One year, as they did from time to time, Tenchi and Aeka returned to the Masaki house and shrine. It was the fall of the year and nature was preparing to return to her annual slumber. The sky was the color of lead. A cool wind with a hint of winter's bite swirled crisp leaves around them as they approached the door to the home they'd shared as a group for so long. They stopped just for a moment at the threshold and exchanged a meaningful glance. Their long marriage often made words unecessary and this was one of those times. They clasped hands briefly and eached squeezed gently to reassure the other. The faintest of smiles crossed their faces beneath worried eyes. Tenchi reached up and rang the bell. It was only a moment before it opened, revealing Washu. She smiled, genuinely happy to see them. "It's about time you two showed up! Come on in!" The pair smiled with happiness and some relief and Tenchi stepped back to allow Aeka to enter the house, following close behind. They stepped into the front hall and Tenchi helped Aeka remove her cloak as Washu closed the door behind them. Washu took the cloak and hung it in a closet while he removed his own long coat, which she also hung up for him. "Hello Miss Washu," Aeka said. "How have you been? You look wonderful." "Yes," Tenchi said. "You don't look a day older." "And is that so surprising for an elder goddess? Not to mention the greatest scientific genius in the galaxy? Hmm?" With Tenchi's coat hung and the closet door closed, Washu stepped up to each in turn for a warm hug. "You both look wonderful too, although I can see that your human side is beginning to catch up with you Tenchi! You're beginning to look your age. I could fix that for you, you know..." Tenchi grinned sheepishly, running his hand through his black hair, now liberally peppered with gray. "Well, you know Miss Washu, I never really was comfortable with the idea of being what I'm not." Aeka smiled as well, a little sadly, and gently ran her hand through the short hair over his ear. He glanced at her reassuringly and looked back at Washu. "The house looks wonderful. You've really taken good care of it since dad died." Washu now looked briefly sad, saying, "Yes, I've tried to keep it the way Nobiyuki wanted it. It's home to me now and I've been here so long that I can't imagine it being any other way. Have you been to the shrine yet?" Tenchi's and Aeka's eyes sought each other for an instant and their faces clouded. "No, not yet," Tenchi said after a brief pause. Washu watched the exchanged with understanding and sighed, saying, "I understand. Come into the kitchen and have some tea." A few moments later each held a cup of steaming tea in their palms, taking small sips, enjoying the flavor and the warmth. Washu sat on one side of the table across from the pair, regarding them with her green eyes; they looking down into their cups of tea. The silence edged from companionable to uncomfortable. Finally, Tenchi cleared his throat softly. "How is she, Washu?" "Yes, Miss Washu," Aeka said earnestly. "Please tell us, how is she?" Washu looked at them both, her green eyes moving from face to face then moving to a point above their heads. "Well...", she began. "She's the same." She looked back into their faces. "Just the same." Looks of concern, sadness and regret crossed Tenchi and Aeka's faces in quick succession. Both looked down and then to each other before their attention focused back on Washu. The lines that had begun to mark Tenchi's no-longer- youthful face settled into an expression of vague hurt and the corners of his mouth turned down. Aeka's face took on a bland expression, her long schooling in propriety and reservedness allowing her nothing else. "Oh," Tenchi said for them both. "I'm sorry Tenchi, Aeka," Washu continued. "But as long as it's been she's never let go of her feelings - any of them." Tenchi sighed. "It's just that... Well, I was hoping..." Washu reached across the table and gripped Tenchi's hand. "I know you were. That's all any of us has been hoping since the day you announced your engagement to Aeka. We all knew she'd take it badly, but I don't think any of us - not even me, her mother - expected this." "She does understand, doesn't she, Miss Washu?" Aeka asked. "She understands that Tenchi's duties to Jurai meant that his choice was inevitable?" Aeka glanced askance at Tenchi, clearly wary of striking some nerve with her husband. Tenchi turned toward Aeka and took her hands in his. "My duties and my sense of duty never affected my feelings toward you - or Ryoko. I could have ruled Jurai as a bachelor emperor or with a concubine instead of a queen. I didn't. My choice was mine and was a choice of my heart, not my head." Aeka felt her heart go soft and fluttery even now, as it had then, as she returned Tenchi's gaze. "I know, my husband. Forgive me and my foolishness. It's just that..." "It's just that you never could understand why I chose you over Ryoko," Tenchi said softly. Aeka nodded. Tenchi sighed, "Aeka, I love you. With all my heart. You know that for a long time I avoided making any decisions or having any feelings about you or Ryoko. You were members of my household and I did my best to protect and welcome you both. I just wasn't ready for the relationship the two of you obviously wanted from me. "But, when the time came that I was ready, I found that my heart had room for both of you, even if my life didn't. I could see that while I was enjoying growing closer to you both, it was causing both of you pain and affecting everyone else in the house. "Finally, father and grandfather talked to me and told me that if I didn't do something, they would have to consider sending someone away. I spent hours that night thinking about how life would be with each of you and how it would affect you both when I made a decision. I eventually fell asleep without having made a conscious choice. But, somehow, when I woke up the next day the answer was clear: it was you. "I've never regretted making that decision, although I hated myself for having to make it and for what it did to Ryoko." "I don't think you have any idea, Tenchi," Washu said. Both turned to her. "And it's partly my fault. You know that you were the first human contact she'd had in hundreds of years after Yosho sealed her into the cave. She's loved you since she first became aware of you. It took incredible effort for her to project enough of herself to make some sort of contact with you. But in the end, the effort was rewarded when you released her. And you know, as well, that all of her bravado and shows of strength were merely a shell around a very soft and vulnerable person." Tenchi nodded tightly, the pain clearly marked in his face. "What do you mean, Miss Washu, that it's partly your fault?" Aeka asked. "Well," Washu began, grimacing and scratching the back of her head in an embarrassed gesture. "When Ryoko merged with Zero I decided that Zero's weakness for Tenchi might be put to good use." "Oh, Washu!" Tenchi said. "You MADE Ryoko love me?" "Miss Washu, that's awful!" Aeka gasped. "Now, don't go jumping to conclusions!" Washu said crossly. "Ryoko's feelings for Tenchi were already there. But in Zero they were nearer to the surface and affected her in a good way. I thought I might be able to affect the mix just a tad and calm Ryoko down. It worked but the result was that the dependence on Tenchi became greater - too great, it turned out." "In the end, without Tenchi, she's just not the same... I blame myself, the greatest scentific genius in the universe and I can't make my own daughter happy." Washu hung her head and Tenchi reached across the table to grip her hand, joined a second later by Aeka's hand. The three sat this way for a long moment, each lost in unhappy thoughts. "I only wish there were two of me," Tenchi said. Then a wry smile, "Or one of you two..." he said to Aeka. Washu's head jerked up, her eyes lit by a slightly mad glow. "Splitting? Combining? That I can do! Just a small matter for the greatest..." "Washu..." Tenchi said in a cautioning tone. Washu sighed, seeming to deflate. "Yes, you're probably right. But you have children of your own. You know what it's like to want to do anything possible to make them happy." Aeka and Tenchi nodded together and silence again settled as the three considered the joys and pains of children. There was a gentle chime from a clock and all three looked up startled. Tenchi looked out the window at the gray day. "It's getting late. I suppose we'd better go." They rose slowly and Washu put their cups into the sink. The walk to the front hall was all too short and too soon Tenchi was helping Aeka with her cloak and accepting his coat from Washu. Washu opened the door, letting in a blast of chill air and a few leaves. Aeka stepped up to her and embraced the diminutive scientist warmly. "Good bye, Miss Washu," she said. "Take care, Aeka. Please visit again." Tenchi approached Washu and also embraced her, saying nothing. After their hug Tenchi and Washu looked for a long moment into each other's eyes. "She's still there, Tenchi, just as she's always been. You should see her..." Washu's eyes welled with tears and she wiped them with a hand. Tenchi swallowed heavily, his own eyes brimming. "I will," he said. Washu gripped his hands tightly in hers and gave a small smile, "She really does understand Tenchi. She really, truly does." Tenchi nodded, tears beginning to spill down his face. "I know," he whispered thickly. Washu nodded and looked away, the pain evident. She then quickly entered the house, holding up one hand in a wave as she closed the door. For a long moment Tenchi stood on the porch staring at the door, struggling to control his feelings. Finally, he felt Aeka's hand on his shoulder. "Tenchi..." He turned to her stiffly and nodded. Taking her hand, they stepped off the porch and began the long walk to the Masaki shrine. Neither said anything during the walk up the hill. Aeka reached out and put her arm in Tenchi's, both lending strength and support to the other. Their feet crunched dully upon the leaves on the stone steps and the wind rattled the trees around them. The smell on the wind and the heavy clouds spoke of coming rain. Finally, all too soon, they were at the shrine. They paused at Nobiyuki's grave and both said a prayer for Tenchi's departed father. Then, they approached the Misaki shrine itself. Entering, they prayed and, leaving appropriate gifts, asked for the blessings of the Masaki ancestors. When they were done, they stood at the entrance to the shrine for long minutes, both staring at the tiny caretakers cottage and the yellow lights glowing within. "Tenchi," Aeka finally said. "Yes, Aeka." She turned to face him, looking into his eyes. "My lord... my love. Go. I'll wait here." Tenchi nodded, kissed Aeka and turned toward the cottage. Straightening, he walked stiffly forward. Approaching the door, he paused and raised his hand and knocked gently. "Come in," a familiar voice called. Tenchi opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes quickly took in the cottage, the small kitchen, living area and raised sleeping area. She was sitting at a small table with a cup of tea and a book. She looked exactly the same as he remembered: the spiky sweep of cyan hair and soft, golden eyes hadn't changed. Tenchi could see that she - being the child of a goddess - was just as youthful and beautiful as ever. "Hello, Ryoko," he said, closing the door behind him. Emotions played across Ryoko's face, as they always did; joy was quickly followed by pain and then by a look of resigned sadness. "Tenchi! Oh... Tenchi," she said, her voice heavy. She stood up and walked to him, he meeting her halfway. They stopped briefly at arms length, their eyes meeting, speaking silent volumes of apologies, regrets and the unfairness of the universe. And in an instant they were holding each other in an embrace that encompassed all of it. And their tears began as outside the silvery raindrops fell and the sky shared their sorrows...