Wasn't sure what I'd think of it from the other side, but the additional scenes made this. I like your Hephaistion; he has personality, isn't just a cypher. But so far, Alexander has dominated my headspace too. He's the king? This added a lot of layers, especially for that awkward age when you're not sure what you're feeling exactly.

Only one minor correction: Parmenion and his sons (nor Antipater and his) would ever be a rival to the throne while a viable Argead lived. Amyntas is Alexander's real rival. Other families might be king-makers, but not kings. The rules of ascension were pretty strict. Kassandros, and then Demetrios Poliorketes couldn't take the throne until ALL Argead males (and even females) were dead. And Kassandros married Thessaloniki to secure the throne once he'd killed Alexander IV. Then she got her son *Alexander* to kill him. Heh. Not thinking that was a love match.

Btw, I like that you don't turn Olympias into an utter bitch. I get really tired of that trope. Not sure if you've read Beth Carney's works on Olympias, but if not, you should.

I realize you've likely moved on from Alexander fiction, but it's nice to find something I can read without pulling my hair out. I'm a journalist by trade, and I keep wanting to go in with a red pen and FIX stories...

This was absolutely fantastic! :D You wrote the couple so well, and Alexander's love was described so beautifully. I can't wait to read what else you've written- this is one of the best stories I've read on this site in the four years I've been on here. :)

Beautiful. I loved it as much as the other story that goes with it.

Good grief, I absolutely adore how you write. I'm starting to think I've fallen madly in love with Alexander and Hephaestion's relationship just because of your stories. You've got this absolutely brilliant characterization. I love Alexander's childishness and Hephaestion's stubbornness. And simply how they both feel so REAL! Seriously, I don't think I've read any fanfiction author that has such a clear and consistent characterization. It's just plain amazing.

And then there's the way you tell your stories. Personally, I'm not a fan of first person, especially where fanfic is concerned, because it seem so this has been great. Hephaestion's slow realization, his very reluctance to even admit he might like Alexander. And Alexander's own feelings. I think it's so sad, yet so true, how Alexander was so happy at first to see Hephaestion again and then to have all his dreams crushed. My stomach sank with that, honestly. I think you have captured quite nicely their boyish feelings and that difficult transition from childhood to adulthood. Keep writing, keep gracing the world with your beyond-the-valley-of-perfection stories!

This is perhaps the most beautiful and sweet fic I've ever read!such a cute,tender story, Thank you!

so cute 3 so great i lov this fic! so complicated and simple on the same time beautiful! joy to you! xD

I loved this story! It was so well written and it was great to read something by someone so obviously educated about classic culture and traditions! I've been searching for a story that did that for some time now. I'll have to check out your other stories to see if you've written any about them when they're older (and if not, that just might be a request! ;p lol)

thanks for sharing this!

~steph

Once again you delivered an awesome story!I read the 'Hating' part yesterday and I was so pleased to discover that there was a quasi second version to it this time from Alexander's point of view. Equal doses of humor, romance, good knowledge of the historical backround, rare insight in building the psychology of the main characters and of course your talent in writing make this story -as the previous one- a delightful read. Thank you very much for sharing it!

What a great story!

I really love your style of writing...it was really nice to see something that wasn't just smutty sex sort of style, but really fleshed out (ignore the pun) a relationship between the two characters.

Well done Will definately be reading more your stories...

Your stories are so cute, I want to barf! In an ironically good way!

So...yeah...you'll probably end up pimped on my lj at some point...

I just finished reading both this story and Hating Alexander and I have to say that I've completely fallen in love with your young Alexander! They way that you captured both of their emotions was wonderful, despite the circumstances of who they are you managed to have them come across as regular kids with all the problems and uncertainties that go along with that :)

I loved how you showed that they had a connection even when they were so little and despite the distance and time that had past sinced Hephaestion had left there was something between them that never disappeared. The certainty that Alexander had right from when he first met Hephaestion was so cute and despite the fact that Hephaestion took a little while to accept it he never seemed to give up in his belief that they should be together, it was all beautifully done! I'm looking forward to going threw and reading your other stories _

Another nice fic. I liked the added parts and the point of view of Alexander.

This is a wondrous companion story to your Hating Alexander. The Alexander POW is unusual and refreshing. You let us into his mind, let us share his adolescent insecurities, give us the Prince, the youth, the emerging young man.

All the scenes are vivid and exciting and I like your way of letting us partake of Macedonian court life, parties, hunting and all. I especially like your dialogs, with the future Companions taunting Alexander and his friend, clearly seeing what will happen and being envious of their beginning closeness.

Alexander's hard tutoring with stern Leonidas is well described. Quite an opposite to today's lax educational methods. I'm happy that Alexander has Lysimachos to give him some kindness and *real* schooling.

Amyntor is a wonderful father, doing his very best to set things right, seeing what is inevital. I'm so glad you have him there at the end, being witness to the happy reconciliation. I like it a lot, Bucehalus getting the two friends to make up and realize their true feelings.

I see these stories were posted at Christmas and New Year's Holidays. What a fine gift to us readers! As a curiosity, Christmas is called Jul in my native language so it is most fitting that I come upon your stories in the month of July.

All the best wishes,

/NorthernLight

I kept referring back to "Hating Alexander" while reading this story, and as both of these are written like memoirs, it was interesting to compare what each of them recalls about this period of time, and how they interpreted each other's actions vs what they _really_ meant. (Like when Alexander offered Hephaestion the peace-kiss - now we know he had proskynesis in mind, how cool!) There are so many things in this story, humor and twinges of sadness (not just dramatic angst but really graceful little touches too), politics and really personal thoughts, and as the movies say, wonderful ensemble cast, right down to little Hector and his "Did you really kill a roasted boar?" I could go on for pages about this pair of stories! (I'm sending you an email, so . . . uh, be prepared, I guess, for very unnecessary reading material . . .)

The writing skill I found most impressive here was that although both stories are in first-person, even in their narrative voices you make their personalities show - Alexander here has some really . . . thoughtful, almost quietly sad moments, in addition to the frantic (and funny!) angsty "teenage" voice. Yes, he does take life quite seriously, more dramatically than Hephaestion (partly due to his position, but also due to his nature) and you managed to show that with _narrative_ voices! (I think most authors either fail to do that, giving characters somewhat generic narrative voices, or they do it with clunk-the-reader-over-the-head devices like, for example, accents or particular words.) I would ask how you do that while still having them use the same level of vocabulary, syntax, etc., but I'm not sure it's even an explainable thing. (Did all the stuff I just wrote make sense? Probably not. D'oh!)

Oh, and I was SO-O-O-O VERY PROUD of Hephaestion when he said "With friends like you, Alexander doesn't need his enemies!" With an enemy like him, Alexander needs no other friends, mwahaha!

A beautiful story.