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Butch wished Argus had heard his pleas, and had driven him out of camp without the group of Aphrodite children. Five of the goddess's children had decided that Butch just needed a partner! He was perfect for it, couldn't you see his romantic potential?
Butch didn't care about his so-called romantic potential, he was happy how he was thank you very much. Being single suited his solitary lifestyle. Not that it was that solitary, but he didn't go out seeking socialisation.
He'd only left camp and gone to New York City to get away from the gaggle of Aphrodite children that had taken him up as their next project. Not that he'd successfully gotten away from them. If the gods had mercy, which they clearly did not, they'd strike him down to save him from the pain.
At camp he'd thought there'd be nothing worse than being trailed by a group of love obsessed teenagers. It turned out, much to Butch's horror, there was something worse. Being trailed by a group of love obsessed teenagers out of camp.
It was one thing when everyone at camp had at the very least a vague understanding. Out in New York City though, it just looked to onlookers like he was some micro-celebrity or something.
He'd managed to give them the slip, though he doubted it would last for long. There were five of them and one of him. They'd come prepared to seek him out and badger him into letting them set him up with someone or other because they'd be amazing together. Butch had not been prepared to escape from the clutches of matchmakers gone mad.
What Butch needed was an escape. A long term solution to his problem. Escape them would only last so long, if he just had someone else that could shut them down.
If he had a partner. Well, no. He didn't want a partner. It wasn't that he was against dating. He just wasn't in the market, he wasn't looking. Maybe in the future sure, but for now Butch was perfectly content being single. Not that the Aphrodite Cabin had gotten that hint.
His saving grace appeared in the form of boy about his own age in an oversized jumper. Well, Butch hoped he'd be his saving grace. He really needed a saving grace.
Saving-grace-to-be was with two friends. Friends Butch could work with. Friends meant more chance of success, if saving-grace-to-be wasn't actually his saving grace.
The first thing he heard as he approached the trio was, "Ned, you know Peter is sensitive about his crush on Thor."
"I don't have a crush on Thor!" saving-grace-to-be, or apparently Peter, said.
"Sure, and that big scary bloke isn't walking straight at us," Ned, if he'd gotten the names the right way around (and he was mostly certain he had) said.
"Sorry," Butch said, nodding at them all. He glanced over his shoulder, the gaggle of matchmakers hell-bent on setting him up hadn't appeared yet. "This is going to sound mad," he went on. The girl, who he had no name for, hummed. Still, they didn't tell him to shut up and find someone else to bother.
"I have a gaggle of matchmakers following me," he said wincing to himself. When those five arrived, he better have a way out of it. "Could you for like five minuets, pretend to be my boyfriend?"
Peter, and he really hoped that was the middle boy's name because Peter as a name suited him (at least Butch thought so), hummed and tilted his head sideways just barely. Beside him his friends each raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, ok," he agreed after a moment.
"Thanks, I owe you one," Butch said.
"Might help if we know your name," the girl said plainly. Butch nodded.
"Butch," he answered.
"There!" he heard distantly. They'd found him. Rather quickly he got tugged into Peter's side. Their hands clasped together as Peter softly leant against him. He wasn't close enough it's hinder them from walking, just a small show of affection. Butch gulped slightly.
The gods had no mercy. And, if Butch were in a blaming mood, he'd blame them for him and Peter crossing paths at that moment. Peter had been the first person he'd seen after the idea had come to him. Butch was sure he'd have gone up to anyone and asked the same thing of them, if they at least appeared to be his age.
"Please tell me you're not twenty-five," Butch whispered.
"Seventeen," Peter answered. Butch wasn't sure if he wanted to curse the gods, or thank them.
"Me too," he said.
"Told you guys we'd find him," Peter said then, a little louder. Loud enough that the group of Aphrodite kids might have heard.
"You can't blame us for thinking he wasn't real," the girl said.
"I mean come on Dude, you said you'd found this tall buff blond guy to date, we thought you were joking," Ned said.
"Or delusional," she said.
"Or being catfished," he said.
"Come on guys! It's not like he's out of my league!" Peter tried. Butch snorted. Peter was very right. Butch wasn't out of Peter's league, Peter was out of Butch's. There was no way he could successfully date someone so kind, so outgoing.
"No, but you are out of mine," he voiced.
The group had caught up them.
"Why didn't you say?" one of them asked.
"Oh you two are just so cute together!" another said. "Aren't they cute?"
"So cute," the first agreed.
"Damn," a third said. "I'd wanted to set him up with Malcom."
"Malcom? Really? Butch has so much more potential than him!"
"I'm right here," Butch said slowly.
"And so am I!" Peter said. "You know I don't care to hear people talking about setting my boyfriend up with someone else." Butch laughed slightly, and turned to smile at Peter.
"Sure, sure. But come on! He didn't tell us he had a boyfriend already!" one of them complained. Butch raised an eyebrow.
"I did tell you I wasn't interested," he said. Several of them huffed.
"But you didn't tell us you were dating someone already," one said. Butch huffed.
"We would love to stay and chat," Peter's unnamed friend said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "but I desperately want to watch Peter fall on his face trying to impress Butch in the roller rink."
"Hey!" Peter said, pouting at her even as Butch asked.
"I'm sure you won't crash," Butch said. Peter hummed.
"You haven't seen him roller skate before?" she asked. Butch shook his head. She laughed and shook her head.
"We'll leave you to your double date. But!" one of them said.
"You should have told us you had a boyfriend!" Another continued.
"You are just so cute together," a third chimed in. Butch felt his cheeks starting to heat up.
"Picture perfect," A fourth said. He was sure now a blush had taking up home on his cheeks.
"They should go on the couple board!" the fifth said. Butch shook his head.
"We didn't set them up though," the third reminded. Butch looked forward to learning their names when they weren't trying to drag him into a relationship some other time.
"But," one of them tried.
"We couldn't put Annabeth and Percy up there, so we can't put Butch and his boyfriend up there," the first said. The other's sighed.
"We should go," Butch said.
"Yeah," Peter agreed. "We'll be late." Two of them ushered the group on.
It was as they walked away, Peter still barely leaning into Butch that the weight finally fell from his shoulders. He could go back to doing his own thing, without a crowd following after him.
"Are you part of a cult?" Peter whispered. Butch couldn't help it, he laughed. Camp Half Blood was not culty in anyway. Sure, there were rules, but it wasn't like anything bad happened if anyone broke most of the rules. Some rules were in place to prevent bad things happening, so when they got broken something bad usually happened. He could understand it though, him being chased around by five very similar in appearance people desperate to set him up, the relationship wall.
"No," he said. "Things are just a bit weird." He wondered vaguely what it'd be like to explain it all to Peter. Though the only reason he could imagine having to explain it all would be if they were dating. Which wouldn't happen.
He couldn't deny it, Peter was his type. He was cute, kind, funny. But there wasn't a chance of it happening.
"You know you're still cuddling him Peter," his friend said suddenly after they'd gotten out of sight and sound of the gaggle of matchmakers.
"MJ!" Ned complained. "I wanted to see how long it would last."
"I should probably go," Butch said as Peter slowly detached himself.
"You could join us," Peter offered.
"You do need to see Peter fall flat on his face, it's funny," MJ said. Butch shrugged. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. When all three of them gave him expectant looks, Butch nodded.
"Yeah, ok," he agreed. It wasn't like going roller-skating with them was a big deal. Besides, it was probably wise to actually go with Peter. Just in case the group of Aphrodite kids decided to come check how their date was going.
That was good reasoning. It had nothing, Butch insisted to himself, to do with Peter. Not a thing.