Tatara remains oblivious, except now he's thinking.
He slowly turns his eyes to Khun, silly contemplative look on his face, and he studies that grin. ]
I'm not a gym person. [ Have you seen his twig ass. He taps his chin, as though considering a business deal. ] However, I can be convinced to offer you moral and verbal support from the sidelines.
Can you? [ their pace slows and he stops to give his boyfriend a proper kiss. ]
I'd have to wake you up even earlier, so I'll just take this instead.
And none of your guesses we're right, but we're here.
[ here is not helpful as there's a lot of shops around them: a cafe, art supply store, candy store, and ostensibly a home goods store seem to be the closest contenders, but these type of shops do run deep. ]
[ hehe. Well, he'll follow him to the gym one day, but for now he'll take the kiss. He'll always take the kiss. ]
We are? [ He pokes his head past Khun's shoulder and looks at the shops lining the street. He zooms in on the café, and can't really see anything else. ]
Nope. [ instead of being pulled towards the cafe, tatara will find himself being pulled towards the home good store??? who knows, maybe khun just wants to buy him a new couch for his room.
there's plenty of seating in the shop and all kinds of interesting things to look at: mirrors, antiques, wooden plaques with corny sayings, and various rugs and throws. khun leads him over to a plush red(!) couch, untangling their fingers. ]
[ Home goods?! What could Khun possibly want for his room...
There's a lot to look at, and little magpie Tatara's attention is already all over the place. So many trinkets, so many weird things he's never seen before. But his attention goes to Khun as their fingers part, and he's sat on the couch. ]
Oh, okay.
[ ...?
He'll just watch Khun leave... This is a couple's activity? Sitting on a couch alone? At least it's a nice couch, though. ]
if tatara watches khun leave, he'll notice that he goes deeper into the store, disappearing in one of the overly stocked aisles. what he probably doesn't know is that this shop connects to another one, which has its storefront on the street just over from where they walked down. you don't expect khun to play fair even with guesses, do you? hehe.
at least it doesn't take him more than a few minutes to return, because he planned ahead and called ahead. forgive him too if he uses his magic to cloak himself until he's right in front of tatara. he has to kneel for this given their positioning and so he does, even if it's been literal years since he's knelt to anyone.
in one hand he has a bouquet of flowers, red roses, violet alstroemeria with purple monte casino speckled throughout. in the other he has a box of assorted chocolates, the front see through to better exhibit the center piece of the sweets: raspberry fig truffles. ]
I'm late or early, but I prefer the second one so we'll go with that. But now that I know what Valentine's Day is, I had to make up for it. [ he won't wish him happy birthday because it really isn't close to that, and he'd prefer to save it for the real thing. ]
I care about you just as much no matter what day or month it is. But I also think you deserve everything, so I'm happy to give this to you too.
[ so take it, his smile says!
and no he does not care that he's making a spectacle in the store. ]
[ But when the rest of the scene, the rest of Aguero and the flowers in their colors and the chocolates in their colors, finally registers to him, he can't help both of his hands flying up to cover his cheeks and mouth and most of his face.
His eyes go wide, coral swims. His heart beats in his ears and in his throat and for several long moments, he doesn't realize this is happening to him. To him. His eyes dart from the flowers to the chocolates to Aguero and back to all the gifts and he doesn't even notice that a lot of the customers in the shop have stopped to watch the scene unfold. The world around him has faded away and all he can think about is how he cannot handle the way his heart bursts and aches.
If he's fireworks, then Aguero is the comfort of the late evening sky that he will always shine against. ]
Aguero...
[ He loves his name, too, and he says it because all the other words bubble in his throat then quickly die; he sees the perfect marriage of red and blue in that arrangement and he doesn't know what to say.
So he slides off the couch and throws himself at Aguero, careful not to crush the flowers or chocolates in the process, and he whips his arms around his neck. A laugh bubbles in his heart and through his lips, and he's, so, so, so happy. ]
I didn't know you didn't know what Valentine's Day was! You could have asked. [ The joy is in every note of his tone. The laugh rings in his voice and in his chest. ] I would've told you.
[ He pulls back, cups Aguero's cheeks, and plants a deep, but gentle kiss to his lips. ]
I don't think I have the words to say how touched I am. Or how much I love you.
[ He presses his forehead to his; his whole being beams with joy. ]
[ tatara is lucky that he's sturdy or they, the flowers, and the chocolates all could have wound up in a pile on the floor; like a messy ball of yarn, full of laughter, smiles, and love.
instead aguero holds them there, lamenting his lack of hands briefly, in between bubbles of thought as they kiss and their foreheads touch. ]
That'd be cheating and you deserve more than that. [ cheating... aha, magic! he lets go of the bundle of gifts, levitating them with magic so he can use both his arms to lift his boyfriend up, bridal carry style, so he can stand. there's an I love you too whispered just for them when he does, hopefully out of earshot of the gathering crowd of onlookers. ]
You don't have to thank me, your smile is more than enough, Tatara. [ he'll put him down in a moment, he just wants to admire how tatara looks in his arms just like this. ]
[ He's hoisted up and he laughs again. It feels like Aguero could have thrown him into the air and he would have floated upwards and onwards, forever into the moon and the stars. Tatara clings to him and he can't stop smiling; he hears the I love you and it earns Aguero another kiss, wherever his lips land.
He's totally oblivious to all the delighted whispers from the customers around them (westerners love this,). ]
But I'm always smiling around you. That's how happy you make me. [ Still, he's beaming—his cheeks almost hurt from the joy. With a finger, he pokes at Aguero's lips. ] That almost feels like cheating.
[ He might be let down soon, but that doesn't stop him from nestling against him, getting comfortable. ]
Well that's my specialty. [ cheating, skirting the lines of cheating, all that shady stuff... not the smiling or happiness thing? but maybe he's good at it, but that's one area where he vibes rather than overthinks.
his intention really was to put him down once he'd indulged in the moment, but now that tatara's made himself comfortable he really doesn't want to. his only retaliation to the poke is a light squeeze and dumb smile, he's stupidly content like this. ]
[ Aguero's dumb smiles are the most delightful things in this world right now, Tatara thinks. This isn't new, maybe not at this point, but his heart flutters in his chest like it may as well be, and he sighs, content. He wishes he could decorate Aguero in flowers, too. ]
Outside. To the street. [ He has his own impulses, and he kicks his feet lightly. As much as he'd like to stay cradled in his arms like this— ] I want to dance with you until the sun sets, and then I want to dance with you beneath the stars.
[ And in defiance of the moon? He wonders if they could float in the air while they dance, become stars themselves— ]
Dancing? We never did dance at the ball. [ khun was too busy playing politics and terrorizing kurapika back then. now however, he's smitten with the idea, grinning as bright as a star himself.
out the store they go then, but not before he takes a kiss to savor this moment one more time. the chocolates and flowers are coming too of course, khum vaguely aware of the... clapping? it seems to be clapping, that's for them as they leave.
he sets his boyfriend down once they're outside, looking to the gifts. ]
We didn't. [ But it's never too late to make up for it, is it?
Tatara wants that grin for himself, so he leans in and nips at Aguero's lower lip—only to be met with another kiss, and he positively melts in his arms.
The clapping could be fireworks, or trumpet fanfare, or canon fire. It's all the same, because he doesn't really hear it behind the rhythmical beating of his own heart in his ears.
As his feet touch the ground, he looks to the gifts, and reaches for them. ]
Maybe we can have just a little nibble before we dance. [ He pops open the lid of the chocolates and grabs one. But instead of taking it for himself, he holds it out between his fingers to feed Aguero. Say ah! ]
[ Tatara pops the chocolate into Aguero's mouth, and he beams! ]
How is it?
[ And he takes one for himself too, letting the sweet flavors of the chocolate spread over his tongue.
As he still chews, one hand grasps Aguero's, fingers lacing through his. Hehe. Tatara's buzzing with joy, and it seems he won't even want to wait until he's done chewing to start dancing. ]
[ And swept up in the moment, and for just a chance to have one last taste of the chocolate, Tatara stands on his toes to greet him with a deep, greedy kiss, stealing away what flavors of the chocolate lingers in Aguero's mouth. His now.
When he falls back on his heels— ]
I do. I think you're happy when you are, and I like it when you're happy.
[ He adjusts the hold he has on Aguero's hand, his signal he's about three seconds away from dragging him into a dance, regardless of the flowers and the chocolates they still hold. ]
[ well there go all his thoughts including but not limited to the fact that they're just doing this out in the middle of a random street where everyone can see them. not that he's shy but still.
to be honest, he's really not used to being doted on in any sense. it's foreign and alien and some part of him should prickle at the notion that he's not entirely self-sufficient like he was raised to be. but since it's tatara and since he's just been entirely disarmed by that long deep kiss, those thoughts just get smoothed over like a wrinkle. ]
Well I like your cooking. [ genuinely, it has a homecooked nature to it that he's never had before. ]
And I'm glad you like the chocolates, but I'm putting them away before they melt. The flowers too, because I want to hold you. [ so away go the chocolate and flowers into his lighthouse. now they're both free to arrange themselves properly, which khun does, putting his other hand on the square of his boyfriend's back.
he's used to leading and doesn't entirely know how to follow, but he's also curious where tatara's whims will lead them. he tilts his head to the side, waiting to see what his boyfriend will do. ]
[ You see that little look of awe on Tatara's face when he poofs away the gifts? Aguero's magic never fails to impress him, even the tiniest tricks.
Oh, he's so in love.
Tatara might naturally take the following position, but he's the one that moves first. He tugs Aguero as he glides down the city street, spinning and laughing and every once in a while, humming his own tune. Their own tune—one just for him and Aguero. Maybe they spin as they move, but no matter what sort of unorthodox or erratic moves Tatara drags him into, the people in the street move out of the way. How wonderful, they whisper. How romantic.
Coral glistens and glitters; his cheeks flush the same color. His gaze rests firmly on Aguero's blue because he finds it more vast, more welcoming, and more full of possibilities than the sky itself. ]
I love you— [ He murmurs, breathlessly between laughs and improvised tunes, for the umpteenth time today. ] I want to dance with you forever, Aguero.
[ they spin and twirl, because as much as aguero is following in tandem (not following along, the distinction is different), he's still entirely himself. he responds back to the laughter with dips and other flourishes of his own dusted with smiles and grins like stardust. it's sometime in the middle of their dance that he realizes that this truly is what their relationship is like.
they dance and they dance together, pulling each other along. they're equals, partners, even though they're both not used to having someone in step with them for entirely different reasons. they get lost in each other and at some point aguero is pink, dyed by all this affection.
he's not thinking, delirious, lovestruck. (was there something in the chocolate? he wouldn't be able to tell.) ]
I love you too. [ how unabashed that comes out, just like they're curled up with one another after making love. how he doesn't even think what forever means, even if it waters a seed in his mind. ]
Let's start with the sky. [ air might as well be the ground when you have magic. each step they take is like a step, climbing higher and higher to the clouds. ]
[ Tatara gives a little gasp as he feels their steps elevate; his eyes widen with alarm at first, and then awe, and he stares at Aguero with the entirety of his face dusted pink. His hands move instinctively, removing themselves from their proper spots for a proper dance and his arms come to wreathe Aguero's neck, fingers lacing gently behind his head.
He doesn't look down, at the awed masses of the city. All he needs to look at is his sky, his ocean, and he does so with all the adoration he has in his heart—which is quite a lot at this point.
He feels the wind in his hair and on his cheeks as they spin, and he feels like he doesn't need anything else in the world. ]
If I'm a bird, and you're my sky, [ He murmurs this in the same melody he's been humming this whole time, a little seed in his mind. ] then this is where we belong.
[ Does it make sense? He isn't sure, but it feels right, in his heart. ]
[ oh does he get to lead and hold his boyfriend close now? that makes this even more sublime. up they go, sometimes with little steps and sometimes with long twirls, past the rooftops into the bright blue beyond the cityscape. ]
Are you a bird? [ tatara can be what he wants khun thinks, but- ] I do see you as something in the sky.
[ He does! Tatara leans into his hold, and he doesn't even have to worry about tripping over anyone's feet. It's all air, and they drift in tandem anyway.
He laughs, bright and delighted. ]
Maybe. Or a butterfly. Or the breeze. [ He tries to pull Aguero down to him, closer, just because he likes his face and his voice. ] I guess it depends on what you are.
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he starts to steer them down a side street, still in the same district, but they must be getting closer.
(me also: do they have movies in tower of god.. a subject i am not conquering today) ]
Do you want to go to the gym with me? [ his smile is now a grin. ]
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Tatara remains oblivious, except now he's thinking.
He slowly turns his eyes to Khun, silly contemplative look on his face, and he studies that grin. ]
I'm not a gym person. [ Have you seen his twig ass. He taps his chin, as though considering a business deal. ] However, I can be convinced to offer you moral and verbal support from the sidelines.
[ He will watch. ]
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Can you? [ their pace slows and he stops to give his boyfriend a proper kiss. ]
I'd have to wake you up even earlier, so I'll just take this instead.
And none of your guesses we're right, but we're here.
[ here is not helpful as there's a lot of shops around them: a cafe, art supply store, candy store, and ostensibly a home goods store seem to be the closest contenders, but these type of shops do run deep. ]
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We are? [ He pokes his head past Khun's shoulder and looks at the shops lining the street. He zooms in on the café, and can't really see anything else. ]
It's not the café?
[ He peers up at Khun. Well? ]
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there's plenty of seating in the shop and all kinds of interesting things to look at: mirrors, antiques, wooden plaques with corny sayings, and various rugs and throws. khun leads him over to a plush red(!) couch, untangling their fingers. ]
Wait here, I'll be right back.
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There's a lot to look at, and little magpie Tatara's attention is already all over the place. So many trinkets, so many weird things he's never seen before. But his attention goes to Khun as their fingers part, and he's sat on the couch. ]
Oh, okay.
[ ...?
He'll just watch Khun leave... This is a couple's activity? Sitting on a couch alone? At least it's a nice couch, though. ]
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if tatara watches khun leave, he'll notice that he goes deeper into the store, disappearing in one of the overly stocked aisles. what he probably doesn't know is that this shop connects to another one, which has its storefront on the street just over from where they walked down. you don't expect khun to play fair even with guesses, do you? hehe.
at least it doesn't take him more than a few minutes to return, because he planned ahead and called ahead. forgive him too if he uses his magic to cloak himself until he's right in front of tatara. he has to kneel for this given their positioning and so he does, even if it's been literal years since he's knelt to anyone.
in one hand he has a bouquet of flowers, red roses, violet alstroemeria with purple monte casino speckled throughout. in the other he has a box of assorted chocolates, the front see through to better exhibit the center piece of the sweets: raspberry fig truffles. ]
I'm late or early, but I prefer the second one so we'll go with that. But now that I know what Valentine's Day is, I had to make up for it. [ he won't wish him happy birthday because it really isn't close to that, and he'd prefer to save it for the real thing. ]
I care about you just as much no matter what day or month it is. But I also think you deserve everything, so I'm happy to give this to you too.
[ so take it, his smile says!
and no he does not care that he's making a spectacle in the store. ]
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Wah!
[ A little exclamation, just for good measure. Boyfriend jumpscare?! ]
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His eyes go wide, coral swims. His heart beats in his ears and in his throat and for several long moments, he doesn't realize this is happening to him. To him. His eyes dart from the flowers to the chocolates to Aguero and back to all the gifts and he doesn't even notice that a lot of the customers in the shop have stopped to watch the scene unfold. The world around him has faded away and all he can think about is how he cannot handle the way his heart bursts and aches.
If he's fireworks, then Aguero is the comfort of the late evening sky that he will always shine against. ]
Aguero...
[ He loves his name, too, and he says it because all the other words bubble in his throat then quickly die; he sees the perfect marriage of red and blue in that arrangement and he doesn't know what to say.
So he slides off the couch and throws himself at Aguero, careful not to crush the flowers or chocolates in the process, and he whips his arms around his neck. A laugh bubbles in his heart and through his lips, and he's, so, so, so happy. ]
I didn't know you didn't know what Valentine's Day was! You could have asked. [ The joy is in every note of his tone. The laugh rings in his voice and in his chest. ] I would've told you.
[ He pulls back, cups Aguero's cheeks, and plants a deep, but gentle kiss to his lips. ]
I don't think I have the words to say how touched I am. Or how much I love you.
[ He presses his forehead to his; his whole being beams with joy. ]
Thank you, Aguero.
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instead aguero holds them there, lamenting his lack of hands briefly, in between bubbles of thought as they kiss and their foreheads touch. ]
That'd be cheating and you deserve more than that. [ cheating... aha, magic! he lets go of the bundle of gifts, levitating them with magic so he can use both his arms to lift his boyfriend up, bridal carry style, so he can stand. there's an I love you too whispered just for them when he does, hopefully out of earshot of the gathering crowd of onlookers. ]
You don't have to thank me, your smile is more than enough, Tatara. [ he'll put him down in a moment, he just wants to admire how tatara looks in his arms just like this. ]
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He's totally oblivious to all the delighted whispers from the customers around them (westerners love this,). ]
But I'm always smiling around you. That's how happy you make me. [ Still, he's beaming—his cheeks almost hurt from the joy. With a finger, he pokes at Aguero's lips. ] That almost feels like cheating.
[ He might be let down soon, but that doesn't stop him from nestling against him, getting comfortable. ]
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his intention really was to put him down once he'd indulged in the moment, but now that tatara's made himself comfortable he really doesn't want to. his only retaliation to the poke is a light squeeze and dumb smile, he's stupidly content like this. ]
Where do you want to go?
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Outside. To the street. [ He has his own impulses, and he kicks his feet lightly. As much as he'd like to stay cradled in his arms like this— ] I want to dance with you until the sun sets, and then I want to dance with you beneath the stars.
[ And in defiance of the moon? He wonders if they could float in the air while they dance, become stars themselves— ]
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out the store they go then, but not before he takes a kiss to savor this moment one more time. the chocolates and flowers are coming too of course, khum vaguely aware of the... clapping? it seems to be clapping, that's for them as they leave.
he sets his boyfriend down once they're outside, looking to the gifts. ]
Should I hold these for now?
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Tatara wants that grin for himself, so he leans in and nips at Aguero's lower lip—only to be met with another kiss, and he positively melts in his arms.
The clapping could be fireworks, or trumpet fanfare, or canon fire. It's all the same, because he doesn't really hear it behind the rhythmical beating of his own heart in his ears.
As his feet touch the ground, he looks to the gifts, and reaches for them. ]
Maybe we can have just a little nibble before we dance. [ He pops open the lid of the chocolates and grabs one. But instead of taking it for himself, he holds it out between his fingers to feed Aguero. Say ah! ]
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his mouth is open though, so... ]
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[ Tatara pops the chocolate into Aguero's mouth, and he beams! ]
How is it?
[ And he takes one for himself too, letting the sweet flavors of the chocolate spread over his tongue.
As he still chews, one hand grasps Aguero's, fingers lacing through his. Hehe. Tatara's buzzing with joy, and it seems he won't even want to wait until he's done chewing to start dancing. ]
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...this is tasty though, he's glad he doesn't have to go and stab the chocolatier later.
after he swallows, with a glance at their hands. ]
I like it. Do you?
[ he starts to get into position as much as he can, but he's also got to put away the gifts first. ]
I think you like feeding me.
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[ And swept up in the moment, and for just a chance to have one last taste of the chocolate, Tatara stands on his toes to greet him with a deep, greedy kiss, stealing away what flavors of the chocolate lingers in Aguero's mouth. His now.
When he falls back on his heels— ]
I do. I think you're happy when you are, and I like it when you're happy.
[ He adjusts the hold he has on Aguero's hand, his signal he's about three seconds away from dragging him into a dance, regardless of the flowers and the chocolates they still hold. ]
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to be honest, he's really not used to being doted on in any sense. it's foreign and alien and some part of him should prickle at the notion that he's not entirely self-sufficient like he was raised to be. but since it's tatara and since he's just been entirely disarmed by that long deep kiss, those thoughts just get smoothed over like a wrinkle. ]
Well I like your cooking. [ genuinely, it has a homecooked nature to it that he's never had before. ]
And I'm glad you like the chocolates, but I'm putting them away before they melt. The flowers too, because I want to hold you. [ so away go the chocolate and flowers into his lighthouse. now they're both free to arrange themselves properly, which khun does, putting his other hand on the square of his boyfriend's back.
he's used to leading and doesn't entirely know how to follow, but he's also curious where tatara's whims will lead them. he tilts his head to the side, waiting to see what his boyfriend will do. ]
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Oh, he's so in love.
Tatara might naturally take the following position, but he's the one that moves first. He tugs Aguero as he glides down the city street, spinning and laughing and every once in a while, humming his own tune. Their own tune—one just for him and Aguero. Maybe they spin as they move, but no matter what sort of unorthodox or erratic moves Tatara drags him into, the people in the street move out of the way. How wonderful, they whisper. How romantic.
Coral glistens and glitters; his cheeks flush the same color. His gaze rests firmly on Aguero's blue because he finds it more vast, more welcoming, and more full of possibilities than the sky itself. ]
I love you— [ He murmurs, breathlessly between laughs and improvised tunes, for the umpteenth time today. ] I want to dance with you forever, Aguero.
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they dance and they dance together, pulling each other along. they're equals, partners, even though they're both not used to having someone in step with them for entirely different reasons. they get lost in each other and at some point aguero is pink, dyed by all this affection.
he's not thinking, delirious, lovestruck. (was there something in the chocolate? he wouldn't be able to tell.) ]
I love you too. [ how unabashed that comes out, just like they're curled up with one another after making love. how he doesn't even think what forever means, even if it waters a seed in his mind. ]
Let's start with the sky. [ air might as well be the ground when you have magic. each step they take is like a step, climbing higher and higher to the clouds. ]
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He doesn't look down, at the awed masses of the city. All he needs to look at is his sky, his ocean, and he does so with all the adoration he has in his heart—which is quite a lot at this point.
He feels the wind in his hair and on his cheeks as they spin, and he feels like he doesn't need anything else in the world. ]
If I'm a bird, and you're my sky, [ He murmurs this in the same melody he's been humming this whole time, a little seed in his mind. ] then this is where we belong.
[ Does it make sense? He isn't sure, but it feels right, in his heart. ]
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Are you a bird? [ tatara can be what he wants khun thinks, but- ] I do see you as something in the sky.
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He laughs, bright and delighted. ]
Maybe. Or a butterfly. Or the breeze. [ He tries to pull Aguero down to him, closer, just because he likes his face and his voice. ] I guess it depends on what you are.
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