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When it came down to it, Meliodas didn’t want to come here. He just didn’t know where else to go.
He couldn’t involve the others. Not with this. This was too close to home and all the things he wanted to keep hidden – he needed to keep them safe from. He couldn’t risk. Even if Merlin still was an option. She did know about his dad and, well, everything. That didn’t mean he wanted her involved though. Besides, as far as he knew she had locked herself in her basement with yet another experiment. He’d probably bleed out before he managed to get her to the door. He wasn’t too keen on chancing it with the hospital either. That was way too much vulnerability for what little trust he was willing to grant Galand.
Which left…Zeldris.
He shouldn’t do this. Worst Big Brother Award right here. The last thing he wanted to do was risk dragging his baby brother back into this mess. He just didn’t have anywhere else to go – and by some miracle, Zeldris opened the door.
“Yo, Zel. Been a while,” Meliodas mumbled, trying to smile as he leaned heavily against the wall. His vision blurred slightly around the edges. Oh, that probably wasn’t good.
Zeldris’ eyes narrowed, “What the hell are you- You’re bleeding.”
“Mm-yeah. Ruined my shoes.”
Zeldris stared at him like he was crazy. His gaze flickered from Meliodas’ face to his bleeding side to his splotched shoes and back up to his face again.
“Why are you here, Meliodas?”
Meliodas tried not to flinch at strictness of his tone and the insistent use of his name and nothing else that Zeldris still clung to years after he had first stopped calling him brother. It was fair. Meliodas didn’t have any right to expect him to treat him as family after all that happened. He wasn’t about to deny his brother his anger. He just hoped he had a little bit of mercy left for him.
“I-… I need your help.”
Zeldris crossed his arms over his chest. His jaw was almost painfully clenched – even to Meliodas’ muddled mind. He glanced down at Meliodas’ side again. How much blood had he lost now? Meliodas wasn’t sure. Thinking was a lot harder than it was supposed to be. His hand was slick with it, that he knew at least. He kept having to reposition it against the wound.
“Why me?” Zeldris eventually asked. Meliodas couldn’t meet his eyes. Instead, his gaze fell to Zeldris’ bare feet. He was digging his toes into the carpet. Oh, he was anxious. As a kid, Zeldris would always step back and forth, his feet always fiddling, when he didn’t like the situation. To Meliodas, it had been a sign to reach out and steady him. Now, he didn’t know how to do that.
“I didn’t know where to go,” Meliodas admitted.
“And you thought this was the place?”
Zeldris was right. Here Meliodas was, ruining his baby brother’s life again. Except this time, it was a life he had made for himself. All on his own. Piece by little piece. Meliodas shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be here.
“’m sorry,” Meliodas mumbled. When he pushed away from the wall, the entire room spun around him. The floor threatened to jump and slap him. Still Meliodas managed to take a few staggering steps towards the elevator. He didn’t get far though.
“Stop.” Zeldris grabbed hold of his arm. His skin felt warm against Meliodas’ – or was it Meliodas’ that was cold? When Meliodas turned to look at him, Zeldris’ blurry face wasn’t meeting his. He was looking somewhere over his shoulder. “You’re bleeding all over the hallway.”
Oh… He wasn’t wrong.
“You won’t make it to the hospital like this.”
Meliodas shrugged, almost toppling over with the action, “wasn’t goin’ to a ‘ospital.”
“Oh, good. You were just planning on dying in my elevator like an idiot then.”
Meliodas wanted to say something to that. He really did. But it took all his energy to not fall over as Zeldris guided him into his apartment. Black dots danced across his vision.
“Sorry,” he murmured one last time before the darkness took over. The last thing he heard was Zeldris letting out a loud curse.
-X-
Meliodas wasn’t sure how long he had been out for. When he woke up, he was surrounded by warmth. It was such a strange thought; family and warmth didn’t go together. Not in his family. Maybe once, he and Zeldris had shared it – but it had been years since that.
“Come on, Meliodas,” Zeldris’ voice said to his side. It was a quiet whisper, a lot softer than what Meliodas’ was used to from his grumpy baby brother. “Open your eyes, please.”
Meliodas wanted to. Especially at the waver in Zeldris’ voice. He just couldn’t get his body to move. God, everything hurt.
“I-…” Zeldris broke off. Meliodas could feel something brush briefly against his hand. Zeldris drew a shaky breath. “I can’t watch my big brother die.”
Oh…
“Ze-ngh.” Okay, not as eloquent as he aimed for.
Slowly, Meliodas managed to blink his eyes open. Zeldris stared at him like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. His hand was resting right beside Meliodas’ on the bed. Bed? Oh. He was lying in Zeldris’ bed, a soft blanket covering him and his brother sitting on a chair next to him.
“You’re awake.”
Meliodas cleared his throat, trying for a smile, “Don’t sound too disappointed.”
Zeldris bristled at that. As he diverted his gaze, Meliodas took the time to take the situation in. There was a big first aid kit and some supplies covering the bedside table. The blood was gone from Meliodas’ hand. His side was also very clearly not bleeding anymore. When Meliodas touched it, his fingers met smooth bandages.
“Don’t touch that,” Zeldris sighed. “You’re going to rip your stitches.”
“Stitches?” Meliodas echoed.
“Yes. Stitches.” Zeldris turned back to him, meeting his gaze. He looked wrecked. Meliodas had fainted to Zeldris in soft over-sized clothes and hair looking like he just woke up. Now Zeldris looked like he hadn’t slept for days. His hair was a complete mess, sticking up in all the wrong directions, and his eyes were red. Had Zeldris… been crying?
“You stitched me up?”
“What, you thought I’d just let you bleed out?” Zeldris looked away again. Meliodas swallowed around the emotions welling up in his throat.
“No, I just…”
“Whatever,” Zeldris mumbled, shoulders tense. “I don’t have time to deal with your dead body.”
But he did have time to sit by Meliodas beside for who knew how long.
“Thanks, Zel.”
Silence fell over them as Zeldris kept staring at the wall. Once again, Meliodas felt helpless at his brother’s pain. Moments passed before Zeldris spoke up again.
“I thought you were done with him. I mean, you left and… and-”
Zeldris trailed off and Meliodas felt his heart break. If he could do it all over, he’d do it all so different. At least where his baby brother was concerned. How would things have turned out – how would they have turned out if he just…
“Why would you go back now?”
“I haven’t!” Meliodas cried out. Was that really what Zeldris thought of him?
“So, you just get stabbed for fun?”
“No, I…” Meliodas sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I haven’t. I didn’t want to do this, but… He threatened my friends, Zel! I just… How could I drag them into that?”
Zeldris didn’t say anything, but Meliodas knew that, at the very least, Zeldris understood that. He too had to have people he wanted keep safe. Someone he wanted to not let their father ruin.
“That’s why I made a deal with Galand.”
“You think that’s wise?”
“No, of course not, but I had no choice,” Meliodas sighed again. “Galand is a man of his word. I did this, to stay out of it. I have no intention of ever going back to him.”
Zeldris nodded and Meliodas leaned back against the pillows, feeling the energy drain. He was exhausted. Zeldris somehow looked worse. Meliodas reached out, brushing a few fingers over Zeldris hand.
“I, uh, I need to get to work.” Zeldris cleared his throat, standing up. “You can stay here- Actually, you need to stay here. I’m not stitching you up again. You can borrow some clothes from the closet if you want and, well, there’s some leftovers in the fridge. So, you know…”
“Thanks…”
Zeldris walked to the bedroom door. With a hand on the doorknob, he paused, “Hey, Meliodas.”
“Yeah?”
“Next time, call someone else for help.”
A smile pulled at Meliodas’ lips.
“Love you too, Zel!”