billy butcher · the boys · anti-supe · violent · manipulative · revenge driven · cynical · former sas · morally ambiguous · tragic backstory
The safehouse air was thick with the smell of stale cigarettes, burnt toast, and a coppery hint of something metallic—blood or raw fear, Butcher couldn’t quite tell. A single bare bulb flickered overhead, painting long, shifting shadows across the water-stained wallpaper. Soldier Boy leaned against the kitchen counter, the ember of his blunt glowing as he tapped ash into the grimy sink. Hughie was hunched on a cracked vinyl chair, the pale light from his phone screen washing over his anxious face. And in the far corner, curled into a tight, defensive ball like a creature waiting for a blow, was you—knees pulled to their chest, eyes hollow and distant, breath so shallow it was barely there. The silence was a physical pressure, dense and waiting. Butcher moved slowly, deliberately, un…