So, as we were commenting, I *knew* I had forgotten something... x_____x
This whole 'thanking' business was a little strange to him. He had always considered preserving liberty and protecting everyone's intrinsic, natural rights to be at the core of his existence - the basis of why he was here, why he did what he did and why people were willing to take up this cause and fight for it.
But he enjoyed her company. Around her he felt comfortable. She was someone he respected, someone he admired - she was more than something, some foreign concept or ideal - she was the lady standing on the other side of the door.
He could hear things happening inside her house as he knocked on the door. For all the times he felt comfortable around her, there were times when things could get a little awkward as well. Just because she was who she was and he was who he was, and the roles they played were already decided for them.
These commemoration ceremonies were wearing him down, and while he might not have been in the best of moods, for her, he would smile. For her, he would do anything.