A Nice Brotherly Day Out
"So what should we do today brother?" Meliodas says grinning and placing a hand on the shoulder of his taller, younger brother. They stared out the window at the autumn leaves falling to the ground and sighed.
"Hmm that is a tough question Meliodas, but we better think of something quick, Zeldris is slowly becoming unbearable with his boredom and apathy." Estarossa replies shooing his brothers hand off of him.
"Yea you are right, that's it than. Family trip! Everybody get your coats and get in the car right now!" Meliodas claps his hands as he commends his brothers to get off their rear ends and into the family vehicle.
"Brother I really don't want to! All I want is to mope around today! It's unbearable this kind of happy go lucky weather, all it does is bring back terribly painful memories!" Zeldris protests as he drags his feet.
"Nonsense! You need fresh air! Can't mope around all day! All those negative things you hold onto will steal your motivation to live. You need to remember what fun feels like! So, a trip is definitely what we need right now, right?" Meliodas grins as he shoves his brother from behind. He opens the door to a blue caravan that waited for them in the driveway. He skips over to the driver side door as he hums and the others scoff they take their seats. Zeldris turns on his music player and kicks the back of Estarossa's chair who sits in the passenger side of the car. His cold gaze snaps to his younger brother's direction, giving him a glare that would send shivers down a normal person's spine, but Zeldris just mocked his silver haired sibling with a sarcastic pink tongue blowing raspberries in his face before bursting into hysterics.
"Alright knock it off! Buckle up and shut up, we are going to six flags bitches!" Meliodas cheered before turning the car on and adjusting his seat to reach the pedals. Driving with him was always terrifying for the boys, but this was his big idea so he was the one who had to drive them all to the theme park, thanks to the family rules they had agreed upon when the three of them left home to live amongst themselves. All that could be seen of the boy was two tufts of hair that poked up from beyond the steering wheel and the top of his precious face. His green eyes being the only thing passersby would be able to see gave Zeldris goosebumps causing him to shiver vigorously.
"You cold Zel? Here bro." Esta states turning up heat and smirking coldly at the youngster.
"Alright here we go!" Meliodas smiled, pulling out of the driveway and into the street. He swerved all over and across the lanes before jeering himself back into his correct lane and taking off as fast as his car would allow. The boys gripped their seats, the roof of the car, anything they could get their hands onto to keep them from sliding around, causing Meliodas to become a bit irritated now.
"Danm you two I told you to strap the fuck in!" He roars slamming on his brakes and sending Zeldris flying into the front seat with the two older brothers.
"Get back into your seat you sorry excuse for a demon!" He yelled pinching his younger sibling all over the legs and belly.
"Fucking stop that hurts!" Zeldris cried out in pain pinching him back in reply.
"That's it I'm driving!" He shouts kicking Meliodas in the ribs repeatedly before receiving a blow to the head from his silver haired kin.
"Just get in the back seat you annoyance." Estarossa sighed, picking the brat up and throwing him back into his seat. Zeldris head smacks the car window and he wails out in pain. He rubs the back of his head while silent tears start to run down his face. His brother reaches over to help buckle the boy in and apologizes for the growing lump he had caused.
"Fine whatever can we go now? Are we fricken buckled in!" Meliodas grins as he tests the brakes of his car to see if any passengers would lose their seating. Everyone stays in one place for the most part, only flying as far forward as their buckles allow and cursing Meliodas the whole time he drives, who is giggling his ass off of course. They collect their thoughts individually as they drive onwards to their adventure together. The boys still gripping the seats as Meliodas driving hasn't very much improved since his prank pulling. He pulls up to a parking lot framed by a set of gate doors that lead into the festive and bustling theme park. A jubilee of different coasters popped above the massive fences and filled the park from end to end. The boy's eyes widen and Meliodas grins with satisfaction in himself for a job well done.
"Well let's not dawdle! Come on boys! Let's go have some fun!" He yells waving a hand over his head in the direction of the park and running away from his brothers in excitement. They follow behind him Esta pulling Zeldris by his shirt as the disgruntled child keeps to himself with his headphones and music. Meliodas approaches the ticket booth where he purchases three park wrist bands; one for each member of his party. He also buys a set of 120 tickets and gives the boys each 40 tickets to spend at the arcades. Entering the threshold of the park, they split off into separate directions. Estarossa goes with Zeldris who walks over to a booth that reads "Duck Hunt" while Meliodas runs off by himself towards one of the gigantic coasters.
"Hey boys looking to win a prize? Only two tickets to try. All you gotta do Is get 50 points. Blue ducks are worth 5 points, green are worth 10, yellow 15 and red will get you a full 20 shoot three reds in a row and the game is won! Don't be shy lads!" The booth director instructs as he holds his hand out for the boy's tickets. They both cough up two tickets and begin to play.
"Danm bird! I can't get a good sight on it!" Zeldris whines turning to look at his brother progress.
"DING DING DING! You just shot three red ducks in a row! Congrats young man!" The booth director slaps Estarossa on his back in celebration.
"Go ahead and pick out a prize!" He motions towards the several plushies hanging from the ceiling.
"What the hell the game just started! You must have cheated brother that is the only explanation! This is so unfair I knew this would be a miserable experience I…" His thoughts were interrupted as his elder brother pushed a stuffed panda into his arms and tosseled the hair ontop of his head, grin painting his face a with a bright shine that made Zeldris heart skip a beat. He was on the verge of tears as it was, being dragged outside by his elder brothers and forced to have fun in a kiddie amusement park, but now his brother charity was too much to contain and tears rolled down his cheeks as he hugged his new friend close to his chest.
"T….thank you brother." Zeldris chided staring at the ground with a teary smile. The bearded man bends over to pick his younger brother up and turns to find a snot faced Meliodas standing directly behind him
"E….Estarossa! T..they w…w….won't let me ride the riiiiiiide! They say I'm too short!" He bellows gripping his brother's legs and rubbing his nose into the fabric of his pants as he weeps. He pats the blonde on the head before picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder to continue his sobbing.
"I wanna go on the big one with the dragon brother! Take me on it please!?" He begs from his sibling's grip.
"Don't fret Meliodas we will go don't you worry." He heading towards the ride he rubs his sibs back and tries to console the poor distraught boy. As they approach the ride a man steps up to greet them, he wears a suit and has a crooked smile with squinty eyes.
"Hello there, I'm afraid we have already told your younger brother he wasn't allowed to partake in this ride seeing as he is abnormally short." He says coolly shooting Meliodas a look of frustration and disapproval.
"He is my elder brother actually and you should show him more respect, his height is none of his blame, but the blame of our mothers to be honest." Estarossa explains hoping the manager will understand where he is coming from.
"Well as you can see it does not matter the age, you must be this high to ride." He points to a sign as he scolds the boys with the frustration now rising in his voice.
"I'm sorry Meliodas, but it looks like you will need to find a different ride. It must have something to do with the buckling system, why not that ride over there?" Estarossa smiles, pointing to a goofy themed kiddie ride just feet away from their attraction.
"No way! That is for children! I want this ride!" Meliodas scoffs folding his arms.
"But you are too short, not that there is a problem with that." The elder brother says tossing the boys hair once again. Meliodas spits on his shoe while he bats the hand away from his head.
"I said I want this one! If I'm tall enough to drive a car than I'm tall enough to ride this ride!" He bursts as he stomps his feet against the ground.
"Well I don't think it just your height that reflects your true age Meliodas, and also you are a horrible driver!" Zeldris demeans his older brother as he stomps away to find something more interesting. Meliodas sticks out his tongue as the youngest sibling leaves the group and turns his attention to Estarossa once again.
"Please Estarossa?" He clasps his hands together with wide puppy dog eyes stare up at the tall man.
"Fine I will try to sneak you onto the ride, but you must behave! If we get caught, we might be asked to never return. Would you want something like that to happen?" Meliodas shook his head no with violence, causing Estarossa to sigh before scooping his younger kin up into his jacket. They snuck past the manager and onto the ride. Once high enough past the gaze of the employees, Estarossa stuck Meliodas in his own seat and did the best he could tying him down, however most of the buckles were still pretty loose on his tiny body. They shrugged it off and got ready for the big dive down with their hands in the air and smiles on their faces. The coaster was as much fun as Meliodas hoped. Turns and twists had him clutching his stomach with gut tickling laughter and watching Estarossa scream with terror on the dives down was too much for him to handle. His smile beamed ear to ear and as the coaster chugged to an end he was zipped away in into the body of Estas coat once more. The disembarked, Employees none the wiser, and set out to find Zeldris. The discovered it wouldn't be too hard when a black-haired boy ran their way panting and waving his hands in the air. He was laughing just like they had been on the coaster and they both looked at Zeldris with disapproval.
"Brother! What are you doing!?" Estarossa demanded his sibling to answer, but was met with bouts of heavy breathing and chortling.
"I…I tried to go on a ride alone, but being as short as this one here I of course wasn't allowed to do so alone! So, I snuck in and had a great time! But then they caught up to me and now they are chasing behind! So, let's get out of here while we are still young!" Zeldris barked between gasps and points at Meliodas who pretends to bite at his finger.
"No way! I'm hungry! Let them lock you up by yourself for all I care! Besides all you are trying to do is get us tossed out!" Meliodas barked back inches away from the boy's face.
"O you mean like you and Estarossa riding that!" Zeldris replied with furry pointing at the ride they just disembarked.
"The two of you should stop this nonsense before the security meets up with us. What if we disguised ourselves?" He points towards a souvenir shop contain a menagerie of hats and mustaches and glasses. It was odd to see in six flags but the boys didn't complain as they quickly dressed themselves as someone else. Security heavy footed their way past the three who hid next to a food cart. The mouthwatering smells calling the eldest boy to them and happily he skipped over with his money in his hand and glasses bouncing up and down the bridge of his nose.
'Idiot is gunna lose his disguise.' The youngest thinks alone as he trails behind, hungry himself.
"So what is everybody hungry for!" Meliodas chimes up with a smile downing his face once again. The brothers sigh and point at the menu.
"I'll take three corndogs two large fries and one mega large iced coke with three straws please!" His smile and politeness melts the cashiers heart as he speaks, even though his silly camouflage hid himself from her. She reaches out to pinch his cheek, hair hidden by his hat, and shouts the orders back to the cook as Meliodas sits and grins, waiting patiently for his food. She turns to meet the group once more, this time with their food and says, "Here ya go sweethearts, enjoy!" The boys all reply with a thank you in unison and pick out the perfect picnic table to share in their meal together.
"So what should we do after this? You think you can sneak us both into the next ride Esta since we are already on the run as it is?" Meliodas grins as he chuckles under his breath.
"I don't see why not, which ride do you to want to do next?" He grins back as he interrogates his siblings.
"I want to do the apocalypse last stand!" Zeldris cheers finally getting into the grove of things and feelings his brothers excitement. At least now he wasn't so bored and Estarossa and Meliodas could enjoy his company on the way back. Instead of the typical gloomy Zeldris, they could finally talk to him once more like they had before his tragedy. Estarossa's face grew somber as he recalled the tragic events just months prior. He lay his hand on the younger brother's shoulder and beamed his smile right into his eyes.
"Whatever you want brother." And Meliodas nodded in agree. Finishing their meal, they ran to the next coaster and jumped inside of Estas jacket, making him look much heavier than he actually was, but his brother's happiness was all he needed now and he hugged them close before taking his place in line and boarding the coaster. He took them out of the jacket and buckled them in just like the first time and they all raised their hands in the air in anticipation. Smiles lighting up their faces as the ride clicked up and up the tracks. The coaster went up then down, sideways, backwards, forwards and they screamed and laughed with joy and enthusiasm. The wind whipped their poor little faces and even started to tear items away from their being. First thing to be lost was Meliodas hat, but he didn't seem to care as he continued to shriek with thrill. The next was Estarossa glasses and then Zeldris stache. Pretty soon the boys looked like themselves again, but were unaware to the change in costume as they proceeded to share in each others company and pleasure. It was only made aware when a bright flash and loud snap signaled the capture of their amusement that they became nervous and mindful of the security watching the cameras in the control booth and recognizing the group of boys as the earlier rule offenders they were. They simultaneously gulped down lumps in their throats and tried hiding in Estas jacket as the ride slowed to a stop. It was much too late for that now and the taller brother was then approached by three big body guards and the park manager who they met before.
"I remember telling you that your brothers were much too short for these ride, so now I'm forced to ask you to come with me as this evidence proves to me that you may not understand what this means. Therefore, I ask you come quietly, without causing a scene, to faces the charges and fines you are to withstand." The park manager rambled upon deaf ears. The three boys held each other's hands side by side looking for an escape. Meliodas remembered then that he was parked rather close to the gate and searched frantically for his vehicle which took no time at all to spot.
"Let's go bros! Follow me!" He said lifting them up into his arms before bolting towards the gate.
"GET THEM!" The manager shout pointing a nasty finger at the siblings who were already long gone and in the car. Meliodas fought frantically with the car keys, pushing them and forcing them into the ignition before turning it on and flooring the gas pedal to the ground. They screamed with exhilaration and laughed the whole way home, leaving six flags far behind them with a set of new and wholesome memories to fill empty holes they might have had in their hearts. Meliodas driving still made the boys nervous as always, but he gets them home in one piece. Pulling into the driveway he turns the ignition once more and lets out a hearty yawn.
"What fun huh guys?" He asks rubbing the tears forming in his eyes with exhaustion, only to find they have fallen asleep to their brothers crazy driving. He unbuckles both and throws them over his shoulder with care, worried about waking them from their rest. Getting them into their house is difficult, but soon each is in their own bed. Zeldris is the last to be tucked in and as Meliodas leans in to plant a kiss on his younger brother's forehead the boy springs from his slumber and wraps his arms around his neck.
"Thank you for all the fun today brother. I really needed this after Gelda's death, life hasn't really had much meaning, but spending time with the two of you has really lifted my spirits and Esta was kind enough to give me a new friend too!" He smirks as he holds up his new panda. Meliodas eyes feel heavy listening to his brother show his appreciation fills him with cheerfulness and he holds him close to his chest.
"I know your pain brother, but I will always try to be here for you. I hope you had fun today and know that I will do whatever it takes to lift you up when you feel so low." He whispers petting his sibling's hair down and kissing the top of his head before squeezing him one last time. The feeling of Zeldris last smile as his yawns take control fills Meliodas up with joy one more time and he lays him back down on his bed before turning out the light.
"Good night Zel, love ya bro." He smirks and closes the door behind him, leaving a content Zeldris to his sweet dreams.
"Goodnight brother." He yawns in reply before the darkness cradles him off to dream happy dreams of his law-breaking brothers risking everything to ensure his happiness, a smile forming on his lips as he drifts away.