not long past ragnarok finally happened, fimbulwinter started to slowly fade away after ymir knows how long. that said, midgard was still enveloped in a thick layer of snow and ice, with hints of wet earthy smell starting to make itself known. midgard dwellers whom odin manipulated into coming to asgard have now been settling in vanaheim, and you believe that they won't be returning soon. after all, the cold temperature hasn't gone down a bit either, and so in the comfort of your shared home in a forest beside the lake of his temple, you find yourself another excuse reason to stay in bed longer with týr.

it was still early morning, but the both of you would be up already by this time usually. týr would do some simple stretching to which you would follow his instructions to, as a form of warm up for the day ahead. it was a simple routine that you both practiced even before his imprisonment; something he picked up from travelling to different places.

today, however, you find the half giant sound asleep, his nose buried in your neck and his long arms draped over your torso. everytime he breathes out, you feel a small tickle of warmth against your skin. you can't see his sleeping face, but you do feel his eyelashes tickling the space between your jaw and cheek.

you take in a deep sigh and run your hand through his hair, careful not to wake him up. it hasn't been a whole week yet from when you and týr reunited from his lifetime imprisonment and torture under the allfather. the day he returned to you was the most bittersweet day of your life, and you wouldn't have it any other way.

freya and kratos had to be present and intervene at the day of týr's return, and you thank them for the gesture. otherwise, you would likely have harmed týr that day with your fists (he certainly would let you, as you remembered him just standing with his arms open and a saddened, wet-like pup look on his face) from thinking it's a phantom of odin's many trickeries. the situation is almost funny, if it weren't for your conflicting feelings of longing, anger and surprise.

"my love, please," you recall him pleading as freya and kratos held you back from lunging fiercely at him with your fists, "the time we've suffered away from each other is already violence in itself. so please, let me be with you once again..."

after a brief explanation and reassurance from your friends and týr, you sure did hug him a lot afterwards as you sobbed your heart out. in fact, you find yourself unable to stay away from his presence ever since. it's almost embarassing, perhaps childish even, but týr never minded. afterall, a lifetime of imprisonment made him almost forget what it's like to be in your embrace again.

that day put you through a whirlwind of emotions, for sure, but now all that matters is that he has returned. the thought makes you smile, and almost as if he's on cue, you feel týr shuffle, groaning and nuzzling his face on the side of your chest. his beard tickles you a bit. you peer down a bit and see his eyelids flutter, before lifting his head to look at you, bifrost eyes on (e/c) ones.

"oh, you're awake already?" he says, looking around at the room to see if he slept in, only to notice that the sun hasn't even risen yet. the sleep leaves a certain scratch to his voice, which is something you missed after all this time. he moves to sit up beside you, leaning his back against the bedframe. he tries to match your height, taking a quick look at your state to deduce why you're up so early.

"had trouble sleeping?"

you lean your head to his shoulder (or more like the area between his elbow and shoulder). the feeling of his cotton tunic rubbing against your cheek makes you feel safe. you clear your throat a bit before answering, "no i... just woke up earlier, for some reason."

týr brings up his hand to carress your hair, lightly combing it. the way he does it never fails to make your heart sing, with how gentle he is towards you. he leans down, his voice now smoother and yet still gentle, "something on your mind?"

you don't know why but your eyes drift to a nearby wooden table, where his faded blue tunic and his other clothes he wore during his time in prison are now folded neatly after being washed. the embellishments on his belt shines, and, for some reason, you feel a familiar pang on your chest come back.

"a lot, actually... and i am not sure why they come to me now, but," your voice drifts off as you take his hand into yours, feeling the texture of his palm. your eyes zero in on the very fine lines that make up the skin of his hand, as if your brain tries to gather as much evidence to convince yourself that he is, indeed, real. and that he is really here right now.

with you.

after a brief silence, you look into his bejeweled bifrost eyes, "i know we have a lot of time ahead of us to go over it all, so don't worry. i am in no rush, love."

you gave him a reassuring smile, and he returns it. he lifts your hand to his lips, planting a kiss on to the back of it. his chocolate colored beard prickles your skin a bit, but you find the feeling pleasant.

"indeed... i will not be going anywhere for now; not without you. i... i know that i have a lot of questions to answernfor, much time to make up. but right now," he turns away slightly, his lips pursed. he thinks about it for a while, and you can tell from his expression that there is a kind of war within him, between his mind and heart.

there's no blaming him, after all, time feels different when you are in odin's torture chamber. all that pain and suffering then suddenly, you are free. and then you find out that supposed end of the world is over, only to bare witness the beginnings of the new world.

it's... a lot to take in, even for you who was there to fight during ragnarok. even more for your returned lover.

"right now, i do not want to burden everyone further. especially you, my star... i have not done anything in ragnarok, and our long standing wish to unite the realms has been done, at long last."

he stares at the blue light from the window, and from your view, a bit of it reflects on the side of his face. your fingers twitch, wanting to brush themselves on the skin of his cheek.

you hold yourself back and let him continue.

"it's a lot to take in, if i am being honest," he rubs the pad of his thumb against the skin of your hand, relishing the small warmth it generates. you hope it brings him comfort. "i cannot shake the feeling of chains on my skin, my neck... i haven't even gotten used to the taste of actual edible food even. for the longest time i felt that i was in a suspension of reality, where time froze."

you feel him shift, and something tells you of his hesitance to share this. his shoulders sag and he sighs, heavily. you can't help but reach out to wrap your arms around his frame, and he immediately returns the hug.

"it's alright." you squeeze him. "you've been so... so brave, so composed all this time, under odin's torture and manipulation... i can't even begin to think about what you had to go through, love," you let out a shaky breathe, trying to not cry but your tears are welling up faster. týr shuffles closer, lifting your chin to look at your face before running his fingers on your cheeks. tears threatened to fall both from your eyes, but you blink yours away to be able to look at his face.

"i just want you to know that you don't have to keep it all to yourself anymore. there's kratos, freya... mimir... and me. you can always confide with all of us, and... i guess i just... want to reassure you that," you sniffle. "you were never a burden. you were the spark that started the fire in everyone. to strive for a peaceful existence with one another, to see past differences. you showed everyone that it's possible, even back then for a brief period of their lives," you squeeze his hand again, bringing it closer to your heart. "never forget that."

you feel a small drop of liquid land on your skin, followed in quick succession by another. you're not quite sure if it's yours or his tears, but you wipe your face and reach out to wipe his. he looks at you lovingly, and the expression he has on his handsome face sends your heart into a rhythm that only he could awaken. a feeling that you thought you would never feel ever again.

you find it endearing, really, that after all that has happened, týr retained his curious gentle giant self.

it was just like any other day when kratos and freya barged into your humble cottage in vanaheim. the two both looked tired, but fulfilled. freya looked especially happy, and kratos, well. he is kratos.

"come with me. someone wants to see you!" she exclaimed, not even letting you reply but instead just dragging you by the hand towards your door. you hadn't heard this much enthusiasm in her voice in forever.

what met your eyes has you almost sobbing to the grass.

týr, your long time lover, in the flesh stands tall in front of your cottage. he got paler, and his clothes a bit tattered and dirty, but the expectant look in his bifrost eyes turns teary as he holds out his arms open for you.

"my beloved, i'm finally back- oof!"

you didn't need to hear him say more, and just lunged yourself into his gentle embrace, crying uncontrollably. years and years without this warmth. without hearing his voice. without týr... now you could feel him again, hear his heartbeat through his chest again. from the corner of your eye, kratos and freya excuses themselves silently, with freya smiling at you both as she leaves.

it was as if the birds and insects are silenced in this moment, and the only thing you (want to hear) is the thrum of týr's heart.

you pull away momentarily, still tearing up while running your hands all over his face to trace the shape of his eyes, nose, beard. "it really is you... i... i don't know what to say," you whispered. how does one put the time you spent longing to be with him again, despite the allfather repeatedly saying he's already dead? to verbalize the pain you felt of not being able to say good bye before everything happened?

instead, týr just smiles, wiping away your tears. "no need, (name). we have all the time to say whatever is in our hearts and minds," he breathes out, brushing your hair away from your face. "may i kiss you, please?"

and kissed him you did.

that day, you two are practically inseparable again, just like old times. he immediately invited you over to his travels across he nine realms, catching up on what has transpired over the many winters he was not able to. it took some time to convince him, but he finally agreed to settle in midgard for a while to revisit his temple.

"i frequented in your treasury while you were gone, you know," you say as the both of you walk towards his vault. "your belongings are the closest things i had in connection to you."

týr smiles, ruffling your hair, "you still call my vault a treasury?"

"well, all of those things in there are treasures, are they not? treasures, or... gifts, important souvenirs from important people, places."

he leans down to your height, putting his lips near your ear, "not as important as the one in front of me though."

for the rest of the walk to the vault, the half giant god of war relishes at the sight of you blushing.

"here we are now," you gesture towards the door of his vault. "welcome back, my love."

he takes in a breath before he opens the doors, and the two of you are met with the familiar scent of metal and paint unique to this place. there's a slight chill to the vault, but the familiar sight made it feel like home. on the more hidden chambers, some of the contraptions leading to them have already been disabled. no thanks to when kratos and atreus retrieved a rune to jotunheim back then. týr makes a beeline to the rooms that held memorabilia from other pantheons.

"ah, my ghost of sparta vase..." you hear him groan from a certain section. you chuckle, but almost trip from a pile of books by your right foot.

"what the..." you grimace, as the hardbound of the books made contact with your leg and scratched you a bit. deciding to put them somewhere else, you dust off the covers, only to be curious of the illustration depicted on it.

"huh... court romance records...? and it even has a translation..." you mutter to yourself, impressed at how your lover really is beloved across different realms even far away from here, and how their fondness of him manifests in the gifts he brings home. you get a book from the pile and find a corner where you could sit and read, while týr goes to polish some of his weapons in another section.

after a while, týr emerges with some clothes in his arms. "(name)? i found some garbs that might suit you, love. they're from- oh." he notices you absorbed in a book he remembers receiving from a snowy land, and decides to join by your side.

"i see you've found this writing interesting," he settles beside you, putting the clothes away on a table before pulling you to his lap. he encircles his arms around your waist, resting his chin on top of your head. "i never got to finish it. i find the main character quite... disappointing."

you smile, flipping a page, "you've read this?"

"yes, but finish it? no... i do not like that the main character entertains multiple women romantically."

you laugh, and he smiles at the sound of it. the two of you stay in that position for a while.

"you don't want to go yet?"

you shake your head.

after some time, you were still engrossed with the book especially now that you are approaching the climax. týr feels the boredom creep in. the god of war resorts to mindlessly draw shapes on your arm, until an idea hit him. a mischievous smile appears on his lips and slowly, he traces his fingers from your arms to your nape. týr moves your hair to plant a wet kiss down to the side of your neck, humming at the feeling of your skin on his lips. the action made you flinch by surprise, but you continue reading.

"týr..." you say, as if warning him playfully.

týr takes note of this, and continues his work. he slides the sleeve of your top robe down a bit, kissing your shoulders. his hands then find their way under your top, caressing your stomach, slowly inching his way to your chest.

you suck in a shaky breath, "týr..."

"should i stop?" he moved his lips on the shell of your ear, "tell me, love."

you bite your lip, shaking your head. "no... but, don't tease too much, please?"

he just grins at your plea, leaning in to kiss your neck, and the sensation of his beard tickles you a bit. he slides his hands under your robe, undoing the fastening of the many layers you had to wear thanks to fimbulwinter. the temperature inside týr's vault is sufficient, but a bit of chill clings to the air. it becomes more evident as he sheds you of your layers.

by now you only have your robe and your last layer of linen on, which conceals your chest. your hold on the book wobbles, and týr has to remind you to keep reading or else he stops. you bite your lip in frustration, which týr enjoyed to see.

his hands continue their way under your cloth wraps, eventually releasing your tits to the chilly air of the vault. despite your robe still intact, the temperature makes you shudder, and so týr gathers you closer to his body where you can feel his warmth. he caresses your waist gently, sliding up to glide his hands on the underside of your chest, before sliding his fingertips to tease your nipples.

for a god of war, he is incredibly gentle when it comes to showing affection. it's been many winters since the two of you last did it, and so having to experience it again feels like it's the first time.

he rubs your nipples between his fingers and the action shoots up a certain kind of warmth between your legs, making you cross your legs out of instict. the god of war does not let this go unnoticed as he hooks one of his legs over your left to make you open them again, this time wider.

"tyr...!" you gasp as he uses his magic to make his fingers cold as he applies a bit more pressure on your nipples, making them harder. he plants another kiss to your neck, as he snakes a hand down and under your pants while the other continues to roll your nipple.

"my love, you're forgetting your book. please, keep reading," he hums, an obvious lilt of mischievousness laced in his voice. "don't let me distract you."

his still cold fingers find your wet slit, probing around a bit before spreading your lips and finding your clit. you let out a breath and týr catches on. the half giant makes his pointer and middle finger cold again, before rubbing the bundle of nerves. the feeling makes you squirm, your book now dropped to the floor.

"týr... oh... gods..." you moan uncontrollably, throwing your head back against his frame. you feel something hard brush against your backside as you squirm. he pulls off your pants and you help him kick it off.

"not fair..." you moan out, trying to talk despite being pleasured, "you're still.. oh.. mmh- fully clothed!"

týr only chuckles, "patience, my love."

he rubs your clit faster, which is now much more firm. every brush of his fingers sends a wave of pleasure throughout your lower regions, making you buck your hips involuntarily. týr moves his other hand from your nipple to your hip to make you stay in place. you feel a twist somewhere in your stomach as he continues to rub the sensitive bundle of nerves.

"i missed you so much, (name)," he whispers, his lips brushing against your neck. "how i longed to service you like this again, my love. every now and then, in my prison, i dreamt of seeing you, being near you... pleasuring you."

you grip the side of his pants as the pleasure becomes too much. you eventually cry out as you cum hard, your release making a small mess on the floor. týr peppers kisses all over your cheeks before kissing you fully while letting you catch your breath for a bit.

he slowly wedges a finger inside of your slippery heat. the feeling makes you whimper, still a bit overstimulated from the recent release.

"týr.. mmh..." you breathe out, slowly rocking your hips to the thrust of his finger. he inserts another, picking up the pace.

"look at me, (name)."

you do as he says, looking up at him with clouded eyes, panting a bit. he leans down to kiss you again, this time hungrily. through the kiss, he swallows your moans as he adds the third finger. your entrance had become sopping wet at this point that every thrust of his fingers makes an embarassing noise.

"týr... oh.. please!" you beg, "want to... cum with you inside.."

this seems to convince him, as he slows down his fingers and pulls them out. how can he say no to that? he makes quick work of removing his clothes and armor. you reach out to caress his chest, nuzzling the fuzzy hair with the side of your face. he discards his pants and underwear and you are once again reminded of how big he is, especially when he's hard. the size of his dick almost makes you gasp.

"just like before, my love," he says as he gently moves you to lie on your back, with the clothes he brought earlier serving as a makeshift bed. you could still feel a bit of the coldness from the tiles of his vault, but your mind quickly short circuits as he starts rubbing the head of his cock against your opening. the sensation makes you curl your toes and hold onto his shoulders, feeling the muscles ripple when he readjusts his position to see your face better.

despite him towering over you, you feel the safest at this moment.

"tell me to stop if it hurts, alright?" he brushes your hair out of your face, bifrost eyes looking directly at your (e/c) ones. for some reason, it makes you feel flustered, but you keep the eye contact and nod.

"i will," you breathe out, "i trust you..."

he smiles as he pecks your lips, moving your legs to spread them wider. he slowly pushes the tip of his cock in, and you suck in a breath.

"oh... hel..." he groans as he slowly inches in, looking at your expression for any signs of pain. your face is a bit pink, and you whimper in response to his penetration. your hands claw on his broad shoulders from the initial discomfort. the tightness of your walls makes him lose his mind, and he resists the urge to bottom out quickly. he knows that it'll take some time before you can take him whole again, after all.

once more than half of him is inside, he notices a small bump on your stomach. he pulls out a bit, and notices that the bump follows. týr then runs his hand over the bumps, putting a gentle pressure against it as he pushed back inside of you. you both moan at the feeling.

"y-you can move now- oh!"

you yelp in surprise as he pulls out almost all of him, leaving the tip in, before thrusting back what he could again. the way he does it slow tells you that he's worried about your pain, but the slowness of it makes you feel every vein of his rub against your gummy walls and you can't help but moan loud. he picks up the pace, longing to hear your voice again and again.

a particular thrust reaches deep inside you, brushing against the opening of your womb. your legs start to twitch, and he folds one against your chest to get a better angle. he moans when he feels your walls clench around his dick. his hand finds your clit to rub it as his other one holds your hips down. you cry out in pleasure, and the sounds of your lovemaking echoes in the vault.

it's not too long when the two of you climax, moaning together as týr's warm seed fills you up to the brim. the feeling makes you think you just saw stars, your eyes rolling back by how good it feels. he cums so much that it some spill out into the clothes under you, creating a small wet spot of your mixed juices.

"hah... i'm sorry... i couldn't hold back for longer..." týr pants out, eyes still closed as his arm muscles ripple to support his weight still on top of you. you breathe out a short laugh, brushing hair away to peck his lips.

"it was perfect, love. don't say sorry," you reassure him, stroking his cheek with your thumb. "it's... been so long since we..."

he opens his eyes, taking in your dishevelled appearance. your hair is messy and sweaty, but your smile makes his heart skip a beat. he thinks the light in his vault does not do you justice, and he makes a mental note about it. he almost tears up when you reach up to kiss his the tattoo on his forehead.

a hundred winters ago, he thought he would never feel your lips on him again.

you caress his cheek, bringing him out of his train of thought. "i love you, týr."

he holds the hand on his cheek and brings it to his lips, "i love you, (name)."

you make a move and glance at the clothes he was supposed to give you earlier.

"well, i should wash those before trying them out, huh?"