Pricingham One Shots!

Both of You

A.N.

This is actually a bit of a follow-up to the last one that I wrote, so, that's cool I guess

 Only three days had passed since the missionaries had decided to stay in Uganda, but it felt like an eternity. Well, at least for Kevin Price it did. Every second he saw Arnold and Nabulungi together seemed to last a year. He would be overcome with an unexplainable pain in his chest, and it would take everything in him to smile, to pretend.

 Although it pained him, he couldn’t stop thinking about those two, and even now, he found his eyes fixated on the two lovers who seemed to be in their own little world. The way Arnold was looking at her...wasn’t that how he had looked at Kevin just a few days ago?

 Arnold’s eyes left Nabulungi’s for a moment, and they met with Kevin’s. He waved excitedly at him before gesturing for him to come over and join them. She soon turned as well, smiling brightly at him, sending a pang of jealous guilt spiraling all throughout Kevin’s body. With great difficulty, he returned the smile, waving weakly before bounding over to them.

 Arnold let go of Nabulungi’s hand and pulled Kevin into a powerful bear hug, practically crushing him.

 “Hey there, best friend!!” His voice was obnoxious and bubbly, and it elicited a genuine grin from Kevin.

 “Uhm, ease up a bit there, bud.” Kevin wheezed, sucking in a deep breath of air once Arnold released his vice grip.

 “Heh, sorry.” Arnold chuckled, and Kevin could’ve sworn that he saw a blush. An awkward silence fell upon the trio, none of them being able to think of a single thing to talk about. Nabulungi was watching Arnold with a contented smile, but Arnold did not return her smile. He was just looking up at Kevin with the strangest expression, one that made Kevin shift and avert his eyes from the shorter man.

 “Hey,” Arnold whispered softly, his tone gentle and comforting. He grabbed Kevin’s hands, holding them as though they were fragile porcelain. Kevin whipped his head around to look at Arnold, his face flushed red. His eyes quickly flicked over to Nabulungi, but she seemed unaffected.

 With his chest feeling like a compressed coil, ready to bounce at any moment, Kevin turned back to Arnold. Well, I suppose he holds everyone’s hands...It probably doesn’t mean anything, right? I mean, why else would Nabulungi be so calm about this?? Yeah, this means nothing….

 ….Is that what I want…?

 “Are you feeling alright, buddy?” Arnold asked, the worry in his voice palpable. He was such a kind soul, so compassionate and empathetic; Kevin was always jealous of that, whether he’d admit it or not. “You better feel ‘alright’, because there’s a party tonight!!” Arnold exclaimed, his voice so suddenly loud that it made Kevin leap away slightly. “Look!” He gestured to the bonfire that was being set up a few feet away, as well as the large gathering of people by their makeshift stage.

 Kevin chuckled. “Yeah, I can tell. They’re setting it up literally a few feet away from us.” Nabulungi laughed a bit at that before turning to look back at the scene. A sentimental smile spread across her face then, and when she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.

 “It’s so amazing to see the village coming together like this…” She turned her head to the two men, her eyes filled with gratefulness. “And this is all thanks to you two.” Almost on the verge of tears, she leaned in and gave Arnold a kiss on the cheek before hugging Kevin. “Thank you so much-!”

 It was then when one of the village women called to her in their native language. She responded quickly before turning back to them. “I must help prepare the food with the others! I’ll see you two later!!” She said with a beaming smile before dashing off towards the group of women who were huddled by small hut.