D'Artagnan has the Devil's Luck (devilsluck) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-10-26 17:44:00 |
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Entry tags: | athos, d'artagnan |
Who:D'Artagnan and Athos and surprise npc~
What:Finding something unexpected
When:Backdated to the honeymoon
Where:Gascony
Warnings/ratings:None/low
STATUS:Complete
D’Artagnan couldn’t even begin to explain how odd it was waking up in Gascony, the home land of his dreams. Not only were they in Europe, but to be this close to the place where his dream self was born was a bit surreal. The thought hadn’t even occurred to him that there was any of them still living there. It hadn’t crossed his mind that just maybe in real life his parents were originally from Europe as well with his odd French name.
A phone call roused him early from sleep, before sunrise even began to peek through the blinds of their room. Being the opposite a morning person, D’Artagnan had half a mind to ignore it entirely, but curiosity got the better of him. Very few people knew where they were staying, or had the number to call them at.
Tired eyes narrowed at the loud intrusion of his slumber, but he picked up anyway. The person on the other line didn’t speak a word of English, but he recognized the name Bertrand de Batz. That had him up and trying to question the person on the other end of the line. Gascony was a small town, when something happened people knew about it.
“Damnit wai-!” It was too late, the confused voice didn’t respond anymore on the other end. They’d already hung up, probably since they didn’t understand English. D’Artagnan’s knowledge of French was not vast. He could pick up bits and pieces but he was nowhere near fluent enough to have that conversation.
Athos had loved the time he and D'Artagnan had been spending together on their honeymoon. It had been nice and kind of surreal touring around France, visiting the places they knew so well in their dreams. Even if most of them were so different now.
He was up and making coffee in their little kitchen when the phone rang but by the time he dried his hands his husband had answered.
Walking into the bedroom he looked concerned, "What's wrong? Who was that?"
“I have no idea.” He admitted with an irritated tone as he ran a hand through messy dark hair tiredly. “But they said my fathers name, I’m sure of it.” Unless it had been some weird drunk call or cruel prank? But who else would use that name? It didn’t make sense for it to be random. He stood and made his way toward the suit case on the floor near the bed to get dressed. “They addressed me like I was him.” He frowned as he dug through the case, looking for something but not sure what exactly.
"Your father's name? But who even knows we're here?" he said confused moving closer and letting his hand rest on D'Artagnan's back as he hunted through the case, "What are you looking for love?" he asked.
“I don’t know!” D’Artagnan snapped as he paused in his hunting of things, a flicker of memory flashed in front of his eyes. He had used his name a few times, but he paused in his search as his brain finally seemed to wake up a bit more fully. “...I think it was a contact.” He sank down to his knees to sit by the case. “A few months ago before we left I looked around for anyone connected to my parents. Remember I told you I wanted to find my mom? I just...I forgot all about it with everything that’d happened...” He admitted as he let the items he was holding sift back into his case though his hands still fidgeted a bit with the fabric of his pajamas on his knees. “I found someone in Gascony who was supposed to be good at finding people, a P.I. of sorts. If my last name came up anywhere he was supposed to get in touch with me, I just..figured it’d be on my phone or..it wouldn’t happen at all.” He gave him an apologetic glance over his shoulder as he changed his shirt. “Sorry love I didn’t mean to snap at you I’m just..I don’t know if this means anything or nothing.” And he’d been waiting for so long to hear from this particular contact.
"It's okay darling" Athos said wrapping an arm around him and pressing a kiss to his temple. "Do you have a number for this PI? I could call him and we can see if he has any more information" His French was a little more fluent than D'Artagnan's, maybe because he'd been able to speak a little before the dreams. "Or if we can find an address for him we could pay him a visit"
“I do.” But he was hesitant, what if after everything he went through to find any remaining evidence of his family’s existence it ended up being nothing? The idea worried him. “Maybe we shouldn’t bother.” He said quietly, toying with Athos’s arm distractedly.
“It’s up to you of course” Athos said, squeezing his husband just a little, “But I don’t want you to be plagued by what if’s for not taking a chance. I know you're scared love, but I’m here and we can find out whatever it is together”
A sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head in frustration. “Why are you always so sensible? No matter what ridiculous thing I do you haven’t lost a step.” It would genuinely scare him the day that Athos did though, the man was a rock and it was a comfort. D’Artagnan needed someone stable like that.
Athos smiled, “I’ve always been steady” he said simply, and it did work well for them. They were opposites in many things but it worked for them. Made them a good pair. D’Artagnan could make him lose it but so far only ever in a very good way.
“I just..I don’t even know what to think.” He wished he could just let Athos decide what to do, but this was his family. He figured the decision was his to make. Dark eyes slid shut for a moment as he tried to shake off a slight headache. “Here..maybe you can make sense of him.” He handed off the card to his husband, it was a recognizable name in their world of super secret spy agencies. The reputation varied.
While Athos could offer support and comfort he couldn’t offer the answer, it was ultimately D’Artagnan’s choice. But he would do whatever he could to help. Taking the card he smiled as he recognised the name before dialling the number to see what he could find out.
D'Artagnan left the room to splash cold water on his face and try to wake up a bit more while Athos made the call. There was apparently a bit of odd land still owned by D'Artagnan's family on the edge of the village, they'd purchased animal feed when their name came up. D'Artagnan didn't know what to think about any of this. Why didn't his possible remaining parents try to contact him? He looked into the mirror, lost in thought.
It was unexpected to actually have news of a possible relation still being alive but Athos was hopeful that someone would be able to help D’Artagnan in finding answers. He let his husband freshen up a bit as he spoke to the man and then went to tell D’Artagnan the news. After all they had an address now so they could visit if they wanted to, it was D’Artagnan’s decision now.
There was still exhaustion on his face, he wasn’t overly thrilled at the time change now. The jet lag had caught up with him finally, the water helped though. He sat at the edge of the bed and reached for one of the coffees near by. “Anything? Or is he just a really obnoxious French alarm clock?”
Athos sat next to D’Artagnan on the bed and told him what the PI had discovered, “So I have an address and directions to it if we want to go out there and find out who they are” he said, taking D’Artagnan’s free hand in his and holding it in comfort and support.
D'Artagnan didn't know what to make of the message, "I don't know. " on one hand it could be everything he was looking for, and on the other-nothing at all. Family name's didn’t usually just fade out in small places like this very quickly.
He pressed a kiss to D’Artagnan’s hand, “You don’t have to decide immediately, we can take the day and think about it. Whatever you want” he assured his husband.
“If we put it off any longer I think I might not have the nerve to go again.” He admitted with a small frown, chewing at the inside of his cheek as he often did when nervous. He gave him a slightly forced smile before he stood. “Maybe it’ll be good?” Nerves wouldn’t help anyone now.
"Then we will go today" Athos said standing too with a more confident nod, "It will be very good. I am sure it will be, you'll get some answers at least" he said kissing D'Artagnan before going to collect his clothing. After a shower and breakfast they'd head out in the rental car.
He returned the kiss, but was too full of nerves to do much beyond change. He’d shower and rest when all this was done and he knew one way or another. He was quiet in the car, watching scenery pass them by. It nearly felt like it was directly out of the dreams. He tried for conversation, but words came up dry. The address brought them to a small farm, outside however there was no real sign of anyone living there. No car or horses, but the door itself was shut and the curtains were open, a small light was on in the room. D’Artagnan couldn’t tell what that light was illuminating from the car though, the details were lost from that distance.
Athos simply held D'Artagnan's hand when he tried a couple of times to talk. It was okay, Athos understood.
Approaching the house he slowed as they came closer, pulling up outside and turning off the engine. "Ready?" He asked squeezing his husbands hand.
He’d been alone since he was a teenager, the thought of suddenly gaining a family member was terrifying and exciting all the same, and if it weren’t true would be fairly devastating. He was trying not to get his hopes up for anything in particular, but it was difficult. The wedding had been beautiful, and everything was wonderful but if he’d had one wish, one tiny thing he could add it would be that a parent could have observed. He gripped Athos’s hand as he nodded stiffly. It was hard to even breathe at this point .It nearly felt like he was having some sort of fit, he paused. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea.”
"It's okay to be scared love" Athos said, kissing his palm, "But I'm here and we'll face whatever happens together. Let's just go see okay?" he knew D'Artagnan would regret it if he didn't now they'd come all this way.
Scared was an understatement. Who knew what this was going to be. Some fake using his family name? Or actually a relative? D'Artagnan didn't know what to expect. He nodded wordlessly, brain coming up with too many bad scenarios to think of any real ones. He reached to knock at the door and then hesitated again. Finally he managed his fear long enough to knock for real and stand back almost behind Athos entirely. He normally didn't shy away from stuff, but this was hard for him to face. It took a moment before the door opened and a woman in a flowing pale green dress answered the door. She spoke only French, but her tone wasn't harsh. She asked if they needed help with anything, and D’Artagnan looked over helplessly at Athos. He didn't know enough French to respond properly. He had no idea what to say.
Holding D’Artagnan’s hand tightly he smiled at the woman when she opened the door and spoke. He apologised for them just appearing but that they had been told that somebody possibly related to his husband may be living there. Squeezing D’Artagnan’s hand he introduced him using his full name and watched in concern as all of the color left the woman’s face as she looked at them and took a step towards D’Artagnan.
D'Artagnan was uncharacteristically quiet, he didn’t speak much by way of French as it were but what Athos was saying was enough for him to understand at least a little. The woman liked over him like a shed seen a ghost, and in fact she had heard of his father's death, she tight both of them had perished. She hadn't come to America with them because of her job, and ushered them both inside. D’Artagnan for the time being seemed content just to watch her, unsure what to say or do.
Athos couldn't quite believe it but did his best to translate explaining to her that D’Artagnan’s French was limited. It looked like it was going to be a very emotional reunion that none of them had seen coming.