A few rips here, followed by a few ties and tucks there, and Vali was making his way – as slowly and quietly as he could manage – down the ladderwell, clad in a homemade shift crafted from one of Einar's shirts, while the rest of his clothing dried upstairs. 

Hopefully his Alpha wouldn't mind too much when he returned home, only to see that his Omega had ransacked his wardrobe. In his defense, it did seem as if Einar wasn't particularly fond of wearing shirts, anyway.

The very moment Vali's sandals hit the dirt floor of the barn with a muted thud, he got to work surveying the stables. 

To his surprise, most of the stalls were empty, save for the first three near the front door. 

To the first was a dozing mare, with a chocolate brown mane and ears that stuck straight up to the ceiling. He would let her get her rest for now, but made note to meet her at some point later. 

The second stall housed a brilliant white mare, who seemed to shine even in the darkness of the secluded barn. Her eyes were large and wary as she eyed Vali suspiciously, as if he was there to hurt her. The sight of such mistrust broke his heart, so, just like mare number one, he added miss silver coat to his 'to be loved' list. 

Vali stepped closer to the third and final stall to get a better look, which he quickly realized contained none other than the gigantic, black stallion he'd briefly seen upon his arrival here. He stepped back at once, not so much from fear, but more so out of respect for the arrant power that he knew the magnificent colt undoubtedly possessed. 

When Vali managed to crane his neck from a safer distance, he more than expected to see some kind of territorial glare in the animal's dark eyes, but his curiosity peaked when the only thing that he managed to detect there was exhaustion.

All of his previous wariness now thrown out of the window, Vali was quick but careful to approach the stall, keeping his arms wide open to show that he was not a threat. The stallion's eyes followed him as he moved closer, and before he knew it, Vali was raising the stall door latch and stepping in beside the magnificent beast, marveling at the rippling burst of muscles that crisscrossed beneath his pitch-black coat. 

"Aren't you a beauty..." Vali mumbled to himself, bending this way and that, trying to get a good look at the stallion in all of his glory. 

He waited longer than he usually would have to let the stallion get comfortable with his presence, letting the horse sniff at his hand to get used to his scent and keeping his movements slow and graceful so as not to startle him. His work paid off though, seeing as to how Vali didn't even have to make the first move when the stallion nudged at his arm, snuffing playfully.

Vali stifled a giggle as he immediately rubbed at the stallion's muzzle with his hands and – considering how tall the stallion was – his cheek, too, soft coos of appreciation slipping past his lips. 

"You are so lovable, huh? I just knew you would be. Thank you for accepting me as your friend." He whispered, pins pricking at his eyes as he remembered how he used to say the same words to his best friends in the whole wide world, Sigge and Ahren. How he wished that they were running free now, grazing on greener pastures. 

Vali sighed, pulling back from the reminiscent embrace with a pat to his friend's muzzle. "Let's see if we can get you brushed down, shall we?"

It took about five minutes of rooting through the haphazardly distributed hay to find an old brush and hoof file, but once he did, Vali immediately got to work, vowing to give his new friend the best spa day of his entire life. 

The stallion expressed his happiness so openly that it almost impeded the Omega's workflow when he constantly nudged against the small man, flicking his ears and swinging his tail around like the happiest pup in the world. But of course Vali didn't mind, more than happy to indulge the happy stallion who had clearly been devoid of attention and loving for far too long, especially judging by the state of his overgrown hooves that the Omega promptly filed down to a much more favorable length.

By the time he was done, orange-y light was beginning to thread through the wallboards, and he took the decreased buzzing from the distant village as a sign that things were winding down for the day. The impromptu grooming had come to an end, and Vali found his shoulders drooping with sadness when he realized that it was probably time to leave his newfound companion.

With a heavy heart, Vali kissed the stallion's muzzle before making eye contact.

"I wish that I knew your name." He mused, rubbing slow lines across the horse's satiny coat. "I bet you would be called something like..." He hummed, eyes flickering away momentarily as he pondered. 

"Njal." No response. 

"Maybe... Knud?" 

He sighed when once again, the stallion did not respond, instead deciding to sneeze against his forearm. Vali playfully 'yuck!'ed at the action, before wiping off a bit of goop on a nearby bale of hay. Afterward, he returned to his contemplation, giving it a final shot. 

"Hmm... How about..." he paused, trying to think very carefully. "Frode?"

Vali backed away when the stallion suddenly reared up, settling back down only to huff against the Omega happily, shaking his mane with excitement. 

"Did I guess right?!" Vali exclaimed, momentarily forgetting to keep his voice hushed. "My, by Odin's pastures, we truly are best friends!" He grinned, ready to tackle Frode's muzzle into another hug. That is, until a rattle at the front door of the barn startled him, and a prompt duck behind the stable door immediately seemed like a much better idea.

Grabbing up the discarded hoof file, Vali scurried to the back of the stall, eyes widening with surprise when Frode seemed to intentionally step in front of him, concealing his body from anyone who may walk by. He cursed himself for not keeping the volume of his voice in check, knowing that whoever was in the barn was likely investigating the source of the unexpected sound.

Trying to keep his breathing slow, even, and as quiet as possible, Vali remained as still as he could manage as he heard the front door bang shut, followed by heavy footfalls. The person lingered between the door and the ladder at first, the whoosh of a torch being lit filling the room. Then, Vali heard them move toward the ladderwell.

Creaking wood was a soundtrack of horror to the Omega's ears as the person ascended the ladder, looking for him. They lingered at the top for a moment, shuffling around before suddenly jumping down from the highest rung, breaths heavy as the torch whirled around in frantic semicircles.

"Oh, no. Oh please, no, no, no." A deep voice breathed out in a fearful tone, before proceeding to a low whisper, "Vali?! Vali!" 

The Omega shot to his feet at once, dropping the file without a second thought as he made his presence known.

"I'm right here!" 

Einar's head snapped over to the stall in which Vali stood, and upon spying the form of his beloved, safe and sound from the harm he'd conjured up in his worry-riddled mind, the Alpha's face crumpled.

The stall door banged against the wall as he threw it open in a desperate attempt to get to his Omega, settling the torch in the nearest bracket before immediately bending down to engulf the much smaller man in his arms, nuzzling deep into his black and white hair without the permission he knew he should have asked for.

"Vali... My Vali..." Einar clutched his fated close, taking in desperate gulps of caramel-scented air, unsure if he would ever be able to let the man out of his arms again. The shift the smaller man wore helped to calm Einar's panic by an infinitesimal trace, his inner Alpha soothed by the way it encapsulated him in his scent, but even that wasn't enough.

The past thirty seconds had been the most dreadful of his entire existence, far surpassing any of the worst raids he'd ever been forced to battle in. And now, the Alpha's entire body shook as it struggled to process such a giant vacillation of emotion. "I thought that I had lost you. I just knew that he had taken you away. I believed–"

"Shh." Vali hushed his Alpha, pulling back just enough to reach up and grasp the face of the man whose eyes were so tightly shut he worried they might get stuck like that. "Look at me." 

Einar tried to resist the movement, to pull his fated ever closer into his chest instead, but Vali stood his ground. 

"Einar." His name on Vali's porcelain lips was like the sweetest of wines to the Alpha's ears, drowning him in an intoxicated stupor that only his Omega could ever manage to elicit. "My Alpha. Look at me."

Even on his best of days, Einar could never have resisted such a request. Not when it came from the mouth of the only person who had ever managed to make him want to be whole again. 

The Alpha's eyes opened then, blue irises peering into mismatched ones that swirled like portals into the soul of his fated. 

"I am right here. Safe and sound in your arms, right now." Vali reminded him, a smile on his lips as he slipped his fingers into Einar's blonde tresses, weaving the long strands between his knuckles. "Let's go upstairs and let Frode get some rest. Then, I will re-weave your plaits while we finish our talk. How does that sound?"

Einar's brow pinched at the mention of Guiscard's stallion's rarely used namesake. "How did you–"

A slim finger across his lips halted his inquiry. "How does that sound?" Vali repeated, keeping the conversation on track. 

The large man sighed, once again clasping the hand of his fated before nodding. He brought it to his lips once more, pressing yet another kiss to Vali's knuckles, one that left the Omega aching for more.

"Whatever your desires may be, I will always cherish and obey the sound of them, Ástvinur."

Vali's right cheek flushed at the sappy pet name, suddenly feeling a bit shy despite his earlier display of confidence. Luckily Einar did not comment on it though, far too preoccupied with scooping up both the torch and his fated before toting him to safety in the loft above.

Next chappie is a big one! 😱

A/N: Ástvinur means "Darling/Beloved" in old Norse

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Xoxo, Alex ❤️