Dizzy with bliss, Hercules carried Megara into their bath complex, the one she'd designed for them, complete with escape passages. He still had the taste of her on his lips. There must be hundreds of ways to please her. He'd explore them all. Soon.

"You're thinking so hard I can practically hear it."

"Only I'm the one coming up with a sneaky plan now! Aren't you scared?"

"Me?" Megara shook her head and poked the tip of his nose. "You're playing my game now, Wonder Boy. Be ready for a challenge!"

He'd never been this cocky in his whole life, even that one time he got a big head over being the winner of every Olympic event. If he wasn't mistaken, he was now swaggering into the baths, carrying Megara to the edge of the baths, and releasing the block that allowed reservoir water to pour into the bath and fill it. He set her down on a bench and knelt to remove her sandals.

"You don't have to do all that," she said, swinging her now bare foot to nudge his cheek. "I'm a big girl."

"Oh, I know." He chuckled and set her dainty sandals neatly under the bench. "But I like touching you, Meg. Or have you forgotten?" Watching her face, he slowly slid his hands up her legs, then paused to stroke her knees with his thumbs.

Megara stared at him, her violet eyes wide and her ruby lips parted. "No… I haven't forgotten… I'm still reeling from that. As a matter of fact, you've spoiled me, so it's my turn. We need to get even." Mischief entered her eyes as a flicker of fire. She combed her fingers through his hair and purred, "C'mon, you know you want to."

He'd known her too well for too long not to see she was trying to take control with that suggestion. "What makes you think you'll ever catch up with me?" he tugged her closer with his hands still hooked under her knees, making her squeak in surprise. "I didn't say the two of us would both be screaming tonight. By the end of the night, you'll be delirious and drunk on all the love I'll give you. You may not like being spoiled, but you'll learn."

"What makes you so sure?"

Hercules knew that his smile had become more wicked, but he was unbothered. "You underestimate my heroic discipline." He gave her legs a squeeze. "I can keep this going all night. I'll drive you mad with pleasure and win your screams of pleasure over and over."

"No," she groaned, "That means I'd have to keep my hands off you! Do you think just because you're the big guy, you're the one who has to do everything?"

Her question electrified his mind. Did he seem controlling? Was he too distant?

The offense seeped out of Megara's face. "Sorry, I shouldn't have phrased the question like that." She hooked her fingers into his cape and pulled him closer to her. "I need to have some input here. We can't just let you be constantly giving. You deserve love, too, so you'll get it. There's no shame in asking me for what you need. I like it when you spoil me, but wait until I ask for things. It'll be a bonding experience. You want that as much as I do."

All his newly built confidence shattered. Had he been doing this all wrong? But he'd been doing his best! "You're right, I-I-I do! I'm sorry, honey. I just wanted you to be proud of me."

Megara fixed him with a mischievous smirk as she closed off the flow of the water and stood before him, unwrapping herself from her dress. "Oh, I'm proud," she purred. "And that's why I want to return the favor you paid me."

"Sorry, not happening, but nice try." He unfastened his armor then, leaving him in the under-tunic. "I'm not going to let you spoil me. It's your night. Anything we do tonight is either for you or both of us."

"Then both of us. I'm not letting you run the whole show. I love the stage."

"That's because you're a drama queen."

"Are you surprised when I'm a princess? It's my destiny to be the queen of something."

The two of them paused, twin gleams of mischief in their eyes before they burst into a shared fit of laughter. He was getting much better at banter. Even if he never got to be as good at it as she was, he'd definitely make sure she felt understood. He'd be the best she'd ever had every time she had him. It'd be a complicated game of escalation, but she needed him to try for her.

"You're really trying to pull off this whole 'I'm the boss' thing, aren't you?"

"Only 'cause it's working."

She folded her arms. "Do you think that's what I want because it's what tough guys tend to do?"

"Um… Yes?" Theoi, but he felt stupid.

"Herc, if I wanted some controlling jerk, I had options, and I ignored them all to be with you. It was before your makeover, too."

"That puts a bit of a different spin on it…"

"You're a sweetheart, and I'm playful. What we do is between us, not some fake versions of ourselves."

Hercules felt as if there were bubbles in his heart, and they kept bursting. But in a good way. He was pretty sure. "I've been trying to… I dunno… not seem so…"

"Sweet? Honest? Vulnerable? Generous?"

"Uh… no, no, those are some good things…"

She took his face in her hands, drawing him nearer with the softest touch. "Just be yourself. It's you I love." Her smile lit his heart and made her smile back. "Still, if I can take any credit for your confidence, I'm proud of it."

"You are? Well, I'm glad… Sometimes, I still feel like a geeky outcast who's lucky to have a girl like you."

"I hate to break it to you, Wonder Boy. You're not an outcast anymore. When you enter a room, everyone stares. We're amazed someone like you exists."

"Aw, who am I to argue with my biggest fan?" He smirked in what he hoped was a fair interpretation of her own.

She stroked the corner of his lips. "It's good to admit defeat before I run verbal circles around you." She wrapped her legs around his waist, and all the thoughts he hadn't been thinking faded even deeper into a nowhere zone. "I admit I like your stuttering, though. That's one thing I miss with the new confident you. It reminds me of how cute you were when we met."

He used to be cute? "If I'd known that was something you wanted, I would've–"

"Hush." Megara pressed a finger over his lips. She fixed him with a serious violet gaze and pulled him closer with her fingers in his hair. "You are still cute. You keep choosing to please me instead of yourself. You're special and wonderful and perfect, and best of all, you're all mine."

The voices of insecurity in his mind fell utterly silent. Hercules smiled as he set his hands on the edge of the bath, his hands on each side of her. "And you belong to me, too." He kissed her forehead.

"I thought that went without saying."

"But I still like saying it because I get to say it to you."

Megara smirked and tilted her head to one side. "I bet we could come up with a few other things you'd like to say." She parted her skirt so that the slit revealed her pale thigh beneath.

"Uh…" Hercules's throat closed briefly, then he coughed. What were they talking about a moment ago? All he could think about was that creamy tone of her usually hidden thigh. Her skin was so soft… Oh! When had his hand gotten there? His fingers traced her thigh as if he could somehow inscribe a secret message there for only the two of them to see. It was better than the last few times, hidden in the dark with only glimpses of her. So close, tinged blue by the water… she was like a nymph to him, mystical and powerful and wild.

"I think you've earned the other one," Megara said and lifted her entire skirt to barely cover her hips.

Hercules drew in a heavy breath and released a groan along with his sigh. "Meg…" he groaned, hoping to convey through his desperation how many mixed feelings he couldn't articulate at that moment.

"Too much?" she purred at him. "But your face was just in there a few minutes ago."

Hercules chuckled, and he heard a darker tinge to his voice than he was used to. "Meg, every time I see you is special. Now I'm thinking of how that felt and how you tasted."

She let out a little squeak that was so adorable he couldn't believe this was the sassy terror of Thebes. "I can only imagine what a fiend you'll be after we consummate our marriage." She shook her head with a little smirk on her face. "Aphrodite's warnings are getting harder to heed right about now. I've been struggling to care about whether or not I get pregnant for the past few days."

Her words simultaneously thrilled and sobered Hercules. He had to balance it all before he could settle on something to say. "Are you sure you're ready for all that? It'd be a pretty all-encompassing transformation, kind of like what I just went through." He glanced down at his arms. Only he could see the white crisscross of stretch marks from his intense transformation, but they felt like battle scars.

Megara reached for his chin and tilted his face toward her. "Wonder Boy, I'm thinking long-term. That's unavoidable once we've fully shared ourselves with one another, and you don't think I'm afraid of you, do you?"

"No… Maybe?" He stepped closer. "Before graduation, you asked me if I was afraid of Phil's all-summer intensity course. Well, I was a little bit, but I knew it was my destiny. I knew I needed to achieve my full potential or I'd disappoint everyone counting on me to become a True Hero. But even though I knew that, and I knew there was no other option, it was intimidating. So I can't help but think you'd face a similar challenge considering everything you're offering to sacrifice."

Mischief filled her gleaming, violet eyes. "Remember how I'm a princess who was destined for an arranged marriage? I was trained from a young age to see myself as an heir maker first and foremost and a diplomat if I got a husband willing to give me a voice. I've always known it was a duty of mine to contribute to a king's line, and I've prepared for this. I'm not afraid of it, and I'm proud that the king I've chosen is the most wonderful, selfless, and adorable man in the cosmos."

For a long moment, Hercules was dizzified by the swirl of emotions that hit his mind. The words to communicate what she made him think and feel were academic, and not part of his usual vocabulary. But he had to try. She liked words. She was good at words.

"Your…" he wasn't doing so hot. He drew another breath. "Meg," he started again, "your… confidence is… enchanting. I'm… entranced… you've embraced this… this feminine power you have over me… I…" His hands were on her hips, thumbs tracing her sides. "Sorry, I needed to touch you. I…" he was running his hands over her soft skin, tracing every curve. "Sorry, I can't think right now. My hands are just moving…"

"Do you hear me complaining?" she purred.

Hercules groaned and pressed his face against her neck. "Your voice… unfair…" A mixture of frustration and arousal ran through him, fighting for control of even more of his body. If he wasn't careful, he'd stop thinking and become nothing but a vehicle for carnal lust. She was too good at finding every little lever to pull that would fling the sense right out of his skull.

"I've got two advantages in this relationship, my mind and my voice, so I use them. My sweet talk always gets me what I want."

She was right. She always knew what she did to him. Hercules lifted his head to meet her eyes again. "If you ever figure out what else you've got, you'll use it against me."

"Only in the best ways."

There was something so intimate and comforting about laughing with her, almost as satisfying as physical intimacy. Almost. She was making it much more difficult to resist the pull to take her completely. It wasn't time, he decided, but he'd do something similar. He sought her mouth with his lips, teasing his fingers along her thigh in little invisible patterns. While she was wrapped up in the kiss, Hercules pulled her into the water with him.

He broke the kiss to smirk at her in his arms. "That was a good talk, hon, but I think it's time I remind you that I've got advantages, too. You can talk circles around me, but I still have one way to compete." He smirked as he let his fingers trace gentle patterns into her thigh. "Pick a number, Meg."

"A number? For what?"

"Just humor me."

"Six," she said, furrowing her brow.

"Challenge accepted," he said with a low chuckle. "You'll find out."