Story Title: Make You Necessary
Summary: Shortly after Philotas's betrayal, Hephaestion finds an intruder in Alexander's tent.
A/N: … I know. I haven't posted anything to this site in forever. I've been working hard on an original novel lately, but I thought it might be a nice change of pace to throw out a short story or two. I know most people in this fandom don't like Bagoas, but I've always tried to paint him in a different light… so I hope you enjoy this new venture into his life.
Warnings: Nothing beyond the standards associated with the Alexander fandom. (Please remember I never write smut, however.)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters in any way… yet… (I'd like to write a novel about Alexander someday, though.)
Hephaestion paused after laying his reports on Alexander's camp desk, hearing an unexpected sound coming from the king's sleeping chamber. The general knew his blonde lover was meeting with Nearchus at the moment to discuss the building of several new warships, and so the tent should be empty. But Hephaestion could clearly hear the sounds of movement emanating from the other room.
Fingering the hilt of his kopis, the general approached the canvas flap separating the two rooms of the tent. He listened in silence for a moment, suspicion building in his mind. The attempted poisoning of Alexander and the conspiracy of pages had occurred not so long ago. Hephaestion wouldn't put it past some of the remaining youths to try to avenge the punishments meted out upon those who had been found guilty in the attempted regicide. A few of the condemned boys had been known to have numerous admirers among their peers, some of whom could grow upset enough to seek revenge.
Cautiously, Hephaestion peaked through the flap, hoping to catch sight of the intruder before the other became aware of his presence. What the general found, however, left him breathing a sigh of relief.
"Bagoas, what are you doing here at this time?" the warrior asked the little eunuch as he slipped through to the king's bedchamber. The Persian startled badly at the unanticipated sound, biting back a yelp as he stood up from the corner where he had been huddled.
Hephaestion swallowed a gasp of his own when the eunuch turned to face him. Someone had beaten the youth, leaving him with a black eye and split lip. A smear of crimson on his upper lip and the stained rag clutched in his hand indicated that Bagoas had also received a bloody nose, although he had apparently managed to stem the flow of dark liquid since suffering the injury.
"Bagoas, who attacked you?" the general asked, taking a step towards the youth. The eunuch shifted as if wanting to back away from Hephaestion, but the walls of the tent prevented the Persian from putting any noticeable space between them. "Bagoas?"
"It doesn't matter. The damage is done," the eunuch sighed. "If I say anything now, it'll only make things worse."
"Who attacked you, Bagoas?" Hephaestion repeated, but the former courtesan only shook his head. "Fine. So you won't tell me who. Will you tell me why you're here at least?"
"It was the safest place I could escape to," the eunuch answered quietly. "I knew they wouldn't follow me in here, not without having any business to be here. The Great King's guards would have skinned them alive for their trespass."
"Ah, of course," the general nodded, his mind analyzing this tidbit of information. Reading between the lines, Hephaestion reasoned that whoever had attacked Bagoas did have business visiting Alexander's tent on occasion but not frequently enough to be able to gain entry without question. This ruled out the majority of high-ranking officers as well as the common soldiers.
"If you won't tell me who hurt you, then will you at least allow me to help you tend your injuries?" the general asked. Although he hoped to gather more information on the attackers through studying the youth's wounds, Hephaestion also genuinely wished to help Bagoas. It almost seemed like a crime against Aphrodite and Eros both to damage such beauty as what the eunuch possessed.
The young Persian hesitated a moment before giving Hephaestion a consenting nod. The quiet general gave the youth a small smile in return before fetching a bowl of wash water from Alexander's dressing table and indicating for Bagoas to settle on the king's camp bed. Placing the bowl on a stool next to the bed, Hephaestion turned to pull something from a chest at its foot that the eunuch didn't see.
"What other injuries did you sustain?" Hephaestion asked as he wetted a clean rag. After wringing it lightly, the general brought the damp cloth to Bagoas's face, wiping away the remaining blood and soothing his sore flesh.
"Nothing that matters," the eunuch answered once Hephaestion pulled the cloth away. "My body shouldn't bruise the same as my face because of my dance training."
The general gave another smile at this, "Deceptively strong, aren't you, Bagoas? But please don't hide anything out of embarrassment or shame. I'd still like to examine you for further injuries."
The eunuch eyed the larger man with a hint of suspicion sparking in his dark eyes, but Bagoas decided not to argue with Hephaestion in the end. He stripped off his Persian robe without another word, allowing the general to view his arms and torso.
Hephaestion shifted closer to the youth and began to run the re-dampened cloth over Bagoas's chest. The eunuch's flesh felt hot in some places, indicating the areas where he had been struck, but no visible bruises seemed to be forming.
"Why are you doing this?" Bagoas asked after a moment had passed in silence. Hephaestion glanced up to the eunuch's eyes before returning his attention to the youth's left arm.
"Because you're important to Alexander," the general replied.
"Shouldn't you hate me because of that? Why do you help me?"
"I don't hate you, Bagoas. In fact, I find myself in a position where I'm needing to rely on you more than ever before."
"And just what it is that I can do that a mighty general cannot? You rely on me for nothing, Lord Hephaestion."
The Macedonian stopped his ministrations and dropped the washcloth back into the bowl. He then turned and took Bagoas's face into his calloused hands, his grip gentle but commanding.
"I know you are not blind, Bagoas. You see more and know more than half the squires in this camp combined. In light of what's happened with Philotas's betrayal, Alexander and I need you more than ever."
Hephaestion paused to run his fingers through the youth's hair, caressing him lovingly. He then grabbed up the object he had pulled from Alexander's chest, revealing it to be a jar of healing salve. With careful fingertips, the general began to massage the salve into the bruises forming on Bagoas's delicate face.
"You love Alexander, moreso than anyone else I have seen enter into his service… save only myself, I think. Your heart can't be turned against him by the poisoned promises that others might try to make you. And as for threats to your person… don't you see, Bagoas, that if you stay silent now about who has attacked you, things will only become worse? You will be attacked again. If people can't sweet-talk you into manipulating Alexander, then they will threaten your life. You must fight back, Bagoas, and show these venomous serpents that such actions will not go unpunished."
"Fine, I will give you the names of my attackers, but why would you care about my life? Am I not a threat to what you and King Al'skander have together?"
Hephaestion shook his head, a shy smile twisting the corners of his lips. Gently, he pulled the eunuch towards him and kissed the youth's forehead.
"Do you really think of me as only a jealous lover, Bagoas? There is more between Alexander and I than that. I ask you now, as a general trying to protect his king, to look out for him. After what Philotas did, I trust no one in this camp. Not Greek. Not Macedonian. Not Persian or barbarian. Only you, Bagoas, who loves him so. I would be a fool to deny my king the service of the only one I judge worthy to tend to him."
Bagoas sat in silence for a moment, letting the general's words wash over him. He had never thought Hephaestion could think so highly of him, and now he found himself needing to reassess his own perceptions of Alexander's first and strongest love.
"You say that as a general trying to protect his king," Bagoas noted. "But what about as the lover of Al'skander himself and not the king?"
Hephaestion smiled, tilting the youth's face towards his own, "Did you not hear, Bagoas? I, too, am Alexander. Whatever he loves, I love. And you have most certainly captured a piece of his heart."
Being mindful of the eunuch's split lip, the general pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of Bagoas's mouth.
"I would not mind sharing you with him, but I will not steal from Alexander. You are his, at least in heart, for he did give you your freedom. I will not take what he has not offered, nor would I ask of you what you may not be willing to give to me. As far as jealous lovers go, Bagoas, it is Alexander that I envy, not you."
End A/N: Well, there you go. Another of my simple one-shots depicting a different view of Hephaestion's perception of Bagoas. I hope it's not too bad, seeing as I wrote half of it while suffering a sinus headache… damn weather fluctuations.
Reviews are greatly appreciated, even the negative flamers! Thanks for reading!
- Stony Knight.