Alexander's generals were still perched upon the cart that had been making its way through the villages for the last several days, in varying stages of drunkenness. Most had ordered their suppers brought there, so there were large platters of food everywhere among the huge bowls of wine that seemed to never run out. Even though they were no longer moving, the majority of the men did not seem to want to leave the party.

Hephaestion exchanged a look with Alexander. "Do you want to get our supper and return to our quarters? Or do you want to dine with the others?"

Alexander sighed. "Honestly, I'd prefer to dine alone with you, but I think I should at least put in an appearance. I have not sat with them since yesterday. I should probably check on them at the least."

Hephaestion begrudgingly agreed. As they climbed into the cart with its large tented covering, there were shouts of greeting to Alexander from all those around. As Hephaestion stepped up, there arose a round of applause interspersed with cat calls and wolf whistles, followed by laughter.

Hephaestion's face grew red and he turned as if to leave, but Alexander's hand on his arm stopped him and drug him up beside him. Hephaestion truly wanted to leave.

"Joy to you Alexander! And to you, Hephaestion!" Ptolemy said cheerfully. He and his dinner companions were obviously not feeling any pain, drinking all afternoon as they had been. He had a goofy grin on his face and a wreath of white flowers on his head.

"Joy to you, gentlemen!" Alexander smiled in return. It was good to see his men so relaxed and having fun. They certainly deserved it.

Hephaestion mumbled a greeting and sat down, wishing by all the gods he was somewhere else. He had a really bad feeling about this. He couldn't remember a lot of what he had done the other night, but from the greeting he had just received, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know. Gods, he thought, what did I do?

Nearchus scooted over to sit next to Hephaestion, bumping his shoulder good-naturedly. "Hey Hephaestion! How about another kiss, hmm?"

Everyone laughed.

Hephaestion simply stared at him, willing himself not to blush.

"Yes!" Perdiccas chimed in. "Would you care to sit on my lap again? Who knew you could be so much fun!"

Hephaestion looked at Alexander helplessly, hoping his friend would save him, but no such luck. Alexander was giggling like the others. He looked at the rest of the companions sitting around him, finding that all of them were grinning at him. Nearchus shook his head at Hephaestion's horrified expression. Ptolemy winked at him.

Hephaestion seriously wanted them to focus on something else. "Alright, gentlemen. Surely you have better things to talk about than me. Find a more interesting topic, will you?" He was extremely grateful that Craterus had passed out. He didn't think he could deal with him and his rude comments.

Nearchus leaned over to Alexander. "He doesn't remember anything, does he?"

Alexander laughed. "No, only that he kissed you. After that I daresay he has no idea."

"Oh please!" Perdiccas said between giggles, "let me tell him!"

Hephaestion desperately wanted the earth to swallow him up.

"You do remember that you were dared to kiss me, right? And may I say you did a fantastic job! I would be more than happy to repeat that!" Nearchus glanced at Alexander as he said this and received a wink in return.

Perdiccas grinned at Hephaestion. "You seemed to like sitting in my lap, too. You certainly wiggled around enough. You know, that little bite on my ear kind of turned me on."

They all roared with laughter, even Alexander. Everyone but Hephaestion, who looked horrified.

Alexander held his stomach and tried to catch his breath. "Oh Hephaestion…that is nothing. Do you want to hear what else you did?"

Hephaestion shook his head no and looked down at his lap.

Alexander was still laughing. He threw his arm around Hephaestion's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "You, my love, were quite the life of the party. I do not believe I have ever seen you drink that much. Let's just say you are very uninhibited when you are drunk."

Nearchus looked at Hephaestion with a sly grin. "Go ahead, Alexander. Tell him the best part!"

"I hate myself for asking this, but just what in Hades did I do that amuses you all so?" Hephaestion grumbled.

Alexander shot him a playful look. "Well, first you tried to dance like Bagoas, not very well I might add, with a big garland of flowers around your neck."

Hephaestion groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Oh but wait! That is not the best part!" Alexander grinned. "You and Nearchus decided it would be fun to moon the villagers as we passed their houses. The both of you exposed your backsides and wiggled them around as we moved. You gave the villagers a lovely view of your ass, my friend!"

Hephaestion looked up at Alexander, shocked speechless.

"I have to say I had a rather nice view of your backside myself" Alexander smirked at him.

"Encore!" Ptolemy shouted, which brought a fresh round of laughter all around.

Hephaestion stared at all of them. "Well, I am so glad you all enjoyed looking at my ass. Could we please eat our supper now?" He truly wanted to die.

Alexander leaned over and draped a fresh garland of flowers around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Of course, love." He turned and spoke to the others. "Okay, men, let's give poor Hephaestion a break! We have much eating to do to make up for the last few weeks, and I for one am ready to dig in."

They spent the rest of the evening happily chatting about nothing in particular, enjoying the wonderful food and wine and rejoicing in merely being alive.

As the evening grew late, the men began to either pass out or doze off, one by one. Alexander was too keyed up to sleep, and Hephaestion still seemed a bit agitated. Alexander leaned over and whispered softly in his ear. "Phai, I have a great need to be with you. I have missed you. I want you. Would you stay with me tonight, please?" His dark eyes looked seductively inviting.

Hephaestion's breath caught in his throat. They had not been intimate in many months, and the invitation quite frankly surprised him. His blue eyes flashed fire. "I would love nothing more, my Alexander." He stood and helped Alexander to his feet. "After you, my love."

They left the cart and headed for Alexander's tent. Both were glad that Craterus was still passed out.