Chapter Text
Now that they were no longer living life on the run, Butcher’s boys had to develop new routines to acclimate to their new, normal lives and government-approved missions.
Hughie would wake up every morning with Annie, then get up to brush his teeth and squeeze in a light workout before getting changed and making himself a healthy smoothie to drink on his way to work. M.M, of course, had the usual rituals, now with the addition of a Lexapro prescription. Even Kimiko and Frenchie spent their quiet mornings cooking and listening to music.
It had been a long time since Butcher had normal. Since days were able to blend into the next. That kind of life shouldn’t be possible for him without Becca. The only thing that had kept him sane during the first few weeks of it was his final promise to her.
Though he still wasn’t happy about Hughie working so closely with Neuman and her pencil pushers, congratulating themselves for sitting around with their thumbs up their asses will Butcher and what remained of his crew did their dirty work.
And he was sure Hughie knew that every single time they met up. Especially whenever they didn’t agree on something.
“If we wait, we’ll lose the fucking trail with Pulse.”
Hughie shook his head, leaning against the brick wall behind him as he insisted,” If we go after him, the rest of them will destroy whatever else we could find if we keep watching a little longer.”
“Is that you talking or her?”
“Can you stop?” he hissed. “We’re supposed to be working together, but every single time I don’t agree with you, you accuse me of-”
“Of letting her shove her hand up your arse and use you like her bloody puppet?”
Hughie sighed and ran one hand over his face.
“Look, let’s talk about this when you’re not being unreasonable, okay? I have a meeting in a couple of minutes.”
His fists clenched at his sides as the other man checked his watch like he didn’t have time for all this anymore. Like he didn’t have time to have a proper chat the way they used to before Neuman.
And Butcher could not stand that Hughie wasn’t more pissed off.
“Don’t want to be late for her bending ya over the conference table, eh son?” he taunted.
“It’s not - it’s not like that. And she’s not going to be there. She’s on her lunch break right now. Though I don’t know why I’m telling you that. You’re just being a dick right now.”
Give the lad a little power, and apparently he gets balls of steel. The balls to walk away when Butcher wasn’t done talking to him.
…
Victoria could tell there was a migraine in the making when William Butcher waltzed into her office without knocking.
Not that he had a habit of knocking on a regular day. He seemed to her like the kind of man that was already in a room when you turned the lights on, like some sort of James Bond villain. The kind of man who managed to waltz past security and locked doors like a ghost just to be a nuisance.
“Is there something I can do for you?” she asked, setting down her fork to fold her hands on the desk in front of her.
He pretended to consider for a moment, as if he would have any reason to talk to her otherwise, before admitting,” The lads and I need Hughie’s help on the Pulse assignment. Starting tonight.”
It was an oddly reasonable request from someone who was usually so difficult. There was a reason that Hughie was the one who had to be the go between for them. She couldn’t stand attempting to reason with him as often as they had to.
“I figured you were the one to ask, since you’ve got his bollocks in a vise.”
She wished she kept Aspirin in her office. Even if Hughie always managed to show up with some whenever she needed it.
“Is there something you wanted to talk about?”
“Just thought Hughie should be working with his own team for a change instead of being your little errand boy.”
Victoria was starting to get really sick of playing nice with William Butcher for Hughie’s sake. No matter how many times he reassured her that, deep down, his former boss really was a good person.
“I think I was very accommodating the last time you stormed into my office uninvited to talk about Hughie Campbell, but I just have to say that, if he wanted to keep working with your team he wouldn’t have come to me. You’re going to have to get used to the fact that he is happy here, and that I’m not going to let such a valuable part of my team go as easily as you did.”
His eyes narrowed as he considered his options. She knew he was smarter than people gave him credit for, but there was nothing he could do to get Hughie back to his side the exact way he wanted unless Hughie changed his mind.
“Either he works the Pulse thing with us, or me and my boys handle it without the FBSA. You lot don’t got anyone to do the dirty work but us.”
Imagining Butcher’s skull popping was less soothing than she hoped it would be, so she simply gritted her teeth and relented,” I will see if he is interested in supervising the operation when he comes back.”
Butcher smiled.
“Glad we could work something out.”
“You’re worse than a child seeing someone else with the toy he stopped playing with,” she muttered, leaning back in her chair.
He shrugged, though that smug smile remained on his face.
“I don’t share my toys, love.”