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The clouds had grown dark; thick and heavy and ready to release rain at any moment. The air hung heavy and stifling, crackling with an unknown force that was almost ready to strike. It had been so hot for so many days that it had to come to a head at some point. A storm was brewing.
When the heat eventually broke and the rain started to fall it was early evening. The thunder rumbled in the distance, promising an epic storm ahead. Athos and d’Artagnan had just finished guard duty at the Louvre and were caught in the freshly falling rain.
“Oh that feels nice,” d’Artagnan exclaimed as he delighted in the cool drops of water falling on his overheated skin, hot weather and leather never mixed well. “I’ve been waiting for this for days.”
“As nice as the break in the heat is maybe we should head indoors. I have no desire to be caught in a storm.”
“Just enjoy it for a moment,” d’Artagnan said, a grin plastered on his face. “It is so cooling. I don’t think I’ve been so happy to see rain in all my life. It’s been unbearable the last few days.”
“You’re from Gascony, isn’t it always hot there?”
D’Artagnan glared at Athos. “Not like this. This has been so oppressive. Just give me a moment or leave me in the street.”
Athos rolled his eyes. He had no intention of leaving the younger man alone. Instead he ran his hand through his now soaking hair, pushing it away from his eyes.
“Don’t you like it?”
“I would rather be dry…” Athos replied before a flash of lightning lit up the darkened sky and a loud rumble of thunder drowned out the rest of his sentence.
“Did you see that?” D’Artagnan grinned. “It was amazing. This is going to be a great storm.”
“Then maybe we should head inside and watch it from the window of somewhere dry.”
“Fine, if you insist.”
The dirt on the streets quickly turned to mud and left their boots filthy as they hurried through the rain. They ended up at Athos’ room; the garrison deserted as the other Musketeers hid from the storm.
“I’ve always loved storms,” d’Artagnan said as he stood by the window watching the lightning. Athos joined him a moment later handing him a cup of wine. “They’re so magnificent and awe-inspiring.”
“I’ve always found them more of an annoyance,” Athos replied gruffly. “Everything just gets wet.”
“They’re beautiful. Just look at the lightning, see how it moves across the sky. It’s mesmerising,” He grabbed Athos’ arm and pulled him close; standing behind him as they both stared out of the window.
They were so close that Athos could feel d’Artagnan’s heart pounding in his chest. D’Artagnan could heat every breath that Athos took and in that moment he wanted nothing more than to kiss the older man. He wondered if Athos felt the same. Testing things, d’Artagnan placed his arms on the other man’s shoulders, gently tousling his wet hair with his fingers. Athos didn’t protest. Instead he leaned into d’Artagnans’s touch.
“Don’t you just love the build up?” He whispered into Athos’ ear. “The air is so tense you can feel it. The heat makes it almost unbearable,” he ran his fingers up and down Athos’ neck, the older man moaning gently in appreciation. “You think that it can’t get any hotter, can’t build up any more and then it breaks like a dam. The lightning shoots through the air, it crackles and excites. Can’t you feel it?”
“Are you still talking about the storm?” Athos replied in a low and hoarse voice. It was obvious how much d’Artagnan was affecting him and the Gascon knew now exactly where he stood. He so desperately wanted to kiss Athos.
“What do you think?” He asked and Athos slowly turned around and, wrapping his arms around d’Artagnan’s waist, pulled him in for a kiss.
It felt like d’Artagnan had been struck by lightning himself. The kiss was soft and hesitant but it shot through his body. It was the most exciting thing that he had ever felt. He grasped Athos’ head in his hand and deepened the kiss, letting the older man know that he not only wanted this but was desperate for it. He clung onto him as if his life depended on it; like he was a ship caught in the storm and Athos was the only thing anchoring him. The kiss was that amazing.
He wanted it to last forever. He never wanted this feeling to end; it was so exhilarating, just like when he watched a storm. It couldn’t last forever though and eventually the two men had to pull apart breathing heavily.
“That was a new experience,” Athos said through the pants.
“Not a bad one I hope.”
“Certainly not a bad one.”
“I have wanted to do that for the longest time. Since we met I think,” d’Artagnan leaned in and kissed him again quickly. “I just never thought that you would ever respond in the same way.”
Athos smiled. “You remind me very much of a thunderstorm. You are wild and unpredictable. You are bright and intense, beautiful and dangerous. I don’t think I could resist you even if I wanted to.”
“What do we do now?”
“Let’s just watch the storm. Everything else can wait until tomorrow,” Athos replied and turned back to the window. The worst of the storm had passed, the thunder and lightning were fading further and further into the distance but the still watched. When the rain stopped d’Artagnan placed a soft kiss on Athos’ neck.
“Maybe we could move this over to your bed,” he whispered in Athos’ ear.
“I think that would be a very good idea,” he replied and took d’Artagnan by the hand leading him to the bed. He sat down, resting against the wall and d’Artagnan followed suit, kissing the older man and never wanting his lips to leave his. “What do we do now?” Athos asked uncertainly. It had been a long time since he had been this close to another person.
“I have no idea,” d’Artagnan grinned as he kissed him again. “But it’s going to be a lot of fun finding out.”