(A/N: on a roll! Hopefully it stays. I'm about to have the whole place to myself for two days, since the hubby is going out of town, so I should be writing a lot more to fill the time. we'll see!)

Highly aware of the woman at his side, Ban slowed his gait just a little, enough so she wasn't having to run. She was nothing like the women in his life. Where Diane or Elizabeth would panicked at waking up in a strange room with a man standing next to him, this woman looked around the room with those unique eyes, and he had felt them the instant she'd turned her attention to him. Instead of crying or asking a barrage of questions, she'd been silent, except for the noise of surprise when she realized she was still holding on to his wrist. That sound had tugged on something primal inside, and he'd had to look away to keep from doing whatever it took to hear that sound again.

Walking through the open doorway, he took a second to point the pale woman in the direction of the small table and chairs that were used by his friends while they watched him cook. Making sure she was seated, he quickly placed a glass of water in front of her, knowing he'd guessed right when she instantly drained it, the tip of a pink tongue darting out to catch a drop of water before it fell, and again that desire flared up. Spinning on his heel, he slouched his shoulders as he picked up one of the potatoes that Elizabeth had washed. The meal he had in mind for dinner for the tavern required a few of them, as well as a few carrots that needed to be peeled.

The sound of fabric rustling drew his attention and he looked up to see the black haired woman walking towards him, arms behind her head as she tied her long hair in a simple braid. He watched, amused, as she opened the same drawer he'd used, pulling out a knife before she too reached for a potato. Before he could say anything, she started to expertly peel the vegetable. Shrugging, he let her continue, wondering at the silence between them. Normally either Diane or Elizabeth would be the ones to instantly fill it, but this woman seemed to be content with the quiet. The silence stretched on and soon all the vegetables were peeled.

The woman, seeing that there was nothing left to do, dipped her hands into the bucket of water meant for that exact purpose and wiped them off with her top. Ban, hearing the grumbling of her stomach across the width of the kitchen, snickered again. Ignoring the quick glare, liking the fire the woman showed, he reached into the basket of fruit left on the counter for Hawk and Elizabeth and pulled out a red apple.

"Catch." He called out and when the woman looked up, he tossed her the apple.

Barely catching the apple that had been thrown at her face, Rohna blinked at the fruit in her hand before turning to face the man.

"Thank you." She muttered, ignoring the way his eyes widened for a split second, then sank her teeth into her snack. The instant the juice hit her tongue, she almost moaned. It was the perfect apple, crisp and tart while still being sweet at the same time. She never found apples like this at home.

Forgoing the table and chair that had been pointed out to her, Rohna instead decided to hop up onto the counters on the opposite side of where the man was working. As she ate, her eyes were drawn to the way he moved about the kitchen, almost as if it were a dance. No move was without purpose. Rohna figured it was safe to ogle him, seeing as how his back was constantly turned to her, so she let her eyes feast on the muscles that showed through the tight leather jacket he wore.

"If you're gonna stare that much, at least tell me your name." the man teased, looking back over his shoulder at her, and Rohna felt a flush creep up her neck.

"Rohna." She replied after a second of hesitation.

"Ban." The tall man said as he started cutting whatever piece of meat he'd pulled from the stove.

Mouthing the name to herself before finishing the apple, Rohna looked around for a trash can or compost bucket, something so she could clean up the apple juices that were dripping down her arm.

"Where do I -?" she trailed off when those eyes of his connected with hers, and she watched as his gaze flickered down to her lips before shooting back up. The unexpected shiver that ran down her spine had Rohna biting her lip as she ducked her head, hiding behind her bangs.

"Master! I've got scraps!" Ban suddenly yelled and Rohna let out a muffled swear as she jumped at the loud noise. A high pitched squeal followed the announcement, and Rohna raised an eyebrow as the sound of hoofs hitting the wood floor came closer.

Taking a step back, unconsciously putting Ban in front of her and whatever was about to come through the doorway, Rohna's eyes grew wide when a small pink ball came running into the kitchen.

It was a pig. A very, very small pig.

"Ban, you said you had scraps!" the tiny animals ordered and Rohna knew that if she hadn't been leaning against the counter, she would have fallen.

The very small animal spoke. It spoke!

"Careful, Master, you're gonna scare the new girl." Ban drawled, placing the bowl of potato skins and carrot peelings in front of the small pig.

"New girl?" the pig asked, barely able to speak with its mouth full of food.

"Yeah, her." Ban replied, and Rohna offered a weak wave when the little pig looked over at her.

"Hello, milady!" the pig squeaked. "Pardon me for not showing you proper respect, everyone acts like barnyard animals around here, but as the Master of the Order of Scrap Disposal, I must fulfill my duty!" it rambled, occasionally burying its snout in the bowl.

"Uh." Rohna floundered, looking everywhere but at Ban who was once again snickering at her. "I've got an apple core for you?" she offered, not knowing what else to do. Instantly, the pig was standing in front of her, hearts for eyes.

"Apple cores are my favorite!" the pig cried, tears of joy leaking from its eyes.

Holding out the apple core on her palm, Rohna lowered her hand to where the minute animal could grab the apple core and she watched as it devoured the treat in one swallow.

"Thanks!" the pig grinned up at Rohna, and she couldn't help but grin back.

"No problem." She assured it and the little pig beamed before taking off back towards the tavern area.

As soon as the small animal was gone, Rohna stared at the space the animal occupied, noticing that it had somehow managed to clear the entire bowl of peelings.

"The pig can talk." She wondered out loud, and a huff of laughter from Ban had her turning around, only to stare at his back as he kept cooking.

"Yep." Was all he said, and Rohna sank to the floor, back up against the counter.

"Fucking crazy." She muttered, rubbing her temples with her fingers, the dull throb a warning sign for an incoming headache.

"Welcome to Boar's Hat Tavern, lady." Ban laughed and Rohna groaned, dropping her head onto her arms.

Sexy men in red leather and a talking pig?

Her life had just gotten crazier.

Four hours later and Rohna was holding her sides as she laughed at the antics of the short man she'd seen serving ale earlier, apparently he was the owner of the Boar's Hat and the leader of the group. He was patting the silver haired girls butt, a happy smile on his face while the poor woman was blushing and half-heartedly protesting. Elizabeth, as Rohna had been told, was a princess of the main kingdom in the area, and was a sweet woman who had instantly rushed over to her when she'd walked into the kitchen and found Rohna sitting on the floor and groaning.

The leader, Meliodas, had simply asked her if she meant them any harm and when Rohna had vehemently answered in the negative, simply grinned and welcomed her to his home. The others had more questions, and after the tavern had shut down for the night, they had all gathered around a fire in front of the house. Sitting next to Ban, Rohna held an pint of ale in her hands and sipped at it while the others talked around her, taking in the obvious comradery they shared.

"So, Rohna."

Looking up from where she'd been staring at the fire, she meet the curious gaze of the purple eyed girl with brown pigtails.

"Where are you from?" she asked and Rohna cleared her throat. She'd been asking herself what she would do what the questions finally came, and now that they were here, she didn't know what to do. Figuring that being honest was the best choice, she took a look pull for her ale.

"New York." She answered and the blank stares around her told her that maybe she should have just told them she didn't know.

"Where's that?" Meliodas asked and Rohna wanted to tear her hair out.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She muttered, forgetting that Ban was right next to her and could hear her just fine.

"Whaddya mean by that?" the small man who floated on a cushion asked, cheeks red from drinking. He stayed close to the woman who had once been a giant, the girl with the purple eyes and Rohna had a sneaking suspicion that there was a mutual attraction there.

"You're going to think I'm lying." Rohna warned, and was confused when the pink haired person leaned forward, a slender finger pushing up their glasses.

"I can help with that." Was all they said before pointing a finger and letting out something that looked like a small white lightning bolt.

A small scream almost made it's way out of Rohna's mouth before it sank into her neck, and instead of the burning electrical feeling she put together with being electrocuted, it was a pinprick of pain that was soothed by the warm thrum of energy.

"Rohna Everley, you were born in a place called Cal-ee-fornia." The person started to speak, voice light and toneless as though they were reading from a phonebook. They immediately drew everyone's attention and Rhona was free to look at all the faces around her as Gowther spoke. "You are not from this world. You were sent here to give someone a second chance."

"I was?" Rohna yanked her gaze away from where she'd been studying Ban's profile, turning her eyes to Gowther who was humming and thinking, a finger on their lips.

"That only gave us more questions, Gowther!" Meliodas cried, somehow managing to land a hand on Elizabeth's breasts, and Rohna raised an eyebrow when the silver haired beauty didn't protest.

"I am sorry, Captain." Gowther apologized. "Everything else is all tangled, I can't see anything more."

"You can read my thoughts?" Rohna whirled back around so fast her neck popped.

"Yes, I am Gowther of the goat sin." Gowther replied as though it made perfect sense, yet Rohna was more confused than she was before she asked. Blinking, she looked around the group to see if they were playing a joke, but everyone looked dead serious.

"Wait, you don't know who we are?" Diane asked, noticing the blank look, and when Rohna shook her head, black hair flying in the breeze, the woman gasped and pressed her hands to her cheeks.

"Well, I guess introductions are in order!" Meliodas stood up on the table, cheeks beginning to show the flush of intoxication. "I am Meliodas of the Seven Deadly Sins, the dragon sin!" he said proudly, placing his hands on his hips and pushing his chest out.

"I'm Diane, the serpent sin." The woman continued the round of introductions, Rohna watching with wide eyes.

"King, bear sin of sloth." The sleepy man waved from his trusty cushion.

"You already know about Gowther." Meliodas said from his perch on Elizabeth's lap. "Then there's Merlin, the boar sin, and Escanor, the lion sin. Merlin's with King Arthur at the moment, and we haven't found Escanor yet."

"Don't forget about me, Captain." Ban's voice was low and when Rohna whirled around to look at him, he was so close, she could count every eyelash and practically taste the drop of ale that was hanging precariously from the corner of his mouth.

"Ban, the fox sin." He told her, a satisfied smirk on his face as he caught her intently watching as he darted his tongue out to lap up the last of the ale.

Flushing, Rohna snapped around to face the fire again, but Ban wasn't done.

"I claim you as mine, Rohna Everley." He stated, and before Rohna could move, brushed her hair over her shoulder and placed a kiss on her temple before falling into her lap, cuddling into the red hoodie with a self satisfied smirk.