It turns out that their home is only around the corner from where they were standing in the rain. He smiles when he sees it- an old church converted into two flats. It's just such an unbearably predictable place for Aramis to live. He thinks to himself that some things will never change. Nannette wriggles out of Aramis' grasp and runs into the entrance and up the stairs. Aramis breaks the silence between him and Porthos by calling out to her.
"Nannette I have keys don't ring the-" Nannette jumps up to hit the bell and it rings out impossibly loud. "Doorbell," he finishes, shooting Porthos a smile, which Porthos half returns.
Porthos expects a woman with a large ring on her finger and hair as blonde as Nannette's to open the door- he is surprised when a teenage girl does instead- a woolly hat covering her head so only the ends of her very short bob are sticking out from underneath it. She takes one look at Nannette before she glares at Aramis.
"Papa you let her run ahead again- every time she ruins her tights." She notices Porthos then and turns back to Aramis with an eyebrow raised. "I'll give her a bath." She grabs Nannette's hand and drags her into the house- telling her to take off her shoes and then run into the bathroom because she needs to bathe. Nannette giggles and then groans- she had a bath this morning.

Aramis leads Porthos into the kitchen after closing the door behind them and hanging up their coats. He dumps the rucksack by his feet and sets about washing his hands and then putting the kettle on.
"Tea?" he asks belatedly, while pulling out a bag from his rucksack.
"Please," Porthos says, watching as Aramis grabs a plate from one of the cupboards and then deposits the pastries that were in the bag onto the plate. He looks around the kitchen- there's a photo on the wall but he hasn't got his glasses on so he can't make out who is in it. He suspects Aramis, his wife, the teen and Nannette. Though there are more than four human shaped blobs. Extended family maybe?

Aramis sits across from him and hands Porthos his tea. Immediately, Porthos' hands go to cradle the mug.
"How have you been?" Aramis asks quietly, smiling, but only a little.
"You never said you had a kid. Or a wife. And the older one has to have been born before you got deployed."
"I suppose she was, yes," Aramis smirks and Porthos looks at him incredulously.
"I didn't have a kid, or a wife, before I was deployed. I still don't- have a wife, that is. I've got kids."
"I can see that," Porthos deadpans, and Aramis laughs. Porthos tries not to ask the insensitive question- how are they here then- but it must be evident on his face. Aramis always was good at reading him.
"They're adopted. All of them." Amaris turns to the photo on the wall. Porthos is kicking himself for not sticking his glasses in his pocket. He realises a bit late that Aramis says "all" and not "both", because at that moment the "all" decide to make themselves known.
"Aramis, you really shouldn't have," teases a boy, as he takes a pastry from the plate in the centre of the table and puts it in his mouth in one go. He's got short brown hair and mischievous eyes that are looking expectantly at Porthos.
"Excuse me, Monsieur, but you are sitting in my seat." The teenage boy laughs and Aramis looks embarrassed. Porthos follows the voice and looks down at the child tugging on his sleeve. He's older than Nannette and looks like a cherub, his blonde curls falling low on his forehead. He looks like Nannette- maybe they are really related.
"Rene, can you not sit somewhere else?" Aramis implores with the little boy. He turns to the teenager, who has just stuffed another pastry in his mouth. "Would you leave some for our guest, Luke?" Porthos chuckles at Rene, who looks like he's been betrayed.
"But Papa!"
"It's okay, little man, I'll move- where would you like me to sit?" Rene looks up at this giant with a rumbling voice and scar across his eye with a beaming smile.
"Next to me," he decides, and Aramis clears his throat. "Please," Rene adds. Porthos moves and sits in the space next to Rene, who clambers up onto the chair and then grabs a sweet. A squeal is heard from the doorway, and all heads turn to see Nannette, in a dressing gown- hurtle into the room, followed by a child identical to her- and then a soaking wet teenager- the one who opened the door. Luke laughs at the oldest girl as Nannette and Not-Nannette climb onto Aramis' lap. The only difference between them is Not-Nannette has longer hair.

"Was it you or Nannette having a bath, Celeste?" Luke sniggers, and Celeste glares at him, grabbing a pastry. Aramis splits one in half for the twins on his knees.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Porthos," Nannette greets him around a mouthful of pastry. Luke stops trying to steal Celeste's pastry and Celeste almost drops it out of her hand.
"Porthos?" Luke looks between Aramis and the stranger at his table. "As in The Porthos?"
Porthos raises an eyebrow at Aramis. So he's spoken about, is he?
"Yes, Luke, The Porthos." He clears his throat and looks apologetically at his friend, before looking around confused. "Where is Leon?" Porthos can't quite believe that another person can fit in the flat. Is Leon the boyfriend? Husband? Another child? Aramis said "no wife", but he didn't say "no husband". Then again, with the amount of kids in the room already, another kid is more probable.
"Here," comes a small voice from the doorway. The boy looks about nine, and reminds Porthos of himself at that age- his afro is tied into cornrows and he's tall and skinny like a bean pole.
Leon moves to stand behind Celeste, looking at Porthos like he's a specimen under a microscope.
"So," says Aramis, "this is everyone." He taps the twins heads, "Adalyn and Nannette," he points at everyone else, "Luke, Celeste, Leon and Rene."

"Full house then," Porthos grins and Leon nods.
"You're telling me." There's a moment when he looks like he's scared of getting told off, but then everyone laughs and he grins. Porthos watches Aramis as Aramis watches his herd of children, who go back to babbling loudly amongst themselves. He looks impossibly happy, despite the bags under his eyes- but those are a quintessential part of being a parent. His train of thought is interrupted by Adalyn.
"Would you like to play a board game with us, Monsieur Porthos?" She looks hopeful, and Nannette has an identical expression on her face. He registers Luke and Celeste groan at the prospect.
"I would love to," he says, partly because he can't say no to either twin, and partly because he's missed Aramis. Kicking his ass in a board game will show him that, and will also help him get his own back. He's pissed at him for ignoring him for the past four years, but he's also just grateful to see him- to be part of his life again.
"But no more of this "monsieur" business- just Porthos," he adds. Aramis smiles at him.
This is certainly not how Porthos imagined his day turning out, but this is better.