Chapter Text
The village was empty. Not a single soul was there but him. He tried to see if he could sense anyone’s presence, but to no avail. He was completely alone in the village.
He tried to look into the houses surrounding him only to discover that they were also deserted. He walked into inns, bars, schools and shops of all kinds. He lastly concluded that he really was the only living soul in the village after failing to locate anybody else.
Meliodas thought this whole deal was weird but didn’t question it any further.
After the little trip that he had around the place, in the midst of trying to detect somebody, he came to realize that he was pacing down the streets of the same village where he recently dropped Merlin off bellow to.
He wandered the empty pavements, trying to find the exit and scurry the hell out of there when he happened to pass by the town square. His gaze lingered momentarily on the rather binary fountain that stood in the center of it and his eyes returned to stare frontward. Not a even a split-second later, Meliodas took back the next step he was about to make and walked backwards instead. He granted the town square a second look in its way, just to be sure of what he thought he almost missed the first time he looked over there. Just to be certain his eyes weren’t playing dirty tricks on him. Meliodas’ eyes were glued to the sight in front of him. And it wasn’t the fountain that caught his eye, or even the impressive, artistic floor tiles that were arranged neatly beneath it. It was the goddess who sat on the fountain’s rim who made Meliodas look twice.
The only goddess in the world…
Silver hair that was longer and straighter than a ruler, pale skin that reddened easily, flushed cheeks and lips, slender but plump figure that was covered by a short, white dress, accompanied with golden-colored sandals that wrapped around slim calves, and two jewelled orbs that looked like turquoise stones as the morning rays of light fell upon them, but with a mixture of sapphire crystals when they shined back at the sun.
‘What are you doing here?’ Meliodas wanted to ask her. But he was afraid that if he acknowledged her presence, she might disappear.
She sat there, so politely yet casually, with her legs crossed and her hands laid courteously on top of her thighs. Her posture was upright, but not so much that she seemed like a soldier at Attention. Her wings were folded behind her, almost reaching the water. Her head was faced forwards and her gaze was set on him.
She was smiling at Meliodas, but weirdly so; usually, when she smiled, her eyes slanted somewhat. But now they stayed the same size while she was grinning over at him. She looked like a doll that way— beautiful, but emotionless and non-alive. And suddenly, her amiable demeanor only felt like a delusion. None of this felt real.
But then Meliodas’ focus averted away from her and to wondering to himself what was going on, and very soon, when his eyes crawled back to her, she was nowhere to be seen anymore.
Meliodas’ eyebrows rose to his forehead and then furrowed. Surely, he was supposed to have seen it when she suddenly evaporated into thin air. How the hell did she do that without letting him notice a thing?
He unfroze from his stance and spun around, each step that he made was done in dubiety. Ultimately, he couldn’t find her by just scanning the area with his eyes or trying to sense her presence, hence he decided to walk around and look for her, entirely forgetting that his mind was set on getting out of the village just moments ago.
Meliodas found himself strolling the empty village once again, this time for a different cause.
He rambled around, not even knowing where to begin looking for her, and exactly when he was about to make peace with her disappearance, Meliodas spotted in the distance what seemed like the tips of a feathered pair of wings. They were popping out from behind a brick wall of some house several streets away from where he stood. Surely, this had to be her.
Meliodas walked over to her. Then, he started picking up his pace. She wasn’t going anywhere, she just stood there, yet he still fastened his steps. And when he was about halfway through to reaching her, she ran off somewhere. Once he saw those white feathers flee from his vision, he began running to her.
When he got to where she stood just seconds ago, to that spot behind the bricked house, she was gone and once again nowhere to be seen.
But then he heard laughter, an innocent giggle, like a child playing hide and seek. Meliodas followed the direction in which the chuckles came from, and to none’s surprise, there he saw feathers along with silver strands of hair flashing behind a market booth a few houses afar from him. The moment he located them, he waisted no time in chasing after them, knowing exactly who they belonged to. Meliodas jogged towards her, not yet losing his cool, but also not feeling quite as tranquil as before. Although, just like the first time, she vanished from where she posed before he could reach her and Meliodas changed to sprinting. He arrived at the booth and she was nowhere around.
“Damn it.” He snarled. By the time she showed up again behind a far house, Meliodas figured out her game. He was prepared.
He ran and ran and skipped and even spread his wings of darkness to fly and seek her from above. But she was good, too good for his own sake. He followed her and almost caught on to her multiple times, yet he couldn’t catch her. He couldn’t grasp on to her and make her stay once and for all.
At some point, he lost count of how many times he chased after her. After each time that he did, Meliodas would tell himself that was the last time and that he should give up, that she wasn’t going to let herself be caught and she probably would never get caught by him anyway. But then he’d see her again, whether it was her wings, her hair, one of her limbs, or her clothes that he saw, he knew he couldn’t allow himself to let it go. He’d run to her. Each and every time.
As much as he was sure that he was excellent at tracking her movement, Meliodas failed to notice that she was leading him towards the end of the village. He only figured that out when at last she stood clear and bare in front of him, not hiding behind anything, with her front facing him and the large, lousy gate of the village at her back.
“I’ve got you now.” Meliodas informed her. He displayed a stony attitude. She said nothing in return. All she did was stare at him with the same, unchanging, deadpan expression with that smile that clearly wasn’t genuine. He couldn’t bring himself to like this version of her.
Meliodas had no idea what brought him to do that, maybe it was his exasperation with her current acts and mannerism, or the time that he had to spend without her ever since he last saw her a few days ago, but he just charged at her, not willing to let her run away again and not even thinking of their safety. He tackled her and they rolled off the top of the hill, clashing against trees, passing through bushes, running over stones. By the time they’d finally reached the bottom, they found themselves inside water. Meliodas rose from the water and quickly dried his eyes, rubbing them forcefully. When he opened them, he scanned the area around him to see where they winded up at. Much to his memory, there certainly was a stream down there, but the waterfall that caught his attention when he turned around was definitely not there before. Shrouded in confusion, Meliodas glanced up to where the village was, only to discover that it was no longer there. It was now just a hill in the middle of nowhere, with a waterfall and a small body of water at its feet.
He didn’t notice his little company rising above the surface until she tackled him in laughter and forced him to follow her inside the water. She took his hand in hers and swam into a compacted space behind the waterfall. The place smelled like it hasn’t felt the air outside in ages. It was damp and filled with moss, and it was dark enough to question the time but illuminated enough by the sun from outside to recognize that it was not nighttime. His feet weren’t touching the ground, so he had to kick his legs inside the water in order to keep his head above the surface. Meliodas assumed the water wasn’t too shallow when he noticed that the goddess before him couldn’t touch the bottom of the pool either and while she was taller than him.
Well, now that he actually paid attention to her, Meliodas found himself losing his breath for the second time since he fell into the water— she was absolutely gorgeous. It hasn’t been that long since he last met her, yet he couldn’t bring himself to calm down. While he used to simply appreciate her beauty until not too long ago, Meliodas was now excited to merely see her again. He liked her in his view not just because she was a magnificent sight to behold, but also because it meant she was there with him. Meliodas was, as a matter of fact, comforted by her presence and not just by her beauty. Even though she felt… off.
He saw her there, right in front of him, with an expression that held a meaning he couldn’t quite place his finger on. But she was there, so close to him. Close enough that they could bump their heads together if they wanted to.
He wanted to tell her something, but he didn’t know what he wanted to say. Or more accurately, he didn’t know where to even begin.
“Meliodas.” She called him by his name, and his name alone, escaping from her lips, ignited a flame deep within him. A flame only she could set on.
But she didn’t say it like always. Her voice sounded foreign; it was low, almost menacing, and it was smooth like ice, but not nearly as cold. No, her voice was more than just not cold and not even warm like usually. It was hot, like she had the same flame buried inside her that Meliodas felt in him.
“You seem troubled.” She told him.
‘Yes. I am.’ He though of telling her, but before he had the time to make the decision, Meliodas was startled by a hand touching his bicep. Her hand, precisely. His gaze quickly flicked to her slim fingers gliding over the wet skin of his muscle, just a little bellow his shoulder, and then to her mesmerizing eyes that looked as if were daring him to stop her, knowing full well that he’d never do that, and he could never miss that half-smirk playing on her lips that he never saw her making before. Was she trying to sooth him? Because if she was, it was absolutely not working. Meliodas’ skeleton practically jumped out of his skin the moment she touched him.
“Don’t worry,” She assured him and placed her mouth near his ear to whisper him something, “I will make you feel good.” She made him shiver completely with her simply-put words. He didn’t know what she meant by that, but he couldn’t wait to see what she had up her sleeve. Although he was a tad more terrified than he was anticipant.
She slid the tips of her fingers up and down both of his biceps now, in some way caging him under the lightest grip of her hands. She tracked her fingers with her eyes while Meliodas’ eyes rode all over her, from her fingers to her arms, to her face, to her hair, to her neck, to her collarbone, and… even a little lower. The fabric of her white dress wasn’t covering much while soaked. And as much as breasts didn’t excite the crown prince of the demon clan, he was pretty damn exhilarated now.
His breathing was raggedy and out of control. His hearts never beat faster. Nothing about this felt real, but Meliodas wasn’t quite the thinker at that moment. He wasn’t planning on thinking about anything right now and truth be told, he wasn’t convinced he could, even if he were to try.
Her breathing wasn’t in any better condition. Her chest heavied up and down and Meliodas could hear her exhaling from her gaping mouth. Her eyes still scanned her hand movement as she stroked Meliodas along his arms, seemingly enjoying the moment. She wasn’t grinning or chuckling, yet he could tell she was having a good time doing this. He could feel her pleasure in the air. He could see it in her lustful eyes; her dilated pupils, her low eyelids.
She tugged at the lowest button of his white coat and Meliodas quickly picked on what she was telling him. He instantaneously opened all of his three x-shaped buttons and took off his coat, casting it somewhere aside, letting it drown, he didn’t care. And now that his upper body was bare before her, she had more area of skin to pass her hands on. However, not before she let herself take in the view. The way she seemed to relish hungrily over the sight on his flesh somewhat managed to embarrass Meliodas. He’s never been in this kind of situation before. He felt vulgar and boorish like the mob. He could sense his sophistication dripping away along with his pride.
She glided not only her fingers this time, but the entirety of her soft palms, over his shoulders, then to his shoulder blades, then dropping lower to his collarbone and afterwards to his pecs, then to his upper abs, followed by a lingering touch on his ribs, almost tickling him, and at last, she finished her travel on his back, taking the opportunity to embrace him in a wrapping hug. By then, Meliodas wasn’t exactly an expert on hugs but he was more than certain this one wasn’t as innocent as any other hug. There was heat and dampness, and breaths colliding together as a result of their foreheads clinging. Their heartbeats throbbed against each other’s every organ, from ringing loudly in their heads, to drumming violently in their clasped chests, and riding through their arms to the tips of their fingers which felt like they were going to explode from the blood rush. Meliodas grasped her by the waist, not knowing for sure what he wanted to do, but having no ambiguity about wanting to at least touch her or hold her.
“I will make you feel so good.” She promised him. Even though she was the one declaring such things, she sounded like the one who’s overstimulated with satisfaction. Her words came out needy, like she was begging him for something. Her fingers latched on to his back like a cat, but kindly so, without digging her nails into his flesh. Her body was pressed so tightly to Meliodas’ skin, so much that he was afraid they physically won’t be able to separate from one another and just combine into one.
Even so, however much it seemed like she was thrilled, Meliodas had to have been tenfold more excited than that.
Her breath was cool on his chin and lips as their foreheads were connected as though welded together. Both of their eyes were closed shut. The only sounds that could be heard were the splashing of droplets hitting the water after dripping down their conjoined bodies, the heavy puffs of air escaping their mouths, the throbbing heartbeats that clanged harshly inside their heads and ears, and the loud clashes of the waterfall against the stream. But Meliodas by no means heard the thundering sound of the waterfall behind him. Right now, it was only her who Meliodas could sense with all five of his senses.
He didn’t know for how long he could endure not doing anything like this. He may have been having the time of his life, but he couldn’t deny his raging hunger for more.
And right about then, Meliodas felt her forehead shift, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes. He felt the small waves of the water assemble as she moved to do something, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes. He felt their noses touching slightly, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes. He felt a surprising peck as light as a feather on his lips, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes. He felt her hands glide away from his back to park at his chest, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes.
He felt her kissing his mouth for a fleeting moment and then backing away a few inches, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes.
He felt her returning for another kiss, just as quick and delicate as the last one, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes.
He felt her do it a couple more times and he even returned the gesture and unconfidently pursed his lips for every peck that he received. Still, he didn’t dare open his eyes.
When the next peck became a lingering kiss, he didn’t even think about opening his eyes.
And then he felt her tongue pierce through his lips, pressing on his teeth. He let her in his mouth where their tongues collided and Meliodas’ eyes were closed shut with force as his brows wrinkled in pleasure, his nose huffed and puffed uneven breaths and yearn painted his face, causing his features to look like he was in pain. Their hands sprinted to place themselves over each other, grasp onto each other— her on his cheeks, and him on her hair and her cheek.
Their lips were open agape while their tongues moved together inside the walls of their mouths. Ever so often, a soft sound escaped her lips, a faint, delightful sound that Meliodas couldn’t get enough of. His one hand squeezed her soaked hair as he grabbed onto it with a little bit of might, and his other hand’s thumb rubbed along her tender cheek, from their mouths to her ear. Her hands then ran all over his body, causing Meliodas’ breathing to hitch from the bliss of it. He began doing the same. He even dived his fingers under the water to spear her waist with the rough grip of his fingers.
Without notice, she broke the kiss all at once to create a little space between them and Meliodas actually found himself grieving. But then his eyes swelled in shock and his jaw slightly dropped when he saw her unbuttoning her dress to take it off. His jaw dropped even lower when she swam back to shut the distance between them, achingly slow, and their bare chests pressed against each other. Hers was so soft and squishy while his was as tough as stone. But he felt so vulnerable now that perhaps his body resembled porcelain much more.
She softly bumped her head against his, but this time neither closed their eyes. Meliodas’ gaze was fixated on their chests clasped together when he sensed her gaze fixated on his face. He picked his eyes up from the sight bellow them to look at her as well. Either of them couldn’t see much of the other’s features when their faces were so close, but he could see her eyes as clear as day. If anything there felt like reality, it had to be her bright blue orbs. And her lashes, if they were any longer, they’d most likely have pierced his eyes. Meliodas felt such strong emotions of content washing over him suddenly that he almost smiled.
He wanted to tell her something, but didn’t know how to say it. He wanted to let her know something, but wasn’t sure what. He wanted to call her by her name, but he just… couldn’t. He couldn’t bare it.
“Tell me something, Meliodas.” She spoke into his face.
“Yes.” He returned in a flash, his voice only as strong as a whisper.
“What do you want?” She asked him.
But Meliodas couldn’t think. His brain wasn’t capable of functioning properly right now. If she were to ask him a simple question like what was the color of his hair, he would’ve replied, most likely. But he deemed it crazy that she expected an answer for such a vague question while in this scene. He couldn’t even ask her what she meant by that, he was too occupied with the entirety of her to think straight.
And she, instead of demanding an answer, kissed him on the cheek. She laid her wet palm on his other cheek and kissed him on his sweaty, hot, skin. The kiss was faint and sweet, almost innocent. Then, she trailed the same type of kisses on a road down to his neck. With each kiss that she stooped lower, his chest heavied and his lungs expanded and shrank rapidly, his Adam’s apple bobbed as he anxiously swallowed down the saliva in his mouth. His formerly pinned aside hands now held a tight grip on her arms, just bellow her shoulders. He had to hold her like that or he would’ve gone mad. This treatment that she was giving him was as hard to bear as torture.
“What are you… doing to me?…” Meliodas whined through his grinding teeth. He wasn’t expecting an answer as his question was more of a means to blow some steam off, but nevertheless she didn’t reply. The only thing that came out of her mouth was her continuous pants of air.
He was aware of the stupidly in believing she was casting a spell or a curse on him by now.
But it felt like it.
In fact, he wanted to believe with all his might that a spell was the cause of making him feel this incredibly good, though he knew better. Meliodas knew this was all her, naturally, caused by no magic or voodoo.
And that scared him.
“Mmm.” She hummed softly against his neck, the sensation of it vibrated through his skin.
His tight hold on her biceps was only growing stronger. He tried to control it as much as he could, Meliodas didn’t want to hurt her, but she was making it hard on him to keep his cool. Ironically, he stood there somewhat frozen, paralyzed by the weirdest pleasure he’s ever felt, while floating inside waters so hot, inside a space so very warm and humid. Steam was rising from their bodies as hot droplets of salty water and even saltier sweat dripped down their conjoined forms. Yet Meliodas was shivering and goosebumps covered his entire body.
Meliodas sighed and wheezed uncontrollably. He wanted her to stop but he also wanted her to go on with this. He didn’t know if he could take on any further of those carnal pleasures, but at the same time he ached for more.
When she stopped pampering him with her dabbed kisses, she repeated her question. “Well. What is it? What is it that you want, Meliodas?” And he already has forgotten that she had asked him that.
“I-“ He tried to answer, but it was so hard to find reason while they were like that. She laid her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest, drawing circles on his skin with her fingernail.
“Mhm…” She hummed again, this time in affirmation, egging him to complete his sentence.
Now that things were calm and she was no longer touching him inappropriately, except for, of course, smearing all over him, Meliodas could concentrate. Her running her nail on his pec was giving him a bit of a hard time, but he could manage.
“I… Uh…”He tried again, when he felt her smile against his collarbone.
Meliodas had no time to ponder about the interpretation of her smile before he could feel her other hand trailing down his abdomen slowly with her fingernail. And that’s when he suspected he knew what she was grinning about.
With each millimetre that she farther strayed downward on his abs, he wondered if she was finally going to stop. With each second that passed, her hand was only positioned lower, and Meliodas’ stress intensified.
“W-Wait…” He threw his head back with eyes closed shut as he bit on his lip, embracing himself for the possibility of her not stopping before she reached bellow his stomach.
And then his eyes flew open and he gasped. Her finger stopped moving. She stopped at his crotch. He held his breath as if he was under water.
His hand quickly grabbed her hand beneath the surface, where he couldn’t see much of what was going on even if he were to look. However, he didn’t exactly stop her but sort of just forcibly held her wrist so he could watch her movement with his hand..
Simultaneously, while she returned to kiss his neck, she ran her fingertip across the length of his shaft. Meliodas hissed through his teeth with his head still thrown back, factually granting her more area to cover with her kisses.
She slid her finger from the base to the head, all just through his white pants, yet they were so tight on his expanded organ, that it felt to Meliodas as if she was almost touching him directly. His tightness down there must’ve also made it easier for her to touch him since it caused his trousers to perfectly line out what she was currently caressing.
“Tell me what you want, Meliodas.” She went again. This time, it agitated him.
“What the hell do you want from me?” Meliodas grunted.
“Nuh uh.” She said to him, like a nanny softly scolding a child, “That is my line.” And then proceeded to tenderly swipe her finger against the length of him, the sensation a little sharper than before but still soft. Needless to mention that it drove him insane.
“Answer my question.” She demanded calmly. Hearing her demanding something, anything, felt untypical about her in his eyes. Meliodas never would have suspected that she’d ever order him around. He didn’t like it. It just wasn’t like her.
His eyes opened marginally, seeing only the moist ceiling above him. He wanted to answer her question for the sake of the slight chance that if he did, she’d go back to her usual, pleasant self. So he thought hard, trying his best to grant her the answer that she pleaded for while it felt like she was trying her best to prevent him from doing that by continuously brushing, tapping on and rubbing him along his wood. Suddenly, instead of coming up with a reply, Meliodas’ mind began wondering what she could do with her whole hand. Though he quickly slipped back into a concentrated mindset.
“If… you want me to answer that…” Meliodas said in between heavy breaths, “you’re gonna have to stop… touching me like this…” he advised her. She was unpredictable that day, so Meliodas wasn’t convinced she would oblige, but he nonetheless hoped she would, to some degree.
Instead, she only wrapped her whole hand around him, finger by finger, through his pants. She closed her palm quite tightly around him which made it feel even better. His hand still gripped hers while he not so patiently waited to see where she was going with this. When her hand began to move, he sighed in pleasure so great that nearly hurt. She acted painfully slow, but when she finished one stroke, from his base to his tip, waiting in tolerance was more than worth it. Then she stroked him again, downwards, back to where she started from and it was almost as good as the first time. She gave him another sweep with her tight hand, and then downward again. She picked up the pace following every stroke.
“What do you want?” She asked with her head in the crook of his neck, still kissing him.
“I don’t know!” Meliodas exclaimed in frustration. His head turned and twisted in pleasure, causing his wet bangs to stick to his forehead. His cheeks were flushed due to the heat and the enjoyment he was experiencing.
“Try.” She asked of him nicely, so gentle out of the blue, it made her touch feel even more sensational. She finally resembled the version of herself that he knew.
“Nothing.” Meliodas concluded after rummaging through his brain to find an answer. “There’s nothing that I want.” He’s always been like this, as absolutely minimalistic in life as a monk, not for the same beliefs or principles, but anyway similar. He never needed anything and neither did he ever long for anything. His life was simple; he rolled with the flow of the direction in which his life was going, not caring where it would take him to or how he’d wind up. He only obeyed his father and made sure to follow his orders. If anyone were to ask him why, in his head he would think to himself ‘just because’. He wasn’t even interested in the Demon King’s throne.
‘Nothing’ was the correct answer.
“Wrong.” She simply said, and returned to kissing his neck.
‘What?!’ Meliodas couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He confessed to her that he truly and honestly desired nothing in life and she told him he was wrong?! ‘How would she even know??’ He ranted to himself. He growled in fury mixed with overstimulation by the hand of the goddess touching him.
“Try again.” She asked of him passive-aggressively.
Meliodas bit his lip and drew in a large breath through his nostrils, he scrunched his eyes as the last resort for retaining his sanity. By now, his head was spinning, his entire body was clenching its muscles, dripping wet with sweat and water, and he could feel his blood throbbing in his abdomen, his hearts begging to be let out of his ribcage and his skin. He could feel his pulse without having to put his finger over any of his veins. He could feel his pulse in his head and ears among other areas, but mostly in the area between his legs.
Meliodas found himself reflecting again over what it was that he truly wanted if not nothing. But ‘nothing’ was the truth. Nothing mattered to him. He sincerely wanted and needed nothing. He wanted nothing.
Anyhow, he was too busy indulging in the debauchery he was in the middle of.
So if he were to choose, he wanted nothing right now… but to continue what they were doing.
He relished on the unbelievably exhilarating sensation of her body attached to his.
He wanted nothing but perhaps the sensation of her skin on his skin.
He couldn’t comprehend that soon it’ll have to be over and they will go on their separate ways.
He wanted nothing but to be close to her.
He breathed through his nose and got a whiff of her distinctive scent that resembled nothing else.
He wanted nothing but the scent of her under his nose like that.
He was sweating like a snowman in the summer, feeling the heat that stemmed from their works of the flesh.
He wanted nothing but her warmth.
A vision of her beautiful face tainted by the tears that he caused flashed through his mind and he suddenly realized that on that day, when he broke her heart with the promise to never see her again, he lost the one and only friend he’s ever had.
He understood now that something in his life has been missing ever since he left her.
He wanted nothing but her.
“It’s you!” Meliodas howled, and she stopped gliding her hand over his bulge while also bringing her constant shower of kisses to a halt. His hold on her wrist and her bicep turned loose. She stayed still until he’d break the silence again. “It’s you that I want.” He wanted to come out assertive, but his voice only sounded hopeless. She couldn’t refuse his answer this time.
She backed away from him, just enough to manage to see his face. Meliodas brought his head back down to look at her. Unsurprisingly, she wasn’t smiling at him. Not even a crack of a smile. She released her hold on him and passed her fingers through his bangs. She slid his hair back as he watched her in mortification.
But then she did smile. She grinned at him, and for the first time ever since he spotted her in that strangely empty village earlier, he recognized the girl before him.
“I know.” Was all she said in response.
And then, even though his eyes were already awake, he opened them again, as though they were closed all along. His breathing’s quick pace and intensity along with his heartbeats stayed unchanged, but instead of being engulfed in water, he was laying down on a soft bed, surrounded by sheets and blankets, sweating buckets. The fabrics stuck like glue to his body. The ceiling that he saw above him was not that of a cave but of a closed room, and when he noticed how silent that room was, he tried to detect the sounds of the waterfall that used to be behind him, only to discover that they were nowhere to be heard. A moment of clarity hit Meliodas, getting him to understand that he was actually laying down on his back in his own bed, in his own private bedroom of the castle, in the underworld.
“Ugh.” Meliodas sighed breathlessly, trying to calm his breath. He wiped his forehead with his arm and left it laying on top of his face, covering his eyes. He paid attention to his sore teeth and to the pain in his gums, realizing that he must’ve clenched his jaws in the midst of his-
“Dream.” He lifted his elbow into the air and his arm off his face, his eyes widened as he voiced that word out loud. “I can’t believe it was a dream.” He slapped the palms of his hands over his face, covering it again. That dream mentally exhausted him.
“Why would I dream of her of all the things in this world??..” His voice came out muffled with his hands covering his entire face. “Again…” He added in a more bashful manner.
“Because you want me.” Her voice came from beside him, startling Meliodas. In one swift motion, his back left the mattress and his head turned aside to glance at her in disbelief. And there he found her— laying down in his very own bed, with her head on his pillow, wrapped inside his blankets. Her hair was spread on the bedcovers like spilled paint, and she wore what seemed to be a nightgown and a smile. Her eyes leered at him strangely while she laid on her side, but she looked like herself again.
“What are you doing here?!” Meliodas swung his hand in the air. “You can’t be here!” It came out enraged but he was only uptight. Either way, she didn’t react at all.
“Lay down, Meliodas. I want to have a look at you properly.” She changed the subject.
Meliodas obliged and laid down in front of her. In his spirit, he was still swimming with her behind the waterfall, but now they were laying in his bed and he knew he had to let that dream pass.
“You need to go.” He told her.
“I don’t think you want me to.” She replied without breaking eye contact. While her eyes were as bright as ever, especially under the candlelight that emanated from every corner of the room, Meliodas’ eyes stared at her with anguish.
“Why are your eyes so sad?” She asked him, and only when she pointed it out did he notice that his eyebrows crinkled in something that wasn’t actually keen to anger. She reached her hand out and touched his cheek. His eyes grew and every morsel of his judgment that wanted her out of that castle parishes as though he never wished for such thing. Anyhow, he knew he should’ve ended the conversation and kicked her out of there instead of laying down with her in his bed. Hell, he should have killed her or just ignored her before letting them ever become friends.
Meliodas couldn’t look her in the eyes anymore. He hasn’t said anything yet, but something about the interaction made him feel like he’s been all too honest.
“If you don’t want me to leave, I don’t have to.” Her voice was so soothing. If he were an expert on feelings, maybe he would’ve known what kind of emotion was flowing from her words, but to him it was vague. Without a doubt, however, she was emotional.
“It doesn’t matter what I want. What matters is what has to be done. And that is for you to leave this place at once.” He was stern with her. But something was telling Meliodas he couldn’t fool her with his tough front.
“It always matters what you want, Meliodas. Don’t you get it?” She brushed his hair behind his ear.
Meliodas clutched her wrist next to his ear and said, “Don’t you get it?? If anyone finds you here, it isn’t only my ass who’s gonna be in trouble, but yours t-“
“Since when do you care about what happens to me?” She interrupted him. Suddenly, he noticed how close their faces were. Closer than before. When did that happen?
Although Meliodas was unprepared for her words, he knew how to reply. “I thought it might convince you to scram from here if you knew it affected you too.”
“Nothing could convince me to scram from here.” She almost matched his level of seriousness.
Meliodas was silent, taking in her words. But then:
“What if I hurt you?” He peered deeply into her eyes. He wanted her to know that he was capable of hurting her. He wanted her to see the version of him that she wasn’t willing to recognize so she would leave him. That’s what she should’ve done long ago, for the sake of her own good and for his own pride.
“You wouldn’t do that. I know you won’t do that.” She didn’t stutter.
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know you can be good. You have been good to me.”
“I was never good.”
“You’ve been good to me.” She insisted in her same soft tone.
“And then I left you!” He raised his voice. Her eyes didn’t even blink.
“Do you regret ending things, Meliodas?” She disregarded his remark. The smile crept away from her face long ago, but he only noticed its absence now.
“Ending what?” He asked rhetorically. “There was nothing there to begin with. We knew each other for mere days.”
“And weren’t they the best days of your life?” She shut him up with that. “Out of the centuries that you’ve spent wandering these earths, weren’t these few days with me the best you’ve ever had?” She smiled again. “Am I wrong?”
“It doesn’t matter-“
“But am I wrong?” She moved her head forward, a little closer to him. Now they were so close in distance that they couldn’t anymore position a third person between them.
He looked at her in pure fear. Not of her, though, but of himself. Because he knew she was right, and if so, what did it say about Meliodas?
“Do you feel guilty about ending our friendship?” She put her hand over his hand, still clutching her wrist.
“No…” He said in a delay. Now it sounded like he was hesitant. But if truth be told, he might’ve been.
“I think you do.” She said in a manner that made Meliodas forget why he ever decided to break contact with her. “I think you miss me.”
Meliodas uttered a small gasp. “I… miss you?..” The truth struck him asudden. “Rubbish.” He denied in temper.
“You can deny that all you want, but you’ve said it yourself already,” she slowly averted his hand from the side of his face and splayed his arm over the tight space between them, “you want me.” She began to run her finger over the inner part of his arm. She didn’t bother holding eye contact as she watched the movement of her finger on his veiny skin. It felt good to sense her delicate touch again after the dream. But this time it felt different; Meliodas didn’t feel any lust in the air. There weren’t any impure tensions between them now. It was intimate in a whole other way but sexual.
Meliodas gave in to her touch. He hadn’t realized yet how much he wanted to feel her again. He shifted forward a bit and attached his forehead to hers. A wall fell down.
“Why did you agree?” He muttered in complete hopelessness. “You could’ve said no. Then, I wouldn’t have to miss you.” He closed his eyes in pain. Although he wasn’t wounded anywhere, he was immensely hurt.
“Would you really have wanted me to say no?” Her other hand held his cheek and moved her thumb in rubbing motions. It pained him all the more.
“No. I think it’s for the best that things are like this now.”
“But?…” She detected contradiction in his statement.
“I don’t know what it is.” He gridded his teeth behind his tightly shut lips. “I suppose… a part of me didn’t want you to approve of that. I wish you’d at least fought for it a little.”
“Fight for what?” She asked under her breath.
“For our friendship… Us.” He whispered. For a while it was quiet.
“I had missed you too, you know?” She said out of nowhere. When Meliodas opened his eyes in astonishment, he found her already staring at his face. The emotion in her eyes was overwhelming and unavoidable.
“If you won’t say it, then I will.” She told him. “I had missed you so badly, Meliodas. Life isn’t the same without you. I wish I could wake up every morning and find myself positioned exactly like this, exactly as we are right now. You are special. So, so special.” Meliodas couldn’t process all of it, that someone was saying such sympathetic words to him. Like always with her, he felt undeserved of such praises, but he couldn’t turn his ear away. He wanted to hear more.
“I’ve never met anyone like you. You were the best friend I’ve ever had. And ever since you rode on your dragon and disappeared into the night sky, I haven’t known what to do with myself and it’s killing me that I can never see you again just because the world won’t allow it.” She captivated Meliodas with her raw honesty.
“Or at least… that’s what I think you want to tell me.” She added. Meliodas’ face remained baffled as before, but for a new reason now. Was this really what he wanted to say to her? Was this what he felt for her?
He went over her words in his head. All of them were easy to remember for no one has ever said to him anything similar before. She put so much essence into every word, every syllable, that they scorched his brain in the form of a text, he could just read it from there. He concluded that not only did the things she said describe perfectly how he felt, but that she captured the exact way he would word them out to her as well.
“How do you know?” He didn’t want to admit that she was correct, but he could bet his life on his belief that she would detect it if he were to lie to her. He knew that she was aware of those feelings of his, he’d witnessed it right at that moment when she whispered to him the words that he would’ve loved to tell her in another world. He only wanted to understand how she knew all of that, all of the things that he himself hadn’t known yet.
“How could I not? When i’m so close to you like this, when I look into your eyes like this… I can tell everything about you. When it comes to you, Meliodas, I just know.” She wiped his bangs away and kissed his forehead. “Isn’t it the same for you too?”
“What do you mean?” He was confused.
“When it’s about me, don’t you know?” She said it as if her intention was clear.
“Know what?”
“Just… know.” She simplified, but Meliodas felt like they were going in circles. No matter how she said it, he couldn’t comprehend her words.
“Maybe you don’t know yet how you feel about me, but deep inside, i’m sure you do. Maybe you just need a little help in figuring out your exact feelings for me. To figure out what you really want.” Their temples touched and their lips were dangerously close.
“I thought I already told you what I wanted. It’s you, isn't it?” Meliodas was weirdly soft spoken, similar to a little kid.
“And how will you have me?” She silenced him.
“I… won’t…” He said matter-of-factly.
“But you want me.” She repeated. “So will you never have me? Will you truly let the only thing you ever wanted slip through your fingers?” She sounded hopeless.
“Yes. I have to.” His voice lowered.
“You will lose your mind if you give me up.” Her voice was steady and deeper than a second ago. Everywhere you go, you will see reminders of me. You’ll chase them as if you’re chasing me. And every time you do, you’ll never reach me.” She said with moderate passion. “Do you know why?” She asked him, and Meliodas waited in silence and anticipation to hear the answer.
“Because you already let me go. You had your chance to catch me and instead, you let me go, Meliodas.”
His eyes, lips and his entire face scrunched and wrinkled, his hands fisted tightly. She dropped that bomb on him and he finally realized the measures of losing her. At long last, he began thinking about the future— a future without her.
Meliodas was someone who let his life roll and lead him anywhere, just like the current of a river, it drew him to wherever the water flowed. But by intervening in his life, she changed things, she changed everything, she took his hand and led him someplace he would’ve never winded up at on his own. And while she will move on with her current— her life— Meliodas will be stuck where she left him.
“Meliodas…” She called his name and he looked at her. She stopped swiping her thumb across his cheek and he sensed her solemn attitude. “Finding me was just the beginning. Getting to know me, even as little as you did, was only a taste of a life you could have. The first step is to want.”
“To want what?” He was in awe. It was like she had a book on how to live by steps that Meliodas never read.
“Anything. Anything would do. And when you find that something that you wish to have, don’t let it go. Otherwise you’ll regret it.”
She was incredible. He was malicious and ruthless and evil while she was so incredible. Someone like him receiving help from someone like her was purely unjust.
“Why are you here?” Meliodas asked her.
“Because you want me to be here.”
“I… do?..” the realization dawned on him. ‘I do…’ He admitted to himself.
“But I’m afraid I have to go now.” She had the audacity to say that with an innocent smile, meanwhile Meliodas’ senses spiked and caused him to panic.
“No!-“ He yelled out. But he was laying on his back now and his room was pitch black. His covers were casted on the floor, leaving him bare to the night’s cold breeze from the opened window, with only a pair of shorts to keep him somewhat warm. But Meliodas wasn’t cold. He was drenched in sweat again. His thermostat was going crazy for sure. He only hoped that was the only part of him that was going off the rails.
It took Meliodas no time to fathom that everything up until now has been a dream; spotting her in the village, fooling together behind the waterfall, even the talk he had with her in his bed, it was all just one, big dream, no matter how seldomly real it felt. And now that he was finally awake, he felt like a fool for not being able to recognize how it has been just a figment of his imagination.
Yes, he knew it was a dream. He knew it in his bones and veins. And yet… he gathered up the courage to roll his head and turn his gaze aside to glance at the other edge of the bed. Once he did, he remained frozen while his eyes were glued to the sight before him— empty sheets and an untouched, puffed pillow. However much the room was dark, it was clear as bright day that she was not laying down beside him any longer. He knew to expect that, though he winded up disappointed, as if he was fully prepared to see her there.
Meliodas’ body reacted immediately. He felt his pulses throb through his vessels and for a few seconds he forgot to breathe. He saw the empty space next to him and his throat began to burn no matter how many times he swallowed his spit. His eyes felt unnaturally hot, like he was closely watching a bonfire, no matter how many times he blinked. But it ended there, when he quickly filled up with rage— tranquil but present.
He walked away from his bed and sat down by his desk. His posture was terrible, his back was arched like an ogre’s and his head bobbed to face the floor beneath his feet. As he sat there, his tired mind began working again and brought Meliodas back to his dream; he could see her in his mind like a hunting wraith. His fingers twitched slightly and he realized he could still feel her skin on the very tips of his fingers. And it was definitely going to take millenniums for him to forget the sensation of her touch on the spot between his legs, still hardened. It turned him all the more agitated, not to mention ashamed, to know that he had an erection not because of the satiating slumber that he didn’t have, but due to the nightmare he just had…
He grabbed his desk and straightened out his arms, backing away from the table, his wooden chair creaked against the bricks of stone that were his floor, making a loud screeching noise. His breathing was unstable as he started to reminisce over the axis of events from his dream, as if flipping breezily through the pages of an entire book and still absorbing in all of its content.
Meliodas tried to calm himself down. He tried to collect his breath. He drew in a huff of air, held it in and let it out through his mouth. He did it a couple more times, wanting it to work so badly, but controlled breaths weren’t going to clear his mind, nor were they going to slow his racing hearts.
He stood up abruptly, pushing his chair back, letting it fall or break for all he cared. His hands still gripped the scrapped wood of his desk. He gripped it so tightly that he almost couldn’t feel his fingers anymore. Meliodas didn’t realize he was losing sensation the same way he wasn’t aware of his wild, enlarged eyes, set on a spot on the desk between his hands, staring with uncanny fury at basically nothing. But in his head, she was laying in front of him with a smile, under the same sheets that he used, and with his ears he could hear her blabbing soft sweet nothings, bidding him in whispers kind words that she’s never even told him before, all the things he wished she would’ve said to him.
And all were things she never would have said to him.
In a fit of rage, he slapped unlit candles, feathers, inks and papers off his desk with one, big, swift movement, making a mess of one of the only objects in his unnecessarily spacious room. He threw his fisted hands on the now clear surface of the table in impulsive violence. He then turned around and kicked the fallen chair he left behind him. He gave it a kick so solid that it was tossed over all the way to the other side of the room until it hit the wall. His bedroom was, again, larger than most rooms, so that was quite a skill.
Both his desk and his chair shattered beyond repair that night.
If there were anyone even remotely around, there’s no doubt they would have heard the sounds of demolish going on in Meliodas’ room. Luckily, no one ever stayed in that stupid castle and it was too big for anybody to hear what went on inside of it anyway.
‘Ahh so that’s what happened.’ Gowther Thought. His real body may have been locked away in the prison realm, but his lively doll was currently sitting inside a bar next to a very drunken Meliodas. After all, Meliodas’ absurd resilience to alcohol was something he developed throughout time, although he did have to put a lot of work into getting drunk…
Behind the bar could be seen entire barrels that used to be filled with ale and wine emptied till the last drop.
Gowther was aware of his ability to aggravate the leader of the Commandments by just standing present next to him, but he was so intoxicated that when he sat down beside him, he didn’t bother shooing him away. At first, Gowther wasn’t even convinced that Meliodas noticed his arrival.
He sat by his side, on one of the tall chairs of the bar— a bar that existed inside the castle, of course, in one of the lower floors, underground. When Meliodas didn’t react, as Gowther feared he would due to his current utter lack of sobriety, he cocked his head aside and looked directly at him. But that wouldn’t budge the Commandment of Love either.
“Rough night?” Gowther inquired carefully. After waiting a couple seconds for a spiteful comment from Meliodas which usually would be thrown at him immediately, he was met with no response at all. Instead, the precious prince was simply sitting there with a blank, obviously exhausted face, and a dead stare that wasn’t fixated on anything. In his hand there was a large cup that reeked of very expensive and old wine. The cup was almost empty. Surely, by the look of him, that wasn’t his first round of wine tonight.
“If you’re having problems, I might be able to help.” He offered. But there followed no response from Meliodas. It was almost as if he was dead. His mouth was slightly opened while he clearly could barely keep his eyes from closing, and his hair was messily ruffled. Instead of wearing his casual clothes, he had only a breezy pair of shorts on him which made him rival the level of nudity of a male escort…
And so, considering the hair and the outfit, it was more than apparent that he headed to the bar straight out of bed. From that, Gowther could only assume that Meliodas had a nightmare. But if so, what kind of terrifyingly monstrous horrors did he, the most horrifying demon of all, experience in his dream to have ended up in that state— drunk beyond comprehension, alone, in the middle of the night?
“Bad dream?” Gowther raised a guess.
“Fuck off.”
…
“Hm.” Gowther looked away from Meliodas and to his linked fingers laid on the bar. “Well, at least you said something…” He quietly commented to himself.
Honestly, Gowther was only interested in this whole issue because he hoped to get on Meliodas’ good side so he would have a chance to be freed by the Demon King someday via Meliodas’ request and possibly also because he was intrigued by the situation at hand.
Either way, he was willing to take unusual measures for the sake of discovering the cause of the Demon King’s son’s disheveled condition.
“You know,” Gowther began, “I came here to discuss about something with His Majesty and… I now realize… that… I might also confine you with my thoughts in the stead of your father- I mean, His Majesty, the Demon King…” Although it wasn’t entirely true that Meliodas would’ve been as useful as the king, Gowther wanted to come clean and tell him the reason he was there, to reflect his sincerity. He also wanted to show Meliodas that he valued him as much as his father while knowing well he would never trouble himself with holding any sort of conversation with Gowther by choice, so Gowther wouldn’t actually have to speak with him.
Although, if he were to be honest, he found no emotional value in either of the two royal members, he despised them, both the king and his son. He was a lucky fella to have been capable of hiding his true feelings well.
“Shut up.” His voice was deeper than always.
“Tell me about your dream.” He took a risky step, confidently commanding the Commandment. But he had his suspicion that Meliodas wouldn’t create a fuss over this as he was just too drunk and too tired.
‘Hm.’ He took a second glance. Gowther’s never seen him either drunk nor tired before. What a strange sight that was to behold. It made him look vulnerable.
Moreover, Meliodas seemed like he needed to talk about whatever kind of hell he’s been through in his sleep and Gowther was right there. That was the perfect opportunity to become better liked by Meliodas and Gowther had a hunch that he was actually going to open up about the dream. He was far too stoned and much too burdened to not take that golden opportunity Gowther was offering him. He laid his chin on top of his knuckle and grinned at Meliodas calmly, to assert that he was ready to listen.
“Fuck you.” He spewed.
“Alright.” Gowther chose to go by force. And ’by force’ meant reading his memories without his consent. Even though he preferred to shun entering someone’s head without their permission or knowledge, Gowther believed it was only for the best since he’d be able to offer his help now and mostly because Meliodas won’t remember any of this after his inevitable hangover.
And there he saw everything; from the village to the bed, and his tantrum that followed the dream right after. He couldn’t believe that Meliodas could feel those kinds of emotions. He had no idea he could speak so softly. But most of all, Gowther never would’ve guessed, not even in his wildest dreams, that the one and only leader of the Ten Commandments and the future king of the demon clan… had a secret relationship with the perfect equivalent of him from the goddess clan…
After going through everything he needed to know, Gowther covered his mouth as he digested it all in his mind. He had no idea what he was getting himself into… He has put himself in a dangerous situation now. If he would keep it a secret from Meliodas and he will find out about it, he’d be compelled to be knee-deep in trouble. In addition to that, if the Demon King were to discover what his son has been up to with the daughter of the Supreme Deity, and that Gowther has been keeping quiet about it all along, he would be sentenced to bigger trouble than imaginable.
Throughout his life, Gowther has found himself stressing over not that many things which made tonight a rare occurrence, for Gowther’s brow was beginning to sweat.
‘Well, it certainly explains his current state…’ Gowther said in his mind.
“Eh, look, sir…” He cleared his throat, “I know how you’re feeling.” He leaned with his body a little closer to Meliodas while still keeping a safe distance. “I, too, once lost something I cherished wholeheartedly.” It was painful to mention.
Gowther searched for a change in Meliodas’ attitude, to see if he was listening, and although nothing about his body language changed, he knew Meliodas was all ears by the look in his eyes.
“I loved a woman. A woman that looked exactly like the doll you see before you, only my doll is a male. Our love was mutual and proud, we did not hide a thing, even though, as I’m sure you already know, love among our clan is not something our kind likes to acknowledge and not all respect it. But we didn’t care. We hid nothing and we weren’t shameful about it.” Gowther spoke only the truth.
“She was an amazing woman who changed me completely with her big heart of gold. The day I lost her was a day I will remember until the rest of my life, for I lost a part of me then that I could never claim back. Which… I'm sure you can relate to.”
They were both silent now. Something about Meliodas’ aura felt like he’d momentarily sobered up just to listen to Gowther.
“The big difference between us, one that is what truly matters, is that she died while your friend is still out there. I lost her, but you can always go see your goddess if you wish to.” He explained.
“You don’t understand...” Meliodas’ drunken voice reached Gowther’s ear. “I can’t see her again. No matter how much I want to, I just… can’t.” He took another sip from the cup in his hand. He knew it was ought to be a long conversation that might change nothing in the end, but having Meliodas simply speak was a great sign in itself. If the kid were sober, Gowther wouldn’t have the slightest chance to converse with him, so luck might’ve been on his side that night after all.
“Why?” Gowther could naturally assume why, but he wanted Meliodas to say it. He wanted him to spit out excuses which he could later negate completely.
“Because neither of our parents will ever agree for us to be friends. And if they’d find out, I’m sure they wouldn’t even allow us to live.” The alcohol affected his speech, causing him to speak slowly.
“That is only true if you ask for their approval.”
To that, Meliodas snorted in amusment— a sound Gowther have never heard coming out of his mouth. “It’s either asking for approval or asking to die. Either way, they try to kill us.” He had a good point…
Gowther had to do better if he wanted to change things.
“You’re failing to understand that your life isn’t only yours. I know she cares for you. Perhaps as much as you care about her. So how do you think she is doing right now? Do you think she’s happy?”
It was true that the only version of Elizabeth which Gowther had seen was the one from Meliodas’ dream, but he was confident the real her was not farther different of a version.
“She must be doing fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hates me now. I wouldn’t blame her either.” He said and hiccuped.
“I think she misses you.”
“I think you don’t know shit.” His undertone implied annoyance, but a sorrowful gaze appeared in Meliodas’ nearly soulless eyes.
“Okay... I Suppose I can’t argue with that.” Gowther had to admit. “But I do know about feelings. And I know that when they are this strong, they tend to be at least a little mutual.” His monotonous voice softened by the minute.
“I know what you’re trying to tell me. That she misses me and that I should be her friend again not because I want to but also because she probably desires so as well.” Meliodas managed to astonish Gowther. “I’m not stupid. I know she misses me. And while I was sitting here, drinking the bar dry, I had some time to think.” He took a sip from his cup and smashed it back down on the bar. “I thought about every single situation possible in which we are friends again… and I realized… that in none of them she is happy…” He wiped his mouth and continued, “If we hide, she feels caged and guilty, and if we reveal the truth to the world, we are forever cast-outs of both societies, demons and goddesses. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can take it, but she’s a big people’s person, I don’t know if she could endure this… extreme segregation by her own clan. Bottom line is… that with me… she wouldn’t be happy. Unless she’d throw her life away for me, but I know she wouldn’t do that.”
“How do you know?” Gowther was interested.
“Well, actually… it’s not a matter of would she or would she not. I just don’t want her to give up her life for me. I… wouldn’t let her do that...” He looked and sounded as if he was fighting his body to not pass out.
The more Meliodas talked, the more Gowther grew to like and even respect him. At least this side of him. He hadn’t the faintest clue that a creature like him could be so… normal. He was mesmerized by the way such sincere words came out of that foul mouth, voiced by the person who was known as the crudest, most merciless man on earth.
“But would you throw your life away for her?”
Meliodas’ lips parted and suddenly a serious look washed over his face.
“I… don’t think I would. It isn’t worth it.” He gulped down the remaining liquid in his cup.
“That makes sense.” Gowther understood Meliodas’ position.
Silence lingered again. Although he was aware that his doll couldn’t drink alcoholic beverages, Gowther began to consider pouring himself a cup just to dampen the awkwardness.
“Do you think you can forget her?” He granted Meliodas another challenging question.
“Life is long. I am bound to forget her at some point.” He answered after a meager moment of hesitation.
“Can you imagine a future without her?” He presented him another question.
“Yes.” He sounded unwavering.
Gowther didn’t know why he wanted to push the two back into a relationship, of any kind, but he simply couldn’t let loose. In the back of his mind, he also kept reminding himself that even if Meliodas agreed to communicate with her again, there was no guarantee that she would.Gowther was thinking of the cleverest ways to plant a seed in Meliodas’ mind that would convince him with time to speak to the goddess again. His one-man brainstorm stifled when he came up with the prefect words to trigger Meliodas’ true feelings. He simply hadn’t thought of it by now since he was under the impression that the answer was obvious.
“Do you love her?” He examined Meliodas from head to toe.
His eyes grew large and his pupils dilated as if he’s just heard an old melody that he’d already long forgotten about.
“No… I… I don’t…”
“Think, Meliodas.” Gowther gave him a push. But instead, he triggered another type of ‘true feelings’ to exude out of Meliodas.
“No, you think!” He stood up from his chair abruptly, bursting Gowther’s bubble that they were some sort of buddies and thus reminding Gowther whom he was speaking to. He could see now that he was behaving too comfortably with Meliodas.
“I don’t understand what you want from me. I despise you, Gowther, and that will never change. You bring up such ludicrous ideas like love.” He emphasised that word with absurdity. “It disgusts me to just say that. Like we are little girls. Know your place.” He scolded the Commandment of Selflessness and proceeded to sit back down on his chair and pour himself another cup.
Gowther didn’t want to rile him up any further. He left his seat and put his hand on the bar, standing while facing Meliodas. “I had a nice time talking with you, sir.” He said in full earnestness. Gowther then left him by the bar to drink on his own. He knew not to mess with him, and staying after an explosion like that would’ve ended badly.Meliodas was just a drunken fool now. The following day, he was ought to sober up and return to being the hellish leader everybody knew.
He wished he could understand everyone’s adoration for Meliodas. Perhaps then his days would have been more bearable. But until then, the Commandment of Selflessness made sure to remain humble and respectful to all those who served as his means to an end, Meliodas included.