Not again

[praiseandglory]

When Porthos stepped into their tent and found himself in a strange, yet familiar hallway, he knew exactly where he was. On either side of the hallway were doors - to rooms, suites, and many more strange places beside. The noises of the camp were gone, but the smell remained, on him, of gunpowder and blood, soot and grime. His usually elegant clothes had seen better days, his now longer hair was tied back and mostly hidden under a kerchief that might have once been white. His pistol was empty and he needed to clean his sword - Treville's sword.

The battlefield was now miles and years away, for all that it was also, somehow, right on the other side of a door. And, in his current mood, that made his blood boil as surely as Spanish insults.

"Not again!" he yelled, and punched the nearest wall with a gloved hand. He winced at the pain, but there was a dent in the wall now, and that felt slightly better.

Comments

[praiseandglory]

"I've only just arrived," Porthos confirms, smiling at the wine added to his glass, refusing to let the thought of being stuck here drag him down.

[armedagainstlove]

"And is there a particular reason that wall had to be punished?" Athos wonders, arching his brow as he can certainly guess, but would prefer Porthos tell him, personally.

[praiseandglory]

"It was there," Porthos replies, because it's the obvious reply, although he knows it isn't the one Athos wants. He takes another drink of wine, then sighs. "I know I'll get back there and no time at all will have passed, but I don't like this... feeling of not being there. I don't know how long this place will keep me, this time."

[armedagainstlove]

"Perhaps I'll have to set up a room for you after I leave," he says. "Strategy and food and liquor, so that if you do turn up here when you wish to be elsewhere, at least there will be incentive not to destroy things."

"Would some time to sleep and eat be so terrible? You could use the rest," he points out.

[praiseandglory]

"We all could," Porthos agrees, holding Athos's gaze for a beat. Then his eyes fell on his glass, and he smiles slightly. "And the wine is very welcome."

He wonders whether Phryne is still around. That, too, would be welcome.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos cannot defend himself against such a comment. He is, after all, exhausted in turns that he cannot quite quantify and tired of the generals running his men around where they have no place being. "Do you remember the beginning of the war? Everything seemed like it might resolve so neatly."

[praiseandglory]

"War's never neat, though, is it?" Porthos remarks, then shakes his head after a beat. "But that's enough depressing talk. We're here, and we might as well make the most of it."

[armedagainstlove]

"And how shall we make the most of it? What would it take to prevent you from punching more walls?" After all, it's hardly like he wants to babysit Porthos the whole time and worry about the damage that might be caused. He hasn't got that much money to help with repairs.

[praiseandglory]

"I'm not going to punch any more walls, Athos," Porthos replies with a frown, which clears almost immediately. "I like my hands unbroken." Eventually, one wall or another would win. Not that that's the reason. The real reason is that his anger has passed. If he is going to be stuck here, he might as well make the most of it, as he has just told his friend.

[armedagainstlove]

"As do I," Athos assures, given that he may have a whole group of men, but none that he trusts so much as d'Artagnan and Porthos. "If they're broken, I can't imagine who I would send out to put the fear of God into the Spaniards," he praises calmly, tipping the bottle forward. "Have another drink."

[praiseandglory]

God and Porthos are having a bit of a difficult time right now, but Porthos ignores the phrasing to focus on what Athos is saying. He grins at that, and then more broadly at the offer of more wine, offering his glass to be filled. "I don't reckon two broken hands would stop me."

[armedagainstlove]

"Perhaps once placed in protective wrapping, they would be even more dangerous than before," he deadpans, arching his brow. "Certainly more than other Musketeers in the regiment could ever do." After all, it's hardly like any of them can take Porthos down, even when he isn't trying. He can only imagine his abilities, even if damaged.

[praiseandglory]

"If you're saying I ought to get a second steel gauntlet, I'm not sure how practical that would be," Porthos replies with a quick grin.

[armedagainstlove]

"You could put in the request," Athos says, "I would be remiss if I did not put it through the proper channels, for anything that you might want." He's certain that it would likely be denied, but there's no harm in trying.

[praiseandglory]

"I'm all right with the one," Porthos assures him with a smile. Two of them would be a crowd, and it isn't as if he is in need of a second one. He had simply been joking.