TITLE: A Red sealed "I love you" Letter.

PAIRING: Hephaestion and Alexander.

RATING: R

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.

A flushed teenager saw the object of his deepest desire pass by and his cheeks got so red that he thought they would explode. The prince hid behind his mother's roses bushes because he didn't want to be seen. He didn't know how to handle what he was feeling towards his friend, especially because he was sure his feelings were unrequited, so he suffered in silence, trying to control the turmoil of feelings inside his young heart.

What the young price didn't know was that his feelings were totally requited by the blue-eyed youth; in fact, the brunette was doing up to the humanly possible to not show his feelings because he knew that his friend was destined to greatness and that he, the mere son of a General, would never be a good match for him.

So there they were a blond and a brunette in love with each other but suffering in solitude. But the gods were feeling merciful with these two young men because both of them were destined to greatness because one would soon become the ruler of the known world while the other would soon become the ruler of the future Macedonian king's heart.

Alexander's closest friends encouraged him to talk to Hephaestion and to tell him about what he felt for him. Ptolemy, always wiser and with more knowledge in things of the heart, advised him to come clear with his feelings so, according to the answer he got from Hephaestion, the prince would be able to love his brunette friend freely or, in the worst of the cases, he would realize that his only option would be to forget everything about him, get over the situation and move on with his life.

Alexander was not so sure to follow his older companion's advice, he feared that if he was turned down by Hephaestion, he would not be able to move on but he was also more afraid of losing their close friendship, that they had been sharing for the past seven years. So the sad young prince decided that it would be better to be Hephaestion's friend than a stranger in his life, at least as a friend, he would be able to see and speak to him.

Months went by and Alexander's love for his brunette did not diminish at all, in fact, it continued growing and it was so big that it didn't fit inside his heart anymore. His love was now so obvious, for someone who knew where to look, that it started to reflect in every action he did whenever his brunette was near: his longing looks when the brunette walk semi-naked after his daily bath, the subtle caresses when handing out things to each other and the deep and painful sighs when his own Patroclus read in his sexy baritone voice or he left the room where they had been together. It was a torment to be near Hephaestion and be unable to have it in the only way he desired most. The poor prince thought that he would die out of love any day soon.

Zeus, the father of all the gods, had a soft spot for that Macedonian princeling. He made him remember of his fallen hero Achilles who, out of love for his murdered lover Patroclus, became reckless and angry and that brought death on him. He decided that he would not let that happen again but he didn't want to meddle with their feelings so the best thing to do was to keep an eye on both of them and made their path easier whenever they found a difficult situation. The wise god also thought that true love always found its way between true lovers.

Aphrodite, who was passing by, saw the serious expression on his father's face and getting closer asked him what was troubling his royal head. Knowing that the brunette was her most devoted follower, Zeus confided her with his secret. The beautiful goddess clapped madly and added her blessing and a watchful eye on the soon-to-be couple, telling her father that she would help because both youths were perfect to each other. What she didn't mention was that her son Eros had a love arrow already prepared to hit the teens as soon as the perfect occasion aroused.

It was the last days of summer, the weather had been quite hot and most of the young companions had been complaining about it. Hephaestion couldn't be happier, he hated the cold weather with passion but he really enjoyed sunbathing and letting Helios warm his bare skin as frequently as it was possible. Alexander didn't care about the weather, he had been taught by Leonidas to tolerate any extreme climate and to get the best out of them. However, he preferred the warm and hot weather because it gave him the excuse to see more often a semi-naked blue eyed-Hephaestion. Lately, however, it had been difficult to hide his body reactions but luckily he had never been discovered.

Hephaestion was waiting for his next wrestling match, drying his sweated body with a not so clean chiton; this hot weather was glorious for him but it was also his tormentor because Alexander tended to wrestle with his chest bare and it had been difficult to him to stop his hands from caressing the soft and hairless broad chest.

So here he was, the Amyntoros heir secretly praying to all the gods that his next partner weren't Alexander. When Cleitus announced that the winner of the red group was Alexander, Hephaestion's heart fell to his feet, as he was the winner of the blue group, they had to wrestle against each other.

It had never been a problem but since some months ago, Hephaestion had not been able to control his body reactions whenever any part of Alexander's body got in contact with his during his weekly wrestling. It seemed that his nether regions were always aroused with the simple brush of Alexander's fingers or with one of his deep looks, looks that wanted to pin him to the floor and never let him go.

Both youths got ready for the last wrestling match of the day and the winner and his group would get a whole day free of training and studies. Needless to say that both names were being shouted by their team mates loudly, cheering and encouraging them to win. The participants were ready and everybody could see both of the participants were nervous, however no one could guess their internal reasons.

Strong fingers were wrapped around wide biceps, two pairs of eyes looked into their partner's and close mouths released short puffs of warm air. The wrestle was quite fierce, taking turns in dominating the other, fingers grabbed sensible areas and a furious blush crept up onto their cheeks.

Cleitus, who was outside the arena, saw clearly what was happening and a low chuckle abandoned his lips. Both teens were getting aroused due to the constant touching between their bodies and he clearly knew that the wrestle would end up in a tie. He shouted "tie" and both teens dropped to their knees, panting with difficulty.

Cleitus decided that both teams deserved the free day and let them go early. He also asked the two wrestlers to catch their breath while their companions took their baths. Alexander and Hephaestion agreed but showing their confusion in their eyes. Cleitus laughed loudly and he said that they would understand as soon as they stood up.

When they did, blond and brunette realized what Cleitus had meant, feeling their bodies clearly aroused. Hephaestion blushed so deeply that Alexander thought he would have a stroke and the brunette immediately ran away, towards his chamber. Alexander remained nailed to the floor but after some seconds, he ran after his friend. He needed to know if he was the cause of his friend's state.

The prince knocked softly on the closed door but he was not allowed to enter; his friend was begging him to leave him alone. But the prince didn't want to leave his friend alone so he entered and sat on the cot, without touching him.

Hephaestion felt the cot sinking and he curled himself tighter, hiding his head between his arms. Alexander didn't know what to do so he decided to follow his heart. He caressed his friend's nape until the brunette lifted his blue gaze towards the two-coloured one. A string of whispered "It's fine, Phai" made the trick and the brunette opened his eyes and he saw Alexander looking back at him with so much love in his eyes that he stopped breathing for some seconds.

The blond prince found himself with an armful of his friend who hugged him as if his life depended on that embrace. Alexander whispered sweet nothings in his friend's ear, telling him all the things he had been hiding inside his heart and assuring him that he would always be by his side if that was what he wanted. Hephaestion nodded against his prince's chest and Alexander released a sigh he didn't know he was holding.

Moments later, Alexander took Hephaestion's chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissed him tenderly on the lips; a low sigh left the brunette's lips and then he deepened the kiss until their tongues danced in each other's mouths.

They shared many more loving and reassuring kisses that evening and finally sleep caught them and they fell asleep together, sharing a bed for the first time.

Alexander, who had always been an early bird, woke up and disentangling himself from his friend, went towards the desk and grabbing a clean scroll, decided to write his first love letter; a custom he would have for the rest of his life, until his death.

My dear Hephaestion,

I don't know if I am doing the right thing but I cannot and I really don't want to hide my feelings for you anymore. These last months had been a torture for me, having you near and being unable to tell you how much I care for you.

I know that we are too young and that life is not written in stone but I would like to share my whole life with you; having you by my side completes me; being with you makes me happy; loving you makes me feel great.

Spending last night together, just hugging each other, showed me that I am nothing without you …

I love you, Phai.

Forever yours,

Alexander.

The prince sealed the letter with his signet ring and red wax, in fact it was white wax tinted by his own blood, the one drop that had fallen from his ring finger. He kissed the letter tenderly and put it onto the creased pillow so his Phai would be able to see it as soon as he opened his gorgeous cyan eyes.

One hour later, the brunette stirred in his bed and his hand looked for the warm body that had been spooning his all night long. But when his hand found instead an empty and cold space, he got really sad because he thought that all had been a dream. He turned again to his side, to hide his face in his own pillow, and that was when he found the letter. He opened it immediately and a warm feeling took residence in his heart.

He got up, washed and got dressed carefully, trying to look his best.

He had a prince to find.

He had a positive answer to give and maybe … more kisses.