Disclaimer & Spoilers: See Chapter One.

.

Timeline: After Getting to Know You (Chapter Five) and around the time of Chapter 7 of "Family."

.

ooooooo

"What happens if, too early, we lose a parent – that party on whom we rely for everything? What did these people do when their families shrank?..."

ooooooo

Chapter Nine: Chores

"Maybe he got delayed by something at the house?" Porthos suggested, knowing that d'Artagnan had begun to assist Madame Bonacieux with various chores when her husband was away.
~~~~~ Chapter 9 of "Family" by Celticgal1041.

ooooooo

The first time, d'Artagnan could laugh it off and say that he was just doing Constance a favor. It hadn't been the whole truth, but close enough that he hadn't felt like he was lying.

The second time, d'Artagnan shamefully pretended he hadn't seen the older man and had turned a corner several blocks before he'd needed to in order to avoid meeting him. He'd gotten lost, which had served him right, but at least he had avoided having to explain what he was doing. There had also been the side benefit of learning a little more about how to get around Paris.

The third time, he saw the Musketeer across the crowded square and was pretty sure Porthos had seen him, but d'Artagnan kept walking as if he hadn't seen anyone he knew. He was beginning to think Porthos might not have seen him when…

"D'Artagnan!"

The Gascon froze mid-step and almost overbalanced, but managed to catch himself in time. He considered making another shameful and admittedly cowardly retreat, but decided in the end that enduring Porthos's ridicule was the better option for his conscience. It wouldn't be the first time Porthos and the others had teased him for one reason or another.

And, if he were honest with himself, he kind of didn't mind the teasing. He had grown to like the three Musketeers despite himself and saw their gentle – mostly – teasing as a sign that they were beginning to like him as well. Maybe one day they might even consider him a friend.

Porthos approached and he made himself smile, nervous at being caught out by the older man once again. The Musketeer glanced at what he was carrying, then at him before smiling broadly.

"Another favor for Madame Bonacieux?" Porthos asked.

D'Artagnan nodded, not wanting to say more than he needed to and embarrassed that he'd been caught picking up ingredients for the meal that Constance was going to make later that morning. The last time that Porthos had seen him out where he normally wouldn't be, he had multiple bolts of cloth in his arms that were to be delivered to one of Monsieur Bonacieux' customers.

He wasn't embarrassed by the fact that he was doing the shopping for Constance – he'd done that many times in the past for his father after his mother had passed away. It was the reason why he was doing these "favors" for Constance that was slightly humiliating to him.

"Been doin' a lot of favors for her lately," Porthos stated in a tone that suggested there was something untoward going on.

D'Artagnan glared at the older man. "She's married."

He then began walking away before he could say something that he would regret. His place, if you could call it that, among the Musketeers was informal and tentative; he didn't want to do anything to risk losing his chance to become a Musketeer. He didn't think he could bear the shame so soon after making the choice to stay in Paris given that he had so little funds with which to survive until his letter requesting funds reached Lupiac.

Porthos easily caught up to him and kept stride with him as he made his way towards the cheese monger to buy a small wheel of Cantal cheese. D'Artagnan mostly ignored Porthos's presence, still trying to calm down from the man's earlier words. Why did the three Musketeers have to say things like that about Madame Bonacieux?

His landlord's wife is a good and kind woman and didn't deserve insinuations of that kind. He would cheerfully admit to liking Constance, but not in that manner. She was starting to be a good friend to him, not completely ignoring his presence as he'd heard some landlords were wont to do with their tenants. He was treated as if he were a person and not just the money he brought to the household.

Constance seemed to represent a sort of calm in the midst of his stormy life. When he had explained that being able to pay the full amount due for his rent would take some time, she had convinced her husband to let d'Artagnan trade his assistance with household chores for a part of the money due. Generally, he had been tasked to help Constance out when Monsieur Bonacieux was away on his buying trips, doing a variety of things that he'd learned to do on the farm.

It relieved his conscience about his being in debt to the Bonacieux and helped take some of the burden off of Constance when she was left to run the household and business entirely on her own. A mutually beneficial situation with the added bonus of having someone else he could talk to when he needed it.

Though he knew that the three men were very much aware of his dwindling funds, he just couldn't bring himself to explain what he was doing and why it sometimes made him a few minutes late to the garrison. Was it shame? Embarrassment? Or was it something else? Sometimes d'Artagnan thought he didn't want the others to know about his exact money situation because he didn't want the older men to think less of him or think he wasn't cut out to be a Musketeer.

Porthos kept silent as d'Artagnan purchased the cheese and continued to keep him company as he turned back towards the Bonacieux' house.

As they walked, Porthos said, "I've seen you before… Saw you once in another part of the city delivering cloth to a house."

D'Artagnan made a noncommittal noise and had to concentrate very hard in order to not flinch, because the time Porthos was likely speaking about was the time he'd pretended not to have seen the older man.

"I also saw you on the roof a couple of days ago… Fixing a leak?"

D'Artagnan nodded, having resolved to not lie to someone he was beginning to consider a friend.

"Need help?" Porthos asked.

The question surprised him so much that he almost tripped over his own feet. Porthos laid a hand on his shoulder to help steady him, and he managed to not drop any of his purchases.

He grinned his thanks to Porthos and replied, "No…but I thank you for offering. I used to be the one to do the roof repairs back home."

Sharing that detail made d'Artagnan think of his father, which then led him to think about the last time he had made repairs on his own house's roof. This naturally reminded him of how much his father's loss still felt like a deep, dark hole that would never again be filled.

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder once again and looked up to see an understanding smile on Porthos's face. It seemed to him that the other man knew what it was to lose a parent and suddenly be left alone. D'Artagnan's mouth lifted in a small smile; he knew it was a brittle thing, but Porthos didn't seem to notice or care.

"Have you had any word yet about funds coming from home?" the Musketeer asked.

It was a near thing for him to not hang his head in shame.

"Not yet," he replied, getting the feeling that Porthos knew exactly what was going on in regards to his chores.

"These chores won't be interfering with your training will they?"

"They won't," d'Artagnan assured the other man, hoping the Bonacieux' wouldn't make a liar out of him.

Porthos's answering smile left him with the feeling that the three Musketeers might not mind having him around so much after all.

It was a good feeling.

ooooooo

The end.

ooooooo

Next time: Chapter Ten: The Message

Thanks for reading!