Start the song. It's Organs by Of Monsters and Men.

Josva didn't leave his bed the next day, and he didn't wash his face and hair in the morning as was the daily custom here. Runa didn't either. Josh held his new daughter as they slept through the entire day, only waking up to go to the bathroom. Whenever Runa had to go potty, Josva took her outside instead of letting her go on her own. Whenever he went, he made sure either Jenna or Tyler was still in the room with their new daughter.

Runa cried for hours, begging the gods to give her parents back to her. Josva didn't shed a single tear, stone cold as he shut off his own grief in order to protect Runa from hers. It wasn't until Jenna told him she wanted a turn in caring for Runa that Josva left their room, taking Tyler and several strong men with him out into the cold.

All of the men were shivering despite their warm furs and woolen clothing, but no one complained as they followed Josva through the cold and across the rocky beaches of the fjord, which were now coated in snow and ice. No one questioned Josva about where they were going or why, and Tyler wasn't sure if that was because this was tradition or because they were afraid of angering the already unsteady king walking before them.

Josva stopped in front of the ship Tyler had learned about raids in. It was sitting atop the shore, but ice had still crept along its base. Josva pulled his axe out of his bear pelt before walking closer to the ship. Tyler heard all of the men around them draw their axes as well, and without a word, they were all hacking at the ice that imprisoned the giant ship.

Since Tyler didn't have an axe, he was left to stand awkwardly beside the men who were actually working, watching them chip away at the ice until they were taking off their pelts to cool the sweat rolling down their backs. No one commented on Tyler's lack of cooperation. In fact, no one commented on anything. Their actions were entirely mechanical, like they were moving without their brains' assistance.

After about an hour and a half of shivering in the cold while the other men worked, Tyler was grateful to be handed his husband's furs. Josva helped him to wrap the thick barrier against the cold around his shoulders, and just like that, the cold was gone. The pelt swamped him, and it had already been warmed by Josva's body heat as he'd worked.

No words were exchanged between the two men before Josva went back to work. It took several hours to free the boat completely. Without stopping to rest for even a moment, the men positioned themselves around the massive wooden ship, lifting it off of the ground and beginning to slowly carry it back up to the village. Tyler did get to help carry the ship, but he wasn't much help to anyone. Even Brad was struggling under the weight of the enormous ship, but he pressed on. The men all swore and called out to Thor for strength, but they didn't stop for even a moment until they had carried the ship through the village, up the hill behind it, and to a large empty space of land.

"Down," Josva yelled, and the boat was being lowered to the ground.

The men were all panting once it touched the ground. Their muscles were sore, and they were exhausted. Still, they remained steadfast when Josva sat down in the snow in front of the ship. After a moment, they all sat with him. Tyler's knee touched Josva's when he sat beside him.

"Mark and Torunn will be buried here," Josva told the men simply. "We will break the ground in the morning and start preparing for their burial. Until then, I want my strongest boar, bull, and dog to be killed and buried with them. Mark will buried in full armour, and Torunn will too. They will need all of this when they reach Valhalla. A lock of Runa's hair will be buried with them as well. They died to save their daughter's life. They will bring a piece of her with them to Valhalla, so the gods know who to return her to when the Valkyries come for her too."

The men were all silent, but some nodded their approval. Others wiped at the tears gathering in their eyes. They all seemed to approve though.

"Mark was not from this tribe in the beginning, just as I was not. He sailed here from Iceland after receiving a dream from Njord, promising him riches if he crossed the sea without sinking. He made it, and he found Torunn. She was the greatest treasure in his life, and he always treated her as such. She treated him with the same love and respect. You all knew her. She was born here. She fought for this village in every battle, and thanked the gods for every victory she gained. These two members of our tribe were examples to all who wanted to honour and impress the gods. There is a hole in our tribe without them, and there is a hole in my heart. We will make them proud when we raid again in the spring. We will show the gods that we are just as willing to rejoin them as Mark and Torunn were. We will prove that we deserve to fight alongside them once again in Valhalla."

Shouts of agreement echoed through the biting cold air. Josva was silent then, laying his head on Tyler's shoulder as his dark eyes studied the ship in front of him tiredly. His fingers tangled with Tyler's, and just this once, Tyler got to be the protector. He got to be the source of comfort and strength in their relationship. He got to care for Josva.

"As your king, it is my job to remain strong and optimistic today...but I do not know how to do that right now. I was promised that no member of my family would die in this storm, yet I am being forced to bury my brother and sister. If you must cry or scream or curse at the gods, you can do that now. I will not judge you or think less of you. I am just as angry and broken from this loss as you all are," Josva told his men, remaining pressed against Tyler with tears gathering in his eyes.

Tyler pressed a kiss to Josva's forehead, stroking the frozen braids at the back of Josva's head. He looked around at the other men, who had wholeheartedly welcomed Josva's invitation to be vulnerable. They clung to each other and leaned against each other for strength as they sobbed and yelled at the sky and ocean.

Josva's eyes closed as he listened to the wails of the men around him. "Sorrow eats the heart if you cannot tell someone your whole mind," he whispered under his breath.

"There is a saying in Christianity that's often said in times like this," Tyler told Josva, gaining his husband's attention. "This too shall pass."

"This too shall pass," Josva repeated quietly.

"All things pass, whether they're good or bad. We must either weather them or treasure them, depending on the nature of the moment. My mother used to tell me that," Tyler informed his husband.

He looked up when he realized the men around him were listening closely to his words, clinging to them like they'd clung to Josva's. Tyler swallowed nervously.

"I know that, in Scandinavia, you do not fear death. You know that the gods have fated when you will die, and you just try to focus on dying an honourable death. I think that's brilliant, but I also think it's okay to mourn the deaths that we survive. Mark and Torunn are in Valhalla now, and we know that," Tyler insisted, "but Joshua is right. Your sorrow will eat you up if you keep it inside of you. Mark crossed an ocean to become your brother, and he crossed it many more times at your side. He deserves to be mourned, even if he's feasting with the gods, because he is our brother, and we won't feast with him again for a while longer. The same goes for Torunn, although I didn't really know her. Mourn her. Her legacy is just as great as Mark's, and that's something to celebrate."

Brad cleared his throat, drawing the tribe's attention to his tear-stained face. "In Iceland, there is a saying. Mark taught it to me, and I think he would say it right now to Tyler if he was here. 'Þú þekkir ekki vini þína frá óvinum þínum fyrr en ísinn brýtur.' It means, 'You do not know your friends from your enemies until the ice breaks.' Tyler is not from Scandinavia. We found him in enemy territory after the gods placed him in Josva's path. Still, he has proven that he belongs here again and again. The ice has broken and swallowed up two of our greatest warriors and friends, yet Tyler is still here, standing strong beside us. Mark would be so proud."

"You are our brother," a man Tyler had never spoken to told him. "You are always a friend to Scandinavia."

One man produced a drinking horn from his belt, removing the stopper and holding it up to the sky. Many other men produced horns from their belts as well, Josva included. They were all held up around Tyler.

"To our newest brother, Tyler Dun, who was brought to us by Josva, Mark, and Jon. Skol!" The first man yelled.

"Skol!" The men all shouted back before drinking deeply from their horns.

Josva smiled around his horn as he drank from it, kissing Tyler softly before handing him the horn as well. "Skol," Josva whispered to him warmly.

Tyler smiled back before taking a swig of mead from Josva's drinking horn. It burnt his insides, making him feel warmer. "Am I supposed to say that too?" Tyler asked Josva quietly.

His husband chuckled. "No. This one is for you. We are celebrating you, and all that you have given to Scandinavia since the gods brought you here. We love you here. We all do."

Tears nipped at Tyler's eyes as he looked around at all of the giant men smiling warmly at him. Never in Tyler's life had he felt such a strong feeling of belonging and admiration in a group of people so unlike him.

"I wasn't raised with the gods you all have taught me so much about, but I've been told again and again that they are the ones who brought me here, and that makes me love them more than anything. In Christianity, we would call this a miracle. But here, things like this happen all the time, and they are done to please the gods instead of being done by the gods. It's an honour to be the brother of so many people who hold the strength, justice, wisdom, and compassion of the gods inside of them at all times," Tyler told them, although his voice trembled slightly.

Josva smiled so sincerely at Tyler that it made him melt. Despite the shouts of "Skol!" that followed his statement, he remained silent as he climbed into Josva's lap and buried his face against his husband's neck. The heat of his breath warmed the skin there. Tyler was embarrassed that he was starting to cry from hearing so many people offer him acceptance like this, but he couldn't help it.

"Mark would be just as happy to welcome you into our tribe as we are," Josva promised him. "You would make him proud."

———

The walk back down the hill to town was far less excruciating than walking uphill with a gigantic ship held above their heads. It was especially nice when they entered the longhouse, immediately being swallowed up in the warm air that the fire and large accumulation of people had to offer. Furs were shed, and more mead and ale was distributed amongst the people.

Tyler had never been drunk before that night, but he drank whatever Josva handed to him, knowing that they were drinking to honour Mark and Torunn. He couldn't drink as much as Josva could, but it was still fun to watch Josva's cheeks get pinker and pinker beneath his beard with every swig.

Drinking songs filled the long house, and so did the shouts and laughter of dozens of drunken men and women. Children had been moved out of the throne room to accommodate the mass amounts of drunken people blundering around.

Tyler was lying on a bench with his head in Jenna's lap as he watched Josva and several other drunk warriors sing very loudly and off-key together in a language that Tyler didn't understand. Tyler smiled as their wife petted his hair gently, humming along to the song. Jenna hadn't been drinking, focusing more on making sure her husbands didn't do anything too stupid. Tyler looked up at her, smiling stupidly as he reached up to twirl one of her braids around his fingers.

"You are the most beautiful woman in the whole world," Tyler slurred to her, making her smile down at him.

"Am I?" She asked amusedly.

"Mmhm," Tyler hummed drunkenly. "No woman has ever been as beautiful as you, and you're my wife. You're my...my... my Gyðja."

Jenna laughed. "I am both of those things," she agreed. "And you are my husband."

"Yeah, I am," Tyler agreed, his eyelids heavy as he smiled so wide it made his cheeks hurt. "I'm your husband. And Joshua is your husband. And he's my husband. And we're gonna put a baby in you. And you're the most beautiful woman in the whole world."

Jenna laughed again. "Oh, my beloved, you are the most precious drunk I have ever met."

"And you're the most precious...um...um...the most precious.... Wow, you're so pretty. I always just want to look at you and touch you and taste you and talk to you and be with you. And Joshua too. I want to do all of those things with him all the time too. With both of you." Tyler let out a lazy sigh as his drunken eyes studied his wife again. "It should be illegal for anyone to be as beautiful as you are."

His wife couldn't stop grinning as she softly stroked his bearded cheeks before looking up at Josva from across the room. "I am so much happier with you here, and I can tell that Josva is too. Our marriage felt perfect before, but I know now that it could never be perfect without you." She smiled softly down at Tyler then. "The gods were so clever to create someone like you."

"Jenna, I think I'm the kind of drunk that cries a lot," Tyler slurred out to his wife as tears pooled in his eyes.

She cooed to him comfortingly although it was clear she was trying not to laugh. "Of course you are, my little one. You are so soft and sweet."

Tyler rolled over in her lap to bury his face against her stomach as he cried into the material. He heard his wife giggle, but she still rubbed his back softly and whispered soothing words to him. It didn't take long for him to forget why he'd been crying though, and then all he wanted to do was be as close to Jenna as possible.

"Jenna?" He slurred out, clinging to the fabric of her dress.

"What do you need, my little love?" She asked him sweetly.

Tyler smiling, nuzzling his face against her stomach. "Can't wait to put a baby in you. Can't wait to meet her. I hope she looks like you," Tyler told her seriously, finding it difficult to keep his eyes open as he spoke.

"I hope she looks like you," Jenna countered warmly. "We already have three children who look like Josva and me. We have another who looks like Mark and Torunn. We need one who looks like you now too."

Tyler smiled at that. "My mum would be so disgusted with me if she knew how much I love living like this," he confessed without meaning to. "She would think I was possessed."

His wife seemed too shocked to respond to that at first. "She would be disgusted that we are trying to have a baby?"

"That I'm trying to have a baby with my husband and wife, who are older than me...and Pagan," Tyler slurred to her. "In Mercia, we could all be put to death for this. It doesn't feel wrong though. This is the happiest I've ever felt. I've never felt at home before, but I would rather die now than live anywhere but here in Scandinavia with you, Josva, and our babies."

Once again, his wife hesitated before speaking. "I asked my mother once, when I was a child, if she would ever take me back to visit her family in England. She told me that she would sooner drown my siblings and I in the bath than take us back there. She said that the freest she had ever felt was when she was asked if she wanted to marry my father or not before her wedding. She said that wasn't a question the Saxons asked brides. Men just married off their daughters as if they were cattle."

"Women are still property in England," Tyler confirmed solemnly. "I don't know how love can grow in a marriage like that. I would never want you to be my property. You are so wise and charismatic. It would be such a waste for you to be silenced."

His wife's thumb brushed against his bottom lip, making him smile. "Josva has always had the option of taking on new wives in order to own more land and expand his kingdom. I remember sitting in during a war council and hearing another king offer Josva his three daughters in exchange for a treaty. I knew the price of being married to a king, so as much as I hated it, I tried to prepare myself in case he accepted the offer." She chuckled. "Josva called me over to him, and I was certain he was about to tell me that he was going to accept. He didn't though. He pointed at me, looked at the other king, and said, 'Why would I ever marry your daughters when I am already going home with a woman like this? I am not looking for a wife. I am looking for peace. You can either agree to our terms or continue fighting, but either way, this is the only woman I am going home with.'"

Tyler smiled. "Josva never looks at women the way the other warriors do. Even when we were leaving England, he had no interest in Saxon women. All he cared about was getting me home to you."

"There are very few men in all of the Nine Worlds who are as perfect as our husband," Jenna replied happily.

"I can't name a single other," Tyler replied.

"Are you too drunk to recall your own name, my love?" Jenna teased, making him grin.

"If I hadn't had so much to drink, I would want to take you to bed right now," Tyler admitted drunkenly to his wife.

She laughed. "Well, you have more self control than Josva in that respect. He cannot keep his hands off of me when he drinks. That is part of the reason we are hiding over here. I would not put it past him to come over and try to bed me right here in front of everyone while he is in this state. Of course, I wouldn't let him, and he wouldn't touch me after I said no, but he always tries."

Tyler laughed, pressing a kiss to Jenna's thigh through the fabric of her dress. "I don't think I'm capable of satisfying you in that way when I'm this drunk."

"Neither is Josva, but he is always certain that this time will be different," Jenna commented, making Tyler laugh again. "Keep your wits about you, though, my beloved. He will probably try to bed you tonight as well."

Tyler sighed. "I'm so drunk that I might let him," he told his wife, making her laugh.

"I will protect you from our trickster husband, little one. Do not worry. Even when Loki gets his hands on Josva, he does as I tell him to," their wife assured him.

"Of course he does," Tyler slurred out. "You're a goddess." He smacked his lips together as his eyes drifted shut. "I think I'm going to take a nap now," he decided.

Jenna laughed. "Okay. I will keep an eye out for Loki while you sleep."

"I love you, wife," Tyler mumbled sleepily.

"I love you too, husband," Jenna replied softly as she soothed her palm along the shaved portion of his head. "May the gods watch over you as you sleep."

Tyler fell asleep with a smile on his face, Jenna's fingers in his hair, and the sound of his husband singing loudly across the room in his ears. There was no sorrow in his heart tonight, and he didn't think Mark and Torunn would mind that. If anything, he thought they would be happy to see so many people celebrating their departure to Valhalla.