I don't own Frozen.

Driving go-karts, as it turns out, is the absolute antithesis of driving a sports car.

Go-kart tracks were veritable theaters of war, the noisy, gasoline engines smaller versions of WWII tanks with a death wish. A had the upper hand, for she was familiar with the practice. On the third go round, Jane discovered it also helped to throw one's weight into the turns, and it was apparently quite acceptable, even encouraged, to ram the fellow drivers with your cart. Bonus points if they spun out and the attendant had to be called to drag them from the barrier.

Jane was not a quitter by nature, opting instead for strategy over skill. She outdrove two teenage boys who were undoubtedly drunk. She made a mental note to inform the management of their lax operating procedures. She bypassed a father-daughter and mother-son pair of double-seater cars, mainly because they weren't driving to win. Another family, twin teenagers battling it out for position; one rammed the other and they both hurdled toward the barricade. Which left A and the lead car, only two lengths ahead of her.

A swung wide on a left turn and Jane squeezed into the opening, bumping A and sending her out to the middle of the track. A blew a raspberry over her shoulder, pigtails whipping in the wind. Her cheeks were flushed and Jane lost momentum with her staring. A noticed her distraction and rammed her off-course. The light signaled for them to return to the start, but A had her foot on the floor. Jane held the gas down as well, but neither could catch up to the car in front of them. When they pulled into place at the gate on their third run, A was announced the victor.

"Two to one, I win!"

"Technically, neither of us won," Jane said.

"Stop splitting hairs."

"No, that dark headed little girl with the ponytail was a really good driver. Too good for… what, seven?"

"I don't know, but now I smell like gasoline and exhaust fumes," A said, sniffing at her shirt sleeve. "Gross."

"This whole affair would be much more pleasant with electric motors. They're quieter, and easier to maintain."

"I don't know why someone hasn't capitalized on that concept yet," A agreed, pushing against the metal exit gate.

The inebriated guys stumbled out of their carts, knocking into the little girl who had shamed them on the track. Aggressive words were exchanged, and Jane was nearly tempted to intervene, but the girl gave the pair two swift kicks to the shins. The boys were going to retaliate, but the girl was too quick. She returned to her hulk of a father? brother? stationed at the track side, while the drunken fools vomited over the railing.

"She's daring."

"I like her, reminds me of me at that age," A said.

"If I ever ran such an establishment, I wouldn't let drunk people drive."

"So you're going to become a go-kart track owner in your retirement?"

"I'm the owner, you're the manager," Jane said.

"But you're also the mechanic if the motors are electric."

"Fair enough."

"You realize those positions are like, one step above carnies, right Jane?"

"You've already compared me to circus folk on multiple occasions, why would carnival workers be any different?"

"I guess we'll never see eye to eye on everything," A commented. "Though, where would the fun be if we did?" she wisely concluded, stifling a yawn.

"You can't be ready to go back to the hotel already? It's not even nine o'clock!"

"But it's..." yawn "...almost midnight back in New York."

"Poor thing, I forget you're no night owl," Jane teased, grabbing her hand as they strolled back along the strip. "Whatever shall we do with you?"

"I… I have another idea," A said hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Feel free to dismiss it, because, well, I know how you are about water," A started. "But you know that Caesar's Palace is sort of famous for their pools?"

Jane hesitated.

"Oh."

"So… I was thinking we could, take a dip? Get this gross smell off of us," A continued tentatively.

"Only to be replaced by the gross smell of chlorine."

"Yeah…" A trailed off, contemplating the sidewalk. "Maybe not the best idea." She continued flipping through her brochure.

"Wait a second," Jane said, turning back a page. "You can rent them privately?"

"What?"

"The cabanas. The Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis is the main one, but the water flows over into an inlet here, if I'm reading this brochure correctly."

"Like an infinity pool with water traps. That's in the European Venus Pool Club," A said. "It looks really swanky."

"You like swanky. And if it's private… not connected to the other water features, I could probably keep everything under control," Jane said.

"Really?"

"Yes," Jane breathed. "Nothing happened back at my apartment earlier today, and things grew rather… intense."

"I know you would never hurt me," A said, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. More encouraging.

Jane sighed. "Let's go, before I change my mind, or you fall asleep."

"I'm getting my second wind, knowing I get to see you in a bikini."

"I don't have a suit."

"That's not really a problem for me."

"I'm going to wear something," Jane reddened.

"Then we'll steal one," A winked.

"Good plan. Want to see a trick before we head back?" Jane asked.

They were at the pedestrian entrance to the lobby at the Palace, neon brights of the Vegas strip unfurled before them like a night club carpet stained from shattered glow sticks. Jane discreetly checked around her, and then rolled her hands in front of her torso. Rubbing the tips of her fingers together she felt the power flare and then recede, the infamous 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign puttering out. Jane extended her arm and the light returned, but the beacon light atop the Great Pyramid started flickering rapidly, sporadically, soon joined by the colorful blinking lights of the strip.

"What did you do?" A sniggered. "They look like those Christmas lights timed to go along with the recorded carols."

"It's a message, in Morse. And in binary, just to be safe."

"What?" A asked.

"Well, they're just blinking 'one' and 'zero' repeatedly in Morse, but the binary has the real message."

"Which is?" A prodded.

"A loves Jane," she lied.

It really said, 'Jane loves A'.

Reflections of the strip shone in A's wet eyes, the girl mesmerized by the lighted patterns. Jane snapped her fingers to break the daze.

"Is that… alright?" Jane asked.

"I honestly have no idea how you do it," A shook her head. "I mean, this is so much better than carving our initials into a tree."

"And a bit more ecofriendly, though with the kind of power they need to light all of those bulbs… perhaps not."

"Not to mention, that at this point, we'd only have one initial each for the carving," A said.

"But not for long."

"No, I think not," A said, hypnotic lights quieting her. "You said you're ready to be with me, and maybe I'm ready to… share, with you. I really, I— I want you to say my name when we make love. That might be selfish, but, I want to hear it."

"That's not selfish, if you're ready to reveal it. I have, that is, I've got something to tell you tomorrow at dinner. Maybe, we'll…"

Reveal everything to each other? I'll tell you how much I love you, how I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and you'll tell me your name, and I'll moan it in your ear, and I'll sing it to myself after you fall asleep, and I'll love it just as much as I love you.

Jane's thoughts were racing faster than the go-karts. She picked up the dangling sentence with as much neutrality as she could muster.

"… share our information then?"

A nodded tersely, then turned down the walk to the casino grounds. Jane followed, allowing her flickering, lighted love letter to lighten a mood turned paramount, a pre-confession of sorts.

"Ready to hit the pool?" A asked, a notch more cheerful.

"I suppose I'm ready as I'll ever be. If I'm uncomfortable I'll lounge on the couches in the cabana."

"I won't complain as long as you promise not to hide yourself in a robe," A said, and yanked her through the sliding glass doors of the lobby.

"You ladies have private cabana number five, according to the reservations list."

"That's correct," A said. Jane noted less levity in her speech, A slipping into her showmanship to compensate for her youthful appearance. "And the charge goes on the tab, if you'd be so kind."

"Of course ladies," the pool attendant said. "If you'll follow me."

The black-vested attendant led them across a rather small pool to Jane's estimation, considering the size of the casino grounds. The few VIPs lounging in the public waters were gathered around Blackjack tables that were actually in the pool, the full swim-up bar at the opposite end of their secluded blue tent. White marble statues of gods and goddesses observed patrons with knowing expressions, the carvings well-formed nudes that doubled as spouting water features for the pool below. The tents were fairly well spaced out, and Jane was pleased to discover her predictions were correct: their private pool was not connected to the public area. She felt safer in water without people there; distilled water was a poor conductor, but add even the negatively charged chlorine ions and the chemical balance shifted, such that it increased conductivity significantly and made her worry for the safety of the other swimmers.

But not with A. She could control herself with A.

That's assuming I don't cause a blackout on the majority of the strip when she takes that robe off.

"Here we are, there's a privacy screen in back, and the curtains draw close if you pull this cord," the attendant said blandly. "Can I bring you ladies any drinks?"

A looked to Jane for direction. She dipped her head in affirmation, and gave A a heartening smile.

"I'll take a… sangria, light on the brandy if you please."

"For you, miss?"

"Just a lemonade. Nonalcoholic," Jane said seriously.

The attendant took note and left them to their devices.

The cabana was quite spacious, aquamarine water darkened by the dim lamps and royal blue tent material. Couches were lined along the back of the tent with the rectangular pool set before them, an unmanned wet bar off to the right and a series of hooks on the left.

"So," A said, shucking her robe unceremoniously. She threw it in the general direction of the hooks. "Are you going to come willingly or do I have to throw you in?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Jane said, more wary than scandalized.

"Wouldn't I? I'm already pissed you went with the one-piece."

"Those triangular scraps hardly covered anything."

"Your point?" A said, placing her hands upon her hips.

Jane might have been a goddess in A's eyes, but the shorter girl was an Amazon in hers. Dainty toes and serviceable ankles, compact, lady-like legs that flowed up into a cute, rounded tush and trim hips. Hers was an abdomen that rivaled the flatness of a drawing board; one could place a canvas over it and not worry about bumps or smudges because her stomach was perfect, flat and lean. And then her breasts, sturdy little covered hills of green in the floral patterned suit she'd adorned for tonight's excursion. A freckly, blotched expanse of chest that could only be described as charming, and a neckline with such proud attention that Jane didn't doubt her command when A fell into her con roles. Her body's topography deserved loving exploration, and Jane, in all her sexual callowness, felt unworthy and self-conscious and wholly undeserving of a woman who had no doubt left a string of broken hearts from Sydney to Seattle.

In the right circumstances, A looked as if she could wield a measured fraction of power astutely, plan and strategize with novelty, command gently. Her face was open, lips parted, eyes impatient and hungry. She knew what she wanted, and was intent on getting it. Not spoiled or pampered, but accustomed to the authority she possessed despite her friendly demeanor. Like a well-regarded princess, who knew the exact extent of her reach over her subjects.

And Jane was one of them.

A crept toward her, ferocity and mischief and determination swirling in her expression.

"What are you doing? A—A, I'm warning you, don't you dare, don't—I don't even have my robe off yet, don't you even think— PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN!"

And A did, after having slung Jane's entire body over her shoulder. A struggled to cowboy-carry Jane toward the edge of the pool, one hand tucked on the underside of her flailing knees, the other jutted out slightly to maintain balance. A put her down alright, by throwing her into the water as if Jane were a stone she could skip across a pond. Burning, chlorine-infused liquid took up residence in both nostrils, and Jane sputtered and coughed when she broke the surface. A lamp bulb at the far end of the cabana surged, but didn't explode, puttering out when Jane regained composure. It darkened the cabana significantly, the soft glow of the tent powered by a pair of hanging lanterns bobbing above the pool from the tent's scaffolding.

Jane wrestled her drenched robe off and slapped the water temperamentally, glaring death and destruction in A's general direction.

"You're going to pay for that," Jane swore, untangling her dislodged braid. She undid the tie and ducked back under, head flung back to get the whispy, dripping bangs out of her face.

A burst into peals of laughter. "Canon ball!" she screeched, and got a running start. Jane only just got her hands up to shield herself before the waves and wild splashes hit her full in the face.

"A?" Jane asked, looking in the water in front of her. "A…"

Her feet were pulled out from under her as she was dunked from behind, promptly twirled below the water like a manhandled ballerina. She opened her eyes and A blew a stream of bubbles in her face, then placed her lips on hers for a sloppy, submerged kiss.

Jane snorted water bubbles and pushed her away, heading back up for air.

"Ugh, that's usually so much sexier in the movies," A said, flopping up behind her.

"Not when you body-haul your girlfriend and throw her into the water like some Neanderthal."

"Oh, I don't know…" A said, setting her brows low and pooching out her lip. "Me, A," A brought a thumb to her chest. "You, Jane. We kiss now."

"Do people really find that attractive?" Jane asked, making a wide swipe with her arm to splash at A.

"Excuse me?" a voice called from just outside the tent.

Jane turned toward the vested attendant, getting a better view of the public pool.

"Your drinks, ladies."

The attendant left them once again after he dispensed the cocktail and lemonade. Jane and A darted through the water like a pair of minnows on Red Bull. A was a sneaky thing, happy to shark-attack Jane by pulling her under when she least expected. Jane was more fond of the classic face splash, mainly because it produced such humorous facial expressions from the copper haired girl. A was surprisingly buoyant, and far more graceful in the water than on land. She'd hop out and dive back in, only to break the surface and body-tackle Jane back under the water. The slip and slap of wet flesh-on-flesh was playful, but undeniably intimate given their surroundings.

Jane swam up to the demarcated ledge that split the private cabana pools with the public bathing area of the Venus swim club, intent on making a dive of her own. The men and women in the pool were still at the Blackjack tables, swimming up to the bar, hopping in and out of the pool, but Jane finally noticed something she hadn't when they first walked through.

Probably because I was more concerned with the water being partitioned off from the general populace.

But as she cast a sweeping glance about the place, she noted that most, if not all of the women were…

Jane gulped.

Topless.

"A, did you know that— what are you doing?!" Jane's voice went up two whole octaves on the question, her eyes never leaving the tanned fingers working at the haltered tie behind A's neck.

"It's a European swim club, Jane. What did you think that meant?"

"I— uh, didn't, that is to say, I thought that was an ostentatious name for exclusive, or private, hah, I didn't know that would mean you'd be, uh—"

"Jane, you're rambling," A said, taking a sip from her sangria. Jane noted that the drink was over half gone already, recalling that bubbly, daring quality that came with a few swallows of liquid courage.

The slim straps were slipping, sliding, off of A's shoulders by the time A had waded within a foot of her.

"I can tie it back, if you prefer," A said, though she sounded anything but willing.

"I…"

A button nose. Attentive ears. Runaway mouth. And currently, shoulders for days.

All hers.

The spike of arousal had not been removed, merely concealed for the sake of flying cross-county. The blonde was still very much impaled by the arrow of A's charisma, the allure of her body, the seductiveness in her actions. The pleasure of that impalement blossomed out from her center, stealing through her bones and organs and tendons until her body overran her mind, overran her plans, insisted that this girl loves you, and you need to seize the opportunity once it arises.

You're a thief, and this isn't something you have to take. She's giving it to you.

"I don't prefer," Jane said.

"What?" A blinked.

"Undo it," Jane said, turning toward the private ledge and heaving her water-logged body from the pool.

"Wait, what are you—"

"We're paying for privacy," Jane said. "Well, in effect." She tugged on the rope the attendant had indicated, flowing curtains from the tent collapsing inward in a heavy swish, sequestering the pair in their own little personal lagoon. "I don't want other— I mean… I'm the jealous type, I suppose."

"You just keep learning knew things about yourself," A said, hands now at the clasp behind her shoulders.

"Can I?" Jane requested, sitting back down on the ledge. Jane pointed toward A, and A stopped tugging at the green bikini tie.

"Please."

Jane slithered back into the water, feeling much like a snake about to forgo some old skin for a newer, better one. Her hands reached up timidly, circling around A's back as the other girl brought her arms up around Jane's pale neck. The blonde flicked a finger and released the clasp, the green top floating idly between them. A nudged it out of the way and moved in to kiss Jane.

Jane received her, mouth opening to a needy tongue, hands infatuated with plains of naked, volunteered skin. A rose in the shallow water and brought Jane with her, breaking their kiss to stand. Jane's eyes fell to A's chest, tawny nipples erect and searching for contact. Jane reached up and mimicked her move from the afternoon, running a single finger up and over a breast. But the lack of lingerie provided a new perspective, a new take on the action. The pebbly beige skin hardened under her touch, and Jane was tempted to pinch it to gauge A's reaction, to see if she would respond with the same fervor as she had that afternoon. Instead, more fingers drifted over the sloping oval, stopping just short of the wrinkly, sensitized brown skin in the middle.

"Haaaaah—Jane."

The pool sloshed and the air was humid. Water was everywhere, making dry surfaces slick. But Jane was aching, and miserably slippery at her core. She would have been just as wet in the Nevada desert with A before her like this, pool or no.

"You're so beautiful," Jane said. She palmed the breast in hand and ducked back down to kiss A, the rushing water at her thighs the only decent tie to reality she had. Because holding A, kissing her, loving her was all she ever needed. More than diamonds or computers or power or a name; the girl she was embracing was better and truer and surer than any detail she could learn about herself, and more exhilarating than any job she would ever run; more pristine and faceted and brighter than any diamond in the world.

A's tongue submitted after seconds of uncertain sparring. Jane lapped at her lover while her hands got acquainted with A's chest. Pliant at bottom, resistant at top, but lovely all over. Jane nudged A's head up with her own, breaking away and planting a balmy, openmouthed kiss on the side of her neck.

A's hands fell down to the straps of the one-piece running over Jane's shoulders. Her fingers slid under the waterproof material, not daring to tug just yet. Jane worked her way down A's neck with her mouth, pausing at a tender spot on her shoulder.

"We should move where you're comfortable," Jane breathed against her chest.

"Jane," A whimpered. "You've planned so much, I want to wait. Until tomorrow. I want to be perfect for you."

"Perfection is impossible," Jane said. "Though we've made an admirable attempt."

"But I want more privacy than this, I'll probably scream—"

As if to reiterate her point, there was a large splash, followed by a stream of expletives just on the other side of the tented walls.

Jane waded to the shallowest point, guiding A to the ledge of the pool. Jane sat atop the ledge and pulled a still-standing A, bare-chested and indulgent, between her splayed legs. The water hit Jane's ankles and turned them weightless, like walking on air. But her thighs were searing with A between them, the con woman exerting the will of a saint with her request to postpone activities until they reached the suite the following night.

"We'll wait, but please don't put me on a pedestal like your Grecian goddesses behind that curtain," Jane advised. "I fear our first time will be awkward, no matter how well I plan."

"I understand that," A said. "I don't mind the awkward. It's fitting, considering how we met each other. Everything so forced, clumsy, discombobulated."

Jane grinned at her phrasing.

"But we'll have time to learn," she reassured Jane, cupping her cheeks.

"We will, and speaking of education," Jane said, squeezing A's hips with her legs. The intoxicating physical sensations were similar to the symptoms she had displayed hours ago (clammy hands, dry mouth, swooping stomach, elevated heart rate), but with all that exposed skin it felt—

So.

Much.

Better.

"You promised me a lesson on baseball."

A sighed dejectedly. "Really Jane? You want me to explain this— now? Of all times?"

Jane set A's hands on her shoulders, curling her fingers around the straps of her suit.

"I've never been with a woman," Jane said bluntly, rubbing A's fingers while the girl stared dubiously back. "So I Googled some articles on sexual practice."

A gaped. "I— you… uh huh?"

"One of the main articles compared sexual experimentation between lovers to the numbered bases in a baseball game."

Since A seemed too stunned to get on with it, Jane steered A's hands over the slope of her shoulders, dragging the straps with her. Jane's metallic grey suit lowered to reveal tantalizing amounts of cleavage. Her stupor broken, A kept pulling the straps down, releasing Jane's chest. Jane felt something like pride gurgle deep in her belly when A licked her lips and groaned.

"Second base varies, depending on the source," Jane continued. "But perhaps we can allow for a… what's the term?"

"A double?" A squeaked.

"A double, yes. Hands 'above the belt', I believe it said."

"Where did you, ehem…" A spoke again, this time in a register humans could hear. "Where did you find all of this?"

"Wikipedia," Jane returned, slinking her fingers north up A's abdomen. She teased the bottoms of both breasts. "One article claims that a miniscule amount, 1.7% I think it said... 1.7% of women can reach orgasm by manual and oral stimulation of the breasts."

"Wuh-Wuh-Wikipedia is highly unreliable," A murmured, squirming under her touch. "I've used it for cons before, and it bit me in the ass."

"Well, I don't mind experimenting. You're very special, you could be in that elusive 1.7%," Jane said, tweaking the left, squeezing the right.

"Holy fu—Jane, I… I mean, I've seen you before, but it was really dark, not like… just, you're so," A reached out and cupped Jane, skipping the teasing and heading straight for the peaks. A brushed circles over the moisture-wrinkled skin and shuddered, water cool and body hot.

"Play ball?" A asked, certainty returning to her tone.

Jane kissed that spot on A's shoulder and ran her tongue down and diagonal, halting as she met A's cleavage for the first time with her lips.

"Play ball," she said to the skin, and fit her mouth around A's right nipple.

A released another moan and Jane sucked harder. She proceeded to run her tongue around the edge of the textured barrier as she compressed the underside with her right hand, her left at the small of A's back for support. Her position along the ledge with A standing in the shallow end was perfect; she could clumsily worship A's chest without jockeying for a new position every ten seconds.

A's hands were omnipresent on Jane's body: jerking her hair, caressing her cheek, scratching over her shoulder, clutching her chest, grasping a bicep and digging in with her nails for grip when Jane sucked harder. The blonde recalled A's fondness for pressure from that afternoon and tested the theory by scraping the edges of the grifter's nipple with her incisors. A rammed her chest into Jane's mouth with purposeful vigor, Jane smiling to herself at the positive reaction. The blonde took a chance and bit her, nursing the indented marks with saliva and delicate brushes of tongue. Though the move was unplanned and gutsy, Jane felt all the better for it. Especially when A shoved her knuckles in her mouth, chomping down on her hand to quiet the anguished, broken cry of Jane.

I want to make her feel like this forever.

Jane gave similar attention to the left side, trading in one feisty bite for multiple playful nips, which resulted in vocal pants for more, yes, harder, and one amusing, God bless Google. Jane made a mental note to remember the biting. After a few more wet licks, she came up for air and to give her tongue a rest. Not that she wasn't enjoying her task immensely, she just wanted to make sure A was still with her.

She looked up.

Barely.

Jane stared at the abandon she couldn't induce that afternoon, that almost painful twist of tendons and ligaments in an arched back, that tight, vice-grip of an embrace A was employing on her person. Her hands were practically crushing Jane's skull her passion was so intense. Jane considered it a potent formula of pheromones and endorphin release, relayed through A's indolent, satisfied expression.

"I can't take much more tonight, love," she said, petting at Jane's drying head. "You've worked me up into a state I'll never get out of."

"Good thing you're going to a spa tomorrow. Release the tension."

"I completely forgot about that."

"Well, your mind was on other things," Jane teased.

"It definitely was."

"Bed time."

"But I wanted to—"

"Tomorrow… sweetheart," Jane said, adopting the name A had bestowed upon her. A glowed at its usage.

"Let's go," A whispered.

The walk back to the room was quiet, even A basking in the fulfilling silence. Jane let them into the suite with a wave of her hand, and the girls separated to prepare for bed. A was waiting for Jane when she walked out of the bathroom, covers downturned, arms extended and fingers dancing like a toddler wanting to be lifted.

Jane climbed in bed and let A enfold her into a tucked sort of hug, 'spooning' as the copper-haired half of the pair referred to it.

"I love you so much," A whispered in her ear.

"You're everything to me," Jane returned.

And I love you, I love you, and tomorrow you'll know.

"I have something to tell you, and I don't want you to freak out, okay?" A said, a reassuring pressure coming out of her arms. Jane didn't turn toward her.

"What is it?"

"In the file, the 'Subject Beta' one? It didn't just talk about the link with Subject Alpha, whatever that is. I mean, it did say some stuff about genome mapping, I couldn't understand it. But the part you should know… It had sections under 'known residences', 'current whereabouts', and 'likelihood of acquisition'."

Jane blinked and she let the words lie on the top of her mind, willing herself not to comprehend. For if she didn't take it in, she wouldn't have to face a reality that was beyond herself and A, in a honeymoon suite, about to make love for the first time on the following night.

"They're coming after you," Jane said.

"That does seem to be their intent," A answered.

"Why do they want you?" she asked, kissing her fingertips. A's other arm tightened around her waist.

"I don't know. They know about all but two of my safe houses, and it makes me think they'll find the others. They know where some of my accounts are, some, but not all. It makes me think they'll freeze them, that I need to do some transfers. They know through Hans or… whatever intelligence they're using to get this information."

Jane turned over to stare at A. "I won't let them take you."

"I know, I just didn't want that to catch you off guard. I want to tell you everything, I want to… trust you with everything."

"When you're ready."

"I'll be ready tomorrow," A agreed, and she drifted off beside Jane.

The blonde lay awake observing the girl beside her, nerves rowdy and low in her chest. She had never possessed a sixth, well, seventh sense if one counted the lightening. But Jane had no delusions of harboring a faculty comparable to premonition. She could not predict the future, or else she would have known A was coming to her.

Then why do I feel like everything is about to go horribly wrong?

So. Much. Foreplay. Sorry not sorry for the happy-sexy-serious progression. Thanks for all the positive feedback thus far, and as always, open to critique.