It had been a good run, but Bragi decided to retire from withering glares. He'd leave them to the professionals like his wife, or cheese merchants. Maybe he'd try taking them up again one day, but not for awhile. Not when his wife was snuggled up against him. Idun had kissed him like each kiss meant she loved him, and there would be a hundred more to follow and Bragi felt whole. The moment he left their blanket shelter and opened the door to head back out into the world, Bragi would be surprised to find there was snow left. He'd be surprised that everything else hadn't melted with him. Bragi was lucky. Everyone else had winters, and winters alone. Even in winter, Bragi always had spring. “I'm glad that...” Bragi started to answer, but then all the things after 'that' got too huge, and he realized he'd already said what he wanted before. “I'm glad.” he said, “That's all. I'm just glad.”
Bragi pretended to weigh the proposal carefully. It took some serious pretending, because there was nothing to weigh. They were that couple exactly, and Bragi would always rather have Idun following than leave her. They'd have to bundle her up, to be safe, but Bragi was less worried that she'd suddenly turn to ice again. Idun kept her promises. She was very faithful that way. “If we can do it together, we will,” Bragi said. “If only because we are the sort. As long as you're feeling up to it, I would be happy for the company” Even his feet couldn't imagine ever leaving her for anything. “Heimdall will tell them that we came back. But I think we could probably tell them better if you're up for that too.” Bragi hadn't seen his brothers in a long time. He missed them.
His head rose beneath her shoulder suddenly. He was going to pull off, even though it was an entirely unnatural thing to do, but Bragi noted the eyebrow. Instead he nuzzled closer. It was the more natural thing to do anyway. His head belonged there in ways it would never belong anywhere else. If Idun had vocalized her theory, Bragi would have mentioned that the same theory often occurred to him. It seemed more like a law.
Bragi had been joking about the beard, but now that she'd said something and didn't seem entirely disapproving, he decided to give it more thought. Ethos. And it would make him look older. That was appealing too. People were less likely to pay attention to the youngest of seven. Bragi filed all of this away for later. The sound of Idun's heart beating and the rise and fall of her breath made him too comfortable for anything else to fill his head. Except the natives. “Your consideration for the natives is one of the reasons I agreed to marry you in the end,” Bragi said. “That and the vast quantities of gold you stole from the Sumerians and buried under the cellar. On top of the Sumerians.”
His eyes closed, but Bragi fully intended to open them in a second. They had planned to expand, after all. Idun had agreed about the natives. He forced his eyes open, and it became obvious that this was going to be the first of many battles before he made it all the way up again. Bragi decided not to dwell on this. He'd force himself to move if he had to. Generally moving was no problem. Generally he moved too much. It wasn't fair that in having no rest, he'd somehow temporarily lost his restlessness. He refused to let the weight in his eyes and consciousness make it so he missed anything. He had Idun back and he didn't want to miss a single thing.
When she spoke again, Bragi tried not to sound too relieved. He also tried not to drift off immediately. “Are you sure?” he asked. His eyelids drooped again, and his word pace slowed slightly. “I could get the broom and the chairs right now. It wouldn't be a problem.” He just couldn't stand up or keep his eyes open while he was doing it. Bragi paused. “It is rather comfortable here, and we have moved a lot already...” His eyes closed again. “You could probably persuade me.” The walls around them spread farther away, and Bragi whispered “Goodnight” and not goodbye. He was almost gone when Bragi opened his eyes for the last time that night and a smile spread slowly across his features. “I love you,” Bragi said. “Idun, welcome home.”