Start the song. It's Dry and Dusty by Fever Ray.

****This first section will contain smut between Josh and Jenna. Skip the the next author's note if that's not your thing. Any complaints will get you muted. If Josh is speaking in full sentences, assume he's speaking Danish with people who understand it. ****

Raid season was both Josva's favourite and least favourite time of year. He loved the adventure, the thrill, and the opportunity to please Odin. What he didn't like was the time spent away from his wife and babies. The month following raid season was always spent making it up to them as well as the rest of the people within his tribe.

Right now though, he was selfishly focusing only on his wife. Their babies and the little one had been tucked into their beds, and the hall was quiet. The fire crackled in the corner of their bedroom as Josva thrust roughly into Jenna, making her back arch up as she moaned.

Josva was never gentle with her after raid season. He couldn't be if he tried. For a month, he had been deprived of her soft flesh and melodious moans. When he came home, he had no choice but to ravage her. She was just as hungry for it as he was though.

The headboard smacked harshly against the stone wall behind it as Josva gripped it tightly with one hand, the other touching every part of his wife that it could. Every moment he'd spent missing her whilst in England was given back to her with hard thrusts and breathless kisses. Her soft legs were wrapped around his waist, her fingers tangled in his hair as he left open-mouthed kisses all along her neck.

"Tell me about..." Jenna cut herself off with a gasp as his hips slammed forward into hers. "Tell me about the other women-the ones from the west."

Josva groaned as Jenna's nails dug into his shoulders. "They were all plain and weak," he grunted out. "None of them compared to my wife."

His wife smiled that breathtaking smile he loved so much for only a split second before she was moaning out desperately. "Did you take any to bed?" She asked him, her legs tightening around his waist. He could tell by how she was clinging to him that she was close.

"None," Josh told her honestly, rolling his hips deeper as if that would somehow prove it to her. "That is why I am so hungry."

Jenna laughed breathlessly, tugging him up by his hair so she could kiss him. Her lips were just as heavenly as ever, making it harder to maintain a rhythm and not to just let his body do as it pleased. The taste of her warm mouth was everything he'd craved while he was across the sea. It would be weeks before his hunger was fully satisfied, but the hunger pains had ceased.

Their hips froze when a small voice outside the door called, "Papa?" Ellinor.

Josva sighed, burying his face against Jenna's neck. His breathing was laboured as he tried to focus on his daughter instead of what he and his wife both needed so badly. "I'm here, kitten," he called back.

"Okay," their small daughter replied.

With that, her tiny footsteps disappeared back down the hall. Josh chuckled when the hallway became silent again. All she had needed was confirmation that he hadn't left again, and that he really had returned home.

"I even missed that," he told his wife before rolling his hips into hers again, and just like that, their rhythm was restored.

She laughed, rolling her hips to meet his thrusts. "They missed you. Rasmus might be by soon as well."

Overwhelming joy swelled within Josva. It was nice to be home after so long, surrounded by people he loved. He thrusted harder into his wife, making her cry out and dig her fingernails into his shoulders once again. Heat was pooling in his abdomen as he pounded into her, having to hold the headboard with both hands now.

"Josva," she gasped out, and she didn't have to say anything more for Josva to know exactly what she meant.

He kissed her sloppily, not easing up on her at all. She was seconds away from release, and Josva wasn't far behind. Vikings weren't built to go this long without sex. They were falling apart quickly.

Jenna's nails raked down Josva's back when she came, crying out his name desperately as her back arched up. Just moments later, Josva followed, spilling inside of her as he groaned deeply. Their hips rolled together lazily for a moment before Josva pulled out, kissing her softly.

The smut is over!

"Why would I want the Saxon women when I knew I would be coming home to you?" He asked Jenna breathlessly.

She smiled, pushing his sweaty curls off of his forehead. "Because you are a Viking," she told him. "You can never be satisfied."

"No. I am your husband. I have no interest in other women, especially on raids," he promised her. "You are my queen. You are the mother of my beautiful babies. I do not need anything else."

"Not even the little one?" Jenna asked him, smiling deviously.

He chuckled. "I brought him here for you, my love."

"What if I want to share him?" She asked, grinning at Josh. She traced the lines of his chest lightly with her fingertips. "He needs you, Josva."

"He does not need me," Josva chuckled out. "He needs someone to take care of him and to make him feel safe. You are a mama. You can do that."

"You are a papa! Besides, he trusts you. He ate only when you fed him," Jenna pointed out. Josva opened his mouth to argue, only for his wife to shush him. "Listen," she said quietly.

They were silent for a moment. At first, all Josva could hear was the crackling of their fire and the soft cadence of their breaths, but then he heard it. Someone was crying.

"It is the little one," Josva said quietly.

His wife nodded solemnly. "He is homesick."

Josva tucked a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. "He is home now."

"He still misses his family and homeland. Would you not miss Scandinavia?" She asked, stroking his cheek softly.

There was only a moment of hesitation before Josva sighed. Scandinavia was everything to him. He would never leave his country without intent to return. Even more certainly, he would never leave it alone.

He watched his wife trace the scar that ran across his hip, then the one that split him from shoulder to breast. Even without words, she was saying to him: "You would die for your country. Can he not cry for his?"

"I know we said we would wait until he had adjusted but-" Josva began.

"Go get him," Jenna interrupted, finishing his thought. She soothed her palm down his chest. "Let him sleep where he'll be safe."

Josva nodded, kissing his wife softly. "Get dressed while I am gone. I do not think your beautiful body is the type of comfort he needs tonight."

His wife smiled, pulling him in and kissing him slowly. She ran her fingers through his hair gently as he pulled her warm body closer to his. He'd missed her so much it was unbearable, but he wouldn't have to leave her alone again. She would have the little one.

With one final kiss to his wife's soft lips, he left the warmth of their bed. Although he longed to sleep beside his wife, feeling every inch of her soft body against his, he pulled his pants back on. He'd promised to protect their little one. If he couldn't protect him from homesickness, how would he ever protect him from the Jötunn?

-----

It was humiliating to cry like this in an unfamiliar home. Tyler buried his face against his pillow in an empty attempt to stifle his sobs. His body was curled up into a ball, looking even smaller than usual. There seemed to be no relief from the pain, however. Exhaustion kept pulling him in and out of nightmare-plagued sleep.

His shaking didn't stop when his door opened. He couldn't move to lift his head from his pillow either. His body and mind were weak from exhaustion. Even now, sleep threatened him, but he did everything he could to fight it. He wouldn't survive seeing the two men kill his family in another brutal way.

"Little one?" Josva's voice asked softly. When Tyler only sobbed in response, clinging to his pillow, the Viking crouched down beside the bed and met his eyes. "Do not cry."

Tyler had to be the most fortunate prisoner to ever live, yet he whimpered out, "I want to go home."

The Viking seemed to be at a loss for words as he eyed Tyler. He reached out then, stroking Tyler's cheek as gently as his wife had. "I know, little one. Come. You sleep safe."

Although he knew he should protest, Tyler allowed the Viking to lift him up off of the bed, cradling him against his chest as if he were a child. Josva carried him out of the room. He clung to the foreign man, still trembling and trying as hard as he could to stop sobbing.

He heard Jenna's voice then. "Oh, poor baby."

"Han har brug for dig," Josva said to her. [He needs you.]

Tyler was ashamed of how easily he sank against Jenna when he was placed in her arms. Exhaustion made his body heavy, though, and sorrow did the same to his soul. He was laying in the arms of his captor's wife, yet he was grateful for every kiss she placed upon his forehead, cheeks, and lips.

"Han ryster," Jenna said to Josva, who nodded. [He is shaking.]

When Josva climbed into the bed, he wrapped a protective arm around both Jenna and Tyler. He kissed Jenna's forehead before kissing Tyler's shoulder as well.

"Little one is safe," Josva promised him. "I protect you."

Another sob left Tyler's lips against his will, and he was surprised when both of the Vikings held him closer. Jenna kissed him softly on the lips, and Tyler wanted her to do it again and again. Never in his life had a woman kissed him, and now Jenna was kissing him generously within hours of meeting him.

Josva was just as giving. His lips were trailing softly along Tyler's shoulder as he held him close, his beard tickling the skin there. Somehow, Tyler found comfort in their kisses and soft touches. He melted against Josva, his sobs morphing into gentle whimpers as he was soothed by the pair of Vikings.

"You are safe, little one," Jenna whispered to him. "We will not let any harm come upon you."

Tyler could not quiet his whimpers, no matter how hard he tried. The pain in his heart was too much. Still, soft lips peppered his face while rough hands caressed his shoulders and back gently. Slowly, he was eased out of his whimpering, left to breathe shakily as he watched Jenna's blue eyes softly search his. He felt Josva's forehead rest in the place between his shoulder blades.

"Your mama and papa are not here," Jenna said to him softly, "but we are also a mama and papa. We will care for you."

He felt Josva's lips brush his spine. Sleep was overtaking him again, making fear prickle in his belly. If he fell asleep, he knew he would dream of terrible things. The man and woman with their arms wrapped around him only continued to soothe him, whispering soft words in both English and Danish. His eyelids began to droop, making Jenna smile.

"Han sover næsten," she whispered to Josva. [He is almost asleep.]

The Norseman nodded against Tyler's back, kissing the skin there softly. His hands massaged Tyler's sides gently. A gentle calm was settling over Tyler now as his body grew to be closer and closer to sleep.

"Little one is safe," Josva whispered against his back. "Our little baby is safe."

"Our little baby," Jenna repeated gently. "May the gods give you peace, even as you sleep, Tyler Joseph."

"Sleep, little one," Josva soothed, his voice rough with sleep. "Du er sikker." [You are safe.]

"Thank you," Tyler whispered weakly as his eyes fell shut.

A soft kiss was pressed to his forehead as he felt Josva relax behind him. He didn't even have time to wonder if the Norseman was asleep before he himself was slipping into a dream of ice giants that only Josva was able to conquer. Thankfully, Josva was there to protect him the whole time.