They accompanied their mother to Mata Gandhari's Shivamandir the next day.

There she sat, the eldest Kuru Rajmata, her lips moving silently as she read the Rudraksha beads in her hand before the Shivalinga. Taatshree sat beside her, his eyes closed and hands joined in prayer. They were surrounded by some of their daughter in laws, including Bhanumati who was the first to notice their presence.

Her somewhat peaceful expression was immediately replaced by a rather pinched one as she nudged her co-sisters in law beside her.

"Mata? Pitashree?" She called out. Gandhari and Dhitarashtra turned to them. "I think we'll be leaving now. We'll join you again in a few hours."

Just as well, Arjun thought, as much as it pained him to see their sisters in law practically running at the sight of them. It will be easier to apologise to both parties separately.

"Ah yes." Taatshree said. "We have five guests accompanying Kunti today."

Right. Of course. Bhanumati Bhabhi had not been the first one to notice their presence. Arjun was still somewhat amazed and somewhat creeped out by Taatshree's ability to hear even the most silent footsteps and figure out exactly how many people were present and who they were.

As their sisters in law left, Mata Gandhari turned towards them with a rather blank face.

"What can we do for you?" She asked in a monotone voice.

"Nothing!" Bhrata Yudhishtir said hurriedly. "We have come here to talk."

"Talk?" Mata Gandhari asked, the barest note of derisiveness in her voice. It might have gone undetected in anyone else's voice but in the voice of Mata Gandhari who had been nothing but kind to them since they had first arrived in this Palace, Arjun could hear it all too well.

"What is there to talk about, your Majesties?"

Oh yes. Now the derisiveness was there for everyone to hear. Arjun winced.

"You haven't spoken to me in actual decades. Not even for years before the dice game. You lot hardly ever came to visit from Indraprastha given that Kunti eventually went to live there and even when you did, you spoke to Taatshree Bheeshma, your Guru Drona, Vidur, rarely to my husband and never to me. And now, you've come to talk."

The brothers exchanged looks amongst each other realising in dismay that what she said was true. Even since the war they had only seen her and never spoken to her in shame and they had heard her speak only when she had cursed Madhav. That memory still made Arjun's insides shrivel up so he did his best to forget it for now.

Regardless, it was true that they had not actually spoken to her properly in decades and coming here right now.... after killing all her sons and grandsons..... well. He could certainly understand her derisiveness.

Taatshree put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her and she took a deep breath.

"What do you want to talk about?" Taatshree asked with a very obviously fake smile.

The Pandavas all stared at each other. Had this really been such a good idea? Arjun started to wonder.

"My sons wish to apologise." Their mother said when none of them said anything and the silence had started to get awkward.

"Your sons are capable of saying so themselves, I presume?" Gandhari said in a cutting voice. Kunti pursed her lips but remained silent. And well. This... sort of... falling out between Mata Kunti and Mata Gandhari was another result of the war, but as awful as Arjun felt about it.... he supposed this was to be expected.

"What do you want to apologise for exactly?" She turned to the Pandavas and Arjun could feel her scorching gaze even through her blindfold.

Jyesht stepped forward to speak as always.

"For causing you so much pain. For being responsible for the deaths of your sons and grandsons."

"Indeed?" She asked in an even voice. "Where is the one who actually killed my sons? I don't hear him apologising."

Bhrata Bheem stepped forward then and actually went forward to sit beside the two blind Kuru parents. Arjun had to commend his bravery. He would not have dared to go so close to them.

"It's not wise to sit so near to us right now, child." Taatshree said.

"If you wish to crush me in your embrace again, I would only be too glad to indulge you Taatshree." Bhrata Bheem said wryly and Arjun felt a spike of fear in his heart at the thought that their uncle might actually take him up on it.

Dhitarashtra shook his head. "We don't need any more deaths." He said simply as if that was the only reason he wouldn't kill his nephew. But then again, Arjun mused, none of us had considered relations in the war. 

But that was war. However, it seemed that even now, their Elder Uncle and Aunt still bore them resentment in their heart. Not that they could be blamed of course.

Bhrata Bheem turned to Mata Gandhari now. He bowed his head low to touch her feet with his head. She stilled.

"I beg for your forgiveness, Jyesht Mata. For killing your sons and causing you pain."

"Do you only regret causing me pain or do you actually regret killing all my sons?" She asked immediately.

"I regret killing your sons too." Bhrata Bheem said, fidgeting. It seemed that Mata Gandhari caught onto it, however.

"All of them?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

Bhrata Bheem prolonged the silence as long as he could before letting out a rush of breath. "No." He said. "Not all of them. I don't regret killing Duryodhan or Dushashan."

He had still not lifted his head from it's position on Mata Gandhari's feet. 

There was a long, pregnant pause before Taatshree spoke. "Well, you have apologised. You have done your duty. However, I'm afraid that for your partial regret, you will only get partial forgiveness from both of us."

Arjun's heart sunk and as he exchanged looks with the rest of his brothers and mother, he could see that they felt the same.

Mata Gandhari grasped Bhrata Bheem's face in her hands and pulled it up before pushing him away gently. 

"I'm afraid we're unable to do anything else for you as of now."

"That is our misfortune." Bhrata Bheem said grasping her much smaller hands in his enormous ones.

"But we will have to learn to live with it." Jyesht said with a sigh.

"We'll leave you be." he said as Bhrata Bheem got up and Mata Gandhari and Taatshree turned back towards the Shivalinga.

But Arjun's heart had caught onto one little thing Mata Gandhari had said. 

"For now?" He asked desperately. "So... you might forgive us completely at some point in the future?"

Mata Gandhari gave a wan smile. "I'm afraid not." She said and the flame of Arjun's brief hope was about to go out again when she continued, "But perhaps... with time... we might be able to reconcile despite our lack of forgiveness."

Arjun felt a wave of relief crash over him and he exchanged smiles with his brothers and mother.

"But," Mata Gandhari said, the smile slipping off her face, "that time is yet to come. And it might never come."

"Don't say that." Nakul said and Sahadev finished by saying, "When that time comes... well. Whenever it comes, we will wait till then."

Neither their uncle nor aunt responded, turning back to their prayers. 

Their mother signaled them to leave silently as she went to join her brother and sister in law.

Well, Arjun supposed. They would have to be satisfied by that for now. But he couldn't not feel unsatisfied.

He supposed it was because he had never had someone he loved and respected refuse to forgive him before. 

But the War left several terrible things it is wake. This was one of them.

Might as well get used to it now.

Did I get Dhitarashtra and Gandhari's characterisations right?

And at this point I might as well forget my other fic.

Don't forget to vote if you liked it and tell me what you think in the comments!

(I know MANY people are going to disagree with this chapter. And it was very hard to write, perhaps second only to the Madhav-Parth one, because it was tough to figure how the conversation should go. I feel like the next one will be even tougher.)