"I want some time after we get married to figure out who we are as a couple, then," Porthos says, which is good to get out in the open. They really probably ought to have had this talk a long time ago, because it's clearing the air. "Plus, there are things I'd like in place before we start. The house in the country, even if it's only the shell," he offers as example.

He shrugs, idly braiding some of the strands of Aramis' hair before him, his fingers soothed by the constant motion. "A year? Maybe eighteen months after we get married?"