Written by: BWinner
Disclaimer: I do not own the Seven Deadly Sins, it belongs to Suzuki Nakaba, I do not profit from this work of fiction
In the Garden
Ch. 3
Diane worked hard to straighten herself up and put a smile on her face as she got closer to the back yard. While it would hurt to see Meliodas and Elizabeth so close and comfortable together, she knew she had to work hard to get past the stings of pain and jealousy that swelled up because of it. This situation wasn't going to change, no matter how much she wanted it to. What would really help would be a distraction this weekend, she just needed to find it. Ban's cooking was certainly something to get lost in for the present; the man had only made her three meals so far, but each spread gotten better and better. This afternoon it looked like he had fired up the barbeque to prepare chicken with an assortment of grilled vegetables and kale salad tossed with chick peas, red cabbage, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds; this man really made eating healthy a dream!
However, before she could actually make it to the table Meliodas abruptly turned around and grasped her wrists, facing her palms up to inspect them. Diane huffed in annoyance and wrenched her arms back unceremoniously. "Great to know you have so little faith in me, Captain!"
Meliodas smirked as he let her hands go. "Just making sure King was keeping his promise... but maybe I should worry, what does my having faith in you have to do with what I said to him?"
Diane frowned deeply and with a shake of her head pushed past him to sit down. Anything the blond was going to retaliate with was immediately interrupted as he was accosted by Ban once she was out of the way; and she had to chuckle to herself a bit when the two began a rather fast and intricate version of patty cake for a greeting with gigantic grins on their faces. Both Elaine and Elizabeth just shook their heads and smiled. Things were starting to feel comfortable, just a little bit. Everyone wasted no time digging into the spread laid out before them, and throughout the meal Meliodas and Ban continually knocked together large glasses of ale, taking deep swigs each time.
"I gotta ask Diane, what do you think so far?" Meliodas asked.
"I've barely been here a day," the brunette protested. "However, from what I've seen it's lovely, and the path around the lake makes for a relaxing jog... I just can't shake the feeling I'm going to get bored though," she admitted as she pushed her food around her plate awkwardly.
"That's the point more or less," the blond argued back. "You're here to rest."
"You know me though Captain, I've never been one to just sit around," Diane paused for a moment and looked at King, then back to Meliodas. "What if I help King with some light work?" She asked, emphasizing the last two words. "It can't be easy for him right now setting up that vegetable garden, maybe I could go and pull weeds around some of the flower beds, or even some watering? No gardening tools involved?"
"I think that's a great idea!" Ban piped up loudly. "I've got things covered in the kitchen, Elaine splits her time between helping Elizabeth and me... King has no one right now. It's early spring, things are coming up like crazy, he would probably really appreciate it," and he shot a rather sly looking smirk at the smaller auburn-haired man.
The blond looked hesitant at first, seemingly weighing the pros and cons in his head. "Well, as long as it wouldn't be too strenuous; I guess I could let it go, and gardens have been known to be pretty relaxing," he mused. "What do you think King?"
The gardener looked like a deer caught in a pair of headlights and he shifted nervously where he sat. "N-no I wouldn't mind; I-I just want to make sure y-you won't feel over worked. I mean you're here to relax and-"
Diane giggled, the sound cutting out his nervous ramblings. "You're silly. I'm the one who offered… and now that my 'boss' is here, I'm sure he won't let me go over board."
He still looked startled and a little bit unsure, but all the auburn-haired gardener could do was nod sheepishly in response. The young boxer smiled to herself; this would be a good idea. She was going to be able to keep busy to help both her stir-crazy manner, and avoid too much interaction with Meliodas. Diane also had to admit there was something drawing her to the enigmatic King; he seemed… lonely. So, in her mind it was perhaps a nice opportunity to maybe help him out of his shell a little bit while she was here.
The group finished off their lunches in a leisurely amount of time, but Diane was oddly surprised by how fast the group dispersed once done. Ban and Elaine insisted they needed to head to the kitchen and clean up in order to prepare for dinner and Meliodas was quick to draw Elizabeth off to who knows where, leaving just herself and King sitting quietly at the table while the "dust" settled. Diane smiled and turned her attention to the young man who was sitting rather rigidly, hands fisted on his lap; that nervous expression had not left his face. It was time to crack through that painfully shy exterior once again.
"If it's not going to be too much trouble King, maybe you can show me around the grounds a bit?" she asked in a hopeful tone. While it was true that she had wandered around quite a bit on her own, with a proper tour she would at least have his perspective on things. It also made an excuse to strike up more conversation. "I know that vegetable garden is a lot of work to put together, but I think it would be really helpful to get a heads up on the areas around here so I'm not completely lost when you tell me to go somewhere tomorrow."
"Uh, y-yeah sure," he agreed. King got up, and with a gentle wave of his hand at his side beckoned her to follow him. "I got the front done a little while ago; when Meliodas said that he was going to have a guest stay here, I wanted to make sure it looked its best. First impressions mean a lot," he explained. "I've also taken care of the gardens underneath the trees. Essentially what's left is the small gardens that are interspersed around the lawn, and things near the water features."
Diane noticed that as he walked and spoke of his work, he came across as being more relaxed, but despite that he seemed careful not to turn around and look at her. Part of her was tempted to try and remedy that, move closer into his line of vision perhaps, but she eventually decided against it. If avoiding eye contact, or any kind of looking at her, was helping King get out of his shell and communicate a little bit more, she could go along with it.
"As for any watering you would do, it would mostly be the hanging baskets and potted plants around the outside… everything else is on a sprinkler system," she heard him finish, and realized she had zoned out a bit trying to get a read on his body language.
"R-right, of course," she agreed hastily.
King turned around now and grabbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. It seemed he still couldn't look at her though. "I don't really know what else to tell you from here," he admitted.
"Maybe just tell me what time you think I should be out on the grounds? Do the sprinklers run in the evening or the morning, just so I know if I should have a towel so I don't get soaking wet?"
"Oh ye-yeah of course you need to know that," he sputtered and his expression seemed as if he were mentally scolding himself. "The sprinklers run in the evening, but there's also a fair bit of dew this time of year, so a towel likely is a good idea. As for time… I-I dunno, definitely before lunch or you might over heat in the afternoon."
"Fair enough," Diane agreed. "It does feel a little warm now, and it's only just after lunch."
King stood there awkwardly silent for a moment, and stared at the patch of grass that separated them. "I should really get back to setting up that vegetable garden," he murmured quietly.
The brunette found she had no reason to protest such an idea so she said nothing as he turned and walked off towards the side of the inn. The smaller gardener seemed like he was going to be a tough nut to crack, but part of her liked the idea of that challenge. As there was nothing more to be done at this point Diane made her way back to the inn, if nothing else maybe there would be a book there to try and pass the time with. Reading wasn't her first choice, but obviously at that point she was in King's way, and if anything, she knew she had to listen to her Captain and at least try to relax.
There was a comfortable bay window just past the dining room in the inn and Diane absent mindedly grabbed one of the books scattered across a small table there as she moved to sit down. In her mind it had to be a complete set up that said book was about meditation, but in spite of that thought she decided to crack it open and give it a shot. The brunette got through the first few chapters before soft noises outside the window caught her attention; it appeared she was on the same side that King was working on the new garden. Abandoning the book on her lap she took a peek outside the window and tried to get a look at what part of the project he had made it to.
It looked as if everything had been tilled so far, and he was just setting up mounded areas of dirt for rows of fruit and vegetable plants. Somewhere along the way he had abandoned his shirt in the heat and Diane found her eyes drawn to him as he went about his task. The auburn-haired young man wasn't an overly muscular by any means, but he was well toned and in decent shape. A sheen of sweat had covered his upper body now, accentuating what delicate muscles were there, and Diane felt her cheeks flush slightly. Realizing she had been staring the young woman brought her attention back to her book, and was very grateful he hadn't seen her. She was only able to make it through a couple more pages before yet another distraction came her way.
"Hello Diane," Elizabeth greeted as she walked up, Elaine followed close behind. "We were wondering if you wanted to join us for some tea in the other room."
"Ban made some lovely cakes and cookies to accompany it," the petite blonde woman piped up.
This was it she supposed, the time to make peace and let go of the childish resentment and wounds. It was also oddly another welcome distraction from potential embarrassment. Diane smiled softly and nodded as she allowed the two women to bring her off to a room just to the side. It certainly had a more refined touch to it with polished hardwood flooring and plush velvet covered furniture, there was a decidedly feminine décor as well, with paintings of flowers and more live plants; a rather stark contrast to the stone floors and rustic wooden furniture of the pub section.
"Did you study interior design Elizabeth?" the brunette broached cautiously. It occurred to her she really didn't know anything too personal about the woman.
Elizabeth smiled in a bashful fashion and nodded. "It's was my career path in college. Elaine here is the one who made all of the beautiful artwork though."
"Wow, you're very talented Elaine," Diane said with a hum of approval. "Meliodas certainly seems to know what he's doing business wise. An amazing chef, talented interior decorator and artist, and an incredible, if not painfully shy gardener."
The two young women smiled. "He also seems to know talented athletes when he sees them too," Elizabeth said.
"What got you into boxing anyway?" the younger blonde asked.
Diane smiled as she was hit with a kind of sad nostalgia. This wasn't a painful question to recall per say, just one that didn't always bring up the fondest memories. Diane came from a very athletic family, many of whom were boxers or wrestlers in fact. However, it was her mother that had truly engaged in the sport and tried to take it to its limits; she had gone all the way up to women's heavy weight class in boxing.
"I've been boxing since I was quite young," Diane began rather carefully. "It's something my family has generally always done. I just followed with tradition to and extent."
"Oh wow, that sounds incredible!" the silverette exclaimed. "What to me mean by 'to an extent' though?"
"I didn't exactly follow what my mom wanted me to do with the sport," the young boxer confessed. "My mother was actually in the heavy weight boxing class, and she saw the potential for me to do the same. But I didn't want to push my body to those kinds of limits; I'm comfortable in the class I've worked to, I decided it was all I needed."
"How did Meliodas come into the picture?" Elaine asked.
"He saw one of my amateur matches, one that I lost sadly, "said Diane with an embarrassed smile. "After my mom chewed me out, he approached me outside the center and said he thought I had potential, but seemed to be in the wrong weight class; he suggested I should join his boxing club. Since I was sick of the pressure my family was putting me under it didn't take much convincing on his end."
"Now you're training for the Olympics, it's incredible!" Elizabeth beamed.
The brunette flushed bashfully and didn't respond as she took a bite of cake and sip of tea. It occurred to her that throughout that short conversation she hadn't once expressed her enjoyment of the sport. Of course she enjoyed boxing; she knew she did. However, she didn't exactly remember what made her love the sport. Diane sincerely hoped her inability to answer that question wasn't what was contributing to her slump. The young woman felt lucky she was going to have a lot of time to herself in the next couple of days doing some work in the gardens for King, it would certainly give her time to reflect on the matter.
~To be continued…
