By Lady Minya

I don’t own them. Point. Blank. And simple.

Chapter VI

It was raining out in the late afternoon and she decided to stay in. Normally she would take a stroll down to her gazebo and listen to the soft pitter-patter of the rain. But she decided against it because rainy days like this always brought back memories.

‘It’s a sun-shower. And he’s not here…’ "Heero…" Relena walked away from the sun’s rays that shone through her vast windows and took a seat in the shadow’s. Now a day she’s been shady and has come to like the cloudy days. But today wasn’t cooperating with her. It was both cloudy and sunny at the same time.

"Maybe it’s a sign, Miss Relena. Maybe you should go to him and tell him about it all. I’m sure he’ll understand." Relena looked to the wooden doors to find Pagan standing there with her lunch for two.

"Oh Pagan. I’m not sure if he’ll…if he’ll even listen to me now…let alone believe me."

"If you just tell him the truth then I’m sure he’ll understand. He loves you, does he not?"

Before she could even answer him, the phone rang and Pagan excused himself to receive the call. Relena sighed and rubbed her basketball-sized tummy. ‘Five months down, four to go. Two months down since the day he left, but how long will it take for me to tell him the truth?’

//He only saw you and Jerome walk out of the bar and you take him home//

Relena shook her head at the tiny voice that spoke silently to her. ‘But I didn’t even tell him why I left Jerome’s apartment so late. Despite the fact he was drunk, he didn’t want me to be alone just in case something happened. Heero was working late that night…at least I thought he was.’

//He didn’t even tell you why he was following you. Heck, he doesn’t even know that you’re pregnant//

Relena smiled to herself. ‘You’ve got a pretty good point there.’

//So get your lazy big butt out of that comfortable chair and head to the city to tell him. He’ll understand//

‘Yes I’m sure he will.’ "But first, I’ll eat and then I’ll give him a call. I don’t want to show up unexpected only to make things worse…"

~~**~**~**~**~~

Hilde paced around her livingroom and waited. Things between her and Duo weren’t good anymore. And ever since that girl showed up, it’s been getting worse. She didn’t like the silent treatment and decided to confront him about it. But she should’ve took more time to think about it before she did…

"Duo, you still didn’t answer me. Where do we stand?"

Duo put his beer on the floor and sat back in the big lounge chair, enjoying the cushion it offered. He looked at Hilde and took in her attitude. Hand on hip at times, then she’d pace back and forth, then she’d lean against the wall. Once upon a time he did enjoy the way she’d pace around, and the way he would put and end to her fuming: a little bit of TLC. But now, with what he’s heard and seen, they stood on opposite sides of the Milky Way Galaxy.

"DUO! Answer me! I’m sick and tired of the lack of attention you’ve been given me lately and all you seem to worry about is yourself."

"Well that’s because you’ve been giving all of your attention to someone else."

That wasn’t expected…

"What!?!" Duo leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees and folding his hands. He stared at the floor and avoided her eyes while he spoke.

"I loved you Hilde, with all of my heart. I may run and hide, but I’ll NEVER TELL A LIE." Hilde backed away at his sudden raise in volume and Duo glared up at her.

"We…there is no we as of now. And I’ll show you why." He stood up and walked over to the television. He turned on the VCR and pushed rewind.

"I also asked you once before if you were happy with me and if this is what you want. You told me ‘yes’."

Without looking away from the screen he went on. "Do you remember that night when we went to that Valentine’s Day party at Quatre’s? Trevor Dunns…tell me about him Hilde."

Hilde’s breath caught in her throat. She knew what he was getting at. "He’s an old friend of mine." The tape stopped and Duo grabbed the remote off of the set.

"How much of an old friend Hilde? Veronica came to me and handed this to me as a Valentine’s gift. I thought it a bit weird because it was from Trevor to you, but she insisted on me looking at it first." He handed her the remote and backed her up so she sat down. "You might want to sit down for this Hilde. Do the honors for me. I’ve only watched it numerous times to make sure it was you…"

Hilde pushed play and watched her little sex video with Trevor go into action. Hilde knew this day was coming, but never would she have thought that he’d find out like this. She turned away from the video and looked up at Duo.

"Duo, I didn’t mean for you to find out like this."

"Why Hilde?" His glare burned right through her like a bullet going through her heart. ‘But it shouldn’t hurt because you don’t love him right?’ //Wrong Hilde. You love him, but you’re not in love with him anymore. He turned you off with his decision with the relationship//

"Duo, when you said that you was ready to settle down for a family, I was…I wasn’t sure if that’s what I wanted. I mean, I…need to grow and I…"

"Don’t you think coming to me about it and talking it out is a whole lot better than screwing Trevor?"

"Yes, but…" Hilde stopped and decided to take a breath before she continued.

"Duo, I shouldn’t have put you through this. I want to see other people, and to see if settling down is what I wanted. I’m sorry-"

"I don’t want your apology Hilde. You still should have come to me. Besides, this happened before Valentine’s Day. If you wanted to see other people, then you should’ve told me. I’ve always been honest with you Hilde. I’d never hurt the ones I love."

Hilde looked back at the ‘porno’ then down at the floor. Duo looked so sexy when he was upset but her TLC wasn’t going to calm him down this time because she knew that he didn’t want it…anymore. //Of course not. Especially after what you did to him//

"This happened nine months after our 3^rd year anniversary…the middle of this past January, if the date is right on the TV over there. January 23, After Colony 204...where did I go wrong?"

Hilde looked up only to find that Duo looked ready to kill. His voice remained calm, but it stung like a bee. "I wasn’t ready for a family Duo."

Duo only shook his head and headed for the door. "I packed my stuff already. The only thing that’s here and needs to go is me. Happy anniversary Hilde."

Had she forgotten? It was their 4^th anniversary. April 23, AC 204. What a gift from him to her…or vice versa.

~~**~**~**~**~~

Jalice sat on his couch, legs crossed on his coffee table, with his remote in her hands and stared blankly at the screen while he scolded her for wandering off…again. But all she heard was a bunch of murmuring because she wasn’t there. She was in her own world thinking about what was next.

"What’s next," she said absent-mindedly. Her remark stopped Heero. Heero glared at her and turned the television off.

"Jalise, did you not hear what I was saying?" Jalise didn’t answer but continued to stare off into space.

"Jalise!" She blinked and realized that Heero was saying something that must’ve been important, but then again,

"Heero, this happened three weeks ago and you’re still scolding me on that?"

"No, I’m scolding you because you decided to take a stroll in the park yesterday, mind you that it isn’t your averaged kiddy park either."

She looked up at his Prussian blue eyes filled with concern and a bit of anger. ‘Geesh Heero, you could make a girl go crazy. Maybe I should make an attempt and start making myself comfortable and forget about my situation. But there’s no need to chase if you’re showing no signs of interest.’

"Oh." She looked back at the screen and realized that it was off. Deciding that she didn’t want to do anything else she lay down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "I apologize if I’m such a burden Heero, but it’s only temporary until I get myself together."

Heero stood there and stared at her. He understood entirely how she felt and was there if she needed anything. ‘But she could at least be a bit more careful. She’s beginning to remind me of Relena.’

//You’re slipping Yuy//

Heero shook it off and turned away. He needed something to do before he did anything he would end up regretting. Entering the kitchen, he glanced at the clocked and noted at how late it had become. ‘Six o’clock already. Better get dinner started before-’ He opened the fridge and realized that he didn’t do his daily grocery shopping.

"Jalise I’m going out to get a few things from the grocery store. Then I’m going to make a stop on the way back. I should be no longer than an hour-and-a-half. Don’t go anywhere."

Jalise sat up and turned to Heero. "Can I come with you?"

Heero grabbed his coat and turned to her while putting it on. She looked nervous and slightly scared with the announcement of his departure. "No one knows you’re here except for those that are of authority. It’ll be wiser and safer if you stayed. You have my number just in case."

Sighing she lay down and snuggled closer to the cushions of the couch. Sighing, she closed her eyes preparing herself for a catnap. "Don’t take too long Heero."

Heero continued to look in her direction before leaving to complete his tasks. But as she heard him locking the door from the outside, solitary tears made their presence and kept her company.

~~**~**~**~**~~

It wasn’t luxurious, but it was cozy for two. The livingroom was extremely large for an apartment to begin with. As soon as you entered, there was the livingroom. To the immediate left would be the diningroom that is separated from the livingroom by a black leather couch. The kitchen comes next which is separated from the diningroom by a counter detachment (from the inside of the kitchen, it’s an extended counter top which has glass ware hanging from the top…sort of like what a bar looks like. Bear with me). Directly across from the kitchen was one bathroom which was roomy, holding a sink, toilet, and a shower. Next to the bathroom was a very small room that was only big enough for one dryer and one washer.

Next to the round dinner table are the sliding doors for the balcony. But the balcony took the whole side of that apartment. Large windows instead of the off-white colored walls took the length of the room providing the apartment with natural light.

Now to the left of the door, upon entering, there’s a narrow hallway leading to two bedrooms. As soon as you enter the hallway, the first door to one’s left is a medium sized room (not too big and not too small…just right) that held a closet; a twin sized bed and an empty dresser. The final bedroom, to the end of the hall would be called the master bedroom simply because it’s big. When you open the door you take one step down into a large room with large windows on direct opposite side of the room. The wall directly opposite the door is occupied with a large television set a stand and a grand dresser. To the left of the door is the queen-sized waterbed with a night table and to the right, a chair and a desk.

It was big, but it wasn’t luxurious. It was plain dull and for it to be luxurious. Duo felt it needed the touch of another. An apartment for two. ‘For one…correction.’ Duo had already bought the apartment two months after he found out about Hilde’s love affair. He was going to wait until she said something, but began to give up when he wasn’t getting the attention he used to get. ‘When she stopped giving to me…’

But at least he was four blocks away from someone he cherished…someone he considered to be the brother he never had and wished to have. With just the thought of that one person, he decided to give him a visit. ‘After I get myself something to eat.’ He strolled over to his fridge only to find it empty…literally. Duo groaned at the sight of emptiness and his stomached mocked him. So did the beating of his heart. ‘It feels so empty.’ Sighing, he walked over to the balcony and smelled the fresh remnants of the sunshower. The day looked beautiful but the colorful clouds in the distance hid all of the pain that was about. ‘Looks can be very deceiving. Are all sunshowers like this?’

He walked back inside and picked up the phone, dialing Heero’s number. He was pretty sure he was home and that his refrigerator has food in it.

~*~*~*~*~

Ring, ring, ring.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"You’ve reached the person you have called. Leave a message after the tone."

"Hey Heero, just callin’ to see if you’re there. You’re obviously not. Um, I’ll give you a call later or stop by like I always do. Later."

"Beeeeeeeeeeep."

~~*~*~*~*~~

Saturday’s weren’t the same for him anymore. They became…lonely? Lonely…boy has he ever felt so lonely since she lef-…well since he left. But there was a reason for it.

What was that reason?

Heero parked in front of the house and cut the engine. He decided to pay Duo a visit to talk about his issue, but took note not to stay long. He had to get back and start dinner. He made his way to the doorstep and didn’t even get to ring the doorbell. Prussian blue met with green that showed curiosity.

"Trowa."

Trowa stopped at the sight of Heero and acknowledge that he was there for the same person. But before either one of them could say a word, Hilde slammed the door shut, leaving a curious Trowa and a very bewildered Heero.

"Duo’s not there?" Trowa made his way by Heero and turned to him.

"No he’s not. But seeing that you or Hilde don’t know where he is, I guess I’ll be on my way."

Heero looked back at the house and then to Trowa. "Where are you going?"

"I’m going to call Duo on his cell. There’s something I’d like to discuss with him regarding his shop in outer space."

"I might know where he is."

"I have my car." Heero only nodded and the two got in their respective vehicles.

As soon as Heero pulled off his cell phone rang.

"This is Heero."

"Hey. I called and you weren’t home. Thought I’d stop by for a while."

"Trowa and I are on our way. Meet us there."

"No problem."

"Oh and Duo, go ahead inside. Jalise is there. I didn’t give her permission to go out alone so I’m pretty sure she’s still there. I’ll call her and let her know."

"I’ll be there."

After Heero hung up, he dialed his home number and waited. And waited and waited until the answering machine picked up. ‘Where the hell could she be?’

"Beeeeeeeeep."

"Jalise pick up the phone. It’s me, Heero." Heero waited for a few seconds before repeating himself.

"Jalise…Pick. Up. The. Phone."

"Beeeeeeeep."

Heero was answered with the dial tone once more. With a frustrated sigh, Heero dialed his house number one more time before hanging up at the first beep. He threw his phone onto the passenger seat and sped up with Trowa close behind.

~**~*~*~*~**~

Relena dialed his home number and was answered by his answering machine. ‘He must be out…’

"…after the tone."

"Beeeeeeep."

Relena took in a deep breath and left her message, hoping he’d return her call. "Heero, this is Relena. I’d like to speak with you about what happened two months ago. I shouldn’t have waited this long but there’s something else you should know as well. It would be nice if we could meet and talk this out face to face. Give me a call." Relena hung up and sighed. She looked at her hands and realized that they were shaking. ‘I was nervous…’ Smiling to herself, she decided to go for her early evening walk and be back in time before it got dark.

She made her way down to the main hall and called out for Pagan. She thought it strange because she received no answer. "Pagan?" She made her way to the kitchen to find that he wasn’t there. ‘Where else could he be at this time?’ She made her way to the first family room and spotted him siting in a lounge chair; and from her line of sight, he seemed to be reading.

"Pagan, there you are. I’ve been look-" A quick hand grabbed her into a corner of the family room, between a wall unit and the wall. He muffled her and told her to keep quiet. Relena instinctively placed a hand over her abdomen and waited with a racing heartbeat.

"Shhh, Miss Relena. It’s me, Quatre."

With the mention of his name, Relena relaxed and waited. Five minutes later, she heard footsteps run through her hall and down the stairs. "She’s not here. We looked to our advantage. Let’s go before her guards come around. We didn’t knock them out for long."

When the intruders left, Quatre waited ten more minutes before he let Relena go. Quatre looked around the corner to double check and make sure it was safe enough for Relena to come out. When the coast was clear the first thing he asked if she and her child were okay. She nodded.

"But what about Pagan?" Quatre walked over to the butler to confirm that he was unconscious.

"It looks as if they drugged him. But I’m sure he’ll be okay."

Relena looked back towards her closed doors and wondered who those people were. Then she looked back at Quatre and wondered why he was there.

"Quatre-" she was cut short by Quatre’s early response.

"I’ll explain everything to you later. First let me call Sally to see if she can get down here and take a look at your butler. But what I will tell you right now is that you’re in danger, Relena."

**~~**~~**~~**

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Duo stood in front of the door waiting for Jalise to answer. When she didn’t come to the door, he tried again. And again he received no answer. He looked to make sure it was Heero’s apartment number and not someone else’s...5G. It was his all right and knew that if Jalise was supposed to be there and she wasn’t, she’d get in trouble.

"Jalise, are you in there? My name’s Duo, I’m a friend of Heero’s. Open up." No answer.

Jalise tossed back and forth on the couch. Being that she wasn’t home, she found herself missing those that were close to her…she was homesick. And not having anyone there to comfort her, she felt alone on the inside and out.

~~~

Heero and Trowa made there way to the fifth floor to find Duo waiting against the wall with his eyes closed. Once Heero got near, Duo opened his eyes to see Trowa with him.

"How long have you’ve been waiting?"

"All together…I’d say about half-an hour. Where were you?"

Heero approached the door and fumbled with his keys. "I went to go get a few groceries then I decided to stop by your place, but I ran into to Trowa and you weren’t there."

"Anymore," Trowa added.

"Hn." Was Duo’s only reply as Heero unlocked the first lock. He glanced at Duo from the corner of his eyes and saw that he had an upset statement on his face. Something obviously happened and they were bound to hear it sooner of later.

"I think some of Heero’s polite responses has rubbed off on you Duo," Trowa said as Heero opened his door and walked inside. The others followed Heero, Trowa closing the door behind him.

"Well I guess that happens when you spend awfully a lot of time around your bestfriend."

Heero smirked at Duo’s response and looked around for Jalise. Trowa noticed and asked the question.

"Where’s Jalise?"

Heero walked into the kitchen and placed the bags down on the floor. "She should be on the couch."

Duo walked over to the couch to see her sleeping soundlessly. "And she doesn’t snore," Duo said jokingly.

Heero sighed and walked over to his answering machine to respond to the blinking light requesting his attention.

"You have three new messages." After hearing Duo’s message, he deleted it.

"Message deleted…"

Duo walked around the couch and sat next to Jalise. Trowa walked by the couch and pulled a chair from the nearby table. He looked in Duo’s direction and found it interesting to see that Duo held an interest. Or so it seemed.

‘Then let me find out…’

"What happened with Hilde." Duo glanced at Trowa then back down at Jalise. Telling from her statement, it looked as if she were having a nightmare. Ignoring his question just for the moment, Duo leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Taking a deep breath, he finally answered.

"She found an interest in someone else…and enjoyed her love affair."

Heero only glanced at Duo before retreating back to the kitchen. But he didn’t get far once he heard the next message.

"Heero, this is Relena. I’d like to speak with you about what happened two months ago. I shouldn’t have waited this long but there’s something else you should know as well. It would be nice if we could meet and talk this out face to face. Give me a call."

Heero tensed at her message and at the sound of her voice. ‘Relena…’ He was curious, relieved, and a bit angry at the same time. ‘I wonder…’

"She called you," Trowa said, breaking Heero’s train of thought.

"Two months," was all he said. He began emptying the bags as he tried to think about what Relena had to say that was so important. ‘She didn’t sound like she was forced to call…she seemed a bit nervous, but…why would she wait so long? And what was so important that she couldn’t say over the phone?’

"Aren’t you going to call her back," Trowa asked.

"We’ve got more important things to discuss as you said earlier. What Relena and I have to discuss isn’t of importance at the moment."

He placed the last plastic bag under one of his cabinets and decided to get down to business.

"Meanwhile…" He pulled out three beers and headed back towards the livingroom. "…Trowa was saying something earlier that I’m sure has something to do with what we discussed last week."

He handed out the beers and took a seat on the lounge chair to Duo’s left. But before Trowa could start, Jalise interrupted by her sudden outburst.

~`~`~`~`~`~`

"How long off are you, Relena?" Sally set her bag on the floor of the small dinningroom and took a sip of her peppermint tea Quatre had brewed for them.

"Five months."

"Well, whose the father?" Relena looked over at Sally and then back to her teacup.

"You needn’t ask that question."

"Well we’ve lost contact with you and we were worried. How come you didn’t contact any of us?"

"I needed to think some things over…by myself. I am sorry if I worried either one of you."

Quatre placed his cup on the tray and interrupted.

"Relena, there was an accident earlier involving a few scientists bringing a female from another time. A few ears heard about it and they seem to have something up their sleeves."

Relena looked from Quatre to Sally. "What does this have to do with me?"

Sally answered her question. "Well when the girl first showed up they decided to say that they have you in custody and wanted an exchange. But now that you’re safe, we still have yet to find out why they want Jalise."

"Jalise? That’s a nice name," Relena murmured to herself. But then directed her attention back to the others. "Where is she now?"

Quatre took a deep breath and hoped for the better in telling her. "Right now she’s staying with Heero," he began.

"Heero?"

"But that’s until we can get to the bottom of this. We think that the main reason is to show how lenient the Earth’s Sphere is at dealing with people for being careless. But that’s only a guess. We still have to keep her hidden until everything’s in the clear."

Relena heard what Quatre said, but didn’t listen. All she could think about was Heero, her Heero, living with another woman.

~`~`~`~`~`~`

Jalise jumped out of her sleep, sitting straight up on the couch, trying to catch her breath with tears ready to fall. ‘It was a…a nightmare…’

"Are you okay?" She blinked and looked around to find that Heero didn’t return alone.

She quickly wiped her eyes and hugged her knees, not looking at either one of them. "I’m fine. It was just a bad dream."

"Care to share," Trowa asked softly. "It seemed pretty serious. You woke up in tears."

She rested her head in her knees and shook her head, trying to hold back her tears. Not paying attention to her onlookers, she sat there trying to figure out what the hell that was all about. ‘All I can say about it is that I’m here…all alone. And eventually I’ll allow myself to be cold, lonely, and empty. I’ll be alone in the dark.’ Then she thought to herself. ‘But those eyes…that voice. It sounded so much like Heero.’

Shaking the thought away, she got up from the couch and strolled into the bathroom, ignoring him and his company. After the door closed, Heero waited until he heard the bathroom fan to start the discussion.

"What’s so special about Duo’s shop in outer space, Trowa?"

Trowa took a sip and took a glance in Duo’s direction before answering. "I saw the surveillance tapes for the Preventer’s garage and it seems that the professor that paid us a visit was wearing the uniform that’s identical to Duo’s. But what strikes me as unusual was that it said Morrel’s Auto Body on it."

"That’s the name of the joint shop that I have out there. David Morrel is the owner."

Heero glanced at the bathroom door before he spoke. "I thought you said you weren’t going to sell it?"

"Well not all of it. Now that I’ve been called back and forth by the head mistress, I figured it would be easier to sell some and have some."

Trowa glanced at Heero before he spoke. Heero nodded. "So who’s running your business?"

"A friend of Quatre’s. First I asked him to keep an eye on it while I was away. But when he told me that he was called also, he assigned someone who is trustworthy in his eyes."

But before Heero could remark on it further, Jalise emerged from the bathroom refreshed, heading towards the kitchen ready to cook herself a big meal.

"We have something important to discuss Jalise," Heero began.

Jalise walked away from the fridge and to the countertop with food in her hand ready to be cooked. "So you want me to leave the vicinity so you guys can discuss whatever it is you need to discuss simply because it’s none of my concern."

Trowa simply smiled at her guess because she was correct. "It’s for your own safety," he added.

"Well, I thank you all for your concern, but, I just woke up from a cat-nap and I’m hungry. So I will fix me something to eat and then leave and eat in Heero’s room." She finished with a smirk on her face, knowing damn well that Heero will allow no such thing.

"I have another room where you can do that in Jalise. My room is off limits."

Her smirk turned to a smile and she merely shook her head and put her Ziti on the stove. "If you say so Heero. After you put a new mattress on that bed and fix that television, new bedspread I must add, and clean the carpet, then I’ll go and occupy that room. Otherwise, it’s your room I’ll inhabit."

Duo leaned back, beer in hand and grinned. ‘Doesn’t even live here and she’s already telling him what needs to be done.’

Trowa chuckled, but Heero glared at her remark. "I don’t need to remind you that you don’t have to stay here and I’m only doing this as a favor," but he was interrupted.

As she poured the sauce into the skillet, she spoke, "Heero, look. I’m your guest…make me comfortable. Besides, that’s something that needs to be done anyway. And from the looks of it, it hasn’t been done in a while. Hey, I would love to stay in your guestroom, but goodness gracious, clean it. AND, if you want to kick me out, be my guest."

She cut mushrooms, scallions, carrots, and even onions to add to the sauce. She glanced at Heero to find that he was glaring at her. ‘Wow, what a hunk.’ And with even a bigger smile, she decided to have a little fun.

"By the way Heero, did anyone ever tell you how gorgeous you look when you glare at somebody?"

Duo was guzzling beer while she was talking, but the beer that occupied his mouth was sprayed into Trowa’s face. Trowa sat in the chair drenched with amusement on his face. Duo apologized and wiped his mouth. He glanced at Heero to see that moved from is spot and began towards the kitchen. ‘Uh-oh. That did it.’

"Listen Jalise, I don’t need you to tell me what to do." He glanced at the kitchen and realized she was cooking more than what she can eat. "And I didn’t ask you to cook either." He stood there watching her statement and found that he hit a soft spot. Telling from her statement she looked hurt.

She washed the used utensils silently and tended to the pot of pasta. "We have important things to go over and I can’t leave you unattended anymore Jalise. Fix yourself a sandwich."

Trowa walked into the kitchen to clean his face off and glanced over at Jalise. She didn’t look to happy and looked worse from when she woke up. "Fine," she answered barely above a whisper. She left the kitchen, brushed past the two of them and headed for his room. She closed the door behind her, leaving them in a dreary and an un-called for silence. Heero stared at the door before cleaning up the kitchen.

"That was a bit harsh don’t you think Heero?" He glanced at Trowa, whom was leaning against the counter staring at him for an answer. Heero picked up from where she started with the cooking and thought about the question and his answer.

"She reminds me so much of Relena." He turned the Ziti down low and let the sauce simmer. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I’m getting too attached Trowa, and this seems the only way for me to push those feelings away.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~__~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~__~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~