Not going to lie, you had always been difficult to make truly mad. Maybe there had been some exceptions from the last few days, but as a general rule of thumb, it was usually impossible to rile you up to the point of shouting at someone.

Meliodas had somehow managed to do that most difficult thing. No, not somehow.

"Meliodas!" Your voice echoed through the relatively small building as you stomped down the stairs, absolutely pissed that you had to put up with this crap and in your hands was a small bundle of clothing... A much smaller bundle of clothing than you would like.

Apparently, the tavern would be opening soon, and Meliodas had come up to both you and Hagakure with these bundles. His excuse was that if your group would be traveling with them for now, then you needed to pitch in and help, which was fine with you.

You had done a brief stint a year or so ago as a waitress, determined to show that you could control your quirk if you worked at it enough, so you were more than okay with the idea of helping out around the place... Of course, the waitressing job had ended when the owners called the cops on you for breaking and entering and freaking out the customers, but that was beside the point.

When you were actually doing your job, you had been a darn good waitress so you were cautious to say it, but you were excited about this.

At least... You had been until you saw what the bundle of clothes was.

"MELIODAS!"

The short man in question walked out from behind the bar as you made it down the stairs, an overly innocent smile on his face, "Yeah (Y/N)? Is there something wrong?"

Patches was behind the counter as well, apparently, he had some level of skill in the kitchen and he drank enough that he knew alcohols fairly well, so Meliodas determined that he would help out with whatever needed doing on the actual food end of things. The smirk on his face, however, made you want nothing more than to smack him.

You ignored the smirking patchwork quilt and thrust the pile of clothes back at Meliodas, "I won't wear this."

It was a testament to how ridiculously cunning the midget was that he maintained the innocent look as he smiled happily at you, "I understand if you don't love it, but this is the uniform." With that, he gestured at Elizabeth, who was standing in the center of the room smiling gently in her tight pink shirt, ridiculously short skirt, and thigh-high stockings. 

She even looked comfortable in it.

... Elizabeth was a completely different problem that you would talk to later (seriously, how was she okay with being sexualized like this?), "I call bull," You said stiffly, "The shirt's tight enough that my bra shows in painful detail, the skirt is short enough that if I so much as take a step, my whole butt is on display, and the stockings squeeze my legs. I won't wear it."

Oh dear, you could already feel the start of a rant, "And even worse?" You took a step back before beginning to pace, "You gave the exact same outfit to a teenager! I can't speak for her, obviously, but this isn't okay!"

A voice from behind you broke you out of your concentration, "Oh, don't worry about that, (Y/N)!" You turned to see Hagakure stepping into the room, the tavern 'uniform' already on. By the way she was bouncing, you could tell she was extremely happy about something, "I actually think this is adorable! Don't you guys?"

Meliodas shot her an encouraging thumbs-up and Elizabeth happily agreed, but Diane absolutely took the cake in her overreaction, "Oh my god, you look so adorable Tooru!"

Tooru? Well someone was making friends quick.

Not having the heart to argue with her, you simply smiled at her, "I'm glad you like it, it does look pretty cute on you." The girl smiled and bounced outside to talk to Diane and Elizabeth, who followed her, "But that doesn't mean I'm willing to wear it." And just like that, your focus was back on Meliodas as you glared.

Meliodas wasn't phased at all by your sour attitude. He casually leaned back, bracing himself with his hands behind his head, he grinned widely at you, "Your request for a different outfit is denied. More skin means more business, That's just a fact."

Oh goodness, somehow you ended up working for this land's equivalent of Hooters.

Well, if he wasn't going to budge on letting you burn the outfit, then you would just have to haggle your way down to something more comfortable.

Let the negotiations begin. "Fine,"  You grumbled out, "I'll keep either the top or the bottom, but not both.

"Eh?"

Your eyes clenched shut and you stood rigidly, doing your best to ignore the way Patches was leaning forward, watching the exchange intently, "You heard me. I'm willing to meet you halfway in the middle and wear half of this outfit. The top or the bottom. Either I get a large baggy sweater to wear with the skirt, or I get pants. I'd prefer the pants because I don't really like the idea of men peering up my skirt, but I'll let you choose."

Let it never be said that you were a slouch when it came to bartering. You'd watched your parents barter with their business partners for years and were always fascinated by the process of haggling, but now wasn't the time.

You had a sneaking suspicion that Meliodas was far more crafty than he was showing, so you'd set down the absolute furthest you were willing to go and not budge an inch on it.

His gaze was inscrutable, and you had to suppress the urge to fidget, "And if I don't?" A simple question with a terrifying undertone... He needed to know how faithful you were going to be. It seemed ridiculous to judge faithfulness on a uniform, but whether or not you were willing to listen to him here would set a lot of standards for any partnerships the two of you would form.

"Then I'll leave." It was simple, but you would not be trampled over. "It probably would kill me to do so, but I'll accept that."

Patches visibly flinched at that. No doubt the idea of his ride home willingly throwing away safety irritated him.

"Excuse me, but what the fuck?!" Ah, you were right.

Neither you nor Meliodas paid any attention to Patches, choosing instead to continue the stare-down. 

"That seems like a rather dramatic move to makeover some clothes." He said evenly, giving away nothing.

"True, but I have my reasons."

"You know how dangerous this world is, am I correct?" 

"Obviously."

A small smile quirked at his lips and before long, he was sniggering, "God, you'll fit right in here with that attitude. Both Ban and Merlin are unbearably stubborn too... Hm... I should probably include King and me in that mix."

You quirked an eyebrow, not breaking just yet... Just a little longer.

"Fine!" He said, this time with an outright laugh, "You win. You can have a sweater and I'll make the skirt just a little longer so you can't get mad about it. The socks are mandatory still."

A triumphant smile flashed across your face and you nodded, sticking out your hand, "It's a deal. Pleasure doing business with you boss."

He shook your hand happily and the two of you jumped back into it, him wandering off after yelling at Patches to keep memorizing, and you stealing the broom Elizabeth had been using before she left and continuing to clean.

It was a pleasant silence for several minutes as the trio outside wandered off to the town to do some advertising. A calm moment that was only interrupted by Patches as he spoke, "Hey, Hero?" His voice was quiet enough that you could have easily missed it.

You hummed in response, glaring at an encrusted piece of food stuck to the floor.

"When did you get so good at haggling?" You looked up at him, only to see his curious gaze, for once minimal amounts of anger was present, "I would've thought that a disaster child such as yourself would be kept away from any business stuff."

Valid question. Also, you wanted to be mad at him for calling you a disaster child, but it was a bit too accurate to argue. "Eh," You waved him off, "It wasn't anything special. Mom and Dad knew I liked some of that stuff, so they tried to take me to meetings where possible. Not to mention those stupid hero banquets that happen every week. There's always business deals being made there."

You faded off slightly, thinking of some of the more memorable things you had seen in your time, "And besides," You chuckled, remembering a particular person who probably still hated your guts, "When you've gotten into arguments with heroes like Endeavor, you learn how to hide your intimidation pretty quick."

His surprise was palpable, but he simply nodded and continued pouring over the menu, which was nice.

You were in a really good mood at the moment, and while Endeavor was far from the worst encounter you'd ever had with a hero, it still wasn't something you liked revisiting.

Wasn't the flaming hero's son in Tenya's class? Hm... Now that was a family you hoped to shine a light on someday if you ever became a lawyer. They were an enigma that was obviously hiding some dark crap.

Well... That is if you ever became a lawyer. It probably wasn't possible for someone the whole world saw as a delinquent to jump into law. Hm... maybe a journalist then? if you stayed here, the only thing you were likely to become would be a waitress.

"Hey," You said with a yawn, "I'm heading outside for a minute, I'll be right back."

Patches said nothing as you left, which made you smile. You had gotten so used to announcing to your family when you were going anywhere because it let them know that they needed to keep an eye on the GPS just in case.

It wasn't that they didn't trust you... They just didn't trust your quirk, which was understandable.

The sun felt amazing as you stepped out. It had been years since you'd been outside without worrying someone.  For the first time, you felt a blossom of hope. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad.

"Wait." You heard this coming from inside the tavern, but it was too late.

Ah-

Never mind. This was about to get really bad.

-Choo!

***

There are moments in life that make a person. Whether they help an old person carry in groceries. What they choose to do when someone needs a seat in the subway. If they are a jerk to animals.

All these little things add up and make a person who they are. Now, if that person were to, say, be a decent human being in all aspects but one, you might think to forgive them.

At least... You were banking on that idea at the moment.

The moment you sneezed, you were gone as per usual. You should have known better. You'd been a sun sneezer since the moment your quirk manifested, so this should have actually been expected. 

Though, the moment the squeezing tube disappeared, you immediately screamed and lashed out, your foot acting on instinct and showing the fact that you really were a terrible human underneath it all.

A sharp yelp split through the air, but you were too far in panic, scrambling towards a nearby tree just to get away.

Did you know that kicking an innocent dog was a horrible thing to do? Absolutely... But it happened before you could even think about it! The past few times you apparated had been so fraught with danger that you just acted when you heard the growl.

You never normally kicked at dogs! 

I mean, your relationship with dogs was perilous at best, seeing as how your only real interactions with the animals came when you teleported onto their territory, scaring the bejeezus out of them and provoking all kinds of territorial instincts.

Logically you knew that they were just trying to be the good bois they are, and in appearance alone, they were cute too... but you were still terrified of them.

The way their hackles raised when they were growling... The way the bigger ones rushed at you like a bullet out of a gun... The way their jaws were far stronger than they should be... It was all terrifying, especially to a little seven-year-old who had just been asking her mommy for a dog a week ago and was now staring down a German Shepard who really just wanted to protect its family.

You still had a scar from that first bite, and while it wasn't the last that you would receive, it was by far the most traumatizing.

So yeah. You panicked and kicked the dog.

Not your proudest moment, but by the time you had a moment to think about it, you were nestled safely at the top of the tree, clinging to the branches and staring down at the dog, who was looking up at you while still growling.

Maybe one day you would find a dog that didn't make you panic immediately, but it didn't seem like this would be that dog.

"Um... Hello?" You called out as loudly as your trembling voice would let you. It was possible that you were close to people, seeing as how there was a dog. If there were people, you could probably get back to the tavern.

...Unless no one here knew where the tavern was...

What if no one knew what tavern you were talking about! 

What was the name of the tavern!!!!!????!?!?

Okay... No... This wasn't the end of the world. You could still do something with this. What that something was, you had no clue, but you could probably do something.

Wait! Maybe if you made yourself sneeze again, you would appear somewhere with people who could help you!

Or you could go further into the forest and away from the tavern.

"Hello?!" 

Your other option was to get down from the tree... but your body was quickly freezing up as the dog began to bark at you.

No, it was okay. You were high in the air and unless this was some kind of dog monkey, you were safe...

Wait... Talking pigs existed here... What if it was a dog monkey?

"Hello?" A voice jolted you out of your spiraling panic and you yelped, barely avoiding falling out of the tree.

You yelped again as the branch you were clinging to began to crack... Well, this couldn't possibly go wrong. "Help!" No doubt your voice came out as little more than a squeak, but you were okay with that, praying desperately for the tree to not yeet you out like some sad Whomping Willow

Great, you were stressed enough to start using words like yeet, that was how you knew this was a bad situation.

Just as you were giving up, a bright pink head of hair entered your view, the shining plate armor he was wearing enough to alert you with how blinding it was, "What's the emergen..." He faded off halfway through his sentence as he saw what was going on. A fully grown woman clinging to a tree looking terrified as a medium-sized dog sat at the base barking half-heartedly, "...cy?"

You, of course, weren't thrilled about this knight taking his dear sweet time to evaluate the situation, especially as the branch you were holding onto gave another threatening crack.

"Excuse me!" You shouted, your voice far more shrill than you would like, "Help please."

The man moved like he was walking through syrup as he approached, looking between the dog and you over and over again before he finally patted the dog on the head, silencing it immediately.

It seemed that the pup was satisfied knowing it held a threat at bay, as its tail began to wag and it lifted its head to lick the man's hand. "You can come down now. It's safe." He said dryly, the confusion still lingering in his voice.

You opened your mouth to retort and say that no, it very obviously wasn't safe with the dog still there, but before you could, the branch you were holding onto gave out, sending you plummeting from the tree with a screech.

Before you came to a very unwelcome stop, the man caught you in his arms, sending a painful shock through your body and cutting off your cry as the breath was forced from you.

Not to self and everyone else. Falling into the arms of someone in armor is not romantic. It feels more like falling into a pile of scrap metal than it does falling into some sweet guy's arms. Which, if you're still lost, hurts a lot.

"Eta!" You gasped out, though he lowered you to the ground quickly enough, "Um..." You said, completely unsure of what to say, "Thank you?"

The dog growled at you for a moment, caused you to jump back, smacking your elbow on his breastplate. Wasn't this just the happiest day ever. You just wanted to get back to the tavern where things weren't quite so volatile and there certainly were no dogs.

You desperately wanted to curse at something, but somehow you held it in and turned to the man who saved you with a tight smile, "Sorry about that... I mean... about hitting you with my elbow. I don't think you even felt it, with all that armor, but still... Oh, and thanks for catching me. It hurt, but I think it hurt less than hitting the ground would have."

Oh no. You were panic rambling.

"Though, to be fair, do you really need all that heavy plate armor? I mean, I don't know you, but it seems like that would be really hot to wear... I mean..." Your mouth hung open for a moment before you bit your tongue and rubbed the back of your neck, finally looking up at the cotton candy hair, squinting slightly to see it past the sheen of the armor.

Wow... Okay... this was. I mean... he...

"Your armor is amazing!" You finally gasped out, finally seeing it for the first time, "It looks brand new but the patina here shows that it has to be at least a year old! And this embossing job? Perfection! I've only seen one piece of armor in my life that was this high quality!"

What could you say? Both Tenya and Tensei had full armor sets as their hero suits, and your dad had one as well before he retired. Because of that, you had helped both your brothers research what materials were better, what kind of embellishments would restrict the armor, traditional styles. It was all very fascinating to you.

You barely noticed the guy in the suit, instead leaning in close, "Look at this seam here. I've never seen work like this."

An odd scent tickled at your nose, but you ignored it, finally looking at the man, "Oh, the name's (Y/N) by the way."

What was that scent? It was so potent!

The man looked down at you, thoroughly amused, "Do you critique everyone you meet?" He asked with laughter in his voice.

Ah, yes... that probably wasn't polite of you, "Well... Not really, my family deals in armor a lot though, so I see different quality levels all the time."

His smile was genuine, but you weren't paying attention to that. The scent... It was really tickling your nose.

"The name's Gilthunder, by the way. I don't believe I've ever had a woman fall into my arms quite like that." He laughed at his own terrible joke, but I was too busy trying to stave off another sneeze. Did this man bathe in pepper?

"Um, yeah... Nice- nice to meet... You."

Achoo!