Work Text:
Archie rubbed her eyes tiredly. She stared at her machine, hoping beyond hope that it would finally take her back to the town that had not left her mind since she was 14 years old— back to the boy that lived there.
They clicked a final piece into place, and glanced at the time. Their digital clock blinked 3:56 AM at them, warning them to go to bed. Archie considered it, leaning back in their chair. They rubbed their eyes, and then focused back on the machine. Gently, they attached it to their vest, and pressed the button.
Archie’s ears rang for several long moments, and he blinked at the pale blue morning sky, waiting for his hearing to return. His brows furrowed together, considering his hearing. Possibly, something was going to have to be done about that in the future. The loud bangs could only be tolerated for so long before his ears simply gave out.
When she could finally hear the quiet noises of nature around her again, Archie stood, and dusted herself off. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes locked onto a building, one that she recognized. Her heart rose.
Woodpine General Hospital.
They smothered the excitement as quickly as it arrived. They had been here before, once. It hadn’t been the right… the right universe, as they had come to learn. Cress had not been at the house that Archie knew to be his, and instead there was merely an angsty dark-haired young man who had tried to attack Archie when they had asked about Cress.
He took care of his injuries first, cleaning the wound made by the explosion from his device, and then changing gingerly into his spare shirt and sweater.
Satisfied, she stepped forward, making her way down streets she hadn’t realized she had memorized. It wasn’t long before she found himself looking at a small, slightly rundown house. She approached the door and knocked tentatively, adjusting her sweater slightly.
A man opened the door. Archie smiled tightly. The man looked at Archie, and Archie tried to ignore the smell of alcohol on his breath.
“Hello,” they said politely. “Is a Mr. Cress Sala here?”
The man stared for a moment, and then let out a short bark of laughter. Archie’s heart twisted slightly, reminded of the sardonic laughter Cress would give when he was frustrated, and yet annoyed to hear it out of this man’s mouth.
“Cress? I’ven’t seen him in years. Who are you?”
“Ah,” Archie said. “Then perhaps you might know where I can find him?”
“Fucked if I know,” he said. “The bastard didn’ tell me anything before he left. Left. Left me in this shithole like it was my fault.”
“Apologies, then. Good day.” Archie nodded, and Cress’s father slammed the door in their face. They glared at the door, then sighed and turned away, disappointed.
He made it to the mailbox, contemplating how he was going to find Cress, when he heard the front door open again. He halted and turned.
A young man, one that looked vaguely familiar, was walking down the path towards Archie, hands firmly in his pockets. His hair was long enough to cover his eyes, and blond. He looked up at Archie, and Archie suppressed a small intake of breath. The familiarity was even more striking at this angle, and despite some of the more obvious differences, he had the same eyes as Cress, shape, colors, and all.
“Malloy,” he said, by way of greeting.
“Archibald Michaelis.”
“Fuck ass name. What do you need Cress for?” Malloy asked.
Archie tilted her head. “You know where to find him,” she said. It was not a question.
“Maybe. What do you need him for?”
“I am… an old friend. I wish to reconnect with him.”
Malloy snorted. “Cress doesn’t have friends. He has people he doesn’t like, and people he hates, but not any friends.”
“I see.”
“But he’s just enough of an asshole that I don’t care if you wanna ‘reconnect’ or if you just wanna beat the shit out of him.”
Archie was slightly taken aback. Cress had been plenty rude to Archie when they had talked, and there was plenty of times Archie had wanted to ‘beat the shit out of him’, but they had thought that Cress’s own brother might have been more concerned for his safety.
“He moved out east, to the city.” Malloy gestured with his hand. “I have an address. I don’t know if it’s still his. Here.” Malloy pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. “If he’s not there, then…” Malloy shrugged. “Maybe he finally killed himself.”
Archie looked at Malloy sharply. “You don’t think he—”
Malloy laughed, and Archie once again had the experience of hearing Cress’s laughter a little to the left. It was uncanny.
“I don’t know. Probably not. Cress is more likely to have killed someone else. Do us all a favor, though, if he kicked it.”
Archie stared.
“What?” Malloy asked, putting his hands up. “Just because I’m his brother means I gotta be all tender and loving about him? He’s a dickhead, and what’s more, he couldn’t be bothered to take me with him. Like I wanna live in this hellhole.”
“Even so, isn’t wishing suicide upon him a bit… much?”
Malloy gave Archie an odd look. “Have you actually met the guy? He ran around for a few months randomly hurting people, and then laughing his head off when they got upset. There’s something wrong with him, and there’s no point trying to figure it out. He’s sadistic, and the kind of crazy that only suicide’ll fix.”
Archie could barely form words. Had Cress really done all of that? It seemed… so unlike the Cress that she had come to know. The person she had spent time with could be rude, sometimes even mean, but was more often than not kind, and funny, and had a mind to try and fix problems he caused, even if he never said it aloud.
“I— Ahem.” Archie cleared their throat. “Excuse me. I see. Well, I intend to try and find him anyways.”
“Alright, then, Michaelis. Whatever you want. Not my fucken problem. See you around, or whatever.” Malloy waved slightly, and Archie lifted his hand in return. He watched Malloy walk back to the house, and then turned and started down the street, mulling over everything Malloy had said.
Something had clearly happened to Cress, since she had left. What it could possibly be, that would have pushed Cress so far over the edge, she wasn’t sure. Yes, Cress had had his violent tendencies even when they had been trying to escape the time loop together, but he had improved drastically before they finally escaped. Or at least, Archie had thought so.
They continued to think about this as they got into a taxi that would take them to the city. They handed the address to the driver, who nodded. Archie stared out the window, fully absorbed in their own thoughts.
He started and looked up. “Begging your pardon, did you say something?” he asked the driver.
The driver glanced at Archie in the rear view mirror. “Yeah, I was just asking what sort of business you got in the city?”
Archie hummed slightly. “Visiting an old friend, is all.”
“That’s nice. You been to the city before?”
Archie thought for a moment. It was hard to say. “Probably not,” she said after a moment.
“Probably?” the driver asked.
“I’ve been to a lot of cities.”
“Well, yeah, but it can’t be that hard to know if you’ve been to this one.”
Archie shrugged, but didn’t answer, and turned back to the window. The driver made a clicking noise, and silence fell.
The ride was long and suffocating, and Archie felt their stomach tighten uncomfortably. They wished the ride was shorter, if only to prevent their mind from thinking about things they had little interest in dwelling on.
Work, he finally decided. Just think about work. His machine had still failed to remain intact after use, and while it did the job well enough (and, thankfully, wasn’t pulling him exclusively into time loops, anymore), it would be nice not to have to spend a few weeks rebuilding it every time he landed somewhere new. A few tweaks here and there, and he might even be able to avoid the explosions…
Archie sat, lost in her thoughts, for the rest of the ride, thinking about the practicality of several adjustments, before the driver pulled up to an apartment building.
“Here you are,” the driver said. Archie smiled slightly at them, nodding her thanks and paying.
Archie stepped onto the sidewalk, looking up at the apartment building. They rubbed their hands on their pants, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
Inside of the building, at the front desk, sat a very serious looking woman, with glasses at the end of her nose. Her straight black hair was pulled up in a half bun, and she was typing quickly on her computer.
Archie cleared his throat. She looked up, and then took in Archie’s appearance. Archie smiled stiffly.
“Hello. Is there a Mr. Cress Sala living in the building?”
The woman blinked slowly, like a cat, and then picked up the phone next to her, so quickly that Archie didn’t even realize it had started ringing. “One moment,” she said in a flat voice.
Archie nodded and waited as a loud voice crackled through on the other end, and although Archie couldn’t make out the words, they thought the person sounded annoyed.
“Mm… No, darling, your 7 o’clock was canceled, remember? Yes. They seemed to think your application had too specific of requirements. Yes, dear. No. I don’t think any of your tenants took you up on that offer. One of them threatened to— Hm? I can check. One moment, then, darling.”
The woman pressed a button on her phone, and then looked at Archie again, raising her eyebrow. “You’re here for Cress, you say?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She stared for a moment, and then nodded. “He lives on the second floor. Apartment 220. You’d better hurry, though. It sounds like he has a 7 o’clock appointment.”
“Thank you,” Archie said, not daring to press the woman further.
Archie stepped towards the elevator, and when she pressed the button, she heard the woman say into her phone, “Mr. Karu wishes to know if you are interested in meeting him today at 7 o’clock. He is willing to come to your apartment.”
The elevator door opened, and Archie stepped in, not catching the last of the woman’s conversation.
At the second floor, Archie stepped out, and took a deep breath. Her heart skipped a beat as she stepped into the hallway and looked at the doorplates for number 220.
It seemed to take her hours before she found it, even though she knew it could only have been a minute. She knocked softly on the door.
There was some shuffling inside, and then the door slammed open. Archie startled slightly, but managed to remain relatively collected. He took in Cress’s appearance, and smiled gently. He was taller, slim, and had his hair cropped short. The haircut seemed on odd on him, for some reason, but Archie shook it off, thinking it must only be that it was different then it was when they were kids.
His eyes gleamed, one green and one blue, just like Archie remembered.
“Ah— Hello, Cr—”
“Who the fuck are you?” Cress snapped.
Archie’s stomach plummeted. They cleared their throat. “I’m— I’m Archibald Michaelis, and—”
“Loser ass name,” Cress said, leaning on the door frame.
“Ah.”
Cress sniffed slightly, and his eyes darted past Archie and into the hallway. “Are you here because of Nimit?”
“Pardon?”
“Clearly not. Mkay. Well, I’m kind of busy. Can you hurry this up at all?”
“I— Do you not remember me?”
“Should I?”
Archie swallowed hard. “Well, er—” Maybe not, Archie realized slowly. Now that she knew there was more than one universe, was it not possible that there was… more than one Cress? And if so, was it… Was it even possible to get back to her Cress?
“We met in… In Woodpine, I believe.”
Cress straightened up, and his eyes narrowed slightly. “Did we? I don’t seem to remember you.”
“We— Apologies,” Archie said. “I seem to have the wrong person, and I didn’t mean to bother you any. So if you’ll excuse me—”
“No, no. You know where I was born. How do you know that? How do you know me?”
“Uh.” Archie swallowed. “Well, you see, I believe I met you— A version of you, if you will, in a time loop, but—” Archie cut themselves off.
Cress went still. Archie felt the space between them go deathly cold, and the urge to run filled him. But a small part of him thought maybe— hoped that maybe this still was his Cress, and that he simply needed to be reminded. Perhaps he had suppressed it somehow, or…
“What?” Cress finally said, in a voice so quiet Archie almost missed it.
“Yes, well, I don’t know why you would know anything about that, of course. I have the wrong person. I’m sure I sound crazy, to you. Forgive me.”
Archie made to leave, but Cress grabbed the collar of her shirt. Archie’s breath quickened.
“You do sound crazy. What sort of fucked up joke are you playing?”
“J-joke?” Archie asked.
“And for that matter, how the hell did you find this out?” Cress laughed, the laugh that had been plaguing Archie’s ears all day; and even now, when he finally got to hear it, the real laugh, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“It’s a lot to explain,” Archie said, their mouth dry. “But if you just let me go, I can tell you everything.” Perhaps if they explained it, they would be on friendly terms. Even if they still wanted to get to their Cress, there was no harm in talking to this Cress in the meantime.
“Oh, hell no. I don’t think so. However you found this out, whatever fucked up joke you think you’re playing, I don’t want any part of it.”
“That’s fine, too, then, and if you just let me go, I’ll be out of your way.”
Cress laughed again, and Archie’s heart twisted.
“If you had wanted out, you would have left before you mentioned anything about the loops. Do you even know what hell I went through? Do have any idea how fucked up that was? No. Of course not. You can’t even imagine what it was like.”
Archie opened their mouth to say I can imagine well enough, when the side of their head exploded in pain.
Archie fell to the ground, grabbing his jaw. The world was fuzzy around the edges, and his brain was reeling from both the impact and the pure shock.
Cress had attacked her before; hell, Cress had killed her before. But it had always come a predictable moment, when Archie had pushed his buttons just a little too far, after a back and forth argument that could last hours. This seemed… like Cress had hit her, just for the sake of hitting her. And more than that, Cress had promised her, not long before they escaped, that he was never going to do it again.
Archie felt his body being turned forcibly, and he found himself staring up at Cress’s face again. Cress grinned in a way that felt terrible on Cress’s face. Archie was used to his anger, to his pointed jabs and sarcasm, but this felt… What was the word Malloy had used?
Sadistic.
Archie was blinded with the impact of Cress’s second hit, and they felt blood gush from their nose. They grabbed it gingerly, wincing at the pain. They tried to crawl forward, but felt their ribs get kicked, hard. Tears pricked at the corners of their eyes, and they took as deep a breath as their bruised rib cage and bloody nose would let them.
When the next kick came, Archie twisted away, causing Cress to stumble when his target wasn’t there anymore. She swung her leg out, tripping Cress. She stood, panting, silently begging him to stay down.
He did not.
Archie cursed under his breath.
He was between Archie and the path to the elevator, now, and the only way forward was through. Archie didn’t particularly want to hurt Cress, and her nose was getting blood everywhere, but she needed to get out of here. Her mind was fuzzy, but she managed to scramble around him as he threw another punch.
Archie darted forward, and then yelped as Cress caught their arm. They braced for impact again, planning their next move, when—
“Hey!”
Cress froze, and Archie blinked.
“Are you kidding me? In the hallway? Dude, there’s blood every where. Let them go, or I’m calling the cops.”
Cress scowled, but let go of Archie. He stormed over to the person, glaring down at them. They were short, with short, bright pink hair, and their arms were crossed. They glared back up.
“Nimit’d kill you if you called the cops here again.”
“And you’d have killed someone by now if I didn’t. Go back to your apartment, fuckface.”
Cress clenched his fists, and then scoffed. “You’ve got a lot of nerve for someone so scrawny.”
“Not my fault you’re scared of authority.”
Archie thought Cress was going to kill the both of them, but instead he laughed and shrugged. “Whatever. I’ve made my point.” He turned and walked back to his apartment, hitting the stranger roughly with his shoulder as he walked past.
They stumbled, but after Cress left, they ran over to Archie. “Are you okay?” they asked, looking over Archie’s face. “Oh, you poor thing. Come on, my apartments just down here.”
They led Archie to apartment number 224, two doors down from Cress’s apartment. Archie gave one last look in the direction of Cress’s apartment as the person led him into theirs, feeling a knife stab in their chest.
The person sat them firmly on the sofa, and then flitted away to the kitchen. Archie held their nose, watching them move back and forth.
They were short, only coming up to Archie’s chest. They were wearing a pair of leggings, and a baggy T-shirt with the some sort of cartoon character on it. They kept running a hand through their hair, which Archie could now see had an undercut shaved into the back.
They brought Archie an ice pack and a box of tissues, and smiled gently. “Here you go,” they said. Archie murmured her thanks softly and took a handful of tissues. “I’m Remi, by the way,” they said.
“Ar- Archie.”
“Archie. It’s good to meet you, Archie, even if it’s in— well, less than ideal circumstances.”
Archie smiled weakly. They looked around the apartment, taking in the sparsely decorated living room. It looked as though no one lived here at all, except for a gaming console by the television, and a small framed picture resting on the end table.
“How’s your nose, Archie?” Remi asked. “It’s not broken, is it?”
Archie removed the tissues from their nose and touched it gingerly. “Sore, but not broken, I don’t believe.”
“That’s good,” Remi said, smiling again. “How about your face? Your eye is starting to bruise.”
Archie touched their cheekbone, too. They winced. “Again, sore. But I’ll be okay.”
Remi smiled in a way that felt melancholy to Archie, but she couldn’t place why. Remi shook their head after a moment and said, “Sorry you had to deal with that, by the way.”
Archie raised an eyebrow. “It was hardly your fault.”
“Well, maybe not, but, still… 220 is always doing something insane… Sometimes it’s beating someone up in the ally next to the building, sometimes it’s… orgies? I think?” Remi shrugged. “I guess there’s nothing wrong with having orgies… they’re just… loud. But this is the first time he’s injured someone in the building.”
“Does… does Cress do that that often?”
Remi tilted their head. “Do you know him?”
“Ah— I thought I did. He— he’s changed, is all.” Archie wiped some of the blood of his face and stared at his hands for a moment. His mouth twisted into a grim smile. “He feels like a different person, somehow. Ha.”
Remi nodded solemnly. “I understand what you mean.”
You really don’t, Archie thought, but they accepted Remi’s empathy all the same, even if it meant nothing to them.
They fell silent for a moment, and Archie’s nose finally stopped bleeding. He held the ice pack to his face for a moment longer, and then set it down and stood up.
“I should be getting out of your hair, really.”
Remi jumped up, too. “I don’t mind. Do you need a ride home or anything? It’s getting kind of late.”
Archie shook her head. “Oh, no, I don’t… I don’t live in the city, or anything, so I couldn’t ask that of you.”
Remi’s eyes widened. “Where are you going to go, then?”
“Probably just a motel, or something similar.”
Remi shook their head. “No, no. Not after that. You can stay here for a couple of days.”
“I really couldn’t,” Archie said, raising a hand. “You’ve been so kind already, and I—”
“I insist,” Remi said firmly. “Niall won’t be back until Monday, so there’s no reason to kick you out so suddenly.”
“Niall?” Archie asked. Remi gestured vaguely to the singular picture frame. Archie glanced over at it. In it, Remi was hugging a slightly taller, dark haired person. He was not hugging Remi back. The picture did not really explain who Niall was, but Archie didn’t push it further.
“The couch pulls out, I’ll get some blankets for you and make it.”
“I can make the bed,” Archie said after them, feeling as though Remi should not be doing all of the work.
Remi returned with a pile of sheets, and despite their offer, Archie took the sheets from them and made the pull-out bed himself. When he had finished that, Remi came to offer them a bowl of ramen.
“It’s, uh, not much, but…”
Archie took the bowl gratefully. “Thank you, Remi.”
Remi nodded. “I have to be up in the morning, so I’m gonna take a shower and go to bed. Do you need anything before that?”
“Ah— maybe just to wash my face, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course! The bathroom is on the left,” Remi said, pointing.
Archie washed the blood off of their face in the bathroom, and then rubbed a bloodstain on their sweater in vain. They examined the damage to their face, and then blinked hard. Something like panic crawled up their throat, but Archie swallowed hard. Not now.
When he was done in the bathroom, Remi went in to take their shower, and Archie was left alone with his bowl of ramen and the pull-out bed. He sat on the edge of it, his brain finally fully catching up with the events of the day.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt, again, tears prick at the corners of her eyes. It was ridiculous, she supposed, to have expected her Cress to be the only Cress there was, especially after all she had learned. She should have planned for this, for something to have said if it became apparent that it was not her Cress at the door.
And mentioning the time loops, before they had confirmation? How stupid could they be? Either they would have sounded insane, or they would have invited someone who was practically a stranger into their personal history. It was a mistake, and it couldn’t happen again. They needed to be more careful, for their own safety.
The AC kicked on suddenly, startling Archie, and the noise seemed to pound in her ears. Noises that wouldn’t usually bother her seemed to be twice as loud, leaving her head clouded with the noise of running water, flowing air, and her own breathing. Her skin was being assaulted by the textures of her clothing, scratching and pinching in awkward spots, and there was a lingering stabbing in her chest. She was grateful the lights were off, and there was nothing to see but dark shadows around them.
They heard the door to the bathroom open, and they took a slow shaky breath, praying that Remi wouldn’t come back into the living room.
“Good night, Archie,” Remi called.
“Good night, Remi,” Archie said back, in a practiced voice.
“Sleep well,” Remi said, and their bedroom door clicked closed behind them.
His breathing came in short, rapid bursts, and all of sudden his sweater seemed to be choking him. It was too tight, too scratchy at his neck. He yanked at the collar, trying to loosen it enough to breath, but only succeeding in moving the fabric uncomfortably across his chest. It clung to him in a way that felt unflattering, in a way that felt restricting.
All she had wanted was to find Cress, and then everything would be good again. The time apart had been excruciating, and she had been so close to having it all back, exactly as it had been.
Archie ran a hand through their hair, pulling on it to distract from the emotions that were tearing their rib cage open. They dug their nails into their scalp, trying to stop the tears pricking at their eyes.
He pulled at his clothes again, wishing he could tear them off. He rubbed at his arms, digging in slightly when the overwhelm got to be too much.
“Fuck,” they muttered, their head spinning. How could they have let this happen? How could they have been so fucking stupid?
“Archie?”
Archie startled, turning to see Remi standing in the living room, illuminated in the light of a small night light plugged into the wall by the front door. Archie took a deep breath, and then smiled at Remi, trying to hide the panic and the stress, wondering just how long Remi had been watching them.
“S-sorry, I don’t wanna bother you or anything, but—” Remi swallowed. “I was getting a glass of water, and you were still up, and— You just seem really stressed, is all.”
“I’m alright, dear,” Archie said. “Just… thinking, is all.”
Remi tilted their head. “You say you’re alright, and you sound alright, at the moment, but you’ve just went through a horrible experience, and, you know, I’d be a little surprised if you were just… alright.”
Archie shook his head. “I’ll be okay, by the morning.”
“But you’re not okay now?”
“Well—”
“Look, you don’t— I’m sorry, I shouldn’t push. You don’t have to talk about it, with me. You barely know me. But I just—” Remi took a deep breath. “If you need anything, let me know. Really.”
Archie tugged at their collar again, trying to escape the feeling of being collared. Remi’s eyes snapped to their neck, and Archie stiffened slightly.
“Oh, oh, I’m sorry, I should have— You probably don’t wanna sleep in these clothes, do you?”
“Ah— I’m okay, I think.”
“I know what you’re thinking, that I probably don’t have anything that would fit you, right? But my boyfriend is… Well, he’s actually taller than you, so the clothes will definitely fit, even if they’re baggy. Hold on.”
Remi darted off, and then returned a moment later with a pair of soft black sweatpants and a baggy white T-shirt with a simple logo on it that Archie didn’t recognize. “Here, try these on.”
Archie took the clothes and changed into them in the bathroom, surprised by how comfortable they were. Remi was right, the clothes were still loose, even on Archie. He wondered vaguely how tall Remi’s boyfriend must be, then. He returned to the living room, and Remi hummed in satisfaction and nodded.
“Much cozier looking.”
Archie sat down, and Remi hesitated next to the bed. Archie looked at them curiously.
“I just… uh… Wanna make sure you have everything you need… Have you managed to sleep at all yet?”
“Well— No, not yet. I hadn’t yet had a chance, really.”
Remi tilted their head again. “It’s… almost 1 A.M., now.”
Archie blinked. She hadn’t realized the time had passed so fast, or that she had now been sitting on the bed, stressing, for almost a full four hours. “Ah.”
Remi smiled slightly. They flitted back to the kitchen, and pulled from a basket a bottle of something, and brought it back over to Archie. “Melatonin, if you want it. To help you sleep. They’re gummies, because I can’t swallow a pill easily.” They set the bottle down on the end table next to Archie.
Remi nodded, hesitated a moment longer, and then suddenly set a hand on Archie’s shoulder. “I don’t… really know how I can help, or anything, but… you seem really nice, Archie, and… for what it’s worth, I think you deserve better than him. Cress.”
Archie forced a smile, trying to nod as though the words were reassuring, when all they did is tear at her stomach even more than the quiet panicking had.
Remi moved back to their bedroom, and Archie buried his head in his hands.
After a few deep breaths, Archie grabbed the melatonin and, without reading the instructions, took three. They lay down, and closed their eyes, begging sleep to come quickly.
When they opened their eyes again, a gentle light was shining through the window. Archie blinked, and yawned, and sat up, stretching. Their rib cage groaned in pain, and the events of the day before crashed down around them. They took a shaky breath, and then stood up.
On their pile of clothes— now neatly folded and next to the sofa— was a note from Remi.
Gone to work— help yourself to anything in the kitchen :)
Archie took his clothes and quickly changed back into them, and then hesitated for a moment in the living room. He looked around briefly, and then shook his head. He needed to get out of here, and soon.
She wrote a note back to Remi— Thank you for your hospitality, I appreciate it greatly. I must be leaving now, though. - Archie
With a deep sigh, she stepped back into the hallway, and, without looking back in the direction of Cress’s apartment, walked back to the elevator, out of the building, and back to anywhere, anywhere else.
-
“Hey! Archie, right?”
Archie turned from their mailbox and was met with a shock of bright purple hair and a grinning face, much cheerier than the last time Archie had seen it, and not to mention attached to a taller person, but the same face nonetheless.
“Yes, that would be me.”
“I thought you matched Sol’s description. I’m Remi.”
Archie smiled gently. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Remi.”