Disclaimer: I don't own Tenchi or Ayeka; Pioneer and AIC do.

Pre-fic notes:  
	Pure inspiration.  The basics came to me out of nowhere at 1 AM.
Hope you like it.

	The fic is very short.  The setting is this:  Tenchi has chosen 
Ryoko and this fact has come to Ayeka's attention.  She has retired to 
her room to cry her eyes out, and Tenchi went after her to try to 
comfort her.  



A Happy Ending

By:  Sam Packwood



	Tenchi tried to look reassuring as Ayeka struggled to voice the 
question she so desperately needed to ask, but whose answer she dreaded.
"Tenchi... Don't you love me?"

	Tenchi had expected it to come, but was still hesitant.  The 
one-word answer, of course, would be both untrue and devastating.  He 
had spent some time thinking about what to say; he only hoped she would 
understand.

	"Ayeka, as a member of our family, I love you.  You are a 
special and irreplaceable part of my life.  Ayeka, I love you, but I am 
not in love with you."

	"... I understand, Lord Tenchi.  You may go now."  Ayeka, 
skilled in Court formalities, was quite a good actor when she wanted to 
be, when it came to concealing emotions.  Nevertheless, even if Tenchi 
had been ignorant of the situation and would have been obvious to him 
that the princess was much more disturbed than she let on.  He had to 
try a little more at least to comfort her.  But on the other hand, he 
was not going to stay against her wishes.  

	"Ayeka, are you sure?  Do you really want me to leave?"  he 
replied, not eager at all to leave her alone to her grief.

	"I..." she shook her head, but it was out of uncertainty rather 
than negation.  "Tenchi, I... oh, Tenchi!"  Rising, Ayeka stepped 
towards him, her purpose anything but clear even to herself, let alone 
to the young man.

	Tenchi was taken by surprise; he responded without thought, 
gathering the princess into his comforting arms.

	Now it was Ayeka's turn to be caught off guard.  Whatever 
momentum she might have had was lost in Tenchi's embrace, but at the 
same time she realized that that was all right.  And although that 
embrace would never be more than friendly, that was all right too.

	"Everything will be fine," Tenchi said.  "And we will always be 
there for you.  I promise."

	"Okay," Ayeka responded.  And she hugged him back.



Post-fic notes:
	Tenchi chose and nobody died!  Amazing!

	This is my first fic to be completed, no doubt due to its 
shorter length.

	Constructive criticism is always good, and I especially want to 
hear if anyone thinks that I am a little OOC.  But for you potential 
flamers:  if I suck, you need to tell me WHY, or I will continue to 
suck in the exact same way for ever and ever and ever.  

The fic is over.  E-mail me now, please!