#helbrecht

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You had to stop your needle when the commotion, which started as a small echoing of heavy footsteps, reached the garden of your house.

"Lord Uriel, please, the Infanta is not ready to receive any—"

"Marjory, I never cared so little!"

Uriel entered the garden, his robes disheveled, a small line of sweat crossing his temple from the run, and a glint in his eyes made you stand up to acknowledge him.

"Lord Uriel, what are you—"

"MY LOVE!" His words catch you like his hands, suddenly and without notice, spinning you in the air like nothing, only for this action to be interrupted by his lips on yours.

You had to fight to not melt, separating yourself from him, your hair a mess and the reddish tone of your embarrassment reaching your ears.

"URIEL! My father is in the house. What are you doing?!"

"Haven't you heard?! Don't you read the news?!"

He laughed, holding out to you a copy of the royal parchment, the ones that usually are distributed to the people in public areas. You rode it, then again and again, your eyes filling with tears of joy, of disbelief, and of relief.

"It's…it's true? It's really true?!"

"By the command of the Imperial Regent, he decrees that, in immediate effect, every member of the Adeptus Administratum can unite in political or personal unions without consequences of persecution!"

He laughed at his own words while your tears destroyed your makeup, but you couldn't be happier. He kissed you again, ignoring your father roaring from the door and your maid trying to calm him down while laughing and trying to explain to him the news.

"Marry me!" Uriel finally said without one trace of fear, "Marry me and free me from the fear of losing you to one of those lords!"

"OH THRONE PLEASE, YES!"

///

"Is it…really going to be a good idea?"

Dante kept on staring at the series of requests from his brothers, blessing to be united with the ones they loved. Some were serfs; others were Mechanicus, with whom they grew closer; others were their own battle brothers, with whom they had fought close to each other. He sighed when another stack of requests joined the previous ones, this one being so full that you needed to massage your shoulder for some relief.

"I don't know… I GENUINELY don't know…surely." He signed another request: "My brothers are clearly satisfied with the turn of events."

"…So are you, my lord."

You have noticed how more talkative he was today and how he did not grumble or start fixing the ceiling of his office. His quills stood on the document for a second, then a glimpse of a smile came to his face.

"Yes… Kind of, my dear, kind of. But we never were in need of permission, right?"

His eyes turned to your earring, a shiny red blood drop that swayed alongside the movement of your head. It was identical to the twin on Dante's earlobe; the only difference was the greenish emerald.

"Not at all, my lord."

He smiled, still wondering how such a precious thing like you could decide to stay close to him.

///

The blade shifted under the dim light. Helbrecht admired his work one last time before two slim arms started to slither across his neck from behind, caressing the scarred shoulder and the insignia on his chest.

"It seems the Ultramar had started to accept the idea of a union between their sons and their missing soul part."

"Is it not better?" You peppered his cheek with kisses while he gave enough access to it. "You had always said that marriage made us stronger…"

"Which we are…"

"And that way, your cousins would start to see the holy union under the emperor, and the better it'd be for everyone, right?"

He responded to your kisses by guiding you to his lap, holding you in his arms, and enjoying your loving warmth.

"You have a sharper mind than I expected, my little minx…"

"You also promised to gift me this night for us, my beloved…"

"A templar never goes back on his words…"

And with the same hands that had slaughtered thousands of enemies, he guided you again towards his lips.

///

Vulkan needed a few more looks at the message before a smile could crack his face. You needed to stop hammering before you could actually hear his laughing voice echoing in the forge.

"Oh…Oh throne! Brother, you…oohh, how proud I am!"

You removed your protective glasses and your gloves before marching towards his hunched figure, the light of a pad under his nose.

"What? Did they finally get rid of those Tyranids?"

"No little drake, no! Look!" He showed you the news on his data-pad; a blue light illuminated your features and the few stains of charcoal on your face. You coughed a little, only to make a quite satisfied impression.

"I thought it was legal! I mean, I saw your son having things like that!"

"Just because I allowed it, that doesn't make it immediately approved, little one!" He laughed again, passing his massive hand on your hair, a few clouds of dust escaping from it. "I'm just…happy to know that Roboute had finally decided to do something different for his sons and other members of the Imperium!"

"I don't see how things would differ… But you were the married one here, so it's not like I can discuss it!"

You sighed, opting to go back to your work, ignoring the look of longing and deep love that the Primarch had started to give you.

You were a little clueless about everything, especially about his feelings.

///

"Well, things went…well, I guess!"

"It was a success!" you said with that tone that tried to hide how excited you were about the recent events. Roboute too could not hide that same grin on his face.

A few days, a few days of settlement, and now the newly opened center of civil union was already operative and full of work. That was beyond your expectation, especially when you saw Cato reading about the procedure to officialize the union between members of different departments.

"Things are going to change… I hope for the better."

"I'm starting to feel quite foolish to have doubted this plan."

"You had your fear, and so did I. But now we'll have some…more work to do."

"Please, Robo, leave this matter to me! You need to leave this out, or you're going to pass out!"