Out for Blood [Zeldris x OC x Meliodas]

42

"Full Counter is so cool, Mom! I'm gonna be able to beat you and Dad in a fight if I want to!" Azriel grinned cheekily, his little fangs were actually pretty adorable to me. I couldn't help feeling closer to my little guy, despite hating I'd passed it on to him. "Is that so? Wanna try that when we get home?" Zel elbowed his son playfully. It was amazing to me how quickly he could change his demeanor when needed when his kids were involved, making me smile. "Yeah! I'm gonna win, I know it!" he stuck his tongue out at Zel, making him chuckle. "You can't beat Daddy! He's the strongest!" Niya exclaimed to her brother. "Oh yeah? Well your Uncle is stronger than your Dad, I'll have you know," Meliodas challenged playfully, finally coming back into the room. He at least had a bottle of liquor in his hand, even though I'd already told Zeldris what happened.

Zel tensed for two seconds then went right back into Dad mode, "Your Uncle wishes that were the case," he reassured Niya, who grinned at him. At the table, there were three open seats, Niya and Azriel were on either side of Zeldris and I was on the other side of Azy. Meliodas seemed to want to intentionally provoke his brother, and instead of sitting in the seat that had two empty next to it which was optimal to sit across from the four of us, he sat next to me. Close, very close, his leg touching mine when there was more than enough room to not touch me. The brothers exchanged death glares that I was thankful the twins didn't see but I was frustrated, why was this happening again? Was it because I had been away from the older brother for so long that he had a rush of emotions from the last 12ish years all at once?

He was acting as if his emotions were gone again, even though I knew that couldn't be the case. It had to be my first guess. "Nini, that was a great punch earlier," Zel complimented his daughter, who grinned happily. "I just wanted to protect Az like you and Momma said I should!" she responded, her eyes closed as she grinned again. I was doing my best to ignore Meliodas being so close to me, "How are you feeling now that you've gotten a drink in you?" I asked, he'd at least calmed down from his encounter with Ban. "For the most part, I'm still physically frustrated but that's what happens when a fight is interrupted!" he stared in Zeldris' eyes as he said this, making his brother tense slightly. "I can always help you with that, brother. Then we can show my kids that I truly am more powerful than you," Zel threatened, trying his best to hide the sinister undertones in his voice.

Before they could say anything else, I stood up, grabbing Azriel's hand as I did so. "I think we should head back home, there's been enough commotion as is. Maybe we can make a couple pit stops in Britannia before though, what do you think, Azy?" I smiled down at my mini Zeldris, who instantly could feel something was wrong. "Okay, Momma. We can do that," he replied softly, his red eyes wide with curiosity. Meliodas was about to protest when Merlin appeared. "Merlin!" I exclaimed. She gestured for me to follow her. I let go of Azriel's hand and patted his head, "I'll be right back." We headed up the stairs into another room. She handed me a bottle of pills, "This should last him a year, give or take." Tears immediately welled in my eyes, "Thank you so much, Merlin. How can I ever repay you?"

She looked at the door then back to me, "Either accept Meliodas back into your life as a lover or don't ever see him again. That's what you can do for me. I went to the castle before coming here and Elizabeth told me everything. My hypothesis is he's been holding onto all of these emotions for you for the last twelve years, which is driving this behavior. It's not healthy for anyone involved." I nodded, it was exactly as I'd thought. "It's going to crush Azy and Niya to not be able to visit again, at least not with me, but I'm not having a romantic relationship with Meliodas anymore," I commented. She nodded, "One more thing. You shouldn't be drinking right now. I take it you haven't noticed." My heart skipped a beat, "Are you serious?!" She smirked and nodded again, "Congratulations." I had a ton of mixed emotions and I'm sure Zel would too.