AN: Thank you for your reviews and constant support, without them I would have no inspiration left. They really mean so much to me. I live off of praise and feedback. Oh well... I hate long author's notes so here we go, on to the chapter!

Chapter 8

Meliodas had killed the assailant, and now his priority was assuring Elizabeth's health. He moved over to where she laid and kneeled down to sniff her, assessing her wounds and realizing the whip had a poison, which was coursing through her veins at the moment.

Meliodas was fuming. He felt a burning rage in his chest. His tendrils of darkness spread out searching for something to satiate his unquenchable wrath. It should've been enough. Killing the attacker who'd caused her pain should've been enough. But it wasn't. He felt like murdering the entire race of vampires for the one man's actions.

He heard a whimper and his eyes drifted back over to Elizabeth's form. She was sitting with her legs on her side in a mermaid pose. Her eyes were closed with her hands pressed to them so that no light would enter. She was visibly shivering in fear.

Meliodas had fucked up. He'd scared her, either with his display of cruelness towards that man or with his flare of darkness a second ago. He knew this could probably mean the end to his little peace of heaven. Elizabeth had once told him that she knew he was a good person, but having seen the real him, his true demon self, in action would definitely change her mind. Sorrow took wrath's place in Meliodas's heart at the possibility of losing everything he cared about.

He dissipated his darkness, reigning in his emotions for one last moment with his Elizabeth. If he only had one last chance to hold her, then he'd use it. After that, he would carry the memory of her warmth for the rest of his lonely existence.

Meliodas gently removed Elizabeth's hand from her eyes. She was crying. But what he found in those golden orbs was not fear, nor disdain, but relief. She threw herself at him, surrounding his torso with her arms and sobbed with renewed strength.

"M-meliodas! Y-you're ok-kay! I was so scareeed."

His hearts began to flutter, he melted in her arms and drew her closer to place his face on her head and burry his hands in her hair, "It's okay. I'm here."

After a few more fluttering heartbeats Elizabeth withdrew to sit up right, so she could place both hands on his face and bend down to kiss his forehead. "I bless thee Meliodas," Elizabeth let the warmth of her healing powers spread through him once again.

Meliodas's cuts from the man's whip where immediately healed, while Elizabeth still wore her own cuts and bruises. 'Why wouldn't she heal herself first?' wondered Meliodas. She was so selfless, carrying and simply good. He craved to be like that someday and desist his evil nature. He yearned to be good enough for her, to deserve her. At some point silent tears started streaming down his face. Elizabeth shushed him while she caught his tears with her thumbs.

Meliodas picked up his wounded goddess bridal style once more and took to the stairs of the theater where he cradled her on his lap.

"Why haven't you healed yourself?"

"I had to make sure I had enough magic to help you in battle if you needed support or to heal you if you where wounded. My cuts aren't too deep and- and well I can handle it but I couldn't bear to see you hurt…"

"Elizabeth, please heal yourself…" His tone was desperate. His hair was hiding the shame on his face at having her heal him first.

"What if more attackers show up and-?"

"Elizabeth." His hold on her tightened and his voice expressed distress.

A white light covered Elizabeth while her powers flared. In a fraction of a second she was as good as new and Meliodas let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Relief filled him when the smell of poison left her.

"Meliodas, are you mad at me?"

"What? No! Never! A- I thought you were mad at me?"

"Why?"

"Why? I beat that guy to a pulp and then… right in front of you. I let out my demon side…"

"You saved me."

Meliodas finally looked up at her. All his worries washed away with that three-word sentence. She wasn't going to abandon him.

As he looked into her eyes, he found a reflection of his emotions. She cared for him… maybe as much as he did. His hearts soared at the possibility of never having to give this up. Maybe he could spend his days with this amazing creature and someday even call her 'his'. The doting look she was giving him was all the confirmation he needed to lean in and place his lips over hers.

The kiss was soft and filled with emotion. Their lips moved in slow strokes, igniting each other's bodies with sensations.

Their lips parted but their faces were still close enough to feel each other's breaths.

"Elizabeth you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. From the moment I met you I've known you were special. All my thoughts have- It's just you that I-"

"Me too… Meliodas I feel…" Elizabeth had no name for the feeling he gave her but was willing to demonstrate it by closing the gap between their lips again, deepening their kiss. She poured everything she felt for him, trying to express how every stuttering or raising heartbeat, every butterfly-filled stomach, every blush, every bodily sensation he'd caused could only mean that he was someone special, someone connected to her in a way she'd never know.

Meliodas could feel the intensity of her emotions on the way her lips moved and he responded threefold, communicating without words how much she meant to him. How she was saving him from himself: his darkness, his loneliness and his basic demon nature. Meliodas slowly slid his hand from her knee up her thigh as he took control of the kiss, intensifying the rhythm. He heard a moan begin in Elizabeth's throat and he felt his darkness start to erupt, so he broke the kiss before he lost whatever self-control was left.

Elizabeth, however, had another plan in mind. She slid her hand along his jaw towards the back of his head, grazing his ear with her fingers to pull him towards another kiss.

Meliodas's demon mark appeared on his forehead as he moved them so that he was hovering over her on the ground of the steps. His lips left her mouth in a growl and started tracing the length of her jaw, her neck and her collarbone in sweet kisses the contradicted his devilish nature. All the while bringing forth whimpers and mewls from Elizabeth. He made his way down and then back up through the same path, to end back at her lips. She eagerly leaned to kiss him, but he hovered just beyond her reach. Right when she was getting desperate at the lack of contact, he used his tongue to outline her bottom lip.

The reactions he was causing her where so intense she couldn't form a thought. His tongue however was sinful. Her body was acting out of instinct at this point. As his tongue swept over her lips, she moved her hips in an upward glide against his pelvis.

This action managed to bring some control back to Meliodas even if his inner darkness was clawing for release. He needed some space to calm as he was about to jump back, Elizabeth's hold around his neck tightened, "Don't!" she said, "Don't leave me…" Her eyes seemed to take up half her face as she pleaded for his stay.

"Elizabeth, you play a risky game with me. I… Demons have a darkness within us. It's hard to explain but it can dominate us at time and make us act based on instinct."

"You would never hurt me."

"I could. Sometimes it's hard to control, and even more so after what we've been through today."

"You would never hurt me." She said, slowly this time.

"You really trust me, don't you?"

"With my life."

"Elizabeth…"

Meliodas nuzzled her head as they shifted their positions so they were lying facing each other.

"How was your day?"

Meliodas openly laughed at her question, "How was my day? Really?"

"Well… before all this."

"Umm… weird I guess. I fought with Chandler."

"Chandler? Why?"

"Well… he knows something's up. He's suspicious of my weekly absences and the fact that I ordered a cease of every raid on Britannia."

"You're the cause of that? They were discussing it this morning in the council meeting. Everyone thinks the demons are planning something terrible."

"Hah! Can't blame them, but nope not this time. Just a silly demon prince who's had a change of heart." Meliodas began tracing patterns up and down Elizabeth's arm.

"Hm… that's nice. Although… I'm sorry you fought with Chandler."

"Yeah…"

The sky had turned dark while they talked and paired with Elizabeth's exhaustion due to the amount of magic she used in the fight she quickly fell fast asleep.

Meliodas enjoyed looking at her sleeping face. She truly looked like an angel when her face was this relaxed. He let himself be lulled by the soft rhythm of her breaths. In and out. In and out. Soon he'd nodded off.