Welp, I accidentally wrote an entire fic for the reversed curses au.
Mels first mission and the first time he got so drunk he got a hangover! Enjoy!
When Mel becomes a teenager, he quickly gains a lot of power, and gets a little full of himself. To counteract that, Baltra gives him a mission to take out a beast... somewhere in the kingdom. It’s been bothering a certain village for a while and needed to be dealt with.
Meliodas is stoked, but for totally-not-babysitting reasons, Baltra ONLY lets him go with Gilthunder, Howzer, and Griamor. The trio and Mel have been close friends for years and get along well, plus the trio is not just strong (though not as strong as Mel) but also know to go about things in a strategic way. Mel tends to just plow through a fight with sheer power. “Everything dies if you hit it hard enough often enough, this strategy could never fail!” - Meliodas. And the thing is: it hasn’t. Yet.
So anyway, the four of them get to the village where Mel, new sword at the ready, is already looking for the monster. The reason the sword is new is because Baltra gifted him one specifically for this mission (which may or may not also be Mels first mission ever). Baltra would be a madman if he let Mel run around with a sword inside the castle though.
Gil pulls the over eager prince, who’s looking the monster in a fucking barrel, out of said barrel and facepalms. “Mel, we have to investigate first. This monster has evaded many knights, so it must have some degree of intelligence.” “But I don’t WANNA investigate! I wanna FIGHT!”
If Gil wasn’t using one of his two hands to hold Mel, he would have facepalmed again.
Howzer and Griamor were busy catching up, because fuck, Mel is fucking fast. The only reason Gil can keep up is because of his lightning powers. That’s literally the only reason.
“You can’t fight something you can’t find”, Gil explained to Mel, a very simple concept actually. Mel sighed and crossed his arms. “Fine, I guess you’re right.” He looked at Howzer and Griamor who were struggling to breathe. “So how do you do that?” With Mel calmer and paying attention, it was now Gil who sighed, but in relief.
So they ask around, observe the damage, and eventually find the monster. They can see it from afar, and Meliodas wants to storm in and take it out right away. Before he can though, Griamor manages encase him with his Wall ability. “Meliodas, you can’t just rely on your raw strength in every battle!” Gil scolds him. “Sure I can, it hasn’t failed me yet!” Mel replies, voice echoing off the purple walls and no less enthusiastic than a second ago. Meanwhile Howzer, who was getting a good look at the thing from the skies, returns and gives them the info that the monster is very heavily armed. “Not even you could break through, Mel.” “I haven’t even tried.” “And you won’t get to until we have a strategy”, Gilthunder decided. “If you only ever rely on your strength, you won’t know what to do when it fails you some day.” “Stars, you’re starting to sound like Hendi and Dreyfus.” “Do not insult my father, Meliodas.” Griamor warned him. Meliodas put his hands up. “Relax, I wasn’t.” “Good.”
So after Mels strength failing him because of the beasts heavy armor, then the four of them using strategy to defeat it, Mel having a realization about how strength apparently isn’t everything and the troublesome trio facepalming in unison, they dragged the monster back to the village to reassure them that it’s dead and gone and won’t cause any more trouble.
The villagers gather, and the mayor steps forward. “In the name of Vanya and all its citizens, I thank you, Holy Knights.”
While Gil, the leader of their little group, holds a little speech about how it’s their duty and honor to protect them, Mel has another realization.
As soon as Gil is done, Mel jumps on him, grabbing him by his collar, and yells. “WE’RE IN VANYA???“ “I- yes?” “Why didn’t anybody tell me???” “You didn’t know?” “This is the home of the most appraised ale in the entire kingdom! Why haven’t I had a sip yet???” “You’re too young for alcohol and you know that, Mel.”
The mayor sent them home with a few barrels of Vanya Ale and the body of the monster because Mel wanted to keep it. “It’s the monster of my first mission! I have to keep it!”
When the rested for the night, they were all exhausted. Not just from the monster fight, but also from watching the wagon like a hawk from Mel, even though he was busy carrying the monster. The others helped him, but still, it’s a big monster.
So when they started a campfire and settled down for the night, they neglected to watch the ale for a few minutes, and when Mel was nowhere to be found...
The three faces drained of color. “Oh no.”
They stormed to the cart where they found Mel slumped against a sealed barrel with an open one by his side and a tankard (where did he even get that from?) full of the precious ale in his hand. “ It’s -hic- really good”, Mel slurred, raising his mug. “Have you guys tried this?” Oh yeah, he was drunk to hell. Howzer was the first to approach him. “Mel, how much did you drink?” “Not... too -hic- much...” Griamor studied the barrel. “It’s half empty.” Howzer carefully took the tankard from him and handed it to Gil while Griamor took the half empty barrel to try and reseal it in some way. “How are you feeling, Mel?” “Pretty hot. Is it always this -hic- hot at night?” “Gods, you’re burning up!” “I’m -hic- fine!”
“Why don’t you come with me?” Howzer picked him up and carried him to the nearby stream, Gil followed. With the gentle swing of Howzers step, the warmth in his stomach and the alcohol in his system, Mel almost fell asleep. “Howzer... how do you know how to handle him like this?” Gil asked. “You weren’t... sneaking him anything, were you?” Howzer sighed. “I was.” “Howzer!” “Just a little! He wanted a taste and somehow convinced me to get him some. But I never gave him this much!” Gil sighed. “We were all careless. I should have known he would do this when he freaked out back at the village.” “Hey, it’s okay. He’s sneaky. Very sneaky.”
They got some water into Mel, cooled him down a little and got back to the campsite where Griamor was waiting for them, having already prepared everyones sleeping stuff.
Mel was already asleep clinging to Gil, who carried him on the way back. He was also clinging to Howzer with one hand, and wouldn’t let go of either of them, so they had no choice but to sleep next to each other. As they laid down to sleep, Gil whispered to the sleeping prince. “Mel, I love you like a brother. But if you throw up on me, I will punch you.”
The next day arrived, and everyone was awoken by a loud groan. “OOOHHHH, MY HEEAAAAD!” Meliodas was bent down low with his head in his hands. “It huuuurts, why does it hurt so muuuuuchhh!” “That, my dear friend, is called a hangover”, Howzer informed him. “It happens when you drink too much.” “But I didn’t! I had like four drinks or so!” Meliodas protested. “I never get hangovers!” Gil picked him up to soothingly rub his back. “You drank half a barrel, Mel.” “I’m... pretty sure I didn’t.” “You did. Now let’s get you some water, it helps.”
By the time they were back in the capital, Mel was good as new. Veronica and Margaret were waiting at the gates for their brother to embrace him and ask him how it went. He showed off the big monster to them that he was really proud of, and they all made their way to the castle. Baltra was alerted of Meliodas coming home and instead of waiting patiently, he couldn’t wait to hear all about his first mission. He was definitely impressed when he saw the monster. Not only did they defeat it, but also haul it all the way back here. “I really did learn a lot, father. I can’t always rely on just my strength.” Baltra ruffled his hair. “That’s right!” “Gee, Mel, you’re starting to sound like Hendi and Dreyfus!” Gil teased. “Oh shut up!” Mel playfully punched him, but laughed along anyways.
