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mintytrifecta · 4 years

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Someone That I Used To Be chapter 3

Chapter 2: https://mintytrifecta.tumblr.com/post/618490750838177792/someone-that-i-used-to-be-chapter-2 AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22818781/chapters/55853956#workskin Dakota didn’t need glasses. After he became an assassin he got an eye check and had almost perfect vision. As far as he was concerned his eyesight was 20/20. So why does he have sunglasses? Everyone asks. “Nothing, they’re just a pair of glasses I got a while ago. Nothing special.” Dakota slides his thumb back and forth on the handles of his shades. He sighs. He feels the scratched edges of the old plastic in his fingers. Innocent plastic, a familiar comfort against his bloodied fingers .A pair of regular old glasses. The lenses have cuts in uncomfortable positions. The handles have snapped off more times than he can count yet Dakota keeps repairing them stubbornly with shaking fingers. He can get a pair in any mall he visits, yet he won’t let this one go. He’s sitting on his and Cavendish’s bed. A heavy silence weighs upon them as Cavendish ponders what Dakota told him. He fidgets with his glasses. “Kota, You’ve saved me time and time again. Sacrificed yourself countless times for me. What you’ve done in the past, it’s timelines away. You said it yourself, that what you did doesn’t happen anymore. You’re a good person Vinnie. A hero.” Dakota chuckles, a humorless and dry laugh. “That excuses nothing. I know what I did, even if i’m sorry, even if it didn’t happen anymore. There’s really no excuse here, Cav. No matter how many times I say sorry it won’t change. I’m unforgivable.” Cavendish tuts and lifts Dakota’s face to his. Dakota sees warm skies love in them. “I forgive you.” Dakota starts to cry .--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dakota was a strange man, Cavendish thought. From the instant they first met there was something about him that Cavendish couldn’t quite place. As if he’d known him before. Cavendish found himself getting annoyed and confused by him in such a primal, instinctive way and for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why. Cavendish and Dakota have been working together for years. They know each other better than anyone else. Cavendish is not oblivious. Cavendish keeps his guard up. Cavendish is destined for greatness and knows the obstacles. One such obstacle, is the nagging in the back of his head telling him to run away whenever Dakota is near him. Cavendish wants to scream at Dakota. He wants to know what he’s hiding. Cavendish may be an incompetent agent but he will not be an incompetent friend. Cavendish feels in his feet the need to climb up a mountain. He wants the approval of his superiors. He wants to prove he can be more than what was expected of him all his life. He will create greatness and he knows it. What does Dakota want? Cavendish wonders. Dakota wants to sail in a long peaceful boat ride. He wants to see the beauty of life at every age. Dakota wants to see the smiles on people’s faces. Wants the loving embrace of his partner. He wants to watch the sunset go down on a calm summer evening.Dakota wants tranquility. So when hearing Dakota confess to him what he’s done, Cavendish finds himself unsurprised. Cavendish has seen the lengths Dakota went through to save him. He’s seen how selfless Dakota can be. Dakota is a good person and Cavendish pities him for not seeing it. Cavendish takes Dakota’s glasses from his shaking, crying, guilty hands and sets them aside. Cavendish moves in to hug the shorter man, not caring about how wet his suit will end up. Dakota embraces him and falls asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. Days pass and the two find themselves sitting on the Danville docks. Watching the repetitive lapses of the waves. “Do you know where I got my glasses from?” “Didn’t you say you brought them from your own timeline?” Dakota chuckles and smiles softly, the rose-tinted glasses reflecting the orange of the water as the sun strikes it. “Yeah. I got them from one of my missions. It was supposed to be a regular old mission but to be honest, I think it was one of my most important ones.” Cavendish raises a brow.“Well? Go on then, tell me this supposed ‘important mission’ of yours.” Dakota starts .------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Your next target lives in the south side of Danville. 70 year old Jonah Murphy.” “70 years old? Won’t he just be dead in a few years anyway?”His client shook her head. “Unfortunately not. By all accounts he should not be alive. Strange things happen around this man and we cannot take any more chances. He must be killed. For the safety of my people.” she spoke.

Dakota raised a suspicious brow and shrugged. Job’s a job, he guessed. Dakota left the building and stepped out into the street. Put his hands in his jacket pockets and started walking. Along the cracked streets lined with vines and fallen rubble he tried to envision his plan. Dakota supposed he could go with an easy weapon route, but he’d much rather not get his hands dirty, he had just cleaned his jacket from the last mission. Dakota stepped into a boat waiting near a bridge. The Danville dam broke down forever ago and the city didn’t have the money to fix it (they barely had any money but that’s besides the point) so they turned some streets into canals. Dakota guessed he could go with drowning but that’ll be messy. His body will be easily recognizable considering how few people live in the city and how they all seem to know each other. That option’s out, then. Dakota swerved the boat into south Danville. Let’s see, he lives in 5521 Druid Dr. Really Druid Sail now, Dakota joked in his head. He pulled the paddle to a stop near a small dock and got out of the boat. It’s showtime. He jumped the fence and found an unexpected sight. Broken glass lies on the tall grass, ivy covers the tree and burn marks show no hesitation in announcing their presence. The backyard deck has a suspiciously sized how in one corner, broken concrete in another. Smashed residue of what once could have been a grill lie crumpled under a now-rubble rooftop of the deck. You’d think an old man would know how to take care of his own health, jesus.

At least the back door is still somewhat intact. Dakota walked forward to it, leaves crunch with every step he made. The door’s unlocked and thank heaven for that. Dakota was sure if he tried to pry it open he’d be smashed under rubble.Dakota entered the house and found chaos. A flickering light welcomed him inside the dining area. A pitiful sight lied before him. A singular wooden chair stood on one edge of the table, it’s wood almost rotten and completely destroyed. The kitchen, once blue and white, was dusted and jaded. The sink dripped water repeatedly and the metal around it rusted. Whoever this man was, clearly didn’t care about his wellbeing. Dakota gathered. But why should he care? This man’s his target, it only makes Dakota’s job easier. “It used to be beautiful.” Dakota jumped and whipped his head towards the source of the sound. In the living room, a person sat. “What did you say?” Dakota stepped closer to the man and assessed his appearance. The man had his eyes closed. Bags under it showing proudly. His cheeks sagged with wrinkles and dark spots. Atop his head, light white hair stood up, almost like feathers. His lips dry and cracked, yet still smiling. Dakota swore he could see scars covering the man’s face. His hands sat on top of one another, resting on his knees. Long, thin fingers slowly moved back and forth on his other hand. His arms were covered by long green sleeves hugging his body. His pants were ripped and dirty but the man didn’t seem to care. Dakota inquired.“Who’re you?” The man didn’t open his eyes. “You know who I am, son.” Dakota blinked. This was his target.This was his target? Really? “You were expecting me.” His soft smile expanded. His thin brows curved towards his eyes.“Yes. Yes I did.” “So you know why I’m here. And you’re okay with that?” His Target let out a quiet laugh. Dakota couldn't help but notice the wheeze trying to hide under it.“This was a long time coming. I would not be surprised by this fifty years ago and I am not surprised by it now.”Dakota quirked his head to the side.The Target seemed to sense his confusion. If he did, he didn’t mention it. “Would you like some tea, son?” Dakota was taken aback for a moment before stuttering out a quick “Uh, yeah sure.” The Target took his cane from off the couch and got up. “Sit down, young man. I’ll be right back.” Dakota obliged.He watched the man walk over to his kitchen. A slight limp on his left foot, his back is slightly slouched. The Target seemed unfazed by it. “I thought tea companies shut down fifty years ago? They were taking too many plants from the environment?” The Target reached a top cabinet and pulled out two mugs. “They were. Of course, that won’t stop people from growing their own tea leaves, now would it?” Dakota’s face reddened in embarrassment. “Ah, right.” He watched the Target fill up a tea kettle with water and put it on the stove. The Target stepped outside for a moment. “Excuse me, but will you watch the water while I go get the leaves?” Dakota muttered “Okay”. “Thank you so much, young man.” Dakota stood up to head for the kettle. His eyes never left the Target. He watched as the Target stepped over the rubble and headed towards the back fence. A small flower garden stood beneath a blanket covering them. Hiding produce, clever. Dakota thought. Thieves will steal anything they can no matter what. He watched the Target bend down to the flowers with some struggle. He picked out some green leaves from the edge of one of the rows and stood back up. Just as he did, a branch filled with bird eggs dropped from a tree.The Target noticed this and threw his cane away, with a sprint he caught the branch safely and brought it to the ground. He limped back to his cane and picked it up, leaves still in his hand.The Target entered the house, his drooping eyes bordered on pettiness as he saw Dakota’s gobsmacked expression. “Close your mouth, son. Unless you want to end up eating a fly.”Dakota shook his head and stared at his Target. “How did you do that?! It was like ten feet away from you and you just ran towards it and caught it perfectly! Your leg is injured and you use a cane. What were you thinking running towards it like that?!” The Target let out a wild, loud cackle. His laughs echoing in guffaws and snorts. The wheezing was still there, but the Target didn’t care. “Curious, are you? I’ll answer your questions in due time. For now, just stop the kettle from overflowing more.”Dakota did a double take and turned the stove off, grumbling at the snickers coming from the Target. The two took the cups and Kettle into the living room and set them down on the table. The Target on the couch, Dakota on the floor. Dakota watched as the Target poured the water into the cups, leaves adding a golden colour to the liquid.“Sugar cube?” “Oh, no thank you I’m good.” Dakota spoke uncomfortably.“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m here to kill you.” The Target sipped his tea in small parts before setting it down and answering. “Anyone who enters this house is my guest and guests deserve common courtesy. Your visit just happens to be more er… urgent. But common courtesy is common courtesy no matter what.” Dakota hummed and brought his cup towards his lips. The warmth of the tea reminded him of a fireplace during the cold nights of winter. Dakota smiled. “What’s on your mind there, son?” “Just… thinking of old friends is all.” “Oh?” “Yeah, I grew up with a buncha siblings. I mean, we weren’t related but we were still family, Y’know? We all wandered around the city’s ruins looking for things to eat in trash cans before we met. Me an’ Joey went around all of town finding other boys and girls with no place to go and ended up forming a base in an old abandoned zoo. We all stayed there and helped each other as much as we could. Eventually, an old woman found us and took us in. All of us. I remember she’d sing to us lullabies every night. She was from Italy, I think? So all of her songs were in Italian. Of course that didn’t stop us from learning the words.” Dakota chortles as he continues,“I remember this one year, it was winter. We were all getting ready for Christmas and spent the whole day working for it. Lanna, Eva and Mandy took Mom on an “adventure” around the city, which they claimed had a dragon roaming through it. Billy, Nick and Sam worked on the food, being the ones to actually come from households who knew how to cook. While Joey, Cam and I decorated the house. By the end of the day we were all so exhausted we fell asleep in the living room before we could actually celebrate. When the girls came back, they basically fainted into our dogpile and slept with us. Mom lit the fireplace near us and slept on her chair.” The Target nodded along to Dakota, his smile becoming wider and wider. “Sounds like you had quite a childhood.” Dakota let out a huff in happiness. “Yeah. I did.” The two sat in silence until Dakota cleared his throat. “So what about you? I mean, what’s with all the mystery around you? You’re practically the only person who lives on this street, you know that right?”The Target’s smile faltered for a brief second, barely seen.“Come on a walk with me.” He ordered.The Target stood up and started walking towards the front door. Dakota sat on the floor for a few seconds before processing what was happening and scrambled up to the Target.“Woah woah wait where are we going? You can’t just leave like that.”The Target stood outside of the door, looking at Dakota from the outside. “I just did.” The door slammed closed. Dakota laughed and ran towards the door. This Target is ridiculous! He opened the door and skittered across the pavement, almost falling into the water. The Target was already walking.“Hey, hold on a second. Wait up!” The Target yelled back, “If I can walk faster than you at this age then there’s no chance you’ll get to kill me!” Dakota rolled his eyes and sprinted to the Target. As he caught up the Target side eyed him and snarked.“Ah, so you can catch up. Good to know I’m as fit as a spring chicken.” Dakota lightly smacked the Target’s shoulders and kept walking with him. “You do realize that we’re not in your house anymore, right? Means I’m no longer a guest and can kill you anytime now.” “Oh yes I know. I just thought we’d want a change of scenery. After all, I still didn’t answer your question did I?” Dakota raised his finger to retort before putting it down. “No. No you didn’t.” “And you want to know don’t you?” “Yes. Yes I do.” “Guess you’ll have to wait with the killing, then!” The Target beamed. Dakota huffed in annoyance and stuffed his hands in his jacket. The two walked in a comfortable silence. At least, until a metal beam almost impaled Dakota. The Target grabbed Dakota’s shoulders and pushed him away as the beam struck the ground where Dakota was standing. The Target barely flinched. Dakota stood there breathing heavily.“Okay what the fuck! That’s the second time you’ve done that. What are you, a bad luck magnet?” The Target signalled for Dakota to keep walking. “You could say that.” “I hope you realize that doesn’t answer my questions.” “I’m aware.” “Of course you are” After the fifth or sixth time something weird happened around them, Dakota started getting fed up with the nonsense. How and why does this not faze Target? He didn’t say anything, but kept a close eye to everything around them.The two came to a stop in front of an alley. Dakota looked confused. The Target looked delighted.“So our stop for the rest of the conversation is… an alleyway?” “Quit your complaining we’re not there yet.” Dakota was soon to figure out, their destination was a hidden part of the Danville docks. “The docks extend into the lake here. Not many people know that.” Dakota looked around in amusement. “Neat place. Lotsa green.” The Target gave a chuckle. “Yes, lots of green.” They walked towards the edge of the dock and sat down, the waves licked the sand with soft calming caresses. “Murphy’s Law.” Dakota looked at the Target. “I’m sorry, what?” “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. That’s Murphy’s Law. Throughout generations my family has been dealing with Murphy’s Law to its fullest extent. Extreme Hereditary Murphy’s Law, it’s known as.”The Target sighs. “That’s why I live alone. Why my house looks the way it does. It belonged to my family for generations. I thought it would stand much longer than it did.”Dakota nods. “You can’t control it?” The Target shakes his head, “No, sonny. No.” “We’ve tried to control it before but it never worked. We Murphys always believed that the only thing you can control it with is a positive attitude and good attention. ”His smile drops into a frown. “But positive attitude can’t fix blindness.” The Target twists his ring around on his finger. “Your wife?” Dakota hesitated. “She was… wonderful. Put up with anything Murphy’s Law threw at her. No matter how intense it was she promised to stay by my side. That is, until a broken ultraviolet light flashed in her eyes. She went almost completely blind. Watching her struggle the way she did.. You can’t understand how painful that was. She died months afterwards. Car crash.” “I’m.. so sorry.” “Absolutely nothing to be sorry for. We had good times and that’s all that matters.”Jonah spilled a tear. “And that’s all that matters.” Dakota gazed at the ocean.“What if… what if I never find that?” Jonah raised a brow.“Find what exactly?” “What you had.” Jonah took a deep breath and answered.“It’s always out there. You might have seen in already, you might have not. The good moments never stray too far to those willing to look for them. Seek out happiness and it will find you.” Dakota felt a nudge on his shoulder. “Somewhere out there, you’ll find your happiness.”Jonah held out a pair of orange glasses. Their lenses were tinted rose-gold. The outer part is covered in plastic gold and a small red line. “She would put on the most ridiculous pair of glasses she could find whenever we met with friends. She kept saying she doesn’t want pity, she wants laughter. On our wedding anniversary, she gave me these.” “You’re giving it to me? Why?” “Dakota, I have barely another day left on Earth. I’m sure she’d want me to give them to someone else before I passed. This is a symbol of happiness for me. I want it to be one for you too.” Dakota took the glasses from Jonah and hesitantly put them on. He looked at Jonah for approval. Wrinkled dry lips spread into a smile, old, baggy eyes watered. “They fit you perfectly.” The two sat on the docks watching the sun go down, Jonah leaned on Dakota and with one last breath, Jonah said,“ You’re a good man.”

#milo murphy's law #mml #mml dakota #Assassin!Dakota au #OC #This chapter was the best to write I had so much fun creating Jonah

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