When she asked about the curly-haired, somber poet Bragi who owned her heart, this mortal Bragi asked what she would do if she found him. And, though Idun didn't mean to, she told him everything. She wanted to declare love. She wanted to bring the music back to his soul and the smirk back to his lips. It didn't matter if he loved her back, Idun told this mortal poet. All that mattered was that Bragi knew that he saved her life and Idun knew that now. All that mattered was that Bragi was okay. And then the mortal Bragi said that her Bragi was working on a play and he told her to fix him, and he offered a location, and Idun felt like he had been scolding her a little but she took the information anyway.
That was one tavern ago. Idun was tired of just missing Bragi. She was fairly certain she still had a lot of taverns to visit, but she felt hopeful. Mortal Bragi had given her hope, even though he yelled at her and made her feel like a child as well. This time, when she walked into the tavern, Idun was wearing a red dress and her hair was brushed and pulled over one shoulder. It was the neatest her appearance had been in three months. It was worth a shot. When she walked in, a skald asked if she was a fan of Bragi's. Idun just smiled.
And when she saw him, actually spotted him with his head bent and his shoulders hunched, she approached without hesitating. Her hand touched his arm. He was so real and it made her sigh, and Idun almost missed what he had to say as a result.
But she heard him. She felt Bragi remove her hand and he politely attempted to excuse himself and that was as heartbreaking as his message had been three months ago. When Bragi looked at her, Idun's broken heart stopped beating. Her breath caught in her throat. He looked so terribly unlike himself, but he was still the most handsome man Idun would ever know. He was still the Bragi who had captured her heart in a tree in Asgard.
"I won't be long, I promise," she said to him. Idun didn't trust that he'd stay. Though he'd moved her hand, Idun touched him again. This time she covered his hand with her own. He was warm, but not as warm as she remembered. That made her heart beat again, but in a very sad way. "I just heard you were working on a play. It sounds wonderful."
Her aching heart shouted I love you with every beat, but Bragi needed to stop looking for exits before she played that card. Idun just held his hand and hoped.