Hi everyone, here is another fic. This one is a crack fic between Estarossa & Gowther that was originally supposed to be a 500ish word joke on how much Estarossa has grown since Gowther was a Commandment and somehow turned into this.

Estarossa adored Gowther.

That was common knowledge, when Estarossa liked someone he didn't make a secret of it.

The pink-haired demon was a little harder to read but those who knew him could see that he adored the Demon King's second oldest in return, Gowther was perhaps Estarossa's only true friend. He wasn't that close with the other Commandments and of course Meliodas and Zeldris didn't count, they were his brothers. Likewise, Estarossa was the only person who could truly make Gowther smile.

At first it started out as a friendship of convenience, Gowther was essentially Meliodas's second-in-command, Estarossa was always with Meliodas, who wasn't particularly chatty. So if they needed to talk, they talked to each other.

Then they became true friends, just as happy to spend time with each other as with Meliodas, more so maybe, not that either of them realized it. Gowther was a brilliant fighter and perhaps the best strategist their side had, Estarossa was just as happy to learn from him as he was to learn from Meliodas and more than once it was Gowther's training and advice that pulled him from a tight spot if Meliodas was unable to.

For Gowther he'd at first found Estarossa's comments on the world around them cute or amusing but eventually he'd grown to see that the silverette was a lot brighter than he let on and probably the most observant of the Ten Commandments. Gowther often looked forward to conversing with him and listening to his often-unique views on what would otherwise be very average subjects. Estarossa was a very interesting demon. That's all it was, Gowther assured himself, interest.

Estarossa returned one day with a black eye and a split lip, a lucky blow from a huge Goddess solder had crashed across his face, sending him through a nearby mountain, shattering his ribs and his cheekbone. The worst of the wounds had healed, or almost so, but the cuts and scrapes remained as his body focused its energy on healing its bigger wounds.

Gowther, who'd been fighting on the western flank instead of at the vanguard with Estarossa and Meliodas, walked into the room, having returned hours ago, and stopped dead, catching sight of Estarossa's face.

Estarossa smiled, "it looks worse than it is, I promise."

Gowther stared at him for a second longer, wondering why he worried, before nodding and turning to continue with what he was doing.

It wasn't like he cared or anything.

After Meliodas defected, killing Aranak and Zeno, Estarossa didn't see Gowther for a long time, that almost made sense, Meliodas's betrayal had ripped the Demon Clan in general, and the Ten Commandments in particular, in half and Gowther, now the de facto leader, was scrambling to pick up the pieces.

It only almost made sense because Estarossa was also a Commandment and didn't appreciate being benched like this.

In any other situation Estarossa would've said "screw it" and immersed himself in the goings on regardless of what Gowther wanted, he wasn't Estarossa's boss, Meliodas might have acknowledged him as his second but what Meliodas acknowledged meant very little to Estarossa these days. But things were hectic enough, fighting all the other clans now, not just the Goddesses, without the Commandments squabbling amongst themselves. So Estarossa would sit tight, for now.

Besides, aside from his desire to help, and to hurt someone really badly, Estarossa, contrarily, didn't feel like doing much, every time the door opened he still expected it to be Meliodas, scolding him for doing nothing in the middle of a war. He was having trouble wrapping his head around the fact that it would never be Meliodas again.

Zeldris walked into the room, his eyes as dead as Estarossa's hearts felt at the moment, he walked past his silver-haired brother with barely a greeting and Estarossa's small hands balled into fists.

I'll kill him, he vowed, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but I don't care if it takes me thousands of years, I swear I'll kill him! Meliodas hadn't just betrayed their clan, he hadn't just backstabbed Gowther, he hadn't just hurt Estarossa, he'd broken Zeldris's hearts. And for what?!

Estarossa didn't have the answer to that but regardless, he was going to make Meliodas face the consequences of those actions.

The door opened silently, if Estarossa couldn't see it out of the corner of his eye, he wouldn't have noticed the other figure enter the room, there was only one person who could move that quietly.

This time it was Estarossa's turn to catch sight of Gowther and go perfectly still, his eyes wide.

The other Commandment looked normal but Estarossa could see the suffering in his black eyes, the hand wrapped around his ribs, holding them still confirmed this, Gowther was hurt. Maybe it wasn't bad now, but it had been.

"Who did this to you?" Estarossa asked very quietly and for the first time Gowther saw Estarossa as more than the cheerful second prince, as a terrifying Commandment in his own right.

Gowther wasn't sure he cared for the image.

"No one who will be a bother ever again," he said, he dropped his hand from his ribs and carefully took a deep breath, they were tender but he'd healed. "I'm fine," he assured Estarossa as the silver-haired demon approached.

Estarossa laid a gentle had against Gowther's ribs, Gowther placed his own hand over Estarossa's and pushed down, putting pressure on his ribs, it hurt, but only like a bruise, not like… well… broken ribs.

"Satisfied?" He asked.

"No," said Estarossa shortly, leaning up he cupped Gowther's face in both his hands, pulling him down to his height Estarossa kissed him, hard, knocking his glasses askew, but his hands cradling Gowther's face were gentle.

Sensation flared over Gowther, his breathing hitched and heat crawled across his skin as his heartbeat accelerated.

The kiss was intense, but brief, Estarossa bit Gowther's bottom lip gently as he pulled back, making the pink-haired demon shiver.

"Don't get hurt again," he ordered, and for the first time in his life Gowther could only nod wordlessly.

Their relationship escalated from there, and it didn't. Or rather, it escalated, but it didn't change. It did subtly shift, they were equals now, Gowther learned as much from Estarossa as the silverette did from him, and he had to re-learn the other demon, Estarossa had changed upon his brother's defection. He was less energetic and peppy, more laid-back but Gowther didn't need to read minds to know that this carefree attitude was hiding a burning anger and resentment towards his older brother that, one day, would have very brutal results.

Anger that stemmed not from hatred, but a deep, deep love.

But some things didn't change, they were still each other's confidant and emotional rock. Estarossa was still there to make Gowther smile when he was sure everything was going to Hell in a handbasket and Gowther still enthralled Estarossa.

At night Estarossa lay awake thinking with Gowther's head resting gently on top of his or Gowther read quietly while running the fingers of his free hand through Estarossa's hair, his head pillowed on Gowther's lap.

They did kiss again but only occasionally, that didn't stop the deepening of their relationship, they could both feel it, Gowther never acknowledged it, he was like that, but once Zeldris, who was clever enough to realize something was going on, asked Estarossa what he'd do if something happened to Gowther, was when Estarossa was forced to accept the depths of his own feelings.

He didn't know what he'd do if anything happened to Gowther.

"Will you marry me?" Estarossa asked impulsively one day as he cleaned his sword while Gowther poured over tactics.

Bemused, his lover (partner, mate, companion, whatever) looked up, pushing his glasses up his nose. "And why would I want to do a crazy thing like that?"

It wasn't that they weren't far enough along in their relationship for marriage, or that Gowther had a problem labeling their relationship, but marriage was fundamentally a human concept. Some demons and werebeasts and the occasional giant indulged in it as a sign of their love for each other but it wasn't something Gowther had ever considered, especially while they were in the middle of a war against all the other clans.

Despite his teasing choice of words Estarossa understood what Gowther was trying to say, he shrugged, "dunno. Because I want to?" He offered. "Because it would give my father and Zeldris a hearts attack? Because we can? Because you're mine and I want everyone to know it?"

Gowther smiled and, without taking his eyes off his papers, reached over and squeezed Estarossa's hand, "possessive," he rebuked gently.

Estarossa squeezed back, he'd seen the way Merascula looked at Gowther and she better stop it real soon if she wanted to keep her head, "yes." He agreed. "But you don't have to worry, I'm yours as much as you're mine."

"I wasn't worried."

"So?" He asked, squeezing Gowther's hand again.

"Maybe."

Estarossa rolled his eyes, was it so hard to get a yes or no answer to anything? Gowther did it to frustrate him, he knew.

"How about this? I'll make you a deal, we win this war and you have to marry me, we lose and you can forget the whole thing."

Gowther tried not to smile again, he failed, if they lost the war marriage would be the least of their problems,"we will win this war," he promised, "so I might as well say yes and save myself the trouble."

"Is that a yes?" Asked Estarossa interestedly.

Gowther laughed and stood in one fluid movement, "tell you what," he teased his five feet, zero inches tall boyfriend from his lofty five feet, nine inches of height, "if you grow taller than me, then I'll marry you."

"Gowther that's not fair!" Estarossa called after his still chuckling boyfriend as he left the room.

Outside the door Zeldris fell into step with Gowther, the pink-haired Commandment didn't bother asking if the other demon had heard their conversation, he knew Zeldris had, "you know, Estarossa's only six hundred, it's not impossible that he will grow taller than you." Gowther was only slightly older (well, by demon's standards anyway) but had definitely stopped growing.

Gowther shrugged, "that's future-me's problem. Come on, I need to hand these papers in and then get moving."

"Where are you going?" Zeldris asked suspiciously, hurrying to keep up with him.

Gowther almost scowled, "the Goddess Clan has taken a large group of women and children hostage, Merascula, Galand, Derieri, Monspeet, Fraudrin and I are going to get them back, one way or the other."

Zeldris's eyes widened, he knew about the captives, of course, but he was unaware of this plan to get them back. "Be careful."

Gowther waved him off, "don't worry, it'll be fine."

After that catastrophic failed rescue mission it was three thousand years before Zeldris or Estarossa saw Gowther again.

"You ready?" King, floating nearby, asked Gowther, who nodded, he felt tense, usually he didn't feel anything but this wasn't fear, it was more like… anticipation.

They rounded a corner and ran straight into a member of the Ten Commandments, a tall, broad-shouldered, human-looking male with silver hair. The Commandment who'd killed Meliodas, his brother…

Estarossa smiled at his five foot, nine inches tall (sort-of-ex-)boyfriend from his lofty six feet, six and a half inches of height, Gowther's stomach clenched.

He grabbed King's arm, "we need to leave," he moved as fast as he could, well aware that the Commandment could have caught them if he tried.

But he didn't.

Emotions welled in Gowther's chest when he stopped, some of them bad, most of them good, all of them strong and emotions he, a doll, had never felt before.

Except he had.

He let go of King's arm and doubled over, one hand on his thigh, the other gripping the cloth over his heart which felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, I don't even have a heart…

"Gowther?" King's voice brought him back to the present, "are you okay?"

Tears welled up in Gowther's eyes though he wasn't sure why. He didn't even know he could cry.

"I don't know," he whispered.

Emotions were still running through him, and with them, a flicker of an innocuous memory.

"If you grow taller than me, I'll marry you."

"You know, Estarossa's only six hundred, it's not impossible that he will grow taller than you."

"That's future-me's problem."

"Past-me was a dick," he told King, he might not have any clue what was going on but he knew that.

"Present-you is a dick," King responded automatically, he had even less of an idea what was going on but years of dealing with Ban had taught him never to let an opening like that go. "But, out of mild curiosity; what?"

Gowther shook himself, the memory was gone and he wasn't getting it back. But he still knew if he could, he should kick his past self in the butt, hard.

But he had to remember why first.

What the Hell was that?

At some point I wrote 'hearts attack' instead of 'heart attack' this was not a typo.

Now that I've written this the manga is going to go out of its way to prove that Estarossa and Gowther hated each other 3000 years ago, I know how this works.

Hope you enjoyed anyway guys, bye!