Ban was gone when I woke up, and I was honestly kind of glad.

His scent still lingered on the linen, and it seemed to calm the throbbing of my temples as I rolled to smother my face in it. It took the longest time to force myself out of bed, but once I had, I regretted it, hearing all of the voices from downstairs.

Can today just not?

Making sure I looked somewhat presentable, I ambled down to the bar, nearly tripping over the final step when King zoomed towards me at a startling speed.
"(Y/N), you'll come pick apples with me, right?! Everyone else is too hungover!" He pleaded, and there was just no saying no to his puppy dog eyes.

"Sure, why not? I mean, I'm wrecked too, but it beats sitting around in this dump." Shrugging, I stepped around the fairy and wandered towards the counter, where Ban, Meliodas and Merlin seemed to just be loitering, and I attempted to avoid their gazes.
"Didn't see you last night, (Y/N). Not in the mood for a party?" The sorceress was the first to address me, and I clicked my tongue as I leaned across her to reach for an orange.

"Parties aren't really my thing. Opted for a quiet night, with my best friends, ale and tankard." My tone was bitter, but my expression didn't match as I met eyes with Ban for a split second. He was studying me, and my mind began playing flashbacks from the night before. "Hopefully you lot had a good time, though..."

Before I could get away and join King at the front door, Meliodas grabbed my wrist, and I very nearly pelted him with the fruit in my hand.
"Are you alright? You're looking a little off today." He asked, pure concern mismatched with his smile.
"I'm peachy. Never been better. Tip top shape." With a sarcastic response, I didn't have to pull very hard to get him to release me, and I started to back away. "If you'll all excuse me, I'm going to do some work, considering you're all lazy bastards."

King didn't so much as clear his throat until we were well away from the Boar Hat, just floating along beside me on Chastiefol.
"Are you sure you're alright? You do seem a bit different today..." He queried, motioning for me to follow him off the path into the grass.

"Just sick of everyone's shit." I replied truthfully, swatting away a small bugthat tried to land on my nose. "I don't mean you, though. It's just that some of the others are really messing with me, intentionally or not." The ginger hummed as we approached a cluster of trees, switching from laying on his stomach to sitting cross-legged.

"The Captain and the princess, right?" Nodding, I kept walking after he had slowed to a stop, kicking the trunk of one of the apple trees with little to no force.
"Yeah, and that smug asshole..." Ban was honestly screwing me around more than Meliodas had been, and I was sick of it. I knew that I was partially to blame as well, but I was already dealing with a tonne of self loathing, so this time it had to be redirected.

King floated up and off of his pillow, not stopping until he was hovering by the leaves, right up close to the red fruit.
"You know, it's strange. He seems to have taken a liking to you." He hummed, starting to work as chastiefol opened with a silent command, turning itself into a makeshift basket. "He usually only has one person on his mind, but it's kind of a relief to see him focusing on something else..."

One person?

"Who? Himself?" I scoffed, deciding to help by scaling one of the other trees, settling myself in one of the higher branches so I could reach our spoils.
"No, my sister..." King paused and looked across to me, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "She was killed a long time ago, and he's set on bringing her back..."

It took a while for me to register what he had said, but once I had, my heart sank. If that was the case, why had he being all over me? Why was he actively playing with my emotions?
"I..I see..." I murmured, staring down into the orange I had just pulled from my pocket. Frowning, King abandoned his task and floated on over, stopping in front of me and leaning a little to try to catch my gaze.

"What happened..? You can tell me. I'm pretty good at keeping secrets." He sounded sincere, and I did trust him, so I decided to just let it slip.
"Last night...Ban kissed me...a lot...and things got a little heavy..." I confessed, avoiding his gaze completely. "He's kissed me before, too, but he's really weird about it...and now I guess it kind of makes sense..."

The branch I was seated on dipped a little more, and I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"I have no idea how to respond to that, really...It doesn't make much sense...He always says that Elaine is his everything, but..." He trailed off, trying to think of what to say and how to say it. "Ugh, he's an idiot, (Y/N). Want me to stab him? I've done it before, so it's no problem, really!"

Shaking my head, I attempted a chuckle, but I knew it just sounded pitiful.
"No, thanks though. I mean, it's not like I expected anything to come out of it, and I definitely don't want to disrespect your sister..." Why did it hurt so much? Had I really been stupid enough to fall for someone in such a small amount of time?

"(Y/N), she isn't here anymore. He needs to move on, but...it's complicated..." King groaned a little kicking his legs out. "You could totally do better, though. He's a shitty guy." Lifting a brow, I turned to him, my head tilting a little to the side.
"No offence, but you hardly know me, King. In all honesty, I probably deserved to stay where you lot found me."

I had definitely not expected him to clap me over the back of the head, but I wasn't mad. His angry face was too adorable.
"Don't say that! Nobody deserves to be treated that way!" He insisted, jumping up and grabbing my orange out of my hands. "Now, let's work, and then share this orange when we're done, okay?!"

So, we worked. It took about an hour until we reached our goal, but it was easy going. Once we had finished, we started back towards the tavern, me throwing sections of the peeled citrus to my fairy friend as some sort of game. When the Boar Hat came into view, however, I began to backtrack.
"Hey, I think I might just go run a few errands real quick." I announced, tossing him the last quarter of our shared snack. "Just tell the others I went to tease Gilly or something."

Before he had the chance to question me, I was out of there, speed-walking down the road back the way we had came. There were three reasons as to why I didn't wish to return, and they each had a name. What King had revealed earlier had really messed with my head, and I needed time to think.

Passing the apple trees, I found myself in denser forest, where I decided to blow off steam in the form of punching the everloving shit out of a tree trunk. Sure, it did more damage to me than anything else, but getting just a fraction of my current feelings out was a good start.

Screw all of this...I can leave whenever the hell I want to! I'm gonna! Staying so close to Melly and that bitch is the worst thing for me...and now that Ban's thrown into the mix...

"FUCKING SHIT!" I yelped out, cursing loudly as I heard, and felt, a snap, a sharp pain shooting up from my right wrist. Bloody knuckles were now the least of my concerns. Naturally, I just began to kick the tree instead, but now as a way of distracting myself from the pain.

"I heard that. Step away from the tree, kid." When I heard Ban's voice, it just drove me to kick that much harder, but it was pointless trying to ignore him. One use of his snatch power, and my left arm was in his grip. "Show me." Gritting my teeth, I just threw my glare to the side, not wanting to even look at him.
"Leave me alone. Just scraped my knuckles."

Just go away...I don't need your fake pity...

Completely unconvinced, Ban didn't let me go, instead fighting against me to grab my other arm with his free hand. Once he had it, he brought my wrist up to his face, which meant I was stretched out with my hands in the air like a complete idiot.
"You went and broke it, you idiot. It's already swelling and bruising." He clicked his tongue, and the sharp sound bounced and echoed through the forest.

"Do you think I care?! I don't need your help, you creep!" I hissed, finally tearing myself out of his grasp and stepping away.
"Woah there, that's a little harsh." Ban seemed to realise just how pissed off I was and stayed back, though he didn't show any signs of leaving me alone.

"Oh, is it? King told me everything. About you and your vow to bring Elaine back..." I revealed, my voice fading into something less aggressive, but still incredibly bitter. "I mean, I get it, but I don't want to be dragged into your problems, Ban. I'm not here to be stress relief or whatever you see me as..."

Crickets sang as the sun began to lower, and not a word was spoken between us for an age, but when Ban did decide to speak up, his voice was low and deathly serious.
"I don't see you like that." I didn't hear anything but a lie, but I didn't dare interrupt him. "Yes, I love Elaine, and yes, I'm going to bring her back, but I'm telling you straight up, you aren't stress relief. To be frank, you're probably one of the most stressful things in my life right now."

Fucking ouch...

Heaving a sigh, I returned to my tree, kicking out, but leaving the sole of my boot pressed against the bark.
"You can just say it. I was a boredom buster, or a temporary fill-in. People have their urges, I know that. I'd just rather be told upfront, instead of having to fight off the thought of something more than that..."

The crunching of dried leaves told me he stepped closer, but he gave me a decent amount of space.
"It isn't that simple. I wish it fucking was." He muttered, talking to the back of my head. "If you really gotta know, it's your eyes. They're sad, and cloudy. It's like you've taken a storm captive in there. I have this stupid urge to get it out and stop it from getting back in..."

A storm, huh?

His metaphor made sense to me, in a way. My mind always felt like it was trapped in the middle of a monsoon, struggling against harsh winds and pelting rain, but I didn't understand why that would make him think such things.
"So, let me get this straight...You thought that kissing me, touching me, and then doing a complete one-eighty was going to help either of us? You can't have the two things you say you're after, Ban, no matter how greedy you are! It doesn't work like that!"

I was getting real sick and tired of his special ability, body tensing as he snatched me away, catching me against his chest, a hand on my shoulder.
"I know that. I'm just trying to figure things out." He explained quietly, his skin hot to the touch. "I'm not actively trying to mess with anyone, for once."

I knew he was telling the truth, but I didn't care anymore. The walls were back up, and they were lined with canons.
"Then could you leave me alone? I'm busy..." To my surprise, none of the intended venom reached my tone, and he didn't let me go.
"What, so you can go 'n break more bones? Dream on. I'm taking you back, at the very least, to get it looked at."

When he tried to move me, I stood my ground, refusing to budge.
"If you don't get your hands off me, then you'll regret it, Ban. I just want to be alone right now." I didn't sound strong at all, but I meant what I had said. He couldn't die, but he still felt pain, and with him so close, I could easily have caused him plenty if I decided to scratch his skin.

"Fine." Taking his hands off of me, he allowed me to pull away, his mouth a thin line. "If you aren't back by witching hour, I'm comin' to haul your ass back, though." It was more a promise than a threat, but I still scowled, ignoring the sudden cold that hit my bare shoulder.

"Don't bother. You won't find me." Turning away, I marched back to the poor, innocent tree I had been abusing, listening closely as his footsteps grew further and further away.
"Sure I won't. I'll see you later, kid..." It was odd hearing his voice so flat, but I wasn't about to worry about him. He didn't deserve it. Not after playing his little games with me.
"Bite me, you stupid fucking fox!" I shouted over my shoulder, staring into the ripple of the bark.

"Don't tempt me, rabbit!" With the last word, he was gone, leaving me to my own devices. I didn't move for a long time, not until mosquitos began to try me out as a meal, but when I did, my focus moved directly to my wrist. It was now swollen and blotchy, and even when it was still, it throbbed with pain.

Taking a deep, steady breath, I internally screamed at the feeling to disappear, and continued to do so, even when the silver appeared. Now, I wasn't completely sure what the go was with the silver markings, but I knew they were a part of me. Strange, swirly patterns that appeared on my arms or legs whenever I ended up hurting myself.

Meliodas had told me they were nothing to be scared of the first time I discovered them, after falling and grazing my knee on a dirt road as a child, but he didn't really explain them any further than that.

"Some of us can just do that! Our bodies don't like pain, and some people's bodies hate it so much, that they help us out!"

After hearing that chipper voice ring in my ears, the markings disappeared, and my wrist was almost back to normal. It still felt kind of dodgy, but I could handle it. Swatting away the buzzy little bloodsuckers that had me surrounded, I started off towards the barracks, deciding that, from there, I could find a quiet little spot to escape Ban's radar.

This is fine. It's for the best. If things went any further, then I would've been tied down. This is absolutely...fine...

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***How do write fandom that not bnha? I? Don't know anymore?

Anyway, have some trash. I really need to reread SDS so I know what the hell I'm even writing about***

Next Time: Not So Simple***