***16 YEARS AGO***

"Did you hear that..?" I absently tugged on Meliodas' sleeve, flinching as another rumble sounded off from not too far away. "Are they still working on the new barracks? That was pretty loud..." The blond was on his feet before the shrieking began, and I was only a step or two behind him as he rushed towards the door.

"You stay here!" His arm shot out, blocking me from exiting the door, and I stumbled back.
"E..eh?! No way! I'm not a little kid anymore, so I can-"
"I said stay here! I gotta go find Liz!" When he turned to face me, I could read the panicked look in his eyes. I had seen it before, time and time again. It was the same look he had every single time she was about to disappear again.

Why can't you just let things take their course..?

Despite wanting to be of use, I didn't refute him. All I could do was watch him sprint away down the dampened road, towards the rising smoke. It had always been that way. Whenever his Liz was in any kind of trouble, he'd put her first, but he always did come back to me. He would always have such a broken aura, but he'd force on a smile and scoop me into a hug, and I always did my best to comfort him.

I just couldn't understand why he put himself through it all...Over and over again...

Once upon a time, I remembered being very fond of Liz, or Elizabeth, as she often called herself. Though her personality changed on occasion, she was always a very gentle soul, but as I grew older, my affections for the woman faded. As a small child, Meliodas had always kept me right at his side, almost literally attached to his hip, but nowadays he was leaving me on my own a lot more than I was used to. He may have seen it as teaching me more about independence, but it hurt me.

It was worse with this particular Liz. More often than not, he would go and spend his days with her, reaching well into the nights, and I wouldn't know what to do with myself. In my younger years; many years, I hadn't really gotten the chance to socialise with others my own age, so trying to mingle with the other teenagers in Danafor proved to be difficult. The only people who ever really gave much of a damn were Meliodas and Merlin. Liz did, to a degree, but I had a feeling that this version didn't really want that much to do with me.

I don't like this...I feel sick...What am I feeling..?

My stomach churned as the sounds grew louder, and I couldn't force myself to sit and wait any longer. I wasn't sure what I was sensing, but it was far from good. It was like the entire world had grown dark and heavy. Gritting my teeth, I set off towards the noises, hoping I could help in some way, shape or form.

I hadn't expected to see a demon.

At least, that's the only way I could describe what Meliodas was butchering before me. A towering purple beast roared in anger and agony, the spikes protruding from its broad back glinting with raindrops as the sky split open. I wasn't able to move any further. Of course, I had fought before; many times, but this creature was something else entirely. The energy that it radiated was very similar to Meliodas', but much, much darker. It paralysed me.

From where I was standing, it was impossible not to see the bloodshed. Dead bodies surrounded the city center, and one in particular stood out. Pink hair, cut short and sticking to her forehead. The drizzle of red coming from the corner of her mouth. The gaping hole in her chest.

Well...It's not like it was going to end in any other way...but...still...

It was then that I realised that the discordant aura I was feeling didn't souly belong to the antagonizing demon. It wasn't even standing anymore. It wasn't even there anymore. It had fled into the shadows of the destruction it had caused, but Meliodas was still there, standing stock still mere feet away from the almost angelic corpse.

I was torn between running to his aid or staying put. I wanted to go to him, I really did, but I knew it would have been a mistake. The glow of black and purple crawling against his skin never resulted in anything good, and it was almost encasing him now. I just had to wait.

I had never expected the violent scream that tore from his throat, nor what came right after that. Complete and utter havoc. I cried out as rubble and debris pelted my body, and I lost my footing almost instantly, rolling several yards backward.
"M..Melly?!" I coughed out his name, trying to drag myself back to a stand, but I just got knocked straight back down again when another flurry of stone shot into my body.

It hurts..! What's wrong with him?!

The buildings that hadn't been destroyed by the initial demon attack were quickly crumbling, and I realised this wasn't going to be like every other time. My muscles ached as I climbed to my feet again, but I managed to avoid a third bombardment as I rushed towards Meliodas, who was almost u unrecognizable.
"H..hey! Come on! Me..Melly, please!" Desperation rattled my voice as I reached out to him, ignoring the sense of imminent danger that was almost spewing from his being. "It's gonna be o-"

We had sparred many times over the course of my youth. Everything I knew about fighting and discipline I had learned from the short-statured blond. I recalled the first time he had actually hurt me, drawing blood from my lip, and he hadn't released me from his apologetic embrace until long after the sun went down.

What's happening to you..?

The sheer force of the blow of his hand sent me flying through the air, and the pain I felt before even hitting the ground made me truly believe I was dying. The air wasn't reaching my lungs as I gasped and choked, unable to lift myself from the wreckage I had landed in, or perhaps even caused upon impact.

He...attacked me..?

I could see him in the distance, obliterating everything in sight. Just how far had he thrown me? The blazing pain I felt across my entire front assured me that I had broken bones, but even so, I still tried to move. Tears streamed down my cheeks, burning at the insignificant cuts in my skin as I hobbled back from where I had came from, desperately trying to think of a way to calm him down.

"Sto..stop...Please..." I pleaded, though Meliodas didn't even turn his head. He was on a rampage like no other, and I could still hear the screams of civilians succumbing to his meltdown. "Melly...Meliodas..!" Before I had even started back towards him, I knew it was hopeless. I could see it in that murky gaze of his. He only had two goals, and I could immediately tell what they were. Find the next Elizabeth and destroy all that stood in his path.

It still came as a shock when he struck me again, but this time, once I had landed even further away, pinned down beneath the stone and wood of what had once been a cottage, I didn't try to get back up. With Danafor levelled down to near nothing, I could still see Meliodas, and there was no way to describe the pain I felt; both physical and emotional, realising that he was the one suffering the most, and that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help him.

"M..Melly...D..Dad..."

***PRESENT***

"Wait, so he just left you, after the city was destroyed?" I could hear the disbelief in Ban's voice, and I couldn't blame him for thinking it was farfetched. After all, I hadn't told him the exact details.
"Yeah...but hey, it proved just how little he cares about me." I sighed, smiling forcedly as I tapped out the dregs of my ale onto my tongue. "There's no point in saying much more. It kind of makes me want to die..."

...more...

We sat in a strange silence for an age, the dull music from the distant festival being the only noise to keep it from being too heavy.
"Y'know, I heard a certain salmon head and company planning something around you earlier." Ban started after a while, mischief in his eye as he thankfully changed the subject.

"Oh? What did Lil Gilly have on the agenda then? Couldn't be anything good." Quirking a brow, I found myself leaning closer to the pearly-haired man, happy to focus on something a little lighter in my not-quite-drunken state.
"He and that brawny guy were scheming ways to get you and that blond knight bastard all nice and cosy t'night." He snickered, though his voice didn't quite match. "Something 'bout a fourteen year long romance, or some shit."

With that, I found myself in a fit of hysterical laughter. I was so amused by the thought of it that Ban had to shoot his arm out in front of me so I didn't topple off the wall and fall to my death.
"O..oh my fuck, are you serious?! That was why Howzer was so red-faced earlier?! I'm gonna piss!" I wheezed, basically hanging over my company's arm, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye.

"What, not interested?~" Ban snorted, making absolutely sure I was steady before withdrawing his arm.
"He's sweet and all, but not at all my type." I chortled, fumbling with the tap of the ale barrel so I could refill my tankard. "I'll always see him as a snotty, awestruck seven year old, anyway." I tapped my heels against the stone as I kicked my legs, gladly eating up the distraction from our previous arc of conversation.

"Humour me...What is your type?" Ban's question made the back of my neck heat up almost instantly, and I puffed my cheeks out.
"Uh, hard to say. My experiences with men have been pretty one-sided...Too many nobles with paraphilic tendencies..." I mumbled, nearly inhaling the contents of my tankard at the thought.

"What about the junior king? He seemed pretty charming." Ban pried, uncrossing his legs and tapping his nails against his empty bottle, which glinted in the dull moonlight. Scoffing, I waved him off, pinching at the material of my dress absently.
"Who, Ginger? Not a chance. I mean, sure, he's adorable, but in more of a this is my son and I will kill anyone who looks at him funny kind of way..." I explained, pausing. "At least I think. He's not really what I picture when I think of what my type could be..."

Ugh, drunkness, be gone!

Humming, Ban followed my gaze out over the city, which was honestly a beautiful sight from where we were seated.
"What do you picture, then?" He asked, and I threw him a bit of a glare before he stuck out his tongue. "Hey, I'm bored, and it's entertaining. Just tell me. What, you think I'm gonna go and gossip about this shit with every man and his horse?"

It wasn't that I didn't trust him. Actually, apart from Merlin, Ban was pretty much the only other person I had any kind of faith in. It was more so the fact that my filter had disabled itself, and I knew exactly what was lining up to spill out of my gob.
"Well...probably someone like you." I admitted, mortification nowhere near catching up with me. "So, I guess an asshole with a big heart, who can keep me on my toes, but who can also give me a sense of security. Somebody who can make me feel like I'm actually worth something, and doesn't see me as disposable...Way too far out of my league, I know, but that's what comes to mind, I guess..."

If I jump now it would basically be like deleting what I just said.

When Ban didn't say anything, I felt those nerves nip at my heels. It was definitely stupid to say something like that, especially after we had cleared up what had happened between us, but I couldn't have stopped it leaking out even if I had tried. Hesitantly, I glanced across at him, and my heartbeat gave me an extra hard kick.

Uh...shit.

It took me a while, but I finally managed to convince myself that the tint in his cheeks was merely due to the red glow of his leather top in the light of the night, but by that time he had prepared his response.
"I can see why your sin is despair..." He sighed, carnelian eyes stealing my undivided attention. "You really have fuck all confidence."

"No shit. What, am I supposed to have any? My parents obviously didn't want me, Meliodas threw me to the curb...I never really had anyone or anything else. I'm content to just skip out on emotions." I lied, waving him off with a flick of my limp wrist, which quickly stiffened when it was suddenly within the tight grip of a large, warm hand.
"Are you, though?" Ban asked, his tone oddly quiet and gentle, which had the opposite effect on the muscle buried within my chest. It honestly felt like the damn thing had multiplied, pulsing simultaneously across my entire body.

"I...uh..." My poor, overworked braincell bit the dust when he pulled me closer, glinting red flickering between my (E/C) eyes and my parted lips. "I a..am..?" Even sitting down, his height was intimidating, but not in a scary way. It made me feel light headed. At least I thought it did. It may have been the alcohol.
"I call bullshit..."

When Ban closed the distance between us, I squeaked in shock. Unlike our fist kiss, there was something a little more torrid about this one, and in seconds he had me melting into his questionable affections. I could feel the points of his cuspids grazing against my lips every few moments, and I almost forgot how to breath when he pulled back. This time, he didn't turn me away, and I could see just how starved his expression seemed.

"Ba..Ban...I told you...that it's not fair to..." I hadn't been able to finish my sentence before the man stood up, stepping back over onto the walkway and placing a hand on his hip.
"That one was for me." He said in a whisper, eyes yet again unable to decide between my own or my lips.
"O..oh..."

Help.

Clicking his tongue casually, Ban tore his gaze from me to the sky, then across the calm evening vista.
"Can't let you stay up here on your own. You'll end up falling head over ass to the ground. Come on...I can even finish that ale up for you on the walk home..."

Home...Huh...

"Um...that's not my home, so I AAAGHSHSHH!" I screeched out as Ban seized me, throwing me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing, grabbing the half-empty barrel in his other arm.
"Fine then. On the walk to my home." He altered his previous words, starting to walk off, his hand dangerously close to my ass. "Give it up, toots. Let me look after you."

See...that's what I'm afraid of...I don't want to get my hopes up again, Ban...

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***It's like 2:30am and I'm so TIRED. I'll probably edit this tomorrow***