Author's Note: I would like to note briefly that this is a gift for my wifey. Hello, there Raven, if you are reading this, I hope you enjoy it. Plus the smut, who doesn't enjoy smut amiright? Also, I was going to count how many F-bombs I dropped in here…but figured it would take a long time, so whatever.

Warning: Mention of recreational drug use, pissy, hormonal Roxas, sex, random flipping of views, gratuitous amount of the F-word and general AkuRoku-ness. Because AkuRoku is now an illegal substance

Disclaimer: No, I do not own any of those hot pieces of man meat.

A little unadulterated fun was called for. The other job of the Organization, though not written, was to probably have kinky sex every single fucking night until each Nobody within the castle was spent and therefore couldn't move the next day. Seriously. But the only person within the castle that wasn't getting some was Roxas.

Why? Because no one had bothered to ask him, "Hey, Roxas? Want to have hot, kinky, sweaty sex until you can't move your legs?" But no, NO ONE had bothered to ask him if he was up for any sex. No one bothered to ask him if he wanted pure unadulterated fun, and NO ONE even asked for a little fondling making out. Not a single one. Given that everyone in the Organization was older and therefore thought that poor, little Roxas really shouldn't be subjected to that kind of shit.

But Roxas thought, uh, no, I want to be fucked right now please! Yeah, so the little spitfire known as the Key of Destiny was prone to jerking off every chance he got. It really didn't help that there was only one girl in the castle, and there was no way in fucking hell he was going anywhere near that pussy, who wouldn't mind castrating a baby.

And now what was he doing at that second? Wanking off as if he had never wanked off before. He would imagine a girl, any girl, beneath him and his hand would suddenly turn into a warm mouth sucking and nipping at his hardening erection. He was rather pissed though. This was probably the third time he had jerked himself off today, and he was still horny, and still had repressed hormones that were raging. He cursed Sora, who was at the peak of his horny teenage years, because Roxas was forever at that age where sex was the pinnacle of his life.

Curse Sora, he thought fruitfully, and with one final tug he came all over (again, he notes dutifully) his gloved hands, and by now he realizes that he had better start liking laundry or else he was fucking screwed. He thinks of all the times he's found them, them, the traitors having sex. By this point it doesn't even fucking bother him. It was like a bad re run of Sex in the City.

But it's not as if he watched that

So he just spends his time in his room, reading, jacking off, or doing NOTHING. And somewhere in between there, Axel would fit in, but whatever, he had nothing to do with his growing sex drive. Actually he sort of did. Hm, Roxas thinks vaguely on this point. Axel did seem kind of off lately. The hormonal blond thinks back to a time where he had found Axel having sex. It was funny. It was one of the reasons he knocked on doors. He wanted to hang with Axel, because his wrist hurt from masturbating too much and his pile of books had suddenly become far too boring to handle. He had walked into Axel's room, and in some kind of sex, position he had later learned was called the "Cowboy Position" (thanks to Google) had found Axel and Marluxia going at it like fucking rabbits.

The funniest part about that situation was that they never even fucking noticed. Well then, wasn't that a great start to a day, Roxas thought. But that was behind him now he tells himself. He had obviously blocked it out of his mind.

So there he was, sitting in his bland, blank, white room with his hand down his pants, spanking the monkey, because if he was going to masturbate, why not go the entire ten yards? God, what he would do for a fucking decent internet connection. He was sick of this. He wanted some action and he certainly wasn't getting it in the castle. He needed something right then. At that very second. What was he going to do? Hm? Just what?

He comes on his gloves again, throws them into the a dirty pile, the one that's slowly growing and morphing into something hideous, and leaves his room with a haggard appearance and a scowl on his face. In other words, he looked like himself. He walked through the bland, blank, white halls with his head held high, because nobody (Roxas laughs at the "nobody" bit) really cared if he looked like he just tugged himself into submission.

He found himself in front of Axel's room. Well, if this isn't surprising, he obviously had nothing to read, and masturbating could only hold his attention for so long. He knocked slowly before a soft moan came from the other side. Oh, well then. He opened the door, his eyes closed. Seriously, that moan could have meant anything. He stood in the doorway for some time. If he could feel fear, he was sure it would be creeping it's way into his mind at that very second. "Roxas, just get the fuck in here already, I'm not doing anything disgusting, like you obviously think," He let out a sigh, and his body instantly folded in on itself. Relief, oh sweet relief.

Axel's room possibly could have been clean once, but now it just looked like a big adolescent drunkard threw up all over it trying to find his rent money. Roxas wasn't complaining, as long as he had a clean chair to sit on while he and Axel blazed, it was all good. Oh, right, somewhere in between pounding the meat, reading, hanging with Axel, he blazed. Right, how could he forget that? He mentally let his palm make nice with his forehead. There was no way he was letting his actual glove touch his face. Ew.

So there was Axel, sitting on the bed, smoking a joint and Roxas thinks hm, I can probably go for one right now. So he avoids laundry that resembles the leaning tower of pizza and sits on Axel's bed. "Gimme some" The red head casually passes the bud and Roxas takes a large intake of breath. Hm, nope, stilling nothing. Two? No. Three? No. Four? No? Five? No. Twelve? Uh…four? No…what number was he at again?

Roxas blanks in and out at random intervals, but he knows that him and Axel are best friends and best friends gave each other blow jobs, obviously because that's what best friends do. Yes, Roxas and Axel were best friends, and Roxas wanted a blow job. And…whoa, Axel had really red hair. "Roxas, Roxas, just…just…hold tight for a second, I need…" He drawled off and the look on his face went from blank to contorted confusion. "Roxas, I think I lost my gloves,"

Roxas points to Axel hands "There on your hands" Axel looks down, squints his eyes and then widens them, to find that, yes, his gloves were indeed on his hands. Would you look at that Axel thinks. He laughs out loud and thinks that's it's the funniest thing he has ever heard, and then Roxas starts laughing, and pretty soon their holding their sides, thinking wow, I'm really hungry right now. At the same time, coincidentally enough.

The bed springs screamed with protest as Axel started crawling. "Hey, Roxas, I'm a cat. Meow" The blond chortled out amusement and made a barking sound, signifying he was a dog. The look on Axel face scrunched up and he fell off the bed when Roxas leapt at him, yapping. The hormonal teen laughed because wow, we are fucking baked.

Now Roxas knew what he was doing, and just because he had one too many puffs didn't mean that he still didn't have any coherent thoughts. There was a long intake of breath and Axel sighed, his hand found it's way to the blond hair, gently stroking it. Roxas made a purring sound, his head resting on Axel's chest.

The smell in the room was starting to make Roxas's eyes water. His blue eyes were starting to dull and his pupils dilated immensely. God, he really had not gotten this fucked over in a while. His sense of smell heightened and now he realized something of mass importance; Axel smelt really good. It made him hungry. Did Axel taste like anything? He smelt like cinnamon, but did he taste like cinnamon; did Roxas even like cinnamon? What was in cinnamon? Cinnamon buns had cinnamon…

Hm, cinnamon is a funny word. "Cinnamon…cinnamon? Cinn…amon…Cinna…mon."

"What the fuck are you babbling on about Roxas?" He pushed Roxas off of him and the blond fell on the leaning tower of pizza. Oh fuck now he was starving. He looked up at Axel and widened his eyes. "Axel, why?" The look on the green-eyed dope head dissolved into an expression of complete confusion. He tried to see the look in Roxas's eyes but it was sort of hard considering, as the only thing he was able to make out was the constant miasma in the room that seemed to have formulated. How was he going to talk to Roxas if he couldn't see his face? Well that just would not do, he would have to get closer. What the fuck? Why does he have one eye? Oh, no, he was just seeing things, Roxas actually did have two eyes, silly him.

Whoa, this is close, Roxas thinks. Wow, he's hard again. He must have a problem. It can't be that normal for a fifteen-year-old to have that many hard ons in one day. It's like…abnormal, completely and utterly abnormal… Cinnamon.

"Wha…? What...Why what?" Roxas's blue eyes probably took up more then half his face. He clenches his hands and really wanted to punch something, like Axel, but instead swallowed the gathering spit in his mouth and screamed, "Why won't you have sex with me!" Axel, being the sarcastic bastard that liked to think he knew things, knew what was going to happen, the one that could transcend the normal persons/nobody's psyche, did not see this coming.

Well it was to be expected, seeing as both young Nobodies were baked off their fucking rocker. Axel leaned backwards from Roxas. Oh, gross he had spit on his face when he was screaming. Roxas blushed, and found himself pouting and glaring, though from Axel end it looked like Roxas was ready to pass out. "What? What the fuck Rox?" He let his hand comb through the red tangles. Why did Roxas want Axel to have sex with him? Wasn't Roxas, like, too young to be thinking about sex?

Axel completely disregarded the fact that if Roxas was too young to have sex he should have been to young to smoke pot, and smacked his forehead, letting it slip down his face. He looked very comical with a stretched expression. "How old is Sora?" The high as a kite red head asked. It would have been weird asking how old Roxas was, because technically none of them were even ten-years-old yet, which was quite entertaining, Axel thought with a smirk. The blond growled, "Fifteen"

Oh, well then, this is sort of fucked up, Axel bit his lip roughly, his eyes darting from the little blond bastard and the door. How long would it take to sprint from his current spot to the door? Maybe 3.5 seconds? Roxas narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of Axels green orbs. In one swift movement he round housed kicked the door closed. Well, then, Axel didn't know anyone/nobody could do that cool of a roundhouse kick since Chuck Norris. But that was completely off topic, back to the matter at hand.

The blond staggered backs down onto the ground after performing his little spinning kick. Why did he suddenly feel so invincible? Roxas shook his head, and believed for a second that he was invincible and let his anger flare like a beacon, because he didn't need to take this shit. No, he was invincible, and as such, Axel should suffer for at least not fondling him. Said maroon haired Nobody took a step back, because the kid was radiating with a crimson aura that screamed kill. With long strides he stood in front of Axel, and the hazy green eyed Nobody deemed it too close, but not really minding it all that much, at least until a gloved hand flew through the air and landed on his cheek. Oh wow, it was stinging like a motherfucker. "Fuck you Axel,"

Within a span of five seconds Roxas had kneed him in the stomach, flipped him the bird, and disappeared into a dark portal. That took some serious skill Axel thought, because throughout the entire five seconds that his pride had been completely demolished Roxas was able to donate every single blow with precise accuracy, even in his current mind of incapacitation.

Roxas told himself that his current state of mind had nothing to do with the fact that he started trashing his room. By the time he was done he had realized, oh fuck, he had trashed his room. His headboard was split in half, his bed was bent awkwardly, and the window was shattered, and the bookcase that Axel had gotten him was now nothing but of bunch splinters. And the laundry still needed to be done.

He sighed, and decided, why the fuck not? and took a basket of all his soiled and sweaty clothes. He cringed when some of the clothes were sticking to each other. The trek to the laundry room was awkward at least because as far as Roxas knew, the Dusk had always done his laundry for him, but they were suspiciously nowhere to be seen, and he had no idea where the laundry room was. Over fifteen minutes of his life was wasted trying to find the damn area. When he finally found it he scowled, because just like the rest of the castle, it was blank, bland, and white. "I fucking hate my un-life" Roxas didn't know who he was talking to, but figured the term "the walls have ears" had something to do with it.

He striped away from the cloak, and it peeled off like a second skin. He threw it to the ground, a look of complete horror on his tan features; he swiftly kicked the cloak away. He shrugged. He had no idea how to wash leather anyway. Roxas quickly took off his pants, feeling the constricting fabric brush over his rejected erection, and the thought made him growl in irritation. Why was the world a horrible place to his sexual needs? He tightened his hands into fist before letting out a long breath of air. He needed to calm down, really; he was going to get an ulcer that way.

It took him a minute to figure out how to exactly turn the machine on, because he swore to whatever kind of god there was, that it wanted to eat him. There were way to many knobs, and too many ways to fail and ruin his clothes, though they were probably already ruined. He pressed a black knob, figuring that whatever it was, it had to do something. And it did. It started to make loud screeching noises like a cat dying. He widened his big baby blues and started pressing other buttons upon buttons, all of which just made the sound louder, and more defying. Why, why, why is this happening?

He took a step back from the white death machine, and bit his lip, hard. Uh, yeah, this was what they called failing, because Roxas knew at that point that if he was afraid of a washing machine, then there was probably no hope for him as an Organization member, but it wasn't like he wanted to be there in the first place. CREEE "Holy shit!" He hit the top of the death trap, it wheezed again and started coughing. "Fuck"

A hand came from his peripheral vision and quickly pressed a few knobs; the machine started making a pleasant humming noise. Roxas narrowed his eyes and turned towards the intruder, only to be met with a face full of fist. When Roxas fell on the too blank, bland, white floor, his head spinning, he swore he saw a holy figure in a glorious halo of light, but quickly found out it was his assailant standing above him, the lights within the room blocking the figure. He wondered if that's what Jesus was supposed to look like. Roxas then scoffed because he was in no way a religious person.

"Get the fuck up, you fucking prick, we're fucking right here, right fucking now, you little fucker," He knew Axel's voice by the way it seemed to warm him, even though the words weren't exactly inviting ones, that is until the realization hit him. "You want to fuck right here?" Although his initial question should have been, you still want to fuck me after I kneed you in the stomach? But he didn't really get to say that, because Axel was on him like a leech and wouldn't let his mouth move from the tan skin, sucking and leaving large red marks on his neck. The young Nobody let out a moan through clenched teeth.

Axel had thought about it, in the few minutes that Roxas was gone. He was pissed, which was a given, and sought for the blond after he had pretty much broken his ego. He was walking towards Roxas's room, and when he looked inside he saw that the room was trashed beyond recognition. He saw the bookcase that he had given him and wondered if Roxas imagined Axel's thin body in it's place. The splinters turned to shattered bones in Axel's too green eyes and he felt his stomach lurch uncomfortably. He left the room quickly, his feet shuffled on the bland, blank, white floor until the hallow sound of something dying started ringing throughout the halls reached his ears. Like a cat or something. He followed the sound and found himself in front of an ordinary bland, blank, white door.

He stared at it for some odd three minutes, because the screeching sounds were somehow comforting and let his mind wonder from things that it didn't really need to spend too much time on, that is until his leg started to feel limp, and he shifted. He shifted and he was fucked. The door was cracked open ajar and within the little sliver he could make out a lean back, the muscles moving with every little shift. His leg suddenly didn't matter because that back was connected to a neck, which connected to a head, which wore the face of Roxas. He scoffed, of course it was fucking Roxas. He glared because he only saw Roxas topless and now he was getting a problem in his pants. "Shit"

How come only then, after the teen (he laughs because they weren't even ten, jeez) had taken off his shirt, just his shirt, Axel muses quietly, and he suddenly had the hard-on of his life? Not possible. He would have noticed if Roxas was fuck worthy, he would have taken note of Roxas's taunt skin, big baby blues, and the way his upper lip was still slick with sweat after jerking himself off (Yes, Axel knew). He widened his eyes, feeling like they were about to pop out. Maybe he did take notice of Roxas, what if he knew Roxas was there, but never played on it? What if Roxas was just waiting for Axel to make the first move?

God, he was acting so much like a girl. It was Roxas, not the love of his life, and even if Roxas was the love of his life, love wouldn't play anywhere in there. They couldn't love, the empty thumping in his chest wasn't a heart, and instead it was a constant reminder of bleeding agony. The place where his heart should have been thumped, and Axel bit the inside of his mouth, causing the metallic taste to land on his tongue and seep down his throat. Axel scowls for a moment. He was angry, not actually angry, just an empty shell of angry, but it was enough for him to walk into the room (Axel takes a second to realize it's a laundry room) and punches Roxas in the face. Of course not before showing off and pressing the knobs that Zexion had showed him once.

Axel, once happy with the damage done to Roxas, wanted him to know what it was like. He wanted to him to know what it was like to hide something from them, and then wave it in front of their face. When did his Roxas ever have such a hot body? Why did he never notice this before? Why wouldn't Roxas ever ask him? At least he could have taunted him, walk with his shirt off more often, at least then he would have known then.

Axel thinks he's still high when he starts swearing like nobody's (this time, not capitalized) business. When Roxas doesn't protest he thinks this is an opening. He didn't reject it, he didn't say he didn't want it, and now Roxas was going to suffer and explode with pleasure, he was going to know what he's been missing. Axel wants to know what he's been missing too.

His hands slide down to slender hips that wriggle and jerk up at the touch. The bone feels like it's stretched more then it should be, but that's apart of Roxas. He looks into the baby blues and smirks. His eyes are glassy and his mouth is parted somewhat. This is an invitation, Axel notes. He dips down, hearing the hushed approval of the blond in his mouth. Axel lets his tongue slip into the small gap, letting it explore and memorize the cave. He was big on memorization.

Axel was kissing Roxas, and Roxas was kissing back. And the world went around, and around, and his head was spinning from too much laundry detergent in the air, or he was still high, but either way Roxas was relived. He was relived to know that he didn't have some kind of plague, to know that he wasn't ugly, to know that he was indeed doable. The slim digits that belonged to Axel reached around and under Roxas's back, lifting him up, and up, and up. He's floating, either because Axel's holding him, or the kiss is just that wonderful, but either way, Roxas doesn't really care. Him and Axel are playing a game of tag with their tongues.

Axel touches a place somewhere in the dip of his back and the small blond lets out a loud moan into the kiss, his legs squeezing around Axel's waist. The red head stops for a second, which means that they have stopped kissing, which means that Roxas is very displeased by this. The only evidence that's Axel's been on his lips was the slight burning sensation on them. It's a nice feeling, Roxas reflects.

Baby blue eyes meet with coke-bottle green. Roxas shakes his head and leans back into Axel, their lips melding together instantly. Roxas find his hands roaming into the crimson tangles and gripping tightly. He needs some kind of support to know that his friend is there. He needs to know that this wasn't a dream, wasn't some sick fantasy that his mind (or perhaps Zexion), had created. The blond starts to grind ever so gently into Axel. He curses, because Roxas is moving in a way that a fifteen-year-old (he doesn't like the idea of one-year-old) kid really shouldn't be.

The crimson haired Nobody let Roxas down, and almost regretted it when he saw the pout on those kissable lips. Almost. "Turn around" he says quickly, his head hazed with lust and passion rolled into one. He wants Roxas to know. He wants him to know what it's like, and how it effects even the strongest of Nobodies. The blond does as told, his frame shaking unconscientiously. Axel frowns at this; what if he seriously hurts Roxas? He bites the inside of his mouth again. It feels different now that Roxas has been in it. The blond on the back of Roxas's head is lighter, Axel thinks. Roxas turns his head, and tilts it. "What are you waiting for?" No hesitation, Axel allows out a quirky smirks at this.

Roxas lay on top of the washing machine, and now that it was going, he was shaking. Oh, that was probably why he was shaking, it wasn't because he was nervous or anything, although…yeah he was nervous. The hand on his back is warm and Roxas likes to think that Axel truly cares for him. That's what people did when they had sex right? They had sex because they cared for each other? Nobodies were a completely different story, but Roxas tried not to think about it, and instead focused on the warm hand that reached around and grabbed the front of his boxers, letting a teasing finger play with the elastic waist. He growls out, "Would you hurry up?" He can feel the smile on the red heads lips, and he fears that now he'll start going slower.

The hand pulls down the boxers hastily, and Roxas thinks that maybe he never had any boxers on in the fist place. The hand reached around and tugged. A gentle gasp escaped the blond's lips, and he bit back another moan.

Axel found the view delicious. Though he may have not been able to see a lot past an ocean of blond hair, he could feel it, taste it, and he could sure as hell hear it. The moans that Roxas let out, but tried to bite back were so deliciously sweet to his tongue and were like delicate sedatives to his senses. Sweet candy for his ears.

The red head bit his lip, the skin breaking and making the blood well up at the point. The blood on his lips traveled down in rivets down his chin, small droplets landing on the blond's back. Axel found it terribly fascinating. "Axel" His name slipped out of that small mouth and he felt his body shake, as if a tremor was going through him. That was his cue to go. He surveyed the room and found that there was no materials he could use for lubrication. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. The lithe Nobody leaned down, his forehead making contact with the back of Roxas's shoulder. He whispered slowly, so that the younger Nobody would be forced to hear him through his erratic breathing, "I'm not going to lie, this is gonna hurt,"

A small noise escapes Roxas's lips. He could do this, he tightened his closed eyes, told himself that he's been wanting this since forever and sucked it up, like the man he was. The small pressure at his backside indicates that Axel had started pushing in. Oh fuck, oh god, oh hell, oh son of a bitch, oh holly mother fuckers, it hurt. "I'm adding another finger" He widens his eyes. That was only his fingers? His shoulders tighten, his hands clench and his eyes water. He starts chewing on his lip, focusing on that pain then the one that is flaming up at his rear. Okay, OW it was only getting worse. It's awkward, and Roxas knows that there has to be some kind of pleasure after. Where? When? How?

Axel then moved his finger just so. "Ah!" There. The smile that Axel had on his face was probably nothing compared to the mental grin that Roxas was wearing. It was huge, and beaming like a ray of light. That was what he was looking for. He knew there was something after the awkward sensation. The stretching was starting to become less unusual because now that Axel had leaned where exactly to put pressure the only sensation he cared about was the one that ripped and roared through his spine every time the ruby haired fire starter consistently poked that one spot. If Axel can make him feel this good with only one or two fingers…

He hisses out, "Axel, please" and then grips onto the side of the white metal of the washing machine. Axel lets his thumb leave a gentle caress on his hip before he starts preparing himself. He chews his lip raw, waiting, mentally arranging himself. A tender hand rubs his hips before he feels something much bigger nudge at his rear. His eyes widen as he's stretched way beyond any normal being can be, and hisses out various string of curse words. Okay, this hurts Roxas corrects himself. Normal pain was nothing compared to that. Each inch slid in to him and each inch was more painful, more agonizing then the last. Then it stops, and Roxas finds his mind reeling backwards and melting into something resembling goo. White, the white in the castle was nothing compared to the blinding white that flashed across his eyes as Axel brushed across…something. All he knew is that he wanted him to do it againagainagain.

Axel can see Roxas trembling. Maybe this was a bad idea. The blond had it coming though. He was the one that screamed at Axel to have sex with him, and so now that was exactly what he was giving him. He sucked in a large breath before pulling back out.

Within a few minutes a steady rhythm was formed. Before long Roxas found himself stifling moans every few seconds, and Axel was always speaking sweet nothings into his ear. "Come on Roxas, scream for me" but the blond didn't and wouldn't, and Axel knew as much, Roxas didn't seem like the screaming type, though he had surprised him on more then one occasion.

Roxas had become enamored with the small droplets of sweat coiling down his forehead and onto the bland, blank, white washing machine. Axel was starting to become faster and his pelvis continued to hit the hard metal, probably making a large bruise that he would have to tend to later. His grip was starting to get slippery because of the sweat on his hands. Axel angled somewhere and then hit there oh yes, right there and Roxas screamed. His mind went off like a rocket, soared high in the air, and probably floated for more moments then necessary before the stars dotting his vision finally dimmed away and he could feel a sticky mess against the white metal that he was pressed against.

Axel had heard the hormonal blond scream and the mere fact that he, Axel, had caused such a reaction was so beautiful and deliciously sinful, that a few thrusts after, he came. Roxas -who had finally lost his virginity, hallelujah- found being filled kind of weird, but didn't mind it as much, since it was Axel. He was familiar, and a thought such as that really should have confused him, but it didn't. In truth, that simple fact that Axel was familiar was reassuring.

Axel and Roxas stood for a few more seconds before the lithe, taller Nobody finally slipped out. Without Axel supporting him he felt the weight of himself and fell to the ground. Axel joined him on the floor soon after, a devilish smirk on his features.

The two young Nobodies laid on top of a pile dirty laundry and sighed. Roxas sighed, and the sigh really wasn't because he needed to, but simply because he was content –the only feeling they could really express- and felt his muscles spasm at the mere thought of having such a reaction wash over him. The blond's hair was damp and his legs felt like jell-o but he didn't mind the sensation. He welcomed it with open arms. Axel was expressing something quite similar

The flurry of dancing flames found himself smiling, a true smile, and liked the feeling of it on his face. Axel, who felt his fingers twitch, found his large hand reach for something warm and slightly smaller. The red head didn't know he was holding onto Roxas's hand until he had given a reassuring squeeze. They looked at each other for a split second. Axel opened his mouth, but was promptly silenced as Roxas kissed him full force. Their teeth rattled against each other and their tongues danced with each other before the younger had moved away, a small smile splayed across his lips.

"Thank you,"

They still needed to do the laundry.

Keep in mind I really wasn't writing this so I could scan it for any and all fragments or spelling mistakes, I wrote it for fun, for a friend, and I guess because I needed to write some smut. Everyone gets the craving m'kay? I guess I just like to write with fragments, it makes the writing funnier.