Coup de Foudre
1. Thunderbolt
2. Love at first sight
A Musketeers story by Deana
Entry in the 'Fete des Mousquetaires' contest for April! I decided to go with both definitions!
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"Oh, my darling, I am in love!" Aramis stared at the object of his affection, not surprised when there was no answer. She sat there prettily, quietly absorbing the attention. "Oh how I long to hold you, to taste you, to enjoy every bit of you!" he exclaimed. "If only we could spend eternity together, instead of just a few fleeting moments!"
"Aramis," Athos sighed. "Just pick a pastry so we can go."
Aramis thought for a moment before looking at the smiling woman behind the counter. "Can I have a frosted chocolate roll, please?"
"Of course you can, my dear!" she said, putting it into a box with the other three sweets.
Athos paid, and thunder rumbled as they headed out the door. Aramis ignored the sound as he sniffed the box with a sigh of contentment. "They smell so good!"
"You'd better only eat your own or Porthos and the captain will kill you," Athos commented as he got into the passenger side of Aramis' red Camaro.
Aramis chuckled and slid into the driver's seat. "I'll try my best, but I can't make any promises!" he said, handing him the box. He started up his car and pulled out into the road as thunder rumbled again. Fat drops of rain began to splatter his windshield, and lightning flashed across the sky in a huge zigzag. "Did you see that?" he asked.
Athos nodded. "Mmm."
The rain grew steady seconds later, intensifying rapidly until Aramis could barely see as he drove. "This sure popped up fast!" he commented as lightning flashed again.
Both of their phones started to beep the alert of a weather emergency, and Athos read it aloud. "Severe thunderstorm warning and flash flood alert."
"Their warning is a little late!" said Aramis. "The sky couldn't've waited until after we got back?"
Athos pulled up the radar and waited for Aramis to stop at a red light before showing it to him.
"Wow," said Aramis, at the sight of the bright red color just to the west of the city. "We're about to get creamed."
"Indeed we are," Athos replied.
"Great!" Aramis exclaimed. "This will be fun!"
Athos rolled his eyes.
Lightning flashed and thunder cracked through the air nearly simultaneously, the noise resembling the sound of a tree splitting. "Cloud-to-ground lightning," Athos remarked.
Aramis nodded, recognizing the sound well.
The rain abruptly grew heavier, and Aramis had to stop driving when he could no longer see where he was going. Cars in front of them and behind were stopped too. "I think we're in trouble," Aramis said.
Suddenly, both men felt a tingling sensation pass through their bodies, and a bolt of lightning cracked so close by that the brightness nearly blinded them and the sound hurt Aramis' ears. The transformer on a nearby phone pole exploded and went up in flames.
"Athos!" Aramis exclaimed with shock, before raising his phone and taking a picture.
"Lightning never strikes the same place twice!" Athos replied, shocked himself to see the strike happen less than sixty feet away.
"I've heard that it can, and has!" said Aramis.
Athos picked up Aramis' police radio and called it into the station, and they watched nervously as the storm raged. Neither of them were surprised when the raindrops were eventually joined by hail.
"My car!" Aramis exclaimed.
The balls bouncing off the metal weren't large, thankfully, but they continued to pepper it as more lightning cracked through the air.
"This is insane!" said Aramis, watching the deluge of water and tiny white balls cover the street. "But awesome! Good thing we have food, Athos, in case we're stranded too long."
Athos shook his head. "You are not eating anyone's pastry but your own; I don't care how long we're out here."
Aramis chuckled.
The storm continued to rage around them, and Aramis enjoyed every second of it. When the Darth Vader theme suddenly filled the car when Porthos texted him, the foreboding music seemed like a description of the weather.
Athos received the same text and answered.
Porthos: You guys okay?
Athos: We're fine. Traffic is stopped because no one can see to drive.
Porthos: Wow. Is Aramis glued to his window?
Athos: Of course
Porthos: lol
Aramis: I'm gonna eat your pastry if we're stuck here much longer. Can't starve to death, you know.
Porthos: You do and I'll splat it in your face!
Aramis: How can you do that if I already ate it? Now shut up, I'm watching the storm.
Porthos: Nerd!
Eventually, the torrential rain lessened and people started moving again. The hail tapered off but the thunder and lightning didn't.
When Aramis pulled up at the precinct, they both got drenched as they ran from the car to the door.
"Ow!" Aramis exclaimed.
Athos looked at him. "What?"
"A piece of hail just poked me in the eye!" he exclaimed, protecting the pastry box as if it was a baby. "The last piece of hail chose me to harass!"
Athos smiled slightly and shook his head as he opened the door and held it for his friend. They dashed inside and headed for the detective division, finding Porthos and Captain Treville standing at the windows. They both turned go look at their friends, and Porthos roared with laughter. "You look like drowned rats!"
In answer, Aramis walked over to him and shook his head around like a wet dog. His thick locks sprayed water all over Porthos.
"Hey!" Porthos said, raising his arms to protect his face.
Treville chuckled and took the box of pastry from Aramis, setting it down on a table next to the coffeepot.
"Lightning hit the transformer practically right next to us!" Aramis exclaimed, pouring himself a cup.
"Really?" said Porthos, sounding skeptical.
Aramis took his phone out of his pocket and sent him the picture.
Porthos looked at his phone and was amazed. "People definitely lost power over there."
Lightning flashed again, thunder cracked…and their own power died.
Everyone looked at Porthos, who gave them a sheepish smile. "Whoops."
A few of the lights came on a minute later when the station's generator came on, but not their computers, as most of the emergency power was geared towards the dispatchers' computers instead.
Aramis couldn't wait any longer and took his coffee and pastry to his desk, where he sat. "How do I love thee?" he said to it. "Let me count the ways." He stuck his fork in it and raised it to his face. "One," he said, before eating it and closing his eyes with bliss. "My taste buds have been transformed!"
Porthos chuckled at him.
The rain grew a little lighter, but the thunder and lightning continued, giving an earsplitting crack a couple of minutes later.
"That hit a tree!" Porthos exclaimed. "It's falling!"
"My car!" Aramis exclaimed, jumping up and dashing to the windows. He watched with terror as the tree slowly fell right towards their four parking spots. "No!" he exclaimed.
Everyone watched as it took power lines with it and crashed to the ground…missing the detectives vehicles by a couple of feet and landing on two patrol cars instead.
Aramis leaned his forehead against the glass with relief. "It just missed!"
All four of them looked at each other with shock, before Porthos turned away from the windows. "Oh, looks like there was a casualty in here, though."
"What?" said Treville.
They all turned to see what Porthos meant, to see a piece of Aramis' chocolate roll on the floor.
Aramis made a sound of dismay. "That was my last bite!"
Athos put a hand on his shoulder as if in sympathy. "It's gone on to a better place, my friend."
Porthos snorted with laughter as Aramis walked over and picked it up.
"Um," said Porthos. "The five-second-rule doesn't apply, Aramis; it's been a lot longer than five seconds!"
Aramis made a face at him as thunder cracked again. "I'm not going to eat it!" He sighed as he dropped it into his garbage can. "What a waste," he said. "It had such a crush on me."
Porthos chuckled again before looking out the window at the downed tree so close to their unscathed vehicles. "I think someone else has a crush on you: Mother Nature."
Aramis smiled. "Of course; what woman doesn't?"
Porthos huffed.
"It's true," Aramis said. "And she'll prove it by leaving me a rainbow after this!"
The storm eventually ended, and most of the police department went outside to view the damage.
Aramis went over every inch of his car, finding it unblemished by the storm. He sighed with relief and sat on the bumper, before his face suddenly dawned with an awed expression. "Porthos," he said.
Porthos turned to look at him, and followed where he was pointing. There was a huge rainbow streaking across the sky.
"Told you," said Aramis. He stood and opened his driver's door.
"Where are you going?" Athos asked.
"To buy more pastries!" Aramis exclaimed out the window. "It's killing me to have lost that last bite!"
Porthos laughed and jumped into the passenger seat.
Athos and Treville watched them drive away before exchanging amused looks. "Children," said Athos.
THE END