“The next day?” Bragi asked. He shook his head again, and smiled. He didn't smile because it was something to smile at. He smiled because it was so tragic. It was just so tragic and frustrating that smiling was the only alternative to crying again. “You were supposed to get that within fifteen minutes. That was the whole plan. The entire plan depended on that.” But Idun had been in the wrong place. And that had been because of him. They'd just been doomed from the start. Completely doomed from the start.
There were a lot of taverns. Bragi couldn't count the number he'd been in. Or how many he'd escaped just as a certain goddess had walked through the door. “I'm sorry” Bragi said. “I thought we'd ended. I told you I loved you. You said you had to hate me. I thought we'd ended. I'm sorry.” He truly was. Now. He paused. Then gave her a sidelong glance. “The other Bragi was the one that sold me out, didn't he?” They'd have to have a talk about that one day.
He wanted her to grab his hands again. She'd done it when they'd existed after an ending was over, and he couldn't feel anything then. But now they'd moved to a new beginning, and Bragi could get excited about new things here, and he could feel it when she held his hand. But maybe it should be the left one. The right was still kind of broken. Bragi nearly started not looking at her on purpose. He had to remind himself that even if she had changed her mind about love, that didn't necessarily mean she'd changed her mind about everything. He had to decide whether or not to risk it.
Instead, Bragi sighed. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Come on, Idun” he said, “I'll walk you home.”