“Can I come in?”

“No.”

“I just want to talk to you.”

“No!”

“Why not? You’re not doing anything. Just open the door.”

“I said no! I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Come on Nick, quit pouting. Just open up,” Kevin drawled. He knew Nick was on the other side, his hand only millimeters from the door knob. “You know you want to...” he sang.

“Shut up,” Nick said through an annoyed smirk, walking back with the door’s swing.

“Ah, see, I knew you could do it.” Kevin reached out to pat Nick’s head as he passed, but the younger one dodged it to push the door closed.

“Now what do you want?”

“Do I have to want something to talk to my little buddy?” Kevin playfully asked, pleasantly watching as Nick walked past him.

Nick sighed, already confused. “I don’t know. Why are you here? I’m busy.”

“You’re busy?” Kevin glanced around the room, not finding a thing Nick could possibly busy himself with. A videogame system wasn’t even set up; what else was there for Nick to do?

“It’s none of your business.”

“Ah.”

“What?” Nick asked with a pinch of nervousness, in response to Kevin’s amusedly fascinated gaze.

“I didn’t know you could read,” Kevin mused in the direction of Nick’s bed.

“Fuck you, Kevin. I read.”

Kevin chuckled quietly.

“Don’t give me that sparkly-eyed smirk. It’s not funny.”

Kevin put his hands up, eyebrows lifting as well, although found himself unable to surrender his grin.

“And now the eyebrows,” Nick complained, Kevin’s unyielding amusement forcing Nick to feel some embarrassment.

“Nick, it’s not that big a deal. I’m glad you’re spending some of your time reading. You’ll learn more words. Real ones, even.”

A long, bony finger immediately shot up to greet Kevin as Nick turned to the wall. “Get out now.”

“Awe, honey,” Kevin mockingly crooned, scooting up behind Nick. “There’s no need to be like that...”

“I’m not playing; get out,” Nick replied, his tone seeming more of self-pity than anger.

“Come on now, Nick. I know you still love me,” he playfully assured, giving Nick a nice, tight hug from behind.

“Knock it off!” Nick yelled, with a half-hearted attempt to push Kevin’s arms away.

“Okay, okay. So what is this book that has actually grabbed the attention of ‘Kaos’?” He worked his way out from beside Nick, and reached towards the book with its pages sprawled in half, facedown on the sheets.

“No! Wait!” Nick lunged for it, tackling his book and Kevin’s hand.

“Christ, Nick,” Kevin complained with annoyed confusion as he pulled his slightly sore hand from the pile of Nick. “It’s just some novel, right? I don’t care what you’re reading about, just tell me the title.”

“No.” The large lump of cotton sweats and a white T-shirt straightened itself to follow the length of the bed, without removing the book from its clutch with both hands beneath his stomach.

“Well now that you got all worked up, I have to know. What are you hiding?” Kevin joined him on the bed, originally trying to sneak a hand beneath the squirming boy before crawling on top of him for an all-out assault. He sat just behind Nick’s butt and tugged at his arms.

Nick tried to curl himself up to protect his hands and the book with his thighs, but Kevin pinned him down. And began to tickle him.

“Shit! I hate you!” Nick cried with screaming giggles. He tried to maneuver his body away from the touches, without using his hands or rolling over. “Stop; please!”

“No. Just give me it.” To make it worse, he pushed up the back of Nick’s shirt, letting his fingers skimp along the bare skin of Nick’s back and sides.

“No, Kevin, please,” Nick pleaded, pulling the book up to hug it at his chest while his upper body twisted to its side. Still, his hips couldn’t turn.

“That’s better,” Kevin said as he pried Nick’s hands apart, to then rip the book from the lone hand’s sweaty grip.

“Kevin.” Nick almost sobbed it, and turned himself back towards the bed. He covered his face with both hands.

“What, is it just like a romance novel or something?” Kevin asked, noting the half-naked man on the cover. “I’ve glanced at a few of these before, it’s not that...” He turned it over to read the back’s description. “ ‘Sex fiction for gay men.’ Oh. Huh.”

Nick tried to bury himself farther into the bed, an awful hollowness aching in his stomach.

“Is it romantic?”

“What?” Nick whispered, only allowing half his face to peak from its hiding place.

“Is it romantic? What kind is it? Is it just sex? Short stories or a long one?”

“Oh, um...” Nick’s heart still beat rapidly with his fear and an unwelcome tremble. “It’s...it’s a long one that’s...”

Kevin began to read from it, “ ‘The boy who kissed me was waiting to fulfill his part of the proceedings. He was gentle as he placed each of my wrists in the iron rings which he tightened so I could not escape.’ Bondage?”

“I was just looking,” Nick responded with a half-hearted whisper. “I’m not gay. I mean, not really...”

“Neither am I.”

“Great,” Nick replied with sarcastic enthusiasm. “Thanks for pointing it out.”

“That’s not how I meant it, Nick. I’m not gay...specifically.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Well I like women, sure, but I can appreciate men, too. So, trust me, Nick, the last thing I’m shocked about is your sexuality. And if you’re worried I might tell, now you have the same thing revealed from me, which I hope makes you feel better. My only intrigue is in regards to the content of this book. Do you really like this stuff?”

“Kind of, I guess. But I...I can’t really find anything good. I don’t like that really hardcore stuff; I don’t want to be a slave or just used or something. But I like that domination/submission stuff, ya know? Maybe light S & M; I don’t want to be beaten or anything.”

“You’re into pain?”

“I’ve never tried it. But, ya know, some things, like reading about it anyway, that’ll turn me on. And just, like, fantasizing...”

“What kind of things?”

“Come on, Kevin. I feel really stupid here,” Nick whined. Although speaking with Kevin’s butt still on the back of his thighs and package basically cradled atop his ass only added to the oddness, he honestly found it better than having to look Kevin in the eye.

“You really don’t have to feel stupid about it...” He placed warm hands on Nick’s back for a kind, consoling rub. “If I tell you more, about...my feelings, will you answer my questions?”

Nick sighed, Kevin’s massage gradually freeing the dull torment of his insides. “Okay. As long as you don’t stop that.”

“Alright, then. Well...I can’t say, exactly, that this kink is new to me.”

“Hmm? Did you ever do anything?” Nick asked in a slightly muffled mumble.

“I had a boy, once.”

Nick jerked out of his only momentary haze. “What?”

“When I was nineteen. He was seventeen. We were kind of into the scene, experimenting and stuff.”

“Really? What was he like? What kind of things did you do with him?”

Kevin smirked. “I almost don’t want to tell you.”

“Why? You said you would.”

“Because he’s too much like you.”

“What? How?”

“Well you’re seventeen now. And he was blond. Soft. Naive and eager. A perfect twink. I assume you know what a twink is.”

“Yes. How long...how long have you thought I was one?”

“The minute I first saw you, even at twelve. I knew it played a big role in why they picked you. They wanted a pretty, innocent blond boy.”

“Was your boy pretty?” Nick timidly whispered.

“Very. He was beautiful. And he would do anything for me.”

“What kind of things?”

“Nearly anything I wanted, and with a, ‘thank you, Sir.’ He wanted me to restrain him, spank him, fuck him. He had a collar, too, and a leash to match. He liked going out to certain clubs, even at his age, and loved being mine.”

“How come you broke up with him? I mean, how come you don’t do that stuff anymore?”

“I’m here, Nick. I can’t risk that kind of stuff. But as for Trevor...he...met a girl.”

“Really? He was bi, too?”

“I guess. He never said so while he was with me. But I don’t think it was true. I think his parents were on to him, and they scared him into being straight. He even went to prom with her and everything. Last thing I heard, they were married. I still don’t believe he’s not gay.”

“How could he be with her then? Wouldn’t that suck?”

“I’m sure it has to suck. But sometimes you just get worked into a corner and it’s the only thing you can do to keep thing walls from caving in. He wouldn’t have his family, his friends, most anything anymore if he came out. I told him he could wait, he could move away and live in a more accepting community when he was older, but he didn’t want to. He was too afraid to lose what he had. Except for me.”

“Man...”

“Don’t you suppose that’s enough from me, now? Tell me about you.”

“Well I...I haven’t really done anything like you have. Sometimes I go out...a couple times I did it with a guy...that’s it.”

“Did he fuck you or did you fuck him?”

“I was...fucked.”

“Do like it that way?”

“Yeah,” Nick heavily breathed.

“And you’re a sub.”

“I guess. I want to be,” Nick quietly replied.

“What do you want?” Kevin tired of sitting upright and opted to speak more directly to Nick, and lowered himself along Nick’s back. “Do you want to be restrained?”

Nick shuddered, the mellow breath hot in his ear. “Maybe.”

“Could you do that? Give someone else complete control? Doesn’t that scare you?”

“Yes... But if I trusted him....”

“How about spanking? Would you like some Daddy to take you over his knee and discipline you?”

“Oh my god.”

Kevin snickered lightly against Nick’s neck. “Yes? Would you beg for it? Cry, and ask for more?”

“I don’t know,” Nick whispered, his entire body shivering with the vibrations of Kevin’s words.

“I think you would. You pleaded with me already, begging me to take mercy on you. Would you do the same, if I took you now?”

“Yes,” Nick whispered, noting Kevin’s groin more firmly pressing into his buttocks.

“I can teach you tonight.”

“How much?” Nick tried to remain more shy than eager.

“Not too much, I don’t have anything with me. Just what I talked about. I won’t really hurt you either. And if you want me to stop, or go another direction, if it becomes too much for you, you can say a safe word like ‘kite’ or something, okay?”

“Yes.”

“That will be ‘yes, Sir’ to you, Child. And you’ll refer to me as it after each answer, only speaking when spoken to and only with yes or no replies, unless I ask you something specific. You can beg, but it may only have a negative sway rather than getting what you want. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

A series of relatively tame kisses littered Nick’s neck and cheek before a subtle nip to his earlobe. “I’m going to take you now, boy.” Kevin groaned softly, his hips attempted a slow, rhythmic hump. His fingers brushed up Nick’s head to secure a hold in the blond hair. “Do you want me to fuck you?”

“Yes, Sir.” The awkwardness in referring to Kevin in such a strict and respectful manner caused a sort of uneasy pinch within him. But he supposed it really was part of submitting, and he was supposed to feel this tinge of humiliation.

“Spank you?”

Nick hesitated. He had never been hit like that before. He didn’t know what he could take; what he was getting himself into. He didn’t even know if he would like it. Or just how much he wouldn’t. “Yes. Please, Sir.”

“That’s right.” He placed a brief kiss on Nick’s cheek before sitting up and backing off. Nick’s shirt was still half way up his smooth back, and Kevin’s simple tugging was enough for Nick to get the hint to prop himself up and lift his arms. Kevin stroked Nick’s bare back, the tips of his fingers again teasing Nick’s now fully exposed sides.

Nick cried a whimper, his entire body jerking and his arms pulled down to protect himself.

“Uh, uh, uh. I see you can’t control yourself. We’ll have to take care of that.” Kevin left the bed to dig through Nick’s nice suitcase. The one that held Nick’s good clothes. And surely his only tie.

Nick at least knew enough not to watch, and only waited with excited apprehension as Kevin came back and straddled his waist. He kept his eyes closed while Kevin worked the black silk around the crossed wrists above his head. He couldn’t grasp the magnitude of his vulnerability. He couldn’t measure his fear over his arousal. He didn’t want to say no, and nor did his dick. The possibilities were just too exhilarating.

Once again, Kevin found a position farther down upon Nick to kneel. Though instead of taunting Nick with his fingers, Kevin placed gentle kisses on the creamy skin of Nick’s back. He didn’t forget Nick’s weakness, and those lips grazed along Nick’s ribs and lower side with excruciating delicacy.

Nick held himself together, only grunting a few faint whimpers. He was also quite certain he had felt the bare skin of Kevin’s shoulder on his lower back, and even that light brush of now unclothed skin elated him.

Kevin grew quickly bored, and gained much more interest Nick’s ass. He tucked his fingers inside the waistband, exposing as much of Nick’s supple cheeks just beyond the cleft, where his back rose into the roundness of his ass, as the position would allow. “Lift your hips now, boy.”

Nick managed a temporary stance on his knees and elbows while Kevin slipped his sweatpants off and then worked the waistband of his underwear over his shameful arousal. It seemed almost natural to submit to Kevin. Natural for Kevin to tell him what to do. Not so natural for Kevin to be stripping him naked, but he was more than willing to get used to it.

Kevin, kneeling to the side of his boy now, palmed one of Nick’s cheeks, grasping it with admiration and a brief rub before switching to the other. He didn’t often do this with just his hand, and knew it could end up stinging almost as much as Nick’s butt. But he knew Nick couldn’t take a belt, and he didn’t even have anything else. Regardless, it would be sweet, to see that amble round clench and blush as his blows increased. Kevin chose this opportunity to give Nick his first slap. He smiled at Nick’s flinch, and rubbed the barely even minor redness.

He instructed Nick to raise his hips, and worked a pillow below him to angle his ass more appropriately. Again, Kevin saw Nick’s beautiful erection, and watched appreciatively as it sunk into the white softness. He cupped himself, stroking his own confined hardness. He considered freeing it, but figured it might distract him. It would be more effective in begging him to take advantage of the boy at his mercy. He would fuck him, one way or the other, too quickly. It had been too long since Kevin was in this role, and he needed to maintain it. He needed to teach Nick.

Besides, he wanted Nick to feel more vulnerable. To be the truly naked one.

“You can cry if it gets too intense.” He tapped Nick’s butt with light spanks, almost testing the area. “I might consider taking pity on you.”

“Kevin.” Nick trembled, fingers clenched and brow creased. “I’m scared. Please don’t hurt me.”

“Sh, sh,” Kevin’s shushed with gentle concern, petting Nick’s head. “I’m not going to harm you. Your butt will just be red for a little while. It will hurt, yes, but you’ll take it, feel its affects, and you’ll be stronger because of it. I promise, if you’re truly interested in this, part of you will like it. And it’s good to be scared. Fear has its own thrill. You just have to fear the pain, fear the affects of your actions, not me. You need to trust me. Do you, Child?” Kevin asked, his reference more endearing than derogatory.

“Yes, Sir,” Nick whispered, a silent tear attempting to slip.

“Save them,” Kevin responded with that same confident kindness, and caught it on his fingertip.

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“However, because of your weakness, your disrespectful utterance, the spanking will not be bypassed. Now you deserve it.” One hand secured Nick’s waist, with his knee against the other hip. His slap was quick, with a sharp sting.

Nick gasped.

And then he got another. It seemed to tingle and spread with fiery little prickles down his thighs.

As the intensity grew, Nick tightened his pelvis, lightly thrusting himself into the pillow. This vain effort to escape the sting helped at least slightly counter the pain by giving his penis a moment or two of pleasant pressure.

“Don’t keep your butt tense. Loosen yourself and let it take the shock.”

Nick complied as best he could, finding it easier to recuperate when Kevin rubbed in between. He would grasp him like before, admiring his work, while working away some of the sting. Nick appreciated it, but as Kevin’s strikes grew harder, it became more of a nuisance. His ass then begged for the brief sting over the prodding of his tender flesh.

Eventually the pain of each blow caused Nick a relatively restrained yelp. Kevin taunted him to cry, assuring him that the child he was couldn’t take it. Such a pitiful boy should beg him. He hit harder.

Nick honestly attempted to hang on, and tried not to be as pathetic as his earlier self. Though it already overwhelmed him, he managed some minimal amount of silence, taking it with tears and hushed, shuddering cries.

Then it blurred. And the largest factor to induce his tears was not knowing when Kevin would stop. Not knowing if he could take more.

His entire body felt on fire when it melted to an end. It looked that way, too--his back thoroughly flushed and face splotchy with searing tears that blended with his sweat.

“Are you okay?” Kevin asked, his fingertips dancing gracefully atop the brightness.

“Yes, Sir.” Nick sniffled.

“It shouldn’t last too long. This was really nothing.”

Nick brushed his face into the mattress, wanting to silence the sobs that still shook his shoulders.

“Hey,” Kevin compassionately called as he knelt closer to him. Again, his hand stroked Nick’s dampened hair. “You did a good job; especially for the first time, okay? I want you to know that.”

He kissed Nick’s cheek, lying down against him as a hand went to Nick’s burning backside, and middle finger between his crack.

The boy offered a softer, more contented sigh, and arched his back. His legs parted just the faintest bit farther, too.

“Is this what you’ve been waiting for?” Kevin asked, his voice more seductively dominant.

Nick moaned, tilting his hips under the lull of Kevin’s stroke.

“Answer me, boy,” Kevin growled, with another smack.

“Yes, Sir!” Nick yelped, opening his eyes to timidly meet the teasing ones before him.

“Have you cleaned yourself down here recently?” He sat back up to more closely observe the pretty pucker he played with.

“Yes, Sir.”

“In preparation to be fucked?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“By who?”

Though he knew would very well be spanked again, Nick refrained from answering.

“Who?” Kevin asked, without disappointing Nick’s assumption. “Were you going to meet someone tonight?”

“No, Sir.”

Kevin slapped him again, his aggressive hand hard and without pity. “Were you going to go out and proposition someone like a little whore?”

“No, Sir.” His voice trembled again, and he couldn’t help but tense for another blow.

But it wasn’t just one, and Kevin gave him three more swift strikes before Nick cried out his embarrassing admittance.

“It was just me! I wasn’t going to be with anybody, Sir!”

“What? You mean you wanted to fuck yourself?”

“Yes, Sir.” Nick breathed, another of those drowning aches gradually draining, to fill with faint relief, from his insides. He didn’t care now if Kevin knew, so long as he wouldn’t be hit again.

“Oh, you have toys?” Kevin seemed pleased.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Where?”

“In the blue bag, down there, Sir.”

“Oh fun,” Kevin said, crawling off the bed to lift the duffel bag up onto it. “Wow, you should have told me you had nipple clamps. We could have fun with these. A butt plug. Hmm, wouldn’t that have been fun to be spanked with? If I had a leather paddle, anyway. The lube is really all I need for now, though.” He dropped the tube beside Nick’s hip, before tossing the bag back onto the floor. He also took this opportunity to take the rest of his clothes off, making sure Nick could watch. Once released, he stroked himself to the hardness it desired.

Nick watched with his childish awe, Kevin’s size only causing him more excited fear. He had never taken anything that large before, but imagined if it didn’t hurt, it could feel pretty amazing. He had just been too afraid to try it on his own. Still, he would trust Kevin.

Kevin’s knee sunk into the mattress beside Nick’s calve before the other knee climbed over to straddle his ankles. Fingers then parted his sore cheeks for the gentle slickness of Kevin’s warm tongue. He squirmed with dainty whimpers as Kevin lapped, his entire body seeming to slacken with bliss.

When Kevin had Nick on the verge of begging, already crying enough for more with his moans, he slipped in a thick, lubed finger. Nick clenched himself around it, his eager hole desperately grasping its intruder. His hips faintly moved with the rhythm of Kevin’s mini-fucking.

“You are an eager little slut, Child. Do you want another finger?” Kevin asked in a domineering taunt.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Beg for it,” Kevin ordered, thrusting his current finger with more force.

“Please, Sir! Give me another!”

He jammed the second in along with his first finger’s thrust. Even without extra lube, it was much to Nick’s delight.

However, even Kevin couldn’t stand this as much as he would have liked to, and with as little time between as he could manage, his cock was lubed and at Nick’s entrance. He held his cock, as well as Nick’s hip. Not only for his own grip, but to keep the boy from impaling himself on his own. It was slow, and he let the tip tease the blond whimpering pleas, before pressing into the sweet resistance. It took welcome work, and Nick’s jaw hung open with held breath until it slipped passed the tight muscle. Still, Nick held him snuggly, and he crept farther into the heavenly heat of Nick’s body. His length also allowed him to pull back with prolonged leisure, killing Nick with each excruciatingly satisfying stroke.

As Nick loosened, Kevin tested him with a few relatively short, quick thrusts with the tip of his dick before ending with a swift slide to the hilt. Although it seemed to happen before Nick could even recognize it, his hips still tried to match it, desperately pushing himself back.

He continued to do so with each thrust, wishing he had free hands to grasp Kevin’s ass with. To force him farther inside. To make him do it harder.

Kevin leaned closer, laying on Nick’s back. His hips raised as his back arched, to then straighten and curve the opposite way as he thrust himself inside, his hips merging fully with Nick’s ass. He used this more intimate position to place hot kisses on Nick’s neck, and laid a hand over Nick’s, letting the boy grasp his fingers.

Nick’s moans weren’t the only exciting thing, as Kevin’s fierce groaning grunts stirred Nick’s heart like a roaring storm. His head turned, lips reaching for the ones just above him.

Kevin conceded, letting Nick touch his lips with the full, wet pinkness. They licked each others tongues, and bit lips with fevered haste. “How are you down here?” Kevin asked, working his hand down Nick’s hip and beneath the pillow. He held Nick’s penis, rubbing his thumb over the tip with as much movement as the close space allowed. “Do you want it to be free? Do you want me to jack you? To taste your cock?”

“Yes, Sir,” Nick breathed, still reaching for Kevin’s lips.

“Okay, we’re gonna roll over then.” He removed himself, much to Nick’s dismay, and guided the boy’s uncertain turn. He situated Nick’s lower back and butt just as perfectly on the pillow.

There Nick laid, his legs splayed, arms still above his head, and erection and ass now prominently displayed and eager, just like a real slut. He hadn’t felt this vulnerably ashamed yet. And it only made his dick harder.

“That a boy...beautiful.” His hand slipped along the tenderness of Nick’s inner thigh until taking gentle hold of Nick’s balls. His tongue rewarded Nick with a quick flip across the head, before leaving it completely.

“Please, Sir,” Kevin pleaded as Nick crawled over him.

“What’s that? You want me to suck your dick?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Kevin smirked. “No. I won’t even touch it now. Maybe later, if you’re lucky.” He touched his lips to Nick’s again, allowing Nick to bask in the bliss of their kissing dicks instead. Nick’s legs lifted over Kevin’s spread thighs, almost attempting to guide Kevin’s force as he humped Nick’s crotch. Kevin didn’t mind it, though, instead preferring this position. It’s just how he planned to fuck him.

He slipped his hips back down, craftily applying more lube, and sunk into him. With Nick already loosened, and both of them more fervent, his thrusts were firm and rapid already. His hips arched the same as before, so the rest of him could stay close to Nick.

As Nick gasped, overwhelmed in his consciousness blurred with pleasure, Kevin would lean down just close enough for his lips to graze Nick’s. The boy would lean anxiously forward, licking his lips with pained desire, only to be met with Kevin’s teasing smirk. Then he would bend down again, and give Nick a longer taste, gently nibbling at his lip, before leaving him again.

“Please,” Nick begged with breathy haste. And this became his sort of chant, begging Kevin with each thrust, so much that it became a thank you.

As they got closer, Kevin’s eyes seemed much more fierce. They pierced into Nick’s as he growled his groans, angry with passion. Each kiss became a bite that traveled down Nick’s neck. Kevin sucked on Nick’s shoulder with his last, solid thrusts, the tip of his teeth pinching Nick’s skin as his orgasm hit. He rocked into Nick as the waves rolled, his grunts dissolving into sighs as he melted into Nick.

He kissed back up Nick’s neck, still inside him, more intrigued with Nick’s eager clenching than annoyed.

“Hmmm.” He pecked Nick’s lips. “Shall I finish you?”

“Please,” Nick pleaded, savage desperation in his eyes.

“I suppose you’ve been good enough...” He removed himself and the pillow beneath Nick, to lie to the boy’s side. He casually grasped Nick’s penis.

Nick bucked with a shuddering moan and heavy, pleading breath.

Kevin laid his head on Nick’s shoulder, lazily watching his lazy hand. “How’s this?” He kissed Nick’s nipple, his free hand playing with Nick’s fingers.

“Please, faster, Sir. I’m dying.”

“Good.” He used some of the lube still on his own dick to coat Nick’s, and encouraged Nick to thrust into his hand. “You’ll be responsible for your own, if you can manage it.”

Part of Kevin was actually surprised when it took Nick another mere minute to spill his elated cum all over his belly. But what got him more was the extent of Nick’s orgasm. Nick’s hips jerked with his overwhelmed breath and his face contorted with the most beautifully pained expression as his own waves rolled and rolled, longer than anything Kevin had ever seen.

And when it was over, Nick was shot. He just closed his eyes and breathed.

Kevin carefully removed Nick’s bonds and lowered the boy's tired arms. As he leaned in to kiss Nick’s forehead one last time, those weak arms came around him. He settled into Nick’s hold.

“Thank you, Sir.”

“You don’t have to call me that anymore, Nick,” Kevin assured, kindly stroking Nick’s hair.