Sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up, girls. I had planned to post it on thursday, but with the new schoolyear about to begin time seems to be running away from me.

Their Friends' Celebration (3 of 3)

Their quickly escalating passion was interrupted by joyful voices coming from around the bend. For once it was Alexander who pulled away in fear of being discovered, while Hephaestion, his face stretched into a languid smile, continued to lean against the wall. He felt so utterly blissful, in love with the world itself, that he couldn't bring himself to worry. Instead, he was left to grin as Alexander, usually the daring one out of the two of them, worrying in his place, dragged him away from the wall just seconds before Nearchus and Ptolemy stepped into view.

His loud shout upon seeing them and the heavy arm he threw around Hephaestion – uncaring or unaware that Alexander hurriedly had to step out of the way to avoid getting knocked over in the process – made clear that Nearchus at least was already well into his cups. Without delay he began to tug Hephaestion in the direction of the banquet hall, Alexander and Ptolemy trailing behind the two, while beginning a long and loudly-spoken tale of where they were going. Ptolemy, leaning closer to Hephaestion to be heard over Nearchus' monologue, supplied them with the quick summery of his words: they had heard that Drypteis had born her babe and so their friends were holding a party to celebrate the birth of Hephaestion's first child. At this Nearchus, completely unperturbed by Ptolemy's interruption, decided that they didn't need to hear his whole story when they already knew the ending and cut off somewhere half-way to enquire Hephaestion equally loudly after the sex of his child. Hephaestion had no time to answer him before his friend was congratulating him on the birth of his son, shaking him so hard that Alexander had to cut in to inform him Drypteis had born a daughter, not a son. His timely interruption saved Hephaestion from being shaken to death, though the consoling hug Nearchus then bestowed on him was almost equally breath-robbing. Luckily for the new father, they reached the banquet hall then, which freed him from his drunken friend who was too busy proclaiming the birth of Hephaestion's daughter to one and all to notice Hephaestion himself slipping from his grasp.

Upon hearing the news, all his gathered friends congratulated Hephaestion on his child, assuring him it was sure to be a boy next time. Hephaestion laughed at their assurances, proclaiming how happy he felt with the daughter Drypteis bore him, and the exuberant hugs he bestowed on his friends were quick to drive his point home. When Perdiccas asked him about the name his child would bear he was glad to answer him, sparing a quick smile at Alexander as he did. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Cassander, who had been rather sullen before and the only one not to offer congratulations, stiffen perceptibly when he heard the name, his mouth turning down in disgust, but he paid him little attention as he suddenly noticed Alexander's quiet behaviour. The king hadn't said a word since they'd entered the room and the couch he'd chosen was to the side, somewhat hidden. He seemed content to just sit there, nursing a cup of diluted wine, smiling warmly at Hephaestion when their eyes met. It went completely against his normal extroverted behaviour and was a decided change from how he'd acted the rest of the day. This morning, while they were waiting for Cassandra to be born, he'd talked without stopping, listing every name from Amyntor to Olympos for his friend's son, before finally settling on Hephaestion. And again the moment they'd left Drypteis' room, his mind as well as his mouth had not stopped coming up with outrageous ideas.

Hephaestion didn't get the chance to ponder Alexander's behaviour any further as Cassander, who had been slowly simmering with resentment, noticed him staring at Alexander. 'Already planning a wedding, Hephaestion?' he asked scornfully, 'want your daughter to have the same kind of grip on the future king as you do? A dynasty of the kings' whores?'

Hephaestion recoiled at his foul words, feeling not only their slap but also the return of the queasiness he'd felt when Alexander had mentioned his daughter marrying. He realised now as he had not then that it was because it reminded him of the role his daughter would have to play, as all women did, of a wife, a mother, and nothing more. She could never share in young Alexander's life as he had shared Alexander's. And he wished he could lift those boundaries, just for her.

As he hesitated, momentarily absorbed in his thoughts, Cassander was ready to take his chance and strike deeper, but Alexander's words were faster. 'You know I proposed the very thing to Hephaestion just a few moments before Ptolemy and Nearchus ran into us,' he announced merrily to his companions, swaying the tone of the conversation from insult to a good joke with his wide grin. 'But he would not hear of it! Gave me that same sickly look he's wearing right now, see. What do you say, my friends, should I be offended that he doesn't consider my son good enough for his daughter?' Alexander's diversion worked, the men were quickly shouting teasing remarks at all three of them, all insult forgotten and only Alexander's fondness remembered. Alexander's eyes however remained fixed on Cassander, berating him with his gaze until Cassander lowered his eyes. When the commotion passed, he once again reclined back on his couch, just watching the celebration.

Hephaestion couldn't keep his eyes off him. He now realized that Alexander was consciously stepping back to allow himself to be the centre of attention, only speaking up to stand by him, defend him. With that knowledge, his love for him burned even brighter. Throughout the night, though he celebrated with exuberance, his eyes kept returning to his king, often catching his lover's gaze being directed at him.

Finally, when most of the night had gone, Hephaestion looked up from his conversation with Perdiccas just in time to see Alexander slip out of the room almost unnoticed. Quickly ending his talk, Hephaestion stood up from his couch, loudly proclaimed his intention to retire – for those of his friends still clear-headed enough to hear him – and followed him out.

He caught up with Alexander just outside the king's bedroom, pressing him up against the wall as Alexander had done him earlier that day, catching his lover by surprise. 'Weren't you going to give me a real celebration, Alexander?' he purred seductively, delighted when Alexander responded with the wild, almost maniacal grin he always wore when he was about to do battle. With a lightning-fast move, he turned Hephaestion around, reversing their roles, pressing Hephaestion's hands firmly against the wall as he captured a demanding kiss. As their tongues did battle, one of Hephaestion's hands broke free of its confinement and sneaked behind him, revealing that it was not a wall but the door to his room that Alexander had pushed him against, causing both of them to tumble into the king's bedroom when their support gave way.

ooo

Late the next morning, the chiliarch and his king once again visited the small, newborn girl called Cassandra, bearing with them armloads of gifts for both mother and child.

Fine

Dear readers, Elpis of Hope and I have been pondering the idea to organize a gift exchange for the Alexander fandom. A gift exchange in this case is a writing challenge whereby everyone who enters gets a prompt, created by another participant, and then has to write a story to it. At the end, the stories are send to the person whose prompt was used. So that means that everyone who enters both gives and receives a gift (a story). As someone who is continuously surprised and humbled by the incredible kindness and generosity of the people in this fandom, it seems to me that this might be the best crowd for such an exchange. Believe me, it is great fun. The details - such as kind of prompt, length of story, deadline, etc. - have yet to be decided upon and are subject to your input. If you think you might like to participate or if you have any questions or suggestions, please give Elpis or me a shout. I hope to see you all at the kick-off. Best wishes to you all.