Safe and Sound (Tag Aurora)

Hercules kept the blonde close in his arms as he carried her to a taxi, and pointed the taxi to the hotel. Once there, he carried her upstairs. He gently got the key from her pocket and unlocked the door before carrying her inside and shutting the door behind them. He sat onto the couch and cradled her in his arms, kissing the top of her head gently. "You're alright... I'm right here," He whispered gently into her ear.

As he carried her, Aurora buried her face into his shoulder, her tears refusing to subside. But, as he never let her go, she felt her heart at ease, inhaling his smell ever so slightly. She closed her eyes, trying to use his comfort to subdue the pain, but it didn't help. Her guilt surpassing any comfort he could prove, her cheeks continuously damped. By the time, they'd reached her suite, she found herself sniffling, feeling the congestion, the fire around her face, and the puffiness her features started whenever she cried too much. All symptoms that she was all too familiar with. As soon as she heard his voice, trying to soothe her, her body curled against his naturally. All she wanted to do was sob in his arms all night, not speaking a word, but venting through her actions. However, she felt selfish doing this, knowing damn well she didn't deserve his kindness. She opened her eyes, the light of her room assaulting the sensitivity in her eyes. She looks slightly up, seeing a part of Hercules face before leaning onto his shoulder.



"Thank you... For everything..." She whispers softly, not yet attempting to move out of his embrace. Just a second Her thoughts whispered, Just a second of feeling... wanted.

"Shh... Aurora, don't thank me. I'm doing this because I care about you. I don't need thanks," Hercules whispered, kissing her temple. He cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears from her skin before kissing her forehead. "I'll stay here as long as you'd like. If you want me to leave, I'll do that, too... I just want to know you're okay before I go anywhere," he explained, caressing her cheeks and looking at her with worried blue eyes.

Aurora looks at him, almost in disbelief, before shaking her head. quickly "P-please don't leave me... Just for one night..." She begs him, her fingers clinging onto his shirt lightly. "But... I don't deserve you being here with me..." She starts, looking down and letting go of his shirt. Even though it pained her, she moved away from his embrace. She folded her arms, showing physically how she was pushing him away. "Uh... I want to go wash up... Just... stay... for a bit while longer... please? I-...I want... I need to tell you something before you can say... you care about me... I don't want to hurt you, Hercules..." Her voice trails off as she looks into his eyes but she turns away quickly, starting to head into her bedroom. She quickly turns around. "There's... food in the fridge if you're hungry..." She says quickly, almost giving him something to do rather than just sit there, before going into the bedroom and closing the door.

Hercules watched her with sad eyes, hating to see her so shaken up. And to see her pushing him away. He didn't want to be pushed away. It made him feel useless. "Alright. Take your time. I won't leave," He assured her. He watched her go into her bedroom, then sighed and got up. He knew how to cook. Not as good as Megara, but he knew how. He went into the kitchen and fixed what he could of pasta, making enough for the both of them.

After a few minutes of taking a quick rinse, Aurora stepped in front of the mirror, inspecting her face. She sighs lightly at the red that appeared on her face, mostly around her eyes, cheeks, and nose. Her fingers traveled through the puffy places on her face and they brushed down her neck. She made a small noise as the redness now appearing across her neck gave a little sting of pain. As she looked closer, she could see Adam's fingers paw printed all around her neck. All the Anger he felt at her, she now felt burning around her neck. Aurora quickly brushes a tear away, pulling her hair into a messy pony, and slipping on a furry white robe, covering her neck to a little below her knees.

Aurora peaks out the door before walking out. She walks to the corner, leaning against it lightly and watching him. "I didn't know you could cook..."

Hercules looked over when he heard her speak up. "Me? Cook? Pft... I was just messing around in here... Did you enjoy your shower?" he questioned, mixing the pasta before straining it and serving it onto two plates. "Here... I wasn't sure if you were hungry, but..." he shrugged and then went to the fridge, finding two bottled waters. He set one by her plate, then opened his own, taking a long sip.

Aurora giggles lightly to his comment on his cooking. "Best way to cool off..." She answers his question with a slight shrug. "Thank you..." She looks down at the plate, grabbing a fork and pokes into the pasta. She eats a bit before trailing off into thought. "Hercules.... Why do you care for me...?" Aurora asks, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

Hercules pursed his lips and looked over at her with a creased brow. "I care for you because I see no reason to do otherwise," he said simply. "You're a sweet, beautiful, funny, smart girl. I've seen no reason to not care for you," He shrugged, not understanding why she would ask something so obvious.

Aurora listened to him, a smile playing on her lips before she looked down once more. "If only that was true...." She scoffs lightly, stabbing the fork into pasta. "Remember when I told you that you reminded me of someone that I used to love? Well, Once Upon a Time, he used to be my fiance... When I was born, both of our parents decided that we should get married to each other, helping the other's Power Status... I remember when we were growing up with each other, we hated each other's guts just like normal kids. Despite that, we played, laughed, cried, and grew up with each other. And before I knew it, I had fallen in love with him as did he" She smiled a bit remembering the happy times.

"... However" Her smile fades as she continued "... a few weeks before the marriage, his parents got into a terrible accident... costing both of their lives. He... changed... to say the least. Thrust in a world without his parents, alone, scared.... He snapped at anyone within distance. I tried having him talk to me but I wasn't being helpful. Pressuring him into talking to me, opening towards me, I was a fool.... He finally snapped at me one day. He said... so many hurtful things that broke my heart into so many pieces... I can still remember word by word..." She sighed lightly. brushing back the hair that fell in front of her face. "I never saw him again after that... I lost count of how many times I sobbed every day cause of it.... That Christmas... I did something horrible. Something no other sane human being would ever do... I just... didn't understand his feelings... But I only cared for myself and my hurt... So... I made sure that he felt my pain and suffering that he put me through and I made sure that no one will ever love him or even give him the time of day...."

Hercules listened silently, his expression changing to meet each point of her story. One expression he never showed was any distaste towards Aurora. He knew Adam was the man she was talking about. He could guess from their earlier confrontation. "Aurora... You're plan failed. Megara is in love with that boy -- I don't know why, but she is... You did do wrong, but so did he. You both learned from it. Aurora... It's not fair to blame yourself for everything," He sighed, moving over to stand beside her chair. He gently moved the robe away from her neck to expose her new bruises. "This. This is all I care about. You're hurt... Not just physically," He whispered, touching her cheek and getting her to look at him. "Adam is the one I see in the wrong right now."

"Bu-..." She goes to protest about the current Adam she wasn't talking about, but decided against it as she listened to him. Her blue eyes showed disbelief when he said Adam was in the wrong. "I shouldn't have provoked him though. I should have just left but all I said was cruel words. He changed because of Meg and I just reverted him back by bringing back cruel memories. I hurt him as well. More than just a bruise..."

Adam shook his head. "Aurora. Stop it. Meg can handle Adam... You were upset. He was upset. Things will work out... Please, please stop worrying," He pleaded, caressing both of her cheeks. He then leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, trying to ease her sorrow and comfort her. "Please... I don't like seeing you upset. You're too beautiful to stain your cheeks with tears," He whispered, hooking her hair behind her ears.

Aurora blinks as Hercules kissed her lips, now quiet from her useless ranting. She felt tears prick at his words before she makes a small face, one that resembles a small child. "I can't help it when you say such things..." She whines softly before reaching up, softly closing the distance between their lips. She places her hands on his cheeks as she closes her eyes, enjoying the tingles and sparks she felt in her stomach as she touched his skin.

"Just being honest, Aurora," Hercules whispered before gently pulling her up to help close the distance between them. He kissed her delicately, like he would break her otherwise. He wanted to comfort her -- to make her feel wanted and cared for. His hands were soft against the fabric of her robe, staying well to the middle of her abdomen, as he was respectful.

Aurora slowly wrapped her arms around Hercules's neck, her face feeling hot. She felt how delicate, soft his kisses and touches felt against her body. It felt foreign to her and it felt nice. She pulls away from the kiss ever so slightly, "Hercules.... Thank you... For being here with me... I wouldn't know what I would have done if you weren't there today..."

Hercules shook his head and gave her a tender smile. "There isn't anywhere Id rather be, Aurora," He whispered before kissing her again gently, his lips warm and tender again. He knew she was damaged, but he didn't care. He wasn't the most sound man alive. Hell, he went his entire childhood being rejected by everyone. His self esteem was shot to hell by that. But, even so, he was strong. He could be strong for the both of them.

Aurora smiles before eagerly kissing him back, her lips passionate against his. She felt herself at ease knowing Hercules would stay with her for the night. Even though there was a good chance he'd leave her also. No one this kind, this warm-heartening, this perfect would be left just to her. Some other, less damaged, less pained, less bitchy would come around and steal him from her. This thought process made her lips separate from his, giving him a warm smile before laying her head on his shoulder. "You're such a teddy bear... A strong one I might admit..." She says playfully.

Hercules chuckled and ran his hand along her back gently. "Eh... I'm pretty strong. But, nothing to brag about," He smiled sheepishly. He ran his hand through her damp hair and smiled a bit. "I try to be the guy you should want. I mean, I don't want to be some asshole or someone you tell bad stories about later," he said, scrunching up his face. "Plus... You need to feel wanted. Not mistreated," He shrugged. He kissed her lips again gently and smiled.

Aurora giggles, slapping her hand gently against his chest. "You need to stop being so modest." Aurora pulls away from his embrace, looking at him. She smiled at him and looks at her hand as it traced his chest idly. She didn't know how to react to his words, his actions. Ever since Adam, she never had someone who cared for her, even through the flaws and everything that trailed behind it. As he kissed her lips, she bit the bottom of her lip lightly. "I... don't want to hurt you Hercules..." She whispers, looking at his blue eyes.

Hercules tilted his head as she spoke of hurting him. "Aurora... You're not going to hurt me," He shook his head and cupped her cheeks. "You're so used to being in this position that you think its going to happen... I don't believe it will," He shrugged. "Besides. I'm strong, remember," He winked, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "C'mon," he lifted her up and carried her up to the bed. He laid onto the bed and laid her onto his chest. "Rest," He whispered, stroking her cheek tenderly.

Aurora listens to him and goes to speak but decides against it. How can one be so hopeful... As he started to carry her again, she didn't protest. It felt nice being in his arms, feeling protected, safe, wanted. As her head laid across his chest, she closes her eyes, hearing his soft breathing. Her hand reaches down and grabs his hand, interlacing her fingers with his. "Hercules... Tell me your story?" Aurora whispers before looking up at him slightly. "Unless you don't want to... you don't have to... I just want to know how... the most amazing guy I've ever met came to be this amazing..."

Hercules chuckled nervously and bit his bottom lip a bit. "My story...? Trust me, it's nothing interesting, really," He mumbled, shaking his head. "I... well, growing up, I was really clumsy. And, I always wanted to help people because I tended to break what I touched and screw things up really easily... My parents told me about a year and a half ago that they weren't my real parents. My real parents are Zeus and Hera," he mumbled, smiling sheepishly. "I couldn't go back to Mount Olympus, though, because only God's can live on Olympus. I had been turned mortal as a baby... I wanted to prove that I was a God, so I trained, and got to look like this... I used to be so shrimpy," he said, making a face and chuckling. "I took down so many monsters and got the towns people to love me... and Then I ended up here," He sighed, looking to her. "That's all I got," He smiled sheepishly.

Aurora looks at Hercules as he speaks, looking down and drawing circles around his chest idly. Aurora looks up at him, giving him a warm smile. "Well... If it's anything... you've done more for me than any other guy or god that I know... Godly strength or not..." She tells him, kissing his cheek ever so lightly before burying her face into his chest.

Hercules smiled a bit and kissed the top of her head. "Well... I'm glad I could be of some use, Miss Lovelin," He whispered, nuzzling his nose to the top of her head, too.