"You've had yourself convinced for all these months that I don't want to look at you or be close to you again, but that's what I've wanted more than anything. I love Harmonia. I'm so grateful you've given her to me. She loves you, too. I can tell. I also know that you're often somewhere far away from either one of us. We need you back, Meg."
"I don't think that's in my power," she admitted. "I don't feel in control of myself anymore. I contained my own emotions for years, and now it's like I'm locked inside my own mind, and I see everything else happen, but I can't do anything about it."
"I can," Hercules told her. "I'm a god of healing now, and I've gone too long hoping things would get better on their own when I should've helped you. Well, now I'm going to help you."
"You'll make me normal?" she asked.
"I'll release you so you're not trapped in your own mind anymore. You'll join Moni and me. Let us love you. Are you ready for that?"
"I think so… I hope so…"
Hercules lowered himself to join her against the pillows and kissed her softly. Then he pulled back. "It's a bit like our first time," he said with a gentle smirk. "Except now it's you that needs direction and encouragement."
"I feel a bit like I've never done this before because I was a different person last time. Also…" She winced and curled her toes. "I don't know if I'm ready to be pregnant again… If I feel like this now, what will it be like the next time?"
"Neither of us can know that," Hercules acknowledged. "There are ways we can be together without doing that, though. You've shown me ways you could help me contend with my desires… You were generous to do so. Let me be generous to you."
Still holding her arms over her head, Hercules kissed her again, then drew her bottom lip into his mouth and bit it lightly. He sucked on her lip and moved one hand from her wrists so that it could trail down her body while he kept her locked in the kiss.
He squeezed, fondled, and caressed his way down her middle. Despite her attempts to squirm away, Hercules held her firm. "This is my opportunity to remind you who you are to me," he told her and dipped down to kiss along her stomach. "You carried my daughter, and every line here is a reminder of how you sacrificed for both of us with such grace." He moved her dress aside since she'd already unwrapped herself to some degree so that Harmonia could nurse.
There was no time to protest. Now he could see everything. Megara stared up at him, worrying her bottom lip, but he smiled into her fear. The warmth of his smile soaked through her skin and made her heart race.
"Meg, if what it takes to prove you're beautiful is an itemized list, here it comes." He squeezed her hips. "I've always loved these. Almost as much as your eyes, actually. You have so much power in these." He slipped his hands under her and took firm handfuls of her in each palm. "Now… yes, there's more here." He massaged her experimentally and sighed. "Theoi, Meg…"
"If you like it so much, you can flip me over," she said in jest, but the interest in his eyes told her she was the only one who found it funny.
"Later," he said and continued lower. "You know what? I like your thighs, too." He squeezed them both for emphasis.
"Are you about to tell me you like all my toes individually and try to tickle me to death?"
"See, you're already more like yourself," he said with a broadening grin. He slid his hands all the way up her legs, pausing to lovingly fondle her hips again, then moved higher up again. "You never give yourself enough credit."
"What aren't I crediting myself for this time?"
"You have such a naturally graceful shape. Sure, it's changed, but you're still my wife."
"Even though I know that I've still never been comfortable with my skin ever since she left it. I was fine with everything that happened because it was for her. And then… I don't have… I don't know, an excuse? It feels like I've been caught doing something embarrassing, and everyone knows I've done it."
"What they're bound to know is you carried my child. They'll probably be shocked I figured out how to put her in you, so don't be embarrassed. Be proud you taught me how." He winked at her and bowed his head over her chest. "I love how these are bigger… and they feel different, too…" Those words were so muffled that Megara took a moment to piece them together.
"You be careful. Moni drinks so much that the skin is a bit tender. I don't want to wake her if you squeeze too hard."
"I'll be gentle…" Hercules brushed his face between them and sighed. "You seem a little more comfortable now."
"Watching you is too entertaining to be bothered," Megara replied. She raised her legs so they arched at his sides. "I know you're exactly the same under that armor… That's something I've missed…"
"Heh…" Hercules kissed the swell of her breast and sucked it between his lips before he released her. "Are you sure you're ready to see? I know how you get… Maybe you'll faint if you see it too soon."
"Better to see it and get excited than to feel it and be too shocked to enjoy it."
"Maybe so." Hercules kissed her lips one more time before he sat up on his knees and removed his armor. Slowly. Agonizingly slowly.
Megara had time to wonder why she'd gotten so caught up. She stared at him, hungry for each familiar feature, and her dark thoughts hid silently at the back of her mind, waiting to voice themselves once the buzz of excitement died down.
"I think I've figured out how I'll do this," Hercules said and cast his armor aside. While Megara's eyes were still fixed between his thighs, he said, "I won't give you the opportunity to overthink this." He raised her legs to pull her closer, then flipped her face down. "You know what I've noticed? The more you can see of yourself, the more you wonder if you're any good." He slid off the bed and brought her halfway off with him, still holding her legs. "But if I'm the one with a view, there's no problem because nothing is wrong with you."
Megara's toes brushed the floor, and she gripped the blankets. "What are you doing?"
Hercules trailed his hands down her back and over the arch of her posterior. "You know, when I first noticed how beautiful you are, it was when you were bent over the water wringing out your hair…" he brushed her hair over one shoulder and sighed. "And now you're mine."
With his hands following every arch and curve of her body, Megara couldn't help but let the heat roll through her. His aura had an equally powerful effect as it soaked into her skin. She could feel his desire as if it were her own.
Waiting with no relief had become unbearable. Did he intend to tease her all night?
"That seems to have gotten your attention," Hercules said, seemingly satisfied. "So what'll it be, Meg? We can take a nap together, or–"
"We can take a chaste little nap together if you're trying to kill me!" She snapped. "Otherwise, put it in."
"What?" Hercules sputtered. That was something she hadn't seen him do in a while. "But I thought… Aren't we waiting on… I dunno, I can't remember anymore, I'm too busy looking at you…"
Megara watched him over her shoulder. "You claim you like this." She wiggled herself at him and saw his mouth drop open. "So do something about it. Damn the consequences, I miss you. It's been too long, and anyway, I survived last time, didn't I?"
He hesitated a moment longer before resolve washed over his features. "You've got five minutes to take it back."
"I know what I want. So give it to me."
Hercules had the grace left in him to blush. He bent over her and kissed her ear, then sucked on the earlobe. He settled himself against her and planted his elbows on either side of her. "I've missed your attitude," he whispered as he nuzzled into her neck.
She could feel him at her entrance, still hesitant. Every second that passed, each pulse that she felt against her thigh, made her still more impatient. "Let me have it," she said and pushed back to get closer.
Hercules grunted and hid his face in her neck. "If you insist…" Rather than push in directly, he circled against her, forcing her to think about just how much she wanted before he finally drove inside.
She gasped, then, and scrunched her hands in the bedclothes.
"Enjoying yourself?" Hercules purred in her ear. Let's see how much you can handle." With a moan laced with amusement, Hercules pushed in deeper. His heat and power made Megara's head spin enough that she wondered what she'd bothered to put this off for. What had she been so afraid of?
Hercules began to thrust at a leisurely pace, one hand caressing her neck and the other working its way under her to knead her breast. "I'm not sure if you're more luxurious than ever or if I've been deprived for so long you feel like Elysium."
Megara peeked at him over her shoulder, mouth hanging open as her face burned. "Whatever you want to think, don't stop."
"Don't intend to." Hercules pushed her toward the middle of the bed and turned them both onto their sides. He held her legs open and continued to drive into her, but now, with her on her side, he could explore her at his leisure.
Megara pressed her face into the crook of his arm and felt her body melt into his. Why had she put this off for so long again? Waves of pleasure splashed across her mind like wine spilled on a sponge, and she soaked it in. She would hold onto everything he gave her, make it part of herself.
So what if she'd rounded out a bit? If Hercules could find pleasure in that, she had nothing to worry about. She knew it would return soon, but she couldn't think of that darkness that clung to the edges of her mind. No, all that existed was the steady thrum of Hercules, rewriting her heartbeat.
It was impossible to know how long it took him to fill her again, but she closed her eyes to whisper blessings to him, to Aphrodite, and then her words faded into incoherent babble.
He whispered to her sometime later, but she didn't know whether it was minutes or hours. "This room is sacred for plenty of reasons. This bed has seen us together at the best and worst of times. The rest of the villa is the purview of the League, but I'm glad I broke that fast with you here. You came back to life here. And now I want to bring you back to life again. After all you've been through, you deserve to enjoy yourself. Let Moni and I love you. When I'm out there, I have to be a hero at all times. Perfect. Or else I'll lose the respect and love of the people who don't know me. I need to be loved, Meg, and you've given me that twice over. You have given me everything that makes living matter to me. So when that sadness comes for you again, just remind it who's the boss."
Megara fished in the endless sea of her thoughts, but her net came up empty. "Who is the boss?" she asked.
"I'm the boss," he replied. "Nothing gets to steal your joy, Meg. You'll see. Starting now." He rolled her over and formed a bridge of his body over her where she lay. "You're not at its mercy. You're free." His aura shone into her through her skin, and it forced a giggle out of her with how it tickled and electrified her from within. "When we go back out there, remind them all you're the most gorgeous creature in all the cosmos and that I'm the luckiest god ever to be with you."