mix of the two? Be sure to let me know what you think in a review!
Did you ever notice Red's smile or will you be going back to rewatch it? Don't worry if you hadn't noticed it before, now that you know it's there I think it'll be pretty easy to spot.
Hope you liked this little story, I had a lot of fun writing it. Thank you so much again to those70sthings!
Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, take care, and have a nice day!
