"Of course you do," Idun sighed with a playful roll of her eyes. Bragi obviously had a talent for keeping the masses guessing. Granted, she was her only proof of that, and the fact that he kept her on her toes had been a point of annoyance, but things had shifted slightly without Idun's consent. She wasn't annoyed. Not as she had been. She wanted Bragi happy, and she wanted whatever small piece of that she could be a part of. The teasing was coming naturally again, as it had here and there on the road, and if only for selfish reasons, Idun would continue with the banter if it meant he might smirk like that again. She liked the sight. Strictly as a friend, of course.
"You will be that lucky. I already told you, I know," Idun insisted. A smile warmed her expression, and she laughed softly, oblivious to the mischief glimmering in Bragi's eyes. It was for the best that she didn't notice that. She really didn't need yet another reason to feel unreasonably intrigued by the god. There had to be a limit to how many times in one meeting she could remind herself of his new goddess. "Your skepticism is being noted, Bragi. When you find your home, I'm going to gloat a bit. I assume you'd want to know this, just so you're prepared." It came out all matter of fact, just as Idun wanted it to.
She smiled a whole three seconds later, unable to hold such a serious expression for long. "Listen here. If anybody could make dusty records sound undeniably fascinating, I firmly believe it's you. I'm your friend, and as such, I'm allowed to tell you that you have a wonderful voice for anything, really. I'm sure you've heard it before, but as your friend, I'd like to drive that point home." She paused, squinting thoughtfully for a moment. "Though something slightly more fascinating in nature wouldn't be bad, either. I'd appreciate any writings, I swear, but fascination is fun."
It hadn't occurred to Idun until just then, but discussing the squabbles of family members was no longer carrying the lighthearted playfulness that she'd originally intended. This nearly made her frown. "I'm sorry," she said rather suddenly. "This is a terrible thing to discuss. It isn't really all that pleasant, is it?" She offered him an apologetic smile. "We're not here to chat about bickering family members." There. She could shake the feeling that she was saddening him now. Hopefully.
Her smile became a softer, friendlier display of warmth when he mentioned his desire to try her cooking. It wasn't something she even needed to respond to, not really, but then he continued and Idun couldn't help but stare. He had to stop doing this. Offering to write her poetry. Idun felt that tightness slowly returning to her chest, and she almost sighed as a precursor to a swoon. "I thought you were mostly in the records business these days," she said, with a raised eyebrow and an expectant sort of LOOK. Yes. Teasing, playful banter. Avoiding how he'd offered her music and poetry without even batting an eye.
Idun had almost forgotten how much trouble he was. Now she remembered. Oh, did she remember.