Bound by the Mark of Lies (BL)

The room devolved quickly, Arik groaning into his latte as Orfeo poked at him with relentless glee, Cecil slipping in barbed remarks with surgical precision.

"You'll collapse before the first council session," Cecil murmured, voice cool.

"Better than you, you insufferable…" Arik started.

"Boys," Orfeo interrupted brightly, smirking as he leaned into the armrest. "Don't fight. We all know I'll be Emperor one day."

That earned a stunned silence before Arik nearly choked on his drink, Cecil's brow arched with cutting disdain, and Orfeo grinned wider.

Across the room, Gabriel exhaled slowly, brown eyes soft but gleaming, the faintest smile tugging at his lips. Damian caught it, leaning back in his chair with his glass in hand, golden eyes warm with something rare: amusement and pride bound together.

"Three menaces," Damian muttered, voice low but edged with laughter. "And somehow, they're all ours."

Gabriel hummed, sipping his water, pale fingers resting lightly on the armrest. "I should regret it. But look at them." His smile sharpened. "Each one worse than the last. Perfect."

Damian laughed, shaking his head. "You're impossible."

"And thorough," Gabriel added smoothly, already used to the years of chaos.

They sat together in companionable silence, watching their sons spar, Arik dramatic and exasperated, Cecil sharp and composed, and Orfeo fearless and mischievous, three different kinds of storm born of the same blood.

For a moment, even with twins on the way, it felt less like a burden and more like an empire already secure.

The quarters were finally quiet. Edward had retreated, muttering about resignation forms; the boys had been herded out, still sniping at one another as they went. Only the faint hum of the wards remained, steady and enclosing.

Damian stood at the window, golden eyes fixed on the city beyond, his glass untouched in his hand. Gabriel watched him from the couch, brown eyes sharp, his pale frame relaxed in a way that spoke of deliberate control rather than ease.

"You haven't said what you're really thinking," Gabriel murmured.

Damian let out a breath, setting the glass aside. "I thought we were done."

Gabriel's lips curved faintly. "So did I."

He rose, crossing the room with unhurried grace. Damian felt the brush of his presence before the touch itself, pale fingers pressing against his wrist, steady and cool.

"You did something," Gabriel said softly, brown eyes catching his golden ones. "You don't get to look that surprised otherwise.

Damian's jaw flexed, but he didn't pull away. "I've been taking suppressants. To curb the ruts. To cut the edge from the fertility. I didn't want to risk it, not when your body has already carried more than enough. It worked for… twelve years."

Gabriel blinked once, then laughed under his breath, sharp and amused. "Of course you did."

"I meant to protect you," Damian pressed, golden gaze fierce. "I swore after Orfeo there wouldn't be more. I wouldn't let fate or biology bleed you hollow."

"And yet," Gabriel murmured, fingers curling more firmly around his wrist, "here we are. Fate has other ideas."

Damian groaned, leaning his forehead briefly against Gabriel's shoulder. "Twins. With suppressants. It shouldn't even be possible."

Gabriel's smile curved, wicked and serene. "Which is precisely why it happened. You should know by now, fate bends for me, never the other way around."

Damian huffed out a laugh, low and unwilling, wrapping his arms around him. "You'll be the death of me."

Gabriel tilted his head, lips brushing against his temple. "Not before I make you a father again."

Damian groaned again, but his laugh was warm, golden eyes closing as he held Gabriel tighter.

Damian's arms tightened around Gabriel, his jaw pressed hard against the pale curve of his neck. For once, there was no smirk, no gleam of mischief in his golden eyes, only the raw edge of protectiveness he rarely allowed to show.

"I should have known," he muttered, voice low, nearly rough. "I should have scented it the moment it happened. But the suppressants dulled everything. I didn't even realize until Edward spoke."

Gabriel's fingers slid into his cropped black hair, steady, soothing, grounding him the way nothing else ever could. "That was the point, Damian. You buried yourself under inhibitors, and everything stopped until now. You can't blame yourself for not noticing."

Damian pulled back just enough to see his face, golden gaze fierce in its frustration. "But I do. Because while I was busy trusting medicine, you were carrying them for weeks without me knowing. Without me guarding you." His hand cupped Gabriel's cheek as if he could anchor him in place, unyielding. "That will not happen again."

Gabriel's lips curved faintly, brown eyes gleaming with amusement. "Protective as always."

A rough laugh escaped Damian, unwilling, threaded with disbelief. "Protective, perhaps. Effective? Hardly." He leaned back a fraction, jaw tightening. "I should march to the physicians tomorrow and demand to know how twins slipped through while I was swallowing suppressants like they were morning coffee."

Gabriel's smile sharpened, wicked even through his exhaustion. "They'll panic. Half of them already think you're a law of nature, not a man."

Damian's mouth curved, but there was no humor in it, only the rough edge of disbelief. "Then let them panic. I want answers."

Gabriel's fingers brushed lightly against his wrist, pale and cool against the tension burning there. "You won't like them. The answer is simple: fate doesn't bend for you, only for me."

Damian's arms tightened around him, drawing him closer until there was no space left. His golden gaze burned, protective to the point of rawness. "Then swear it to me. No more overreaching. No speeches that run you ragged, no late hours drowning yourself in reports. Nothing taxing, Gabriel. Not while you're carrying them."

Gabriel tilted his head back, lips curving faintly, eyes gleaming with mischief even through the exhaustion. "You'd have me caged in the chambers like some precious jewel."

"Yes," Damian said, without hesitation, the word sharp as steel. "Until they are born. Until you are safe. I did it three times, and for sure I would do it the fourth."

Gabriel let the silence stretch, the corners of his mouth twitching as if savoring the severity in his husband's face. Then he laughed softly, low and wicked. "You don't ask for much, do you?"

Damian's jaw flexed, unyielding. "Swear it, Gabriel."

Brown eyes met gold, sharp as ever. Gabriel lifted a hand, tracing a pale finger down Damian's cheek. "I'll swear to this: I won't be reckless. But I won't be silent either. You married a strategist, not a relic."

Damian groaned, pressing his forehead against Gabriel's again, half in surrender, half in exasperation. "You'll be the death of me."

"And still," Gabriel murmured, his smirk curving, "you'd follow."