2019-08-11 - Slow Burn

Dahlia had worked a shift at Firefly today, picking up come Chinese food on the way over ot Declan's when she got off. She still felt a little conflicted about their conversation yesterday. Mostly with herself. She didn't know why she let it all get under her skin so badly. She was feeling better now at least though, and looking forward to spending some time with him. Thanking the driver, Dahlia got out with her takeout bag and headed up to the door. A light series of knocks before she would just open the door up if it was unlocked. Her attire is a pair of black Daisy Duke-like shorts and a strapless silver top, with matching flip flops. Hair left loose today.

The door is left unlocked.

Looking over, Declan catches sigh of her and whistles. "Lookin' all country," he drawls. His fake accent is bad. "Come on in thar, miss." He tips his invisible hat, leans to one side, and rocks his hand on his hip. And of course, he smirks. The home is fairly clean, about as well as it's been in the past. His boots are a little muddy and near the door, and there's some mud on the floor around them.

Dahlia can't help but laugh at his accent. "So kind a you honey." Dahlia winked, slipping off her flip flops near his muddy boots. "How's your day been?" Walking over to the kitchen so she can set the bag down before going over to Declan and hooking her fingers in his belt loops and leaning up to give him a kiss in greeting. "Aside getting dirty." Musing, glancing back over to the muddy boots and then up at him.

Watching her walk over, Declan grins. He kisses her back before replying, "Good. Busy. The usual." He bends down a bit and gives her a longer kiss, but not very deep. When it ends, his hands wrap around her shoulders and gently rub. "Yours? I bet you have bruises after getting hit on so much." Declan fails to contain his smile.

Dahlia lets the second kiss linger, relaxing into him a moment. Then laughs softly at his corny line. "Oh yeah. I'm black and blue all over. " Her fingers release his belt loops and she gives his sides a squeeze. "Hope you're hungry. Cause I always over do it when I order out." She mused, lingering close a beat longer before turning to lead him into the kitchen so she could start unpacking the takeout containers.

"You'd better stop laughing at those. One of these days you're going to hate them, and you'll realize you just encouraged me to get worse." Declan gently taps her hip after she squeezes him. Then, he follows. "If we don't get through it all, we can have some greasy Chinese for breakfast tomorrow. It'll be great." Will it? Maybe that's an acquired... taste. When they reach the containers, he helps her open them up.

"Yeah but that's a problem for future Dahlia to worry about you know? Present Dahlia thinks they're hilarious." There were a variety of containers. Sweet and Sour Chicken, Egg Rolls, Lo Mien, Beef Sticks, General Tso's. "Mm Chinese for breakfast. Breakfast of Champions. Right up there with cold pizza." She pulled out a couple sets of chopsticks, offering him one if he wanted it and then opening up the other. "This is going to be hilarious. I haven't used chopsticks in a minute."

"Future Dahlia is going to regret present Dahlia's bad decisions," Declan replies with a smirk. He chuckles a little and picks up an eggroll with his fingers. Bite. After chewing, he says, "In a minute? I haven't heard someone say that in.. years. And yeah, me neither. Get a fork if you want. I'm not going to wuss out, though." He picks his up and... awkwardly goes for some rice. Still standing.

"It's cause you're old and out of touch." Dahlia grins, teasing him and then feigns a horrified look. "Or am I old and out of touch?" Then she grabs a couple plates, setting them on the counter. "Oh no, I'm still gonna use 'em. Especially because I want to see how this works out." Motioning with one chopstick towards his awkward attempt. Then started easy, carefully getting some chicken to put on her plate.

Declan was just going to eat right out of the box like a guy who hurries through most meals... but now there are plates. He smiles over at her. "I am old. I'm not out of touch, though. Let me work your shift at Firefly and I'll come back with better numbers than a Superbowl crowd." After she's done scooping, Declan bumps her hip and gets some food on his plate. Not a full meal, because he's too hungry to wait. After, he tries again. It's really not much better, but he gets some food into his mouth at least.

"Tempting off. Be careful, I might take you up on it." Dahlia grinned, nudging him back and grabbing up some Lo Mien before digging in. She's no expert, but the chicken is easy. The noodles are a different story. They are much more difficult to work than rice. "Maybe I can..." Twirl them? Trying to do that. It's...messy. "Ah ha!" Close enough? Chuckling a bit again as she tried to slowly lift the chopsticks to get some of the Lo Mien to her mouth.

"You should. It'd probably make you laugh when the college girls laughed in my face." Declan watches her with those noodles... "Wow. You're actually not bad at that." He tries... and fails. Declan tries again, twirling carefully, but ends up making a bit of a mess on his chin. He laughs it off and wipes at it with the back of his hand.

"I'm barely passable, but flattery will get you everywhere." Dahlia laughed. She was semi-successful with the noodles, having to sort of slurp them up the rest of the way. "I'll save it for a day I need a real good laugh then." She adds, leaning against the counter. Opting to cheat and use her fingers to pick up a piece of chicken, dipping it in the sweet and sour sauce before popping it in her mouth. Eyes sparkling with amusement. "Tonight's going to be good. I can tell."

"Flattery and a good smile," Declan replies. He leans up against the counter and continues eating, eventually saying, "Sure. I'm not afraid to make an ass of myself. Especially around college kids. It's fun. Especially when try try to flirt back." He leans over and gently kisses her ear. "It is, yeah. But we still need to have that talk. Do you want to wait?"

Dahlia leans in just a touch to his kiss and sighs. "Yeah, I guess we do." Clearly not looking forward to it, because she just wasn't good that the whole...talking thing. When it came to somewhat serious stuff. "No use in prolonging it. So let's just...talk I guess." Shifting a bit to focus on him. Expecting him to lead the discussion it would seem.

Declan wraps an arm around her. "It sounds like you're dealing with things that are dangerous. Maybe not life and death, but they could ruin reputations. Hurt people." That's how he starts. "I don't care if you bring that here for me to help you work through. I'll fuck you, I'll talk to you. We can just watch TV quietly. I like that. I don't want to see you drink or use, that's not what I'm about, and I think we might have something that could be pretty damn good. But you have to understand... I don't want to get involved in something where decisions I make could really hurt someone. That'd break me, Dahlia. I fix things. I help people." His head tilts. "And inviting me to meet your ex who... from what I can tell is not really the best guy, and holds a powerful position that could influence me? Yeah. That makes me a little worried." Declan shrugs. "Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's fine. But hopefully you can see why I'm concerned."

Dahlia listens quietly as he wraps his arm around her. Leaning her head on his shoulder. Even after he finishes talking, she's quiet. Processing his words and collecting her thoughts. Because she doesn't want to say anything she's going to regret later. Finally she exhales and straightens up so she can look up at him. "And I don't want you getting involved Declan. I don't want to pull you in to what I'm tangled up in. Javier has baggage. More baggage than I do. Yeah he's got a temper on him - but so do I. It doesn't make him a bad person. And I know he doesn't want to see me get hurt. Most of our arguement was because he found out I was tangled up with what I'm tangled up in." She explained.

"I can understand your concern, and I honestly don't know if I want you two meeting. Not yet at least. I don't think he would try to do anything to fuck with you. But," Dahlia sighed. "I don't know. I think we have something good. That could be good...and I think I need to sort my shit out with him so I can be fully in the present. Here. With you. And maybe...sometime after that. We can revisit you two meeting..."

Declan doesn't take long to reply. "That's fine. Everything you just said is good." He puts the sticks down and brushes some hair from her face. "I agree to all of it. One more thing from me. We have to talk if you want this to last. You have to talk and be honest for things to work. And that does mean asking me about that side of your life. What is and what isn't okay. You can't bottle that up and try to make this... I don't know. Some fantasy. Unless that's what you want, but if it is? It's going to end pretty fast. Fantasies don't last long. People who open up and allow their partners time to adjust and grow do. I don't really know which one you want, which one you need. But keep it in the back of your mind." Declan squeezes her gently. "And as for me, I'm fine wherever it goes. But so far, I've tried to be as honest as I can about who I am and what I do. I'll continue to."

Dahlia's jaw tightens for a moment, swallowing down some kind of emotion. "I've been honest. As honest as I can be." She says. "I've dealt with enough fantasies. I want something real. And." She uses her thumb and forefinger to wipe at her eyes briefly. "And that's why I need to get this shit sorted with Javier. Because he's clearly moved on." Well, kind of. She knows there's something lingering, but over all he always seems just fine whenever Dahlia sees him and she isn't fighting him. "And even though I like you a lot, I keep...I don't know. Thinking he's going to toss me some sign." Focusing on Declan again. "And that isn't fair to you. Because you're great. You're good to me, and I don't want to end up like...half a year, a few years down the road and get to this point where I'm just..." She falls silent. Struggling to find the words she wants. "I don't know."

One hand raises, curling against his shirt. "Mae says I need to let go of the past and focus on the present. And I'm trying to. Because I know it's for the best. I want something real. Something that's going to last. It's just...going to take time for me to get in that frame of mind. Because...that's what feels like the fantasy to me right now. Having something that will last for...not even forever, just for a long time. Something stable. It feels so far out of reach." A stupid tear escapes - and she'd been trying so hard to keep it in. She swallows hard again and leans her forehead against his shoulder. Falling quiet once more.

Declan thinks of what she says, one hand moving to her head and gently stroking her hair. "Relationships are complicated. I know that. I don't mind that you still care about him and wish there was something there. A lot of people feel that way about their ex. And you shouldn't expect to be any different, Dahlia. That's probably why you hurt. You want to be something you're not, and you don't know why. The answer is simple: you can't." Declan kisses her forehead. "Free advice? Stop beating yourself up. We'll go forward with the expectation you might go back to him, at least for awhile. It's fine." Declan rubs her shoulder. "And when you think you've moved on, if you move on, so will we."

Declan grins. "It's hard to let go of the past. People who do that easily don't really make good friends. No offense to Mae. They move through life hurting people, though. I've seen it a hundred times." He kisses her forehead again. "And it's not that far out of reach, Dahlia. As long as we keep talking, as long as we're honest and open, it's not even a month away."

Dahlia looks up, giving a touch of a smile. "I'll try...and we'll see...and this talking stuff is hard but, I'll keep trying to communicate too." Dahlia assured him, reaching up and running a hand through his hair gently. "I understand her point. Because hanging on to the past with a death grip is unhealthy. Takes a little bit of both sides I think." She draws in another breath, apparently collecting herself. "You're...just great Declan. You really are. I think you're one of the most understanding people I've ever met. Pretty sure most guys would be upset hearing the girl their into is still hung up on her ex." She sighed, pushing a hand through her hair and gave him a smile again. "We'll see how things go...but...I have good feelings about this. And I'm trying to hang on to those." Brushing her lips against his cheek.

"It can be hard, yeah. But don't be afraid of it." Declan quiets when she kisses his cheek. "You won't ever move forward if you're afraid." He leans away, dropping his arm, and lets it rest on her bare leg. "I'm not that great. I'm just a guy, Dahlia. At the end of the day, I'm going to make mistakes too. I have my own faults. I'm sure we'll get to them. Then it'll be your turn to be the shoulder." He laughs. "I'm not upset. Why would I be upset about that? Everyone's got an ex they can't shake. Even me. That's called dating. But yeah, don't worry about that at all." He reaches over and takes an eggroll between his fingers. After taking a bite, he extends it towards her mouth. "Now it's time to get over the slog of this conversation, I think. Unless you've got something else you want to say."

"And I'll try to be as good as shoulder as you've been for me." Dahlia smiled and shrugged. "I dunno. Some people get upset for things like that. I'm glad you're not one of them." She leans forward to take a bite of the egg roll, nodding. Swallowing, "I'm all talked out about it I think." Laying her hand over the one still on her leg and giving a squeeze. "Let's get on to brighter conversations."

"Oh, I'm done talking. I was going to turn on some music and put the moves on you," Declan says with a grin. "Maybe not all the moves. But I definitely want to dance again. I don't think I've danced in my home... maybe never? Either that or we can go to the club. I'll change." He takes a bite of eggroll and waits for her answer.

"Even better." Dahlia slid off the seat and leaned in a little closer. "I wanna dance, and I wanna see your moves. And I wanna stay in, because otherwise I might have to fend people off while they try to get at you." She teases with a grin, leaning up and stealing another small bite of his eggroll. The she's walking back over to the living room, leaning against the couch and giving him a coy little look. "So let's dance."

Declan laughs and wraps an arm around her waist. He stands too, grins, and tries to draw her into the living room even before she moves off. "I doubt you'd have to do much fending. They'd take one look at you and get that I'd never want to leave." Smiling, he says, "OK Google, play Lights." A moment later, the subwoofer hits. He didn't have that last time. The baseline doesn't shake the whole house, but it can definitely be felt on the floor. His arm leaves her and both lift a bit as his hips begin to search for the beat and good flow.

Dahlia lets him lead her in, a fleeting ,silly little smile crossing her lips. "I'm gonna have to mess with that one of these days.." Murmured. Likely talking about his Google device. Then she's letting the music flow over her and feeling the base in the floor. Starting to move with him as she falls into a rhythm with a music. Once he's got one going too, she moves in closer. Not touching just yet, but enjoying it, and singing along with song. Because some songs you just can't resist! She won't be quitting her day job(s) any time soon, but doesn't sound half bad either.

Declan grins down at her and moves just a bit closer. Hips already moving, his shoulders start to, too. Nothing is dramatic, it's still just smooth and pretty calm. "Feel free. Play any song you want. This one's just... a great dancing song." Then he quiets and lets the music work its way through them. He doesn't move closer, though. Not yet.

"Mmhm it really is." Her hands run over her body lightly as she dances. Turning her back to him and a devilish little grin flashes across her lips as the song winds down. Then gives it a trying, "Google, play Bad Things." A big of a chuckle chasing him as she closes the bit of distance. Back still to him, grinding up against him and tilting her head back to look up at him with a grin.

Declan continues to smile down at her. When she presses closer, his hips move into hers and a hand slides across her hip. Instead of following his own movements, Declan matches hers. Or tries to, his waist rolling along or bending fairly well. The other hand moves up to her shoulder, squeezes, and pulls her back just a bit. "Another favorite?" he asks.

A pleased little noise escapes Dahlia as he pulls her in closer. "Something like that." One hand sliding up, into his hair and gripping gently. Body arching just a touch to give him a nice little view of everything. "It's got a good beat. " Moving against him and with the music. Sighing contently. "I love dancing with you." Letting her hand grip tighter briefly before sliding down the back of his neck and falling back down to rest over the hand on her hip.

"It does. Never noticed until... your ass did that." Declan grins and lowers himself a bit to inhale. Mmm. Club and Chinese food. He shivers when he feels her hand move down his neck. "I love dancing with a lot of people. But you're definitely top five." He inhales again. "Kidding. I love that you like to dance. With things physical... you're so fearless. Most people I ask to do this are a hard no and get embarrassed."

Dahlia giggles at his words, enjoying all of it.Then she turns to face him again, a little curious. "Really?" When he says most people turn it down. "Hell, having sex is more embarrassing than dancing I think." She admits with a laugh. "Besides, I figure, who cares if I might make a fool of myself? We're already fucking. If you're gonna get all uppity because I'm not the worlds best dancer - maybe I don't wanna be hooking up with you. You know?" She looped her arms around his neck, catching his bottom lip with her teeth lightly and pressing closer.

Declan begins to reply, but then she kisses him. It's returned. He breathes happily, sighing a bit. The hand on her hip lowers, sinking beneath the waistline of her shorts. But not too far. "If you made a fool of yourself, I'd still make you look good," Declan teases. "And yeah. I get it. But you're hot as hell when you dance. I wouldn't mind doing this all night and just sleeping after, to be honest. As for the rest? I think a lot of people are way more embarrassed by dancing. Way more. Maybe because there's no release. I'm not sure. But I love that you aren't afraid of it."

"I just keep walking into them, don't I?" Dahlia giggled , hands sliding down to rest on his chest. "Then let's dance until we have to drag ourselves to bed." Arching just a touch to press against his lowering hands and then relaxing into him. "No release could be it but...I dunno. I still think that's a little silly. Everyone's different though I s'pose." She wiggled a bit in his grasp and flashed another grin. "I'll dance with you any time, any place. As long as you want baby." She purred, nuzzling against his neck briefly.

"You do. But I've also had lots of practice, so don't blame yourself." Declan leans forward and kisses her neck rather suddenly. When her hands rest on his chest, he sighs a bit. It's a happy sigh, though. Not really content, it ends with a smirk. "Drag? I'd rather carry you and throw you down." He quiets, listening, but doesn't pull away. There are a few more kisses to her neck. "It's not so silly. Think about it. Think about an exhausting activity. Conversation, the one we just had. It was tense, there was a buildup. A climax, when we agreed to try and work together. Be patient. And then... a release, right? Or sex. Same thing. Is there anything like that with dancing? Not really. It's just all build. Until you're tired, but there's never a thing that releases the tension." Declan shrugs against her. "Random thoughts by a bartender."

Dahlia closes her eyes, head tilting to give him better access to her neck. "Throw me down, have you way with me." She teased softly, listening to his explanation. Body sliding against his and then she's turning around again. "Okay, okay. I see it. Never anything...unless your dance partner drags you to a secluded space...or a not so secluded space...to get that release." She grins, taking his hands and slowly guiding them over her curves.

"I could. But I don't feel like that tonight. It doesn't seem like you want something hard and fast. It seems more like you'd be better off with something long and slow. So that's probably what I'll do, unless you have input. It's fine if you don't. I know some people just want... release." Declan says the word lowly, grinning. When the song ends, he chooses a new one. It's slower. "You get it." The hand in her pants sinks deeper, teasing sensitive places. "Luckily, we aren't going to have that problem. There's something else I wanted to ask you though. Might be a mood killer. I hope not, though. Because I'm pretty curious."

A shiver of pleasure ran through his as his hands began to tease. "Something long and slow...I could get behind that. Something with a real nice build up for both of us." Dahlia agreed. Her hands sliding down a little farther, teasing up under his shirt to feel over his bare torso. Her brow quirks. "Ask away, Declan." She placed a light kiss on his neck as she waited. "I hope it doesn't kill the mood either, because I'm looking forward to exploring."

Declan continues to kiss her neck, his teeth eventually biting her ear again. The hand sinks even deeper, but it doesn't necessarily rub where she expects. Her thigh and the crease get most of the attention. "I know you could. Trust me. At this point? I read you like a book. But as always, if there's something you want. Tell me. Otherwise, pretty sure I can make you happy." Goosebumps spread across his skin, and he doesn't shy away from the question. "Were you afraid of the nude selfie? Tell me. You seemed kind of annoyed."

"I dunno if I should love that or hate it. That you can read me so well." Dahlia murmured, gaze lifting up to him, shaking her head when he asked about the selfie. "I wasn't annoyed. I was...honestly I was nervous. Not when you asked for the selfie, but before." She admitted. "When you asked if you could ask a selfish question. My mind went to a million terrible places. Okay. That's a lie. It jumped to like, one or two possibilities. And...a nude selfie wasn't one of them. I was...relieved when you asked for it and not what else you could have been asking." She leaned up and kissed him softly. "And I'm gonna give it to you but...I wanna wait until my shoulder tattoo is done. Because then it'll really be someone no one else has access too."

"I can stop mentioning it. But I think it's easier to just embrace it," Declan admits. "This is what I do. If we're going to be together, it'll be easier if you realize it's what I do. But I can try to change." Declan grins a little and quiets... and then his grin falters. "Yeah?" His head tilts. "What'd you think I was going to ask, Dahlia? Open relationship? If we could add someone to ours? If we could stop seeing one another?" he stops kissing her neck. "You can be honest. Tell me what scares you. I want to know." Despite his words, his hips move just a bit faster.

"Nah, I don't want you to change." Dahlia's nails lightly drag up his sides, and then her fingers are exploring again. Hips moving with his, pressing closer. "Something like that. Like you met some chick and wanted to know if I'd be cool with you hooking up with her. " She sighed. "Like, when it's just flirting and teasing...I don't mind that. You know me. I'm a tease and a flirt and I love it. But I am an insanely jealous person sometimes." She admits, "So I don't care about flirting or teasing - hell it's integral to our jobs. But...I dunno. If there's someone else you wanna hook up with I don't wanna hear about it I guess." Because technically they weren't really together. Right? Or were they? It was hard for her to keep track. "Not when we're like...here. Like this. So close to each other geographically I guess? It's not the same as if we were always apart and like-" Dahlia stops abruptly. Realizing she's started to ramble. "I'll shut up now. Sorry." Lowering her gaze a bit, focusing on his chest so she didn't have to look up at him.

Decan shivers when he feels her nails. Oh - oh, that feels good. His eyes close and he gets lost in the beat. When he speaks again, it's slowly. "I think some of this we need to table for later. But yeah, I get it. That isn't what it was, though. I'd never ask you something like that before we figure out what we are. And that's obviously still in flux with your past, which I won't touch right now because it's obviously something you're still dealing with." Declan breathes deep. "But yeah. I do have to tease. I have to flirt. I have to. I'm glad you're okay with that, and I know you do, too. To be honest? I thought you were doing more than that. Which is fine, Dahlia. In our careers, that's just part of life. People are going to ask you to give a lot, and they'll be people you care about. Regulars. If you need to go far to keep that customer, it's fine. I'll understand." He dances quietly for a few moments. "As for me, I haven't been with anyone since you. I was waiting to see what we were. But you should know something right off: people have offered. More than a handful. And we'll need to have that conversation pretty soon. Not tonight, but just don't think it can be avoided forever. Because in our line of work... people ask. And I'll need to know."

Dahlia nodded quietly, just enjoying being close as she listened to him. "I know...and I'm not surprised you thought I was. We'll figure it out. We'll work out the kinks. Because it's inevitable that it'll come up." She shrugged a little. "I've had people offer to...but yeah I haven't been with anyone else since we got together. Let's table it for now. I just wanna enjoy this tonight. You, and the music. And the slow burn." She murmurs as she uses her nails against him again, gently. It was all complicated, and maybe she was just over complicating it. Dahlia drew in a soft breath, pushing those thoughts out of her mind for now. Grinding up against him a little more. They'd already had one major conversation tonight and one was more than enough.

"It's not like that. I just know that... to do what we do well? You have to give things. It's just part of it. I'm not judging." Declan doesn't seem bothered by her admission. That is, until she mentions "got together." That makes him swallow. A moment later, "Sure. Tabled. We'll... something. Talk soon. Or later. When we're ready." Declan dances against her, thinking, and takes a deep breath. He moves along, hips rolling, arms holding her just a bit closer. "I'm going to go down on you," he says quietly. "No restraints. Then I want you to give me head. Then we'll go slow. At least one edge. We'll kiss between. Then I'll fuck you. Hard as you want, long as you want. I'll drive myself crazy before I come." He waits to hear her thoughts.

Dahlia feels him swallow, then adds, "Before I met you." As if to clarify. Though that might not have been what's causing the swallowing! She could just be jumping-stop it Dahlia. She chides herself, head tilting to listen to him. Nodding here and there, making a quiet sound of agreement. "I want to come together." She does add in. "Even if it means we both get driven nearly insane." There's a little bit of a chuckle. "There's not many things more...intimate than that." Hands sliding away from his torso to come up and rest on his face, holding his gaze a moment. "I want that with you Declan. Intimacy like that."

For a moment, a brief moment, Declan looks really vulnerable. Lost. Maybe it's the dance, maybe it's his fantasies taking over. His gaze is a little distant, even if it's mostly on her. Breathing quietly, he watches her as they dance. "Okay." It's not said very loudly. He smiles a little, stops moving so much, and kisses her forehead, lips lingering. "Its yours." He gently nudges her towards the bed, moving slow. "As long as you want. Slow or fast as you want. I won't control anything, except the one edge." A hand moves to her ass and gently squeezes. "But I won't be cruel. We'll play it by ear."

Dahlia keeps her gaze on him, her hands. She doesn't speak, letting the silence linger as they dance, until he speaks. A trace of a smile on her lips as he nudges her towards the bed. "Maybe there'll even be two edges." She murmurs, letting him guide her at the leisurely sort of pace. Her skin is flushed just a touch. "We'll play it by ear." She agrees, her arms slide back around his neck now and she pulls him into a slow, passionate kiss.

"Two?" Declan asks, grinning. "Hm. Maybe... if I have the patience. De-" She kisses him. Declan shuts the fuck up. He's talked enough. They've talked enough. What is there to say? Not much, so he just tilts his head and sighs happily.

In the minutes that follow, his shirt comes off. Pants next. Hers follow. They wind up on the bed, but he's in no rush. Lips press into hers, enjoying every moment of intimacy until it's clear they're ready for more. That's when he travels down... and makes due on everything he said. Over the next hour, he listens to and enjoys her body. Unafraid to switch, she's allowed as much freedom of movement as she wants. But by the end, he's tired. And messy, and it's late. In the late hours they speak quietly before going to bed, wrapped up in one another.