Angus hated to see women cry. He hated to see anyone cry, but women were the worst. He'd sometimes catch his mother crying when he sneaked into her room and it scared him. Tissues all over her side of the bed while her body shook from more emotions than he knew the names of. He'd leave without a sound and hide in his room, or stay with Malcolm until she called them down to dinner. Her eyes were always red and she always gave them a smile while she watched them eat. He pretended not to notice. He hated to see a woman cry, and his heart just about shattered when he found Hannah crying in her backyard.

He let himself through the gate like normal and didn't see the piece of paper on the porch until after he knocked on the door. He couldn't recognize the handwriting and hardly had an easy time reading it. Travis had apparently left for another meeting uptown telling Hannah to go easy on her money. Some numbers were written on the back of it and Angus crumpled it up stuffing it in his pocket. He didn't care about those numbers. No one answered during his light read and he knocked again. For an answer, he turned his head to the sound of a stone hitting wood. The white fence wobbled as a rock bounced through the grass. While he waited, another rock ricocheted off and hit the grass, rolling ten feet from the porch. Angus left the porch and made his way around the house. If someone was dumb enough to break into his friend's house while she was gone they wouldn't be there for long. Angus picked the rock up just in case.

The backyard was just as well put together as it was the last time he saw it, except for the fountain being completely dry and the umbrella having taken completely off the table. He stuck his hands in his pockets hiding the rock from sight when he heard a heavy, and slightly unattractive sniff, and another rock flying past his legs hitting the fence head on. "Excuse me?" Angus said walking toward the huddled mound on the grass against the house, head down with their knees pulled up to their chest. He got a closer look. "Hannah?"

She looked up at him. Her face was wet. "Angus."

"What are you doin'?" he asked sitting next to her. His face turned red. "I guess I can see what you're doin', but why? I mean, what's wrong?"

Wiping her nose on her sleeve she feigned a smile. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Now don't play coy with me," he said grabbing her face, lessening his grip when he saw her flinch. He regretted his action immediately. "I'm sorry."

"Can't I have a good cry once in a while?"

"Travis did something, didn't he?" Angus asked. "He yelled at you, put you down...he didn't threaten you, did he?" She shook her head. "What then?"

"Where's Malcolm?"

"Hotel with a headache, now please..." She tried to pull her head away. "Hannah, I hate it when you don't tell me things..."

She remembered that day. She could never forget despite how much she wanted to. Though even with remembering it came with at least one goodbye. She wiped her eyes again, Angus' hand helping. The other was over her shoulders lightly gripping one. Thinking of her selfish iniquity had her crying unattractively again and she pinched herself for it. "Hey," Angus said. "Don't do that."

"Travis didn't say anything," Hannah finally managed. Angus raised an eyebrow.

"Did I?" he asked.

"No! No, not that I remember." She hardly laughed at her joke.

"Is this about yesterday? Look, I'm real sorry about that, if I'd have known Sherrie was gone I'd have stayed right with you-"

"It's not you!" she said harsher than she intended. Angus waited for her to speak again. When she didn't he wiped some more tears away with his thumb. Something stirred, something about seeing a close friend cry tore at his conscience. It wasn't worse than seeing his mother weep, but a different kind of pain. Before he knew what he was doing he put his lips to her tears instead, his hand coming to rest on her other shoulder. Her face was red when he pulled away, but less stained in sorrow than it was before.

"You okay?" he whispered.

She smiled a real one this time. "Just a bit hungry."

"It's ten in the morning! We can't have you hungry, can we? Did you eat anything?" Her stomach rumbled at the topic at hand and no amount of folding her arms could suppress it. Angus poorly held back a laugh. "Guess not."

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"You haven't eaten much, except when me an' Mal get somethin'..." Hannah turned away from him and dried her nose with her sleeve. "What did you an' Mal have for dinner last night with the..." He thought for a minute. "Can't exactly call him the man of the house now, can I?"

"We had broccoli," she answered.

"You get enough?" Her hesitance to answer didn't go undetected. "Are you eating enough?" His voice was stern. "Are you?"

"Enough to get by."

"Hannah..." She turned to face him, a slight frown on both their faces. Angus hadn't realized how close he had been leaning till he glanced down a few inches. They were right there...

Hannah closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. He stared at her hair, slightly mussed in the front. He tried to fix it, then just let it be. Despite the volume lowered, he still heard her stomach asking for food. "That wasn't me," she denied.

"Maybe Mal has somethin' at his place, he's always borrowin' my stuff, it's our turn now." He stood up taking Hannah with him who straightened herself out. "Is, that okay with you?"

"I don't want to impose-"

"Imposin' on a friend is unheard of with Mal, especially if it's you. Me on the other hand, I could get a bruise." He smiled with pride when he heard her laugh, taking her hand in his and leading them out of the yard. "Anything you want in particular for Mal to make?"

"If he has a headache he doesn't have to cook for me...I can make something for the both of you. After all," she added. "you're the guests."

"Nonsense," Angus said. He opened the gate for the both of them leaving the house behind. "I'll make you somethin' then, or if the hotel room burns down for some mysterious reasons I so obviously had nothin' to do with..." She laughed again. He joined her this time. "we can go out somewhere again."

The winter air didn't feel as cold whenever they held hands. As natural as it was with them being friends since primary, it didn't fail to give them both idiotic smiles, ones not simply from the time spent apart. House after house passed by in a matter of time. "Sherrie was gone?" Hannah asked suddenly. Angus shrugged.

"You weren't the only one left with a note. For the first time ever she told me where she was goin', but I still wasn't happy. Maybe I just felt lonely. Ya' know?"

"I'd agree but then you'd feel bad." Angus frowned.

"Feel bad...oh, you weren't lonely, were you? With Mal?"

"Of course not," Hannah said swinging their entwined hands. "I knew you had to get back and Mal's company is more than I could ask from him." He didn't continue the topic when she dropped it.

"He likes your company too. Says it keeps him from watching the news all day, it just depresses the both of us."

"I'm flattered," Hannah rolled her eyes.

"How's your writing coming, you get a Nobel award yet?"

"I finished it last night, but it needs editing. You a millionaire yet?" Angus dropped his smile.

"Far from it," he admitted. "Mal borrowed a bit from me a few days ago, he still owes me back..." His wallet was pulled from his back pocket and examined. "He got a bit hungry too. But I'm sure he's got somethin' to eat since I gave him a twenty."

"Don't spend money on me," she said looking down at him. "I know things are tight, there's no need-"

"I will not hear another refusal from you, not when you haven't eaten since last night. It would be our pleasure to make sure you have, I don't know, basic needs of human life? How much money do you have?" Hannah's eyes grew wet again when she thought of that morning as she was to go shopping for food. Angus hadn't realized he hit a bruise until he looked at her. "Hey, what's up? You feel okay?"

"I feel fine, Angus. I did have some but..."

"But?"

"I guess Travis needed it more than me. It's so damn stupid to cry about..." The pieces of the puzzle just couldn't fit together in his mind the longer he thought about it. His conversation with Malcolm came up again instead, and he considered suggesting their thoughts to Hannah.

"Uh, Hannah, I've been um-" He cleared his throat. "I've been thinkin'."

"Outside of school?" He squeezed her hand trying to pinch it.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. And uh, I was thinkin' that-me an' Mal were thinkin' at least, that maybe...I guess what I'm tryin' to say is...difficult to explain."

"Whatever it is I'm sure I can handle," she said. "Unless you're thinking about getting your old job back? For extra money?"

"What? No! No, not that. If I'm not workin' in the women's one I don't want it," he laughed. "I was thinkin' of askin' you somethin', but I couldn't ask you to do it. Hotel's here."

Hannah took her eyes away from him to see the temporary residence of her friends. She hadn't been there at all, she realized. Like a gentleman Angus opened the door for her. It wasn't big, just big enough for two small brothers and a girl. A man with a dog on a leash walked by them and left the building. Angus assumed that was his neighbor. "Are you two sharing a floor?" Hannah asked when they reached the elevator. Angus pressed a button and put his hands in his pockets.

"Malcolm really voted against it," he said with a smile. "But it takes a real negotiator like myself to keep us both happy."

"What did you say?"

"Nothin' a little talkin' to can't fix." The elevator stopped on the third floor.

"You bribe him?" Hannah grinned.

"Malcolm Young most certainly does not take bribes." There he stood outside the elevator as the doors opened. He smiled upon seeing Hannah and held his arms out for her. "Sorry I couldn't visit, Angus gave me a headache."

"A little somethin' from me to you," he laughed as he stepped out. The doors closed behind him. "What, no hug for me?"

Malcolm let Hannah go and walked toward his brother. "Come here then, Ang." Angus was embraced in a way he didn't like, and he grimaced when Malcolm thought it funny to kiss his cheek. "Baby brother needs his cuddles."

"Back up, back up. How's your hand?"

"Hurtin', healin'. Can still play guitar with it, that's all that matters. Can shake the right hands ya' know. How's the lady doin', you okay, Hannah?" She wiped her face to check for any signs she had been crying.

"Great, good. Missed you both."

"I'm real sorry we scamped out on ya', wasn't very sweet of us, huh?"

"I admit I wasn't fond of it," she said. Malcolm and Angus looked at each other with guilt. "But the sun came up and it's a new day."

"Did...Travis hurt you?" Malcolm asked quietly after a moment. "In any way?"

"No," she said. She was telling the truth. "He stole from me this morning, I'll tell you that. Angus, you read the note I'm sure?"

"What note?" Malcolm asked. Angus turned white.

"That's why you were crying..."

"You were crying?"

"It's a bit difficult to put together a sentence when you are," Hannah said looking at Angus.

"What happened when I was gone? Angus?" He didn't answer. Malcolm turned to Hannah.

"Travis went uptown again, and he needed money. I was supposed to go shopping this morning and I can't now. Angus found me."

"He made you cry?" Malcolm asked again. Angus didn't speak. He didn't especially feel like it when he knew he would swear a blue streak if he opened his mouth. "He jus' take it in front of you?"

"No, I uh-" Her face turned red and she rubbed her wrist. "I didn't exactly find out until I tried paying for my food."

"Hannah, when's the last you've eaten?" Malcolm asked taking on a very serious look. "Was it last night's dinner?"

"Y-yes, but-"

"Alright. Come on, Ang." Malcolm and Angus walked up to the elevator, Malcolm pressing the button.

"What about your headache?" Angus asked.

"It's dead an' gone now, I'll deal with it this evening. Right now, we have to get to the store. Your wallet on you?"

"Back pocket. We were jus' comin' to have you make somethin' for us but jus' buyin' it might be better." The door opened.

"Need to get food for ourselves anyway," Malcolm muttered.

"Can I have a say in this?" The young men stepped in and Angus pulled Hannah after them.

"You did, and we've made up our minds."

"You're not gonna kill Travis..." Hannah warned.

"No. Not yet."

"Jus' gonna go to the store an' get a few things for ya', to make up for our stupidity yesterday, eh, Ang?" Malcolm didn't expect an answer. Angus was still pissed.

"I promise to pay you back every cent of it-mmmph!" Malcolm silenced her by putting a hand on her mouth.

"Sorry, Han, can't hear you."

The store wasn't busy that day. Most people were meandering as they browsed, only an elderly lady shuffling about the floor with a full cart seemed to be in a hurry. Malcolm and Angus walked in with fresh eyes. "Grab a cart, Ang, let's ransack this joint."

"You been here before?" Angus asked as Hannah followed him to the carts. He tried a few out so his luck wouldn't pick a squeaky wheel.

"Only twice, the first when I first moved in with him," she answered. "We went together and bought all the essentials for the first week at the house. My mom went with us as a goodbye present, or a good luck present or something. I don't know. He told me he would be doing the shopping from then on, and so far he's bought food enough for him and-well, at least I can get something at the table."

"Ya' know, I don't quite like the way he treats you," he said honestly. He finally picked a cart and rested his elbow on it, looking at her.

"I don't like him either, but I don't have a home otherwise." He looked down at his fingers. "I can't exactly support myself with the money I make, though I'm hoping this newspaper deal will make me more, so it'll add up and I can leave. Maybe sell a few paintings as a goodbye present."

"Do you...know where you would live?" he asked quietly. She cocked her head.

"I've thought about staying in Oregon, I mean, I was born here. The climate's nice, and we don't pay sales tax," she giggled. "But I miss my home. I miss Australia."

"Australia misses you too," he said moving her hair from her face.

"I would hope a certain pair of people missed me more than a landmass," she said.

"They do. A lot. Uh, jus' wonderin'. If you could continue your work in Australia, an' you made enough money for a place to live..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Would you consider movin' back?"

"I'd love to! It shouldn't be hard to paint, even if it is a little hotter," she said. "Of course, that means I couldn't get the Oregonian to submit my articles, I'd have to find a different newspaper. But sure, if I'm already making enough money to move, then the paper wouldn't be an issue." The back of his neck was really sore that day.

"What if you had a place already paid for you to stay in?" Angus' voice got quieter with every word.

"How's that possible?"

"You two find a cart yet?" Malcolm's voice yelled at them several meters away and he walked over to them. The pair separated and Malcolm took the cart from Angus, inspecting it for himself. "This one's good. Which aisle first?"

"Why don't you pick, Mal. Since you're so eager," Angus mumbled.

"I don't know my way around yet, I was hopin' to be directed. Hannah! What's first on your list?"

The girl twiddled her thumbs in front of her as she scanned the store. Her eyes caught the vegetable aisle and she ventured off, the men following her. After each shelf searched and rummaged, she finally picked out a head of cauliflower, some carrots, and a head of broccoli. She held the broccoli up. "Kind of ironic, huh?"

"This will taste much better than the one Travis cooked, I'm sure," Malcolm said. "Think I had a hair in mine."

"This isn't too much?" Hannah asked making sure. Angus pulled a second one down of everything she got and put it in the cart.

"Get anything you need, and make sure you get enough for yourself too," Malcolm said. "What's next?"

After visiting the fruits for no more than a minute, Hannah led the men down the dairy aisle where she picked up two cartons of chocolate milk. Malcolm and Angus stared at her. "What?" she asked. Malcolm shook his head and smiled while Angus leaned closer.

"You're sharin' that with me," he whispered. After tasting and picking out various cheeses, she found plenty of other foods to add to the cart. It was brimming now. Malcolm started looking at some random aisle of kitchen supplies as Angus searched up and down for the blender Sherrie suggested he get for when she wanted smoothies. He had told her the blender he owned was fine, but Sherrie wanted the one with the removable blade. They all looked the same to him, all the boxes said blender. Hannah had wandered over to the candy aisle and found exactly what she hoped she would.

Of course it was on the highest shelf. Even at her height she couldn't reach it when she stood on her toes. "Need help?"

She turned around to see Angus smiling at her. He had given up his blender search and decided candy was a much better purchase. "I can't reach the malted milk balls," she sighed pointing at the bag. Angus scaled the height and bent over.

"Get on my shoulders," he said.

"What?"

"I'll help you get 'em down."

Hannah looked around to make sure no one was watching his display. "You remember what happened the last time I got on top of you?"

He bit his lip to keep from cracking a joke. "That's not gonna happen again, don't worry."

"People are staring..."

"I'd be starin' at ya' too, in fact I do sometimes. Now you want your candy or what?" Hannah turned scarlet at his words and didn't argue further. Getting a grip on his shoulders, she hoisted herself up, his hands holding her ankles. He slowly stood up so she could get a reach. The bag was right on the edge, big and brimming with chocolate. She grabbed it and tossed it in the cart beside her when Malcolm returned from his survey.

"The fuck are you two doin'?"

Either the surprise in Malcolm's voice or the closeness of it sent Angus stumbling to the side, his balance faltering and Hannah sliding off his shoulders. The two ended up on the floor, one holding his head, the other lying completely still.

"Way to fuckin' go, Mal," Angus said hurrying over. Malcolm joined him and they waited for Hannah to get back up. "Hey, you okay? I'm real sorry for breakin' the promise, Mal's an idiot."

"Ain't all my fault, you okay?" A smile on her face formed and she started laughing. Malcolm helped her up while Angus stared with a worried look.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, nothing a little topple can't wake me up." She winced and grabbed her arms. Angus was by her side in a second.

"Hey, are you hurt?" Her sleeve was pulled away from his fingertips as he made to inspect for any damage.

"They're fine, just shook up. Hit my funny bone." He helped her to stand and Malcolm brought the cart over.

"This enough food for all of us?" he asked. "Angus, you want your own bag of milk balls?"

"No thanks, got Smarties in the cupboard. Could always use more," he smiled. "But Sherrie hates candy, says they stain her teeth."

"Like you're callin' her bluff?" Malcolm laughed.

"Not at all, but you can't help but eat 'em. I'd still eat 'em, even if I needed another appointment." His eyes shifted from Malcolm to something by the donuts. "Hey, what's that?" Malcolm turned his head.

"What?"

Angus walked by the other two and pulled another shopping cart with him, this one completely empty. Hannah could tell there was a scheme in his mind. Malcolm could tell too, and he wasn't as eager to go through with it. "This," he said showing it to them.

"Someone's cart?" Malcolm asked.

"There wasn't anybody next to it," Angus reasoned.

"We're not stealin' someone's cart jus' to give you your kicks, we have to get home." Hannah dwelt on the word home."Put it back before someone notices it's gone."

"It's empty in the middle of the store and Hannah an' I want to have some fun, right Hannah?" She turned her head to see Angus urging her to give in to his side. Giving Malcolm a shrug, she stood next to the younger man.

"Aren't you the least bit curious, Mal?" Hannah asked as Angus wrapped an arm around her, happy for the support. Staring at the pair of kind eyes and the smug smile, Malcolm sighed.

"What are you gonna do?"

"We, are gonna try somethin' out. Hannah, stick the cart close by but out of the way. Don't want the food goin' flyin'."

"What are you doin', why would the food go flyin'?" Malcolm helped Hannah move the cart anyway, admittedly curious as to what his brother was up to.

"There. That's good." Angus adjusted the cart outside the aisles where the wasn't too many people to witness or spoil his plans. "Who wants to go first?"

"You're fuckin' nuts!"

"If you want to go try that yourself, you know where the nut aisle is, now are you in or not?" Angus took Hannah's hand and helped her into the cart and he pushed it down the aisle as if to give her a ride. He felt something fall from his pocket but it remained ignored. When he had gained enough speed he let go, the cart rolling down the lane eventually swerving slightly to the left and coming to a complete stop by the breads. Malcolm opened his eyes when he heard the cart stop and Angus was no longer watching the action. He was at her side helping her out and pushing the cart back to where it had been.

"Angus, we could get in trouble," Malcolm warned. Hannah considered his logic.

"That was fun, Angus but he's right. Maybe we should stop."

"Are you hurt?" Malcolm asked her. She shook her head.

"Hannah's fine, didn't even fall out. You wanna ride, Mal?"

"Yes I do, but if someone sees us-"

"We explain we lost control of the cart an' that it was an accident," Angus explained. "Now come in here an' get your ride, I'm only givin' out one more, I want a turn."

Shaking his head, he walked up to the cart and climbed inside. Angus offered a hand to help him when he was swatted away. "I can do it, I can do it." Once he was inside he stuck his feet out either side and held on to the metal links. "Watch your feet, Ang."

"Watch your head, Mal." With a running start Angus pushed his brother in the shopping cart the same way he had pushed Hannah and let go. Malcolm didn't go as far as Hannah, but the cart swerved to the left immediately and made a complete u-turn. Angus ran up to meet him. "That wasn't so bad, huh?"

"Your turn, is it?" He let himself out and took the cart back to where Hannah stood. "You want to push the knucklehead into a display case?" he asked her.

"I don't think I can get him very far, my uh-funny bone still hurts."

"If you're sure. Angus, lucky day, I'm pushin' you."

"Great," he muttered.

"Get inside." Angus stuck one foot in and nearly toppled the cart over when he hoisted the other foot in. Hannah checked to make sure their full cart was still nearby. Malcolm rolled the cart around while Angus was still trying to get comfortable.

"Hold it still!"

"Hurry up!"

"Alright, ready." Malcolm backed up a foot before running the length of the store. He was slightly faster than Angus' jog and his push of the cart had more force. Angus had fun the first few seconds but Malcolm's aim must have been faulty because the cart wasn't going where it should have. In fact, it went exactly where it shouldn't.

Hannah put her hands over her eyes when the cart, and Angus, hit a rock laying on the middle of the floor and rammed into a stack of cereal boxes, all of them hitting the floor. None of them opened luckily, though a few went under the carts of others and were squashed.

Angus was appreciative of the comforting hug Hannah gave him, even if Malcolm's guilty look made him sick to his stomach.

"Well, any other place around here that sells food?" Malcolm asked as the three walked down the street. "One we haven't been banned from, if ya' don't mind, Ang."

"That was on you, you threw the cart out of orbit."

"After your lousy idea, ya' bugger!"

"Hannah, who's side are you on? Hannah?" Neither boy saw Hannah next to them as she had walked a good distance ahead of them to escape their arguing. She got enough volume at home already. "Hey!" They caught up to her instantly. "Hey, where are you goin'?"

"Finding another store, you two were busy." All three of them held their tongues the rest of the way. Angus walked in the shadow of a tent, people coming and going from within. He grinned.

"I'm sure the market won't kick us out, an' the food ought to be fresher. This good?" Hannah studied the place. She'd never seen it before as the result of never going farther than a few blocks from the house.

"The places Travis kept from me..." she mumbled. "Alright, let's go."

It was much cooler inside. Baskets stood in a stack off to one side while the middle was filled with low displays of fruits and vegetables. Much to Hannah's disappointment, there weren't any malted milk balls. Angus remembered them too. "Hey, you can reach the food this time," he laughed.

"You two should talk," she said punching his shoulder. "You ever have to ask anyone to get something down for you?"

"All the time," Malcolm answered. "But we're too stubborn to do it. I don't know how many things on our lists we've decided to go without because of it." Hannah took a basket for herself and filled it up. Malcolm grabbed whatever he could remember she had taken in the first store while Angus looked around. Not much room for an elephant under the circus tent.

There was one child in the whole place, a little girl. She stood next to a woman looking very much like her, and had a backpack on. A little lunchbox was in her right hand with a butterfly on it. Angus smiled, remembering Hannah's lunchbox on the bench the first day he met her. It didn't have a butterfly; he couldn't quite remember what the picture was. The cookie had been far more interesting.

An elderly woman, similar to the one in the previous store, except with greying blonde hair and a skip in her step exited the tent. He watched her approach an outdoor cart filled with different flowers and assortments. She bought one with large white flowers and small purple flowers sprinkled throughout. A smaller bouquet lay next to it, only made up of white flowers. Looking closer, he saw they were roses, the stems cut to medium length.

"Have any plans when you get home this afternoon?" Malcolm asked as he placed a bunch of bananas into Hannah's basket. They decided earlier to split everything they bought as the prices were higher here.

"Nothing besides cooking my own meal," she answered. "A big one."

"That's a good plan," Malcolm laughed. "Have a day to relax while Travis is away...how long is he gone this time?"

"I don't know...six-seven hours? He usually comes home around evening. Only once he came home at twelve and-" She stopped cold.

"What?"

"N-nothing," she muttered shaking her head. "You and Angus have any plans?"

"Me? I'm taking a hot bath and having a nice drink. Angus will have Sherrie to talk to, but maybe the two of us will find some bar to play cards in. You could come with us, ya' know."

Hannah examined a tomato. "I'd better get some work done while he's gone. He'll expect me to prepare a feast if I've brought this much food and it's going to need time to cook. I might take your advice. Just relax for once." Malcolm backed up from the aisle and entered the next one.

"Sounds good." Rows of peaches caught his attention and he reached for one when someone tapped his shoulder. "For me?" he asked sweetly.

"Where's Hannah?" Angus looked down the aisle Malcolm was in then behind him.

"She's one over. You bought her flowers?"

"Just a few, over here?" Angus thumbed behind the shelf and almost ran right into her.

"Angus! You some kind of magician now?" she said cracking a smile. Her hand was pressed to her heart until she found a beat. The flowers were held up to her.

"I even made flowers appear." She accepted them into her grasp, eyeing him with suspicion. "You can have 'em if you want 'em, I thought of you when I saw them." For just a split second Hannah saw the same young man standing in front of her as she did when they were fourteen. The same shift in his stance, the same flush in his cheeks. Smiling, she stuck her arm through the basket handle, gripped the bouquet in one hand and gave him a hug. Hannah didn't see him, but Angus felt Malcolm's hand pat him on the shoulder.