"(Y/N).", Thor's deep voice urged from the shadows like an incantation.

And perhaps that was even an appropriate term. Whenever he had called your name, with that thunderous voice that came after rain, you had fallen into his arms, no matter how many worlds had been between you.

It could have been all nine reals and death itself that had tried to keep you apart and yet you had always found each other again. Just as the sun and the moon were a pair, you had each been one side of the same coin.

How bitter it tasted that nothing and no one had been able to separate you, no matter how many times it had been tried.

Only Odin. Through the All-Father, of all people, it had failed.

You quickly glanced over your shoulder.

Loki had fallen back a little. He probably needed a moment to say goodbye to the house if he couldn't say goodbye to the people who drove him to help you.

Even if he didn't tell, it was obvious that his father was one of the reasons why the boy wanted to kill Odin. He wanted to protect his father.

Probably a prophecy had foretold his death.

Whatever his exact motives were, it should be fine with you, because it was your chance to use this boy for your purposes. It sounded worse than it really was. In the end, this was an alliance to serve the two of you, both for you and for everyone else involved.

"(Y/N).", this time Thor's voice was softer as he gripped your chin and gently forced you to face him.

As you had expected, he felt not only warm but rough. Like a warrior. The feel of his skin on yours sent a hot flash through your body.

His thumb stroked your cheek. Maybe he was just doing it carelessly or maybe it was just a twitch of his fingers. But it almost made you soften and press into the feeling of his palm.

But your mind resisted.

With gentle reluctance you pushed his hand away and withdrew.

"You should stay back.", you said, crossing your arms in front of your chest. "The boy is interested in Tyr, not in helping us."

His blue eyes regarded you. How tired he looked.

It seemed as if he already had no strength left to go on. There was no drive for him to go all the way until it was finally time to kill the Allfather.

"Whatever you say...", he just said and shrugged his shoulders. "He probably won't remember me in a good way anyway."

A slight snort escaped you.

Lowering your eyes to the floor, you tried to hide the thin grin on your lips.

"You've never been good at first meetings.", you chuckled.

One of his eyebrows rose. But at the same time, the corner of his mouth twitched up.

"What do you mean?", he asked, tilting his head.

Strands of his frizzy, rusty red hair fell into his eyes.

You frowned.

"Well... we had a strange first meeting too.", as you looked at him the memory of your first day suddenly hit you like it was yesterday.

With a breathless huff he dropped his head and shook it.

"I almost smashed your head with Mjölnir.", amusement could be heard in his voice.

"Tough love.", you shrugged.

"Hm. No, not really. With you, never."

"Your way of showing people you like them can take some getting used to."

"I've always tried to make my feelings clear to you."

"I've never said otherwise. But that doesn't change the fact that on the first day we met, you dragged me through the mud. Literally."

The grin on his face widened. White teeth flashed between his beard. His chest quivered in an attempt to suppress a loud laugh.

"I thought the apprentice of Tyr had more to offer than just beautiful eyes.", he huffed in amusement, barely able to stop himself from summoning a storm with his lightened mood.

Playfully offended, you frowned. An indignant gasp escaped your parted lips.

"I did my best!", you protested.

With one hand pressed on his chest, Thor bend over with the effort not to burst into thunderous laughter.

"My fat stomach threw you to the ground.", a hint of tears shimmered in the corners of his eyes.

You couldn't help but grunt. Then again, it would have been you who should have laughed out loud first.

"The recoil threw me to the ground.", with both hands you wiped your face glowing with shame. "It was as if I had run into a wall of rubber."

Gritting his teeth, Thor slapped his bulging belly twice.

"Today my fat would throw you all the way to Heilheim!", he laughed.

"Be quiet! I'm not as small as I was then. I grew up as well..."

Smirking in amusement, he raised an eyebrow to look you up and down.

"Are you sure?", the grin on his face broadened as he slowly rose before you.

His shadow swallowed all of you with ease, grew over the floor and even melted with your own shadow into one huge one.

At his gigantic size, the hairs in the back of your neck stood up straight. Goosebumps crawled over your arms.

The way he towered over you made you suck in a sharp breath.

"You're still as cocky as you were back then.", you mumbled and patted his stomach in a teasing manner.

He chuckled. The force of his laugh made his entire body vibrate.

The feeling pressed into the palm of your hand, seeped into your skin and bones. It warmed your heart.

Perhaps this was the very first time you had heard his sincere happiness in what felt like an eternity. It made you smile.

For a moment you allowed yourself to fall into the memories that his smile brought with it.

His hand slid onto yours to give it a gentle squeeze. Thor had always been so tender with you, probably because he had feared to break that one thing he loved most dearly.

"If there would have been another way, I would have taken it, my lightning...", his rough voice whispered so soft that you didn't hear it. "Just one chance and I would have taken it. To be with you."