Water rested on the concrete giving his shoes an unsightly bath. They were new; one might assume he was making an impression, though not from conscious thought. The pockets of his light jacket kept his hands warm, his layers of shirts completing the rest of the job. He had combed his hair a bit, to make it more presentable than what it had been a few days before. His teeth had been brushed twice as well.

Receding itself against the curb was a sheet of snow, turned to slush by the morning shower. Sparkling evergreens surrounded every house within locality, and even more so on the neighboring mountains. Once in a while a rogue raindrop would slide down a tree or rooftop striking the man on the nose. One had hit his cheek sending him to consult his imagination. A soft pair of lips, small and familiar. Rather than a chill remaining on his cheek, however, they would have left him warm; that one spot still white while a light crimson swept the rest of his face.

His whole body began to feel warm and his eyes narrowed as a golden brilliance stabbed them. February wasn't a month for spring temperatures in the north, but Angus couldn't complain. It even began to get rather snug, and he considered removing his jacket had it not been for his appearance he unknowingly desired to uphold. One less shirt would not have hurt him however.

Turning the corner he walked up towards a short house. Painted white years enough ago to turn beige, it was a cozy looking place. The shutters were wide open, curtains pulled back. The yard in dead winter seemed even more inviting upon first glance. A stone path emerging from under a latticed arch, a white picket fence and gate as a divider from the rest of the street. An ivory frost laced the grass, except one area filled with nothing but dirt. There had been more, much more. Flowers had lined the rows: petunias and peonies, a rather colorful display come springtime. Those same flowers had recently died, and were being pulled out from their dirt beds. Angus stepped up to the fence, watching the minute gardener, curious as to why the job had been put off so long.

Short, butterscotch brown hair tied up, face covered by bangs carelessly swept to the side. An over-sized sweater swallowed her, as plain and as beige as the house behind her. Angus wished the girl would lift her face on her own, but her insistence in digging up the plants with close inspection incited him to coax her. "I thought I might find my girl here," he called over. The small hands ceased to dig, and her head raised slightly. The man stood there in front of her, a grin to match the sun. Her bangs were once again pushed to the side, her hazel eyes searching him over. He toed the ground and tapped his fingers on the fence. "You uh, wouldn't happen to know where she might be?"

Instantly she was standing. With a glowing smile on her face she ran to him, opening the gate that separated them. Her arms were thrown around his neck, Angus' arms around her waist as he caught her. On impact her legs had gotten tangled up in his own, and the man stumbled back on to the sidewalk. Both of them came crashing down, still wrapped in each other's embrace in the fall. Angus coughed a few times. "Nice to see you too, sweetheart."

The young man sat themselves upright, and resting his head on hers, he smiled. Tears formed in both their eyes, and fell with a longing they knew all too well. The young woman had buried her face in his neck, her nose pressing against his skin. It was hot, almost feverish. The lips with which she kissed his cheek were also heated, and he couldn't help but feel a tad concerned. "Hey, you feel okay?"

"Of course," Hannah answered, staring into his glistening eyes. Hers were chandeliers, really. "Do I really look that bad?"

"No! No, you look fine, you look fine. It's just...the sun's come out," he stated. Hannah laughed.

"I see that. It's nice."

"Yeah," he agreed, his smile slowly disappearing. He glanced a few inches lower, then back into her eyes. "Kind of warm, really. Your sweater too much?"

"You're one to talk," she replied looking at the many layers he had wedged himself in. "I'm not taking it off, if that's what you want." Angus laughed, pressing his forehead against hers.

"You could roll your sleeves up, ya' know," he finally said. "I've done all it takes to keep this jacket on, an' I'm 'bout to have a quit." Hannah's face fell at his words. Her smile gone, eyes cold.

"N-no, that's all right. It's not too bad, leave it," she said. Angus' face mimicked hers, wondering if anything he said had to do with her falling mood. "I'm used to it," she added quietly. Removing her arms from around his neck, her sleeves were pulled down a little farther, until they reached her gardening gloves. "I can take these off, I guess." They were tossed aside and her arms were around him once more, eyes aflame. "I missed you," she said hugging him. Angus held her against him as tight as his strength would allow without hurting her. She curled herself into a ball on his lap and nuzzled her face in his shoulder.

"Missed you more," Angus finally admitted, gently rocking her back and forth. "Way more."

"How'd you get here anyway?" Hannah asked looking at him.

"My new guitar seems more of an investment now, I'd say, yeah?" he answered with a cheeky grin. Hannah donned one of her own, every second expanding on her lips.

"I'm so proud of you!" Their day of continuous hugs continued, this one strong, and swelling with joy. Hearts pounding in their chests, tears colliding with the other's. Nine years imprisoned the two in time's eternal sickness, now broken by the reunion. "Are you on tour here?"

"Not this time," he answered. "Just so happened we had a little extra."

"Money?"

"And time," Angus said. He reached around his neck and took her hands into his. Smooth from the protection of the gloves, small to match her size, and as pretty as a picture. "I uh, ya' know," he chuckled, brushing his thumb over her fingers. "really missed you."

"You don't say," Hannah said with a laugh.

"I mean, I wanted to see you again. After goin' to your place..." He stopped short and his gaze at her was now cold as stone. "Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered.

"Angus, I..." His heart melted when she spoke his name. "I was so scared-"

"Scared? Do you know how scared I was when I didn't see you? Makin' my way to your place an' you're not home? House empty?" More tears found his lashes and he blinked them away. "I'm outta my mind tryin' to find you."

"I'm sorry, Malcolm and I should have told you sooner. It's just, I hate to break bad news and you mean so much to me..." Her voice trailed off. Water also bathed her eyes giving Angus all the more yearning to hold her. Yearning to confess every feeling to her. Yearning to kiss her. Grasping her left hand he brought it to his face, gently pressing his lips to it. A scintillating figure caught his attention. A ring of diamond was settled on that finger. Only a solitary jewel, but big enough to announce its purpose on the band of silver. The sun hit it just right, where a flash of rainbow hit his eye. It hurt to look at it. His heart cracked right through the middle, sending shooting pains throughout his chest, wracking his whole being. "Angus...?" His name raised his head to look at his friend, her eyes with a sparkle more marvelous than any diamond. Better yet, they didn't pain him to look at.

"I was gonna tell you somethin'," he whispered. Hannah fluttered her lashes listening intently. How innocent she seemed. He had been her friend long enough to know she could pull a real scrap when they were younger. Or at least, go along with one of his. "I was gonna...tell you somethin'..."

"I'm listening," she replied quietly. Angus' gaze was fixed on her lips, undecided on the best way to break the news. His own mouth gravitated forward, vision slowly narrowing.

"Hannah! What are you doin' on the sidewalk?"

Angus leaned away from her, both of them watching a man emerging from the house. No older than thirty, his brown hair cut short and straight, his stature tall and looming. A white smile. Sharp wardrobe. So this is the man...

He stood over them with a questioning smile. Hannah tensed up when she saw him, surprised at his sudden call. Angus released her hands and instead wrapped his arms around her waist again, his stare boring into the other man's. Kneeling down, the man looked back and forth between the two. "Who's this guy?"

"Travis, this is Angus, my best friend I told you about," Hannah introduced. Travis narrowed his eyes, searching the other man over. Angus couldn't help the frown at being inspected like an experiment. His embrace tightened.

"So you're the Angus I hear so much about," Travis muttered. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you. Put her there." His hand extended out to Angus' who just continued to stare. Travis lowered his smile, confused by the distant display. Hannah elbowed her captor, breaking his undying need to contest the man.

"Angus..." she warned. The young man cleared his throat and held out his hand.

"Forgive me, mate," he coughed. "Seem to have zonked out a bit."

"Quite alright, son," Travis answered. Angus winced at his new nickname. Travis' handshake was firm and a little rough. Angus matched up his new acquaintance with an iron grip of his own. Ceasing the handshake before one of them did something they regretted, they shared a weak smile. Travis however, was good at hiding it and it morphed into a genuine one when he looked at Hannah. She smiled in return. "I've got lunch on the counter if you wanted to come get some."

"Oh uh, that's okay, Angus and I were talking about something," Hannah dismissed. Angus grinned to himself that Hannah should choose at least finishing her conversation before scampering off with someone else.

"He can have some too, any guest of yours is a guest of mine." Now that the subject was brought up Angus recovered an appetite. Malcolm had bought them both sandwiches at the bus station, but the tuna hadn't settled well with him. Angus then had to make the trip alone, and upon seeing his brother make a mess of the hotel bathroom, his sandwich had been left half eaten and his hunger fully famished.

"Sure, we can all eat outside then. There's a lot of things to talk about. Can you stay for lunch, Ang?" How could he resist that face, or his shortened name coming from that voice? With a slight thanks, he accepted the invitation. Travis grinned as he stood up from the ground.

"I'll bring it out then. Back in a jiffy." Angus scoffed at the man's word choice earning a look from Hannah. He hid his jest and cleared his throat again. Hannah rested her hands under her friend's jacket on his waist, her attention fully on him now.

"So, what-what did you want to...you know, tell me?"

To be continued...