Your legs trembled as you finally dared to approach the door of the cupboard again.

Odin had already left, but his presence still was in the room like a heavy cloth.

Heimdall seemed to have already forgotten you. Deep in thought, he stared at the floor beneath his feet while chewing on the nail of his thumb.

Only when you pushed open the doors did he look up, surprised by the sound.

"You...", his voice was neither smug nor confident nor angry.

He was simply tired.

With a worried look you approached him. Your hand reached out again, desiring to touch him, but pulled back once more.

Why did you feel the need to feel his warmth in your palm so often lately?

Or was it possibly just pity?

His eyes were drawn to the movement. For a moment he seemed to consider what to do.

He probably would have knocked your hand away if he had had the strength to do so.

Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and let out a deep breath. His shoulders slumped.

"We should get out of here as soon as possible.", he said, and went over to the wardrobe to pull out a mangle. "Put this on. It'll be a little big, but it'll do."

Without looking at you, he threw the piece of cloth over you and hurried to the door to listen if the coast was clear outside.

His smell crawled up your nose as you threw the coat over your shoulders. He must have worn it not long before.

As if in a warm embrace, you closed your arms around yourself to hide your face inside the coat.

A smile appeared on your lips.

For some reason it felt good to wear his clothes.

"Don't dawdle!", Heimdall growled from the doorway.

His foot tapped impatiently on the floor. He was nervous.

Since when was the god of foresight, the one who knew everything, nervous?

You quickly rushed to his side, stretched your neck and glanced into the hallway.

All was quiet.

"Go to the left.", he said and pushed you forward without waiting. "Walk quickly, but not hastily. Stay to my right, but slightly behind me. And if anyone crosses our path, bow your head."

With a nod you began to move.

You were surprised that he was so specific. However, he must have had a reason for it, after all, he already knew what difficulties there would be before they could show themselves.

With your head down, you did exactly what he told you to do, lowered your head and walked behind him.

The sheath of his sword rubbed over his white tunic whenever he took a step.

You kept your eyes lowered, but dared to look up high enough a few times to see Heimdall's hips.

His hands were clenched into fists. He walked with powerful steps, as if he wanted to make the ground tremble beneath his feet.

But he was not his brother, neither in nature nor in size.

So all he could do was run loudly.

At that moment you realised how much Heimdall was trying to acquire qualities that the Allfather might have considered useful.

Thor was feared for his size and sheer physical strength. He was not particularly clever, but his wife seemed to possess wisdom in return.

If one paid close attention, Heimdall bore a resemblance to her. But only minimally.

Baldur had always been known for his cruelty. Even if he had gone mad at some point due to the curse, he had always had little compassion for others and had usually been ruthless in his actions.

Heimdall also had certain signs of this cruelty, albeit more verbal.

In addition, he was haughty and treated others, like Erik, with little respect. Just as Odin would do.

It was as if he tried to take a part of each god and combine it into himself for his own benefit. He wanted to be superior to them all and beat them with their own weapons.

But what emerged was a man who did not know who he was. All he knew was what he had to be to be useful.

Like the perfect tool. Useful, but not fulfilling.

A heavy sigh left your lips.

Suddenly Heimdall stopped.

You failed to pay attention and collided with his back. Out of reflex you raised your hands to hold onto his clothes.

A displeased sound escaped his lips. But he knew that this was not the time to scold you.

Slowly his eyes wandered over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of your face.

The hood of the coat hung half over your eyes. You could hardly recognise him, but you felt his gaze on you. So you met him with a friendly smile.

"I can't read your thoughts.", he murmured with a strange expression in his eyes. "But I know what silence means. Don't pity me. This is exactly what I want. To serve the All-Father."

The smile on your lips faded.

You swallowed hard. There was so much dedication in his words, no doubt visible in those pink eyes of his.

And yet, something about his words made you feel incredibly sad.

With your lips pressed into a thin line, you nodded and let go of him.

Somehow it felt like the emptiness in your hands made the palms go icy. As if you had lost a source of warmth and comfort.

"Let's move on.", you said and wanted to push past him.

But all of a sudden his hand jumped forward to pull you back by the shoulder.

"Wait.", his gaze rose to check out the hallway that crossed your path ahead. "No, let's take another way."

He pulled you back.

"Why?", you threw a glance over your shoulder.

Heimdall didn't answer. He kept his lips sealed and his face stone cold.

All at once, the ground started to shake.

Goosebumps crawled all over your back.

Thor was about to arrive.

Of course Heimdall didn't want to meet him right now. After all, the two brothers were mad with each other.

And it was probably too big of a shame as well since the god of thunder must have known that his brother had been scolded by the Allfather.