𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄'𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐄 // 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐘

CHAPTER 26, what never will be

"Woah, what the fuck," Butcher calmly exclaims as Vi storms inside, through the whole house. She didn't spend the night with them, only returned sometime before noon. Butcher and Hughie were already in the living room, with Ben just entering with a bottle of liquor in his hands. Or at least that was what Vi thought, but it seemed more like just him pouring cola into a glass of milk, as Vi just watched with disgust. "New outfit, I see."

"We're going right now, no?" She asserts.

"All right, let's be off, then. We'll swing by the office and grab some more V. And then Hughie jumps us to where the cunts are," he outlines the plan, grabbing his jacket. "We do Noir, and then Homelander. And we're finished. Right?"

Ben doesn't say anything, just looks around and walks off. Butcher and Vi stare after him. Homelander might now be his fully biological son, but he was probably the closest thing he had to a family, something he never really had, and Ben began to wonder whether it was better to have a father that's absent your whole life, or to have one that deems you a disappointment no matter what you do.

Vi managed to fetch Ben into the car, the two of them occupying the backseat while Butcher and Hughie were in the front, the Brit driving. They were heading for the Flatiron Building, specifically their office inside it. Ben took notice of Vi's abrupt departure the previous day, and that she didn't return in the morning. And when she did, she had a change of clothes.

"I thought you ditched the suit," he started, lightly pointing at Vi's suit. He was so sure that she wouldn't wear it again, that it surprised him to actually see it after so many years. Black, almost cowboy-like boots with tinier, some intricate designs decorating it in the same color, barely noticeable. Her light blue top was made to look like a corset, with white flowy sleeves that only reached to her elbow. The flowy theme appeared more times on her suit, with Vought claiming that it adds more to the "ghost" look. That was what her color palette mostly was. White, blue, and black. She had a darker blue shaded, cape-like, long ruffle down to her knee-level, attached to a yet again dark blue, additional short sleeve at the top. She had white bottoms to it that she refused to change despite Ben telling her that it makes her look more like a pirate rather than a ghost.

"It's personal now," Vi replied, looking Ben straight in the eye.

"Glad to have you on my side right now. We're gonna eviscerate that motherfucker," he smirked back.

Vi decided to make up for the lost hours of sleep in the car, given that she spent the last night all awake. It turned out that Ben was in a similar situation, drinking his thoughts away in the comfort of the room he locked himself in for the night. Both were asleep, only awoken by the sound of Butcher reentering his car after a quick stop at a gas station. He starts the engine, and spets on the pedal, leaving the station - and Hughie - behind.

"Hughie's not in the car," Vi whispers, stating her observation to Ben next to her. He takes a glance at the passenger's seat, only to come to the same realization.

"Where's the cum guzzler?" He loudly asks Butcher. If anybody, he knew where Hughie was.

"You were spot on about him," butcher calmly begins. "There I was, filling up the motor, I turn around, the little git had done a runner," he explains in the most unbearable British slang he could find. Ben looks at him wide eyed, eyebrows raised, probably not understanding half of what he said.

"He said Hughie left us," Vi quietly explains, noticing the visible confusion of Ben.

"He speaks English, doesn't he?" Butcher questions.

"He speaks eagles and freedom, not tea," Vi grunts, repositioning herself in her seat. It's been hours on the road, stuffed into Butcher's old car.

"We needed him to get to Noir," Ben said, discontinuing the brewing conversation, or more like argument between Butcher and Vi.