Aoshi walked silently in the dead of night, maneuvering past the Aoya and towards his quarters with ease. It was something he had done so routinely, he'd probably be able to do it in his sleep. He blinked. It was darker than usual but his trained eye saw everything. Streaks of lightning flashed followed by the low growling sound of thunder. Soft droplets descended gently, before turning into a barrage of rain. Aoshi stopped to glance out the garden, thankful he had reached home before the storm came.

The Oniwabanshu head was enraptured by the sheer force of the storm. The rain was punishing, and the wind was howling, as if in pain. It seemed like a battlefield. He could swear he could make out words of anguish from the voices carried by the wind. Aoshi blinked. Losing track of time. How long had he been staring at the rain? Turning around, he continued to his room but not before his eyes fell onto a familiar door. A few more steps and he stood before it. He had gotten so used to walking the hall with the dim light of this room illuminating his path that he had forgotten how it was to walk the halls shrouded in the darkness of the night.

Aoshi raised a hand towards it, not sure why he was doing so. He knew she was gone. He knew he would see nothing beyond that door. But a small voice of hope wouldn't die. Sliding the door open, Aoshi was greeted with the complete opposite of what he had foolishly hoped. Emptiness. His mind tried to recreate how it once looked when she was still there. It was just a few moments ago that she claimed this space as hers, but now it felt like she had been gone for years. Aoshi scoffed at himself. It was stupid to wish for her to stay. Not when he did nothing to make her. Not when he knew he didn't deserve her. He slid the doors closed.

It was better this way. He was a mess of a man. Nothing good would ever come from being with him. She deserved to be happy. She deserved to be someone who could give her the world. He had nothing to offer her. Nothing but his ghosts from the past.

Aoshi continued to his room in silence, pausing for a moment to take note of the fact that the storm seemed to have passed. How long had he been lost in his thoughts? The clouds were drifting away and full moon began to peak out. Aoshi closed his eyes amused at how quickly things change. One moment you have all you've ever wanted. Then in the blink of an eye, it could all be taken away from you.

Looking back up at the moon, Aoshi berated himself. She wasn't taken away from him. He chose to let her go. Because he loved her. He loved her too much to keep her.

Turning away from the now clear sky, Aoshi made his way to his room once again. Rounding a corner, Aoshi's eyes aimed for the door to his room but paused at the figure sitting idly by the edge of the hall right across his quarters.

Hazel orbs met onyx ones and in that moment, Aoshi wasn't sure if his sanity had finally snapped.

"Took you forever."

Long dark ebony locks shone under the moonlight as the woman before him stood to make her way back up the wooden hallway.

Aoshi stood frozen, unsure if what he was seeing was real.

Megumi began dusting off her clothes, eyes directed down to the splatters of mud on her kimono. "I figured that deal was too good to pass off." She paused to glance back at Aoshi. "Is it still-?"

Megumi felt the wind knocked out of her lungs as she was enveloped in a desperate hug. The initial pressure faded gradually until it was finally possible to breathe. They stayed that way in silence. Megumi allowed her head to rest on Aoshi's shoulder, relishing in the gentle way he was stroking her hair; the protective way his arm circled around her waist. Aoshi's hands were shaking – scared she would disappear if he used too much force; scared this would all turn out to be a hallucination.

"You're here." He whispered both in the form of an inquiry and a statement.

"Yes." Megumi replied equally breathless.

"I thought you left."

Megumi raised her hands to grasp the fabric of Aoshi's shirt. "I turned back before the horses could even reach the entrance to the Aoya."

"Why?" Trailed Aoshi's voice. He kept his hold on her as if his life depended on it.

"An image of you lying in blood flashed before my eyes." Megumi's hold on Aoshi hardened. "I couldn't breathe. The thought of losing you…" Her hands moved to encircle Aoshi in a frantic embrace. "It scared me."

Aoshi couldn't find the words to say.

"I don't know how it came to this." Megumi continued. "Last time I checked I wanted nothing to do with you. So I don't know why I seem to search for you every time I enter a room. Why I find myself checking on you if you've eaten, or if you're sleeping well. Why I concern myself with every little thing about you." Megumi began to chuckle. "Never in my life would I have expected I would fall for you-"

"I love you."

Megumi paused, unsure she heard what she had. Finally raising her head to gaze up at Aoshi, Megumi couldn't contain the look of surprise on her face. "W-What did you-"

"I love you." Aoshi's eyes were locked on Megumi's, one hand moving to caress her cheek. He couldn't contain himself any longer. He couldn't continue to act as if she didn't matter, as if he was more than willing to let her go. He couldn't keep deluding himself he would be fine without her; that he'd be content with her being happy with another man. "I'll say it as many times as you want." Aoshi paused as he closed his eyes, bringing his forehead down onto Megumi's. "I love you."

Megumi closed her eyes as well, tears slowly falling down her cheeks. Never had she felt so happy her entire life. "I love you, Aoshi Shinomori."

Aoshi brought his head to the crook of Megumi's neck as he enveloped her in a firm embrace. If the gods were real, Aoshi wished they would overlook this situation. A man like him didn't deserve happiness. But just for this moment, maybe he could be allowed this one thing.

Aoshi slowly pulled back, his onyx eyes met hazel ones looking right at him as well. They were both unsure of what exactly was happening, and neither could picture a concrete future with the other. But nothing seemed more right than being in this moment – tangled in each other's embrace, staring into each other's eyes.

Aoshi leaned in to close the gap between them, just as he felt two small hands cradle his face. As their lips touched, Aoshi couldn't think of anything other than the woman in his arms, and the possibility of forever.

Nothing was set in stone, but this was a start.

END!

And so this concludes the journey! Thank you so much to all those who read and reviewed. I feel so happy that I got to finish yet another story (if you read my other stories you'd know that I do have a thing for open/unresolved endings because they mimic real life more). I hope you were satisfied with the ending (anyone is free to make a sequel if they want or even an alternate ending! That would add more works to the fandom!)

Anyway, until my next story! As usual I have a thousand ideas but only two hands and so little time. See you!