Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Ban. Ban. Ban. Baaaan. Wake up."

Ban groaned and pried open his ruby red eyes. Meliodas loomed above him, grinning bright and gold. Scowling, Ban rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow. "Go 'way, Cap'n. Lemme sleep."

Meliodas just poked his back. "Ban, it's time for breakfast. I'm hungry."

"And I'm tired." Ban grumbled. He closed his eyes and snuggled into the bedding. Meliodas seemed to have given up. Ban smirked to himself at the victory- and then he was colliding with the hardwood floor with a squawk.

He glared up at Meliodas, who just grinned down at him. "You're out of bed now. You can make breakfast now."

Ban scowled. He swallowed down a sudden feeling of... nausea? Allowing a pout to mask his features, Ban pushed the feeling aside. "Aw, Captain. That's not fair."

Meliodas hopped out of bed, flipping gracefully over Ban's head. Ban just shook his head, the back of his hand hovering over his mouth as his stomach flipped again. Meliodas didn't notice and pulled Ban to his feet.

"Come on. Before Hawk starts hollering."

Ban rolled his eyes and followed Meliodas down the creaky stairs and pushed down the uneasy feeling in his gut.

The scent of his cooking quickly roused the others and the tavern was quickly filled with the Sins and Elizabeth and Hawk. Meliodas glowered petulantly. Everyone always preferred Ban's cooking and no matter how many lessons Ban gave him, he never improved one bit.

Ban, meanwhile, was struggling. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the churning of his stomach. The ruckus of everyone in the room was starting to feel stifling. He'd finished making everyone else's meals and Hawk's scraps, but he couldn't bring himself to make anything for himself. He was starting to feel strangely clammy. Leaning on the bar, Ban sighed heavily.

"Hey, Ban," Meliodas said, "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

And that one question broke the dam.

The nausea that Ban had been fending off suddenly shot up his throat and he clamped a hand around his mouth. "I can't-"

And then he was running, bounding up the stairs to the bathroom. Throwing open the door, Ban doubled over the toilet, gagging forcefully.

Meliodas and the others watched in confusion as Ban fled upstairs.

"What was that about?" King asked.

Meliodas shrugged.

"Sir Meliodas," Elizabeth spoke up, "I think you should go after him."

"Yeah." Meliodas agreed as he made his way up the stairs. He heard retching coming from the bathroom and stepped inside. "Ban?"

Ban moaned into the bowl. "Go 'way, Cap'n. Not feeling good."

Meliodas knelt by Ban's side and rubbed circles on his back. Ban gasped between retches, barely able to catch his breath. Meliodas frowned in concern and Ban slumped exhaustedly against the porcelain with a tired whimper.

”That was awful.” He croaked.

”Yeah, it was,” Meliodas agreed, his brow furrowed in concern, “What happened?”

Ban shrugged and shook his head. “I puked my guts up is what happened.”

Meliodas rolled his eyes and pulled Ban to lean against his body. Ban huffed and turned his head away but made himself comfortable in the embrace. Meliodas ran his hand through Ban’s silvery hair and the Fox Sin gave a sigh.

”Yes, but why?” Meliodas asked.

Ban just shrugged lethargically. “Dunno. Did you do anything to my food? Is this revenge for all the times I’ve complained about your cooking so you’re poisoning me?”

Meliodas glared. “Don’t even joke about that.” His Alpha dominance seeped into his voice and Ban flinched at his mate’s harsh tone. Meliodas immediately forced his instincts to calm down. Making his mate scared wasn’t going to help him feel better.

“I’m sorry.” Meliodas said weakly.

”S’okay.” Ban replied, relaxing back into Meliodas's touch. His eyes fell shut and he decided to just go to sleep right there on the bathroom floor. Or he would've if Meliodas hadn't pushed him up and tugged him to his feet.

"Cap'n, leave me alone." Ban slurred as Meliodas propped him against the sink.

Meliodas deftly mopped up and made sure the room was clean before returning to Ban's side and leading him down the corridor to their bedroom. Ban just let himself be moved along. When they reached the bedroom, Meliodas lowered Ban onto the bed and tucked the covers around him. Ban smiled wanly as Meliodas kissed his forehead.

"You're sweet."

"Thanks. Now get some rest."

A small chuckle escaped Ban's lips as his eyes closed. Meliodas gazed down at his love's peaceful face for a long moment. He sighed heavily and quietly made his way out of the room, towards the stairs. He was so deep in thought that he nearly collided with Elizabeth and sent her flying. It was only his sharp instincts that grabbed hold of her before she could fall.

”Sir Meliodas!”

”Sorry, Elizabeth. Guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Meliodas said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

”Is Sir Ban okay? Do you need anything?”

”Actually, yes. Could you bring a glass of water up to our room?”

”Of course,” Elizabeth smiled, “I’ll be right back.” 

As she turned and headed back down the stairs, Meliodas rushed back to Ban. The Sin of Greed hadn’t moved, his chest rising and falling evenly, his eyes closed.

”Ban?” Meliodas whispered, “Are you asleep?”

Ban cracked one eye open, just a sliver of red visible. “No. Someone keeps waking me up.”

”Sorry,” Meliodas said sincerely, “But Elizabeth is bringing some water up and I thought you might want to wash your mouth out.”

Ban ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth and grimaced. “Actually, yeah. That sounds real good right about now.”

”Yeah, I’ll bet.” Meliodas grinned as he ran his hand through Ban’s hair. Ban gave a contented sigh, almost purring. The sweet scene was interrupted by a knock at the door. Ban whined and rolled to the far side of the bed, pulling the covers over himself and balling up. Meliodas gave Ban's scalp a gentle scratch before walking towards the door.

He opened it a crack, making sure the wood was a shield; keeping Ban from view. It was Elizabeth, one of the tavern mugs in hand. She held it out. "Here."

"Thanks, Elizabeth." Meliodas replied before closing the door again.

Ban's head appeared from underneath the blankets. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion. Meliodas sat on the edge of the bed and helped Ban sit up against the pillows.

"Knock it off," Ban grumbled, "I can sit up on my own, Captain!"

Meliodas rolled his eyes in slight exasperation. "Deal with it." he said as he raised the mug to Ban's lips. Ban glared at him disdainfully but guzzled the water all the same. Meliodas tilted it back, ignoring Ban's grouchy expression.

"Do you want to choke?" Meliodas said snarkily.

"You can't be mean to me. I'm ill." Ban complained.

Meliodas's face dropped and he put the mug down to pull Ban into his lap and hold him close. "Why are you ill?"

Ban shrugged. "Who knows. Probably picked something up in one of the last towns we stopped at."

Meliodas raised an incredulous eyebrow. "You've never been sick before. Not unless you're hungover."

Ban gave a sleepy shrug. He let his eyes close and relaxed further into Meliodas's warmth. His breathing evened out and he was asleep within minutes. Meliodas smiled lovingly, settling himself down more comfortably. Ban didn't stir at all. Stroking his fingers through Ban's silver hair, Meliodas let the peacefulness and warmth wash over him as he soaked in Ban's presence.

However, things did not get better.

A queasy, sick Ban became a regular occurence in the Boar Hat. Ban was constantly waking up feeling sick to his stomach and had to just lie in bed to keep his insides in. It was also becoming increasingly common for him to be rushing to the bathroom when he just couldn’t hold back any more.

This made for rather lacklustre meals. None of the other Sins were particularly good cooks. Elizbeth did her best but she was flustered by cooking for everyone and so her best talents didn’t really show. But she tried.

The whole ordeal had everyone on edge. Everyone was worried about Ban’s health- though he refused to talk about it. But no one was more concerned than Meliodas. His sour, dark bubble infected the whole tavern. But no one could blame him. The fear that something was terribly wrong with the man he loved was eating away at him. And Ban wasn't helping any. Whenever Meliodas tried to broach the subject, Ban would just avoid it or shut him down completely.

But, despite how snappish and bad tempered Ban was, he was never far from Meliodas's side. Whenever he wasn't feeling well, he would hold Meliodas for comfort. Meliodas didn't care. He'd do whatever he could to make Ban feel better.

The Boar Hat had just set up in a new town and Meliodas was stubbornly trying to increase their revenue. (With Ban unable to cook, there was no chance of that happening.) But still, Meliodas had gathered the Sins to gather ingredients. Elizabeth, Diane and Hawk had gone into town to buy what they needed and to advertise. While they did that, Meliodas, King, Gowther and Ban were going hunting. Merlin and Escanor were at her tower as Merlin refused to have anything to do with the tavern.

They had tried to convince Ban to stay inside and rest but he was having none of it. He scoffed away their concerns and sauntered into the forrest. With nothing else to say, the others followed after him, before splitting up to go hunting.

King lazily floated between the trees. He was bored. Hunting wasn't his thing. But he was content to just drift along on Chastifol and daydream about Diane. Or was until something rustled in the bushes.

"Huh?"

The bushes twitched again. King leaned closer and then jerked back. A huge orange shape leapt at him. A large, snarling sword wolf landed in front of him.

"Great. Just great."

The wolf snapped its jaws at King and pounced again. King flew upwards out of its reach and sighed. "Seriously?"

The sword wolf leapt up and nearly got hold of King's leg. King yelped and darted away. His pillow took on its Guardian form and crushed the wolf in its paws. King breathed a sigh of relief as the wolf's body sagged.

Meliodas appeared from behind a tree. "Hey, King. Good catch."

"Thanks, Captain."

Gowther then walked up to them, his arms full of rabbits, which he dropped on top of the sword wolf.

"I have collected these. Will they be suficient?"

Meliodas grinned. "Definitely. Good job, Gowther."

A laugh echoed around them as Ban leaped over to them. "Huh. That's not a bad haul actually." he remarked as he landed. And then he staggered. "Woah."

"Ban? Are you okay?" Meliodas asked, stepping towards Ban.

Ban waved him off. "I'm fine, I'm fine." But then he reeled again as the world around him tilted and turned black. "Actually- maybe I'm not." That was all he could get out before his vision faded to pitch black and he slumped into Gowther's arms.

Gowther blinked in surprise as Ban sprawled on top of him. "Oh. It appears Ban has fainted."

Meliodas was next to them in a heartbeat. "Ban? Ban!" Meliodas tapped his hand against Ban's cheek to try and wake him. Ban let out a small huff but he didn't wake up.

"We need to get him back to the Boar Hat." Meliodas growled.

Gowther shifted Ban in his arms to carry him more easily. Meliodas squeezed Ban's hand briefly before striding on ahead towards the Boar Hat, with Gowther on his heels. King floated after them, with his Chastifol carrying the game. It took only a few short minutes to get back to the tavern.

Merlin was standing on the decking, arms folded and eyes narrowed at Ban.

"Merlin?" Meliodas said, "What are you doing here? Where's Escanor?"

Merlin nodded her head at the unconscious Ban. "I knew something had happened. Escanor is still at my tower. Now come on."

She turned on her heel and stalked inside. Meliodas rushed after her, with Gowther steadily trailing after them. King just sighed and started putting away the animals.

Gowther set Ban down carefully onto the bed before quietly walking out of the room. Meliodas perched on the edge of the bed, taking hold of Ban's hand as Merlin ran a glowing hand over the Fox Sin's body.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Meliodas asked desperately.

"I might do." Merlin replied coyly, eyeing Meliodas out of the corner of her eye.

Meliodas snarled, his Alpha roiling inside him; protecting his Omega and challenging the rival Alpha. "Don't play games, Merlin! What is wrong with my mate?!"

Merlin held her hands up in a display of peace. "Think about it-he is only ill in the mornings. Can’t you see it in his scent? Ban is suffering from morning sickness."

Meliodas’s eyes went wide as he stared at Ban in shock. “You mean... Ban’s pregnant..?”

Merlin nodded. “Indeed. It’s what I’ve been working on.”

Meliodas was only half listening. He took in a deep breath, inhaling Ban’s warm scent. But Merlín was right; it was different. He probably wouldn’t have noticed it if she hadn’t told him but it was there- just a trace of Meliodas’s own scent, mixed in with Ban’s. 

“Ban’s pregnant...” Meliodas murmured, still completely in shock. 

Merlin smiled and stood. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk. He’ll be waking up soon.”

And then she was gone.

Meliodas clasped Ban’s hand tightly, stroking his thumb over Ban’s knuckles. The Fox Sin groaned and stirred, prying his eyes open.

”Uhggh. Cap’n? Wha’ happened?” He mumbled.

”You err, you passed out in the forest. We carried you back here.” Meliodas replied, still trying to think of how to break the news.

”Passed out?” Ban grumbled, “God, I must be sicker than I thought.”

”Ban, you’re not sick.” Meliodas said quickly.

Ban raised an eyebrow.

”You’re pregnant.”

Of all the reactions Meliodas was expecting, Ban roaring with laughter wasn’t one of them. He was shaking as more laughs poured from his chest.

”Good one, Captain! Me, pregnant? That is too rich!”

But then it dawned on Ban that his captain wasn’t laughing. In fact, he looked quite serious.

”Ban... I’m not joking. You’re pregnant.”

Ban’s grin slipped from his face and he went pale and sick looking. He was trembling slightly. "What? I can't... I can't be... pregnant..."

Tears were filling his eyes as he curled in on himself. He looked so miserable it broke Meliodas's heart. He took hold of Ban's hands in his.

"Ban, its going to be okay. We can manage-"

"How?!" Ban yelled, "How can this be okay?! We can't- I can't. I can't do this." He was shaking, clutching at his hair with tears streaming down his face. Meliodas pulled him into his arms and Ban just clutched at him.

"It's okay, Ban. It's okay. I promise. We don't... we don't have to keep it if you don't want to."

When Ban spoke, it was muffled by Meliodas's shirt. "No. I don't- I don't want that. If we're gonna have a kid- we should have a kid. I'm just scared."

"I know." Meliodas whispered, kissing Ban's head.

"I don't know about you, but my childhood was shit. I have no idea how to raise one."

"You won't be alone. I'm right here. We can do it together, alright. We did something incredible. I love you."

Bn raised his tear stained face and pressed his lips to Meliodas's, their hands clasped together on his flat stomach.

"I love you to."

Chapter Text

Ban groaned into the mattress, clutching the pillow tightly. The nausea was in full swing and Ban was begging for a quick death. Why? Why was he doing this? As he swallowed back a wad of saliva, Ban wasn’t sure a baby was worth all the suffering. A quiet knock sounded from the door. Meliodas poked his head in, a sympathetic frown on his face.

”Are you feeling any better?” He asked softly.

Ban growled fiercely, baring his teeth. Meliodas held his hands up  in surrender. Ban slumped back against the bed, the aggression too hard to keep up. Especially when he didn’t really mean it. Meliodas stepped into the room and perched on the side of the bed. He gently began rubbing circles on Ban’s back. Ban hummed contentedly.

”Don’t you gotta go into town?” He ground out.

”It’s just a supply run. The others can handle it.” Meliodas replied.

”Yeah, but- uhhgg- you like going out to scope the competition.” 

Meliodas paused. “Do you want me to go?”

Ban bit his lip, curling up tighter. “I think you don’t need to hole yourself up with me all the time.”

Meliodas smiled sheepishly. “You want a little space, don’t you?”

Ban smiled back. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Sorry. I guess I have been a bit overbearing.”

”Don’t be,” Ban replied, “You’re cute when you’re overprotective."

Meliodas shook his head fondly and pressed his lips to Ban's temple. "Alright. I'll head out then. If you're sure?"

Ban cast him a wan, but sincere smile and waved a hand at him. "Yeah, I'm sure. Go. I'm tougher than a little morning sickness."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

Then Meliodas was gone and Ban was left alone with his rebelling stomach. He groaned, balling up and burrying his face into Meliodas's pillow. His Alpha's scent could normally help with the sickness- but not this time. Ban tried to breathe through the nausea, his focus slipping away from any other coherent thought. He didn't know how long it had been and oh, god he didn't care, he couldn't do this anymore...

One of the best things about being small, in Diane's opinion, was washing. Ever since she gained the ability to become small, she could take advantage of the Boar Hat's bath whenever she wanted. It was so much nicer than trying to clean herself in lakes in the dead of night.

She was just walking down the hall when a red blur shot past her and slammed the bathroom door in her face. "Ban!" she yelled indignantly. 

But there was no sarcastic remark. Instead there was the sound of retching.

"Ban?"

Still no reply.

Diane tried the door and found it unlocked. "I'm coming in."

The door swug open easily and Diane stepped inside. Ban was curled around the toilet, his head burried in the bowl, retching pitifully. Diane felt her heart constrict with sympathy. She knelt down by Ban's side and rubbed gentle circles on his back. Ban startled in surprise but he didn't protest, spitting into the bowl and raising his head.

"Sorry."

Diane shook her head, hair swishing slightly. "Don't be. Are you feeling okay? That looked really rough."

Ban spat again and struggled upright. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Diane hovered beside him cautiously. "Are you sure? If you're sick-"

"I'm not sick," Ban interrupted as he pushed the flush, "I'm all good."

"Ban-" Diane started.

"Look, I'll tell you later, alright. Just leave it for now."

Diane sighed, sternly meeting Ban's gaze. "You promise?"

Ban rolled his eyes but sighed. "Fine. I promise."

"Good. Now go back to bed; you look exhausted."

Ban grinned despite himself as he strode back to his room. Diane was right. A nap sounded very good. With his stomach empty but settled, he flopped onto the bed and fell into blissful sleep easily.

Only an hour later, the bed dipped with the weight of another person. Warm hands slid up his back and pulled him close.

"Mmm, Captain." Ban protested as he was roused from his nap.

"You feeling any better?" Meliodas asked softly.

"Yeah, but I puked everything up, so that’s less good.”

Meliodas sighed and kissed Ban's forehead. "I guess that's how babies are sometimes."

Ban grunted in agreement. "Yeah. And... I kinda promised Diane we'd tell everyone what's going on."

"Oh." Meliodas mumbled, a confused look on his face.

Ban bit his lip nervously, his sharp teeth digging painfully into his skin. "Look, she caught me throwing up and she was all worried, and I had to promise. And Merlin said we should wait until I was three months and I am. We can't hide it forever. I'll be showing soon and they deserve to know."

Meliodas nodded slowly, his mouth stretching into a sweet smile. "Alright," he said and pressed his hand to the soft skin of Ban's stomach, "I like having a little secret of our own but if you're ready to tell everyone, we can tell everyone."

Ban grinned, his eyes lighting up. He pulled Meliodas closer by his collar to press their lips together. "I love you, Captain."

A buzz of excitement rushed through the tavern that evening as Meliodas and Ban descended the stairs. They were hand in hand, a cheerful spring in Meliodas's step, while Ban donned his usual, casual slouch. However, his eyes darted around nervously.

Elizabeth called them over, hurrying them to sit down with the rest of the Sins and set two mugs of ale down in front of them. Meliodas took a sip of his but Ban didn't. Oh, he wanted to. A drink was definately something he could do with, but- no. He wasn't going to hurt his baby to soothe his own nerves. His hands twitched and he grabbed hold of Meliodas's under the table.

Diane narrowed her lilac eyes suspiciously. "So, are you two going to reveal the big secret now?"

Ban shifted uncomfortably, but Meliodas remained calm.

"Yeah, we are," Meliodas said mildly, "Ban's pregnant."

There was a pause. Then...

"You're having a baby?" Diane gasped.

A shaky grin spread across Ban's lips. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"That's wonderful." Elizabeth exclaimed.

King rolled his eyes and huffed. "Great. More of you." But there was an excited light in his eyes.

"I think that's a terrific thing." Escanor added shyly.

Merlin just shook her head, a sly smirk on his face. Gowther adjusted his glasses, his face charicteristically blank. "Interesting." He said, his head tilted thoughtfully.

Diane pulled both the captain and Ban into a hug. "This is so amazing!" she cried. She gave Meliodas a tight squeeze before letting him go and putting her hand on Ban's stomach. Ban protested, but he knew there was no fighting her.

"How far along are you?"

"'Bout 12 weeks." Ban replied. "So in 6 months, there'll be another addition to this crazy family."

Chapter Text

Ban tugged at his apron, trying to hide the bump of his stomach. He had always been slim bordering on skinny, so when he started showing it was obvious immediately. The change unsettled him.

"Ban, relax. You look great."

Ban rolled his eyes and turned to face Meliodas. "Yeah well, you're a little biased, aren't you?"

Meliodas chuckled and wrapped his arms around Ban from behind to place his hands on Ban's softening belly. "So what if you pooch a little? You're pregnant. No one's going to hold it against you."

Ban huffed fondly and bent down to place the bacon rashes into the oven. Meliodas grumbled against his back as he was dislodged. Ban grinned a toothy grin and pulled Meliodas into his arms as he straightened up. Meliodas's warm hands roved his bump softly, nimble fingers slipping under the fabric of the apron to caress the smooth skin underneath. Ban gave a contended sigh and snuffled into Meliodas's hair.

"Geez guys. Get a room. This is a kitchen, its meant to be clean."

Meliodas rolled his eyes irritably. "Lay off, Hawk. We're allowed to be close to each other."

Ban grinned but pulled away from Meliodas's hold. "Sorry, master."

Hawk snorted approvingly as he strutted around the counter. "As you should be. Now, about breakfast..."

Ban laughed, leaning his elbows on the countertop to grin over it at the pig. "I'm getting started on it now. Keep your tail on."

Casting Ban a pouty look, Meliodas walked out from behind the counter to sit at one of the tables. He slumped onto his arms and let out a wistful sigh, closing his eyes. A baby... He and Ban were having a baby. Would it be a boy or a girl? Would it look more like him or Ban? Would it even be human... or would it be a demon like him?

"Sir Meliodas? Sir Meliodas?"

"Huh?"

A face loomed above him- Meliodas found himself staring into a dazzling blue eye framed by silvery hair. "Oh. Hey, Elizabeth."

She smiled in her sweet way, holding out a plate. "Your breakfast is ready. You were really lost in thought there."

"Yeah. Sorry. I've had a lot on my mind recently."

Elizabeth just gave him one of her trademark compassionate looks. "Of course you do. It's only natural. Are you alright?"

Meliodas cast her a reassuring grin. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"If you're sure." Elizabeth replied.

Suddenly the door of the tavern swung open with a loud crash. A man stood in the doorway, sweat running down his face and panting. 

“Hey there,” Meliodas greeted mildly, “What’s the matter?”

”Trolls!” The man screeched. “There are trolls tearing up the village. I ran away. Please, you have to lock up and hide.”

Meliodas glanced around the room at the other sins before saying, “I don’t think that’s necessary. We can deal with the trolls.”

The man just stammered, staring at the sins in a confused, slightly disbelieving awe. Then he nodded and turned back out of the tavern and started running again.

”He was weird.” King commented.

”Yeah.” Meliodas agreed. “Let’s go deal with those trolls then.”

Ban stepped out from behind the counter and pulled of his apron. Meliodas grabbed his arm.

”Uh... Captain. What are you doing?” He asked.

“You’re staying put.” Meliodas commanded.

“I’m sorry? What?” Ban spluttered.

”You’re pregnant, Ban. I can’t let you go and fight. It’s too risky.”

”Risky? I’m immortal.”

”Ban. Stay here.” Meliodas growled.

Ban sighed in defeat. “Fine.”

He flopped down onto the closest chair and watched all the other sins take off. Elizabeth sat beside him and lay her hand on his. His other arm curled around his stomach. They sat like that for a long while, waiting. Just waiting. After what seemed like an eternity, the distant rumbles of battle drew them to the window. On the horizon, they could make out the fighters- and they were drawing steadily closer.

Then, they came into view. The little gang of observers spotted Diane first, naturally. The giant was grappling with a troll who was pulling at her hammer. Ban narrowed his eyes at a floating speck by her side- he was pretty sure it was King's Chastiefol, but he couldn't see the fairy himself.

More tiny figures appeared, along with more trolls. Escanor was easy to spot, slashing his axe into the chest of a troll attempting to catch him from behind. Elizabeth gasped softly. Ban agreed with her. Clenching his fists, he forced a breath out through his nose and another in. The sudden sense of- fear and worry was overwhelming. He didn't understand why he felt it, since trolls were so easy for the Seven Deadly Sins. He was sure they weren't even breaking a sweat out there. 

But....

He didn't know that for sure.

He sucked in a breath as he watched a troll bat King into a boulder. Beside him, Elizabeth gasped again. Diane brought her axe down on the troll's side, but then another rammed her into the ground. While she lay daze, the troll went for another blow. Only to be blocked by Meliodas. A whimper escaped Ban's lips as the troll grabbed Meliodas and threw him to the ground. Then leapt on top of him. The resounding crash shook the ground.

"Sir Meliodas?" Elizabeth gasped.

Ban growled. "I can't sit and watch this anymore." He stalked towards the door but Hawk blocked his way and Elizabeth grabbed his arm.

"Sir Ban, you can't!"

"Let go of me!" Ban snapped.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Hawk snarled, "You'll get hurt out there."

"Captain's getting hurt now!" Ban hissed. "I have to help him."

"Please, Sir Ban," Elizabeth pleaded, "Think about your baby. You can't fight like this. Sir Meliodas will be okay and he won't want you to get hurt."

"I don't care."

And then Ban was moving, racing out of the Boar Hat before anyone could stop him. He ignored Elizabeth's cry, focusing everything he had on getting to his Captain. His vision seemed dull and blurred at the edges. All he could see was the trolls attacking- hurting- his friends, his mate.

His legs were pumping, crossing the distance between the tavern and the skirmish in a blur. All he could see ahead of him was his mate. That was all that mattered.

"Fox Hunt!"

He felt the strength flowing through him. It thrummed, urging him forward. He pulled out him his weapon and lunged towards the nearest troll. One slash sent it's head rolling along with ground.

"Ban!"

He didn't have time to stop, didn't have time to check on anyone. Didn't have time to find Meliodas. He lunged again, this time ripping the troll's heart out in a shower of blood.

A troll's fist came crashing down at his side and he lurched out of the way. A swipe of his weapon and the arm thudded wetly to the ground, blood oozing out of it. 

The troll it belonged to howled, only for Ban to slice it's head off. He prepared to spring again, but something grabbed his arm. He turned sharply-  to look into piercing emerald eyes. 

"Captain- let go-"

"Ban, stop," Meliodas commanded sternly, "They're dead."

Ban glanced around, blinking sluggishly. The ground was indeed littered with the trolls' bodies. "Oh."

A sudden sense of exhaustion and weariness slumped over Ban. His legs were shaking and felt leaden and heavy. Before he could give any warning, he felt himself crashing to the ground. He stared blearily up at the sins leaning over him. There were voices, but his head was fuzzy and the words were muted and distorted. His eyes were too heavy to hold open anymore and they fell closed.  And he knew no more.

Meliodas watched Ban slip into unconsciousness. His hands tightened on Ban's shoulders, drawing him closer.

"Escanor." he ordered sharply.

Escanor nodded mutely and scooped the fox sin into his arms.

"Let's go." Meliodas snapped, stalking towards the Boar Hat.

He stormed ahead of the group with a face like thunder. His hands were clenched into fists and the other sins knew better than to try and talk to him. Escanor followed just behind with Ban cradled protectively in his arms. The Fox Sin was limp and unmoving. His strength and energy were completely spent. The other sins trailed behind worriedly.

Out of the trees burst Elizabeth and Hawk. They rushed towards the sins and gasped at the sight of the unconscious Ban.

"Sir Ban!" Elizabeth cried. "Is he alright!"

Merlin sighed. "He will be, but he completely exhausted himself. He'll need a lot of rest to recover his strength."

"What an idiot." Hawk grumbled but the worry in his voice was clear.

"I'm so sorry," Elizabeth whisped, "I couldn't stop him from leaving. Its my fault that Sir Ban got hurt."

Diane shook her head. "No, it's not, Elizabeth. Ban's really stubborn when he wants to be. You couldn't have stopped him."

With heavy hearts, Elizabeth and Hawk joined the sombre procession back to the Boar Hat. When they reached the tavern door, Diane sat down heavily outside, King hovering besie her. The rest trooped inside. Elizabeth and Hawk sat down at one of the tables. Gowther sat down alongside them. Merlin, Meliodas and Escanor made their way up to Meliodas and Ban's room.

Escanor lowered Ban gently down onto the bed, taking great care to make sure that Ban was comfortable. He stepped away and Merlin took the place by Ban's side. "Thank you, Escanor."

Escanor nodded his head. "Of course miss Merlin. I'll be downstairs if you need anything else."

With that, he left the room.

Merlin hummed softly as she ran her magic over Ban's pale form. "He'll be fine, after a lot of rest."

She stood and put her hand on Meliodas's shoulder. "Don't be too hard on him."

With that, she strode out of the room, leaving Meliodas alone with Ban. He slowly sank onto the bed, pressing one hand to Ban's soft stomach, where their baby rested.

It was many long hours before Ban woke. He stirred slowly as dusk descended from the sky. It took a great deal of effort to open his eyes. He blinked up groggily, eyes scanning the room. They fell on Meliodas and Ban tried to lift his hand to reach for him. But he had no strength left at all.

"Cap- Cap'n..." he croaked.

"You're an idiot Ban." Meliodas's voice was harsh and his were cold.

Ban flinched: hurt and fear and guilt all pooling together in his chest. "Captain..."

"You put yourself in danger, Ban. You put our child in danger. You should've let us handle it and kept yourself safe."

"I- I'm sorry." Ban whimpered, tears spilling from his eyes. He even move to wipe them away.

"Yeah." Meliodas said darkly as he stalked out of the room. Ban's tears flowed steadily as the silence consumed him. His Omega  howled in his chest; berating him for upsetting his Alpha and hurting his pup, relieved that no damage had actually been done and crying for his Alpha to return and take his pain away.

He wasn't sure how long it had been before there was a knock at the door. Elizabeth entered, a steaming bowl of broth in his hands.

"Sir Ban, how are you feeling?"

"'M okay." Ban muttered.

Elizabeth stepped inside and sat down on the edge of the bed. "You need food." she said as she propped him up against the pillows. Ban couldn't move his body at all and ducked his eyes to avoid meeting Elizabeth's.

"You don't have to that, princess."

"I want to." was all Elizabeth said as she offered the spoon out. Ban just submitted defeat and opened his mouth, allowing her to feed him. The broth was warm and comforting down his throat.

"Who made this? It's great."

Elizabeth promptly blushed. "Actually, I did."

Ban managed a small smile for her, before it slipped from his lips again. "Is the captain still angry?"

Elizabeth sighed and fed Ban another spoonful. "Sir Meliodas isn't angry. He's just worried about you. He loves you and he loves your baby. And you nearly got hurt."

Ban whimpered and more tears bloomed in his eyes. "I didn't mean to. I just- I just wanted to help."

Elizabeth gave him another spoonful of broth. "I know. And its very brave of you, and you've never had to keep yourself out of harm's way before. It's only natural for you to struggle now. And Sir Meliodas knows that, deep down. He's just trying to deal with it in his own way."

"Th- thanks, princess. That's really sweet of you," Ban sniffled, "Now can I have some more of that broth please?"

Elizabeth let out a tinkling laugh. "Of course."

When Ban woke from his sleep, he found that he could move once again, enough to roll over in bed, at least. Meliodas was sitting on the window sill, dozing.

"Captain?" Ban mumbled.

Meliodas's eyes blinked open and then he was sitting on the bed and helping Ban sit up.

"Hey."

Ban felt his eyes watering yet again as he stared up at his Alpha. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get hurt, I just couldn't watch you- I'm sorry."

Meliodas pressed a finger to Ban's lips to quiet him. "No. I'm sorry. I was too harsh with you. I was worried and I took it out on you. That wasn't fair."

Ban rolled into Meliodas's lap and burrowed into him. "'S okay. Love you."

"I love you to."