Unobtainable (Ban x Jericho) Seven Deadly Sins

Unobtainable

The air was normally cold in February, but here and now the weather was hot. Hot from the hell fires that the demons had caused all throughout Britannia. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't erase the memories of those Ten Commandments and everything that their thralls had done to my homeland...and to my brother. 

Normally I would've felt embarrassed by crying at Gustaf's funeral, but there was hardly a dry eye that night. Friends had fallen with the second Invasion of Liones. Even King Bartra had cried that night from what I'd heard. 

When that pond froze however, it had frozen my tears as well. I knew from then on that this was not the time to grieve. This was the time to fight! And fight I will. I refuse to die when my brother died so that I could live. My powers were reborn from the grief that I felt. 

"I thought that you hated your brother?" Ban asked me the following day. I couldn't find the right words to answer the Fox Sin though. I just gave him a look and that was enough for him I guess. But nothing would ever fill my heart as much as seeing my brother back here right now. Not even Ban could fill the void that Gustaf had left behind. 

I resolved to allow myself to become as strong as physically possible. Even if that meant that I had to break myself to do it. It was my responsibility now to redirect my troubled emotions into the best possible version of myself. 

"Hey Jacklow!" Ban called out to me with a nonchalant grin. I was just outside the walls of Liones, where no one could watch me train. I preferred it that way. Ban was one of the few people I didn't mind interrupting me. 

"No. You can't think about him anymore! Elaine is his love." He must have stolen himself a new trench coat, for the burgundy one that he'd lost had been replaced by one nearly identical to the last. His cat-like grin and his piercing red eyes were surprisingly comforting given the right situation. 

"It's Jericho, Sir Ban." I answered calmly. It this was a few months ago, I would've called him a jerk and screamed at him. But it was up to me to channel my anger. 

"I know. I just like messin' with ya." he responded with a small chuckle before sitting down on a nearby log to witness my progress. I hadn't been able to freeze anything since the first time. Only pathetic snowflakes ever escaped my palms. 

"You think too much Jalecko. You should know by now that your powers are one with you. You can't fight against them. You have to accept them." he advised me. It was odd gaining advice from someone I'd once hoped to kill. 

"I already have. I've accepted my brother's loss. He died a noble death so that I would live. I won't let him down." I recalled from my own memory. It had almost become a prayer of sorts. Each day and night, I thought about that saying and how true it really was. 

"That type of thinking is unhealthy Jemirko, and it's gonna get us all killed." he replied. "You can't keep doting on Gustaf's death. He died so you could live. I'm not denying that. But he also died knowing that you would surpass his power. You need to learn to accept that, if you ever want to beat me." He gave a knowing grin my way and for a split second, I was back in Baste Prison and at Vaizel. I remembered when me and Ban had fought. It seemed like an eternity ago now.

I sighed at this and sat beside the Fox Sin. 

"I don't want to fight you anymore. I don't want to love you anymore either. If I want to accept anything, it's that you'll never love me in return." 

Ban just laughed in my face. My blood started to boil and a blush crept up my face. 

"The fact that you didn't think I knew that is weird to me. A blind man on a rainy day could tell that you had feelings for me." he responded with another laugh. "But just because I love Elaine, doesn't mean that I don't love anyone else. I want to protect my friends and I wanna protect Elaine."

He stared down at the ground in thought as he looked for the right words to say. 

"And I wanna protect you too because I love you...Jericho. You saved me and Elaine's life and risked your own many times. Even through my healing factor, you would stay by my side until your final breath. Nobody can ever take that away from you, and I love you for it." A tear threatened to seep from my eye, but I resolved to not let it fall. "I won't ask you to stay or go. But I do care about you barber boy, and so does everyone else on this team. You have my thanks, and since your the only human I can tolerate, that makes you my friend. So I'll be there for you when you need a friend. I love you Jericho."

The lust I felt for him urged me to kiss him right then and now, and I did. Then I cried into his jacket. Each tear was one of passion and love. As I let myself go from his comforting embrace, I saw him as my friend. He might have been unobtainable, but he was still the kindest man that I'd ever known. I would always love him for it. 

When I looked at the pond again, it had frozen solid. The intricate designs on the surface of the ice was astounding and beautiful to look at. Ban pat me on the shoulder before rising up and taking his leave of me. It may have hurt to be friendzoned like that, but now I knew the kind of person Gustaf wanted me to become. He wanted me to just be myself. And right now, I couldn't think about pretending to be anyone else again.