Kate on ao3 requested "Maybe some nice fluffy mcpriceley where Connor is hurt/sick/upset (maybe he auditioned for a role and was sure he did great and then..didn't get it??) and Kevin gets to swoop in and be protective and sweet and make things better? (Yes ik this is broad as heck BUT if you do decide to do it, tysm)"

I had,,,so many ideas,,,,

So here you are!!!

ONE

Elder Connor McKinley was regretting eating those cakes that Gotswana had handed out yesterday.

His stomach was ripping itself out and trying to commit suicide while stabbing his intesines, if you wanted a real visual. He'd barely managed to tell Elder Poptarts (Chris, his brain supplied. They were all calling each other by their first names already.)

There was noise outside his room, and a handsome face swam before his eyes.

"Elder McKinley?" It was the newest member of the district, Kevin Price. Had it only been a month since they had separated from the church?

Either way, it was the most recent object of his gay thoughts, standing right in front of him.

Kevin's eyes were full of concern, and McKinley couldn't help but feel guilt. This man was not interested in having his affections, he was worried about his friend.

"I traded for the day with Chris, who traded with someone else to get Thomas, and Arnold's with Nalabungi for the day...Connor? Elder McKinley? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" was all Connor could say.

"Oh! I'm with you today to take care of you."

"Don't have to," Connor says weakly.

"Well, if you don't mind," Kevin takes a rag from a bowl he's had next to him and puts it on Connor's forehead. "I want to, Connor."

And that was the end of that.

TWO

After all this time, Connor never imagined leaving Uganda would be so hard.

He'd stayed a year more than he was supposed to, giving his plane ride to Elder Church (Thomas) so that he could ride with Chris. He really was happy for the couple, truly. They had promised to email him soon and a place to stay at what would be their shared apartment, if Connor needed.

And yet the two pairs of Elders remained; Nalabungi, Arnold, Connor and...Kevin. The four of them would be heading to Salt Lake City before parting their separate ways. Arnold and Naba would continue with...well, he supposed, themselves. Kevin's family was openly supportive of the gay thing since (Connor can't remember-was it his cousin, his uncle, or his older brother-) that was also gay. But, to be perfectly fair, the guy lived in New York City, was named Whizzer, and had a husband who was pretty well-off.

As for Connor...

What was he going to do?

He paced his room after the going away ceremony (they had promised to come back and visit, though Connor was already missing Uganda). What was he going to do? Go home? After that letter? After he'd finally opened up after years of pushing himself down?

There was a knock at his door, and Connor hurried to open it.

Standing in the hallway was handsome Kevin, who looked rather nervous. "Hey, hi. I heard you being sad, so I came?"

Connor smiled for the first time in hours. "Thank you Kev. I...I guess I needed help more than I thought."

"Don't we all," Kevin muttered. Then he cleared his throat, and moved on. "Listen, I don't know what you're doing after this and stuff, but...would you like to come live with me and my brother Whizzer? I...uh, I know that you were thinking of moving to New York, and I wanted to go live near Whizzer, so uh...do you want to be roommates?"

And for the first time that year, Connor had plans. "Yes, Kevin. I'd love to."

THREE

In retrospect, Connor really shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

All he'd seen at first was an email from the theatre before screaming and slamming the laptop shut. He'd built up the courage a minute later to finally open it up again, and once he saw the fateful words "You have not been cast..." in the email, his tears wouldn't stop coming.

Kevin whistled as he entered the apartment. "Connor! Did you..." his face fell as he saw Connor's own face with the tears still pouring. Kevin opened up his arms and Connor fell into them. "Hey, hey...shhh." He ran comforting patterns along Connor's back, and Connor felt himself slipping as he just cried harder. "It's going to be okay. Do you want me to get some food? Cause I can cancel our reservation to our celebratory dinner and all, seeing as-"

"No, no. I want to go." Connor mumbled. "It'll just be...a dinner."

"Or a 'better luck next time' dinner, or maybe..." Kevin said something quietly, and Connor blinked.

"What was that?"

"A...um, if you'd be comfortable with it...a date?" Connor pulled away and saw Kevin's red face. "It's a really bad time, on second thought, I'm so sorry, I was going to ask you after you got in and-"

"I'd like that," Connor interrupted him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "A date it is. Let me go get dressed and we can go."

FOUR

A hiss escaped Connor's mouth, and he hurriedly shoved his finger under the faucet.

"Ow, ow, ow...." Kevin poked his head in from the bedroom.

"Did you get hurt? Are you alright?"

"Yes, honey, I just...burnt my finger, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes sweetheart, I'm sure. Thanks for checking in, though."

"No problem. Love you."

"Love you too, Kev."

FIVE

Connor was exhausted when he came home one Friday night from rehearsals. He barely got through the door before Kevin caught him.

"Hey, honey. I'm going to help you into bed, okay?" Connor barely managed a nod before Kevin picked him up bridal style and laid him gently across their bed. He kissed Connor's forehead, and everything went black.

...and ONE

A week later, when Connor arrived home in a preppy mood with a smile on his face, and he saw a crying Kevin sat on the couch holding an envelope, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Honey? Are you okay?"

"It's my parents..." Connor hurried to Kevin's side and hurriedly tried to wipe away his tears.

"How are they? What's wrong?"

"Well," Kevin's voice shook as he tried to contain his emotions. "Dad got some cancer a-and-" Connor silenced him by wrapping his arms around Kevin.

"Shh...Kevin, baby, it's going to be okay. I've got you."

And if they spent that night watching old movies and rating ice cream and crying...well that was no one's business but their own.