Winter Romance Part 1/8
By Marea67
About: Kevin/Scotty
Rate: Don't know yet,
Disclaimer: Written with love, not for money.
Summary: AU - Kevin/Scotty - Scotty is the manager in a hotel in a ski-resort. Kevin just got divorced. The Walkers think that he needs a 'nice family holiday'. He doesn't.
*******
To Scotty it seems as if the snowflakes get bigger by the second. He hopes they won't be too snowed in this week. It would mean that he would have to think about how to keep guests, especially little children, entertained in other ways and he's not in the mood to rearrange schedules.
Scotty puts his coffee aside and takes just a few minutes to relax. It's a lot of work, running a hotel, especially on a Friday. People leave, new people come in. Then the next three weeks will be extra busy with Christmas and the New Year coming up. The hotel is almost fully booked. That means nearly all the rooms over 6 floors.
Sunny Meadows is a strange name for a hotel in a ski-resort, but the original owners had bought it in the summer of 1952, when there had barely been one hotel around. They had bought in the summer, not realizing how silly the name would become by halfway November.
They however never bothered to change the name, it is still known as Sunny Meadows, even though the meadows are covered in a thick layer of snow. It can still be very sunny though, even when the temperature is below freezing. At least that part is still true and gives some credence to the name.
Unfortenately, this is the last year that people can come here with this management, because the latest owner, Mr Greene, has built a new hotel in the valley and this hotel will be sold soon. Scotty is still not sure what he will do. He has received an offer to work for the new hotel in the valley. More money, but also a lot more work.
And it means that he's further away from the house he inherited 16 years ago. A lovely place, higher up the mountain that is his own and where he loves to be in his spare time. Plus, he doesn't really like the new hotel. It's too modern. No, he likes this hotel a lot better.
Many guests are known to him because they come back every year and they feels like an extended family. He loves this place especially around Christmas, with all the Christmas-decorations on the walls and ceilings, the huge Christmas tree in hall, the soft Christmas music playing and the scent of pines in the air.
For just a few seconds he entertains himself with this little dream he has of owning the hotel himself. Oh, what he would change. He would.... His thoughts get interrupted.
"Scotty, can you help at the front-desk? It's really so busy."
"Yes, Candice, I'll be right there." Scotty smiles.
Another deep breath is supposed to encourage him to throw himself in the stream of people that come in as he puts himself behind the reception-desk.
"How may I help you?" He asks. An older woman hands him some paperwork.
"We're the Walkers. If everything went well we should have 5 rooms to ourselves..."
"That's right. I'll get your keys." Scotty turns around and hears the woman continue to her family. "I will have one room, Sarah and the kids can have one, Kitty and Robert, Tommy and Julia. And Justin, you can share your room with Kevin."
"Is that really necessary?" From the corner of his eye Scotty can see it's the youngest man who complains.
"He's your brother, honey, and he needs us now that his divorce is trough and he's so lonely."
"So? Why do I have to suffer for that? It's not my fault that his husband was a cheating liar."
Scotty's shoulders sink. He doesn't need drama around Christmas. He wants it to be calm, chill and easy.
"Oh, Kevin, you made it." Scotty quickly looks over his shoulder to look at the newcomer.
"Yes, Tommy, I'm not a complete idiot." Kevin replies. "I can travel by bus and train."
"Nobody said you're an idiot... We just think it." Justin replies.
"Boys, please! Spirit of Christmas and that shit." Sarah points out. Scotty can hear the men grumble and he can't help but grin.
"Yes, kids, I want to have a nice time with my family."
"Then why did you insist on me coming here, mom?" Kevin asks.
"You need your family in these harsh times." Nora decides.
"What I need is a couple of bottles of Scotch to drown my pain and a bed to sleep it off. I didn't want to be here. You made me come here." Kevin argues back.
"Wait. This was your idea and not Kevin's?" Kitty asks. "You said Kevin begged you for this." Listening to the other siblings complain as well, it seems to Scotty that the mother had lied to them all.
"As if. The last thing I need is all this fake family cuteness. I just wanted to be left alone, but mom begged me to do this for you guys, because you were all so worried I'd slash my wrists or something."
Scotty's fingers curl around the key-cards.
"We should have known better." Tommy seems to agree with his sister.
"Just hope you won't ruin our Christmas with your negativity." The look Sarah gives Kevin would make milk turn sour.
"Okay, nice family." Scotty mumbles softly, before turning around to hand the keys to Nora with his brightest professional smile. "Room 301 to 305, you have the almost the whole 3rd floor to yourself. If you need anything, let us know. Enjoy your stay."
"Mom, I don't want to stay with Kevin in one room." Justin whines.
"Justin, there is, right now, no other solution." Nora replies. Scotty can see that she regrets her decision to put two of her sons in one room. He hesitates. It's none of his business of course. Family matters are not his concern. But he sees that neither Kevin nor Justin are happy with the situation.
Holding the card to room 306 in his hand he wonders if he should do something. He wants peace and quiet during the Christmas holidays and it looks like this family is about to implode or explode, whichever one comes first. So he grimaces as if in pain, before turning to Nora, again all smiles:
"Can I perhaps offer a solution? Room 306 is available, if one of your sons would like to give us a moment to get the room ready, we could avoid further tension this way."
"It can be your room, Kevin." Justin decides and Kevin almost jumps at the opportunity too.
"That would be a good solution, I'll pay for any extra charges. Just get me my own space."
"Room 306 is not as big as the others, but it's a good room." Scotty hands Kevin the key.
"I'll take it, even if I would have to sleep on a mattress on the floor, I'm fine. Anything is better than spending 2 weeks in room with him." Kevin replies, pointing at his brother with his thumb.
"The room is not that bad and it has a good bed." Scotty jokes. "Just give us a few minutes, I'll have someone from my crew check out the room."
The other Walkers seem to be fine with this solution too, as they head over to the elevator with their bags, leaving Kevin alone at the reception-desk.
"Good... And thank you." Kevin says. Scotty shows him a large chair, where he can wait and he disappears from behind the desk to go to the 3rd floor. He's short-staffed and will have to check the room himself. Taking the service-elevator Scotty is on the 3rd floor in no time.
He can hear how the other Walkers chose their rooms, so he enters room 306 to give it a quick inspection. The room is ready, they just had not expected to need these weeks. Scotty quickly straightens the sheets on the bed and checks for dirt under the bed. There's a little sound at the door and he can see Kevin come in.
"I'm sorry, I got tired of waiting. I'm tired in general, just had a few bad weeks." There seems to be an apology in his voice and Scotty takes a moment to look a bit better at Kevin. Yes, he looks like he could use a few hours of sleep, a shave and a long hot bath. But those are things that he will have to take care of himself.
"There's no need to explain things...." Scotty starts.
"I know I don't need to explain myself to you, I know, but... I just want you to know that I'm usually not this pushy or insistent. I just want to keel over in bed and die.
My family will probably not let me, unfortunately, but there you have it. I'm so fed up with everyone constantly being in my personal space... I'm irritated, but that's not your fault, so, please, don't take it personal."
"I won't." Scotty states simply, he has long ago given up 'taking things personal'. "I'll just finish up the room."
He adjusts the towels in the bathroom, puts the bottles of shampoo and soap in a nice row, he scans the room for any dirty spots, but finds none. As usual his cleaning crew had delivered a good job.
"I hope you will enjoy your stay here... And that you will be given some time to rest."
"Thank you. For everything. And I apologize for the extra work that we gave you." Kevin looks effectively guilty. With a quick nod Scotty leaves Kevin alone to return to the reception-desk. There are too many others who need his attention too. Kevin Walker will have to sort himself out. By himself.
****
"Hey." Kevin answers. The display on his telephone shows the name 'Chad Barry'.
"Hey. How are you?"
"I wish people would stop asking me that question." Kevin sighs. "I'm not losing my shit over that idiot. I don't understand why people think I would fall apart over divorcing him."
"And with 'people', I assume you're talking about your lovely, caring but very intrusive family?"
"Yes. That bunch."
"They love you."
"I know. And I know that I'm an ungrateful brat for acting this way, but I don't care that my divorce got through and that he and I are done. I just want to get drunk, sulk about it, feel sorry for myself and have a good cry and get everything out of my system. Him. His frequent cheating. The end of our marriage. Our subsequent divorce.
But they just won't let me! They feel sorry for me and want to mother me and smother me with love and I don't need it. I just want to wallow in self-pity for a few days and come out of it feeling like a new man." Kevin can hear Chad laugh softly.
"Your life sucks..."
"Yes. It does." Kevin agrees. "So. What do you want?"
"I'm just concerned about you."
"Yeah right. You're only concerned about me if it pays off. What is in it for you?"
"This is why I love you so much. Cut right through the crap...."
"That's me."
"Marry me." Chad sighs.
"Never." Kevin replies, but an amused smile spreads over his face. This 'marry me' is a private joke between them for many years. Either he proposes or Chad.
"Oh." Chad reacts with a disinterested tone, but Kevin knows he's only joking. Chad knows that Kevin loves him as much as he loves Kevin, but that they are better off as friends. The answer to the proposal, no matter who asks, is always 'no'. "Alright then. I got a small job for you."
"I'm on vacation." Kevin answers.
"I know, I just want you to have a good long look at the hotel where you're staying. Be my little spy."
"Why?"
"I may buy it." Chad announces. Kevin's eyes widen in shock.
"Seriously? Why? It's far away from Los Angeles."
"Good memories. I used to be a ski-instructor there. My first job. My first time getting drunk. My first time good sex. My first ... Nah, I'll keep that one to myself."
"Tease!" Kevin sulks, but he has the biggest smile on his face by now. "What's in it for me?"
"Anything you want."
"Come over and have hot sex with me?" Kevin grins.
"Yeah.. No.. You don't want to marry me, then no hot sex." Chad answers, laughter in his voice. "And I do realize that I am punishing myself more than I'm punishing you, because there are quite a few things I would love to do with you..."
"Can we at least have phone-sex?" Kevin now cheekily asks.
"You mean you're not already jerking off at the sound of my sexy voice murmuring in your ear?" Chad immediately replies, making his voice even lower and more sexy. Kevin would like to give a snarky reply, but instead of that he starts to laugh out loud.
"I'm sorry." He hiccups. "I think I just killed the mood."
On the other side, he can hear Chad laugh as well. It's the freedom of dirty talking they can afford based on their long friendship and absolute faith in each other.
"So, will you have a look around for me?" Chad asks, once they're able to talk again.
"'Course, send me a list of what you need to know."
"Is your room nice?"
"I can't complain. Mom wanted to put me in one room with Justin, but this hot, good looking guy at reception put me in a separate room. I think he listened to my family and felt sorry for me or something."
"Hot guy, huh?"
"Yeah, but way out of my league. Cute smile though and... alright, since you really want to know this... I did notice that cute ass of his, but, like I said, out of my league."
"I didn't want to know if he has a cute ass..."
"Yes, you did." Kevin replies with a grin. "You should come up here and verify my statement."
"Mmm, you do make it more appealing, but I have to work. Charity-thing. Kids-thing. Interview-thing."
"So, lots of things, right?"
"Right... but maybe I will change my mind and drop by... Who knows. You know me."
"Yes, I do. That's my reason for not marrying you." Kevin jokes.
"I love you anyway. And I'll keep proposing until one day you'll say yes..." Chad promises with a smile.
*****
End of Chapter 1
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