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SECOND CHANCE PART 11

Alexander exited the room still in shock. It was impossible, it sounded crazy but all that Anaxagoras had told him could only have been known if they had been born and traveled the same path as one being. The man was him. Himself, older come somehow from the future. He had to breath deeply. Finally he saw Hephaistion coming in his direction.

"Sorry, it took me so long, the drawer was locked and I finally had to break it! Aristotle won't be happy when he will find out? How is he?"

"He fell asleep."

"Oh." Hephaistion sound a little disappointed but then he noticed that Alexander looked pale and he asked his lover, "You are so pale, what happened?"

"We have to talk Hephaistion." He said seriously. Hephaistion 's heart jumped, he feared his teacher, in his drunken state, had told about the kiss they'd shared. He sighed deeply as he followed his friend in his room.

Alexander sat and asked his friend to do the same. Alexander's face was grave and Hephaistion felt guilty so he started before his lover could.

"I did kissed him, I'm so sorry. I didn't want it at first when he kissed me but but... I feel miserable since, it's you… I love only you, I don't know why I did such a stupid thing." Hephaistion was ashamed and couldn't look into Alexander's eyes. He couldn't bear the shock he saw there.

"You kissed him? What? When?" Asked Alexander distraught by the revelation.

"He was drunk and he caught me and kissed me. He was delirious, he told me he loved me, that he missed me and I swore I didn't want to kiss him back but when he did ... I let him."

Hephaistion felt very uneasy. He feared he could lose his lover but he thought he too was at fault for not being stronger.

"I'm surprised to say the least." said Alexander who didn't know how to take the news, his lover had kissed another man who happened to be himself except Hephaistion didn't know.

"I will understand if…"

"If what? Look Hephaistion be honest with me, do you have feelings for him?"

Hephaistion wanted to run from the room. "I like him…" he said with a low and uncertain voice. "I , we ... just connected in some way. I don't know, there's something about him... I m so sorry but it's you I love and only you." Insisted Hephaistion.

"You do have feelings for him ..." the prince said as a matter of fact but not upset. "I guess I should be very pleased."

Hephaistion looked at his lover to see if he was being sarcastic but he wasn't. "Why should you be pleased Alexander?" he asked worriedly.

"Because the fact is, that you started to fall in love with me again even though you didn't know it was me. No matter Hephaistion it is me you love still, and I know that."

Hephaistion was confused, he didn't understand anything. "Alexander..."

Alexander stoop up and took Hephaistion's hands in his. "I love you still Hephaistion, and I am in fact honored. I am going to explain this all to you; it will sound absolutely unreal but listen to me until the end."

Hephaistion nodded as Alexander told him who Anaxagoras was and how he couldn't have been a made up such a thing and that it was indeed the truth.

It took few minutes for Hephaistion to process it all. "It's…" he began but Alexander cut him off.

"I know, but he is me, Hephaistion."

Hephaistion felt relieved at the beginning but then his worries came surging back at the realization that Anaxagoras knew their future. "Alexander?"

"Yes? What's wrong?"

"What happened to you in the future? Did you noticed how is he? He looked so lost, he is so skinny and he is drinking so much too much... it's not what I want for you in your future, what happened to you?" Hephaistion started to become frantic as wild ideas flashed across his mind. "And where I am? I should be at his side; at your side! Why am I not there, here with you. Here?"

Alexander took Hephaistion in his arms to calm him down.

"Calm down Hephaistion." he stroked his hair then kissed him gently his forehead. When Hephaistion calmed down he remembered sadly the words t by Anaxagoras had muttered when they'd found him drunk.

"I died." He said simply, in shock and with a sad tone.

Alexander took him in his arms again, holding him tightly. "He told me what happened, I won't let you die Hephaistion. I promise."

"What happens to me Alexander?"

"He told me you catch a bad fever, after few days you were doing better and I could go to some games, the doctor was supposed to watch you but he left and since you felt better you decided to eat and drink but that made it worse and you died, I wasn't even there when you..." Alexander couldn't finish, it sounded unreal but at the same time he felt horrible at the thought of what Hephaistion had endured to die alone and the himself discovering his lover had died while he was at some silly games.

Hephaistion stayed silent, it sounded so unreal. "I surely thought that if I was better, eating and drinking will bring me more strength to recover..."

"Yes, and seems you were wrong; but I promise you I won't leave you and you won't eat anything."

They stayed in each others arms for a long time without saying anything.

"I want to see him." Said Hephaistion as he broke the silence.

"Yes, he also told me he had plenty of other things to tell me about and I'm curious to know."

They returned to "Anaxagoras' room and were in shocked when they discovered he wasn't there any longer. They searched for him everywhere for hours before they came to the conclusion he had truly disappeared and had surely returned to his time.

TBC