#kimbayskafe

oh boy, that sure was me! sorry this has taken so long, i just needed to make sure i got all the key things about this ship that i love – oh, and if anyone has a good ship-name, then please tell me! anyway, thanks for asking me this! enjoy!

before the events of the musical:

kimbay has always been the second rock of the village, the first one being mafala, which means they often work together when it comes to helping the people of the village

they were childhood friends, kimbay was the one who introduced mafala to his wife

when mafala’s wife dies kimbay helps him cope with it by generally being supportive and urging her husband to take some of mafala’s responsibilities on his shoulders

she’s is a shoulder he cries on when everything just becomes too much, and she’s the only person in the village who has seen him cry (except for his wife and nabulungi) 

and she takes care of nabulungi whenever mafala has his hands full, so they have a strong mother-daughter relationship, even though they don’t really voice it out right

kimbay has a miscarriage the first time she becomes pregnant and is completely broken by it

nabulungi doesn’t really understand it, but tries to be supportive anyway and (without her knowing it) serves as a light, along with her father and her husband, in the darkness kimbay finds herself consumed in

still, mafala does everything in his power to return the kindness kimbay showed him when he was in the same darkness, and urges nabulungi to learn some new skills and stuff

this is why nabulungi is so good at staging dances and theater and writing

a lot of her time as a child is spent trying to cheer up those she holds dearest, and what better way to do that than with a musical performance?

eventually, kimbay gets pregnant again and this time she gives birth to a beautiful baby boy, whom she insists on naming mafala

her husband agrees with her because mafala has also been a rock for him and he honestly appreciates mafala so much for helping him and kimbay through the tough times and for generally being a guiding light in the village

(there is absolutely no jealousy or stupid misunderstandings or anything like that! kimbay and her husband are faithful to each other and mafala would never ever try to break them up, first of all, because he is still dealing with the death of his wife, and second of all, because they at this point in the timeline still are only really good friends!)

at this point in time, nabulungi has blossomed into a young, kind, caring, beautiful, and perhaps a bit naive woman

and she loves mafala like a brother (the baby boy), who is only an infant

during the events of the musical:

right before sal tlay ka siti, mafala tells nabulungi to stay in the hut and not open up for anyone before he leaves

why would he leave his only daughter while a warlord is roaming the village? to find and comfort kimbay, a woman who just saw her husband get shot

he finds her at kalimba’s hut, completely broken and sobbing, and mafala feels his soul break for the second time in his life

he persuades kimbay to hand over little mafala to kalimba, who is well aware that they are about to have a very important and quiet conversation

kimbay, at first, doesn’t say anything, only cries and cries and cries, and mafala lets her do it and embraces her and lets her get everything out until she’s breathing heavily and there are no more tears left to shed

she tells him how empty she feels and he replies that she knows exactly what she means

and they talk

they talk the entire night, specifically about how she can cope with it, mafala telling her that she should try and focus on raising her child, because it keeps the mind and body busy and gives a life that, at the moment might seem pointless, a lot of meaning

he knows what he’s talking about and kimbay knows that

and it truly helps her

way more than she could possibly express with words

so instead she just holds him tight and he holds her tight and they comfort each other

and that’s when nabulungi knocks on kamiba’s door with a ‘text’ about how elder cunningham will help the village with his religion

and kimbay just gives her this fragile, heartbroken, yet somehow still warm and genuine smile, and says “okay” and let’snabulungi tell her and mafala all about it

now, as thing progress, mafala doesn’t see the appeal of the religion, he doesn’t believe in any of it, and he certaintly doesn’t like the way nabulungi seems completely enamored by the ‘prophet’

however, he sees the appeal of having kimbay smile and laugh along with the other villagers

he sees the appeal of having her nabulungi work closely together on a performance

he sees the appeal of kimbay finding a higher purpose in life, and for that he will always be grateful for elder cunningham, no matter how fucking weird his stories are

he also notices how nabulungi and elder cunningham seem to be growing closer and closer each day, but doesn’t say anything after a hushed conversation with kimbay (he does, however, send plenty of stern looks their way)

after the events of the musical:

oh boy, cunningham, or arnold, as nabulungi has asked mafala to call him, sure does spend a lot of time with his little girl

he doesn’t like it

but he tolerates it

arnold notices this and tries to impress him and shit

yeah, doesn’t work

a few months go by where everyone is generally happy and helpful, and mafala, now that there’s a lot of new hands to help around the village, allows himself (the privilege) to take some breaks from time to time and usually spends them helping kimbay with her children

mafala and kimbay sure do spend a lot of time together

nabulungi notices, but doesn’t think much of it, and then, one day, she walks by them and randomly hears mafala just let out this warm and genuine and adoring laugh and she just stops and is like

oh, okay, this is happening

and then she fucking bolts to kalimba and is like ‘this is fucking happening’ and kalimba is like ‘i fucking know, but don’t intervene, let them figure it out in their own time.’

but she, nabulungi being nabulungi, doesn’t really listen and is instantly making small plans

meanwhilearnold is very confused because he, at another point while mafala and kimbay where talking, walked up to mafala and asked if he could take nabulungi out on a date and stuff, like for the night, and mafala just said yes, barely noticed him

bacausekimbay and mafala are always with each other it seems

so, yeah, confusion

and when he tells nabulungi she just squeals and is like ‘i knew it! i’m so happy for them!’

and then they do all kinds of stupid shit to try and get them together or admit their feelings for each other, but both kimbay and mafala are oblivious

but then there’s one stuff that takes everything a little too far, and mafala confronts nabulungi and she just says, in the tiniest voice, ‘i wanted to help get the two of you together’

and mafala is just like ‘i am confusion’ and stares at her blankly, asks what she means

and nabulungi says, ‘the way you look at her. you look so in love. i’ve never seen you look at someone like that since mama’

and mafala’s brain just shortcircuts

he’s absolutely baffled but realises she’s right and just, well

there’s a lot of panic

kimbay means so much to him and he knows she’s still dealing with the death of her husband and he doesn’t want her to feel like he’s trying to push her into anything or only helping her because he likes her

and then he feels terrible because he feels like he’s betraying nabulungi and her mother

but nabulungi reassures her that she’s so happy he’s finding love again and that she’s proud of him

and then they have this long and important conversation about moving on and healing, and nabulungi explains to him that, even though she may always be his little girl, she is a grown woman who can make her own choices, and there’s a lot of crying and hugging and just feel-good family moments and fuck you if you think it’s too cheesy and cliché

give me all the clichés

but mafala still doesn’t want to, like

pressure kimbay or somehow ruin their friendship

so they just go on as they usually do

except now mafala is very conscious of every little think they do together

and how he kinda loses his breath a little when kimbay laughs

and how he blushes when their hands touch

and how he finds himself thinking of her a lot

uh oh, he’s got it bad

and they just get closer and closer

to a point where they are together so often, just helping each other and laughing and stuff, and nabulungi joins them too, even arnold sometimes

until kimbay asks mafala if she can move with him and nabulungi because she feels kinda lonely sleeping all by herself, and they could always renovate her hut and turn it into something with a different purpose

mafala is definitely not opposed to this and neither is nabulungi

so one day he decides to sort of, you know, ask her what her thoughts on finding someone new to fall in love with, totally asking for a friend haha *sweats nervously*

and kimbay is just like ‘yeah, i mean, we’ve been sort of dating for some time now, haven’t we?’

and mafala’s just like ‘wat?’

turns out kimbay has just assumed, after the more intimate moments of hand touching and the amount of time spend together, that mafala was about to ask her to marry him

she’s like ‘you know all that hand touching wasn’t accidental, right? right? i really like you. it’s been such a long time since i lost my husband, and i still love him, but i am allowed to move on and fall in love again. and i have.’

and then they have this really long conversation about learning to let go and allowing oneself to be happy

a lot of kisses and ‘i love you’s happen

and then they get married (of course the ceremony doesn’t go over smoothly *cough* nabulungi and arnold *cough*)

and you can bet your ass mafala – after a long talk about american traditions with arnold – asks mckinley to be his best man, because you can rip the headcanon that mafala is mckinley’s first nurturing and caring father-figure from my cold dead hands