I remained hidden well into the afternoon, the blue of the sky melting into a rich hue of honey and amber as I sat in the treetops. My skin; that which had been exposed by the rips and tears from the battle earlier that day, looked almost like honeycomb due to those colours filtering through the leaves above.

That motherfucker went easy on me...

That was one of the many things that had gotten me so upset. Not once in our long history together had Meliodas respected me enough to not hold back, and it just made my resentment towards him grow. I knew that none of the other Sins had particularly high expectations of my power, but it didn't make my defeat any less humiliating.

For the longest time, I had been positive we would have done anything for each other. Even though he had always been somewhat immature and had the appearance of a child, Meliodas was the closest thing I had ever had to a father. My chest ached as I recalled how proud he sounded, introducing me as family, and how genuinely happy I had once been.

***Flashback***

"Look! Look, Melly!" I shouted loudly, completely unphased that I had just fallen flat on my ass. "I caught it all by myself! Look at it!"

It had taken all day, but I had finally managed to catch a fish. I had refused any and all help from the blond, and now he was applauding me as he stood up from further along the bank, grinning at me and my puny catch.
"That's my girl! We'll be eating like kings tonight!" He praised, picking me up by the scruff of my shirt to get me back on my feet.

Eagerly, I snatched the dangling fish, sticking my tongue out the moment my fingers wrapped around its form.
"Ewie, it feels like snot!" I laughed, keeping it at arms length. I started to walk off with it, but Meliodas kept hold of me, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Hold up, squirt. Aren't you forgetting something?"

Completely clueless, I tilted my head, blinking rapidly.
"Uh...am I?" Snickering, the blond reached down and took the fish from me, spinning it so it was facing me, mouth opening and closing slowly.
"Of course! You're supposed to kiss your first catch!"

The second the word 'kiss' left his lips, I was already running away shrieking, and he lost no time in sprinting after me, making the most horrendous smoochy noises.
"M..Melly..! Quit it..!" I yelped, though enjoyment was present in my voice as I stumbled, my shorter legs no match for his speed. He tackled me to the ground, making sure to keep my head from crashing down, and smooshed the face of the fish into my lips, which had been parted.
"Mmmmmmmmwah!" He tossed the fish aside, trying not to cackle at my disgusted expression. "See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Tongue out and gagging, I squirmed beneath him, small droplets of spittle flying from my mouth as I tried to rid it of the taste of fish.
"It's gross! And you're squashing me, fatty!" I huffed, puffing out my cheeks. Fondly rolling his eyes, Meliodas stood off of me, picking me up and giving me a tight squeeze.
"Whoops! I almost forgot!" I giggled loudly as he planted a sloppy kiss to my forehead before settling me on his hip. "Always kiss your first catch!"

Looping my arms around his neck, I watched him pick up my fish, which I saw as larger than life, and started back up the bank towards our little camping set up. As he whistled a tune, I poked him in the cheek, resting my head on his shoulder.
"Melly, when are we gonna go live in a town with other people? We never stay anywhere for long..."

"Shouldn't be too long, now." He replied, carefully avoiding stepping on a flower so I wouldn't chew him out. "I'm just looking for someo...something in particular..." Humming, I yawned, flicking a loose thread in his collar with my finger.
"It's that pretty lady with the shiny hair, right..?"

His walking rhythm faltered for a moment, but he quickly continued on, tossing the now unmoving fish up and down in his free hand.
"Yep! I told you how she likes playing hide and seek sometimes!" He grinned, bonking the side of his head into mine lightly.
"Yeah, she's really good at it..." I yawned again, closing my (E/C) eyes once I saw our unlit campfire come into view. "Do you think we can be a full family when we find her, this time..?"

I was faintly aware of how his hold on me tightened, and I squeezed him back as I started to drift off, nuzzling my small face into the crook of his neck.
"Absolutely..." He sighed, carefully sitting down and shifting me into his lap, gathering my free (H/C) hair and tucking it neatly behind my ear. "Love you, pipsqueak..."

"Mmm...Love you, Melly..."

***End Flashback***

The material of my tights darkened as it absorbed my tears, which I hadn't even noticed beforehand. Covering my face with my hands, I curled in on myself, barely managing to keep my balance on the tree limb.

Everything used to be perfect...until that fucking Liz showed up...

Just knowing he was in the vicinity was painful, and now I was stuck on the bad end of a deal I regretted making. What point was there in me joining now? Brittania was safe, and the only work that remained for the elite Sins was helping with rebuilding Liones or manning a tavern. Hardly worth risking life and limb for a new recruit.

"You appear to be weeping." Completely unprepared to hear a voice so close to my ear, I shrieked, tumbling backwards and barely managing to grab hold of the branch, my ass dangling off the back. I glared absolute daggers up at the one who startled me, gritting my teeth.
"Don't tell me you can fly, too?!" I barked, choosing to let myself just fall back, not at all willing to fall victim to a conversation.

I yelped as I landed in the bushes below, thankful that I hadn't been up all that high this time around. When I popped my head out, Gowther was already standing in front of me, hands behind his back.
"In answer to your question, no, I cannot fly." He stated, completely oblivious to my struggle whilst climbing out of the bush. "I was merely curious to the reason you were shedding tears. I am under the suspicion it has something to do with Captain Meliodas. Perhaps he was a former romantic partne-"

"THAT'S DISGUSTING! LIKE HELL I'D EVER THINK OF THAT PINT-SIZED SLEAZEBALL LIKE THAT!" I roared, punching him with as much energy as I could muster. He barely even flinched, only squinted as his glasses had flown off his face and onto the ground.

"My apologies." Gowther's monotone voice came out a little muffled as he patted his cheek. "I am not entirely competent when it comes to human emotions. Accompanying one of my travelling companions in locating you seemed like a decent opportunity to get some insight."

Accompanying..?

"Damn, wasn't hard enough to shut that trap up~" I grimaced as I heard a familiar voice from behind me, and giving into my impulses, I spun around, swinging my fist along with me. Instead of a face, however, I struck an open palm. "Caught ya~"

The smirk on Ban's face made my blood boil, but at the same time I felt bad for wanting to hurt him. Sighing, I withdrew my fist, folding my arms across my chest.
"What do you want?" I scowled, praying that my tears had dried up. By the way the behemoth's expression dropped a little, I knew they hadn't.

"Well, for starters, it's getting dark, and after that little one on one before, the others were starting to think you'd gone and passed out somewhere." He explained, hooking his thumb into the belt of his vibrant leather pants. "Also, Capt'n went to the castle with the princess, so you won't have to deal with whatever vendetta you have against him for tonight."

Well, at least that saves me a night of sleeping outside...

"Who said I'd be living up to my end of the deal? I don't owe that bastard a damn thing." I growled, starting to trudge off in the opposite direction.
"Actually, after sifting through your history together, it would seem that you owe a great deal to the captain."

Every bone in my body seized after Gowther spoke up, and I slowly turned my head around to glare at him, as though it was connected to my shoulders by rusty hinges.
"Hah?" The goat sin was incredibly lucky that Ban quickly stepped between us, smacking him up the side of his strawberry head.
"What have we told ya about keep'n outta people's memories, idiot!" The man scolded, waving his hand limply in my direction. "Look, I'll ask you again nicely...Won't you come join us for copious amounts of alcohol?"

Alcohol sounded like a good plan to me, but not when it came with hyper curious people and the chance of Meliodas strolling it at any moment. Putting on a plastic smile of innocence, I stared him dead in the eye.
"I'd rather choke on glass."

Ban heaved a long sigh, shaking his head, but that toothy smirk didn't budge, and I didn't miss the crimson gleam in his eye, even in the darkness.
"Suit yourself...Bring nice isn't really my style, anyway..." In one fell swoop, I was hanging over his shoulder, legs kicking and flailing about in the air.
"I'M NOT A SACK OF POTATOES, YOU STRETCHED OUT PIECE OF DOG SHIT..!"

Oh, god..! I can feel every muscle in his arm and back..! Shit..!

"Ouch, oooo, such an insult..." Ban teased, only having to use one arm to hold me in place as he started towards the Boar Hat. "You wound me. Maybe I won't feed you anymore~" Completely helpless, I slumped, resting my chin on my elbow, which I made sure was digging into the flesh of his back. Gowther trailed close behind us, and I seethed at him, teeth bared.
"If you ever do that little mind reading trick on me again...I'll stick those glasses all the way up your asshole..."

As he walked, Gowther's head tilted to the side again, his vibrant pink hair falling over his face slightly.
"I would prefer to avoid that. We should converse about other subjects. Perhaps how you are internally being quite complimentary of Ban's physique?"

"Ohoho?~"

"I'M GONNA TURN YOU INTO GOAT RAGU, YOU INVASIVE LITTLE FUCK..!"

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***A little more insight into our issues with Smelliodas, and more Gowther, because sparkle.

Do we want a slow burn or not?***