On normal days, on days when life was just life and not something to fight for with swords and blood, Hephaestion and Alexander were simply lovers. On normal days, on days when time was not spent on battlefields and endless drinking games, Hephaestion and Alexander spent every minute together.
Unfortunately, those days grew fewer after each battle ended. Those days grew fewer after each conquered tribe, and sadly, those days came to an end a few days before Hephaestion's death.
Fights rang out between them, hateful words were exchanged, unmeant statements made. People whispered that Alexander was devastated by Hephaestion's death because they were lovers, but there was more to that story then people cared to put into that statement. Alexander never had enough time to patch up the mistakes he had made with Hephaestion, never spent enough time just placing is lips against Hephaestion's filling him with love.
The three months that passed after Hephaestion's death were slow and hurtful for Alexander. He spent day after day drinking until the dead of the night, his intoxication forcing up memories of Hephaestion and tears. Depression overtook him as he separated himself from the affection of others; in his mind Hephaestion was the only person who deserved his affection.
Night after night, he lay awake in his bed rewinding the moments of his adolescent years. The years were both Alexander and Hephaestion were nothing but pure lovers discovering what made each other tick. Back then their faces were still clear of battle scars and lines of worry. Those were the years where the confessions of love were like a habit, were the butterfly kisses were like a daily routine, and where all the moments of his life were filled with Hephaestion.
Those deep blue eyes never left his mind, and once again he hated being king. He hated the gift that had separated them, hated the gift that had no doubt been a curse to their relationship.
While awaiting his own death, Alexander was undoubtedly scared, but somewhere in his heart was a tingling beat of excitement and anxiousness. He thought of all his childhood stories of the afterlife and only one question encircled his mind. Would he ever find Hephaestion again?
In those final moments, he heard numerous voices telling him to let go, but he held on. He held on to earth because out of all those voices he could not hear that one deep voice he wished to hear. Alexander lay on his deathbed for a whole day, clinging on to dear life and when the time finally came, when his heart gave one last beat, the world seemed to play in slow motion. His mind rushed with protests as Alexander felt his body start to shut down, and when his heart finally stopped, and as his eyes closed, Alexander was out of the world.
For a moment, all Alexander could see was a flash of bright light, but as his eyes re-opened, he found himself sat on a grassy ground. Around him, fruits bright and ripe hung from trees, vine-clad walls surrounded the garden, and beautiful children ran and laughed across the garden. Gossiping mothers sat aside a fountain, indulging in its crisp cold water and smiling warmly at the children. Alexander slowly stood up, taking in all the peacefulness of the garden. He felt a heart warming sense of calm and happiness take over himself. He felt years younger, stronger, and more energetic. He approached the fountain that the women were seated around, giving them a nod of acknowledgement and offering them his best smile. They smiled at him and shifted to make room for him as he bent down towards the fountain and examined his reflection. There was his seventeen year old self, young, face clear from wounds, and eyes shining with energy.
The woman around him suddenly erupted with excited greetings and giggling voices, Alexander could hear the chatter of men and the slapping of sandals on stone floors. He smiled at the women around him, some shyly covering their faces with their long locks, and some shouting out loudly to the men. He had always been expecting the women of the afterlife to be different from any ordinary woman, but that clearly was not the situation.
As Alexander turned to look back at his reflection, he found another face smiling at him from behind his shoulder.
A face framed with shoulder length brown locks.
A face planted with a cheeky smile.
A face made beautiful with eyes the color of the sky.
"Hephaestian?"
Alexander had clearly not taken in all that was happening, for he did not react to the butterfly kisses that were being placed on his neck, did not notice the strong arms wrapped around his waste.
"You were never one to react well to surprising situations"
Hephaestion smiled at Alexander's reflection and cuddled onto the curve between his shoulder and neck.
"I…. I…."
"Let's put those lips to better use"
The kiss was beyond magical and a few tears escaped Alexander's closed eyes as he felt joy overcome him. The reunion between the two was beautiful, and for the rest of the afterlife, they spent their time together. For the rest of the afterlife, they put behind their complicated lives and indulged in simply being known as 'Alexander and Hephaestion'. They never aged a single bit in the afterlife, forever stick at the tender age of seventeen where the two lovers had known nothing but love in both life and afterlife.
THE END.