Jon will be unsurprised to learn that Alejandro was an absolute terror growing up, in turns so charming as to be irresistible and so, so bitter and jaded beyond his years. He didn't have a grounding presence and inherently lacks the ability to be his own (one soul, two bodies), and yet he forced himself to adapt. It's surely why he still seems so wounded now, even with Hephaestion against him, alive, skin to skin.

Abruptly--

"I can't believe you let me say all that!" Alejandro throws one arm around Jon's shoulders, bare hand still clutching his while he buries his face against his neck. And ah, yes, there's Philip's crybaby, with a hitch in his breathing and tears.