Kevin Price was supposed to change all of mankind on his mission. He was the perfect Mormon - perfect hair, smile, disposition, and grades. So what did he ever do to deserve to be sent to Uganda, of all places? Heavenly Father certainly knew he'd wanted to go to Orlando; Kevin had prayed about it for hours upon hours. Uganda was hot, dry, and quite possibly the worst place Kevin had ever been in. It didn't help that Arnold Cunningham, Kevin's mission companion, was very easily distracted and quite obnoxious.

"Hey best friend, look! I brought my Star Wars action figures!" Arnold stated, dumping them out of his bag and onto the small seat on the bus next to them.

"That's wonderful, Elder Cunningham." Kevin replied, obviously uninterested in his partner's enthusiasm.

The two stepped off the bus, and were greeted with guns and a luggage robbery. Africa sure was off to a great start. However, they did meet a very nice girl named Nabulungi. She sufficiently warned them about the dangers of staying out past dark, and led them to their hut they would be sharing with the other elders of District 9.

"Let's go meet the other elders! I'm sure they've converted so many of the people here already." Arnold said, walking towards the door. "But with you here, you'll certainly change everything and help all these Africans come to the church. If anyone can do it, it'll be you, buddy!"

Kevin's lips turned up in a small smile. The positive side of him always appreciates Arnold's off-hand comments that gave him the confidence he needed to truly change the world.

"Thank you Elder Cunningham, now let's go meet the others."

The common area the elders shared was filled with white shirts, black ties, and smiling faces.

"Hello, Elder Price and Cunningham! It's very nice to have you here, we've all been waiting for a change." Said the red-headed elder, clearly grateful for their arrival. "I'm Elder McKinley, and it's wonderful to be your district leader."

"Oh, hello!" Said Kevin, taken aback at the fact that they were all expecting a 'change'. Haven't they changed Uganda enough already?

"Hi!" Arnold said, a little too loudly. "This is my best friend, Kevin Price! And he's gonna change the entire world with his amazing personality! He's, like, the greatest, best, most deserving elder the Center's ever seen!"

Kevin blushed, a light pink tinting his cheeks. He prayed to Heavenly Father that Arnold would think it would be because of the Ugandan heat.

"So, how many have you baptized so far?" Kevin asked earnestly.

"Well... zero." Elder McKinley stated, clearly ashamed of their lack of baptisms.

"At least there's nowhere to go but up." Arnold said, stifling laughter.

"Elder Cunningham! This isn't funny!" Kevin snapped, turning to face his companion.

"Elder Price, are you alright?" McKinley asked, concerned at the outburst.

Kevin whipped around again, irritated and slightly panicked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little confused. I need to take a break, I'll be back." Kevin said before quickly walking out of the hut and shutting the door behind him.

"Buddy, wait!" Arnold cried, scrambling to follow his friend.

Kevin was sitting on a makeshift wooden bench not too far away from the hut. His face was paler than normal and even from a few paces away, Arnold could see that his hands were shaking. Kevin saw Arnold standing there and bent over, putting his elbows on his knees and his hands over his face. Arnold walked over to his friend, worriedly sitting down next to the taller brunette.

"Kevin?" Arnold asked gently, pulling Kevin's hands away from his face and holding them in his own. "Buddy? I need you to talk to me, okay?"

"E-Elder C-Cunningham, I'm s-sorry," Kevin started.

"No, no, no, best friend. Call me Arnold, and you don't need to be sorry about anything."

Kevin just shook his head.

"There's no way I'll be able to do something in this place. Not now, and not ever." Kevin whispered. His trembling had increased by now and his entire frame was shaking with the fear that he could not live up to the world's expectations. Kevin's looked around, panicked, and suddenly his whole chest was being suffocated. Kevin couldn't breathe. He desperately looked at Arnold, seeking the comfort that the regular, picture-perfect Kevin would never need. No, this was a version of Kevin that Arnold had never witnessed before. Vulnerable. Arnold felt his heart break.

"No, buddy, don't say that! You know you can change everything here. I know you can."

Arnold could see the tears that were welling up in Kevin's eyes. He reached out and took Kevin by the shoulders, carefully pulling the brunette into a hug, keeping one arm around him, and the other one softly stroking his companion's back, sometimes switching his attention to playing with his hair. Kevin let Arnold hold him and turned his face into Arnold's collar bone, trying to muffle his sobs.

Around twenty minutes later, Kevin's crying had subsided to sniffling every once in a while.

"Hey buddy, I know now's probably not the best time to say this, but we really need to go inside. You heard Neutrogena, it's not safe to be outside at night." Arnold spoke softly, standing up and taking Kevin's shaking hands in his once again.

The short walk back to the hut seemed to take hours, if only because Arnold was supporting Kevin's tired body against him the entire time. Once they returned, the elders were waiting expectantly.

"So, where have you two been? We've all been waiting to show you to your room." An elder said. Elder Poptart, maybe?

Even though the greeting has sounded forced and rehearsed, Arnold smiled gratefully and lead Kevin to their shared room. Kevin was still silent, but changed into more comfortable clothes and laid down on the bed.

An hour passed before any words were exchanged between the two.

"H-Hey, Arnold?"

"Yeah, best friend?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'd do anything for you."

Kevin smiled, just a small upturn of the lips. It was this moment that Kevin knew Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he set up Arnold to be his partner.

"Kevin?"

"Yes?"

"You know we're definitely talking about this tomorrow, right?" Arnold asked, turning over in his bed to face Kevin.

"Sure, pal."

Oh heyyyy, an author's note. How surprising. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll update as soon as I can! This chapter was inspired by Melodiva's .Think on AO3. Check it out sometime! Love you guys, and ideas are always welcome, so don't be afraid to message me!