The streets of Thebes were lined with signs welcoming their National Hero back to the polis. Megara beamed with pride. "I prepared them well in advance," she said.

"Hey, look, she's good for somethin'!" Phil huffed.

"Will you shut up, you pudgy grass muncher?" Megara shot at him. "We're in my home now, not yours, and you had better remember I'm the only reason your pupil is going to make it in this town! No thanks to you; everyone is waiting for him, and we've got a personal audience with the king!"

"Watch it…" Phil started, but Hercules put a stop to it with a glare over his shoulder.

"How about you watch it?" Hercules demanded. He tightened his arms around Megara and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Meg is my fiancėe. I respect you, Phil, but I don't love you. Meg will always come first."

Megara sat up straighter and scratched Hercules's thigh in silent gratitude as she rested her head back against his shoulder. "Of course, your business acumen is a valuable asset, Phil," she said, not really bothering to make sure he could hear her over the wind rushing around them. "But don't try to get between us. It won't end well."

Seemingly pacified by that warning, Phil remained silent all the way to the Cadmean Palace.

Megara's brothers were waiting in the courtyard, all engaged in solitary pursuits while wearing welcoming finery. It was King Menoikeus who rose first, signaling for the others to greet the others. "Hail, Megara. Hail, Mighty Hercules. Welcome back to our home."

Phil plopped himself to the courtyard cobblestones. "I'm here, too," he said. "As Herc's trainer and manager, I need to see the accommodations made at the stadium and his living quarters."

"There's time for that, Mutton Man!" Haemon grinned down at him, "Tonight, it's time to party!"

"Oh, no, you don't get to pull the wool over my eyes!" Phil said. "I haven't seen what you set up for the kid, and you better not shortchange him!"

"We built him a satellite palace so he can live there with our sister," Megarion said.

"Consider it our dowry for taking care of our sister," Menoikeus said. He regarded Phil with narrowed violet curiosity. "You ought to know better than to insult royalty in our own domain. You might consider it a privilege to be welcomed into our palace."

Phil considered and bowed. "Sorry, yer majesty, sir. But your sister needs an attitude adjustment."

Hercules lifted Megara off Pegasus in bridal style. "Phil," he said in a warning tone. He kissed Megara's cheek and set her down. "Meg's gonna show us around; she's the one who designed our villa."

"Yeah, and what are her qualifications?"

"I grew up in a palace and am very aware of Herc's size requirements, as well as knowing the sorts of situations that the villa needs to accommodate."

All three of Megara's brothers were instantly nervous after that comment but attempted to hide it in various ways. Menoikeus took off his crown and polished the amethysts and gold with his sleeve. Haemon coughed and stretched an arm behind his back as if they'd interrupted his exercises, and Megarion raised a scroll over his face.

"Relax, you three, I'm still a virgin," Megara said.

The trio shuddered and made gagging noises.

"Haemon, Megarion, maybe you two should join Herc at the stadium sometimes," Megara suggested. "The three of you could be best friends."

Megarion glared at Megara over the edge of his scroll, but Haemon was all for it.

He wrapped an arm around Megara and Hercules's necks and squeezed them close for a hug. "I'd love to be friends with my new brother!" he boomed. "I'm not sure I can keep up with a hero, but I would love to learn with the greatest!"

A wobbly smile appeared on Hercules's face. He almost looked drunk. "The greatest?" he repeated shyly.

"Of course, look at you!" Haemon released his hug and landed a playful punch on Hercules's chest. "You're made of marble and bronze! Just a few months ago, you were a scrawny kid! You were holding out on us, kiddo!"

"Well, uh… just needed time to focus…" Hercules blushed. He gestured toward Phil. "My trainer is also the best in the business."

"That's right!" Phil said. "And I ain't never seen a successful hero who stopped listenin' to me midstream."

"Remind me which of your heroes was the most successful?" Menoikeus asked.

Phil turned red. "Watch it, pal…"

"Hey!" Hercules snapped. "Anything that goes for Meg goes for her family, too! Do you see these guys here? When I marry Meg, they'll be my brothers, too. Do you understand how big that is for me? I've got three brothers, Phil!"

"Yeah, you do," Megara embraced him about the middle. "Come on, Herc. Everyone's going down to the villa, but you and I should go first since it's going to be our home."

Hercules breathed a blissful sigh. "Yeah… our home…"

Megara could see his daydreams play out in the blue of his half-lidded eyes. He was already dreaming about their family. It made her think of it as well. There'd be some struggles, but she'd willingly accept them all.

"Phil, you should ride with the others," Hercules said and lifted Megara back into his arms. He twirled around with her once before setting her back on Pegasus and climbing on after her.

"Gee, thanks," Megarion said, eyeing Phil. "He doesn't eat philosophy scrolls, does he? I'm supposed to finish this one before Cassandra visits."

"I might!" Phil barked.

"But he won't," Hercules said sternly. He secured his arms around Megara, and they lifted off once more.

"I'm starting not to hate this so much," Megara told him when they were alone in the sky. It's better without company—aside from you, Pegasus." She stroked the stallion's flank and received a whicker of acknowledgment.

"Anything is better when it's just you and me," Hercules said. He nuzzled into her neck and kissed a line up and down the arch of her shoulder.

"There's our place." Megara pointed down at the red-tile roof of a grand palatial villa. The grounds featured expansive gardens and multiple fountains. Two collonades flanked a building that overlooked the rest of the complex as the crowning jewel of the property.

"Wow… all this is for us?" Hercules asked.

"I'm sure it'll be used for some public functions sometimes if Phil has anything to do with it. But some of this is just for us." She directed Pegasus to land on a balcony that was lined with bundles of hay and bags of oats.

Pegasus landed and trotted in place, chirping with excitement.

"You had this set up for him?" Hercules asked.

"Well, it wasn't Haemon."

Megara raised her hands so Hercules would have an easier time lifting her off the horse and petted Pegasus's neck. "Wait here, take your time. You have access to all the fountains for water. I'm going to keep Herc to myself for a bit."

Pegasus licked Megara's face, then dove into the nearest bag of oats.

Hercules took her hand. "I can't believe how thoughtful you are."

"This is the bare minimum, Herc. If you think that's impressive, wait 'til we get inside." She didn't make him wait long. She took him on a tour of the house, starting from the baths complex in the back to the trophy room that she promised he'd fill soon, the dining room with plenty of dining couches for a large family, and the kitchens which were already stocked with plenty of cheese and wine.

"Some of that is for our wedding night," she said, lifting a wine jar marked with a letter Mu and an Eta.

Hercules pressed a hand over his heart. "I can't wait for our wedding night… I want to be sober for it, though, so I can remember it."

Megara looked him up and down. "Yeah, so, Herc. I don't know if you've thought of this, but I'm going to need a bit of wine to loosen up that night."

"What do you mean?" Hercules asked anxiously. "Are you nervous?"

"More like realistic," Megara smirked and placed the wine back in its rack with a wink. "I'm pretty sure fitting you in will be a bit of a stretch."

"Uh… oh! Oh! Is that–? Well, we should talk to Aphrodite about it! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Shh," Megara soothed, taking both his hands. "We'll make it work. It was a sideways compliment."

"A c-compliment?" He furrowed his brow. "But uh… I mean… that sounds… dangerous."

"If Aphrodite had known we couldn't make this work, she would've stopped us a long time ago. If you can get some training to do things that were difficult for you before, so can I."

Hercules's blush practically glowed on his face. He opened his mouth to reply, but all that escaped was a crackling noise.

Megara laughed all the way back to the start, where she opened a set of double doors into their bedroom. "I thought maybe I overestimated the size of bed we'd need, but evidently I could've gone bigger," she said. She dropped his hand and sat on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs so that one escaped the slit in her dress. "What do you think?" She bounced her dainty sandaled foot and leaned back on the bed.

Hercules's eyes made a quick journey around the room's purple and blue marble wall panels, which framed frescoes of woodland meadows and flying horses. "There's one thing in here I think I can be happy with." He strode toward her and embraced her, leaning over her to kiss her brow. His next kiss was both open-mouthed and passionate. He pushed her down on the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

Megara gave herself over to this passionate embrace, her legs wrapping about his waist. She dragged her fingers through his hair and scratched the back of his neck. "I also included a nursery," she whispered when he took a break to breathe.

"Where is it?" Hercules asked. "I thought you showed me the whole house."

Megara nodded to the wall. "Behind that painting of a doe with her fawns… Go ahead and open it."

"Open… the wall?" Hercules was so confused that all he could do was roll off of her.

Megara took the initiative and pressed on the door disguised as a panel on the wall. "Recall how you were kidnapped from your home as a baby?" She pushed the wall to one side and revealed an expansive nursery with filtered windows that allowed in light but blocked the view of the inside of the room.

There were two cradles, one rocking horse with wings attached, and a series of small purple bundles all rolled up neatly, waiting for a child to wear them.

Megara lit an oil lamp that hung too high for a child to reach and leaned against the wall to watch Hercules's response.

"Wow…" Hercules walked in reverently as if this were the domain of a god whose sanctuaries were particularly secluded. "You did all this…"

"There's a bunch of secret passageways all the way around the villa," she told him. "I'll show you where all of them are. Say, for example, there's an attack or a siege on the house. I can take several escape routes, and so can guests. There are even some escape tunnels under the villa. Plus…" she gave him a sly smile. "If we happen to want some time to ourselves and there's a party going on at the villa… we always know how to get some time to ourselves."

"I love you," Hercules blurted out. "I think I love you maybe more than anyone has ever loved anything."

Megara snickered and threw herself into his arms. "You've got me to compete with, Wonder Boy. Either way, we win."