Title: The scent of betrayal
Word Count: 100
Prompt: scent
It irritated and saddened him at the same time, but he'd never say anything about it. He knew he was fortunate to still be invited into Alexander's bed, to be able to hold him in his arms, to make passionate love to him. And he was grateful.
Alexander was the only one in his heart, and though Hephaistion had never had any delusions of being the only one who'd ever share his beloved's bed, the scent of the others made him shudder with disgust. That didn't mean he'd ever give Alexander up, it just solidified how much Hephaistion loved him.
Title: The scent of sharing
Word Count: 300
Prompt: scent
Hephaistion was alerted to what Alexander had in mind for their evening together even before he reached his beloved's tent. The glorious mixture of thyme and sweet apple blossoms wafted through the air, getting stronger as he neared and entered Alexander's tent.
Throwing his cloak on the chair beside the entrance, Hephaistion unsteadily hopped across the room, trying to get his boots off as he moved. A bath was just what he needed. He called out to Alexander, but receiving no answer, hurried into the inner chamber, a wide grin on his face.
"I've been waiting all day ..." he stopped abruptly in the doorway, meeting Alexander's wide brown eyes. "Oh ... I'm sorry ... I shouldn't have barged ..."
Alexander rose from his seat beside the steaming tub, one hand reaching out to halt his love's quickening exit. "Hephaistion, this is Uryllus."
Hephaistion eyed the boy in the tub. "Greetings," he said softly. "I should really ..."
"Uryllus! Where are you, you scoundrel?" a man's voice rang out, breaking the silence of the tent. "Your mother is worried sick. I better not find you bothering ..."
Hephaistion recognized Alexander's guard as he flew in the door of the inner chamber, stopping short and dropping to one knee. "Oh, your majesty. I'm terribly sorry. I'm not sure how he always ends up here, but somehow he always does. I'll be sure to punish him this time."
"No!" Alexander said harshly. "It's no bother at all, just a bit of a shock when I found him here. Usually when he appears, there is no water in the tub, but this time I believe he got a pleasant surprise."
"He's done this before?" Hephaistion asked, a grin finally appearing on his face.
"Yes," Alexander chuckled, hand tightly wound around Hephaistion's wrist. "I think we'll have to postpone our evening."
