Chapter Text
“Hey! Hey Cavendish, look what I found!”
Cavendish was seated at the desk in their motel room, trying to focus on their mission. He hadn’t had any caffeine yet today (it was 18:00, but hey, who’s counting?) and wasn’t ready for Dakota’s antics. He was expecting him to have picked up a stuffed animal or a random cat, as usual.
“What is it now, Da-“ He cut himself off rather quickly. That was NOT a cat.
That was a child.
In Dakota’s arms was a boy who looked to be around thirteen. He had brown hair that stuck up in the front, a pink and green sweater vest on, and a comically large backpack. He looked to be covered in dirt and scars, a fresh cut on his arm that hadn’t even stopped bleeding.
“Wha- I-“ Cavendish sputtered. This couldn’t be happening. Dakota could not have just kidnapped a child.
“His name is Milo. Isn’t he so cute?” Dakota squealed, tightening his grip on the boy. He was holding him by the underarms, just like how you’re never supposed to hold a cat. Meanwhile, Cavendish just looked bewildered.
“You’re always saying that you want more responsibility,” he continued, “so I got you a kid! We can look after him together! He’ll be our adorable little-”
“Where in blazes did you even get him!?” Cavendish interrupted, his voice cracking as he did so. He wasn’t sure if he should be pissed off at Dakota, worried for Milo, or just confused. He seemed to be leaning towards the latter.
“Picked him up off the street. Why?”
Cavendish couldn’t take his eyes off the boy. He had a bright smile on his face despite the situation, and he didn’t even seem particularly concerned with the fact that he was staining the carpet crimson. The only sign that he might have even been a little nervous was his hands, his fingers repeatedly tapping against his thumb. “Dakota, you can’t just take children.”
“Don’t be a buzzkill, Cav. He’s adorable! Besides, he didn’t have anyone with him. That means we can have him!”
Milo had been incredibly quiet up until this point. After all, he didn’t like to interrupt people. Still, this felt like a good time to speak up, his smile just as bright as always. “Actually, I already have parents.”
Cavendish and Dakota immediately quit their bickering to stare at Milo, a moment of silence passing over the room. Milo’s gleaming smile contrasted greatly with the look of confusion on both of the men’s faces, though it didn’t take long for the moment of silence to be broken.
“You just kidnapped a child!” Screamed Cavendish, clearly not caring about the size of their motel room. “Dear god, Dakota, we’re criminals! The boy’s parents must be worried sick!”
“Hey, I didn’t know the kid had parents! Besides, if we put him back now, nobody’s even going to notice. It’ll be like nothing happened!”
“Are you daft? Even if we put him back, you’ll still have kidnapped him! Do you have any idea how many rules we’re going against- And for god’s sake, put him down!”
Dakota, realising that he was still holding Milo, set him down on the floor. To be honest, this was not how he thought adoption would go. “C’mon, Cav, it’ll be fine! You worry too much.” He then turned to Milo. “Right, kid?”
Cavendish, meanwhile, was trying to keep himself composed for the sake of the child in the room. It wasn’t like the lad had done anything wrong, after all. It was his partner’s standard idiocy that he wasn’t pleased with. Softening his voice significantly, he addressed Milo as well. “Young man, could you please tell us where your parents are?”
“They’re out of town.” Milo said it with a straight face as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. After all, it was to him. “I’m supposed to be staying with my friend Melissa!”
Cavendish had to take a moment to process that information. He’d been freaking out over Milo’s parents, and they weren’t even here? He couldn’t decide if that made things more or less complicated. Dakota, meanwhile, looked ecstatic.
“See, see!? He’s got nowhere else to go!” Exclaimed Dakota, bouncing on the balls of his feet like an excited toddler.
Milo tilted his head, clearly a bit confused. “But I just said-”
“Not helping, kid.” Dakota quickly interrupted his statement. “Can’t we look after him for the week? Pleeeeaasse?”
Cavendish had to think for a moment. This went against almost every rule in the book, and they were here on a mission. It would be harder to protect the pistachios if they were looking after a child. Not to mention the fact that he clearly got injured quite easily, if the damp bloody spot on their carpet was anything to go off. Then there was the obvious setback that they weren’t even equipped to take care of a pet, let alone a human being. It was obviously a terrible idea.
But at the same time, he was really cute. So, as much as he didn’t want to, Cavendish gave in.
“Alright, fine. I suppose we can take him in for the week. But the minute his parents get back, we’re returning him! Understood?”
Dakota’s eyes widened, a small squeal escaping his throat. He grinned from ear to ear as he picked Milo up once again, hugging him far tighter than could have been comfortable for the boy. “Ya hear that, kid? We’re looking after you!
Now, Milo wasn’t upset with the situation. These two seemed very nice and he had no problem staying with them for a week. However, he was a little bit worried for them.
“Are you sure?” He asked with just a hint of concern in his eyes.
Dakota scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. Milo didn’t look like a troublemaker. How hard could taking care of him be? Cavendish, meanwhile, softened his voice in an attempt to reassure him.
“Yes, I’m quite sure we can handle this.” He wasn’t.
“Yeah,” added Dakota, “how hard could it really be?”
As it turned out, very.