So...I'm back. This is a companion piece to The Siren's Call. Only, this is from the Inseparables POV. I would suggest reading that one before reading this one, but please, heed the warnings. That story is dark and covers some disturbing subjects. Read the A/N before moving further.
All mistakes are my own.
This is also written for the Fete des Mousquetaires Despair forum challenge by KarriNeves. Please check it out for the rules for both writing, and judging.
Hope you enjoy.
"Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break."
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth
The Inseparables were a well known and respected group of the Musketeers Private Security. They were the best at what they did, could handle any mission. But perhaps, what made them so well known was how close they are. And how they didn't accept anyone into their tight little group.
They all had their own version of a horrid past.
Porthos was raised by prostitutes in a Brothel called the Court of Miracles after his mother died of pneumonia.
Aramis had a loving family and home, until an accident took his family away from him.
Athos had a murderer for an ex-wife and her victim was his brother.
They were no innocent to grief, trauma, hurt and despair. Which is why everyone had been surprised when they'd been put on a team together. They hadn't gotten along with, or trusted, anyone else in the career. So it had surprised everyone, including themselves, when they'd formed a bond like no other. After that they'd become known by the name Inseparables, and everyone knew to never, try to even think of joining their little band.
They years passed and nothing had changed. They all grew stronger in their strengths, and helped each other through their weaknesses.
Aramis suffered through the Savoy bombing, leaving only him alive and suffering from survivors guilt. The days following that time were dark, and every once in a while, Athos and Porthos worried that they'd lose their brother to either a mission or his own hand.
It took a while, but slowly Aramis came back to them. The Inseparables became whole again, and it seemed like nothing had changed.
A year later had a young man strolling into the office, firing his weapon into the ceiling demanding that Athos come out. The scuffle ended with no one dying, and with them a new found brother.
They'd been surprised by the scars that littered d'Artagnan's skin, but mostly, the one on his face. When they'd really and truly looked at it, once everything had settled down that first day, they'd all been surprised at the amount of anger running through their veins. In all the years they'd been together, never had they ever cared so much for someone else.
Cared enough to let him join.
It was like they found a missing piece to their puzzle that they didn't know was gone. The kid's humor and sarcastic wit was like a breath of fresh air.
Sure, not everything was sunshine and bliss, Vadim being a certain dark moment they'll all remember. But over all, it was like a complete, if a bit dysfunctional family.
Then d'Artagnan had disappeared.
They hadn't even found out he'd left until they'd arrived home after the young man had missed dinner with them. It was the note they'd found addressed to them, and one addressed to Constance, that explained why.
None of them knew truly, what their younger brother had gone through, but they got the gist of it. And to almost be able to hear how much pain and fear and anger he was feeling when writing that was heart breaking. That, and the fact that he felt the need to run to protect them.
They almost thought that was laughable, but the fact that d'Artagnan was running because of it said otherwise. No one had ever thought that the Inseparables were incapable of taking care of themselves, except it seems, d'Artagnan. And they knew a lot of his reaction was based on childhood fear and emotions, not based on any conclusions he'd made about them.
They just needed to find him to sort it all out.
Which turned out to be easier said than done. All the tricks he'd learned from them, and some he earned himself, paid off. He hid from them with an ease and comfortability that they'd never seen in the young man. The closest they could get to him was two days late, and each time they found a clue about their missing member, the more they grew worried.
They'd always been worried about his mental state, but no more than they worried about themselves. But with each passing day and clue, it all seemed to paint a picture of a person who was giving up on life and everything in it.
The despair they could literally feel in the places they visit trying to find d'Artagnan almost had all of them sick. It was thick, seeming to cover the area in it's dark aura which tainted every bit of light.
Some might say it's impossible to know what someone is feeling just by being in the vicinity they were formerly in, but the Trio stood firm on that fact.
The search went on for years. Their days were filled with the anxiety of their worry and the ins and outs of run down buildings and sorrow filled people. You'd have thought in this day and age, people would pay attention more to the people around them. But alas, no one did and their brother was hidden from them.
It was almost the anniversary mark for the fifth year of searching when they found a hard clue. Having had nothing to spur them in a direction for weeks, they'd set off immediately, hoping to catch their missing one before he disappeared into the dark again.
Never in a million years had they thought they'd come across a scene like this.
When they'd looked up at the sky, they saw a little dot of a figure standing on the edge of the roof of the building. They'd all felt their stomachs sink. While they couldn't identify the person standing there, doing a balancing act along the edge, a part of them just knew that it was the person they'd been searching...longing for. The person who could fill the empty space left by his absence.
The trio ran as hard as they could up the stair to the roof. People stared in curiosity and fear when they ran past.
They broke through the door, calling and yelling desperately for their friend to stop, to come back to them.
They saw him fall with tears on his face, though none of them knew if it was sorrow or joy.
They all lunged towards the edge as one...