This story takes place roughly after the Armour Giant Arc. I haven't finished the manga so just to be safe this story follows the events of the anime.
The Goat's Sin of Lust, Growther asks Elizabeth if she is in love with the captain. Embarrassed, Elizabeth avoids the question and attempts to step away from the group. Before she can get away Meliodas thanks her for bringing him the sword Liz tried to give him years before. Wondering about Meliodas' past lover, Elizabeth asks questions about the women who according to Cain, looks just like her. After his response, Elizabeth questions her feels about the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins. Does Meliodas have feelings for Elizabeth or does his heart still belong to Liz?
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Seven Deadly Sins or its characters. I am simply borrowing them for my pleasure as well as yours.
Elizabeth rarely drank.
Growing up as the third princess of Liones she was taught that a princess should always be in control of her emotions. Through her father's guidance, Elizabeth learned it was her duty to put the feelings of her people before her own.
Drinking alcohol made it harder for Elizabeth to hide her true feelings. Since joining the sins, Elizabeth stuck to pouring (and sometimes dropping) drinks rather than consuming them. Tonight was different. After her talk with the captain, Elizabeth's head was spinning. She was confused about her feelings for Meliodas after hearing his past lover Liz looks exactly like her.
Wanting to ease her mind, Elizabeth decided to join in tonight's binge fest.
Slightly embarrassed, Elizabeth turned towards the captain. "Sir Meliodas, if you don't mind I think I'll grab myself a mug and join in the celebration tonight." Unable to meet his gaze she stared at her knotted fingers and waited for his response.
"Of course Elizabeth, you know you're always welcome to whatever the Boar Hat has to offer."
Meliodas was slightly taken aback from her request but recovered quickly. The rest of the sins, with the exception of Growther, were shocked.
"You don't drink Elizabeth?" Hawk said raising his head from his bowl of scraps.
"Hawks right," Diane said raising an eyebrow at the princess. "I don't think I've ever seen you with ale unless it was for a customer or one of us."
"Well, I thought I'd join in celebrating Growther joining our cause!" Elizabeth could feel her cheeks heating. Now everyone had stopped what they were doing to listen to their conversation.
"Oh relax Diane!" Shouted Ban. He was already five bottles in and it started to show in his speech. "All the more reason for the princess to start!" Ban reached across the table for one of his unopened bottles of Bernia Ale, pulled the cork out with his teeth, and handed it to Elizabeth. "Here! Don't bother wasting time by getting a mug." Ban slurred, "I brought enough outside to ensure the Captain and I wouldn't need to get more ale from inside all night. Plus, you have a lot of catching up to do!"
"Oh, thank you Sir Ban." Elizabeth lifted her gaze and scanned the faces of the sins. Ban sat on the edge of his seat, his face radiating his excitement to see how tonight's events would turn out. Both King and Diane exchanged concerned looks but said nothing. Growther was cleaning his glasses; not seeming phased by the conversation and Meliodas had his typical boyish grin.
Meliodas raised his mug "To Elizabeth! Without her none of us would be here tonight enjoying Ban's great cooking and Bernia's great ale!" With that the sins turned to the captain, returned his smile, and raised their glasses. "To Elizabeth!" Overwhelmed with joy Elizabeth raised the bottle to her lips.
"Wow, you were right Sir Meliodas! This is the best ale I've ever tasted!" Elizabeth smiled at the captain before taking another sip.
"Well, of course, it is Elizabeth. Would I ever lie to you?"
"No! Of course not!" Taking another sip of ale Elizabeth considered her relationship with the captain. It is true that he never once told her anything that would lead her to believe he was lying. Nor did he ever really say much to give away his emotions. He rarely ever said anything all that personal. This bothered Elizabeth. Bringing the bottle to her lips, she wondered about Meliodas' past. She still didn't know why he was known as the sin of wrath or anything about his life before she met him. Through Cain, Elizabeth recently learned the Captain had a past lover, with the same name and looked just like her! It was still too overwhelming for her to process right now. Elizabeth couldn't deny that she began to develop strong feelings towards the Captain. However, finding out about Liz shook her more than she wanted to admit to herself. Wanting to enjoy her night with her friends Elizabeth pushed her thoughts of Meliodas to the back of her mind focusing on the bottle in her hand and the conversations at the table.
After one plate of Ban's amazing cooking and three bottles of Bernia Ale Elizabeth felt her body relaxing. Ban & Meliodas were engaged in a drinking contest to see who could out drink the other first. It was just a matter of time before Ban collapsed on top of Hawk asking him to carry him upstairs to bed.
"And with that I think it's fair for me to declare myself the winner!" Meliodas stood to seem completely unfazed by the alcohol. "It's about time we clean up out here and head to bed."
Diane was already curled up sleeping soundly with King by her side. That left Growther and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth grabbed as many plates and bottles she thought she could carry without dropping. As soon as she stood up Elizabeth felt the full effect of the ale hitting her system. After taking a moment to steady herself, Elizabeth began to walk inside.
"Hey, are you okay there Elizabeth?" Meliodas ask, his own hands full. He didn't like the hazy look in her eyes and the slight wobble in her step.
"Yes! I'm fine Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth stammered her response, embarrassed by her body's reaction to the alcohol. How did Meliodas do it? He had just as much as Ban if not more. Plus Ban was about twice Meliodas height and Ban had to be carried to bed!
"It's okay if you want to just head to bed, Elizabeth. Growther and I can handle the rest."
"No really! I'm fine! To be honest, I'm not even all that tired yet!" Elizabeth didn't want Meliodas to think she couldn't handle herself. He was always protecting her when they were in danger.
The last thing she wanted was him to feel like he had to protect her from her own decisions.
Not being convinced by her word in the slightest Meliodas smiled and asked Elizabeth to wash the dishes while Growther and himself finished outside. At least this way she couldn't risk falling and hurting herself.
Once Growther and Meliodas were done, Growther excused himself and joined Diane and King outside for bed. When Meliodas entered the kitchen Elizabeth was putting the clean dinner dishes away.
"Wow, that was fast! I was just coming in here to help you. Are you ready for bed, not Elizabeth? I think Hawk passed out from exhaustion after carrying Ban up the stairs and everyone else is sleeping." This was the first time in a while that Meliodas and Elizabeth were alone. "No, I think
I'm going to make myself a tea and watch the stars. Would you like to join me Sir Meliodas?"
Secretly Elizabeth was hoping he'd say yes. While washing the dishes, her thoughts from before came creeping back. With the help of liquid courage Elizabeth wanted the opportunity to talk to Meliodas. Elizabeth reaches for the kettle and began filling it with water "Sure Elizabeth, maybe the tea will help you sober up a bit before bed." Meliodas teased while squeezing her butt. Elizabeth felt her body react to his touch but said nothing. Although it wasn't the first time Meliodas had touched her that way, she felt a chill run through her body and pool in her core. "I'll grab us a blanket to lay on, meet you outside!" Elizabeth felt like she was in a daze. Not realizing what she was doing Elizabeth accidently overfilled the kettle. "Snap out of it!" Elizabeth scolded herself out loud "Just make the tea and join Sir Meliodas outside."
At first, Elizabeth and Meliodas sat on the grass in comfortable silence waiting for their tea to cool enough to drink. The minutes ticked by and Elizabeth's nerves were increasing. She didn't know how to bring up the topic of Liz without sounding like a total fool.
"So what made you want to go stargazing tonight?" Meliodas asked Elizabeth.
"Well, I never really got the opportunity growing up since Father didn't like us being outside the castle at night. It was such a warm night I thought it would be nice..."
Elizabeth only half fibbed. Although her goal was to talk to Meliodas it's true she always thought stargazing would be fun.
"I see." Meliodas was confused by Elizabeth's actions all night. Her usual calm innocent domineer was somehow off. Meliodas watched her face as she looked up at the stars. A mixture of wonder and awe was visible as she scanned the night sky. Elizabeth raised her tea to her lips and slowly took a sip of the steaming mug. She closed her eyes and visibly relaxed. Meliodas hoped that if she wasn't going to tell him what was bothering her the tea and the stars would ease her tension. Raising his own mug, the overwhelming smell of jasmine and lemon hit his senses. As soon as he tasted the hot liquid Meliodas was transported to 16 years ago. Jasmine tea with lemon was Liz's favourite. She used to make it for him all the time. He felt a lump form in his throat and his heart clench.
"Is this jasmine tea with lemon?"
Elizabeth turned to look at Meliodas. She could sense his sudden change of mood. "Yes, it's my favourite with lemon. I probably should have asked you before I brew it. If you don't like it I can make you something else."
Trying to get his emotions in check Meliodas shrugged. "No, it's fine. I just haven't had tea like this for a while... It was Liz's favourite too."
Elizabeth's heart stopped beating. This was it. Her opportunity to talk to Meliodas about his past.
"You loved her a lot did you?" Although Elizabeth has no reason to be jealous she couldn't help it. She knew the answer before she even asked yet she felt like she needed to hear him say it.
"Yeah, I cared a lot for her. Although we fought a lot she was special to me." Meliodas' usual happy go lucky attitude was replaced with a somber distant gaze.
"Do you still love her?" Elizabeth knew she was holding her breath, but she couldn't command her body to take in a breath.
Meliodas paused for what seemed like an eternity before answering. "When you truly care for someone you never really stop."
This was it. Meliodas' heart belonged to Liz and always would. Elizabeth could feel the tear forming in her eyes and her heartbreaking. Unable to look him in the eyes Elizabeth whispered
"I see."
"But…" Meliodas didn't know how to articulate his feelings towards Liz. He didn't want to hurt Elizabeth's feelings by talking about her be he didn't want to lie.
"But what?"
"But... over time things change. I'll always care for Liz, but I know the girl I knew sixteen years ago is gone. I now have others in my life to care for and protect."
This made Elizabeth smile. Although she knew Liz would always hold a place in his heart she had hope that maybe one day he would have room for one more.
Hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! This is my first shot at publishing anything I've written. I tend to just write for myself so I'm not too sure if I will publish anything else in the future. Let me know what you think by reviewing!