TITLE: "First sight of the crescent moon"
PAIRING: Alexander and Hephaestion.
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: Historical AU.
SUMMARY: It is celebration time and both youths have a very good reason to celebrate.
DISCLAIMER: I don't know the people involved. Everything is the 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.
My mother tongue is Spanish and I work without a Beta so all the mistakes are mine.
FEEDBACK: Comments are love! Any kind will help me to improve my writing or leave it forever.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some versions of the ancient Greek calendar celebrated the New Year on the summer solstice. "The Athenians and the other Ionian peoples began their year with the first new moon after the summer solstice (…)"
Alexander and Hephaestion had always been good friends but in the last months, they had become distant and even the least observers of their Companions had noticed the change in their relationship.
While Alexander grew into a well-built man, full of confidence and big dreams, Hephaestion seemed to grow in knowledge as well as in beauty, not only in his body but also in his mind and soul. The young brunette did not have enemies but unfortunately, he had some "friends" who did not see his closeness to the prince as a good sign.
The blue-eyed youth sighed for the umpteenth time that morning and Master Aristotle saw with despair in his old eyes how his better student was totally lost into his thoughts, and paying no attention at all to any of the words he had said in the last hour.
Hephaestion let his cyan eyes move freely and they stopped when they found the only thing that required their full attention, the blonde prince was listening to his teacher with so much fascination that he did not realize that his best friend was staring dreamily at him. However, after a minute or two, he lifted his mismatched eyes and searched for his friend and when he found him, he let his lips curl upwards in an intimate smile that made Hephaestion blush deeply and then looked away. Alexander was happy with the brunette's reaction and so he decided to put his plan into action soon.
After asking Aristotle about the calendar and if he had done the calculations right, he continued planning the celebration that would seal his relationship with Hephaestion if he had read the young brunette well.
The prince sent a page with a scroll and it had to be given at a certain moment during the day. Hephaestion thanked the page and opened the scroll with curiosity. He read Alexander's instructions in his neat handwriting and thought what his crazy friend was about to do that needed his presence in the woods in the late afternoon.
As soon as Hephaestion arrived to the spot described in the scroll and at the exact time the prince had asked him to, he saw a thick fur cloak on a patch of short grass and Alexander standing next to it.
"Alexander, what in Zeus's name are you planning to do?" Hephaestion asked and smiled.
"Hephaestion, you are right on time!" Alexander said and extended his hand so the brunette could take it.
Alexander caressed the long fingers for a second and then he sighed loudly. He looked at Hephaestion in the eyes and started to speak:
"You know that the summer solstice had gone by and now a new moon will appear"
"Yes, of course. Aristotle told us all about it not so long ago" Hephaestion replied and he saw fascinated how Alexander was still stroking his hands without realizing the intimate gesture.
"Well, a new year will begin on the first visibility of the crescent after the first new moon so I was thinking that I would be the happiest man on earth if you accept to share this new year with me," Alexander said and then he remained in silence.
"Of course, Alexander, I am not planning to go back home and I am sure that any of the boys are leaving" Hephaestion replied, without fully understanding the prince's proposition.
"Phai, I want to share this new year with you and only you, I also want to be able to call you mine as you call me yours" Alexander explained in a whisper and then he cast down his eyes.
Hephaestion did not speak for a minute or two, trying to assimilate the prince's request, a request that had been the deepest wish of his heart but he had abandoned when King Philip had been thinking about marrying his son and heir soon, before departing to the new campaign.
"Xander, look! The crescent is appearing" Hephaestion said while pointing at the sky.
Alexander looked but he was more interested in the young man's answer.
"So?" he asked in such low voice that Hephaestion had hardly listened to it.
Hephaestion turned around, looked at the prince in the eyes and then getting closer, he set a soft kiss on his lips.
"I think you can guess what my answer is," Hephaestion said and blushed.
None of them saw the full crescent as they were lost in each other's arms and planning the future for the year that had just begun and all the others that would come after it.