Chapter Text
After another long and unbearably annoying bus journey, they finally reached Entebbe. Kevin, however, looked as if he would rather be anywhere else than there.
“I can’t do it”
Kevin’s face contorted as he fell on to a rickety plastic chair, flopping his head into his hands. If having upset his mum by practically renouncing the church in favour of an idealised, childish version of The Book of Mormon wasn’t bad enough, he had to announce to her at some point that he was... well... gay.
“It will be fine, Kevin. Not everyone has the same response to being...different as Connor’s father did”
Kevin seethed silently, his mind flickering back to that night instantly. Goodness knows that Connor looked amazing that night , his limbs floating as if immersed in water. The party atmosphere. The chaos. The hurt. He shook himself from his reverie and took a second to survey his surroundings. Not what Kevin was used to but being in Uganda had changed that indefinitely. The actual airport was a lot more polished than he thought it could have been considering the surroundings and, as Naba explained, it had been refurbished recently so god knows what it had looked like before.
“Kev”
He closed his eyes for a second before looking up into Nabulungi’s face that had judgement clouding her usually compassionate eyes.
“I can see you being your judgy self. We are so lucky to have an airport at all, let alone one that allows the likes of the American’s to come in and decide that we are worth less”
He took a deep breath before standing up and embracing her tightly. Naba, even though around the same age, felt like a maternal figure to him even if his own hadn’t been absent. She just hadn’t been... always fully present when with him. She always had something more important to be doing.
“I’m sorry”
Naba relaxed into the hug and wrapped her arms around him for a quick hug before holding him at arm’s length.
“Please call her. You- and Connor- deserve to be happy”
It was incredibly uncommon for Kevin to be quiet and malleable but he nodded his head with resignation. The phones ran the length of one of the walls, some grafitti’d and battered whilst the cleaner and secured ones were occupied by mother’s in several stages of talking to their families. Some sobbed as if their heart was torn from their bodies whilst others vibrated with contained excitement. The mixture of emotions in the small space toyed with Kevin’s fragile heart as he took one last extended breath.
The number came to him after staring at the stained numberpad, overused and woefully cleaned, for a horrifying amount of time.
The one time she answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
Silence reigned over the telephone line as a fist shaped lump lodged in the back of his throat. What was happening to him?!
“If this is another prank call I swear to the lord above-”
“Mum”
An excited gasp followed by frantic whispering by his ear on the crackling phone line before silence took the glorious sound from him.
“Kevin...”
“I know mum”
“But-”
“It was the right thing to do. We’ve changed lives here, I promise you”
A resigned sigh was all that crackled over to him.
“Kevin sweetheart, you’ve hurt your father with this nonsense but I still love my baby boy”
“I’m 19”
“You’ll always be my boy, whatever happens”
Tears obscured his vision, blurring the dulled grey and black into a shapeless blot that floated in his vision.
“Can...Can I come home please?”
“My darling of course you can! Why do you sound so nervous, you know I would defend you to these cake baking church monsters until the day I die, right?”
“Yeah mama, I know”
“It’s just-”
“No more talking sweet boy, I’ll hop online and grab you one right-”
“I can’t come home straight away mama”
“What-”
He took a deep breath, resting his forehead against the roughened brick wall whilst attempting to collect his thoughts into something coherent. How was he going to tell her? How could she afford to pay for his ticket? What about Arnold and Naba? The questions swirled sickeningly in his head before travelling through him to pierce his heart to the ground.
“I-”
“Hi Mrs Price!” Arnold screeched into the handset as he grabbed it before it plummeted to the ground. No doubt a change from the soft and strangely aloof voice of her darling children. Kevin’s pallid face scared Arnold to the depths of his stomach but fear was not something he could pay attention to right now. He’d learnt to man up for the lord but it was evident his friend needed it too.
“Why hello Arnold. I wasn’t aware you were there”
Fizzing white noise filled the voice of the ambient noise of the airport as he breathed in the stuffy, humid air erratically, none of the steps he learnt helping him. He was royally screwed at this rate.
“Con-”
“Lis-”
Sections of words broke through his panic induced barrier as he began to ground himself. Airport. Uganda. People. Naba. Arnold. Naba. Connor.
“Hey listen to my voice. Concentrate on this. Breath” Naba rhythmically chanted into his ear, even as his breathing returned back to regular.
“How did you know what to do?” Kevin rasped, wiping spit from his lips with a repulsed grimace. It was rare for him to have panic attacks now but when they did happen, it took him and everything that made him Kevin away.
“Dad used to get them when thinking of me- of us- versus the general. We had nothing to protect us and he could do nothing to stop him. The other white men before you taught us what to do but did nothing to solve the problem”
Fire burned behind the peaceful brown of her eyes before she released a frantic breath and forced herself to relax. It had been a long time since they’d been chased off by General Butt-Fucking-Naked and slunk back to their little place back in Utah. Spineless and the least helpful, thankfully they sent some better men this time.
Kevin stood to his full height and placed a still slightly shaking hand on Naba’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry but at least we solved it”
“Barely” she giggled which caused him to roll his eyes. That’s true. The only reason anything changed was her and Arnold, even if he definitely had an integral part. Come on, he thought of Arnold resurrecting so that meant something, right!
“HEY”
Arnold jumped onto Kevin’s back causing his legs to shake and buckle but strangely he remained standing.
“Buddy. Off. Please” he panted out, pushing at the comically oversized hand that clung to his shoulder to keep him up.
He hopped off Kevin’s back with a reluctant sigh and an evil eye thrown his way. “You always spoil my fun”
“So...?”
“So! So! So he shouldn’t be so mean to me Naba. You’re meant to be on my side”
“I am always on your side Arnie”
Arnold, forever the over affectionate lump of fun that he normally was, shrunk back from Kevin and giggled girlishly. “Yeah?”
“Yes”
“Enough of you guys gushing” He grumbled, aware of how sour he sounded. Surely he was more than entitled to be a little pissed at couples.
“What did my mum say?”
“Ohhhh Kevin it was great! We talked about how we got over my little problem and how an amazing Mormon boy was led astray by someone like me but I would get what I deserved in the latter day. I mean come on! She’d love me-”
“I meant-” Kevin paused and drew a deep breath, calling to composure he wasn’t sure he had at that moment.
“What else did you talk about?”
“Nothing! She demanded I hand the phone back but you were being all-” he waved his fingers in Kevin’s direction. “You know fainty”
“But what-”
“It’s all cool” Arnold preened, dragging out the vowels effortlessly as he produced three first class tickets.
Kevin’s hand snatches out and grabs them from his companion, turning them each over in turn to check for any kind of indication that they were fake.
“What... How?”
Arnold blushed a deep crimson from deep beneath his missionary issue shirt as he toed the floor. “Do you remember the story of Bishop Donahue and all that?”
Kevin placed a gentle hand on Arnold’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “How could I not, buddy?”
“He was fake but I’ve always had a problem with ‘being creative” he murmured, creating air quotes with his fingers.
“I’m an only kid and my parents always wanted me to do well. They thought this mission would change it all. When they knew we were companions, my dad was happy because he wanted a son like you.”
Kevin’s eyebrows lowered, keeping his eyes trained keenly on his best friend. This was possibly the most honest he’d seen him and definitely the least brazen.
“Anyway-” Arnold laughed hollowly, stepping away from Kevin and raising the tickets to the ceiling in true Lion King style. That being the closest they’d come to the musical since they had gotten to Uganda.
“Let’s go get your man, buddy”