The walk back to their 'lair' was uncomfortable to say the least. Hughie was kind of casted out because of the talk Butcher and (Y/n) had. Billy was completely miserable, just having to remember Becca always brought something dark to his mind. And (Y/n) was feeling awkward, even though the man said that she wasn't exactly in the wrong, she felt like was being scolded.
Nonetheless, the air got even heavier when they got to the hideout. Frenchie, MM and the woman weren't there, making Butcher extremely angry and worried.
"They fucking did exactly what I told them not to do." Billy hit his closed fist against the wooden table.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Hughie asked, sitting down on the sofa beside (Y/n), who had rested her neck on the sofa's arm, pushing her feet against his side softly, almost playfully.
"I got an idea." Butcher said, grabbing his phone and ringing MM "Where are you?" he said when the man answered "Really? Fucking magic, that place. What did you get?" he waited a few seconds "Does it taste like lies? I got your phone linked to my Find-Your-Shithead-Friends app. Now, where the fuck are you?"
While Billy was talking to MM, (Y/n) continued pushing her feet against Hughie. The boy turned to her, ready to tell her to fuck off, but her face made him stop. She had her phone in her hands and a silly smile on her face, her eyes still on the device. He noticed that she was just messing with him, but he didn't want to indulge in it, so he decided to just make her stop.
"Would you stop-" he started, but the look she gave made him stop and form a smile of his own.
She had the biggest smile he'd seen on her and now she was looking directly at him, kicking his side a little harder when he looked at her. He couldn't help but toy with her just as much as she was doing with him. Hughie, then, pinched her leg, making her pull the limb closer to herself, massaging the place from the slight pain. However, her face didn't change, the playful smile was still there. (Y/n) stuck her foot next to his face, pushing his cheek slightly, her smile a little smaller this time.
"Will you stop being an asshole?" she said, now looking at the side, and dropping her foot to the sofa again.
"Do I want to?" he seemed to stop and think, his hand on his chin, as if he was thinking hard "Nah." he joked, pinching her leg again.
"You bitch." the girl said, getting up from her position, now sitting on the couch, and slapping his arm not too hard "I can't stay mad at you for long. Besides, I gotta protect your dumbass self." she joked, punching his arm slowly.
"YOU gotta protect ME? Isn't it the other way around?" he said, placing his hand on her face and pushing her slightly and softly.
"Well, not with the look Butcher is giving you right now." she smiled, pointing behind the boy.
Billy had his arms crossed in front of his body, looking down at the kid and an angry look on his face as if he just caught his lover with his friend.
"Good to see you two finally getting along. Now, stop with the fucking chit chat!" he said it a bit louder, grabbing Hughie by the collar of his shirt and pulling him up, dragging him to the door "Let's go, love." he turned to her, after throwing the kid out the door.
<->
The three arrived at the location and Butcher knocked on the door, which was answered by MM.
"Gentlemen." he said, sighing.
Hughie, Butcher and (Y/n) entered the house, turning to the couch to see a man with an improvised splint.
"Wow. Mesmer. Hello." Billy said, waving his fingers at the man "Big fan. Be with you in a minute."
As MM talked to Butcher and Hughie joined Frenchie and the female on the corner, (Y/n) got closer to the man. He flinched back, afraid of the girl breaking his other arm as the woman did earlier.
"Hey, it's alright." (Y/n) said to the man, grabbing his injured arm softly and taking a quick look "Who did this?" she asked, and Mesmer pointed at MM "He did a shit job at that. I'll fix it for you." he was hesitant to give her his arm, but did it nonetheless.
While she was holding his hand he took a look at her mind, and confirmed that she knew what she was doing, and that she was as dangerous as any of the people present.
"There... Sorry if it hurt at any point." she said, smiling as she got up from the ground in front of him.
"It didn't, thank you." he gave her an uneasy smile, which seemed to be enough for her.
"Nice decor. 80's serial killer. Love it." Butcher said, taking his trenchcoat off "All right, then. Let's get cracking."
The female sat in front of Mesmer again, uncertain about giving her hand to him.
"There's a camp in a jungle." the man said when he grabbed the woman's hand "She's a soldier. There's a flag with a two-headed snake on it."
"Two-headed snake?" Butcher asked, moving his hands to show what he meant "Like this?"
"Yeah."
"With red rays behind it?"
"What does that mean?" Hughie asked, completely lost.
"It's the flag of the Shining Light Liberation Army." MM explained "Frenchie, you're dating a terrorist."
The French man turned to the woman.
"Is this true?" he asked her, and by the look on her face, it was.
<->
A week later, everything seemed to settle. Rayner had refused to work with them, so the plan was to take matters into their own hands. Kimiko (they discovered her name that day at Mesmer's place) was becoming friendlier with Frenchie and the group. And Hughie was still seeing Starlight... It was pretty much obvious. His lying skills were shit and he had been vanishing almost everyday. Butcher knew where he was going.
"Those madeleines look incredible, Kimiko." (Y/n) said, looking over the desserts on the table.
The woman smiled at her, folding the topping on a bowl.
Suddenly, Hughie came in through the door, his face worried. He was sweating a little, which seemed to be like a warning to the group. Kimiko turned to Frenchie, asking him silently where Hughie was.
"She wants to know where you were." Frenchie said.
"That's a compelling fucking question." Butcher said, finishing up his lunch.
This phrase made MM and (Y/n) turn to Hughie too, paying attention to what was happening.
"Hey, can we talk?" he said, looking at Butcher and then at (Y/n), asking her to join them.
"That's what we're doing, ain't it?" Billy said, a cocky smile on his face as the girl made her way over to the table where he was sitting.
"No, I mean..." Hughie stopped.
"Whatever you want to say, you can say here, honey." (Y/n) said, coming back with the nicknames.
"Spit it out." Butcher said.
"Stop being an asshole, talk to the guy." MM said in defence of Hughie.
"Hughie doesn't mind. Do you, Hughie?"
"Okay, fine. I can't do this anymore." the kid said, earning strange looks from all the group, except Butcher.
"Do what?"
"This." he said, pointing to the ground "I mean, Vought, whatever with Kimiko, it's awful and you got to stop it, but I can't."
"Dude, who do you think got me into this mess?" the girl asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest "You're not getting out so easily."
"I didn't ask for your help or anything. Never needed it anyway." he said, turning to her.
The girl only rolled her eyes and changed her weight from one leg to another.
"It's about Starlight, isn't it?" she simply asked, sighing right after.
Hughie was silent, looking a little blushed at the girl.
"Now, why don't you stop pissing around and tell everybody what this is really all about?" Butcher said.
"Fine. Annie."
"Knew it." the girl said.
"Fuck." MM said.
Butcher clapped his hands a few times. He already knew what it was, but hearing it from the kids mouth brought some kind of satisfaction to him.
"Fucking finally." he turned to the others in the room "He's been sneaking off to give her one at Lincoln Grand."
"Really, Hughie?" the girl asked.
"You've been following me?"
"Like you gave me a choice." Billy said.
"She doesn't know anything." now the kid was angry "I'm not gonna tell her anything. We'll just..."
"Just what? Fuck off to Epcot? The Hamptons? Maybe pump out a few flying babies?"
"No, I... I don't know!"
"No, you don't know, 'cause you ain't thinking, except with your dick."
"You're wrong about her."
"That bitch is fucking playing you, and you're too fucking blind to see it." Butcher said, walking away from the boy.
"Right, so better to be loyal to a dead woman who doesn't know and doesn't care. How's that working for you?" Hughie said, passing the limits by a fucking thousand.
Billy turned slowly to the kid, ready to punch his face in, when Hughie's phone rang, distracting the group from the tension just a tad bit. (Y/n) walked closer to him, grabbing his hand slowly and squeezing it gently.
"You okay?" she whispered to him, receiving a brush of his thumb on her hand, but not a verbal response.
"Hey, dad." Hughie started "Who's this?" he asked, but soon his expression changed to fear "Dad, are you okay?" that made the group turn to the kid "A-Train listen to me."
At that point, no one was paying attention to the kid anymore, worried about their own places and families.
"Oh, shit, if he's burned, then I'm fucked." Mm said, running to the computer.
Butcher looked on his phone together with (Y/n).
"My place is burned. They got me." the man saw his security cameras.
(Y/n) had received a message from her landlord, saying that some people came inside her place and messed it all up.
"Well, I hope she was fucking worth it." Butcher said to Hughie.
"It's not Annie. She doesn't know."
"It doesn't matter!" (Y/n) shouted "She was still gonna discover at some point and then she would fuck us all up!" she pushed Hughie hard on the chest.
"I'm gonna fucking do her in." Billy said.
"The hell you will!" the kid shouted back.
"Hey, hold on a second. She doesn't know, It wasn't her." Butcher turned to MM "She's never seen me before. Not once, not ever. So how did I get burned?"
"Mesmer. You fucking idiots had to go to Mesmer."
<->
"You sure you don't want to check your apartment?" Butcher asked the girl beside him in the car.
"No, it's all right. There was nothing much there anyway." she shrugged, smiling a bit "Where are we going by the way?"
"I know where Mesmer is." he said, a dark smile on his face.
And with that information, the girl knew exactly what was about to happen. She began to feel uneasy, even though she had seen and dealt with corpses for the last six years. The first time she saw Translucent's body, she knew it was kind of an accident, but now? Butcher was ready to bash the guy's brains in and she wouldn't do anything, or say anything. She sure hoped that he wouldn't ask her to accompany him.
When they arrived at the subway station, Butcher readied himself, cracking his knuckles and his neck. (Y/n) only watched, sweating bullets by his side. She felt his eyes on her, either checking on her or judging.
"You all right, love?" he asked softly, placing his hand on her arm.
"Y-yeah, just a bit nauseated." she said, her skin becoming paler "Could I stay in the car?" she asked, trying to look as miserable as she could, she really didn't want to go.
"Sorry, sweetheart. But I need a lookout." he shrugged, a comprehensive smile on his face "So, let's go."
They looked around the subway for a bit, spotting the man quite easily amongst the crowd. He too noticed them and started running. And after a few turns he entered the bathroom, hoping to lose the two. It didn't work, but at least Butcher was the only one kicking the toilet door down.
The girl could hear it all outside of the bathroom. She thanked God that no one tried to enter, she probably wouldn't even notice or would know how to warn Butcher.
As she heard the guy's screams, she crouched down to the floor, her knees to her chest and her hands to her ears. She could hear the crunch of Mesmer's skull hitting against the sink, hear his screams right before his death and she could hear Billy's ragged breath from the effort.
After a few moments of silence, the girl got up from the ground, cleaning her eyes from the tears that she didn't even notice she spilled. Butcher came out of the bathroom, his look now a bit darker than before.
"Quick, before anyone sees us." he said to her, grabbing her hand and power walking to the car.
When they arrived at the car, there were some people crowding the subway entrance. They hadn't noticed the two running away from the scene, which made the girl a little more relaxed. The two entered the car, panting uncomfortably and cold sweating under their clothes.
Butcher slowly turned to the girl, seeing her shaking on the seat beside him. He kind of regretted taking her with him now. She was... Just a kid. Just like Hughie, so why did he want her to actually be a part of the group?
"I'm sorry." he said, almost whispering, to her, sighing right after.
"W-what?" the girl said, finally out of her trance.
"Sorry for bringing you here." he repeated, seeing how shocked she actually was.
"N-no, it's all right." she sighed, turning to look at him slowly "I need to understand that this is no child's play."
The girl gave him a silly smile, her red eyes making her look a little more miserable. His eyes wandered over her form. From her dishevelled look to her sad eyes, he felt something inside him, a sudden skip to his heart. The will to protect and just... Be there for her. In his mind, this was only a signal of loneliness. He couldn't understand the way he began to see the girl. At first it was just cute flirting and jokes, but now? He was straight up lusting after her, like never before, even with Becca. No! He loved Becca, she was his one and only.
So why had he done nothing when (Y/n) began to approach him? Her eyes closed and her mouth slightly opened. Why didn't he push her away when her hands found their way to his chest? Why did he close the distance between them?
For a few seconds, they stayed like that, just touching lips. Their brains seemed to be short-circuiting. Butcher was conflicted and (Y/n) was nervous. But soon, the movement of Billy's lips, made the tension break, the two of them began clashing teeth and tongue.
The man grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, his other hand grabbing her neck, holding her there. She wrapped her hands on the man's shirt, almost ripping some of the buttons there. Soon, he laid her down on the car seat, both of them thanked God for the bench seat that the car had. Her legs were around his waist gently and her arms around his neck, like two teenagers in a horror movie just before the murder.
The kiss was hot and clumsy, the girl was quite inexperienced and the man was hungry for more. And when Butcher bit the girl's lip, she moaned sensually, her senses overfilled with only him and her pleasure. The man smiled diabolically, kissing down her chin and her neck, sucking softly as he got closer to her clavicle.
(Y/n) placed her hand on his head and pulled his hair, liking the attention she was getting. His beard tickled her exactly like she thought it would, but, oh so much better. She threw her head back,giving him more access to her already exposed neck. The girl moaned loudly, pushing the lower part of her body against his, feeling the growth of his boner there.
However, before they could go further, she saw someone passing by the car window, running towards the subway. And that woke her up, she remembered where they were and what situation they had just been in.
"W-wait, Butcher." she tried to say, but the man continued to suck on her neck, slowly but surely leaving love bites.
"Not gonna be blue balled again, (Y/n)." he said, looking up at her and smiling with hooded eyes, his pupils blown so wide that she couldn't tell anymore what colour his irises were anymore.
"We should go." she simply said, her voice almost caughting up in her throat.
The man looked so sexy from her view. The messy hair and beard, the red lips and devilish eyes almost dragged her into the cloud of lust again. She could still feel his dick close to her thigh, pressing there slightly, looking for some relief.
"There's more people coming." she continued, not able to hold her own hand from smoothing his hair gently.
"You're right, love." he said, getting off her and helping her adjust in the seat "I'm sorry."
"You should stop apologising." she said, smiling while brushing her hair with her fingers, taking out some knots "You did nothing wrong, Billy." his name being called out like that made his anger die down a notch.
The man had a smile of his own when driving away from the subway.