Despite what her mind was saying, Idun didn't brace herself. She just fell. She was dropping but she knew he was there, felt he was there for her, even before his arms slid perfectly in place to stop her from hitting the ground. Idun was very aware of the tensing of muscles, the way she dipped slightly towards the ground before he grew used to the sudden weight in his arms. After that, she ended up an inch higher and her arm instinctively crossed his chest to grip his shoulder. It was instinct. Idun was not to blame. Not even for the fact that, in grabbing him like this, she'd brought their faces close enough to touch. And, for the record, Idun wasn't thinking of touching his face with her hand, though that was an option. Her stomach became home to a thousand beautiful butterflies all flapping their wings in frenzied dissonance. Nerves took root. Idun forgot breathing for a moment, which nearly led to gasping.
Ohh, was she in trouble.
The hand on Bragi's shoulder brushed lightly against the side of his neck. The sunlight wasn't hitting him in precisely the same manner anymore, but it didn't matter. This close, Idun remembered exactly why her fingers kept seeking out his hair, and it had nothing to do with the lighting. She didn't know what to make of his expression, the look in his eyes, but Idun could only assume he was pleased with himself for catching her.
And then he started to talk. And Idun froze. Her eyes didn't. They grew larger, as eyes tend to do when half a word was uttered and the other half was instantly, hopefully, longingly supplied by her mind. The same mind that had doubted Bragi could catch her, the same mind that kept getting in the way of him finishing that word, of Idun realizing what all the gasps and butterflies and desperate plans to poke at the seams of his relationship really meant. The rhythm of her heart changed slightly, a congratulatory little flourish to acknowledge the brain finally being on board with her heart. He lo...
Jondi. The mind returned from its brief vacation into Romance Land. Idun smiled, but it was thin and it never came close to her eyes. If he was going to declare love for anybody in that moment, it was going to be Jondi. Hadn't Idun brought her to mind unintentionally once before, in a properly random manner? Yes, yes she had. Besides, as Bragi grinned, he offered an explanation. A stutter, rare as a precious jewel, though a thousand times more destructive. He'd stuttered. Bragi hadn't even come close to declaring anything. His tongue just briefly, for only the second time in his life, found itself tied. "It happens to the best of us," Idun said, and it was true, but somehow she didn't mean it. The words weren't full of life like they should've been, because Idun's soul felt just the tiniest bit crushed. Even a slightly-crushed soul could turn words hollow.
Perhaps her soul was more than the tiniest bit crushed.
But it didn't matter. She moved her hand away from his neck. He carefully set her feet on the ground. Idun tipped her head down slightly, the hood falling forward a bit, and she made a show of dusting off the front of her clothes. She just needed a moment. A long moment. Idun swallowed and braced herself and then she looked back up at him. Seeing Bragi felt...like something she wouldn't define even if she could define it. Wanting to kiss him was not an unfamiliar urge, but sadly, it was the kind of urge that led to the behavior that had ruined love and marriage for her in the first place. She wouldn't do that to Jondi. She wouldn't do it to Bragi or to herself.
She smiled, and it wasn't as terrible, but it wasn't bursting with warmth either. "You caught me," she said. This was the only time she'd fall into his arms. Idun had to remind herself of that, before she went and fell in a figurative sense. Nobody would catch her like that. It was best to keep that in mind. "I thank you, kind sir." She managed a teasing bow, complete with flourishing arm movements, and then at least Idun could laugh. At herself, but it was better than nothing. "You caught me and I'm completely unscathed. I think I should be rewarded for this. Knowledge of the first time you stuttered, perhaps?"