I walked out on the porch of my house, watching my eight year old son running towards me from the field, dragging the tail of his kite. The rest of it, I noticed, had tangled in the tree, but he didn't seem to care. He ran, laughing, as the long, rainbow colored ribbons floated behind him. His blond hair fell to either side of his face as his feet brought him towards me. His chocolate brown eyes danced with joy upon seeing me there.

It was times like this, when I wondered who he took after. Not me. I had always been a rather solitary person, stern faced and serious. Laughter would come to my mind, but.. I never could let it bubble out of me like that.

My son, on the other hand, was always carefree, wearing a bright smile on his face, with his eyes forever squinting over his round, chipmunk cheeks. How could such a happy child come from my loins?

::::Aahhh...::: I laughed, silently, watching over my young dragon as I descended the stairs...:::I really have to blame it on Sally.:::

"Papa!" He shouted, getting closer, "PAPA! You're HOME!"

He took a flying leap, tackling me around the middle. I caught him, but his momentum forced me to sit down on the ground.
"OOMPH! Justin! Please, be careful! I might have dropped you!" I scolded.

"But.. Papa.. you would NEVER drop me!"

Just like that.. the security of a child. There is nothing more humbling than that.

:::Have I ever felt that sure? That... safe?::::

"I would certainly try not to.. but what If I wasn't ready?" I asked, curious as to what he would say.

"A warrior should be ready for anything that comes at him." He promptly replied, mimicking my tone of voice perfectly.

I couldn't quite stop the smile from invading my stern lips. The edges curled, stiffly fighting the unfamiliar sensation. The little devil saw it at once, of course, and burrowed deeper into my shoulder.

His arms came around my neck, tightening when I moved to stand him up.

"I never get to see you, Papa. I'm gonna follow you all day!"

::::Gods! I loved this child. In him, I see the best parts of my wife... and a bit of my obstinacy.:::

I stood up, draping him upside down over my shoulder. Loud giggles rolled out of his mouth as his body shook hard. I looked back towards the house, not really wanting to go back inside when the sun was so warm, but I missed my wife, as well.

"All day long? Won't you get bored?"

"Nope. Mama bought me a new book."

That, of course, explained it all.

"Well, in that case.. how would you like to go to the lake with Mama and me? We could go swimming.. and you can read me your new book."

"Could we?" His eyes looked up into mine, as he realized that I would be home all day.

:::I have to spend more time with him.. I'm missing him grow up!:::

"I don't see why not. C'mon. Let's tell your mother." I said, swinging him around so that he rested on my shoulders.

"Sally!" I called out, "Woman! Where are you?"

"You called?"

Her dry sarcasm met my ears, and I turned, expecting to see the smirk across her lips. I loved that look. It's coolness lied to you, refusing to hint at the passion that was just beneath the surface. It was my privilege to know the real Sally Chang... and she never let me forget it, either.

"We are taking Justin to the lake, to fly his kite and go swimming. I thought you might want to make a lunch for us." I said, praying that she wouldn't argue with me now, in front of the boy.

I could almost feel her clamp down on the rude retort she had ready to throw at me. Of course.. I did make sure that I was at my most autocratic when I informed her. I couldn't let the Woman think that I had gone soft.

Later that day, we were resting against a tree, watching Justin feed the geese. A frenzied gaggle seemed to surround him, tripping him up and following wherever he went. I snorted when a rather large male seemed intent on getting his share, crawling through the boys legs to reach up and grab the dangling bread from his fingers. Justin simply winced, 'shaking' the sting from the nipped at tips.

"I should have brought the camera." She said, leaning into me.

"In the basket. I knew that you would get sentimental on me."

I pretended to wince as she rapped my shoulder, rubbing the 'tender' spot away.

"I suppose you mean 'weak'?" She demanded.

"Well, sentimentality is weakness."

"Hmph! Then you must have some practice with it... after all.. you have saved every ticket stub from every movie we have seen together."

"Hush, Woman. Is it a crime to keep track of what I've seen?" :::Injustice! Was she spying on me?:::

"Oh, yeah.. and what about that lacy blue garter I wore at our wedding? You were SUPPOSED to throw it out!"

"So I gave Duo fifty dollars to get it back... it was your underwear!" :::How did she find my stash?:::

"And the hospital bracelet from Justine's birth?"

::::Gods! Might as well admit it now.:::

"Now.. that was sentiment... after all.. YOU gave him to me."

Sally blinked, expecting another excuse. Then, she realized what I had said, and she slowly smiled at the warm fuzzies that where taking over her stomach. Satisfied, she grabbed the camera, took a picture of Justin, and cuddled under my arm.

It was such a beautiful day.

The end!