The desk rattled under them, every thrust relentless, until Gabriel's fingers clawed into Damian's back, pulling him closer, daring him harder. The wards hummed like a living thing, answering their bond, wrapping the study in the heat of them.

Damian's golden eyes locked with his, unwavering even as his breath came ragged, his knot swelling again at the base of him. Gabriel broke into laughter, sharp and breathless, his head tipping back against the desk.

"Unbelievable, you did this all night, then again in the morning, and now you're… ah…" his laugh cut into a gasp as Damian drove into him, knot locking them together, heat flaring until Gabriel's entire body trembled under him. "Shouldn't you have less stamina with age? You're forty-two."

Damian growled low in his throat, biting down at the bond mark with enough force to make Gabriel shudder. His voice rumbled against his skin, fierce and smug. "Forty-two, and still more than enough to ruin you."

Gabriel's laugh tore out again, half-pained, half-pleasured, fingers fisting in Damian's hair. "Gods save me from arrogant alphas and their delusions of youth."

"Not just delusion," Damian rasped, holding him flush as the knot swelled fully, sealing them. His lips brushed Gabriel's temple, heat in every word. "Proof. You said yes. And I will prove it until the world knows."

Gabriel groaned, tipping his head back against the desk, his smirk wicked despite the ache already curling through him. "If this is your idea of proof, then I'll be walking into council tomorrow looking like I've fought a war."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Gabriel snorted, though the sound cracked into another gasp when Damian shifted, dragging the edge of the desk against his spine with each punishing thrust. "You're insufferable," he hissed, silver eyes glinting with equal parts fury and want.

Damian only smiled against his skin, sharp and golden, as though he fed on the defiance. His scent thickened, alpha musk saturating the room until the wards pulsed with it, pressing down like a second weight. It coiled through Gabriel's lungs, heat curling low, every nerve drawn taut by the force of it.

"You love me insufferable," Damian growled, teeth grazing the bond mark again before his tongue soothed the sting, the mix of pain and reverence making Gabriel's body arch into him. Their bond flared, alive, sparking in his chest, heat and light searing through every vein until Gabriel's laugh broke again, wild and breathless.

"Love you, yes," he managed, fingers clawing down Damian's back hard enough to leave red tracks. "Tolerate your ego? Questionable."

Damian's hips ground deeper, the knot locking him tighter, a low, guttural sound tearing out of him as Gabriel clenched around him in answer. His golden gaze didn't waver, even as sweat beaded at his temples, every ounce of his focus burning into Gabriel.

"Well," Damian rasped, voice rough but steady, "you have to deal with it for at least two centuries."

Gabriel barked a laugh, sharp and breathless, before it broke into another gasp as Damian's hips pressed flush, the knot pulsing inside him, tethering them as surely as the bond. "Two centuries?" His voice wavered, mocking even through the tremor that shuddered down his spine. "Arrogant bastard, you'll be silver-haired and still chasing me across council chambers."

Damian caught his mouth in another kiss, swallowing the laughter, biting at his lip hard enough to draw a hiss. "Silver-haired, and still inside you," he growled against his tongue, golden eyes molten with certainty.

The wards thrummed harder, resonating with the bond, until the study itself seemed to vibrate under the heat of them. Their mingled scents, layered thick in the air, heavy enough that any Shadow walking past the sealed doors would know exactly what vow was being carved into the Emperor's study.

Gabriel's head tipped back against the desk, throat bared, chest rising and falling in sharp, uneven rhythm. His nails dragged again across Damian's back, leaving fresh marks to join the red welts already striping his skin. "You'll kill me at this pace."

"You'd rise again just to laugh at me," Damian answered, fierce, his golden gaze never wavering as his body pressed him deeper, their bond pulling tighter until Gabriel felt as though he were unraveling and being remade in the same breath.

The knot throbbed, sealing them, and Gabriel's smirk faltered into something rawer, his body trembling, pheromones spiking in helpless waves as his climax tore through him, every muscle bowing against the relentless cage of Damian's arms. His cry was muffled into Damian's mouth, swallowed like every other truth he never spoke aloud.

Damian followed with a guttural sound that shook his chest, burying himself deeper, knot swelling one final time as heat flooded through the bond, searing Gabriel from the inside out. For a moment, there was nothing but the thunder of their breathing, the electric hum of the wards, and the overwhelming saturation of scent and claim.

Then Gabriel let his head fall forward, damp hair clinging to his temple, his lips brushing Damian's jaw as his chest still heaved for air. "Two centuries…" he whispered, hoarse and wicked all at once. "Try surviving tomorrow first."

Damian laughed low, pressing his forehead to Gabriel's as he held him through the aftershocks. "I've survived wars, Gabriel. You're the only battle I never want to win."

Gabriel hummed and shifted his weight to make the desk's bite on his thighs bearable. The wood was unforgiving, his muscles aching, but Damian's weight and the knot still binding them left him pinned too tightly to care. His body quivered with every pulse of it, the aftershocks still rippling through his nerves, each throb a reminder of just how thoroughly his alpha had claimed him.

Damian caught the faint wince in his expression, his palm smoothing over Gabriel's thigh as if to soothe it, though the smug tilt of his mouth betrayed no apology. "The desk suits you," he murmured, golden eyes glinting, his voice rough with the gravel of spent breath.

Gabriel barked out a low laugh, half-broken by exhaustion, his head dropping against Damian's shoulder. "You would say that while I'm still trapped. Move me to the bed if you're going to keep me like this."

"You're not going anywhere until my knot eases," Damian countered, kissing his damp temple, his pheromones still thick in the air, coiling around Gabriel's sharper omega scent until the wards themselves hummed under the saturation. "And even then, I'm not done."

Gabriel groaned, though the sound was more indulgence than protest, his fingers dragging lazily across Damian's sweat-slick back. "Gods, you'll wring me dry at this rate. You've already had me three times since last night."

"Four," Damian corrected softly, lips brushing his ear. "And you said yes to every one." His hand traced Gabriel's side, reverent even in exhaustion. "You'll give me another child."

The bond pulsed at the words, a slow flare of heat running down Gabriel's spine, undeniable and heavy with promise. He shivered, caught between weariness and the low ache already curling back through his body, fueled by the mingling of their pheromones and the certainty in Damian's voice.

His lips curved wickedly despite the hoarseness of his tone. "Careful, Emperor. After five years, I might believe you weren't nearly as patient with me as I thought."

Damian's mouth ghosted against his jaw, teeth grazing the edge of his throat in a lazy threat that made Gabriel arch despite himself. "Five years was patience," he murmured, his breath hot and steady, his scent saturating the air until Gabriel's lungs burned with it. "Now it's time to collect what I've been waiting for."

Gabriel laughed, sharp and low, fingers sliding into Damian's hair to tug him back just enough that brown eyes met gold. "So all those vows about waiting until the Empire was ready, until I was ready… lies?"