Part 2
"General Hephaistion!" The booming voice rang out through the half-empty dining hall where Hephaistion had huddled himself in a corner to save his aching brain from the noise and, truth be told, to avoid Cleitus. "Have you been avoiding me this day, boy?"
The longhaired brunette looked up innocently. "Of course not, Cleitus. Have you been looking for me?" Hephaistion turned his brilliant blue eyes to those of the older general's, a smirk on his lips, one hand pushing the hair from his face.
"You are definitely not meant for any profession that requires you to lie to earn your pay, Hephaistion," Cleitus chuckled, straddling the bench beside the man. "I gather your meeting with your beloved did not go well this morning?"
"It went just fine, thank you, despite you trying to ruffle Alexander's royal feathers. What was your intention exactly?"
"No intention, really. Just like to tune the boy King up, once in a while. Knock him off his high horse, so to speak. Did you clear the air from last evening?"
"No. 'Twas not the time, nor the place."
"You still look a little out of sorts, though, lad."
"I falter in my dealings with Alexander, once in a while, I suppose. He's a busy man and I need not interfere with the running of his army by voicing my petty needs."
"Petty needs? Hephaistion, for the love of the gods, when will you grow a pair and realize you have rights within your relationship with Alexander? King or not, he has begun to lack both common decency and common courtesy, especially when it comes to the man he claims holds his very heart within his own."
"How did you ..."
"He has spoken of it on occasion, and yes, I am a very good eavesdropper, as well." Cleitus' grin broke free and covered his entire face as he leaned closer to Hephaistion. "I know of his dalliances since we've reached Babylon. The man does not even try to hide his indiscretions anymore, except the ones he partakes with you. Tell me, General, why is that? Is there something I'm missing in this whole scenario?"
Hephaistion bowed his head, his greatest fears out in the open. Cleitus had expressed exactly the question that wracked his brain and his heart. Alexander was quite happy to parade his bevy of beauties around the palace, but with his long-time lover, he crept around and spoke only in whispers. "I know not of what you speak. Alexander and I are as we always have been. I will ask you politely to not mention this, again."
"Never been one for politeness myself," Cleitus grinned.
"Yes, that is common knowledge." Hephaistion couldn't help smirking even though he was trying to be harsh enough to make Cleitus leave him alone.
"I won't let you be until you tell me what the blazes happened last night. Lust after you as I do, or don't, I am still your friend and I do not wish to see you in that sorry state, again."
"I apologize for my behavior. I should not have ..."
"Kissed me? Groped me? Asked me to, er ... mount you?"
Hephaistion voice was shrill and louder than he'd intended. "Cleitus! I did no such thing." He paused, looking down at his hands. "Except kiss you ... and grope your ... manhood. But I most certainly did not ask you to mount me."
"True enough. You asked me if I wanted to, and offered to give me the pleasure of your mouth."
"Cleitus! Gods, what was I thinking?"
"'Twas the wine thinking on its own perhaps, but there was more to it, was there not?"
Hephaistion sighed deeply, his eyes searching the room for anyone who might be listening to their conversation. "Yes. But I don't wish to talk about it."
"Do I have to beat it out of you, General?"
The younger man couldn't help but allow his lips to curve up into a slight smile. "No. Do you wish to torture me instead by making me reveal the ache in my heart, Cleitus?"
"The ache in your heart is what concerns me, my friend. I may be a brash, harsh, bastard of a man but I care deeply for you, possibly too deeply, and I don't wish to see you wrung out as you have been lately. Is there no other love in your life, Hephaistion? Other love that will give you what you so rightly deserve?"
"I've not heard you speak like this before, Cleitus. Have you been imbibing so early in the day?" Hephaistion did not wish to talk about his heart. He did not wish to talk about it at all. He'd managed to go most of us life without talking about his feeling for Alexander, except to Alexander himself and he saw no point in bringing them up now, when he was already so confused and distraught.
"Well ... make light of it as you wish, but mark my words, there will come a day when you will no longer be able to withstand being another notch in His Majesty's belt. And I fear that day is close."
As Cleitus walked away, Hephaistion bowed his head, his mind churning and whirling this way and that. Were there no other options than finding a new love to replace the one that consumed his entire heart, soul and being? Was there not a way to reclaim Alexander as his own and return to how they once had been ... everything to each other? Could Achilles and Patroclus really live without one another?
*****
"Hephaistion!" Alexander's voice broke his reverie, the general turning from his horse and smiling widely at his beloved. "I suspected I'd find you here. This nag certainly gets a lot of your attention, doesn't she? I believe I may be a wee bit jealous."
Hephaistion just kept smiling, his heart soaring with the love that filled his entire body as Alexander smirked at him. "No need for jealousy, it's already been made clear that you're the only one whose attention I seek. You were looking for me, Alexander?"
"Yes," Alexander beamed. "I believe I am free to meet with you tonight, Phai, if that's acceptable to you."
The General was a little rebuffed by the formalness of the King's request, but he was undoubtedly more enchanted by the love in Alexander's eyes which enabled him to ignore the sting in his heart. "Of course. Shall I come to your rooms after the meal, Alexander?"
Alexander stroked the shiny mane of Hephaistion's horse, his eyes never leaving the brilliant blue of his lover's. "No. I was hoping to see you before we dined. Can you come to my rooms then?"
Hephaistion nodded, a sweet smile on his lips, but his mind roiling again in confusion. Alexander never requested a iaudience/i before dinner, should he be concerned with that fact or just relax in the anticipation of being with his beloved? He jumped a little as Alexander's hand moved from his horse's mane to his bicep, the man's fingers dragging lightly up to his shoulder and back down again.
"I've missed you, Phai," Alexander whispered, his voice low and sensual as his fingers continued to caress his lover's skin.
"And I, you, my beloved," Hephaistion purred. He leaned in to kiss Alexander's cheek, only to have the King jump back from him and remove his soothing fingers from his skin. "There's no one around, my love, I would never ..."
"I have a meeting I must attend, Phai. I shall expect you later?" Hephaistion nodded as Alexander walked away from him. A meeting? Since when did Alexander have meetings without informing him, let alone without him? Picking up the brush he had been using on his horse, he began to stroke the silky hair, again, willing his mind to simply concentrate on the task at hand and the evening he would spend with Alexander later. He couldn't help feeling he was being taken advantage of, yet again, by his beloved, but the yearning to be in Alexander's arms was so overwhelming, so intoxicating, that he just had to think of the positives and disregard the negatives.
*****
Hephaistion carefully braided his long hair into the style Alexander always complimented him on, put on his finest tunic and bracelets and taking a deep breath left his room. He stood nervously outside the King's rooms, his heart beating madly in his chest, chastising himself for feeling like a smitten school boy. Alexander had been his lover for almost fifteen years, yet Hephaistion felt like he was an innocent virgin again, looking to make love for the first time.
The guards barely gave him a glance as he strolled past the first set of doors and knocked softly on the next. "Come," Alexander called from within, setting Hephaistion heart soaring. "Hephaistion. Are you not early?"
The General's mouth hung open for a second before his brain kicked back in. "You asked me to come before the meal, did you not?"
"Oh, yes, of course. Would you like some wine, Phai?" Alexander crossed the room to pour himself a cup, looking questioningly at Hephaistion. "Something wrong, love?"
"No," Hephaistion said quickly, as Alexander sipped at his wine, not repeating his question. "Just a little bit excited to be here with you after so long."
"Excited?" Alexander grinned. "Hmm, how excited? Excited enough to show me?" Hephaistion slitted his eyes and sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, his voice caught uncomfortably in his chest. "I've been waiting all day to give you a thorough pounding."
Alexander was suddenly on the General, his body slamming Hephaistion against the wall, his lips pressing hard enough to his lover's to make him taste blood, and the overwhelming flavor of wine strong enough to make Hephaistion realize his King had been swigging more than his share already. Hands pulled roughly at the General's tunic, fingers digging painfully into his skin, as the material was forced open from neck to waist. "I've been thinking about this beautiful body all day, Phai. Thinking about it and wanting it. Dreaming of how good my cock would feel inside it."
"You're talking about me as if I were a piece of meat, Alexander," Hephaistion managed to gasp out as he pulled his head from Alexander's. "Do you not have enough meat around without turning me into a piece for you to digest, as well?"
Alexander growled deep in his throat, his hands moving up into Hephaistion's hair and yanking his head back. "You've never complained about how I spoke to you before, Phai. Has your time with Cleitus perhaps turned you away from me? Do you seek the company of the older general now instead of mine?"
Summoning up every ounce of strength in his body, Hephaistion pushed Alexander as hard as he could away from him. "I will not be spoken to like that, Alexander, not even by you. Cleitus has nothing to do with how you continue to treat me, nor I assure you, whose company I may seek."
Wiping his hand across his mouth, Alexander picked himself up from the floor and smirked at his lover. "I do enjoy it when you fight me, Hephaistion. It makes the challenge so much more interesting, don't you think?"
"The challenge?" Hephaistion yelled, stepping away from Alexander's grasping hands. "Are the boys you bring to your chambers not challenge enough? Too submissive for your hunter tendencies are they? With all their sexual prowess and limberness, you'd think they would be more of a challenge to you."
Alexander's eyebrows knitted together and his arms flailed wildly. "Have you been spying on me, General? Watching to see who is taking your place in my bed? Have you also noticed that none of those boys stay longer than a couple of hours, in direct difference to me allowing you to spend the night?"
"Allowing me? What has become of you Alexander? Do you care so little for me anymore that I have merely become one of your possessions, one of your slaves that you may order about and give permission to?"
Alexander stepped forward, his hands adjusting the tented crotch of his Persian pants. "How can you even ask me that, Phai? Can you not see what sparring with you does to me? How it winds me up until I can hardly contain my cock from springing from my pants? I would surely not allow anyone else to speak with me in the manner that you do. Can we not put this conversation aside and just enjoy the time we have, alone in this room, together, our bodies pressed tightly as one?"
Hephaistion crossed his arms over his bare chest, every fiber in his body screaming at him to just walk away, to leave, to not fall into his beloved's trap. "I do not wish to put it aside, Alexander, for that would mean we will never speak of it again. I know your trickery and I know how much time I've been allotted in your company as of late. I want nothing more than to hold you in my arms, but I just cannot permit myself to do that at this moment."
"Then I must ask you to leave, Hephaistion, so that I might find someone to accept the generosity I have to offer."
The General's mouth hung open in disbelief, his arms falling heavily to his arms as he watched Alexander not so much turn and head towards the door, as turn and stumble towards the door. "You cannot be serious, Alexander. Can we not talk about this? Not talk as we used to? What has happened between us that you only wish to have me in your presence for sexual entertainment? What has happened to iyou/i, Alexander? What has happened to ius/i?"
"Guards, please escort General Hephaistion from my room," Alexander called out the open door. "And send for the boy who was here last evening, I wish to speak to him."
Pulling the two halves of his tunic closed, Hephaistion walked slowly past Alexander and out the door, leaving the shattered pieces of his heart on the floor where they'd fallen.
*****
"General Hephaistion?" Hephaistion's page crept into the room and asked softly. "General Cleitus is here to see you."
Hephaistion sighed deeply and waved his hand from his position on the bed. "Tell him I wish to see no one." The page disappeared but was suddenly shoved back inside, a grave, terrified look on his face.
"Wish to see no one? You can do better than that General Hephaistion," Cleitus chuckled, staring down at the small, frightened man. "Boo!" the big man suddenly cried, making the page jump, turn and run from the room.
Hephaistion tried to control a smirk from capturing his lips. "You're really cruel, you're aware of that, are you not?"
"You don't look ill to me," Cleitus stated simply, throwing himself on the bed beside his friend.
"Who said I was ill?"
"Just everyone in the dining hall. You never miss a meal so everyone was very curious when you did not appear, especially since Alexander was present."
"Alexander has nothing to do with whether I miss a meal, Cleitus."
"But I do recall more than one occasion where the two of you did not appear at the same time."
"That's not happened in a long time."
"And that's why you be so mopey?" Cleitus said, searching Hephaistion's face for the truth he was clearly hiding.
"I am not mopey. I just didn't feel the need to eat this evening. I don't believe there is a crime in that, is there?"
"You need an ear to bend, Hephaistion. I can see it in those sad blue eyes of yours."
"I've not had an ear to bend in a long time. All the ears turned away from me with Alexander's urging, I suspect." Hephaistion had never admitted that to himself before, that he had no one to share his innermost thoughts and fears with. Alexander was always that ear he needed and the shoulder to lean on as well, but now he felt he was truly alone.
"Aye, 'tis true. He has implied that none of us get too close to you in the past. Some of us just listen better than others." The black-eyed General smirked and knocked his shoulder against Hephaistion's. "What burr has made its way under your blanket, Phai?"
"What the Gods does that even mean, Cleitus?"
"It's something Phillip used to say. Strange saying I know, but I guess I've kept it with me all these years." Cleitus suddenly became still and quiet, making Hephaistion turn and look at the down-turned face of the man. It seemed as if the whole tone of the room had turned somber and sad and as if Cleitus had suddenly slumped into inwards into himself.
"It's true, is it not? The rumors all those years ago about the black-haired general who fell in love with his King? Alexander always suspected it was you." Hephaistion's eyes were soft and caring as he touched Cleitus' arm gently, causing the man to look up into his gaze.
"I wouldn't say fell in love. That does sound a little womanly ..." Cleitus looked away from Hephaistion's searching eyes. "But I did love him. So yes, the rumors were true."
"But near the end of his life, you weren't ..."
"No. He'd thrown me over by then. I fear that his son has inherited some of his not so reputable traits as well; the drinking, and the boys, except Phillip liked the girls, too, so that made it doubly hard."
"But you stayed by his side? When you still loved him but he never ..."
"Phillip never told me he loved me, Hephaistion. I believe in my black, old heart that he did in his own way, but my feelings never faltered in that regard. I took lover after lover in the hopes that one would make me feel as Phillip did, but to no avail. He remained my one true love and even all these years after his death, I've not found that feeling again."
Hephaistion let his head fall back to the wall, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply. "Was it worth it, Cleitus? Was it worth all the loneliness and heartbreak and pain?"
"Alexander has told you he loves you, has he not?"
"Yes, all my life."
"Therein lies the big difference then, and in your situation, it might be worth all the pain, but I wish to also give you some advice of the opposite, as well."
The longhaired man turned his head to look into the black eyes boring into his own. "Of course."
"Don't wait forever for something to happen, my friend. Don't wait forever for something that may happen. Make a decision within yourself to do what needs to be done, but then, agree within yourself that shall your needs not be fulfilled, that you will make another decision to move forward."
"I don't understand."
"I never let Phillip know what I wanted, Hephaistion, nor what I needed or felt for him. It's highly likely that it would not have made a difference in his life nor mine, but at least then I could have told myself that I had tried. Perhaps, just that feeling of trying would have allowed me to move on and find someone else to fill my heart."
"I've not seen you displaying any affection for anyone in a long time, Cleitus. But there was a woman just after Phillip died, was there not?"
"Aye, it's been a long time since I've been with anyone. The woman was a convenience that I forced myself to partake in, with hopes an heir would spring from the coupling, but alas, it wasn't to be. I'm old and ready to be put out to pasture, Hephaistion. My life has almost run its course, but yours ... you have so much to do and to give, and I hate to see you become a bitter, withered old man such as myself."
"You are not an old work horse ready to be put out to pasture nor are you the least bit old and you don't seem at all bitter to me, Cleitus. I'd say right now you're more than a little sweet."
Cleitus roared, throwing his head back, tears of laughter eventually leaking from his eyes while Hephaistion chuckled beside him. "Now lad, be careful how loud you utter those words, we don't want that information getting into the wrong hands and ruining my reputation as a right bastard."
"So there were others besides the woman, Cleitus?" the younger man suddenly whispered, eyes turned down to his clasped hands.
Cleitus wiped a hand across his moist eyes and looked intently at Hephaistion. "Of course. I've not been with anyone in a long time, but in my prime I dare say I deflowered a few boys and spent some time with a lot of men, nothing of any relevance in my life though." He tilted his head and turned his body towards Hephaistion, a curious look inhabiting his face. "Have you not?"
Hephaistion's head remained down, his teeth madly worrying his lip while his hands twisted and untwisted. "It's not that I've not been giving the opportunity ..."
"I should say not. I've been present for a substantial number of opportunities that you've been offered."
"... I just never ... "
"Never?" Cleitius couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice as he looked at his friend. "I just assumed that ..."
Hephaistion shook his head slowly. "I just never felt the passion for anyone else."
"It's not always about passion, my dear Hephaistion. Sometimes it's merely about comfort, and the feel of another body against yours, wanting you and responding to you. More often than not it's the exact opposite of passion, really. If you find someone to be passionate about that makes it better, but more often it's about being with someone and releasing some tension. You've never felt the need to release tension?"
"No. Not in that way ... only with Alexander. You must think me abundantly naive."
"Naive?"
"To have always felt that I didn't need to experiment or be with others. I cannot believe it myself at the moment, feeling the way I do. I think I have trusted too deeply in the myth of Achilles and Patroclus."
"Alexander did something particularly nasty today, did he not?"
Hephaistion nodded and dipped his head, again. "I am a thirty year-old man who has ordered his men to fight to the death, as well as fighting to the death myself, yet I've never experienced the act of love with anyone but my beloved, who has proven to me many times that I don't matter to him as much as he matters to me. I feel like such a fool, Cleitus."
Cleitus placed a gentle hand on Hephaistion's bare skin where his tunic had ridden up his thigh. "You are far from a fool, my good General. Alexander is the fool and I believe you need to show him that."
Hephaistion crinkled up his nose and squinted his eyes. "Show him? Gods, how can I do that? I practically moon over the man day after day, already submitting myself to ridicule and humiliation. I care not to suffer any more indignity, if I can help it."
"He needs to see that you are desirable to more than just himself, Hephaistion, and that he is perhaps not the only one you desire, as well."
"But I don't desire anyone else and I don't wish to be desirable to anyone else."
"Will only be a ruse, lad, only a performance for the King himself. As much as I want to tell you to move on to someone that deserves you more, our hearts are twinned when it comes to iour/i Kings, are they not? And I know you need to use everything in your power to put yourself first in his eyes, or at least know you've tried in any way you can."
"Sounds like a game I shall not be enthusiastic about playing."
"But if it wins you the Alexander you so want back, is it not worth the effort?"
*****
The food had been devoured, and the men were already strongly in their cups, when Hephaistion and Cleitus strolled into the dining hall. They chatted and laughed when they entered, paying no mind to the King, who watched them intently from his usual spot across the room. Hephaistion noted that the naked dancing boy from the night before was moving seductively in front of Alexander, his only item of clothing being a loincloth secured at his hip.
Grabbing cups of wine, the two generals chose a couch in the farthest corner and sat side by side, their laughter reaching from one end of the room to the other. Cleitus pushed a wayward auburn strand from Hephaistion's face and was rewarded with a sweet smile that was intended only for him.
"Is he watching us?" Hephaistion asked, his eyes not leaving those of the other general's as he sipped from his cup. "I feel everyone's eyes on us, but cannot look up to see if Alexander's are part of the crowd."
"Aye, don't look at him, it's for the best. He is staring at us from across the room, a boy on each side of him, and one sitting on the floor, rubbing his feet."
"Gods!" Hephaistion hissed. "It's even worse than usual then? I can't go on with this game, Cleitus. I'll not lower myself to his level ..." Hephaistion's words were quickly cut off as the older general pressed a soft kiss to his lips, then pulled his head back and smiled widely.
"You're doing fine, Hephaistion. Do not let him scare you off from the task at hand."
"I don't believe we agreed on openly kissing, Cleitus," Hephaistion said, his cheeks reddening, as Cleitus continued to meet his gaze.
"But it's made a fine impression on our good King, nonetheless," Cleitus smirked. "He's discarded all the boys and is marching his way to us at this very moment."
"Oh Zeus' balls, I'm not sure I'm prepared for this."
"General Cleitus. General Hephaistion. We missed you at dinner. Was there something pressing going on that I should know about?" Alexander's eyes were bloodshot, the wine-soaked stench of his breath overpowering, even from a few feet away. "Have you nothing to say?"
"We were otherwise occupied," Cleitus growled, causing the King's brown eyes to widen and his mouth to fall open. "We've made our appearance now so there should be no questions as to where we were, am I not correct? Or does His Majesty have a problem with his men offering camaraderie?"
Alexander pursed his lips as he shifted his icy glare to Hephaistion. "And you, General Hephaistion? Was it you that was in need of camaraderie? Perhaps you needed a little comfort after your performance this afternoon?"
"Wha ..." Hephaistion's eyes were as big as saucers as he stared into Alexander's angry face. Surely the King would be publicly expose what had happened this afternoon.
"I was told you did not fair so well in the wrestling ring today, Hephaistion."
Breathing a sigh of relief that Alexander had not stooped as low as he had feared, Hephaistion replied, "I was distracted and I was being lenient on the lad who had taken me on. You know I won't embarrass a youngster who gathers enough courage to challenge me. I assure you that I did not lose the match and should I have chosen to do so, I could have taken the boy out in the first minute of the grappling."
Cleitus smirked behind his hand, as he watched Hephaistion slowly grow a backbone right in front of him, and perhaps a larger pair of balls, as well. "If you'll excuse us now, my King," he spoke up. "I believe I have some wine in my room that is waiting impatiently for Phai and me to drink it."
Hephaistion felt like he would pass out as he stood up from the couch, passed in front of Alexander and proceeded to walk out the door. He kept his breath sucked in, for fear he would begin to gasp and sputter right there in front of his lover.
"Breathe," Cleitus whispered, as they rounded the corner and continued down the hallway. "He's right behind us, so you need to at least appear as if you are happy to accompany me to my room."
Cleitus slung his arm around Hephaistion's shoulders, pulling him in to his body as the younger man slid an arm about his waist. Hephaistion was fully aware of the brown eyes staring intently at his back, as Cleitus opened the door to his room and they both slipped quickly inside.
"Gods!" Hephaistion blew out his breath, his head reeling from lack of oxygen. "Where did you hone your acting skills, Cleitus? 'Tis not something I'd want to have to do all the time."
"King Phillip expected his men to be actors in their own right, especially those he was bedding."
Hephaistion smiled at the sad look on Cleitus' face, then rose on his tiptoes and kissed the General's lips. "Do you desire me, Cleitus?"
Cleitus' face fell and he stumbled around his words. "Desire ... you were just having a mere heart attack in the hall and now you're saying ... what are you saying ... Hephaistion?"
"I wish to sleep with you, Cleitus, but I don't wish to hurt you or give you any false hopes." Hephaistion's mind was clearer than it had been in days, which amazed even him. He had gone over the conversation of earlier that evening in his head, and had come to the conclusion that sleeping with Cleitus was something he wanted to do.
"I don't know what to say," Cleitus stammered. "I've not been trying to help you in order to bed you, Hephaistion, nor do I wish to force myself on you for some payment you believe is owed."
"You wouldn't be forcing me, Cleitus. I'm asking you to allow me to seek the comfort you spoke of. Comfort, and the release of tension, I believe you called it. I can think of no other man that I would wish to be with for those sole purposes."
Cleitus licked his lips, his hands going up to card through his hair. "I've not been with anyone in a long time. I'm not convinced that I'm the right choice for your purposes."
"Do you know how hard it was for me to ask this of you? How my heart beats faster with a sense of betrayal towards Alexander? If you don't wish to be with me this night because you are not attracted to me or don't desire me then I understand, but please do not make this excruciating decision of mine seem trite, merely because you think you're taking advantage."
"Are you sure?" Cleitus asked nervously.
Hephaistion laughed gently as he walked towards Cleitus. "Where has that brash, harsh bastard of a man, who would jump me without a moment's thought, gone to? I mean no harm to you, nor do I want to make you do anything you are not comfortable with. Am I coming across as desperate, perhaps?"
"No, not desperate. But you are hurting right now, and I don't wish you to be guilt-ridden in the morning. That will only add to the confusion and discomfort you're already feeling about Alexander."
"I wish to be held and kissed and desired, Cleitus. I need all those things, but I don't wish to go to someone who doesn't understand, in order to get them. If I feel guilty afterwards then I shall deal with it, but for now I just wish to be with someone ... I wish to be with you."
Winding one hand behind the older general's neck, Hephaistion pulled the man's head down and pressed their mouths together. Cleitus paused for only a moment before crushing Hephaistion to him, his hands going around the man's middle and his lips crushing the soft ones against his. The kiss intensified and deepened quickly, both men tilting their heads to get even closer as their tongues sought each other out and tangled together.
Running his hands down Hephaistion's back, Cleitus grabbed the firm mounds of his ass and lifted him up, as the younger man wrapped his legs around his waist and tightened his arms about his neck. Their mouths continued to grind and bruise while Cleitus carried Hephaistion to his bed and lay him down.
"It's truly an honor to be your ... second," the older general joked, as he undid Hephaistion's tunic and pushed it from his shoulders. "You are a true specimen of beauty."
Hephaistion snorted, running his hands over Cleitus' strong, broad, clothed chest. "You don't need to woo me, Cleitus, just get undressed and take me."
Cleitus paused and stood up straight. "You wish me to take you, Hephaistion?"
"Isn't that what this is all about?"
"Have you ever taken for yourself?"
"Wha ... you mean ..." Hephaistion felt his cheeks blush slightly and cursed himself for his naivete, yet again.
"Aye. Has Alexander ever let you feel the other side of lovemaking? Has he allowed you to make love to him?"
"Well ... no, but that was never a problem. I'm not the type who cares about who does what to whom. Did Phillip ... allow you?"
"No," Cleitus growled, as he pulled his own tunic from his body and removed both his and Hephaistion's boots. "But I have obviously done so since Phillip. Do you wish to experience being the taker, Phai? Do you wish to mount me?"
Hephaistion opened his mouth but when no words came out, closed it again and sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. "I'm not sure. It's not something that Alexander was ever willing to do, I guess. Is it something you'd be comfortable with me doing?"
"I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't." Cleitus leaned down and captured Hephaistion's lips again, lifting the man's upper shoulders so his tunic could be slipped the rest of the way off, then covering the taut young body with his own, bare skin on bare skin.
Hephaistion arched his body into Cleitus', pushing their hard cocks together. "Gods," he whispered into the man's mouth, as his hands found Cleitus' ass and he pulled it closer. He marveled at the differences between Cleitus' body and Alexander's; his chest broader, his waist wider, his arms more muscled and his cock thicker. He wanted to touch all the differences but at the same time his desire grew with each passing moment and he couldn't keep the thoughts of being inside the man from his mind.
"Do you wish for me to prepare you?" Hephaistion asked quietly as Cleitus sucked vigorously on his neck, his tongue lapping at the golden skin and his hand clutched in Hephaistion's long locks.
"No," Cleitus replied, lifting his head and pressing a passionate kiss to Hephaistion's lips. "I'm not the sort of man who needs preparing but I suggest we switch positions soon or I cannot promise I won't take you myself." Hephaistion grinned, hooking a leg around the back of Cleitus' knee and expertly flipping him to his back so their positions were reversed. "You are the master of the wrestling ring, aren't you, my beautiful general? And your body, Hephaistion ... your body was surely made by the Gods."
"Less talking," Hephaistion moaned against Cleitus' lips, as he took the older man in his hand, running his thumb over the silky head and rubbing gently. "Might I offer you my mouth before I take you, Cleitus? That's definitely one thing Alexander does permit me to do."
Cleitus chuckled and arched his back as Hephaistion's fingers circled his sensitive head then traced down his length and back up again. "Gods, no," he groaned. "I shan't last long as it is. There should be oil in my inner chamber if you don't mind fetching it."
Hephaistion licked at Cleitus' lips, his tongue trailing down the General's jaw then his neck and chest, and finally over the fluttering muscles of his belly before dipping into his navel and swirling around. Cleitus sucked in his breath and wound his fingers in the long strands as his friend's head dipped lower still and his tongue dragged over the entire length of his cock.
"'Tis a good thing I'm not getting my hopes up for this to happen again. I don't know if my old black heart could take much more of you," he teased, causing Hephaistion to laugh against his manhood, sending shocks of pleasure from his groin to his brain. "The oil, Hephaistion ... get the oil."
The younger man grinned and rose from his friend's body, naked crossing the room as Cleitus sat up to watch. "I'll never understand what's gotten into you, Alexander," he muttered to himself, giving his cock a sharp pull. "That man is more God than I've ever seen before."
"Now, I have to tell you, Hephaistion," Cleitus said when the man re-entered the room. "I'm not a man who appreciates slow and easy. If you're to mount me, it has to be with force and nary a worry about being polite or caring."
"How romantic," Hephaistion quipped, opening the jar of oil and smearing some on his fingers. "Would you like to oil me up or shall I?"
Cleitus' breath hitched in his throat at the mere thought of touching the bobbing cock before him as he grabbed the jar and dipped his fingers in the oil. He grabbed Hephaistion's member gently and ran his greased fingers up and down the shaft, while Hephaistion tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
Forcing himself to release the hard, oiled cock, Cleitus rolled to his belly and went up on his knees, giving Hephaistion easy access to his entrance. The younger man dribbled some oil into the crack of Cleitus' ass, smeared it around with his fingers then lined his himself up with the puckered hole.
His breath escaped him as the head of his member breached Cleitus' body, pushed past the tight ring of muscle and pushed deeper inside. "Gods, what have I been missing all these years," he groaned aloud, drawing a moaning chuckle from Cleitus as he arched his body back onto Hephaistion's cock.
It was fast and rough, just like Cleitus had requested and just like Hephaistion had needed to stifle the voices in his head, the voices that would bring on the guilt and the pain, yet again. But for those few moments, the King's lover was comfortable and content and devoid of all the tension that had been plaguing his body. For those few moments, he felt desired and loved, and in control of something in his life, which was a feeling he had been lacking and seeking for many years.
TBC
