After a bit of a search, Tristan had finally found where every item belonged, and put it back the way it was before Anya had come through with her grabby hands. He wasn’t sure what he’d find once he had made his way down to the basement, but he decided to cherish the few minutes of silence he had. As the escalators carried him down, he let his thoughts wander for a bit, staring off into space while pondering over the intricacies of certain political systems.
The jewellery department took up a large corner of the basement, with the other parts taken up by lingerie, perfume and everything fancy. Display cases held all the sparkling necklaces, rings and watches, and even he couldn’t resist the sight of so many beautiful things, his gaze darting between the many things to see.
Amongst all that glitter, he saw Anya bent over a display case, taking pictures of something. He joined her and saw it was full of charms necklaces meant for children, with racecars, flowers and all sorts of animals cast in silver.
“Don’t they look cute?” Anya said with a grin, pointing them out. As she did, his eye caught the price tag, which wasn’t nearly as high as he had suspected. I could afford that...
“Which one do you like best?” He asked with a smile, and Anya thought it over for a moment.
“That one, with the ladybug.”
“I think grandma once told me ladybugs were good fortune.” Tristan said, thinking back to when he was a child and his grandmother had shown him all the bugs and flowers in the garden of her home.
“Just like me.” Anya grinned.
“Do you want it?”
“I mean, you don’t have to buy it for me? I just like it.” A bit of uncertainty kicked in, and Anya leant away from the case again as if she had asked for too much and wanted to distance herself from it.
“Then I’ll get it for you.” Tristan said with a grin, before giving her hair a bit of a ruffle. She gave him a slight smile, not quite sure how to take such a spontaneous gift but enjoying it nonetheless.

It didn’t take long before one of the circling salespeople noticed they wanted to buy something, and took the small necklace out of the case for them to ring it up. Although Tristan had saved the amount up to buy a few books for himself, he didn’t mind parting with it to spoil Anya a little. Once the transaction had been completed, and the ‘have a nice days’ had been exchanged, he took the charm out of the tiny bag it came with.
“Hold out your wrist.” He said with a smile, and Anya did, pulling back her sweater. He wrapped the thin silver chain around her wrist twice, and after a few tries managed to get the lock in one of the eyes tightly enough that it wouldn’t slip off over her hand.
Once he was done, Anya lifted her hand up to eye level, smiling widely.
“It’s so cute.” She said, a little enthralled by it.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah.” She grinned.
“Now you have something to remind you that no matter what, you still have me.” He said, smiling widely as well, only to immediately be tackled into a tight hug.
“You’re the best brother.” She said, buried into his chest this time.
“That’s the second time today you’re saying that.” He gave her a few pats and avoided eye contact with anyone who passed by, not sure how to deal with a hug in such a public space.
“Mhm, because you are.” She nodded, before pulling away again. He smiled a little, but didn’t know how to answer.
“So er… do you want to go anywhere else?” He asked, trying to avoid most of his own awkwardness with walking towards the escalators. Anya shook her head in response.
“I’m starting to get a bit peckish.” She admitted, stepping onto the escalator after him.
“What are you hungry for?”
“Pasta.” She said decisively.
“Red sauce of white sauce?”
“White sauce, with lots of ham.”
“White sauce with lots of ham it’ll be.”
“Yes!” She exclaimed, like it was a victory, while Tristan opened up his umbrella to go outside again into the rain which had begun to pour while they were inside.

Once they got home, and Tristan was still busy unpacking the groceries they had gotten on their way back, Anya beelined for the computer.
“Did you do your homework for tomorrow?” He asked as he set away a glass jar of red sauce in his cupboard. His answer came in the form of an indecisive mumble about it being boring. With a tut and a disapproving headshake he chastised her for it.
“But Triss, it’s so boring, I just… can’t.” She groaned.
“No games until your homework is finished.” He said, pointing at her with the leek he’d just taken out of his second bag.
“Fiiiiiiiiiine.” Anya grumbled as she left his desk chair again and instead grabbed her bag and walked over to the couch.
“What’s your homework about?” He asked, curious as to whether it was maths or history this time, since those were the ones she hated most.
“Some dumb history stuff.”
“Still on Victorian England?”
“No, on some dude called kaiser, keezer?”
“Kaiser Whilhelm?”
“No, just kaiser… like the salad.”
“Oh, Caesar?”
“Sure.”
“He was pretty cool.”
“Maybe for you.”
“What do you have to do for your homework?”
“Fill in questions about him. But I don’t really get it.”
“I’ll help you once I’m done cooking, okay?” Tristan smiled at her as he put the last items away in his cupboard, and took out some pasta and his pans to make dinner.
“Okay.” Anya said with a smile back, before biting on the back of one of her pens and frowning at her questions.

About fifteen minutes later Tristan set down two plates of pasta on top of the coffee table, one with lots of extra ham on top for Anya. She grinned and immediately dug in with a huge bite, savouring it.
“Approved?”
She nodded while still chewing her food.
“So, what were you stuck on?” He asked as he took a bite of pasta for himself.
Anya grabbed her sheet of questions, and pointed one out to him.
“I just don’t really get this: ‘What did Caesar do when he got back from Gallia?’. I mean, he probably partied right? Since he won.”
“No, why did he write De Bello Gallico?”
Anya frowned a little.
“Because he was a nerd?”
“No, well, maybe, I don’t know. But who were his enemies?”
“The Gauls.” Anya said proudly.
“Yes, but who were his enemies at home?”
“People who don’t like books?” She guessed, a little confused. “I don’t know.”
“The rich elite, the patricians.”
“Why would they be his enemies? Didn’t he win a lot of country for them.”
“Yes, but they were afraid he would become too powerful, so they tried to tell lies about him back home. So what did he do?”
“Tell them to fuck off?”
“Sort of, he wrote a book in very simple Latin, so the normal people back home, the plebeians, would know what he did.”
“Like a tweet.” Anya said as she finally started to understand it in her own terms.
“Yes, so he got really popular back in Rome, and when he came back, what did he do?”
“Tell the rich snobs to fuck off.”
“And then he became emperor.”
“So he pulled a power move on them?”
“Yes. See, I told you history was pretty cool.”
“Mhm, thanks Triss.” She said with a smile, as she began to write down her answer.
“Don’t write it down like that though.” Tristan quickly added.
“No I won’t.” She said, but from the corner of his eye, he already caught her writing the word ‘tweet’. He sighed, and just decided to eat his pasta and not worry too much about it.

Anya threw the last of her clothes in her backpack, which was now bulging and stuffed to the brim.
“Do you have everything?” Tristan asked, quickly giving the room a scan to see if there was nothing left that belonged to her so she wouldn’t forget it.
“Yeah.” She nodded, strapping the backpack onto her back. He smiled, but couldn’t help feel a twinge of sadness knowing that soon he’d be alone again – he didn’t want to think about her leaving just yet, even if she already was.
“Pyotr will pick you up in Manchester, right?”
Anya nodded again.
“I’ll give you a call when I’ve arrived.”
“Don’t forget, or I’ll get worried.” He warned her with a point of his finger.
“I know, and I will. Chill Trissy.” She said back, defiantly giving his hair a ruffle, but that didn’t stop Tristan from giving her a stern stare.
“Alright then, lets go, or you’ll miss the train.” He didn’t acknowledge her request to be chill, knowing well enough that if he didn’t worry, things would go awfully wrong within the span of mere hours.

The rain that had set in that afternoon, was now accompanied by winds. Despite Tristan’s best efforts, the water blew sideways under the umbrella, against their legs. Even though he wore his trench coat, the dampness, combined with the sharp cold from the winds chilled him to the bone, and Anya fared little better. He pulled her close, one arm around her shoulder as they walked the last short bit from the bus stop to the train station.
The winds tugged at their hair as they walked over the platform, the open structure of the station working like a funnel. A glass paned waiting room offered some shelter from the rain and wind, but the cold had already set in through drenched clothes and hair. Tristan tried to close his umbrella, but his fingers were numb and shaking, causing him to struggle a bit with it.
“Are you alright?” Anya asked, seeing him shiver.
“Yeah, it's fine.” He said, his voice trembling slightly. “I just hate this weather.”
“You just look a bit pale is all.”
“Probably because I am.” He said, trying to smile the cold away and take a deep breath to combat the tenseness in his chest. “Do you have your ticket?”
Anya fished a small ticket up from a zipper pocket in her coat, and showed him. He gave an approving nod.
“Good, don't lose it.”
She did as he said, putting the ticket away safely again.
The voice of an announcer who sounded like he wanted to be there even less than they did rang through the small shelter, with the announcement that their train was delayed by ten minutes due to the weather.
“Ah great…” Tristan sighed, but despite his protest, part of him also was relieved that Anya wouldn't be leaving just yet.
“Hey Triss?” He heard softly beside him, so the very few other people waiting couldn't hear her as well.
“What's wrong?” He asked, equally as soft.
“Nothing, just, thank you for the weekend? I had a lot of fun.”
“You’re welcome.” He said with a smile, and once more he was met with a hug. This time though he took it, wrapping his arms around her as well.
“I really wish I could live with you…” She said quietly, causing him to let out a soft sigh.
“You know that's not possible.”
“I know… but I just wish it was. You're so much nicer.”
“Just try to ignore mum as much as you can, and focus on doing your own things. Once you can live on your own it will be better.”
“It'll be so much easier…”
Tristan slowly shook his head.
“It won't be easier, not for a while, but it will be better.”
“Could I stay with you then?”
“If you want, and if I can. I'll try and help you.”
“Okay, I'm glad you're around, I wouldn't know what to do without you.”
“Just don't think about that.” He said as he brushed a few strands of hair that had been haphazardly blown around behind her ear. I wouldn't ever leave you, I can't… I can't let myself…
“Promise on the ladybug.” She said as she held the wrist with her charm out.“I promise on all the ladybugs in the world.” He smiled, as he let go of her again.
“Good.” She nodded, satisfied with his answer.

A few minutes later, the train rolled into the station. The loud screech of the brakes deafened them for a moment, but it was not as bad as having to go out into the rain again. Once more the cold whipped around them, hitting them in the face with drops of icy water. Quickly he rushed Anya in through the doors of the train, giving her a last, tight hug from outside.
“Don't let her get to you, okay? You're not doing anything wrong.”
“Okay.” She nodded, having to raise her voice to be heard over the rain.
“I'll see you at Christmas.” He said with a smile, before a loud whistle told him to let go, so he did reluctantly.
“Okay.” She nodded a bit more enthusiastically as she took a step back inside. “Bye Triss.” She lifted her hand.
“Bye little sis.” He said, grinning despite getting pummeled by the weather. Although his body told him to get back inside, he faced the rain and wind to wave her goodbye, as the train rolled out of the station again. Anya waved back, before the train finally caught up speed and she walked further in to search for a spot. A moment later she was out of view entirely.
He smiled a little, not sure how he felt – perhaps the rain and wind overpowered his emotions in that moment, and they would settle in later, like a smouldering ember yet to catch the fire of loneliness.