I Love New York 4/7
Title: I Love New York part 4
Rating: R
Length: 2524
Spoilers: AU after 2x16 'Original Song'. I don't like the back 6...
Disclaimer: Glee belongs to RIB
Summary: Faberrittana friendship, eventually Faberrittana romance. Established Brittana romance.
Future!fic. The girls are all headed off to New York for college!
Additional disclaimer: I do not own Sesame Street and Avenue Q... (yeah, you read that right.)
Labor Day part 2
Rachel was sitting on the couch in the living room of the apartment, trying to focus on the book she was reading. She gave up when she realized that she had read the same paragraph ten times over without absorbing any of it. Rachel let out a loud groan of frustration. She was so bored. Quinn had gone out, shopping with Brittany and Santana was holed up in her room doing God knows what. Maybe she was sleeping.
“Hey, what are you groaning about, midget?” Santana's head poked out from above the railing of the second level.
Maybe not. Rachel huffed and crossed her arms.
“I'm bored.” Santana rolled her eyes.
“Well, so am I, but you don't see me acting like a child about it.”
“If you're bored as well, perhaps you could think of something for us to do.”
“You know what I like to do, Berry.” Santana wagged her eyebrows suggestively. Rachel stuck her tongue out.
“You wish, Santana.” The Latina said nothing in reply. Instead she smirked and then made her way down the staircase.
Rachel's jaw dropped, tongue still sticking out. Santana was wearing nothing but a lacy red bra and matching french cut panties. Rachel never took her eyes off as Santana went to stand in front of her. Santana's smirk grew more pronounced.
“Looks like I'm not the one who's wishing right now, Berry.”
Rachel was still mesmerized by the vision of lust right in front of her, Her outstretched tongue was starting to unconsciously flick up and down. Santana winced. She bent over and started snapping her fingers in front of Rachel's face.
“Okay, Rach, this is getting weird now.”
Rachel's eyes widened even further. Santana bending over in front of her afforded her a great view down the Latina's cleavage. Santana grabbed the smaller girl's shoulders and started shaking her.
“Rachel, snap out of it!”
That finally brought Rachel down to earth. The diva finally realized what she had been doing and felt a massive rush of heat flow into her face. She hurriedly turned away from Santana.
“I...uh..ah..I...um...” Rachel spluttered. Santana reached out and placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder. The shorter brunette flinched but Santana kept her hand on her shoulder.
“Relax, Rach. You've seen me in less before.” Santana's voice was soft and soothing. “I'm sorry, Rachel. I shouldn't have teased you like that.” It was a tone that Rachel had never heard the Latina use before. Surprisingly, she did calm down. She took a deep breath and forced herself to turn back and face Santana.
And was shocked again.
The fire that was usually present in the Latina's eyes was out. It was a replaced by an expression of softness that Rachel had only seen on Santana's face whenever she looked at Brittany. She was also smiling at Rachel. Not a smirk, not a cheeky grin. It was a sad sort of smile. It was breathtaking.
The sexual tension was gone from the room, replaced by... something else. Something Rachel couldn't put a finger on. She didn't know what to say, so instead, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“You're beautiful, Santana.”
Santana flushed. She turned away, training her eyes on the floor, the sad smile still on her face. Silence reigned once more. Rachel waited patiently for Santana to respond, seeing that the Latina was deep in thought. Finally, Santana spoke up.
“You know, I don't think I've ever been called beautiful before.” She took a breath before continuing. “Hot, yes. Sexy, definitely. Even in my own family, the most I have ever heard is pretty. Or cute.” She shuddered briefly. “I am not cute.” She threw a quick glare at Rachel as though challenging her to use that descriptor, but her face quickly softened and she returned her gaze to the floor once more. “Even Brittany has never called me beautiful.”
Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. She reached out and turned Santana's head toward her so that they were now eye to eye.
“Santana, that's exactly what you are. Beautiful.” Santana's eyes were now brimming with tears.
“You're beautiful too, Rach. And I am so sorry for calling you otherwise in the past.”
“Shh. Enough of that. I've already forgiven you, remember? Come here.”
Rachel pulled Santana toward her, bringing her head to rest on the hollow of her shoulder. She then wrapped her arms around her and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. Santana turned her head up to look at Rachel. Brown met brown as their eyes locked together once more.
Time stopped for the both of them. The two girls were just lost in each other's eyes. They both leaned toward each other at the same time until their lips met in a sweet tender kiss.
As the kiss deepened, it became more passionate, more desperate, as each girl felt a burning need for the other. Both of them were crying now, tears mingling with each other wherever their faces touched. What seemed like an eternity passed before the moment ended and the two girls pulled back from each other, lips still tingling and hearts still pounding. Santana was the first to catch her breath and speak.
“I love you, Rachel.” Rachel smiled sadly.
“I love you too, Santana, but... we can't do this.” Santana closed her eyes in resignation. She had known this was coming, but hearing it out loud made it .. real. She had never hated reality as much as she did at this moment. Rachel pressed on.
“You're meant to be with Brittany. And I... I think I'm in love with Quinn.” This was the first time that Rachel had ever voiced her feelings for Quinn out loud. The moment the words escaped her lips, she felt them to be true, though right now she wished they weren't. She knew now that she also had feelings for Santana. Was it possible to be in love with two girls at the same time? Still, Santana already had Brittany and the two girls were very happy together. She couldn't bear to bring herself between that. While she was lost in thought, Santana laid her head back down on Rachel's shoulder.
“I know.” Santana said softly. “I know how you feel about Quinn. I've seen the way you look at her whenever you two are together. And I know I'm supposed to be with Brittany. I love her. But sometimes... I just want... more. I want Brittany and I want you. It's just... confusing for me.”
The elevator dinged, signaling that someone was coming up to their floor. The two girls jumped at the sound. Besides them, only Quinn and Brittany had keys for their floor, so it was most certain that it was the two blondes, back from their shopping trip. Santana, realizing that she was still wearing nothing but lingerie, made a quick dash to the hallway closet and was able to pull on a robe before the elevator doors opened up.
Quinn came tumbling out of the elevator, arms overloaded with bags. She had thought that she was getting away with only a few bags after the Victoria's Secret incident earlier, but she had no such luck. Brittany just couldn't resist going into several more stores as they walked the length of 5th Avenue going back home. Santana plastered her signature smirk on her face.
“What'd you do, Q? Couldn't choose, so you decided to buy out the whole 5th Avenue?”
“It's all your fault Santana. You shouldn't have given Brittany your credit card in the first place.” Brittany skipped over to Santana. And gave her a hug.
“Hey, San. I missed you.” Santana smiled weakly.
“I missed you too. Brit-Brit.” They kissed. Hmm... Brittany thought. San's lips taste different. Brittany ran her tongue along Santana's lips some more. OMG! It's Very Berry lip gloss! I know who wears that! Brittany just gave Santana a smile as their kiss ended.
Quinn noticed Rachel standing by the couch and waved in greeting.
“Hey, Ra...” She stopped. There was something off about Rachel. Then she saw it. The faint hint of tear tracks on Rachel's cheeks.
“Rach, were you crying?” Rachel became flustered.
“No! I mean, um.. yes. It was... this book I'm reading!” she said a bit forcefully. Quinn squinted at the book Rachel was holding up.
“Rachel, that's one of Brit's books. It's Sesame Street.” Oh. So that's what she was reading. Still, the show must go on.
“I am well aware that it is Sesame Street, Quinn. I was simply cathartizing about the tragic fact that Bert and Ernie have to deny their feelings for each other when it is so obvious that they are more than just roommates. I mean, they already live on a street with monsters and giant talking birds and vampires. Compared to that, homosexuality shouldn't even be an issue.” Quinn held up a hand to stop Rachel from talking.
“Enough, Rach! Now you're just being weird. I get that you don't want to talk about it. I'm just going to go to our room and take a nap. Brittany wore me out.” Quinn blushed as she realized what she just said. “I mean, uh.. ah...” She threw her hands up in frustration. ”Oh, you know what I mean.” Then she dashed up the stairs. “Just call me when dinner's ready.”
Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's neck.
“San, why don't we take a little 'nap' as well?”
“Anytime, Brit.” And they made their way up the stairs, though not before Santana threw back one last longing look at Rachel before going to her room with Brittany.
Once again, Rachel was left by herself, alone in the living room. She looked back down at the book in her hand. Come to think of it, there were some similarities between Bert and Ernie and her situation with Quinn. They were roommates. They had this weird love-hate relationship thing going on. And, well, there were no such thing as monsters or giant talking birds, but Rachel was pretty sure that there were vampires living in New York.
Bert and Ernie were also the bases (yes, that's the correct plural form of basis) for Avenue Q's Rod and Nicky. If she remembered correctly, Rod was gay for Nicky, as well. But Rod never found out if Nicky ever liked him back. The one time he thought that Nicky had feelings for him, it just turned out to be all a dream.
Well, Rachel was never afraid to dream before. It's just that Quinn was a dream that seemed out of her reach. And Santana... well, that was a whole other business. Rachel shored up her resolve. She had to tell Quinn how she felt before the week was over. She would just have to hope that their friendship would survive even if Quinn didn't reciprocate her feelings.
Rachel set the book back down. Her head was starting to hurt. Maybe she'd go up and take a nap as well.
When she entered the room she shared with Quinn. She saw that the blond was already fast asleep, snoring slightly. Rachel giggled for a moment. Quinn always snored whenever she was passed out from exhaustion. It was kinda cute.
Then she spotted something black on the floor.
“Quinn!” she exclaimed, waking the blond from her slumber. “How many times do I have to tell you to put your dirty clothes in the hamper?”
Quinn reluctantly opened her eyes, her groggy mind wondering why Rachel was yelling at her. Then she spotted what Rachel was holding. Shit. It was the black shorts she was wearing earlier. The shorts she had creamed in. Twice. She froze in shock.
Rachel felt something odd about the shorts she was holding.
“Quinn, why are these shorts damp?”
“Um, ah... well, I was... trying to keep up with Brittany and then I bumped into this guy and he spilled his water on... me.” Rachel frowned, then she brought the shorts up to her nose and sniffed. Quinn stopped breathing.
“This doesn't smell like water to me.” Quinn racked her brain for any excuse she could make.
“Maybe it was some kind of energy drink?” Rachel shrugged and tossed the shorts over into Quinn's hamper. Quinn let out a sigh of relief. Rachel turned back to Quinn.
“Now Quinn, I shouldn't have to remind you anymore about putting clothes in the hamper. I am not your mother”
Oh no you aren't. Quinn thought. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been checking out your ass while you had your back turned.
“Quinn? Quinn, are you listening to me? And please wipe that smirk off your face.” Quinn blinked and rearranged her expression to give an air of what she hoped looked like seriousness.
“Yes, I heard you, Rach. I promise it won't happen again.” Quinn decided to change the subject. “Um, Rach?”
“Yes?”
“Why were you crying earlier?” Rachel fell silent. Quinn decided to push a little more.
“Is something wrong, Rach? Wait, get in here.” Quinn patted the space on the bed right next to her. Rachel got under the covers and snuggled up to Quinn. As soon as she felt Rachel's legs hit her bare thighs, Quinn suddenly realized that something else was wrong. She wasn't wearing any bottoms. She remembered now, she had passed out on the bed right after she pulled off her soiled shorts. She hoped that Rachel wouldn't notice any difference through the sheets.
“You know, Quinn, I think I've noticed something...”
Quinn prayed. Please let it not be my lack of bottoms. Please let it not be my lack of bottoms...
“We haven't snuggled in bed together since we left Lima.” Quinn breathed freely again.
“Yeah, Rach. I missed this.” Rachel took a breath.
“Quinn, something has been bothering me, but I'm not ready to talk about it just yet. But I promise I'll tell you about it soon, okay?”
“All right, Rach. I won't push. But could we maybe stay like this a little bit longer?”
“Sure.”
The two girls fell asleep and only woke up around nighttime to the sound of Santana's loudmouthed yell.
“HEY, MIDGET! WHERE'S OUR DINNER? ME AND BRITS ARE STARVING!!!”
Rachel and Quinn shot up from bed so fast that they ended up tumbling off of the bed. Rachel rubbed her head.
“HOLD YOUR HORSES, SANTANA! I”M COMING!” She yelled back. She turned back to Quinn to try to help the blonde up and stopped in her tracks.
“Quinn, why aren't you wearing any bottoms?”
Quinn buried her face in her hands in shame and embarrassment.
Rating: R
Length: 2524
Spoilers: AU after 2x16 'Original Song'. I don't like the back 6...
Disclaimer: Glee belongs to RIB
Summary: Faberrittana friendship, eventually Faberrittana romance. Established Brittana romance.
Future!fic. The girls are all headed off to New York for college!
Additional disclaimer: I do not own Sesame Street and Avenue Q... (yeah, you read that right.)
Labor Day part 2
Rachel was sitting on the couch in the living room of the apartment, trying to focus on the book she was reading. She gave up when she realized that she had read the same paragraph ten times over without absorbing any of it. Rachel let out a loud groan of frustration. She was so bored. Quinn had gone out, shopping with Brittany and Santana was holed up in her room doing God knows what. Maybe she was sleeping.
“Hey, what are you groaning about, midget?” Santana's head poked out from above the railing of the second level.
Maybe not. Rachel huffed and crossed her arms.
“I'm bored.” Santana rolled her eyes.
“Well, so am I, but you don't see me acting like a child about it.”
“If you're bored as well, perhaps you could think of something for us to do.”
“You know what I like to do, Berry.” Santana wagged her eyebrows suggestively. Rachel stuck her tongue out.
“You wish, Santana.” The Latina said nothing in reply. Instead she smirked and then made her way down the staircase.
Rachel's jaw dropped, tongue still sticking out. Santana was wearing nothing but a lacy red bra and matching french cut panties. Rachel never took her eyes off as Santana went to stand in front of her. Santana's smirk grew more pronounced.
“Looks like I'm not the one who's wishing right now, Berry.”
Rachel was still mesmerized by the vision of lust right in front of her, Her outstretched tongue was starting to unconsciously flick up and down. Santana winced. She bent over and started snapping her fingers in front of Rachel's face.
“Okay, Rach, this is getting weird now.”
Rachel's eyes widened even further. Santana bending over in front of her afforded her a great view down the Latina's cleavage. Santana grabbed the smaller girl's shoulders and started shaking her.
“Rachel, snap out of it!”
That finally brought Rachel down to earth. The diva finally realized what she had been doing and felt a massive rush of heat flow into her face. She hurriedly turned away from Santana.
“I...uh..ah..I...um...” Rachel spluttered. Santana reached out and placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder. The shorter brunette flinched but Santana kept her hand on her shoulder.
“Relax, Rach. You've seen me in less before.” Santana's voice was soft and soothing. “I'm sorry, Rachel. I shouldn't have teased you like that.” It was a tone that Rachel had never heard the Latina use before. Surprisingly, she did calm down. She took a deep breath and forced herself to turn back and face Santana.
And was shocked again.
The fire that was usually present in the Latina's eyes was out. It was a replaced by an expression of softness that Rachel had only seen on Santana's face whenever she looked at Brittany. She was also smiling at Rachel. Not a smirk, not a cheeky grin. It was a sad sort of smile. It was breathtaking.
The sexual tension was gone from the room, replaced by... something else. Something Rachel couldn't put a finger on. She didn't know what to say, so instead, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“You're beautiful, Santana.”
Santana flushed. She turned away, training her eyes on the floor, the sad smile still on her face. Silence reigned once more. Rachel waited patiently for Santana to respond, seeing that the Latina was deep in thought. Finally, Santana spoke up.
“You know, I don't think I've ever been called beautiful before.” She took a breath before continuing. “Hot, yes. Sexy, definitely. Even in my own family, the most I have ever heard is pretty. Or cute.” She shuddered briefly. “I am not cute.” She threw a quick glare at Rachel as though challenging her to use that descriptor, but her face quickly softened and she returned her gaze to the floor once more. “Even Brittany has never called me beautiful.”
Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. She reached out and turned Santana's head toward her so that they were now eye to eye.
“Santana, that's exactly what you are. Beautiful.” Santana's eyes were now brimming with tears.
“You're beautiful too, Rach. And I am so sorry for calling you otherwise in the past.”
“Shh. Enough of that. I've already forgiven you, remember? Come here.”
Rachel pulled Santana toward her, bringing her head to rest on the hollow of her shoulder. She then wrapped her arms around her and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. Santana turned her head up to look at Rachel. Brown met brown as their eyes locked together once more.
Time stopped for the both of them. The two girls were just lost in each other's eyes. They both leaned toward each other at the same time until their lips met in a sweet tender kiss.
As the kiss deepened, it became more passionate, more desperate, as each girl felt a burning need for the other. Both of them were crying now, tears mingling with each other wherever their faces touched. What seemed like an eternity passed before the moment ended and the two girls pulled back from each other, lips still tingling and hearts still pounding. Santana was the first to catch her breath and speak.
“I love you, Rachel.” Rachel smiled sadly.
“I love you too, Santana, but... we can't do this.” Santana closed her eyes in resignation. She had known this was coming, but hearing it out loud made it .. real. She had never hated reality as much as she did at this moment. Rachel pressed on.
“You're meant to be with Brittany. And I... I think I'm in love with Quinn.” This was the first time that Rachel had ever voiced her feelings for Quinn out loud. The moment the words escaped her lips, she felt them to be true, though right now she wished they weren't. She knew now that she also had feelings for Santana. Was it possible to be in love with two girls at the same time? Still, Santana already had Brittany and the two girls were very happy together. She couldn't bear to bring herself between that. While she was lost in thought, Santana laid her head back down on Rachel's shoulder.
“I know.” Santana said softly. “I know how you feel about Quinn. I've seen the way you look at her whenever you two are together. And I know I'm supposed to be with Brittany. I love her. But sometimes... I just want... more. I want Brittany and I want you. It's just... confusing for me.”
The elevator dinged, signaling that someone was coming up to their floor. The two girls jumped at the sound. Besides them, only Quinn and Brittany had keys for their floor, so it was most certain that it was the two blondes, back from their shopping trip. Santana, realizing that she was still wearing nothing but lingerie, made a quick dash to the hallway closet and was able to pull on a robe before the elevator doors opened up.
Quinn came tumbling out of the elevator, arms overloaded with bags. She had thought that she was getting away with only a few bags after the Victoria's Secret incident earlier, but she had no such luck. Brittany just couldn't resist going into several more stores as they walked the length of 5th Avenue going back home. Santana plastered her signature smirk on her face.
“What'd you do, Q? Couldn't choose, so you decided to buy out the whole 5th Avenue?”
“It's all your fault Santana. You shouldn't have given Brittany your credit card in the first place.” Brittany skipped over to Santana. And gave her a hug.
“Hey, San. I missed you.” Santana smiled weakly.
“I missed you too. Brit-Brit.” They kissed. Hmm... Brittany thought. San's lips taste different. Brittany ran her tongue along Santana's lips some more. OMG! It's Very Berry lip gloss! I know who wears that! Brittany just gave Santana a smile as their kiss ended.
Quinn noticed Rachel standing by the couch and waved in greeting.
“Hey, Ra...” She stopped. There was something off about Rachel. Then she saw it. The faint hint of tear tracks on Rachel's cheeks.
“Rach, were you crying?” Rachel became flustered.
“No! I mean, um.. yes. It was... this book I'm reading!” she said a bit forcefully. Quinn squinted at the book Rachel was holding up.
“Rachel, that's one of Brit's books. It's Sesame Street.” Oh. So that's what she was reading. Still, the show must go on.
“I am well aware that it is Sesame Street, Quinn. I was simply cathartizing about the tragic fact that Bert and Ernie have to deny their feelings for each other when it is so obvious that they are more than just roommates. I mean, they already live on a street with monsters and giant talking birds and vampires. Compared to that, homosexuality shouldn't even be an issue.” Quinn held up a hand to stop Rachel from talking.
“Enough, Rach! Now you're just being weird. I get that you don't want to talk about it. I'm just going to go to our room and take a nap. Brittany wore me out.” Quinn blushed as she realized what she just said. “I mean, uh.. ah...” She threw her hands up in frustration. ”Oh, you know what I mean.” Then she dashed up the stairs. “Just call me when dinner's ready.”
Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's neck.
“San, why don't we take a little 'nap' as well?”
“Anytime, Brit.” And they made their way up the stairs, though not before Santana threw back one last longing look at Rachel before going to her room with Brittany.
Once again, Rachel was left by herself, alone in the living room. She looked back down at the book in her hand. Come to think of it, there were some similarities between Bert and Ernie and her situation with Quinn. They were roommates. They had this weird love-hate relationship thing going on. And, well, there were no such thing as monsters or giant talking birds, but Rachel was pretty sure that there were vampires living in New York.
Bert and Ernie were also the bases (yes, that's the correct plural form of basis) for Avenue Q's Rod and Nicky. If she remembered correctly, Rod was gay for Nicky, as well. But Rod never found out if Nicky ever liked him back. The one time he thought that Nicky had feelings for him, it just turned out to be all a dream.
Well, Rachel was never afraid to dream before. It's just that Quinn was a dream that seemed out of her reach. And Santana... well, that was a whole other business. Rachel shored up her resolve. She had to tell Quinn how she felt before the week was over. She would just have to hope that their friendship would survive even if Quinn didn't reciprocate her feelings.
Rachel set the book back down. Her head was starting to hurt. Maybe she'd go up and take a nap as well.
When she entered the room she shared with Quinn. She saw that the blond was already fast asleep, snoring slightly. Rachel giggled for a moment. Quinn always snored whenever she was passed out from exhaustion. It was kinda cute.
Then she spotted something black on the floor.
“Quinn!” she exclaimed, waking the blond from her slumber. “How many times do I have to tell you to put your dirty clothes in the hamper?”
Quinn reluctantly opened her eyes, her groggy mind wondering why Rachel was yelling at her. Then she spotted what Rachel was holding. Shit. It was the black shorts she was wearing earlier. The shorts she had creamed in. Twice. She froze in shock.
Rachel felt something odd about the shorts she was holding.
“Quinn, why are these shorts damp?”
“Um, ah... well, I was... trying to keep up with Brittany and then I bumped into this guy and he spilled his water on... me.” Rachel frowned, then she brought the shorts up to her nose and sniffed. Quinn stopped breathing.
“This doesn't smell like water to me.” Quinn racked her brain for any excuse she could make.
“Maybe it was some kind of energy drink?” Rachel shrugged and tossed the shorts over into Quinn's hamper. Quinn let out a sigh of relief. Rachel turned back to Quinn.
“Now Quinn, I shouldn't have to remind you anymore about putting clothes in the hamper. I am not your mother”
Oh no you aren't. Quinn thought. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been checking out your ass while you had your back turned.
“Quinn? Quinn, are you listening to me? And please wipe that smirk off your face.” Quinn blinked and rearranged her expression to give an air of what she hoped looked like seriousness.
“Yes, I heard you, Rach. I promise it won't happen again.” Quinn decided to change the subject. “Um, Rach?”
“Yes?”
“Why were you crying earlier?” Rachel fell silent. Quinn decided to push a little more.
“Is something wrong, Rach? Wait, get in here.” Quinn patted the space on the bed right next to her. Rachel got under the covers and snuggled up to Quinn. As soon as she felt Rachel's legs hit her bare thighs, Quinn suddenly realized that something else was wrong. She wasn't wearing any bottoms. She remembered now, she had passed out on the bed right after she pulled off her soiled shorts. She hoped that Rachel wouldn't notice any difference through the sheets.
“You know, Quinn, I think I've noticed something...”
Quinn prayed. Please let it not be my lack of bottoms. Please let it not be my lack of bottoms...
“We haven't snuggled in bed together since we left Lima.” Quinn breathed freely again.
“Yeah, Rach. I missed this.” Rachel took a breath.
“Quinn, something has been bothering me, but I'm not ready to talk about it just yet. But I promise I'll tell you about it soon, okay?”
“All right, Rach. I won't push. But could we maybe stay like this a little bit longer?”
“Sure.”
The two girls fell asleep and only woke up around nighttime to the sound of Santana's loudmouthed yell.
“HEY, MIDGET! WHERE'S OUR DINNER? ME AND BRITS ARE STARVING!!!”
Rachel and Quinn shot up from bed so fast that they ended up tumbling off of the bed. Rachel rubbed her head.
“HOLD YOUR HORSES, SANTANA! I”M COMING!” She yelled back. She turned back to Quinn to try to help the blonde up and stopped in her tracks.
“Quinn, why aren't you wearing any bottoms?”
Quinn buried her face in her hands in shame and embarrassment.