Chapter Text
Kevin grips the armrest of his seat tightly as he feels the plane accelerate down the runway. With a slight jolt, the wheels of the plane lift off the ground and climbs towards the sky. Bye Uganda, Kevin thinks to himself, eyes shut and knuckles white from holding on to the armrests. After another minute the plane levels and Kevin’s grip loosens. He’s never enjoyed flying, especially the take-offs and landings. They’re on their way to Brussels right now, where they’ll catch another flight to Newark, and then a final flight back to Salt Lake City. Before his mission, Kevin had never been out of the country and had only been on a plane twice in his life – once to visit Orlando with his family, the other to visit some cousins in Los Angeles. Never did Kevin imagine he would end up spending any time in a different hemisphere.
“Are you alright, Elder Price?” Kevin looks over at Connor, who is seated next to him. “Of all the things to be afraid of, I didn’t think planes would be one of them,” Connor says softly.
Kevin smiles uncomfortably. “I’ve always hated it…ever since I was a little kid, I used to cry when the plane took off,” he says as he stretches out his fingers. “And since we just left Uganda, we can call each other by our first names now, right…Connor?”
Connor chuckles. “I guess so…Kevin.”
Kevin sighs. “It’s so strange, to be on a plane surrounded by people who aren’t the villagers, isn’t it? The faces we’ve seen in the past six months haven’t changed at all and now we’re surrounded by strangers again…”
“Can you imagine what it’ll be like when we land in Newark? In one of the busiest airports in the world?”
“I could lose my luggage again…”
Connor grins. “Let’s pray that there aren’t any warlords waiting for you in the terminals, Kevin.”
Kevin grimaces slightly, recalling his very first day in Uganda when his and Arnold’s things were ransacked and stolen by the General. “Very funny Connor. I’ll bet there isn’t anything as terrifying as a warlord back home in the states…”
Home. It feels strange to think about home. Kevin’s written a few letters home but never fully explained what happened, only that “special circumstances” meant their mission would be cut short and he’d be home sooner than expected. His parents had been concerned but Kevin reassured them that nothing was really wrong, and that being home sooner meant he could enroll in college sooner than expected.
The two of them had begged the Mission President to revisit their camp. Between Kevin’s way with words and Connor’s perfectionist organization of the camp, they were able to convince the president to allow them to stay and provide funding for 6 months in Uganda. The mission president strongly advised them to stick to humanitarian work and avoid teaching the villagers any more lies about the church (“If I hear anything about frogs…”), but at least they hadn’t been forced home immediately after the whole pageant incident. In 6 months they were able to help the villagers rebuild a well, and even built a real building for the doctor to work in so he no longer had to see patients in his mud hut. And then they had said their goodbyes, given the villagers a few goats as parting gifts, and got on the bus that took them into the city and to the airport. To go home.
Back to Utah for Kevin, to Colorado for Connor, to Arizona for Arnold. Kevin misses his siblings and parents and friends from home, but the thought of being in different states from his new friends is difficult for Kevin to wrap his mind around. Back at Mission Training Center they’ll have access to their phones again and he’s sure that numbers and emails will be exchanged, but what happens next? They meet their parents, and they go on their separate ways, into the next chapter of their lives. Kevin has to start thinking about where he wants to apply to college and what he wants to major in and everything seems so overwhelming. Up until he was 19, his only goal was to go on his mission and then attend BYU, but his first week in Uganda was enough to make Kevin question his plans for the future.
At the same time Kevin ponders his academic plans, Connor nudges him in the side and asks, “Have you started thinking about college yet? Going to apply to BYU?” Kevin notices the slightest sparkle in Connor’s eyes when he suggests his own college. Unlike most of the other Elders, Connor finished his freshman year before going on his mission.
“To be honest Connor, I have no idea where to start.” Kevin sighs, “Before my mission my family and I both assumed I would go to BYU and study something there but, you know…”
“Not so sure about staying in Utah anymore?” Connor suggests. “After everything that’s happened during our mission?”
Kevin’s expression relaxes. “Yeah. I just...there’s so much in the world beyond our church, you feel? Do I want to go to BYU, to be surrounded by people who had-“
“Conventional missions?”
“Exactly! Where they didn’t completely doubt God’s existence and start a new sect of Mormonism.” Kevin looks down into his lap, the seatbelt fastened loosely around his waist. “How am I supposed to explain that to them? That my fellow Elders and I wrote a new book?”
Connor’s still looking at Kevin, with a rather sad little smile on his face. He sighs. “To be honest, I’ve been thinking the same thing myself,” he says. “I mean, I already felt a little out of place at BYU because of my…little problem, you know?” He fidgets with the strap of the seatbelt. “But I turned that off and I studied hard because I wanted to be mission leader so badly.”
“You did well. Best mission leader I ever had, at least.”
Connor rolls his eyes . “The only mission leader you’ve ever had, of course I was the best.” Kevin grins and playfully rubs his elbow against Connor’s. The sudden touch makes Connor flush ever so slightly. “There’s no need to be sassy, Elder Price!”
Kevin laughs. “So does that mean you’re going to drop out of college? What was your major anyways?”
Connor’s eyes dart away and his cheeks turn even pinker. “I wanted…I, um, was planning on being a nurse, so I majored in biology.”
“A nurse?” Kevin says brightly, a little too enthusiastically.
“IT’S NOT JUST FOR WOMEN,” Connor whines a little too loudly, audible even over the hum of the plane engine. Embarrassed, Connor lowers his voice and looks back at Kevin. “Though traditionally a female dominated field, it’s a perfectly respectable profession for any male to have, and-“
Connor continues whispering his spiel about nursing being like any other health profession but Kevin stops listening for a moment. It makes sense, Kevin thinks. Connor had the most medical training out of all of them but Kevin assumed it was just part of being mission leader. But beyond that, Connor had taken excellent care of all of them, almost mom –like in the way he made sure they were all eating well and feeling alright. When Elder Thomas had fallen ill with a fever, Connor consulted with the village doctor and then personally nursed Elder Thomas back to health. Kevin remembers waking up one night and hearing a soft voice murmuring something unintelligible from Elder Thomas’s room. The door was slightly ajar, and when Kevin peeked inside the room he saw Connor kneeling next to Elder Thomas’s head, folding a wet towel over his forehead. It’s the best we can do with our limited resources, he had heard Connor whisper gently to Elder Thomas, but hopefully it’ll help the fever break and by tomorrow you’ll be feeling a lot better again. Kevin had watched from the doorway as Connor stroked Elder Thomas’s hair and took his temperature. He had felt like he was intruding on something private, but also felt the slightest sliver of jealousy, wished that Connor would whisper to him and run his fingers through his hair like that.
“-nobody’s made campaigns to increase the number of men in nursing but I mean the numbers are rising, so-“
“I think you’d make an excellent nurse.”
“-it’s a very manly prof- really??” Connor stares at Kevin, slightly gap mouthed. He looks a little like a fish with his mouth open like that, but his eyes have lit up and are staring straight at Kevin.
“Yeah Connor, look at how organized you are, and how you treated all of us on our mission. I can totally picture you in a hospital talking to all the patients and soothing them with your beautiful voice-“ Did he just say beautiful out loud? “- and, um, you know, do a good job of not killing them,” Kevin jokes, hoping Connor didn’t notice his peculiar word choice just them.
Connor raises his eyebrows slightly, then smiles. “You’re one of the few to think that…my dad…well, he didn’t say I shouldn’t be a nurse, but he’s never been particularly encouraging either. So I appreciate having one friend that does think I’d be good at it…” He glances up at Kevin, then exhales. “But you know, I don’t even know if I want to continue going to BYU, so I’d have to transfer to finish my degree…”
“Well then we can both think of colleges to attend! Wouldn’t it be great if we ended up at the same college?” Kevin doesn’t really think about what he’s saying until the words fall out of his mouth, and he feels his heart race a little bit at the idea. Another four years working alongside Connor McKinley sounds, well, like exactly what Kevin wants.
A genuine laugh escapes Connor’s mouth. “That would be a lot of fun, Kevin.”