True Love (Meliodas x OC/Reader x Zeldris)

Chapter 22

When you awoke again, you were alone. The sun coming through the window told you it was a little after noon. You could hear voices downstairs, so you got out of bed and headed down. 'How the hell did they rebuild the Boar Hat already?' you thought to yourself. You reached the first floor and everyone looked at you, "Lilith!!" Diane, King, and Hawk came running up to you. You saw Ban and Zeldris at the bar, Meliodas behind refilling their mugs. The three of them looked at you with huge smiles on their faces. After you finished hugging your friends, you plopped down between Zel and Ban. "How you feelin?" Ban asked. "Like I need a stiff drink!" you answered, earning a chuckle from
the three guys around you.

Meliodas handed you a mug of ale and a shot of whiskey. You threw back the shot and chugged the ale as a chaser, "More please!" you beamed at him. Zeldris covered the shot glass with his hand, "Easy, you just woke up," he chuckled when you stuck your tongue out at him. "I'll make you put that tongue to good use if you don't stop acting like a brat," he whispered in your ear, sending shivers down your body. Then he kissed your lips softly before turning back to chug the rest of his ale. Meliodas had walked off to chat with the Holy Knights at another table. Zel got up to talk to Merlin, which surprised you. He hadn't willingly talked to much of anyone there besides you, his brother, and occasionally Ban.

Ban looked down at you, "I'm going to miss you short stack! But I know you'll have two good men to take care of you." You grinned up at him, "I'll miss you too Ban! I'll miss everyone here." You turn around on your stool to look at Elaine with her brother, "Maybe you and Elaine can visit us in the demon realm sometime. Merlin might be able to whip something up so the miasma doesn't hurt you," you suggested. Ban chuckled when he saw Meliodas annoying his brother, "Which one is going to be the next Demon King?" he asked you. You snickered, "Zel. Does Meliodas strike you as the type to rule a kingdom?" Ban shook his head smiling, "Definitely not." Elizabeth approached you both and Ban left to give you two some privacy.

"Hey Ellie," you greeted her, pulling away from her warm hug. "Hi Lil!" she returned with a closed eye smile, "I'm glad you're feeling better." You returned her smile, "Thanks, Ellie," your gaze falls on Meliodas suddenly feeling guilt-ridden. Elizabeth followed your gaze and giggled, "It's okay, Lil. I've known all along, he's always loved you. You can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. I loved him when we met before the first Holy War, but every reincarnation after the love was imprinted on me by my curse." You sighed and slumped your shoulders, "That makes me feel slightly better at least," you paused, "Ellie, is it strange to be with both of them?" Meliodas was about to serve Zeldris one of his 'meat pies', who was in for a rude awakening. She looked thoughtful for a second before answering, "It's certainly not common, but you can't help who you love," she answered, smiling at you. You giggled, Zeldris was force feeding Meliodas to make him taste the monstrosity that was his cooking. "Come visit us when you can?" you asked her. "Of course! We all will!"

After spending the day catching up with your friends, you went outside to sit on the roof and watch the sunset. It was going to be a while before you saw another one, actually you may never see a Britannia sunset again. Meliodas and Zeldris jumped up and sat on either side of you, squishing you a bit. 'This must be a game of theirs now,' you thought, smiling to yourself. A storm was brewing off in the distance and you heard from your friends that strange severe weather was being reported all over Britannia. You all knew it was because you were still on Earth, meaning you should be returning to the demon realm soon. "I'm going to miss sunsets," you admitted, to which Meliodas sighed in agreement. "I asked the mage to look into a way to dampen our power for a short time, at least so we could visit every once in a while," Zeldris commented. You interlocked your fingers with his and laid your head on his shoulder, "Thank you," you murmured.

The sun had finally set so you laid back to stare at the stars, taking everything in before you went back to a pitch black dark sky. "Do you think we'll have them?" you asked thoughtfully. Neither of them spoke for a minute, recalling the shared dream state Gowther had put you in. Meliodas sighed, "I hope so," he spoke quietly. Zeldris looked back at you with a small smile, "We will" was all he said. "Are you three going to stay up there all night!?" you heard Hawk yell from down below. Zeldris grabbed you and jumped down with you bridal style in his arms. Meliodas followed, "Let's celebrate like there's no tomorrow!" he suggested cheerfully. "Want to play Centurion?!" you called after him. Zeldris rolled his eyes at your antics but you saw the small smile on his face.

You ran into the back of the bar to grab a bunch of handles of whiskey, loading Ban's arms up as well as your own. "One last drinking game as a send off!" you announced gleefully, "Who wants to take us on?!" Ban of course took you up on the challenge. Gil and Howzer did but they knew they were never going to win, considering they were only humans playing with three demons and a man that was once human. "Ready?" Gowther asked everyone at the bar to which you all nodded, "Go!" Gil and Howzer stared in amazement as you, Zeldris, and Meliodas knocked back six shots each in a minute. "Do they even taste it?!" Griamore asked flabbergasted.

85 minutes had passed, Gil and Howzer passed out a long time ago, each downing 10 shots. Ban was still conscious, but barely, with an impressive 43. "Do you think they're going to make it to 100?!" Diane asked King. Hawk looked at the three of you, "If you throw up, you're cleaning it!" Meliodas looked down at him, "I'm thinking roast pig sounds like a good midnight snack." You half nodded in agreement, "I could go for some!" Hawk ran off screaming to hide behind Elizabeth and Elaine, causing you and Meliodas to snicker. Your shot count was Meliodas in first with 87, Zeldris in second with 84, and you with 81. Zeldris looked at you with a drunken grin, "You're never going to beat us at this game!" he teased, chuckling. You pouted to which Meliodas added, "It's only right that the youngest is in last place!" "I'm only a little over a month younger than Zeldris!" you complained. By technicality, you and Meliodas were far older than Zel now, but you'd always be the baby.

3 minutes were left, somehow you were all conscious...kind of. Diane had dosed off and King was barely awake, they wanted to know who would win. Current count: Meliodas 97, Zeldris 96, you 92. "Why did I let you talk me into this again?" Zeldris complained, slurring heavily. "Because you love me!" you responded, giggling. He blushed which caused you to giggle more, making Meliodas catch your giggles. Your giggles turned into cackling, like drunk hyenas. While you were laughing like idiots, Zeldris downed 2 more shots, nudging just ahead of his brother. "Time's up!" Gowther announced, "Zeldris wins!" You and Meliodas start booing, quickly turning into more cackling. Zel rolled his eyes, a small grin on his face, this was what happened every time. You and Meliodas would inevitably set the other off with giggles then Zel would pull ahead and win.

"Can we go to bed nowwwwww?" you whined. Meliodas picked you up in one arm and put Zeldris' arm over his shoulders. The two of them used each other in an attempt to stabilize themselves, but with that much alcohol in their systems they still could barely walk. They stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked up, "I don't think we're gonna make it up there," Zel remarked sleepily. "Hmmmmmm, you're probably right," Meliodas agreed, also sleepy, "We could sleep outside like when we were kids?" Zeldris nodded, now too tired to care, and you were already lightly snoring. They made it just off the edge of the tavern's porch before Zel flopped onto the grass. Meliodas set you down next to him as gently as he could considering his state, then dropped to the ground on your other side. You started to shiver in your sleep, so each of them rolled to face you and scooted in, keeping you warm with their body heat.

You felt sunlight on the side of your face, regretting playing Centurion again. Your face was slightly smooshed against Meliodas' chest, knowing it was him without opening your eyes. He always smelled faintly of lavender and eucalyptus while Zel's scent was more like cedar and cinnamon. It took you a couple seconds to realize you were laying on the ground outside, you just remembered falling asleep after Meliodas picked you up. You wiggled out from between them and went inside to grab coffee. You noticed lightning striking rapidly in the distance.

Gowther was the only one up, reading a book. You smiled at him as you walked to the kitchen. You chugged a glass of water as the coffee brewed, filling the tavern with its delightful aroma. You were gonna miss this place, but you'd come to terms with it. As you were facing the counter to grab coffee, Zeldris wrapped his arms around your body, kissing the side of your neck, "Mornin'," he mumbled. "Coffee?" you asked quietly, "mmhmm" was the only response. You grabbed a third mug and went back outside, where Meliodas was still conked out. You waved the cup near his nose to wake him up. "Thanks, Lil," he murmured as he sat up, placing a light kiss on your lips. The three of you sat in silence on the stairs leading to the door of the Boar Hat, sipping your coffee.

"We have to leave today," you announced, staring at the raging storm on the horizon. They hummed in agreement. "Should we go before anyone else gets up?" you ask. "Hmmmm," Meliodas thought about it, "They won't like it, but we can leave a note as a see you later rather than a goodbye!" The three of you quietly gathered your things, leaving a note on the bedside table in your room, before heading to the cave leading to the demon realm.

'Saying goodbye isn't our strong suit, so this is a see you later! Come visit us in the demon realm sometime!'