Who:Athos and D'Artagnan What:Taking a break from crappy hotels. When:Before they moved in with Remy Where:The beach Rating:Pg-13 Warnings:Bit of PDA, otherwise just fluff. Status:!complete
D’Artagnan was starting to get more and more irritable the more time they spent at the hotel, so when Athos suggested the beach, despite his fear that eventually it would lead to swimming; he leapt at the chance to go. Anywhere but the hotel. He seemed to be improving since his sleep spell coma. He’d stopped avoiding Athos mostly these days, and had even been eating a little more. But today he came home in a rage. One of the hotel staff had hit his car and decided it was his fault for parking in their lot too long. That the hotel needed it so they had a right to park where they wished, even if it was half on top of another car that didn’t belong to them.
Upon reaching the beach though, D’Artagnan seemed to stop seething as soon as he let his toes sink into the sand. It was nice and warm and seemed to take away his stress as soon as the kernels touched his skin. “This was a good idea.” The breeze was soothing, and the beach was far enough away from the hotel to pretend it didn’t exist. He’d been looking along with Athos to try to find them a place, but so far nothing had really stood out to him. A break from house hunting was exactly what they needed.
Athos wasn’t particularly happy with the hotel either, especially after the way they’d treated D’Artagnan. He was convinced they were doing things on purpose to piss them off, Athos knew he’d put the ‘No room service’ sign up everyday this week but they had blatantly ignored it at least twice and moved their stuff. They needed to get out of there soon.
So he’d suggested the beach as a temporary retreat, he also wanted D’Artagnan to try getting in the water. He looked over at his boyfriend and smiled wrapping an arm around his waist, “It was wasn’t it” he nodded, “See even without the sea I think it’d be a calming place to live with the sand and the sun”
The sooner the better they left it really. Neither of them were terribly keen on having their things rifled through when it came to room service. Not to mention the security guards were getting rather sloppy when it came to checking their floor. Twice now they'd let people up who weren't even guests, D’Artagnan had asked them to leave. It was getting tiring. For a high end hotel they certainly had poor attitudes.
D’Artagnan however was trying not to think about them anymore as the scent of salt water and sand filled his entire being. He looked cautiously back at Athos for a moment though. "You know..Remy offered up his place until we find our own. To both of us. Apparently it's huge. We'd have privacy of need be. I haven't said anything either way yet. Told him if talk to you about it first. " He could understand if Athos was uncomfortable with the idea so he didn't push either way. He only left the idea out there as he pulled off his shoes and let his feet bury into the warm sand.
It really did leave much to be desired. Athos wasn’t happy at all especially after D’Artagnan told him about the unauthorised people on their floor. He’d been ready to punch someone.
“Yeah? Well, it might be a better alternative” Athos admitted slowly as he thought about it. He felt like after that visit they’d come to a better understanding. Though he did wonder if maybe D’Artagnan’s enthusiasm for house hunting might disappear completely if he got comfortable in Remy’s place. “We’ll think about it” he finished, watching with a smile as D’Artagnan let his bare feet touch the sand.
Honestly he doubted it would diminish. Even in Remy’s home they’d still be guests, and that was the thing he was growing weary of. Not really having a place to call theirs. “I think he said four bedrooms, or three. And four balconies or something. I don’t remember.” He shrugged some, sitting down beside Athos in the sand and tugging him down by the hand. “This is really only the third time I’ve actually been to the beach. I always just avoided it in the past.” Now he saw no reason to. Just because he didn’t swim, didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the sun. Lately the sun had been helping him to physically feel better it seemed. He was slowly starting to eat more, though still avoided sugary things much to his dismay.
“Sounds like a nice place” Athos said before laughing as he was tugged down, his arm went around D’Artagnan almost as an unconscious gesture now. “The third time?” he asked incredulously, Athos liked the beach even just walking along it was nice. “I need to bring you here more often” he said, “It’s a nice place to come for a walk or just to sit and enjoy watching the people out and about”
He didn’t mind the gesture at all, in fact it was comforting now. The last few days he’d stopped flinching so much when Athos came near. Now that he’d been able to get regular sleep again, he felt almost like himself. He leaned up against him comfortably and nodded. “Mhm. Never saw much point in it since I couldn’t swim, thought that was what it was for” He admitted as he took up a little stick to draw shapes in the sand with.
It had been a great relief when D’Artagnan had stopped avoiding him and flinching at his touch. He knew it hadn’t been his fault but it had still hurt. Now D’Artagnan was on the road to normality again and Athos didn’t want anything to derail that. “You don’t have to swim that’s just like an added bonus” he said, “Though I was serious about teaching you” he added.
He hadn’t meant to hurt him, but he couldn’t help it. The things his mind kept playing on were pretty horrible. He was glad when they finally died down enough for him to recover. He was even eating a little more. Not by much, but it was coming anyways. “I don’t know..” He responded to the comment about swimming and gave a cautious look to the ocean. His hand rested on Athos’ thigh comfortably now. Not seeming the least bit distressed. Apparently the ocean had a good effect on his stress levels as well.
Athos knew D’Artagnan hadn’t meant to hurt him, it just happened that way. He didn’t blame the younger man in any way. His sleeping was much better and his eating was slowly improving so Athos was able to worry just a little less. “We wouldn’t start with the ocean, we’d find a pool somewhere. Though we can walk along the shore together. Get you used to the water a little at a time” Athos said, glad D’Artagnan was relaxed and not overly worried.
"That sounds okay." He could agree to that without it taking a bite out of his pride. Any time with Athos was good. Especially relaxing time. It wasn't something they got to do lately, it seemed like when it rained it poured and everything happened all at once. D'Artagnan was trying to let things even out though now. He didn't even need to rely on sleeping medications anymore. He was able to come off them easy enough after a few days back into a normal cycle. It helped that they had begun to look at houses again. The hotel was a point of stress, but it wasn't so much that it was effecting his sanity at least. He began to stand and took his hand. "Remy tried to get me in the water too. Didn't work though." He frowned some, he didn't realize how much he actually disliked the idea of water. Maybe with Athos it would be different. He still didn't talk about what had happened much in his coma spell sleep, but he didn't want to. The idea of talking about it stressed him out more than the idea of just moving on. Athos was glad D’Artagnan was in agreement and didn’t sound distressed at the idea. Relaxing time together was definitely something to be cherished right now, it was nice to be with each other and not have any pressures on them. Looking at houses and sleeping better was obviously helping, it helped Athos too. He always slept better when he was holding D’Artagnan close, it soothed something inside him. “No?” Athos asked, “Well he doesn’t have the persuasive techniques I do” he said, kissing D’Artagnan’s cheek with a smile. Not long ago he wouldn’t have been able to react to that statement without jealousy but now he was getting better at being more secure in D’Artagnan’s feelings for him. Whatever way he could help Athos he was glad to. His fingers laced with the others. He was glad he could finally talk about Remy without upsetting the man. It wasn’t that he constantly wanted to, but occasionally he did come up. Remy was a friend after all. D’Artagnan smiled at that affectionate gesture and squeezed his hand warmly. “Should I worry?” He laughed, he really didn’t mind walking in water but when it came to actual swimming that was what flipped the panic switch in his brain. “Felt a bit like an idiot.” He frowned, it didn’t help his pride any that was for sure. D’Artagnan was full of said pride, anything taking a bite out of it was a sure way irritate him quickly. Remy was a friend and even if he didn’t want to admit it, Athos had a feeling he’d become a good friend to the both of them. “You should never worry love” he said, lifting their joined hands to kiss D’Artagnan’s. Athos would ease him into the water slowly as he taught him to swim, confidence was key. “You aren’t an idiot for being worried about the water. You can’t swim so it’s a very real worry but I’ll be with you all the time and I’ll make sure you’re okay” he promised. He really wasn’t that fond of the water so far. But maybe there was some learning curve or something. Either way he did trust Athos so he supposed he’d let him try. Athos had yet to let him down, so his trust in the man ran deep. But he did cling to his hand a little tighter. “If you say so.” The water felt good at least temperature wise, wasn’t terribly cold anymore as it had been before. “Just no going anywhere.” The last thing he wanted to do was end up in a hospital again. Nearly drowning the first time was more than enough. As they moved in a little deeper he still held onto Athos’s arm. “..Heh, it’s not so bad?” Athos said nothing about D'Artagnan's tight grip on his hand, if it helped him he could hold it as tightly as he wanted. He'd never let anything happen to him, Athos was very confident in the water. "You'll be fine" there would be no hospital trips he'd make sure of that. "It's nice right?" he smiled at his boyfriend and dropped a quick kiss to his lips. It had been a thing he was sure his father was going to teach him at one point but never got around to. Athos was likely one of the few he’d trust with the task. He loosened up some when he felt Athos’ gentle kiss, and returned it affectionately. Fortunately for them the beach wasn’t terribly crowded in the middle of the afternoon. D’Artagnan didn’t feel threatened or pressured by anyone elses abilities. He touched his jawline softly before he cautiously let go entirely to explore the water a bit. He still didn’t want to go too deep but this was deeper than he’d let Remy get a while ago. “I was thinking with Aramis all laid up the four of us might do dinner this week.” He’d spoken to the man about it earlier on and he was for it. He didn’t see a reason why Athos wouldn’t agree, but still put it out there. Giving him a playful splash and a challenging little smirk. The fact the beach wasn't crowded was part of the reason Athos felt sure D'Artagnan would be fine. There was nobody to see and nothing for him to focus on except Athos and the water. He smiled at the touch before D'Artagnan let go, proud of him already. They weren't clothed right to go too deep but this was good. "That's a good idea, I'm sure they'd both like different company" He chuckled at the splash as he raised an eyebrow, "Sure you want to be issuing that challenge?" he asked smirking. clothed right to go too deep but this was good. "That's a good idea, I'm sure they'd both like different company" He chuckled at the splash as he raised an eyebrow, "Sure you want to be issuing that challenge?" he asked smirking. D’Artagnan appreciated that. It wasn't that he was shy or anything but he much like his dream counterpart had a great deal of pride. Learning new things in front of people he didn't know was difficult. Fortunately they were not terribly far out so he was a bit more confident to let go. "Aramis liked the idea. Said Porthos could probably use the break too. " But then he was quite distracted by his little challenge and splashed at him that much more. "Hmm what do you think? " he teased. His eyes were full of amusement. This was exactly what he'd been needing. Just Athos to himself. Learning new things was hard but having taught at the academy for so long Athos was pretty good at being able to tell what techniques worked for which students. It wasn't hard to tell that D'Artagnan worked better in a one on one situation. So that's what Athos would give him. He was positive he could get him comfortable and swimming in the water as long as they kept practicing fairly regularly. "I think you like trouble a bit too much" Athos replied splashing water at his boyfriend in response. “You’re just realizing that now?!” He responded and laughed as Athos returned the attack of water. He used his arms to cover his face and pushed forward in attempt to get a little closer and retaliate. Of course this only ended in him stepping into a deep pocket of water and falling falling forward grabbing out for Athos or anything to keep his balance. “Eep!” He had been thrown off by that, he wasn’t hurt but surprised as hell, yep. “Just stating it now, I did realise a while ago” he replied with an amused smile before realising what was happening and moving forward to catch D’Artagnan before his head could hit the water. He didn’t want him going under, that would put him off for a while. Catching him close his arms wrapped around him he looked at his boyfriend, “Okay?” he asked. He was laughing anyway in spite of the fall. He hadn’t been too turned off or traumatised by it. Being caught by Athos' strong arms was just a bonus. He smiled up at him and caught his breath. "More than okay, now. Good catch." He was amused and impressed. And now he had an excuse to lean in and kiss him properly. "You look good wet. " He teased near his lips before capturing them with his own. Athos was relieved to see that D’Artagnan was still happy and relaxed, “I’ll always catch you” he promised with a grin before saying “You too” against D’Artagnan’s lips before they kissed deeply. His hands tightened as their tongues tangled and they simply enjoyed each other. He was with Athos, very little would phase his good mood. Those words only caused him to smile wider, free hand resting on his chest. This was much better than the hotel. It did exactly what he needed and soothed his nerves. A soft moan escaped him as he felt his touch. They'd needed this. The waves seemed to cause any remaining tension to fade entirely.