Hephaestion retired early after dinner that night, although he did not fall to sleep right away. He could not, for there was too much on his mind. He stared out the window at the darkening sky for a while before looking down at his own body. Once again, his body had decided, much against it's owner's will, that it needed attention. Hephaestion felt tears well up in his eyes, although he knew this was no reason to weep. He simply missed Alexander. He missed his lover, friend, and confidant. The Alexander he knew now was his king, and only his king, and while he knew he would have to remedy that fact soon, he did not see an opportunity. They were both far too busy. But Hephaestion missed his sweet Achilles.

His tears now spent, for they had not been long lived, Hephaestion decided he would not be able to sleep with as demanding as his body was being. So he stood up from where he had spent his tears in the bedcovers and went to retrieve the oil he had for such a case as this.

Disrobing and lying down on his back upon the bed, Hephaestion took himself in hand. Soon he was moaning and weeping once more, crying out Alexander's name as he reached his peak. Still crying, he wiped himself clean almost lethargically, as he was tired and emotionally drained. He finally fell into his bed and fell to sleep, cheeks wet with tears and Alexander's name on his lips.

Alexander sat in his chair in his chambers. It was still early, and he could not stop worrying about Hephaestion. Yet he knew he could not ask his other Companions for advice, for they had not seen the way Hephaestion had been acting after the council meeting and he felt this was a private matter.

What could make his Phai so upset? He could not even begin to guess, but the whole thing was causing Alexander some distress, as he could never, in all his life, remember Hephaestion being so upset. His Patroclus was usually content, if not happy, in everything he did. But now that was very clearly not the case. What could have caused Hephaestion so much hurt?

Could it be that one of Hephaestion's parents had passed on into Hades, and Hephaestion had just gotten the news? The thought scared even Alexander, and he was almost completely out of his chair before he reminded himself that the possibilty was just speculation, and there was no truth to it as far as Alexander knew.

Could it be that Hephaestion felt he did not belong in Babylon? Alexander knew such a feeling, and it was not a pleasant one in the slightest. Even the memory of feeling as if he did not belong among his own Companions as a young prince, along with the memory of the belief he had had at that time that his Companions were only playing with him because he was the prince and they had been told to keep him happy, caused his heart to ache now. He had soon found out that that belief was indeed not the case, but at the time that he had believed it the thought had caused him great anguish.

Deciding to try and resolve Hephaestion's problem, whatever it was, Alexander got up and left his bedchamber, going out into the corridor and walking to Hephaestion's chambers down the hall from his own. He knocked softly and then called out quietly and when he did not recieve an answer, tried the door. He found it unlocked. Pushing his way inside carefully, as he did not know what he would find on the other side, he looked around for a moment before his eye fell upon the bed and the occupant within it.

"Oh Phai," he mouthed as he stepped closer on silent feet. He was now close enough to distinctly see the still shining tracks of tears on his true love's cheeks, and to watch him toss and turn in the bed as if in a nightmare, although the only word that were sighed from his Phai's lips was, "Alexander..."

Seeing his love in such a state reaffirmed Alexander's resolve to find out the cause of Hephaestion's hurt. With that in mind Alexander set a soft kiss to Hephaestion's creased brow once he had fallen still for a moment. Then, all while still not making a sound, Alexander left his lover's bedchamber to go back to his own and think up some sort of plan as how to best help his distressed beloved.

AN: For those of you who are not aware, I believe today, November 14, was the day Alexander was crowned Pharaoh of Egypt in Memphis, Egypt in 332 B.C. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!