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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴡᴀᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ, ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ sʜᴀᴡɴ ꒱


❝ IF YOU DIDN'T LOVE HER YOU
WOULDN'T HAVE PAUSED ❞

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"Love, sex, slander!" Mr. Turner lectured them as he wrote on the blackboard. "Even though Much Ado About Nothing was written four hundred years ago, Shakespeare has captured raw human emotion in a way that is still riveting today and still has us glued to our seats."

As he finished speaking, Shawn slipped out of his own seat in his sleep and shifted around before he went back to sleep. Juliet's foot nudged him before Cory kicked him awake more fiercely.

"You know, these chairs really aren't the best for sleeping," Shawn laughed nervously as he returned to his chair.

"Oh, come on! You got this innocent young girl and somebody says that she slept with this other guy, right? And her reputation is shot and we think she's killed herself. Now, where are you gonna find this kind of stuff?" Mr. Turner demanded.

"Melrose Place?" Topanga suggested.

"Real life?" Juliet added.

"NYPD Blue?" Shawn offered.

"Barney?" Cory put in. The strange proposal caused the three of them to turn to him questioningly and he explained: "my sister says he's gotten edgier."

"Mr. Turner, we just can't relate to these characters at all," Topanga argued.

"Why not?"

"Because nobody acts like this," Shawn scoffed as he held up the book.

"Just because some guy says something about some girl and the girl wants to kill herself over it? They say that stuff about Heather Locklear every week and she doesn't want to kill herself," Cory said.

"You're right, Matthews," Mr. Turner admitted.

"There's something I didn't think I'd ever hear," Juliet remarked with surprise.

"I'm right?" Cory shared her feelings.

"No, you're exactly right."

"So am I don't with my education? Can I go?"

"If he can, I should be able to, too," Juliet added. "I've gotten better grades than both of them combined."

"Take me with you!" Shawn pleaded.

Mr. Turner ignored them. "In Shakespeare's day, the play's the thing. In our day, I guess the thing is TV. So, maybe we should put ourselves on TV and ask ourselves what we think about love, sex and slander."

"You mean interview each other? Kind of like a documentary?"

"Exactly!"

"Hey, you know, my Uncle Ralph was in a documentary. They put a big blue dot over his face and changed his voice," Shawn informed them happily.

Juliet opened her mouth to correct him, especially knowing Shawn's family history, but one look at his pleased expression caused her mouth to close and she shook her head instead. Maybe she didn't have to be right all the time.

"Alright, the school's got video equipment. Let's wear it out, okay? We'll split into teams of two. Interview your friends, your families and each other. Let's just see who's got more mature attitudes: Shakespeare or us."

"Us," Cory announced proudly.

"Okay, my mature young friends. Pick your partners," Mr. Turner directed them.

Cory and Shawn immediately looked at each other while Juliet's eyes fell on Topanga and she gave the girl a questioning look. At her nod, the redhead smiled. It would be nice to have someone who worked equally hard on a project for once.

"Boy-girl partners," Mr. Turner corrected himself as he saw the class split up.

Despite her initial disappointment with not being Topanga's partner, the feelings disappeared when the redhead turned around to find Shawn already looking at her.

🌎🌎🌎

As the two waited to get their equipment, they decided which roles they would take. "I'll be the camera man," Shawn volunteered. "I've got a camera face."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "You don't see your face when you're behind the camera, dummy. But that's fine as long as you don't drop it."

"I won't. You'll be a great interviewee."

"Interviewer," the redhead corrected him. "The person who answers the questions is the interviewee."

"Oh. Well, that's why you'll be in charge then," Shawn conceded.

"Don't think that means you're getting out of doing equal work," the girl threatened him lightly. "I'm tired of you and Cory pushing all the work onto me."

"Only because we know you care about your grades and we don't."

She huffed as they picked up the camera and mic. The girl handed the dark-haired boy the former.

"Don't mess around with it, either and keep it on—" she started to order him before he turned it on. She smiled brightly and began: "hi, I'm Juliet Capelwood. Today we're going to be asking friends and family how they feel about love." She gave another irritated huff as Shawn continued to move the camera. "Shawn, what did I just say about messing around?"

"I'm adding style to our project. You gotta move the camera. Don't you watch NYPD Blue? Subway, Brooklyn squad cars, lots of cursing," he answered before Juliet walked up to him and hit him on the arm.

"I'll start cursing if you don't quit it," she scolded him. "Focus, Shawnie. Now let me stop people in the hall to ask them what their personal feelings are about sex and love." The bell rang, causing everyone to return to class. "Shawn, there's nobody in the hall."

"Oh wait, there's Cory and Topanga," Shawn pointed out.

"Hi, Topanga," Juliet greeted the other girl once they'd gotten closer.

"Hi, Juliet."

"We're here to interview you," the redhead announced. "How do you feel about sex?"

"Me? Oh, well, some people say 'sex— great anywhere, anytime.'"

"Who says that?" Cory asked.

"Every boy in the world," Juliet and Topanga spoke in unison. The two girls to smiled at each other.

"Oh yeah."

"To boys, let's face it: sex is just a goal. It's something they're after and they're not really sure why. I think sex is a part of a special kind of love that you feel for a very special person," Topanga finished.

Juliet thanked her for her input. "That's a very beautiful opinion."

The two girls smiled at each again other before Juliet and Shawn moved down the hall. They were stopped next by Joey. "Hey, hey, girl-who-stepped-on-my-foot, what the heck you doin' here?"

"Oh, we're making a documentary. It's about what everybody thinks about love," the redhead answered.

"Hey, that's cool. What's it about?"

Juliet gave the camera— and Shawn behind the camera— a 'really?' look. "I'll show it to you when it's done."

"Can I be in it?" he wondered.

"Why not? You're in it now."

"You gonna ask me a question?"

"Okay, what do you have to say about men and women and sex?" Juliet questioned him.

"Okay, sex is very beautiful, especially within the confines of a loving monogamous relationship, preferably marriage," Joey replied.

The girl blinked in surprise. "That's actually really nice, Joey."

"Hey, thanks. Is it alright if I say high to my kids?" He waved at the camera before he walked away.

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Alright, since that's it for hall-people, let's interview you, Shawnie."

"No, I'm the camera man!" he objected as he tried to keep the equipment out of the girl's grasp.

"C'mon, it's only a question. You can even lie if you want," Juliet wheedled while she tugged the camera from his hands.

"Fine," he huffed, letting it go.

Once the redhead had righted it to face him, she inquired, "how do you know if you're in love?"

"Well, love is the most amazing, rare and precious thing in the whole world," he declared.

"Have you ever fallen in love?"

"Five times a day," Shawn responded with a grin.

Juliet didn't even have time to register her feelings for his response before Harley shoved him out of the way. "Hey, Red. Joey tells me you're shooting a documentary in my hallway. Did I say you could shoot a documentary in my hallway?"

Unfazed, she shook her head. "No, but it's for school."

"Yeah, yeah, school. But, nevertheless, I see you here shooting without the proper permits."

"It's not your hallway, Keiner," Juliet retorted. "It's a free country. I can film here if I like."

"Now see, that doesn't sit well with me, Red. Even if the country's free using this hallway isn't."

"Yeah, I think what Harley's gonna need here is a location fee plus equipment rental fee," Joey piped up.

"Not gonna happen," the girl countered flatly. "But what I can do is put you guys in the documentary."

He frowned. "I don't see myself as the movie type."

Juliet held back a sigh before she spoke in a more dramatic voice: "picture it: Sex, starring Harley Keiner. What d'you say?"

Harley thought it over for a minute before he smirked. "Okay, Red, make me a star."

After Harley chickened out from answering Juliet's question, Shawn and the redhead went looking for someone to interview. "How are you able to stand up to him, Julie?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't like bullies and he's one of them. Besides, he's after my best friends and someone's gotta stand up for you guys."

"I know," Shawn interrupted her suddenly. "I'll ask you! We haven't gotten your opinion yet." He took the camera back from her.

The redhead turned to face him. "Alright, ask me a question."

"Uh, do you have an opinion on love and sex?" he interviewed her, almost awkwardly.

"Yes." There was a heartbeat of silence before the girl smiled. "I'm just giving you a hard time, Shawnie. Anyway," she began, "love is one of the strongest emotions we have and it can be a very powerful force. Two people who truly love each other are unstoppable— not even time or space can break them apart. From that love comes physical intimacy or sex, as it is more commonly known. It is the highest form of connectedness two people can ever have and therefore should only be done with someone you truly love."

When she looked at the camera again, Shawn was giving her an almost awed look. "What are you looking at me like that for?" she questioned him, feeling slightly uncomfortable by it (but not in a wholly bad way.)

"D'you really think that?" he wanted to know.

"'Course. Why else would I have said it?"

🌎🌎🌎

After interviewing enough people— including visiting Daly at the diner where she worked— Juliet forced Cory and Topanga out of the editing room so they could work on their footage first (it wasn't really forced; Cory was just sore that he lost in his and Juliet's thumb wrestle.)

The redhead put in the first tape on the TV before it played: "'we're here to interview you. How do you feel about sex?'"

"'Me? Oh, well, some people say 'sex, great anywhere, anytime.'"

"Stop, stop," Shawn cut in and paused the tape. "Rewind. Listen, we have to make cuts on this, Julie. Tell me what you think of this."

"'We're here to interview you. How do you feel about sex?'" Juliet's voice sounded again.

"'Great anywhere, anytime,'" Topanga's edited answer replied.

The redhead shot the dark-haired boy a look as he laughed. "You're horrible!" she exclaimed as she tried to keep her stern composure.

"I know, but you love me anyways," the boy joked, still chuckling.

Juliet flushed at his words as he unknowingly hit close to the mark. "We're gonna have to pull an all-nighter."

"You need to call your mom?" he wondered as his laughter died away.

The girl shook her head. "She won't be home 'til eleven or later and she'll just think I slept over at yours or Cory's."

Shawn frowned slightly, knowing that while Daly worked hard, Juliet thought it was too hard and it put a slight strain on the mother-daughter relationship. "Alright, I'll just call my parents then." He reached over for the phone and dialed the number. "Hi mom, I'm at Juliet's. I'm gonna have dinner over there and we've got a school project to work on, okay? Alright, bye."

"Not bad," she commented when he'd hung up.

He flashed her a smile. "You learned from the best."

"Please," she scoffed. "I've been lying to my mom since I was five."

"Well, I've been lying since I was four," he boasted smugly.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Alright, who's next?"

"Me," Shawn informed her, holding up the tape. He put it in and the screen showed him facing the camera.

"'Love is really great and it's even better if you love someone who likes you better than you like her 'cause then she'll pay for stuff and if she's paying, love is way cool.'"

Juliet's stomach twisted at his answer. This was who she had a crush on? Although, the voice in her head reminded her, you did say he could lie. Feeling slightly better, she poked him in the side, "you horrible, shallow boy."

"Hey, I may be so, but at least I've gone on dates."

Ouch. It wasn't her fault that she was now hung up on her best friend and she didn't have eyes for anyone else. (Okay, maybe it was her fault, but still. She couldn't get over him that easily.)

"Whatever," Juliet repeated and moved to the next tape.

🌎🌎🌎

Almost two hours later, Juliet felt herself nodding off at the umpteenth tape they'd watched. Her head slid sideways off her hand and her body tilted, propped up by something warm and solid on her right. She gave a contented sigh and wiggled slightly to get more comfortable before her eyes closed fully.

Shawn glanced at the sleepy girl now resting on his arm and sighed. As much as he'd be willing to let her sleep there, they had a project to finish and there was no way his effort would get them the grade she wanted. He tried to shake her gently. "Julie, Julie. Stay awake."

"No thanks," came her mumbled reply.

"C'mon, we've gotta get a good grade on this. I don't want to fail you," he implored in an attempt to reason with her. She let out a quiet hum as her arms wrapped around his, her hands resting in his lap as she leaned against him. "Seriously, Julie. You're gonna get a D if you leave this to me."

"Okay," she stated.

"I can't reach the tapes."

One hand shook free from under his arm and patted around the area they kept the recordings, her movements causing a few to be knocked to the ground. She finally landed on one and brought it over to him. "You interviewed Janitor Bud?" he demanded incredulously.

"You were busy," she pointed out tiredly.

He put the tape in and watched the video.

"'What do the ladies respond to, exactly?'" the Janitor mused. "'It's the uniform, a turn-on. I can't explain it.'" His pager went off. "'VIC. Oh, that's vomit in the cafeteria. Gotta go, good luck with your show, honey.'"

Shawn stopped the tape. "You wasted video on this?" He paused as he realized the redhead's weight was gone from his arm. "Julie, what are you doing? Are you sleeping?"

"No," Juliet objected, curling up more tightly on her jean-jacket pillow. "I'm right with you. I can hear everything you're saying."

"No you aren't. You're sleeping."

"I'm not sleeping, Shawnie. Just give me ten minutes, please. I'll be wide awake. I swear," she promised.

"Fine, I'll do this myself."

"No, no—" she tried to protest.

"You're lucky I care about your grade, Julie," Shawn remarked. And that I love you was silently tacked on at the end.

🌎🌎🌎

Someone cleared their throat loudly enough to wake Juliet from a deep, comfortable sleep. Her arms were wrapped securely around her pillow, which was hugging her back. At the loud noise, they tightened around her and the pillow moved slightly to tuck her head underneath his.

"I don't wanna go to school," a voice mumbled near her ear.

Feeling her pillow move some more, Juliet's eyes opened slowly in annoyance. She jerked awake as she saw that her head had been lying on Shawn's chest rather than her pillow at home. Turning, she gasped slightly. "Mr. Feeny!"

"Good morning, sunshine. Breakfast is on the table. Today we're having a big bowl of sugar frosted you've-got-a-lot-of-explaining-to-do."

🌎🌎🌎

Mr. Feeny called Shawn's parents first before he tried the Capelwood's residence. As Juliet had guessed, no one had picked up, causing her to slump slightly in her seat. Despite the situation they were currently facing, their teacher shot her a slightly concerned look. It quickly disappeared as Shawn stood up. "Mr. Feeny, I gotta go change, I gotta shower. If you don't let me go home I'm gonna be late for school."

"Sit!" he commanded as Juliet gave Shawn a surprised look. When did he ever care about arriving on time?

"Now, the two of you spent the night— unsupervised— on school property," he continued once Shawn had returned to his chair.

"Oh, Mr. Feeny, what do you think happ—" he started before he paused. "Oh!"

The redhead's face matched her flaming hair as she looked at their teacher with wide eyes. "Mr. Feeny, nothing happened! How could you think that? We're totally innocent. Tell him, Shawn!"

"You gotta believe me. I would never disrespect Julie like that, Mr. Feeny," Shawn agreed immediately.

If her face could be any more red, it probably would be by now. "Yeah, we were working late on our documentary. I fell asleep, then Shawn. That was it."

"Serious violations like this call for swift and decisive action," Mr. Feeny told them. "Uh, while I decide what that is you're both dismissed for the rest of the day."

As they stood to go, Juliet gave the principal a tentative look. "Mr. Feeny, can we just keep this incident between us?"

"Of course, Miss Capelwood. Totally hush-hush. No one need know at all."

"Thank you," she said before she followed Shawn out of the office. When they entered the hallway, people started clapping. 

"What's going on?" Shawn wondered.

"You are a god," Cory praised him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know. Like you didn't spend last night with Jules."

"All we did was edit."

"Call it what you want, my Shawn, but you are the man. I mean, you were already the man but you definitely are now," Cory stated proudly.

"I'm not the man," Shawn scoffed.

Topanga joined them then, giving the redhead a confused look. "What's going on, Juliet?"

"I dunno." She shrugged.

"There's the man." Harley's voice was heard over the crowd. "There he is, barely four feet high. I mean, not much to look at but inside there lurks a little Harley Keiner."

"So, uh, so Hunter. Come on, tell the truth now. Did you sleep with her? Did you sleep with Red?" Joey interrogated.

Juliet's breath caught in her throat as she waited for Shawn's reply, praying that he would answer the way she knew he could.

"Well, um, that's a very private, personal, intimate request—" he began.

"Hey! Are you the man or are you just you?" Harley asked.

"I guess. . ." Shawn paused as he looked around before his gaze landed on the girl next to him. "I truly am the man."

Juliet froze as her hopes dropped to the floor faster than she ever thought they could. As everyone clapped around them, she ducked her head and hid her face behind her hair. A gentle touch on her arm caused her to jump, but when she looked it was only to see Topanga's sympathetic expression.

"You know I didn't—" she started, unable to think about how she would feel should her only female friend believe the rumor.

"I know you wouldn't," she replied firmly, causing the girl to sigh in relief.

"Come, let us commemorate this occasion," Harley spoke as Joey handed him a can of spray paint.

Juliet could feel Shawn's lingering gaze as the crowd swept him away but she didn't look at him. In fact, she ignored him for the whole rest of the day and stuck close to Topanga who easily fended off any unwanted attention. She even kept Cory and Shawn away as she sensed that the girl wanted space. The redhead didn't speak for the rest of the day either, too hurt to even try to defend herself against those who believed the rumor.

🌎🌎🌎

After school, Juliet headed straight home and even took the long route to avoid walking with Shawn. She didn't think that she ever wanted to speak to him again after what he pulled, much less see him or have a crush on him.

When she got to her apartment, she locked the door and headed straight for her bed before she picked up Wuthering Heights and played her Blue Suede tape in her Walkman. She almost missed the knock at the door an hour later. After checking to make sure it wasn't Shawn, Juliet opened the door to let Topanga in. 

"How do you know where I live?" she greeted her, surprised.

"Cory told me," the girl shared before her expression softened. "Are you okay?"

"What d'you think?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I—"

The redhead sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I know you're only trying to help. I just—" Her throat suddenly closed up and she sniffed. "I just can't believe he would do something like that," she choked out. "I've trusted him with everything and he just threw it all away—"

Topanga closed the door behind her before leading the other girl to the couch in the middle of the room and helped her sit down. "It's okay to be upset, Juliet. Do you want me to get you some water?"

"Please," the girl agreed.

Topanga rooted around in the cabinets to find the glass. She filled it before she brought it back to the redhead and sat down next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," the redhead sighed. "I suppose it hurts so much 'cause I really, really like him— more than I'm supposed to as a friend, I mean. I've been trying to ignore it since I thought it would go away but it hasn't."

Topanga didn't even act surprised at this information. "You do stare at him a lot," she teased her with a hint of a smile. "He's very oblivious though." She sobered slightly. "You have to tell him something, Juliet."

"I can't!" the girl exclaimed with wide eyes. "Not after—"

"Not about that," the blonde corrected her. "But the rumor he started—"

"He's probably gloating about how we 'did it' at Chubbie's," the redhead replied dully.

"He's at Cory's right now, actually. He's lucky I didn't chew him out first."

Juliet sighed. "Thanks."

"I can come with you if you want," she offered.

"No, I think this is something I need to do by myself." Juliet straightened as she headed for the door.

🌎🌎🌎

When she entered the Matthew's kitchen, Shawn stood up quickly from the dining table. "Julie—"

"Don't even start, Hunter."

The use of his last name from her, his best friend, was a slap in the face. "Look, you know people are gonna talk but that's all it is, just talk," he tried. "In a few days they're gonna be talking about something else. It'll be like this never happened, right?"

Juliet raised her head to finally look at him and gave the boy a wounded look, hurt beyond anything she could have believed possible. Anger was there too, just underneath the surface and that's what came out: "you want me, Shawnie?" she stated in a calm, quiet voice.

"What?"

"You heard me. You want me? Take me. Take off my clothes. Everybody thinks you did it already so go ahead and do it," she bit out, swallowing when her voice threatened to crack.

"Come on, Julie. This isn't you."

"What's the matter, Hunter? Aren't you the man?"

"Look, I just said what I said because everyone wanted me to say it," he tried to defend himself as he looked everywhere but her face.

"Well, you know what I want?" she challenged him in the same tone. "I want my good reputation back. There's no way for you to ever know how I feel right now but I don't even know who you are. I feel like you were my best friend and now— now I don't know what you are. What I do know is that I don't like you," the redhead finished flatly, her face expressionless.

"Come on, Julie, wait—" he beseeched, willing her to turn and face him. Even if seeing that blank look directed at him sucked, her attention meant that she was at least willing to listen to what he had to say.

The girl paused at the door. "You know, it sucks when your own dad can't even be bothered to show up for your birth and breaks your heart before any other guy ever could, but it hurts even more when the person who's supposed to be your best friend— someone you thought you could trust— is the second one."

🌎🌎🌎

"Okay, everybody settle down, settle down. It's show time!" Mr. Turner called. "First up, the tape by Capelwood and Hunter."

"Ooh!" the class chorused.

Juliet refused to glance at the seat next to her and kept her gaze trained on the TV. Shawn had tried to talk to her before class started but she'd stonewalled him enough to make him give up and sit down.

"You're in this class?" Cory looked up in surprise as Harley came in.

"I'm in the movie, baboon," he answered.

"Mr. Turner, a word?" Mr. Feeny requested.

"Mr. Feeny, are you here to watch the tape?"

"No, actually I'm here to express my surprise that you're going to watch the tape. Any chance you might rethink that decision?"

"Alright, class. Mr. Feeny's of the opinion that our discussions about sex and love and gossip and slander only lead to more sex and love and gossip and slander. I have to say so far, he's right. Now, I have not seen this tape but I hope my trust has not been misplaced in you guys. Has it?" Mr. Turner asked.

"Why don't you ask him?" Juliet sneered bitterly as she jerked her head to the seat next to her.

"Hunter?"

"I think. . . if we don't watch it we'll never know anything," he replied quietly.

"My student says we should show it."

"Well, then perhaps we should," Mr. Feeny allowed.

Mr. Turner turned off the lights and began the tape.

Juliet appeared first. "'Mr. Feeny, do you have an opinion on love and sex?'"

"'Be careful with that equipment,'" was his response, causing the class to laugh.

"'I think sex is a part of a special kind of love that you feel for a very special person,'" Topanga spoke next.

"'Love is the most important thing in the world, Capelwood, and love is the only thing that makes sex worth having.'" Mr. Turner gave his opinion.

"'Sex is a special kind of love,'" Topanga repeated.

"'Love is the most amazing, rare and precious thing in the whole world,'" Shawn's answer played on the screen.

"'That you feel for a very special person. . .'"

Juliet appeared on the screen in the final scene: "'love is one of the strongest emotions we have and it can be a very powerful force. Two people who truly love each other are unstoppable— not even time or space can break them apart.'"

The screen went to static before it showed Shawn in the Matthew's home. "'Hi. Look, I didn't want to be in this documentary because I only spoke about love and not sex.'"

The redhead finally turned to look at the boy next to her. "What's this?"

"The special director's cut," he whispered.

Juliet turned back to the TV as Shawn continued: "'and the reason I don't have much to say about sex is because I don't have a lot of experience in that area. Some people think I do but I don't, and if I let people think that I had some experience with someone, well, you know, it really isn't fair to that incredibly awesome person that I didn't have that experience with. So, I'd like to say I'm sorry to that incredibly awesome person and I should have acted more mature. You know, maybe we haven't come as far as we'd like to think in the last four hundred years,'" he finished. "'Okay, cut it, Cor. Stop the camera, Cory.'"

"'Okay, now tell her how much you love her,'" Cory's voice teased him.

"'Shut up,'" Shawn scoffed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "'I do not.'"

Juliet started to smile at her best friends' antics.

"'Then why would you do this for her if you don't still love her?'"

"'Because she's. . . she's one of my friends,'" Shawn reasoned.

"'Why did you pause?'"

"'I didn't pause.'"

"'You paused. If you didn't love her, you wouldn't have paused.'"

"'I—'" he started, only to have Cory interrupt him with kissing noises.

"'Would you stop the camera, Cory?'" Shawn made to grab the camera from him. "'Cory!'"

Juliet glanced to the seat next to her where Shawn was giving her a hopeful look, "friends?"

"Best friends," she confirmed with a smile. She reached across the aisle to squeeze his hand gently.










(Both of them ignored the tingling feeling they felt when their fingers locked together.)

[edited may 2022]