Kevin looked himself over through the full length mirror in Nazz and Eddy's guest bathroom. Eddy may have thought it was hilarious making the tall redhead wear the Santa costume, but Kevin knew he looked good. Not that he'd ever let Eddy know that. Standing at 6'4, he knew he was tall for Santa, but the fake belly Marie made for the rented costume that fit him better than the one the costume shop sent because it was made for him, rounded him out enough that the tall Santa look was convincing. He grew his beard out in the winter to keep his face warm, but kept it tight because West Virginia's winters were so temperamental, and May would paint it white to round out the look.

He looked good.

Damned good, Eddy's bad jokes at his expense be damned.

When the shrimpy Ed married his best friend seven years ago, the former rivals finally buried the hatchet that had been dead since their throw down with Eddy's brother the summer between sixth and seventh grade.

But old habits die hard.

"Kevin would make a great Santa! The kids never get to see him like they do me and Ed. He'd be perfect!," Eddy had said when Nazz suggested a visit from Santa at their Christmas Eve party when Kim was five and Connie was three.

When Double Dee countered that Rolf's being from one of many countries where Saint Nick's origins could be traced to would make him a better Santa, even Kevin had to agree with Nazz's argument that the farmer was just too foreign to pull it off.

So Kevin was it.

He told himself he was doing this for Nazz and the girls.

But two Christmases ago, he found other reasons to don the costume. Thing was, the major reason would always be gone til next Christmas the day after Christmas.

"Ho, ho, ho," he thought to himself as he grabbed the bag of gifts Nazz had set behind the door as that reason walked into the door and the Eds annual holiday reunion kicked off.

"Uncle Dee! Uncle Dee!," Connie squealed from the kitchen as the voices in the hall died down and made their way to the warmest room in the house.

"Hello, Constance."

And Kevin's world stood still.

He didn't hear any of their undoubtedly lively conversation as he spent the next couple of minutes trying to catch his breath and still his conscious assaulting him with so many memories.

But he did hear Nazz's call to everyone from the bottom of the stairs to head to the living room for the stocking stuffer exchange before Santa came. After about three minutes, he snuck out of the bathroom and headed to the back stairway of the restored Victorian house. He would then sneak out of the kitchen's backdoor and come back around to the front where he made his entrance as Santa.

He hadn't been counting on running into him halfway down the stairs.

"Well, hello there."

"Hey, Edd."

The flash of hurt in Edd's eyes at his cold as coal tone hurt him, but he had a job to do and just couldn't be distracted by his Christmas Lover.

"Well, I'll let you get to it, Santa."

"Thanks. Behave yourself," he grinned because he just couldn't help himself and a touch of pink flashed across pale cheeks.

"Yes, Santa."

They quickly passed each other and Kevin shot him his usual wink when he came back in the house. The smirk he got in return let him know that their game was still on.

The game was a simple one.

Just him and Edd, for two nights.

They'd share the guest bedroom in the basement for the holiday. Their first Christmas Eve together, they spent the whole night talking. They had been pretty decent friends during their latter middle school and high school years. College sent them to different parts of the country. Eddward got into Pepperdine in southern California, while Kevin stayed on the east coast and got a full ride scholarship to play baseball at Duke.

A master's degree program sent Edd to Chicago, while Kevin went to Omaha to play Triple A baseball for the Kansas City Royals and start his own insurance agency. He got called up to play for the Royals in Kansas City a few times, but nothing permanent. Despite their proximity, they never crossed paths except when they came home for the holidays. Back then they'd stay with their respective parents, until Edd's retired to Phoenix, Kevin's father passed away, and his mother moved to San Antonio to be closer to her side of the family.

Edd would go to Arizona for Thanksgiving, but back to Peach Creek to spend Christmas with his friends as his parents took a holiday cruise. Kevin would go to Texas for Thanksgiving and then back to Peach Creek for the same reasons as Edd.

Ed and May had an apartment that was just too small for Edd, who relished his privacy, Rolf's parents, Nana, wife, her mother, and brother made his home full, Marie would grab a hotel with Lee, Jimmy and Sarah stayed with Sarah and Ed's parents, Jonny would stay in Rolf's barn on the rare occasion he'd come back for the holidays, but the dork and the jock were ordered to stay with their besties. Eddy bought the house right out of college and with Rolf and Jonny's help, restored it to its previous Gothic condition. Then he proposed to his long-time girlfriend and they got married in the house not too long after.

Nazz's parties had always been the highlight of the half circle group of friends' lives when they were younger and nothing had changed over time other than their ages and family sizes.

Or lack of family sizes.

That first Christmas Eve of just talking to Edd found Kevin feeling things he hadn't felt in years.

Edd had been out since sophomore year of high school. Life wasn't too tough, but the smart dork knew that certain trappings of life were out of his reach in the traditional sense. Kevin told him, though, that tradition is what we make of it. They had made their own to come home to their makeshift family and carry on as best they could.

Christmas night had them carrying on with each other.

Flirting has no respect of person's and Edd was good at it.

Really good.

And he was a fantastic kisser, too.

Kevin would blame the egg nog; Edd would blame the after dark conversations that had him whispering wishes to the one person whose job it was to grant them.

Didn't hurt that this particular Santa was a great listener, straight shooter, and had no problem granting a wish or two.

But sometimes Santa needs his wishes fulfilled, too.

The conversations sparked feelings, the kisses set those feelings ablaze.

And Kevin was at a lost as to what he should do.

Not wanted to do.

Should do.

After Edd got his master's degree, he moved to New York to head up his own research team for a biotech firm. The microbiologist had always been a bit of a whiz kid in the lab, so the job wasn't a surprise to his friends and family.

But the work kept him away.

Because of America's love affair with the cold weather holidays, the firm would shut down for the Thanksgiving weekend and the two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year's. But Edd never stayed long. Even before his parents retired and moved, he'd be gone by the 28th at the latest. Considering the party that New York threw for the New Year's holiday, Kevin didn't blame Edd for wanting to get the hell up and out of Dodge.

Why watch the party, when you can be at the party?!

After their rendezvous last year, and Edd going ghost before dawn, with nary a peep out of him til fucking Easter, Kevin's a man on edge.

The bedroom was a simple one.

Queen sized bed, with a sleeper couch at the foot of it. Eddy told them to flip a coin and told Edd not to lock everyone out of the room, because privacy or not, the doors had a tendency to stick and he wanted them to be able to get out of the room if they needed to without tearing the door and door frame apart. Especially considering that his dorkiness could rub Kevin the wrong way sometimes.

That first night, they talked til dawn. They did Christmas morning with the girls, brunch with their friends and crashed. Edd in the room and Kevin on the couch upstairs. Which meant that they were well rested for the adult party on Christmas night. Egg nog flowed and by the end of the night, Edd was in Kevin's arms, kissing his Santa Daddy.

And he was gone by lunch the next morning.

Their simple banter never changed and Edd maintained a poker face about how their night went. Eddy took him to the airport, but Kevin could have sworn that there was something sad in those blue eyes as he walked out the door.

The next year, they played catch up, but fell asleep at a more decent hour. Again in each other's arms. The girls banged on the door at the ass crack of dawn, and Christmas madness began again. Naptime commenced in its usual locations, but that night was something else.

It wasn't til after Edd had left at the next ass crack of dawn that Kevin finally admitted a few things to himself.

He spent two years in Omaha after Edd moved to New York, before calling baseball a wrap and moved his insurance agency to Lemon Brook. His good looks and charm had everyone in both small neighboring towns buying polices from him. The work and money from it freed him up to travel to the places he had hoped his baseball career and the money with it, would have taken him.

But he could never bring himself to go to NYC.

Didn't think he deserved it.

Because he didn't think he deserved Edd.