Okay, I lied. There is a little humor in my story after all. There is a bit of it between Hephaestion and Cassander. So far, that's it. For future chapters...I haven't decided yet.


Hephaestion listened in a state of shock as Cassander bared his soul before him. He would never have believed it. The more he listened, the more he began to feel empathy for the man. He could not imagine growing up in the shadow of a father you could never please, and who still to this day did not believe in you. His own father had been wonderful and supportive, so Hephaestion had no idea what it would be like. He imagined it would be horrible. The fact that Cassander's father had sent him here like a sacrificial lamb was appalling.

The more Cassander talked, the more passionate his voice became. Between the wine, his frustration, and the somehow comforting presence of Hephaestion, he held nothing back. When he had finished speaking, he sat back and took a deep breath. There were tears that threatened to fall, which he quickly brushed away.

"So you see…" he said, "you see why I feel the way I do. I have never been good enough in anyone's eyes." He looked down and practically whispered. "And I have always been jealous of you."

Hephaestion studied the man in front of him. "Jealous…of me? Why?"

His voice rose slightly when he answered. "Because you have it all, Hephaestion! Your family loved you. Aristotle loved you. Alexander loves you. You have Alexander's complete trust. With the exception of a few, the men love you. The servants love you." He spoke more softly now. "And, I mean….look at you. You are beautiful." He looked up at Hephaestion, who was simply staring at him.

Hephaestion decided to ignore that last comment. "Cassander, I am truly sorry. I really had no idea what you have been through. I dare say I would be angry, too. You know, it reminds me a little of Alexander. He constantly lived in his father's shadow, and his mother still tries to control him. He has tried to be so many things to so many people. It is a lot to demand of one man, even if he is Alexander."

Cassander sighed. "He is not handling things very well these days, in my opinion."

Hephaestion nodded. "I would have to agree."

"You love him very much, don't you? I used to think you used him to get where you are, but that is not the case, is it? You truly love him."

Hephaestion gave him a sad smile. "Aye….I did… I do…love him. That is why it is so difficult for me to see these changes in him. The Alexander I fell in love with is gone. I miss him."

Cassander searched the face of the beautiful man in front of him, noting the deeply saddened look in his cerulean eyes. "You know, I see the hurt in you every time Alexander goes off with that eunuch. Or when he married Roxane. I suspect he spends very little time with you anymore. I can only imagine how much that hurts."

Hephaestion poured them yet another cup of wine. They were both quite drunk by now.

Cassander giggled. "You know I had a huge crush on you when we were at Mieza, don't you?"

Hephaestion laughed and flopped down on his couch. "Yes, I was aware of it. I used to think you hated me, but Ptolemy let me in on your little secret."

"That bastard!" Both men laughed.

Hephaestion stared at him for a moment. "So, do you still?"

A very drunk Cassander was trying his best to focus, but his vision was a little fuzzy. "Do I still….what?"

"Have a crush on me?"

Cassander snorted. "What if I do? It is not as if it would matter. You belong to Alexander."

This angered Hephaestion, who sat up a little too quickly and regretted it, bracing himself on his hands to keep from falling over. "No!" he spat. "I belong to no one. Alexander does not own me, and I am sick of him thinking that he does. He thinks he can do whatever he wants and that I will be a nice little lapdog and just wait for him to call for me. No! No longer. I will do as I wish. He can kindly kiss my ass if he has a problem with that!"

Cassander was completely stunned. Never had he heard anything even remotely like this from Hephaestion's lips. He saw a side of him that he had never seen before. This man was no lapdog, as he put it. And he was no fool. He felt he had seriously misjudged him. Those blue eyes no longer looked sad. They flashed with fire. It was incredibly sexy, and he had to swallow hard to keep from doing something he would regret.

Hephaestion shoved his shoulder slightly. "And if you repeat any of this I will personally have you executed."

Cassander thought for a moment. "You would like Alexander to know how you feel, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, but he is too busy playing with his whore or his barbarian wife to take time for me. I would like him to know how much he hurts me, and what he is giving up. I want him to know that I am finished with this."

A smile slowly appeared on Cassander's face. "I have a thought…"

Hephaestion chuckled. "Let me write that down"

Cassander glared at him. "If I may continue…I have an idea. I may know of a way that we can both get what we want, and send a clear message to Alexander at the same time."

Hephaestion was wary. "I am listening…"

Cassander nodded towards the kitchen. "Look who is there."

Bagoas was standing outside the kitchen, no doubt getting some food and wine for Alexander. And he was watching them.

Hephaestion snarled. "Would this idea involve that whore?"

"Oh yes, he is an important part of this plan."

"Okay, Cassander, what is your idea?"

Cassander leaned in close and stroked the back of his hand across Hephaestion's cheek. "How would you like to make Alexander jealous? Show him that you are not going to simply wait around for him? You would get what you want….and I would get something I have always wanted. What do you think, hmmm?" he purred.

A drunken Hephaestion leaned towards him and whispered "And what is it you want, Cassander?"

Cassander glanced over to make sure Bagoas was watching, and then smiled slyly. "You."

At that, he attacked Hephaestion's mouth in a bruising kiss, his arms going around his waist and dragging him roughly against him. He was not sure if his head was spinning from the wine, or from the kiss. He had dreamed about tasting those lips his entire life, and he was not about to let him get away now.

Hephaestion struggled a little at first, but soon began kissing him back. He tangled his fingers in Cassander's long dark hair, yanked his head back, and nipped at his neck. He winked at Cassander and nodded towards the kitchen. "Look" he whispered.

Cassander looked over to see a very astonished Bagoas looking at them, his mouth open and eyes wide. He took the plate and carafe he was holding, and backed quickly out of the room.

Hephaestion looked at Cassander, and both men burst out laughing. "Did you see his face, Hephaestion?"

"Oh yeah, I am sure he cannot wait to tell Alexander about it, too. He is going to be so angry! Good! He needs to know how it feels to be betrayed." Hephaestion smirked.

Cassander still had his arms around Hephaestion. He leaned in and breathed in his ear. "So…do you want to make it even worse?"

Hephaestion pulled away and got unsteadily to his feet. Geez, he had really had too much to drink, but he no longer cared. He reached out his hand and pulled Cassander to his feet. "Come on, my room. Now."

Revenge was going to be oh so sweet.

Bagoas had still been watching them from behind the doorway. He watched, astonished, as the two men stumbled off towards Hephaestion's quarters. Oh, Alexander was not going to like this at all…