Archive of Our Own ^beta

First Meeting

At first, Meliodas had been hired by the king of Liones to protect his youngest daughter, Elizabeth. The blonde smiled and nodded, he would do his best to protect her for the king. He would make sure that she was always cared for and guarded so that no harm could ever come to her.

That was the plan until the king of Liones found someone else to care for Elizabeth. At first, Meliodas as annoyed that he had been replaced but then he was curious as to who the king could see as a better fit to protect Elizabeth than him. The king had refused to allow Meliodas to see the person who would be protecting his daughter and ever since that day he vowed to meet this worthy person.

There were times where Meliodas would be searching around the castle for Elizabeth but every time he found her, her guard would be on their break so that meant that it was Meliodas’s turn to watch her. Meliodas laid back and let out a loud groan, which caused Elizabeth to laugh and then mimic him. Meliodas laid there with her until an idea crossed his mind. Meliodas turned his head and smiled at the little girl.

“Hey, Elizabeth, do you like your new caretaker?”

“Yeah! He’s really fun!”

“He?”

“Yeah! He’s my best friend! We do everything together!”

Meliodas sat up and smiled down at the little girl as she used explosive gestures to describe her new caretaker, “He’s super tall but not as tall as you! He’s got these big red eyes and he has fangs like a dog! He’s cranky in the morning but after you feed him he’s ready to do whatever I want! We play all day and sometimes if he says I’m good, he sleeps over! So, I always try to be good!”

“You’re always good, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth smiled at Meliodas’s words and launched herself on him to hug him. He held the little girl close, “I’m glad you like your caretaker. I’m glad that you always have him with you so he can be there for you when I’m away. I’m really happy for you, Elizabeth.”

“So, you’ve replaced me that easily, huh, Ellie?”

“BAN!”

Meliodas blinked a few times at the feeling of Elizabeth pushing him on his back when she heard the sound of this “Ban” person’s voice. Meliodas heard the little girl run across the room and he just knew from the sound that she had latched herself on his legs. Meliodas dared to look up and that’s when he knew he was royally fucked.

Ban was absolutely stunning. Meliodas felt the whole world stop as he stared at the beautiful male before him. Ban had white hair but if you stared at it long enough then you could see a tiny tint of blue to it. He had red eyes that seemed threatening at first but softened and when they did they were captivating. Ban’s smile seemed to light up more than just the room, it lit up Meliodas’s heart.

Elizabeth wasn’t wrong when she said that her caretaker was tall but he didn’t expect her caretaker to have a perfectly toned and curvy physique, as well. Meliodas could tell all this based on the tight red clothing that he was wearing. Meliodas had never been this starstruck seeing someone before. He only hoped that he could hold a conversation with Ban without sounding stupid.

“So, who the hell are you?”

Meliodas gulped, based on how Ban talked he probably didn’t care if he used that vulgar type of language in front of a child. This probably meant that Ban had sworn in front of Elizabeth before but he could tell by those bored eyes that he didn’t care if she heard him swear or not. Ban yawned and when he did, part of his shirt came up and Meliodas could’ve sworn he saw a tattoo on his hip but it got covered up as quick as it was uncovered.

“I’ll ask once more, who the hell are you?”

“I’m Holy Knight Meliodas, diamond rank. Who are you?”

“Ban. I take care of this brat.”

“Don’t talk about princess Elizabeth like that.”

Ban rolled his eyes before picking up Elizabeth and putting her on his shoulders. Ban grabbed her legs and rolled his eyes, “This here is my brat. She’s my partner when we go on adventures. I’ll talk to her however I want so fuck off.”

Meliodas was taken aback, did this mean that Ban didn’t like him? How would he ever get close to Ban if he already didn’t care for him? Ban turned around and began walking away until he turned toward Meliodas and glared at him with the faintest of smiles on his face.

“I can’t tell if I like you or not.”

“Then I guess we better get acquainted, Ban.”

First Date/Kiss

Meliodas was beyond nervous. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had this effect on him and he didn’t know if he liked it yet. Somehow, by some chance, Ban had agreed to go on a date with him. It would be their first date and it would be the real test to see if they could connect to each other. Meliodas let out a sigh, he had gotten lucky when Ban agreed.

“You’re kinda hard to figure out, Ban.”

“I know, right? It really fucks with people, doesn’t it?”

Meliodas rolled his eyes with a smile, Ban sure was a character. He seemed like a total asshole but Meliodas could tell that there was something more to him, he just had to get it out. Meliodas and Ban were walking back to their rooms after a long day. Ban was standing in his doorway when he grinned at Meliodas.

“Are you the captain of the Holy Knights or are you just like all the rest?”

“That’d be me, Captain Meliodas!”

“Oh, captain, my captain! Give me a break!”

“If I’m the captain of the Holy Knights then technically I’m your captain, Ban.”

Ban was laughing at what he had said to the blonde but that laughter went away when he heard what Meliodas had said. Ban shrugged and decided to play along with whatever Meliodas was trying to do here.

Ban wasn’t expecting to get a serious answer back when he laughed, “Then what’s your first order for me, captain?”

“Go on a date with me tomorrow night. I’ll come get you after you tuck in Elizabeth.”

Ban was shocked by that statement but he had grinned and played along saying that it was “captain’s orders.” Meliodas was surprised that the whole captain thing had actually worked. Meliodas was wondering if he should bring Ban some flowers but he decided against it because Ban didn’t really seem like the kind of person to want that type of mushy shit.

“What’s the mission, captain?”

Meliodas gasped to see Ban standing in the doorway to Elizabeth’s room. Ban was really getting into this whole “captain” thing but in a weird sexual way… Meliodas liked it. He watched as Ban gently closed the door to the little girl’s room and then smiled as Ban made his way over to him. Meliodas just gave a cheeky smile before grabbing Ban’s hand and leading him out to the courtyard.

“I want to know you, Ban.”

The crimson eyed male sat down by the fountain. He looked in the water before he shifted his attention to the blonde.

Ban let out a huff of a laugh before defecting the statement with a question, “Why do you want to know me? Why do you want to be near me so much? I can’t stand people.”

“Because somehow you can stand me.”

Ban’s eyes widened at that and looked away before asking the other male, “And how can you stand someone like me? You stare at me a lot and I want to know what the hell you’re thinking about because any sane person would stay far away from me.”

Meliodas let out a laugh of his own as he sat down beside the red eyed beauty. Ban was surprised at how much he actually liked hearing that laugh and he was shocked when he realized he wouldn’t mind hearing it more.

“I think that you’re beautiful, Ban.”

The caretaker’s face started heating up, something he hadn’t experienced ever in his life. No one had ever gotten him to react in such a way by some silly old words that any dumb person could fall for. Ban glared at Meliodas, he was probably just trying to fuck.

Ban was about to turn him down when he gasped when Meliodas admitted, “I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t think about what it would be like to make love to you… but I’d also be lying to you if I said I didn’t want to try to see what it could be if we tried to make things work. Any sane person would stay away from me, too…”

“So, it looks like we’re both insane.”

“Yeah… I guess it does.”

Ban smiled at the blonde when he scooted closer to him in a not so sneaky way. Ban laughed when Meliodas’s hand reached over to touch Ban’s hand but he touched a slug instead, causing him to fall into the water of the fountain. Meliodas was about to say something when he froze at the sound of Ban’s howl of a laugh bouncing off the walls. Ban looked so incredibly happy and it was at that moment that Meliodas smirked and yanked him into the water.

Now it was Meliodas’s turn to laugh. Ban’s eyes narrowed at the holy knight before squirting the fountain’s water out at his face. The two went back and forth splashing each other like they were little kids. Ban couldn’t remember the last time someone who wasn’t a child could get him to feel a though he was one. Meliodas was something else and that’s when he knew he wouldn’t mind spending more time with this person.

Ban gave a fanged grin at Meliodas before grabbing the back of his head and slamming their lips together for a kiss. Meliodas wasn’t expecting this so the kiss was clumsy but when they deepened it, Meliodas knew that this was far more satisfying than being a knight. Meliodas couldn’t let this be the last time they kissed and it appeared Ban was on the same page when he blurted out after they finished.

“Sign me up for another date, captain!”

First time talking to Elizabeth about it

“You sure do spend a lot of time with Ban at night, Meliodas.”

Meliodas’s eyes widened at that comment. They had been secretly meeting at night for the past couple months in the courtyard but Meliodas was sure that Elizabeth was asleep… or so he thought. Meliodas didn’t really know what to say back because she wasn’t wrong. She was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for.

“So does this mean that you like him?”

“It sure does!”

“People say you describe your partner different after you love them. Is it true?”

“What do you mean?”

Elizabeth smiled up at Meliodas as she answered, “I thought Ban was mean at first. He was always cranky and he always complained about having to watch me but after we started getting along and hanging out I started to look at him differently. He wasn’t mean anymore. He’s a good person even though he makes himself look like a bad guy.”

“Tell me about how you see Ban.”

Meliodas blinked a couple times and thought carefully about everything before smiling as he explained, “I met my chance, a boy in tight red pants and he likes to call me captain. He came out of the blue and in an instant I knew everything would be perfect. For him, I’d climb a mountain and swim the deepest ocean. I’d help him with his shopping, that’s the depth of my devotion!”

Elizabeth laughed at that last part, making Meliodas smile as he went on, “It will be a dream come true… he’s even got you as his best friend! It’s so wonderful… just us two…”

“Don’t forget me!”

Meliodas pat her head and she grinned at the feeling. She listened eagerly as he continued, “I’d take that boy on a tour of the world going port to port and it’d be great! We’ll spend all our time and every single last dime at the best bars… to stay hydrated! But what’s best of all is that his smile’s so bright it lights up my whole heart and, no, best of all he’s so tall I wouldn’t even have to reach for the high things for him!”

The little girl was giggling at his words. She could tell that Ban meant a lot to him despite the added humor.

She continued to listen as he spoke, “And even when I’m protecting Liones I’ll quit in time for dinner with that beautiful boy! He’ll cook me all my favorites, six or seven helpings!”

“Meliodas!”

“And when it comes to say “I do” we’ll invite you to our wedding!”

Elizabeth’s eyes lit up at those words. Meliodas cared for Ban enough to eventually want to marry him? That really said a lot.

But Meliodas wasn’t done talking about the future, “Our house will be so very fine but not as fine as my Ban! It’ll be so wonderful, just us two… and baby Meliodas, too!”

The little girl grinned and pounced on Meliodas, begging him to tell her more about the future that he had seemed to plan out with Ban. As the two of them talking about the future, they didn’t realize that Ban was standing outside the door smiling. Ban clutched his heart and put his back against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. He let out a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding when he heard Meliodas give a bold statement.

“Our love will never be blue!”

First attack on Liones/first time they realized they were Sins

“Ban, take Elizabeth to the far end of the castle and make sure you stay safe!”

“Captain, you can’t-“

“Go, Ban!”

They had been together for over year and this was the first time that Liones had been under some kind of attack that required all the Holy Knights to fight, Meliodas included. They never had to lock up the castle so this really meant that something terrible must be attacking them.

Meliodas grabbed Ban’s face and kissed him, causing tears to sting at Ban’s eyes but he refused to let them out. When they pulled away, Meliodas kissed the red eyed male’s forehead.

Meliodas whispered to him, “I need to make sure you’re going to be okay, love… please do this for me…”

Ban wanted so desperately to tell him that he would always be fine but Meliodas ushered him down the hall towards Elizabeth’s room. Ban didn’t want to back down but he knew Meliodas needed to feel as though he was protecting him. Ban grit his teeth and nodded, watching as Meliodas sprinted away towards the other knights.

Ban grabbed the little girl and took off toward the back of the castle, which was deemed to be the safest part since the front of the castle was under attack… or so they thought.

By the time that Meliodas had gotten to the front of the castle to attack the enemy with his knights he realized that there weren’t as many knights attacking as he thought. The only thing that made them seem threatening was the fact that they had catapults that were firing flaming rock like bombs at the castle. This would be easy… or so he thought.

As Meliodas and his army took down the enemy knights and all seemed to be ending, there was the sound of a rock being thrown at the back side of the castle. Meliodas gasped and turned to see the back side of the castle starting to collapse in on itself. Meliodas’s eyes instantly widened at the sight.

“BAN!”

Meliodas took off in a mad dash as he raced off towards the castle. While he heard his knights following behind him, he kept running faster in hopes that he could get there to make sure Ban was okay. Ban just had to be okay. He just had to.

When Meliodas got to the back of the castle, he saw that there was dust starting to clear. He slashed his blade, causing the wind to blow away the dust but when the dust cleared he wasn’t exactly pleased with what he saw. In front of him was the love of his life surrounded by knights, bleeding out from multiple wounds and little Elizabeth was standing behind him crying.

“Give us the princess and your death will be quick!”

“I’ll never let you touch her, you bastards!”

“Then we have no choice but to kill you.”

“Ellie, I need you to close your eyes.”

The little girl did as she was told. She knew her caretaker was about to show everyone why he was the one protecting her.

Ban started to glow a slight red a he reached his hand out and hissed, “Fox hunt!”

Meliodas was running over to help but he froze in his tracks when he saw that Ban had the magical ability to rip out the hearts of the knights attacking them. Meliodas had never been more shocked yet turned on at the same time in a sick way. Ban wasn’t as weak as he thought he was.

The knights that once had him surrounded were now dead on the ground, each of their hearts spattered on the ground. Ban turned to Elizabeth and got down on one knee. He was about to say something to her when he heard the sound of part of the castle breaking above them. Ban looked up in time to see sharp metal rods sticking out of a piece of the castle coming down on him and Elizabeth. He had to protect her.

“BAN, NO!”

Meliodas was running to try to get there in time to save them but he was too late. Meliodas dropped to his knees. The love of his life was gone. There was no way that Ban could have survived that… and that’s when he realized that little Elizabeth was another casualty. Meliodas felt tears forming in his eyes. The two people who meant the most to him were dead and it was all his fault.

“DAMN IT!”

The blonde pounded his fist into the ground, he should’ve known that the enemy would try to sneak through the back to get to Elizabeth. Ban had trusted him and he let him down… and now both of the people he was trying to protect were dead.

Just as the tears were going to fall down his cheeks, he heard the sound of rocks moving. He looked up to see the rock that had crushed Ban and Elizabeth was moving upwards. Meliodas was at a loss for words when he saw that Ban was lifting the rock up, despite being impaled by the metal rods. Little Elizabeth squirmed her way out and began crying at the sight of Ban.

“B-Ban… h-how are you…”

“Captain?”

Meliodas got up and slowly walked over, trying to take in the sight before him. Ban was able to unsheathe himself from the metal rods, the holes closing and the blood evaporating. Meliodas reached forward, touching the skin that had once been gushing with blood. He traced the skin down to his hip and that’s when he finally got a good look at the tattoo.

“You’re… the fox sin of greed?”

“I wanted to tell you but… no one’s ever believed my side of the story.”

“What are you talking about?”

Ban let out a sigh before explaining, “When I was twenty-three, I went by the name Bandit Ban. I was a good for nothing thief and I made it my mission to drink from the fountain of youth. I got my wish but it was at a terrible cost… I lost my best friend to a red demon but gained immortality from the fountain as she chose to save me instead of herself…”

He dropped to his knees a the memories flooded across his mind when he continued, “The demon destroyed the fairy kingdom and Elaine. She entrusted me with the seed to revive the forest but by the time other people got there… all they could see was an immortal thief who was greedy and selfish enough to kill the maiden and the forest to get to drink from the fountain of youth.”

“Ban…”

“They branded me with the fox’s sin of greed on my hip… a wrongfully given sin.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m the dragon’s sin of wrath.”

“I already knew you were.”

Meliodas blinked a couple times in confusion. Ban looked up at the blonde and laughed, “We’ve fucked enough for me to memorize your skin, captain! Your hand was always on my tattoo so you’ve never really seen it when you’re fucking me!”

Meliodas thought about it for a second before joining his lover in a fit of laughter. It really wasn’t all that funny but they had realized today that they were more alike than they even realized. They smiled at each other, they really had found their soulmate in each other.

“Meliodas, what do you do to my caretaker?”

First breakup

In the past year that they had been together, they had gone to bars with each other. They knew what they were like when they were drunk. Meliodas found that Ban was a pretty cheerful drunk who was basically normal except for the fact that he was ten times as obnoxious as usual and he always wants to fuck his captain. Meliodas was usually fine unless you got the rare drunk Meliodas who would try to hit on girls.

This was the first time Meliodas had gotten that drunk around Ban. Ban was intoxicated but not intoxicated enough to turn a blind eye to what his lover was doing. Ban made sure he finished the rest of his drink before he stumbled over to his captain. Meliodas was slurring his words at a girl with short white hair, some would even say she looked like a feminine version of Ban.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing with her, you blonde bastard?!”

“B-Ban? Is that you? I thought I was talking to you the whole time!”

“Oh, you’re so full of shit, captain! You knew that wasn’t me!”

“N-no, I swear I didn’t know! You both kinda look the same… you’re both really blurry.”

Ban pushed the captain into the wall and glared at him. If he didn’t have a red blush on his face from being extremely drunk then Meliodas would’ve felt more threatened by him.

Meliodas gulped as he heard Ban hiss with venom in his voice, “Go have fun with your whore, captain. You two fucking deserve each other since you’re both bitches.”

On that note, Ban shoved Meliodas back into the wall again before drunkenly running out of the bar. Meliodas finished a random drink on the table before attempting to run off after his lover. Meliodas was able to find Ban arguing with the door handle to the back of the castle. Meliodas debated waiting and listening to Ban call the door a stubborn fucking bitch a little longer but he decided to help the struggling drunk.

Meliodas padded over to the red eyed male and grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stop his movements. Ban knew it was Meliodas from his touch and in an instant all of the anger he had for the door was directed to the blonde. Meliodas saw a red eye shift dangerously to the corner and this time Meliodas seriously thought that Ban might kill him.

“Don’t you dare touch me!”

Meliodas was about to say something but Ban shook off his hand and then kicked the door down. Ban walked in and picked up the metal door handle and then threw it at Meliodas, who was too slow to dodge it so it hit him in the head, not that it really hurt him. It was just a surprise that Ban was drunk and angry enough to throw something at him.

The drunken Ban then proceeded to throw pieces of the door at Meliodas, who attempted to dodge them but got hit by most of it. This time Ban was yelling as he threw the pieces at Meliodas, “You’re a good for nothing piece of shit! I trusted you with me! I trusted you and I didn’t want to believe it but you’re just like the rest of them! You’re just like everybody else and I fucking hate it! I thought you were different!”

“Ban, I am different!”

“No… I see you differently now. I see who you are and what you actually want now.”

“Ban, please-“

“I’m sorry I’m not a fucking girl, captain.”

Meliodas’s eyes widened when Ban stopped throwing things to jut barely get out above a whisper, “I can’t be her… I can’t give you what she has but… she doesn’t love you like I do. She doesn’t have my name. However she tries to act like it she’ll never be the same as me.”

Tears stung at Meliodas’s eyes, seeming to sober him up a little bit. There in front of him was the love of his life about to cry because Meliodas made him feel like he wasn’t enough. There in front of him was Ban apologizing for his gender because Meliodas made him feel like it wasn’t what he wanted anymore. He should’ve never gotten that drunk. He knew how he could get and now Ban was suffering because of it.

Ban wiped his face as if he was trying to force himself not to cry before he kept going, “But she’s new and she’s beautiful and, yeah, it’s awfully perfect now but I hope that you know deep down inside that she’s not me.”

Meliodas was about to try to say something but Ban’s choked words filled the air instead, “Does she make you feel wanted like I did? Does she make you feel like you’re the one thing that matters? You let her head rest on your chest but when you close your eyes I hope you’ll be seeing my face again. I hope I’ll be crossing your mind. I hope you’ll be dreaming of place we’ve been and then when you open your eyes you’ll find…”

“Ban-“

“She’s not me.”

The air seemed to tense up as angry tears flowed down Ban’s face and that’s when Ban snapped, “Does she have any humor? Does she laugh at your jokes? Can she look past the rumors? Does she know how it goes? Or is it none of my business?!”

Ban shook his head when Meliodas stood there with his mouth open. Meliodas hadn’t said anything in a while. Meliodas’s silence made everything clear to Ban. He didn’t want Ban anymore. Maybe tonight was the night that Meliodas found that he could do better. Maybe flirting with that girl right in front of him was his way of telling Ban it was over. If Meliodas wanted it over then fine.

“It’s over, captain.”

First makeup

The day after their breakup, Meliodas was called to the line of duty by the king. Meliodas would be gone for a month and Ban hoped that during that time that he would be able to get over Meliodas and forget that they once shared a love that they hoped to grow old together with. But he found that when you’re immortal you have a hard time forgetting.

Meliodas had sent him one letter in their time apart and Ban seriously debated on burning it. He was about to drop it in the fire when Elizabeth snatched it and told him that he should read it first, at least. He wanted to disagree with her but he could tell that she wasn’t going to have any of that based on the stern look in her eyes. He had eventually given in and read the letter in his room.

My love,

I fucked up and that was something I told myself so many times not to do, especially with you. I wish I had some sort of an excuse for my reckless actions but I don’t. I know I can’t blame it on the alcohol because I know my limits and I chose to go over them. I know I hurt you. I know I did. I know I made you feel upset and made you look at yourself differently and that’s the last thing I wanted to do to you… because I think you’re perfect just the way you are.

If you haven’t burned this letter then I just want to thank you (or Elizabeth) for the opportunity to be heard.

Ban, I know you may not believe a word but maybe my words will make it through to your heart. You are perfection. From the moment I met you I knew I had to have you. I’ve never seen a more beautiful person and you, Ban, are too good for me. I don’t deserve you, nor will I ever deserve someone like you. You’re everything and without you, I’m nothing. With each passing day I die a little more because if I’m not living with you then I’m not living.

My love, I don’t have a reason to lie when you’re already reading my mind. I don’t have a reason to be if I can’t be with you. I don’t need air in my lungs if I can’t talk with you. No I don’t need hands if I don’t get to keep you warm… and I don’t really need myself if I don’t need you.

I don’t really need these fingers if I don’t get to touch your spine. I don’t need these legs if I’m not walking by your side… Ban, I don’t really need to be if I can’t be with you cause, darling, I wake up just to sleep with you. I open my eyes so I can see with you… and I live so that I can die with you. I’ll love you until the end of time, my beautiful Ban.

-Captain

Ban hadn’t cried that much in a long time. He had isolated himself in his room after he read the letter. Ban didn’t like feeling this vulnerable but here he was. He had given himself to another and this was the consequences of letting someone in. Ban couldn’t stand people but he could stand Meliodas and now that they didn’t have each other… well, Ban found that he couldn’t stand that, either.

Ban slumped down to the floor, clutching the letter as he murmured aloud, “You’re the only one who can up and run and leave me just as empty as the day that you came. You hold all the cards, all the broken hearts strung over your shoulder till it’s all in vain.”

The tall male got up and grabbed a chair, throwing it across the room and watching as it shattered against the wall. He huffed out, “And only you know the strength of your teeth… the wash in the weight of your pockets so deep… and lonely.”

Ban grabbed another chair and threw it at the wall again. Once he felt like all the anger was out, he walked over to the balcony and sat down, making little circles with his finger on the railing. He let out a sigh before bringing the note back into view. He read it over again and felt his eyes sting as tear threatened to spill out again.

Ban had no idea when Meliodas was going to return. The king said he would be gone for a month but you could never really tell. Meliodas could be gone for a lot longer.

Ban sighed aloud again before whispering, “You’re a world away somewhere in the crowd in a foreign place… but are you happy now? There’s nothing left to say so I’ll shut my mouth but won’t you tell me, captain… are you happy now?”

“Didn’t you read my letter, Ban? I’ll never be happy without you.”

“C-captain?”

Ban turned around and dropped the letter in shock when he saw Meliodas standing before him. He wasn’t supposed to be back yet but then again, Ban wasn’t really complaining. Neither of them said anything but Meliodas held that damn cheeky smile on his face. Just seeing Ban again made him happy, even if they weren’t together.

Meliodas took a breath, this time he would have the words to say to make Ban stay. He let Ban slip away that night and he regretted it every second.

Meliodas softened his smile as he said, “I know you’re still mad at me but I’m happy to see that you didn’t burn my letter… but knowing you, you probably tried to burn it but Elizabeth stopped you but… thank you for reading it.”

“I didn’t want to.”

“I’m a damn idiot-“

“You got that right.”

“Can you shut your beautiful mouth for one moment? I’m trying to win you back.”

Ban blinked back at that but shrugged and allowed Meliodas to keep talking, “Anyways, where was I? Well, I know I was dumb and I really let you down. I hurt you that night and I regret it with every fiber of my being. You… you mean everything to me and I’m sorry I made you feel like you weren’t. You’re the light of my life, Ban, you give my life a whole new meaning.”

Meliodas chuckled to himself before continuing, “I always thought that all I would ever be was a knight but you give me greater purpose. With you, I’m not just a knight… I’m a kid again laughing with my best friend. You let me be everything I never thought I could be and finding someone who can do that for you… it’s once in a lifetime, Ban… you’re the love of my life.”

The blonde walked over to Ban and grabbed his hands, smiling as both of them were crying as he went on, “You’re the love of my life, Ban, and I want to grow old with you even if we never look older than we do now. I want you by my side thousands of years from now and I want a damn ring on your left hand because I want you for the rest of my life. I could look at you all day, all my life and never get sick of you. There’s nothing lovelier than you.”

“There’s no one else for me but you, Ban, so please… be mine again.”

“… are these captain’s orders?”

Meliodas grabbed Ban and pulled him into his chest, savoring the feeling of the fox sin against him again. Ban dug his nails into the other male, not that Meliodas minded too much. Meliodas loved that despite this difficult time Ban still had a sense of humor. Meliodas kissed the top of his lover’s head and smiled.

“Captain’s orders.”

First meeting the Seven Deadly Sins

“Why the hell do we have to form this dumb team anyways?”

Meliodas shook his head at his lover, leave it to Ban to find something to complain about. Ban was just annoyed that he couldn’t spend as much time with Elizabeth anymore. Ever since the king found other magical and powerful people out there, the king wanted to band them all together so that they could form the Seven Deadly Sins.

Each of them bore the tattoo of an animal that represented their sin. Ban really didn’t want to talk about his sin. He didn’t even want to introduce himself to these other people because he didn’t even want to be on this team. He only did it because the king had ordered him to do so. He let out a loud sigh as they entered the room, let’s just get this shit over with.

“Alright, everyone! I’m captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, Meliodas! Nice to meet you!”

Ban gave a chuckle and smirked at his lover, leave it to Meliodas to be excited about this. His lover was always so positive and maybe that’s what this team needed if they were going to be forced to work together. Ban looked out at everyone, trying to find their tattoos to see which sin belonged to them.

There was a giant with brown pig tails, who seemed to be glaring at him but Ban didn’t care. He was able to pin point her tattoo, noticing that she was the serpent sin of envy. He looked over at a small child and was able to see that he bore the sin of sloth. How did a child earn a sin?

He rolled his eyes and did a double take at the sight of a large and extremely muscular man. Ban couldn’t tell what his sin was because of the armor he was wearing so Ban just decided to skip him. He looked over and saw a purple haired guy wearing glasses. He had the sin of lust tattooed on his neck. That must’ve been painful.

Ban looked over at the last person, she had the sin of gluttony on her chest. Ban looked over at the large man and determined that he must have been the sin of pride. Ban put grabbed a chair and sat down in it, rolling his eyes as the giant dared to speak to him.

“Are you done creeping on all of us, you pervert?!”

“You’re not worth my time.”

Meliodas fought back a smile as he chose to gently slap the back of his head calling him “bad Ban.” Ban rubbed the back of his head and was about to say something but Meliodas beat him to it.

The blonde exclaimed, “I’ve been chosen to lead you all by the king of Liones. I am the dragon sin of wrath. Let’s just make one thing clear… lay a finger on Ban and I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“…”

“Now, who wants to introduce themselves first?”

Ban was laughing in an instant, leave it to Meliodas to threaten everyone and then be all cheerful the next second. Ban and Meliodas looked over at the giant.

She smiled as she introduced herself, “I’m Diane, I’m from the giant clan and I am the serpent sin of envy. I can’t wait to meet everyone!”

The small child floated up near Diane’s face and introduced himself in a soft yet squeaky voice, “I’m Harlequinn, king of the fairies so just call me King. I’m the sin of sloth… I’d say I’m happy to meet all of you but I’m not sure if I’m even going to like you all.”

The purple haired male seemed to speak with false excitement but Meliodas loved it, “And I am Gowther, the sin of lust. I hope to understand what it means to have a comrade and what it means to have friends.”

Well, that was weird.

Everyone just chose to ignore it as the dark blue haired female stepped forward and spoke with a slight smirk, “I am Merlin, the sin of gluttony. I’m eager to see what kind of research I’ll be able to conduct on each of you.”

Research? Why were these people so weird? The large man decided to introduce himself next, “And I am Escanor, the sin of pride. I should let it be known that this appearance is only around when the sun is up. I shall revert to my alter ego when the sun goes down.”

Ban looked at everyone and fought the urge to walk out of the room. This was such a waste of his time. Everyone was so different and he wondered if he would even be able to stand being around them. He seriously considered killing each of them so the king wouldn’t have a team.

“And what of you? You’ve certainly made yourself comfortable, human.”

“Watch how you talk, lady, or-“

“Or you’ll what? Kill me? What is it that you do?”

“Quit playing dumb… I know you all know my sin.”

Merlin was smirking, it was true. They all knew his sin. They knew that he was the fox sin of greed. King didn’t seem to be so pleased with him and Ban already knew why. Elaine was his sister and Ban had been accused of killing her. Ban didn’t want to give these people an introduction but he knew Meliodas wanted him to do so.

Ban muttered something along the lines of “captain’s orders” before saying in a bored tone, “I’m Ban the Undead, the fox sin of greed. I’m immortal so there’s what I bring to this fucked up team. So here we are… all together.”

“A bunch of jackasses calling ourselves the Seven Deadly Sins.”

First mission as the Seven Deadly Sins

This was supposed to be an easy mission. This was not going as Meliodas had planned. The Seven Deadly Sins had been called for their first mission to protect Liones from an army that was approaching. They weren’t expecting that the king of another nation would be among them and that he would take a liking to Ban.

The king was ogling Ban from afar, admiring his devilish beauty and wanting him all to himself. Meliodas didn’t take it too well when he realized that the king had his eyes on Ban. Meliodas had sent the Sins out to attack the army, whilst leaving Ban behind so he wouldn’t be able to get close to the king. Ban had a few choice words for the captain for that but at the end of the day, Meliodas was the leader of the Sins and Ban had to obey.

The Sins didn’t know that in the king’s army would be mages as powerful as Merlin. While Merlin had her hands full with one of the mages, another one was able successfully capture each Sin in a perfect cube, aside from Ban. Once Merlin had seen that her teammates were captured, she tried to make quick work of the cubes until she was knocked unconscious by the knights who ran to overpower her.

It was just Ban now.

He grit his teeth as he saw his teammates slamming on their individual cubes trying to break free. Ban didn’t know what to do now. He looked over at Meliodas and watched as the blonde tried to break free but nothing was working. The king approached Ban with his army and mages in tow. Ban was about to fight to get his team back but he froze when the king spoke to him.

“Care to strike a deal with me?”

“I don’t want to do shit with you, bastard. You took my friends!”

“If you won’t partake in this deal then I have no use for your friends.”

Ban gasped at those words and was about to say something when the king cut him off again, “Which one would you like to see squished first? The little boy? The giant girl? The purple one? Or the large man? Oh, but I think killing Sir Meliodas first would be most satisfying, don’t you think?”

Before Ban could disagree, the king snapped his fingers and one of the mages started to squish the cube. Meliodas tried to push back to keep the cube extended but it wasn’t working. He let out a cry of pain when he felt himself getting smushed inside the cube. Ban felt tears sting at his eyes, he couldn’t watch this anymore. His shoulders shook but then he seemed to relax and he put his head down. His hands were balled into fists at his sides.

“Enough… leave him alone. I’ll make a deal with you.”

The king smirked and snapped his fingers, causing the mages to expand Meliodas’s cube again. Meliodas caught his breath and looked over at Ban, whose face seemed to be almost unreadable. Meliodas placed his hands on the cube as he stared out at his lover. He was angry with himself for being so careless… now Ban was paying for his mistakes.

“Ban, you can’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, captain… I don’t have a choice.”

Before Meliodas could say anything back, the mages of the king snapped their fingers and all of the Sins were teleported back in the castle. The king of Liones thought nothing of it until he noticed that Ban was missing and Merlin was unconscious. He was about to say something but stopped when Elizabeth ran out and hugged Meliodas. Meliodas flinched at her touch, causing her to pull away to look at him.

Elizabeth looked around for Ban but couldn’t find him. She furrowed her brow, she didn’t understand why Ban wasn’t with everyone. She looked up at Meliodas, her big eyes just seemed to eat at his soul. Meliodas felt his heart breaking as he knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders. He hated that he would have to be the one to tell her Ban wasn’t coming back just yet.

“Elizabeth… Ban is on a mission right now.”

“When will he return?”

“Ban… needs our help so we have to go get him.”

“Why did you leave him if he needed your help?”

Meliodas was about to say something when Gowther beat him to it, speaking in his usual almost robotic tone, “Ban is not on a mission, captain. We all watched as Ban sacrificed himself to save us. At this rate, the king must have Ban at his castle and is doing with him as he pleases. It would be best if we departed soon to rescue him.”

Elizabeth gasped and looked over at Meliodas, who was glaring daggers at Gowther for saying all of that. He turned to face Elizabeth, focusing on easing her mind.

He gave her a reassuring smile, “You know Ban’s strong, Elizabeth… and you know I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring him home.”

“Please, Meliodas, bring Ban back.”

The Sins didn’t have time to wait for Merlin to wake up so they took off without her. It took a few hours but they had finally reached the castle. Meliodas gave Escanor, Diane, and King the orders of causing a scene outside the castle while he and Gowther would infiltrate the castle from the back.

Once the two of them got inside, Gowther was able to pinpoint Ban’s location based on his brain waves. Gowther had analyzed each Sin on the day they met so in case of a moment like this he would be able to track them. Gowther led Meliodas to the king’s chambers, where they were able to hear the sound of people talking and then the sickening sound of someone being slapped.

Meliodas’s blood was boiling when he heard the slapping sound so he broke down the door and gasped at the sight before him. Ban was on the ground, a bruise forming on his face from where he was slapped but it was beginning to heal. Meliodas was seeing red, they dared to lay a hand on his Ban and that would be their sin.

Gowther casually walked over to Ban and helped him up. The fix Sin nodded in thanks to Gowther and allowed the other male to help him over to Meliodas. The demon mark on Meliodas’s head was showing and that’s when everyone saw Gowther give two thumbs up.

“Your chances of survival are 0.0001%... good luck!”

First time Ban calls the Sins his family

They had been working together as the Sins for a while now and everyone except Ban had referred to each other as their family in some way. Even Merlin had mentioned to Escanor that the people of the Sins were a group that she couldn’t help but want to be near for some odd reason.

It all happened when they were battling a corrupted human who had been turned into a demon. He was somehow still able to talk and he had been taunting the Sins the entire time they were fighting. The demon was really starting to get on everyone’s nerves, even Gowther’s somehow.

“You really think that you band of misfits can defeat me?!”

The demon had smacked Ban into Gowther, who growled that the demon had the audacity to call them misfits when he looked weirder than them. Gowther and Ban got up just in time to get crushed by Diane, who got sent flying a she took the hit to protect King. The demon watched as the Sins would go out of their way to protect one another, which confused him.

The demon sent a blast of fire at King, which was deflected by Escanor. Why were these people doing this?

The demon grit his teeth before snarling, “Why would all of you do this for each other?! It’s like you messed up people are trying to see who’s going to die first! I’ll make sure each of you die for your stupidity! Not one of you fucked up creatures deserves to be protected!”

That struck a nerve in each of the Sins. This demon dared to call their choices to protect each other stupid? They were protecting someone they cared deeply for and they would do it again if they needed to. That’s what you do when you love someone. That’s what you do when you’re a family. Each of them were about to say something to defend each other but the one Sin no one was expecting to hear spoke up.

“And who the fuck do you think you are talking to us like that?”

Everyone turned to see Ban storming up to the demon with a dangerous look in his eyes. He snapped at the demon, “I won’t have some piece of shit like you talking to my team like that. It doesn’t matter what we look like because we look fucking perfect to me. We’ve got every kind of love so I’m lucky to be a part of this fucked up group!”

The demon was about to say something when Ban kicked it back, marching off towards it hissing, “Okay so the links in our chains makes us strange? It only makes us stronger! And I wouldn’t replace a thing about us because we come from everywhere searching for people to just give a fuck about us! Somehow we found it here… somehow I found it here…”

Ban activated his magical power, fox hunt, and ripped out each of the demon’s hearts. As the demon died the rest of the Sins walked over to him and smiled. Ban didn’t say it loud but it was just audible enough for them to hear.

“We’re not your ordinary family… but we’re close as close can be.”

First successful proposal

Meliodas stared at the silver band in his hand. Maybe this time he would actually be able to propose to his lover of ten years. Through their ten years together they watched some good things happen such as watching Elizabeth grow up. They also watched the fall of Liones, the disbandment of the Seven Deadly Sins, the regrouping of the Sins, and then the Sins restoring the order that was lost to the kingdom of Liones.

It had been an eventful ten years and as the Sins were finding their rightful place in the world again, Meliodas believed that now was the time to propose to Ban. He had tried to propose to Ban before but one time lightning struck him when he pulled the ring out. Another time Ban had fallen asleep because Meliodas had taken too long and it was too late at night.

Diane’s favorite proposal fail was when Meliodas proposed when they were helping to rebuild a house and when Meliodas turned to drop down on one knee a brick fell and hit Ban in the head. King disagreed and believed that the time Meliodas got down on one knee in front of Ban and forgot the ring was the best fail. Meliodas begged to differ on that one because he had to laugh it off and pretend he was tying his shoe… needless to say Ban made him sleep on the floor after that.

Escanor thought that the time Meliodas hid the ring in Ban’s food was a good fail because Ban ended up choking on the ring. Merlin even admitted that she liked the fail where Meliodas slipped in the mud when he got down on one knee and ended up taking Ban down with him. Gowther liked the proposal fail where Meliodas was proposing to himself in front of a mirror and Ban walked in and laughed at him.

“Gowther that wasn’t me proposing to myself, I was practicing how I should do it!”

“But you have failed so many times you should have had enough practice.”

The other Sins were trying to hide their laughter at Gowther’s response. Meliodas rolled his eyes at them and walked out of the Boar Hat. He didn’t understand why it was so hard to propose to Ban. He walked over to a river and sat down in front of it. He looked down at his reflection in the water and sighed. It seemed like the world was against him when it came to proposing to Ban.

“I wish it wasn’t so hard to do…”

“What’s hard to do, captain?”

Meliodas gasped at the voice of his lover. Ban sat down beside him and gave that beautiful fanged smile that the captain adored so much. Meliodas gulped and tried to regain his composure. Ban had this ability to make him lose himself, not that Meliodas really minded it. It was just something he had grown accustomed to after being with Ban for so long.

“Can I tell you something, Ban?”

Ban nodded back. This seemed serious so he made sure he paid close attention so he would be ready to support his lover.

Meliodas looked away but eventually found Ban’s eyes as he spoke, “You know me the best. You know my worst, seen me hurt but you don’t judge and that right there is the scariest feeling… opening and closing up again… I’ve been hurt so I don’t trust… and now here we are together.”

Red eyes stared back into green ones, curious about where Meliodas was going with this, “I know sometimes I pull you close and then… and then I ask you for space. I know it’s not easy to be with me but I want you to know I appreciate you… I got lucky when you walked into my life.”

Meliodas reached over and grabbed Ban’s hand, their fingers intertwining. Ban gave a small smile at his captain, who continued to speak, “Isn’t it amazing how almost every line on our hands align when your hand’s in mine? It’s like I’m whole again.”

Suddenly, Meliodas looked away and muttered something under his breath. Ban shook his head and groaned, “What’s on your mind, captain? You’re acting really weird. It’s best if you just spit it out.”

“It’s only seven letters…”

“Huh?”

“Why is it so hard to say?”

“Captain, just fucking say it cause you’re starting to freak me out here.”

Meliodas took a deep breath before reaching into his pocket and getting on one knee. Meliodas threw all cares out the window as he asked, “I already vowed to love you until the end of time but I want it to be official. I want everyone to know so… marry me?”

Ban was at a loss for words. At first, Meliodas thought that maybe he was all wrong and Ban didn’t want to get married. But then he saw silent tears flow down Ban’s cheeks and Meliodas couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sight because Ban, somehow, was a beautiful crier. He felt the air leave his lungs as Ban launched himself at him.

Meliodas felt tears falling down his own cheeks when he heard Ban whisper in his ear, “You’re a damned idiot, captain… I know you’ve been trying to propose to me for so long, you fucking idiot… I thought you would’ve known that you didn’t even need to ask me…”

“Ban…”

“… because you should’ve already known I’d say yes.”