Title: Lost With You
Pairing(s): Hephaistion/Alexander
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing is true ... these are the lies I have created.
Warning(s): m/m slash, major fluff
Feedback: Feed my muse please.
Note: Written for bi-weekly Alexander Alphabet Challenge. Shorter than usual, fluffier than usual and more movie-based than historical.
*****
"Pack some things Phai," Alexander stormed into Hephaistion's room, waking the man from a sound sleep. "We have to go ... now."
Hephaistion rubbed his eyes, blinking in the bright torchlight. "And where might we be going, my Prince?"
"Don't call me that! I care not to be a prince any longer!" Alexander grabbed Hephaistion's chiton from the chair beside his bed and tossed it at him. "You cannot go naked, Hephaistion, please dress quickly."
"You know I will follow you anywhere, Xander, but I must insist you at least tell me what's going on." The auburn-haired, eighteen-year old remained in his bed, his intense blue eyes determinedly meeting Alexander's. "Has there been an attack or has something happened that I should be aware of?"
Alexander placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head at his friend. "Do you not trust me enough to do as I request without an explanation? Perhaps my mother was right?"
"Ah, I see. Your mother. That explains a lot. You've just been to see her, have you?" Hephaistion untangled himself from the sheet and rose from his bed, his shoulder-length hair tangled and mussed. Stepping directly in front of the young prince, he took the blonde-framed face in his hands. "What's she done this time, Alexander?"
"Nothing. I just want to go Phai. Will you not come with me and I'll promise to explain later?"
"Alright, but where are we going?" Hephaistion caressed the frowning man's face with his thumbs then leaned in and kissed his lips tenderly.
"We're going to get lost," Alexander replied, pulling his lover into his arms and pressing him tightly to his chest. "I just wish to be lost with you, Phai. I just wish to be a normal man with you, my love."
"You are a normal man, my love, though a truly extraordinary normal man."
"No!" Alexander pulled away. "I do not wish to be extraordinary and I do not wish to be princely. Please ... can we just go?"
Grabbing his always-prepared pack, Hephasition took Alexander's hand and guided him through the door. "Are we taking the horses or getting lost on foot?" Hephaistion teased, drawing a slight smirk from his lover's lips. "'Tis a good thing we don't know where we're going, I believe it's difficult to get lost if you ido/i know where you're going."
Hoisting himself onto Bucephelus' back, Alexander grinned widely at his friend. "I know not what I'd ever do without you."
"Then it's a good thing you'll never have to do without me," Hephaistion returned, swinging his body up on his own mount. "Proceed, my Prince ... I mean, my love."
They rode for more than an hour through the dark, heads thrown back, wide smiles on both their faces. When Alexander reined in his beast, Hephaistion did the same then pulled up alongside the prince. "Are we lost yet?"
"I believe so," Alexander replied. "Do you remember that cave we used to visit, Phai?"
The moonlight reflected brightly in Hephaistion's eyes as his face lit up. "The place we first ..."
"Yes. I believe this is it," Alexander smiled. "We were actually lost the first time we were here, were we not?"
"Another one of your adventures if I recall."
"Grab your pack, Phai. I really need to be in your arms, to awaken next to you in the morning away from everything royal and formal, even if it's only for tonight."
Hephaistion frowned, his blue eyes crinkling in the dim light. "What's happened, Alexander? You sound so dark and mournful, my love."
The prince tethered his horse to a tree, held out his hand to his lover and together they entered the dark cave. Alexander lit a torch and led the way straight to the back where an old fire-pit sat empty. "I'll gather some wood," Hephaistion offered.
"No," Alexander said, keeping a tight hold on the man's hand. "It's not cold tonight, and I think there are other ways I would prefer to keep warm."
Hephaistion blushed and sucked in his bottom lip. "Is that what this is about, Alexander? You wish some alone time with me?"
"Partly. I always wish alone time with you, but tonight I simply needed you more than usual." He spread his sleeping roll out on the floor of the cave and sat down heavily. "She said if Eurydice has a son, my father will name him as his successor if I don't take action."
"SHE being your mother, of course?" Hephaistion commented, sitting on his bedroll beside Alexander. "And what action does she wish you to take?" His blue eyes glittered with concern and curiosity as he searched Alexander's turned-down face.
"She wishes me to announce my intention to marry a Macedonian."
"And has she someone in mind for this marriage?"
Alexander looked up sharply at his lover. "That matters not! I have no intention of marrying anyone, Hephaistion. You, of all people, should know that."
Hephaistion enfolded the upset prince in his arms, one hand holding the blonde head tightly to his shoulder. "It's a situation that eventually will come to be, my love. You'll have to have an heir of your own. We've discussed this before."
"She told me the girls complain I like you more than them. What business is it of their's or her's? I'll not love anyone as I love you, Phai. Never." Alexander pushed his face into Hephaistion's neck, his arms slipping around the slim waist, fingers digging into the man's body. "I told my mother you love me as I am, not who I am, and she just continuted to ridicule me, as she always does."
"You know I love you with all my heart and it warms me all over to hear you'll not love another as you love me, but the two matters are completely separate. You'll have to marry whether it's for love or duty." He pulled the man to face him, pushing a blonde curl from his face and smiling gently. "Your mother has never understood anything about you, Xander, so I'm not sure why you feel she should understand the love we have."
"I just ... don't want to be a prince. I want to be with you like this for always and in my princely role, I'll not be able to do that."
"I'll always be by your side, you know that. Even if someone tries to separate us, I'll not be far, my love. Our fate was sealed the moment we met as boys."
"You truly will not leave me? My mother has ways that are not honorable nor even thinkable for others. I fear she resembles the snakes she keeps company with more and more."
"I do not fear your mother, Alexander. My love and devotion runs far deeper than even she can imagine. Shall we forgot about her for the night, my Achilles?"
"She's even sullied that for me ...," Alexander spat out, entwining his fingers with Hephaistion's, "... telling me that I am cursed by my greatness, just as Achilles was."
"And did she not mention the one who was always at Achilles' side?" Hephaistion teased, bringing Alexander's hand to his lips and kissing it softly.
"As usual she chose to only acknowledge what she required for her argument and omit what she did not. You are so patient to endure my tantrums." He raised his head and grinned at the loving face. "Whatever would I do without you?"
"I imagine you'd not have someone to get lost with. It's Patroclus' duty to do that, is it not? This cave brings back such wonderful memories, Alexander. Our first time together as lovers, even as clumsy as we were," the blue-eyed man chuckled, gazing deeply into his lover's eyes. "It's our special place, is it not?"
Alexander could stand it no longer as he pushed Hephaistion over onto his back and crushed their lips together. "Forgive me for my haste and brashness, Phai, but I want you right now and I'll not let anything or anyone get in my way."
"I've never complained before, have I? My need for you is as strong as yours, I assure you," Hephaistion replied against the prince's lips, poking his tongue out to lick at the tender mouth. "Shall I undress us?"
"I wish to undress you, my love, slowly, but then you must take me quickly or my body shall surely burst." As he pressed their lips together again, tongues tangling, Alexander reached a hand down and stroked Hephaistion's muscular thigh, fingertips dragging upwards, pushing the chiton up to his waist. "Stand up, my love. Let me do this properly."
Hephaistion dragged himself out from under Alexander and stood before the man, his body already trembling with anticipation. The prince stood and kissed him sweetly, reaching down and grabbing the bottom of the garment and pulling it over Hephaistion's head. He kissed his way down the stubbly jaw and licked passionately at the long neck while Hephaistion threaded his fingers through his blonde curls.
Alexander moved lower, his hand sliding slowly down the firm chest and tight belly, his lips and tongue following along. Hephaistion let out a soft gasp as his lover's mouth sucked in a nipple and nipped lightly at it.
"Alexander?" he moaned. "Let me remove your chiton. I need to touch you as you touch me."
"In time," the prince groaned against Hephaistion's navel, his tongue poking in and out. "I need you now. You appear ready." His hand traveled lower, reaching inside Hephaistion's undergarment and grasping his hard length, stroking it slowly at first but then with more vigor.
"Yes," Hephaistion gasped. "But we have no oil, Alexander. I don't wish to hurt you. Let me prepare you."
"The pleasure of your body overshadows the discomfort, Phai. Please just make me yours." He gasped as Hephaistion suddenly grabbed him and pulled him tight to his body, one hand slipping around his hip then traveling lower to dip into the man's own loincloth, fingers running down the crack of his buttocks.
Alexander pushed his groin snugly against Hephaistion's, the friction of their combined hardness sending shivers up his spine and back down to his loins. "Gods! It amazes me how desperate my body is for yours sometimes. I fear I will die from the wanting alone one day."
"But that will never happen because I will always be yours to want and have," Hephaistion murmured into the blonde curls as his hands removed the rest of his clothing and pulled Alexander's chiton over his head. He let his tongue run the length of his lover's neck, one hand moving over Alexander's buttocks and finally dipping a finger between the man's cheeks.
The prince jerked his hips forward as Hephaistion's finger breached his passage slowly at first but then with more pressure, moving in and out. When a second finger was added, Alexander pulled from his arms. "I can't wait, Phai," he groaned, moving away from the man and dropping to his hands and knees on the bedroll. "Make love to me. There'll be time for tenderness later."
Hephaistion smiled lustily as he licked his hand, moistening the surface with saliva then stroking his manhood, repeating the process several times as Alexander watched and licked at his own lips. Positioning himself behind his lover, he bent down to his lower back and whispered, "Ready, love?" Alexander nodded and dropped his head to his hands as Hephaistion slowly pushed into him, stopping while they both caught their breath from the first shock of entrance. "Oh," Hephaistion groaned, pushing himself further into the tightness.
"Move, Phai," Alexander urged, moving his hips back to meet his lover's thrusts. "I'm not a virgin to be played with. Just take me."
Drawing in a deep breath, Hephaistion sheathed himself fully into his lover, bringing forth a deep guttural groan from the prince. "Yes!"
*****
After making love hard and quick, then slowly and lovingly, the two men lay wrapped in each other's arms, leg entwined beneath a blanket. "I love you, my Patroclus," Alexander whispered, rubbing his cheek against the man's chest. "For always."
"I love you, my Achilles. Do you feel better now?"
"That's a loaded question," Alexander teased, looking up to see the slight redness tint his lover's face.
"You know that's not what I meant, but I am glad you feel better in that way, as well," Hephaistion smirked. "But I mean about your mother? And me?"
Alexander dropped his head back to the muscled body and pressed a soft kiss to the sweaty skin. "Yes. The demons of my mother have been cleared from my soul again. You always manage to do that nicely."
"And me? Do you feel less conflicted about me, Alexander?"
The prince lifted his head, again, soft brown eyes meeting cerulean ones in a loving embrace. "I do not believe I have ever been conflicted about that. I just wish everyone could accept what we are to each other and not assume I wish for anything more."
"No one will ever completely understand that, my love. But as long as you and I do, it matters not."
"You calm me in ways I'll never understand, Hephaistion. It is as if you reach into my very soul and fill it with your love and warmth."
"You don't need to understand it, either. Just let it happen and comfort for you. Just let me love you and I'll always supply the calmness and logic to your life."
"Logic?"
"Is it not true? Your passion overwhelms you, and though I love that about you, there are times you need to be brought back to the mortal world. Do you not agree?"
"I do."
"So you'll be my prince again, then?"
Alexander chuckled. "Yes, I shall be your prince, again, despite all that I dislike about the title."
"And one day, you'll be king and all will bow at your feet."
"But not you. I never wish for you to worship me, Phai."
"I already do."
Alexander smiled and felt his heart fill. "And I, you."
Hephaistion clutched Alexander tighter to his chest, his eyes closing. "So how long shall we be lost this time, love?"
"Forever?"
"I believe the guards standing watch will not agree with that time line."
"You saw them?"
"I always do. You know as well as I do, it is impossible for the prince to leave the palace unnoticed, especially when he is so passionate and obvious about his mission."
"At least they didn't come into the cave this time," Alexander teased, knowing Hephaistion's face would be bright with embarrassment with his words.
"That is a true blessing." Hephaistion opened his eyes again, remembering the scene in his mind; the haste to unattach themselves from each other and then scramble to get dressed as the guards turned their backs and laughed.
"I don't think I could look them in the eyes for weeks after the last time they checked in on you, nor your father, whom I know they reported back to." Hephaistion smiled, a huge yawn forcing itself past his upturned lips and filling the empty cave like the growl of an angry bear.
"Sounds like you need some rest, my beloved," Alexander said, raising his head and kissing the man lightly on the lips. "Good night, Phai. There is truly no one I will ever want to get lost with but you."
"And I'll not let you ever get lost without me, Xander."
