Past Hidden by a Broken Smile (Being Edited)

Chapter Five: Plans and Ammends.

"Ptss... Hey, it's King, right?"

"Um.. yeah? What is it?"

"I want to plan something for Meliodas. Me and Esta have missed a lot, both birthdays and holidays, so I was wanting to have a party to make up for
some of the lost time. I promise I'll make sure any mess is cleaned up after all the hospitality you've had for us, of course.

King thought about it for a moment before turning his attention back to the ravenette.

"Okay, but.. why are you asking me about it?"

"Well, I overheard from Diane that you could sew, so I was wondering if you would be willing to make some tablecloths we could put over the tables and banners to hang up?"

He sighed then nodded.

"Yeah I guess that's okay, although I'll have to go get the fabric-"

"Oh don't worry about that, I already bought it for you, all you have to do is follow this design."

He handed the fairy a notebook filled with a few different designs and such, some simple and others more detailed.

"Alright, this doesn't look too complicated, I probably won't be able to work on it tomorrow since the place is going to be so busy, but I can probably finish it in a day or two once I start."

Zeldris smiled.

"Thanks, I really appreciate this."

Heading over to the next table, he took a deep breath to ignore his headache as he prepared to talk to his last target.   He had already talked to Ban about food, Diane about decorating, and now King about making said decor, now he was on Elizabeth about the most difficult part of this plan.

The others had told him that she was really nice, and from what he had seen they were right, but he was still worried if she would agree or not. After all, he didn't really know her very well and this was a pretty big thing to ask.

"Hey, Elizabeth. Can I ask a huge favor?"

She turned her head and gave him a warm smile.

"Oh, of course! What is it?"

"Well.. I want to throw a party for Meliodas since we've missed so much of his life, almost like a birthday mashup type thing. I know you don't know me very well, but... do you think you can keep him busy for the day while we prepare? I've already got Ban baking the cake and making the food, and Diane and King are in charge of decorating."

Instead of the uncomfortable refusal he was expecting, she had an excited gleam in her eye as she grinned.

"Of course! That sounds like fun! And you deserve to get to spend some time with your brother."

He gave her a grateful smile as relief filled him. It seemed like everything would work out well as long as he kept up this pace of productivity. Who knew you could get so much done in two hours when you stayed sober for that long?
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        Sighing, he looked down, satisfied at the list he had both made and nearly completed in three hours. Although being sober helped to do so, it definitely was good having a distraction to keep him from going back to it. This was the first time he hadn't been drunk at noon in about- well- since around the time Meliodas was proclaimed dead. And although it was nice having a somewhat clearer head, it still felt like something was missing from his day, like something was bothering him that he couldn't pinpoint without it.

Kind of like having an itch you couldn't scratch. But, he didn't intend to; he made a promise, both to himself and Estarossa. He had prayed to every God he knew that he'd stop drinking if he could ever figure out what had happened to his brother, dead or alive. And although he didn't know which one did, one of the gods he prayed to had to have answered because now his little brother wasn't only found, he was alive. So, he told Estarossa his vow and was doing his best to survive the first day, not just because of his promise.