Gifts From the Heart
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the canon characters of the Seven Deadly Sins. They belong to their Netflix owners and any other affiliated owners to the show. I have only watched the first nine episodes of Season One of the show and have no knowledge of the mangas' content, so please do not spoil anything, but if I get anything that's not a spoiler wrong, please correct me. So, without further ado, here's the story! Oh, one more thing. I don't speak Japanese; I only watch the Japanese dub, so any mistakes I make if I try to type in Japanese need to be pointed out where I don't make them in the future!
Elaine gave Ban the ultimate gift that the guardian fairy could bestow: the chance at life. How could he repay that debt? The now immortal Ban thinks of this as he lies on his favorite green couch, a glass of ale in one hand as he continues to ponder the question. Through some twist of fate, Elaine had been resurrected and brought back to Ban after all seven of the Seven Deadly Sins had been reunited. Ban hadn't questioned how it was possible; after all, he had been working towards a similar goal for years. When Ban and Elaine had been reunited, they wasted no time crashing their lips together without having to fear one would transfer water from the Fountain of Youth to the other. Then, Ban had picked Elaine up in his arms and gently carried her back to their campsite. Dutifully, Ban had offered his room- which was technically still Elizabeth's- to Elaine, thinking she must have been exhausted from her journey back to the living. Ban wasn't wrong in his prediction. Almost as soon as the blonde fairy's head hit the pillow, she fell asleep as her light blue-haired warrior tucked the sheet and blankets around her. He pressed a light, tender kiss to her forehead before turning out the light in the room by blowing the candle out. With that, Ban retired to the room that has his favorite green couch, sprawled out on the fabric, and began to happily snore and enter dreamland.
Elaine had returned to Ban's life six days ago, and every day had been well worth the years of wait. The first day after her return, Ban had caught Elaine up on everything that had happened to him since Elaine's- Well, they didn't talk about that…. Despite Elaine's assurance that she knew everything that happened to Ban over the years, the Fox Sin of Greed insisted on telling her anyway. He exemplified how much he had missed her after recounting each event, kissing her lips, top of her head, or her cheeks each time. The other five days had been spent with Elaine recuperating under Ban's watchful eyes; he makes her three of his best meals every day, and Elaine can't believe she has never tasted Ban's cooking before now.
Today, however, Elaine is not by Ban's side. Elizabeth had suggested Elaine come along on their girls' day that Diane, Merlin, and Elizabeth have had scheduled for the last month. However, the princess, giant, and sorceress had not decided on what their girls' day would entail. Elizabeth wanted to get her nails done while Diane was insistent that they should go to the local wrestling tournament, on the other hand. And so, it was up to Merlin, ever the mediator, to make a compromise; Merlin suggested that the four of them should go to the wrestling match and then go to get their nails done. At the insistence of Ban, Diane, and Merlin- mostly Diane and Ban- Elaine leaves with the girls, not without first pressing a gentle kiss to Ban's cheek.
"Have fun, Elaine," Ban whispers in her ear, dropping a kiss onto the saint's golden locks with his famous smile exposing his sharp canines in the process.
"I will, Ban," Elaine grins up at him, her golden eyes meeting Ban's dark red eyes. "Don't worry too much about me," she gently commands, feeling Ban's large arms wrapping around her waist as she pulls her small frame closer to his warm chest.
"Elaine," Ban whispers once more, holding Elaine against his chest and never wanting to let her go again. "Nothing you can ever say will make me stop thinking about you, darling," the blue-haired Fox Sin of Greed confesses.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Diane calls from outside the Boar Hat, wanting to get a move on. "We're going to miss the fights if you don't let Elaine go, Ban!" the giant continues to express her impatience at wanting to leave.
"Bye, Ban!" Elaine quickly says, swiftly escaping Ban's grasp and moving over to join Merlin and Elizabeth.
"Goodbye, Elaine," Ban tenderly calls after her. "And, Merlin, take care of her."
"Of course, Ban. She'll be fine," Merlin insists.
And with that, the girls leave the Boar Hat, and Ban retires to his favorite green couch.
Currently, Ban is sitting on the couch with the same bottle of ale beside him as he works on his third glass. Suddenly, a though pops into Ban's mind as he looks off into the distance.
"Elaine! It's her birthday next week!" he excitedly shouts, thinking of celebrating the guardian fairy and the light she gave to his life. "How can I make sure her day is special and let her know how much I love her? Hmmm…." Ban speaks out loud, resting one hand against his chin in the process.
The Fox Sin of Greed begins to think hard about what Elaine loves and if he could feasibly think of any suitable ideas.
"I've got it! Ha-ha!" Ban grins before laughing, a sudden sense of focus in his dark red eyes. "Elaine told me all of her favorite things all that time ago at the Fountain of Youth! And I know her favorite thing of all…" he slyly remarks, light blue hair fluttering lightly in the breeze coming from the open window.
It was a perfect plan! Ban would begin executing it tonight. A smile creeps onto his face, and the famed Fox Sin of Greed stands up to go explore the town around the Boar's Hat to find supplies for his plan.
Night falls a few hours later, and Diane, Merlin, Elaine, and Elizabeth return to the Boar's Hat with smiles and laughter accompanying them home.
"I still can't believe I caught that knight's tooth!" Diane excitedly cheers, holding up said tooth with an expression similar to pride.
"Why do you need to bring the tooth back anyway, Lady Diane?" Elizabeth inquires, a bit repulsed by Diane's idea of a souvenir.
"Because it's so cool!" Diane defends her choice, practically giddy over the bloody tooth in her possession. "The guys won't believe my luck!" the Serpent Sin of Envy brags, quieting her voice slightly as they near the campsite.
"And because Arthur insisted we show him actual proof and cool souvenirs to say we actually attended a match," Merlin reminds, a slight grin creeping onto her features as she thinks of her red-haired boyfriend.
"Thank you for inviting me," Elaine softly expresses her gratitude. "I really did have most wonderful time," the fairy assures, walking between Merlin and Elizabeth.
"You're welcome to hang with us any time, Elaine!" Diane announces, pausing to see she accidentally chipped the orange paint off one of her giant nails.
"Of course, Elaine! You had no girl friends for long than you can remember, so of course we invited you!" Merlin gently says in a happy tone.
"Yes, Lady Elaine, it was exciting and an honor to make your acquaintance," Elizabeth smiles, her eyes crinkling as she happily expresses her emotions.
"Who wants to bet that the boys are already asleep by the time we get back to camp?" Diane laughs, pulling to a stop a few hundred paces for the others- or about ten steps for Diane- from camp.
"I'll take that bet," Merlin smiles, hitting her fist against Diane's much larger one to show that they had an agreement.
"Surely Sir Meliodas would still be awake and awaiting our return," Elizabeth comments, thinking that the Dragon Sin of Wrath and leader of the Seven Deadly Sins would not be able to rest until all of his friends and group members are home safely at the Boar's Hat.
"You mean he's waiting for you," Diane taunts, slightly out of malice as some days she still wishes the captain noticed her for the girlfriend material that she could be.
Then again, ever since his return to the Sins, King has grown considerably closer to Diane, and if you were to ask any of the rest of the team, they would also say they saw the sparks of romance beginning to spark between the two.
"Ban will be awake," Elaine confidently challenges Diane's opinion, as she knows that her boyfriend and best friend in the world would not go asleep until he had safely seen her into her room for the night. "You saw how much he wanted to know if I would be safe," the blonde saint continues to explain her reasoning, and Merlin and Diane share a knowing look between one another.
"True," Merlin begins to comment, only for Diane to cut her off, talking animatedly about her own theory.
"But, have you seen how fast Ban falls asleep? For an immortal who doesn't have to have sleep to function, he sure does sleep a lot!" Diane excitedly shouts out in a blur of words so fast if you weren't listening at the beginning, you would have missed half of the conversation. "Especially when he's had too much to drink!"
"Diane!" Merlin shouts in disapproval, seeing how Elaine looks down at the ground at this statement.
"What? It's true!" Diane insists, her face showing that she is right.
Merlin hits Diane against the leg to get the giant Serpent Sin of Envy to stop making comments about Ban in the presence of Elaine after the fairy had just gotten the man she loves back after they both nearly died all those years ago at the Fountain of Youth. Elaine could see the good in his heart, and that was all that mattered.
Well, the results of the bet are not very clear, as it appears that Escanor and King are the only ones still awake.
"You're late," King speaks up as he levitates off of the ground and over to his sister and the rest of the girls of their group.
"Only by ten minutes," Diane argues against him, moving over to stand next to the Fairy King as he looks over at Elaine to make sure that she had not been harmed in any way.
If there weren't so many people watching, Elaine would have rolled her eyes and then told King that he worried too much about her and that she was fine. In Elaine's opinion, it is cute when Ban worries about her, but when King devotes much of the day to making sure no harm comes to her, Elaine feels smothered and wishes he would stop and let her be.
"It is just good to have the four of you back home again without any injuries or complaints against those who usually want to see us dead," Escanor steps in as a cool-headed mind, not wanting the situation to spiral out of control and lead to the explosions of tempers.
Before any more questions could be directed at her, Elaine begins to head inside the Boar's Hat to go into her room and prepare to sleep for the night.
"Ban!" Elaine quietly calls as she enters the bar, not quite knowing where Ban is choosing to sleep tonight.
During her six days back with him, Ban had migrated to two sleeping locations: either the green couch he loves so much or on a pile of blankets inside the doorway of "Ban's" bedroom. And by Ban's bedroom, it is known to mean Elizabeth's bedroom that Meliodas gave the princess before they broke Ban out of Baste Prison.
There is no immediate answer, and Elaine begins to believe that maybe her Fox Sin of Greed has fallen asleep without waiting for her to come home from her girls' night. It wouldn't be the first time Ban had fallen asleep without meaning to in their time together.
"Ban!" she calls again, a bit louder this time as she nears the hallway with her bedroom.
Thinking that maybe the immortal man in question may just be waiting on the edge of the bed for her, Elaine pushes the door to "her" bedroom open only to find that the room is vacant and has no sign of a bandit named Ban. Crossing the floor to the bed where she would collapse and fall asleep any second, Elaine catches sight of a gold envelope that is addressed to her on the bed. Said envelope is surrounded by no fewer than a dozen white roses, all perfectly holding their shape, fragrance, and overall beauty. With the bare candlelight of the room- Ban must have lit that candle in her absence- Elaine can barely see to open the envelope with her name scrawled on it in that familiar etchings of a barely legible handwriting. Well, barely legible to anyone but her. Inside the envelope is a piece of paper with the same barely identifiable handwriting, and if that didn't scream Ban to Elaine, the scent of the paper would tell her the owner of the paper in a second. Ban's cologne scent is all over the letter, and Elaine wouldn't put it past Ban to spray a bit of his cologne onto the paper before he sealed it into the envelope.
Looking at the letter nearly takes Elaine's breath away at the words scrawled on the page meant for her eyes only. Hope and love flutter in her chest, and Elaine can't help but read the letter in his comforting, soothing, and overall calm tone of voice.
My dearest Elaine,
You are the light of my world, and I honestly hope you know how much your love means to me. I was truly lost without you by my side. There were many days when I wanted to just give up, but your voice pushed me on and made me believe in myself and my mission. I couldn't have made it this far without you. When you gave me the water from the Fountain of Youth, I began to realize just how stupid, selfish, and vain of me it was to stay by your side when you had more important jobs to do than make sure a human bandit survived a demon attack. As if I could protect you… Elaine, I failed you once. I won't make that mistake again. I promise. Deeply in my heart, I do promise that you will never again be a victim of my greed. I can never atone for what I did to you, my dear Elaine. I just hope that you can forgive me, even though I am beyond your forgiveness.
Wow, Elaine. This is harder than I thought. You're probably either crying or smelling the flowers right now. Knowing you, you're probably doing both, actually. Anyway, I wrote this letter to express how much I love you, Elaine. You gave light to my life where there was only darkness. You gave me a sense of purpose to fill my life with. You gave me hope, memories, and kindness. But, most of all, Elaine, you gave me love. Pure, sweet, thought-consuming love that fills me from my head to my toes. And that's a whole lot of love, Elaine if it can travel through my whole body at once. (If you haven't noticed yet, darling, I'm pretty tall.)
Now there's a reason for the flowers. Well, two reasons, actually. No, they're not stolen; I picked them myself and got a local shopkeeper to arrange them. Reason one is relatively simple to figure out if I'm being honest. Take one more look at them, Elaine. What do you see? White roses, yes. Now, why did I pick them for you? Well, that begins reason one. They symbolize our love, my darling fairy. I know I'm starting to ramble. Bear with me, please. White roses. Hmmm… They are our love embodied in flower form. Pure, gentle, delicate, never fading away from one another. I've lost the words I was thinking of, Elaine. Ha. That's the funny part. I had so many before I started to write this. Then when it came to putting them on paper… Wow, Elaine. I'm so bad at this. Rip my life.
"No you're not, Ban," Elaine whispers into the still air of the bedroom before returning to reading the manuscript by the dying candlelight. "And I don't know why you would write Rip my life. What is that even supposed to mean?!" the saint visibly gets agitated and confused as her golden eyes try to go back to the letter.
Alright. Second reason. It's easier for me to express than the first one. I think. We'll try. Here goes. Okay, so I realized a very important fact that I don't think you realized was around the corner. Yes, my dear, sweet Elaine, I am referring to your birthday, you stubborn fairy. I know you generally don't like to celebrate your birthday because it reminds you of how alone you were for 700 years. Sore subject, yes; I'm aware. Don't hate me for that. Or hurt me…. Just setting some ground rules, Elaine. There aren't any tall trees around for you to throw me off of this time, but there is a mountain, so… Ha-ha. Laugh, Elaine. I hear it's good for a person to just laugh. But, this year, I am going to change everything you have ever thought about your birthday. This I promise to you. You won't be alone this year at all. And, for the next week until your birthday, you are going to get a special gift from me. So, with that, I end this letter before I become too lost for words. Alright. That's all I wanted. Goodnight, my dear Elaine. Sleep well, and know that I love you with every bone in my body, and I'll never stop.
Sincerely yours forever,
-Ban
Elaine finishes reading the letter, and tears spring into her golden eyes. Laying the roses down gently on the bed, Elaine also sets the letter down on the nightstand before she sprints out of the room and down the hallway towards the room with Ban's favorite green couch in it. Skidding to a halt, Elaine notices that Ban is asleep on the couch, light snores escaping his mouth as is common for the immortal Fox Sin of Greed whenever he has just recently fallen asleep. A small pool of drool begins to form near his chin as his mouth remains open, exposing his sharpened canines as he continues dreaming. Not wanting to wake him, Elaine softly presses a chaste kiss to his forehead while she strokes one hand through his light blue hair.
"Thank you, Ban. I love you and I am so happy to know how much you care about me. It's really sweet," Elaine whispers, dropping one more kiss to Ban's face, this one near his hairline.
With that, Elaine walks down the hallway and back into her own room, prepared to go to sleep for the night. When Ban is left alone, and he's sure he's alone now, Ban opens his scarlet eyes and happily sighs to himself.
"You're so welcome, Elaine. I love you and can't wait to make you mine," Ban whispers into the night, only to be interrupted by a shrill voice.
"HEY IN THERE! Aren't you supposed to be asleep? AHHHH!" Hawk shouts, and Ban has the talking pig in a headlock so fast that Hawk can barely process what is going on.
"You heard none of this. Do you understand?" Ban growls, making the point to show every one of his canines.
"What's in it for me?" Hawk inquires, wanting something out of the deal.
"How about I don't cook you for breakfast in the morning? Is that a good enough compromise for you?" Ban smirks, and Hawk turns an unnatural shade of white.
"EEP! Yes, Ban! I'm sorry!" Hawk shouts before turning tail and fleeing out of the room to find Elizabeth and hope she wouldn't kick him out of "her" room.
"Stupid pig. Now, I can go to sleep and plan the rest of the week," Ban grins and laughs to himself before lounging on the couch, tucking his hands under his head to create more of a pillow for himself.
This week was going to be an interesting one, that is for sure.
The next day, Ban makes Elaine a special breakfast spread of all of her favorite foods to show her how special she is to him. Then comes Elaine's next present that Ban got for her: a special necklace that has both of their birthstones surrounded by a gold heart along with the date they first met engraved on the heart as well. The gift alone had made Elaine weep, but when Ban began to explain how hard it was for him to track down a jeweler who could make the necklace especially for her in such a short notice. Elaine had asked him if his birthday put too much pressure on him, and Ban replies that: "No, Elaine, it doesn't. I did not mean to make to make my comment sound like a complaint. It is never any trouble to make any special arrangements for you, my guardian fairy."
On the second day after the roses, so the third day of gift giving, Ban gives Elaine a very large journal, knowing that she loves to write down her thoughts in a daily journal. Her old one had been destroyed during the attack at the Fountain of Youth all those years ago. And so, Ban knew that he needed to get her a new one where she could fall back into her tradition of writing in her journal every night before she goes to sleep in the evening. That gift had been rewarded with a kiss on the lips from Elaine as she squeezed his neck. But then, when she opened the journal and found the first page covered in sentiments and short love poems from Ban, Elaine had all but screamed in love and happiness. Her cheeks blushed a brilliant shade of red, and it took all of the other Sins' self-control, particularly King, from asking why she looked like a tomato or why Ban had made her cry so much in the past few days. The immortal bandit mostly gives Elaine her gifts in secret, enjoying the intimate, romantic moments he can spend with her alone when either all the others are still sleeping or when they are searching for intel or magical threats nearby so Ban sees an opening to sneak the gifts to her.
On the fourth day of gifts, Ban's gift to Elaine actually ends up laying in the bed with her for the rest of the week, smelling like Ban and offering so much comfort that Elaine lacked in both the 700 years at the Fountain of Youth and in the Necropolis. Ban had found a giant teddy bear that was easily taller- or more like as tall as Elaine- and he somehow snuck it into the tavern, holding the bear over his shoulder like a baker might transport a bag of flour or how a farmer might carry horse feed or grain to the barn. When Elaine had seen the bear, her golden eyes sparkled, and she hugged it tightly before doing the same thing to Ban. Gah! Even the bear smelled of his familiar, comforting scent that somehow always makes Elaine feel safe. She had asked Ban to place the bear in the bed before she went to sleep that night, and the guardian fairy wrapped her arms tightly around said bear, cuddling up to it as if it was a living, breathing being that could somehow feel the love she was devoting towards it.
"This way you'll never be alone if I have to go with the Captain and others to investigate a town or fight a battle or war, Elaine," Ban smiles at her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, and Elaine just lets herself sink against his warm chest, sighing contently when his strong arms wrap around her waist and back.
"Oh, Ban. Thank you, but I am never truly alone now," Elaine smiles up at him, nuzzling his hand with her face as she flashes that dazzling smile and her golden eyes at him.
"Why do you say that, Elaine?" Ban questions, casting his red eyes down to stare at the fairy wrapped in his arms.
"Because with your love in my heart, I never feel alone," Elaine answers, twining their fingers together before she slowly begins to levitate and captures his lips with her own, kissing him with the passion they both had to withhold in these long twenty years apart from one another.
Ban smiles through the smile, stroking one of his large hands through her golden locks in the process, enjoying the sensation of her lips on his. It was a long overdue sensation that Ban could not help but look forward to whenever they were alone and not interrupted by the other members of the team- again this was particularly King- who tend to come to talk to either Ban or Elaine during their romantic kisses or declarations of love.
The fifth day of gifts had Elaine entirely giddy, and she had bounced up and down for a solid half hour, jumping to try and reach the gift from Ban's arms. However, not everyone was pleased with the gift the Fox Sin of Greed got for Elaine just two days before her birthday. Hawk, for one, is one of the least pleased with Ban's decision.
"BAAAANNNN…..!" Elaine drags out her boyfriend's name, doing her best to jump up one more time and take the wriggling present from Ban before he can keep it from her any longer.
"Elaine, pouting will get you nowhere, my love," Ban teases, passing his tongue over one of his sharp canines as he continues to lock his gaze with his lover.
"But, you've gotten to look at this gift for days!" Elaine makes her point, pouting out her top lip much like the child Ban had mistaken her for twenty years ago when they first met.
"And that doesn't make it any more mine than yours," Ban grins with a small smirk passing through in the process.
"What? That doesn't even- That doesn't even make sense, Ban," Elaine argues, not seeing where Ban is going with his crazy logic today.
"Okay. All right. Fine. You can have your present," Ban finally concedes, and he kneels down carefully before he sits down on the ground, and Elaine's eyes are practically hearts at this point.
"SHE'S SO CUTE!" Elaine excitedly shouts, actually climbing over Ban's legs to get to the furry creature running back and forth between Ban's feet, trying to find a way to escape from his confines.
"Yes," Ban coolly remarks, moving his hand down to scratch lovingly at the little head of the fuzzy Japanese Chin puppy that is amusing herself by running between Ban's legs like he is a giant obstacle course. "She is a little cutie, isn't she? I saw her and knew the two of you would be perfect for one another," the Fox Sin of Greed smiles, scooping the puppy up in his arms and then placing her into Elaine's arms with a sense of affection most people and supernatural beings alike never get to see of Ban.
The Japanese Chin puppy is mostly white with a few brown spots on her back and a patch of brown fur over each eye. She is about eight and a half weeks old, and already Elaine loves her new puppy to pieces in the few minutes that she has been able to see her. The little Japanese Chin has the cutest little black button nose, and it wiggles in the cutest way when she is exited or trying to look as cute as possible. Elaine begins to hug the puppy to her chest, stroking her soft fur and feeling her hands sink into the downy fluff that is the wiggling Japanese Chin puppy.
However, the little puppy seems to have other ideas as to who she wants to be cuddled by. She wiggles enough to where she jumps out of Elaine's arms and onto the guardian fairy's lap before making it down to the ground and scampering towards Ban. She sits at his feet, cocking her head to the side and looking up at him with what can only be described as, well, puppy dog eyes for lack of a better phrase. She happily yips, wagging her whole body at one time, doing her best to climb up Ban's legs and get back in his lap.
"No," Ban clicks his tongue against his cheek, wagging one finger at the puppy in question who continues to try and climb onto his massively long legs. "Hey, now," he addresses the puppy, petting her head but keeping his legs blocking her route of escape from Elaine. "Go to her," Ban continues with an amused smile present on his face. "Go to Elaine, now. She's the birthday girl," he instructs softly, pressing a small kiss to the canine's forehead. "Now, go to her, Aika," Ban tells the puppy, turning her around and gently pushing her back to where hopefully she will head towards Elaine.
"Aika?" Elaine inquires in a curious tone, turning to face Ban and she then smiles as the puppy she was gifted comes towards her and climbs in her lap. "Why did you pick Aika?" comes the next question from the princess of the fairy world.
"Well, Elaine, Aika means love song," Ban starts to explain, scooting closer to Elaine and wrapping an arm around her in the process. "So, it's what I've been calling her the past few days since she is a gift to commemorate our love and your birthday, darling," he happily sighs, resting his back against the wall and wrapping one of his larger hands against one of Elaine's much smaller ones.
"I love it, Ban," Elaine grins at him, resting her head in the crook of Ban's neck as he gets into a more lounging position. "That's a perfect name for her. I love Aika; she's beautiful and so sweet," the blonde admits, love ever present in her golden eyes as she looks between Ban and Aika who is currently pawing at the ringlets of Elaine's hair.
"I'm glad, Elaine," Ban honestly tells her, and he leans to press a kiss to her lips, before being interrupted by a high-pitched voice once again.
"I TOLD MELIODAS NO PETS! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!" Hawk shouts as he runs into the room to find Ban, Elaine, and a puppy.
The puppy is the problem to the talking pig. He doesn't know what to do.
"We can't have animals in the bar!" he continues to squeal, only for Ban to give Hawk a piercing look that could kill if only looks could do such a thing.
"Relax, Pork Chop. Aika won't do any harm, and she's not as big of a health code violation as you are," Ban calmly says in his nonchalant tone of voice that lets most people believe that he is fine with whatever they have to say.
However, everyone on the team knows that when he is annoyed, Ban will have such a look in his red eyes, and there are other tell-tale signs that he is not uncaring. Thus, Hawk drops the conversation and scurries away to find Elizabeth again, hoping to stay away from Ban's withheld anger. And, at the end of the night, Aika ends up sleeping in a pile of blankets in the floor of Elaine's room, and Ban joins her in the same pile of blankets, snuggling the puppy as he snores, knowing that Elaine is safe and alive on the bed above him. Both Ban and Elaine sleep the best they have in a while, neither one waking up throughout the night as they usually do.
The next morning, Elaine wakes up to find a charm bracelet on her pillow with Ban kneeling on the bed looking over the pillow at her with a smile on his face.
"Mornin'," Ban whispers gently, pressing a kiss to Elaine's forehead and then followed by a kiss on her lips.
"Good morning, Ban," Elaine grins back at him, returning the kiss to his lips and then she scoots over closer to him. "What's this?" she questions, noticing the charm bracelet.
"A charm bracelet," Ban deadpans, a smile tugging at his lips. "All the places I've been or seen, along with all the places you've seen or been as well," he explains. "And, a map," Ban announces, pulling out a piece of parchment that has a map of the known world on it. "For you to pick anywhere you want to visit with me in our lives. Anytime you want to go, we'll go. I don't care how far we go or how long we're there, as long as I'm with you," the light blue-haired ex-bandit assures in such a sincere voice.
"Oh, Ban," Elaine breathes, a content sigh escaping her lips. "It's perfect. I can't wait to travel the world with you," she admits, her golden eyes locking onto his scarlet ones.
"And you'll make the whole world seem like an adventure, baby," Ban honestly tells his lover before he moves to where he's sitting on the edge of the bed with her. "Do you want some breakfast? I figured we could eat and then go and check out the town together," he suggests, scratching at the back of his neck with one hand.
"It sounds like a plan, my dear Ban," Elaine answers him, sitting up in the bed before she pulls herself to where she is sitting on Ban's legs.
And with that, Ban and Elaine head downstairs for Ban to cook up some breakfast for them before they go and explore the town with an enthusiastic Diane and Elizabeth. Diane really just wants to see if there is another knights' jousting or wrestling tournament going on for her to get some more unique souvenirs.
On the seventh day, Elaine's actual birthday (March 14th), her last gift does not come until that evening. During the morning, the team spent all the wee hours doting on Elaine, celebrating her return and life as she has not had many chances of celebrating her birthday while alone guarding the Fountain of Youth. Ban makes Elaine a birthday cake, and the gang all starts to sing Happy Birthday to her, being led by an unusually excited King and Diane. After singing her the typical birthday song, Ban cuts the cake and distributes it to each individual member, giving Elaine, Diane, and Elizabeth the biggest pieces as the women have been some of his closest friends this whole time and who have not judged his decisions. Yes, Meliodas is Ban's best friend, but he couldn't give Meliodas the largest piece. That would mean Meliodas would win their little rivalry they seem intent on continuing every day. Afterwards, the rest of the team give Elaine their gifts they bought for her over the week, but Elaine can't help but think that none of them compare to the gifts Ban has gotten for her this week. Next, they play a variety of party games, most of which Ban and Meliodas end up engaging in a personal rivalry and any time they could be put up against one another in a game, they eagerly chose the option.
That evening, Ban prepares a picnic for Elaine and they whisk themselves away to a field not too far away from the Boar's Hat- but not too close, either- to have their dinner in a secret spot.
"I brought all your favorite foods," Ban tells his lover, pulling out an arrangement of sandwiches, fruit, and other goodies that he often makes for his fairy. "And even a bottle or two of ale," he devilishly smiles at Elaine.
Elaine's face brightens up and then reddens slightly as she realizes how much King would disapprove of her drinking any of the drinks that Ban loves so much. However, King isn't here, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?
"I love you," Elaine tells him, even though she is already positive that he knows of her love.
"Back at 'cha, Elaine," Ban grins, pressing his chest against her back as he comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. "You know I couldn't live without loving you," he admits, and Elaine knows that technically he could since he is immortal, but she is perfectly aware of what he means.
"I had an idea that you couldn't," Elaine gently teases, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.
"You spoil me, Elaine," Ban softly tells her when their kiss is finished. "But, I find I don't mind that so much," he comments with a laugh, and Elaine playfully smacks his arm.
"Oh, I do, do I?" Elaine giggles as well, and then she stands up and begins to run past him, her white dress flowing behind her.
Ban is up within two seconds, leaping after her and pouncing closer to his love with every step. When he reaches the space directly behind her, Ban launches himself at his much smaller girlfriend, intent on getting her back to the blanket for the picnic he worked so hard to prepare. When he jumps, Elaine is not expecting it, and so their legs crash together, tripping both of them. Somehow, Elaine ends up on top of Ban's chest, but he has a hold of her hands.
"Let go, Ban," Elaine commands, a laugh escaping her voice as she looks at Ban's goofy smile.
"Not until you take you final gift from me," Ban demands in an equally as humorous tone as he tucks a piece of blonde hair behind Elaine's ear.
"And what might that be, Ban?"
"Me."
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Elaine states in confusion, her face switching from humorous to overly unsure of the command.
"Marry me," Ban suggests, pulling the ring out of his back pocket and slipping it onto Elaine's finger as she remains lying on his chest. "Take all of me: my heart, my soul, my life even if you want that! I just want you by my side every day and night, Elaine. I really can't live without you!" Ban passionately reveals his undying love to his love. "Marry me," this time the command is softer, and he locks his eyes on hers, scarlet watching amber, just wanting to get a feel of her emotions and thoughts.
"Yes," Elaine widely grins, a choked laugh escaping her lips. "Yes, Ban! I will marry you!" Elaine assures him, dropping her head down to where it is resting on his warm chest.
"I'm so glad, Elaine," Ban sighs, dropping a kiss to the crown of her head. "I really didn't know what I would do if you said no," he admits, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close to him.
"Well, lucky for you, you never have to find out," Elaine reminds him, snuggling closer to him and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"I am lucky. And I'll never forget it, Elaine."
"You won't. And I won't ever forget how grateful I am to have you, Ban."
She had never gotten so many perfect gifts in her life, least of all from the same person. Elaine is extremely happy to be loved by Ban, and she cannot wait to start her life with her immortal warrior. The greatest gift of all came from Ban's heart; the greatest gift Elaine has ever received is Ban's pure love for her.
Author's Note: And there's my second Seven Deadly Sins FanFiction! This was written for Banlaine Week 2017 Day 2 under the prompt word Gifts. I know it's late; please forgive me! The writing got away from me, and this became waaaaaay longer than I had intended. I hope everyone enjoyed, and look out for any other Banlaine stories from me! (I have ideas for other days of the prompt week as well, just not enough time to write them.) Well, I'm going to cut this author's note here where I can post this chapter before I have to go to bed since I have school tomorrow. But, it's Friday! YAY! Have a nice day, afternoon, or night; until next time, my dear readers! Hope everyone enjoyed, and, as always, reviews are always appreciated and helpful! ?
Oh, and the font for Ban's handwriting in my word document is called Matura M7 Script Capitals if anyone wants to look it up.