Shrouded in silence, you walked beside Thor along the branches of space, one hand on the strap of your bag.

A violet glow covered the blue of the branches while thousands of stars danced around you. It had always seemed strange to you why stars could be seen from Yggdrasil but not the moon.

Even Tyr had never been able to answer that question.

"Aren't you going to say anything?", Thor suddenly asked into the silence.

Torn from your thoughts you eyed him from the corner of your vision.

"Why?", you asked with a soft expression. "Do you want me to convince you to turn back?"

A hum made his throat vibrate.

"I don't know."

"You seem unsure."

"I'm not."

"Then why want me to say something? You made up your mind."

All of a sudden he stopped in his tracks.

You looked at his back for a long moment.

The curves of his tattoos and the blue ink made your fingers twitch. Once more you felt the urge to touch him. Like then, you wanted to press your palms to his skin and trace the lines to plant kisses on the images beneath his skin.

Slowly he glanced over his shoulder to meet your gaze.

"I expected you to question my decision.", he finally said.

A snort made your nose vibrate.

"Just like Odin?", you asked with a raised eyebrow.

He took a deep breath.

"Like someone of sound mind."

You frowned.

"Your mind seems to work.", you said with a sarcastic grin. "You just don't use it that often."

The playful teasing elicited a soft snort and a smile.

"Would you do as I do?", he asked as his hand stroked Mjölnir's glistening steel.

"No.", you answered honestly.

"Then we should turn back."

He turned on his heels, had almost passed you, when you grabbed his arm and gently forced him to stop.

"Just because I would have chosen a different method doesn't mean you're wrong.", you looked up at him. "It simply means that I hadn't thought of that possibility."

His tired eyes lingered on your face.

"You trust me?", he asked.

You nodded.

"Everything is worth a try."

"What if we fail and he decides against us?"

A sigh left your lips.

"Pumpkin...", with both hands you grabbed his face to squeeze it like a small child until his lips plumped up. "Not everything can be secured with certainty. There will always be surprises. Even the best of plans can fail."

"But good plans carry less risk.", his huge paws wrapped around your wrists.

You could feel the power in his grip. If he had wanted to, he could have shattered your bones.

But he would never have done that. Thor was not cruel enough by his own nature. It was the influence of the All-Father that had turned him into the monster he wanted to get rid of.

If he could have, he would probably have taken his own life long ago. But even that was not something Thor would have done of his own free will. He was attached to life and enjoyed it. To his misery, he had simply not been met with good circumstances.

Exhaling a deep breath, you let go of his face. But to your surprise, he did not allow you to move away from him completely.

"If this attempt is not a good one...", his gaze locked with yours. "Then you will fix it, won't you?"

There was a glassy glint that trembled in his eyes.

Concern.

Fear of failure.

He was worried that his own decision would undo everything.

It broke your heart to see how much Odin strained his sons' self-confidence even though they themselves were the most powerful of all the gods of the nine realms.

And yet this old, vile man managed to treat them like vermin. As if he had fathered them only to have cattle for your work.

"We will let the future come to us.", you gave him a smile. "And then we will respond."

With a gesture you tried to get him to follow you in the direction of the house.

But Thor remained motionless. He stood there like a lost puppy and just stared after you.

You raised an eyebrow expectantly.

His gaze wandered to the sky.

You did the same.

Stars passed before your eyes like fish in a pond of glassy clear water. Somewhere in the far distance, something like a wind chime seemed to clink.

In the in-between world there was neither heat nor cold. No day and no night. It was never uncomfortable but it would never be cosy either.

This place was simply a part of everything and yet nothing whole.

You wondered if living beings could also be so important and yet so insignificant.

Tyr seemed a good example. He had been destined to call Ragnarok, to free the people of the giants from Odin's oppression. And right now he was gone. Probably forever. Over the past centuries, his name had become nothing more than a faint whisper, a legend.

And yet now you were in this place to follow Tyr's prophecy.

Fate had strange ways.

Only a few days ago you would have rather slit your throat than exchange a single word with Thor and now it felt as if you were as familiar as you were back then.

You hated and enjoyed it in equal measure.

But no matter how things turned out, you knew that the end was the only one that carried meaning. The thought made your heart grow heavy.

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes for a moment.

"Would you climb to the top with me?", it suddenly escaped you.

Thor's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Where to?", he asked.

You had to smile at your own folly.

"Let's climb to the highest point of Yggdrasil.", you said, looking over at him. "I want to look at the worlds."

"The boy...", Thor mumbled.

"He can wait. What does time matter? Everything will happen when it is supposed to. So? Will you join me?"

He hesitated.

"I'd love to."