Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Bioware. Curses!

Notes: Another Sky piece. Surprising, eh? But this ficlet is a bit different.

Hero

He tells me he's my man for life.

I smile when he says that. He looks so serious when he does, that's why. He's on his knees in front of me, with his head bowed, and his voice is deep, and calm, and strong, comforting me when I'm scared. He promises to be my man for life, however long that is. And then he raises his head, and he smiles that smile of his, all sweet and loving, and he kisses me.

I love him very much. He can't find anyone who'll love him more than I do.

But I know that he'll find someone he loves more than he loves me. And that's alright. I don't mind that he shares his heart with someone other than me, if it makes him happy. Because I love him so much. I can't do much for him when he's sad, but I love him enough to make up for it. And I know that's enough, because that's all I can give.

And besides, he'll always be my man for life. He said so himself. I'm not sure what that means, though. But it sounds nice.

I'm sitting with him in our home, and we're eating. He's a really good cook. Today he made rice and some pork with sauce. It's my favorite. He always makes my favorite, once a week, because…well, it's my favorite.

"You know, I'm your man for life," he tells me, turning to look at me. "However long that is."

"I know." We're sitting in the doorway, the screen pulled open all the way, and my legs are dangling. I swing them, finishing my meal and putting my bowl aside. It's a pretty bowl, pink with dragons and lotuses on them. He bought it for me in Tien's Landing. Chumin the Craftsman made it.

"You're my princess, and I'm your man." He, too, finishes his meal, and his hand is in my hair, smoothing down the black strands and gently combing his fingers through the slight tangles. "You know why?"

I beam at him, and he smiles back. He said he likes my smile the best, more than anything. "I know why."

"Oh?" He pretends to look shocked. "Then tell me."

"…Because you love me!" I announce, and he laughs, pulling me onto his lap and planting a kiss in my hair. His arms are strong and warm and comfortable, and his hair is down, all the way to his shoulders, black like mine. He smells like the earth, like the sun, and it makes me love him even more, I don't know why. I just do.

"That's right. Because I love you." His voice is softer now, and he holds me against his chest.

We sit there in our silence, and we watch the sun set. It's beautiful, red and gold and yellow and purple, and I ask, "Will you love me forever and after?"

His eyes widen at the question. "Of course," he says, as if that was obvious.

I nod at him. "I'll love you, too, forever and after." I wrap my arms around him and hug him, giving him all the love I could. "Even after forever and after."

No one will love him like I do.

He says nothing for a moment, and then he holds me close, holds me tight. "I'll always be your man." His voice is broken, and I know that he's thinking about her, that woman who loved him before I did. "For life. I'll protect you." His voice is ragged and breathless and sad, and I kiss his hair like he kissed mine.

"I know." He's my one love, my man, my protector. I trust him with my life.

"You're the only one." I'm not sure what he means by that, but I nod again. "You'll be the only one. I love you so much."

The sun has set, and it's getting cold. But he doesn't let go, because he needs me so much, like I need him. Maybe I can't protect him from dangerous people like he protects me, but I protect him from being sad.

It's a fair trade. My safety for his happiness. And I'll do all that I can to keep him smiling.

It's night now, and the stars are out. And he's not shaking anymore like he was before. "It's time to go back inside," I tell him.

"…Alright." His voice is calm now. He raises his head to look at me, and he smiles. "You're a pushy princess."

"Well, you're my man," I answer, "so you do as I say."

He grins, his face lighting up with laughter. "Yes, Princess Pinmei!"

I scramble off his lap, and he stands, gathering our bowls with one hand. I pull our rice screen door closed and take his other hand. "Papa?" I ask, looking up at him. "What do you really mean when you say you're my man?"

He stops for a moment, and looks down at me. "Well," he says, wrapping his free hand around my waist and lifting me up to carry me, "princesses always have their men. What that means is, there's always a single person who will protect them from the bad things in life. So when I say I'm your man for life, it means that you'll never get hurt, because I'll be there to save you."

I look at him, at his kind brown eyes and his strong arms and his smile. "Always?" I ask.

"Always, Pinmei." He lets me down. "Now, I have to go wash these bowls. You sure eat a lot."

"Nyahh!" I stick out my tongue at him. "For a hero, you sure are mean!"

He suddenly puts down the bowls and he's running after me, shouting and laughing, and we run around the house for a while before he washes the dishes. That night we curl up on the bed on the floor of the bedroom, and I watch him while he's asleep, big and strong and calm like the summer wind.

He promised to be my man, my hero, to protect me from the bad things in life.

"You're not a princess, Papa," I whisper, "and I'm not a man. But I'll be your hero. For life."

I'll do the best I can. And Papa won't have to worry about getting hurt, because I'll always be there to save him.