Title: How He Loved Her...

Theme: #4 Our Distance and That Person

Fandom: Nanatsu no Taizai/Seven Deadly Sins

Pairing: KingxDiane

Note: Spoilers for manga.

Disclaimer: If I owned it I would be stabbing myself for keeping everyone in suspense with Diane and her amnesia. Seriously. What the heck?! I need to see them together!

How He Loved Her...

It was hard to say what the first thing he noticed about her was. He awoke, temples pounding and muscles heavy and worn out. There was an irritating scratch in the back of his throat that no amount of coughing seemed strong enough to fix. His eyelids burned and he could only make out a little of the enormous head above him. Her cheeks were round, adorably so, with a small pointed nose in between. The next thing that registered was the concern on her features. Large round eyes directed down at him with worry. He attempted to speak but was thrown back into another coughing fit until something large and brown was held out in front of him. His head roaring with pain he could hardly begin to notice most of the happenings around him but was still able to recognize the motion in his view. He greedily drank the water from the overlarge spoon. A sound filled his ears and he dared to look up where the blurry shadow of a face was clearer. It was marked by youthful pudginess with the spark of childish mischief. Somehow his mind worked through his aches long enough to register that she could only be one of the giant clan. Her mouth moved, speaking, but he could barely see that before his vision went hazy and he returned to the quivering hands of a fitful sleep.

Her name was Diane.

It was odd to find a giant alone, even more so a child. He didn't ask much the first few nights he was with her. Fairy's did not suffer illness but wounds were a different matter. His healing may have been faster than a humans but he still needed a couple of nights to recover from the cut across his chest and the bruising tear on his left temple. Diane was a sweet girl, bringing him fruit and water, carefully tending to his needs with barely restrained enthusiasm. By the time he was healed, which was not long, he had already developed a soft spot for the endearing girl. They discovered his loss of memory which prompted her to happily offer her home to him. He accepted, taken in by her sweetness.

Home was a cave at the crest of a small hill flanked by numerous squat trees. Her possessions were few and she wore a ragged toga with matching slips for her feet. He pondered her situation when she was out gathering for dinner, working through what little knowledge he knew of giants and recognizing the unlikeliness of meeting a child of one alone in the woods. Giants were fiercely protective of their young. Few birthed more than one in their lifetime and successful births were far more uncommon than believed, that much he was aware of. As she returned with a beaming smile in place, the fruits of her labor in hand he wondered what could have happened to result in anyone leaving the happy-natured girl alone.

They spent their days chatting, sleeping, and playing. Diane was fit for survival on her own but there was much she could still learn and Harlequin was a patient teacher who was knowledgeable of things she had never even heard of before. Personal memory aside he was able to keep Diane from all sorts of trouble including limiting her exposure to humans. As time wore on Harlequin found himself charmed by her earnest pleasure in his company, appreciative of the genuine affection she offered him.

He made her a promise one day to always love her and stay by her side. Diane looked back at him with a resignation he hadn't been able to identify then. She only wanted his love, refusing his pledge to stay with her. He should have realized then how foolish he had been to make such a promise. In the end, she had been the only one truly aware, accepting of the reality that awaited them. He was the one who from the beginning spewed false hope and empty words that leaned heavily on his honor.

Harlequin returned to that place only once. It had been years since he had laid eyes on the moss-eaten structure but he was sentimental and felt an attachment to anything that connected him to the past he had spent with her. She had grown beautifully, her childish looks gone and in their place a perfectly matured woman. Cowardly he was he wouldn't allow her to view his real form despite his precautions that kept her memories locked away. Staying with the Seven Deadly Sins to ensure his continued presence at her side felt like a sort of redemption and only the unjust framing of the group had been strong enough to take him from her side. He was certain of her abilities and capability to fend for herself. He knew separating from her was probably for the best. He decided to return home to the Fairy forest but before he did that he wanted to relive some of his best memories. Using his Chastiefol in it's seventh form, Luminosity, he entered the old cavern. It had looked the same way he had left it although in the corner he came across some drawings Diane would entertain herself doing whenever the weather was so bad they couldn't go out. He chuckled over them, amused by the way Diane would scratch the crude etchings of herself surrounded by friends. She was no great artist but her doodles were a comforting memory of his. He brushed his thick fingers along the stone, an ache in his heart a familiar pain that he had been suppressing for years. Walking the length of the dark cave's wall, noticing with a troubling look that Diane's last scratches on the wall, ones she had done after his departure, were riddled with the same image of a small figure flying next to her own. In nearly every one the little figure was scratched out, almost as if she had never meant to draw it and wasn't sure why it was there. Unnerved he put it from his mind, walking further in until he almost collided with a large stature. King had gasped. Lifelessly staring down at him were two familiar oblong heads. 'Fillet' and 'Roast' he had recalled instantly. The golems were completely still, not a shred of life left in them without Diane to command their movements. Roast was posed with his arms at his side, back straight while Filet stood by his side in exactly the same stance except for one difference. His left arm was outstretched, the irregular shape of his hand palm up. King flew up to peek in the stone creatures fingers. At first glance he thought it was a leaf. It was crinkled and brown, an old plant of some kind. The Fairy King would have passed over it yet he felt compelled to investigate further. Closer observation proved his initial thinking correct until he realized exactly what sort of plant it was. Shaking he gingerly touched the familiar dead flower. It immediately crumbled to dust. Dousing Chastiefol's light and clutching it's pillow form to his chest, Harlequin wept miserably to himself. He was such a fool.

The next time he saw her he was absent of his human guise.

He wasn't surprised to see her. Gilthunder had already briefed him on the other Sins progress. He knew she would be with Ban and the Captain. Still he couldn't bring himself to speak in her presence. Seeing her face so close, after ten years, and hearing her tell him how happy she was to see him again. He wasn't going to lie, it made him giddy with joy. Keeping his features void of emotion he had turned from her and flew off to hide in the forest. She was dangerous to him. He wasn't supposed to focus on her, he was there to see Elaine! Harlequin shook his head to rid himself of thoughts of her and focused on his other task.

He was too soft-hearted.

It wasn't something he liked admitting to. While trying to keep a disinterested persona kept most from bothering him, it wasn't an easy thing to pull off when so close to Diane. The giantess tended to bring out his emotions faster than most and now that he had agreed to help the Sins and the princess save the kingdom he was exposed to Diane's magic even more. Travelling again with her was something like a dream come true but as time wore on, as they fought their battles and embraced their inner demons he realized that there was a barrier between them. A wall.

There was no else to blame but himself. There was no way for her to draw upon their history when he had hidden it from her heart. When he looked at her he saw the cute face of his always smiling little giant girl. When she smiled at him he was reminded of all the kind and wonderful things she had done for him. When she called his name he was made ever more aware that what he wished for could never be. Diane meant so much to him and he wanted to share who he was with her. He wondered if she would hate him if he ever revealed to her what he had done. Would she yell? Would she attack him? He spent much of his free time in his imaginings, hopelessly lost in the dreams of what could be, what could happen. He had lost two people who had mattered more to him than he had known before their deaths. Making that same mistake with Diane was hard. He wanted her to know how much she meant to him. Elaine and Helbram had both lost themselves while he had been perfectly content to stay in the human world, enjoying himself. He had never told him them how much they mattered to him. Diane was a young girl in giant terms. There should be plenty of time.

He was a selfish King. He had admitted that to himself. He wanted to have it all without facing the consequences of his actions. He wanted to remain the beloved Fairy King to the fairy folk when he had abandoned them for years. He yearned for Elaine's forgiveness despite leaving her tend to his task for hundreds of years. He craved Diane's love while ignoring his grievous sin. Breaking his promise to Diane, blocking her memories, and leaving her alone were all terrible actions on his part. So caught up in his own emotions he tossed others feelings aside, expecting understanding and love in return. He shouldn't have expected so much for the little he gave.

But he did.

It was difficult to see her fawn over the Captain. Harlequin didn't like seeing Diane get her feelings hurt. A part of him could relate since the Captain gave her absolutely nothing to work with in the way of special attention. He treated her as he did all his friends and HarleQuin could see it chafe at Diane as time wore on. Kind though she was that she didn't really begrudge Princess Elizabeth's closeness with the Sin of Wrath. For Diane seeing everyone happy was what made her happiest and only made King love her even more. He tried to protect her heart, spouting reassurances when she was down, assisting her at every turn. He pored his heart into everything he did for her, pretending he wanted nothing from her but knowing he was an idiot. She continued to chase the Captain and King continued to lie to himself that it was okay.

It wasn't.

But King had brought this upon himself. The slow torture of seeing the woman he loved seeking attention from another man was his burden to bear. He had reconciled his sin with Elaine. The sin of leaving Helbram was absolved. Now he would suffer for his wrongs against Diane.

It was his sin to bear.

So he would continue to fall in more in love with Diane. He would continue to support her strong feelings for the Captain. Because he loved her enough to do whatever he could to make her happy. He was going to do it right this time. He wasn't going to focus on his heart alone anymore. He would give her whatever she wanted and hope, foolishly hope that a part of her would finally look down and see the Harlequin that she had loved once.

Even if that day never came.

-OWARI-

Sorry this one is so crappy. I had the worst possible week at work and I just finished moving to my new place and I have just been generally miserable this week. I tried to work on this but with the holidays, customers (of evil), and quite literally the worst management I've ever worked with I just don't have it in me. However I am determined to always meet my Sunday deadline so something had to get posted. Please don't give up on me. I'll try to make next week a special one for everyone. This one will be fixed by Tuesday.

Thank you for sticking with me.