Bragi was fighting the weight of the snow and the wind, but his promise lifted some of the heaviness from Idun's chest. She exhaled, and it sounded like pure relief. They had a plan now. They were establishing the rules of disagreement that they would take back to their married life and hopefully leave to gather dust somewhere. Idun didn't want to fight. She'd rather never reference these rules. But the choice was between giving up or risking a few fights in the future.
Idun would battle him for weeks, scream and scream and scream, as long as it meant they hadn't missed their chance. As long as they still had forever. She didn't have the right words to respond to his promise. Bragi was the eloquent one. Idun just nodded and offered him a smile, frosted at the edges, but warm all the same. They were going to have forever.
They hadn't missed their chance.
It was easy to doubt that when they faltered, but Idun refused all the same. There had been some small part of her that had doubted her husband, even after everything he had done to ease all her irrational worries. Even after courting her gently, after protecting her from her brother, after nearly dying to give her a few moments to escape, after all that, Idun had still found a way to doubt him. But Bragi had stayed. He would have given up his claim to a long, happy life all because Idun had fallen into the most terrible realm imaginable. She couldn't doubt him anymore, not after this. Not after seeing what he would sacrifice to stay at her side.
The kiss reminded Idun that her heart was beating, and so was Bragi's. They were both still alive. They just needed to get home, and then everything would be okay. Bragi shifted his hold on her, and though it highlighted how frail she had become, Idun could overlook that. Bragi was right there, handsome despite the smothering cold. They were going to get out of this. "We're going to be alright," she told him, as confident as anyone could be at a whisper.
Together, they managed to establish a steady, slow pace. Step by step, they were getting closer to home. It was still crushing, though, to know that Bragi couldn't offer her a time frame. That alone told her she had been her for a long, long time. But she fought to smile, because she was tired of being sad. They were going home. "When you write up our agreement later, make sure to add in that I'm not allowed to worry you anymore. I must be on good behavior from now on, so you'll no longer have need to worry," Idun told him. Firmly, or rather the frozen equivalent of firmly. "The penalty should be rather harsh, too. Bed without supper, perhaps."