Aramis sat on the bench in the garrison training ground, biting a large chunk of apple as he did so. It was an early February morning, and a low mist was still trailing around the frosty ground lazily as he sat in the quiet area. Athos and d'Artagnan had been rostered to the palace today, and he and Porthos had been assigned cleaning duties. He enjoyed coming in early these days- sleep evaded him often, and he enjoyed the moments of solitude.
Aramis swallowed, peering at the watery winter sky, and wondered idly if rain was coming- he looked down and across the yard as he heard a cough from somewhere in front of him. He'd know that deep sound anywhere.
Standing up, he stretched as he threw the apple core in the direction of the stable- he crept closer, hoping to give his friend a little fright to get him started for the day. Another cough- He was close. He sounded like he was sitting on the other side of the stable area…
Arms out, his plan was to reach down and grasp his shoulders; he relished the thought of the startled cry his friend would throw out, probably with a good punch to Aramis' shoulder to boot, he would wager.
Leaning down, he was just about to make his move when he noticed what Porthos was doing. He was reading a book, and Aramis could hear his friend muttering the words as he used his finger to mark the words as he read down the page.
'Morning,' Aramis said instead, voice light and interested. 'What're you reading?'
Porthos did jump then, the book falling onto his lap as he stared up, eyes wide. They relaxed as he saw it was Aramis.
'I'm polishing a dagger…' he said pointedly as Aramis came round the stable wall and sat down cross legged beside him.
Aramis chuckled and pushed Porthos' shoulder lightly, before nodding down at the book again, 'anything I might know?'
Porthos shrugged, a pink tinge hitting his cheeks. 'I figured I didn't read enough. Some of the cadets saw I couldn't read all the words in a proclamation the King issued- I figured I could use some more words….'
'Since when did you take any notice of what the cadets think?' Aramis asked.
'They made fun of me when Athos had to read some of the longer words. I normally only read when I have to, you know that…'
'You shouldn't let them get to you, my friend.' Aramis said, seething slightly. He made a mental note to check in on the cadets on their next training session. They needed to learn a hard lesson in humility.
'I know, I know…' Porthos shrugged, closing his book. Aramis saw it was a collection of assorted fairy tales, a large picture of a castle adorning the front cover.
'Which one's your favourite? He asked, heart swelling affectionately as Porthos immediately smiled and straightened up, opening the book again. It fell open at an intricate sketch of a wolf and a girl in scarlet.
'Ah, red riding hood, gold choice!' He smiled, before looking around. They was still an hour before anyone else arrived.
Standing up, he quickly moved to the table and poured out two mugs of recently warmed wine. Sitting back down he passed one to Porthos before leaning back on the wall, pulling his cloak around his shoulders.
'What are you doing?' Porthos asked as Aramis got comfortable.
'Waiting for you to read me a story- we've got plenty of time.'
'You don't want me to read to you…' Porthos mumbled, a shy smile on his face as he frowned over at his best friend.
'My friend, I would love nothing more.' Aramis smiled, before closing his eyes, patiently waiting.
He heard Porthos give a small, humoured snort, before he cleared his throat and began to read, his voice carrying into the empty yard as the city woke up around them.
Thank you for reading!
This little tale is dedicated to Enigma TM
Please let me know what you think!