Pomegranates were in season, at last. How long had it been since Megara had so much time to wander through an honest-to-Zeus marketplace? With Hades occupied on Olympus "explaining" that he'd noticed Hercules doing some hero business and wanted to "support" his nephew, he wasn't available to breathe down Megara's neck.

She was weighing a handful of grapes and checking for any that were bruised or withered when the conversation between vendors caught her ears.

"Did you see that Hydra? It's the same one Cadmus faced!"

"Hercules is the new Cadmus! If we still had a princess, he could renew the dynasty!"

Funny. At least none of them recognized her.

"I saw him before the battle! The first time he announced himself as our hero!"

"I hear King Creon is having a mansion built for him in the Amphitheatre District and is planning a parade in his honor!"

Good for him, Megara thought to herself, even as she shuddered at her father's name. She kept her head down, making her way from booth to booth with enough fruit to get her through the next few days. She'd have to get some souvlaki soon, but it would have to be last since she'd want to eat it immediately.

The shadow of a broad wingspan made jumpy Thebans gasp. Megara herself ducked behind an awning, but someone's shout of, "It's Hercules!" drew everyone back out. Except for Megara. She was in no mood to confront the hero now. Better that they never speak again.

She crept along the line of shops, clutching her basket to her chest and trying not to look suspicious.

The sound of hooves touching down on the stone streets told Megara which direction to wander off in. The crowd followed their hero, but she wanted none of it. She finally had a day off, and she would not waste it on Hades business.

"Meg!"

She dropped her basket.

Without turning around, she dropped to her knees, scooped her fallen treasures back into the basket, and took off against the flow of traffic.

"Hey, wait!"

If she'd thought she could pass anonymously through her father's city, that hope was dashed. Hercules flew over the crowd to reach her. The flapping of Pegasus's wings tousled her hair, but there was no ignoring Hercules.

"Oh, hi, Wonder Boy…" Megara glanced in all directions for an escape route. Finding none, she forced a smile. "Don't you have hero business right about now?"

"Yeah, but… I haven't seen you since the Hydra thing. I'm glad to see you're okay!"

"No thanks to the hay muncher." Megara sidestepped out of Pegasus's immediate striking range. "But now you've seen me, so you can get on with your life. I hear they're building you a mansion."

Hercules landed Pegasus in front of her. "He's going to apologize for that. Aren't you?"

Pegasus turned his face away and snorted.

"It's fine. There's no reason for us to–"

"Who is she?" a high-pitched feminine voice demanded to know.

"She's talking to Hercules!" another one shrieked.

"Malaka. Here we go." Megara took off down a side street.

"Wait!" Hercules called, but she wouldn't.

Several young women were hot on her heels, shouting demands to know who she was and whether she was Hercules's girlfriend.

Not a peaceful day could go by, could it? Why hadn't she put on a himation or changed her dress? He couldn't have spotted her in a crowd if she at least attempted to change her look!

She'd never run so much in her life since she got kicked off the cheer squad. She was not built for this!

Hercules touched down on Pegasus at the end of the alley, a hand extended. "Let me get you out of here!" he called.

It was between a mob and the most awkward conversation of the year. At least if Hades figured out she'd talked to his nemesis, she could try to pass it off as opposition research.

"Fine!" She took Hercules's hand and squeezed her eyes shut.

"We're not going that high again," Hercules promised. This time, rather than set her on the horse behind him, he put her in front of him and framed her in his arms. "Let's get you out of here!"

Megara crunched herself as small as possible around her basket of fruit.

"It's going to be ok," Hercules assured her over the shouts from below. "Nobody's going to go after you while you're with me. I'm sorry for calling you out like that, but I was so glad to see you and…"

"You're not the best at containing yourself, are you?"

"No," he tried to laugh it off, but his awkwardness was overpowering. "Did you… ah… stick around to see… the fight?"

"It was a lot. I thought you'd die at least twice. Do you think we could land somewhere?"

"As soon as I can find a place they won't swarm… sorry, you were getting lunch, huh?"

"It's fine. Just get me down. I can't open my eyes or I'll lose my mind. I am barely holding it together right now."

"Sorry…" Hercules put a steadying arm across her shoulders. "I'll find a quiet spot, I promise. Maybe I'll take you home?"

Megara scoffed at that ludicrous notion. "No thanks. There's a cemetery near the western edge of the city, can you put me there? Most people will stay away. I'll be fine there."

"Are you sure? At a graveyard? Isn't that a little gloomy?"

"Listen, I don't know what kind of circles you ran in, Mr. Sunshine, but graveyards aren't that bad. Theban art students used to meet there every week just to get away from all the people."

"Oh, really? Well, okay then." Hercules banked Pegasus, presumably to the west.

Megara whimpered into her hand, shuddering at the idea of falling off Pegasus.

"Here." Hercules gathered her against his chest. With his solid arm around her, she no longer feared falling off the horse, but she found herself in danger of falling in a whole other way. "I knew a girl in high school who liked a bunch of gloomy stuff. I guess it's not so out of the ordinary. I tried to fit into that scene with her, but I really… really didn't."

"I'm shocked."

They landed, but Hercules kept her close. He slid his arm under her knees, so when he dismounted from Pegasus, he was still holding her. "Again, I'm sorry." He settled Megara on the ground, and helped smooth her hair. "I promise the next time I see you, it'll be less awkward."

"What do you mean, next time?" Megara glanced around for the first time. The cemetery had expanded since the last time she and her friends met up to complain about their lives.

"Well, I…" Hercules clasped his hands together. "I thought maybe we might be…"

"I'm glad you survived the Hydra attack. And because I never thanked you for what happened with the centaur, thanks for erasing that appointment from my calendar. You really aren't just some poser show pony. You deserve all the support you're getting. Congratulations."

"But…?" Had his eyes always been so blue? He looked like he was about to cry.

"Listen, you have so many options right now. I'm sure the friends are flooding in."

"I wouldn't call them friends… They almost hurt someone I care about because they don't care what I think."

Megara arched a brow at that concept. "You don't even know me. You've just seen me a few times." She took a few steps back from him and set her grocery basket on a family memorial slab. "I wish you well, though, I really do."

Hercules took a step toward her. "But you know… we met before all this. I feel like maybe…" He hung his head and let out a deep sigh. "Never mind… it's not the first time I've read more into a relationship than there was… I'm so sorry I ruined your day…"

No matter how hard she worked at it, she wasn't heartless enough to watch him suffer like this. "Wonder Boy, you know I'm a Theban, right? A crusty, nasty, feral Theban. That's what we are. You're better than all of us. The fact you're here to help us is bizarre to me, but we're not complaining. Any Theban will tell you the same. We're grateful enough that you'll have yourself a girlfriend in no time."

Hercules's head snapped back up. "You're none of those things. I'm sorry you see yourself that way, but you're wrong. The way you were so brave when you were in danger, but you were so worried you wouldn't find help for those kids? That's pretty heroic as far as I'm concerned."

Megara couldn't help laughing.

"It's the truth!"

But it wasn't. She couldn't tell him, but she could only wish to be that girl. "Trust me, there's more to me than all that."

"And I'd like to know more." He stood close enough to touch, but maintained a respectfully self-contained posture. "If you let me."

It would really cut into her whole freedom bid, but maybe there was some kind of angle she could work here. Yes, he was her master's nemesis, but he bore no ill will toward her personally. She needed a plan for when she was free, after all, didn't she?

"All right. Here's how this works: my first condition is that I don't want to tangle with your fans. They outnumber me a thousand to one and they don't like me."

"Done. Keep you away from crowds. I think they make you nervous, right?"

"That's beside the point. I'm just trying to avoid a hate mob."

"But you prefer quiet, empty spaces, so I'll keep an eye out for places like that we can go. That's what you like about the graveyard, isn't it?" Hercules gestured at their surroundings.

"Dead people don't chase people down alleys."

Not topside, anyway.

Hercules laughed awkwardly while Pegasus paced around, nudging him insistently with his nose. "Hang on, buddy, take a lap."

Pegasus snorted, trotting in place.

"I mean it, don't be rude."

Finally, Pegasus gave up and abandoned his friend in the graveyard with the poisonous she-viper.

"That's another thing: I don't want to fly again unless it's an absolute emergency. And where's that pug-nosed little nymph chaser?"

Hercules bit his lip. "I uh… kind of escaped? He wanted me in the stadium all day, running laps and stuff and…" he shook his head. "The same thing over and over is just…"

"I get it. He hates me, so we should not let him catch on that we're talking."

"He doesn't hate you, he's just… I dunno with him. But I promise I won't let him mess with you."

"Best practice is to keep my distance. If you insist on seeing me, the goat man will make your life a living Tartarus. Agreed?"

"I'll talk to him. I should be allowed to see whoever I want. He doesn't control everything I do."

"That's good for you. Now, I've told you my conditions. What do you want from me?"

"What do I…" Hercules gulped and looked away. "We're friends, right?" He lowered his head, looking away as if her answer might sting.

"For now. Yeah." He was about to ask her if they could start dating. She couldn't tell him that was against her rules without hurting him, could she? Where was the winning scenario here?

"For now." The tension relaxed out of his shoulders as he repeated her words. "There's one thing. So, I had friends in high school but we went different ways and I miss them. Right now you're my one friend until I can find some time to meet up with them. Do you think… if we can't spend so much time together… we could write letters?"

If she let Pain or Panic find even one of those letters, they'd rat her out for fraternization in a Peloponnesian minute. "People would intercept those," she answered as honestly as possible.

"So… I could deliver letters as close to your house as possible or…" he spread his arms to gesture at the graveyard around them. "Maybe leave them somewhere most people won't go?"

He made a valid point.

"Sure. That would work. We use nicknames, we get a specific jar, disguise it as a funerary urn, and leave messages there. How's that sound?"

"Great!" He lit up even the gloomiest corner of the graveyard. She was so stunned by this that she had no time to react when he threw his arms around her and lifted her off the ground.

Megara squawked, her arms pinned helplessly to her sides.

Hercules rested his chin on her shoulder for just a moment and sighed as he set her down. "Thank you. I needed someone I could talk to. Phil won't hear it and Pegasus can't talk back and I… so much is different now, but I haven't caught up with it all yet."

"Plus there was that whole fight to the death last week…"

"Yeah!" He winced. "That was… I still can't sleep right. Don't tell anyone, but I keep seeing all those heads… and sometimes when I'm sleeping, I throw off my blankets because I feel too constricted, and it reminds me of…"

Megara set her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. That's the sort of thing you don't get over in a day. But in my experience, once you process it, you can start to replace that memory with something else. The way your life is going, I'm sure you'll have something much better to dream about soon."

He seemed surprised, but judging by his blush and the way he set his hand over hers, she'd said the right thing. "I hope so," he whispered. "I'm glad I found you today. And I'm glad you found me before. Someone had to kill that Hydra, and it was the thing I needed to prove I could do this. I think the Fates wove us together. You've been there since the day I left Phil's island. I think that means you're supposed to be part of my new life. I want you to be part of it."

She'd very nearly ended his new life. Megara looked away to shield her guilty eyes. "You don't need me for that."

"Maybe I don't, but if I want you I have to at least ask, right?"

Good thing she wasn't looking his way or he would see her uncontrolled response. He probably didn't know how what he said would sound to her. He was far more innocent than she was. "You do have to ask. But I'm grateful that you did."

"I remembered what you said. Most guys don't bother listening to you. I want to be different. I've noticed something else, too." Here it was. Somehow he'd caught on. "You're so… cold. And you're always alone, even if you're in danger. I've gotta know, because I keep thinking about it. I have to know if you're living somewhere safe… if you've got a family looking out for you."

"I'm from Thebes. We had a plague a few years ago. And then a war. And a flood, and a fire. Yes, I'm alone, but I've survived so far."

"I'm so glad…" he stepped closer to her, a hand extended in what appeared to be a gesture of tenderness. Did he want another hug?

Anxious, Megara took a quick step back and instead squeezed his hand. "I'll be alright. I've got a friend in a high place, right?"

"Yeah…" Hercules tilted his head. "You know Meg, even when you smile you seem so sad… I hate knowing something hurts you and I can't do anything about it…" the look of determination in his eyes told her he wanted to, but was waiting for her to give him a sign.

"There are some things you can't get over. That's not your fault. It's just that there's been too many scars and…" she shrugged. "I can't be happy, but I can pretend."

"That seems so unfair…" he furrowed his brow. "Is that why you don't like it when I…" he looked down at his arms, too embarrassed to talk about it.

"Nobody has hugged me in…" she frowned. How long had it actually been? Years… some years, definitely. "A while." Nobody really bothered to touch her, either, unless it was Hades with his spidery fingers or his potential minions with virtually everything else.

"Oh…" somehow he looked even sadder. "That's so…" he put a hand over his heart. "You don't deserve to be that lonely and neglected."

"It's more that I lost everyone I cared about. It's been awhile now. It can't be helped."

"I care about you." He spoke the words boldly, but there was a vulnerable tinge to his eyes. He wanted her to care about him, but was too nervous to ask. "You don't have to be alone, anymore." And neither did he. She was the one person he thought he could relate to, at least for now. Poor guy. Hopefully he found someone better soon.

In the meantime, she stepped closer. "All right, ya big lug, you don't have to look at me like that. It's fine. Do you need a hug?"

"Yes!" He moved so quickly she flinched, which brought him up short.

"It's not you. I have defensive instincts."

"That's… that's good but also… sad."

"Let me." She approached with measured steps and carefully wrapped her arms around him. "Not so bad."

"Not bad at all…" he sighed, but that was before he heard the flapping of wings overhead.

"Time's up for both of us. I'll find us a jar, you focus on doing whatever it is that heroes do."

"Apparently it's a lot! But no matter how busy I get, I want you to know I'm your hero first, ok? Whatever you need, I want to be the one who helps you. Write to me soon." He took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'll miss you."

Pegasus drew nearer with a familiar, raspy-voiced satyr on his back shouting, "I see you, you shady time wastin' gutter trash!"

The gentle sweetness on Hercules's face evaporated in an instant. He stood perfectly still, eyes focused on a fixed point in the distance. From what she'd seen while he fought Nessus, this was his war face. He turned toward Pegasus as he landed with the satyr on his back. "Phil! You're going to have to take that back."

Red in the face, Phil was in no mood to notice his pupil's level of doneness with his attitude. "Fifty laps, I said! Then I turn around and here you are canoodling with the living embodiment of distraction!"

"Maybe he needs a distraction sometimes," Megara countered. "You're going to run him ragged!"

"And besides, I dragged her out here, so it's my fault." Hercules squared his shoulders and stood between Megara and the satyr. "She's not wasting my time. You are."

"Excuse me?"

"You haven't apologized yet, and I won't leave this spot until you do."

"I got nothin' to say to that broad."

"You had something to say earlier."

"I'm out." Megara turned away, grabbing her basket and trudging deeper into the graveyard. "I'm not here to cause trouble, I literally only came into town for groceries."

"You don't need to make trouble when you are the trouble, sister!"

Megara stopped in her tracks. It was true beyond the satyr's comprehension, but since he didn't know that, she needed to set him straight. She pivoted to glare across the gloom at him. "Sooner or later you're going to have to deal with the fact that Hercules is an adult who can make his own decisions. You don't get to control him every second of every day, and trying will be your downfall. If I'm trouble for you just because he's more interested in talking to me than letting you work him to the bone, that's a you problem, but it isn't my fault. There will be other distractions, and it's between the two of you how you deal with it. But you will have to deal with it. Goodbye."

"Wait!" Hercules jogged after her. "Do you live outside of the city? Will you be safe on your own?"

Megara was grateful for the wild sweep of curls that formed a curtain for her eyes. "I'll be fine. I've been doing this for years. He's not going to apologize to me, but you should go with him. He'll just follow me and I'm so done."

Hercules lightly squeezed her arms. "I'll talk to you soon. Don't worry about him, let me. He doesn't even know you."

Neither did Hercules.

As she stormed between the mausoleums, Megara refused to look back. She couldn't restrain her tears forever, and she could not afford to let either of them see.