Chapter 11: Bonding

"Come on, Captain! Just one drink!"

"For the last time, Ban, I said no!"

Quitting alcohol for the remainder of Gowther's pregnancy turned out to be more of a struggle for Ban than anyone could have predicted. The Seven Deadly Sins knew he was addicted to alcohol, but they could have never imagined that after only two days this is what he would be like. Ban looked at the bottles of ale on the shelves as if he were separated from them by an ocean. He watched beer get poured into steins as if it were the work of a god. If that hadn't been bad enough, Hawk had also caught him trying to sneak bottles of beer and wine into his and King's bedroom.

Meliodas wasn't pleased. It seemed as though alcohol was all the Fox's Sin could think about, and he'd only been cut off for two days! How was he going to survive another eight months of this?

"He's doing it for your own good, you know?" Merlin stated, "And keeping you sober seems to be giving Gowther some peace of mind. With all that's been happening, it's the least we can ask for."

"Where is Gowther, anyways?" King asked, looking around the bar, "I haven't seen him for a while."

"Ah, he started getting sick again when Hawk's Mama took off at a gallop this morning," Meliodas explained, "He's probably puking out his guts outside."

"He can't keep down much of anything that he eats, can he?" Hawk whined irritably, "He's wasting Ban's good cooking!"

Meliodas chuckled, "Perhaps you're right. Maybe a nice pork roast would soothe his stomach."

A shiver ran through Hawk's body and he instantly straightened himself up, "Oh, no! I'm sure everything's fine! It's just his wacky hormones that are making him sick."

"That's what I thought. Anyways, Ban, I think it's your turn to go see if Gowther's okay."

The Fox's Sin crossed his arms, "Why me? If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a little rough around the edges. I'm not exactly one for comforting people."

"We can comfort Gowther all we want," Merlin said, "But at the end of the day, he doesn't need me, Diane, King, Elizabeth, or the Captain. The person that he really needs is you."

"You are the father, after all," King chimed in, "You should start taking responsibility for what you've done. You hardly talk to Gowther. It's time to get involved a little bit."

Ban let out an irritated scoff. Merlin, Meliodas, King, and even hawk were giving him the same look. He could try to make excuses all he wanted. No matter what he'd try to pull, he'd be the one that would be going out to comfort Gowther, even if it was for nothing but his bout of morning sickness.

"Fine," he finally said, turning towards the door, "I'll go find Four Eyes and see what I can do."

Ban hated having to be talked into things, especially now; involving Gowther. The Goat's Sin hadn't so much as batted an eye to him since they talked to Meliodas. What were the odds that Gowther would even listen to Ban, let alone give him the opportunity to comfort him? Would he let him in?


Gowther was sprawled out across Hawk's Mama's muzzle. His head hung over the edge of her snout, his arms hanging lazily at his sides. He didn't want to risk getting vomit on her, so his simply stayed in that position until his stomach stopped flipping. In all honesty, maybe it would be easier if he simply stayed near a bucket inside so he didn't have to be alone, but it felt like the fresh air outside was helping quite a bit, and being out of the way while he was beings sick was likely just as good for the group as it was for himself.

Hawk's Mama's snout twitched as she let out a roaring grunt, shaking Gowther's motionless form.

"I'll be all right," Gowther said to her, patting her muzzle, "Once we stop moving, my stomach should settle again."

Hawk's Mama's nostrils flared in a small snort in response before continuing on.

Ban listened in on the short conversation as he stepped out of the bar. He slowly strode over to Gowther and sat down beside him.

"I didn't know you could understand this giant-ass pig," he commented.

"I can't . . ." Gowther replied quietly, ". . . Just needed someone to talk to."

"Well, I'm all ears if you wanna talk."

Gowther let out a small groan as he felt his stomach flip, but he had already thrown up all he'd eaten earlier that morning, leaving him with nothing left to cough up and dry-heaving. Not seeing much more that he could do about the situation, Ban gently rubbed Gowther's back reassuringly.

"I don't understand . . ." the Goat's Sin piped up.

"What's that?" Ban asked.

"Books make pregnancy sound so wonderful and pleasant, but I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone."

Ban couldn't help but laugh, "What about that book Merlin had you read about pregnancy? Didn't it cover symptoms like morning sickness?"

"Yeah . . . maybe they should have emphasized on that more."

"Maybe it's all different. Guess that some people just get more sick than others. Everything will be fine."

Gowther attempted to sit up, knowing that there'd be nothing left in him he could possibly spew up. His dizziness , however, wound up driving him to lean against Ban. The Fox's Sin simply patted his shoulder and adjusted himself to make himself more comfortable. He figured they were going to be here a while.

"You're very talkative today," Gowther piped up, "Why is that? Why are you even here?"

Ban thought his answer over. He didn't want to tell him it was just because the other told him he needed to do it. It would make him look selfish and reluctant. His sin was Greed, but that didn't mean he always had to live up to it, and he especially didn't have to direct it towards Gowther and his unborn child.

"Well, you were gone a while and I was concerned," he said, "The others told me you'd gotten sick again, so I came to make sure you were okay."

Gowther let out a sigh as his head on Ban's shoulder, "I'm hungry."

Ban tilted his head in question, "Is eating such a good idea right now? Won't you just throw it back up?"

"I don't want anything strong. Maybe some bread, or something."

The Sin of Greed nodded as he scooped the Goat's Sin into his arms and carried him back towards the Boar Hat.

"You want to know something, Ban? "Gowther piped up.

"What's that?"

Gowther wrapped his arms around the Fox's Sin's waist.

"I appreciate that you're trying, now. But you're not very good at lying."