The pain made his arm feel leaden. When he had first received the wound he had dropped his sword the pain was so sudden. He had retained enough sense to bring his shield up and prevent a second blow from ending his life. His shield arm took a battering, the blows falling so hard that it shook his entire frame. Crouching down, Hephaistion's numb fingers searched for his fallen weapon and found only sand. For a brief moment Hephaistion feared that he would fall victim to the Persian soldier. He received several more hits to his shield, his arm thrumming as a result of the numbing blows.
It was the errant spear of another soldier that saved his life. His opponent was struck down by another and Hephaistion was able to use the time granted him to search out his own blade. Some strength had returned to his right arm by then and Hephaistion was able to hold onto his sword for the duration of the battle.
The effort proved to be a fruitless one because he could not rouse his sword arm above his waist. The battle itself did not last much longer since Darius had fled before Alexander's fury. When it was over Hephaistion saw to his men, allowing his arms to be taken, but not for a physician to see to him until all of the soldiers in his command had been cared for.
Night was falling when Hephaistion finally allowed himself to be cornered in his tent by one of the physicians. There had been very minor casualties among his men and, as he was learning, among the army as a whole. He was relieved in large part for Alexander's sake.
"Phaistion!"
Hephaistion looked up, startled by the sight of his blood-splattered lover. He jerked his arm, earning him a stab in the arm from the physician, Glaucus.
"Watch yourself, man!" Alexander shouted as he stalked across the distance that separated them.
Hephaistion placed a hand on Alexander's arm when he made to strike the terrified physician. "Easy, Alexander. The fault is mine. I moved when I should have remained still."
"Finish your work and leave. I will see to the rest," Alexander ordered, glaring at the man Hephaistion was preventing him from striking.
Hephaistion did his utmost to refrain from reacting further as Glaucus continued to stitch the wound on his forearm closed. The task was made easier when he asked about the state of the army, something Alexander could talk about with great ease. Alexander was so thoroughly distracted that he only realized that the physician had finished when he began packing up his supplies.
"I will leave him in your care, my king," Glaucus murmured as he sidled towards the exit.
"And now I am in the care of Alexander the healer," Hephaistion said quietly when his lover remained silent. "So what course of treatment do you prescribe, my lord?"
"Let me see your arm."
Hephaistion laced his arm in Alexander's hands, startled when the man bowed his head to place a tender kiss at the base of the wound.
"I am fine, Alexander. It is a minor injury," Hephaistion protested, raising his free hand to cup Alexander's cheek.
"Ptolemy said that he saw you on the ground bleeding and without your sword," Alexander whispered as he continued to hold onto Hephaistion's arm. "I feel a fool for overreacting, but I could not bear the thought of you being gravely injured."
"So I can tell, love. You are an utter mess," Hephaistion said quietly, brushing a fingertip along a streak of blood that darkened Alexander's cheek. "Come, let me bathe you."
"Phaistion, you're injured," Alexander protested which earned him a sharp glare from the man.
"I have a cut on my arm. That leaves another hand free to tend to you."
Alexander continued to protest, but Hephaistion merely ignored him. He retrieved a nearby basin of water and a cloth, lightly bathing Alexander's face. When his breastplate and chiton got in the way, Hephaistion carefully removed them. For his part, once his chiton had been removed, Alexander used it to tenderly wipe the blood from Hephaistion's arm, along with the other smears that covered his flesh. Neither spoke and Hephaistion could see deep furrows across the bridge of Alexander's nose.
"Darius is a coward," Hephaistion said, sensing Alexander's mood. "Were he a true king he would have faced you and not fled."
Alexander's eyes were directed towards him, but Hephaistion knew that it was not him that his friend saw. "I saw him. Saw the fear in him. As far back in the lines as he was and still he feared me. How could such a great man know fear?"
"He knows that a far greater man has come to conquer him," Hephaistion murmured, cupping Alexander's cheek and drawing the man back to the present. "Darius recognizes that he will not retain his empire so long as you desire it."
Alexander blinked once, his dark eyes focusing directly on Hephaistion. "Do you fear me as well?"
"I fear for you, but I do not fear you," he whispered, the pad of his thumb ghosting across Alexander's cheekbone. "While I do not doubt that you are the son of a divine being, you are still mortal. I worry that there will come a time when you will force yourself beyond the boundaries that your body can endure. I do not know what I should do then."
"You would stop me from such an act," Alexander said quietly, learning forward to touch his forehead to Hephaistion's.
"And if I am no longer there?"
Alexander startled, his body moving apart from Hephaistion's and stared at the older man with wide eyes. "Do not speak to me of such a thing. We will grow old and raise our sons together. We will live to be old men, beyond the foolishness of youth."
Hephaistion remained silent, knowing that such things could not be guaranteed. Alexander followed the example of Achilles to such an extent that Hephaistion feared he would die young just as the hero had. He did not care if his life span was linked to that of Patroclus, only that Alexander be allowed to live. He had an empire to build and that could not sustain itself if Alexander was not there to hold it together.
Hephaistion framed Alexander's face between his palms, drawing their heads close together. "I will not allow myself to be willingly parted from you, my Alexander. The gods will have a long struggle should they attempt to separate our fates."
Before his very eyes relief lightened Alexander's features. "That is good because I do not think that I could do this without you by my side. This is our dream and either both or neither of us will see its completion."
"Then so it shall be."
