Hephaestion was angry. If bad days had a color, his would be coal black. It started out on a rough note and only got worse from there.
He woke up in the morning after a restless sleep. Tired already, before the day even began, he opened his eyes to see a table overflowing with scrolls of various tasks, all needing his attention. Even if he sat there all day, he would never be able to finish.
He swung out of bed and promptly stubbed his toe. In hindsight, he should have just stayed in bed.
It cascaded downhill from there, from stepping in horse manure to dropping all the scrolls he was carrying to being stung by a bee.
The teasing and taunting he received every day from his fellow companions ceased to be the least bit amusing by midday. His normal patience with them was long gone.
On returning to his rooms after a long day with numerous mishaps and misfortune, Hephaestion was seething. He almost relished someone saying the wrong thing to him so he could let them have it and get rid of some of his anger.
Alexander stepped into Hephaestion's rooms minutes later. Without noticing Hephaestion's look of total frustration, he asked him if the report he wanted by tomorrow was done yet.
Turning towards him, Hephaestion unleashed all his fury on him, starting out by recounting the events of his day and ending with what Alexander could do with the report.
Alexander stood silently for a moment and then walked up to Hephaestion, wrapped his arms snugly around the other man and kissed him deeply.
"Why did you do that?" Hephaestion hissed, pulling back.
"Because even as angry as you are, I have never seen you more beautiful than you are right now. You take my breath away."
Stunned into silence by the words he had just heard, his anger and frustration suddenly vanished. Hephaestion stepped closer and took Alexander in his arms, returning the kiss passionately.
There just might be some hope for this day getting better after all, he thought.