It is certainly what he'd been hoping for, but still that faint tremor of Athos' normally iron jaw shudders through Aramis, setting all his nerves pleasantly afire, and he returns the look Athos gives him as he rounds with equal brightness. Still, for all his sudden determination to provoke a reaction, it is a shock to feel Athos' arms around him, those wonderful hands working a perfect knot around his throat. Aramis cannot help the little smile that graces his features then, as pleased as it is unusually bashful.

"Perfect," he murmurs, touching the knot when it is done, his fingers brushing along Athos' before they can disappear. It is the minimum, just now, of what Aramis would like to do, and even so it pushes another faint shudder down his spine. He has long known that there is life in Athos' heart yet, told Porthos time and again, and still it is an extraordinary thing to behold.

"Thank you," says Aramis, turning that faint smile on Athos.