AN: Not mine, all characters belong to Garth Nix, etc. Just a short one-off angsty little thing. Slightly AU (ignores Creature in the Case
Nicholas Sayre loved his wife.
It was, he felt, one of the core truths about himself. Born in Ancelstierre. Best friend to the Prince and Wallmaker. Happily married. Loved his wife.
After the whole mess with Hedge and the hemispheres was done, he was carted off to the capital with the royal family and Lirael and the twin blonde women—Clayr, he forced himself to remember, they're called Clayr. Those two had been very pretty, and Nick would have happily ended up with either. Or both. He suspected they'd probably take a single man to bed. But outside forces had pushed and swayed, and he found himself with Lirael instead. And he grew to love her.
At his wedding, there were a few confused moments where he was sure Sam, sitting to his left as his first attendant, shot him a jealous look or two. He had laughed, and clapped Sam on the back. Sam was just jealous Nick married first. Not about his choice of wife—there were plenty of beautiful women willing to throw themselves at Sam's feet! And, anyway, she was his aunt.
Nick tried not to be jealous when others spent time with her. She was, after all, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and it was only right that she go off on long treks with Sabriel, or spend hours in Sam's studio as he made her a new hand, to replace the one she had lost during the binding. Lirael was happy enough with him, he was sure. Happy enough.
He tiptoed into the warm, dark room. Lirael had gone on a trip with Sam, to fix a Charter Stone or something like that—he hadn't been paying careful attention, as the neckline on Ellimere's gown had been sinfully low and very distracting and was Lirael giving him a knowing look? No. certainly not. Besides, he was married and he loved her. Even if Ellimere was beautiful and he could almost see her nipples—and when Lirael and Sam returned a few months later, he was glad to see her. Even more glad to hear her announce she was pregnant. He had been sure it would be a boy, though Lirael insisted it would be a girl.
Nick looked down into the bassinet at his daughter, only a few days old. She hadn't even been named yet. She had a few dark curls—curls don't run on Sabriel's side, Sam gets them from his father, noted a small part of him. But, well, she was a baby. Lots of babies have baby curls. The baby blinked, and looked at him for a moment before beginning to fuss. Looked at him with his best friend's eyes.
Nicholas Sayre had been wrong about many things.