Gabriel finally tilted his chin, giving way to the kiss that followed. The warmth of Damian's mouth met his with steady pressure, lips unbearably soft, careful in the way they moved against his own. The faint taste of wine lingered on Damian's tongue, deepening the flavor of him, rich and intoxicating, sliding into Gabriel's mouth when he parted his lips.

Damian kissed as though mapping every contour he already knew, drawing Gabriel into a rhythm that burned hotter with each passing second. The slow press of lips became a coaxing glide, the slick slide of tongues tangling with every stroke intended to leave Gabriel trembling.

Gabriel's fingers fisted in the front of Damian's coat, pulling him closer until their chests brushed, heat passing between them in waves. A faint sound escaped him, only to be swallowed into the kiss as Damian tilted his head, deepening it further, angling his mouth to take Gabriel apart with nothing more than patience.

The kiss was controlled, intoxicating, the kind of kiss that left Gabriel's pulse stuttering, that stole the air from his lungs until breathing seemed irrelevant. Damian's mouth claimed, tasted, his teeth grazing Gabriel's lower lip before soothing the sting with the soft drag of his tongue, a contrast so sharp it made Gabriel's body shiver.

When they finally drew apart, their lips were still brushing, breath mingling, neither willing to give the distance back. Gabriel's mouth was swollen, parted, his chest rising with shallow pulls of air. "You kiss me," he whispered, voice roughened, "like you're writing laws into my skin."

Damian's answering smile ghosted against his mouth, golden eyes molten with certainty. "Because I am."

Gabriel's lips curved, breath still uneven. "This is how you tell me that we should start trying for a second child?"

"You promised me five."

"Mhmmm…" Gabriel hummed, tilting his head back as Damian's mouth brushed his throat. "I was young and naïve."

"Not excusable," Damian murmured, teeth grazing lightly over the bond mark before soothing the spot with his tongue.

The sound Gabriel made was half a laugh, half a sigh, swallowed quickly when Damian kissed him again, deeper, more demanding now, a claim written in the press of lips and the slide of tongues. Their bodies found the bed, layers of fabric falling in careless heaps to the floor, the trappings of Emperor and Empress stripped away until there was nothing left but heated skin and the low sound of their breathing.

Damian lowered him into the mattress, his weight settling over Gabriel, their mouths never parting for long. Each kiss was drawn out, meant to leave Gabriel's lips swollen and his chest heaving. His hands traced the familiar planes of Gabriel's body as if re-memorizing them, every touch both worship and possession.

"You always take your time," Gabriel whispered, though his voice hitched as Damian's mouth wandered lower, charting the line of his collarbone, the curve of his ribs, each kiss slower than the last.

"I'll never get tired of this," Damian answered against his skin, golden eyes lifting to catch Gabriel's, fierce even in reverence. "Never of you."

His words sank into the air between them, thickened by the pheromones that had already begun to saturate the chamber. Damian's scent wrapped around Gabriel, coiling low in his stomach, stoking the heat already flowing through his veins. Gabriel's own pheromones answered, sharp and intoxicating, a dominant omega's defiance tangled with surrender, filling the space until the wards themselves hummed faintly under the weight of it.

Their bond reacted instantly, that invisible thread tightening, alive, sparking in his chest like fire pulled taut. Every thrust sent the connection pulsing, golden threads of ether flaring where skin met skin, where mouths clung and parted, and where teeth grazed and tongues tangled. Gabriel gasped into Damian's mouth, the sound swallowed whole, his body tightening around his alpha in instinctive claim, his every nerve alight with the mix of scent and touch.

"You're driving me crazy." Gabriel said, his body rising to meet every thrust of his alpha.

Damian moved with maddening patience, dragging each motion out until Gabriel trembled beneath him, thighs straining to hold his weight, nails leaving crescents in the hard lines of Damian's shoulders. The deeper he drove, the more the air grew heavy, heady with them, the musk of their pheromones mingling until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

"Damian…" Gabriel's voice broke, low and raw, his head tipping back against the pillows, throat bared in instinctive offering. Damian's mouth found it immediately, teeth grazing the bond mark, lips sealing over it with possessive heat. The bond flared, searing through Gabriel's body, leaving him breathless and arching, the knot pressing harder at his entrance with each thrust.

And then Damian sank fully, the knot catching, locking them together with a guttural growl torn from deep in his chest. Gabriel's answering cry, half broken gasp, half vow, was swallowed into Damian's mouth as he kissed him through it, their lips parting, breaths clashing, each desperate for more even as the bond tightened and sealed around them.

The room was drenched in their scent now, alpha and omega wound together, musk sharp and heady, proof of claim written into the air as much as into Gabriel's trembling body. Damian's chest pressed against his, slick with sweat, heart hammering steadily against Gabriel's ribs as though to remind him who marked him.

Gabriel's hands slid up Damian's back, clutching him closer, voice unsteady but certain against his ear. "Yours," he breathed, silver eyes half-lidded, body still quivering from the aftershocks. "Always."

Damian held him tighter, the knot pulsing between them, golden gaze molten and unwavering. "And mine. Forever."

The words thrummed through the bond, echoing louder than any vow spoken before witnesses. Their scents still clung to the air, thick and heady, wrapping the chamber in proof of their union.

Gabriel exhaled slowly, the sharpness in his body softening into something quieter, more fragile. His head dropped against Damian's shoulder, lips brushing damp skin, tasting salt. The bond hummed steady between them, a living thing, resonating with each pulse of Damian's knot.

For a long moment, there was only their uneven breathing, in sync without thought. Then Gabriel's hand smoothed down Damian's spine, resting at the small of his back, fingers splayed in silent possession. "We're really doing this," he whispered, the words carrying more weight than the act itself.

Damian nuzzled into his hair, inhaling the sharp-sweet scent of his omega, his mate, the only balm that ever cut through the chaos of war and crown. "Yes," he murmured, voice roughened. "Arik will have a brother. Or a sister."

Gabriel huffed a quiet laugh against his throat, though his body curled closer still, pressed as tightly as the knot would allow. "You'll push for five again if I let you."

"You promised," Damian reminded, a spark of amusement glinting in his molten eyes.

"I was young," Gabriel repeated, though this time his tone softened, warmth curling at the edges. "But not so naïve anymore. I know what it means to give you this." His hand shifted upward, resting over Damian's heart, feeling its steady beat beneath sweat-damp skin.

Damian kissed him, swallowing the sharp truth of his words until all that remained was the promise. "It's not heirs I want," he murmured when they parted, his thumb stroking Gabriel's jaw. "It's more of you. More of us."

Something in Gabriel's chest tightened, undone by the simplicity of that truth. He closed his eyes, leaning into Damian's touch, letting the steady pulse of the knot and the mingled weight of their pheromones settle over him like a vow sealed in flesh.

When he spoke again, it was soft, resigned, and quietly certain. "Then let's not stop at vows tonight."

Damian's answering smile curved against his lips before claiming them once more, as the night wrapped around them, thick with the scent of bond and promise.