Hercules might have given off the impression that he let Megara fool him, but he knew her too well. She was afraid. She had to be. This was a wonderful occasion, but he knew there was an underlying reason for all this fuss. The trouble was that he didn't know whether confronting her about it or playing along was the best course of action.
Conveniently, it hadn't been long into the party before he noticed the signs that Megara required a break from the crowd she'd assembled. Once he had her and Harmonia in his arms, he vanished with them and reappeared in their room. No need to bother with the delay of climbing the stairs with them.
Harmonia fussed at the sudden disorientation, but Megara kissed away her concern.
"Do you want to talk?" Hercules asked, seating Megara gently on the bed.
"Did you have a topic in mind?" She raised a brow at him.
"Be honest with me, Meg. You're worried just like I am, aren't you? I need to know that you take this seriously. You're too calm. It's unnerving!"
"I promise I'm a little agitated right now trying to stay social for so long. I'm not sure what you're referring to, though."
Hercules met her eyes, hoping to communicate how serious he was. "Meg, you keep pretending you're not afraid of carrying our twins, but I'm losing my mind every few hours when I think of what could happen."
"Gee, this is a really relaxing break from all that stress."
Hercules released a heavy sigh. "Okay, I'm sorry… but please… I need you to tell me that living matters to you and that you'll help me fight to keep you alive."
"Sure I will," she said with a too-mild smile. "In the meantime, I've been putting together some keepsakes for you to show Harmonia in the event that I cannot."
"Don't say things like that!" Hercules gripped her shoulder, but this set Harmonia off howling.
"Shh, darling, you're frightening the little one."
Hercules clenched his teeth. "Meg, I need you to explain to me why you're so calm."
"Because," she said, rubbing Harmonia's back to soothe her, "it does no good to panic. Moni needs me to stay calm, and all I can do is plan for each eventuality. I'll be pleasantly surprised when I'm alive at the end of it, but if I'm not, it's easier to face if I've accepted it."
Kneeling before her, Hercules clasped her hand and rested a hand on Harmonia's hair to try and soothe her. "Please fight… hold on… I don't know how to go on if I lose you. You've been the source of meaning in my life ever since I realized I'd never measure up to my father's expectations. And then you were the reason I finally became good enough, but you've been all that matters to me. You and our children, of course, but this is the family I've built with you. I can't imagine losing you. Please don't force me to."
Megara recognized that nothing would properly soothe Harmonia aside from feeding her, so she pulled open her shirt and latched the girl on. "Herc, I am mortal. What did Rhea tell you about that situation?"
Since he'd been mesmerized by watching her, he realized she'd spoken to him after a short delay. "I uh…" he had to focus. "Rhea told me there was just as much possibility you would…" He bit his lip. His grandmother had stipulated that Megara shouldn't know this might lead to her apotheosis.
"Live or not?" Megara offered so he wouldn't have to say it.
"Right…"
"So that means you can prepare for me to become your divine consort while I will prepare for my death. This will prevent me from indulging in hubris, which may invite punishment and tip the scale."
"But what if thinking about dying makes it more likely you will?" He anxiously stroked along her knee and thigh. "What if you need willpower to survive?"
"I could always borrow some of yours," she suggested. "I think either way, we'll all be happy to keep memories around. You're a little more sentimental than I am, but I've started to take that on from you. We should try our best to be the sort of couple who plans for all eventualities. I'm also writing Harmonia letters for when she's older. Even if I'm around, I think she'd like to read them."
Hercules squeezed her thigh and sat up to kiss her forehead. "You make it sound reasonable, but I don't want to face eternity without you."
Harmonia unlatched with an emphatic popping noise and rubbed at her face.
"I'm sure you'll find a way to preserve me in some fashion," she said, combing her fingers through his hair. "You resurrected me last time. Maybe you'll discover another solution if it happens again."
"I'd rather you didn't have to go through it at all." He rested his cheek against her knee.
"As would I, but as long as I'm mortal, I have to make the same preparations as millions of other women. The only thing that makes me special is who loves me."
He frowned up at her. "We love you because you're special."
"Moni doesn't have an option, but I appreciate the sentiment. I know I can't be a terrible mother for her because she's always happy to see me. I don't think it's because I mean food to her."
"I think, just like me, she sees you as her everything." Hercules joined her on the bed and wrapped both his wife and daughter in his arms. "She's old enough that when her eyes light up at the sight of you, she's happy that you're around. I hope she learns to speak soon so she can tell you everything she's feeling."
"She's pretty expressive," Megara pointed out. "Sometimes, I can't walk out of a room without making her scream."
"I'll admit that might be my fault because if you leave her with me and I get nervous about something, she's afraid that you're not coming back. Neither of us wants that." He kissed her temple and rocked her along with Harmonia.
He couldn't lose either one of them. Though Megara was in immediate danger, his daughter had only survived for one year so far. She remained as mortal as her mother despite her demigoddess status. Even demigods could die, as he well knew.
Who would he be if he lost either one of them?
He buried his face in the curve where Megara's neck met her shoulder. There was no way to answer the question he'd posed for himself. All he wanted was to be with the people he loved and who returned that love. He'd created a home to share with them, and now he felt as if that could all disappear in a day.
He knew he shouldn't indulge in tears. He'd only pass them along to his daughter. But what else could he do?
"Do you want to rejoin the party?" Megara asked.
"Not without you…" He couldn't do anything without her.
"Then we'll go back down. I feel a lot calmer now."
How could she after a talk like this?
"It's going to be fine," she told him.
"How can you know that?"
"We will all be fine today. We're surrounded by well-wishing friends, and you're with us. Even if we got injured, you could heal us. There may be something beyond even your powers, but I trust you to pick the right solution if something were to happen that I couldn't solve."
Hercules drew in a breath, imagining a time when he couldn't hold her and not breathe in her scent. He would have to remember it. "All right. I'll share you for a little while longer."
After a quick check to make sure they looked presentable, Megara led Hercules out into the peristyle overlooking their courtyard.
The guests were engaged in lively conversation, and the nearer they drew to the railing, the more he understood their open speculation.
"She's so dainty. How does she survive?" someone asked from the courtyard.
Who'd said that?
Hercules peeked over the edge of the peristyle but still couldn't trace that comment to a source. "How is that anyone's business?" He grumbled.
"He's a god of strength, so he's got to have tremendous restraint." This time he caught that Dionysus was the one commenting. "I remember when he was younger, he'd break everything in sight!"
Megara chuckled into Harmonia's hair. "We have got to stay and listen to this."
"Are you sure?" Hercules wanted to dig himself a hole and hide there until people forgot he used to be such a klutz.
"C'mon, isn't it a little funny?"
"I don't want to imagine hurting you, and I don't want to let people talk about it, either."
"Even an Amazon would struggle to contain a man like him." Someone else said from the lower level.
Hercules slumped against the wall in a state of horror. "I never hurt you, did I?" he whispered.
Megara shrugged. "There was a bit of a learning curve, but just as much on my part as yours. Do you remember that first time I said it was muscle strain and nothing more? I wasn't lying."
He wanted to reassure himself that it was true, but his friends' drunken conversation was making him question every encounter he'd had with his wife.
"All right, Wonder Boy, it's time to launch the defense." Megara bent and offered her hand.
"I don't need you to defend me. It's my job to defend you." He got to his own feet, then took her hand and kissed it.
"I'm at least glad that he takes care of my sister." He didn't see who spoke, but he was grateful that one of his brothers-in-law had granted his approval.
"Transport us down there," Megara whispered. "Right into the middle of the courtyard."
"Are you sure about that? It's the last place I want to be right now."
"Transport us down there, or I'll walk down the stairs and get sore." The challenge in her eyes was impossible to ignore.
"Okay, okay…" Hercules winced his eyes shut, then moved them back into the midst of their guests.
There was an explosion of gasps.
Before anyone could recover, Megara spoke up. "I'll answer any question you want! Somehow, Wonder Boy keeps up with me, and he hasn't quit on me yet. I always thought I'd be too much for him, but he's the gentlest, sweetest creature aside from our daughter, and to be fair, she gets it from him. The only times he isn't gentle are by request. I like to feel his power. Are there any more questions?"
At that moment, Hercules noticed his adoptive parents had joined the party while he and Megara were away. A small, choked noise escaped his throat when he made eye contact.
All of Megara's mortified brothers shook their heads, unable to speak, while Cassandra burst into laughter. Dionysus roared with laughter and poured everyone fresh wine. Every other guest was stunned into mortified silence, with their mouths hanging open.
Megarion drank the wine Dionysus had supplied him with, which seemed to grant him the wherewithal to speak. "You know what? It's about time the rest of you had to appreciate what I've been through. They left my coronation halfway through to go have some special couple time, and then they came back and acted like nobody would notice!"
"Cut me some slack," Megara said, bouncing Harmonia in the hopes she would stay asleep. "I'd just seen my evil ex-boyfriend who damned me to Hades, and I needed Herc to erase everything in my brain so I'd feel better. He's really good at that."
"That's so nice!" Eurydice exclaimed.
Great, he'd almost thought she wouldn't be there. A chatty nymph like her would have a wide gossip circle.
Since arriving at the party, Alcmene had evidently enjoyed her share of Dionysus's wine. Her cheeks were flushed as she said, "There was this one time I passed by their room during a party and heard so much wailing I almost barged in."
"You heard that?" Hercules wheezed.
"It was adorable. I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves," Alcmene said. It couldn't only be her, though.
"As I recall, in the save-the-world afterparty, I heard my share of screams, too," Amphitryon said, stroking his beard in thought. "The little lady told me to mind my own business, so I did."
"That was you?" Hercules thought he might die on the spot if he weren't a god. At least if he did, he might have saved himself the embarrassment of remaining in the middle of this party.
Was this how Megara felt every time a party overwhelmed her?
Menoikeus approached, bringing a terra cotta wine cup. "I am genuinely grateful to you, Hercules. When we were properly alive before, I thought my sister's only prospects in life were abusive monsters, and I couldn't forestall her marriage forever. But you've granted her a future beyond anything I could have comprehended."
"We thought she'd end up with some jerk who'd break her spirit," Haemon concurred.
"I almost did," Megara said, nuzzling against Hercules's arm. "Instead, I got one who dragged my spirit out of the Underworld and has kept me happy ever since."
Harmonia chortled and burbled with the combined joy of her parents and clapped her tiny hands.
"I think it's time the party proceeded," Megara said. "We have plenty of wine, so let's share all the memories we can think of. I'd like to put them down in a keepsake scroll for Harmonia to look back on to review her first year. I think we'll all be perfectly honest once everyone's had enough wine."
"Any more honest than you have been, and we'll have to fight to keep the gossip out of the press," Menoikeus said.
"We can be honest about other things, too!" Megara said, without a hint of regret for the previous topic of discussion. "Like about how everyone feels about Moni and what they see in her future."
Hercules's eyes darted to Cassandra. Later, when Megara wasn't around, he'd have questions for his old friend.
She returned his gaze and nodded. An oracle of her stature must always know when someone needed her advice.