Megara slept better that night of their reunion than any day they'd been apart. It was no different for Hercules, who didn't even stir while she rose out of numerous dreams to gaze at his bold, regal features. He had no idea how much beauty there was in his face. She'd remind him when he woke. He wouldn't believe it.
She kissed the prominent bridge of his nose, which curved like a shield and vanguard for the rest of his face. Perhaps she had thought of his deeper nuances too long. She might be going mad.
When she settled back down and curled against him, Hercules let out a deep breath that carried a groan. The warmth of his breath hit her face, along with the stirring sensation that always followed when she let him intoxicate her senses.
Even if he wouldn't wake, Megara wrapped her arms around him and snuggled close, pressing her brow against his. Despite how little he had moved since joining her in their bed, his arms wrapped around her. He pressed her firmly against his armored chest, and the hardened leather pressed into the softness of her body.
The pressure made her gasp, and Hercules opened his eyes. He blinked his large, heavenly eyes at her with the innocence of a child despite the fact they were on the eve of a wedding ceremony. Those eyes searched her face in the dark. "Are you hurt?" he whispered.
"No," she assured him, wanting to soothe him even though it was her that was pressed hard against the treated leather. "Think we could take off your armor?"
Hercules let out another heated breath. "Ah… forgot." He kissed her brow and separated from her enough to unpin and untie his cuirass from about his torso. "How long were you cuddling this stuff?" He threw off his armor, left now in a soft woolen tunic.
As it fell, a violet strip of linen fluttered out of the armor, and Megara traced its descent to the floor. She smirked, deciding this wasn't the right moment to comment on it, but she'd find that moment soon. She turned back to Hercules, who was blushing now.
This, this was the right moment.
"Not as long as you've been smuggling my sash around."
"Yeah…" Hercules caressed her auburn tresses back from her face, the fondness evident in his every motion and his gaze. "Meg… I missed you so much… even the smallest memory of you… something tangible and real…"
"Phil's gotta know what separating us does to you. He can't keep demanding this when he sees how it wears you down. Or he can't do that and still consider himself a fair trainer."
"I don't want to think about him right now." Hercules cupped Megara's chin and traced her bottom lip with his thumb. "I've been thinking of you ever since we parted. Now I just…" Rather than conjure an end for that sentence, Hercules drew her in for a gentle, needful kiss.
Megara lost herself in sensation, communicating with him only in their touches. He was lonely and hurt, and she welcomed him to find comfort. Though he was initially hesitant to ask permission, she opened her mouth to welcome his tongue.
To further get her point across, Megara wrapped her arms around Hercules's neck and pulled him backward so that he tumbled on top of her and had to scramble so he wouldn't squish her.
His hands sank into the bed on either side of her, and she felt him tremble. He was nervous.
Megara released him and looked curiously into his eyes when he broke their kiss.
"I don't wanna hurt you," he mumbled shyly.
"Why would you think you'd hurt me?"
"It's just that I don't know what I'm doing, and I feel like an idiot."
"You'll be fine, trust me, and trust yourself. Don't worry about knowing things before you've tried them. Do you want to see our pink scroll again?"
He blushed. "I might need that later… I'll need lots of help…"
"Less than you think," she assured him. "You've done impressive things before, even if you think you're not as coordinated and smooth as you ought to be. I love everything that's so you it couldn't be anyone else. If that includes how we make love, so much the better."
"I don't deserve you…" He leaned down to nuzzle against her cheek, then moved down to her neck and kissed the column of her neck down to her shoulder. "You make even my least impressive moments feel forgivable."
"I like the little moments when you're not completely in control and your heroic persona. As much as that's part of you, this softer side is all for me." She noted a flicker of mingled humor and embarrassment on his face and whispered, "Maybe soft is the wrong word."
He laughed breathlessly and pressed his face back into the crook of her neck. "After everything, I just… need you… so… Is that all right?"
"It would be good for both of us, and we'll get married today, anyway. We'll have a wedding feast's time to give each other, but maybe we should start before anyone else is involved."
"Uh-huh." It was clear that as far as Hercules was concerned, 'yes' was enough. He loomed over her, pulling his tunic over his head so that he could toss that onto the floor to join his armor. His hands came to rest on her hips while all Megara could do was marvel at him.
Enough light filtered through the shutters to reveal the rippling contours of his musculature. Rosy-fingered dawn painted his skin red-gold and luminous. He looked like a god.
"See something you like?" Hercules asked in a low, teasing voice.
"Is that even a question?" Megara smirked up at him, but there was no hiding that she wasn't the one in control at that moment. It didn't even bother her to know it.
"It's the one I asked," Hercules noted with a light chuckle, lowering himself back to her. "How about we get your dress off so I can worship my goddess?" He'd already begun unpinning and unwrapping her before she had fully processed what he'd said.
"Herc, we're mortals. You can't–-"
Hercules stopped her mouth with a firm kiss while unraveling her dress from around her body and throwing it off the bed, presumably to join his clothes. Once she was bare, he sat back up to look at her. "Beautiful," he whispered. He traced her with one large, callused hand, spreading warmth in its wake. "I've missed you, but you're still so familiar… it's almost like I never left…"
"You weren't gone long enough to forget me."
"No, and I thought of you every moment of every day." He lowered himself against her once more and wrapped his arms around her to press them close to one another. "Do you think we're both ready for this?"
"You make it sound like you need me to tell you whether you're ready as much as you want me to tell you how I feel."
A small, playful smile teased the edge of his mouth. "So I'm pretty good at communicating after all."
Megara stroked his silken red-gold hair back from his brow. "I'm sick of waiting and putting up barriers. I'll accept anything that happens after this because it's from you."
"Does that include…?"
"I wouldn't marry you if I didn't want to have a family with you, Hercules. We have to start somewhere, don't we?"
"Yeah…" he gazed at her, amazed that she existed. "Do you think… I'll be good then…? I always feel like I'm someone's puppet. I don't know if I'll be useful as a father."
"You've seen my father. Would you ever suppose yourself less worthy than him?"
Hercules wrinkled his nose in revulsion.
"So what are you worried about? You've got two completely different fathers you could model yourself after if you want to be more like Zeus or Amphitryon. Or you could make up something that's completely yourself."
"Our kids won't think I'm a loser, will they?"
"They'll be half Theban. They're going to say some stuff we'll all regret. But there's never been a Theban child with a better chance at life than yours will have. We're a downtrodden people; you're just the antidote we need. You're about to make Theban history."
"You're probably right…" Hercules kissed her temple. "You always are. Do you think you're ready to start… that?"
"Only if you are. If not, there's no shame in putting it off and doing something we're more comfortable with."
"I don't want to lose a chance this good; life always seems to ruin things when they're about to get to the best part."
"That's a funny way to pronounce 'Phil always gets in the way,' but I'll accept it as part of your accent."
The hilarity registered on Hercules's face. "Call it a dialect," he muttered, running his hand up and down her back while tucking his face into the side of her neck. He took long, heavy breaths of her and moaned softly. "Theoi, you feel good… I… think I do want you."
"I noticed. I'll follow your lead wherever it goes."
His laugh rumbled and shook them both. "Are you sure you want to promise that when I might lead us way off course?"
"As long as I go with you, I'll get to help right the ship."
"I like the sound of that." Hercules brushed his nose against hers. "So… if we start now, will you be able to walk during the ceremony?"
"I think so, but if I can't, it's your fault."
Hercules rubbed his hands up and down her body and rested his brow against hers. "I won't ruin you until we have time aside just for us. We've gotta be in public today, so… all we'll do now is a preview for tonight."
A shudder ran through them both. At first, Megara thought it was with anticipation, but she recognized the bitter taste of foreboding.
"If that's what you think is best, we can wait for a day."
"Tonight, though," Hercules promised as he wrapped her in his arms and rolled back under the covers with her. "For now… let's steal another hour of sleep."