Spaces in Time

L.R.T.

Tenchi's eyes shot open as he sat up in his bed, his body wet with sweat. He panted, having had nightmares since Haruna kidnapped him to her dimension. He ran his hand through his jet-black hair and looked around. Hmm, Washu wasn't there trying to get her nightly sperm count; Ryoko and Aeka weren't trying to pry their way into his room; Kiyone wasn't beating the shit out of Mihoshi - something seemed off. Sure, this was two in the morning but in the Masaki household the fun never seemed to end - at least not to Tenchi. He forced himself up and out of bed, stretching and yawning as he opened his door and peeked out, looking around. Silence. Tenchi shrugged and made his way down the stairs. Maybe some milk would calm his nerves. Once he was at the bottom of the staircase he grinned, seeing Ryoko asleep on the couch, snoring loudly, bottles of sake around her. He shook his head, laughing softly and made his way into the kitchen. He blinked, seeing Washu there, fiddling around with some type of machine. She looked up from her work and grinned. "Heya, Tench, what're you doing up so late?"

Tenchi smiled and sat down next to her. "Had another nightmare. I thought I'd get some milk to calm myself down. What're you doing up?"

"Working on this!" she said proudly, holding up the small box.

"What's that?"

"This shows what could be if you make certain decisions in your future!"

Tenchi raised an eyebrow skeptically. "So, whatever this shows is exactly what's gonna happen?"

"Well, not precisely but it's fairly accurate. I know! Why don't you try it out, Tenchi? It'll help you decide which girl to pick!" she grinned, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Tenchi sweat-dropped. "I dunno, Washu..."

"Okay, don't think of it as choosing your future wife and mother of your children. Think of it as helping me test an experiment," she nodded, shoving the box into his arms.

Tenchi sighed. "Okay...I guess."

"Now," Washu took out her laptop and hooked a wire from her laptop to the box. "Tell me who you want to test first. I'll put the name in here then a hologram of your future life together will appear from the box! Neat, huh?" she grinned.

Tenchi nodded warily. "I guess...you first, Washu."

Washu blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl. "Oh, Tenchi! You make a girl blush!" She typed in her name and hit enter. "Here we go! Our future, Tenchi!"

Tenchi lay on the bed he and Washu shared in their Tokyo apartment building, panting. "Washu - I don't think - I can - take any more - experiments - today."

Washu grinned, cuddling next to Tenchi. "Aww, not even just a few more?"

"Washu, we have thirteen kids out of your 'experiments!' I dunno if we can afford anymore. Your job as a scientist doesn't exactly bring in a lot of money and neither does my carpentry job. Say, why don't you bring in more money? You are a scientist after all, right?"

Washu laughed nervously and hopped up, stark naked. "Want some sake? I know I could go for some!"

Tenchi sat up in bed, an eyebrow raised. "Washu! Answer me!"

Washu poked her two index fingers together shyly. "I'm not an actual scientist...I just do experiments and sell them to people. I don't get a lot of money for it. I'm sorry, Tenchi!"

Tenchi sighed and laid back down. "Well, then I don't know what we're going to do. We have thirteen kids to provide for, Washu!"

"Well, you're a Juraiian prince! Get some of that cash!"

"I can't do that, Washu and you know it," he sighed, staring at the ceiling.

Washu pouted slightly and sat down on the bed. "Plus the landlord is getting pissy about the rent."

"Don't remind me, Washu," he sighed again, getting up and slipping his boxers on, handing Washu a robe. "We'd better wake the kids up for school."

She nodded, putting her robe on and walking from door to door, knocking and calling out their names, " C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O! School!"

Tenchi soon joined his wife and kids downstairs, wondering why he ever let her stick with the letter-naming thing. He understood that she really loved her A and B puppets but they were puppets, not human beings! Hell, half the time Tenchi wondered if his own kids were human. He laughed slightly. Through all the hard times, they managed to be a happy family and have as much fun as they could. Their kids ranged in age from fourteen to infant. Washu was a surprisingly good mother, despite her horny side. She even sold some of her scientific equipment to buy them Christmas presents. Tenchi smiled to himself as Washu sent the kids off, keeping the kids four and under under her care at home. He walked up to her and took her in his arms, smiling down on her. "I love you, Washu."

Washu grinned and looked at him strangely. "I love you, too but what brought all this up?"

Tenchi shrugged. "You're just amazing, that's all." He grinned and kissed her, grabbing his tools for work. "I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

Washu nodded, having their youngest son, O, wave to him as he left for work. Washu sighed. "Tenchi's miserable and we don't have any money to take care of the kids. I dunno what we're gonna do."

"I can't believe how much things have changed, Washu!" Tenchi said, playing with the kids.

Washu grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Heh, great how those companies liked my ideas, ne?"

Tenchi nodded. "Yeah! And with such great timing! It's like it was meant to be!" he laughed. "Oops, looks like O needs a diaper change. I'll be right back," he smiled, kissing her and then making his way into the bathroom.

Washu sighed and laid back in the chair. "At least my older self came in handy for something," she took out the five thousand yen from her pocket. "I never thought I'd have to resort to being a whore," she sighed again. "But Tenchi's happy and so are the kids and that's what matters," she nodded, trying to convince herself of this more than anything.

And with that the hologram ended.

Tenchi's eyes were wide. "You become a prostitute?!"

Washu was typing furiously on her laptop. "It can't be!"

"Washu, I can't let you degrade yourself like that!"

Washu sighed, resting her head on her hand. "I understand...I guess."

Tenchi smiled and kissed her cheek. "It was really wonderful of you to do that for me and our family, though, Washu. I know it wasn't real but...thank you," he smiled brightly.

Washu blushed slightly and grinned, tackling Tenchi to the floor and kissing him all over. "Oh, Tenchi! I knew you loved me!"

"Wa! Washu! No! It wasn't real, remember?!"

Washu kissed him deeply on his lips, looking into his eyes with a spark of lust. "So let's make it real, Tenchi!"

Tenchi pushed her gently off of him, backing up. "Washu! Get a hold of yourself!"

Washu shook her head and grinned, getting back into her chair. "Sorry, Tench. Just lost control, that's all."

Tenchi nodded, getting back into his chair slowly. "Yeah, no kidding..."

"Well, who do you wanna see next?"

Tenchi sighed. "I don't wanna do this, Washu."

"Please?!"

After basically just breaking her heart by telling her they could never be, he figured her owed her. "Mihoshi."

Washu raised an eyebrow. "That ditz is even an option?"

Tenchi laughed. "Washu, that's mean."

"You know it's true! She tried to eat Ryo-Ohki the other day because she was so hungry!"

Tenchi laughed harder. "Just put her name in, I have a feeling this'll be good."

Washu grinned, nodding in agreement as she typed in Mihoshi's name. "Get ready for brain-dead at its best."