#''how was he that strong with a deskjob?'' worked out just to feel something

[bragganhyl]

ngl it cracks me up whenever Berci gets comments like "you're stronger than you look" bc despite the different setting I still hc that he has a similar build to his bee gee three iteration tho with a wider waist and sturdier legs like how strong is he then lmao

for reference/as a reminder

[cavendish-dakota-central]

Reassignment + Cavendish & Dakota

This kinda got away from me but turned out better than I thought so here we go.

Summary: Basically, Cavendish gets news that he’s finally going to be reassigned from “Pistachio Duties” to take on “Class C through B Level Missions”, which is his dream. It’s his chance to actually change the world for the better- but there’s a catch. He’ll be separated from Dakota, who will be taken out of the field. Why the sudden offer? Why the catch? And what will Cavendish do about it?

Word Count: About 2482

Balthazar wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point between him meeting his new field partner Vinnie Dakota, and they day he recieved news of their- he meant… their individual- reassignments, he realized that he wouldn’t want things any other way. It was strange. For years, all he had dreamed of was moving on to bigger things. Making his mark and all his personal time in training worth while. Yet now that a chance to actually save the world from it’s own event arrose- not just one he’s been a part of inadvertantly causing-, he hesitated to take it. “That’s great news! You’re really moving up in the world now!” Dakota had cheered when Cavendish had gotten their newest mission papers from the Time Bureau one late morning. They’d gone out for a heavy breakfast at a decent-enough resturaunt in Swampy City around 10 a.m., and had returned just before the latest message came in grom H.Q.. Cavendish had excitedly opened it in hopes of a better mission, like he did every day since they were first assigned to this Pistachio Protecting Duty- only to find that his hopes had finally been answered; with one unexpected catch. “You’ll finally be able to save the world like you’ve always wanted! I mean, yeah, technically we did with that whole Nutjob-ers- job… - but now you can fix something WE didn’t cause!” Cavendish heard his friend’s encouragement but somehow he just couldn’t applaud it. The letter said that they were to be reassigned- to separate other time agents. Cavendish would be partnered up again to someone else for class C-through-B missions while Vinnie would return to running base operations. Class B or C missions were a WORLD ABOVE their current jobs. It was like moving up the heiarchy from newbie directly to a leader, with only the ‘experts’ above you. Missions of those levels would involve things that could actually benefit humanity as a whole! Plaugue outbreak prevention, the protection of possible future world leaders, the assurance of inventions being created at their proper time, all those and more were ahead for him! But Base Operations? For Dakota? No. Dakota was… special. It had taken Cavendish quite a while to see it, but eventually he did. Dakota was BRILLIANT. He was quick in a pinch and strong when he chose to be. He was a skilled agent who was probably only paired with a new agent like Cavendish himself because Dakota wasn’t really… like the other agents. He didn’t conform in the slightest. He had a strong personality and Cavendish was sure by now that it was the only problem the Bureau really had with him. If they could get him under their control, Dakota would be their prized posession. The only thing holding Dakota back from being at the top was that he didn’t want to be. From what Cavendish could piece together, Dakota had accomplished what he’d set out to do and would now rather just be himself before bending to any will of the Bureau. Cavendish wanted to say those were the only reason he was hesitating. That he was simply as good an Englishman as he tried to lead others to believe. But if he was being brutally honest, his mind was also flooding with purely selfish reasons for his hesitance. The biggest one was that he simply couldn’t do it without Dakota. That was, as far as he was concerned, a fact. There was something about how they balanced each other out that he knew would be ruined if they went their separate ways. He used to prove it otherwise, but he couldn’t. Cavendish knew he could get stubborn when his frustration replaced determination- which happened quite often- to complete a mission, which he knew could make him a little tunnel-visioned. That’s why- he’d come to realize- it took Dakota’s relaxed composure and observadness to make everything function, dispite their mission failures. If he went the wrong way, Dakota would immediately know what to do to get them back on track. Or if he had something wrong, Dakota would know just when and how to step in to resolve it. Any other partner wouldn’t be able to do what Dakota did literally effortlessly every day. And somehow Cavendish also knew that without his somewhat rediculous efforts for success, Dakota would quickly get bored at some deskjob and cause as much trouble as he often seemed to lacked in mission motivation. They walked a fine line where they were each a side of a beam used to cross a typrope that took two opposites to find a middle. Even if Dakota did manage to do well at his desk job or get tranfered to a different job that sent him back out to the field, Cavendish just knew that the odds of any partner being as good as Dakota were… near to nothing. “Hey Cav!” Cavendish glanced away from the paper to see Vinnie sitting on the couch in their current office area. He was beaming away like he HADN’T just heard he was going to be taken out of the field. “You okay?” Cavendish nodded slowly. “Yes. It’s just…. It’s a lot to take in.” “Of course! You’re finally getting to what you’ve always wanted!” Cavendish smiled slightly, hoping it would help the tight feeling he felt in his chest and the pain he felt just below it. “Yes. Yes it is. Though, a bit of a surprise honestly.” He wished he could be even more honest. “I think… I need a walk. If I am indeed off pistachio duty I’d like a few moment to let it sink in. This reassignment would be life-changing.” He gave a chuckle but it only further knotted his chest. He was quickly out of the room and down to the sidewalk nearly before he had realized it. ‘It isn’t about oppertunity!’ He told himself quietly. ‘It’s a new mission! It’s not like it’s even a choise!’ He wanted to believe it but every sentence just made him a little more confused. He knew the Bureau would see his value some day and this was THAT day! He was going to be given a chance! Him! Just… without… Dakota. He grumbled a kicked a pebble from his path. Why did they have to move Dakota? Why did the bureau have something against him? Why did they give Cavendish an amazing partner only to take him away? He took a heavy breath and stopped his agressive speedwalking for a moment. He was already back in front of their office. He had gone right around the block. He hurried inside. “Dakota, I can’t accept the job if it means you will to be stuck serving snobby field agents instead of being out there with them! We both know you belong in the field!” Dakota chuckled from where he layed over the couch, same as before, only now with a mysterious bag of pretzels from who knows where. “Don’t be rediculous.” The short of the pair said, sitting up on the couch. “This is exactly what you’ve been waiting for! I’ve done what I set out to do. I’ll just try to get stationed sometime in the early 21st century when my parents live. I’ll be great!” Cavendish squinted at him with disbelief. “But you should be out changing the world! Maybe even more than I should be.” He admitted with stern confidence. He held his head as high as always, not cowering away from the truth of the comment he’d made in his own expense. Dakota rolled his eyes with a small smile. “You’re just nervous. But I know just the thing.” Cavendish took a deep breath and waited a long several seconds. The tension he’d felt quickly abate before finally giving in. “Alright. What is it?” “It’s a story my parents often told me.” He shrugged with an unconcealable smile. “I think you could use it’s wisdom.” Another several seconds passed before the taller of the two finally sat down on the couch next to his friend. Cavendish easily relinquished the conversation to him. “Regardless. What’s the story?” Dakota grinned for a moment and offered his pretzels- to which Cavendish politely declined- before beginning. “Well, there’s a LOT to it, but it was basically about this pair. The two met through work and used to fight more than there are details to this story.” He chuckled as if he had reminded himself of something, but it only lasted a moment. “They annoyed each other to no end, but everyday they had to spent together was another in which they started to understand the other a little more. They developed an understanding of who they other person really was and why they were the way they were. It progressed until eventually they became friends so gradually they barely noticed- and their fighting became just what they did because they didn’t know what else TO do.” Dakota dug through his one-serving pretzel bag for a particular one before continuing. “Then, finally, they realized that the one thing to do was work together- but they didn’t know how to just stop being them. That was, until one of them realized they needed to change their ways and do what really made them happy.” He paused for a brief moment before adding with a poke at Cavendish’s collarbone, “I think that person’s you.” Cavendish’s eyes narrowed before taking a moment to check the state of his lapels. “They told you a story that directly corresponds to our current situation?” Vinnie smiled a little oddly but replied without hesitation. “They’re pretty smart people.” Cavendish let out an amused huff before standing up. He turned to shake his soon-to-be ex-partner’s hand. “I… suppose….- It’ll been interesting then.” He decided. Dakota licked his fingers as he stood up before wiping his hand on his jacket before shaking Cavendish’s hand. Didn’t Dakota know that annoyed him by now? Was he making a special effort just to do so now? He supposed, given the circumstances, he’d give Dakota a pass. “Contact me where and when you’re stationed and I’ll try to visit.” Dakota smiled back with excitement. “I’ll try, Bigshot!” Cavendish smiled just slightly before adjusting the quantum locator to send them back to the Bureau. They were there in seconds. “I’d better check in then.” He said, at a loss for a better farewell. It was all so… anticlimactic. “I’ll see you around!” Cavendish couldn’t believe he was really just walking away. He couldn’t bring himself to look back as he did so either. It would be too difficult. He had to go do what he knew he was destined to do! He was going to go save the world! - He made his way to Mr. Block’s, their boss’s, office without much trouble. “Sir?” He knocked. “Ah yes. I suppose your here about your reassignment. Everything you need to know is already at the front desk and you’d know that if you didn’t just barge into my office as you please!” Cavendish cleared his throat, trying to find the confidence he usually so easily had. “I’m here about the reassignement, but not for the details. I want you to reinstate Dakota as my partner!… sir….” “Are you kidding me?!” His superior said, somewhere between anger and disbelief. “Um. No, sir?” Cavendish said more meekly. He was worried about another outburst, but there was none per se. Mr. Block sighed. “You two are exhausting! First you want this position, and then your partner vouches for you in exchange for whatever position I CHOSE to assign him, and now you think YOU can just COME ON HERE AND DEMAND CHANGES?!” Cavendish didn’t cower an inch. But then again, maybe it was just the shock and racing of his mind to process this new information that kept him from moving. “Dakota… vouched for me…? …Sir?” Mr. Block threw his head back. “Typical! Now listen here. You two need to stop messing around.” He practically growled in frustration before reaching a decision. “You know what?! Fine! Stay partners! But then I’m only moving you two to class E missions! -And that’s only because I keep getting complaints about how I’m wasting ‘valuable assets’ and I don’t want them trying to go over my head! If that happened then I’d DEFINATELY have to give you SOMETHING. Now just- get out of my office before I change my mind!” “Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!” Cavendish thanked nearly as quickly as he hurried out of the office. The second he shut the door behind him he hurried away from it, only to find himself face to face with Dakota. “What’d you do now?” He teased. Cavendish didn’t answer the question. “You… you vouched for me?” He instead inquired carefully. Dakota rubbed the back of his neck with one hand in emberressment. “It wasn’t so much as that as was try to get you the job you wanted. You’re too headstrong for my blood anyways.” He joked. Cavendish froze in place for a few moments. “He said we can be partners again. For class E missions,” He quickly added, “but partners nonetheless.” “You want us to stay partners?” Vinnie replied with a mild amount of geniune surprise. “You’d RATHER we stay partners?” “Of course.” Cavendish said as if it was obvious. Then he tensed, “Don’t you?” Dakota grinned. “Of course I do!” They both smiled for a few moments before suddenly realizing they were still much to close to their angry boss’s office. They headed down the hall and outside to the fresh air of 2175. Cars flew by around and above the translucent blue forcefield awning above the somewhat large outside balcony that was littered with plants. “It’s kinda-a cliche line, but there’s just one thing I don’t get. Why did you give up on becoming a top agent for ME? You always tell me how you wanna save the world! Why not just go do it?” “It’s like your little story said.” Cavendish joked, though he secretly meant it. “I chose to do what would make me happy- pestering you and going on time travel missions!” Dakota chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. I think that would make me happy too.” There was a pause as they both looked out to the skyline of their city, both sure that this path would indeed make them both very happy. “Now it’s my turn to say ‘there’s only one thing’.” Cavendish started. Dakota chuckled. “Alright. Shoot.” He paused. “Your story.” He carefully searched his mind for the right words before deciding that simple was best in this case. “Did they choose what would make them happy?” Dakota smiled. “Yeah. I guess they did. It’s the story of how my parents ended up together after all.”

[Notes: In this universe Perry and Heinz are his parents bc I’m perryshmirtz trash lol This was fun to write Sorry for spelling and grammer mistakes as usual. It happens ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]