Watching Hercules work out was entertaining.
At least, that was what Jasmine, Aladdin, Quasimodo, and Kronk thought.
The demigod was able to lift just about anything the world tossed at him, or anything that the gym had inside of it. The group had /works/17380877/edit#me along to cheer him on in a sports competition against other gods, and Hercules couldn't help but do very well. As Zeus' son, there weren't many gods who could make him struggle.
As of right now, Hercules was in a lifting match with a few other gods, most of which had dropped out now, leaving only Hercules and his own father.
Hercules had a feeling he couldn't win, but with his partners watching him, he couldn't help but try harder than usual. He strained and clenched his teeth and tried even harder to lift the large, wooden weight that Demeter had made him. Still, his father lifted his similar weight with an ease that only a full God held, and Hercules gave up, frowning.
"Oh, son, it's just a game. Don't look so upset."
Hercules gave his father a dry, half-smile, knowing he was right. He still got second place in the entire competition, with only his father besting him. That did make Hercules feel good about himself.
"Now, you said I could finally meet all of your partners today. Why don't you introduce us?" He said, leading his son over to the group of four waiting for Hercules in the stands.
Grinning proudly, Hercules motioned to the princess and prince duo first, "This is Jasmine and Aladdin. They will rule over Agrabah in a few years. I met them a while ago, when I went searching for adventure. We stumbled across each other and fell in love."
Next, Hercules motioned to Quasimodo and Kronk. "This is Quasi and Kronk. When Jasmine, Aladdin, and I were traveling, we met them in France while I was showing them how to time hop a little bit. They were already dating, and slowly they joined us. I brought them back to our time, because... well, I didn't want to leave them behind, and they were living during a rough time."
Slowly, Zeus glanced over all of them, a strange expression on his face. "So, they're all human?"
Hercules blinked at the words, taken aback by them. "Yes. I had to live as a human for so long, after all. It was easier to fall I love with the than with any other gods."
Sighing and giving an awkward laugh, Zeus shrugged. "I'm sorry, my boy, I just... I thought that when you said you had multiple lovers, that at least one of them would be a god. You know that you're going to outlive all of them, don't you?"
Hercules looked back at his loves, who all looked devasted at the words. "Not if I find a way around it, I won't."
Laughing at the idea, Zeus clapped a hand on Hercules back roughly. "You know that won't work, Hercules. You can't change them into gods or immortals, or anything of that sort. It could very well go against my rules."
Furrowing his brows, Hercules leaned into his father's face. "I'll find a way, I said!"
With that, Hercules stomped away from the stunned father, his partners following with equally shocked expressions.
As the five lay under the stars that night, Hercules groaned. "I'm sorry you all had to hear that."
Quasimodo spoke up first, crawling over to the demigod. "It's not your fault." He said quietly, placing a hand on the other mans.
Still, Hercules held a look of shame. "Still. That's my father, and... he's right. I was selfish, and didn't think about how this could hurt you all."
The rest of the group cuddled around the demigod. "Hey," Aladdin said tenderly, caressing the man's cheek with his hand, "you couldn't help falling in love with us."
"It's true," Jasmine added on, "we were all meant to find each other, for some reason or another. You can't blame yourself for that."
Kronk wasn't as good with words as the others, but still, he tried his best. "We'll find a way out of this mess. We always do."
"That's just the thing. Like my father said, I can't make you all immortal, but... I do know a fix to this. It just... isn't going to be easy, and I know my father will be upset."
"Herc, what do you mean?" Aladdin asked, lost on what he could be implying. Quasimodo, however, caught on, and tightened his grip on the other's hand.
"Are you sure about this, Hercules? It wouldn't be easy for you to change back... you might not ever be able to."
"Hercules, you don't mean..." Jasmine trailed off, shaking her head.
"I have to, you guys. I can't just... go on living while you all get to grow old and die one day. It's not fair to any of us."
"So... you really want to be human? To be with us?" Kronk questioned, and Hercules nodded.
"I just... I don't know how I would go about this. There are probably other gods I could ask for help, but... I don't know who."
Aladdin thought for a moment. "Why not your uncle? You said he doesn't get along with your dad, maybe he will help out of spite?"
"Uncle Hades? We could try." Hercules said slowly, nodding. "And maybe he'd like to meet you all, too."
When the five showed up, Hades couldn't help but smile mischievously. "Heard that old man Zeus wasn't very happy with you choosing human partners. Is that true?"
"Yeah... how did you know?"
The blue god shrugged. "You overhear things. Anyways, now you're here because you want me to turn you mortal, right?" He paused, "Well, sorry kid, but I can't."
"Why not? Do you need me to make a deal for it? I'm sure I have something you could use."
Hades tapped his face. "Tempting, but your father would kill me if he found out. Family reunions already are awkward enough, kid, I'm not risking it."
Hercules fell to his knees. "Then what am I supposed to do...?" He questioned softly, his partners comforting him, before Kronk thought of something.
"I know someone who can help."
And with that, the group traveled back to where Kronk originally lived before he accidentally spilled a potion that let him travel to where he met Quasimodo. The world was colorful, and full of golds and oranges, and they couldn't help but marvel at the world.
Kronk took the group and snuck them into the palace and into a strange hallway, before pulling a lever and pulling the others out of the way as it opened a trap door. He just laughed. "You don't know how many times I used to fall for that."
And with that, he pulled the other lever, and the group was pushed into a little cart and into a lair, where a shelf of potions stood.
He ran his fingers along the shelf laughing lightly. "She still needs to clean these labels. You would think she would have by now." And with that, he grabbed the one that sat with a generic human-shaped label and handed it to Hercules.
"Now, this should make you human for good." He handed it to the demigod, who stared at the hot pink liquid, deep in thought.
Just as a strange sounded in the other room, Kronk grabbed Hercules arm and started to run, the others following as they escaped the palace and traveled back to Greece using Hercules time-hopping powers.
Now, the group sat around in a circle, all eyes on Hercules as he held the potion. He took a deep breath and drank the potion, his body tingling and shrinking in upon itself slightly.
"How do you feel?" Quasimodo asked gently, his eyes softening and staring at the other.
"I feel... weak."
Right away, the group crowded around Hercules at that comment, feeling his head an trying to make him lay down. "Oh, it must be making you sick. Your body just went through a lot of changes, after all." Jasmine said sweetly, and Hercules shook his head.
"No, I don't feel sick, just... weak." He looked down at his hands. "It's like I'm not physically strong anymore."
All of them knew how important strength was to Hercules, and they shared worried looks at the words.
"Well, tomorrow we'll go and find Phil and you can practice lifting. Does that sound good?" Aladdin suggested, and the new mortal nodded.
"I'd like that... for now, I want to lay down."
The others clambered around him, draping their arms across their lover. They knew this wouldn't be easy.
And yet, within half a year, he felt strong again. Maybe he couldn't just lift up entire trees anymore, but he still could lift heavy weights. And now, unlike before, he could sweat.
And it was surprisingly attractive. The other partners set around in the empty arena, watching the man lift and strain slightly, their lips rested in a smile.
After a moment of staring, Aladdin teasingly nudged Kronk. "Do you think he could bench press me?"
Hercules, who had heard the words, turned and smirked at Aladdin, approaching his boyfriend.
"Haha, Herc, what are you doing? I was joking..." And still, Hercules lifted him above his shoulders, causing the other man to start laugh profusely, making Hercules laugh and fall to the ground.
Hercules knew his father wouldn't be happy. He probably had already spied on him at least once and found out that he was human now, but he had yet to make an appearance.
He knew that at some point, his father would figure it out. But at this point, he didn't care too much. He was happy. He had four people who loved him deeply surrounding him. What else could he need?