Evening Lovely Readers

I've had this story idea in my head for a while now and am eager to see what you all think of it :D

Now I will warn you that two of our boys (D'Art and Athos) might seem a bit out of character for the first couple of chapters but I promise all will be explained and they will go back to normal before too long.

As usual this will be a hurt/comfort fic (don't think I'm actually capable of writing anything else) It's going to be a few chapters till we begin the physical h/c moments but emotionally it's there pretty much from the get go so I hope you enjoy.

People who have read my previous stories know how I work in terms of updating but for any lovely new people, first off hi :), and secondly I will be updating daily, or every other day if something comes up that prevents me from uploading the newest chapter.

I also love hearing what you all think so please review with your thoughts/questions

Enjoy

xxx


Chapter One: "What we have here is a failure to communicate"

"The whelp back yet?" Porthos asked quietly as he sat himself down next to Aramis on the bench at their usual table. His eyes scanning the courtyard in an effort to see if their conversation risked being overheard

"A few minutes ago" the Spaniard replied grimly, recalling the state of their youngest brother when he had appeared back in the garrison, "He's up with Treville at the moment"

"How'd 'e look?"

"Tired" Aramis said sadly, "and thinner then we last saw him"

"Injuries?" Porthos asked worriedly, his gaze flickering up to the door to the Captain's office in a silent hope that the door would open and he would be able to lay eyes on his little brother.

"Nothing major from what I could see… Some bruises and a split lip but that's it"

"We need to talk to the whelp 'Mis" Porthos stated, relief that his brother wasn't badly hurt flooding through him, "the pup's running himself into the ground with all these solo missions"

"He's trying to put some distance between himself and our dear Athos" Aramis said, his eyes flickering over to where their brother was sparring with one of the other senior musketeers.

"What I wanna know is why?" Porthos growled, hating the tension and discord that had appeared between his two brothers in recent weeks

Aramis sighed and ran a hand through his hair, not liking the situation anymore than Porthos, "From the kicked puppy look D'Art's been wearing whenever Athos is around I would guess our fearless leader may have said or done something"

Porthos nodded his agreement; he had seen the hurt look the young Gascon had recently taken to sporting whenever Athos was around. When the boy was with either himself or Aramis the look was not there and the boy was simply a slightly subdued version of himself.

Normally this would be worrying enough for them but when they noticed that their stubborn, headstrong little brother who had a serious case of hero worship with Athos, could not even bring himself to look at the man unless he had to, the pair of them knew that something serious must have happened to the pair.

The fact that D'Artagnan had made no visible effort to start the reconciling process, something they knew the boy would usually try to do even if he wasn't the one in the wrong, and that Athos seemed more than content to ignore the young man's turmoil let Porthos and Aramis know just how bad things between the pair must be.

The two musketeers only wished they knew what had happened to their brothers so they could try to help fix things, or at least get them to the stage where D'Artagnan wasn't volunteering for every solo mission Treville had open regardless of the risks involved in an effort to avoid Athos.

Aramis in particular was getting very concerned for the youngster, as he had noticed the Gascon's lack of appetite since the discord between the two appeared. D'Artagnan was quite skinny for someone his age anyway and the medic within him knew that by now, if they lifted the boy's shirt that it was highly probable that they would be able to count his ribs. Their little brother could scarcely afford to lose any weight before all this began and now… now Aramis worried more than usual whenever the young man left the garrison on a mission as he knew what the lack of food would do to D'Artagnan's; strength, speed, reaction and healing time should he get injured. This put his little brother at a higher risk of getting seriously injured – something he knew that Athos, even as angry at the boy as he appeared to be, would feel personally responsible for.


"Hey guys" called a voice, pulling the two musketeers out of their thoughts. Both men turned and smiled in greeting at their youngest brother as they watched him descend the stairs and join them at their table. It did not go unnoticed by the two men that the smile the youngster wore did not meet his eyes.

"Geez whelp what 'appened to you?" Porthos remarked once the boy was close enough to examine. The sight that greeted them was a roughed up D'Artagnan covered in mud, twigs and leaves.

"The guy I was after decided to tackle me down a hill" D'Artagnan shrugged, physically forcing himself not to look over to where his mentor was sparring

"How are your ribs?" Aramis asked, going into medic mode now that the Gascon was in front of him.

"Little bruised but I'm fine" D'Artagnan reassured, the medic's fussing bringing a small, but thankfully true, smile to his face.

Aramis merely hummed his acceptance of his brother's words. Internally he wanted nothing more than to be able to check the boy's ribs himself but knowing what he was sure he would find if he did, given the lad hadn't been eating properly, he knew there was no way that D'Artagnan would let him check without a serious fight and he had no intention of forcing the matter when the boy was already tense with the situation with Athos.

"You've been doing a lot of these solo missions lately whelp" Porthos observed as casually as he could, hoping they might be able to finally learn what happened between the lad and Athos.

D'Artagnan shrugged, though Aramis noticed the slight tensing of the Gascon's muscles, "Treville had the work and I have the time"

"Because you're no longer sparring with Athos?" Aramis stated, though he phrased it more like a question – neither man missed the pained look that appeared in their younger brother's eyes at the mention of Athos's name.

D'Artagnan paused, not quite sure how to answer. Whilst it was true that the lack of sparring and training with Athos had given him more time for solo missions, he knew agreeing with the Spaniard would only encourage the two men to push for information, which was a conversation he really didn't want to have. He knew the two men were worried about him, he could see it in their eyes whenever they looked at him and it warmed his pained heart that even though Athos may hate him, he hadn't lost all of his brothers.

Part of him wished to confess to his brothers what had transpired between him and Athos in the hopes they could offer advice, insight or at the very least some comfort but the stubborn, prideful part of his personality refused to let him say a word, refused to appear weak in the eyes of the men he both cherished and looked up to and it most definitely refused to allow the world to know just how badly what had happened had hurt him.

It was one of the main reasons he hadn't continued his efforts of rebuilding bridges between him and Athos, his heart might be breaking at the loss of a brother and an almost father-figure but it couldn't simply forget the pain Athos's words and actions had caused and so his stubborn nature refused to make the effort until Athos approached him first.

D'Artagnan was pulled from his thought by Porthos's booming laugh and he was momentarily confused as to what had transpired to make his brother laugh. It took him several seconds to realize that while he had been trying to think, Aramis had taken it upon himself to remove the twigs and leaves that were stuck to him – clearly the image of the Spaniard completely focused on 'grooming' him was extremely amusing to the larger musketeer.

"So are you going to tell us what's going on with you and Athos?" Aramis asked kindly, passing the Gascon a bread roll with a look almost daring the man to not eat it.

"It's nothing," D'Artagnan replied forlornly in between small mouthfuls of bread. The smart part of his brain knowing that he would never hear the end of Aramis's mothering if he refused to eat

Porthos snorted, "Kid you've done more solo missions in the last two weeks than you've done your entire time as a musketeer, you barely eat and the two of you are avoiding each other like the plague"

Noticing the sharp glare D'Artagnan sent Porthos's way Aramis was quick to step in, "We're worried D'Art" he expressed calmly, imploring the boy to answer them, "both of you aren't acting like yourselves and we just want to help"

D'Artagnan glare softened and Aramis felt hope surge that the boy might finally talk to them, but the sharpness returned just as quick as the boy noticed Athos approaching the table, "It's nothing" he snapped before standing and storming off to his rooms in the barracks.


"Well that went well" Aramis sighed dejectedly

"What about you 'Thos?" Porthos asked, trying his hardest not to let his frustration at the situation bleed into his words. When Athos merely replied with a simple eyebrow raise he continued, "Feel like tellin' us what's got you 'nd the whelp at odds"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Athos dismissed, though he was unable to fully hide the guilt he was feeling from showing in his eyes. He knew he had been out of line with some of what he had said to D'Artagnan several weeks ago and nor was he blind to the boy's efforts to avoid him of late but the cause for said words prevented him from apologizing and fixing the relationship between him and the young Gascon.

"Porthos! Aramis! My office!" Called Treville, effectively silencing any of the pair's protests at Athos's words.

"Sir?" Aramis asked once both he and Porthos were standing inside the Captain's office.

"I have a mission for the pair of you, I need you to head out to Lord Roche and deliver these documents to him" Treville informed, gesturing to a small open box on his desk that contained several sealed letters.

"That'll take us out of the city for several days" Porthos remarked, more to himself than anyone else but both the room's other occupants heard it nevertheless.

"Your presence doesn't seem to be helping the situation any" Treville remarked sadly. He had of course noticed the rather large discord between two of his best men and he had hoped that the persistence of Aramis and Porthos would be enough to get at least on of them to talk so they could begin to fix whatever had happened. Unfortunately both of the affected parties were ridiculously stubborn and defiant when it came to talking about things they would rather not. "Besides I have something I wish to try"

"Oh?" Aramis inquired, intrigued by the plan his Captain seemed to have.

"The two of them will be joining a patrol mission leaving tomorrow," Treville informed them, "Hopefully they might talk if they can't avoid each other"

"Or they could give each other the silent treatment" Porthos countered, not holding out much hope for this plan given how stubborn the two men were

"It's the only plan we've got" Aramis sighed, "Who is going with them?" he asked, praying it was a small group and that it would contain men who recognized that the pair needed to talk and would leave them to it without trying to interrupt or eavesdrop.

"It's a small group" Treville informed, not missing the relieved look that graced the marksman's face, "Including the two of them there will also be Tobias and Vincent"

Porthos tried to hide his displeasure at the members accompanying his brothers. He had nothing against Tobias; he was a damn good solider who had enough years in service to know both how to follow orders and when to question bad ones. He would not hold D'Artagnan's youth against him during their patrol and if anything he was a kind soul and would most likely try to help instigate situations where the two musketeers could have an opportunity to talk out their issues.

It was Vincent he had an issue with, the man was very old school and detested the fact that commoners such as D'Artagnan and himself were able to join the regiment. The man was also quite sneaky and whilst Porthos couldn't prove that he held any ill will against either of his brothers the large musketeer was also extra cautious whenever Vincent was around. He could only hope that Tobias would be able to distract Vincent enough to allow his brothers time to heal their bond.