Disclaimer: I own nothing even remotely related to BBC, Dumas, etc.

Hello, everyone! Hope you are all having a fabulous day! This is the first chapter in a two-part Musketeers fanfiction. This show has not aired in my country yet, (oh, the humanity!) but thanks to generous people who temporarily posted the full episodes, I was able to see the first series. Please enjoy my humble contribution to this growing fandom!

"One Night at the Inn"

Chapter 1

"D'Artagnan!" Athos called out over the gusting winds at his friend. He tugged on the leather reins to slow his horse so he and the younger man could converse as best as possible in the frigid storm. Putting a gloved hand in front of his face to shield his skin from the heavy raindrops falling from the sky, Athos quickly surveyed the environment. The path had long since become a soup of slippery mud. Athos twisted his head around. His fears were confirmed: the hoof-prints his horse and d'Artagnan's horse just made disappeared. "D'Artagnan!"

Up ahead, the younger musketeer did not slow his cantering horse, but he did oblige Athos with a glance in his direction. "What?" he shouted back as the wind carried off his bellow to a whisper that Athos barely caught. D'Artagnan squinted to make Athos out, but between the darkening sky and the deafening storm, he had a hard time concentrating on Athos's face. He knew that, like every other sensible person in the world, Athos wanted to stop for the night. D'Artagnan, however, had adamantly expressed his intention to continue all day. He did not plan to abandon his ideas now.

Frustrated that d'Artagnan was deliberately rebelling against him, Athos halted his steed. "We must stop!" ordered Athos. "Continuing in this rain would be foolish!" To further Athos's point, a huge clap of thunder erupted from the sky. D'Artagnan reluctantly shifted the reins so his horse would slowly move towards Athos's mount. Once they were closer together, Athos continued, but he still had to scream to be heard above the torrential downpour. "Let's head back to the inn we passed. It can't be more than a mile away."

D'Artagnan shook his head as his heart constricted. Droplets of water spurted off of his drenched hair and into his eyes. Not for the first time since coming to Paris, d'Artagnan longed for a hat like Athos and the rest of the musketeer troops were issued upon receiving their commissions. "Our destination is not far off." D'Artagnan knew that persuasion was impossible once Athos made up his mind, but the Gascon's desperation and stubbornness would not allow submission. "We're already going to be a day late."

"Better late than never," Athos retorted, his tone leaving no room for compromise. "We are stopping for the night." Without giving d'Artagnan time to comment, Athos kicked his horse in the direction of the inn. After signing in resignation, D'artagnan did the same.

The two rode in silence, which surprised but pleased Athos. After all, they had been riding hard for hours and until now because d'Artagnan insisted they stop only for as little as possible. Besides, the rain beating against the trees was loud enough to drown out any noise. What Athos did not know was that the only reason D'Artagnan remained quiet was that his racing thoughts made him too nervous to speak.

Sitting in the dingy room at the inn, Athos drained the last of his wine into his mouth. When the flow of the red liquid ceased, Athos ripped the bottle from his mouth and held it up in front of his face. He examined it closely, and concluded that he had drunk the entire bottle. Suddenly quite unamused with the empty glass, Athos relaxed into his seat and let his head slightly droop on his left shoulder. Try as he might, he could not pull his eyes from following the incessant movement at the opposite side of the room.

D'Artagnan, who had not stopped pacing in front of the one cloudy window, increased his stride. "Only one tonight?" d'Artagnan mocked with a harsher tone than he intended.

"Considering I brought one bottle with me for a trip that was supposed to take one day, yes." Athos bristled under his new friend's accusatory statement. D'Artagnan did not offer a response to Athos. Instead, he continued to pace and glance through the window. Rain pounded against the glass pane. Athos did not understand d'Artagnan's fascination with the weather. It was not as if the young man had never seen rain before in Gascony.

"The rain seems to be letting up," d'Artagnan commented absently.

Athos's eyes flickered from the window to d'Artagnan. "Have you been drinking tonight, too, Lad?" A smile crossed Athos's lips when he thought of his own joke. "That storm hasn't stopped all night. It'll probably last through morning."

D'Artagnan huffed at Athos's lame attempt at humor. "I'm going to bed," he quietly declared.

"Sweet dreams," Athos condescendingly bode his friend, returning to the company of his empty bottle.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the first installment of this story. The second and final chapter will hopefully be longer. Any and all feedback is welcome, encouraged, and treasured. Thanks again, and see you next chapter!