Now that I've watched the latest season, a major plot hole has appeared in this story (which will be obvious to those who know, but for those who don't, I won't spoil anything). But, I have never claimed for this fic to be canon-compliant. Quite the opposite, in fact. So, I will repeat myself; please take the story as is and I hope you're still able to enjoy it.

And I truly apologize for the far-apart updates. I've had kind of a tough time. I've moved houses twice since the last update, as well as I've been so focused on my other fics and made waaay too much work for myself by accepting requests and being stupid and starting new multi-chapter fics because me and my gosh-darn ADHD can't help but give in to impulses. I get over-excited sooo easily and have the attention span of a toddler.

During the next weeks, the sins thought Meliodas' progress was astonishing. Despite his unresponsive legs, his mood was bright and determined. Dutifully, he followed the physical therapy program that had been set up for him, letting any and each one of them help him during his exercises, soldiering through the pain with his teeth tightly grit. The progress was none-existent but his spirit never seemed to waver, even after exhausting his body to the point of expelling bloodied bile and writhing in feverish agony through the evenings.

Ban was stretching the demon's right leg in and out on the bedroom floor, forcefully bending the stiff knee into positions Meliodas simply could not make by himself anymore. Sharp exhales left the short Sin each time his numb muscles stretched and he gulped in shaky inhales as Ban's steady hands lead the limb back.

"Does it hurt?" Ban muttered lowly, scarlet orbs brushing over his friend with a worry knitted between light eyebrows.

"Just a little bit," Meliodas answered, jaw tense and teeth clenched. His expression was concentrated and determined; maybe even a bit desperate. Propped up on his elbows, Meliodas quickly moved his arm to wipe off the sweat threatening to bleed down his forehead before positioning it back on the soft mat he was laid on.

"If it does, we can take a break you know."

"No, it's fine." Meliodas' reply was short and stubborn. He did not look at Ban, but instead had all of his focus on the slight bend of his knee, as if willing it to work.

Ban slowed down the stretching-exercise, chewing the inside of his cheek. A soft frown grazed his features and he finally released the immobile leg carefully back to the floor. Rising, he elongated his back his long arms reaching for the roof as he emitted a satisfied moan when his back cracked stiffly. He moved to sit down next to the captain, not missing the frustrated crease between Meliodas' eyes as he watched his limb legs.

"I said it's fine," Meliodas complained without spirit, eying him tiredly. Ban noticed the rapid rise and fall of his friend's heaving chest and the unhealthy shimmer coating his usually sunkissed skin. Even his elbows trembled from the effort of supporting his modest weight.

Ban hummed, unconvinced. "I heard you, but I can practically see your heart beating out of yer chest."

Emerald eyes rolled, but Meliodas let himself drop to the floor with a quiet whine, winching when the scabbed layer growing over his surgical scar tugged at the skin on his back. The pain constantly shooting up and down his spine was difficult to ignore when his pulse calmed down. Heat rushed to his face and it felt like every pore in his skin bled perspiration. All he wanted was to scrunch into a ball, shut his eyes and wait it out, but not even that was possible when he couldn't move from the waist down.

Ban averted his gaze as Meliodas tried to regain his composure. He knew Meliodas didn't appreciate his presence at the moment, so he settled with peering out the window. The sky was gray, clouds imprisoning the sun and consuming it with utter and complete nothingness. Taking all and giving nothing in return.

A bitter smile appeared on Ban's thin lips as if the melancholy of his thoughts amused him.

When he no longer could hear the frantic breathing next to him, he turned back to Meliodas. Unsurprisingly, he hadn't moved. Slowly getting up from the floor, he grinned down at him. "Want me to help you back onto the bed?"

He got a voiceless nod in reply.

Ban wormed his lean, muscular arms carefully under the motionless frame, easily picking him up. His left arm moved protectively down the entirety of Meliodas' back, helping to keep it as straight as possible as he lifted. Meliodas' head rested comfortably in the creak of his elbow, half-lidded eyes revealing how worn out he truly was. With calm strides, they moved the short distance over the bedroom floor and Ban placed his precious cargo onto the soft mattress.

"D'you need anything before I start dinner?" he asked, picking a book up off the floor and placed it within Meliodas' reach and glancing over to the still full glass of water on the nightstand.

Meliodas shook his head, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. Lavender eyelids were getting too heavy, and the blonde decided to blame the unproductive training-session on all the strong painkillers that were pumped into his system several times a day. He was sure there had to be a better way to deal with the pain than to prop his body full of drugs that made him tired.

"Kay. I'll tell Elizabeth we're done," Ban chuckled as he turned to walk out. Before he could shut the door, Meliodas called out.

"Hey."

Ban hesitated by the doorway, looking back over his shoulder. "What?"

"Have you seen Merlin today?" Meliodas placed his elbow onto the bed, pushing himself up.

Ban paused, contemplating. "Yeah, but she went out to do some shopping with Escanor a few hours ago. They'll be back later. Why?"

Meliodas offered a crescent eyed smile, the heaviness in his demeanor suddenly gone. "Oh, nothing. Just wanted to talk to her. Could you tell her when she gets back?"

Ban nodded thoughtfully, "Sure thing, Cap'n. She wanted to talk to you too. Said she had something for ya."

With no other explanation, he left the room. Meliodas could hear him trot downstairs, confusion, and curiosity washing the sleepiness away in an instant. A faint tingle of hope was gnawing in his chest but he quickly squelched it. There was no way she would have left without talking to him if she had found a way to heal him, and Ban wouldn't have left him with a teaser like that if he knew anything about it. That would only be cruel.

It had to be something else. All though, he could, with a hand on each and every single one of his seven wounded hearts, say that there was nothing other than a cure for his paralysis that he was interested in right now. Not even a small peek up Elizabeth's agonizingly short skirt.

Either way, he was going to ask if she knew a spell that would numb his nerves enough to get him off all the horrible medicine that made his body so sluggish and uncooperating. The harder and more ferociously he exercised, the sooner he would get better. There was no time for him to be sleeping eighteen hours a day.

A lazy yawn fought its way through his fatigued body and he felt his lids slipping, head growing too heavy on bare on his shoulders. For now, this was what he was stuck with, so he might as well indulge his traitorous body and take his fifth nap since breakfast.

"Meliodas?"

A soft voice coaxed him back from the always dreamless sleep the damn pills kept luring him into. His eyes fluttered open, the light cutting into his corneas and making him scowl at the offending source above his head in the cracked ceiling.

"Come on, wake up!" King's voice sounded eager. Chastifoil floated close to the bed, but to Meliodas' surprise, King wasn't laying on it. For a moment, his dazed mind couldn't quite comprehend it, but then King pushed the plush pillow away, one of Meliodas' knitted cardigans pulled from his closet folded in his arms.

"Is this one okay?" the fairy asked, assessing the garment closely with a faint hint of disgust tugging at his upper lip at the several moth holes littering the tangled threads.

"For what?" Meliodas cocked his head.

"Oh, uh, we're going downstairs," he explained nervously. "And Elizabeth mentioned that you catch a chill easily now."

Meliodas frowned for a moment until he realized what the fairy-king had just said. "Downstairs?" He hadn't been on the first floor since he had gotten injured. It would be easy for Ban, Escanor, or Diane to carry him, but even if they did, there was nothing for him to do down there. He'd just get in the way.

Speaking of.

"How are you getting me down there?"

King looked at him, then, over to Chestifoil. The green pillow inched closer as if offering itself to him. Meliodas didn't say anything, too stunned to make a single sound.

"Come, I'll help you get on-" King moved to steady Meliodas, but the demon waved his arm out in front of him.

"A-are you sure that's okay?" Meliodas asked incredulously, scrutinizing the cushion.

"Of course!" King growled, fisting his hands. The slender man was clearly getting impatient. "I wouldn't offer you a ride if I didn't trust it! I just thought the trip downstairs would be a little more comfortable for you!" King shoved his hands under his armpits and pouted childishly.

Still uncertain, Meliodas nudged his body across the mattress, suppressing the instinct to cry out as the sensation of being stabbed time and time again spread through his nervous system. Only when he had to transition from the bed and onto the floating padding did he let King help him. Once situated, he sunk deep into the cozy squishiness, feeling as if he laid in a hammock of cotton balls.

A soft smile spread on rosy cheeks as they started to flow seamlessly through the air.

"Pretty awesome, right?" King snickered next to them, coaxing the fluffy airship to follow after him out of the room and down the hallway. Meliodas hummed pleasantly.

"I might overthrow you as the Sin of Sloth after this." A refreshing lightness spread over them as they ascended the stairs, making lighthearted conversation. Meliodas had already forgotten all about the dreadful anticipation of why he was being led down to the main floor to just be in the way. Once nearly at the bottom, Meliodas could finally spot Escanor's day form and the top of Ban's head above Chastifoil's plushy edges. Eventually, Merlin, Gowther, Elizabeth, Elaine, and Diane's shrunken form came into sight too. The setting seemed strange, the whole group standing up to greet him like that. When they eventually were all the way down, King made Chastifoil tilt slightly, and Meliodas could see why.

Merlin's long elegant fingers rested on a wooden handlebar, curving above a padded backrest that led into a matching seat. Armrests made up of dark timber were propped up above a pair of large rubber wheels.

A pang of dread dropped onto Meliodas' chest. They had bought a wheelchair.

"Meliodas," Merlin began yearningly, sensing his apprehension.

"No," Meliodas stated firmly, frantically trying to wiggle Chastifoil around to head back upstairs. The overstuffed yarn ball refused to budge, exclusively following its owner's orders who seemed to ignore him uncomfortably at the moment.

"This will give you the ability to move around a bit more freely," the mage argued patiently.

"I was perfectly able to move around freely," he snapped back, weeks of pent up frustration lacing his tone. Wide eyes stared at him in shock.

"Yes, you were," Merlin countered pointedly. "But now you can't. This will make your life a lot easier."

Meliodas scoffed.

"Don't you get it? If I get in that, that means I have accepted that this is how it is now! It's not supposed to be easier! I have to keep fighting!"

All of a sudden, he could feel his pulse in his ears, a deep all-consuming bass pounding rhythmically, making his vision blur. Black splotches started to dance before his eyes and his breath hitched, his stress-levels so high that he felt the urge to transform and let the darkness swallow his body and succumb to his rage. Something was happening to him, something not related to his injury, he was sure. Something about it felt strangely familiar, like magic; a vicious, angry kind of magic.

"M-Merlin," he croaked out, his arms shaking. King swiftly placed Chastifoil on the floor. A moment later, the Sins had crowded around him.

"Meliodas?" a lite voice called out, a soft hand reaching out, placing a featherlike touch on his arm.

He startled, wailing in agony. Blindingly hot pain shot out of the pale fingertips like thunder-spears jolting him. Breathless whimpers left him without his permission, and he could only watch regretfully as Merlin pushed his sweetheart away to get to him.

The silver-haired girl backed away while holding her wrist, watery eyes watching the digits that had hurt him so badly in disbelief. Diane was quickly by her side to offer comfort, but the princess seemed inconsolable, or unable to truly take it in as she shifted her attention from her hand to her suffering lover.

The chaos hovering above Meliodas blurred into a symphony of noise. Mashed disarray of voices and hands. From time to time he could hear his name being called, but his eyes were unable to leave Elizabeth's wobbly bottom lip which she futilely tried to stop by biting down on it.

At this moment, all Meliodas wanted was to call out to her. Apologize for losing his temper and being selfish and angry. Sooth her hair back behind her ear and gently wipe her tears away. Tell her that it would be okay. But, he couldn't do that now, because the world around him was going further and further away. The agony in his body had absorbed absolutely everything and he couldn't stop sucking in painful gasps. The edges of his vision were completely gone, tunneling further and further in. He just wished he would hurry up and lose consciousness soon. Why did his no-good being not allow him to get out of this hell and let go of the little alertness he had left? Just let him go back to sleep.

'So much for fighting,' he thought bitterly before the blissful nothingness finally welcomed him into its merciful embrace. The last thing he envisioned before he disconnected, was that he didn't care if he had to sit in that damn wheelchair for the rest of his days. The only thing he truly wanted was to hold Elizabeth in his arms again.