Chapter Text
Niles never imagined he would be the type of guy with kids. Hell, he never thought he’d have a wife let alone be suckered into having offspring with her. And yet, here he was with two children and married to the commander of their rag-tag army (and ridiculously happy to boot, though he’d never outright say it). There was no denying either child was his, especially his daughter Nina. His son Kana shared his stark white hair, but everything else about him came from Corrin and her dragon blood. Nina on the other hand was the complete opposite; while she shared her mother’s beautiful sky blue hair, she acted everything like her father. Which was his downfall, and he knew it after “accidentally” overhearing her conversations with the other children the different couples in the army had produced. It seemed his own devilish charms and stubbornness ended up being passed down to his daughter, and he wasn’t quite sure that he was okay with that.
Niles and Corrin sat at the table in the shared tree house, Corrin looking over strategies Leo had handed off to her after their war meeting. The sun slowly set in the astral plane they inhabited, and Niles stared at his wife while his mind ran through the conversations he had overheard from Nina and the butler’s lazy boy. And Nina and the giant knight’s cowardly son. And Nina and the next crown prince of Nohr.
He was pulled out of his deep thought by his wife’s soothing voice, “Niles you look like you’ve got something so serious on your mind it might explode.” Corrin looked up at him sitting in the chair across from her, and gave a soft smile, “Is this about the fact both of the children can transform into dragons, and you feel left out?” He smirked at his wife’s teasing, something she had picked up from him.
They had just discovered Nina’s ability to transform, adding something else to the list of reasons she was like her mother. He stared at his wife for a moment, admiring the fact that she managed to look radiant regardless of leading an entire army, giving birth to two kids at an accelerated rate, and putting up with his shit on a daily basis. That last part alone was enough to drive many people before her away, but she always seemed to appreciate his covert honesty that was hidden in his jests. Over their time together she had even learned how to counter his sarcasm with sharp remarks of her own, which made him love her all the more (Once again, not that he’d ever admit it so honestly out loud).
Corrin tended to sense his need for attention quicker than he realized he needed to ask for it, and that prompted her movement over to sit in his lap with her legs hanging over the arm of the chair. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her waist as he figured out how to word his next sentence. He kissed her forehead gently, and spoke into it, “Our daughter swindled three hearts today, and never even blinked an eye.” He sat as he remembered Nina setting up three separate dates with the three boys, and making it seem like each one was the most important male to her.
Corrin giggled underneath him, “I suppose watching this is payback for all the hearts you’ve broken along the way? Or is this a ‘proud father’ moment watching your daughter take after you?”
Niles cracked a small smile at his wife’s words. Corrin knew him pretty well, and she pretty much spelled out his conflicted thoughts and feelings in a short moment. “I suppose a little of both. After all, it’s not everyday our girl has three dates with three completely different men and manages to keep each of them from finding this out from the others,” Niles sighed as he thought of Nina’s sly nature and mischievous smile. Corrin looked up at him with raised eyebrows, and Niles nodded at her with a fake look of sobriety on his face.
Corrin squeezed her husband’s arm playfully; “I suppose there’s nothing wrong with someone her age exploring her options, although from the look on your face, there’s more to it.”
Niles then recalled Nina’s conversation with Soleil, and their bet to see who could get the most dates set-up in 24 hours. Nina had won the bet by three dates, much to Soleil’s dismay (Laslow would’ve been so proud of how much his child was like him). As he shared this information with his wife, she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. Corrin spoke through her hands, “I wonder how Selena would feel to know her daughter was pulling this kind of a stunt?” Niles laughed with Corrin at the thought of Laslow and Soleil getting lectured by the red-haired swordmaster.
Corrin then looked at her husband with a puzzled expression, “How did you come across this information in the first place? Have you been spying on our daughter?” Niles gave his wife a mischievous grin of his own, and she rolled her eyes, “She would kill you if she found out you’d been eavesdropping on her conversations. Especially with boys. I told you that she was having trouble with those conversations.”
Niles chided at her, “Based on what I heard today your advice made it to where she could not only talk to boys, but play them like violins.” Corrin smirked at his remark as he continued his thought, “But I suppose you’re right about her getting ticked if she found out I’d been around to hear her little conversations. Gods know I’m already on her bad side.” Corrin’s face softened as she stroked her husband’s face while he referenced the arguments that had taken place between the father-daughter pair since Nina joined them from her deeprealm (or rather from outside of her deeprealm). Niles nuzzled his wife’s hand with his eye closed, and Corrin knew this weighed heavily on his heart even if he wouldn’t admit it.
Niles had always been busy with missions from his liege, and Corrin knew that being royalty allowed her more time to visit their children than his job as a royal retainer. Even if her visits were still too few for Corrin’s liking, Nina responded more positively to her mother because of it. It also could be chalked up to the fact that Nina was so much like her father, and his absence meant more to her than her mother’s at times. Or at least that’s what Corrin told Niles when they talked about it together. It didn’t make things any better between Niles and his daughter, but it gave him hope that things could get easier at some point.
“Something isn’t right though,” Niles eye opened to see a playful look cross Corrin’s face. Niles raised an eyebrow in response, awaiting the clearly devious thought his wife was having. “Kana is normally so interested in his sister’s business...why hasn’t he found out about this?” At that moment, as if they knew they were being talked about, the two children boisterously entered their parents’ room. Nina was livid with rage, and Kana looked determined to tattle on his older sister for something. Niles and Corrin smiled, having a pretty good idea what was about to ensue.
As Corrin attempted to mediate the damage between brother and sister, Niles sat in silent reverence of his wife’s ability to calm the sibling storm that was almost at full-force when it arrived through their door. As she shuttled them out the door to go get ready to head to the mess hall for dinner, Niles followed behind her. Once the door was shut, he grabbed her around the waist as she giggled, and nuzzled his nose against her neck. Just this once, he would admit it out loud.
"Thanks for being a part of my life, as rocky as it may be."