Red's heart attack was hard on the Forman family, especially Kitty. She thought that the heart attack had changed him and not in the way she had hoped. He was distant and often said stuff in a manner that said he didn't actually mean what he said. It wasn't in a sarcastic way, he just said the opposite of what he meant, which was hard on Kitty. She never knew how he felt and it was becoming increasingly harder with each passing day – to the point where she couldn't take in anymore. But she didn't want to say anything because she knew how hard the heart attack had been on the man himself, so she didn't say anything, hoping he would snap back to his usual self soon. She just didn't know that it would happen in the way that it would.
Kitty walked into the bathroom, fully aware that Red was taking a bath. When he was in the worst of moods, he would often go upstairs and just soak in the tub for a while. She knew to stay clear of him, but she wanted to get ready for bed. So she started getting ready like Red wasn't in the bathtub. She went about her business, washing her makeup away, putting her curlers into her hair, not saying a word to her husband. That is, until he said something.
"Kitty, what're you doing?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. He wanted to get a rise out of her. Not to just piss her off, but because he felt that she hadn't truly showed her emotions since the heart attack and he wanted her to get mad, to get upset - to feel what she actually felt. Kitty looked at her husband and smiled.
"Getting ready for bed, honey," she said. She then turned back to the mirror and continued putting the curlers in her hair.
"Couldn't you have waited until I finished?" he asked, trying a little harder to make her mad.
"Red," Kitty said in a dangerous voice. She didn't want to fight. She had had enough of that already.
"What?" Red asked. He hoped that would tip her over the edge, but it didn't quite do it.
"It could be me, Red, it could be me. But it could also be you. I mean, the way you speak to me," Kitty started in a shaky as she walked over to the bathtub and sat on the edge of tub. "Please, sweetheart, please. You tell me what you want to say," she finished. She knew that Red didn't mind her getting ready for bed while he was in the bathtub. It never bothered him before, even if he was in a terrible mood. Tears were forming in her eyes when Red finally spoke a few seconds later.
"Do you have any idea how unattractive the expression on your face is right now?" he asked, in a completely flat voice. Red cupped his hands together, picked up some water and squirted it out to the end of tub, much like a child. He didn't mean what he had just said, but his previous attempts at getting Kitty to get mad wasn't working, so he stooped lower than he had ever gone.
"I hate you," is all Kitty said. The tears that once been in her eyes where now gone and anger replaced them.
"Good," Red said, his voice still monotone. He continued squirting water from his hands.
"You have been so terrible lately," Kitty said, rage boiling inside of her.
"Oh, attagirl, now you're talking. Now you're talking," Red said, encouraging her anger to grow.
"I wish you were dead," Kitty said, her voice becoming louder and louder with each word. Like Red, she didn't mean what she said. It just came out. When she was this mad, Kitty didn't have much say about what came out of her mouth.
"Oh, Kitty, remember this," Red said, coaxing her even more. He started to laugh as Kitty grabbed a towel and started hitting him with it, getting it wet in the process.
"I want you to die. I want you to die! I hate you!" Kitty said. It felt good to let off some steam. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this angry. Red continued to laugh at Kitty's rage, happy to see some emotion other than her usual forced cheerfulness. "I do! I hate you!" Red started dodging the towel Kitty was using to hit him.
"Remember this! Hang onto this! Hang on!" he said, laughter evident in his voice.
"I hate you! I hate you!" Kitty continued to chant.
"Remember this!" Red said once more as Kitty continued hitting him with the now wet towel. "Keep it up! Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! Don't lose it!" Kitty stopped hitting her husband and just burst into tears. Why had she said that she hated her husband? That was far from true. This heart attack had shown Kitty how much she truly loved her husband and how hard it would be for her had Red died that night. Kitty started to bend down and Red grabbed her arms and pulled her softly into the tub. Kitty willingly crawled into the tub with her naked husband, fully clothed.
"All right. Shhhh. Okay. No, no, no. Come on. Oh no," Red said when she sat down in the tub. He wrapped a loving hand around her head and one around her back and pulled her in for a hug, one that Kitty willingly took.
"I'm sorry," Kitty said in between sobs. She continued to cry as Red held her in his loving embrace.
"You need to be strong, sweetheart. For the both of us," he said soothingly in between Kitty's sobs. "You're my girl. You're my girl. You're my strong girl," he added as he rocked her back and fourth. Kitty pulled back and looked at her husband as he pushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"Do you have any idea how beautiful the expression on your face is right now?" Red asked. Both husband and wife laughed as Red leaned in and kissed Kitty on the lips lovingly. Kitty moved around in the tub so she was lying on top of her husband, his arms still protectively wrapped around her.
"It's okay, sweetheart," he said in a soothing matter. Kitty rested her head against his chest and tried her best to contain her tears. "I love you so much," he added.
"I love you too," she said softly and just stayed there for a few minutes. Red just rubbed her back and let her stay there, happy with how things worked out and happy to have his wife in the tub with him. They stayed there for another few minutes and then went to bed, finally back to the happy couple they where before the heart attack.
fin
a/n: so a lot of this fic is taken directly from the movie waiting for forever, but this fic wasn't just sparked from that movie, but also big fish. So s/o to waiting for forever and big fish!