Home Is Where You Are

I lean upon the railing of the palace of Babylon. I should be awed at the glory of Babylon under moonrise with the rolling clouds of a storm approaching; instead I find the sight of my beautiful companion to be much more appealing.

"You strike me still, Alexander," I say, earning the capture of his soulful gaze. "You have eyes like no other. I sound as stupid as a schoolboy but..." here I falter under the rich brown of those brilliant eyes and I burn under the intense heat they fuel inside me. The next thing I know I'm in his arms and hugging him as though if we should part I'll never be with him again, once again he causes me to spill my deepest emotions to him, safe in his embrace. "You're everything I care for, and by the sweet blood of Aphrodite I'm so jealous of losing you to this world you want so badly."

"You'll never lose me, Hephaestion. I'll be with you till the end." I hear his loving sentiment as he rest his chin on my shoulder and squeezes me even tighter to him. It seems he is in tune with my thoughts and feelings and holds me as though we should never be parted.

I feel so stricken with love I barely manage to whisper, "No one will ever love you as I do… My Alexander."

Silently, he raises his chin and brings himself to face me slowly, trailing his nose over my ear and cheek and finally my own nose until we are completely seeing each other eye to eye. My heart skips a beat as my whole world is Alexander for that small moment and his whole world is me as he captures my gaze and heart, completely undoing me all over again.

"I will always love you, Hephaestion. You are Patroclus to my Achilles. You will always be first in my heart."

He strikes me still. I am unmoving under his intense passion and love as he moves even closer, once again brushing my nose against his, and I am slowly smothered by the deep, dark pools of his eyes. He brings a hand to cup one side of my face stroking my hair softly as he pulls me in for a deep and gentle kiss. My God… but none can truly kiss like My Alexander.

After a moment or two of utter bliss, he whispers against my lips, "If you were to die, I would avenge your death as my ancestor Achilles did for his Patroclus, and follow you soon after. I cannot imagine life without you. You are the world to me. You will never be replaced by the one in which we live."

"And I would do the same for you, Alexander the Great."

He is still so close I can feel him smile against my lips.

"My dear Hephaestion…" he says affectionately and brushes an errant bit of hair out of my eyes which has been blown there by the ever changing wind.

I shiver slightly as the temperature takes a dramatic turn. I am dressed for the hot, dry country that Persia is and so am taken off guard with my long flowing robes of Persian royalty instead of my usual Macedonian tunic.

"Perhaps we better head back inside, Alexander," I say as he places a warm hand on my shoulder to ward off the chill. Once again I am taken aback by his complete kindness and care he takes for me. Yet he cannot help but smirk slightly.

"Ah, so now you are inviting yourself to stay the night, when on the eve of Gaugamela you declined my invitation to stay," he jests, amusement setting his eyes alight.

I fold my arms, joining in the game. "That was before. When you had naught but a humble tent to offer me. Now you have all this pomp and glamour," I say waving a hand in the air to indicate Alexander's spacious and sophisticated bedroom now. It was Darius' own bedroom and it had all the exotic treats and creature comforts that anyone could ever dream for and some things that we Grandson's of the Sheepfarmers of old Macedonia had not even begun to dream of. It was all very impressive to my eyes but to Alexander it seemed to be lacking.

"It's all too much really isn't it?" he says turning to look at me, "Despite it containing everything in the world it seems barren and empty. It will never be home…"

I turn to look at Alexander as he gazes about at the riches that adorn his new living quarters.

"And what is home to you, Alexander?" I ask curiously.

He turns to me and says simply, "Wherever you are, Hephaestion," then he smiles again, kisses me on the forehead and walks into his bedroom, beckoning me to join him.

I grin and happily follow his lead, because honestly, without Alexander, I would be homeless too.

END

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