When Aramis, Porthos and Celeste get back and tell everyone that Luke is awake, immediately D'Artagnan is told to drive Athos, Rene and the twins to the hospital so they can see him. The twins have made him "get well soon" cards, and Rene wants to give him balloons (even if they are all shiny red hearts rather than yellow, which is Luke's favourite colour, because it's Valentine's Day). None of the adults object, and soon it's just Aramis, Porthos and Celeste left in the house. Porthos goes to have a shower, and Celeste sits Aramis down in the kitchen and makes him tea and breakfast. He's slowly chewing through a piece of toast when she asks him a question.

"Papa, you know Porthos is in love with you right?"

"Not now. I am not in the mood."

"It's a fact, Aramis. You don't need to be in the mood for facts."

"Enough. Your brother is in hospital, I do not need your childish meddling right now. It is not an appropriate time."

"Luke is fine; don't use him as an excuse."

"Celeste-"

"When is the appropriate time? When you're both old and grey and have gone through life loving each other thinking that the other one doesn't love you?"

"Celeste!"

"But Papa!"

"Go to your room and have a nap. Enough of this! You obviously need some sleep."

Celeste throws her hands up in the air and makes the sound that teenagers always make when they are told to go to their rooms on TV. She storms out of the kitchen and slams her bedroom door. Aramis runs his hands down his face and sighs deeply. It seems all of his children have got it into their heads that Porthos is in love with him. Probably because of the incident in the Louvre, Aramis thinks and sighs again. He is in love with Porthos, and it hurts that Porthos doesn't love him back. He puts up with the pain because Porthos loves the children, and the children love him. He drops his head on the table and groans.

That's when Porthos walks in, a towel around his neck and he looks much more fresh-faced than before. His jeans hang low on his hips, and he's not wearing a shirt. Aramis notices a few new scars on his chest- they are old scars, but new since the last time Aramis properly looked at him. He internally groans.

"Are you alright? I heard Celeste slam her door."

"I need to talk to you."

Porthos' smile slips off his face immediately, and he sits next to Aramis.

"What is it?"

"I love you." He stares at Porthos, and Porthos raises an eyebrow.

"I love you too, but-" Porthos begins, and Aramis holds up his hand to stop him talking. There's always a "but".

"No Porthos, I'm in love with you. I think I have been for a very long time, I just wouldn't admit it before. I didn't see it before."

"Aramis-" Porthos says quietly, reaching out to touch Aramis' hand, but Aramis pulls away like he's about to be burned. He jumps up from his seat and walks away. He begins to pace around the kitchen, never quite looking at Porthos, his hands flailing as he speaks.

"I'm in love with you! And I can't bare it that you don't love me back! And I want to run so my heart doesn't get completely broken in two but I can't! I can't do that because the children love you and I couldn't hurt them in the way that I'm hurting now." Some of it's in Spanish, and some in French, but he doesn't really care because he knows Porthos will understand every word. "I don't know what to do, and I understand if you leave," he says when he stops pacing. They always do. He's standing by the sink, and he grips the edge of the table top. He hears the chair scraping back across the floor as Porthos stands. He's sure he's going to leave. He tries not to tense when he hears Porthos walk up behind him.

Porthos grabs him by the shoulders and spins him round so they are as close together as two people possibly could be. Aramis tries really hard not to focus on the smell of Porthos' soap, or the fact that Porthos looks like a masterpiece with the sunlight streaming over his face through the kitchen window, and he tries even harder not to focus on the fact that his hands are pressed against Porthos' bare abdomen, and he can feel every muscle move as Porthos laughs. Wait, why is he laughing? He looks up at Porthos, utterly confused, and Porthos wraps his arms around Aramis' waist.

"Oh, querido," Porthos says quietly, and his smile is radiant. "You are a fool if you think that I would ever leave my home with the wild things."

Aramis gulps. "You don't mind that I am in love with you?"

"Why should I mind, when I am just as in love with you?"

Aramis, ever the romantic, will swear to the day he dies that his heart skipped two beats in that moment. Porthos lifts a hand to hold Aramis' jaw, and leans down to kiss him.

Aramis' breath hitches when Porthos' lips touch his, and he's sure he forgets how to breathe all together. It's like the kisses at Christmas under the mistletoe, and New Year's when it hit midnight- it's soft and sweet and gentle and it makes Aramis want to cry because Porthos is just so careful, like he always is when he touches someone because he doesn't want to hurt them, because he's so aware of how strong he really is. But also this time it's just so much more. As he kisses back, Porthos' arm around Aramis' waist pulls him closer, lifting him onto his toes ever so slightly, and his thumb strokes over Aramis' jaw and Aramis can just feel how much he is loved and it's perfect.

All too soon, Porthos stops kissing him, and Aramis chases after the kiss. He can feel Porthos breathing hard, and when he opens his eyes- he hadn't even noticed when they closed- Porthos is beaming at him. Aramis lifts his arms to wind them around Porthos' neck, and smiles back. Porthos' hand drops to hold Aramis' hip, and he kisses Aramis again, more eagerly this time. Aramis sighs into the kiss, and he knows Porthos is smiling.

Porthos pulls away, and rests his forehead on Aramis', brushing their noses together like an Eskimo kiss.

"I love you," he whispers, and Aramis bites his lip as he smiles. It's the same three words, but they feel different.

"I think I have always loved you."

They don't notice Celeste taking a picture through the half open door.

Luke's phone pings.

Message (now)
Celeste sent you a photo.

"Who's it from?" Nannette asks, and Constance raises an eyebrow as all the children climb onto the bed around Luke.

"Celeste," Luke tells them, and Constance frowns slightly.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, she sent me a photo."

He opens the text, and Aramis and Porthos in the kitchen appear on his screen, their arms around each other and their foreheads pressed together. Leon's phone pings again, and a message pops up under the photo from Celeste.

"I have always loved you"

And then

LUKE IS EVERYONE SEEING THIS!?

Luke replies as his siblings start cheering. Constance pushes herself up and peers over his shoulder, and when she sees the photo, she cheers too. At that moment, Athos and D'Artagnan walk in with a bag full of sweets.

Yes, EVERYONE is seeing this

Before his text has even finished sending, he gets another text from Celeste.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH FUCKING FINALLY

"What's going on?" Athos asks, his moustache failing to hide his smirk for once.

"Aramis and Porthos are together, Celeste tells us," Constance says, going up to hug her husband and steal a chocolate bar out of the bag he's holding.

"Only took them thirteen years," D'Artagnan laughs, holding Constance close.