Cool, gentle rain fell softly as Heracles trudged, exhausted, through the cloudy night to his porch. The warm glow of the porch light illuminated his rumpled suit, tangled hair, and tired red eyes. He hated flying, he hated business trips, and he hated being away from his home and wife.

But now here he was, he thought, home at last, after three weeks. He couldn't wait to see Sakura, his dear wife. Her silky black hair, expressive chocolate eyes, soft skin, tiny smile, her adorable blush, the shy way she hid it with her kimono sleeve, her delicate hands which would straighten his suit and untangle his hair, her polite, quiet voice, kind, caring personality, the warmth of having her in his arms and breathing in her scent, every essence of her being was the reason he'd fallen in love with her.

He slipped inside and put down his briefcase and suitcase, which he would deal with later, he decided, Heracles knelt for a moment to stroke the four cats that milled at his feet. There were plenty of strays outside that he fed, but these five stayed in the house.

He quickly greeted them. Smokey, the sweet, stocky, grey tabby with only part of a tail after an unfortunate door had closed on it; Beatrice, her sister, far more delicate, with a pretty face and light grey stripes; Alexander the big, friendly orange tabby; Snowball the gentle giant, white and fluffy and Emily Rose, the slightly standoffish black fluffy queen.

Now that his cats were satisfied, Heracles stepped forward, walking into the living room, where he saw a light.

And there she was. Lit by the soft light of a lamp in the otherwise dark living room, covered with a blanket, book on her chest, eyes shut, peacefully sleeping. She had probably been waiting up for him and fallen asleep as the night wore on.

Shaking his head and smiling, Heracles murmured, mostly to himself, "You didn't have to wait up for me." He strode over to the sleeping woman, and plucked the book from her chest, placing it on the side table. Then, for a moment, he drank in the sight of her, relishing her presence, her beauty.

After a long moment, he scooped her up carefully in his arms and despite his efforts to not wake her, wake she did. Sakura opened her eyes, confused, saw Heracles carrying her and immediately blushed, muttering something unintelligible. After gazing at him for a long moment, she turned away to bury her head in his chest.

Smiling at her adorable embarrassment as he headed for their bedroom, he lowered his nose into his wife's hair breathing in her scent; rice, a lemony cleaner smell, the sweet, flowery fragrance of her cherry blossom scented shampoo. It was so good to see her, to feel her comforting warmth and the familiar contours of her small body in his arms.

A moment later, Sakura removed her face from Heracles' shirt she instead rested her ear on his heart and released a long contented sigh, even snuggling a bit closer, despite her slight embarrassment. Heracles kissed the top of her head, and sighed himself. It was so good to see her.

He slipped into their bedroom and gently placed his wife on the edge of their king-sized bed, standing in front of her. For several long seconds they remained like that, absorbing each other. Then Heracles brought a palm to her cheek and bent down, locking their lips. Sakura placed her own hand over his, slowly standing up, never breaking the contact between their lips. Heracles found her other hand and grasped it, squeezing firmly. It was a long kiss, but stayed tender and chaste, with only a bit of tongue prodding from Heracles, who could never resist teasing the other. They stood, motionless, like that, eyes closed in bliss

After what seemed like eternity, and a quite lovely eternity it was too, Heracles broke the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in to his much larger body, enclosing her in warmth. She returned the favor, her own delicate arms encircling his body, holding him tight, pressing their bodies together, and relishing in the warmth and comfort of her husband. And so they stood, quiet, happy, warm, together.

At long last, Heracles released Sakura, stepped reluctantly away from his wife and walked over to the closet. Sakura averted her eyes, blushing, as he stripped, but she couldn't resist a few glances at his toned, tan, muscular body as he changed into a pair of sweatpants and a white cotton t-shirt.

Padding over to his side of the bed, Heracles pulled back the covers on the bed and patted the mattress, inviting his wife. Sakura accepted, lying down and letting her husband pull the covers over her as he slipped in too.

And finally, as Heracles wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, entangling their legs and stroking her hair, Sakura found the right words. "I'm so happy to see you. Welcome home." And although in the dark, Heracles could not see her smile, he could hear it on her words. And he knew his response; he knew it because she was here in his arms, just as it should be.

"I'm so happy to see you, and so glad to be home." he answered; because he knew he was home because she was there and because she loved him.

AN: Yay have some GiriPan.

Cats are modeled after my own.

I do not own Hetalia.

Time: I dunno, an hour?

Pages: 1 ½ in Microsoft Word

Words: 910 w/out AN