~ * Embracing Sides * ~

There's a point between being asleep and beginning to wake in which your mind starts waking up before your body wants to. Thoughts start stirring in your head and the world beyond your closed eyes starts coming into existence. Diane could feel the warm sunlight that streamed through the window, and hear the birds chirping away outside. She could feel the comfy bedsheets and soft pillow beneath her head. She could hear very light breathing behind her.

Still didn't mean she wanted to get up though. She was content in her little pocket of warm comfort and punctuated this cozy bliss with a deep breath in and relaxing sigh out. Yet her mind was determined to continue its thoughts; wondering what the group would do today and if their would be any in between time to do anything fun or new. She remembered how Elizabeth had wanted to have them go to this one cafe in town.

Diane opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the sunlit room. For a moment she just let her gaze linger around the room; taking in the various items and furniture within her vision. There was the basic dresser for clothes and a small shelf of various items she never really investigated. There was also a small closet with a few dresses she'd gotten as gifts.

Movement from behind her caught her attention, and Diane rolled over towards the other warm body asleep next to her. She smiled to herself as she admired the small form of the Fairy King sleeping soundly. He was actually lying on his back, which was a rarity; though she supposed since he was also lying on Chastifol it'd be enough to keep away any discomfort his wings would give him.

Diane had to admit she was just a tiny bit envious how King could sleep at the drop of a hat; and pretty much anywhere he wanted to. Though when your sacred treasure was also a pillow it probably wasn't hard. Diane idly wondered if Chastifol only had its pillow form because its owner was King, or if this was some sort of Fairy thing. With a race so long lived, she could see how lazing about and sleeping were just part of the way they were.

Diane shifted and, taking advantage of his position, rested her head against his chest and brought a hand up to his abdomen; lazily running her fingers against the smooth skin. She closed her eyes as she listened to his gentle breathing, and his quick paced heartbeat. Her hand continued to trace invisible lines across his skin, moving without pattern, up and down, across and back; she dipped past the blanket that covered the rest of him and traced idly down the side of his thigh.

Diane really wasn't paying attention to her movements. She was just enjoying the softness of her lover's skin and being close to him like this when her hand brushed against-

Oh.

She pause a moment, pulling her hand just slightly back, and resting it against his lower abdomen. She shifted herself up just a little, and turned her head to face him.

"King. Time to get up, sleepy head."

His eyebrows furrowed slightly followed by a small pout.

"Too early."

Diane grinned.

"La~zy."

King's features relaxed and he hummed in agreement; giving a half nod.

Diane shifted herself, moving so her knees were now on each side of him. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his; she felt him respond albeit a little sleepily to her. She pulled back a moment later, and one half lidded amber eye met her gaze.

"If you won't get up by yourself then maybe I'll have to persuade you." Diane murmured; a note of playfulness and just a touch of sexyness invaded her voice.

"Oh? How so?"

Diane hummed lowly, and leaned back, sitting more upright on her knees. She was straddling him at this point and it seemed to take him a moment to realize what she was planning; but by that point she'd already lowered herself back down on top of him and he'd slid easily inside her.

King's breath hitched and his shoulders tensed slightly as his head jerked back a bit against the green pillow. A beat later and his eyes focused on the form above him. He was still tired but being pulled away from the grips of slumber and into something much more enjoyable, and he was already feeling the drunken effect it was having on him. He drank in the sight of her naked body lit by the sunlight pouring through the curtains, and vaguely wondered what he'd done to deserve this goddess of a Giantess to allow him to worship her body with his own. She was never not beautiful, and never not desirable.

Unlike himself.

Her words broke his thoughts then, and he would gladly obey anything she asked of him.

"Like this."

X o X ~ v ~ X o X

Diane grabbed a towel from the little closet and turned on her heal, giving her partner a cross between a poutish worried look and a miffled reprimanding look.

"If you were in pain, you should have told me!"

"But then you would have stopped."

Diane walked up to the side of the bed King was sitting on; looking down at him.

"Of course. I'm not going to let you be in pain. I thought you were okay because you had Chastifol under you."

"Yeah, well; I mean I was okay for a little bit, but even with padding, if I lye on my wings for too long, they'll cramp up regardless. I found that out a little bit ago, actually. Umh.. the first time we.. did that."

Diane's eyes widened.

"That was two months ago…"

King looked at her sheepishly.

"You're telling me every time I've been…" She let her sentence drop.

King looked off to the side, not speaking, but the blush across his face told her the truth.

"You dummy. Now I feel terrible."

"Don't! I -" King's face whipped back around to face hers, his hands gripped her hips lightly.

"I like when you top me." He said it with a straight face. A face that was cherry red, but none the less he got the full sentence out.

Diane wondered for a moment if the grip on her hips was meant to emphasise his point, or to keep him stable after that comment; because she'd believe either one. Her face was pretty warm itself, and she was just as surprised at hearing this confession as he probably was from having said it.

But her smile must have put him at ease as she saw his shoulders relax, and she bent down touching her forehead to his.

"Okay. Just, next time, tell me if you're getting a cramp."

"Promise."

She kissed his nose and they held one another's gaze until Diane spoke up.

"Come shower with me."

King's lazy smile dropped and he leaned back.

"Ah, you go first. I can wait."

Diane frowned slightly. This was also something that she noted had changed once they came back. She didn't like it. She didn't like that things they'd developed as a routine over the past couple of months were suddenly being undone. It was frustrating her to no end because she didn't understand why. What was the problem?

"We always bathed together before. Why did that change?"

King looked away, his eyes looking at anything but her.

"Well, you know, a lake is one thing: its bigger and more private and there's room and the water is still. Here though it's designed for humans so it's smaller and the water falls on you so it's unpredictable. Generally it'd be cramped, you know, with two of us-"

"But Elizabeth said she showers with Meliodas sometimes." Diane rose an eyebrow.

"And they are both small, and don't have wings. So, really, it's okay. We can.. figure it out later. Okay? So go ahead. I can wait." As King lamented, he'd pulled the towel from her hands and wrapped it around her and had gently steered her towards the door.

Diane sighed. Once King was like this, he wouldn't let up. Not unless she really really put one over on him. But even then, there was something about this she didn't think she'd win.

There was something wrong, and King wasn't telling her what it was. Which meant she had no idea how to fix whatever it was.

"Okay." She said with a pout.

King gave her a sheepish smile, but followed by with a soft kiss. It was enough to bring back her smile, though it was faded.

X o X ~ v ~ X o X

Diane toweled her hair as she opened the bathroom door; steam escaping into the hallway connecting all the rooms. She'd taken the liberty of clothing herself before vacating the room to save a little time in getting ready for the day.

Her current outfit was a mix of her original outfit and the one Merlin had made for her, though this particular garment was made by King. Diane had helped though; picking out the colors and the parts of the styles she wanted to combine.

As she stepped out, she turned to find King already waiting for her, floating somewhat lazily by the door. In his hands was a large towel, but also what looked like a flyer.

"Here Diane, Elizabeth wanted me to give this to you. She said something about you going there today?"

Diane took the flyer, and reading a few lines from it, perked up immensely.

"Oh yeah! Its this little cafe she wanted to go to with me! You know, if we get any down time today." Diane playfully stuck out her tongue to the side as she and King switched places.

"Sounds like fun. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"You could probably come too… I doubt Elizabeth would mind."

King shook his head, tilting it to the side just slightly.

"I'm pretty sure Elizabeth is thinking of this as a more girl's day thing you two usually do. So if you get the chance then go have fun."

"Okay. But then we can do something too if there's time!"

"If there's time."

Diane turned to go, but before she could, King floated forward just enough to places his hands on her shoulders and captured her lips in a gentle yet firm kiss. Diane hummed against his lips, a happy note, before he pulled away and disappeared into the bathroom.

Diane stood in place a moment, the delightful feeling that just swept through her starting to dim as her smile fell. Tentatively, she waited a moment before reaching out for the bathroom handle. Carefully, she turned it-

Locked.

Diane let go of the handle gently, letting her hand drop to her side.

'Why is he shutting me out?'

Gently, Diane turned away from the bathroom door, and began to walk downstairs into the living room.

"Ah, Diane. Just in time!" Came the cheery tone of the Captain of the Sins.

Diane looked up from her musings to see Meliodas, Elizabeth, Ban and Gowther all gathered around the living rooms central table. There were also three other occupants in the room she didn't really recognize.

"Whats going on, Captain?" Diane asked as she joined the small group.

"These three are the city's ruling authority."

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss. I'd like to thank you for your hard work in my district's Market. The rebuilding has been moving along most efficiently!"

Diane smiled at the portly man of the trio, feeling a hint of a blush.

"Thanks, but it's really no trouble. We're happy to help."

"That's what we're talking with them about now. There's a lot of the city's people asking for help with all kinds of things, so we're just figuring out who gets what to handle." Meliodas turned to Diane.

"So lemme guess; I'm getting all the heavy lifting jobs then?"

The boyish Demon gave his signature cackle.

"You got it!"

"It would be a tremendous help if you could lend us your strength." This time, the woman of the trio spoke.

"Of course. It's not a problem." Diane assured the lady.

"But what about you guys?" Diane looked at her fellow Sins.

"There's a collapsed bridge blocking one of the major water sources that fuels the district I'm working in." Ban said nonchalantly.

"Hawk and I will be helping those without food or shelter find others that can take them in while repairs are made to their homes." Elizabeth smiled to her friend.

Hawk snorted happy.

"I will be helping the cities doctors with distribution of first aid." Gowther added monotonically.

"And I'll be helping with fortifying defences." Meliodas grinned.

"Which leaves King with all the grunt work~" Ban snickered.

"What am I doing?" The voice of the Fairy in question drifted from the stairs.

Meliodas crossed his arms, nodding in the direction of the three guests.

"You'll be helping them get whatever they need." The Captain said plainly.

As King came into view of the people he was to assist, the three of them all made some sort of audible noise of shock.

Feeling suddenly self conscious, King stopped floating before the three humans and did his best to fold his wings back behind him. It wasn't an easy feat but it was doable.

"King is the fastest of us here so if speed is required, he's your Fairy." Meliodas quipped, giving the grizzly sin a wink.

This just made Kings already pink cheeks darken more.

"Captain."

He was either whining at or chiding the Captain, Diane couldn't tell which. Instead she brought a hand up to his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. This seemed to have an almost immediate calming effect on the Fairy.

The three city officials seemed to have gotten over their initial shock, however they still all looked somewhat apprehensive. A clap of hands from the Sin's Captain was enough to grab each of their attentions, and they looked towards the former short man questioningly.

"All right! Now that that's settled, why don't all have a drink before we head out?"

"Isn't it still a bit early?" Elizabeth blanched a little.

"Like you didn't get enough last night?" Hawk scoffed at the blond, stamping a hoof.

"Relax, it's just one to loosen up a bit." Ban grinned, already having grabbed a mug for himself and the Captain, while Gowther offered their three guest each a mug.

Surprisingly, they all obliged.

The rest decided to decline; Diane grabbing some juice for herself and King while Elizabeth made what looked like tea for herself.

The trio talked with Meliodas and Ban for a while as Elizabeth, Hawk and Gowther prepared the supplies they'd need to take into the city.

Diane and King stood back from the rest, seeming to just be content in their comfortable silence together. Though Diane was still rolling around various thoughts from the past couple of days. She didn't want whatever was going on between her and King to turn into something that could create a crack in the foundation they'd created together; even before they'd truly become lovers.

Over seven hundred years of knowing one another, and really they'd only been together for… what was it? Something more like five hundred fifty? Even then, knowing one another and being friends wasn't exactly the same kind of intimacy as what they've move to as of now…

Yet they'd still been willing to risk their life for one another. Their trust in the other was deep; unshaking-

Diane paused.

Was that it? Was there something King didn't trust her with? Was he afraid to trust her over… over whatever was causing him to avoid her?

If that was so, it caused a deep ache in her heart. How could he even think that way? She trusted him completely! No matter what it was he was going through or dealing with, he should be able to tell her! Diane cast a sideways glance down at him, and after a moment, he caught her gaze and gave her a warm smile.

She didn't return it. Instead she turned towards him.

"King?"

"Yeah?"

"You trust me, right?"

King's eyes widened a bit and he looked at her like she was asking if the sky was really red and not blue.

"Of course I trust you! Why would you think-"

A sudden shadow fell over the two and the sound of one clearing their throat was heard. King and Diane turned to find the human woman had come over to them. She looked a little anxious, with a nervous smile on her lips.

"I just wanted to thank you again for your services to the city and our people." She looked to Diane, eyeing King after a moment.

"Again, really, it's no trouble. It's sorta what we do now, anyway." Diane smiled to the woman.

"I… I see. Well, we certainly are happy for all the help we can get, but.. Is it alright we ask such a heavy task for your…"

The lady paused, as if looking for the right word to finish her sentence. Diane looked at her curiously and King just sipped his drink.

"Son?"

What erupted next was a series of choking and gagging noises, while off in the background, someone was laughing like a crazed Hyena.

Diane was rubbing King's back, the Fairy bent over attempting to breath past his sore throat and tears. The miniature Giantess looked up at the lady in bafflement.

"King's not my- He's a Fairy!" Diane looked at her like that was suppose to answer everything.

"Ah, forgive me. I didn't mean- I've honestly never seen … a fairy, other than in story books. Besides, that young man there-" She pointed behind her to Ban, who was currently pounding the table, hunched over it trying to still his shaking body; obviously the culprit of this misconception.

Diane narrowed her eyes. Oh she was going to give it to him later.

"I'm - not -" King began, and stood back up; tears in the corners of his eyes from coughing and his face was rather blushed.

"I'm not a child! I'm fifteen hundred years old!" He shook his hands.

"Oh goodness." The lady put a hand to her face.

King, in a bit of a fluster, turned and headed towards the kitchen. The woman next to Diane looked at her in horror.

"I'm so sorry, I meant no offense at all! I'm terribly sorry."

"It's okay. This is not the first time this has happened. Unfortunately." Diane frowned.

"Well, I still wish to extend my apologies and we could still very much use his help. Uhm, wasn't there another one of you here helping yesterday?"

"Another one of us? No, it's just us…" Diane tilted her head. Merlin and Escanor had gone ahead to another not far off town to help out there while the rest of them hung back.

"Do you remember what they looked like? Because, well, if someone is trying to say they're one of us when they're not-" Diane took on serious tone then.

It wasn't uncommon that the group heard of people attempting to claim they were part of the Sins. They'd help around the towns, doing odd chores, and when grateful people were willing to hand these imposters whatever they asked for… well, it didn't look very good. They'd already busted up a few of these people, returning the 'gifts' they were given to the people who'd known no different. And now it seemed there was another lurking around this town.

"Well, I'm not very good with details, but he was kind of tall, rather average looking; though a bit on the heavy side. I think he had a beard." The lady look over at her fellow companions to see them heading towards the door.

Diane's serious tone popped then, and she gave the woman a plain look.

"Oh. That was King."

"I beg your pardon?"

"That was King. Fairy's have the ability to transform their appearance."

Diane grinned.

"That's probably why you guys were shocked by him just now, right? He was in his human form yesterday while helping around town. I think he and the Captain thought it'd be less… distracting for those around him." Diane gave her a half smile.

"I see. That's quite interesting. Well, it looks like we'll be off."

Diane nodded; seeing the rest of the group making their way towards the door. She turned back towards the kitchen, moving to go fetch the Fairy in question. She found him by the sink; having washed out his cup.

'Probably sulking.'

Diane huffed, but still, she did feel a little bad for him. The Fairy race might have a ton of magical prowess and live long life spans, but their youthful appearances was probably a double edged sword for them.

"King." Diane came up behind him.

He was staring down at the water in the sink; his wings drooping behind him.

"That Lady didn't mean to upset you. She apologized for the misunderstanding."

King was silent. Diane tried again.

"I think we're heading out now. We should probably go too."

"Have you ever thought of giving up being a Giantess to stay the way you are right now?"

Diane paused. Her eyes grew wide at this rather out there question. It was so random. But… at the same time…

"Would it be any easier to just be human? I wonder."

"King." Diane felt a lump in her throat form.

Something was really really wrong.

"King, if it's easier for you to be in Human form to help then-"

"No."

He half turned, not really looking at her, but also not trying to avoid her gaze.

"I'm already forced to be in Human form when it's busy here and we're working, and that's more than enough. More than I can bare." He turned to look at her.

"Because I can't be-" He stopped short, teeth clenched, but then relaxed the pained expression he'd had just a moment ago.

Diane watched him, not daring to make a sound. Was he finally going to tell her what the hell was going on? What was causing them to have this rift between them? Why he suddenly seemed to be having this really weird thoughts?

He looked to her again, amber eyes darkening to look more like burnt umber, and focusing on her as if what he said next was the answer to life itself.

"Would you still love me if I were-"

"Time to get going guys! You're holding us up!" Meliodas pooped in, interrupting the delicate moment.

Diane turned towards the blond in shocked, but by the time she turned back towards King, the moment they'd been having was gone. The serious look was replaced by a sheepish look, as he nodded towards their Captain and began to drift out of the kitchen. Diane followed behind quitely. She was so out of it, she was amazed she didn't run into anything. However a gentle hand on her arm broke her from her trance, and she looked up into the cerulean gaze of her princess friend.

"Let's talk over tea today, okay." Elizabeth gave Diane a smile of comfort.

Diane nodded absently, but took the words to heart. She really needed someone to talk to about all of this. She just hoped she could make it through the day to do so.

X o X ~ v ~ X o X

The day had creeped by slower than Diane thought possible. She figured this was only because she was counting down the time until she'd get time to herself, and Elizabeth, but either way, it had been long, tedious, and she'd made a few careless mistakes she wouldn't have under normal circumstances.

So it went without saying that Elizabeth could understand why the girl sitting across from her; tea untouched and head slouched on the table, seemed to be rather out of sorts.

"I just don't get what's wrong. He's been so. . . unreachable. Closed off. It's never been like this."

"It does sound strange." Elizabeth frowned, and sipped at her tea.

"Sir King is usually so straight forward with his thoughts. Meliodas said as much as well; that he's never really held back on anything; thoughts, opinions, emotions…"

"Yeah… almost to a fault at times…" Diane lifted herself up, propping her head on her folded arms.

"I just don't know why that's changed. Why now?" Diane looked away from the table, towards the ground.

"Well, have you tried asking him?"

"Once." Diane recalled that time a few days ago.

The memory suddenly brought a blush to her face, and he heart skipped a beat.

"And?"

"He said we'd talk about it later."

"I take it you didn't."

Diane shook her head.

"So.. then why don't you look at what is different, instead of why it's different."

Diane looked the other girl in the eye. Elizabeth gave her a (nervous?) smile and sipped her tea again. The Giantess's eyes narrowed just a fraction.

"You know."

"I-I what?"

"You know what's going on, don't you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Elizabeth shrunk a little in her seat.

"You DO know! You guys talk all the time too! What has he said? What did he say?" Diane pushed herself up on her arms, leaning over the table.

"I- I can't say! I promised I wouldn't!"

"But I'm your friend! And he's suppose to be my partner! You should just tell me so we can fix this!"

"I am not going to betray his trust, Diane! He came to me in confidence."

"But why you?! Why not me?!"

"He's scared, Diane!"

Diane froze; the anger she felt rising suddenly snuffing out like a candle, and being replaced by a deep icy chill.

"He's. . scared. . .of me?"

"Not… not like that. But he is scared. I really can't explain more."

Elizabeth watched as her friend sat back down, almost mechanically, her eyes dulled. It hurt her so much to not be able to just tell Diane why King was acting the way he was. The Princess knew King had a very real fear of what he'd told her, but truthfully she thought the Fairy was causing himself unnecessary pain and stress that was completely unfounded. He'd give her what seemed like adequate reasons, but to her, it seemed very. . circumstantial.

There was also the fact that Elizabeth just couldn't see Diane as being that petty. Not in a thousand years.

"Diane. Do you know what Sir King hates about himself?"

The other girl looked up, seeming shocked by the question. Elizabeth continued.

"Do you know what he likes about himself? Do you ever think about why he did certain things in the past?"

Diane blinked.

"I. . .don't know. I've never really thought about it."

"Maybe you should. Maybe you'll find your answer there."

"Elizabeth." Diane spoke quietly, watching as the other girl got up from her seat.

"We should probably head back to finish for the day. Just, remember everything I've said. I can't really say much more." Elizabeth took both Diane's hands in hers, looking the girl in the eyes.

"Everything will be alright. You'll see."

"Thank you." Diane gave the Princess a weak smile and a hug.

The two parted then, and Diane returned to her seat, reflecting over everything Elizabeth has said. She stared down at her drink, the tea having long grown cold. Taking a large gulp of it anyway, Diane got up from the table, and made her own leave. Thoughts and pieces of a larger puzzle were slowly forming in her head, and she figured with the right few pieces, she'd be able to answer the questions plaguing her mind.

She was on the verge of a breakthrough, she just knew it.

She just needed that one piece.

X o X ~ v ~ X o X

King sighed for the fourth time since undertaking this potion hoisted on him by the Captain. It wasn't that it was particularly laboring or grueling. In fact it was pretty easy. The job itself was basically running instructions and directions back and forth between the three city officials and various people in town who worked directly under them. King surmised they were orders and requests on what needed to be finished when or started next, as far as what parts of the city needed to be seen to first. Glorified Errand boy was basically what he was. Still, that didn't bother him.

It was the attention he was receiving that was starting to get to him.

Sure, he expected some people might stare or make a comment or two. Children especially, he knew, were always the first to point him out or make the biggest fuss. Though, they had a pass. They were young, and still had an innocence to them that he couldn't deny. Though he was not fond of the one's who tried to grab his wings. That hurt like hell.

Kids were kids; but Adults were another matter entirely. Did they have to gawk at him like he was that much of a spectacle? It was as if a lot of them couldn't believe that, yes he was in fact a real live Fairy, and they had to make him prove as such. Then there were the ones who were just dumbfounded upon seeing a 'flying kid with wings.'

Even most of the people he was delivering plans to and fetching instructions for; even they would seem to just blank upon seeing him. Then he'd sort of have to kindly point out that he needed to get whatever from them to get back to whoever needed it.

It was all really grating on him. He was starting to regret showing himself like this. A voice in the back of his head, sounding suspiciously like Meliodas, mocked him with an 'I told you so!'

It was probably nearing mid afternoon when King delivered the last set of instructions he was given by the one portly official; telling him to take a break after he finished this last run. The man King was to deliver said instructions to had been another one of the few that didn't really stare or gawk, but he did ask questions. In the end, he's mentioned how his mother had told him a story about seeing a Fairy when she was a child, and again in her golden years; and how that Fairy had never seemed to age a day. The man had always wanted to believe his mother's story, because she often spoke of the time with such fondness. King had told him it was entirely possible, as his race could live for over a thousand years.

"And you'll always look that young?"

King knew the man meant it as a compliment; could hear the amazed tone in the man's voice, but knowing that while hearing the truth didn't matter. It still struck him in the same way it always did.

Cold.

"Yeah. Very little changes." He'd managed to say.

They finished their talk and the man bid him farewell; walking back to where ever he needed to be and left King by a rather simple looking fountain in what the Fairy assumed was a town square. There weren't too many people around right now which he was thankful for. Sighing again, for the fifth time, King let his gaze drift over the fountain. His eyes glanced down at the water.

Or rather, his reflection.

His thoughts trailed back to earlier this morning, and how he'd come so close to asking Diane the question he'd been wanting to ask her since they rejoined their motley crew. No. That wasn't right. He'd been carrying around this question for the past sixteen years. He'd never had the courage to ask her. To hear the answer he was certain she'd say.

She'd already said it once, hadn't she?

After the day she found out.

A memory from back then flashed across his mind.

The group had been sent out to eradicate these rather foul nasty little creatures that had been terrorizing a large capital to the south of Liones. While this matter could have been settled by any other group of Holy Knights, most of them were dealing with other reports and incidences elsewhere. Add in to the fact this particular band of creatures had a rather powerful mage in their ranks didn't exactly help matters.

Plus this was a numbers games.

The team had broken into two groups. He'd been with Diane and the Captain. At that point details were lost to him, and there was a gap in his memory. He just remembered seeing the Mage cast a fire spell aimed at Diane, the impact of taking the hit, and Meliodas shouting his name.

After that however…

"Hey, come on… wake up. Don't tell me a little fire spell is what takes you down."

"C… Cap-tain?"

"Hey. Easy there." Meliodas shifted, pulling the other up with him, and leaning him back against a tree.

"I … can't…" Oh his head hurt so much.

"You took a fire spell full on, buddy. Dropped you like a rock. You're pretty lucky you had your armor on."

He noted he was no longer in it, said piece having been discarded beside him. Chastifol was next to it, spear end sunk into the ground.

He could see Diane lingering behind the Captain, staring at him with what he could only guess as shock and worry.

"Diane.. Are… you okay?"

"Me? I. . .I'm fine! It's you I'm worried about." She sounded hesitant, then continued.

"But. . .is. . are you. . . who are-what-are you?"

"Hu?"

"You're. . . you're so tiny. . .and you. . . look like a. . . child." She leaned in.

And sure enough, his cover was blown. Panic set in then, and he started to fumble.

"I- ah- I mean, this is.. Ah, me. Normally."

He wondered, briefly, if seeing him like this would cause her to remember.

"Oh yeah, you've never seen King's real form have you, Diane?" Meliodas perked up.

"His. . real form? So then, your other-?"

"It's a fake." The Captain quipt.

"It's a disguise. The Captain suggested it."

The memory skipped along, highlighting only the moments for a week later how Diane would look at him from time to time. Like she wasn't sure if she should trust him, or if staring at him long enough would make him drop his act.

It was the only time in his life that Diane's attention ever made him feel uncomfortable. He hadn't liked that feeling. It made him feel guilty; like he was lying to her - which he had been.

The memories slowed again to a point just after that week.

Ban and himself had gotten into another round and King, being the oh so sporting person he was, left to go sulk by himself on the roof. It was Diane who'd found him not too long after that.

"King?"

Her voice caught his attention and he turned to her.

"Diane! What are you doing here?"

"Honestly, I was getting bored with the party."

"I see."

There was a moment of quiet.

"Don't let Ban get to you."

He looked at her in surprise, then frowned.

"You're right. But I'm just getting tired of his constant put downs. That and calling me 'Fatass' all the time." He glared out towards the horizon.

Diane gave him a sideways look, then looked around the courtyard of buildings. No one else was present.

"Why do you hide the real you?"

He looked up at her.

"Didn't I already explain why? Because the humans-"

"Yeah, I know that… but… even then. There are points where it's just us Sins. Yet you still hide behind that. . .mask? Are you trying to prove something?"

"What? N-no! I just. . ." He looked away, and if it hadn't been quite so dark, she might have seen the redness in his cheeks.

"I. . I actually like being like this. It's hard to explain, but this somehow feels better to me… than…"

And suddenly the Grizzly Sin of Sloth now appeared to Diane like a young child.

"Than this. Even if this is the real me." He couldn't meet her gaze.

It was quiet for a moment, before she spoke up.

"Well, I like the real King."

At the time, King had no idea how much of a double edged sword those words had been to him.

Yet even then, things hadn't changed all that much. Time went on; the group continued their work, life moved on. But somewhere along the line. . . something had changed deeply within him. He didn't even notice it happened, nor when it did, nor how it had. All he knew was that one day he woke up and realized just exactly what the past fifteen years; no, maybe everything carrying over from seven hundred years ago… subconsciously, seeping into how he acted, how he talked, how he carried himself.

He was divided.

When had he created such a divide in himself that he could no longer see just one face in the mirror but two?

The Child and The Fraud.

And it was so true wasn't it?

The sweet kind Child, easily dismissed as non threatening.

The confident snarky Fraud, putting on airs to be taken seriously.

The Child who was small.

The Child who was 'cute.'

The Child who was timid.

The Child who was weak.

The Child who was the complete opposite of The Fraud.

The Fraud was everything King wasn't.

He was large.

He was not cute.

He was loud and boisterous.

He was confident.

He was everything King wanted to be, but. . .

He was also in love with Diane.

But He knew Diane would never love him back, so. . .

He avoided her.

And it was destroying him.

X o X ~ v ~ X o X

The sun was just beginning to touch the far horizon when everyone began to call it quits for the day. Diane was perfectly fine with this, and set down the large stack of bricks she was holding. She arched her back and grunted; feeling her muscles pop back into place. After having left the cafe earlier that day, Diane's mind had been running more on automatic. Her brain was a bit of a fog, but doing manual labor like moving heavy objects didn't really need that much forward thinking.

Instead she'd been trying to go over what Elizabeth said. Her friend had dropped some pretty big things in her lap. Things she was feeling guilty for not knowing the answer to. She really didn't know what King hated about himself, or likewise liked about himself. Really, he never talked about himself that much. The most she knew about his past were the things he'd mention or mumble about back when even he himself hadn't known who he was; which was ages ago.

Then there were some various things explained to her, like who his friend Helbram had been and about his sister Elaine. Random things. Of course, they'd talked about what they'd wanted going forward… more along the lines of 'Hey, we should do this.' or 'You want to go there sometime?' type of things.

They hadn't really talked about the future, their future, together.

Diane bit her lip, a blush coloring her cheeks; twirling a strand of hair absently.

Goddess knows she'd daydreamed of having children; had state this once outloud. Through granted at the time she was a bit infatuated with the Captain, and King, may have been passed out for some reason? So he might not have heard her then…

Then there was the time she'd really lost pretty much all she could remember from before and she'd still just wanted to settle down, and have a family of her own, away from the lifestyle of the Giants…

This dream hadn't diminished one ounce since she regained everything she'd known; if anything, the desire for this imaginary family grew stronger within her. Yet not once in the three months they'd been together had she said anything about it.

She didn't even know if King wanted kids! For a moment she even wondered if they could, but then shook her head feeling dumb. If they couldn't, Merlin wouldn't have give her that other medicine to take regularly. Her thoughts briefly stuck on the woman, wondering how one person could be so knowledgeable about the inner workings of so many things.

The thought dwindled away as a sinking feeling began gripping her heart. What if King didn't want children? Not right now of course, but ever? She could live with that, of course, but it would probably, eventually, make her really sad.

For that matter, what about Marriage? True, they didn't really have any need of such a human custom… and for humans have such short life spans comparatively to theirs, marriage made sense for them. Yet. . . the idea was really romantic. She was quite taken by it. She figure King was too. They both seemed to be drawn to quite a few different human customs, for various reasons. What had King said to her once? Something he told her that Helbram had claimed to him ages ago… '"Humans had culture and ways of thinking that Fairies just didn't."'

That was indeed true for the Giant clans as well. Most humans just wanted to live a peaceful life full of their accomplishments, have a family and pass on their knowledge and merits to their children. The Giant clans, with some few exception, all they ever cared about was war and glory. Only now that Matrona was having a taste of what Diane had been spouting off about back then, did it seem any of the Giants were beginning to understand that the warrior way of life was a dying ideal.

Humans really did seem to have a way of thinking most just didn't. Perhaps that's why she was envious of them.

' "Have you ever thought of giving up being a Giantess to stay the way you are right now?" '

King's question from this morning echoed in her head, and she stilled.

She hadn't wanted to answer him then, at the time; too shocked by the question and how he was acting then to really process it. Yet now, to be honest, while she probably would have leaned towards yes for many reasons, the ultimate answer for her would have been no.

As a Giantess, she was connect to the earth in ways no other species or clan could be; and for her to sever that connection now would leave her empty; a part of her striped away and gone. She closed her eyes then and focused, suddenly needing to feel this connection she'd only just grown into.

It was like feeling the pulse of the world itself. She could feel and see through her dancing if she really concentrated, but for right now, this wasn't necessary.

So, no, she wouldn't give up being a Giantess to stay in her small form. She'd be happy enough to take the medicine Merlin made for her when the times called for it.

But she still liked the idea of getting Married. Maybe Elizabeth could tell her more about what actually went into it? As Diane mulled over what exactly one did to do a wedding, her thoughts took a backseat when none other than Elizabeth appeared from a crowd of people and joyfully grabbed Diane's hands in hers.

"Diane, you've got to come, quick!" The Princess said giddily.

"What is it? Is something going on?"

"You'll see, just come on!" She chuckled, and began to drag Diane towards where everyone else seemed to be going as well.

They were heading towards the center of town, and there was already a large crowd of people; all of them seeming to be gathered around some sort of fountain. It was hard to tell at the moment. She could hear music playing, and the crowd seemed to be in jovial spirits. She could hear laughing of adults and kids alike, followed by a very drunken cackling sound which Diane recognized very well as the Fox Sin. This was followed by another rousing cheer from their Captain.

Elizabeth had pulled them up to the crowd and somehow managed to wiggle them both through the circle of townsfolk so that they now stood at the edge of the inner ring. What greeted them was a site to see.

Meliodas, Ban, Gowther and King were all dancing around the fountain, along with a number of children of various ages. What was even more amusing and strange was that next to a number of these children, it looked like small animals? Diane squinted, realization dawning on her then.

They were stuffed animals!

Her eyes darted to King then, and sure enough, though he himself was gliding around with everyone else, she could caught the minute movement of his fingers. Turning back to the others, she could see the kids were loving it. Ban seemed to be living it up, though he was a pretty animated drunk in general. Meliodas was also pretty spirited as well, and as she watched him coming closer to the two of them, his hand reached out.

"Can I have this dance?" He grinned, taking hold of Elizabeth's hand, and already pulling her along with him.

Diane smiled as they sauntered off, watching them move into a more comfortable rhythm as they swept along the ground and around the fountain. A movement to her side caught her attention and she turned to find King floating before her, hand held out to her. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. She could read his unspoken words in his smile; his eyes.

She took his offered hand with her own, and returned the soft smile he'd give her. She was vaguely aware he'd pulled her into a dance as she got lost in the feeling of gliding along with him; lost in his eyes and in the previous daydreams she'd just been having. Yet all too soon the magic ebbed, and time caught up with them all, for as soon as it started, it was over.

A shout from the Captain, promoting the Boar Hat was heard from somewhere off, and cheers from the crowd followed. The music was no longer playing and the people were beginning to disperse. Another shout from Meliodas brought her out of her trance just then.

"Time to go, you two! Looks like we'll be working into the night!" Sounded from below her.

Diane looked down, surprised, to see the Captain and Elizabeth both looking up at her and King, and she suddenly gripped onto King a little tighter.

"When did we?!"

King just chuckled to himself, drifting back down to the ground. As they touched down, a small blur came barreling towards them, and crashed into the Fairy. For a moment he looked just as started as Diane did, but then relaxed upon seeing the face of a tiny girl.

"Thank you for fixing Teddy!" She spoke in a tiny voice. As she pulled her arms away from the haphazard hug she'd given King, she brought up the small stuffed animal she was holding in her hands.

"You're welcome." He returned her smile as she scampered away towards the crowd.

Diane turned to King, fixing him with a questioning look. He grinned and brought a hand up behind his head.

"Ah, a little earlier, after I finished the job the Captain had me do, there was a lady who needed her fence fixed. I offered to help and one thing lead to another and when I fixed that little girl's stuffed bear, she returned with her friends, and well. . ."

Diane smiled to herself.

"That was sweet of you."

"Well, it's no less than-than what I've done before, really." His cheeks dusted pink at her comment.

They conversed lightly as they, with the rest of the group, made their way towards the Boar Hat. There were also some townspeople following along with them, but Diane only focused on herself, King, and the feel of his fingered laced with hers.

It was then that Diane realized this felt like the perfect moment. She steeled her resolve and turned towards King; the determination in her eyes making them flash briefly. He caught her intense gaze and rose one thin eyebrow in response; his expression curious.

Yet before she could get out a word, a shout from the front of the group interrupted her.

"Alright, Sins! Get to work! We've got some customers looking for the finest Tavern to kick back in, and we're here to show them that's us!" Meliodas called out to his team.

The crowd around Diane cheered, and they all began to file into the small establishment. Diane groaned audibly, and pouted. King gave her a sheepish look, before giving her hand a squeeze.

"Well, we better get to it." He said softly, and moved to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

He moved away much too sooner than she cared for. Diane held back as she waited for the last of the guests to enter the building, as did King. She stopped by the door, her expression unreadable, and he gave her a worried look.

"Diane?"

It wasn't so much that she'd have to wait until tomorrow to talk to him about everything she was thinking; that she was fine with. In fact, it might have been bad timing on her part to bring it up tonight. Instead, her mood was dampened because she knew, the moment he set foot through this door, he'd become unreachable.

But why?

"I love you."

King's eyes seemed to flicker a moment as she saw what seemed to be shock, awe, and something else (was that panic?) ghost over his features, before it settled into one she recognized the most.

"I love you too, Diane. Is everything-" He stopped when she stepped close, her forehead resting against his, eyes half lidded and he could feel her thumbs against his cheeks.

'Stop shutting me out. What is going on with you? Why are you avoiding me? What have I done? Is something wrong? Tell me! I don't understand. Why are you afraid of me? What are you afraid of? Why can't you talk to me? Don't you see this is tearing me apart?'

She traced her thumbs down his cheeks and rested them under the jawline of his chin; pushing upwards; forcing his head up just enough to descend upon his lips with her own. Moments passed before she pulled away, and she watched his eyes darken just slightly.

There was a quiet, almost polite sound, of someone clearing their throat by the door, and they both turned to find Elizabeth standing by the door. She was already in the Boar Hat's attire and had a platter tray pressed against her body.

"Sorry, Sir King, but I could really use some help right about now, so I need to steal Diane for now." She gave them both an apologetic smile.

Casting one last glance back at her lover and giving him a small smile, Diane made her way inside; trotting off to go change her outfit, and leaving the other two behind. Elizabeth turned back towards King, who was staring off lustfully in the direction Diane had disappeared.

"Gowther could use your help in the Kitchen." Elizabeth spoke up again.

King turned to her, his expression suddenly neutral, and gave her a nod, and with that, shifted into his Human self. Elizabeth watch him make his way back towards the bar, a small frown gracing her face. She really wished she could get through to both her friends; just kind of knock them upside the head and tell them they were both being ridiculous, and to stop with all this unnecessary strain. If this went on for much longer, she just might do it. For now though, she had a job to attend to.

X o X ~ v ~ X o X

The night was crawling by and every time one person left, it seemed like two took their place. It wasn't jam packed busy like some of the nights before, but it was at a constant pace that Diane both liked and hated. She liked it because it kept her busy, and kept her mind from wandering too far. She hated it because it never seemed to let up and just give her a moment to take a breather.

She also knew she wasn't exactly preforming at her best right then, and her mood wasn't particularly peppy or cheery. Elizabeth had tried to get her into better spirits, which she was thankful for, but it really hadn't worked. She was too upset with herself for once again not saying anything, or having the worst possible timing. Now she was stuck serving all night.

Diane made her way up to the Bar, a round of mugs to be refilled on her tray when she noticed that both Meliodas and Ban were missing from their normal post. Meliodas was almost always by the tap, and Ban was their major cook. The grill just behind the bar looked like it was still on, or at least hot. The leaned over the bar peeking into the sectioned off Kitchen area.

In the rebuild, they'd moved the sink and other kitchen needs into it's own little room, to have more bar space to work with in the front. As it stood now, all she could see from her view point was Gowther and King; washing and drying dishes respectively. She frowned a moment, wondering where in the hell the Captain and Fox Sin could be, before having a sudden epiphany.

"Gowther!" Diane called out as she leaned further over the bar.

The Goat Sin halting in his actions, turning almost mechanically towards her. Diane gave him a wave, motioning him to 'come here', if he was interpreting her correctly. He excused himself from the sink and made his way out to her.

"What is it, Diane?"

"I have a favor to ask."

Gowther tilted his head to the side slightly, curious as to what she'd need of him. Diane just gave him a playful grin.

King was attempting to focus on drying the plate in his hands, and not trying to eavesdrop on the conversation going on behind him. Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious as to what it was about. After a few moments, however, and what he thought was a rather distinct 'Yes' from Gowther, the conversation ended and the sin returning back to the sink.

"What was all that abo-" King asked curiously as innocently as he could, turning to give the Goat Sin a half glance, but stopped short upon seeing not Gowther, but Diane instead.

"I got bored of serving drinks, so I asked Gowther to switch with me." Diane smiled.

"A-ah."

"And since Ban and the Captain aren't anywhere, then who's to say I can't." She grinned, then turned towards the sink and picked up where Gowther left of.

"Where the hell are those two anyway?"

"The Captain sent Ban out for more supplies, and he went upstairs to get another barrel."

Diane hummed in response, and let the silence carry on between them for a bit. Every few moments she'd talk about something she'd done while they all helped out at the village today, or something she saw. Yet it was slowly starting to grate on her nerves as each and every time, his only responses to her were one word answers, and he was barely looking at her.

She fixed him with a glare, cheeks puffed slightly from irritation. When even this seemed to fail (which it actually hadn't and unbeknownst to her King was internally crying that she stop and he'd do anything she asked for a week or a month or a year if she'd just please please please stop he couldn't take it!) Diane jerked back towards the sink; plunging her hands into the water harshly.

"If you're not even going to talk to me I'll ju- AHH!"

Diane yanked her hand out of the water suddenly, cradling her left hand. King was already inspecting her hand the moment he'd heard her pained cry. It was a pretty nasty looking cut, and it was bleeding quite a bit, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed up without problem.

"What idiot put knives in the sink?!" Her anger ebbed away as she spoke, instead now feeling like a fool; feeling rather dumb. How many times was she going to let her irritation lead to her getting herself hurt?

"Hold on, we've got some bandages under here."

She watched quietly as King pulled out a small box filled with first aid supplies. The first thing he did was pour something on a small cloth. Gingerly, he took her hand in his.

"This is going to sting."

She nodded, knowing it would already, but not trusting herself to talk right then. The moment he'd taken her hand, there'd been a jolt that ran down her spine. Her heartbeat pulsed a bit quicker, and her face was starting to warm. She watched him as he attended to her cut with such care; yet this wasn't what her brain was stuck on.

It was stuck on how big his hand was compared to hers. Like he completely encompassed hers with his own. It was such a random thing, but she was so stuck on it. When she did manage to tear her gaze away from her hand in his, she found herself looking at him.

King finished bandaging her cut, and met her stare.

"Try not to let this get wet or it'll come undone."

"Right."

He gave her a warm smile, and as if out of habit (because it was), kissed her bandaged finger. A second later, his own eyes widened a bit and he let go of her hand; which she took back quickly.

"I'm. . I'm going to go lay down." Diane turned then and headed for the door that separated the bar from the residential area.

"O-okay. I'll tell the Captain."

Diane gave him a smile before exiting the room. King watched her go, and only after the door closed behind her did he turn back towards the sink, face in hand.

What the hell had he been thinking?

X o X ~ v ~ X o X

The night carried on, but the concept of how late it was or how long it had been since she came upstairs to lay down in bed was lost to Diane. Her mind was running rampant with thoughts, and try as she might, sleep was impossible to her at the moment.

It also didn't help that everytime she closed her eyes, the scene from earlier replayed in her head; along with what almost happened the other day. Add in that returning need she'd felt that time on top of it all.

There was no ignoring it anymore; no denying it. It might have been subconscious before, but it wasn't anymore. The plain and simple truth was that she was finding herself attracted to King's Human form.

But realizing this and accepting this did little to abate the steadily growing desires that were stirring. Some purely innocent. Some heavy with lust. Some neutral.

Her thoughts jarred to a halt and her heart leapt to her throat when she heard the door to their room open and shut. She remained as still as possible. She didn't know why she was doing this. She felt a little guilty for doing so.

There was weight on the bed then, followed by the feeling of a gentle caress along the side of her face. A second followed, which gently pulled a few errant strands of her hair behind her ear. The weight on the best shifted again.

From her limited field of vision, Diane saw part of his hand after he moved again. She already knew what he was doing; he'd done this every time she got sick. He'd caress her cheek, pull her hair away from her face, and would lean down and place a kiss on her temple.

But never like this. Never as his human self.

Heart still feeling like it was in her throat, and at this point losing to that voice in the back of her head, Diane moved on impulse. She half turned to face him; giving the illusion of still being asleep.

And his breath was against her lips.

And he was so close.

And if she hadn't been frozen in place, she'd have pulled him down herself.

And she could just barely make out the look of pain in his eyes through her narrowed ones.

And just like that, it was over. The weight was gone, and he was no longer in her field of vision; having moved away from her to the other side of the bed. Another shift, and then a quick flutter of wings.

Diane shifted, moving so her body was facing his, and no sooner had she done so did King slip his lithe arms around her, and buried his face against her neck. He tangled his legs in hers; a foot scraping her calf. She found herself pulling her arms around his frame as well, and him as close to her as possible.

She felt a wetness against her neck, and her arms just tightened around him even more. She never thought he felt so small in her arms until this very moment. It made ice form in the pit of her stomach.

Whatever the hell was going on, it was tearing him up just as much as it was her.

So come hell or high water, Diane was going to find out what the hell was going on tomorrow and put an end to it once and for all. For both their sake's.

X o X ~ * End Chap 2 * ~ X o X

A/N: One of the things I found out about King that's listed in one of the Character Books, is that King has a complex about his natural looks. He actually favors his Human form, thinking it more distinqiuised; so I'm playing around a lot with this mindset. A lot of these quirks and tiny touches come from expanding on little things in the series; and I like focusing and embellishing these acpects. Anywho, this chapter beats the first out by being twice as long, so I hope you've have twice the enjoyment reading it as I did writing it. Next chapter is gonna be... pretty intense!