Title: Girl Talk

Pairing: Hephaistion/Alexander

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I own nothing and nothing is true. All events are purely fictional.

Warnings: m/m slash, angst, fluff

Word-count: 2,300

A/N: Written for bi-weekly Alexander Alphabet Challenge

*****

Hephaistion woke with a start. It is difficult to not wake with a start when someone has jumped on your belly while you're peacefully asleep, dreaming about horses and great warriors and princes, or at least one prince in particular.

"Alexander!" the young brunette gasped. "Whatever are you doing? You nearly frightened me to death, my friend."

"A girl!" Alexander shouted into the quiet room, straddling Hephaistion's lightly-sheeted naked body. "She sent me a girl of all things, Phai. How could she do that to me?"

"Slow down, Xander," Hephaistion encouraged, taking the prince's hand in his, and lightly stroking the palm with his other. "Now, tell me, my prince, why are you here so early and what has upset you so?"

Alexander took a deep breath. He looked into his best friend's eyes, finding the startling blue hypnotizing him into calmness. "It's Mother, Phai. She's gone much too far this time."

"Ah. The usual complaint, then, is it? And what has your loving mother done this time, Alexander?" Hephaistion smiled lovingly at the fair-haired prince, his heart soaring with every blink of Alexander's lashes. He felt his friend shift on top of him and gasped as he suddenly realized he was naked and his lower regions were slowly waking up beneath the thin covering. "Alexander, you're squashing me. Move off, please."

Alexander blushed and moved to Hephaistion's side. "My apologies, Phai. I was so agitated that I hurried to tell you, and forgot myself."

"Tell me what, Alexander?" Hephaistion questioned, as he realized Alexander's body heat was much more pleasant on top of him than at his side, and had he enough courage, he would have asked him to return to his original spot. "You have my curiosity peeked to the highest point."

"She sent me a girl," Alexander said quietly, blushing as he turned his eyes down and focused on the entwined hands and fingers in his lap. "She sent me a girl last night to …"

Hephaistion looked puzzled. "To?"

Alexander's face turned even redder as he lifted a hand to his face to hide his embarrassment. "To be with me," the prince stated, flatly and quietly.

Hephaistion furrowed his brow and tilted his head. "Be with you?"

"To bed her, Phai."

Hephaistion's mouth dropped open and he felt a menacing stab in his heart. "Your mother sent you a girl to bed, Alexander? To have relations with? In your own bed? Your own mother?"

"Yes!" Alexander jumped from the bed, his arms swinging in frustration over his head, legs carrying him back and forth across the room as he paced. "It's the final straw, Phai. She's gone past the point of forgiveness this time. She has been speaking relentlessly of finding me a wife but I never thought she'd go to such lengths. She knows how I feel about you, so why would she do such a thing? Why would she even consider such a preposterous thing?"

"Feel about me?" Hephaistion said softly, sitting straighter in his bed and pulling the blanket a little tighter around him. "How do you feel about me, Alexander?"

"Well … we're friends, of course … best friends," Alexander stammered, as his palms suddenly became sweaty and his heart rate increased. What was he saying? Why did he not just tell Hephaistion what was really in his heart, what was really in his thoughts from the moment he woke up each bright morning, until the moment he closed his eyes each dark evening.

Hephaistion sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, feeling sadness he hoped did not show on his beautiful face. "So … how was it then?"

"What?"

"Being with a girl? Was she a girl, Alexander, or a … woman?" Truth be told, Hephaistion did not really care to know the answer to his question, but he felt compelled to share his friend's new experience with him, even if it did stab a hole in his own heart.

"She was younger than us, Phai. Fourteen, I believe. But I still know nothing about being with either a girl or a woman."

"But … how …"

"You don't actually think I bedded her, do you Phai?"

Hephaistion turned his intense blue gaze from Alexander's to his lap, and pulled on a loose thread from the blanket's edge. "Why would you not, Alexander? Is it not what every young man seeks, his first experience I mean? Is sixteen not even considered a late start to having your first … time?"

"Yes, that's true, but that is not the experience I seek, Hephaistion. Neither the softness of her lips nor the nakedness of her breasts were of any interest to me," Alexander said softly, as he once again sat down on the bed beside his friend.

"Was she not attractive, Alexander?" Hephaistion whispered, trying hard to ignore the prince's warm body beside him and how it make him feel. "Were her looks not to your liking? We've never actually spoke of your preferences with regards to girls. Do you prefer lighter or darker hair? Smaller or larger breasts?"

"I prefer brunettes and no breasts, truth be told," Alexander whispered back, his eyes never leaving the flutter of Hephaistion's downcast lashes.

"I've not seen many girls without breasts, Xander. You may be challenged to find such a woman," Hephaistion teased, as he lifted his head and met the brown pools staring at him. "Have you met such a creature in your travels, Alexander?"

"Yes, I have, Phai."

"And does this otherworldly creature know of your preference for her? Does she realize she is longed for by such a noble and handsome prince?" Hephaistion's eyes gleamed with mischief, his tongue licking unconsciously at his lips, and his hands twisting roughly in the blanket.

"I'd like to think he does, Hephaistion. But 'tis a subject I've not brought up in his presence, for fear he does not feel the same way," Alexander returned the gaze. "Does he, Phai? Know how I feel, I mean?"

Gathering every ounce of courage in his body, Hephaistion reached out and took Alexander's hand in his, again, bringing it slowly to his mouth, kissing it gently and letting his lips linger on the soft skin. "He has always wished it so, yes. But he, too, has been in fear of his affections not being returned."

"And does he … feel the same way?" Alexander asked.

"Yes, he does," Hephaistion murmured, returning his hand to his lap while his tongue licked madly at his lips, partly out of self-consciousness and partly to continue tasting the saltiness of Alexander's skin which still lingered there. "He feels truly blessed to be the best friend of such a prince, and would remain completely satisfied should that be as far as his feelings were returned."

"And should the prince's feelings go farther than mere friendship, what would the man feel then? In what direction would he prefer the friendship to go?" Alexander's eyes were bright with excitement and his body yearned to move closer to his friend, but he withstood the uncomfortableness and focused instead on Hephaistion's words.

"In any direction that the prince would allow him to follow, would allow him to participate in, and be a part of. The man feels the prince to be his whole world, but he does not wish to over-burden him with his feelings and wants. He wishes only to be that which the prince wants him to be … anything and everything that he wants him to be."

Alexander's heart throbbed painfully in his chest as he leaned in and lightly pressed his lips to Hephaistion's, his hands coming up to tangle in the thick locks. "Why have we not spoken of this before, Phai? Have we both been thinking and feeling the same way, but neither of us blessed enough with the courage to express what those thoughts and feelings were?"

Hephaistion licked cautiously at Alexander's lips, his heart and mind soaring. "I love you, my Alexander, and I have fervently prayed to the gods for you to return that love."

"You need not have used up your precious prayers for that wish, Hephaistion, for I believe I have loved you from the first day I saw you."

"As have I." The bare-chested man stroked the prince's cheek delicately, then pulled him back to his mouth. His lips moved slowly and lightly at first, then harder as he deepened the kiss, surprising himself at how drunk he felt from the simple closeness of his body to Alexander's.

The prince broke the contact first, his fingers clutched in Hephaistion's hair, his eyes sparkling and misty. "Have you considered where you might like this love to go, Phai? We've not spoken of this situation before, so I wonder whether you have considered the possibility of being my lover."

"I have, of course, and I've not been with any other, Alexander, you know that, do you not?"

"Yes, but does the thought of being with me scare you, Hephaistion? Do you fear being taken, or taking me in the way two men make love?"

Hephaistion bit his lip, again, his fingers threading through the blonde curls on Alexander's nape. "I fear not in making love with you, Alexander. It is the only thing I've thought about since I was old enough to understand what loving somebody meant. Have you the fear of which you speak, my love?"

"No. But since neither one of us has been with another, I do believe it may be difficult at first."

"Have you seen two men couple, Alexander? Have you witnessed the act itself? I have seen a man take a woman and well, animals, of course, but surely the bodies of two men require different technique and preparation." He blushed at his own words, and was relieved to feel Alexander's finger lifting his chin to meet his brown eyes.

"I have witnessed my father and his lover, but I must say it was not a loving experience. There seemed to be nothing but violence and pain for the other man, and I don't wish that to be the case for either one of us, Phai."

"Perhaps if we take it slowly and listen to our own bodies, as well as each other, the act does not have to be violent or painful. Is there something you wish to start with, my love? Something you'd like me to do to you, or you to me?"

Alexander sucked in his breath, his eyes leaving Hephaistion's for several seconds. "I wish to touch you, Phai. Would you let me touch you while I kiss your lips, again?" He was surprised to feel Hephaistion's hand on his, guiding it under the thin blanket and placing it over his hardening manhood. "Oh," he sucked in his breath. "I fear I'll squeeze too hard in my excitement, Hephaistion."

"Take me in your hand as you would yourself, Alexander," Hephaistion whispered against the prince's mouth. He closed his eyes and captured the soft lips with his, his tongue gently caressing the crease in Alexander's mouth, seeking entrance. He was welcomed into the warmth by his love's own tongue, and he moaned involuntarily as he felt Alexander begin to stroke his thickening hardness. "Oh, Alexander," he moaned again, pulling away from the inviting lips. "You must let me touch you as well."

Alexander withdrew his hand and slipped his chiton over his head, gasping as Hephaistion immediately grabbed his member and stroked his thumb gently over the head. Another gasp escaped him when the brunette leaned in and licked his right nipple, teasing the nub and sending the sensation straight to his groin. He watched as Hephaistion slowly pulled back the thin blanket covering him then sucked in his breath as his friend's complete nakedness was revealed. "Straddle me, Alexander, as you were doing before."

Alexander nodded and moved one leg overtop of Hephaistion's body, kneeling on either side of his thighs then sliding his arms around his friend's slim waist and dragging him to him. He crushed Hephaistion's mouth with his own, feeling a yearning so strong he was powerless to fight it. "I don't want to hurt you, Hephaistion," he moaned against his lips. "But I need your body against mine, I need to feel all of you and I need it now."

"Then take what you need, Alexander," Hephaistion replied. "I am all yours, my prince, now and always." He wrapped his arms around Alexander's neck, pulling him down so he was fully on top of him. "I don't fear anything when I'm with you, Xander and I swear to the Gods that nothing has ever felt as good as holding you in my arms and being held by you. I am yours," he repeated, winding his fingers in Alexander's hair and assaulting the princely mouth.

Gasping for breath, Alexander pulled away and ground his lower body against Hephaistion's. "You're so hard, Phai, and having your hardness against mine is surely the most pleasurable thing I will ever feel in my life." He rocked his hips slightly, making Hephaistion groan and reach for his lips, again.

"The Gods have surely smiled on me, Phai," Alexander murmured as his hands twined in Hephaistion's hair and his body continued to move against his beloved. "I cannot imagine anything as great as this moment ever happening to me again. I pray you'll never leave me."

"I want only to be with you Alexander, only to be near you." Hephaistion ghosted his lips over Alexander's, relishing in the feeling of their two bodies pressed against each other. "Whether I be fortunate enough to be in your arms or at your side, I swear to you, my love, I shall never leave you."

"And I shall ensure you never do, my Hephaistion. I'll be with you always, 'til the end. Kiss me, my love, and tell me again that you love me, for I shall never tire of hearing you say it."

"I love you, my Alexander, always."