The early morning air was cold. You tugged down the cuffs of your coat before giving up and tucking your hands in your pockets.

Just go back to bed already. Meliodas's voice was exasperated.

You leant on the outlook's railing and stared in the direction you knew he was. Come home and make me.

There was no reply, but you could feel him start fighting the demons faster. You could see your laugh, your breath hanging in the air. Ever so slowly, the sun began to rise.

'Okay, I got a question,' Meliodas asked one of the recently liberated people. 'Where did these demons manage to capture all of you guys?'

'There's a village not too far from here that fell for an evil trap,' said the man. 'Those who live there and those passing through—'

[Y/n].

Yeah, yeah, I got it, you said, already straightening up.

It was night and you were flying once more. Finding the village had been easy enough, getting there not so much. Back aching and wings out of commission, you spent the day dodging the people who lived in Ordan, gathering information and helping where you could. Your interference led to a few close calls but you always managed to evade capture somehow.

Every now and then, you'd check in with Meliodas. He was fine, of course, having fun fighting with Ban again. Once their battle was over, you told Meliodas where Ordan was and the two of them started making their way to you.

By the time night fell again, you were ready to fly and took off to meet Meliodas and Ban.

'All right then,' Ban said. 'What's our next move gonna be?'

On the horizon you could see a tiny speck of light. You pushed yourself faster. The smell of smoke and cooking meat drifted up through the sky.

Meliodas hummed. 'Well, it seems like we're done rescuing the travellers captured by the Demon race like Bartra. So our next move is to take back Camelot Castle. At least, that's what it would be.'

You landed lightly beside Meliodas. 'But before all that, there's something else we've gotta do.'

Ban tensed slightly before relaxing. 'Jeez, you're a freak sometimes, you know that?'

You stuck your tongue out at him. 'It's all set,' you said, taking one of the skewers before sitting down. 'Merlin's ready to move when you are.'

Ordan looked quite peaceful. It lay below you, in a pretty valley with wheat fields and trees. Hearing more voices, you turned to find that you, Meliodas and Ban had been joined by the rest of the Sins and—

'Why did you bring Elizabeth?' you hissed at Merlin.

'My apologies.' Merlin shrugged and didn't look sorry at all. 'But you did say all hands on deck.'

Before you could say anything more, Elizabeth spoke up.

'Don't blame Merlin, [Y/n],' she said. 'I asked to come.'

'Besides,' said Escanor, his voice growing deeper by the second, 'this battle will be so easy that there is no need to worry for the princess.'

'According to my calculations, Escanor is indeed right. The risk in this battle will be nowhere near that of the fight against Hendrickson,' Gowther said unhelpfully.

You glared at them.

Meliodas stepped between you. 'Elizabeth, you should wait up here until the fight is done.' Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest but Meliodas quickly continued. 'After, you can help [Y/n] with the healing.'

Elizabeth's eyes shone with determination. 'Yes.'

With that sorted, the seven of you stood at the edge of the cliff.

'You're brave, but an example needs to be made.' The thin reedy voice of a yellow demon with far too many tongues floated up to you.

You opened your wings and crouched, but Meliodas caught your hand.

'Wait,' he said. 'Not yet.'

'Why do you always have to make a cool entrance?' You rolled your eyes.

Meliodas laughed. 'I don't have to. And yet, I always do.'

Down below, the little boy getting beaten by the demon got to his feet. Ban whistled lowly.

'I'll never ever forgive you for that,' said the boy, his voice still strong even as he leant on his staff. ''Cause I'm the Dragon Sin, Peliodas. And I swear you will never defeat me.'

Meliodas's eyes widened before softening. 'Now that's a smart kid.'

You laughed quietly. Ban rolled his eyes.

Ordan's predicament got a lot worse as the yellow demon attacked the lot of them and began to strangle Peliodas with its tail.

'Can we go now?' you asked, leaning forwards precariously.

Meliodas nodded. 'Stay here, Elizabeth. Everyone else, follow me.'

He jumped and you followed, smirking as you saw where he had chosen to land. The red demon didn't stand a chance. It fell with a bellow and a resounding crash. You landed on its back, folding your arms and smiling wider at the look on the other demons' faces.

The yellow demon peered at you. 'Who the hell are they? Kill them!'

Two grey demons swooped down, but Meliodas and Ban took care of them easily. Leaving them to it, you leapt forwards, skidding to a halt in between the villagers and the yellow demon. A cloud of dust rose and you could hear the yellow demon searching for you.

'Please—' one of the villagers reached for you '—my son—'

You cut him off with a smile. 'It's going to be okay. We'll save him.'

The villager looked over your shoulder and stumbled back, eyes wide.

'Found you,' said the yellow demon bearing down on you, Peliodas still in its grasp.

'Well done,' you said, still smiling. 'Why don't I give you a prize?' And you jumped up to punch the demon in the jaw.

It sailed away with a screech. You tensed, ready to catch Peliodas, but the demon didn't let him go. Before you could do more that utter a curse, there was a scream behind you.

You turned, Cosain already in your hands. Somehow a red demon had snuck behind you and was reaching for one of the villagers, a creepy grin on its face. In a blink you were jumping again, right onto the red demon's head. You buried your sword to the hilt right in its forehead. The demon's beady yellow eyes swivelled up to you, mouth open to roar. The roar turned to a gurgle as Cosain began to glow. The light in its eyes faded to nothing and the red demon fell, luckily not on any of the villagers.

Seeing there was only one demon left, you took off, ignoring the gasps behind you. You made it to Elizabeth in time to watch Meliodas's Full Counter take out the hoard of demons that had appeared from nowhere.

'Sir Meliodas is amazing.' Elizabeth beamed at you.

'Of course he is,' you said. 'Ready to come down?'

Elizabeth nodded and you took her hand, stepping off the cliff into the sky.

'Are there many injuries?' Elizabeth raised her voice slightly over the wind.

You shook your head. 'Just scrapes and cuts. Peliodas is the worst, but it doesn't look too serious. He was coming round as I left.'

'I'll leave him to you, then,' Elizabeth said as you touched down. With one last smile, she hurried off to help the villagers.

You watched her go, your chest feeling tight. But you pushed it down and made your way over to the little boy who had started the fight.

'Sir Peliodas, right?' You smiled. 'You're very brave.'

Peliodas stared at you with wide eyes, a light blush on his cheeks. 'I know you. You're [Y/n].'

'That's right.' Your palms began to glow. 'Please hold still while I heal your injuries.'

It didn't take long to fix the boy. The worst injury he had was his head, which had been rather badly bumped. You touched your fingers lightly to his temples and concentrated. When you could feel nothing more wrong, you looked Peliodas in his eyes. They were bright and alert.

'How's that?' you asked. 'You don't feel dizzy at all?'

Peliodas shook his head enthusiastically. 'No, not at all! Thank you so much.'

'My pleasure. When you're officially knighted, let me know. I'm sure we'll work together again.'

Peliodas blinked twice before beaming. You winked at him and his whole face became red. Behind you was a familiar warmth and you looked around to see Meliodas with his hands on his hips.

'[Y/n] fixed you up good as new, huh?' he said with a smile.

Cheeks still a little red, Peliodas's eyes widened again. 'Hey, why did you bother to come out here and save this village?'

Meliodas's smile changed. He put his hands in his pockets and turned to look at the sky. 'Thanks to what the Demons have done to this land, even some humans have gone astray.'

'And it's our job as Holy Knights to help with that too,' you said. 'Right, Sir Peliodas?'

Peliodas smiled again. 'Right.'

How come you never call me sir?

You rolled your eyes and nudged Meliodas with your shoulder. Grow up.

The sun was setting as you left Ordan. The villagers waved you off, bright smiles visible from miles away.

'All righty, ya swine,' said Hawk loudly. 'Come one, come all.'

It was the next day and the seven of you were standing in front of Hawk's mum. She had been mostly covered with a giant sheet as the repairs were completed. But now they were finished and Hawk was very excited to reveal the new and improved Boar Hat.

'Behold! It's the moment you've all been waiting for – the dedication ceremony for the new Boar Hat.'

Meliodas grabbed the sheet. 'Come on, Ban, let's take a look.'

'I'm right behind ya.' Ban also grabbed the sheet.

Your sigh was hidden beneath Hawk's outraged squeals.

Without further ado (and without the pomp and circumstance Hawk would've provided), Meliodas and Ban yanked the sheet and you saw the new Boar Hat.

It was huge. It looked like a giant stein, complete with handle. There was a large balcony now and it even had a living tree.

'Oh wow.' Meliodas laughed. 'It's perfect.'

That was right. There would be more room for everyone, less need to share rooms. And yet ... You sighed.

What's up? said Meliodas, ignoring Hawk's tantrum.

Guess I just miss the old one. You shrugged lightly. No big deal. I'll get used to it.

Meliodas hummed and peered at you, so you smiled at him and turned to Elizabeth.

'So what do you think, Elizabeth?' you asked.

'The new Boar Hat's pretty awesome, right?' Meliodas asked.

Elizabeth smiled. 'It is.'

'Hey, Elizabeth,' Hawk said, 'just remember it's not like he built it or anything. He didn't lift a finger.'

Meliodas huffed. 'Easy, Hawk. Who do you think paid all the renovation fees on this place?'

'Er, the king.'

'What? How'd you know about that?'

You laughed, pushing down the sadness. At your side, Elizabeth's face fell and it all came rushing back.

Just thought of something that might cheer you up.

You narrowed your eyes. What?

Meliodas smirked. We've got a new bed that needs breaking in.

You smirked back and lowered your voice. That does sound like fun. You felt Meliodas's heartrate increase. However, we have somewhere else to be, remember?

Meliodas scowled.

'Although peace has been restored to Liones, the rest of Britannia remains vulnerable to the ongoing threat of the Ten Commandments.' Bartra's deep voice rumbled over the sound of fireworks. 'Therefore, to prepare for the imminent battle with the Demon race, I would like to appoint a new Grand Master.'

The bodies of the kingdom's knights pressed in and you shivered, staying close to Meliodas. He took his hand in yours and you relaxed slightly.

'Now I will appoint him,' Bartra continued. 'The new Grand Master is ... Howzer.'

'Wait, me?' Howzer cried from wherever he was.

You pressed your free hand to your mouth, trying to hold back your laughter. The other knights began to shout out their congratulations and some friendly insults.

'So then,' said Bartra, putting a stop to the crowd's murmuring, 'what's your answer?'

You stood on your tiptoes to see Howzer straighten up and smile. 'I promise I'll do my very best,' he said.

There was a loud cheer. You let go of Meliodas and cupped your hands around your mouth to join in.

'Way to go, Howzer,' you shouted.

'Atta boy, temp,' Meliodas shouted.

The rest of Howzer's well-wishers all managed to include a similar insult. This time you laughed aloud, especially as Howzer reacted.

Ceremony over, everyone began to filter out. You linked hands with Meliodas and followed the crowd. But before you could get too far, a voice called out.

'Meliodas, do you have a moment?' Bartra asked.

Meliodas stopped and turned, pulling you with him. The courtyard was empty besides you, the Sins and Elizabeth. 'Huh? Sure. What's up, Bartra?'

'This morning, I had quite a clear vision.'

'Oh yeah?' Meliodas's hand tightened on yours.

Bartra closed his eyes, perhaps to better visualise what he had seen. 'The moon shining at midday. Low hanging fog. When it fills the kingdom, the Seven Deadly Sins will gather once again.'

You gasped. 'King and Diane too.'

'I'm all about it,' Hawk spoke up. He started looking side to side. 'But I'm not really seeing that moon anywhere, guys.'

Everyone looked up. The sky was blue. The clouds scudded across its surface. You glared at them and wished you could pull the clouds down to make the fog. But you didn't know how to make the moon shine at midday.

Meliodas raised an eyebrow. It's already gone midday anyway.

You heaved a sigh.

King and Diane will be fine. Bartra's visions have never been wrong before.

That perked you up. Of course. In order for the vision to be true, King and Diane would have to be all right. Oh! You're right. Guess there's nothing left to do but go home and—

—and put our new bed to good use.

Your lips pulled up on one side as anticipation pooled in your stomach. Sounds good to me.

~~~~~

hello, everyone and welcome back!

thank you for your patience and for coming to the stream :) if you missed it and want to listen to me rambling on about nothing, i'll link it below, but if you don't want to there's no pressure

https://youtu.be/gNZZdrUBpSc

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