"Alexander is arriving today, isn't he?" Gaius murmured. "Does that mean you're not coming with to the mountains?"

Hephaistion nodded, " We can go together again. We still have a month here in Crete."

Alexander got off the boat, his skin blown with the thrilling winds of a winter with Hephaistion. He looked across the busy boarding platform and saw Hephaistion smiling broadly at him. Alexander grinned and crossed the crowds towards him, his two guards following with their combined luggage.

"Hello Alexander,"Hephaistion said, his lips closing in a loving arc.

Alexander embraced him, "Joy to you."

He wanted to do more but turned to introduce his two guards. Hephaistion greeted them politely and indicated his driver who promptly stepped forward to help with the trunks and led the guards towards the carriage.

"Were you waiting very long?"Alexander asked as they trailed the three men heading to the carriage.

"I saw the ship arriving from our house," Hephaistion replied, "so I was only waiting fifteen minutes or so."

They got into the carriage with one guard inside and the other beside the driver. The horses lurched forward.

"How far is it?" Alexander looked across at his lover.

"Not long. 30, 40 minutes."

They arrived at the house which Augustus had bought twenty-three years ago and had left to Amyntor. It was on the beach; the grand entrance, though humble by Athenian standards, faced the road.

"Can Stavros help my guards settle in?"A flicker of irritation passed across Alexander's face. He had not wanted guards but it was his father's order and condition for his journey

"Sure," Hephaistion replied, amused and enjoying the emotion of being amused by Alexander again. "Stavros, will you show Leon and Nikandros where to find Adamos, please? He'll sort everything out."

A pair of slaves appeared to help with the luggage and preceded the driver and guards through a discreet side gate. Hephaistion opened the main door into a small, plain entrance hall and turned to smile softly at Alexander, his arm brushing the wall, his eyes sparkling and mischievous. Alexander stepped into his arms and met his playful gaze, reaching up to cup a cheek. Hephaistion straightened and draped an arm around his neck, their lips meeting gently.

"Gods, I missed you," Alexander breathed.

"I missed you, too,"Hephaistion said and pulled Alexander closer. He tilted his head to look into his lover's eyes. "We've got a lot of catching up to do. Gods, we're going to have fun."

Alexander returned the smile and placed a tender kiss on his lips. Hephaistion brushed his hand over Alexander's shoulder, pulling away.

They went through the doorway into a larger room full of couches and a few tables. On the other side of the room the windows and door showed a large balcony with a circular table and chairs and the pale blue sea expanding beyond. Hephaistion led him through the room and through another doorway to a dining room with a large, simple wooden table and two long wooden benches and poured them wine. They had just sat across from each other at the table when they heard approaching horses and the door was opened.

"…nothing too complicated; we'll eat heavily tonight," a woman was saying, her voice crescendoing as her footsteps came nearer.

"Yes, and the girls have baked," another female voice added.

Europene and her daughter Lycania stepped into the room. Alexander stood up.

"Alexander!" Hephaistion's mother beamed and bobbed a curtsey, her daughter copying her, before coming forward to kiss his cheek. "I'm so pleased you could come."

"It was kind of you to invite me, Europene," Alexander replied. He stepped forward to kiss Lycania's cheeks. "Joy to you, Lycania."

She returned the greeting modestly and Europene faced her son, "Have you shown Alexander his room?"

Hephaistion shook his head. She nodded, "Would you like anything to eat, Alexander? Everyone should be back in an hour or so and we'll eat once they've washed. It looked that it would rain any second up there; I must say I'm glad we left early."

Alexander smiled and shook his head, "I'll wait."

"Lycania can show you your room so long. I need to talk to the cook,"Europene said, taking off her cloak. Alexander smiled and followed Lycania back the way he had come. Europene looked around, "Should we light up the fire here?"

Hephaistion frowned, "We haven't brought the wood in, yet."

Europene rolled her eyes and rubbed her hands, "Just because we're away from Athens doesn't mean we have to do everything differently. We're still allowed to have servants; in fact, we need servants if we never do the stuff we say we will."

Hephaistion shrugged, " I'll ask one of the slaves to bring it in, then."

Europene shook her head, "It's fine; I'm going to the kitchen now. I'll ask someone. There isn't much work for them to do anyway."

She descended a staircase at the end of the room and Hephaistion retraced his steps towards the entrance hall, climbing a set of stairs towards the room he knew Alexander had been given. Lycania was talking to Alexander as a servant moved Alexander's trunks inside. Alexander replied, "No, I'll be fine. I don't want to inconvenience your family."

The servant left the room. Lycania hesitated and looked to her brother, "The servants here don't have much to do and we don't really use them here."

"I'll follow your example then!" Alexander grinned.

Lycania smiled politely and looked to her brother, "Mother said Alexander must have a servant and a slave but he doesn't really want them."

Hephaistion smiled and looked at Alexander, "Please just say 'yes' and then we can put all the courtesy and fuss away."

Alexander snorted, "All right then. But I really don't want to be stealing servants off anybody."

Lycania smiled warmly, "You won't be."

She left the room and Hephaistion sat on the couch beside the fire. Alexander turned to look out of the door to see the sea lapping at the sand and a balcony with a table and chairs; from a window he could see the harbour. He glanced at the gilded furniture; it was still stylish but compared to the rest of the house, there was no mistaking it. "Don't tell me I got the best room in the house."

Hephaistion smiled, "Of course you did! Only the best for Macedon's future king!"

Alexander rolled his eyes, exasperated, "I thought we were putting all the fuss away. Am I the only one seeing this as a holiday?"

Hephaistion bit back a laugh, "But you're not on holiday; you're here at the formal invitation of my parents to seal our alliance with the powerful Macedonian royals!"

"Hephaistion!" Alexander scolded but his eyes were still light. He sat down beside Hephaistion. "I thought you promised me a winter full of 'fun'?"

Hephaistion grinned and put his hand on Alexander's thigh, "And aren't public appearances in town with my father, shaking line after line of officials' hands, trailed by your guards, fun?"

Alexander met his eyes, exasperated.

"Or were you expecting something else?"

Alexander narrowed his eyes, "I was actually."

"What?"

"Hephaistion," Alexander groaned.

Hephaistion laughed, almost feeling sorry for him, "Ah, don't worry. I'm sure we'll find time for a visit to the temple where you can sacrifice for a good alliance with Athens-"

Alexander frowned at him.

"Or to attend the army drills in-"

"No."

"Or to have sex with me," Hephaistion finished playfully, his fingers playing on Alexander's knee. Alexander paused and looked at him. Hephaistion smiled languidly, "Found something tempting to do?"

"That sounds more like it,"Alexander smiled and leaned in for a kiss. He put his hands on Hephaistion's waist, making him lie back against the arm of the couch. Their kiss deepened slowly and Hephaistion wrapped his arms around Alexander.

Alexander sighed with pleasure as he pulled back and lay against Hephaistion, interlacing their hands. "You know, I don't think I've ever been on a proper holiday."

Hephaistion looked down at him.

"Whenever I've gone hunting or to my friends' estates or to other states, I've always been trailed by my guards and all the bowing and everything."

"I guess that's part of the title," Hephaistion replied softly.

"Yes," Alexander said, rubbing his thumb across Hephaistion's hand. "I guess it is."

"We can't do anything about the guards but I'm sure that by the end of the week the novelty of having a prince here will have worn off and no-one will be bowing to you besides the servants," Hephaistion said, his hand on Alexander's back. "And we definitely won't be watching army drills."

Alexander smiled, "I suppose I've been fantasising about this trip too much. My father kept reminding me that he let me come as a diplomatic sign."

Hephaistion smiled and shook his head, "Your coming here is that; what you actually do here doesn't matter. He could've said no; you're staying three weeks."

"Mmm."

Hephaistion looked back at Alexander, "We'll have lots of fun, I promise. We'll show you what a proper holiday is like. And we'll have tons of sex."

Alexander met his eyes smilingly.