Chapter Text
“This is it sir.”
“Thanks man. ‘Preciate it.”
Butch steps out of the taxi, slings his duffle bag over his shoulder and pulls a carton of cigarettes out of the pocket of his vintage leather jacket. He sticks one in his mouth, lights it with his lighter, and takes in his surroundings with a grimace. What was left of the February snow has started to melt around his hometown and the chilly winter air has started to ease off a bit. He takes off his noise canceling headphones for the first time since leaving for the airport early this morning and relishes the serene silence of Townsville. The silence still seemed new, even though Professor Utonium had created a monster security system the summer before their 6th grade year that brought the city to a relative state of peace.
Butch hadn't been back in Townsville in about half a decade when he and his brothers had graduated college and their fathers had decided to throw them a barbecue to celebrate. In a gesture of goodwill they had invited nearly the whole town and even decided to make it a joint celebration with their former enemies, and the Rowdyruff Boys’ counterparts, the Powerpuff Girls.
The six super humans had gone to school together for years, but it wasn’t until Brick and Blossom had started dating their junior year of highschool that everyone decided to completely cease the fighting that had long since lost its vitriol. The Greens and Blues had been apprehensive at first (and so had their parents) but it didn’t take long for them to adjust once they realized just how much the Reds were infatuated with each other. Then, to make things even more complicated, Bubbles and Boomer started dating their freshman year of college. Butch and Buttercup settled on being friends who sparred on occasion, but hadn’t really spoken to or seen each other outside of holidays as they had both moved away and in separate directions after college.
Now, standing in front of the girls’ childhood home, Butch gets a small sense of panic and excitement at being so close to Buttercup again. He hadn’t had a good spar in years and it was starting to take a toll on him. He walks up to the little red door and stubs out his cigarette before pressing the doorbell.
The door opens in front of him and he has to look down to see who’s answered it. Big bright magenta eyes meet his own dark green ones and he can’t help but let his naturally stoic face break into a giant grin. “Hey Flower Bud.”
“Uncle Butch!” The little girl screams and launches herself into her uncle's arms, nearly knocking him over with the power of her supercharged hug. Just as quickly as she had made it into his arms she zips around him and sits on his shoulders. “I haven’t seen you in like a bajillion kazillion days!” she exclaims, her small hands using his hair to not so gently coerce him through the front door.
Butch laughs at her antics and uses his free hand to steady his niece on his shoulders. “I’m happy to see you too Babs. I wouldn’t miss my oldest niece’s fifth birthday for anything.” Babs giggles as they walk into the living room where her mother, Blossom, is zipping around to put up final party decorations. Her Aunt Bubbles pops her head out of the kitchen, speeds to pull him into a hug when she sees who it is, and goes back just as fast with a flash of bright blue and a “Gottafinishthecakesorryloveyou!”
Butch laughs at his sometimes over excited sister-in-law as he places Babs on her feet. As soon as the soon-to-be five year old sees her mom she floats over to her and tugs on her hand. Her very pregnant mother turns away from the streamers she’s just finished aligning and smiles at her brother-in-law. “Butch! Oh you won’t believe how excited I am to see you.” She lands in front of him and pulls him into a bone crushing hug before holding him at arm’s length. “There’s a lot left for the boys to do in the backyard so now that you’re here it’ll be done in no time flat! Also, I’m loving the hair. You’re really getting some hang time there huh?”
Butch huffs out a laugh as he tugs at one of his green tipped locs. “Thanks Blossom, seriously. They’ve been such a pain to grow out. You don’t look too bad yourself,” he teases.
Blossom huffs, flicking some of her long orange braids over her shoulder. “I had Bubbles help me put them in last weekend.” She rubs her stomach dramatically. “I’m getting way too big and way too tired to mess with my hair so it’s gonna have to last until this sucker comes. But I digress!” She spins them around so that they face the sliding door leading to the backyard. “You need to get out there with your brothers and get to work. I’m sure they’ll be very happy to see you as well.”
Before Butch can get a word out his niece has taken his duffle and his determined sister-in-law has pushed him out the door and onto the backyard patio. His brothers are in fact rushing around to prepare – just as their wives were inside the house. His younger brother Boomer is zipping between the grill up on the balcony and the snack table down in the grass, making sure he has everything for when the guests arrive. His older brother, Brick, watching over a slowly rising bounce castle with his arms full of assorted outdoor games he must have gotten from the shed. The Professor is also in the grassy area entertaining the Blues’ three year old son Beck. Butch smiles at the sight of his brothers for the first time in a few months. With him living way up north in Washington he isn’t able to see his brothers often at all.
“Hey!” Butch calls, jumping off the side of the balcony and into the grass. “So you assholes are gonna act like you don’t have super hearing and couldn’t hear when I pulled up or what?”
His brothers drop what they’re doing and float over to where he’s standing and the Professor strolls after them with Beck in his arms. Butch can hear him muttering about language and being too old for this and he lets out a chuckle. Boomer reaches him first and pulls him into a bone crushing hug. “Sorry Butch we just didn’t want to overwhelm you by bum rushing you.”
Brick nods, slinging his arm around his middle brother’s shoulders. “Exactly. We heard you get enough of that from my lovely daughter and the Puffs anyway.” Brick pats Butch’s chest before pulling away and checking his watch. “I know Bloss said we had a lot to finish but I think we’re set. Just waiting for the bounce castle to fully blow up and that should be good to go by the time people start getting here in the next hour or so.”
Boomer takes his son from The Professor and props him on his hip. “Yeah we’ve got it covered seriously. Buttercup should be here any minute with some craft supplies for her activity idea and once that’s set up we’ll be good to go.”
Butch grins at the mention of his counterpart as his brothers go back to what they were doing. As he’d matured he had generally mellowed out and had stopped getting into real trouble but it was an entirely different story when he got around his friend. He starts to bounce on his toes with excitement and green energy starts to spark at his fingertips.
He’s about to quite possibly explode with excitement when he feels the Professor’s hand on his shoulder. He turns to face the girls’ father and his smile gets a bit bashful. Professor Utonium was starting to gray with age and Butch had long since outgrown the older man with him standing at 6’4” and the professor at 6’ but he still had the playful glint in his eye that he had always admired. “Son, you don’t need to get nervous around me, we've had this talk plenty of times before. Today’s going to be a long day anyway, don't burn yourself out masking around us. We’re family after all.” Butch nodded and muttered a small thanks. The Professor had seen he and his brothers go from villainous five year olds to the men they are today and he had always had a soft spot for Butch especially. When he was struggling with his diagnosis as a child he was the one to step in and give him advice and support. His own fathers did their best but the Professor had the first hand experience they just didn't have.
Both of their attention is caught by the sound of excited yelling coming from the house. It isn’t long before they find out the source. Buttercup steps out onto the porch with her arms spread wide. “Dad!” She jumps over the edge of the porch and into the grass just as Butch had earlier.
She’s dressed in a form hugging black long sleeve and a pair of wide legged jeans and her hair that used to be in a shoulder length bob has been shorn into a messy shag cut with the bright green chunks striping through it. The vertical labret piercing she’s had since she had dragged Butch to a piercing shop the week before they left for college glints in the sunlight as she grins and he has to catch his breath at the sight. Butch rubs at his eyebrow where his proof of that night rests and the Professor pats his back before pulling his middle daughter into a hug.
Buttercup is already tall (the tallest of her sisters at 5’11) and she stands even taller in her platform boots. She squeezes her father maybe a little too tight and bounces excitedly with him in her arms. She only lets him go when he lets out a small choking sound. “Hey sweetheart,” he says after being safely placed on the ground. "I hope the plane ride went well and wasn’t too much for you.”
Buttercup gives a shrug with one shoulder and fidgets with a spinning charm on her necklace. “It was okay. I had my headphones in and took a nap so it went by pretty smoothly.” She tilts her head to the side and finally looks Butch in the eye. Her face breaks into a mischievous grin that he can’t help but match. “Butch!” She dashes around her father, punches Butch in the shoulder, and pulls him into a hug.
Butch hugs her back with just as much enthusiasm and for the first time today he genuinely laughs. “Hey BC. You must have missed me a whole lot for me to get a greeting like this.”
She throws her head back in a laugh and Butch fights the urge to fidget when she rakes one of her lythe hands through her dark hair. “Don’t be a jackass! It’s been complete torture these past couple of months. I’ve been editing non stop trying to help my client meet their deadline and I’ve had absolutely zero time to unwind.”
Butch knows that by unwinding Buttercup doesn’t mean partying and drinking, even though he knows she does plenty of that in New York. She and him were alike in the sense that nothing truly relaxed their nerves more than brute violence. No amount of stimming, drinking, or fucking beats the feeling of your fist connecting with something solid.
There’s a shrill sound of childish laughter coming from the front yard and they both turn to look in that direction before looking back at each other with a grimace. Butch hooks an arm around Buttercup’s shoulders and starts walking them back towards the house. “Why don’t we go to our old spot and blow off some steam after this party. God knows we’ll both need it after dealing with a bunch of 5 year olds for a few hours.”
Buttercup elbows him in the ribs with the force that would crack a few in a regular human. “You’re on.”