She sat on the pedestal her niece had just vacated and stared at the opaque glass for a long moment before waving her hand over it, focusing easily on exactly what she wanted to see.

He hadn't changed much. The years had eroded some of his sharper edges, smoothing him with age. His eyes still danced with mischief as he looked at her, his eyes following her refection in the bathroom mirror.

"Long time no see." She nodded, unsure when or how she'd come to be standing behind him in the bathroom somewhere in Sunnydale, California. "You're a long way from the mountaintop, doll."

"You have this way of bringing me down to earth."

"I'd rather inspire you to take flight."

She smiled at him, leaning against the bathroom door. "You've done that too."

He turned slowly, setting the razor in his hand down on the edge of the sink. Crossing his arms over his chest, he let his gaze travel down her body, moving over the honeyed blonde curls, the golden skin. "Is it completely superfluous for me to mention that you look stunning?"

"A compliment, so long as it's honestly given, is never superfluous." She smiled, the sight sending shivers down his spine. "Actually, I think a compliment is never superfluous, even if you don't mean it."

"You've never heard a compliment that wasn't meant." One corner of his mouth lifted in the imitation of a grin. "Of course, you probably haven't heard too many, given that most men faint dead away when they lay eyes on you."

"Your nephew managed to last a while."

Rory nodded. "We Harris men are made of hearty stock."

"Or you're just so stupid it takes a while for things to penetrate?" She smiled to take the sting from her words. "How are you, Rory?"

"I've been better." He shrugged. "But I've been worse, too."

"I remember."

He stared at her for a long time, unable to lose the quirk of a smile. Finally, he spoke softly. "We're standing in my bathroom for no apparent reason."

"You want to come back to Olympus for a while?"

"No." He shook his head, turning back and grabbing his razor. "Once was enough." Glancing over his shoulder, he noted her slight frown, feeling the ache of just the small disapproval. "How's Ares?"

"We've been through for a while. Millions of years, as a matter of fact."

"Yeah? Seems to me that he wasn't really happy with me hanging around and that was, what? Just fifteen years ago?"

"For you."

"Damn those alternate dimensions. They're worse than daylight savings time." He lifted his razor to his chin, sighing as he realized that he was clean-shaven. "I thought I told you not to do that kind of stuff."

"I came a long way to see you, Rory."

"Fair enough." He rinsed the razor and set it in the rack, turning to stare at her, waiting for her to move. Aphrodite nodded, leading the way into the connected bedroom. She moved to the edge of the bed, sitting lightly on the mattress, practically floating just above it. "You want a drink?"

"I thought you gave it up."

"You been watching me?" He raised an eyebrow, keeping his distance from her lusciously full lips, the curves that seemed to undulate invitingly even though she sat perfectly still.

"Off and on. I have to keep track of all the lovers, Rory. And you've done your share. Perhaps more than your share."

"You jealous, A?" He took an involuntary step forward then stopped himself.

"Not really." She smiled innocently, her rainbow eyes changing from deep purple to the palest lavender. "Although I do have to say you have some of the worst taste in women. Ever." Seeing the light tinge of red on his cheeks, she smiled in earnest. "And trust me, when it comes to forever, I know a thing or two."

"I fell in love with you."

"Every man does, Rory."

"You fell in love with me."

She nodded. "That's true. And that's much rarer."

"What are you doing here, Aphrodite?"

She got to her feet, her eyes flashing emerald green. "I'm in charge of fated lovers, Rory." Her eyes cut to him once more, amber now. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"The kid's are alright, A. I would guess they're fumbling their way through the good stuff right now. You don't believe me, just look in your dirty little mirror and watch for a while."

She slapped him before he was even aware she'd crossed the room, closing the distance between them. "You let yourself be almost sucked dry by a lamia, Rory. You've got no moral high ground here."

"You don't know what morals are, Aphrodite." He watched her face, contorted with anger, transform from the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen to the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "What are you doing here?"

"Bridget."

Rory caught his breath and shook his head. "Get out."

"You can't run from your destiny, Rory."

"My destiny is 80 proof and you know it. Don't pretend it's anything different." He turned away from her, staring out the window. "Go home, darlin'. Consider me one of your few failures."

"Sometimes it takes time for you to be ready for your destiny, Rory."

"Tell me something?"

She was silent for a long time, his questions already hovering in the air between them. "I'd say it was because I'm only human, but we both know that's not true." She shrugged, making him want to take the weight of the world from her shoulders. "I fell for you, Rory. And because we gods and goddesses are petty and cruel and selfish, I didn't care about your destiny so much as I cared about what I wanted."

"And you wanted me."

"I did."

He shook his head in disbelief. "And you've yet to explain that one to me."

"Some things have no explanation. Love has no explanation. No rationalization. No rhyme. No reason." She was beside him again, her hairstyle different, spiraling around her body, making it unclear whether or not she was clothed. "Destiny, Rory."

"If she was my destiny, why did she marry him? Why did she love him?"

"You might want to review what I just said about love." She shrugged again, moving away from him, making the soft longing inside him ache sweetly. "We're not perfect, you know."

"You're not perfect?" He laughed. "Could have fooled me."

"Sometimes there's someone else who has something too close to destiny. She saw it in him before she allowed herself to see it in you."

"Pure chance?"

"Human error." She smiled and the sun seemed to come out of nowhere in the room, her eyes sparkling silver. "You're even less perfect than we are." He took a step toward her, his hand on her cheek. She froze, her eyes wintry black. "Don't, Rory."

"It's not why you've come?" He raised an eyebrow, cocking it mischievously. "Your eyes are full of invitation, A."

"You're further down the alphabet now, Rory. All the way to B." Tears glistened, the copper tainted with their soft shimmer. "She's coming tonight to see you. She walked over to talk to Xander, but he never answered. So she's coming here and she'll stand outside and wait for you to open the door."

"And if I don't open it?"

"Sunnydale's a dangerous town." She shrugged. "Destiny can't wait forever, Rory."

"It's been too long."

"Not where I'm from." She touched his cheek, the brush of her fingertips like an inferno raging through his blood. "You Harris men have a unerring ability to make our jobs difficult."

"I thought you loved a challenge."

"I loved you, Rory Harris." Her fingers grazed over his skin, sending shivers of desire through him. "Always have. And always is a pretty long time where I'm from."

"It still always screws up my watch."

She was gone instantly, her voice lingering in the warm air of his bedroom. "Answer your door."

He shook his head as the knock seemed to echo around him. Blinking rapidly to clear his head, he started for the front of the house, unable to keep from smiling. "Destiny, huh?"

"It's not just a stripper's name, Harris."

He nodded as he opened the door, seeing the woman he'd loved for too long standing in front of him. "Hey, Brig."

"Hi." She returned his smile. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Just the rest of my life." He reached out for her. "So what are you waiting for?"

Aphrodite sat back, blinking the tears away. They trailed invisibly down her face, the soft blush on her cheeks like the remnants of a kiss. A quiet noise behind her caught her attention and she turned her head to see Tara standing in the doorway.

"So it never stops?"

"No." Aphrodite shook her head, one corner of her mouth lifting in an apologetic smile. "But the results…" She waved her hand in the direction of the scrying mirror, the image of Rory bending his head to brush his lips over Bridget's shimmering before them before collapsing in on itself, roiling smoke obliterating the view. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back. "Can you feel it?"

A sliver of happiness, laced with the bittersweet sadness of her aunt, flashed through Tara. "Yeah. I feel it."

"Come on. Let's see if Artemis and Athena want to go out for ice cream."

"You're not trying to set me up with one of them are you?"

"Darling," she ruffled Tara's hair lightly, "would I do something like that?"