Greetings, readers. Another Dakota & Cavendish fanfiction for display. This one is similarly lachrymose like my first MML fic, but less tear-provoking. R&R, and enjoy.

The Nut Job

A MML Fanfiction featuring Vinnie Dakota and Balthazar Cavendish

ASDM

The partners finally managed to get inside the apartment after Vinnie had spent a minute or so picking the lock. They were going to find those pistachios if it was the last thing they did. Of course the both of them had just undergone a high-speed car chase and Dakota needed a minute to sit down before he helped Cavendish with the search of Mr. Block's most treasured snack foods.

Seriously, a nut job? Of all the things an agent could be used for in Time-travel (Heck, Dakota had just gotten back from the Mississippi Purchase case, an assignment his partner was totally unaware of- and who knows what adventures Cavendish had gotten to go on before he was partnered with Dakota) they really had to save a species of nut? It was pathetic, really, and demeaning to them as respectable Time-Travelers, but if Blockhead wanted it done, then so be it.

Vinnie sat down on the couch when he saw them. Directly in front of him was a small (but still functional) fireplace, not too recently used but in nice condition nonetheless, and inside the chimney were sacks of what Dakota could probably guess. Pistachios.

"Hey Cavendish, check this out I think I found' em!" He whispered somewhat loudly, just enough to get his partner's attention. Cavendish was currently in the kitchen but no one was there but the two of them, and the entire apartment was quiet so whispering wasn't much of a deal. Of course, the lack of regular background noise within the walls of the entire building had Dakota wondering why that was, but he was too busy at the moment to dwell on it for long.

"You did? Where are they?" Dakota directed his partner over to him and showed him the stash. "Good work!"

"Yeah, Mr. Block will be happy to see what we've found. All we gotta do now is-" Both partners heard a clicking sound of what was probably a gun. Both partners heard a clicking sound of what was probably a gun. Their backs straightened to the dark figure who now spoke.

"Step away from the bags, boys, or one of you won't make it back to HQ." Both Vinnie and Balthazar stepped back, recognizing the person speaking but also wanting to live long enough to distract the creeper, contain him, get the pistachios, get out and return both to headquarters- One for consumption, one for a prison cell.

"Cav.." Vinnie said rushedly to stop him as Cavendish was about to turn his head in the direction of the noise of who was probably the thief. With a panther-like quickness, Vinnie pushed Balthazar to the ground as a shot fired. It wasn't fast enough to be a pistol, so by the sound of it Vinnie concluded it was likely a revolver. Another two shots were fired before Vinnie and Cavendish were ducked behind the couch they had fronted. They kept quiet as the thief and now attempted murderer made his way in what sounded like a special brand of military combat boots. Yep, a revolver, the ammo just turned to be loaded.

"Hope you said goodbye to all your friends before you left, cause you won't be seeing them for a while." The annoyingly and scarily familiar voice stated darkly, the footsteps drawing closer. Another two shots were fired after Vinnie threw random stuff from his pockets across the room, making a small noise hearable enough to get the guy's attention drawn away from their hiding spot.

Cavendish was in pure shock, he literally couldn't move from what was happening. A murderer for a bunch of pistachios?! What kind of mission was this?! And Block hadn't even let them prepare, he had just sent them on their way as if he.. As he if he had set them up to fail. That dastardly, corrupt son-of-a-gun. Cavendish was going to give him a piece of his mind, if they ever made it out of this. Balthazar jolted out of skittishness when his partner placed his hand on his shoulder. The seriousness of Vinnie's eyes was unreal and unlike Cavendish had ever seen in his partner before. Vinnie mouthed "DON'T. MOVE."

Just when the timing was right, the guy's back was turned to the time-traveling pair, Vinnie pulled a rifle from his inside jacket pocket and fired one shot. Cavendish heard a noise of someone in twisting pain before the figure fell to the carpet floor. He heard where the wound had penetrated through his entire system, the bullet completely going in and out the other side of him and now lodged (probably) into the wall.

The two kept still until Dakota gave him the word. They both cautiously peered over the top of the couch to make sure the thief was really dead. His gut feeling telling him that it was, Vinnie slipped out first from behind the couch and made his way towards the stash of nuts again, leaving Cavendish stunned for a moment.

"V-Vincent.. H-how did you obtain a weapon like that?!" He practically screeched. Vinnie knew he was upset, but didn't really have time to console his partner. He had seen it so many times before that actually doing it didn't really seem all that different.

"I.. I, um Cav, can we talk about this later when I'm not up to my elbows in a bloody situation here?" His partner scowled at Dakota's horribly-timed pun. "You know what I mean."

"Dakota, you can't put this off, this needs to be discussed now. Where did you get a weapon as lethal as a rifle? Where did you get the money to-"

"It doesn't matter where or how I got it. You trust me, right?" He cut him off, looking his partner directly into the eyes. Cavendish could tell Vinnie was tired, but when he didn't respond right away it began to worry Vinnie. "Y-you trust me, right?" He asked again, his voice trembling a bit.

"Of course I do, but this doesn't mean this conversation is over. We need to sit down and work this out when we get back to the apartment."

Dakota groaned. "Fine."

"On another thought, what are we going to tell Mr. Block, he wanted Darrel alive!" Cavendish reminded him as he finally remembered the name of their assailant. Like the answer was obvious, Dakota stood up.

"'He was firing at us, sir. He could have killed us. Self-defense isn't illegal.'" He said truthfully. "Like that." Cavendish couldn't argue with him and said nothing after that. He began to help his partner to get the pistachios in the trunk of their broken-down grocery-getter.

He hoped Vinnie holding a gun would always be a one-time, Never-Should've-Happened thing.

They arrived at HQ faster than they'd both cared to realize. Cavendish brought the nuts while Dakota was surprisingly not freaked out over slugging a dead body over his shoulders. Mr. Block saw them immediately, thinking they had failed yet another mission. When his 2T-55 Agent dropped the limp carcass of the enemy agent on the ground he actually jumped in his seat.

"What is that?!" He exclaimed nervously. "Did you kill him? I wanted him alive for questioning! Which of you is responsible for this?!" So many questions.

Cavendish was going to beg for mercy, again, when Dakota stopped him in his tracks by stepping in front of him.

"He was firing at us, sir. He could have killed us. Self-defense isn't illegal, or it just another one of your ridiculous and unrecorded rules?" Dakota spat the last sentence. He's liked to get fired with an attitude like that to their boss, but in reality, he was right.

Unbeknownst to Cavendish, Vinnie has actually studied the handbooks and independent Agent guides. He had even more professional training than Cavendish in 6 months than his partner in 20 years! Being the senior agent of the facility second to Brick (Head), Vinnie had a lot of ground to walk on speaking to the Deputy Director the way he did.

"Watch it, Dakota. I can fire you and have no qualms about doing so. You are not important to me-"

"I know you like Brick more cuz he's the Head of the Delta team and his girlfriend's the FTA, but that doesn't mean you get to discriminate. I talk with the Director about you all the time."

Hearing the words all the time made Block freeze. Did Dakota really go ahead of him to the Director? And what does he tell her?

"Fine." He said through gritted teeth. "You can go. But I'm not giving you another mission worth going on, you hear?" Block was pissed off for the last time when Dakota was walking out with Cavendish in hand like he wasn't even there, leaving the pistachios and Darrel's corpse as they left. Where had all this bold, blatant disrespect for superior agents come from and why did Agent Vincent Dakota exactly believe he had the right to talk to higher agents that way? He was going to have a small word with the Director on his own about this and he would see what Vincent had to say about it then!

Oh, and he really needed to get someone down here to get the body up, the agent's blood was likely already dried onto the tile floors.

"Why did you do that? You could have gotten us fired, you dolt!" Cavendish seethed. "And what if he tells the Director!?" He couldn't give his partner a death stare at the moment since he was driving, but Cav was not objected to giving him an earful all the way back to their cruddy apartment to make up for the loss. Dakota just shrugged.

"Please, he's not gonna do anything."

"And how can you be so sure of that, Dakota?"

"Because the Director and I were partners before she was instituted here in town. We still talk all the time, just not as much since she's da head now. She'd never fire me, we both hate that Blockhead."

They had gotten to their apartment when Cavendish slammed on the brakes, totally taken by surprise. Why had Dakota waited that long to tell him any of this until now?!

"You were partners with our Director? You aren't even allowed to know who she is much less speak to her on a casual basis!" Cavendish reminded him of the Time-Traveling handbook rules (you know, the handbooks Vinnie actually read).

"She won't say anything." He grinned confidently. "So, what do you want for lunch? I can make a crazy-good cheese-burger, or we can get salads, or- no, I don't even like that, why would - Oh! I could make tacos!" He rambled like a six-yr-old in a candy store. Cav didn't know why Vinnie was so excited over food all the time, but he let a small smile he'd wanted to keep secret slip out.

He honestly didn't know as much as he thought he did about his partner, but he was hoping that during their partnership they'd work everything out.

As soon as they stepped into the kitchen Cav sighed, the sink full of dishes again. He hoped they would work everything really fast so Vinnie would finally do the dishes for once in his life!

It was late evening when everything settled down. The dishes were done (no thanks to Dakota- it seemed to Balthazar that he'd do anything around the house but that) and dinner had been enjoyed already. Of course, Cav hadn't forgotten the conversation Dakota had made him push off until now, and he wasn't going to bed until he'd gotten some answers. With a newfound determination Cavendish got up from his spot on the couch to sit right across from Dakota, who then was wondering what could possibly be wrong at this time of day.

"Dakota, do you remember our little discussion earlier today? We still need to finish it, and you're not going to sleep until I receive satisfying answers." He needed to word things very carefully with Dakota now- Vinnie would easily find any wormhole to get out of having serious talks with Cav if his partner left anything unclarified.

It wasn't that he hated having these talks, it's just that he was always uncomfortable. Sure, life wasn't all fun and games and serious conversations needed to be had at times, but it felt like these were occurring almost every night. And Cavendish wasn't exactly the easiest person to talk to, even if they were friends.

Well, Dakota didn't exactly know about friends, since Balth never really said anything about them being more than work partners, but Dakota liked to wish that maybe they were.

And that's all he could do, right, was wish for something he was likely to never have.

"Now," Cav continued, "where on this earth did you obtain a weapon as lethal as a rifle? Did the Director allow you to have it, or did you steal it from Brick and Savannah?"

Dakota sighed.

"It's the only thing I have of my dad's, you know, since he was an enemy agent and all. I never knew him, but my mom would tell me when I was little that he was a good guy in a bad arrangement with the worst kinds of people." He couldn't look Balthazar in the eyes as he talked about his parents.

Actually, Cavendish reminded him a lot of his own mother. She was strict, but caring and did everything she did because it was right. A shame she didn't live for Dakota long enough to teach him more about friendship and truly good relationships with other people. Little did Dakota know what had become of his parents so long ago, but when he was old enough to think about it clearly he resolved with himself that -Honest to God -he probably didn't even want to know. Not now. Not after everything Block did to him.

"She told me that she hoped I'd never use it for my own gain, and I've n-never used anything like that for the same reason."

Cavendish was concerned with Dakota's family life but didn't want to push him. He already looked upset having to bring it up in the first place, but everything changed when Dakota was showing small tears.

"Dakota? Vinnie, are you alright?" His question was answered when Dakota melted into an uncontrollable fit of tears, his hands now grasping his hair so hard his knuckles were turning white. His body racked up and down in his sobbing. He was an absolute mess. Cav's eyes widened at the sudden outburst, both surprise and sadness could be found in them.

"And they're gone. Block took them.. he.. he.." Vinnie couldn't even get out this sentence. Cavendish didn't say anything in his shocked state, but also because he (for some reason) wanted his partner to continue, even if just for a moment. "He killed them.. and he'll never tell you what he did to m-me.."

The earth seemed to be shaking and the universe was spinning rapidly on its axis, because Cavendish's entire outlook on his partner had just changed forever. He grabbed Dakota's hands with as little force as possible and asked him quietly: "Can you tell me? Would you tell me? I think I need to know, Vinnie, I need you to help me help you."

And of course, Cavendish always made perfect sense of things even when what he said made absolutely no sense at all. Balthazar took his fingers now under his shorter partner's chin and lifted it towards himself so that he would meet his gaze. Cav's heart lurched in his chest when he saw the pain and long-suffering in the tears that rolled down Dakota's cheeks.

"He.." Dakota didn't think he could say it, but he surrendered himself to Cavendish, the only person in the world he could confide in so deeply. "He abused me in s-so many ways, C-Cav.. I was so small.. I couldn't fight b-back.."

The heat and the stuffiness of the entire place in addition to something Cavendish needed to see was what made Dakota take off his jacket and undershirt for the first time in, well, ever. And Balthazar didn't like what he saw.

Stained permanently on tanned skin so soft and pure were silver scars that littered Dakota's entire chest. They consumed his arms and shoulders and Cavendish knew without a doubt that they didn't stop there, but would also be found on his partner's back. Unknowingly, he was right about this.

All Cavendish could do was stare in horror at what Block had done to his partner all those years ago.

"He said they were reminders of my failures on the training grounds.." By now Dakota was done crying, he'd done enough of it tonight to last him another 6 months without doing it again. "But I knew he'd done it on purpose. He always had higher-ranked agents train with me and I never won."

"This all happened from training? Am I missing something else here, those can't p-possibly all be from training." Cavendish felt like there was something Vinnie wasn't telling him.

"Ok well, not all of 'em. Some of them were from enemy agents during missions, except for this one.." he said as he pointed to a scar that ran horizontally from where his heart was down to his belly button. "I got this when I cut myself with a sword from the Medieval Ages. I never learned how to use one, ya know?"

Cav adopted a small smile when Dakota began to lighten up again, as Vinnie was chuckling at his own stupidity. (Like seriously, he should have trained to use a weapon like that. He can't use a sword but he's perfectly capable of firing a gun? Was this for real?) He fetched a med kit dated to 2070 and began treating the scars with a chemical compound from the future. Not all of the scars were young enough to be cleared away, but when Cavendish was done the majority of them had faded away as if they'd never even happened. Including the scar from the sword.

"There, that's as good as I think it's going to get, but I hope it feels better." Cav stated, feeling confident in his work.

"Thank you, Bal, I don't remember not ever having this clear skin. And the lotion felt amazing! Thank you!"

"Anything for you, partner." Cav said before Vinnie hugged him. It didn't last very long since Cav was not a fan of human contact. "Okay, anything but this.. Vinnie, can you let me go now?"

"Oh! Sorry!" He said awkwardly, letting go of his friend. (The thought of them being friends made his heart swell). "I forgot you don't like people touchin' you and stuff, your like an anti-social person."

Cav rolled his eyes playfully. "That would be an introvert, Vinnie, and that word does not really describe me. I'm just not very tactile, is all." They both chuckled when Vinnie had to get a dictionary to figure out what that word meant. "Still, I am dreadfully sorry about your past Dakota." He reminded him of their conversation that they had abandoned so that Balthazar could treat his skin.

"Hey, don't mention it, sometimes it's just hard to deal with. But I don't think I'll have to worry about it anymore."

"Well that's good to hear." Cav confirmed. His genuine smile faded into a scowl when Dakota mentioned finding someplace to go for food and churros. He really liked churros, Balthazar could tell. Sometimes Vinnie behaved like he'd never had food before and the entire concept was a demanding aspect of his life to be discovered. Of course, Cavendish didn't say anything considering how late it was since they had last put something in their tanks, so he dragged along with Dakota to the nearest Tlaquepaque.

I hope you all enjoyed this one. Remember, this is separate from my other MML fics and do not count as pre or sequels. Keep the cycle going and I'll be sure to update when I can. Thank you.

Salutations and Fairfarren, fellow readers.

ASDM