Ok, next chapter and I appear to be on something of an inspirational role. That said, it's worth getting this out now before the end of Hellatus totally distracts me tomorrow or Saturday while I scrabble around for a computer that isn't from the dark ages of computing.

Binding.

Gabriel is reading when he comes across it, sparking an idea that lingers for days and refuses to be locked away or denied. The book is one of Gaia's that Hecate has brought from the library in order to protect it better; a detailed description of the lives and customs of the pagan pantheons. Many of them Gabriel is aware of, has been a part of over his time as Loki, others come as a complete surprise to him. The majority of them are easily brushed aside. The customs surrounding bonding, however, are news to him.

Gabriel has never taken the link that he shares with Hecate for granted, and he has never assumed that it is something that she has entered into lightly. He is aware that it was not her preferred option for joining him with Loki in the first place, just as he is aware that she spent a great deal of time trying to break it. The fact that she has accepted both it and him makes him very happy, but there is now that nagging thought that she could regret it. There is now the worry that they have gone about this all in the wrong way.

Now that she is going to have his child Gabriel has taken to thinking back on their relationship. He has taken to thinking about all the time together that they have lost over the years that they spent apart, the amount that he had to grow in order for him to see that his attraction to Hecate was mutual. It gives him time to mourn on the thought that though they have made small gestures to show their love and affection for one another, though they have saved each other's lives, neither one has ever made a romantic gesture to that end. Normally such a thought or action is the furthest thing from Gabriel's mind, a fleeting moment of thought where he will snap up a playmate to give her a massage or prepare her favourite sweet treat from the air around them.

He has never once been deliberately romantic.

Nor has she, really, when he lets himself think about it. Every now and again he will see a sparkle in her eyes, a momentary hint that she might give it a try, before the impulse seems to be gone. The idea has been nagging at him for days, and the more he thinks about it the more he reasons that it is a good one. The more he considers the possibility that it is a good idea the more he knows that it is something that they should do. It makes him think that this is just what they need to show the others that they are completely serious about what they are doing, it makes him think that perhaps it will get the message across to the others that neither one of them is ashamed of their love for one another.

More than that, however, it makes him realise just how much he really does love her. It makes him realise that he does not want to do this for the political reasons, or for the security that it will give them in leaving them unchallenged. He wants to do this because he wants to be with her. He wants to do this so that he can show her just how much he loves her.

It may well be the most important question that he ever asks her and he needs to get the setting just right.

Hecate is nearly five months pregnant by this point, her stomach seems to be getting larger every day and she is starting to show the strain of extra weight and extra hormones. The scene he sets in their luxurious bathroom is sensitive to that. He sets lightly scented candles around their large bath, big enough for two, and fills it with hot water. Sticky baklava is placed next to a sweet grape juice, strawberries and Belgian chocolates also form a part of their bath time picnic.

"What's all this for?" Hecate asks as she disrobes. Her gait is a little less graceful now, the skin of her abdomen taught. Gabriel stands behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder and his hands on her stomach so that he can feel the brief shift of the developing life inside her. She leans back against him as he brushes his lips against her neck, feeling the gentle tickle of her red black hair and the cool press of her skin.

"Can't I do something nice for the mother of my child?" He asks. She laughs, the vibrations of it rippling through him until she steps away and gets into the tub.

"Sometimes you do," she grins at him, shuffling so that he can join her, "but it's usually when you want something."

He has to concede that point. Gabriel and Hecate have been together too long for meaningless gestures. This is far from meaningless, however, as far as Gabriel is concerned this may be the most important thing he has ever done in his existence.

"I've been thinking," he starts and she laughs at him, her eyes sparkling with the inevitable but undelivered jibe. "I'm serious, Hecate. Will you join with me in the Binding Ceremony?"

Her silence is stunned, dark eyes luminous with tears. Though they are already bonded the Binding Ceremony is ancient and powerful. Few couples have ever taken part in it and the significance of it is astounding to them both. This is an open and clearly visible declaration that they belong to each other; this will place Hecate's mark upon Gabriel and his brand upon her. There will be no turning back from this, no changing their minds at a later date.

"Yes," she breathes. "Always."

He thinks for a long moment that his heart may burst from the chest of his vessel as he gathers her into his arms and kisses her for a long time.

Fluffy mush! What's going on with my head?

Artemis