For a second, Bragi was watching her slide out of the net, and his arms were empty. A second later, she was in them. His arm was around her back, and her legs were over his other arm. The fabric in her hood was rumpled a little so that it fell over her face a little, but not enough to actually obscure anything, and Bragi was stunned by how very attractive that looked in that moment. The sun and the shadows of the leaves were lucky. They could get as close as they wanted.
He inhaled sharply. Bragi could feel her breath. He could feel them breath. For another second all he did was hold her in his arms and feel them breath. Bragi was staring right into her bright green eyes. He used to think tree leaves were the prettiest green. He hadn't thought that in awhile. Bragi could see her wonder in her eyes. He could see her youth. He could see her orchard. He could see her heart and sink in it until death trying to find the bottom. He could see him. There was a strand of her hair almost in the way. Bragi wanted to brush it back where it belonged but his arms were full.
“I lo...” he said then stopped immediately as soon as he realized what he'd almost done. Stupid. Bragi couldn't. Not yet. Not if he wanted a chance. Now he wanted a chance even more than he had before. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He'd almost jeopardized everything. Bragi didn't know why he couldn't ever keep his mouth shut. You'd think there'd be some kind of exception when it came to things that were this important. Or even one thing. Just one. Just this thing. Was there anything he could barter for just this one thing? He'd give up music if he had to. Just not her. She was music.
The panicking and horror going on in the pit of his stomach and his mind couldn't be allowed to show in his expression. Bragi couldn't be allowed to break eye contact either. If he did, his eyes would go straight to her lips anyway and all would be lost in two different ways. He couldn't do anything suddenly except say something else immediately. “I got you” he corrected. Then Bragi shook his head and laughed. “I think you're the sole witness to one of the two only times I've ever stuttered.” He grinned. “And you thought your claim to fame for the day would be the net.” His eyes shifted. Bragi's stuttering count was still at one.
Bragi held her for as many microseconds as he could reasonably justify, then held her for one microsecond more because he couldn't help it. Bragi set her feet gently on the ground. He nibbled his lower lip and furrowed his brow a little as he surveyed her. Up and down. Arms and legs. After he finished, Bragi reached over and felt her forehead. The diagnosis was just as he had expected. "Completely unscathed." The survival-from-fall prognosis on this one was favorable. "Good." He might have a future in this catching business after all. Bragi felt mostly recovered now. There was just one corner in his mind that he was ignoring completely. The grieving section that kept asking and asking the same thing. He'd caught her. Couldn't that be enough? Couldn't that please be enough?