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Kevin Price’s Christmas plans had seemed easy enough. Spend the beginning of his winter break in Salt Lake with his family before catching a flight to Cleveland on Christmas Eve to celebrate Christmas with Connor and the extended McKinley family. What Kevin hadn’t planned on were the poor weather conditions leaving him stranded in Denver, Colorado on his layover. His connecting flight from Denver to Cleveland was canceled with no sign of being rescheduled, and Kevin wasn’t sure where to go or what to do.
Ultimately, he remembered one Christopher Thomas (and by extension, James Church) living in Denver. Kevin only knew Chris as Connor’s best friend and it wasn’t that they didn’t get along, just that it was incredibly rare for the two of them to be in one-on-one situations. Part of Kevin, the egotistical part that he’d been trying not to show as often anymore, didn’t want to reach out to Chris for help, but he was completely at a loss for what else to do. He was stranded on Christmas Eve in a strange city with no friendly faces for aid other than his former mission brother. So, with a sigh, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and composed a text.
Kevin: Hey, Chris. Weird question, but you live in Denver, right?
Chris Thomas: yeah, i do. why?
Kevin: I have a layover here on my way to Connor’s and my flight got canceled.
Chris Thomas: snow in cleveland?
Kevin: Yeah.
I hate to impose, but is there any way I could come to your place? Just until I find a hotel.
Chris Thomas: yeah ofc ! i’m at my parents’ but i’ll send u their address. or do u need to be picked up?
Kevin: I can get an Uber, thanks.
Chris Thomas: ok
see u soon
Kevin: See you.
~*~
An hour later, Kevin was carrying his luggage up the steps of what he hoped was Chris Thomas’ family home. After he rang the doorbell, he took a moment to take in the surroundings. Looking at the house from the outside, Kevin figured they must’ve recently moved. It was a new house, in a neighborhood surrounded by other new houses. The exterior was painted in soft shades of grey, and the front porch had new pieces of furniture on it. He didn’t have much time left to observe the outside of the house because the front door swung open to reveal former Elder Poptarts in all his glory. He was wearing a green Christmas sweater and reindeer headband, a fact that left Kevin a bit shocked. He wasn’t used to seeing Chris in anything other than the missionary uniform or jeans and a t-shirt.
“Hey, Kevin,” Chris smiled as he stepped back to let Kevin into the house, “come on in. It’s good to see you.”
“You too,” Kevin smiled easily as he stepped over the threshold. The house was immaculately decorated (Kevin was sure he remembered Chris mentioning that his mother did interior design), with an added layer of holiday decor surrounding them.
He didn’t have long to take in the surroundings, as he found himself swept into a hug by Chris’ mother. He’d met her twice before-- once at Chris and James’ engagement party, and once at their wedding-- and it was a shock to be so warmly received by the woman. She pulled back and gave him a wide smile before placing a hand on his back and guiding him into the living room.
“It’s lovely to see you again, Kevin,” she spoke as they walked, “I wish it could be under better circumstances, but we’re happy to have you.” She gently pushed him towards the couch, where James was sitting in a sweater that matched Chris’.
As Kevin took a seat, Chris took his place next to James, leaning into his husband’s side. There were a few moments of awkward silence before James spoke up.
“So, Kevin, do you know when you might be able to get to Cleveland?”
“No idea,” the brunette replied, “Connor said that the weather is only getting worse right now, so I’ll probably try to get a hotel for the next couple of days. Try to fly over as soon as it’s safe.”
Chris and James exchanged a meaningful look, seemingly having a full conversation with just their eyes. It struck Kevin at that moment just how similar they were to himself and Connor, and he found himself missing his boyfriend more than he already had been. His longing was interrupted by Chris speaking up.
“You don’t need to get a hotel, Kevin.”
“What? I mean, I don’t know how long flights will be shut down, so it’s really-”
“Stay,” James interjected with a laugh. “You can’t spend Christmas Eve alone.”
“Besides,” Chris was speaking again, “my parents will never complain about having more people in the house.” He spoke with a smile on his face, but Kevin could see the underlying sadness hidden underneath.
“Well,” Kevin hesitated a moment, “if you’re sure.”
“We are,” Chris affirmed, “you can stay as long as you need. James and I are here for the night, but tomorrow we’ll all head back to our place. You can crash in our guest room until you get a flight.”
“Thanks, guys.” Kevin smiled softly, finally accepting the invitation. He still had a bit of an ego, even years after Uganda, but he had learned to accept help when he needed it. “I think I’m gonna call Connor. Is there a place where…?”
“Down that hall,” Chris pointed as he spoke, “third door on the right.”
“Right. Thanks.” Kevin was on his feet in an instant, his phone already pressed to his ear before he reached the guest room Chris had pointed him to. He sat on the edge of the bed as he waited, a smile spreading across his face as Connor picked up.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Not exactly how I pictured us spending Christmas,” Connor’s voice was laced with light sarcasm, and Kevin could picture him arching a single eyebrow as he sat on the phone in his childhood bedroom.
“Nope,” Kevin sighed as he fell back onto the bed, longing for the comforting presence of Connor’s arms around him. “We should’ve just stayed in New York and had Christmas to ourselves.”
Connor laughed, “I’m sure our families would’ve loved that. My mom already complains that we don’t visit for Thanksgiving.”
“Thanksgiving is the worst holiday and I refuse to travel for it.”
“How very un-American of you. What happened to ‘All-American Prophet Kevin Price,’ hm?”
Kevin rolled his eyes and bit back a groan, “he died along with ‘Straight, Straight, I Am So Straight Kevin Price.”
“Thank goodness…” Connor trailed off with a sigh, and for a moment Kevin wasn’t sure if he should speak up or wait for his boyfriend to continue, “Chris texted me that you’re staying with him and James. I’m glad. It’ll give you a chance to get to know my best friend a bit better.” It was typical Connor behavior, to look on the bright side of the situation. Sometimes he compared himself to a Monty Python character, a reference that was still completely lost on Kevin. But though he couldn’t understand all of his other half’s musical theatre references, he had learned to take the lessons learned from those references and roll with it.
“Yeah,” he agreed, “I guess it will.”