"And we went to the beautiful garden….." continued Alexander.
It was the middle of the night and both Alexander and Hephaistion were wide awake. A little earlier, they were snugly asleep in each other's arms. But Hephaistion was jerked awake by his frantic king, who apparently had a nightmare. A little pleading made Alexander share it with his Phai. But it was a rather long dream and the cyan eyed man was getting a little impatient.
"And then?" Hephaistion asked.
Alexander glared at his mate. "And we kissed Phai!" he began…. "only we couldn't….because of you." The glaring continued unabated.
Hephaistion was a little unnerved. What could his dream self have done to interrupt a kiss?
A kiss from his Alex was a gift from the Gods. It was hint of paradise. There was nothing like it. It felt like the dew drops resting on the buds yet to bloom in the wintery morning…like the first rays of the sun that shattered the spell of darkness ushering a new day. He wouldn't trade anything for Alex's kiss… immortality, untold wealth or immense power. To think that his dream self was responsible in the 'un-kissing' made him pretty angry too. But that was nothing compared to the stern glare directed at him by his lover.
Hephaistion swallowed and asked, "Ummm…..Why Alex?"
"Your nose Phai!" came the outraged reply.
"What?" cried the cyan eyed beauty. He still couldn't believe that his own nose was responsible for such a horrible act.
At Hephaistion's surprise Alexander continued, "Before our lips could meet our noses did."
Hephaistion was speechless. He still couldn't grasp it. "My..my nose Alex? But how?"
The golden haired man sighed. "Before we could kiss our noses clashed. It hurt my nose and shattered my dream." he murmured . It seemed as if the tragedy of the incomplete kiss refused to leave him.
"How could you let your nose come between us Phai?" Alexander asked his lover pleadingly. He was still in the throes of his nightmare. He had seen so much violence, cruelty and horror in his lifetime. Yet the incomplete kiss plagued him like nothing else.
Hephaistion decided to act fast. It was his task to stand between his king and his nightmare..and he couldn't let Alexander's pain to continue. He stopped Alexander in the middle of his rant and placed a kiss on his lips.
Alexander was startled by the kiss. But then he deepened it, bringing his lover within the enclosure of his arms.
The kiss went on until both men ran short of breath. Then they broke it off reluctantly.
Hephaistion put his arms around Alexander's neck and smiled mischievously. "So my king?" he whispered, "Did our noses clash…hmmm?"
Alexander blushed and shook his head. Hiding his face in his Phai's neck he let out a contented sigh. "Thank you Phai!" he whispered back. If it wasn't for his Phai he would have blamed his nose for ever.
Hephaistion smiled fondly and shook his head. His Alex was really one of a kind….and his dreams were too. He shouldn't have let Alexander feast on all those sweets before bedtime. It always gave his lover weird dreams.
Before falling asleep with his head on his lover's chest, Alexander placed a tiny kiss on the tip of his Phai's nose.
He loved it very much.