All the way back to Phil's island, all Hercules could think about was that scroll. Megara had written notes in it, and all it would take was the right opportunity to dig in and find all her opinions. He'd know exactly how to please her next time.
He kept the thing stowed in the fold of his chlamys, even though Phil knew where it was.
"I still can't believe you have a girl like that to fool around with," Phil said.
"It was her idea," Hercules responded reflexively and hoped that would settle the matter.
"Oh, yeah?" Phil huffed thoughtfully. "Well, that's impressive. Maybe you're closer to being a hero than I gave you credit for."
"Thanks." He wasn't sure what that had to do with anything, but he didn't want Phil to be the one who discussed it with him.
Once they touched back down on the island, Hercules hopped off of Pegasus. "I'm gonna go for… a walk!" He claimed.
"Are you sure you're not catching up on some extracurricular reading material?" Phil asked, and even Pegasus laughed at that question.
"None of your business," Hercules shot back over his shoulder, and he stalked off to the arena side of the island without another word.
He didn't know how long he'd have privacy, but he prayed to Aphrodite that he could have at least some. He didn't know what he'd give Megara at the coronation, but he considered it equally important to know what he'd do for her.
On the first page of the scroll was a set of instructions in gold ink from Aphrodite herself. He could hear her voice in his head as he read, "Before you do any of these things, remember that these are expressions of love, and they work best as such."
"Cool! Great," he said as if answering her in conversation.
But where were the pictures?
He unrolled more of the scroll, and there they were. Aphrodite had customized the diagrams to reflect not generic human bodies, but Hercules and Megara themselves. His eyes widened to soak them in, and his heart stopped.
Phil had a few diagrams to apply to training, whether they be exercises or training scenarios, but this was another level.
The earliest images were tame enough, teaching them how to kiss in the most sensual ways possible. There was a whole philosophy to it, something about a language between lovers that he wasn't quite sure he understood. Maybe it was the way a goddess of love was supposed to talk, and it made more sense to people who read poetry. He thought he'd already experienced this while he was with Meg since she was the only girl who'd actually allowed him to kiss her. But Aphrodite had stated in plain language that if he opened his mouth to Megara when he was aroused, she would breathe in his arousal, and it would make her more excited.
He didn't know what to do with that information, but he hoped now that they both knew that it would help them communicate. This wasn't what he'd started reading for, and he shouldn't waste the daylight he had left to read by on theory. He unrolled a little more of the scroll, right past a disclaimer from Aphrodite that he should be in the right mindset before looking at the more advanced images.
He was pretty sure he was in the right mindset, or at least he would choose to believe it.
There they were.
There were pictures of him pressing Megara to the wall and exploring her with his fingers or kneeling with her knees on his shoulders to use his mouth. Megara had written a couple of saucy little comments, such as, "Would you like me to pull your hair when you do this?"
He closed his eyes. He could hear those words in her voice.
That might be nice. He'd have to let her try it. Nobody had asked him questions like that before. Was this normal? What had he been missing by being a social reject?
He kept unrolling the scroll and pausing to blush until he hit an image of Megara on her back with her legs raised and him on his knees hovering over her. It was an unspeakably lewd image as far as he was concerned, and he had to set the scroll aside.
"That's a bit much…" he whispered to himself, but it couldn't stop the overwhelming pulse of passion that ran through him. He could imagine holding her legs up behind him, maybe toying with her, while she kept him in her mouth. But it seemed… backward. Or maybe that was because Aphrodite had explicitly chosen this position to prevent a pregnancy. That must be why it made him feel wrong. It seemed like something only he would enjoy, and that made him feel gross.
Except that he could also envision it so clearly.
Noises from outside the arena reminded Hercules he wasn't technically alone on the island.
"Kid! You've got school tomorrow!" Phil barked at him.
Yeah. School.
"I'll go to sleep in a bit!" He shouted back.
He was a mess. Phil would ask questions.
But there was no more light to read by, and besides, he wasn't prepared to deal with the contents of this scroll, anyway. He crept back into the hollowed-out statue head, holding the rolled-up scroll in folded hands he hoped would hide any sign of arousal.
He needed to calm down. He should've hurled himself into the sea to calm down, but that only brought back images from the evening…
Theoi was out of his depth with this girl.
"Night," he mumbled to Phil, climbing into his hammock to turn his back on the satyr.
His dreams painted those images vividly. He'd never get the idea of her mouth on him out of his head now, but it felt wrong to want that. A hero wouldn't take advantage like that, would he? It seemed more acceptable to his mind to serve her instead. He could put his mouth on her, but she seemed so much more complicated.
Hercules woke in the darkest hour of the night, sweating and confused. His body was hot and full of tension. He needed to get rid of it, or he'd never get back to sleep, but he was trembling. He might trip if he tried to sneak out of the house, and then what? Phil would wake up and laugh at him.
Or worse, try to give him instructions.
Hercules groaned, not from passion but from horror. What was he supposed to do with himself now?
He kept his fists firmly at his sides, unwilling to leave any evidence that he couldn't control himself in the hammock.
As he squeezed his eyes shut again, he was struck with every image he'd seen of them lying together. He could explore her body while she curled up against his torso, and then… Theoi. No. This was making it worse…
Whether or not he'd get caught doing so, Hercules hurled himself out of the hammock and rushed out of the house.
Pegasus was sleeping in a nest perched atop a statue's disembodied leg, but he perked up when his friend raced out of the house.
He couldn't stop to acknowledge the horse. He dove off the edge of the island into the water and let the frigid night seawater wash away his thoughts.
He'd given himself up to the sea before, but this time, he felt a sting of cold that dispersed the heat that had invaded his bloodstream.
It was a temporary solution, but it granted him the next few hours of sleep.
At school, thoughts of those images would invade his regular thoughts, especially when he was bored during a lecture on Euclidian theory. He rushed off to the boys' lavatory before anyone could catch him, or at least, he hoped so.
With two doors locked behind him, Hercules allowed the passion to overwhelm him. If he could just focus long enough in peace, he might be able to get rid of this feeling so he could act normal for the rest of the day. One image, in particular, reasserted itself, where they could hold hands while he bent over her and kept her still so he could explore her with his kisses. It would be just for her, with no guilt at all.
His hands propping himself against the wall turned to fists.
There was nothing for it. He'd have to give up and touch himself.
It was awkward, as he didn't generally do anything like it, and he knew his hand felt nothing like anything of Megara's. But he had to get rid of this feeling somehow.
Aphrodite's scroll had given him plenty of images of Megara pleasuring him with various parts of her without letting him in. He'd take anything, but he'd feel so shameful doing it.
Except there had been a few notes where Megara suggested she would like to show him her love with acts like that. Maybe… it wouldn't be so bad.
"Hey, Herc!" Icarus had walked right into the bathroom while Hercules was unaware, and now he was beating on the door. "Are you doing okay? You ran out of math class so fast that people are thinking you ate something nastier than usual!"
Hercules let out a roar of frustration. "Ick! I'm trying to get some privacy, man! Can you please let me…"
It was over.
At least he knew one thing could make the madness of passion disperse in an instant. He no longer had a single sexual thought in his mind. He took a few seconds to catch his breath, then opened the stall door, peering down at Icarus in disapproval. "Thanks. For the help."
Icarus had no idea what was going on, but his smile was broad. "No problem, buddy! Is it safe to assume the Cafeterium is infection-free?"
Hercules sighed deeply. "I don't know. Just… don't… sneak up on me again."
"It's not my fault you didn't hear me knocking from outside the bathroom. I thought it must be really bad if you couldn't even hear me shouting."
"It was…" Hercules leaned against the cold marble wall. I've got to get this thing sorted out with Megara's family, Ick. I think I might need her more than I thought."