AN: I am so sorry for the wait! College got in the way of all of this! But I'm back!
Three weeks after that night they had shared, Alexander noticed that Hephaestion had become uncharacteristically quiet. He had always been a quiet man, but he was even more so now.
Alexander could not get his beloved to talk to him at all, let alone tell him what was wrong. Hephaestion no longer cared for Khalis as he had been, but all but ignored him. He was also becoming forgetful about the simplest of tasks. One night, after Khalis was asleep Alexander became aware of this. They had stayed up late, just being together and sharing a few bowls of oranges. Hephaestion had gotten up to clean the empty, sticky bowls, and then turned away while the water was going into the basin, and it had overflowed onto the floor.
After this incident, Alexander still had no idea what could be wrong, but watched his love closely. One afternoon he arrived home from the village fields and had to change his dusty, dirty clothes. As he walked through the palace to the bedroom, he spied Hephaestion spitting into the kitchen washbasin and then washing out his mouth. Concerned, he went into the kitchen, only to have the rancid smell of vomit hit him like a wall.
"Phai Love, are you sick?" he inquired.
"I'm fine, Alexander. I just had too much for break-" and he was bent over the basin once more.
"You are not fine, you are ill," Alexander came close, concern etched on his features.
"I'm fi-" Hephaestion tried to move away, but stumbled and clutched at his forehead as a dizzy spell overtook him.
"Love!" Alexander was quick to catch him, "Are you sure you're not ill? Come sit, eat something. How about some bread and honey?"
At the mention of honey, Hephaestion felt bile rise once more in his throat and rushed to the basin yet again.
"I'm... fine-" Hephaestion insisted as Alexander stared at him in shock.
"Hephaestion Amyntoros, you are lying to me," Alexander's hands went on his hips.
"I am not!" Hephaestion was adamant, but Alexander could tell by the way that his voice cracked that his walls were starting to fall; his interrogation was getting to him.
"Phai, my love, my beauty, whatever is so bad that you can not tell me? You can tell me anything. Did you break something?" Hephaestion shook his head as he stared at the floor, silent, "Did you lose something?" another shake, "Did you sleep with another man?"
Hephaestion jerked his head up, horrified, "What? No! Never!"
"Then what is it, Phai? Something is wrong, I can tell. And even if you don't tell me, I will find out soon enough," he made the threat.
"Alexander! Fine, you want to know? I'm pregnant!" in tears, Hephaestion stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door to their bedroom.
Stunned for a moment, Alexander shook himself and followed quickly, knocking quietly on the closed door.
"Hephaestion," he called, ear to the wood.
"Go away!" an answer came in the form of a choked sob.
"No. Open the door. Please, I want to talk."
"No, go away!"
"Love, please. This is important, and we need to talk about it."
Suddenly the door flew open and Alexander fell onto the floor, half inside and half outside of the room.
"Talk, or I swear, I will make certain you will no longer be a man," Hephaestion glared down at him as he held the door open.
"Love," Alexander picked himself up, "We're having a baby?" his eyes glistened with joy and hope.
Seeing this, Hephaestion deflated, and gave his true love a small smile, "Yes, Alexander, we're having a baby."
Hephaestion could only watch as a grin split Alexander's face, reaching past his ears. Suddenly, Alexander jumped into the air, letting out a whoop. He then took Hephaestion into his arms and danced him around the room, laughing happily as they fell back onto the bed.
"HEPHAESTION AMYNTOROS, I LOVE YOU!" he shouted, so loudly in fact that Hephaestion was sure the entire Persian empire could hear him.
"Shh, Dearest," Hephaestion hushed him, reaching up to pet his golden hair soothingly.
Alexander went silent, but Hephaestion could feel him shiver with barely contained excitement. He swooped down to capture Hephaestion's lips in a passionate kiss, all while bunching his chiton above his belly and exploring the still taunt skin and hard muscle with sensitive fingers.
They broke apart, panting. All of a sudden, Hephaestion began to sob. Alexander pulled back, not expecting this. After his uncertainty faded and he saw Hephaestion reaching for him in a silent plea to be comforted, however, he gave Hephaestion a soft kiss and took him in his arms, lying down so that Hephaestion could rest his head on his chest.
"What is it, Love?" he whispered into his long hair, nuzzling his crown, "Are you scared?" Hephaestion gave a weak nod, unable to say anything through his tears, "You will be fine, I promise. Nothing will happen to you. You will endure labor and birth beautifully, and you will live to meet and raise our child. I promise you that. Shh," Alexander had taken to rocking him slightly, It's okay, it's okay. Just relax, don't worry, I'm here."
Soon, Hephaestion fell into an exhausted sleep, still wrapped in his lover's gentle grasp.
