In the first few days of living with a puppy in the household, it became clear to the young detectives that life would take some adjusting to, and their separate habits would take a while to get used to.

One such habit was apparently becoming unbreakable, D'artagnan's new insistence of sleeping in the bed beside Athos.

Athos sighed as he exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, intending to get in to a clean set of pajamas and sleep for an eternity. His first night with D'artagnan living in the household was drawing to a close, and it was definitely time to get some sleep before he was up and working again.

Taking a tired step in to his room he paused in the doorway, a disbelieving frown on his lightly bearded face.

" No, absolutely not! Get off the bed you pup!" Athos ordered, pointing to the spot on the carpet where Porthos had happily placed D'artagnan's temporary bed, an old blanket of his.

D'artagnan was stretched out on Athos's bed, blinking lazily up at his new master with a confused look on his small face. His brown eyes followed his master's finger to the blanket and with a small sigh he stood, leaping off the bed so he could sit on the blanket being pointed out to him.

" That's better," Athos muttered, traipsing to his wardrobe now that that little situation was taken care of.

He may be cute, but there is no way that he is getting half of my bed! He probably has fleas.

Picking up his well-worn pair of pajama pants, he quickly changed and turned, about to get in to his invitingly soft bed.

His eyes widened comically when he gazed at the sight before him.

D'artagnan was yet again on his bed, this time curled up on Athos's side of the bed, tongue lolling out happily as he watched his master's every move.

" No! I told you already you mutt, I sleep there, you sleep here!" Athos stated in exasperation, pointing yet again at the old blanket on the floor.

D'artagnan hopped off the bed and dashed to sit on the blanket, gazing up at him with the innocence that only a dog could pull off.

" Good, now stay there," Athos muttered, getting in to bed quickly.

He switched off the bedside lamp, the hallway lights softly lighting up the darkness as they waited to be switched off by his housemates who usually stayed up later than he did.

He was on the verge of sleep when he felt the other side of the bed dip under a sudden weight, and a warm breath beginning to his the back of his neck. Not even bothering to open his eyes, knowing they'd only be met with the sight of a canine face barely three centimeters from his own.

" D'artagnan, you aren't going to sleep on the blanket are you?" Athos asked in a disgruntled tone.

A furry body pressing it's back against his chest was all the answer he needed, and with a weary sigh he placed a hand on the furry body beside him, earning him a small whine of appreciation.

" Fine, but don't you dare shed," Athos warned affectionately, before his thoughts dimmed and he fell in to a deep sleep, unaware of the two smirking faces watching him with barely muffled laughter.

Aramis pulled out his phone and snuck a picture, Oh this is so going to be blackmail…

From then on, D'artagnan slept on Athos's bed, more often then not he would be found sleeping as close to his master as possible, and while Athos may have grumbled at first, he found himself secretly loving the arrangement.

One habit of his master's that D'artagnan did not understand was the frequent use of a black drink known as coffee.

D'artagnan lay on the kitchen tiles, drooping eyes observing his three masters as they bustled around the kitchen in a slow haze. After being awoken to collect a criminal from the LAPD that was required for CIA questioning, Athos and his friends had taken D'artagnan with them on the lengthy night mission.

When arrived home early in the morning, they'd all been lethargic and listless.

D'artagnan had watched them grumble noncommittally and make their way to the kitchen and he'd followed, hoping that he'd be fed a morsel from their breakfast. No such luck.

Apparently they weren't eating just yet, but to his fascination he watched his masters each begin to consume a dark drink, sighing in appreciation.

D'artagnan licked his lips. Whatever my masters like, I like, what is this strange drink? It isn't water… Why do they suddenly seem so alive after drinking it?

Seeking answers to his queries, D'artagnan ambled over to Athos and nudged his knee, causing the loving man to gaze down at him questioningly. D'artagnan whined hopefully, gazing at the drink he held in his warm hands.

His other masters laughed loudly, causing D'artagnan to be even more confused.

Why were they laughing at him?

" I'm sorry D'artagnan, but you can't drink this, coffee is bad for dogs," His master stated calmly, fondling my ears with affection.

With a small sigh, D'artagnan trod back to his spot with dejection, slumping back to the floor with sad eyes.

A moment later, a treat placed before his nose caused him to perk up and he instantly forgot his former annoyance, lapping it up appreciatively, ears perked again.

Another round of laughter confused him even more. Strange humans and their strange drinks….

Dan had been correct in his warnings. Athos should have seen it coming sooner, what with the amount of people who would frequently turn up at his house. Fellow detectives, officers from the LAPD, friends from Porthos's childhood, suitors for Aramis, even his own boss, all of which were promptly tackled by a very protective, highly trained German Shepherd who still had no idea that yes, these people were allowed in Athos's house.

No matter how hard he tried, Athos could not seem to be able to break D'artagnan's habit of tackling newcomers to his house.

The whole house had been cleaned faster than it had ever been. None of its occupants had expected a call from Treville, their boss had decided to come and pick up their case files in person, and had given them a half an hour warning, prompting the young men and one very intrigued puppy to clean the house faster than ever before.

Smoothing down their clothes hurriedly, all three detectives waited tensely for the knock to sound from their cedar door.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

"You answer it, Athos, he likes you more," Aramis urged, shoving his friend in the direction of the front door.

With a small glare, Athos took charge and marched to the front door, not noticing the small puppy who was following him warily.

Opening the door hesitantly, he was greeted with the stern face of his immediate boss, who'd expressionless face wasn't any less threatening without his usual uniform to match.

" Good evening Athos," Treville greeted evenly.

" Good evening sir," Athos greeted back quickly, and stepped back to make room for his captain.

Treville took three steps in to the hallway beyond before D'artagnan made his move.

With a mall grunt, Treville was hit with a surprising amount of force, crashing to the floorboards out of sheer surprise more than anything.

Laying on his back, body groaning from the unwanted movement, his vision was suddenly obscured by the snarling and not the least threatening face of a German Shepherd puppy.

" D'ARTAGNAN!" Athos yelled angrily, pulling the dog off of his boss by the collar.

Treville regained his feet to see his second in command holding tightly to the pup's collar as the little dog growled ferociously at him.

" I'm so sorry sir, he does that to everyone at this age!" Athos apologized, clearly flustered by his puppy's actions.

D'artagnan whimpered when Athos glared at him firmly cowering down to the floor with shaking legs, eyes wide at his master's sudden anger.

With a small apologetic expression, Athos knelt down so he could be face to face with his dog,

" Sorry I raised my voice at you D'art, but you know you can't tackle strangers without probable cause, especially our boss! Go play with Porthos and Aramis while I talk," Athos murmured soothingly.

D'artagnan licked his master's face hesitantly before dashing off to find his two human playmates.

" It seems I made a good decision to place him with you, Athos. Though I do advise you retrain him against tackling his superior officers," Treville chuckled, causing Athos's worried expression to melt in to one of relief.

" Yes sir," He murmured confidently.

It would take some time, but eventually they would learn to embrace each other's unique habits, strange as they may be. It would take a while for Athos to get used to sharing a bed, and for D'artagnan to get used to watching his masters consume coffee without envy, but they worked it out. One habit however, wasn't to be broken so easily, and there came a night when Athos thanked the heavens that D'artagnan was good at tackling intruders.