Story Title: Lost and Found

Chapter Title: Purposes, Purposes

Summary: Just how does a eunuch find his place in an army camp? Alexander and Hephaestion have a little discussion.

A/N: Just my take on another path Bagoas's life could have taken when he first arrived in Alexander's camp. Based more off Renault's work, not Stone's, but still with plenty of my own ideas. I'm still playing catch-up on the history I've forgotten over the past several years, so please forgive the lack of a proper and/or accurate time line in this story.

Warnings: You know the routine by now, right? You wouldn't be reading Alexander fanfics if you really objected to anything I might write in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing as of yet.

"Alexander, what are you going to do with him?" Hephaestion asked, watching the king with quietly-growing frustration from his camp bed.

"With who?"

The responding question was expected. The general's blonde lover hovered over his desk, checking the notes that Hephaestion had accumulated during the day's meetings. Several more Persian nobles and their entourages had come to Alexander's camp that morning to surrender or swear their fealty to the Macedonian king. The meetings had been long and tedious as translators had to be brought in to ensure that all parties understood the legal agreements being made and to double-check the credentials of those vouching to the sincerity of those wishing to join Alexander's ranks. With every new individual added to the lists of testifiers, the paperwork had seemed to double. And now Alexander refused to put any of it down despite the late hour. Hephaestion sighed.

"What are you going to doing with that eunuch brought in a few days ago? There's already talk about him among the soldiers."

"I'm not sure yet," Alexander replied, distracted. "If he truly served in Darius's court, then perhaps he could help us out with sorting all of these Persian nobles…"

The blonde trailed off as he leafed through another stack of parchments, pausing to read over the details of a new trade and tax agreement made with a local satrap.

"You're going to have to make a decision about him soon, 'xander. I don't like leaving him at loose ends."

"You think him dangerous?" Alexander finally turned to glance at his lover. "I didn't get that feeling from him. He seems harmless enough."

"Would you put the work down for the day and just come over here?" the general asked, giving his lover a pointed stare now that it could be seen. "Quit wasting our private time on things you'll just go over again in the morning."

Alexander gave a sheepish smile and a nod before setting the notes back on Hephaestion's desk and slipping over to his bed.

"Better," Hephaestion smirked once the blonde had taken a seat at his knees. "And to answer your question, no, I don't think he's dangerous. But I do think he may end up in trouble if you leave him alone much longer. He's a beautiful boy, Alexander, and it won't be long before someone tries to take him to bed, possibly against his will."

"I asked Eumenes to find him something to do around camp," Alexander said.

"Yes, I know, but he doesn't know who's who among our men, rendering him practically useless as a messenger. And our squires and pages have been working with us for so long now that it would be inefficient to assign him to join in any of their duties."

"You think I shouldn't have taken him on at all then?" Alexander asked. "He was Darius's boy, Hephaestion. I didn't want to think about what type of life that would leave him if we did turn him away."

The blonde ran his hands over his face, rubbing at his eyes in frustration. Hephaestion leaned forward and grabbed hold of his lover's wrists, gently tugging his hands away from the handsome face.

"I'm not saying that you should not have taken him in, 'xander. I'm not saying he couldn't be trained to some duty, either. But if he's ever going to find his place here, then you're going to have to decide upon it and soon. Have you even given thought to officially inducting him into your household yet?"

Alexander gave a soft snort of amusement, "What household? We're in the midst of an army encampment, Hephaestion."

"You know what I mean, Alexander," the general smiled. "You need to take care of him, give him some sort of social standing here to protect him. Otherwise the men will start treating him like any other camp slave, and you can't have that, not when his former service ranked so high."

Hephaestion tugged at his king's wrist again, urging the other man to lie down beside him. Alexander complied, pillowing his head on the other man's shoulder.

"What kind of work would you see me assign to him, Hephaestion? Surely you wouldn't have me ask him to fulfill the same duties as he had in Darius's court."

"And why not?" the general replied. "You don't need to ask him into your bed, but you could use someone to take care of you."

"A good commander doesn't do any less than what he asks his men to do. How can I keep a personal servant and still face our soldiers day in and day out?"

"A good commander also doesn't do any more than what he asks his men to do. With all of your administrative duties and being tied up in meetings for much of the day while the men take their leisure, no one is going to look twice if you decide to keep an extra servant to do the tasks that your squires feel are below them."

"I thought the point of this endeavor was to raise his status, not demean him," Alexander mumbled before lifting his head to give his lover a stern look. "Fine, I'll take him on as a personal servant, but only if you agree to allow him to serve you in a similar capacity."

"I'm not sure he'll take well to that idea, 'xander. He's used to serving his king and only his king."

"As a slave, Hephaestion. I've taken him in, but I want him to have his freedom too. Asking him to serve only me would undermine that."

"Fine, he can serve me as well, but if he'll be spending that much time in my tent, then I'm going to start teaching him other skills, like reading and writing Greek," the general declared. "Then maybe between the two of us, we'll be able to keep all of this paperwork organized. It multiplies worse than flies on a dead horse!"

Alexander chuckled, turning to smirk at Hephaestion, "Whatever is the matter, my Patroclus? You used to enjoy paperwork. Has it lost its appeal under the Persian sun?"

"More like Persia has caused it to bloat as would a carcass left forgotten under the hot sun," the general smacked the blonde with a pillow. "I dread the day is fast approaching when my desk will explode with foulness all over my tent due to the excessive amount of parchment in here. Who knows what lives and grows between the scrolls and pages?"

"I'm sorry, my dear Hephaestion," Alexander continued to chuckle. "Such is the painful fate of one bent on empire building. Paperwork is a necessary evil needed to keep things running smoothly."

"Just assign that poor eunuch his duties so that maybe I can get some help around here, either from him or from you. If you no longer have to pick up after yourself in your private living quarters, then maybe you can start picking up after yourself in your administrative quarters. Half that paperwork over there is yours," Hephaestion pointed an angry finger towards his desk, but the glimmer in his eyes spoke of his playful mood.

"Perhaps a little extra help will also give the two of us some more private time, you think?" Alexander grinned.

The blonde began tracing patterns on his general's clothed chest with a fingertip. The dark-haired man let his hand drop as he studied his lover for a moment, his eyes taking on a more mischievous glint. Before Alexander knew what happened, Hephaestion grabbed him around his torso and flipped their positions on the camp bed. The piece of furniture creaked under the swift jostling, now the only sound in the tent as the pair locked lips in a fierce kiss.

"I think we should get ready for bed," Hephaestion whispered once they broke apart. "Any other matters can wait until morning. I don't want to hear another intelligent word out of you until then… with the exception of my name perhaps."

Alexander grinned and gave his general a nod of agreement.

End A/N: I have some ideas of where I'm taking this story, but there are a number chapters between here and there that I haven't decided upon yet. Obviously Bagoas will become a big part of it as he is in most of my fics. And sorry, but I don't write smut… so don't expect to see that at the beginning of the next chapter despite where I'm leaving off here.

Reviews are always appreciated, and flames will provide me with some entertainment… so please leave a review!

Thanks,

Stony Knight