Who: Butcher and Sven (with Kristoff :P ) What: they run into each other Where: outside When: Thursday, February 23. Mid day? Warnings: Butcher is probably the warning tbh Status: g-doc
Sven and Kristoff found themselves on a longer walk than usual. The chill in the air felt familiar to the two of them and the reindeer certainly preferred the cold air to the sweltering heat of summer. How strange he’d already been here a year and a half? And that both Anna and Elsa managed to get here before him.
Sven meandered along, before a familiar scent pricked his nose. He snorted and took a slightly different direction, with Kristoff’s surprise echoing in his ears. The one who couldn’t believe a reindeer lived here wasn’t far from them and Sven needed to say hi.
Butcher was walking through town, minding his own business. All he wanted was to mind his own business and possibly go to Margo’s at the end of the day to have a little fun. His plans for the afternoon definitely did not involve running into Kristoff and that damn reindeer. What was that bloody reindeer’s name? He couldn’t remember.
Oh, right. Sven. Ridiculous.
So, of course, because his plans did not involve Sven the reindeer, that is exactly who approached him that afternoon. Butcher could hear him approaching before he actually saw Sven – hoof steps were hard to miss.
“Bloody hell, what are you doing?” he asked the reindeer.
Kristoff followed Sven and wondered who, exactly, his companion sought out. When he realized Sven found Butcher, Kristoff sighed.
“Well, we’re taking a walk and then Sven smelled you, so here we are.” Sven seemed to be almost grinning at Butcher. Kristoff didn’t know at this point if his companion liked Butcher or liked to bother Butcher. Or both? It could definitely be both.
Sven, for his part, just continued to look at Butcher. Which made Kristoff feel a bit uncomfortable. “Sven? Maybe we should head back for home?”
“Oh, no, don’t leave me yet,” Butcher said, feigning shock. He was actually being somewhat serious, though, but he would never admit to why. He wasn’t about to admit to the fact that he was actually, possibly, growing a little fond of Sven the reindeer.
Not enough to not be vaguely annoyed by him, though. He would likely always be vaguely annoyed by Sven.
“I do like being a reindeer’s entertainment on a walk.”
Kristoff hadn’t expected Butcher to want to walk with them, although he did chuckle at the feigned shock. Sven looked rather pleased with himself and fell into step with Butcher. Maybe the reindeer felt some fondness for Butcher.
“Are you having an okay night, Butcher?” Kristoff thought he should at least be polite as they walked. Even if he received the impression that Butcher was always vaguely annoyed. Whether it was due to Sven or because that was how he went through life, Kristoff couldn’t say.
Butcher was generally vaguely annoyed. It was a rule of thumb when dealing with Billy Butcher – assume the man was at least a little annoyed at all times. The only time he found he wasn’t annoyed? At least, in Madison Valley? It was when he was with Margo. …and occasionally Kimiko but he wouldn’t admit that.
“Does it look like I’m having an okay night, mate?” he asked. He reached over and gave Sven a slight pat on the head as they walked. He was slowly accepting the reindeer’s presence. “I am here, walking with a man and his reindeer. …a reindeer who seems to have the strangest urge to be near me.”
That me.”
He couldn’t wrap his head around that.
“With you, I’m not sure I could tell a good night from a bad night, Butcher,” Kristoff commented, not rudely, but because he honestly wouldn’t know one way or the other. Unless Butcher wore a big smile and then Kristoff wouldn’t know if he’d won a million dollars or backhanded someone hard.
Sven approved of the slight head pat and smiled as only Sven could. He found he liked Butcher now, kind of, and didn’t mind the appearance of the man. Unlike when they first met and Sven thought of him as an idiot.
Butcher was definitely not an idiot. He just hadn’t been able to wrap his head around the presence of a reindeer. He really had no idea why the idea had been so foreign to him, because reindeer were actually real animals. Nothing like these werewolves and vampires and such that were in town that were real in their own worlds but not in his.
Also, if Butcher had a big smile on his face, it really could have been due to a few things. Making a lot of money, winning a fight, getting laid.
…okay three things.
“To be fair, I can’t tell a good night from a bad one, either,” he admitted.
Sven might have offered a reindeer type chuckle at Bucther’s admittance. Truthfully, he usually considered most nights good nights. He got to be married to Anna and they had her sister and Sven. Really the only thing missing in their lives was Olaf.
“At least it isn’t just us,” Kristoff commented with a grin.
Butcher laughed softly at this. “No, it’s definitely not just you.” Yes, it was true that Butcher’s life in Madison Valley wasn’t all that bad – he had a respectable job (for once) and he was sleeping with a beautiful woman quite often. He was becoming rather fond of that beautiful woman as well – more than he would likely admit to anyone. Except maybe Margo. At the right time.
“At least the reindeer isn’t as strange as he had been in the beginning,” he mused. “Though Sven is a strange name for a reindeer,” he said, offering Sven a smirk.
Sven gave the man his typical reindeer eyeroll, but it came with friendliness that hadn’t been there when they first met each other.
“I’ll keep that in mind for any future reindeer,” Kristoff said, dryly, but with a grin on his face.