Elder Davis' farewell party was in full swing, with Elders and villagers enjoying the cool night in the village square. The party got rowdier as the night went on, thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol supplied by Gotswana and Ghali. The Elders were apprehensive at first, but it didn't take long for them to succumb to their curiosities and now, Connor was the only one who wasn't inebriated.

Someone had to stay sober amidst all the flailing bodies, Connor didn't think he could call it dancing anymore, and he decided that it should be him. So, here Connor was at the fringe of the crowd, sipping on his boring coconut juice, as Kevin called it.

"This is way better than coffee!" Kevin had declared with a giddy laugh before he skipped off to get more beer.

Watching the scene before him made Connor feel homesick for Uganda, even though they still had a few weeks before they have to leave. This had truly been the greatest few months of his life, and he wasn't ready to say goodbye to the villagers, and all his Elders.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

Connor turned around, "Elder Davis! Are you excited to go home?"

"Kinda, I guess? I can't wait to see my family and friends, and eat fast food. But I know that when I am finally home, I'll be missing you…Uganda so much," Elder Davis drained his cup, "I just want to say thank you, Elder McKinley. For everything."

Connor nodded, he didn't know what to say.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course. I mean, if you want to," Connor shrugged, "I'm sure we'll meet again some time."

"Yeah," Elder Davis glanced over Connor's shoulder, "I'm just gonna go."

Connor didn't need to turn around to know who Elder Davis was eager to avoid. Elder Davis had always found some excuse to leave the room whenever Kevin was there, with Connor. He was never rude about it, and Connor didn't think that anyone else even noticed at all. Maybe Elder Davis was right, this was for the best.

Connor turned around just in time for Kevin to walk right into him, the brown liquid in his half-full cup sloshing around dangerously.

"Geesh Kev, careful," Connor put his hands on Kevin's shoulders to steady him, "How much have you had to drink?"

"I don't know? I lost count," Kevin chuckled, "I like beer. It makes me forget all the shitty things that happened. I hope they have lots of beer in London. Do people put beer in coffee? That'd be double the awesome."

"That's how you become an alcoholic Kev," Connor took the cup away from Kevin's hand and placed far away from them, "C'mon, sit before you fall down." He guided Kevin to a low mud wall.

Kevin looked down, "Hey! Where did my flip flop go?"

Connor followed Kevin's gaze and sure enough, Kevin's right foot was all sandy and his slipper was nowhere to be seen. Just how drunk was he to not have noticed that?

Connor turned around on the spot, but there wasn't any unclaimed footwear lying around on the dusty ground.

"Ow, Connor, look!" Kevin was prodding at the sole of his foot, which was smeared with red and brown.

"Oh shoot, Kevin!" Connor kneeled down on the ground to examine the cut. Connor didn't bother asking Kevin where he had gotten it from. While it wasn't bleeding anymore, it was incredibly filthy, "You've got all your shots right?"

"Do shots?! Let's!"

"Your jabs! Vaccines! You know, tetanus and what not," Connor looked up at Kevin.

Maybe the doc- Oh never mind, Connor sighed as he caught sight of Gotswana, yelling drunkenly at Ghali about poultry farming.

"Uhh," Kevin closed his eyes, "I think? Yeah. Yeah before here. Shots. Shots of lots!"

"What?!" Connor laughed at the incoherent sentence, "Alright, time to go back. Can you walk?"

"How? You didn't find my- my flipper!"

"Your flip flop, you mean."

"Yes! That!" Kevin yelled.

Connor supposed that was a valid question. Kevin shouldn't be walking around barefoot with an open wound on his sole. He could go look for help, or not, seeing how nobody except him could walk in a straight line at the moment.

Connor bent over in front of Kevin, "Hop on."

"What are you doing?"

"C'mon, hop on," Connor prompted.

"Are you sure?"

"Unless you've got any better ideas?"

"Nope," Kevin threw himself onto Connor's back.

Sure, Kevin was a lot heavier than a normal backpack, Connor has never piggybacked an actual human being before, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"Poptarts, hey!" Connor called out to his companion a couple of feet away, "We're gonna head back to the hut first. Just make sure nobody does anything stupid alright?"

Poptarts gave a thumbs up, and Connor started on the path back to the hut. Fortunately, the full moon provided sufficient illumination, and Connor didn't have to figure out how to get a drunken Kevin to hold a flashlight still for long enough.

The noise from the party faded away as Connor made his way down the dirt road, the peace and quiet a welcomed change. Kevin's arms hung limply in front of Connor, and his head was tucked in the crook of Connor's neck.

"You're a bumpy ride," Kevin moaned in Connor's shoulders.

"Well I'm sorry I'm a crap ride, Your Highness. Would you like a taxi instead?" Connor rolled his eyes.

"No, I mean," Kevin lifted his head a little, "You're making me sick."

"Oh yeah, when you phrase it like that-"

"Connor!"

Connor slowed to a stop and let Kevin down, just in time for him to double over and throw up onto the ground. Connor was just glad that Kevin had great timing, and great aim too, seeing that none of it ended up on either of their feet.

"You okay?"

Kevin nodded.

"You still like beer, Kev?" Connor teased.

"Shut up," Kevin hopped a few steps on his good foot, and threw up some more into the bushes. Connor followed behind closely, and held onto Kevin, lest he face plant into the bushes.

Kevin wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, "Ugh gross."

—

By the time they reached the hut, Connor was panting heavily. He had forgotten about the slight incline leading up to the mission hut. Oh gosh, he needed to work out more.

He managed to kick the door open with his feet, and deposit Kevin safely onto the couch.

Finally free of the weight, Connor groaned and rolled his shoulders, "You're really heavy, Kev."

"It's all muscle, I'll have you know," Kevin grumbled.

Connor planted his hands on his hips as he thought about the best way to do this, "You should probably take a shower, wash all the grime off, and then I can tend to your foot."

"It's all too much effort," Kevin whined, "Are you gonna help me shower?"

"Hey, if you're old enough to get drunk, you're old enough to take your own shower," Connor pulled Kevin off the couch and towards the bathroom.

"You sound like a mom."

"Well someone has to be around here," Connor placed a plastic stool under the shower. He didn't want Kevin to fall and give himself a concussion, "Strip, sit, and shower. Easy peasy."

"What? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Kevin reluctantly pulled his shirt over his head.

"Have you heard the things coming out of your mouth earlier this evening?"

"No," Kevin blinked at Connor, looking adorably confused.

"Well, they were dumber than what I just said."

"Hey!" Kevin cried indignantly as he kicked off his pants.

"Holler if you need help," Connor closed the door before Kevin got to removing his boxers.

They weren't quite there yet, right? Connor wasn't sure where they were in their relationship. All they had done up till this point was some kissing, and maybe cuddling. Nowhere near this, whatever this was. Would he be crossing a line if he hadn't left? Kevin didn't seem to mind at all, but then again, Kevin was not entirely sober tonight. Connor didn't want to make Kevin feel violated or anything, no, that would be the last thing he wanted. But how would Connor feel if Kevin had seen him naked? He wouldn't mind, he guessed? Then again, he surprises himself sometimes, and Connor's mind brought him back to the night when he had pushed Kevin away when they hugged.

What was the next step? How do people go from chaste kissing to- ahem, Connor cleared his throat. He could feel his face heating up by just thinking about it. But seriously, how do people proceed with this relationship thing? All those years of turning it off certainly hadn't helped. He'd have to ask someone for advice. His Elders were probably as clueless as he was, so maybe he could talk to someone from the village.

Connor leaned against the wall beside the bathroom, waiting, and thinking about their relationship, and their future.

A brand new start. He liked the sound of that.

—

"Stop squirming!" Connor held on tighter, "I haven't even started yet."

"I can't help it!" Kevin flopped back down onto the bed, "Just do it quickly!"

"I will, if you stop moving," Connor thought about his position on the floor with Kevin's foot in front of his face, "Don't kick me, alright?"

Kevin had done a decent job of cleaning the filth off his foot. However, the wound itself was still pretty dirty.

"I can't promise anything," Kevin said, "Just do it already, God!"

Connor started on cleaning out the cut with a cloth soaked with rubbing alcohol. To his credit, Kevin kept his foot still, but he let out a maniacal laugh.

"Does it hurt?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Connor!" Kevin yelled, "Fuck!" His hands were clenched into fists by his side.

"Right," Connor concentrated on working as quickly as possible.

The cut was not very big, but it was deep enough to make cleaning it out tricky. He was distracted by loud whispering and giggling from right outside the bedroom door. Whoever it was, they were not going away, and the noise was distracting Connor from his task.

Kevin jerked when Connor accidentally rubbed too hard.

"Sorry, sorry," Connor put the cloth down, "I'll be right back."

Connor flung the door open and narrowed his eyes at the three Elders crouched outside the room. Elder Michaels had the audacity to wave at Connor.

"What are you guys up to?"

Arnold laughed, "Oh umm...We didn't want to intrude."

"Intrude? But this your room too Arnold," Connor was confused.

"With all that yelling, we thought that you guys were doing it, you know?" Elder Church smirked.

"Doing it...What?!" Connor stared, "No! We were not- No! And if we were, you're just gonna sit out here and listen in on us?! That's- That's an invasion of privacy!"

"I mean, you two were being very very loud," Arnold shrugged.

"Elder Cunningham! That's because-"

Kevin hollered from his position on the bed, "Connor, c'mon! Let's get this over with so I can go to sleep."

Elder Michaels giggled as he gave Connor another enthusiastic wave, "Goodnight, Elder McKinley!"

"He's an extremely happy drunk," Elder Church explained, steering his companion back to their room. But not before adding, "You better go finish him off, McKinley," and snickering loudly down the hallway.

"You-," Connor wanted to take his shoe out and launch it right at Church's head. Geez, it was like elementary school all over again. Connor refrained from reminding them to hydrate. They deserved the wicked hangover they were sure to be getting tomorrow morning.

Connor went back inside the room, and found Arnold sitting beside Kevin.

"You're back early?" Connor picked up the cloth again and poured more alcohol on it, "I thought you won't be coming back until late,"

"I was- I was," Arnold scratched his head, "I was looking for Kevin!"

"Me? What for?"

"We were going to dance! But then you disappeared. Poptarts said you came back so I came back too."

"Oh, were we? I forgot. But I don't think I can- Ow! Fuck!" Kevin yanked his leg back and pleaded, "Are we done? Please tell me we're done."

"Almost," Connor said apologetically, "Almost done."

"What's wrong with your leg?" Arnold peered over at what Connor was doing, "Oh that looks nasty. What happened?"

"I don't know. I lost my flip flop."

Connor managed to get the last of the grime out of Kevin's cut, "Alright, we're done. I don't think we need it stitched, but you should go to Gotswana tomorrow, just to be sure."

Connor slathered antiseptic cream over it and wrapped gauze around Kevin's foot, "Ta-da."

"Great, can I go to sleep now?"

"Not before you finish this glass of water. You'll regret it in the morning if you don't. You too, Arnold."

"I think I'm already regretting it."

—

"Elder Michaels! Elder Church! Good morning!" Connor greeted them loudly as they shuffled into the kitchen.

"Shut up, McKinley," Elder Church groaned and elbowed at his companion, "Help me get coffee."

"Get it yourself."

"Pleeeeease."

Elder Michaels muttered, "Lazy butt," under his breath as he poured the coffee.

Connor checked his watch, they were supposed to be seeing Elder Davis off at the bus station, "You have five minutes to finish your breakfast and get dressed, before we have to go to the bus station."

The two Elders only grunted in acknowledgement.

"Is anyone even awake yet? Is Davis even awake yet?"

Connor carried the dirty dishes to the sink, "Actually, you are the last pair to come to breakfast. They're all getting ready back in their rooms."

"How?" Elder Michaels frowned, "How is everyone still functioning human beings after last night?"

"Because your age's catching up with you that's why," Elder Davis appeared in the kitchen, luggage in tow.

"Nonsense! I'm only 35 days older than you," Elder Michaels scoffed, "I'm gonna miss you, Davis!"

"You only like me for my awesome shoulder rubs, don't you?"

"Ah, well," Elder Michaels laughed, a spoon between his teeth.

Connor just stood by and watched. His heart swelled at the easy camaraderie between his Elders, followed by a pang of sadness that this was ending all too soon.

"But for real though, I'll miss you," Elder Michaels sighed.

"We'll just have to arrange a meet-up when everyone's back in America," Elder Church suggested, "Although McKinley's probably not going to be joining us at all, right?"

Elder Davis turned to Connor, "What? Why?"

Elder Church explained, "His family's moving to England."

"It's not like I'm never going back to America."

"Yeah, but we'll just count you out for now," Elder Church joked, "Having one person short isn't going to make much of a difference."

"Eat poop, Elder Church," Connor gasped with mock outrage, "Besides, I won't be the only one. Elder Price will be coming to London too."

"Oh."

"Really?!"

"That's nice, I guess," Elder Church said with a weird inflection in his voice.

Connor's smile faded, "What?"

"What?" Elder Church echoed.

"It just sounded like you had something else to add," Connor tested.

Elder Church shook his head, "I don't."

The next minute passed in silence as Elder Michaels and Elder Church finished up their breakfast.

"Right, are you guys done?" Connor decided to let it go, for now, "Let's go, shall we?"