TITLE: "Five reasons"
PAIRING: Alexander and Hephaestion.
RATING: PG to R.
CATEGORY: Historical AU.
SUMMARY: Alexander needs to find a way to make Hephaestion understand how important he is to him.
DISCLAIMER: I do not know the people involved, no harm intended; everything is product of my imagination. Alexander and Hephaestion belong to History and to each other but I would not mind sharing my life with the blue-eyed man.
WARNINGS: A tiny bit of angst, lots of fluff and romanticism ….
My mother tongue is Spanish and I work without a beta so all the mistakes are mine.
FEEDBACK: comments are love! Any kind of them will help me to improve my writing or leave it forever.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really did not feel like writing anything angsty this year … The four first phrases in bold belong to the lyrics of "Because you loved me" by Celine Dion and the last quote belongs to the film "47 Ronin".
"Why me?" Hephaestion asked, with his head resting on Alexander's chest, which was warmer than usual due to the mild sun that was shinning above their heads.
Alexander stopped his caresses for a few seconds and then continued. He had been racking his strong fingers through Hephaestion's long auburn tresses and then massaging his scalp and nape in such a soothing rhythm that it had provoked that the brave General and wise diplomat purred like a kitten.
"Why you? What is your question about, love?" Alexander asked; a long sigh escaped through his half-open lips because he already knew what he was being asked but, as usual, he wanted to divert the so frequent asked question.
"Why did you choose me? You could have had whomever you wanted and you still can. So, why me?" Hephaestion asked in a whisper, his voice very low and with a hint of sadness in it.
His fingers played with the golden skin of Alexander's chest that was slippery as sweat had beaded across the royal chest.
"Why wouldn't I choose you?" Alexander asked in return so Hephaestion realized that he was not going to get a straight answer. Alexander always did that when he replied a question with another one.
The brunette decided to stop asking. After a minute or two, he lifted his head and stared at his partner for a long time and then he took his lips in a deep and long heart-stopping kiss.
One kiss led to another, increasing their ardour and enthusiasm. Their caresses, soft and innocent at first, got bolder and hands found their way beneath the only garment that was still on their bodies and so, they lost their loincloths and let their skins enjoy the pleasure of rubbing against each other, creating that so well needed and loved sensation that only could be shared between lovers.
Hard-erected members rubbed against each other, spurting tiny drops of clear thick precome. They were writhing, desperate for touch and then, they took turns to enter each other and made their owners cry out in ecstasy, leaving them incoherent with need. Only a second round of slow lovemaking calmed their passion and both men snuggled into the other's arms and fell asleep feeling deeply loved.
The sun went down and with it the chance of spending more time alone. The lovers knew it was time to go back to the palace; in spite of their lack of enthusiasm, they felt blessed by the gods because they had had the rare opportunity of spending time together and alone, indulging in what they liked best, besides war, enjoying each other's company; arousing every single inch of the skin in their bodies to end making love, slowly and tenderly or fast and hard or in whatever combination they were in the mood for.
Hephaestion forgot his question as soon as they stepped into the place. His personal page Nikos was waiting for him with two or three requests for audiences and some scrolls to revise before sending them to their respective destinations.
However, the same thing did not happen to Alexander. His partner's question had been gnawing away at his mind. It dawned on him that he had to give Hephaestion a reason that definitely convinced the brunette of his love.
Dinner was a cheerful moment among their companions and when blonde and brunette were heading towards their chamber, the king of the known world had a clear idea of what he was going to do to convince his husband of his love.
The following morning, Alexander woke up Hephaestion with a string of small kisses along his broad chest, from his breastbone to his navel while his strong hands took care of his husband's morning erection. Hephaestion, still sleepy but feeling needy, came hard with Alexander's name on his lips when pleasure hit him as strong as a lightning bolt. Coming back from his happy place, he was about to reciprocate his partner when Alexander shook his head and whispered against his brunette's lips:
"I chose you because I love you very much" and the blonde sealed his heartfelt confession with a long kiss on the brunette's lips.
Hephaestion, feeling extremely happy and sated, fell asleep with a happy smile gracing his gorgeous face, a face that showed not a single frown or wrinkle of concern.
An hour or so later, Hephaestion stirred his still slim body, popping up some of his well-used bones and muscles, and his left hand outstretched to his side in search of his partner, however he could not touch him, he found an empty spot, slightly warm that told him that Alexander must have been nearby. A dash of colour called his attention and made his cerulean eyes focused on that. A big red apple was on the side table near their bed, resting onto a piece of scroll. Hephaestion reached for the red fruit, gave it a big bite and licked his lips quickly before the juice slid over his chin. At the same time, he took the scroll with his free hand and smiled widely, his evasive partner had decided to give him not one but five reasons as the title said "Five Reasons why I chose You"
5. "I am blessed because I feel loved by you"
Hephaestion finished his apple and looked at the scroll again. Looking at both sides first and seeing no one nearby, he kissed the piece of paper and after smoothing the tiny wrinkles with his hand, he put it inside a wooden box that contained the hundreds of letters, trinkets and many other things that Alexander had gifted him in the last twenty years.
Alexander, who was spying his partner from a hidden and secret spot, smiled and did a happy dance, surprising an old maid who was passing by the off beaten aisle.
Being unable to hide his happiness, the king said in a whisper:
"Hephaestion loves me too"
The maid smiled and then replied:
"Even a blind person could see that, Sire" and went on walking with happiness in her old heart, it was so nice to see her king looking young and happy.
Hephaestion did not know what to do, so he decided not to acknowledge his king for his reasons directly but to let him known that they were truly treasured and kept inside his heart. The brunette did that recognition through tiny and intimate gestures and they gave the king more confidence to go on with his mission.
Another scroll appeared two days later, it was attached to a rare seedling that Hephaestion had been trying to find for many years. A single line was written on it and it was enough to make Hephaestion smile:
4. "You stand by me and I stand tall"
When Alexander entered their chamber, he saw Hephaestion taking care of his newly acquired present. The brunette turned round and outstretched his hand; inviting his king to contemplate the exotic plant while he explained everything he knew about it. A single and butterfly kiss to the royal fingers ended the conversation about it.
3. "Through the lies, you are the truth"That simple phrase was whispered in the brunette's ear after a very difficult meeting with some foreign ambassadors.
The advisors of the recently conquered lands had been quite hard with some of their opinions on his ruling power and that harshness had made Alexander doubt about his actions towards the different peoples living in those faraway lands. However, a simple and gentle touch of Hephaestion's hand on his arm made him look at him and those cerulean eyes silently asked for permission to speak on his behalf.
The young chiliarch destroyed every single argument the ambassadors gave him, bringing light to the malicious lies they had told. When they could no longer improve their arguments, they accepted what they had been offered by the chiliarch in order not to lose more against his clever and quick mind.
2. "I lost my faith, you gave it back to me"Hephaestion had to think hard when that situation might have taken place. He did not recall such occasion. Being curious, the blue-eyed man asked his king while they were lying next to each other in the love seat while contemplating the starry sky and the big silver moon.
Alexander took his husband's hand in his and kissed the palm reverently. He let his finger travel along it and with the tip of his forefinger; he touched the warm surface of the wide gold band that adorned Hephaestion's fourth left finger, a symbol of their endless love for each other and an equal match for the one he was also wearing.
Hephaestion cupped the royal cheek and caressing the warm check with his thumb pad, he encouraged Alexander to go on speaking. The king of the known world retold Hephaestion how his parents had undermined his faith and self-confidence since his very early age; he never was good enough, or too strong or just smart to understand what he had to do or the sacrifices he would have to accept in order to achieve what he was destined for.
At 19 and being standing over a pool of his father's blood after being assassinated in the theatre, Alexander only had to look to his side to find his most loyal friend, standing next to him and crowing him as the new Macedonian king. By doing such a simple but meaningful gesture, Hephaestion restored and rekindled once again the flame of his self-confidence that had burnt steadily and high during his early childhood.
Hephaestion had not doubted that Alexander could take his father's position and even do a much better work. He was so confident that the rest of the companions only dared to look at the scene in front of their eyes for just a few seconds and offered their unconditional support to the newly designed king and choired his name at the top of their lungs.
When Alexander finished speaking, tears were about to fall from his mismatched eyes but Hephaestion kissed them away; he did not want to see his partner suffering for something that had taken place so long ago and that it had been proved wrong.
The brunette chiliarch had to wait for an entire week before receiving his following reason and because it would be the number one, he already suspected that it would sum up his king's feelings. He did not have any doubt by that moment about Alexander's feelings but he was just very curious and nervous at the same time.
Their companions had seen the looks each partner had thrown to each other in those last days and they could not comprehend why they were behaving so strangely. What surprised them the most was that Alexander was showing his feelings towards Hephaestion more openly than usual and the ones who knew him the most could also affirm that the king looked even more relaxed since he had accepted that showing his feelings to his husband in public was not a sign of weakness.
A small group of travelling actors arrived at the city and put up a small tent with some cushions on the floor. A man walked around the city shouting the time and theme of their performance. Alexander smiled widely because he had been given the chance to show his partner his first and most important reason of his love for him, not only in public but also through one of their most treasured texts.
The actor, representing the brave leader of the Myrmidons, was kneeling next to his lover's dead body, confessing his endless love and how he wanted to follow him down to the house of death.
Alexander looked sideways and saw Hephaestion truly affected by the words, even though they had read them hundreds of times. Knowing, deep down in his heart, that it was the right moment to reveal his first and most heartfelt reason, Alexander made Hephaestion look at him and whispered:
"If I ever lose you as Achilles lost Patroclus, I will search for you through a thousand worlds and ten thousands lifetimes until I find you"
Hephaestion looked into his partner's teary eyes and whispered back:
"And I will wait for you in all of them"