It was Christmas Eve, and Phoenix was packed. It was a different atmosphere than usual—rather than the usual upbeat music that would encourage people to dance, Christmas music was playing softly in the background. Kris had redecorated the whole bottom floor to make it homier and more comfortable, like they were all gathered inside someone’s living room. Kris and the old church ladies had prepared a large hearty meal, enough to feed an army—which was a good thing, considering the amount of people who had shown up. 

Zach had insisted they go and spend the evening there. He wanted them to have the chance to connect with the community that had rallied behind them. There were a lot of people to thank, and doing so during the most magical time of the year felt right. Shane hadn’t disagreed in the slightest. 

The air was filled with laughter and joyous conversation. People were clustered together here and there, but no one felt excluded. People called out greetings freely, sharing hugs and holiday wishes. Zach had done his best to introduce Shane to as many people as he could. He recognized a lot of the people here, but there were some strangers too—even a few that had come from out of town, after having heard about the bar online. Shane had apparently come to Phoenix a few times after coming out, but hadn’t had the chance to really get to know very many people. 

Now, Shane was practically glowing as he shook hands and embraced those who had helped save his job and the happiness of his students. The people that work at the community center were happy to meet him, along with the church ladies. They all fussed over Shane and Zach, saying how proud they were of them both. Cora in particular seemed excited that they had finally admitted their feelings to each other.

Jesse and Millie were there as well, along with a few others who made up a group of young LGBTs, all of them nervous about taking their first steps into the community, but overjoyed to be welcomed. Harrison helping to guide them made it a little easier, at least. It hadn’t been long ago that he’d been in their shoes. Kris was running around making sure everyone was comfortable and welcomed, but did make sure to stop and hug them both, congratulating them.

Many others came and went, some just stopping by for an hour or so before going on to other celebrations: Andre, Grayson and Gwen, Cas, Gabe, Pete, Nick, and more others than Zach could keep track of. Shane even paused to thank a man named Steve, who apparently was a cop who helped keep homophobic protesters off high school grounds.

Once they had gorged themselves on honeyed ham and turkey, Zach and Shane curled up on some seats against a wall. Shane had his arm around Zach’s back while the taller man leaned into him, head tilted to rest on top of Shane’s. They watched the crowd together, soaking in the warmth and comfort of the community. 

“This is exactly what I want kids to feel like they have, you know?” Shane spoke up softly. “Not just LGBT ones either. All of them. There’re so many people that feel like they have nowhere to turn, or no one willing to take the time to help or understand them. But this, right here? This is beautiful. I never knew that it could be like this. I wish I’d had this while I was growing up.” 

Zach tilted his head to look down at the teacher, then moved his hand to squeeze his thigh gently. “I wish you had it then… But you have it now. And you can make sure your students have it too.” 

Shane nodded, squeezing Zach around the middle. “I plan to. I’m going to keep fighting. I’m not going to stop until students can feel this accepted in the schools. Not only outside of it.” 

He kissed the top of Shane’s head softly. “I’m with you, every step of the way.” 

“Thanks.” Shane smiled up at him. “I’m with you too, you know. Whatever happens, whatever you need, I’m gonna be there.” 

“I know.” Zach wrapped his arms around Shane’s shoulder to squeeze gently, and their lips met for a tender kiss. “I promise I’m not going to run away again. Ever.” 

“Good. ‘Cause if you did, I’d just have to chase after you.” He smirked. “Which sounds really uncomfortable. Your legs are a lot longer than mine.” 

Zach laughed. “Thankfully, it’s Christmas. So my presents is required.”

Shane snickered. “That was so bad, baby. You’re sleigh-in’ me.”

Zach’s laughter only grew louder as he snuggled into the arms of the love of his life, letting the magic and love of the season wash over him. 

No, he definitely was never running away from this. 

After the party they had decided to spend the night at Zach’s place again. The house was larger, and even Shane admitted it was more comfortable. Shane had also insisted it would be a crime to not spend Christmas morning in the “house that looked like Santa had exploded in it.”

When Zach woke up, it was to an empty bed. He fumbled out a long arm with a drowsy groan, but felt nothing on the other side. Only some lingering warmth from Shane’s body heat, trapped under the sheets. He rolled over and strained to listen for footsteps or signs that Shane might have just gone to the bathroom. Instead, he heard moving around in the kitchen, and the most delicious smell was filling the air. Cinnamon, maybe?

He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before staggering up to his feet. For a moment he paused, considering whether or not to put on any clothes, but decided he was past the point of being shy about his body around Shane, so he stayed nude. By the time he made it to the kitchen he was awake enough to not stumble around at least, but he still leaned against the doorframe while he peered into the room.

Shane was there, completely naked save for an apron tied around his waist. He stood in front of the stove, flipping over what looked to be slices of cinnamon-covered french toast.

“Morning,” Shane said in a cheerful, sing-song voice. “And Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Zach echoed, peering towards the stove. “You didn’t need to make breakfast yourself, you know… You should have woken me up.”

The spatula Shane was holding was waved towards him scoldingly. “Hey, I get to treat you sometimes too. You’re just gonna have to accept that.”

Zach huffed softly, his lean arms folding over his chest. Having someone taking care of him for a change was something he was having trouble with. He couldn’t help but feel guilty sometimes, like he was failing as a partner by letting Shane do things for him. But it was also kind of nice, too. Shane always was so considerate, always making sure he did just as much in their relationship as Zach did, whenever he could.

He definitely could get used to having a partner that treated him like an equal.

“Fine,” Zach sighed. “But next time I’m making you breakfast in bed.”

“I am totally cool with that.”

He grinned. “Good. Do you want to open your present from me before we head to my parents, or hold off till we’re there?”

Shane’s eyes widen a bit as he glanced over. “Oh no, we definitely have to open them before. I don’t think your mom will want to see all the sex toys and bondage gear I got you…”

“What?” he choked, his skin turning hot with embarrassment. “Shane!”

Shane burst out into laughter, slapping his hand against the countertop, his shoulders shaking. “Kidding. I’m kidding. I’m saving that for Valentine’s Day.” He winked playfully.

“You’re awful,” Zach muttered, shifting to the side in the hopes Shane wouldn’t see him starting to get a little hard at the idea. Of course, being naked as well, there wasn’t much he could do to hide himself.

“Uh huh. You know you like it.”

Zach couldn’t argue that.

“But seriously, how about we open them before we go?” Shane offered while flipping over slices of french toast. “Have our own little Christmas here before we go have family time.”

“Deal. But in that case, we have to put on clothes. I’ll be too tempted to taint the innocence of Christmas by being naughty.” He grinned, then darted off down the hallway to pull out some pajamas from his dresser. He pulled on a set of his own, then carried the other into the kitchen to offer to Shane, who sighed but accepted it. 

Soon they were curled up on the couch together in their pjs, munching on stacks of deliciously sweet french toast. Shane was impatient though, and only halfway through his breakfast did he lick the syrup from his fingers and lean over to snatch up a wrapped box from under the Christmas tree. 

“Here,” he said, grinning excitedly. “It’s not much, but I hope you’ll like it.”

Zach had no doubt he would adore whatever Shane gave him, but instead of arguing he set his plate aside and started carefully unwrapping the brightly colored paper. Inside was a white cardboard box, and once that was opened it revealed two matching aprons folded up inside. Both had the words “Kiss The Cook” printed on the front, but on one the words were made with rainbow colors like the Pride flag, and on the other they were the colors of the Bisexual flag. 

“I thought you might like having a matching set that we could wear while we cook together,” Shane said cheerfully. 

Zach lifted the aprons out of the box to hold up, an unrestrained grin spreading across his face. It wasn’t just a cute gift. It was an excuse for Zach to continue letting him help cook—letting him share the work and turn it into something fun and intimate, just for them. It was Shane, once again, showing how much he cared. 

“I love them,” he said adoringly, then leaned over to kiss the teacher softly. “We’re gonna have to come up with more excuses to wear them.” 

“I’m happy to,” Shane replied. “You know, maybe just wearing them…” 

He laughed, folding up the aprons to rest back into the box. “No naughtiness on Christmas morning. What would Santa think? Now open up yours before it turns to coal.” 

“Fine, fine.” Shane eyed him a moment, as if he was considering pushing the limits of this no naughtiness rule, but did turn to pick up a second wrapped package that had his name on it. He ripped it open far less carefully than Zach had, eager to see what was inside. 

He bit his lip, watching nervously as Shane looked down at the t-shirt that rested in his own box. It was black, and on the front in white script were the words “Pitch, Please,” with some musical notes swirling along the bottom. Thankfully, Shane found it as funny as Zach had hoped, as he burst out into sudden and loud laughter, rocking backwards a moment. 

“Oh my god. This is amazing,” Shane cackled, pulling the shirt out to hold against himself. And when he saw the second gift underneath—a CD of Lionel Richie’s greatest hits—he started laughing more. 

Zach snickered, then broke into his own giggling. “The CD is mostly a joke, but—I thought you might like the t-shirt.” 

“They’re both great,” Shane insisted, eyes bright with mischief. “Now we have music to play that we know will get you super horny.” 

He scoffed embarrassedly. “Only if you’re singing along.” 

Shane smirked, then tugged off his borrowed pj top so that he could slip on the t-shirt he’d opened, smoothing it down. 

Zach let out a relieved breath when he saw that it fit him well. But then Shane was crawling forward, his hands resting on Zach’s thighs, that glint in his eyes which meant he was up to mischief. Or thinking dirty thoughts. 

“So, now that we’ve opened our presents, we can be as naughty as we want, right?” Shane asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “We could pop in the CD now, see where things go…” 

He eyed his lover for a moment chastisingly until the look melted away into another adoring smile. “Fine. I guess Santa can forgive us, this one time.” 

“Good. Because I am desperately in need of some sweet, tasty candy canes.” 

Zach snorted, then grabbed Shane’s t-shirt to pull him down on top of him as he laid back on the couch. 

This was kicking off to be a very merry Christmas indeed.