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Author's Note: Hello there! Hope you're doing well and enjoying the holiday season. I'm sorry for taking so long to post this new chapter, I had initially told myself that I was going to post the next chapter once my review count got to 80 but as a full week went by and it stayed stuck on 79 I realized I might be waiting a long time for that last review and the holiday season could be close to over. So I'm very sorry about setting that goal and delaying the chapter. I'm done with that now and I'm gonna keep posting at a semi regular schedule even if I don't get my review count goal. know the focus on Red/Kitty instead of the gang doesn't help readership nor does taking three years to write this. So a great big thank you to those of you who reviewed the first chapter for this year, it means SO much! And a big thank you goes to those who just stopped by to read it too, I really hope you are enjoying it. :D Thank you for everything, hope you like it, please review if you can, know the holidays are busy, and as always please, Enjoy!
December 15, 1983
12: 36 A.M.
It was quite the silent night following the Loud One's gift giving stint. Red and Kitty didn't see or hear from any of the dumbasses for the rest of the evening, with the exception of Steven who had called Kitty to inform her he'd be spending the night over at Jackie's apartment to help calm her down on the whole present thing, Red hoped he could get her to calm down on the whole holiday but knew that was a long shot.
While Red found comfort and joy in the empty house, it was driving Kitty crazy. She couldn't find anything to do!
She tried finding something to watch on TV, but every channel was running some kind of Christmas special. Flipping through the newest magazines hadn't done much either, each one had some kind of new Christmas recipe that Kitty had to resist making because even if she did make it, and kept the fact that it was a Christmas recipe to herself, there was no one around to eat it.
When she'd finally had enough she slapped the Ladies' Home Journal on the coffee table and declared, "Well, I guess there's nothing for me to do except go to bed early."
Red knew she'd said her proclamation out loud and in his direction for a reason—probably wanting to instill some sort of guilt in him, but it didn't work. He was enjoying the break from Christmas greatly and was looking forward to the getaway cruise that would take him and Kitty away from the cold bitter Wisconsin winter and into that warm Hawaiian sun. He was sure that underneath the anger his wife felt towards him and the guilt she felt from the kids, that Kitty was still very much looking forward to their trip too.
In fact, he was nearly positive that one they got out on the cruise ship she be thanking him for coming up for the whole idea and it was with that thought in mind that Red was able to drift off into a peace sleep an hour later when he joined Kitty in bed.
As visions of ocean waves and tropical shores danced in Red's head there arose a loud clatter. Red woke and sprung from his bed to check on the matter.
Instead of checking the rooftop, Red headed down to the basement below, spotting not Saint Nick all covered in soot but a tall dumbass with a sack in his hand, looking to loot.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Red glared at the intruder. "Kelso, what the hell are you doing here?"
Kelso jumped at the sound of the booming voice, nearly knocking over the giant Santa figurine he was standing next to. Luckily, he caught the decoration and after a few wobbly moments managed to set it back in its rightful spot.
Still a bit panicked, Kelso and turned around to find the sight of an angry Red Forman standing there, it only terrified Kelso even more. It didn't matter that Red was in his pajamas and bathrobe, it might have made Red seem even angrier for having been woken up.
However, Red could look as scary as Krampus himself, Michael Kelso was not backing down.
He stood up a little taller, ignoring the fear twisting his stomach, and let out a puff of air from the corner of his mouth. "Pfftt, well you know…what are any of us doing here really?"
The reply did not impress Red.
"I'll tell you what I'm doing here," he began to say. "I'm here to kick your ass unless you tell me what the hell you're doing snooping around these decorations."
"I'm not snooping, I'm getting Santa Claus," Kelso explained not seeing anything wrong with his actions.
Red lifted his chin and frowned. "You mean the Santa Claus decoration that I paid for? Because if you do then you're not just getting Santa Claus, Kelso, you're stealing Santa Claus."
"Yeah…well…you're stealing Christmas!" shouted Kelso.
Annoyed, Red rolled his eyes. "I'm not stealing Christmas. I'm skipping it."
"That's even worse!" Kelso was still shouting, his arms flying up into the air. "Besides I've got permission to steal…I mean get this Santa."
"From who?" Red demanded to know.
"From the Police Department," the young officer was proud to share his connections. "They said I could confiscate it from you since you're break the law…."
Again, Red felt the urge to roll his eyes, how the hell had the kid made it onto the police force, he grumbled, "There is no law…"
"Yes, there is!" Kelso did the interruption this time. "It's a law that says if you have Christmas decorations you have to put them up at Christmas time. It's a real law! And you're violating that law right now buddy!"
Red did not like being yelled at, especially when it was coming from a kettlehead.
"Kelso, if you don't step away from that Santa my foot is gonna be violating your ass!" Red shouted in a volume much louder, and scarier, than Kelso's.
The tough cop act Kelso had been playing suddenly vanished and he looked more like the man-child who'd spent way too much time in Red's basement gluing himself to things.
"But I…I can't. It's Christmas time, Santa Claus should be up on the rooftop waving to all the good boys and girls not locked down here in a basement that smells like po…" Kelso caught his words the moment he caught Red's glare." -pcorn. You know I could charge you for kidnapping."
A tired heavy sigh left Red, he just wanted to go back to bed. "He's not real, kettlehead."
"Well he's real to some people!" Kelso shouted so loudly it seemed to wake Red back up. "At my house especially. There's even one person at my house in Chicago who's really been shaken up about you not putting Satna up," he shared in a softer tone. "They think since Santa won't be on the roof he's won't come on Christmas."
Red's anger and irritation slowly faded when he thought back to round-faced the little tot who Kelso had brought over the week before. He didn't mind the misery that his and Kitty's cruise plans brought the dumbasses, but he didn't mean to ruin a child's Christmas.
Clearing his throat, Red looked at the young father. "Your kid really thinks that?"
"What?" Kelso's brows scrunched closer together. "No! Not Betsy, me!"
Hearing this, Red's face fell back into its usual scowl and he felt like a dumbass himself for having fallen for Kelso's words.
"I don't think Betsy understands the whole science of Santa just yet," continued Kelso.
Once mor,e Red rolled his eyes. "Kelso, why is it so damned important to you that I put up this Santa Claus?"
"Because it's Santa!" he cried like the five-year-old he was at heart. "And Betsy loves Santa. We're spending Christmas in Point Place for the first time this year and I'm just trying to make sure this is the best Christmas ever for her."
Kelso was playing the dad card, but it was also the truth card. Then he realized that Red was a dad too and there was a third card he could put into play.
"C'mon Red," Kelso said, father to father. "You remember what it's like wanting to make Christmas special for your kids, don't you?"
Red stared back at Kelso. Of course, he remembered those Christmases when Eric and Laurie were kids and had mile long lists of toys they wanted. He remembered the way he and Kitty had run themselves ragged trying to give them the Christmas of their dreams. He also remembered those Christmas mornings cuddled on the couch with Kitty, tiredly watching Laurie and Eric gleefully open and play with their gifts in a way that had made all the craziness worth it.
Those distant memories of Eric and Laurie's childhood drifted into his mind, creating a small smile on his lips. "Yeah, I do."
"So, you'll free Santa?" Kelso's question was hopeful.
"Not a chance," Red replied, the memories were gone and that smile had now turn into a knowing smirk. "But I will give you some advice on making your kid's Christmas so great."
Letting out a loud sound that sounded like a cross between a groan and a cry, Kelso threw his head back. He didn't want advice, he wanted Santa!
"Don't go around buying a bunch of expensive toys and crap," Red shared, ignoring Kelso's display of boredom. "Because in a couple of years, all that'll end up in a box of junk that you'll sell at a garage sale and get not even a fourth of what you paid for it."
Kelso stared solemnly at Red and blinked. "Well, that's depressing."
"That's the future," replied the older man in a matter of fact kind of tone.
"Yeah, well, we're not talking about the future, we're talking about the present," Kelso reminded, and his eyes went wide as another Christmas light in his head went off. "Oh and presents! I wanna give Betsy the present of Santa on a rooftop, so…what if I bought it from you?"
Red quirked an eyebrow and pushed out his lower lip as he mulled over the idea. It wasn't such a bad one, the most worrisome thing about it was that it had come from a Kelso. If Red sold the decoration to Kelso it would mean the kettlehead would stop badgering him to put up the damn thing, hell, he'd never have to put the damn thing up again if he sold it. And the money he got from the sale would be a good form of proof that showed how much money they'd save by skipping Christmas this year.
"Alright," nodded Red, "how much are we talking here?"
"Eight dollars."
Instantly a new frown formed on Red's face. "Eight dollars for an eight foot Santa?"
"Hey, that's a dollar a foot," Kelso made sure to point out. "I think that's a pretty good deal."
"Go home, Kelso," Red turned to leave the room and the conversation.
"Red, wait, come on," Kelso practically jumped in front of Red to block him in his tracks. "You gotta sell me your Santa. You're not using it and I've always wanted to get Betsy a really big gift."
Red shook his head, this dumbasses still had a lot to learn about fatherhood and Christmas. "Kelso, really big gifts only end up being a really big waste of space."
"Well, yeah, cuz they're big," it didn't look like Kelso was seeing Red's point.
"Look behind that Santa shaped death trap," Red instructed with a pointed index finger and Kelso craned his neck and squinted his eyes to follow the instructions. "You see that dollhouse back there?"
"Yeah…"
"I bought that for Laurie for Christmas when she seven years old. It was the thing she wanted the most that year," shared Red. "So, I woke up at four in the morning, headed down to a crowded toy store that reminded me of Korea, and shoveled out a good chunk of my Christmas bonus to pay for it."
Kelso tried to get a closer look at the miniature house.
"A year later the damn doll house was collecting dust in her room. Year after, that it was moved down here where it's been for the last sixteen years."
"Yeah, okay," Kelso could actually understand how bad that sounded. "But that's not gonna happen with Betsy. She's not Laurie cuz you know Laurie was kind of a bitch."
Red glared furiously at Kelso, his face turning the color of his name. If they were in one of those Christmas cartoons, smoke would have emerged from his ears.
But smoke or no smoke, Kelso could tell Red wanted to kill him, and he gulped down his fear. "But uh she made up for it by being hot," he tried to fix his mistake. "She was totally hot. Like smokin' hot…"
"Keloso," Red growled.
"I know, I know, go home," he didn't even need the older man to finish the statement. "But aren't you gonna sell me Santa?"
"No!"
Kelso pouted for only a minute or two. "Oh! Can buy Laurie's old dollhouse?"
"It's not for sale," grumbled Red, there was no way he was selling that dollhouse to a Kelso.
"You said it was just taking up space!"
"Kelso, you've got two seconds to get out of here before I start kicking your ass," threatened Red.
Kelso's mouth flapped open and close, "But…"
"One…"
Not a second later Kelso made a mad dash out of the basement leaving Red alone with the overgrown Santa Claus. When he caught the sight of his jolly bearded face, Red grimaced in disgust. He grabbed a blanket off the old worn sofa, prepared to fling it over the statue when Laurie's old dollhouse caught his eye again.
It really was just taking up space down here but in all these years he still couldn't find it in his heart to give it up. Something told him to hold on to it. Maybe because in the last few years they'd barely gotten a Christmas card from their first born and the toy was a reminder of her or maybe he held onto it because of how much work it took him to get it.
Those Christmases when the kids were little were the most busiest, but they were also the most memorable ones too.
Then again, Red realized with a smirk, it was going to be hard to forget spending Christmas alone with Kitty on a cruise ship.
Author's Note: So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!
Next chapter, which should be up later this week, Eric has a turn at trying to convince his parents to change their mind about skipping Christmas, using some help from the magic of old time Christmases.
Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think stay tuned, have a nice day and remember only 16 more days till Christmas 2018!