Three Words

Fenris chased after his daughter, herding her giggling and laughing into her room for bed time. He was hunched over, his arms splayed out with a broad smile on his face as he maneuvered himself to leave Macie no room to escape and do another lap around the estate.

He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his still wriggling, giggling four-year-old.

"I've got you!" He cried in victory. He lifted her up to his mouth where pressed his lips to her now exposed belly, blowing air against her. She screeched in delighted surprise before he plopped them both down to her bed.

"Papa!" She cried happily, bouncing on the bed.

"It is time for bed." He informed her.

"Noooo!" Macie whined dramatically. She did this nightly and he couldn't help but smile at how she turned into her mother more and more each day.

"Yes, now let's get you dressed." He took the hem of her dress and lifted it above her head as she pouted most forcefully.

"I don't wanna," she complained.

"Sleep is important, little one." He told her for the fourth night in a row.

"I'm not li'l! I'm big! Like a dwagon!" She cried, standing on the bed with her arms extended above her head. Just like her mother.

"Clearly I am mistaken!" Fenris played along with her, smiling.

"Dwagons don't 'ave bedtimes!" She declared, suddenly jumping from the bed. No you don't, Fenris extended his own arms, catching his fiery daughter. She wriggled more in his grasp but he held her tight, depositing her once more on the bed.

"Macie, it is time for bed. Even mighty dragons need to sleep," he pulled her nightgown down over her and she stuck her lower lip out.

"But m not tired," she continued to protest.

"What bed time story would you like?" He asked, ignoring her small noises of discontent. She paused and he raised his eyebrow at her.

"How about I read you Shartan again?" He offered, knowing her response.

"Nooooo!" She mashed her hands over her eyes and fell back on her pillow.

"What about…Lucy the Lizard?"

"That's for babies!" Macie bemoaned. Fenris refrained from pointing out that she was still his baby and would forever be his baby.

"Then…Drake the Dragon?" He offered and she launched herself upward, arms flapping with excitement.

"Yes! Dwake the Dwagon!" Macie giggled happily. Fenris smiled and settled in with her in the bed.

"Alright. Drake the Dragon…" he told her the story, opening the umpteenth book Varric had written for his darling little niece. He had even hired an illustrator to paint the pages featuring the brave elven knight Ser Taris and the wily Drake the Dragon. It was this week's favorite bedtime story, making getting Macie to bed much easier with promises of another retelling.

His daughter cuddled into him, thrusting her hand out periodically to touch the pages.

"Tawis!" She exclaimed when Drake captured the knight. She touched the page, tracing Taris's form as he was lured into a trap.

"And then Drake said, 'Mwahaha! You are mine now! Another wonderful jewel to add to my collection!'" Fenris read dramatically. He made his voice even deeper when reading for Drake, which never failed to make Macie gasp.

"Dwake! No! Bad dwagon!" She admonished, reaching up to Fenris's mouth.

"He is a dragon; this is what he does." Fenris explained but Macie shook her head like she always did.

"Nuh-uh. Tilly Dwagon was nice! She planted flowers," this was of course referring to the other dragon story Varric had written for Macie. Tilly the Dragon was a sweet natured dragon who just wanted to tend her garden.

"Of course, how could I forget?"

"Papa's silly!" Macie giggled before settling back against him. He resumed telling the story of how Taris escaped Drake and convinced to Drake to turn his life of crime around. By the end, Drake was protecting the lovely princess.

Macie was practically asleep, snuggled into Fenris's chest by the end of the story. Her tiny fingers clutched at his tunic, her face lax. Fenris carefully disentangled her from himself, and was about to leave the bed when Macie reached out, touching his hand.

"Papa?" She whispered. Fenris turned around to look her in the eye, smoothing her hair away from her face.

"Yes, little one?" He asked softly.

"I am yours." She whispered with sincere honesty. Fenris's breath caught in his throat and his heart ached. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Macie's forehead, holding her close to him.

"As I am yours, sweetheart. As I am yours," he whispered back to her.


Fenris doesn't say 'I love you' but he expresses the same sentiment with 'I am yours.' Katra Hawke does the same thing so their daughter grows up with 'I am yours' replacing 'I love you.' And then I wrote this tooth-rotting fluff.

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. Please review