Kuza's chest heaved up and down as he fought to catch his breath. His dominant got off of him to give him room to breathe. Croc laid down beside him, pulling him in closer. A thunderstorm raged on outside. It seemed they're becoming more and more frequent. They didn't mind at all. Making love during a storm was extremely romantic to them.

"You wear me out, Baby." Croc admitted. He petted his hand over Kuza's hair, helping him to calm down after one of their most intense encounters yet.

"I never thought I'd see the day." He replied, "Maybe you're getting old." 

"Hm, I'll admit, I have been thinking about the future a lot. This whole planning ahead thing instead of being reckless does make me feel a little old. A lot of things are going to start changing. As soon as Covey's well enough, he's going to began thawing out Hell. Jasper's going to rebuild the kingdom, and Apollo will finally be allowed the thrown he deserved all along. 

Covey and Thursday have already decided they'll be staying with him in Hell. He'll need their help to make sure this goes right. He's asked me to come as well, to have a commanding role in the kingdom, but I'm not quite sure that's what's best for you and me. I'd like it to be your decision, though. Do you want to go with them, or would you rather stay here?"

"Honestly," Kuza glanced up at him, "I'd rather stay here. It's calm, but you know I'll support whatever decision you make. I'd understand if you'd want to be with your brothers."

"No. I want to stay here. I'll fight if I have to, when Jasper asks it of me, but I'm not going to go looking for trouble. I like my life to be simple." He smiled and kissed the top of his pet's head. "Vampires have something similar to branding, right?"

"Mhm, marking. It's permanent, since vampires mate for life. We consider it our equivalent of marriage. Of course, there are some people like Ghost and Ricky that have an actual wedding ceremony, but others like Chris and Ange never did." He explained. 

"It's very similar to how demons look at branding, except the placement of a branding determines it's meaning. When it's on the back of your neck, it means you're my property. That one can be removed, too, since some trade their slaves and pets. The one that can't be removed is a mating mark. They call it the Après La Mort. That goes right between the collar bones." He gently traced his finger over that very area, making Kuza giggle.

"Stop! That tickles!" He smiled.

"Sorry, lovely." Croc chuckled, intertwining their hands, "I can't help myself. Your smile is addicting. I never want to live without it. That's why I'd like to ask your permission to remove your branding and in turn, give you the Après La Mort."

Kuza turned from his back onto his stomach to be able to look at him better. "Are you serious?" He asked, "Isn't that the demon equivalent of a wedding band?"

"Yes, Beautiful. If you were to accept, I'd want you to mark me as well. I've finally made peace with my past, and I want to create my future with you. I know I've done some bad things before, but that's all behind me. I love you, and you're the only thing in my life that matters now. Will you marry me?"

His ruby red eyes welled up with tears, "Is that even a fucking question? Of course I will!"

Croc smiled brightly, wiping his submissive's eyes. "Don't cry, my love."

"It's happy tears. I'm sorry, I know I'm being a little bitch." He laughed, "Crying's not really my thing, but that's just how much I love you. You're the only person I'd cry for."

"Oh, Baby, I don't want to see you cry, though. Now, let me see the back of your neck." He spoke as he sat up. 

Croc pulled his legs under him to be sitting Indian style. Kuza crawled into his lap, sitting backwards so his neck was facing his. He gently brushed his hair out of the way to reveal the marking on the back of his pale skin. It stuck out among all his tattoos due to the shine of magic in it. 

Only the demon who placed a branding can ever remove it. Croc ran his finger tips along the curves of Kuza's back. The vampire tried his best not to shiver, knowing it was best to stay still. His dominant whispered something that was inaudible to him. The mark on the back of his neck lifted off like flower petals blowing in the wind. He gently pulled Kuza's long black hair back into place.

"That was long overdue." He said, pressing his hands along the smaller's shoulders. "You aren't my slave. I only ever did it before because I was scared someone would take you away from me. I know better now. I know you love me too much to leave. It was just hard to believe someone could love me as much as you do." 

"I could say the same about you. I was a real piece of shit when we met, but when you decided to start cleaning your act up for me, I thought I owed it to you to do the same. Just think, if we'd never met each other, we'd both probably be pretty fucked up still."

He hummed as he brought his big hands around Kuza's torso. "Love can change someone forever. We were lucky enough it changed us for the better. Once I place the Après La Mort on you, it can never be removed. You're absolutely sure?"

"Yes!" Kuza replied anxiously, "Of course I am!" 

If he had a tail, he'd probably be waging it right now. Croc chuckled, "Alright, calm down."

He blushed, "Sorry. Will it hurt? My branding did."

"No, it won't. It's not like a branding. You might feel a little high, though. The spell used to create the Après La Mort will release something into the body that's a lot like THC. It's a small amount though, and I'm sure it'll wear off pretty fast." 

"I've got a high tolerance for those types of things anyways." Kuza replied.

He readjusted in Croc's lap to face him. Compared to the demon, he was small. He fit in his lap like a puppy in a basket. Croc leaned in and gently kissed him. The blankets may have covered their lower halves but they were completely bare skinned. Their bodies were drawn together like magnets. 

Croc took the edge of his sharp nail, using it to draw on Kuza's skin. The way he did it didn't hurt him at all. If anything, it tickled somewhat. He whispered some words Kuza couldn't really understand. They were a different language, sounding ancient. Vampires didn't really know those types of things, considering very few were born in Hell. For a demon like Croc, it was programmed into him from birth. 

As he spoke, he traced a triangle in between Kuza's collar bones. Then he began to create a vine like pattern branching out from it. The magic that flowed through his body made him feel like he was on a cloud. He would've never expected this from a demon's mating ritual. It was a lot different for vampires. Each demon had a mark specific to them. Croc's rose slowly along his baby's chest, creating a symbol that could never be removed. It was now a symbol of his love that he could proudly wear.

"Feel okay?" He gently asked once he was done.

Kuza snickered, "Yeah, I'm fine. I told you it wouldn't bother me. I wish I could say the same about marking. It'll hurt, a lot. It's a lot worse on someone who's not a vampire."

"I can take the pain. This is me we're talking about, after all." Croc gently lifted his head up, "I'd do anything for you."

He softly smiled, "Okay... Where do you want me to do it? It'll leave a permanent mark. You might have seen Ghost's wrist is purple because that's where Ricky marked him."

"Why don't you bite my shoulder? That way we can have ours is relatively the same place. Plus, it'll be in a place everyone will see."

"Creatures will smell it long before they see it... Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes," Croc reassured him, "I know even after all that's happened, a demon and a vampire being together is still pretty taboo, but I don't care. I'll kill anyone who doesn't like it."

Kuza looked up at him briefly. He could see it in his eyes that he meant it. To know someone cared about him that much, it made him feel so happy he could explode. He crawled in closer, as close as he could, and gently started kissing down Croc's skin. Kuza had never tried to bite him, but now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't even sure if he could get through the demon's skin. His teeth were pretty sharp, but Croc's scales were as tough as armor.

He managed to bite through them. That was only because Croc lowered his defenses to make it possible. He drew in a sharp breath as his sweet vampire's teeth dug into him. A vampire bite was never more painful than a bee string. However, when their teeth are coated with their venom, it was a much different story. Just as Kuza wasn't expecting the Après La Mort to be so painless, Croc wasn't expecting this to be so painful.

Kuza injected his venom into his dominant's bloodstream slowly. It would go throughout his entire body, but a bundle of it would collect at the site of the bite to act as a source. Once a vampire's venom is in someone's system, it'll never leave. It'll attack any other vampire that tried to drink from him. The pheromone it puts off will let any creature know exactly who he belongs to.

Croc tried to slow his breathing as the venom raced through his body. His heart was working in overtime to deal with it. Kuza slowly removed his fangs, hearing a small groan from his love. He wished he could be happier for their new commitment to each other, but he was more worried about how badly he'd hurt the one he loved. Croc was a little paler than normal. He was having some trouble adjusting. It didn't help that he'd put out a lot of energy marking Kuza.

"Hm, what'd you say to a nap?" He tiredly asked.

"Yeah," Kuza softly replied, "That sounds good."