Disclaimer & Author’s Note: Please note that this short story is for those 18+ years of age. This is the first short story I’ve ever written from a first-person perspective; there will be a few typos or jinks in sentence fluency, so I ask for your understanding in a grammatical sense. Please feel free to comment with any suggestions or your generalized opinion on the story itself, it will be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly,
Foowoo

. . .

A single phone call ruined my weekend--or at least, that’s what I thought at first.

My dad got an on-call one Friday afternoon, just before the weekend. There had been torrential rains battering down on the East Coast for days, so the government requested that more Officers help with evacuation efforts. It was hard not to stay frustrated, especially since we had already planned our camping trip before the Easter Break. But unbeknownst to my old man’s peculiar ability to make anyone’s day a little brighter, he had already planned out the weekend. Just not for us, but rather for me.

“C'mon dad, why do they always have to pick you??” I whined, pouting by the staircase railing.

He looked down at me with a warm but solemn expression, using his big, heavy claw to brush the sensitive back fur that ran the length of my spine and tail. “You know the kind of work I do, Kiddo.”

It didn’t matter what kind of work he did, they always chose him to come work on the holidays. Everyone else was considered more important, and I was old enough to see the prejudice behind that. We came from a family of dragon subspecies: the Eastern Dragons. The kind with fur and scales instead of scales and wings. Our people were sought out as the inferior deviants in the dragon hierarchy; we were the ones where evolution slapped us in the face with the big ‘ol middle finger. And most of us adopted the stereotypes of what the world expected us to be. But not my father, and certainly not me.

“Are they doing this because they hate you?” I grumpily ask, looking into his piercing, red eyes.

“Mmm, maybe that's ‘cause your father’s the best they have. But listen, Soma, whether we have wings or fur, we can all be who we wish to be. You must never forget that.”

He gives me a light lick on the forehead, I offer back a weak smile that makes him chuckle, which also made me giggle. I don’t know what it is, but the wholehearted, heavily-accented chuckle my dad has was very contagious.

“Alright kiddo, I don’t know how long I’ll be on-call, and you know grandma can’t make it here in this weather.” He says with a grin, unhinging a dark blue raincoat from the coat hanger, pulling it over the standard-issue Police uniform.

“Then, who’ll be home with me?” I ask.

“I prefer the term who’s home you’ll be staying in.” His grin got all the wider as he moved on to putting his hard cap and high-visibility vest on.

“Wait…” I’ll be honest, the brain in my thick skull took quite a while to process the hint, but eventually I got the gist of what he was saying.

“Does that mean I’ll be staying over by Marcus’ place?!” The room's atmosphere completely changed, and the pouty expression on my muzzle had vanished, replaced with that of unbridled joy.

“Mhm, you’ll stay over by Marcus’ place for the weekend, your grandma will come and pick you up Tuesday morning.” My dad could work in such mysterious ways, he never seemed to fail at making my days bright, even in the gloom of this rainstorm.

“I already packed up your stuff in the pickup truck, so go grab your raincoat.” He directed, patting me on the shoulder.

“Yes, Sir!” 

I gave him a little salute before dashing up the staircase. We eastern dragons couldn’t fly, of course, so we were naturally faster on the ground. In mere moments, I was sprinting down the hall to my bedroom. I caught a glimpse of dad and mum’s room, and just in the corner of my eyes, I saw the light of his phone vibrating on the nightstand. Huh, he forgot his cell phone again! I thought, stopping just short of my bedroom’s door, I decided on entering my father's room first.

There was still the same old bed my mum and dad used to share, two symmetrical pillows put side by side and a neatly-folded blue bed sheet 2 inches off the lower right corner. My father said his job required extreme attention to detail, which applied to his everyday life. Maybe that's why mum and dad never got along. 

Whom of which I never got to meet. I was only 6 months old when she left dad. To this day, he still doesn’t feel comfortable sharing what happened all those years ago- And even at my young age, I still respect that.

“Hey kiddo, you coming or what?” I hear my dad call from downstairs, followed by the sound of the front door opening and the pitter-pat of rain falling outdoors.

“Yes, just a moment, dad!” Quickly, I run up and grab the cell phone by the bed before moving to my bedroom. Hopping over RC police cars and toys alike, I can see my bright, yellow rain jacket. I yank it from out the closet, flinging the hanger aside and running back downstairs.

“What took you so long?” He asked.

“Here, you forgot this,” I say, handing him his cellphone, he thanks me, and we both head out into the driveway…

…

The 30-minute drive was anything but interesting. Everything outside was so empty, like a painting drawn with 50 shades of gray. The roads looked deserted and devoid of any life; it felt as though we'd been living in a ghost town. But all thanks to my dad, this woeful atmosphere wasn't going to last any longer. 

I was filled with anticipation to see Marcus again, so much so that I was practically shaking in the backseat. Throughout the 30 minute drive, I had already planned out many ways to spend the weekend with my best and only friend. Maybe we could play on his new console, then have a pillow fight in his room, and end the day by watching a movie from his mum’s old collection. Or we could play dodgeball in the basement, then build fortresses out of pillows and cushioning from the living room, or maybe-

“Hey, kiddo, we’re here.” I was so lost in my excitement that I didn't realize the truck was already parked in the driveway by Marcus’s house.

“Don’t forget you-” Before my dad could even finish speaking, I was already at the front door with my backpack on and sleeping bag by my feet, straightening out any wrinkles on my short-sleeved shirt.

“Hey dad, you coming?”

“Hehe, yeah son, one second.” He says, shutting off the engine to the truck and walking up to my side. With his shadow looming over me, I hit the doorbell. Following the familiar da-ding, I heard a pair of footsteps, a sudden pause, a click and the front door swung open.

“SOMA?!”

“MARCUS!”

The spotted leopard steps out onto the front porch, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. “It’s been so long, dude! How're you holdin’ up?” He asks, releasing me from his tight embrace.

“I’m alright, how ‘bout you?”

“I’m fine, dude.” 

Just then, Marcus’ mother comes out of the kitchen, wearing a flour-covered apron. “Ah! Soma, Mr. Whitaker, so glad you two could make it!” She says, stepping up to the front door.

“Afternoon, Mrs. Langley, hope you’ve been holding up well.”

“Oh, you know me, I’ve been doing just fine.” She says, a cheerful smile on her muzzle. She definitely has a thing for dad.

“C’mon, let’s go, I want to show you this cool new console mom got!” The young feline says, grabbing me by the claw and dragging me upstairs.

“Wah- hey! I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Perhaps Marcus was a little more excited to see me than I'd anticipated, which was totally cool, considering that we were a lot more than just good friends…

…

Opening the door to Marcus’ room, I noticed the cat had kept his room tidy and organized. As opposed to my bedroom, which always had toys and whatnot scattered about the floor.

“Man, how do you do this every day?! Your room looks so nice!” I complimented his tidiness, which was probably a cat thing.

“Meh, it could be better.” He said, shrugging off the compliment.  The walls were painted a generic blue colour, while the flooring was laced with dark-brown wooden tiles. Since the room was located in the upper-left corner of the house, there were two windows on either wall facing the driveway, allowing for a fair bit of natural light to pour in. Marcus didn’t sport a lot of furniture; in fact, he always tended to ask for less of everything. Whether it be toys or games, or even food.

All his room had was a small wooden desk with a stool that stood under the window, a twin-sized bed with blue bed sheets accompanied by a bed stand and reading lamp. Adjacent to the door was a closet and TV stand, which housed a single 65” Monitor and console-setup.

“Soo, what do you want to play first?” He asks, holding up two DVDs, one labelled Super Smash Bros and the other without a label. “Super Smash Bros or Valkyrie Knights?

I point to the one in his left hand, “Let’s play Valkyrie Knights this time,”

“Awesome!” He says with a smile on his muzzle.

Kneeling below the TV, he tosses me a controller and powers on the console, inserting the unlabeled DVD. Immediately, the Monitor flashes to life and a logo other than the game I picked was displayed on the screen.

“Infinite Desire IV? Marc, what’s this?” I ask, looking a little dubious at the foreign image on the screen.

“Huh- NO, WAIT!” He boomed, startling me so much that my stiffened reaction caused me to hit Play.

Marcus tried to hide the screen with his body, a flushed expression on his muzzle, but it was too late. Suddenly, the screen switched to that of a small bedroom, with a little gray wolf cub laying on a bed, completely naked. Fortunately, though, the volume was set to mute by default; otherwise, the captions on screen would’ve blared a not-so-ideal message throughout the house.

“This certainly doesn’t look like Valkyrie Knights to me, dude,” I say, not even trying to hide the shit-eating grin on my face.

“Marcus, Soma, is everything alright up there?!” Mrs. Langley shouts from the kitchen downstairs, the clink of silverware being put into cabinets could be heard up to the room.

“Yes, Mrs. Langley! Everything’s fine!” I called back, smirking as I looked into the eyes of the embarrassed feline.

“Alright then, come downstairs for lunch!”

“Okay!”

Using the controller, I shift over to the settings page and hit Quit Game. The console ejects the DVD, allowing Marcus to stash it in a case; which, unironically, wasn’t the right one.

“Didn’t know cats could blush through fur,” I gibed, it was fun teasing the kitty. I put a paw under his chin, causing him to blush harder, “you look so cute when you’re embarrassed.”

Tilting my head to the side, I leaned forward so our muzzles met. He was tense at first, a little shocked by my daring move, but he eventually melted into the kiss. His rough, cat tongue intertwined with my long, silky tongue; it was a bit sloppy as we pushed into one another's mouths, but there was a hidden harmony behind all of it. And as much as I wanted to stay there, Mrs. Langley was losing her patience.

“Hey, you kids coming or what? Or am I going to have to eat all this pasta myself?!”

“Sorry Mrs. Langley, we’re coming!”

I slowly pulled out of the kiss, our maws hanging agape as our tongues finally disentangled. We wiped off the string of saliva hanging between our muzzles. The electrifying feeling had left him in a bit of a daze, his body seemed frozen in place. Well, except for one part of his anatomy, which was rather eager to protest its presence.

He notices the tent poking at the fly of his cargo pants. But luckily for the kitty, it wasn’t as noticeable for me as it was for him. Stepping out of the bedroom, I felt a paw squeeze at my buttocks, his paw. 

“You’re such a naughty kitten, Marcus,” I whisper, grasping at his paw.

“Not as much as you are, Soma.”

He’s a little right on that one, I’ll give him that…

…

The food was simple, but it tasted extraordinary. Not a single drop of tomato sauce was left on either of our plates.

“Thanks, Mrs. Langley! You’re far better at cooking than my dad!” I say, complimenting her with a bright smile on my face. 

“Yeah, mom, your pasta is always the best!”

“Oh, please~ don’t flatter me so much!” She chuckled, shuffling plates back to the kitchen. We both volunteered to clean our dishes, working together on packing up the ones that had already been drying.

“Marcus, I have to go work at the office this afternoon. I’ll be home just before bedtime, so I left you two some dinner in the fridge.” Mrs. Langley said, zipping up her raincoat.

“Kay, mom, we’ll be in bed by 8.”

“Alright sweetie, you two take care of yourselves.” She says, giving Marcus a goodbye lick on the forehead before opening the front door and stepping out into the rain. Marcus stands on his toes, looking through the peephole built into the door, watching his mom step into the car and drive out onto the road.

“Looks like we’re free,” I smirked, standing behind him. The spotted leopard mewled when I pushed my paw between his legs, groping the fabric which covered his cubhood

“Mmmmm, you’re impatient,” he says, lubricating a few fingers with saliva before pushing his paw past the hemming of my shorts, “and I like it.” He always did this, and I always loved it. Marcus pushed his paw past my boxers, his lubricated finger coming in contact with my sensitive slit.

At first, he coaxed the lip a little, before pushing past the entrance and into my quivering slit hole. I let out a soft moan as a shiver shot up my spine, the sensitive walls of my internal cock constricted on the intruding finger. 

“Hnng~ Why don’t we head upstai-” 

So noisy, I thought as I forcibly pushed our muzzles together. Our tongues came in contact once again; saliva mixing with saliva, hearts hammering through our chest as pheromones ran through our veins. He looked into my eyes with a lustful gaze, and I did the same. I really couldn’t get enough of him, his touch and his scent. Oh, and I’ll admit, I was feeling needy, and I wasn’t intending on being shy about it.

But to my surprise, he wasn’t so shy about his neediness either. Carefully inching me up against the wall adjacent to the kitchen, he pressed our bodies together like a sandwich. The imprint of his cubhood against mine; I could already feel how hard he was, breathing in the intoxicating muskiness of his messy fur.

“Ahhn~ And you’re upfront, this time,” I said, panting as I parted our maws, “so maybe I’ll let you top… If you can make it to the bedroom first!”

“Wuh- HEY!”
Before he even had a chance to react, I dashed from underneath his arms. Making the same mad dash upstairs as I did this morning, I skipped a few steps as I reached the second floor. I dared not to look back, hearing the spotted leopard's footsteps mere inches behind mine.

Just a few more inches, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnd- Diving onto the polished flooring, I land on all fours, Marcus doing the same a second too late.

“Looks like I’m still the fastest!” I jeered, flopping onto my back.

“No fair, you got a head start!” Marcus protested, rolling onto his side.

“Nuh-uh!”

“Uh-huh!”

We both stared at each other for a few moments, “Ugh, fine!”

I watched attentively as he got up to his feet, beginning to strip; he started with his cargo pants, unwrapping the belt and unzipping the fly, it loosely fell to his ankles. Then, moving to his undies, he pulled down on the hemming, allowing for the piece of clothing to slip down past his ankles. His feline member was throbbing, tiny driblets of pre already coming out of the barbed tip.

“Now, what about you,” He said, motioning at me, “strip.”

“Mmm, you forgot your shirt.”

He let out a low grumble, pulling his long-sleeved shirt over his head. Now that I was content with the feline's nakedness, I decided to work on my clothes. With one stretch of the hemming on both my boxers and shorts, I pushed them down past my ankles, revealing my slit; which still hid my cubhood, as it took some time for it to wiggle out of its packaging.

Meanwhile, Marcus was already a step ahead, laying on his bed with lubricant in hand, he began fingering his tight pucker. Lewd schlichs and schlorps, followed by the feline’s mewls and moans resonated in the room. I couldn’t help but stop and admire his little act, “Man, as tempting as that is, I had something else in mind.”

He looks at me with a quizzical expression, “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see, hand me the lube.” I climbed up onto the bed with him, extending my arm and retrieving the half-used bottle of lubricant. Marcus’ gaze followed mine as I poured a fair bit of the viscous liquid onto my slit, massaging the sensitive flesh that hid my cock, giving him a clear view as I pushed two claws further into my now soaking slit, encouraging my cubhood to start pushing its way out of its sensitive embrace.

“Woah, dude. I forgot you dragons were… Uhhhh, like that down there.”

I took that as some sort of compliment. Stroking the red, prehensile mass of throbbing flesh that grew out of my slit. Driblets of pre already leaking out of the tapered tip as I crawled over the stiffened feline, lowering down on all fours so that our penis came in contact.

“kay, hold still for me,” I say, breathing shakily.

“O-okay.”

I could vividly feel the warmth of his feline member, the flaring barbs on the tip and every throb of his needy cock. I could also feel his tensed, furry balls at the very base of my slit. It felt as if I could feel every bit of anatomy that moved with purpose as if I could sense every urge directed by lust and carnal desire. Then, we both gasped. My slimy, lubricated prehensile mass slowly swirled around his cock. Like a jungle vine that entwined a branch of a tree, my more…maneuverable dragon member entangled his eager cubhood from the very base up to the barbed tip.

“S-shit, dude! This f-feels so good!” Marcus’ moaned, a sparkly glint in his eyes.

“Y-yeaaa, just k-keep holding stIIILLL!!” I yelped, it appears the leopard cub’s test of patience had ended. Doing the exact opposite of what I pleaded, Marcus began gyrating his hips with a renewed vigour. Fervently bucking his feline cock into the entwined mass that was my penis. But I had to admit, this felt sooo much better than anything we’ve done before, and it seemed this needy kitty agreed on that. Using his superior upper arm strength, Marcus rolled me over onto my back, practically switching positions.

“Aahh~ H-hey! I thought I was top!”

“Well you're not doing a g-good enough job of t-hat, nnff~ Let me help you,” He grinned, pushing me down on my shoulders.

 In this position, Marcus was in power, which meant he could hump to his heart's content. And boy, he could really move! The slimy, wet sounds of his cock rubbing in between mine. His musky fur brushed against my smooth, stomach scales. Our pre-cum mixed, allowing for a more slippery concoction, making our intimate frotting session an even more voluptuous experience. It was all happening so fast, too fast, because I was rapidly approaching my climax, but I sure as hell didn’t want it to end just yet.

“Marcus, w-wait~!” I squeal, to Marcus’ dismay, he growled above me in protest. Between my plea and his carnal desire to keep pounding our dicks together, he listened to my plea, coming to an eventual stop just before I was pushed over the edge of my orgasm. We were both panting, eyes half-closed and tongues lolling out as our maws hung agape. And by the looks of it, Marcus was close too, his feline member throbbed violently within my entangling embrace, matting his belly fur with pre-cum.

“W-what now?” He whined, a hint of impatience in his tone.

“I didn’t want to finish… Just yet,” I say, disentangling my prehensile cock from his cubhood with a loud schliiick, “but I want you inside me.”

“In your… slit? Uhh, are you sure dude?”

“Yeah, I’ve been, uhm… Practicing.” The last word of the sentence was barely a mumble, but he understood my desire anyway.

“Uhh, how do you want me to…”

“Put it in here,” I point just below my prehensile member, inserting two of my fingers into the space between the lower lip of my slit.

“That's really kinky, dude.”

“Oh, shut up and put it in,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Whatever you want, bro.” He smirked, pushing on my chest once again, he used one hand to prop himself up, meanwhile using the other to guide his still rock-hard feline cock into the crease below my prehensile member. The tapered tip of Marcus’s cock came in contact with my slit, I could feel the tiny prickles of his barbs flaring as he slowly inched his cubhood past my cock.

“Mmmf, yess~ Y-you can move faster!”

"Uhm, I don't want to hurt y-"

"Don't worry about me, just fucking mate me~!"

He paused for a moment, a devious grin on his muzzle. Marcus was someone who, normally, wasn’t very good at surprises. But today, at this very moment, that changed. The spotted leopard slammed his cock forward into my slit, his pelvis slapping against my ass cheeks with an audible plap. I almost screamed out in both pain and pleasure. It felt as though my body was on fire! 

My maw hung agape as my tongue lolled out to the side, I was panting wildly, like a feral dog in heat. Every time Marcus forced his cock into my clenching slit, high-pitched moans escaped my lips. I couldn't care less that I sounded like a girl because I was being fucked like one. All I wanted was for Marcus to keep pounding me, and boy, he sure was happy to oblige.

"Y-yes! R-rail m-me harder!" I groaned out in pure ecstasy.

The euphoric feeling of Marcus' feline dick drilling into the very depths of my slit sent a shock of pleasure up my spine, each jolt far more intense than the last. Every time he pulled his hips back, his barbs flared, dragging against my sensitive flesh. I felt as though I was going to lose my mind, the pheromones rushing through my blood numbed any feeling other than lust and desire for my mate.

"Nnngah~! You're clenching down really hard, dude!"

The big cat had leaned forward, wrapped his arms behind my back and held on tight, forcing a kiss similar to the one I gave him down by the front door. But this time, he took the lead.

Marcus pushed his tongue deeper into my mouth with as much force as he bucked his hips, the sensation of getting hammered by his cock while the taste of his saliva mixing with mine had already brought me to the edge of my climax, and it seemed the same for him.

“Nyah~ I’m really close, Soma!” He warns, pulling out of the deep kiss.

“G-go ahead! F-fill me!"

That was the last straw for the feline, who let out a feral snarl as he leaned in, sinking his teeth into the furred scales on my shoulder. It hurt a little, but all that eventually numbed out when the feeling of his throbbing cock shot a torrent of hot, leopard cum into my slithole. 

I could feel every throb, hear every groan, his furred balls constricted, pouring more and more of his hot seed into my quivering depths. There was a lot of it, so much so that it began spilling out, leaking past my slit and down into my tail hole. But, to my dismay, I had yet to reach my orgasm and the kitty seemed spent; or at least, that's what I thought.

"Y-you haven't cum y-yet?" He asks, releasing his jaw from my shoulder and pulling out of my now messy slit.

"Ah~ Nah, dude, it's  fi-"

Remember that surprise thing earlier? Well, that was nothing compared to what he did now. With one paw, he practically yanked at my still hard prehensile cock, directing underneath his quivering tail hole, and slammed down onto it. Luckily for me, the lubricant he put in his ass still kept his pucker slit, or else the jolt of pain would've outweighed the pleasure.

"H-holy sh-shit, duUUDE!" I groaned, but the leopard continued his relentless assault on my cock. Every time Marcus pushed his hips down, slapping his furred ass cheeks against my pelvis, it sent a shiver of pleasure all across my body. I felt as though I was going to melt! As though I was…going to lose my mind!

I wasn’t so sure what took over me, but whatever it is, I wasn’t going to stop it. As if my body was set on taking self-pleasure into its own hands, my arms moved on their own. With strength seemingly pulled out of thin air, I grasped at Marcus’ waist, and flipped him over to his back, ripping my cock out of his stretched pucker in the process. I’d gain control this time, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to go easy on him.

“Nyah~ L-looks like you’re finally g-getting serious! G-go ahead, I want you to fucking hammer me!”

“Ohoh, I’m going to hammer you, alright!” I snarled, letting my feral instincts take over my body. With both my arms, I grasped at the feline's meaty legs, splaying them so that I could get a clear view of his gaping tailhole. Now, there are many pros to having a prehensile penis, and one of them is the ability to aim your cock without having to use your hands. So with a firm grip on Marcus’ legs, propping them up, my prehensile penis prodded the rim of the feline’s pucker.

Now that I was aligned, I wasted no time putting it in. With as much force as I could muster, I pushed my hips forward, burying my dick into Marcus’ used tailhole. The feline mewled and purred, but eventually started panting and moaning hysterically as I picked up pace. Assuming that mindless thrusting of the hips could even be considered a pace, but hey, I was giving him what he wanted. Maybe even a little too much of what he wanted.

“S-soma, t-that's too rooUUGHHH!!” Marcus wailed, his insides clenched harder than usual, and the reason for that was because he had orgasmed a second time. More of his hot seed squirted out of his feline member, matting his chest fur with his own sticky seed.

“H-hah~ That’s cute,” I smirked, assaulting his tailhole with a renewed vigour as I inched closer to my own climax.

“NyaaAAAH~ I-I’m really- NNNNGH!!”

“Mmmf~ What’s that? Go harder, you say?  My pleasure!”

Leaning forward, past Marcus’ splayed legs, I began lapping at his chest fur with my tongue, looking up at the weary face on the feline's muzzle. Whatever sounds that came out of his maw were anything but words, but rather, they sounded like incoherent moans and whimpers of both pleasure and overstimulation. Hah! Now he sounds like a girl! I thought, smiling a little before I picked up my pace. My thrusts became erratic and forceful, rapidly picking up pace as I reached the edge of my climax.

“Grrraahh! H-hold still!” I roared, biting down onto his shoulder, locking the feline in place. I had one thing in my mind at the moment, and that was to push myself over the edge. Nostrils flaring, I plunged my prehensile member far into the leopard's tensed insides with an audible schlap, and finally, my body relented and a torrent of my steamy cum spilled into his insides.

My prehensile member curled inside of the feline, pumping copious amounts of cum deep into the leopard’s tailhole that it practically shot out of his widened pucker. My mind was fried from all the euphoric feelings that ran through every cell in my anatomy. But there was one thing that pierced through the ecstasy that was this moment, and it was Marcus’ arms wrapped around my back; his sharp claws scraping at my furred scales. He was moaning wildly, but that wasn’t what caught my attention; it was the fact that he had climaxed a third time as a result of my relentless assault on his ass. Marcus, you’re such a stud, I thought to myself, 

“Ooooh, S-soma~ T-time out, ‘k-kay? I n-need a- Uuuggghhh~” He whimpered softly. I could feel his feline member throb and tremur underneath my stomach, shooting every last drop of cum he had onto my stomach scales. Well, it ain’t like I could move anyways! I thought. We were both breathing heavily, our young bodies were overworked by our intimate sex, so we just layed there. 

“C-can you move, dude?” Marcus muttered.

“N-nope,” I mumble weakly, releasing my jaw from the cat’s shoulder. I gave the cat a light lick on the snout, who in return gave a quiet purr of contentment.

“Marc, when’s your mom coming home again?” I ask groggily.

“Don’t worry, we can lay here for a little while longer…”