Hercules twitched under the relentless heat of the Greek midday sun.
Well, most likely he was twitching out of trepidation as he had not yet spotted a figure approaching. A person who had grown more and more familiar to him lately. And he was wishing as hard as he could that she would come. He had given Phil a lame excuse that he needed to oversee few new shops that had been opened the same week and his trainer did not need to bother attending for such a minor errand. Phil seemed suspicious, but did not comment on the poor excuse Hercules had given, luckily for him.
And he did feel lucky as he thought about the person he was currently waiting for. Every now and then, whenever they had a window of opportunity, they would find some time to spent together. Now he had agreed with Meg that they would see each other near the harbour of Thebes and maybe take a walk or something. He did not care about the details as long as he was able to spend time with her: anything and everything felt special with her.
He felt a sigh escaping from his lips as he thought of her.
Megara.
He couldn't quite put a finger on it what exactly it was that made Meg so special. All his life his peers and girls especially had made a fun of him or even scorned at him because of his clumsiness mixed with his inhuman strength. Meg never seemed unnerved by any of this: if he messed up, she would laugh at the situation with him, but never at him. There was a major difference, as he had grown to learn.
Neither did she seem bothered by the fact that his parents were the head figures of the Olympian gods. Nor did she seem to care about the fact that he had became quickly the most worshiped hero of the Hellenic world: she treated him exactly the same as she always had. And he loved her for that.
Love might have been a strong word, but he knew he was falling for her hard and fast. Much like a stone plummeting towards the bottom of the ocean, he felt a indescribable pull towards her.
Hercules felt his heart miss a beat as he finally spotted her approaching. Her long auburn her was in its usual high ponytail, trailing behind her in the wind. Her beautiful, almond-shaped violet eyes, heart-shaped face and her figure were all qualities that drew attention, but she was especially easily spotted with her self-confident stride, carrying herself with such pride: Hercules had always admired this about her, that she always so sure in her own skin and was not afraid to show it. And obviously she had every reason for that confidence: numerous men turned to look after her as she passed them by, but she paid them no mind, simply carrying on. Yes, there was no question about it: she was the most beautiful person he had seen (and he had seen both mortals and the gods alike), but even this was not the reason which made Meg so special.
Maybe one of the reasons for her uniqueness were how she would never back down if she saw something she disagreed with, she would rather stand up and act. And if she wanted something, she would carry it out to the end. She was determined and not afraid to act on her instinct: these were also some of the qualities Hercules had come to treasure.
Now she had finally spotted him as well, shooting him a coy smile as she made her way to him. He felt his heart skipping another beat as he saw her smile.
"Hi there," she greeted him as she reached him. Even through her smile she seemed somehow exhausted and tired: Hercules had taken notice that there was something which was weighing her down. He never pried or commented on it, but he did his best to be there for her. Even the smallest tidbits she shared about her life, he would treasure them to his memory and to his heart. And he especially treasured the moments they would spend together when she would finally forget about her worries and seem genuinely happy, laughing with him at something without a care in the world. He loved to hear her laugh and to be able to make her smile.
"Hi. Having a rough day?" He gave her an understanding look.
"Well, more like having a rough life," Meg rolled her eyes, then shook her head.
"Sorry, I'm most likely not the best company at the moment."
"That's okay. You don't need to be anything with me. I'm just glad to see you. Besides, we can always sulk together," Hercules offered.
"No offence, Wonderboy, but if there's one thing you're not capable of, it would be sulking," Meg snorted back.
"I can always try!" Hercules shrugged.
"Please don't. Your positive energy, I like it. Who knows, maybe it will tone down my own negativity! I've seen you work even bigger miracles," Meg smiled back at him and there was something especially genuine and sweet about her smile. He felt his heart racing as he considered her words: so there was something she liked about him as well and he decided to take it as a small victory.
He smiled at her, taking her hand.
"Come, I have the perfect spot in my mind."
He took her to the cliffs which overlooked the sea. She whistled at the view.
"Wow, I've pretty much lived in Thebes my whole life, but never been here before. I guess it's never too late to gain new perspectives on seemingly familiar matters. You live and you learn, I guess," Meg wondered aloud. He moved closer to her, his fingers brushing hers.
"I'm glad you like it," he replied. They looked at each other.
"I love it," she smiled at him.
They lied down near the cliff, simply enjoying each others' company. Hercules wondered at the back of his mind if Olympus itself could feel any better than this simple yet so valuable moment: the sun, the smell of the sea in the wind and especially this exceptional girl next to him. With her, he almost felt as if he had found a missing piece of a puzzle, something felt simply right when he was with her. He felt an urge to explain to her how special she was, even though he always seemed to struggle with words, especially in her company.
"You know what I love about you Meg? You're not a quitter," he begun.
"What makes you think that? You hardly know me," Meg scoffed back.
Gently, he removed a strand of her hair which the wind had brought to her face.
"You could have let me use my strength to help you out with Nessus, but you wanted to find your own way out instead," he carefully explained.
"I re-call you calling me ma'am," Meg shot a teasing look at him, which made him blush profoundly.
"But I guess you're right. I could have handled it. I like to challenge myself," Meg shrugged.
Hercules shook his head.
"It's more than that, Meg. It's the way you talk, move, act: you're a go-getter. You won't take a no for answer. Sometimes I think I need to be more like you," Hercules confessed.
He thought he saw a shadow cross her face momentarily. But then she smiled back at him.
"Well, I don't share that opinion. I think you're far better person than I could ever wish to be," Meg softly replied.
Then she suddenly scooted closer to him, climbing atop of him and straddling him from his waist.
"But if you don't agree with me, we can always settle this through a wrestling match," she smiled wickedly at him, her perfect face only few inched away from his.
He found himself smiling back at her, caught in the moment.
"I wouldn't dare to challenge you," he finally breathed out.
"Too bad. I had the itch that this would have been my lucky day," Meg smiled smugly at him.
"No, I think this must be my lucky day," Hercules softly replied, caressing her cheek sinking deeper and deeper into her mesmerizing eyes.
"What?" Meg frowned as Hercules suddenly grew unusually serious.
"I think you have now idea… How amazing you really are. Meg, if you really want it, you're capable of anything you set your mind into," he earnestly replied.
Meg gazed back at him, surprised and touched. Then quicker than he was able to register, he felt her lips crashing against his. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her and filling his lungs with her sweet scent.
That was the first time they kissed and never had he experienced a pure bliss like this before. He could have spent the rest of the day like this (heck, even the rest of his life or maybe an eternity) exactly like this. Sadly they had to eventually pull away from each other to get some air.
Only now both of them took notice how compromising their posture would seem to an outsider. Meg looked at him, suddenly looking perplexed, breathless and even more beautiful than ever before.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she muttered as she backed away from him quickly.
"Don't be. I'm not sorry," Hercules gently placed his hand on hers, smiling at her.
Meg gave him a forlorn smile, then she sighed.
"I should get back. I have some issues to handle and I'm afraid I have already postponed them maybe too much," she confessed apologetically.
Yes, Hercules too had his duties he had to get back to. But sadly his mind was left replaying the events that had taken place at the cliff. And to be honest, he already missed the feeling of her lips against his and Meg's petite body pressed against his and her laying in his arms.
The two following weeks Phil would catch him daydreaming with his eyes wide open and a goofy smile on his lips. No amount of laps could erase that look from his face.
Phil could only guess who was the culprit.
Too bad that Hercules didn't even care: he had already fallen down deep and he was willing to dive even deeper as long as he got to be with Meg.
For him, she was special, a whole new mystery, which he was enthralled to explore and learn to unravel.
And he would gladly spent the rest of his life solving that particular mystery which was called Megara.
A/N: Hi there. So, I finally got my own copy of Jen Calonita's 'Go the Distance', which is part of Disney's Twisted Tale-series, re-telling the Disney movies from a new perspective. I felt a bit conflicted about this book, but I did love the new scenes with Meg and Hercules and how Hercules was portrayed. And I think that it really makes sense that Meg and Hercules had many dates, which weren't included in the movies: I just don't see Meg simply falling for anyone after meeting him three times and going to one date, not with her history. So this one-shot was inspired by the book and especially that one particular date, which I wanted to explore a bit more. And I usually write from Meg's perspective, but now I decided to play with Hercules' POV.
On another note, I have had some mental health issues lately (nothing too series, just some anxiety) and writing has helped me a lot and made me feel better. So I guess that would be the silver lining in this situation. If you have any positive vibes you care to share, please sen them to my direction! As always, take care!