CHAPTER 5: "Becoming a family"

After their first new time together, Alexander and Hephaestion did not want to be apart, however, they still had a problem to solve. Phainder was already eight years old and too sensible for his own age. He knew there was something strange and secretive about his mother, bordering into the unusual.

Listening to other children, he had been able to compile information about their mothers; that was how he learnt that children tended to copy their parents' gestures or how children used to calm down when they heard their mothers' heartbeats. He knew that he had never been able to do that but what he did know was that he had always enjoyed or calmed down while dozing on his papa's chest.

As regards gestures, he was the spitting copy of his papa but he had lately discovered that he had some gestures similar to the king's; maybe that was because they had been spending a lot of time together.

The gods had seen the boy's dilemma so father Zeus decided to send Hestia back to Hephaestion to alert him and Alexander about their son's tribulation. The good goddess also offered to be present to help them when they told Phainder the truth about his conception and birth.

Both men were surprised that none of them had realized about Phainder's problem but they breathed calmer when LadyLight assured them that the boy had never said a word to her either.

One early morning, before breakfast, Hephaestion and Alexander asked Phainder to go with them because they had something very important to tell him. The boy was a bit worried but the men looked more nervous than any other thing. LadyLight left the kitchen discretely because it was an intimate family matter. The young woman respected their friendship and she did not want to meddle.

Hephaestion made Phainder sit in front of him while Alexander sat next to him. Hephaestion began telling him the story of a young boy who loved his best friend so much that he dared to ask the gods for the miracle of bearing his children in spite of being both male. Phainder stared at them for a long time and then said:

"You were that boy and father was the other"

"Yes, Phainder. We were mates at 15 but we had met when we were 8 at my grandmother's house" Hephaestion said.

"Yes, I had had a quarrel with my mother and ran away from the palace during the festivities of the Saturnalia. As I was freezing and hungry, I knocked on a door and your great-grandmother gave me food and comfort but most importantly, she gave me the chance to meet your papa that night" Alexander explained and his mismatched eyes were a bit teary because he remembered that time with so much joy.

"So are you trying to tell me that you carried me inside you because the gods listened to your prayers and helped you?" Phainder asked but in spite of his strong voice, doubt could be seen in his blue eyes.

"Yes, my dear Phainder, our little miracle, you are the gift we gave your papa because his heart spoke the truth" Hestia, appearing in all her glory, announced.

The boy looked astonished at the shiny apparition until it took the shape of the goddess Hestia.

"You are … you are …" the small boy tried to remember her name but he could not. Seeing that, his father whispered it in his ear.

"Thank you, father, you are Hestia, the goddess of Hearth and Home" Phainder said and locked his blue eyes with the golden ones.

"Yes Phainder, my brother Zeus and my sister Aphrodite heard the prayer of your papa and they decided to grant him that miracle and here you are, the gods' gift in the flesh" she said with happiness and a bit of mischief in her voice.

"Are you fine, son?" Hephaestion asked very worried.

"You must have loved father too much to ask for that" Phainder said in a whisper.

"Yes, as much as I still love him now and as much as I love you since the moment you opened your eyes and looked at me" Hephaestion explained.

Phainder stood up and approached his papa; he lifted his arm and Hephaestion thought that the boy would slap him with disdain but the boy caressed the brunette's cheek and then kissed it tenderly. With teary eyes, he whispered "Thank you papa" and then he began to sob quietly. Hephaestion immediately hugged him tight and sat him onto his lap. A second pair of arms hugged them both. The boy sobbed for a while and then stopped when he felt the goddess ruffle his hair and send him comfort through her touch.

A giggle and a thunder were heard and Hestia announced that Zeus and Aphrodite were also sending their good wishes for the reunited family. With a final pat on the men's heads and a gentle kiss on the boy's forehead, the goddess disappeared.

"Sunshine, sunshine" Hephaestion called repeatedly.

"Hephaestion, what's the problem?" the petite woman asked while she entered the kitchen in a hurry.

"Come here, please" Hephaestion asked.

When the woman approached, the three men loosened their hug and included the woman in it.

"We are a family and you are part of it, so …" Hephaestion started to say but he was interrupted by Alexander.

"So it means that when Hephaestion and Phainder are ready to move back to the palace, you will come too and we will not accept a no for an answer … well that is if you want to be part of our family too" Alexander said and there was a silent plea in his mismatched eyes.

"Obviously, I cannot imagine what you three would do without me" LadyLight said, trying to hide her surprise; in a moment of weakness, she thought that she would be left behind but she should have known her men better.

"I love you Nani so much and I want to have you next to me all my life" Phainder said, looking at her amorously.

"And you will, my little master. I promise that I will take care of your children too" the woman said, hugging the shortest blonde tight, without knowing that her wish would become true.

"I think today deserves a celebration" Hephaestion said and they all helped to cook and invited all the helpers in the farm to share their joy.

In a moment, during the unplanned celebration, Phainder raised his head and smiled tenderly; he was having dinner in his kitchen; the atmosphere was warm due to the fireplace lit in one of the corners; the food was delicious and the conversation was excellent. However, he wasn't talking too much that night; he was listening attentively; for being an eight-year-old boy he was too quiet and it took him after his Papa.

It had been revealed to him just that morning; the miracle gifted to his Papa by the gods and now he didn´t feel the situation strange anymore because he was happy and he had accepted that he had two fathers and that one of them was also his mum.

In the following months, Hephaestion and LadyLight organized the move back to the palace so after nearly nine long years, Hephaestion was back to his right place and from the moment he set a foot inside the palace, he had promised to himself never to leave it again.

Alexander was so excited that he could not hide it any longer. After consulting it with Hephaestion, because now they consulted and decided everything as a family, they organized a small banquet to celebrate the occasion but not all the guests knew the real cause of it.

The companions, friends and their families were gathered in the Throne Room and for the first time in a long time, children were allowed to attend the banquet too. The eldest saw with joy the mix of generations in only one place and they dared to think that a new era was about to begin.

Alexander was moving around the place, greeting the guests and talking with most of them when he was suddenly stopped by Krateros and Cassander.

"So will the teacher become a General again?"

"That decision is only Hephaestion's; he knows that his position was only covered because it was necessary as I was away but I think he would prefer teaching and looking after our son" he said plainly.

"Your son, have you adopted his brat? What would Drypetis say if she finds out the truth?" Krateros said.

"Phainder is our son, not hers" Alexander said seriously.

"How can he manipulate you so easily, Alexander? Be reasonable!" Cassander shouted, thinking that Hephaestion would become as important for Alexander as he used to be.

"He has never manipulated me and I don't have to give you any explanation because I am still your king" Alexander said.

Hephaestion looked at the scene from afar and he was wondering if he needed to intervene or not when he felt a strong hand over his shoulder and a thunderous voice whispered in his ear:

"Son, let me deal with those two now and forever"

Hephaestion turned round and saw the tallest man he had ever seen, his posture was royal, his eyes looked like made of steel and he walked towards the three men with his head held up. The brunette could recognize the thunder maker in him.

Alexander, who was facing the god, saw him first and he was attracted to the strength the man exuded.

"Joy to you, my son. Are you enjoying the banquet in honour of your partner and son?" the man asked and set his strong arm around Alexander's shoulder.

"Yes, very much. I really think that after all my works, I deserve some peace and family time" Alexander replied and a soft smile graced the king's lips.

"Of course, you do deserve that and more and I am here to assure you that. The first that I will do is to get rid of the poison around you" the latest statement was whispered in the royal ear.

"And who are you, old man? Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Cassander asked, his usual cockiness in full display.

"Well, I am here to offer you and Krateros a new and more important position and the great Alexander had accepted my suggestion. Come with me Generals and I will tell you more" he said and took them away.

And if no one saw the two Generals again, no one asked a thing about them. Later it was said that they had died in an ambush while they were heading towards their new position. Other said that a strange thunderbolt had striken them in the middle of a sunny afternoon.

The banquet was a happy event for all the people gathered there and Alexander was more than ready to start his family life as soon as possible.

The brunette was very happy but still feeling a bit reserved; he had had it all once and lost it all and he knew that he would not stand losing again. He was deep in his thoughts when a pair of strong arms snaked around his waist and pushed him backwards to rest onto a broad and muscled chest.

"Fear not Hephaestion, this is just our new beginning" and turning him round, Alexander kissed him soundly on the lips.

When the kiss was over, Hephaestion looked into those mismatched eyes that had recovered their former glow and whispered against the royal lips:

"Yes, my Xander, together forever, till the end"

Finis.

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