Title: What happens now?

Theme: #5 Ano sa... (Hey...you know...)

Fandom: Nanatsu no Taizai/Seven Deadly Sins

Pairing: KingxDiane

Note: Spoilers for the manga. This takes place after the most recent chapters. On that note, WHO IS PUMPED FOR SEASON TWO OF THE ANIME?! KYAAAAAH!

Disclaimer: I can't even update this fic on the regular. God forbid I actually own it. The fans would murder me!

What happens Now?:

What did the future hold for them now?

The question plagued the little king, spinning circles in his head, making it ache as the thoughts went round and round, persistent and unanswered. He was concerned. It seemed that even when things went right, they were going horribly wrong. And now..

Meliodas...

Ban...

Dolor...

...Gloxinia...

He had been the Fairy King for so long yet only now did he truly feel like the rightful ruler of fairy kind. He knew without a doubt that his destiny lay with the fairies of the Great Forest. It was his birthright. The duty he had been tasked with from birth.

Which led hm to his ultimate dilemma.

What did the future hold for them now?

Dolor, like Gloxinia, believed in his Seven Deadly Sins match, the Serpent Sin of Envy Diane. The former commandment had made his last request, bequeathing the title of guardian over all giants on the girls shoulders. It was an honor. A true privilege.

And it was making King miserable to think about.

He was proud of Diane. He really was. But he was now caught in a flux of conflicting emotions. He loved Diane. His heart tore at the thought of them being apart once again. But he respected her and couldn't deny the truth of Dolor's words. The Giants needed a change. Their numbers had been on a steady decline for a great number of years. When once their clans sported several hundred members, now their numbers rang only in the high dozens. Diane had never fully agreed with the Giant way of life, marking herself an outcast. She was very much the change that her people were in such desperate need for.

Hence his dilemma.

Harlequin had already abandoned the Forest of the Great Tree for too long. With Gloxinia's death there was now no Fairy King in residence there. As before, Harlequin was certain that Gerharde was doing her best to keep their people safe. Yet with demons ravaging the world as they were, it was highly possible that higher level demons would bypass the protective barrier as had happened in the past. He worried for everyone, for the people that depended on him. He could only hope that the Holy Tree would be able to protect them until the Seven Deadly Sins could defeat the last of the ten commandments. Once that was done he knew it would be time to return home. His wings told him so, a magical pull, a call from the Great Tree making it hard for him to keep from taking flight then and there.

That left the question about what Diane would do in the air.

He knew that the best thing he could do would be to speak with her on the subject, to merely ask. He was ashamed to admit that he was too scared of the answer. Diane had matured so much in the last few months and Harlequin knew that a good deal of the growth stemmed from discovering Matrona again.

Though she loved the Seven Sins, the fairies of his forest, and the people of Liones with all her heart, Diane also loved the Giants. Speaking from his own experience when he had returned to the forest with Ban, King knew how terrible a weight it was to bear when your own people scorned you. Diane cared little for the way the Giants lived but she had been friends with Giants before making the decision to leave. They were people to her just like everyone else and she worried for them. King was not silly enough to believe that she could live her whole life without reconciling with her kind. It would be asking Diane to leave a part of herself behind and King wanted Diane to be the best she could possibly be. If Diane could make a difference, help keep her people from extinction, she would do it, and he would be proud to know she had done it.

Even if that meant that he couldn't be around to share that with her.

The Fairy King cried out in frustration, hands roughly rubbing his hair back and forth until he looked as if he had spent a week in bed. His wings flapped, once, and he sighed morosely.

Things had been going so well! Diane had recovered her memories. He had begun to grow his wings at long last. The two of them had admitted their feeling for each other. Why oh why could things not go easily for them for once!?

He wanted Diane to be happy. No matter what. He knew that. He also knew that he was selfish. He wanted everything, to be King, to protect his people, to have Diane's love, and he wanted it all his way. The thought of giving up any of those things up made his lower lip jut out rebelliously as his eyebrows drew down into a scowl. What could he do to ensure that he could keep all those things?

"Mou... That's a scary face King." Diane remarked from behind. "Why are you mad?"

King turned and looked up over his shoulder, his expression twisting into concern. "Diane?"

She smiled down at him, her lavender eyes crinkled in affection, her face rosy. He felt a twist in his gut. She was so beautiful. He had loved her for as long as he had known her, charmed by the girl's strength and compassion. Hair fell over her shoulders, a single strand curling and sticking to her cheek. Hers had been the laughter that invaded his bleak opinion of the world, offering him a chance at happiness he had never thought he lacked until it stared back at him in the form of young Diane. Her naïveté countered his cynicism. She had changed him for the better and he knew that she didn't realize the extent of her influence. So greedy he was that the thought of splitting from the person that made him happiest hurt more than he could say.

Alighting to his feet he turned to fully face her before floating up and silently hugging her cheek. She started slightly, not expecting the show of affection, and she wondered if something more had happened to upset him. "King? Are you alright?"

He snuggled her, burying his face, relishing in her warmth. He couldn't do it. He could never, ever, give up Diane or the wonderful feeling of having her near. He had wasted enough time on his own feelings, stewing, regretting, hurting, and he didn't want to return to that life. In the end he really hadn't changed a bit. He was too selfish and he was tired of doing nothing. It was time to break out of the stigma his sin afforded him. Laying in wait for whatever it was the world had in store for him and Diane wasn't acceptable. He had to be the one to make things happen.

"Diane," He quietly murmured against her skin, lips briefly making contact in a brief peck. "I love you."

The skin beneath his hands and face bloomed with heat and he lifted his head to watch her eyes shut contently as she softly chuckled and said, "I love you too Harlequin."

They would talk, he decided. He would tell her about his worries, his fears, and she would respond with whatever worked best for her. They would sort through their problems and no matter what the result, they would come out stronger for it. He had to believe that.

Until then he allowed himself to simply cuddle her and smile happily when she giggled against him, her hair tickling his neck and his wings flapping excitedly from the strength of his resolve.

Owari

Sorry about the delay. Been working on my art instead of writing so yeah... My bad. Gonna try and keep on track though. Thanks for being patient guys. These last few themes kinda made me scratch my head but I was able to come up with some ideas that I think should work.

Thank you so much for reading!

Wow. Only nine more to go! We're almost there!