Ashes to Dust

by PharaohsThrone

Beacon has created many great Hunstman and Huntresses over time, but never has it seen a cohort like this. Among the many students starting this year are a handful of faunus, criminals in hiding, and teenagers trying to find their way. Two students in particular though, Yusei and Atem, are going to find it to be the most life changing and crazy year of their lives. Synchroshipping

15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The first thing Yusei was aware of, was the feeling of an arm draped over his waist. He smiled at the warmth it brought, and after a moment, rolled over to face his partner, pulling the man towards him. Weary crimson eyes blinked open for just a moment, before Atem smiled and rested his head in the crook of the man's neck.

"Mornin'," he mumbled, before placing a soft peck to the skin of Yusei's neck. The Faunus replied with his own mumble of a greeting, and they lay there for a while longer, content to not move until their alarm would sound. Atem then remembered the events that played out in the bathroom the previous night, and he glanced down to see the man still in his briefs. Usually Yusei slept in sweatpants and a t-shirt, so it was a nice change to be able to feel the Faunus' skin against his during the night. His thoughts then moved onto something that had confused him while his mind went through the events of last night.

Biting his lip, Atem tried his best to suppress the sound that wanted to burst from his throat. It turned into a breathy sigh of Yusei's name, as he lifted his head from the man's shoulder.

The Faunus had then taken that opportunity to capture his lips again, kissing Atem fervently, and only pulling back when he really needed the air. Hot breath danced over Atem's lips as the Faunus all but sighed, "You taste better than Drogans."

"What are Drogans?" the man then asked, lifting himself up to lean on his forearm.

Yusei blinked at him, still not completely awake. "Hm?"

Atem moved to explain, "Last night, you said I tasted better than Drogans."

Eyebrows then lifted, as Yusei seemed to remember also. "Oh." He looked quite surprised that Atem had brought up such a matter, and it took him a moment to explain. "Uh, it's just a figure of speech," he answered.

Atem then seemed to look thoughtful as he considered Yusei's answer. "Well, what are they?" he then asked.

The Faunus moved to lift himself up into a sitting position, knowing they'd have to get up soon, "Drogans are a dust based drug. Very addictive."

That would explain it. Atem grinned then as he leaned into Yusei's side, "So you're saying I'm even more addictive?" he teased.

Yusei let out a small laugh, as he wrapped an arm around Atem's shoulders, "Definitely." He then turned his head and leaned forwards, and Atem met him halfway for a short kiss. Just as Yusei expected though, their alarm began to sound. He pulled back with a sigh, and moved to climb out of bed.

"Also," Atem then added as Yusei began to search for his uniform. "I seem to recall you saying once that you were inexperienced," he pointed out.

Yusei was looking in his drawers as he replied. "Did I?"

Atem had moved over to his side of the room and began searching for the slacks he had discarded yesterday afternoon, "Yeah, inexperienced my ass," he teased, picking them up. "That can't have been your first blow job."

Yusei smirked at the subtle compliment, and then turned to his partner as he closed the drawer, shirt in hand. "Hey, I said I hadn't been in a relationship before, that doesn't mean I haven't done other things."

Atem simply clicked his tongue at him and shook his head, "You weren't selling sex for money, were you?" he teased. The Faunus only laughed, and gave him a sarcastic 'yeah right' for a reply.

…

The next morning, the pair had been walking from the dining hall back to their dorm, as the halls filled with excited students eager to see their families. As one of their professor's had reminded them on Friday afternoon, today would be a full on day. It was the first of many designated family visit days, where all the students and their parents could congregate in the assembly hall, before going out onto the terrace for lunch, and then they could show their families around the campus for the afternoon.

While all the students were making their way to the assembly hall to meet their parents though, Atem and Yusei were walking against the crowd. Neither of their families were going to be visiting today, as Yusei's parents were away somewhere again and Atem's mother hadn't been able to get the day off of work.

That didn't mean that it would be a completely wasted day though, because once the sun set and all the parents were gone, the students got to gather in the hall again for a night of dancing and merriment.

So until the evening arrived, they were at a loss of what to do. All the other students would be occupied with their families-including team JACK-so Atem was guessing they'd probably just end up playing video games in their room. Just as he was about to suggest going to the music room to fiddle on the piano, two familiar faces appeared through the crowd of students.

"Hey!" Aki waved at them as she stepped to the side to stop in front of them, Crow just behind her.

"There you guys are," he commented, before creasing his eyebrows in confusion, "Where are you going? Everyone's gathering in the assembly hall."

Atem shook his head, "We've got nobody coming," he explained quickly, "No point."

Crow shook his head, "No point my ass," he grunted, grabbing Atem's arm to drag him with them, "I heard Jack's sister is a babe, come on!"

As Crow dragged Atem along with him, Yusei snorted, following behind, "You're talking to the wrong person, buddy." This caused Aki to laugh as well as they moved along with the crowd. It only took a raised eyebrow from the red head to make Atem let out a chuckle of his own.

It was just as they were entering the assembly hall that he responded, "Do I need to have a sign on my head that says 'Gay as hell'?"

Crow had stopped and stared at him for a moment, "I would've sworn one of you was into girls."

The students behind them were getting impatient, so as they started moving again, Yusei put his hand up, "That would be me."

As Crow waved a dismissive hand and said "Close enough", Atem almost made a joke about Yusei leaving him for Jack's sister, but he quickly remembered that Crow was the only one who knew they were together, and promptly held back his statement. Instead, he glanced around at the scores of people. Yusei was tapping his hands on his thighs, eyes darting in every direction. He looked slightly uncomfortable.

Luckily, at that moment Crow spotted his own family, and dragged Aki over to meet them, so Atem was able to subtly place his hand on the small of Yusei's back as they walked through the groups of students. "You okay?" he murmured.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Yusei replied, giving him a small smile. Atem faintly recalled Yusei telling him that he used to have a problem with crowds, so perhaps it was just the remnants of that. He was about to suggest going outside to get some air, but before the sentence reached his tongue, he stopped.

Yusei had to stop from bumping into his shoulder, as he gave his partner a confused look. "What's up?"

Atem was looking straight through the crowd, "No way…" He stood there for a moment, staring through the groups of students, until finally a smile broke out onto his face. A moment later and he was grabbing Yusei's hand and pulling the Faunus along behind him. As soon as he let go, Yusei noticed two women standing in front of them, one whom he then recognised as Bec, and the other-who Atem had instantly hugged-looked much older. She had strikingly dark hair that flowed down over her shoulders, and it was in that moment that Yusei assumed (despite not having met their father) that Atem definitely got his looks from this woman. As Atem pulled back, looking between the two of them, he smiled brightly. "You said you couldn't come!"

The woman laughed as Bec greeted Yusei warmly. "Let's just say I owe one of my colleagues a few drinks," the woman replied with a grin.

Yusei had already noticed how happy Atem seemed to be, as the man quickly moved to introduce them. "This is my mother," he said to Yusei, grinning. "And yes," he said, turning back to the woman, "This is Yusei."

Yusei hadn't been expecting to meet two of Atem's family within the space of three days, but he stepped forwards to shake her hand, the exchange too sudden to make him very nervous. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Muran," he managed.

The woman simply smiled, "My, you're very polite," she noted, "Call me Laura."

After the pleasantries were over, the group of four made the decision to get out of the crowd, and headed for the terrace outside the hall. It was as they were walking through the trees that Atem animatedly told them of how their semester was going, and Yusei gave his own input where he could.

"I also managed to take down my first King Taijutu all on my own," he added, while mentioning their combat lessons.

Bec grinned at him in response, "I told ya you'd get there," she said.

"I'm curious as to why you had to take it alone," Laura added. "Aren't you supposed to do everything in teams?"

Atem glanced to the side, "Ah, yes. Yusei was…injured at the time." This caused the two women to turn to said man in surprise, asking how he'd been injured. Yusei's memory of that day wasn't all too pleasant, but he was able to look back on it now without feeling the same emotions he had then.

"Yeah, a damn Nevermore got the best of me just beforehand," he explained, "I needed a dozen stitches in my shoulder for it, too."

"Ouch," Bec said, raising her eyebrows, "That must have left quite the scar."

Yusei chuckled, "Indeed it did."

It was only milliseconds before she asked that Atem knew what was coming then, but he wasn't fast enough to stop the question. "Can I see?" she asked eagerly.

Yusei did his very best to try and hide the panic that hit him then, though Atem was very aware of it. This wasn't unusual for Rebecca, he and his sister used to always compare scars from their various tussles as they grew up, but he was positive that Yusei would not want to share his.

"Uh—"

"Perhaps another time," Atem jumped in just as Yusei stuttered. "I was thinking of showing you guys the music room. The grand piano in there is gorgeous."

Rebecca only grumbled for a moment, and as they turned to go back into the hall and towards the music room, Yusei discreetly grabbed Atem's hand to squeeze it thankfully. There were many times-like now-where Atem wished the small touches didn't have to be discreet, where they could hold hands or give comforting caresses in public without worrying if anyone was watching, because that's what couples did.

Yusei had asked for their relationship to be discreet though, so as long as he wished it to be, Atem would follow that.

Minutes later, the small group had made it to the music room, and Atem had seated himself at the piano with a great familiarity.

"My, I haven't seen you play in over a year," Laura commented, moving to stand beside him while Bec was seated on the stool with her brother, and Yusei leant against the piano.

"Despite how long it's been," Atem began, placing his hands over the keys, "I'm sure you'll remember this one…"

The moment Atem began to play, Laura went still. Yusei watched as the woman looked down at her son as the familiar song threaded its way through her, and the room went completely quiet, save for the tune that was coming from the piano. It was a sweet song, with a light melody and steady accompaniment, echoing off the walls pleasantly. Yusei watched those scarred hands move their way along the keys as he had seen many times before, playing softly where the song required it, before it picked up again, a more grand version of the melody. The entire time though, Laura did not move at all. She was stuck staring at Atem, at his hands on the keys, on the memories that the song brought with it. As he brought the song to a close, Atem turned expectantly to his mother, before noticing that she was looking at him with glassy eyes.

His smile dropped from his face instantly. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

"No, no," Laura placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, giving him a smile. "It's fine. I still love that song, just as your father did. It's wonderful hearing you play it again."

As the awareness of what had happened finally hit Yusei, he saw Laura reach down to the bandana tied around Atem's arm. She felt the fabric between her fingers, before smiling at her son once again. "Isn't it funny, how red is your colour, too," she commented.

Atem was looking down at the bandana solemnly. "Yeah. I wasn't fond of it when I was younger, though."

Laura was still smiling when she replied. "No you weren't, were you." She was staring at it absently now, as if she were remembering some story of Atem as a little boy and his dislike for the colour red.

Yusei and Rebecca were staying patiently silent during the exchange, watching the scene unfold before them. Yusei could already tell that Atem was quite close with his mother, even more so after his father had passed away. It gave him a fleeting moment of sadness as he thought about his own family.

"He'd be very proud of you, you know," Atem's mother was saying, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. The way Yusei saw she was looking at her son also suggested that she was, too. It was a very pleasant scene to watch. "And you," she then turned to Yusei, the solemness in her voice gone as she grinned at him. "If Anthony were here, he would have put you through the wringer," she joked.

As Yusei and Rebecca laughed, Atem moved to respond, "I said that, too."

"Should I be worried?" Yusei asked jokingly.

"Not at all," Laura responded, smiling warmly at him. "You're a fine young man."

As Yusei seemed to glow from her response, Atem grabbed his mother's attention again. "Does that mean you approve?"

Laura almost snorted, "As if you would listen if I didn't give you my approval."

So as a day that started out with no promise of anything exciting turned into one with pleasant company, the small group continued like that until the afternoon, as Atem and Yusei showed the women around the grounds, and they reminisced about old stories of Atem, causing him to try to block his own ears as well as Yusei's. Despite the obvious teasing, it was one of the most pleasant afternoons Yusei could ever remember having, and even after Rebecca and Laura left, he had a warm feeling still sitting with him, fuelled by the complete acceptance and kindness he had received from Atem's family.

It was as he was getting dressed for the evening though, that this brought on a less welcome thought. They hadn't met him as he truly was, had they? What a silly thing to get attached to-the approval of Atem's family purely based on a day of withholding information.

When Yusei saw Atem emerge from the bathroom, pulling on his blazer, he forced the thought out of his mind. Tonight there was supposed to be no thought of Grimm or grades or disappointments. Just some good old fun.

Atem smiled at him as he walked over, moving his hands to Yusei's collar. "Your tie to crooked," he explained, before fiddling with it enough so that it sat properly.

"My, what would I do without you?" he asked in response, before smiling as Atem grabbed said tie to pull him down for a kiss. It was only a short, sweet peck of lips, but it still gave Yusei an incredible warmth, that he wanted to keep for as long as he could. When they pulled apart, he moved to open the door, holding it for his partner. "Shall we?"

The pair walked side by side as they approached the hall, already hearing that scores of students were gathered behind the closed doors. They were only a few minutes late, having noticed the halls were empty as they moved through the academy. Just before they reached the door, Yusei grabbed Atem's hand and stopped, halting the other man's movement as he looked back at him. Looking up at his partner, Atem saw a warm smile on his face.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Yusei didn't let go of his hand. "I'd like to stop all this sneaking around, if you're okay with it," he said, before giving Atem's hand a squeeze. At the surprised quirk of an eyebrow, he leant down and murmured, "I want everyone to know that I'm yours."

The smile adorning Atem's face then-along with the slight flush of pink-seemed a good enough answer as anything, and he propped himself up on his toes to give Yusei a quick kiss. As they slowly pulled apart, hot breath ghosting over their lips, Yusei sighed in contentment.

"I'm definitely okay with that," Atem replied. Smiling brightly, Yusei squeezed his hand again, before they turned towards the door.

The hall was decorated beautifully with lanterns hanging from ropes of fairy lights on the ceiling, and silhouettes of stars projected onto the walls and floor. There was a temporary stage set up on the side wall, covered in instruments, but there was music playing quietly from the speakers for the time being. The students were all gathered in the middle of the floor, chatting amongst themselves animatedly while they waited for the night to officially begin. Atem spied the snack table opposite the stage, and would have gone straight for it had Yusei not spotted their friends first and redirected him.

The pair approached the group hand in hand, and it didn't take too long for that to grab their attention. Crow obviously didn't look surprised, though Aki and Kiryu did, and Jack simply quirked an eyebrow. The pair assumed they would have to explain that 'yeah we're a thing now' more than a few times, but it was a small price to pay. As they began talking to Aki about how family day went, Atem didn't miss Kiryu handing Jack a ten dollar note.

Their conversation was then interrupted as Dartz approached the microphone, grabbing everyone's attention. He welcomed them all to a night that they truly deserved after such hard training, and invited everyone to relax and enjoy an evening with no Grimm or homework, and a lot of dancing. As he finished, the band took to the stage, and the students flooded the dance floor.

Any thought of Grimm was surely swept out the window in the next few hours, as Atem hogged the snack table and Yusei tried to drag him away, stealing the chip out of his hand that he was about to eat. The grumpy look he received in return was nothing short of incredibly endearing, and Yusei simply argued that they needed to leave some food for the other students.

"Hey, you two!" Aki had called out to them then, emerging from the sea of students to grab hold of their arms. "Come dance with us!"

There had been no room for argument apparently as the pair was dragged into the sea of bodies. The music was very catchy though, so it didn't take too long for them to join in, swaying to the beat with their friends, and laughing at Crow's ridiculous dance moves. Atem had then jumped into the middle of the circle to challenge said dance moves, and Yusei had to cover his eyes in embarrassment. It truly was horrible; it rivalled his puns.

"Alright, that's enough from you," Yusei said, grabbing Atem's hand and pulling him out of the circle. Despite the man's obvious protest, it didn't stop them from dancing beside their friends, hand in hand and enjoying every moment. It really was turning out to be quite the fun night.

About an hour later, the music had slowed down, and Yusei looked down at his partner with a smile. "This must be the song for all the soppy couples," he said.

Atem nodded, "Seems like it is."

Yusei grinned then, "Want to play the part?"

He was met with a musical laugh, "Why the hell not?"

Yusei had then smiled brightly and grabbed Atem's waist, pulling the man towards him. As hands rested on the Faunus' chest, there was a loud complaint from beside them.

"Oi, don't get too comfortable, you two," Jack declared.

Yusei smirked, purposefully placing a hand on the small of Atem's back to hold the man against him. "And what if we do?" he joked. There was a round of light hearted complaints then, and Yusei grinned as he used a finger to tilt Atem's chin up.

"Are you serious?" the man asked then, as though asking 'are you really going to do this in front of everyone?' Though he had a bright smile on his face as he did so.

Yusei was looking down at him with the same smile, "I'm very serious." He then leaned in and kissed his partner, almost instantly receiving a chorus of teasing complaints from the group. One of the loudest ones sounded like 'get out of here!' so when they broke apart, laughing, Atem dragged Yusei further into the crowd, away from the prying eyes of their friends, at least.

Just as the pair disappeared from sight, Aki murmured to nobody in particular, "They really do make a great couple, don't they?"

Crow grinned at her then, "When they're not all over each other," he joked. At the raised eyebrow Aki gave him, he remembered he was the only one who had witnessed them on the floor of their room some weeks ago. It only made him laugh.

Now over in a section of the crowd where nobody paid attention to them, Atem wound his arms around Yusei's neck, as they danced together, deep blue irises not wavering from crimson the entire time. Atem couldn't stop the silly smile he had on his face the whole time, along with the warmth he felt wherever their bodies met.

It was as they were dancing together, that Atem thought to himself, if somebody told me before I came here that I would be so infatuated with my partner, in this space of time, I wouldn't have believed them.

But here he was.

Atem knew what infatuation was. He'd experienced it with his first boyfriend, along with the pain that had come upon finding out the boy had cheated on him. So as familiar with it as he was…this felt different. Of course he was no expert on the subject, he'd be foolish to consider himself anything close; but he knew himself. At the start, Yusei had made the forever confident Atem turn into a nervous wreck, and now he was making the man who was previously against great public displays of affection, quite the opposite.

Atem could feel his heartbeat, a steady rhythm within his chest. He could feel Yusei's hands on his waist, warm and comforting. Though none of that topped the feeling that he received with the way Yusei was looking at him; like he was the only person in the room worth looking at, like nothing else around them even mattered. As the song came to an end, Atem noticed that they were close to the edge of the crowd now, and he pulled away from Yusei, only to grab his hand and lead him away from the dance floor.

They found a small secluded corner, behind the pillars, where they could attain some privacy, and Yusei leant back against the wall as Atem stood in front of him, still smiling as he had been the whole night so far, before wrapping his arms around the Faunus in contentment.

"Well, you've dragged me off to a secluded corner, should I be worried?" Yusei teased.

Atem tightened his grip on Yusei's waist, "Oh, you should. Not many people who I drag over here emerge again with their pants still on."

Yusei chuckled, "Is that a challenge?"

Those lips curved into a playful smirk as Atem leant up so that he was only inches from Yusei's. "Only if you want it to be," he murmured.

Yusei didn't bother with a response, not with those lips so close to his own. He simply moved his hands around to Atem's back and pulled the man against him as he kissed Atem slowly, the warmth in his chest growing steadily with every moment they were pressed together.

Kissing Atem could feel either sweet and comforting, or dangerously exhilarating depending on the mood. Their kiss had started out like the former-similar to the kiss they shared in their bathroom the other night before it took another turn. Because of this, Yusei would have been content to stay like that for the rest of the night had Atem not slid his hand down from the man's back to run over his hip and rest on the outside of Yusei's thigh.

It was a sensual move, the way Atem's hand had slid down his side, and Yusei had to break their kiss to let out an exhale of hot breath, "Are you quite right there?" he teased.

"Very much so," was the breathy reply, before Atem kissed him again, and Yusei surrendered to the warmth of those lips, letting Atem's hands run where they wished. They moved from his thighs up and around to his behind, before trailing up his back underneath the blazer. Yusei could feel those hips against his, and that along with the heat of their kiss and the path of Atem's hands was enough to make him aroused. The man seemed to notice this, too, and he pulled back only a fraction to smirk at the Faunus.

"Enjoying yourself?" Atem asked, still smirking.

"You're such a tease," Yusei growled in response, holding onto the man's hips.

Atem traced a finger down the front of Yusei's shirt, "It's not teasing if I plan to follow through," he murmured.

Yusei raised an eyebrow, "You can't possibly be expecting to do that here."

The chuckle Yusei received in response was both deep and musical. "No, later," he murmured the promise, and Yusei found himself very much looking forward to when they retired to their room for the night. "But for now," Atem then said, untangling himself from Yusei and grabbing him by the hand again, "I think we need some fresh air."

As he pulled Yusei out from behind the pillars, the Faunus shook his head, muttering, "Bloody tease."

They then found themselves out on the large stone balcony that overlooked the steady hill down to the edge of the Academy. The broken moon was shining bright above them, along with the scattered stars, and it reminded Atem of the night of Yusei's birthday.

"Do you still get homesick?" Atem asked him, leaning forwards on the stone railing. As the man came up beside him, mirroring his action, Yusei thought for a moment.

"Not as much as I used to," he replied, glancing to the man beside him. "This place is starting to feel more and more like home."

He could see that Atem wanted to make a smart comment, and Yusei imagined it would be something along the lines of 'it's cause of me, isn't it', but he held his tongue. Instead, Atem simply smiled at him.

"What about you? Do you get homesick?" Yusei asked him then.

Atem let out a small sigh as he looked out at the grounds before them, "Sometimes," he said. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss home every now and again. But then again, the home that I miss isn't there anymore."

Yusei caught on to what he meant straight away. At first, he wasn't quite sure what to say in response. Then, he remembered what Laura had said to her son earlier that day. "I agree with your mother, you know," he said instead. Atem turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "She said your father would be proud of you."

"Oh," Atem turned back to the scenery. "I'm not so sure about that."

Yusei was expecting this answer. "Think about it," he urged, standing up straight again to face Atem completely. "When you started here you were a kid with boots that sent him falling through the trees, who couldn't fight without his swords and was sour if he ever lost something."

Atem nodded at that, for it was quite true.

"Now look at you," Yusei continued. "You're not trying to be exactly like your father anymore. You're a close match for me without weapons, you're excelling in your studies, you can control your semblance much better than before…" Yusei listed the reasons off for him, but Atem was still staying silent. "Not to mention you have a hot boyfriend," he added.

Atem laughed then, dropping his head down for a moment as he cracked a wide smile. He then pushed off of the stone railing to face Yusei, placing hands on the Faunu's waist. "I do have a hot boyfriend," he agreed with a smile.

Yusei placed his hands on Atem's shoulders, before running them down the sides of his arms. "And I can't be more grateful for all that you've done for me," he added with a soft smile.

Atem pushed against his shoulder then, only half heartedly. "Stop it," he said, though he was smiling.

"I'm serious," Yusei persisted, wrapping his arms around a slim waist. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

Atem laughed then, obviously not knowing what to do with this information. "Yusei-"

"What? You want me to stop? Don't want to hear how much I truly care about you?" Yusei's tone had turned dramatic and slightly sarcastic, though there was truth in his words, and Atem grabbed him by the collar.

"Just shut up and kiss me."

As two sets of smiling lips came together under the moonlight, Atem couldn't feel more content than he had been that evening. His time with Yusei at Beacon had been-for the most part-quite wonderful. He was beginning to think that he couldn't imagine going on and completing his huntsmen course without him. Yusei felt like a permanent fixture. One that Atem wanted to keep permanent.

Yusei's touches were soft and his breaths were deep when they parted for air, only to come together again, familiar lips moving with each other. Atem could barely understand all the things that happened within him when he was with Yusei. He just knew that he felt…happy. Very, very happy.

It was as they pulled apart again that Yusei began to think to himself how much he treasured these moments. These times with Atem, he couldn't find anything in his memory that could compare. That's why he decided that he couldn't let anything ruin this. Nothing would ruin this. Nothing could possibly-

"Yusei," Atem murmured, still only inches from his lips. "Can I say something silly?"

The Faunus cracked a smile, "Nothing you say could be silly."

Crimson orbs gazed into his own, and the mesmerising smile on Atem's face could have easily made Yusei melt into the floor. "I think I-"

Atem's sentence cut off the minute a piercing siren howled through the hall and the rest of the Academy. Their heads snapped back towards the inside of the hall, where students were now panicking, rushing around like a swarm of bees. Something was wrong.

It was as Atem grabbed Yusei's hand and dragged him back inside the hall that the Faunus had to correct his thought from earlier, feeling his heartbeat speed up and a familiar nausea start to swirl in his gut.

Nothing could ruin this…except for that.