Ho Ho... Oh, No!

Part 5

Meliodas' job is to cause as many distractions as possible. He has sent Ban and Gilthunder to rescue Santa since he figures they should do a good job of being stealthy. Meliodas' real goal in causing all of these disturbances is to lure his brother out into the open and away from Santa. 

Meliodas is more than happy to cause mayhem and blow up empty buildings. Anything to get the Commandments to focus all of their attention on him. And it does attract a few of them, but not the one he's hoping for. 

Estarossa seems cheerful. He's also stolen Santa's hat. Meliodas doesn't feel like hurting his brother today, so he invites him to arm wrestle for it. This is enough to get Derieri and Monspeet to hang around and watch. 

The arm wrestling match lasts a long time. Meliodas and Estarossa hurl good-natured insults back and forth. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. No one really wants to fight tonight. Meliodas locks his elbow and lets Estarossa try various attempts to break his arm before Meliodas wins the match and the hat. Meliodas puts on Santa's hat, figuring that it would be hard to lose something that is on his head. 

The Commandments look almost sad that they have to adopt fighting positions.

"Hey... are there any bars that haven't been destroyed?"

Monspeet smiles.

Monspeet sees what Meliodas is trying to do and to be honest he's on board. Monspeet doesn't want to fight, either. It's a holiday. Monspeet didn't think he'd ever get to see another one after he was sealed away, but here he is. And it's a beautiful night. The stars are peeking out from breaks in what appear to be snow clouds. There's a little bit of a chill in the air. He just wants to lay on a roof somewhere, maybe curled up with... a certain someone... to watch the sky. 

Derieri wouldn't mind a drink. Since she's not wearing much, she's freezing. A nice warm bar. A roaring fire. Some mulled wine or hot cider or even a mulled ale. Melascula did tell her that the humans had done some fantastic things with alcohol since the demons were sealed away. And any chance to get out of the cold would be fine by her. 

Estarossa has been wanting to get a drink with his brother and talk since he got free of the seal. He's missed so much. 

 "I know a spot," Estarossa says.

Meliodas smiles. Sure, causing mayhem is fun, but so is having a drink with people he hasn't seen in three thousand years. And if he doesn't have to fight them? Well, that sounds good to him. 

The group wanders into a little bar that has been abandoned. Or at least Meliodas thinks it's abandoned until Escanor shows up.

He's in his scrawny little evening form so he'd been doing a more subtle attack on the demons. Mainly sabotaging their equipment. But Escanor saw Meliodas with the demons and he wanted to make sure his friend wasn't alone if the demons decided to turn on him. He takes the role of bartender and he makes sure everyone is comfortable. There's a roaring fire going soon enough thanks to teamwork between himself and the only other man in the bar who has a moustache. Escanor had gathered the wood and set it up log cabin style so it would light easily and the demon, Monspeet, had provided the flame. Escanor uses the fire to heat up some red wine. He throws in some fruit, honey,  and mulling spices as well. Normally he'd let this sit for hours and hours to let the spices really get in there, and then add in some whiskey to replace any alcohol that may have burned off, but the other people in the bar are waiting, so he serves it as soon as it's hot.

The group drinks mulled wine and laughs together, remembering the old times when they weren't enemies and they actually liked each other. Escanor feels like a fifth wheel, but that often happens when he bartends. He has a golden opportunity to listen in, but he won't be included. At least not while he's in this form. 

Escanor looks out into the darkness of the night. He's only half paying attention to the others. Just enough to refresh their drinks when they need it. He's worrying about Merlin. It's ridiculous to worry about such a strong woman, but with Krampus on the way he can't help it. 

And the energy of the nearby demons certainly isn't helping. 

And his other friends are out doing things that are helpful.

If he were only in the form he takes in the daylight, he could be of use. The big guy, while embarrassingly arrogant, could go toe-to-toe with one of the Ten Commandments and hold his own. The big guy could be out there fighting. He could take his axe and carve his way to Santa Claus. He could break whatever seal is keeping Santa trapped. But he's the little guy right now and since he used all of the energy he had stored not too long ago, he can't turn into the big guy tonight. No, he's stuck as the little guy. The weakling. Of no use to anyone.

"You are helping, though," says a voice from behind Escanor.

Escanor jumps. He turns to see Gowther standing there.

The others haven't noticed.

"Oh, dear. Was I saying any of that out loud?" 

"No. I read your mind."

"Oh..."

Escanor wishes that Gowther wouldn't do that.

"By providing alcohol, you have helped them relax enough to open up a discussion. They may not wish to fight with each other again after tonight. There have been many accounts of opposing sides of wars sharing meals and drinks during the holidays and then refusing to fight one another when the holiday is over. It may seem small, but these gatherings can lead to big changes and you're facilitating it."

Escanor is tearing up a bit. He hugs Gowther. Gowther doesn't react. 

Gowther leaves the bar. Now that he knows where Meliodas and Escanor are, as well as the locations of three of the Ten Commandments, he'll need to work on taking down the remaining Commandments peacefully.