"If that's the case...then I challenge you to a fight, (Y/N)...Rabbit Sin of Despair..!"

I haven't heard that name in a while...

Meliodas looked confident, and if I hadn't known what I was up against, I would have liked to beat that smile right off his face. With a blank expression, I just stood there and blinked a few times.

"You've lost me...I have no idea what you're on about." I spoke up, and I swear I heard all of the others wheeze in disbelief, even Merlin.
"You really do have a weird sense of humour, don't ya? It's obvious you're just trying to get out of a spar, just like old times! Scared you'll lose?" Meliodas leaned forward a little, as did the others, in anticipation. I didn't like all of those eyes on me, but the little man was right.

There was no doubt that I knew exactly what he was talking about, and I was absolutely positive I would lose against him. Back in the day, I likely would have gone along with it to shut him up, but I was tired. Utterly exhausted, in every sense of the word.

"Look...I'd love to, I really would...but it's been years...and, frankly, I just don't feel like it." Rolling my eyes, I turned away and started off along the trail again, praying that he wouldn't follow me.
"If you don't mind me asking, (Y/N)...Where is your sacred treasure?" Merlin quickly fell into step with me, and I gritted my teeth in frustration. It wasn't just at her, though. A lot of it was aimed towards myself.

"Last I saw, that sick bastard had it. It's not like I really care, anyway. There's no point in having it..." I muttered, even though it was mostly a lie. I did care, but there was no way I was going to go get it.
"Such a shame...Carnificare was a lovely weapon..." Merlin sighed, folding her arms and closing her eyes. "I hope you realise that Meliodas isn't going to give up on you. He's following us from a distance, as are the rest of them."

You don't have to tell me that...They aren't exactly trying to go unnoticed...

"Didn't know there were more than seven sins..." Ban hummed from a distance behind.
"Yeah, it's kind of really confusing..." Diane agreed, scratching her head. Meliodas, on the other hand, wasn't paying them any mind. He had his eyes on me, and it felt like my skin was burning.

Coming to an abrupt halt, I spun around on my heel and glared daggers at my former captain.
"Go ahead, then! Spit it out so I can have some peace and quiet!" I snapped, but he didn't react to my aggressive tone of voice.
"How about we strike a deal?" He cocked his head, and my brow lifted against my will.

"A deal?" I repeated, and clenched my jaw at the thought. Whatever his idea was, it was sure going to be rich.
"Yep! We'll help you track down Carnificare." He puffed out his chest, and I almost had to laugh.
"For what? You get my sacred treasure back, and I get to be your lap dog again? Hardly fair." My foot tapped impatiently, and the dull ache in my head was slowly worsening.

"No, that's not it! We'll do that anyway! After we do, though, I wanna fight! If I win, you have to come back to the Sins!" He announced, and my body became stock still. He was still a cheeky little bastard, that much hadn't changed.
"If I win...you know what I want, Meliodas..." My narrowed (E/C) eyes flickered over to Merlin, who had her lips tweaking into an amused smirk.

You both know exactly what I want...

"Done deal! Great! Now that we have that sorted, let's go finish breakfast!" Meliodas pumped his fist and turned back towards the bar, followed by his gaggle of bewildered, boisterous companions.
"Are you just gonna leave us in the dark?!"

"Don't you think a fight against you is kind of unfair, Captain?!"

"Does this mean we aren't drinking tonight..?"

Merlin lingered by my side for a few moments, tapping her slender finger against her arm before her smirk grew.
"Still set on that, I see..." She purred, taking a step towards where the others had headed. "Think of it this way...You get to exact revenge for the last few years...Perhaps that would change your mind."

"Nothing will change my mind." I insisted, already walking away from the sultry woman. "I hope you're planning on keeping your captain's side of the deal, Merlin..." Before I got too far away, I heard her low, yet airy chuckle rise through the greenery.
"Don't despair, (Y/N)...I always keep a promise..."

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Time passed a little too quickly. I had decided to just sit myself up in a tree and spend the day in complete silence, save for the whistling birds and chattering wildlife. It was a new, refreshing kind of silence; one I hadn't had the liberty of enjoying for too many years. I would have felt rather peaceful if I hadn't had Meliodas' little bargain consuming my thoughts.

Stupid little shit...It's obvious he'd win the fight...but...why did I agree to it? I mean...I want Carnificare back, but is it really worth it..?

"Uh, (Y/N)..?" I yelped loudly as a voice called to me from above, which was quite terrifying when one took into account that I was a good fifty feet above the ground. Gripping the branch beneath me for dear life, I spun my head around to see the young ginger from the group, looking extremely startled himself.

What the actual-

"M..my bad! I didn't mean to scare you!" He apologised, waving his hands in front of himself. "H..how did you get up here, anyway..?" Releasing a long puff of air, I relaxed a little, adjusting myself and looking up at him.
"I climbed. I could ask you the same thing..." I pointed at the obvious fact that he was floating in mid air, and he smiled nervously.

"Well, I'm a fairy, so this is just what I do...I'm King, by the way." He introduced himself, but I was too busy craning my neck to give him a once over.
"Aren't fairies supposed to, like...have wings..?" I questioned, and he puffed his cheeks out in frustration.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?! I'm a late bloomer, okay?!" Whining, he turned so his back faced me, and I couldn't help but snort at his childish reaction.

"Sorry, sorry..." I laughed a little, though it probably just sounded tired. "So, has everyone stopped theorising about me yet, or what?" There wasn't really much point in asking such an outrageous question, as there was no way they had stopped trying to figure out who or what I was. Meliodas had a shitty habit of keeping things under lock and key, if he felt like it.

"Well, you can't really blame us for being curious..." King said as he came to stand on the same, thick branch. "I mean, after all this time, nobody even knew you existed...There's bound to be questions..."
"Yeah, that's true, I guess...Doesn't make it any less overwhelming, though..."

How light is this kid, anyway? The bough didn't sink, even a little!

"If...it makes you uncomfortable...I'll at least stop asking...for now..." King stated, turning to glance out over the small forest. "From what I heard, you've been through enough lately..."
"Damn straight...Thanks for bringing it up..." I uttered a dry laugh, and he was immediately up in the air again, shaking his head frantically.

"Ah! No no no, that's not..! I mean..! Shit, that was really insensitive, wasn't it? Sorry..." He whined and gave himself a few light smacks to the head, which made me feel a little guilty.
"I...was joking...Maybe Meliodas was right, about me having a weird sense of humour..." I cringed, and it was King's turn to laugh.

"I guess there's nothing wrong with that...Kind of reminds me of Ban, in a way. Hard to tell when he's making a joke or not." He sighed, and then looked back to me with a kindly smile. "I actually came to let you know dinner was almost ready. Took me a bit longer to find you than I thought it would, so we'll be lucky if we get to share Hawk's scraps unless we hurry!"

Something inside me jolted to defense when King offered his hand to me, and, for a while, all I could do was stare at it. It wasn't like I hadn't ever been shown any kindness. Both Meliodas and Merlin had treated me as an equal, all those years ago, and even in the hell I had been trapped in, every now and then a client would have a gentle approach. Even so, I wasn't used to it. Elizabeth, Ban, and now this strange, wingless fairy boy. It was such a big change in so little time.

Slowly; cautiously, I took his outstretched hand, and met his sunset eyes, that matched the current colour of the sky, which was quickly fading to black.
"Thanks..." I murmured quietly, squinting a little. "...Don't drop me, okay..?"

"I'll do my best..!"

"That's not comforting at all!"

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"What do you mean there's none left?!" King was almost wailing as he stomped his feet on the wooden floor, and I just watched his exchange with his captain from a short distance.

"Sorry, King! Nobody wanted to wait, and Hawk got to the leftovers before we knew it!" Meliodas shrugged and let out a pert giggle, and King immediately swooped over to verbally lay into the strange, almost microscopic piglet I had seen earlier.

"YOU'RE SO RUDE, YOU LITTLE..! WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EAT NOW?! YOU?! I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!" Hawk began to squeal and beg for forgiveness as the ravenous fairy began to give chase, and I shook my head as I watched.

"Yoooooo, number eight!" My attention was caught by none other than Ban, who was hunched rather awkwardly over one of the tables. His nose was flushed red, and judging from the large number of tankards surrounding him, he was shitfaced.
"You called?" I irked as I walked over to him, not wanting to answer anything I drunk man had to ask.

"Youuu took ya sweet ass time! This's probably all cold n shit..!" As he spoke, he lifted his body up off the table, revealing a full plate of food. Confused, and honestly a little taken aback, I blinked between him and the meal.
"F..for me..?" It was a stupid question, and Ban broke into a fit of loud, obnoxiously drunk laughter.

"Duhhhhh!~" His singsong voice was piercing, but my chest suddenly felt kind of tight, and my cheeks began to tingle in such an odd way.
"He insisted that he had to guard it for you." Elizabeth chimed in, giving me a closed eye smile.

But...

"Why..?" I looked to her, and a faint flash of concern washed over her features as she took in my expression.
"I think seeing you in such a condition last night brought out a protective side of him..." She said as we both peered over at the intoxicated brute, who waved her off with a limp wrist.

"Nahhhhh, that ain't it at aaaaaall! Look at 'er! I could pick m'teeth with 'er arms! Ain't nothin' on 'er!" He insisted, swaying dangerously as he nudged the plate over towards me, and almost off the edge of the table.
"So, in other words...yes, he feels protective..." Elizabeth giggled in a whisper, leaving me to stare at the plate of food and the man who had kept it for me.

There's no way...He's the sin of greed, right? No way he'd do a thing like that...at least not sober...Yeah, it's because he's drunk...

Pulling out a seat, I sat down and picked up the fork, stealing a sly glance at Ban, who was already midway through downing another drink.
"Um...Thank you, Ban...I appreciate it..." Even though I couldn't understand his reasoning, I really was grateful. I'd never admit it, but I was famished.

"Just call me beeeeeessssssst boooooooy Baaaaaan!" The platinum haired man cheered, raising a sloppy, half-assed toast, resulting in quite the spillage.
"What?! No fair! Why didn't you save me any, you dickwad?!" A large, green pillow flew into the side of Ban's head with a soft 'pomf', and King pouted angrily.

"We can share, King. Don't worry about it." I offered, sliding the plate to sit between myself and the empty chair beside me. Beaming, the fairy wasted no time in grabbing a fork for himself and joining me at the table, thanking me over and over again as though I had saved him from certain death.

I let King eat most of it, pretending to take my share, even though I merely picked and nibbled. Overwhelmed was an understatement, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Nobody had asked any questions, despite it being obvious that they wanted to. I even found myself quietly laughing along with the others at Ban and Meliodas, who were well on their way to passing out, and making right fools of themselves.

Maybe...Just maybe I could enjoy myself a little...until I win this stupid bet and get what I've been hoping for...

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***Okay, King is a sweet little fairy pie and I want to squish him and hug him and love him, amd destroy anyone who even looks at him funny***