TITLE: "Through the rain"
PAIRING: Hephaestion and Alexander.
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: Historical AU.
DISCLAIMER: I do not know the people involved, no harm intended, everything is product of my imagination, but I would not mind sharing my life with the blue-eyed god.
WARNINGS: Angst and comfort.
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: This is a companion piece to "Smoke in the sky" but both of them can stand alone.
The words in bold belong to the lyrics of the song "I Made It through the Rain" by Barry Manilow
Alexander contemplated his lover's body being shaken by deep sobs while fat raindrops, so similar to the gods' tears, cleansed the hunched frame of the man who he loved so deeply. He knew that Hephaestion needed this to calm down his pain but he couldn't stand watching him in so much pain and being quiet. He approached the soaked General and sliding his strong arms around the slender waist, he brought the brunette's back to rest onto his warm chest.
A long and loud sigh escaped from Hephaestion's mouth and after letting his head fall onto his lover's shoulder, he turned his face and whispered a low "Thank you" against his neck. Alexander turned him round inside the cocoon of his arms and kissed the cold lips reverently and against them he answered "You are welcome".
Without uttering a single word after that, Hephaestion let the king lead him to the royal tent where his needs were tended by a worried warrior and an amorous lover.
Alexander peeled the drenched chiton, left it fall to the floor in a heap and guided his lover to the big tub in the inner part of the tent. The water was quite warm but not extremely hot; Alexander didn't want Hephaestion to suffer a temperature shock. He helped him sit inside it and then the king of the known world took a cotton flannel and pouring some sandalwood essence on it, he proceeded to wash his lover's body with extremely care, as if the grown-up man sitting there were just a helpless baby.
Then he took care of the long tresses, which were dirty with blood, grime and mud. He wet the hair once more to get rid of the dirt and then proceeded to lather it with a scented soap. He took his time doing that, especially because he massaged Hephaestion's scalp with soothing circular movements as if he wanted to remove all his worries and sadness with them. Finally he made him throw his head backwards and he rinsed the hair thoroughly until there were no more suds in it.
After that, Alexander brought a jar with some scented oil mixed with warm water and rinsed the General's whole body while he was standing up inside the tub. He helped the brunette to get out of it and lead him to their bed where he tucked him in under a thick fur blanket. Alexander wondered if his lover would be fine soon, he had never seen him like that before, well, just only once after the battle against the Sacred Band but it had been the brunette the one who had offered him comfort. This time it was the king's opportunity to comfort him.
Alexander knew, deep down in his heart, that his Hephaestion suffered the most because he was, in spite of all the atrocities he saw and the miseries he fought, a dreamer. He was a dreamer too and that was why he could understand Hephaestion so well.
He slid beneath the covers and spooned his lover, hugging his still shaking body with tenderness but strength at the same time. It had been a long time ago since he had sung to anyone, in fact, the last person was the same one he was embracing.
In a very soft tone of voice, the king of the known world began to sing quietly into his lover's ear:
"We dreamers have our ways of facing rainy days and somehow we survive to the cold rain. We keep the feelings warm, protect them from the storm until our time arrives and we could face the world again.
Then one day the sun appears and we come shining through those lonely years of fights, long campaigns and sacrifices to get our dreams come true.
It is not the first time that we made it through the rain, kept our world protected, kept our point of view and found ourselves respected by the others who got rained on too and made it through because our ideas and dreams had become theirs along these years together.
When friends are hard to find and life seems so unkind, sometimes you feel so afraid
that you will never get what you have been working so hard to achieve so I remembered what you once told me: "Alexander Just aim beyond the clouds and rise above the crowds and start your own parade" because as you reminded me I am my own man and nothing is impossible if you want it too much. I knew that when I chased my fears away, that's when I knew that I could finally say aloud what my dreams were and that I only needed you by my side to reach them.
My beloved Phai, chase the rain away from your heart and let the sun enter and light it, take your time but always remember that I will be by your side until you feel right again."
Alexander ended his song in a whisper and setting a loving kiss on his partner's shoulder, he fell asleep.
It took Hephaestion only that night to recover; he knew he had to toughen his soul and heart or every battle would be more difficult to face and he had been born to be a warrior and no one would call him weak. He was a dreamer but even dreamers faced reality and overcame the difficult situations life presented them every day. He was a dreamer but he was not alone, he had the best partner anyone could ask for and with Alexander by his side, he knew he would always make it through the rain towards the sun.