minervam96 - Tumblr blog

minervam96 · 7 days

Text

The Pickpocket - Part 20

[Prev] [Next] [Masterlist]

Pairing: Heimdall x fem!Reader

Word count: 6.6k

Summary: Ah, Asgard's flora and fauna... ever so rich and lush and beautiful - and absolutely deadly, especially at night, especially for a mortal.

A/N: ayeee the fail couple is back!! ..but wait, what is that, whatcha got there...? a smoothie omg it's 💖character development (i think)💖 whoaaaa!!! also WOWEEE we made it to the big 20 chaps!!!🥳🥳 can't wait to take this fic once it's finished and put it all in one doc so i can see the overall word count ehehehe (my goal is for this to get at least to 80k words🤞)

***

Part 20

It took you quite a while to get over the initial shock. Even when you finally managed to tear your eyes away from the distant wall, you still had trouble facing reality.

Which was why, in the next moment, you put your hands to your mouth and called out to the raven again. But all you got in reply was a guttural roar that sounded decidedly too close for your liking and immediately made you shut up; Heimdall had once told you about all the creatures that roamed Asgard's plains and you could definitely do without a meeting.

Especially since you doubted that Huginn could even still hear you. After all, thanks to his magic, he could already be who knows where by now!

At first, it all seemed like a bad joke to you. But were ravens even capable of joking? If so, then either Huginn was an exception, or he was the unfunniest raven in all the realms, because you didn't feel like laughing at all.

Instead, you let your gaze wander indecisively over your immediate surroundings, having to shield your eyes with your hand. You felt like the sun was burning down on you much more mercilessly out here than it had at the foot of the wall. Maybe the heavy stone was absorbing some of the heat...

You nibbled on your lower lip while your eyes remained glued to the distant structure. How long would it take to get there? Gladsheim seemed to be within reach, but the flat landscape was probably deceiving you - something you had read in a book once. Or was it Kratos who had explained this effect to you...?

The thought made you swallow hard and finally realize with frightening clarity that you were really, actually in quite a pickle here. After all, you were literally stranded in the middle of nowhere, completely unprotected, and to make matters worse, no one even knew you were gone! At least you couldn't remember seeing another soul before you left with Huginn.

You had really thought you were out of the woods. The last few days had felt so good for a change... You had felt so good that you had actually started to believe that your losing streak had finally come to an end. But now it seemed as if it had just taken a short breather so it could bully you even more! You felt cursed.

As self-pity and sheer despair threatened to overwhelm you once again, you bit your lip so hard that you tasted blood. But it served its purpose: The pain made you think more clearly again and you were immediately overcome by a rush of determination.

No, not now, you thought grimly as you wiped the tears from your eyes, Now is not the time for this.

There would be plenty of time to cry your eyes out once you were back in Gladsheim.

The thought that you had longed to break out of this cage just a few hours ago almost made you laugh. It seemed you hadn't lost your sense of humor after all, it had just turned into a gallows humor dripping with self-irony.

In the end, you decided to take the direct route, unless you could not estimate the depth of the water, in which case you had no choice but to go around it. You did not want to risk anything else today, otherwise your bad luck would probably have you be washed away, or worse. But if the water seemed passable, then yeah, you didn't hesitate and simply waded through.

It might have only been noon, but, again, the time it would take to get back was still hard to estimate – and you preferred wet socks to still being on the move when night fell. Oh yes, you could definitely do without that.

Though unfortunately, you didn't make as much progress as you'd initially hoped.

You knew it was only logical that you had chosen the direct route, but stalking through the sometimes waist-deep water and trying not to slip was not only exhausting, but also cost you a lot of time and nerves. Each time this happened, it seemed as if you were moving in slow motion, while the sun continued its relentless pace and the wall remained just a speck on the horizon. It almost seemed as if you weren't moving at all, and you would honestly believe it if it weren't for the fact that the mountains behind you had already shrunk a little.

Which, funnily enough, was also the amount of relief you felt at this realization. Despite your exhaustion, you slowly felt the urge to scream your immense frustration away, dangerous monsters be damned.

At the beginning of your journey, you had blamed yourself for this, all of this. It had been sheer hubris on your part, really, to assume that you, as a mere mortal, would be able to control a magical means of transportation. Surely you had done something wrong, had not expressed yourself clearly enough in your emotional state, had not imagined your destination correctly...

And of course that was still a possibility even now, no question, but... What if it wasn't?

What if it was neither your fault nor an accident...?

This question had been nagging at you for some time now and seemed more plausible with every step. Huginn and Muninn were not only Odin's precious pets, no, they were his eyes and ears in all the Nine Realms. His spies and most loyal subordinates. You even thought you remembered that Mimir had once told you that they were completely under their master's spell; that he had experimented on them, erased their memories and then magically bound them to himself. Making them lose their free will in the process and do only what Odin told them to do.

So... wouldn't it be crazy not to assume that Odin had something to do with this messed up situation? However, what might have prompted this all of a sudden was beyond your comprehension; after all, you weren't standing in his way anymore, at least as far as his obscure plans regarding Atreus were concerned. Did he just want to make sure that you would never get in his way again...? But then why let you live? Why not play it safe and just push you off the wall and make it look like an accident??

You couldn't answer any of these questions with certainty, but that didn't reassure you in the slightest. No, on the contrary, by now you had quite the stone in your stomach actually, when you thought about returning to Gladsheim. What would await you? Would they even let you back in? What if they locked you out? Just dumped you with the Midgardian refugees, "your" people? It wasn't like anyone really cared where you spent your time...

However, before you could get lost in this negative spiral of thoughts again, a distraction suddenly appeared in front of you. But it was one of those that immediately made you wonder if having a mental breakdown wouldn't have been preferable.

Because all of a sudden, you found yourself standing in front of a wide, roaring river. How you hadn't noticed it before was a mystery to you, but you had pretty much reached your limits by now, both physically and mentally, so you decided to cut yourself some slack here. And in the end, it wouldn't have mattered anyway if you had noticed it earlier or not, because nothing could change the fact that you were now faced with quite a problem.

You looked in both directions, but couldn't see a land bridge anywhere. It was as if someone had simply sliced the land in two with one smooth, clean cut.

Well, great. Just what I needed...

You groaned and buried your face in your hands. But it was no use, the river looked like it would carry you away as soon as you put your big toe in. No, you definitely had to take a detour.

For a change though, you seemed to have some luck... in your misfortune.

Because at some point the river actually receded and you found a suitable place to cross. But instead of relief, you were soon flooded with sheer despair again. For by now, the sun had already set so low that you could officially bury any hope of reaching the wall before nightfall. Which meant you would be stuck out here. In the dark. In an area teeming with dangerous and possibly nocturnal creatures.

It was a real miracle that they hadn't seen or smelled you yet, but you had the distinct feeling that even this last bit of luck would soon run out. Unless you found the perfect hiding place.

...In a landscape that could not be flatter, great! Nothing easier than that.

You couldn't believe that just this morning you had still marveled at these vast plains. So much for the "golden and beautiful realm", ha! A death trap, that was all it was.

It took another hour or so before you finally came to a stop on a slope and looked down into a dimly lit trench about three or four meters deep. Its elongated shape, which branched out in new directions further ahead, seemed like a gaping wound in the earth. That might not be a very inviting description, and of course you weren't exactly thrilled about spending the night in what looked like an open grave, but you couldn't stay up here. All signs pointed to another starry night, and in the brilliant moonlight you would make the perfect target.

Still, you had to steel yourself for a few more minutes before you hesitantly began your descent. Every now and then, the soles of your shoes threatened to slip on the slippery stone, and you could only move on when your wildly beating heart had calmed down again, but in the end you reached the bottom of the trench unharmed.

You peered into the darkness ahead as you brushed the dirt from your hands. Already it felt as if the walls wanted to enclose you in their midst. Strangely enough, however, this seemed to be both a curse and a blessing to you. For even though fear was choking your throat and you were so tense that you interpreted even the slightest noise as your imminent death...

The cold, wet stone walls around you also brought back memories of the icy caves in Midgard. Of a better time, of home. And when you finally hunkered down behind a large boulder, immediately hugging your legs and listening into the slowly falling night, it was these memories that kept your burgeoning panic at bay.

+++

Heimdall cursed the day.

He had not lied to you this morning, these routine inspections in New Midgard really bored him to no end. Nevertheless, he had dared to hope for a little more today, after all, he had been well aware of the importance this visit had held for you. And the whole thing had actually started quite promisingly too, what with you showing him this completely new side of yourself, this delightfully shy nervousness... Oh, he could have teased you about this all day!

But then came this impudent little Midgardian brat and had actually dared to flirt with you in front of his eyes - no, in front of everyone's eyes, really. In the open street, completely uninhibited! Not that Heimdall really cared about who you got involved with, ha! As if. On the contrary, if you wanted to get it on with half of Gladsheim, what would it matter to him? Nothing, it mattered absolutely nothing.

But this was not Gladsheim, was the thing. Heimdall was here on official business and you were his official company, he had made that clear from the start. Diplomatically speaking, it was simply not proper for Aud to hit on you so uninhibitedly, and Heimdall – quite the diplomat himself, of course – even considered this a downright affront. Because even if you disregarded her rather obvious unprofessionalism, he was still a god and she was just a mere mortal, worlds below him. In principle, she should not even be allowed to think such things about you.

Which she hadn't, actually. Just like he hadn't seen any concrete thoughts in her mind that would have indicated that she was actually into you. But did it matter...?? Aud had still made it seem that way, had still undermined his authority. So of course he had had to make it unmistakably clear to everyone where your allegiance lied.

He still felt a small thrill when he thought back to how close you had been again. How soft your skin had been, how warm... How euphoric he had felt when you had leaned into his touch, just a little, and when he had noticed the rapid drumming of your pulse under his fingertips...

If your argument hadn't happened, it would have been all too easy to get lost in your magic once again. To make another mistake, to let the weakness creep back in...

Under the watchful eye of the All-Father.

Heimdall's blood ran cold at the thought, and again when he looked up at Huginn, who was calmly circling above him at that very moment. In that sense, this unfortunate turn of events had not been unfortunate after all, but rather another much needed eye-opener. The All-Father had been right to provide him with a guardian. Obviously Heimdall needed this constant reminder of what he seemed to be losing sight of more and more, that in the end nothing was more important than the mission. Nothing else mattered.

It had been wrong to allow himself to get so used to your presence. To your casual manner, the underlying calmness... To the sound of your voice. The warmth. A mistake, an error of judgment. Before he really understood what had happened, you had burrowed into his head and had thrown it into chaos. It was as if his mind was in conflict with itself, and he wanted nothing more than to crush the perpetrator. Your magic, whatever you had done to him, he wanted it gone. At any cost.

In that respect, he should be feeling absolutely exhilarated right now, but instead he was just annoyed as he once again let his gaze wander over the puny dwellings of New Midgard and then along the immediate wall - but still couldn't find you.

At the moment, he stood above the settlement, arms folded and a scowl on his face. It bothered him that he actually felt like a babysitter now. That he was forced to look for you and run after you like one of your trained wolf puppies...

After taking care of the rest of his business affairs, he had left New Midgard in the firm belief that he would find you sitting on a rock somewhere, sulking. After all, you couldn't go back to Gladsheim without him; since the All-Father didn't trust you, he hadn't arranged for you to travel with Huginn on your own. And Heimdall strongly doubted that you had a hidden talent for climbing.

And yet he could find no trace of you. You weren't near the wall, nor anywhere else in the immediate vicinity. Even if you had fallen into a hole somewhere, it wouldn't make you completely invisible to his gifted senses.

No, you were definitely gone. And it annoyed him to no end that he couldn't figure out how.

At least until he turned his senses back to New Midgard and overheard a conversation between Aud and her obnoxious little brother about, among other things, the fact that his "famous" friends had already gone home. Heimdall assumed with you in tow.

The implication that the three of you had reconciled made Heimdall's expression darken even more as he finally trudged back to the open plains to fetch Gulltoppr.

Oh yes, he cursed the day alright.

And you, especially you.

+++

Heimdall knew even before the raven vortex around him had dissipated that he was not in front of the stables as planned. Instead, Huginn had dropped him off in front of the Great Lodge.

And before the All-Father.

His heart stopped for a moment and his fingers tightened involuntarily around the leather of the reins. He feared the worst. It ranged from him disappointing his father by making one mistake too many, to him failing his divine duty, to him bringing shame to the Aesir, to him disgracing-

When the All-Father raised his hand to stop Heimdall from dismounting Gulltoppr, his inner chaos also came to an abrupt halt. He quickly straightened his back and gave a curt bow.

"All-Father, what-"

"Heimdall", he was interrupted, "Listen to me. I'm afraid there's a rather... unfortunate situation."

Immediately his alarm bells went off.

+++

The sky above him burned like fire when he was released from the raven vortex once again, not long after his conversation with the All-Father. But Heimdall knew that it would not be long before the last light of the day was extinguished. Although the moon would bathe Asgard in bright light again tonight, it would also make the shadows all the darker.

So if he didn't hurry, he would probably run out of time.

He cursed loudly as he urged Gulltoppr to dash out into the vastness of the plains. He ruled out the possibility that you had ventured up the mountain behind him; no, the most logical assumption was that you were headed toward the wall on the horizon. During the wild ride he expanded his senses, making his gleaming eyes scan the landscape for miles and his ears hear even the smallest mouse scurrying out of the way.

And he also heard something else, all around him: Growling and scratching and hissing. The tearing of flesh and the breaking of bones. Asgard was populated by these lower beasts during daytime too, but because of the bright sunlight that scorched their scaly skin, they usually did not dare to come out of their trenches and holes. Only after sunset did the Grim crawl out into the open and roam freely across the plains. One reason why New Midgard posted nightly guards.

Another was the remaining beasts, which were also quite capable of killing a careless mortal within seconds.

Heimdall gritted his teeth and continued on, his senses strained to the breaking point, while the words of the All-Father still echoed in his head...

"…there's a rather... unfortunate situation." The All-Father waved for his raven, which settled on his arm seconds later. "An accident. The mortal girl, she apparently tried to leave Huginn's magic circle before they reached their destination. This disturbed the transportation process and took it out of his control."

Heimdall suddenly felt his mouth go dry. "She's not here...?", he all but croaked the next moment.

The All-Father sighed, but his piercing blue eye did not leave his son for even a second and followed his every reaction closely. "I'm afraid not. Huginn isn't entirely sure where she was transported to either, but he suspects it was somewhere in the direction of the ridge. Quite a stretch, isn't it?" The old man chuckled briefly, before turning deadly serious again. "Like I said, rather unfortunate."

It should have been a relief. None of his worst fears had come true, the All-Father did not intend to punish him, nor was Asgard in any danger. No, instead this was only about you. Only about you.

Only you...

Somewhere out there in the wilderness, alone and completely defenseless. At the mercy of every single one of Asgard's countless predators, and soon after nightfall even. Easy prey. Provided, of course, you weren't already-

Ignoring the wild thumping of his heart, Heimdall cleared his throat before stating (rather uselessly): "The plains are treacherous... Especially at night. Especially for a mortal."

The eye of the All-Father flashed. "Indeed. I'd say it's certain death even. Unless... she has some unforeseen magic tricks up her sleeve after all. It could very well be a trap..." He paused for a moment. "But since we can't be sure of that, I want you to find her and bring her here. Huginn will accompany you and get you back to the lodge in a jiffy. Oh, and Heimdall", he added as his son already started to leave, "One more thing: Keep it discreet, will you? I don't want this to cause a ruckus."

Regarding his new apprentice, no doubt, he thought contritely, but did not dwell on the unpleasant thought for long.

Instead, he remembered the relief that had flooded him when the All-Father had given him the order to bring you back. For a brief moment, he had thought his father would simply declare you missing and then just go about his day…

A thought that made him feel some type of way. He would almost say it... upset him. But only almost, because anything else would just be ridiculous, really. No decision or command from the All-Father would upset him, should upset him. They were always righteous, always justified. Always for the best.

His gaze involuntarily wandered back to Huginn, who was flying so fast, so purposefully, that it almost seemed as if he was showing him the way. Heimdall could not prevent a crease from forming between his eyebrows.

He had never heard of anyone breaking out of the raven vortex, ever, let alone being transported halfway across a realm while doing so. And if he didn't know anything about this, you certainly didn't either, which made the assumption that this was a trap rather unlikely. So why risk it? You liked to be impulsive and reckless, yes, but you didn't want to die, that he was sure of. But what was it then, that had prompted this turn of events...?

"I'm a mortal, in case you forgot. Does that make me insignificant, too?"

"You're... not."

The memory resulted in that now annoyingly familiar tug in his chest again. However, his anger over this subsided as quickly as it had flared up.

Of course you were not insignificant. You had attracted the attention of the All-Father, had become Heimdall's mission. Hel, you walked as a mortal alongside gods! All of this automatically made you more significant than all of New Midgard combined.

But there was even more to it than that, of course there was.

"Nice try. A little too late, though."

This shouldn't have made him feel so confused again. After all, it was just another side effect of your magic, right? Just your magic that led him to the absurd assumption that you meant something to him beyond the mission. That you meant something to him personally even. Just your magic. Nothing he didn't already have plenty of experience with.

And yet, those conflicting feelings in him had only increased this morning, the longer your eye contact had lasted and his answer had hung in the air between you. As if he had only said half a sentence, as if there was an even bigger truth he just couldn't grasp...

Vulnerable was how it had made him feel. Something so strange, so alien to him, that when you had stormed off, he hadn't been able to react at all, except to burn the look on your face into his memory. Even in the following hours, that look had made him feel all out of sorts, again and again, even though he had tried hard to either ignore it or drown it in his familiar anger. Oh yes, it had been all too easy to make you the scapegoat once again, to curse you, to wish you gone...

This had made him wonder briefly if he was actually to blame for this situation (besides your own stupidity and recklessness of course), which had immediately stirred up a cacophony of feelings in him. However, he would rather not deal with all that right now, so instead he focused all his attention back on his surroundings and feverishly combed the darkness for a glimpse of you.

Heimdall tried to retrace your steps. As little as he understood what might have driven you to this inane chain of events, he knew that you could still be quite resourceful and astute when the situation demanded it. So he assumed that you had sought shelter somewhere, probably underground. A fairly plausible idea – but it wouldn't keep you safe, on the contrary; Asgard's creatures might come crawling to the surface at night, but the trenches and holes in the ground were still their preferred territory.

In your efforts to seek shelter in the darkness, you could very well have ended up in a Grim's pantry. Heimdall wouldn't put it past you. After all, your almost-fall from the wall was already impressive proof that you were indeed the clumsiest person in all the Nine Realms.

The memory made him pause for a moment. Part of him had thought it an act back then, nothing more than a ploy to draw him closer. But now-

Before he could finish this thought however, the hint of a sound suddenly reached his ears. A soft whimper, barely audible above the rushing of the river he had just crossed. At first he thought he had imagined it, but then he pricked up his ears and steered Gulltoppr in the supposed direction.

And then he heard it again.

A stifled sob, muffled but unmistakable. Unmistakably human, that was.

"Hya, hya!", he immediately spurred Gulltoppr on, and together they dashed forward, while Huginn let out an excited squawk above them.

Soon they reached a network of trenches in the ground. They dug through the land like veins, nearly overflowing with darkness. Not even the bright moonlight seemed to be able to penetrate the shadows within. Even without his heightened senses, Heimdall would have known immediately that he was in the right place.

There was a thirst for blood in the air.

He concentrated on the sounds around him. But instead of another whimper or sob, he only heard various animal noises again. But they sounded more agitated now, more determined…

And there was something else, too. It was like a distant wail, formed by a thousand anguished voices that seemed to vibrate the air. Heimdall knew this sound all too well. These creatures also prowled the nooks and crannies of the wall: Wights. Misty, distantly humanoid entities with multiple arms and an insatiable need to kill. Pure magic, sentient and destructive, and now that Fimbulwinter had disrupted the natural flow of things, they were all the more ferocious. Primitive, yes, but so powerful that Heimdall never took his eyes off them when they got too close to the top of the wall.

You couldn't have picked worse company.

In one leap he chased Gulltoppr into the abyss and then followed the traces of magic that wafted through the air like wisps of smoke; it sounded ridiculous, but Heimdall had the distinct feeling that they would also lead him to you. The small hairs on the back of his neck stood up the closer they came to the source. They had already chased past a Grim or two, but had always ignored them, no matter how pushy and aggressive they had become. They were only small fish, after all. But now, as the magic grew even denser, he finally put a hand on the pommel of his sword.

Finally, they reached a dead end. The trench had widened somewhat, making the resulting space almost look like a small arena. The moon stood directly above it and bathed the scenery in its cold white light.

Heimdall almost didn't see you.

You were crouched behind a large boulder. With your hands pressed to your ears and your legs drawn close, you'd made yourself as small as possible - but that was of little use against an opponent whose specialty was attacking the mind. There was no doubt that the Nightmare that hovered directly in front of you and had its huge, unblinking eye fixed on you, was tormenting your mind and feasting on your fears right now.

Heimdall instantly felt rage bubble up inside him. He leapt from Gulltoppr's back and grabbed the pest by its disgusting, slippery tail. It only had time to let out an alarmed shriek before he hurled it against the stone wall with such force that it practically burst open.

Then, while Gulltoppr happily disposed of the Grim that had followed them here, Heimdall finally crouched down beside you.

You looked ridiculous. Rocking your trembling body back and forth, hair an absolute mess, teary eyelashes sticking together... Were it anyone else, Heimdall wouldn't have hesitated to mock them relentlessly for this pathetic display. This being you, however, only made him want to reach out and comfort you – which was quite pathetic as well, so of course he didn't do any of that.

Instead, he just sighed and said: "You are the biggest klutz I've ever met, you know that?"

He heard your sharp intake of breath before you slowly lifted your head and tried to focus your eyes on him. It was obvious that you still hadn't fully awakened from the nightmare. Your eye contact resulted in another, more violent tug in Heimdall's chest. It was so sudden that it took his breath away for a moment and he had the urge to grab at his chest to make sure his heart was still in the right place.

"...H-Heimdall...?", you breathed out.

You made his name sound like it was your lifeline. And that was also how you looked at him right now.

It did something to him.

Suddenly a whole wave of emotions came crashing down on him and enveloped the two of you. Everything else disappeared, was unimportant. And then, as if you were two magnets, he raised his hand after all, wanting to feel your warmth again, the life coursing through your veins, while the air around you buzzed with-

At the last second Heimdall dodged the ball of magic before it smashed into the wall behind him. Then he saw the Wight float toward you, its many hands raised up high, its glowing eye crackling intensely.

Oh joy... He had almost forgotten about this annyoing pest. Heimdall wrinkled his nose before standing up and wiping the dust from his clothes.

"All right, I will give you that, you do seem to know how to make an entrance... albeit a rude one." He took a few steps towards the Wight and then stood before it challengingly. "What about your dance skills, though?"

The ghostly creature let out a loud shriek before suddenly teleporting wildly back and forth, bathing the stone walls in the brilliant blue of its magic. Heimdall's lips curled contemptuously.

Bifröst magic, huh? What a waste.

"Seems like you're quite the show-off. Well, come on then!", he taunted right back, before grinning wickedly, "Show me what you got."

Before he had even finished the Wight had already started to hurl bolts of magic his way. Now that Heimdall had all his senses back together it was easy for him to dodge the attacks, but since his opponent didn't skimp on his teleportation abilities he always had to try and keep you out of the trajectory as well. Its attacks were far-reaching and the battlefield limited, which was why he still cut it a little too close for comfort from time to time.

Suddenly the Wight appeared directly in front of him and Heimdall was only able to parry the following magic explosion with great difficulty. He would have dodged it if you hadn't been right behind him. A circumstance that, once again, made him accutely aware that he should end this fight as quickly as possible.

After the last attack, Heimdall felt his own magic buzz under his skin. The creature's powers were no match for his own of course, but if immaterial, his attacks could not harm it. So Heimdall had to get creative.

He quickly came up with a plan and then slowly moved out of the impasse, luring the Wight away from you. As soon as the creature teleported back in front of him to perform another explosive attack, Heimdall slowed down time with his Realm Shift and put some distance between them.

Then he did something he hadn't done in so long that he couldn't even remember the last time: He drew his sword, Hofud, for battle. The magic in it tingled as soon as he wrapped his fingers around the hilt, as if the sword wanted to express its joy at finally being wielded in battle again after so long. And wielded it would be, albeit in a rather... unusual way, for a sword at least.

Because as soon as time had resumed again and Heimdall had snarled: "You are not worthy of this power!" He threw his sword at the Wight with such force that it pierced the rune in the center of its glowing eye.

Immediately, the creature folded into itself and let out a shrill, polyphonic screech. Then it twisted its fingers into positions that would have broken a human's bones, before exploding in a spectacle of light.

The Bifröst energy that washed over Heimdall in the next moment made his own magic soar, and so it wasn't long before he had finished off the three remaining Wisps as well. After that, Gulltoppr trotted up beside him and rubbed her nose against his shoulder. Heimdall stroked her a bit before putting Hofud back in its scabbard. Then he turned around.

In only a few steps he was back at your side. The trembling had stopped, but your gaze was still strangely empty and far, far away... You seemed to be in shock.

Heimdall quickly called for Gulltoppr and soon after you were both in the saddle. Not wanting to risk you losing your grip and falling, the Aesir had placed you in front of him this time. You were pressed against his chest while his arms, holding the reins, made sure you stayed in place. He tried to ignore how intimate this pose felt. How you were nestled against him, your head leaning against his chest... If he wanted, he could rest his chin on it – not that that was even up for debate.

In a flash, Gulltoppr had climbed up the stone slopes. As soon as you were back on the surface, Heimdall called for Huginn. But then he suddenly felt you tense against him and put a hand on his arm. It unsettled him how cold it felt, but what unsettled him even more were your next words:

"...Please, don't... call... the raven..."

Heimdall stared down at your slumped form, all meek and weak and barely awake. If he hadn't arrived in time, you wouldn't have gotten away with just a shock, no, you'd probably be dead by now.

And that suddenly made him aware of several things at once.

No, this was definitely not a ploy. No trap, no trick. Which could only mean that it was an accident-

"Unless... she has some unforeseen magic tricks up her sleeve after all."

-right?

Heimdall's thoughts swirled as he recalled the conversation with the All-Father. Hadn't he also implied that Loki knew nothing of your disappearance? But how could that be if you had returned from New Midgard together? Shouldn't the runt have noticed that his big sister was missing…?

Well, you hadn't been on the best of terms lately, but Heimdall doubted that Loki would be so insensitive to the fact that you had disappeared without a trace. Which meant that he probably knew nothing about it. Which also meant that you must have traveled alone.

But that just raised even more questions. Why had you been able to travel with Huginn at all...? The All-Father had personally confided in him that he had ordered the raven not to transport you alone. And that the animal had acted of its own will was simply impossible; Huginn was, after all, the will of the All-Father made flesh.

Heimdall felt increasingly uncomfortable in his skin. It was wrong, seemed like borderline treason even to think such things. To think that way about the All-Father, to have doubt even. But... wasn't that also what his father had wanted him to do? To "think deeper"? And anyway, it wouldn't be the first time that he had deliberately kept Heimdall in the dark about something just to test him. So was he the one ultimately responsible for this "accident"...? Had he ordered Huginn to bring you here? Was this yet another test, had he only wanted to test your magical abilities...?

You could have died...

Was what kept running through his mind, again and again and again. And what made him acutely aware of something else now, something that threw him off track completely.

You couldn't have been sure that he would come find you and save you. You couldn't have counted on him searching for you even, especially after your little falling-out this morning. Which meant that if you were truly magical, you would never have let it come to this. And Heimdall also doubted that neither Frigg nor the Godslayer – who was so fond of you, apparently – would have sent you, a mere defenseless mortal, on this mission without any protection spells.

Which could only mean one thing: There was no mission. Which automatically made his own obsolete. Because if there was no mission, there was no magic. And if there was no magic...

Heimdall's inner state and wildly beating heart stood in stark contrast to the calm descent of the bird above your heads. The coldness of your hand, meanwhile, seemed to have spread to the rest of his body and threatened to freeze him from within, making him all the more agitated.

Automatically his eyes drifted from the raven to the rainbow bridge behind him. Its sight alone had always soothed and grounded him. Made him feel pride and confidence and assuredness. It looked like it spanned the whole realm, connecting all of Asgard, his beloved home, through its beautiful hues. And now the colors shimmered even more beautifully in the night sky, as they showed him the way home…

Huginn had almost reached you when Heimdall let go of the reins with one hand to securely wrap it around your middle. Then he raised his head and called upon the powers of the Bifröst.

***

can't believe heimdall is finally getting his zuko arc... i'm so proud🥲

hope you enjoyed thiss<3 as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated!!

tags: @shinyportalsandthings @nuclearwinter88 @onix-a @thecastanova @tiababylo @suzumi-hiddenmistclan @cynder-ire @that-doesnt-help4245 @lavenderqrts @astronautspacesailor @grievedeeply @plzfeedmebread @gamergirl5125 @fantabulous0001 @urdarkestsecrets @lacm-ac @zyrart @nonpoppin @anya00 @gxrdenofthxrns @entityunbound @lillyxsj @malumxsubest @r0siee3 @httptaegi @visionsofmagic @shobi-enzo @lunaryasha @11queensupreme11 @anime-roberts @loirsavette @universallythingwagonuniversity @astraqal @a-bunny13 @carmoon218 @booksandblanketnests @chaoticlandsoul @pyrostatic @spezler @black-star1472 @thefreakmunson86 @dijanur @maniplague @judyfromfinance @nepeta-cata @delyeceamaitare @heimdallwife @crpsclr @potentplant

lmk in the comments if you also want to be tagged (or untagged)☆ if your tag doesn't work it's probably bc of your settings!!

207 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 7 days

Text

a continuation of this reverse parenting AU where Messmer went back in time to save a young Marika, and now she’s bringing all kinds of (not) animals back to his Keep lmaooo

let’s pretend in this setting the Elden Beast and Metyr are like… alien cats … idk 🐱🐈‍⬛

2K notes · View notes

minervam96 · 9 days

Text

The Pickpocket - Part 19

[Prev] [Next] [Masterlist]

Pairing: Heimdall x fem!Reader

Word count: 8k (...💀)

Summary: A little trip to New Midgard makes you see things from a new perspective. (...teehee🤓)

A/N: LOTS OF NEW PERSPECTIVES IN THIS ONE HOOO BOY. honestly i won't even apologize anymore for the word count lmaoo i could've cut it in half......but i already promised you JUICY SHIT in this chap so i didn't want you to have to wait even longer for the JUICY SHIT ajaksks hope you enjoy reading~😚

***

Part 19

Heimdall thought he was playing his role perfectly by now.

It might have taken him some time, which was why he still lacked concrete clues as to your true intentions in Asgard, but he felt that he was finally on the right track. Especially noting the big strides he had made recently: He had complete control over his powers again, had discovered the essence of your magic, and - more importantly - for the first time a satisfying conclusion to his mission seemed within actual reach! At least considering the fact that the two of you had spent almost every waking minute together lately.

Several days had passed since you had asked him to let you accompany him on his patrols again. Now and then you had visited the stables together (the cubs were now big enough for Gulltoppr to allow others to touch them, and immediately "Jarl" seemed to have taken a real fancy to you - which was understandable, considering that you had been the only one rooting for his continued survival), but the majority of the time the two of you had passed high up on the wall, of course. Contrary to your earlier routine of spending only the first half of the day together on patrol, it had since become customary for you to return to the lodge only after the sun had almost disappeared below the horizon again.

A few weeks ago - being the die-hard loner that he was - it would have really pissed him off to have to babysit you all day, but now he felt only mild annoyance, which was easy to swallow.

Anything for the mission.

In addition, this whole thing was sweetened by the fact that you still had not reconciled with your little friends. Heimdall's satisfaction over this grew with each passing day (and each time he ran into the cook - accidentally, of course), for this basically made him your only companion at the moment. If just over one week ago it had still seemed like you were avoiding him, it was now not at all uncommon for you to seek him out in the morning.

This made him feel increasingly elated. Of course, this could all be just another one of your fradulent schemes, but Heimdall doubted that you were that cunning. No, it had only been a matter of time for you to grow attached to him. It might have taken him a while to return to his old form, but he wasn't called the "Fairest of the Aesir" for nothing. Never had someone rejected him when he had deigned to show an interest. So it was only natural really, that you would eventually react the same way.

After all, you were just another simple mortal. Naive, emotional, and far too curious for your own good. Nothing special, nothing he hadn't seen before, absolutely average in every sense. Nothing he would have bothered with under normal circumstances, not worth his effort.

If it weren't for your damn magic...

All honeyed and far too enticing. It was true, Heimdall played his role so well by now that you still didn't suspect a thing. But it was also a balancing act that took more and more effort with every passing day. Because the more he got involved, the closer he came to the truth, the more he fell under your spell. The more you clouded his mind. It didn't matter how many times he reminded himself not to be lulled or confused by it. Remembered that it was all just an illusion, a lazy magic trick; it didn't mean anything, yet it still felt like it did the more you infested his mind.

But backing down was out of the question, not this close to the finish line. So Heimdall simply ignored his alarmed instincts and persevered - while pretending the exact opposite. It was a dangerous game when winning and losing was only a hair's breadth apart...

Especially when losing had never felt so good.

He knew that even just thinking this was already risky. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't deny that spending time with you had assumed an almost addictive quality. It often made him think back to that one moment on the wall, when the two of you had been so close... He remembered how intoxicated he had felt then, and even now he could sometimes feel it bubbling under the surface, that telltale tingling in his fingers, even though he was oh so careful not to get that close to you ever again - even though a small, annoying part of him wanted nothing more.

Heimdall had always scoffed at others seeking companionship. It had never occurred to him before, for he had never actually liked anyone enough to want to spend time with them, not once in his centuries-long life. Sure, he liked places, things, or certain activities well enough. But people? They were mostly just tools to him, nothing more. Well, there were a few he respected enough to prefer their company to others, but that was the highest of his feelings really. He still wouldn't say that he particularly liked them or enjoyed spending time with them. This was true even for the All-Father, which was not very surprising since he had taught him that attitude in the first place. And he had been right to do so! After all, Heimdall had quickly learned that the vast majority of people were either annoying nuisances at best, or dangerous blights that needed to be wiped off the face of the earth at worst.

And you, of course, were no different. In fact, you were one of the biggest nuisances he had ever met!

...And yet.

And yet, Heimdall couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed himself as much as he had these last days. How could he not, when teasing you was this much fun? When all it took was one or two words to make you a flustered mess and see you completely unravel before his eyes, without him using his abilities even? Yes, he had to admit that this had quickly become one of his favorite activities, one he was looking forward to every day now, actually.

But that was not all, no, he had rather come to enjoy the rest of your conversations and discussions as well. As naive and simple-minded as some of your views might be (you were still a mortal after all), at the same time you also had a sharp tongue and were reasonably quick-witted. Magic or not, it was still a pleasant change from his other contemporaries, especially the empty-headed Einherjar and his good-for-nothing brute of a brother.

It was a first, really. And it was... nice. Deceptively so. He had never felt this way about another person before. Apart from the All-Father, it never happened that he, as the protector of Asgard, could talk to someone without having to constantly be on high alert. That was true even for the rest of his family, except that with them - and especially with Thor, as little as he thought of him - it was a constant test of strength before the All-Father. A never-ending competition.

You, on the other hand, were a single contradiction in this respect. You gave him headaches without end, but at the same time there was a calmness in your presence that he otherwise only felt in total isolation. And ironically, this was mainly due to the one circumstance that had gotten him into this mess in the first place: Because instead of your treacherous and reprehensible thoughts and intentions, he saw... nothing. Soothing peace and quiet. That which had made him so angry and disturbed in the beginning made him now, after you had said your goodbyes in the evening, almost look forward to sunrise again.

He knew that such thoughts were not only risky, but downright inappropriate. Flat-out wrong, even.

But the longer this little game went on, the easier it was for him to actually buy your innocent act. The more he caught himself unconsciously trying to find justifications for indulging in these new sensations. Like him only tolerating it because he wanted to expand his knowledge. After all, it could never be wrong to have new experiences if it benefited the safety of Asgard, right? Yes, he supposed getting to know the effects of different and unknown types of magic could only help him in his innate task in the long run...

He only realized that this was just him deceiving himself in order to avoid facing his own weaknesses, when he first noticed the raven.

It was during one of your patrols that he suddenly saw Huginn sitting on a boulder not far away, but still out of sight of you. Motionless, his icy blue eyes fixed on Heimdall. A gaze he could not escape even the following days. It made his pulse race, his throat tighten and his hands clammy.

For Heimdall knew that this was both a reminder and a warning.

And it also made him feel, for the first time, that annoying tug in his chest whenever he looked at you...

+++

The last few days had felt like a dream to you. Unreal, surreal... As if time had passed both slowly and much too quickly. Every morning, the day ahead had piled up like a huge mountain in front of you. But then, somehow, it had only taken a single blink of the eye for the sun to set again. As if you had your feet firmly on the ground, but at the same time you were detached from time... and space.

It was one thing to be in Asgard with your friends by your side. Or at least someone you could be sure was well-disposed towards you. Hanging out with Thrúd or Jörgen, you hadn't really noticed the whispering and the disparaging looks of the people around you. Yes, you had almost felt at home in Gladsheim, even though the city had reminded you at every turn that you were still on opposite sides in the end. And yet, at some point, you had begun to ask yourself... Did it really have to be like this? Was it really inevitable? Maybe there was something to it after all, that Ragnarök could still be averted. Maybe Atreus was right, and all that was needed was just a little faith...

But then all of that had collapsed like the charred skeleton of a burned-out hut. And suddenly the chatter of the people had seemed almost twice as loud to you, suddenly you had felt as foreign in the city as you had on your very first day here... Suddenly you had been the enemy again, with Ragnarök on your doorstep.

And the only thing that had stopped you from going completely nuts over all this... was your earlier purple-eyed nightmare. It really didn't get more surreal than that.

But surreal or not, it was still true. Somehow, Heimdall, of all people, had become some kind of... anchor to you over the past few days, grounding you and keeping you from sinking at the same time. And yes, you were well aware of how crazy that sounded. But your whole life was upside down right now, so this detail weirdly fit like a glove.

And you were tired. So, so tired. You were tired of your words always being placed on a scale. Tired that you were always expected to give others the benefit of the doubt, but that there was no vice versa. That your good intentions were constantly misconstrued.

But most of all, you were tired of feeling sorry for yourself.

A few days ago, you had still believed that you had it coming. That it was all your fault that others had turned their backs on you and left you alone. At the same time, however, this had given you a lot of time to think, and so you had finally come to the conclusion that this was actually just bullshit. Utter bullshit. No, your friends were just as much to blame for your falling out as you were. And the fact that they kept insisting the opposite was the reason why you were still avoiding them to this day, swallowing each and every one of your apologies.

No, you'd rather stay alone than be blamed again for something you didn't do.

Whether it was a reaction born of your loneliness, or some kind of... subliminal defiance, you couldn't say. But the fact was that you had somehow accepted that Heimdall was now filling the void left by your friends in your current life. And why not? After all, he had shown you more kindness in the last few days than all the others put together. He was still keeping you company, even though his mission imposed by Odin had been accomplished; you and Atreus had fallen out and were now completely isolated from each other, giving Odin all the access he needed.

He had won, and you were alone in enemy territory. So vulnerable that it wouldn't have taken much for Heimdall to break you completely.

And yet...

And yet, he took you on patrol again, even though you knew by now that he preferred to be alone and rejected any kind of company. He even allowed you to accompany him to the stables from time to time, where you always had the time of your life playing with Jarl and the other cubs, while he just stood there shaking his head. But if he really didn't approve, he wouldn't have taken you along in the first place, right?

Instead, he even let you engage him in conversations, silly as they were sometimes. Well, his answers were still brimming with condescension and sarcasm, but somehow you couldn't shake the feeling that they lacked a certain bite... The intent to hurt. Or maybe you were just too numb to register it, or had gotten too used to it by now...

What left little room for misinterpretation, however, was his newly acquired habit of teasing you. Indeed, it seemed to be a new favorite pastime of his. Not a day had gone by since you'd started seeing each other again that he hadn't said something that made your face simmer and your hands sweat (much to his amusement and obvious incentive). Not a day had gone by that you hadn't lain awake in the evening, reviewing your conversations with a small smile on your lips.

And not a night had passed that you hadn't dreamed of him in some way. Of those intense eyes full of galaxies and unspoken promises...

You were aware that you were probably getting a little in over your head here. That it was entirely possible that this was just you subconsciously looking for a distraction from your current shitty life. That it was absolutely impossible, pure fantasy even, that the Aesir actually took pleasure in your company, in you. But still, the mere thought made your heart beat faster.

Something that not so long ago you would have called yourself absolutely bonkers for.

Because this was still Heimdall, the son of Odin. Heimdall, the enemy. The most patronizing, most stuck up god you had ever met. Rudeness personified. You couldn't like him, especially not like this, especially since you didn't really know what "this" even was! (Or at least you couldn't remember).

But... wasn't what little you knew already explanation enough...?

What you felt was strong, not unlike what you felt for Atreus and Kratos, and yet completely different. The closest thing was your feelings for Jörgen, but even if you had been attracted to him... It was still different. While what lingered of those feelings for Jörgen was this coziness and gentle warmth, like the safety of a fireplace on a stormy day... Heimdall was that storm. Or at least it felt that way the more time you spent together. All chaos and unpredictability, thrill and exhilaration. It didn't sound good, shouldn't feel good, and yet it still got your heart pounding and set your cheeks ablaze.

It was confusing. Disturbing even, the stronger these feelings became. And it inevitably made you think of Sindri's books, your only reference. But when you tried to remember something similar, all you could think of were the many tales and stories of romance and... and love- But that couldn't be it, could it?? No, of course not, that was laughable! In those stories, "romance" - you didn't even want to think of "love" in this context - was always based on respect, mutual trust, friendship. A shared history, adversities overcome together! It was powerful, true, but it didn't feel chaotic or confusing, but clear and true.

And anyway, why even entertain these thoughts at all, this was still about Heimdall! This had to be something else. An obsessive interest maybe, a... a misguided fantasy, if anything. Yes, that was all this was, all this would ever be, nothing but-

"I don't know what's happening to your face, but it's weirding me out."

You flinched and raised your eyes to be met with a pair of very purple, very disapproving ones. Immediately, you turned your head away as you felt heat shoot into your cheeks once again. Oh no, these thoughts you definitely didn't want the Aesir to see...

Like every morning these days, you had waited for him in front of the elevator, although it had never happened before that you had been so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn't notice his arrival. This detail was, of course, not lost on Heimdall and he raised an eyebrow in interest, which you did not see, however.

Instead, in the next moment you suddenly felt a light push against your right arm. It turned out to be Gulltoppr, who had bumped you with her muzzle to signal her apparent displeasure over you not greeting her as well. You quickly complied with her request and rubbed a spot right above her nose where the helmet did not reach - quite happy about the distraction.

You still couldn't believe that the beast had become so attached to you. After all, you still had a lot of respect for the Gradungr (and her mouth with its many razor-sharp teeth...), and even though you had visited her stable more often lately, you had rather focused on her cubs (whose mouths were less razor-sharp). Perhaps your careful handling of her babies had convinced her that you were harmless? Or maybe she had gotten used to your scent and saw you as part of the pack now...? Whatever the case though, you definitely didn't object to this development.

However, soon a rather obvious question came to your mind, given that you were already standing in front of the elevator and all.

"Wait, what's Gulltoppr doing-" You raised your head again, faltering briefly at the instant eye contact with the god. "...h-here?"

Instead of Heimdall still looking at you disapprovingly, there was something else in his gaze now. You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but it made your heart skip a beat. Quickly you cleared your throat and looked elsewhere again.

Gods... Get a grip, girl, you admonished yourself and willed your body to calm down again.

It took another second or two (during which you thought you could still feel his eyes on you) before Heimdall deigned to answer. "Now that the cubs are big enough, we can pick up training again. Muscles and condition won't come back on its own after all. She is still a killing machine... Even if you'd rather coddle her like one of your pet wolves."

"Wha- I don't 'coddle' her!", you exclaimed immediately.

He was one to talk... You were not the one who had initiated that Gulltoppr and her cubs always got the best food, every day, to the minute. Who meticulously made sure that their stall was cleaned several times a day, and who always insisted on inspecting it immediately afterwards. Who once even snapped at the poor stable boy because "the air in the stable was a little too humid". Oh but yeah, sure. You were the one who was "coddling" them...

Heimdall only commented your indignation with a broad grin, visibly amused. This made you both roll your eyes and look for a distraction again, so that your face would not betray the embarrassing thoughts that had immediately flashed through your mind just now...

Fortunately, you didn't have to wait long for said distraction to arrive.

Unfortunately, it was a distraction that needed a distraction of its own.

"Oh, great", Thrúd said, crossing her arms as she came to a stop in front of you, "We got babysitters this time."

"Yeah, guess so...", Atreus muttered.

He was standing right next to her, adjusting his bracers, but it was obvious he was only pretending so he wouldn't have to acknowledge you.

It stung, but since you were no less willing to give in yourself, you simply ignored them and instead turned to Heimdall with a questioning look. Before you could open your mouth, however, he beat you to it with a roll of his eyes.

"Did you think we were going to take Gulltoppr to the top of the wall?"

Oh... You had actually almost missed that part. But it still wasn't a satisfying enough answer, so you frowned anyway and started: "But then... Where-?"

"New Midgard. Every now and then, the All-Father sends me on a routine inspection when he has better things to do with his time. It's all very boring", he drawled, "But. At least this time I have delightful company..."

His grin became wider once more, if that was even possible, when he saw your flustered expression. "...By which I mean Gulltoppr, of course."

You almost choked - and then would've loved to smack him. "Of course..."

He snickered, but then a loud snort drew your attention elsewhere.

"Yeah, you know what?", Thrúd exclaimed, gesturing in your direction, "I bet it's great and all to bond over your shared hypocrisy, but that doesn't mean we have to watch. We have better things to do after all. Come, Loki", she said over her shoulder, "Let's go. Huginn!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than you heard the familiar rustle of dozens of wings. It was the first time you could watch the spectacle from the outside, and you had to say that this was definitely way less crazy than standing in the middle of the feathered vortex yourself.

The last thing you saw of the teens before they were completely covered was Thrúd's demonstrative back to you and the disappointed look of a pair of bright eyes... And then they were gone.

You stared at the spot where they had just disappeared and bit your lip. You were still angry with Atreus, but seeing him again like this, after days of the silent treatment, still hurt tremendously. You swallowed hard and only then noticed that Heimdall was holding out his hand to you again. You took it, wordlessly, and let him lift you into the saddle behind him.

Only then did he let out a deep sigh and said, shaking his head: "Hard to imagine that I can lose even more respect for my brother. But then the universe is so kind as to remind me of his daughter..."

You shared neither the opinion nor the humor, but he had sounded so earnestly resigned that you had no choice but to snort loudly.

And then Heimdall also called for the raven and the two of you were off as well.

+++

In all the excitement, you hadn't had a chance really, to realize that you were leaving Gladsheim. For the first time in weeks. Among other things, this was actually why you enjoyed the patrols so much; of course you were still "locked up" on top of the wall, but at least your cage up there had a better view...

So far, you had only been able to see "New Midgard" from far above, or only in your imagination when people talked about it. You knew it as a small camp at the foot of the wall, which also bordered on one of the towers of Týr's Temple. It was here that Odin - in all his inexhaustible generosity, of course - had quartered Midgardian refugees to save them from dying a horrible death during Fimbulwinter. This already made it so you had three things in common: Your Midgardian heritage, your mortal blood and the fact that a god had saved your life.

You hoped that those three would not be the only similarities.

When you, Heimdall and Gulltoppr were released from the raven vortex on the other side of the wall, your heart beat at double speed - and for once, this wasn't because of your unconventional means of transportation.

No, it was because you were terribly excited about meeting other mortals. Midgardians. Your people, basically. Or at least the closest thing to it; it would be quite a coincidence if there really were people among them who actually had something to do with your nebulous past. But stranger things had happened, hadn't they?

Nevertheless, your sweaty palms were more due to the fact that your mind simply could not imagine what your arrival would look like. You felt like you had never been more nervous than at this moment. What would they think of you...? Would they find it strange that you were allowed to enter Gladsheim? That you were accompanied by a god? By Heimdall, specifically? It wouldn't surprise you if his reputation even preceded him to this side of the wall...

Not that you could change anything about that now. What you could change, however, was your entrance. You became embarrassingly aware of this in the next moment, when you trotted across a narrow (by Gulltoppr standards at least) wooden bridge and the first pairs of astonished eyes down below took notice of you.

"I want to get off", you announced immediately.

Heimdall turned his head slightly in your direction. "What, is Gulltoppr too flashy for you?" He snorted, but then added: "No need to worry your pretty little head. I certainly don't intend to expose her to any gawkers. She'll stretch her legs a bit while we go about our business."

With that, he steered the Gradungr away from the camp and a little further into the wilderness behind it, where you finally descended. While he relieved Gulltoppr of her heavy armor, you turned around and marveled at the "Plains of Ida"; at least that was how he had once introduced this place in one of your many conversations on the wall.

A landscape of the deepest blues and greens stretched out before you. If it weren't for the mountain range in the distance, it would seem endless. It was dominated by water so crystal clear that sometimes you could spot the glint of fish scales. Otherwise, the water lay so still that it seemed like a perfect copy of the brilliant blue sky above. The green, on the other hand, was found in lush patches of grass and moss growing on the many rock formations that jutted out of the water here and there.

You had never seen such a landscape before - the view from high above didn't count; from up there, it didn't seem like a tangible reality, but rather a painting - and it took you a while to get over your amazement. A dragonfly sailed past you and you followed its flight with your eyes until you finally turned around and suddenly found yourself face to face with Hrimthur's Wall again.

You had to say, it looked much more impressive from this side. At least from here, for the first time, you could really imagine that it had once been built by a giant, a "giant" giant, because of the huge nails that were embedded everywhere. Seriously, they looked so gigantic that even Kratos probably wouldn't be able to lift them!

When you turned around again, Heimdall had completely stripped Gulltoppr of all the gold and leather, which she acknowledged with a satisfied shake of her massive body. She purred deeply as the Aesir scratched her under the chin before she was allowed to frolic in the wide plains. No doubt she would take care of one or two nasty creatures in the process.

Pest control of a different kind, you thought, amused.

As the two of you walked back to the refugee camp, Heimdall leaned in your space before continuing your earlier conversation: "Besides, when you're with me, all eyes are on you anyway, Gulltoppr or no Gulltoppr."

Well, yeah. That was exactly what you were worried about...

"Is that so..."

The blonde acknowledged your rather constipated-looking expression with a raised eyebrow. "Are you... nervous? Why? Do you really care that much about what this wild bunch might think of you?"

You ignored the slight and decided to just tell him the truth. You didn't have the nerve for anything else right now anyway. "Of course! I've never met other Midgardians before. I... want to make a good first impression."

He snorted. "Well, let me allay your worries. They really are wholly unimpressive."

You had to walk down a narrow, well-trodden path to reach the settlement, and, once again, Heimdall held out his hand to keep you from landing face-first in the mud. You were just thinking how common and normal these little touches had become between you, when suddenly a raven crowed somewhere above you and Heimdall immediately let go of your hand, as if he had burned himself.

...Okay. Not that common and normal then, you thought a little offended and then tried to rub the tingling out of your fingers.

But all that was forgotten as soon as you set foot in "New Midgard". The first thing you noticed was, of course, the Realm Tower to your right. Týr's Temple was inaccessible and half submerged in water, as you could easily see from up the wall. However, the huge tower itself you could admire in all its glory now. At least until...

"Milord, I wasn't expecting you so soon! Welcome, welcome!"

You turned to see an older man with a graying beard and a funny cap on his head hurrying towards you.

The corner of Heimdall's mouth twitched briefly, but otherwise he remained entirely motionless. "Chieftain Ivar. Shouldn't you know by now that I prefer not to keep my work waiting?"

"But of course, of course. Forgive me", the other mumbled while nodding his head in rapid fashion.

It was obvious that the "Chieftain" held a lot of respect for Heimdall. The Asgardians were submissive too, of course, but unlike the man in front of you, for them the novelty of "godhood" had worn off a bit, you might say. But Ivar now looked at Heimdall as if he were the personified sun.

This, coupled with Heimdall's rather uncharacteristically dignified demeanor, had you watching the spectacle with mild amusement until the Aesir suddenly turned to you.

"I have brought a guest with me today." He introduced you, whereupon the Chieftain greeted you with the same enthusiasm and reverence - much to your embarrassment. "I wish for you to treat her as you would treat me, is that understood?"

"Certainly, Milord, certainly! Milady will want for nothing, I will personally see to it." There was a brief and awkward pause, then he pointed in the direction of the dwellings. "W-well, shall we then?"

You didn't know exactly what you had expected, but a part of you - for which you were now quite ashamed - had actually believed that you would get some kind of welcoming committee. Which, of course, was complete and utter nonsense, and also quite conceited of you; after all, these people had much better things to do.

And anyway, not making any impression was far better than to make a bad one, right? Right...

While you slowly made your way through the settlement and Ivar brought Heimdall up to speed, you only listened with half an ear and instead looked around with interest and a little surprise. Until now, you had always believed that the name "New Midgard" was meant as a half-joke, since the refugees were all Midgardian. Accordingly, you had not expected much from their camp; after all, you had been told that the people had brought only the most essential of their belongings. But instead of the tents and other makeshift shelters you had imagined, you now found yourself in the middle of what looked like a blossoming village. Everywhere you looked, half-finished buildings were already shooting up out of the ground, everywhere there was movement and productivity, people were measuring, sawing and hammering...

So "New Midgard" was meant quite literally, judging by the behavior of its inhabitants at least.

You didn't really know what to make of all this. You were already suspicious of the fact that Odin should have saved these people merely "out of the goodness of his heart". No, there was surely more to it than that, there was always more to the actions of that old goat...

"...Is the training going well?", Heimdall's voice suddenly reached your ear.

"Oh, excellently even, Milord! The people learn quickly. In their gratitude they are quite eager to serve the All-Father in any way they can."

You frowned. "Training"...? What did he mean by that?

But before you could find out more, you suddenly heard a "Psst".

At first you didn't think much of it and just ignored it, but then you heard it a second time. Confused, you turned your head back and forth.

"Yes, you there!"

Your eyes finally landed on a young woman leaning against a fence post not far from you. She was about your age, you would guess, with straw-blond hair tied back and a big grin on her face as she now beckoned you to join her.

You hesitated for a moment, glancing furtively in Heimdall's direction. But when you saw that he was still deep in conversation, you finally complied with her request.

"Sorry, I didn't know how else to get your attention." She smiled crookedly. "Spontaneity is not my strong suit."

Up close, you could see that her face was full of freckles and that she had a gap between her front teeth, giving her a rather cheeky look.

"Ah, no worries. Rings a bell, actually", you replied (but contrary to your words, you had decided quite spontaneously that you already liked her).

"Okay, that's a relief", she laughed, then introduced herself to you as Aud.

After you told her your name in return, she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at you. "Sooo. I'm sure I'm about to commit the greatest sacrilege of all time, but... What are you the goddess of...? Ugh, sorry." She grimaced. "I'm sure I've heard of you before, it's just... Lately I feel like even my brain has frostbite and-"

"Wha- No, stop! I'm no goddess", you quickly interrupted her rambling with a chuckle.

Aud frowned and for a split second her eyes darted to Heimdall. "You sure? Could've fooled me... I mean, you're beautiful enough."

When she even winked at you, you didn't know how to react at first. But then the familiar heat shot back into your face.

"Oh! Uuuh... Thank you? But no. No, I'm a boring mortal, I'm afraid." You laughed sheepishly. "Midgardian, actually. Just like you."

"What? No way! Are you from another camp then? I've never seen you around before."

"No, I..." You took a deep breath. "I'm a guest of Odin's...? I suppose?"

There was a moment of silence, then she laughed out loud. "Right, uh-huh. And I'm Lady Sif's lover."

You smiled. "Believe me, I know how that sounds, but... No, yeah, I'm staying in Gladsheim. This is actually my first trip outside the wall in quite some time."

Aud stared at you for some time, before her face suddenly lit up. "Oh shit, you're- You're you! The mortal girl who's with that little giant squirt, the All-Father's apprentice!" She laughed incredulously. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner... You see, my little brother Skjöldr hangs out with Loki pretty regularly - as you're probably aware - and he's already told me sooo much about you... Wow, my brain really had a serious lapse there!"

You couldn't really relate to her enthusiasm - especially after the revelation that Atreus had been here before, quite often even by the sound of it, and you had had no idea...

"So. How is it?"

"Uh, what?", you asked, confused, trying to focus on her beaming face again.

"Gladsheim, of course! The home of the Aesir gods? It's still so weird to me that they actually let you in there. I mean- Shit! In the beginning it was literally drilled into us on an almost daily basis: 'No mortal is allowed within the walls!'", she mimicked someone who sounded suspiciously like Heimdall...

"Oh, I-"

"No, wait!", she quickly interrupted, pushing herself off the fence post, "Before you start, I want to introduce you to someone, is that okay? It's, uuuh... A good friend! I'm sure she'd love to hear this, too!"

But she didn't get far before, all of a sudden, a heavy hand landed on your shoulder and a familiar voice said: "Ah, Aud. As always, I'm glad to see that the Chieftain's daughter finds the time to laze around while everyone else is hard at work."

In this position, Heimdall had almost put his entire arm around your shoulders, which made you struggle to keep your facial muscles under control. An almost impossible task, especially when his hand suddenly moved and made itself comfortable in the crook of your neck, where his thumb began to rhythmically glide over your skin...

It puzzled you that all of a sudden he seemed to have no problem anymore with touching you again, even though he had basically acted as if you had a contagious disease earlier. Nevertheless, and despite your best efforts, you slowly felt your knees go weak.

Yeah, you were truly hopeless...

Aud glowered at him and crossed her arms. "I'm taking a break. Would probably do you some good as well, maybe then you'd finally get that stick out of your ass."

"Hmm", he hummed, "Quite curious that you always seem to 'take a break' right when I'm around."

"Ever considered that it's on purpose to make it easier for me to avoid you?"

"Ah, I don't think so. You see, otherwise you wouldn't have chatted up my company. No, I'm beginning to suspect that you actually want to attract my attention, dearest Aud..."

She snorted. "Even if I were into men, you'd be the last one I'd go for, believe me." Her eyes darted to his hand on your shoulder. "But I'm glad to know that your dick still works, Heimdall! We were getting worried."

She had barely finished speaking when the thumb on your neck stopped moving. You could almost feel how charged the air around you suddenly became, giving you even less incentive to interfere with their conversation.

"You worried about me? I'm touched." You couldn't help but notice that his sarcasm had rarely sounded sharper.

The corners of her mouth twitched. "Yeah, I bet you are. But maybe you should up the frequency. You know, for the maximum 'make me less of an asshole' effect?"

There was a small pause in which you thought you could literally hear the air crackling.

Until Heimdall finally laughed and said: "Do you really think I need advice from you of all people? The way things are going between you and that Helga girl, your only chance of ever getting laid is to crawl up a chicken's butt and wait."

Aud's face suddenly turned a deep red before she uttered a hearty "Fuck you", turned on her heel and stomped off without so much as sparing you another glance.

While Heimdall only laughed harder, your jaw dropped. Weak knees or not, the next moment you shook his hand from your shoulder and angrily turned around.

"What was that about?!"

His laughter died instantly. "What do you mean?"

"That!" You pointed in the direction where Aud had disappeared. "Was that necessary? She was nice!"

"'Nice'?", he repeated, "You can't be serious. Didn't you hear her just now? She's nothing but a lazy, insubordinate, disrespectful brat! You should have seen what's in her head!"

You shook yours in disbelief. "Did it ever occur to you to use your skills to de-escalate a situation instead of making it worse? Be... considerate, for a change?"

You knew it was a losing battle. You knew how he would react, that he wouldn't even understand what it meant to take others into consideration. That he would just dismiss it as stupidity, as weakness. But still you tried. Still you had the small hope that by now you were at a point in... whatever this was between you, where he would at least consider your words.

But, once again, he disappointed you.

"'Considerate'? Oh, please. Why would I do that when she's the one in the wrong?"

You threw your arms up. "I don't know, maybe to do me a favor?? I told you how much this means to me!"

"And I told you they're not worth your time!", he shot back.

"Why? Because she's 'rebellious' and 'disrespectful'?? You said the same thing about me in the beginning!", you retorted heatedly, "Yes, you may be able to see inside my head, but how would you know what I have yet to deem worthy of my time? Before you showed up, Aud and I were actually having a lovely chat! Who knows, maybe I would have found her friend just as nice! Maybe I would have even befriended them, would've finally-"

"I know because I know them", the Aesir growled, "I know what they're like deep down. That they're just a bunch of simple-minded and opportunistic little worms. Parasites who selfishly expect the All-Father to give meaning to their insignificant mortal lives, nothing more."

You stared at him. At that moment, it was incomprehensible to you how you could have even allowed him to touch you just a few minutes ago. It made no sense. None of this made any sense.

"I'm a mortal, in case you forgot. Does that make me insignificant, too?"

The words hung in the air between you for a few seconds. If it had felt charged before, now it seemed to want to suffocate you. Heimdall returned your eye contact, ostensibly calm, but the deeper you dived into the purple galaxies, the brighter they seemed to burn. Still, your question remained unanswered at first, and disappointment was already eating through your guts, taking a stranglehold on your heart as he finally choked out:

"You're... not."

You blinked, then shook your head with a bitter laugh. "Nice try. A little late now, though."

He didn't stop you, didn't come after you as you walked away, back to the beaten path, out of the camp. Your mind was spinning and your heart was aching like it had never ached before. And with each step, with each breath, you grew more and more panicked as you suddenly realized, unequivocally:

Oh gods... I really do like him.

You had the urge to scream. To kick a rock, to tear your hair out. What was wrong with you?! You couldn't like him, you couldn't like an absolute asshole! It didn't make a lick of sense! He treated you horribly, proved time and time again that he considered you beneath him, nothing more than a stupid, insignificant mortal! And what was it you had been doing in the meantime...?? You had given in to your imagination, had started to see things, fantasies, that were not there, all because of your loneliness and shame and guilt.

He was right. Gods, you really were dumb. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb. Dumb and naive and a danger to yourself, frankly. And to others! Honestly, all you had done lately was to cause pain. Maybe you should just disappear, just wander off now, try to find a way home... It was not like you were needed here anyway, not like anyone would even miss you. Not Atreus, not Jörgen, not Thrúd, not-

You laid your head back when you suddenly heard a raven crowing. Only then did you notice that your face was streaked with tears, and you angrily wiped them away as you watched the bird glide through the air above you. Was that Huginn...? You couldn't say for sure, but sometimes you thought you saw a flash of a red pattern...

You had no idea if this would work, but you wanted nothing more than to bury yourself under your blankets right now, so you gladly accepted the potential embarrassment. So without further ado, you put your hands around your mouth and loudly called for the bird.

And lo and behold, he answered, came sailing down and soon landed on a rock right next to you. His ice-cold eyes gave you the creeps, but even that couldn't dissuade you from your plan.

"Um... Hello", you greeted the bird hesitantly, immediately feeling rather stupid for talking to a, well... a bird, "So. I don't know how this usually works... And if it will work at all, what with me only being a mortal and all. But I guess it's worth a try? I mean, you're already sitting here. Anyway, the others never really announce where they want to go, sooo... I guess you just have to think real hard about it...? Or something? Just to be perfectly clear though, I want you to take me to the Great Lodge, okay? Uh, please. If you would be so inclined? Thank you in adv-"

But you didn't get to finish before you could already hear the rustle of wings in the air. And not long after, with a small, triumphant smile on your lips and a racing heart in your chest, you found yourself surrounded by feathers and on your way to the lodge.

Or so you thought.

Because when the birds released you, you were suddenly standing on a mossy rock in the middle of nowhere.

At first, you were so perplexed that your smile only started to disappear when you searched for Huginn- and, once again, saw nothing but water, rocks and more water. Where the Plains of Ida bordered on Hrimthur's Wall, however, your current surroundings slowly merged into the slopes of huge, snow-capped mountains...

You slowly turned around again and looked at the wall in the distance; it was so far away that it suddenly seemed tiny.

Exactly as you felt in that very moment.

***

😇

hope you enjoyed thiss<3 as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated!!

lmk in the comments if you also want to be tagged (or untagged)☆ if your tag doesn't work it's probably bc of your settings!!

223 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 10 days

Text

God of War as Quotes from my DnD party

🪓

Modi: I'm going to commit domestic terrorism.........against my sister.

🪓

Mimir, at Odin: Suck your cock? It's so small, you want me to lick your bladder?

🪓

Sif, on Thors moobs: they have their own gravitational pull, and the planets are my hands

🪓

Atreus, practicing pick up lines: if I were a viking I'd take you from your homeland to mine...against your will

Kratos, apparently a ladies man: I think I'm going to raise your rent

🪓

Odin: the Geneva convention just holds people back

🪓

Freya: man I want a wife

Odin: I'll be your wife

Freya: you are not a wife, nor are you mine.

🪓

Freyr: it was me who was gay with socks on. I was hot and homosexual.

🪓

Heimdal: schizophobia is a real problem in this society

🪓

Freya: -unless they're Keebler elves

Baldur: then they're delicious

***silence***

Freya: Baldur...you don't eat the elves, did you eat a Keebler elf??

🪓

Thor, holding up a novelty flask: hey you think this is enough to get me drunk?

Heimdal: my brother in christ you are Mexican Robert Baratheon no it's not enough

🪓

Brok: ITS UNION PACIFIC I FUCKING HATE THEM

Brok, to the train: ILL FUCKING KILL YOU

🪓

Sindri: I am in fact a timid autistic white boy

33 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 10 days

Text

God of War characters in a Haunted House

Kratos - Doesn't jump, doesn't flinch, no reaction whatsoever. Only here because Atreus asked him to come.

Mimir - As Freya pointed out, Mimir babbles when he gets scared. Talks all the way through the house, about anything and everything.

Atreus - Tries to act tough to start with, tries to laugh off the scares, but jumps a foot into the air every jumpscare.

Angrboda - She literally squeaks when she gets a fright, it's really cute! Compliments the actors costumes.

Thrud - Laughs the whole time. Thinks the jumpscares are hilarious.

Skjoldr - Is crying and shaking the entire time. Doesn't know why he agreed to this. Hides behind Thrud.

Sindri - He took one step in the door, heard people screaming inside and walked right back out.

Brok - Not scared, but curses like a sailor anytime an actors comes near him.

Freya - If an actor screams at her, she will scream back louder to establish dominance. Freyr may or may not have tricked her into coming.

Freyr - Thinks it's funny to start with, will laugh at the scares and the costumes. But the longer he is there, the more scared he becomes. By the end, Freya has to practically carry him out.

Heimdall - He doesn't scream or jump, but flinches really badly. An actor jumps out at him and he is ducking and dodging like a pro-boxer on crack. You can only tell that he is scared by the fact that he is silent as the grave instead of his usual shit talking.

Baldur - Talks a big game, acts all tough, but the second he gets scared, he starts swinging. He isn't even looking where, he just starts throwing hands. Has to be physically restrained for the safety of the actors.

Thor - Like Kratos, he only comes because Thrud begged him to. Pretty much unfased by the jumpscares, but will growl if an actor comes too close to him or Thrud.

283 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 10 days

Photo

heimdall jumpscare

195 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 10 days

Text

The Pickpocket - Part 18

[Prev] [Next] [Masterlist]

Pairing: Heimdall x fem!Reader

Word count: 3.4k

Summary: At the end of the day you just have to make the best out of the cards you have been dealt with - cards that Heimdall feels have been reshuffled in his favor...

A/N: this chap is brought to you by: "Asgardian Apples"! AJSKSKS also shoutout to @the-broken-faucet for showing me that there's a ton of unreleased gow:r soundtracks on youtube!!💖💖 i basically listened to the ~asgard ambience~ one on loop while writing this lol - BTW👀 the next chap will FINALLY get the ball rolling into canon-city👀🙌 aaAAAAAAA I'M SO EXCITED!! only took what, 18 chaps and 5 months? ajsksks💀

***

Part 18

It was crazy. Without any rhyme or reason.

For weeks, the purple-eyed Aesir had been nothing but a thorn in your side, at best annoying as all Hel, at worst nothing short of paranoia-inducing. He had lurked everywhere you went, after all, never once letting you out of his sight. When he had appeared in your dreams, it had only been in the form of borderline nightmares. What was it again you had likened this feeling to on your very first day here? As if you were nothing but a puny mouse in front of a snake...? Yeah, that sounded about right. A snake with eyes so cold... It hadn't been very hard to imagine that one day he would make good on his many threats and simply eat you up, with skin and hair.

With that in mind, it sounded even more ridiculous that he had ever considered you and Atreus a serious threat. Especially you. What would you even accomplish, burn dinner? Vandalize one of Odin's many statues that were scattered all over Gladsheim? Annoy Heimdall to death??

...Well, that last one might sound rather extreme, but at the same time it was about as likely as Kratos warbling some tunes.

No, before any of that would happen, you'd rather alienate every last one of your friends and family. Which you were already on the right track for, in all honesty.

A deep sigh escaped you before you started to chew on your lower lip again, lost in thought. At the moment, you were lying in your bed, arms folded behind your head, staring holes into the dark ceiling above you. It was still early in the morning, but not so early that you wouldn't already run into someone in the Great Hall - which was the exact reason, actually, for you still twiddling your thumbs in here.

Yesterday, when you'd come back from the stables, the hall had been crowded as usual, so it hadn't been all too difficult to sneak back to your room undetected. This morning, however, things looked a bit different and you would rather stay in your room for hours than be noticed by Jörgen. Or run into Thrúd. Or into any of the other consequences of your little anti-Odin rant yesterday. No, you really didn't handle that one well, at all...

What threw your little plan to become a recluse for the time being a fair bit out of whack though, was the rather persistent growling of your stomach. You had skipped dinner after all, and were about to do the same with breakfast. You closed your eyes when your stomach sounded the alarm again. Damn it... Why didn't you just quickly grab something yesterday? You could almost hear every single recluse in the Nine Realms laughing at you.

You sighed again. No, it was no use. You could go on and on, trying to pull the wildest excuses out of your ass. Eventually you would have to leave your humble abode again, there was no way around it.

Thus, you reluctantly swung your legs over the edge of the bed and pushed open your door not long after. Before leaving your room, you first stuck your head outside and turned it left and right to scope out the situation. When all remained quiet, you scurried through the door, trying your damndest not to look in the direction of Atreus' room. Instead, you hurried towards the Great Hall.

I'll just grab something from the display and get out before anyone notices I'm even there, you thought to yourself, Exactly. In and out, just quickly in and out...

But no sooner had you put your foot on the first step than you froze in mid-motion as you suddenly heard a door being pushed shut behind you. From the approximate direction it could be Thrúd's room, but didn't she usually sleep in...?

You really didn't want to find out however, so you just picked up the pace. Even in the Great Hall you didn't want to take any chances; instead, you walked briskly to the display with your head down and your heart pounding, grabbed two apples (after all, recent events had shown you that it couldn't hurt to be a little greedy sometimes), and then quickly left the lodge.

It was only when you found yourself amidst the already quite busy hustle and bustle of the city that you allowed yourself to breathe a sigh of relief. You savored the sun on your face and surveyed your surroundings as you took a hearty bite out of your fruity breakfast.

The storm had left its mark. Not only on the streets, where some puddles could be considered small lakes by this point. No, the wind had also torn down fences here and there, and you passed quite a few houses where people were busy with roof work. No wonder half of Gladsheim was already on its feet; sleeping under a perforated roof didn't seem very ideal...

You frowned slightly when, distracted by what was happening off the road, you suddenly stepped into a puddle. Great, just great... This almost seemed like a sign; while everyone else was busy working, you were walking around the neighborhood, enjoying the sunshine.

Another thing to add to your long list of things that made you feel guilty. As if it wasn't already running out of space...

But like every time your thoughts went in this direction lately, you quickly tried to steer them in another. And like every time before, they then became hung up on something that almost caused you an even bigger headache.

It really was crazy. Insane, even.

You groaned and buried your face in your hands. You knew very well that you shouldn't have these thoughts; they seemed almost forbidden to you.

Heimdall was the enemy. An Aesir god and not just any god, no. He was the son of Odin, who had most likely sent him after you. But even apart from that, he had only given you bad memory after bad memory during your time here. He had threatened you and Atreus (more than once), had insulted you, and done really everything in his power to make your time here as horrible as possible. He was an asshole and a jerk...

And also the only one who, at the moment, didn't make you feel like you were doing everything wrong. The only one who didn't instantly make you feel like crap when you thought about him - which was quite ironic, considering that he had been trying really, really hard to do just that since you arrived here.

So what the heck was wrong with you now that you were suddenly having these thoughts?? Not only did this seem forbidden, it seemed like betrayal even.

It would be all too easy to just blame Odin again. And, well; he might have had a hand in your falling out with Atreus... But how could he have foreseen that you would also butt heads with Jörgen and Thrúd? How could he have planned all that?? No, this was entirely your own fault, you couldn't just shift that blame onto Odin again. Just like it was entirely on you and you alone that you had spent the last evening with Heimdall. After all, he hadn't forced you into it.

Nor had he forced you to dream of him again tonight... and in the most dazzling colors at that.

As soon as you finished this thought, your face grew hot again. You knew dreams meant nothing. You had once read a story about a water spirit and promptly dreamed that you were a fish in the following night, and yet you had no scaled ancestry (at least... none that you knew of). With everything that had been going through your head lately, it was no wonder that your dreams were mostly about Heimdall!

However, the fact that the memory of said dreams made you increasingly flustered lately... That was something else entirely. No, them changing from nightmares to that all by themselves, that was no longer normal dream logic. That could only mean that, despite all logic and common sense... you had actually begun to see the Aesir in a new light. You wouldn't call it "liking" yet. One single evening in which he had behaved reasonably civilized (at least for his standards) and managed to distract you from your disastrous life didn't already make you "like" him. But you couldn't deny that you had actually enjoyed spending time with "animal enthusiast Heimdall", as strange as that sounded.

Which was why your legs were now carrying you to a very specific place...

+++

When Heimdall stepped out of the Great Lodge, an apple in his left hand, and let his gaze wander over his surroundings, it immediately landed on the cook, who at that very moment was walking briskly toward him, a bag of herbs over his shoulder. The sight automatically made him grin. Heimdall knew that Jörgen hated it like the plague to always have to walk to the remote fields when he needed a certain ingredient that he didn't have in stock anymore.

It might be rare, but Sif did indeed have her moments of brilliance, he had to give her that.

"What's with the sour expression?", Heimdall called out to him, "Don't they say that regular morning exercises improve the overall quality of life?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the cook looked at him with such hatred that Heimdall raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"You won't find what you're looking for here, so fuck off."

Ah... Of course. Naturally, Heimdall had already heard about your little quarrel with the cook and his niece. Its consequences seemed to be even more delicious than he had initially expected however...

"What? Is this how you react to someone inquiring about your well-being?", Heimdall asked with mock dismay, "Then again... I guess it doesn't take good manners to stand behind a fireplace..."

The cook stepped right up to him and growled: "She's not here."

His eyes sparked fire, but Heimdall was not the least bit impressed. Instead he gave his counterpart a shit-eating grin and took a bite out of his apple before saying: "Well. That's too bad."

Dark eyes clouded with barely suppressed rage burned into purple ones, letting the Aesir know that the other would rather rip his head off, at minimum, than just stand there baring his teeth like the leashed lapdog he was.

Heimdall feasted on this sight like others did on their favorite dish.

"Leave. Her. Alone."

"Or what?", he asked the cook, amused, "You start to bark? Besides, who says she wants to be left alone anyway?"

Jörgen blinked for a few short seconds, then suddenly he let out a loud laugh. "Because everyone wants to be left alone by you! She doesn't like you! You know, I'm starting to think that your eyes may 'see all'..." He leaned closer. "But at the end of the day, it's still only what you want them to see."

When he pushed past him the next moment, ramming his shoulder for good measure, it was now Heimdall who felt the all-too-familiar rage start to boil inside him. His fingers itched to remind the impudent little cook exactly which family he was serving here, but then he restrained himself. For Heimdall knew that if he let himself get carried away now, it would only be taken as confirmation and he didn't want to give him that satisfaction. Besides, he was still an Aesir prince; fighting with servants was far below his dignity.

No, there were other ways to get back at the cook...

So Heimdall just snorted and then said loudly, his eyes fixed on the other man's back: "Ah, well... From what I heard this morning, I think there's a good chance she likes you even less than me now, my friend." He paused for dramatic effect. "Considering that she's been avoiding you and all that... Whereas last night, she joined me for a little fun in the stables. Funny, isn't it? How fast things can change..."

Jörgen didn't turn around again, but Heimdall did see him flinch slightly and that was all he needed to afterwards leave the square with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Now all he had to do was find out where you were hiding... He whistled a little tune as he let his eyes wander over the surrounding buildings and beyond.

His good mood from last night had obviously not yet subsided. However, now there was a certain smugness to it.

Heimdall couldn't deny that he had been quite relieved when you had accepted his invitation to join him in the stable yesterday. He had been racking his brain for days over whether your last almost-fight meant that he would have to start his plan to gain your trust all over again. You avoiding him, on top of that, had put him in such a bad mood that he wouldn't have been surprised to learn that it had actually been himself who was responsible for the never-ending rain clouds.

It had made your sudden appearance behind the stable almost seem like a sign of fate. And like something he really couldn't afford to mess up. The thought of disappointing the All-Father once more had made him downright nervous, as his brain had scrambled to come up with a way to keep you close.

No wonder had you been able to so easily wrap him around your pretty little finger again. Something he had still called himself a fucking dumbass for, obviously, as soon as he had returned home. For it was simply ridiculous, especially for a god of his status, how quickly a few thoughts and... feelings had managed to throw him off. Again. Ridiculous how quickly he had forgotten that all of this was nothing more than a magic trick, a sham. These feelings were not real, not his own. Just a product of your magic.

There was no need to agonize about something that didn't exist.

At first this realization had made him pause and then feel very satisfied. Because it was true, it really didn't matter how or what he felt when he was near you. It didn't matter because at the end of the day, it was just smoke and mirrors! Nothing that had any meaning beyond you.

No, your spell had its limits, that he was well aware of by now. After all, he always managed to come back to his senses as soon as he was no longer near you. Your last meeting on top of the wall was further proof of that; it had only ended so disastrously because he had let you get much too close - a mistake he would not make again.

Oh no, he thought, smiling grimly, I certainly won't.

He felt much more confident now that he had a better understanding of how your magic worked. That it was basically just an illusion, pure distraction. And already everything was in balance again, made so much more sense again, now that he had regained the upper hand.

Just as it should be for a god and a mortal.

As long as he didn't lose sight of his mission, as long as he didn't let this whole thing escalate (again), there was no need to worry. If some confusing feelings and the odd and unsuccessful attempt to convince him to defect was all there was to this, then there was really no reason to sound the alarm bells.

Which was why he hadn't really thought much of the fact that his first, rather subconscious activity this morning had been to pay a visit to the stables. Or that since then his thoughts had, once again, only revolved around you...

Or that now, when he suddenly spotted you at the bottom of the stairs leading to the elevator, his mouth automatically curved into an elated smile.

"Well, what have we here", he immediately called to you from afar, "What happened to 'there will be no next time', huh? Can't fault you for changing your mind, though." He came to a stop in front of you and smirked. "I know I'm irresistible."

As expected, you just rolled your eyes and then crossed your arms. "Don't flatter yourself. I just... have nothing better to do right now, that's all."

"Nothing better than what?" He tilted his head.

He was incredibly amused by the journey your facial expressions underwent the next moment, as you first clenched your mouth into a thin line and then glared at him while furrowing your eyebrows.

"Well?", he persisted when you stayed quiet.

"You know what I meant", you said through gritted teeth.

He acted as if he had to think very hard about this. "I don't know, do I...? Maybe if you could jog my memory..."

You ignored his expectant look and snorted. "No. I won't say it."

"Well, suit yourself." With that, Heimdall shrugged, walked nonchalantly past you, and then began to climb the stairs.

One didn't need his foresight to predict what would happen next.

And lo and behold, no sooner had he stepped onto the first landing than you suddenly exclaimed: "...Wait."

He grinned. When he turned around, however, his face was absolutely expressionless except for a single raised eyebrow.

You let your arms fall to your sides before you let out a deep sigh. "Please... Take me with you on patrol. Satisfied?"

He should have thanked the cook. After all, Jörgen had been quite instrumental to the sight Heimdall was now presented with: You, begging him to take you to the top of the wall. Begging for his attention and company. Your little falling-out with your friends had apparently driven you right into his arms.

Nothing better could have happened to him - and the mission, of course - and he allowed himself a moment to fully enjoy this welcome development.

Then he purred: "Good girl."

Those two words made it so that for several seconds it looked as if you might reconsider - but then you just wordlessly went up the stairs and slipped past him onto the elevator, and he couldn't help but laugh to himself.

Once the two of you were on your way to the top of the wall, Heimdall nodded in the direction of the second apple in your hand. "Afraid I'll leave you up there this time?"

A sheepish look crossed your face and you smiled apologetically. "Uh, yeah... Sorry about that. But no, I just took it because..." You trailed off, while looking down at the fruit with a slight frown, as if you were actually seeing it for the first time now.

There was a short pause between you, then Heimdall stepped in front of you and snatched it from your hand, exclaiming: "The most famous mortal in all of Asgard steals an apple for me? I must say, I'm almost feeling honored."

Your eyebrows knitted together as you looked at his other hand. "But don't you already have one-"

Without further ado, Heimdall threw his own, half-eaten apple off the elevator.

Your mouth fell open as you followed its trajectory. You were speechless. Then, when the two of you locked eyes again and he demonstratively took a big bite out of your "gift", you couldn't help the laughter bubbling up inside of you. Immediately you turned your head to hide it from him (a rather fruitless endeavor, of course).

Soon, however, you cleared your throat and said in a stern voice: "I would really appreciate it if you would stop calling me that, you know."

Meanwhile, Heimdall had leaned against the steering wheel again. For a moment he didn't know what you were referring to, but then it dawned on him. "What, 'thief'?"

Your glare was confirmation enough.

He chuckled. "What would you like me to call you, then? Long finger? Pickpocket?"

You rolled your eyes and turned away again. "Ugh, forget it..."

"All right, pickpocket it is then. My own little pickpocket~"

He didn't get a verbal response, but judging by the way you went rigid for a moment, Heimdall could practically feel your face heating up in flustered embarrassment. His grin widened.

Oh yes. As long as he continued to play it safe and didn't lose sight of his mission, he could certainly have some fun with you...

***

WAS THIS CHEESY AS ALL HEL? YES. BUT I JUST HAD TO OKAY I HAD TO AJSKSKS

hope you enjoyed thiss<3 as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated!!

lmk in the comments if you also want to be tagged (or untagged)☆ if your tag doesn't work it's probably bc of your settings!!

213 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 11 days

Text

They really gave Poseidon the sluttiest waist.

199 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 12 days

Text

The Pickpocket - Part 17

[Prev] [Next] [Masterlist]

Pairing: Heimdall x fem!Reader

Word count: 7.4k (yikes)

Summary: Your day gets even worse, you do everything in your might to catch a cold and then you finally lose your mind around a certain purple eyed menace.

A/N: ..i hope the second half of this chapter makes you not want to kill me for the first anymore AJAKSKSK ENJOY THIS ROLLERCOASTER❤❤ (i'd love to type more but it's lit 3am and i'm half asleep already loll maybe i'll edit this tmw~)

***

Part 17

You had slammed the door so hard behind you that an intense ringing sound mixed with the roaring in your ears now. This, combined with your angry tunnel vision, caused the world around you to cease to exist for a few moments. Yes, you were so wrapped up in your emotions that you didn't even really notice where you were going. Your head was so full of chaos that your legs practically moved by themselves. And they just wanted to go, go, go...

You angrily wiped your eyes with your sleeve as your vision blurred.

How could he?? Never before had you fought like this. Never before had he behaved so... awful towards you. He really did seem like a complete stranger all of a sudden. Where had your gentle and always supportive little brother gone? What had happened in the last few days to make him so stubborn and arrogant? Make it so he didn't even want to listen to you, his family, any more and instead sided with Odin now??

The answer was fairly obvious - or rather, it was probably standing behind a large wooden desk in a room to your left at this very moment. But in your anger, you simply ignored that. Ignored why you had wanted to talk to Atreus in the first place, ignored Odin's manipulation for the first time in days.

Ignored that it had basically been him who had just spoken to you with Atreus' voice.

No, none of that even occured to you right now. Instead, your head was full of hurt, anger, and the overwhelming need to get out of here.

It seemed that "Loki" had been right about one thing at least: You should have just stayed home.

You were halfway across the Great Hall when another loud clap of thunder brought you to a screeching halt. You had actually planned to go outside and take a long walk - that is, until you remembered that you were still stuck inside because of the damn storm. Well, you had to admit that the rain was starting to annoy you too now...

"Where are you off to?"

You startled and spun around.

In front of you stood a certain redhead, wearing her signature furs and a slightly crooked grin.

But as much as you had always enjoyed the company of Thor's daughter, you really didn't want to talk to her right now. You didn't want to talk to anyone, in fact. All you wanted was to wallow in your own misery.

"...Huh?", you replied, distracted, "I... Nowhere."

She raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh... I guess that's also why you just stormed in here like you were bitten by a fire bug. Want to... talk about something? I've been told I'm a pretty good listener!"

You tried not to let your bad mood show, because as much as everything in you was refusing this conversation right now, you still didn't want to offend her. You quite liked the girl after all, usually.

You repeated that last part in your head like a mantra as you answered: "Ah, it's nothing, really."

Suddenly, she crossed the last bit of distance between you and leaned into your personal space. You resisted the urge to back away, but couldn't stop your irritation from growing again.

She narrowed her eyes at you for a few seconds, before pulling away again. "Yeah, I don't believe you. Come on, what's up?"

You felt the urge to groan. Why couldn't she just take you at your word and leave you alone?? You felt your temple begin to throb.

"I don't wanna talk about it", you said through clenched teeth.

A beat of silence.

Then: "Huh... I guess Jörgen was right. You are being weird."

You stared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that." She shrugged. "He said you've been acting a little weird lately, and when you didn't show up this morning, he got worried. Which, by the way, I can very much relate to now. You sure everything's all right?"

No. Everything was not all right. As evidenced by the fact that you suddenly felt as if nothing had ever annoyed you more than the worried look she was giving you at that very moment.

"So you're talking about me behind my back, yeah?", you blurted out, "Well, guess it's good to know that you're apparently no different than the rest of Asgard."

Thrúd frowned. "What?"

Shit, you thought, biting your tongue, So much for self-control...

"Ugh, whatever", you quickly waved it off, "Forget it."

But the damage was already done.

"No. No, tell me. What did you mean by 'no different than the rest of Asgard'?" She crossed her arms.

"It's just...", you struggled for words, but then just sighed and tried to do some damage control, "I just meant that I'm tired of always being judged. That's all."

"'Judged'?", the girl repeated, puzzled, "But we're not judging you, we're just worried!"

"And I'm telling you, there's no need! Really, everything's fine." You tried to smile, but it came out so wobbly you might as well have cried for help.

So it came as no surprise that Thrúd still wouldn't budge. "Oh, come on, stop it with the 'everything's fine's and 'it's nothing's! It's obvious that something is majorly bothering you! I mean, look at you!" She motioned to your face, then the rest of your body, then back to your face. "You look horrible!"

Again your mouth was faster than your brain. "Oh, so that's what you and Jörgen were talking about then? How 'horrible' I look? Well, that's just great..."

"What? I obviously didn't mean it like that, I- What's gotten into you all of a sudden??"

She stared at you as if you had lost your mind. And maybe you had; you kept acting like it at least, what with your head feeling all over the place right now. You felt your throat tighten and had just decided to talk your way out of this disaster of a conversation with some flimsy excuse, like having a headache or whatever, when suddenly her face changed.

"...Wait", she said slowly, looking at you with wide eyes, "It was Heimdall, wasn't it?"

Your mouth fell open. "What?"

She stared at nothing for a moment, muttering to herself: "Man, why didn't I think of this sooner...?" Then her eyes found your perplexed ones again. "It's true, isn't it?"

"W-What made you think that?"

"Well, I just put two and two together! You've been acting like this since your last patrol together", she started counting on her fingers, "Heimdall hasn't been here since, and Jörgen said you got mad at the mere mention of his name yesterday."

"I didn't get mad!", you immediately protested again, "And no, Heimdall-"

She approached you again and looked at you with genuine concern in her eyes. "Did he do something to you...? Because if he did, I would have no qualms about using him as my new training dummy, that's for sure!"

This time you jerked away from her. "No! He didn't... do anything to me, this isn't about him, okay?!"

With her cornering you like this, your irritation had increased once again. What was it about today that everyone wanted to talk about that purple-eyed jerk?? He wasn't even present, yet he still followed you everywhere!

"Then what is it about?? Just tell me, maybe I can help!"

"'Help'?" You laughed humorlessly. "No, you can't. Not with this."

She snorted. "Well, it's worth a try, isn't it? Cause it doesn't seem like you can handle it all on your own." Suddenly her face brightened. "Hey, we could go see grandfather! I'm sure he could help you!"

And just like that, the last of your self-control flew out the window and you couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Yeah, why not!", you finally exclaimed after you had calmed down again, "Why not ask Odin to help me convince Atreus that Odin is not to be trusted. I'm sure that will do the trick! I'm sure if I just ask him nicely enough, he'll freely admit that he just wants to use Atreus and then backstab him like he always does. Shall we go ask him now or later, hm?"

With each word, Thrúd's bright smile had faded a little more. "What are you sayi-?"

But you didn't even let her get a word in. After all, you were just getting started!

"Yes, I'm sure he'd just love to help me convince Atreus that he's acting like an idiot if he thinks he can save the world by allying himself with our worst enemy. Because hey, didn't you know? Suddenly it's totally okay to work with a murderous madman as long as you get something out of it for yourself! And it's also okay to just, ignore any and all warnings from the people who are naturally a little worried about you, because they're totally just overreacting and want to 'mother' you! Oh, but it's no big deal, really. They're just small, insignificant mortals after all, who shouldn't be meddling in the affairs of the almighty gods, because what do they even know, hm? So you can just toss them aside really, who cares!" You laughed crazily again. "Now. Do you still think this is a good idea? Because something tells me that there might be a little conflict of interest, Thrúd."

When you had finished speaking, the few people who were in the Great Hall this afternoon understandably gave you less than benevolent looks. After all, you had just loudly called their king a madman, and in his own four walls at that. Which would probably cause a whole string of problems... But at the moment, that didn't bother you in the slightest.

Yes, maybe you really were out of your mind, but why should you care when it felt so damn good??

"You don't mean that", poor Thrúd finally said quietly.

You were only too aware that your anger was severely misguided here. That this girl, of all the many people here, deserved your blame the least. That this conversation had only started because she was genuinely concerned about you. No, she certainly didn't deserve any of your anger.

But hovering above all that was the fact that she was also Odin's granddaughter, and that, coupled with her fierce loyalty to him, just about eclipsed everything else for you at the moment.

"What? That he's betraying Atreus? Or the war crimes part?", you asked sarcastically.

She clenched her hands into fists. "That's not you speaking. It's your father, or... or Mimir! Loki talks the same way. Says that grandfather corrupted the Valkyries and caused all this devastation... That he killed all the Giants and... and that he enslaved the Dwarves- I mean, please! That's insane! No, you two have just been brainwashed or something and fell for a bunch of bitter lies."

"Lies? Oh yeah, sure. I guess Atreus' own eyes lied to him, too. And the dozens of eyewitness accounts and records he's found all over the Nine Realms. Right, it's all just a giant conspiracy by a bunch of jealous former advisors and bitter ex-wives and-"

"Hey, leave her alone!", a voice suddenly sounded from behind you, before you were grabbed by the arm and yanked around - and looked directly into Jörgen's furious face the next moment, "Are you out of your mind?! Have you forgotten where you are? Know your place!"

He had almost growled that last part and for a moment you stood frozen in shock. But then you felt his fingers digging into your arm and the pain brought you back to your senses.

Immediately you pulled away from him.

"Listen, I didn't mean-", he started, giving you a conciliatory look.

But you raised your hand to stop him. "No, keep it", you just said, your voice cold as ice.

And then you pushed past him and made for the exit. Again, your eyes were burning and your ears were ringing, so you barely heard Jörgen calling after you. Instead, you soon busied yourself with pulling open the huge door in front of you.

And when you finally stepped out into the cold, wet chaos, you heard nothing anymore but the wild patter of the rain, the roar of the wind, and your own racing heartbeat.

+++

You didn't know how long you had been wandering through the city. Aimlessly, driven only by the desire to run. As far away as possible. Which wasn't very far actually, considering that the whole city was surrounded by a huge wall. But the burning in your legs at least gave the impression, and that was enough for your mind.

So it could have been hours or just a few minutes when you finally left the wide street and sat down under the roof of a house, off to the side so that no one would notice you at first glance. There you pulled up your tired legs and sniffled into the crook of your arm. You were shaking like a leaf, but you ignored that, along with the drops of water that dripped from your nose at regular intervals.

The dense rain gave everything a shadowy strangeness, but you were still pretty sure that you had never set foot in this part of the city before. Nothing seemed familiar. But that was quite alright actually, because it meant that you hadn't just been walking around in circles all this time.

Again you sniffled and then buried your face in your arms. You felt absolutely miserable. Maybe you really had succeeded in walking all your anger off, or maybe the rain had simply washed it away, because all that was left now were feelings of hurt, regret, and self-pity. And homesickness. So much homesickness that it choked the air out of you.

You wished yourself back to Kratos and Mimir, to the wolves and the Dwarves. Back to Midgard, to your cabin in the woods, to the warm furs of your bed... Back to familiarity, safety, and security.

You should never have left in the first place. What had you been thinking? This whole thing had already started out rather questionably, what with you lying to sweet Sindri about Kratos "wanting him to take you to Midgard", so you could follow after Atreus. You of all people. It was a miracle that he had even bought that, but well; Sindri was quite gullible and besides, he had been worried about the young god as well. So it had been far too easy to take advantage.

Something you deeply regretted now, as well as everything else that had followed. In that respect, your current situation served you right. Burning bridges left and right by doing all the wrong things, saying all the wrong things... What were you even but a fish out of water? A weak, simple-minded mortal among immortal gods? It was as Atreus- no, as Loki had said: You didn't belong in this world. Didn't belong in their world. That you had ever thought otherwise had been one big lie. Garnished with pure hubris, carelessness, and perhaps a not-so-small dose of arrogance, too.

No, you really didn't deserve any better, this really served you just ri-

"Can you please have your little breakdown somewhere else?"

Your head spun around. A window had been opened a little to the side above you, and the person sticking their head out and looking down at you was none other than your purple-eyed nightmare. The very last person you wanted to see right now.

"Or tone it down at least? You're annoying me and the animals."

You were so perplexed at first that you just repeated: "'Animals'...?"

Heimdall looked at you as if you had just said the stupidest thing he had ever heard. "Yes, animals. I know about your people's lack of civilization, but I would've assumed that you'd at least be advanced enough to know what a stable is?"

You couldn't believe it. And by that you didn't mean his familiar rudeness, or that you hadn't noticed that you had walked all the way to Gladsheim's stables. Nor did you mean that he had found you here so quickly, for by now you had gotten quite used to the fact that he always seemed to know exactly where you were. No, what you meant was that you were obviously in a crisis, and still he had decided that now was a good time to get on your nerves.

But, well. He was an asshole after all; seemingly only here to make your life even more miserable...

"Why can't you just leave me alone for once??", you hissed, "I really don't want to deal with you right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I inconveniencing you?", he asked sarcastically, "Then may I suggest that you do us both a favor and find another house to sit in front of and cry your eyes out?"

"Why should I leave when you stalked me all the way here?!", you exclaimed angrily.

Suddenly he laughed out loud. "There you go again, thinking you are the center of the universe! But believe it or not, princess, I am a busy man and have other things to do than keeping an eye on your boring life."

You stared at him with narrowed eyes for a few seconds before deciding that this wasn't worth the trouble. "Whatever", was therefore all you said the next moment and scrambled to your feet, "Think what you want."

And with that, you stomped past him and back out into the rain.

Though you were almost out of earshot when you suddenly heard him calling after you: "Ugh, fine. You can come in."

At first you thought the rain was playing tricks on your ears. But then you turned around and lo and behold, there was the Aesir god, standing in the open doorway, arms folded, framed by the warm light from inside the building.

You had already opened your mouth to tell him that you would rather jump off the cliff when he sighed theatrically and added: "I won't repeat myself."

And then he was gone again.

You stared in disbelief at the now empty golden rectangle. What the-? Was he serious? Did he really think that you would accept his invitation after he'd been such a jerk again? And besides, hadn't he just tried to get rid of you?? There had to be more to this. Some ruse, some... some trick! But if he thought you would fall for this again so easily, then he was sorely mistaken!

So you promptly turned away, chin held high, and continued down the muddy path toward the street.

But with each step, you got slower and slower... until you stopped again. You considered the alternatives. You couldn't and wouldn't go back to the Great Lodge. So the only thing left for you to do was to crawl under the roof of another random house. And by now you thought you could feel the cold seeping into your teeth even... You bit your lip as you struggled with yourself for a few more seconds.

Then, however, you thought to yourself: Ah, what the Hel... And soon stepped into the comfortable atmosphere of the stable after all. If Heimdall would try something again, at least this time you would see right through him from the start. You were prepared.

It was warm and dry in the stable, and after you had rubbed the water out of your eyes, you couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Heimdall, who you spotted a little further back, snorted loudly before saying over his shoulder: "Yes, I can really recommend the concept of 'indoors' when it's raining buckets outside..."

You ignored him and instead massaged the life back into your icy fingers as you slowly looked around and-

Froze when you suddenly found yourself staring into the open mouth of a gradungr. For a moment you feared the worst, but then you discovered the mighty bars that separated you. By the time the animal had finished yawning and rested its head back on its front paws to keep on dozing, your heartbeat had already started to calm down again.

Nevertheless, you were still so on edge that you flinched violently when Heimdall suddenly said right next to you: "You act like you've never seen a gradungr before. Is your memory really that poor?"

"I... no", you immediately defended yourself, "I just... I didn't expect them to be kept like this."

"They aren't, most of the time, only when it rains. They don't like water. Why, what did you expect instead, primitive caves?"

He made it sound ridiculous, but the idea wasn't that far-fetched, was it...? At least not that much farther than keeping these giant cats in a stable as if they were just some misshapen horses or cattle on a meat diet...

Yet you decided to be honest when you answered: "I don't know. I've never thought about it before."

He clicked his tongue. "Always happy to expand your limited mortal mind."

With that, he grabbed a rag from the wall to your left and walked off again.

"I really don't get why you always have to be such a dickhead...", you mumbled to yourself the next moment.

It wasn't until he suddenly stopped and slowly turned back to you again that you realized you'd just said that out loud. Oops...

"What was that?" His voice sounded dangerously calm.

You quickly said: "Uuh, nothing!" And then put on what you hoped was an innocent smile.

But he wasn't buying it, of course he wasn't. "You really are a right mess today, aren't you? Who pissed in your breakfast this morning, huh?"

You immediately decided to stop pretending and crossed your arms before replying flippantly: "Like you care."

Heimdall raised an eyebrow. "You're right, I don't. Just wondering who I have to thank, is all."

For a few seconds, you just glared daggers at the Aesir, your lips pressed into a thin line. Then you turned around and walked toward the door, announcing loudly: "You know what, screw this! I'm leaving."

"I really think you should be a little nicer to the one who saved your life, especially if you're not going to thank him..."

You didn't know if he was really expecting that or if he just wanted to mess with you again. Though he successfully prevented you from leaving, because you couldn't just let those words hang in the air uncommented.

"I didn't ask you to do that", you growled after facing him again.

It sounded childish to your ears, but you just couldn't bring yourself to admit that you were in any way, shape or form indebted to this guy.

"Oh, so I should have just dropped you? Fine by me, I'll remember that for next time."

You stomped toward him, your wet shoes making embarrassing smacking noises with each step, but you didn't even notice in your agitation. "There won't be a 'next time'. Like I'm ever going up there alone with you again!"

As you approached him, you saw what he was busying himself with while driving you up the wall: The god was standing next to a saddle rack that held Gulltoppr's mighty saddle - or so you assumed at least; the gold decorations on the dark leather definitely looked familiar. You also saw a bucket full of water, soap, brushes, and more rags, as well as an open box that seemed to be filled with grease.

For a moment you wondered why the self-proclaimed "Fairest of the Aesir" would stoop to such work, but then you reached him.

And promptly all your attention went back to those darn beautiful eyes as he instantly lowered his face right in front of yours and said: "You realize that we're alone now, too, right?"

The sudden closeness, coupled with his low voice, caught you so off guard that you had to flinch once more and quickly took a step backward.

For a few heartbeats there was silence between you, then Heimdall suddenly let out an amused laugh. "Look at you, being a jumpy little rabbit again! You're acting like I'm about to pounce on you."

"W-Well, is that so absurd?", you stammered out, willing your cheeks to cool down.

The man tilted his head. "Considering that you were the one who nearly jumped me the other day... That goes without saying? But please, keep on dreaming."

Was he serious?! You opened and closed your mouth in indignation as he dipped the rag into the grease and began to spread it gently over the leather of the saddle.

"That wasn't- I didn't- You almost kissed me!", you finally blurted out.

"That so."

"Yes!"

"Really", he drawled, "And why would I do that?"

You stared at him in disbelief. "You tell me, I'm not the one who can read minds!"

You had absolutely no idea what kind of game this was, but it irritated you to Hel and back. Simply discussing this was already absurd!

"You know, it is rather fascinating", he finally said, straightening up again, arms casually draped over the saddle, "You really have the worst memory I've ever come across, other mortals included. Explains why you haven't thanked me yet, though."

Maybe it was just the absurdity of it all. Or some kind of... gallows humor thanks to everything that had gone wrong lately. Or maybe you had already caught a fever from your walk in the rain... Because suddenly you had to laugh. Loud and boisterous and so much so that tears came to your eyes.

Yes, at that point there was no doubt anymore: You had indeed lost your mind.

"All right. Thank you for saving my life. Happy?", you finally said after wiping away the tears.

He bared his golden teeth. "Now, was that so hard, sunshine?"

His nicknames had never bothered you before. Now, however, you felt your cheeks begin to burn again and quickly turned away, instead inspecting the stall to your right. You assumed he had returned to his work, when you were suddenly distracted by movement further back in the stall. Curious, you moved closer until your eyes widened.

"But that's Gulltoppr!", you exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes? Why else would I be here?", came the prompt reply.

"Maybe because you were spying on me after all?" You could almost feel him rolling his eyes behind you and grinned to yourself, but then just shrugged. "I don't know, maybe... because being around animals is easier than being around people sometimes...?"

"Please don't tell me you're about to pour your heart out to me. I didn't let you in here because I wanted to hear your sob stories."

You bit your lower lip. He was right, this really was ridiculous. Just a few minutes ago you would have loved nothing more than to claw his face off, and now you were standing here with the irrepressible desire to tell him all about your crappy day. Him. After scorning Atreus, Thrúd, and even Jörgen for their favorable views of Odin, you were this close to spilling your guts to Heimdall of all people now. Who was under the direct command of his father, it was nuts.

The Aesir almost deserved another thank you for saving you from your own stupidity.

When you shook your head the next moment, your hair still felt like sticky seaweed. "No, no", you laughed awkwardly, "I just meant that... I can relate, is all. I was just thinking about the wolves back home and how much I miss them..." You smiled sadly. "Sometimes they really do understand you better than anyone else, huh?"

No sooner had you finished speaking than Heimdall suddenly stepped next to you and casually leaned against the wooden wall, holding a cloth to dry his hands. "So you do remember something from your past after all."

You immediately gave him a surprised, almost shocked look. You had tried for so long to get him to talk to you about this, but he had always kept an ironclad silence. And now he brought it up himself? Huh??

Since the recent events had pretty much convinced you however, that you had left your luck back in Midgard, you didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. No, there had to be more to this. What was he after...?

"Oh, no. I'm talking about the wolves at our cabin in the woods. Still don't remember anything that happened before that..."

You waited with bated breath for his reaction. Looking for any telltale signs that he knew more than he was letting on, that he was hiding something from you, that he had some nefarious ulterior motive, that-

"I see."

Disappointment spread through you. That was it? No telltale blink, no twitching of the corners of his mouth...? "I see"?? But that could mean anything!

If you didn't know any better, you would say that he really didn't see anything of significance in your mind, just like you had suspected before. But... did you even know any better...? What if this was all in your head after all? Because you were so desperate for new clues? What if you had lost yourself in this, subconsciously searching for a purpose of your own while Atreus was busy with Odin? Searching for an explanation as to why you had become involved in this whole mess of gods and prophecies and the end of the world, even though it wasn't your world, even though you weren't even supposed to be here, even though this was all far too complicated for a mortal like you, even though-

Suddenly you heard a timid meow.

You blinked in confusion. At first you thought you had imagined it, especially since Heimdall didn't react at all. But then you heard it again and looked ahead, into the stall. Yes, it definitely came from in there. But it couldn't possibly be Gulltoppr-

You squinted your eyes and pressed your face closer to the bars to see more in the dim light. And yes, there was something else... Something was moving right next to the belly of the feline predator, which was lying in the very back with its legs outstretched, dozing languidly.

And then, suddenly, you saw a small paw being raised in the air, and at the same time your eyes widened and your mouth dropped open.

"No way!", you exclaimed in the next moment, quickly looking back and forth between Heimdall and the stall, "Gulltoppr has cubs?!" You put two and two together. "Is that why you stopped showing her off?"

"I never 'showed her off'. But yes, she was indeed pregnant. You are as perceptive as ever", the god commented dryly, tossing the cloth in his hands towards the saddle.

"But... how?", you breathed out. You didn't know why this discovery thrilled you so much. Maybe because it was the very last thing you would have expected to find out. "How does it even work...? I mean, with the war and everything. Isn't this a little... impractical?"

"Where do you think our gradungr mounts come from?", Heimdall asked the somewhat mocking sounding counter question.

"I just thought... you catch them or something. And then train them."

He raised a delicate eyebrow. "That can only be said by someone who has never had to catch one of these beasts. It's much easier said than done. Catching enough of them to match our ever-growing army is just too much of a hassle. No, we breed them", he continued, again in his best teacher's voice, "Through the magic of the All-Father, they grow faster than usual and are domesticated from birth, making them much easier to handle. Thus the demand is always met."

He sounded proud, but all you felt after those words was sadness. These animals did not belong in captivity, shouldn't be bred or used in war. Still, you swallowed those thoughts, not wanting to start a fight over it.

"But let me guess", you said instead, even though you already knew the answer, "Gulltoppr was a wild one."

"Caught and tamed her with my own two hands." The Aesir's eyes sparkled. "Fair and square."

"As is natural for the crown jewel."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "You learn fast. If you want to."

You turned your whole body in his direction. "But then how come she's being used for breeding? I would have assumed that you would think her too valuable for that."

"What do you think?" He laughed. "For that very reason. She is the strongest, smartest and fastest gradungr around. So of course it is only logical that her genes be used for breeding to strengthen the All-Father's army. It's an honor."

That made perfect sense. You nodded to indicate that you understood, then turned your attention back to the animals in front of you. But no matter how hard you strained your eyes, the distance and the dim light prevented you from getting a better look at the cubs.

You gave Heimdall a furtive glance. He would probably say no... but asking didn't cost anything.

"Can I see them? Up close, I mean."

He frowned at you. "You do know that female gradungr are very protective of their litter, yes? She'll bite your head off if you get too close."

"Oh..." You slumped your shoulders.

There was a beat of silence, but then the Aesir suddenly sighed. "...Buuut I guess she'll behave when I'm around."

With that, he stepped right next to you and started to open the gate. You were too surprised by his willingness to comply with your request to think about the sudden closeness again. And when you finally followed him into the stall, there were even more distractions on your mind.

The closer you got to the huge animal, the warmer the air felt. Gulltoppr was lying on a pile of hay with her eyes closed at first, but as you approached, she suddenly jerked her head up. She blinked slowly at you, but at the same time let out a low growl.

Heimdall raised his hands before saying softly: "Easy, girl. It's just me."

You had never seen the god so cautious before, so your heart automatically beat a little faster. If that wasn't a sign of how dangerous this situation could become...

But in the end, everything went well. As soon as Gulltoppr recognized her master, she yawned deeply and then lowered her huge head down to her cubs. Heimdall gave you a sign to stop moving, but that was fine with you; from this spot you could already see a lot more than from outside the stall.

You looked down at the gradungr babies with shining eyes. There were five of them, each as adorable as the last, and they were all sucking greedily at their mother's teats. Well, almost all of them. One was actually lying upside down, seemingly blissfully asleep. In contrast to its siblings, it looked decidedly scrawny and was bright white in color, with a golden stripe of fur on its head. The spitting image of its mother and...

"Wow, this one looks just like you", you blurted out in a whisper, and giggled softly into your hand when you noticed the god's look.

"Oh, very funny."

"No, no. Look! The white fur, the blond hair... Truly the Fairest of the Gradungr."

It was meant as a joke of course, but once again you had forgotten that the man next to you seemed to have about as much humor as Brok had subtlety.

"How about a little gratitude?", he hissed, "Or respect? Or, I don't know, how about not comparing me, an Aesir prince, to such a small and weak animal?? To such a low-"

"You know", you interrupted him with a deadpan voice, "For someone who can read minds, it's really amazing how often you get things wrong. I was kidding. But if it makes you feel any better..." You tried to make your smile look as sincere as possible. "Thanks for letting me see them."

Your sincerity seemed to have come across. In any case, he only grumbled something unintelligible in return and avoided your gaze from then on, arms crossed in front of his body. So you turned your attention back to the adorable spectacle in front of you.

"Do they have names?", you asked after a while.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Heimdall gave you a slightly annoyed look before he led you back out of the stall and then closed the gate again. "No, they don't", he then replied at a normal volume, "There's no point."

"But Gulltoppr got one."

"Gulltoppr isn't ridden by a simple-minded Einherjar, now is she", he snorted, "Believe me, they don't care if their mounts have names. They just have to be able to fight and follow orders, that's all."

You looked thoughtfully at the cubs again. "...Then I want to give at least the smallest one a name."

Heimdall looked at you in disbelief. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Well, maybe it's a good luck charm!", you quickly defended yourself.

"Rather a curse..."

You rolled your eyes. "Oh, come on. Let me have this!"

Your eye contact lasted a few more heartbeats, but then he sighed. "Figures you'd pick the one that's so weak he probably won't even survive until the war starts..."

You ignored him however, and instead searched your brain for a suitable name. Spontaneity had never been your strong suit, but then you suddenly remembered the protagonist of one of your favorite books from Sindri's collection.

"Jarl."

"Jarl?" Heimdall scoffed. "Congratulations, you even gave him a weak-ass name. Wouldn't surprise me if he won't even survive the night now."

But all he elicited from you with those mocking words was a bright laugh before you said firmly: "No, he'll definitely make it. I'm sure of it."

+++

Not long after that, you realized how late it was and quickly made your way back to the lodge. Oddly enough and with rather good timing, the rain had finally stopped by then, but Heimdall didn't pay much attention to it.

No, his attention was still focused on your laughter, which was all but echoing in his head even though you were already gone for some time. It made its way through the stable, a pleasant fluttering, like the gentle wings of a bird...

He was busy stowing away Gulltoppr's saddle when he suddenly froze, having barely finished that last thought.

Gentle...? Pleasant? Had he really just called your annoyingly shrill laugh "pleasant"?? Ha! If he hadn't been convinced before that you had somehow bewitched him, it was as clear as day now. There was nothing pleasant about you. From the very beginning, everything about you had annoyed him. Pleasant... No, your laugh was more like the irritating buzzing of a fly, nothing more.

Right. It was all because of your - or Frigg's - magic. That was why his thoughts kept coming back to you lately, no matter how hard he tried to distract himself. Why he kept remembering now how you had looked at him before leaving, a twinkle in your eye, a little smile on your lips... Just before you had left, it had taken him the greatest effort not to raise his hand and brush a stray strand of hair from your face that had clung to your skin in the dry, warm air of the stable.

His fingers still tingled at the thought.

Heimdall quickly clenched his hand into a fist. He tried not to get too hung up about this, knowing it was nothing more than some kind of spell. Still, he couldn't prevent a not insignificant amount of fascination from mixing with the irritation and annoyance he felt because of this. Never before had his body reacted to someone in such a way, it was simply new territory for him. The closest he'd ever felt to this were his flings, and yet that was something entirely different. Nothing but lust and stress relief. With you, on the other hand, it was all about quick glances, soft touches and ambiguous words.

And it inexplicably left him wanting more, no matter how much he resisted.

It was exciting, confusing, utterly irritating, and it made him absolutely furious. Because how dare you. How dare you do this to him of all people, of all gods-

"What an oddball, right?"

Heimdall blinked in the direction of the stableboy, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air all of a sudden. Of course that wasn't the case though. No, Heimdall had simply been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard him coming... A circumstance that only furthered his annoyance.

"What?", he asked with a frown.

Either the young man was absolutely inept at reading social cues, or he was deliberately ignoring them. What Heimdall read in his mind, however, confirmed the former.

"The Midgardian girl. I can't believe she wanted to lecture Milord about the animals. Even though she obviously hasn't even seen that many gradungr before! Quite bad-mannered, if you ask me. But what can you expect, right? From such an uncivilized and backwards-"

"But I didn't."

"...I beg your par-?"

"I didn't ask. And if I were you, I would think twice before finishing that sentence."

That finally had the desired effect and the stableboy shrank under his hard stare, before stuttering: "M-My apologies, I didn't mean any disrespect, I just-"

"Then you should have kept quiet. She is a guest of the All-Father and I will not tolerate such talk about her."

"I-I just th-thought that-"

"I. Don't. Care", Heimdall growled at him, his eyes literally boring into the other's; it satisfied him that all he could read in them now was naked fear. "Next time I catch you slandering her, I'll cut off your tongue. And I will catch you. Understand? Nod if you understand."

His counterpart let out a small whimper before nodding his head vigorously.

"Good. Then get back to work, or you'll also be doing the day shifts from now on."

Heimdall watched him scurry away, quite satisfied with his handiwork, and then made for the exit as well. Just before reaching it, however, a thought occurred to him.

The next moment, the stableboy jumped violently as he noticed the pair of purple eyes resting on him once more.

"Make sure Gulltoppr doesn't want for anything, she has five cubs to feed now", Heimdall instructed him, and then added in a dangerously calm voice: "And listen up. If even one of them dies overnight, I will hold you personally responsible, is that clear?"

Shortly thereafter, Heimdall finally walked out the door and was pleased to see that the rain had stopped altogether by now. Here and there, a star even flashed through the clouds as he made his way home, a small smile on his lips, feeling more content than he had in days.

***

hope you enjoyed thiss<3 as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated!!

lmk in the comments if you also want to be tagged (or untagged)☆ if your tag doesn't work it's probably bc of your settings!!

193 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 13 days

Text

The Pickpocket - Part 16

[Prev] [Next] [Masterlist]

Pairing: Heimdall x fem!Reader

Word count: 4.8k

Summary: Now that you put two and two together and can just blame Odin for the latest mess in your life again, everything will be fine, right? Right???

A/N: 😬😬💀 as painful as it was to write this....it was inevitable really, wasn't it? ajsksk still couldn't stop cringing though aaaaa...!!>< also let me just say for anyone who's missing heimi in this, starting with the next chap, there will be nonstop content for the purple eyed bastard, don't you worry ajsksks everything up until now was really just introduction~ LMAO JK JK

***

Part 16

Now that you had connected the dots and knew that there was nothing wrong with you, you immediately felt much better and your sunny disposition was no longer just a mask to hide your inner chaos.

It annoyed you, however, how long it had taken you to realize that this was all just Odin's doing once again. That should have been your very first suspicion, but in the end you decided to cut yourself some slack. After all, you had your own little agenda going on, so you had just missed some warning signs and had let yourself be lulled into a false sense of security, right?

But not anymore, you thought triumphantly.

You were smarter now, and wouldn't be so easily fooled ever again.

What this discovery meant for your own mission, however, you were still undecided on. Maybe there was no mission in the end. Maybe this was just another one of Odin's tricks and Heimdall really didn't see anything of importance in your mind... A red herring. Could a mind reader even read what hadn't been thought...? It actually sounded quite far-fetched...

But one thing at a time. There were far more important things to take care of now. To tackle those however, you had to hold out for yet another day.

Even then, the weather was still raging and storming, and the longer this went on, the more you were convinced that this storm couldn't possibly be natural.

Wouldn't surprise me if even the bad weather is Odin's fault, you thought grimly.

...Was that a crazy thought? Maybe. But at this point, you didn't really care.

Instead, you cared about how you would break the news to Atreus. After all, you hadn't uttered a single word to him so far about your suspicion that Heimdall could help you unravel the mystery of your missing past. It made you feel a little guilty, especially since you always urged him to tell you the whole truth. But even if he were to react a little... displeased, your discovery would surely make that fade into the background.

Nevertheless, you decided to approach the subject a little more cautiously. Atreus had always preferred to get the whole picture before forming an opinion.

"Atreus, hi!", you finally called out to the young god when you caught him - quite by "accident", of course - leaving his room with a thick tome under his arm.

He smiled fleetingly and without even really looking at you, which immediately made your heart sink, even without his next words.

"Oh, hey! What's up? I can't talk long though, the All-Father just sent me to get a book."

You covered the short distance between you in a few steps and then laughed, though you couldn't quite hide how forced it sounded. "Busy as ever, huh? But I get it. I just wanted to ask how you're doing! Since we haven't seen much of each other in the last few days..."

"Uh, yeah. Feeling really bad about that actually, sorry. Truly." He grimaced, then rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "I promise I'll make it up to you again. And ah, yes, I'm fine." With each word, he edged further down the hall. "Great, even! I just have to-"

You studiously ignored his rush. "I take it you managed to get out of your rut, then?"

"Huh? ...Oh! Oh, yeah. I did, sort of. Guess the All-Father was right after all to give me that break, huh?" The boy laughed briefly, sounding a little embarrassed, before he made for the exit again.

"Sooo", you quickly called after him, "No interest in how I'm doing?"

He paused and turned back to you. A prominent wrinkle had formed between his eyebrows, but this was Atreus, who sometimes knew you better than you knew yourself even. So of course he noticed that something was up. Though it wasn't as if you were trying particularly hard to hide it from him.

"Of course? It's just, the All-Father-"

"What? Wouldn't understand you wanting to talk to your family for five minutes?"

When he opened his mouth to protest, you raised an eyebrow and crossed your arms. That did the trick.

"...All right", he finally sighed, "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine!", you replied cheerily, "The weather's been a bit of a mood killer though, especially since there's not much to do when everyone's homebound, but well... It's still a nice break from eternal winter, you know."

"Yeah, I do actually. But surely Jörgen still has his hands full?"

"He does." Now it was your turn to sigh. "But he still refuses to let me work full time. It's not 'proper' for a 'guest', blah blah... But" You grimaced. "Maybe that's for the best, actually. I'm afraid he's not too happy with me since yesterday morning..."

You could practically see his ears perk up. "You had a fight? Why?"

"Ah" You waved it off. "Not that important. It was... It wasn't even a real fight, we just had a little... misunderstanding, I guess you could say. It was rather dumb, really. I'll apologize later."

"Sounds good." Atreus puffed out his cheeks as you just stared at each other for a few moments, then shifted the weight of the book in his arms and cast another quick glance toward the study. "Well! Guess I should-"

"Hey, how's that one drawing you started the other day going, the one of the Black Thunder? Have you made any progress since-"

"Okay, what's up?", he interrupted you this time, giving you an exasperated look.

"What's up with what?", you asked innocently.

"I told you that the All-Father wants to see me, but you keep starting a new topic! Do you have something important to tell me? If so, please spit it out already, because I don't have all day. Obviously."

For a few seconds, you just stared at him with your mouth half open. You hadn't expected such an outburst. This wasn't like him at all...

"Okay, fine. Yes, there is something I'd like to discuss with you", you quickly admitted, not wanting to upset him any further. So much for "carefully broaching the subject"...

"Is it urgent?"

You frowned as you noticed the annoyed undertone in his voice. "Uuuh, yeah? Kind of?"

"You sure? Doesn't seem like it."

You were speechless for a moment. You could understand that he was a bit impatient right now. But when he usually got wind that someone had a problem, he would drop whatever he was doing right then and there. So what was that reaction now...?

"Ah, so I'm not important enough anymore?", you asked irritated, quickly adding when he opened his mouth again: "Oh wait, I forgot. You're in a hurry. Because when the 'All-Father' calls, everyone instantly has to dance to his tune, right."

A little voice inside you screamed that this was absolutely the wrong way to get through to him, but you just couldn't help it. Hearing him like this was like tinder for your leftover irritation from the last few days and sent you straight on collision course. And just like that, "carefully" promptly sailed out the window and down the cliff.

Atreus looked at you incredulously. "I'm not dancing to- Okay, look. If this is yet another case of you worrying about nothing, then please don't, alright? I've told you a thousand times already that there's no need. What else do you want? Do you suddenly have a problem with not being allowed to attend the lessons? Is that it? Do you want to mother me in there too now?"

"'Mother you'?", you repeated, aghast, "I don't-"

"Because that's what it feels like, honestly!", he burst out, each word feeling like a punch to the gut, "That you keep telling me to be careful, that you keep asking me how I'm doing, that you always want to keep an eye on me wherever I go- ugh! It's so annoying! Sometimes you don't even leave me enough air to breathe!"

For a brief moment, you didn't know what to say. You were positively stunned. It was as if you were suddenly talking to a stranger.

Well, it was true that he had never once responded all too enthused to you showing concern for him during your time here. But the way he was talking now, it sounded like he had been carrying that feeling around for much, much longer...

The thought was like a stone slowly making its way down your throat.

"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?", was therefore the only thing that came out of your mouth the next moment, laced with barely concealed hurt.

But Atreus either didn't seem to notice, or he really just didn't care. "'All of a sudden'? I told you, over and over again, but you just wouldn't listen!"

It hurt. You really had had absolutely no idea that he felt so strongly about this. But how could you? He had never once expressed himself in such a way. On the contrary, it had been his own idea even to spend so much time with you!

You wanted to swallow the bitter words, especially since you knew that as an adult, you should be the one to act more maturely in this situation. But after everything that had happened recently, it was as if they were just pouring out of you now.

"Oh yeah? Well, better to be annoying than stupid! At least one of us is still thinking rationally and is aware of how completely absurd and dangerous this whole situation still is!"

"If you think that, then why are you even here, huh? You didn't have to follow me to Asgard! I didn't ask you to!"

That one hurt even more.

"...You know why I'm here", you said quietly.

But Atreus simply ignored that, too. "Yes, because you think I'm weak! Because you think I can't do this alone, that I need a... a guardian or something to take care of me! But it's the other way around, I need to take care of you! Because- and I know you tend to forget this, but unlike you, I'm still a god and a Giant!"

"Well, nowhere does it say that Giants can't also be as dumb as tree stumps!", you countered, "And besides, shouldn't that fact actually make you a little more cautious? Or was a new sword and a few compliments really all it took to make you forget what the Aesir did to your people??"

After you finished, there was an icy silence between you for a few seconds. Then the young god suddenly approached you and - before you could react in any way - grabbed your arm and dragged you into your room.

You laughed as soon as you got over your surprise and the door had slammed shut behind you. "Oh, now you're suddenly worried about who's listening in, huh? Personally, I think it's high time someone put a mirror to Odin's face."

And indeed, you felt quite giddy at the thought that he might've been listening to your argument. It being infinitely more likely that he was rubbing his hands in glee rather than being angry at your words didn't even occur to you once. No, your brain actually twisted the whole thing in such a way that you now thought to yourself: Ha! It's about time he realizes that not everyone is falling for his little charade!

"Are you out of your mind?!", Atreus angrily confronted you the next moment, causing you to snort loudly.

"I should be asking you that! You may think you have this all under control, but you don't, no matter how much you wish you did! You can't. Outsmart. Odin! You're usually so attentive, and now you don't see that he's just manipulating you like everyone else? He is just playing with you, Atreus! And you seem to be falling for it on purpose! It's like... like I don't even know you anymore!", you ended.

You saw him flare his nostrils for a moment and braced yourself for him to counter with something equally as bad. Instead, however, he just took a deep breath and walked over to your bed to put the tome down. When he turned back to you, he was obviously trying to maintain his composure. Something you could definitely do with yourself, but you were far too upset for that right now.

"Look. I hear you, I do", he finally started again, looking at you imploringly, "I just... I just want to do some good, that's all."

No sooner had he finished speaking than you threw your hands up in the air. "But what does that even mean, Atreus?! You always say that, or you just give me these... these vague non-answers when I ask you why you wanted to go to Asgard in the first place. To 'prevent Ragnarök'...? Really? You can't expect me to be reassured by that, even if you make it sound so easy!" You sighed heavily. "Yes, it may be my own fault that I'm also stuck here now, but don't you think I still deserve some honesty...? Especially under these circumstances?"

Atreus was gnawing on his bottom lip; his eyes wandered around the room in an agitated manner. If you hadn't already suspected that he was hiding something from you, it couldn't have been more obvious now. And the longer he struggled with this, the more your anger faded and gave way to serious concern again.

"I... I want to tell you, I really do! I just..." He groaned and ruffled his hair. Then he looked at you almost pleadingly. "Can't you just believe me when I say that I have to do this? And that I know exactly what is at stake here?"

"Maybe I could if you would make a little more sense! What exactly are you even doing besides helping Odin get something he wants, huh? He's just using you and... you don't seem to mind at all! And for what? For a bunch of... nebulous answers?? Who's to say they're not just lies, too? You know how he is!"

Suddenly it was as if he... deflated. Drooping his shoulders, he sat down on your bed and ran his hands over his face. "Okay", he said, "Okay. So. Here's the thing. There's this... this task I have to do. I know this doesn't sound very... enlightening either, but hear me out, please." He took a deep breath. "I have to stop something bad from happening."

You waited for him to continue and, when he didn't, followed up with: "...I know. Ragnarök."

To your surprise however, Atreus then shook his head. "Something just as bad." You saw him swallow. "Perhaps... even worse."

...Even worse than the actual end of the world?? Yeah, now you were definitely worried.

"Anyway, I know that's basically just another non-answer..." The boy laughed hollowly for a moment. "But that's really all I can tell you. I promised someone. But you can believe me: It's important, really important, that I keep this bad thing from happening. I just have to."

You had the distinct feeling that he had addressed that last part to himself as much as to you, maybe even more so. And suddenly you saw that little boy sitting in front of you again, the one you had first met a few years back, after you had awoken in a strange wooden hut in a snowy forest. So young, and yet it seemed as if he was already carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders... And judging by his words, that might well be the case. It finally cooled your anger to a low boil.

"...And to do that, I have to work with the All-Father, there's no way around that. At least for a while. I have to glean all I can from him, learn new magic, become stronger... Get answers. I know it's a little difficult, but... can you just trust me on this? Please?"

You were still plenty skeptical, no question. Especially about this ominous "promise" he had supposedly made to someone. Someone he obviously trusted as much, if not more, than you. Or Kratos or any of the others for that matter. You didn't know what to make of that. It all just sounded so... theoretical. And as if it would take a hell of a lot more than good intentions to put this into practice. Not to mention that it was also more than dangerous to make the outcome of this venture wholly dependent on none other than Odin's cooperation...

"...I can try, okay?", you finally sighed and then grimaced, "Even though it's actually more than 'a little' difficult to wrap my mind around all of this. Especially because... I don't know, doesn't this all sound exactly like something Odin would want you to do? What if he uses it to betray you? And everything just gets a lot worse? I mean, you can't deny that it would be just like him to stab you in the back in the very end."

Atreus gave you a small smile. "Well, that's what you're here for. To watch my back."

You couldn't help but roll your eyes. "Oh, ha ha. Come on, you know what I mean! It's Odin!"

"Yeah, but- and I know you don't want to hear this, but believe me, now that I've spent some time with him, I think I can say with a good conscience that we can trust him on this. We have the same goal, after all. Partly, at least. Besides" He suddenly seemed to avoid your gaze. "Everyone's got him kind of wrong actually...? No, listen! I know how that sounds, but I just mean that... the All-Father isn't driven by power or war, like we always assumed. He just wants knowledge and some of the same answers I'm looking for. And to change fate." He shrugged. "Same thing I want."

"He's still an Aesir, though", you deadpanned, "And the worst one at that."

"Yeah, well. Thrúd's Aesir, too."

You looked at him a little annoyed. "That's not the same and you know it."

As soon as you had finished, he jumped up from your bed. "Why not?"

"Uuuh... Are you kidding, or...?"

Suddenly he started pacing up and down in front of you. "Think about it. Haven't we learned exactly that in our time here? That not everything is as it seems at first glance? I mean, I don't deny that the All-Father has made some mistakes, but-"

You couldn't hold back your laughter. "To say the absolute least..."

"But" He gave you a pointed look. "That doesn't really matter now, does it? And he's actually trying to make amends for all that!"

"Oh, yeah? Says who? Odin?" You laughed again. "You can't be serious, Atreus. You heard Mimir, he lies through his teeth as soon as he opens his mouth."

Atreus stopped and scoffed. "Yeah, and you only speak from Mimir's perspective. Because it's all you know! If you had spent some time with the All-Father, like I did, then-"

You felt yourself slowly but surely losing your patience again. "Then what? Would I also think that his crimes don't matter anymore, now that we're depending on him? No, thanks. It's obvious that he hasn't changed in the slightest. Also", you frowned, "What's with you only calling him 'All-Father' as of late...?"

He, however, only replied: "Like I said, you're just saying that because you don't know any better." And studiously ignored that last part.

"Oh, I don't? Well, think again! Because as luck would have it, I have some firsthand experience!"

"What do you mean?", he asked, confused, and crossed his arms.

You took a deep breath. Okay, time to put your original plan into action and bring him back to his senses.

"Remember that party Odin threw for you? Well... Back then I made the - admittedly rather stupid - decision to have a little chat with Heimdall. And during that, I had the distinct feeling that he saw something in my mind... Something about my past, possibly. But you know how he is. You can't just 'politely' ask him for something, he would never give in. So" You also crossed your arms. "I came up with a plan and tried to gain his trust. To get him to tell me what he saw."

You might as well have told the boy that you were half dwarf, the way he was staring at you now. "You did what??"

"My point is though", you quickly added, "That I found out something completely different in the process. And now I have good reason to believe that Heimdall was actually tasked with manipulating and isolating me. You see, Odin has not changed one bit! He's still the same old scheming bastard he's always been, even if he pretends otherwise."

"Hold on, hold on!", Atreus shouted, raising his hands, "So you're telling me... While you've been lecturing me about being careful... You've been trying to trick Heimdall. The Heimdall. The one person who wouldn't hesitate for even a single second to literally murder us."

"Oh come on, that's a bit over the top, don't you think?" Atreus laughed in disbelief, but you didn't let that deter you. "And it's not like it ever came to anything-" You paused. "Well. Nothing worth mentioning, anyway."

Immediately, the boy stopped. "What does that mean? Did he do something to you?"

You quickly waved it off. "No, no-" But then the memory of a pair of very intense, very close purple eyes shoved itself back into your mind, and you quickly tried to think of something else before your cheeks could betray you. "I-it doesn't matter! Fact is, that Odin is up to something, just like I told you."

"'Doesn't matter'? It's Heimdall! What made you think this was a good idea?? He hates me! Hates us! The guy is non-stop threatening us! And you know that this is not just hot air and that he really is that strong, right? He could snap you like a twig! Ugh!" Atreus agitatedly turned around. "I can't believe you did that!"

You wanted to protest that everything had turned out all right in the end, but then he faced you again and continued heatedly: "See, this is what I mean. You accuse me of being reckless, but then you play with fire, forgetting time and time again that you are just a mortal among gods!"

You frowned angrily. "I didn't forget anything, how could I when you keep reminding me? But even that doesn't make our situations any more comparable. At least I know where I stand with Heimdall, while Odin lies to you through his teeth! And you don't seem to care at all, even now that you know about it!"

"Who even says it was an order from the All-Father?"

"What?", you groaned in irritation.

"Heimdall is evil enough that he could've planned something like this all by himself!"

"I mean... I guess? But..." Heimdall was undoubtedly capable of that. But you found it hard to reconcile this alleged solo effort with the image of the "perfect subordinate" you had come to know. No, you could hardly imagine that Odin was entirely blameless here. "...I don't think so, honestly. It just doesn't make sense."

"Yes, because according to you, the All-Father is apparently responsible for every single evil in all the Nine Realms", Atreus scoffed, "Yet he probably doesn't even have you in mind. He's never even inquired about you! So why would he sic his 'best man' on you? It may sound stupid, but as a mortal, you don't mean anything to him." It did indeed sound pretty stupid, but that was mainly because it was very strange to hear those words coming out of Atreus' mouth... "Believe me, the All-Father has nothing to do with this. He's too busy for that, too busy with only seeing the big picture and all that."

At first you thought you had misheard him. Here you were, telling him that you had very good reason to believe that his "All-Father" was pursuing his own secret agenda. And Atreus' reaction was to just, brush you off? What??

"Why not blame him for 'every single evil'?", you asked, narrowing your eyes, "We're talking about Odin here! Just because you have a similar goal - supposedly - doesn't mean that he will suddenly see you as an equal and stop betraying you whenever a good opportunity presents itself! I... Gods!" Now it was you who turned your back to him and walked a few steps into the room. "I can't believe you still seem to underestimate him after all I've just told you!"

"And I can't believe you still misjudge him like that! Did you not listen to me before?"

"I did! But let me just reiterate real quick: If we can prevent Ragnarök and he dies in the process? That's still the best possible outcome! And I hope you still agree with me on that!"

He hesitated, just for a millisecond, but that was all it took.

"I can't believe it..." You shook your head slowly. You felt like you were in the wrong story. This conversation had definitely gone in a completely different direction than you had anticipated. But how could you have foreseen that? The two of you had never argued like this before, not once! And the fact that this was all just because of Odin only made you angrier. He managed to ruin things even when he was as good as uninvolved!

Outside there was another loud clap of thunder as you looked accusingly at the boy opposite you. "He's got you wrapped around his finger and you don't even realize it! Instead, you walk around here like you have everything figured out! Face the facts, he manipulated you just like everyone else, he-"

Suddenly, Atreus laughed out loud, but it sounded absolutely devoid of any humor. "Oh, you mean like Heimdall, yeah? So the All-Father is responsible for his son almost killing us? Nevermind that he didn't even know about it at first, and as soon as he did, he stopped it!"

"You don't know that, surely that was just another ploy to-"

"Do you even listen to yourself?? Are you honestly protecting that blond asshole right now?! You're so fixated on making the All-Father this... this overpowered, omnipresent villain, but-"

"But what? But what, Atreus?", you interrupted him loudly, "He's just a 'poor old man' who's afraid of dying?? Gods, I... This is ridiculous, I can't believe I'm hearing this... Honestly, if Kratos were here right now, he-"

"You leave my father out of this!", the boy suddenly shouted, his face flushed.

You, in turn, stared at him with equal fury. "He's my father too, in case you forgot!"

Atreus opened his mouth, but then closed it again before making a sound. However, the flash of embarrassment that flickered across his face the next moment was telling enough.

Suddenly the ground opened up beneath your feet and you felt like you were falling into a bottomless, dark abyss. Falling and falling and falling...

When you finally found your voice again, you let out a short, cold laugh before saying: "Yeah, don't bother. We both know what you were going to say, Loki."

And with that, you stormed past him out of the room, slamming the door behind you.

***

hope you enjoyed(???) thiss<3 as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated!!

lmk in the comments if you also want to be tagged (or untagged)☆ if your tag doesn't work it's probably bc of your settings!!

187 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 13 days

Text

Do you ever wish you could take the steam with you?

34K notes · View notes

minervam96 · 13 days

Text

Yeah I'm not done thinking about Járnsaxa and Magni.

56 notes · View notes

minervam96 · 13 days

Text

u know it's gon' be the slutiest, messiest, sloppiest, hard core sex when the post had sum hentaí banner n the pinkiest color

7K notes · View notes

minervam96 · 14 days

Text

The Pickpocket - Part 15

[Prev] [Next] [Masterlist]

Pairing: Heimdall x fem!Reader

Word count: 3.3k

Summary: You're acting weird, Jörgen is concerned and fruit is smashed.

A/N: aww look at reader joining heimi in the "lying to yourself bc you're a paranoid fuck" club<333 but also eyyy look who makes his return! the cooking man!!!🧑‍🍳 ajaksk like i said, i had a sudden bout of inspiration lately and wrote like,, 4 chaps in one sitting and hoooooo boy....you're gonna hate me for the next one, just saying HAHAHAHA. remember, things can only get better though!! after they take a turn for the absolute worst ofc

***

Part 15

For several days now it had been raining cats and dogs outside, almost as if the sky had decided to dump an entire year's worth of water on the city. The gray carpet of clouds gave the interior of the Great Lodge an almost cave-like feeling. Thanks to the wildly flickering candlelight (the building may have been many things, but it was not exactly windproof) twitching shadows danced all over the walls and gave the very nice and not at all unnerving impression that you were constantly being watched. At best by the residents, at worst by something you’d rather not think about too much, especially not in one of those aforementioned dark corridors.

And yet, that morning you practically skipped into the Great Hall, grabbed an apple from the display, and then searched for familiar faces (bar one) as you took a hearty bite. Your gaze slid around the room and then up to the ceiling. The Asgardians had wisely secured it to keep the room from flooding. The sight made you a little discontented, but then you finally spotted the handsome face of the cook who stepped out of the kitchen in that very moment. Immediately, your mood brightened again and you made your way across the hall.

It didn't take long for Jörgen to notice you and your uncharacteristically cheerful face approaching, which gave him enough time to wrinkle his forehead before you came to a stop next to him.

"Good morning!", you greeted, beaming.

The wrinkles deepened and now resembled a canyon. "Morning...?", he replied a little confused, "Uuuh, don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you so happy, but..." He put down what he was holding - a bowl full of porridge - and then moved his hands to his hips. "...It's weird. All things considered, I mean."

He gestured upwards, where, with excellent timing, a loud clap of thunder rang out. You briefly wondered if Thor was in a bad mood today before shrugging your shoulders.

"I like rain. You would too, if you had lived through Fimbulwinter for so long."

He made a face. "Well, when you put it that way..."

"Too bad they barricaded the ceiling. Imagine how fun it would be if we had to dodge the raindrops." You laughed before taking another big bite of your fruity breakfast.

Jörgen just stared at you for a moment before promptly turning away and muttering: "Aaand the weird is back..."

"Oh, come on", you laughed again as you followed him back into the kitchen, "I'm just bored, so my brain is being silly."

"Bored?", he asked over his shoulder, "Well, that won't do. As a cook whose hands are practically overflowing with work-"

"Yeah, I can see that", you chuckled.

"-I can't let that happen." He stopped and looked around. "What does Milady prefer, leftovers or peeling fruit?"

You acted as if you had to think very hard about your answer. "Hmm, I think the fruit has a score to settle with me." You held up the rest of your apple. "They're out for revenge."

"Sooo, leftovers?"

"What, you think I'd just give in like that? No, I'll make sure these juicy little things know who they're messing with here!"

"You know... As a pacifist, I feel it's all kinds of wrong what I’m about to say..." He grabbed a cutting knife and offered it to you. "But I'm honestly afraid these fuckers will cut your throat while you're sleeping, so here. Go get them."

"They won't suffer, I promise." You gripped the wooden handle and then nodded solemnly.

In the next moment, you both broke into a fit of giggles before finally turning to your tasks.

Cutting fruit was the perfect activity to keep your head busy enough to prevent it from taking on a life of its own again. It practically turned you into a knife-wielding whirlwind, and so it wasn't long before you wiped the last bits of fruit into a bowl and announced your victory.

"Whoa", Jörgen commented and nodded appreciatively, "Must be a new record."

You raised your chin proudly. "I told you. They didn't stand a chance." You popped a piece of plum into your mouth and then asked, chewing: "So what's next, boss?"

The cook laughed. "Well, when you've served the fruit, you're welcome to help me with the-" His eyebrows shot up as you already grabbed two of the bowls and then disappeared through the door. "...leftovers."

You did the same with the remaining bowls before wiping your hands on your apron and picking up your new assignment. Jörgen looked at you quizzically as you practically threw yourself into your next task without even taking a single breather.

You only paused when you felt his continued gaze on you. "What? Am I doing something wrong?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, no. All good!"

"Buuut...?" You slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, it's nothing really." He shrugged. "I guess I'm just... surprised? About your workaholism lately. Not that I'm complaining of course! It's just a little strange to witness, is all. Guess the patrols must have had a positive side effect after all, huh? Who would've thought."

He laughed, but you didn't join in. On the contrary, you felt your own smile slip a little at his last words, but quickly covered it up. Again, like so many times in the past few days. And each time it got harder and harder...

You snorted and turned back to your cutting board. "There's nothing positive about this experience."

He stopped laughing. "Yeah, no, I know. I just meant-"

"Positive? Please. The only positive thing is that I didn't throw myself off the wall because of him."

"I mean. That is indeed pretty positive...? But-"

"Believe me, every day in such close proximity to him? Was agony", you babbled on, without even being aware of it really, or paying the slightest attention to the increasingly concerned looking cook, "Good thing the rain seems to keep him away from here. Dude's probably too vain to let it ruin his hair or something. Ha!" But then something occurred to you. "...No, wait, it's not like he even needs to be here, right? What do they say about him? That he can even 'hear grass grow'? So he's probably sitting at home right now, all comfortable, while spying on us like the stalker he is. But not on my watch!", you raised your voice as you continued to torment the cutting board, "You hear that, you snotty prick?? Yeah, keep eavesdropping on us making breakfast, I'm sure there's lots of valuable intel to gather and make daddy happy with!"

You punctuated your last words with an overly enthusiastic strike, splattering half the countertop, the floor, and even your clothes.

There was a brief silence, until Jörgen finally stepped next to you and calmly raised his hands. "Okay, listen. On the Heimdall topic, I'm with you all the way, you know that. And I'm also very happy for you that the patrols are over now. What I said before was meant as a simple joke, so there's no reason to get mad or-"

"Mad??", you interrupted him again, laughing a little too loudly, "Who's mad? Certainly not me."

"Suuure...", the cook replied before gently taking the knife out of your hand, "Still, it would make me feel a lot better if you stopped waving your knife around like a crazy person. I don't want to be responsible for you losing an eye and the All-Father having to lend you one of his eye patches..."

You let him disarm you without complaining, but then rolled your eyes and pulled the apron over your head. "Whatever. I'll just take care of the bread baskets then." You raised your hand when he started to protest. "No, it's fine, really! I don't care what I'm working on. Busy is busy." With that, you gave him one last overly cheerful smile and then left the room.

Jörgen closed his mouth before slowly shaking his head and muttering: "Definitely weird..."

+++

You knew perfectly well that you had acted a little crazy this morning, yet it wouldn't have mattered one bit if you had told Jörgen the truth, because that would have only reinforced his already low opinion of the blond god. And still, you had bitten your tongue. Still, you had just swallowed it down and had, once again, decided to deal with it another day.

But things had been going on like this for several days now, and slowly but surely you had the unsettling feeling that the longer you ignored it, the worse it would get. Like some kind of poison slowly eating away at you from the inside...

As if on command, another mighty thunderclap sounded from outside. You rolled around in your bed and stuck your tongue out at the window.

Though of course it wasn't just the stupid weather that prevented you from getting the distraction you were so desperately seeking. Another reason was Atreus, who, since Odin's return, had only shown his face for small talk, if at all, in the last few days. Once again, there was a distance between you, quite literally. Here you spotted a green flash going around a corner. There a shock of red hair disappearing behind the door of Odin's study... It really bothered you that the old goat had taken over his whole life again, just like that. Quite obviously, he hadn't been all that serious after all, about giving Atreus more free time in the future.

What a surprise, you thought sarcastically, Who in all the Nine Realms could have predicted that??

Yet another lie to prop himself up as the great benefactor he wanted others to see him as...

You thought about looking for Thrúd, but the two of you had been hanging out so much lately that you felt like you were starting to get on her nerves. And besides; instead of bothering teenagers, you should probably look for company your own age...

But the only other person you knew who fitted that description you had probably scared away while making breakfast this morning. So, as things stood, it seemed that you would just have to make do with yourself for the time being.

It was strange how much that bothered you now. Being alone...

You buried your hands under your head and pulled your legs up while staring holes into the wooden wall opposite you.

You missed the time before all this. Your cabin in the woods, the wolves... And yes, you also missed the winter, no matter what you had told Jörgen this morning about how much you enjoyed the change of weather. If you were to say that out loud, however, everyone would probably think you were off your rocker, even Kratos and Atreus, who were just as familiar with the boundless ice and snow. Atreus, always in tune with nature, had once told you that he felt the cold was slowly squeezing all the life out of the forest. At the time, you had been quite fascinated by his stories about the many colors of summer. It had sounded so imaginative, so full of wonder... But even then, you had secretly thought that you didn't mind the endless white either, not really. It was all you had known after all, your whole world.

Yes, it was true; Fimbulwinter was cruel, there was no denying that. It had covered Midgard with sorrow and death, pushing all life so far back that the realm seemed almost completely deserted now. It was hard to live through, especially as a mortal.

And yet, it had also given you many beautiful memories.

Sure, the first few years of your "new" life had been difficult. Especially coming to terms with the fact that you had lost all of your memories. You had felt like a newborn. Everything had been unknown, confusing, and unsettling. Maybe that was why Kratos had accepted you so quickly - at least by his standards. After all, there was no other place you could have returned to, and being on your own would have meant certain death.

Atreus, on the other hand, had been the complete opposite - naturally. He had even told you so himself once. How absolutely thrilled he had been with your appearance from day one. Of course, the young god had had plenty of other company before that; his father, Mimir, the wolves, the dwarf brothers... The occasional murderous Freya and the odd Draugr or Raider... No, he had not lacked company per se, but certainly a younger one. And so he had accepted you from the very beginning, without any awkwardness or shyness. No, you had practically become siblings the day you had woken up in their hut.

Thus, it was Atreus who was responsible for most of your fondest memories. Kratos had also been involved in your "education" of course, but his contribution had been of a more... practical nature (at least once he had realized he didn't have to treat you like an actual child). From him you had learned things like housework, chopping wood, cooking, and repairing things. The younger god's lessons, on the other hand, had focused more on your mind; on reading and writing and different languages. Atreus had explained the flora and fauna of the Nine Realms to you, as well as tracking and orientation, and had even tried to teach you a spell or two - but you seemed to be quite untalented in that regard, for not even the simplest ones had ever worked as intended.

And he had also taught you to dream, although Kratos and Mimir, as well as the dwarf brothers from time to time, had also been quite instrumental in that. Sitting by the fireplace in the evenings, already half asleep from the day's work, listening to their stories and tales of their many adventures... It was hard to imagine that there had been moments in your forgotten life when you'd felt happier.

But as much as you missed those communal moments, your heart now also yearned for the times when you had marched through the forest all by yourself. Alone, but just as happy. The protective stave had kept you out of harm's way, so you had been able to roam freely - at least in the immediate vicinity of the cabin. And oh, how you had enjoyed those walks. How often you had wandered, lost in your thoughts... Reacquainting yourself with your own person and coming to terms with your lost past. And simply learning what it meant to be you again. The crunch of the snow under the soles of your shoes, your icy breath in the air... You might have been alone then, but never had you felt lonely, not even once.

So why did this feel so different, so suffocating now? What had changed that you suddenly couldn't stand being by yourself anymore, that you suddenly almost craved for company? It troubled you immensely because this development almost made you feel like you were losing yourself all over again.

There are these different versions of me all over time and space, you thought.

In your faceless past and in a snow-covered forest. In a wooden hut illuminated by firelight and a dwarven home in a hidden world... And high up on a wall built by Giant hand, where you could see the beauty of an entire realm down below-

And there it was again.

Your poison.

Without further ado, you pressed your face into your pillow and groaned loudly. Somehow, every thought process, no matter how far-reaching, always seemed to return here. As if Odin had tied you up too, just like Freya.

...But maybe that was exactly the point.

As soon as this thought crossed your mind, you sat up and felt your heart beat a little faster. Maybe that was Odin's task for his son. To confuse and unsettle you. To force himself into your life and manipulate you, just like Jörgen's sister. What this had to do with your missing past was still a mystery, but it was a possible explanation for, well... pretty much everything else.

Of course, there was still the possibility that all of this was nothing more than a simple spell, but by now you strongly doubted that; you didn't feel bewitched in the slightest. No, this smelled like good old Odin manipulation to you. After all, that on its own had worked quite well so far, so why use magic? He had kept you and Atreus apart most of the time, had presented Asgard to you in a new, more benevolent light... Had forced his damned purple-eyed son upon you, who was now successfully haunting your mind like one of those ghosts from Kratos and Atreus' adventures.

Oh yes, you had spent waaay too much time with that blond asshole lately. That was all this was, the explanation for your current misery. You had gotten too used to him and had thought about him way too often. Now he had nestled into your head like one of those little bark beetles and just wouldn't leave you alone, even though the last time you'd seen him was several days ago.

Why else would you still be thinking about him when he made it unmistakably clear to you what his true intentions were? That he was just trying to manipulate you? Why else would your last interactions haunt you so and even color your dreams purple? And, most troubling of all: Why else would you feel something akin to longing lately when you walked into the Great Hall and didn't see Heimdall waiting for you??

That last thought really bothered you. It should be unimaginable. Longing. For what, the company of that incorrigible prick?! Ha, as if!

Maybe it was a little too easy, simply shifting the blame for your inner chaos back to Odin... Then again, why not? After all, the old vulture was responsible for so many tragedies, wouldn't that make it absolutely ridiculous not to assume that he was also involved in your current mess? Besides, you felt that the evidence was overwhelming. It was he who had ordered Heimdall to take you with him on patrol, the thing that had jumpstarted all of this. Even Jörgen thought that there had to be more to Heimdall's interest in you. And then there was also his strange behavior every time he had read your mind. Coupled with the fact that Odin was, in your humble opinion, the root of all evil, all of this made you quite confident in your previous conclusion.

Yes, this was the answer. Having his son mess with your thoughts and emotions was just another one of that one-eyed bastard's ploys to get you out of the way and gain better access to Atreus.

"Too bad I won't let that happen though, old man", you said to yourself and smiled grimly.

***

...famous last words🙃

hope you enjoyed thiss<3 as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated!!

lmk in the comments if you also want to be tagged (or untagged)☆ if your tag doesn't work it's probably bc of your settings!!

151 notes · View notes