Evening My Lovelies

Bit of a short one tonight but it seemed like a good place to stop and I'm very tired :) More to hopefully come tomorrow :)

Notes On Reviews:

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Definitely a lot of tough love for our lovely pup right now but don't worry, Porthos has his reasons and will be working through them very very soon :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the review - Porthos won't be staying so cruel for much longer but, as you'll see tonight, he has a plan to get D'Art to see the error of his ways. Enjoy the new chapter! x

beeblegirl: Thanks for the review - Part of him may want to let the boy off easy but he certainly won't be :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

pallysd'Artagnan: Thanks for the review - The bloodied bandages were definitely a scare. I felt bad for what I had Gerald say but he's under a fair amount of stress right now. Our boys have a bit of work to do to repair their bond but they're working on it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

WelshEssex: Thanks for the review - Yeah unfortunately for our pup he's going to have to deal with a decent amount of tough love before things get better but he has Athos watching out for him and on his side so don't worry things will get better! Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Eighty: Moving Forward (Porthos)

Over the next few days things remained tense amongst the inseparables, D'Artagnan full of guilt, was desperately trying to make up for the worry he put his brothers through by running himself ragged as he acted as their errand-boy.

Porthos was struggling to let go of the anger he felt for the youngest for the worry and fear his disappearance had caused while also pushing himself to exhaustion as he tried to be there whenever Aramis woke from yet another nightmare.

As for the medic he had openly forgiven the Gascon shortly after the young man had returned to the garrison, however, his nightmares had left the marksman in a state of constant fear and exhaustion. His frayed nerves causing him to snap at his brothers with increasing frequency.

Athos on the hand had been forced into the role of both peacekeeper and watcher for his three brothers as he frequently tried to calm Porthos's anger while simultaneously trying to reassure their youngest that things would get better… All while doing his best to calm and soothe Aramis whenever the man woke from yet another nightmare.

Needless to say that after even just a few days the men's stress levels were at an all-time high.

"When do you plan on forgiving the boy?" asked Athos in the dead of night, both he and Porthos being the only two of their quartet awake as they sat ready to jump to their brother's aid should he suffer through yet another nightmare. Athos had been trying to talk to the larger man for the last several hours but they had always been interrupted so the man was now taking advantage of the relative peace to voice his concerns.

"Stay out of it Athos," grumbled Porthos, though the musketeer couldn't stop his gaze from drifting to his youngest brother's sleeping form, the boy having worn himself out running all around the garrison and city completing errands for not just them but also the rest of the regiment as an attempt to apologize to the men he had caused worry too.

The sight of the younger man curled up in a ball in one of the beds brought an unbidden soft smile to Porthos's face, something that wasn't missed by Athos who quickly pressed on.

"He wasn't thinking Porthos," spoke Athos firmly, his voice quiet as he tried to avoid waking the room's other occupants. "Put yourself in his shoes and tell me you wouldn't have wanted to run?"

"That's not the point," snapped the larger man as he narrowed his eyes at his brother, hating that the man was insistent on pushing this.

"Then what is? This tension isn't helpful for either of them to heal."

Porthos's eyes narrowed further, "D'Artagnan is fine. He wasn't hurt."

Understanding flashed across Athos's face before his expression softened. "But he could have been," he stated, watching as his brother refused to look at him. "You've already forgiven him for running haven't you, it's the harm he could have put himself in you won't forgive him for."

For several long moments it seemed like Porthos's wasn't going to respond but then the larger man sighed, nodding his head once in response to his brother's question.

"He knows how the red guards act on a normal day, he should have known how angered they would be after Rochefort was ousted yet he ran out of the garrison without even thinking of grabbing a weapon."

Athos raised an eyebrow, nodding once at the bruises littering his brother's face, "Neither did you."

"Exactly," scowled Porthos as he lightly touched one of the bruises. "I paid for that mistake… It nearly cost me my life and if the red guards hadn't been quite as drunk as they were it might have also seriously endangered Alain and Blaise."

"So show D'Artagnan that," stated Athos with a shrug, earning a confused look from his brother. "You want D'Artagnan to truly understand the danger he put not only himself but others in?" Porthos nodded, "Then put him in that position… let him experience it and then show him how to handle it like we all know you could have done had you not been concussed."

With that the pair lapsed into silence, Porthos's mind working through the advice Athos had given as a small smile slowly began to grow on his lips as he realised this might be just what he needed to do to get passed the tension with D'Artagnan.