TITLE: For his eyes only.
AUTHOR: Too_beauty.
PAIRING: Alexander and Hephaestion.
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: AU.
DISCLAMER: I don't know the people involved, no harm intended, everything is product of my imagination, but I wouldn't mind sharing my life with the blue eyed god.
NO BETA so all mistakes are mine.
FEEDBACK: comments are love! Yes, please any kind of them will help me to improve my writing or leave it forever.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Head covering was not a usual practice in Ancient Greece, however it means that the person, mostly women, are not available for any kind of love interaction.
Nobody really knew how long it was; many theories were around, some said it was shoulder-length; others, waist-length, the boldest said it was obviously thigh-length.
Only one thing was true and that was that only Alexander knew how long it was.
Everything began one warm summer afternoon in Mieza. Alexander was running towards the stable when he saw his father talking to another man. A little boy was beside them and turned round when he heard the footsteps. Alexander smiled at him, showing one of his front tooth missing and an equal smile mirrored his action. Both children were introduced and the tallest warrior let his son go and play with the prince.
Both boys were running through the nearby forest when a low branch caught a tress of the brunette's hair; the boy yelled and tried to disentangle his hair from the tree branch but he couldn't. Alexander stopped in his running and went back to see what was holding his new friend back.
On arriving to the place and seeing the problem, the prince laughed loudly, told him that the tree was in love with him, and due to that, it didn't want to let him go. The brunette expressed his discomfort and demanded the prince's help. Alexander took in his still chubby fingers the long tress and set it free. Once the problem was solved, Alexander told his friend that his hair was the thickest he had ever seen and that his colour was unique, much better than his boring blonde. Hephaestion blushed a little because he had always considered all his features quite ordinary.
Philip requested that Hephaestion were part of the group of friends to study with Alexander under Aristotle and so the brunette was now a student besides the prince's best friend.
Alexander had always had a tic, whenever he was nervous or thinking, he used to play with his hair, twirling it among his fingers, making it curl. But since a week ago, that was not possible, on his eagerness to show his parents that he was a big boy, he decided to bath alone but he was careless when he picked up the lotion to wash his hair. Lanike had to cut his precious locks when they were totally burnt by the strong formula. So now Alexander racked his fingers through his short hair and sighed loudly.
Aristotle gave them an assignment and the prince was highly concentrated on it. However the concentration disappeared as soon as he caught a glimpse of his friend's shoulder length hair. Bronze and copper mixed in the long tresses, creating a myriad of reflections under the summer sun.
The prince's hand moved towards it and catching a long lock, he started to wind it around his forefinger. Hephaestion turned round when he felt a tug on his nape and he discovered Alexander, looking mesmerized at his hair. Hephaestion smiled at his prince and Alexander blushed deeply. He was about to release the lock when Hephaestion nodded as if he were giving him permission to go on playing with his hair. That was the beginning of Alexander's obsession with Hephaestion's hair.
As time went by, his innocent obsession turned into a deep possessiveness, which brought along some kind of jealousy. His friend's hair was a treasure, he was the only one allowed to touch it and admire it. Even though it was his deepest secret, it became known one evening during a banquet.
Alexander and his companions were invited to the banquet in honour of some important visitors. King Philip wanted to show his guests how well educated were his son and his friends, who were around fourteen years old. Among the youths was a young pretty girl called Megara, who had been Alexander and Hephaestion's friend from childhood. What they had not realized was that Megara had feeling for Hephaestion and she had decided to let him know about them in that very banquet.
The girl was dressed in a beautiful red peplos that caressed her long legs as if it were fingers; her red hair was arranged in long curls that reached her waist, showing her family wealth. She moved softly around the room, as if she were floating, her hips had a subtle swinging movement that was accentuated whenever she walked near Hephaestion. But the tall and strong youth had never realized about his friend's feeling towards him; he was much more concentrated on the wind whirl emotions another friend was awakening in his heart.
The prince saw Megara's intentions from stadia afar and a raging feeling invaded his insecure heart, he knew for sure that Hephaestion was the owner of his heart but he wasn't sure about the brunette's feelings. They spent a lot of time together and shared their secrets and dreams. Lately, Alexander had managed to caress his soon-to be-better-half slightly whenever the occasion arose, when handling him things, brushing their arms together while walking and most of the times by caressing his scalp while washing Hephaestion's hair, a practice that Hephaestion didn't argue against and Alexander enjoyed too much to stop it.
Some of their friends mocked him about it but Alexander just shrugged his shoulders and didn't make a further comment. But the night of the banquet was different, Alexander saw how Megara approached Hephaestion and took a lock of his hair in her tiny white hands. She caressed the lock with reverence while she leaned over the youth as if she wanted to fuse her body with his. Hephaestion moved nervously, trying to get out of her pinning but he was unsuccessful. Megara took his thin plait in her fingers and started to play with its metal ornaments when she suddenly felt a slap in her hands and a furious Alexander standing next to her. The red haired youth turned round and saw with fear the wrath on Alexander's two coloured eyes. Hephaestion tried to calm his blonde down but the prince started to speak really lowly, as if he were hissing his words. In very few words, the prince let her know that she was not allowed to mess with HIS friend's hair; in fact he was claiming his exclusivity over the brunette, the hair was just a good means to let her clearly known that she shouldn't mess with who was his.
The rest of the guests saw this as a friends' trifle but the rest of the companions saw it as it really was, a battle of two over one beloved. The young men realized that Megara had already lost her opportunity with the brunette, not because Alexander was the prince but because he was just and only Alexander who Hephaestion cared about.
Things ran smoothly from that night on; the companions knew who held the prince's heart and the ones who still had the idea of winning Alexander for themselves, resigned when they realized that the prince had lost his heart to a longhaired brunette.
The time to prove themselves as warriors had come and Alexander showed his new tactics on the battlefield, leading them to a categorical victory. Even though he felt sad due to the fallen brothers in arms, the adrenalin running through his body was driving him crazy; he needed to do something to get rid of it, if not he would not be able to unwind and rest.
He walked towards the small pond and froze in the spot, his best and gorgeous friend was sitting into the water, bathing the blood and grim away. Hephaestion was about to lift his arms in order to wet his hair when a searing pain ran along his shoulder. He yelled lowly and left his head fall, resigning himself to get his hair clean.
Alexander entered the pond and sat behind his friend, who turned round and put his dagger on the prince's neck. Seeing his attacker was Alexander, Hephaestion apologized and let himself lean over his prince's chest. Alexander ran his hands over his shoulders, offering him some comfort. He asked Hephaestion if he would let him wash his hair and the brunette nodded gladly.
When the bath was over, Alexander took a leather string from his armor and combed Hephaestion's hair into a low pony tail as he used to wear when practicing or wrestling. Hephaestion smiled tenderly at such a comforting act and then they retired to their tent.
On their way back, king Philip called them and asked both youths to share his table, drinking unwatered wine for the first time. All the soldiers present drank saluting Alexander and his magnificent strategies. Hephaestion, who could never hold his drinking long, felt quickly tipsy so Alexander offered to take him back to the tent. Dirty jokes and pieces of advices were shouted to the prince, who left the place without answering back.
Inside the tent, Alexander set their cots one next to each other and Hephaestion fell asleep almost immediately, without getting undressed. Alexander contemplated his friend for a long time and then he knelt to unlace his boots and carefully massaged the tired feet. Hephaestion smiled in his drunken sleep. Then Alexander rolled Hephaestion on his side and took his chiton off leaving the brunette wearing a thin cotton loincloth. He also untied the hair string and carded his finger through the long tresses that were falling just a little below his shoulders. Alexander caressed Hephaestion's scalp tenderly, trying to get the tiredness of his friend's body. When he stopped, Hephaestion rolled onto his stomach and set his head over Alexander's chest, with an arm wound around the prince's waist. Alexander leaned over and boldly pecked his friend's lips, lingering on them for a while. Hephaestion reacted quite immediately and both youths drowned in each other's mouths and eyes.
Alexander hugged him tightly and mouthed "Mine" while he grabbed Hephaestion's hair; the brunette smiled and answered back "Yours".
The days after their first battle found them really busy, without having time to spend with each other. The sexual tension building between them was very high, so much that they had hidden after a practice to share some hot kisses.
When all the things were sorted out, Alexander surprised his lover- to be with a present. He took him blindfolded to a spot in the forest; Hephaestion could listen to water running and when he was allowed to see, he saw a small waterfall coming out some rocks and, near the shore, a blanket with many food treats on it. They ate by the river, feeding each other and sharing sweet kisses.
After a short nap in each other's arms, they decided to swim for a while and have a relaxing bath. They played in the water as two little children for a long time but then Alexander saw Hephaestion shivered and so they decided to get out. Alexander sat behind Hephaestion and started to comb his long hair, a ritual that was so sensual as their kisses. Alexander could swear that Hephaestion purr during all the process and the combing left him always in an exciting mood.
Hephaestion turned round in his beloved's arms and pushed him onto his back while straddling his thighs. He left his hair loose and caressed the prince's bare chest with his bronze tresses; Alexander moaned loudly and asked his Phai to let him make love to him. The brunette blushed but nodded eagerly.
Moans and sweet nothings could be heard in that patch of heaven while two young men let themselves fall in love with their soul mate. Tired but happily sated, they dozed for a while in each other's arms. When Hephaestion woke up, he realized that all his hair was arranged in a thick plait and that a single violet was ornamenting it. Hephaestion looked at it and smiled because he knew what Alexander had meant with it, faithfulness.
From that moment on, Hephaestion was never seen again with his hair loose, in fact, he was very careful with it and he didn't let anyone touch it by any means. Whenever someone asked him about it, he just shrugged his shoulders and went on walking. If Alexander was near, they used to share an intimate smile but not a single word.
When Hephaestion turned twenty one, Alexander presented him a beautiful ivory comb and several silk kerchiefs for his hair, he also gifted him a thick gold band that was not for his hair but for the most important finger of the left hand, the one where the vena amoris started and it ended in the heart. When Alexander slid the ring on Hephaestion's finger and kissed it, their final bond was complete and only one more thing remained, Alexander covered his husband's hair with one of the kerchief because he was the only allowed seeing it.
Nobody really knew how long Hephaestion's hair was after all those years; many theories were around, some said it was shoulder-length; others, waist-length, the boldest said it was obviously thigh-length. It had been twenty years ago the last time they had seen it loose.
Only one thing was true and that was that only Alexander knew how long it was because Hephaestion's hair was a gift for the king's eyes only.