Author's Note

First, I am new and sensitive lmao. Criticism is always welcome, but just be gentle with me.
This story is very loosely based sometime in season two before the sins fight the ten commandments and follows Elizabeth's struggle with insecurity. Expect some very minor tweaks to character abilities and original plot lines from the show. I have a plan in mind for this story, so stay tuned if you're interested - there'll be more.
Hope you enjoy!

*I do not own The Seven Deadly Sins/Nanatsu no Taizai

Elizabeth sat on the grassy hill outside the Boar Hat and stared blankly up at the sky. Normally, she would be able to see clusters of stars, but thick fog blocked her view tonight. It was cold, much too cold for her to be out with no jacket, and she sensed that there would soon be rain. While the conditions weren't necessarily conducive to a prolonged outside stay, she much preferred cold, wet grass to being inside the bar.

It wasn't her friends. She didn't have many real friends growing up, so she clung to and treasured the friendships she made as an adult. Truthfully, being friends with the Seven Deadly Sins was undoubtedly one of the best things she had ever experienced. They had taken her in and devoted themselves to a cause, her cause, with enthusiasm. At first, all she felt was grateful, and she still did, but as time went on she began to feel like a burden. What had started out as a mild feeling of inadequacy had recently evolved into this crippling guilt. It polluted every colorful moment with the sins. The utter uselessness she felt had seeped into her heart and now defined her. It was the only thing she could think when she looked in the mirror.

Elizabeth let out a sigh. She knew that someone, probably Meliodas, would be out here soon to call her inside. She watched as lightning flashed across the sky, followed almost immediately by the roar of thunder. Raindrops began to fall on her face and she closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't want to go inside. Slowly, she stood up. Meliodas had brought the group to a secluded location to train so she wasn't familiar with the area, but seeing no alternative, she decided to take a walk.

The Boar Hat had just closed about an hour ago. It had been a slow day for business. Really, Meliodas was surprised they served customers at all, but a few thirsty travelers had trickled in throughout the day. Ban, King, Diane, and Elaine all sat at one of the tables laughing and drinking. They didn't do this often, but since Meliodas had decided to give the group a rest day tomorrow, they didn't have anywhere to be in the morning. Meliodas briefly considered joining them, but the thought of his warm bed and Elizabeth sounded incredibly appealing after such a long day. He said goodnight to the group and headed upstairs. His thoughts lingered for a moment on Elizabeth. She had seemed so sad and distant recently and he didn't know how to approach her about it without seeming overbearing. She'd gone to bed early the past few nights; Diane had very happily taken over the last hour as the Boar Hat waitress. When he had asked Elizabeth what was wrong, she told him she had a headache. And it wasn't that he didn't believe her, he just sensed that it wasn't the whole truth.

When he opened his bedroom door at the top of the stairs, it was completely dark. It wasn't until he turned on the bathroom light that he noticed the bed was still made, and Elizabeth was nowhere to be found. His heart began to beat faster, and anxiety swelled in his chest. As he quickly made his way back down the stairs, he tried to reason with himself. It wasn't likely that Elizabeth was in any kind of danger, which was what his mind always jumped to first. She also could have very well been somewhere else in the Boar Hat.

"Change your mind about drinks?" Ban asked as Meliodas walked into the bar area.

"No, actually. I'm just looking for Elizabeth." He said, keeping his voice light.

Everyone looked confused except for Ban. "The last time I saw her she was heading outside." The group looked at him questioningly. "She usually doesn't go out until around 3 am - I see her outside sometimes when I come down for a drink." He shrugged.

This brought about a whole new set of questions but Meliodas didn't have time to voice any of them because, as if on cue, there was a faint boom of thunder.

"Is it raining?" He ran to the door; a strong gust of wind blew in some precipitation. He stepped out of the Boar Hat and took a look around. It was dark and cold. Much colder than he had expected it to be. His anxiety quickly grew into panic. He didn't see her. Meliodas knew that Elizabeth was a very capable, smart woman. Those were some of the things he loved most about her. But even the smartest people could abandon common sense, especially when they were hurting. Hoping desperately that he was jumping to conclusions, he decided to circle the building.

Inside the tavern, Diane stood up. She too had noticed a change in Elizabeth, but she also had at least a vague inclination as to why her friend was pulling away. She saw the way that Melodias and Elizabeth looked at each other, stealing glances when one thought the other wasn't looking. He had blatantly flirted with her since the second she stepped in the door and yet, after all this time, they still were not officially a couple. Diane knew that if merely watching the two of them drove her crazy then it surely must have had a similar impact on Elizabeth. Over the past couple of weeks she had watched as her friend became more and more distant. Like Meliodas, she had planned to approach her about it in a more serious manner, but it never seemed like the right time. Just as she was pulling on her jacket Meliodas walked back inside. He was soaking wet, his blonde hair stuck to his face, feet sloshing in his shoes.

"Elizabeth is gone." He said flatly. "I'm going to go look for her."

Ban stood up. "I'll come with you. It's dark. You'll need an extra set of eyes." Diane nodded, walking over to join Meliodas by the door.

"Me too."

Elaine and King looked at each other in mutual understanding. "We'll come as well." Elaine said.

Meliodas looked at his group of friends in appreciation and nodded. "Alright. You'll want a coat though. It's not exactly warm."

The longer Elizabeth walked, the colder she became, the less she began to feel. She wasn't thinking about turning around or really anything at that moment except for how much she wanted to be someone else. As of late, she had become incredibly impulsive. She wasn't exactly sure why but it made her feel good to do something out of character. Yesterday, for really no reason at all, she climbed to the roof of the Boar hat in the middle of the night. To be entirely honest, she hadn't expected herself to make it to the top. In a valiant effort to persuade her to do literally anything else, her mind portrayed scenes of Elizabeth falling over and over. That probably should have bothered her, and it maybe would have a couple of weeks ago, but at that moment it felt more like motivation rather than a threat.
It had to have been around 11 pm now. Elizabeth could barely see the ground in front of her. She thought for a moment about the Seven Deadly Sins, and if they would be worried. Meliodas surely would have noticed she wasn't in bed by now. A small wave of guilt washed over her and her mind lingered on the Captain. After her nightmares had started, she began to distance herself from him. Elizabeth told herself that, even if the voice in those dreams was just her mind, it was better to hold him at arm's length anyway. Getting too close always ended heartbreak no matter how she looked at it. She tried not to think about the nature of their relationship too much, but it seemed to be inevitable. After all this time she still wasn't able to tell if she was anything more to him than something to objectify. She didn't necessarily like the way he groped her, the first time he did it she was absolutely horrified, but she did like his attention. Elizabeth knew long ago that she loved Meliodas, and she had held on to that feeling in spite of all her doubt. It was maddening to be so sure of her own feelings without the reassurance of reciprocation.
She let out a sigh. Truthfully, Elizabeth hoped that Meliodas and the other sins would just go to sleep. She wasn't worth the trouble, and the thought of them worrying made her stomach churn.

Her shoe, which was not meant for long walks in the rain, caught on something and she fell forward. Her arms hit the forest floor with a thud, and she internally rolled her eyes at her own lack of coordination. She stood up with a groan and brushed the mud off of herself in vain. Upon closer inspection, she realized that her foot had gotten caught on a large tree root. Curious, Elizabeth looked up to see an unusually tall tree. As a child, she had been quite the climber. She climbed mostly trees because they were the most accessible, and to this day nothing excited her more than seeing a good climbing tree. And this was a good climbing tree. The branches looked like they were arranged in a staircase, snaking up the trunk all the way to the top. She hadn't climbed a tree since she was ten years old, but to simply walk past this tree without climbing it would be an absolute travesty. Elizabeth took her shoes off, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. She hoisted herself up onto the first branch and slowly started to make her way to the top. It was still pitch black and raining but that didn't seem to hinder her much. It was exhausting to have a mind clouded with heavy thoughts and questions about herself that she couldn't seem to answer, but as adrenaline began to course through her those thoughts faded. It was a time-consuming trek, so when she got to the top, she decided to stay awhile.

Her shoeless feet dangled over the edge of a thick branch and she swung them back and forth. She watched lightning streak across the sky, once actually hitting a tree. Everything felt so far away from up here, almost like she was in an entirely different world. She thought for a moment how amazing this view was to watch a sunrise. For a while, she actually considered staying that long. At least an hour passed before she started to realize that she was shaking, and the longer she waited, the more violent it became. Elizabeth realized that she was not only cold but also weak from hunger. It had been a good while since she had eaten. She didn't skip meals intentionally, she just hadn't been hungry most of the day. Had she been sensible enough to eat and bring a jacket she may have stayed there until morning. Something about being so high up made reality feel very distant. It was a good feeling.

With a sigh, she began to climb down. Her hands were stiff from the cold and her arms and legs were shaking. She had almost made it all the way down when she slipped on one of the lower branches, banging her head against the branch below, and then falling flat on her face. She couldn't help but laugh at herself as she rolled onto her back. It hurt. And she was sure that she'd probably earned herself a couple of impressive bruises, but it was too dark to tell at this point. Elizabeth slowly pushed herself up off the ground, again trying in vain to clean herself off. Reluctantly, she started walking back to the tavern, praying that she would be met by nothing but silence when she opened the door.

It was a long walk back and Elizabeth was relieved when she was finally able to see the light from the tavern. She started running towards it, ignoring all the objections her body was making. She was completely out of breath when she arrived at the entrance and briefly paused before slowly opening the door. It was quiet. Extremely quiet. Everyone had gone to bed without a second thought after all. She pressed her back against the nearest wall and sunk to the floor. All of the insecurity and heavy sadness came crashing back down on her. So rather than joining Meliodas in bed, she sat on the tavern floor and cried herself to sleep.

Meliodas finally sat down on the nearest rock and rubbed his temple. They'd been outside in the rain searching for Elizabeth for almost two hours. He knew that they needed to go back. This wasn't fair to his friends. He would just look for her again in the morning. Ban put a hand on his shoulder and, as if reading his mind, said, "I'll come with you when the sun comes up." He looked up at his friend's face which wore an understanding smile.

"Ok." Meliodas said. He stood up, the rest of the group looking at him expectantly. "Let's go back."

They silently obeyed, too tired to talk. Diane felt completely drained emotionally and physically. It took everything in her to keep from crying. King looked over at her, smiling softly. He took her hand in his. "We'll find her." He whispered. She nodded, wanting to believe him. She couldn't understand where on earth Elizabeth had gone. There was no town for at least a hundred miles, and they had searched every inch of the forest to no avail. She couldn't have gone that far. And though it wasn't something she wanted to think about, she reasoned that, even if Elizabeth had been hurt and unable to move, they still should have found her.

Similar thoughts ran through Meliodas' mind as they trudged through the dark forest together. He was going to find her. And she was going to be ok. Because there was no alternative for him. He was fighting this feeling of hopelessness, determined to stay positive. He tried to think about what he would say when he did find her. If nothing else, he was determined to get to the bottom of why she had been acting so sad and distant. He had also noticed that she had become much more impulsive than usual. The other day, for instance, they were walking by a river rapid when Hawk tripped and fell into the water. Before Meliodas even had time to react, Elizabeth dove in after him. He didn't know that she could swim, but he knew she was brave. He had anxiously watched from the river bank as she grabbed the pig, caught on to a rock downstream, and pulled them both out of the water. What thoroughly confused him though was the somber look she had on her face.
He had considered that this situation, her leaving in the middle of the night with no warning, was just part of that behavior - that she was just acting on impulse. It was a reasonable guess but it didn't make him feel much better. In fact, it almost made him feel worse. She was sad, distant, and impulsively put herself in dangerous situations. He didn't know what that meant exactly, but he didn't like the combination.

As the others started walking into the Boar Hat, Meliodas dawdled. He felt like he was admitting defeat, and he hated it.

"Captain!" Ban called from inside the tavern. His voice was sharp and urgent. "Inside!"

Confused, Meliodas jogged to join him. The group was huddled around something on the ground - a crumpled form. Elizabeth. Knees drawn to her chest, soaked and dirty, cuts and bruises decorating her skin. His heart skipped a beat and he fell to the floor in front of her. Her head rested on her knees, her face hidden under her long, wet hair.

"Elizabeth." He said, trying to keep his emotions in check. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. Slowly, she lifted her head from her knees. Meliodas helped push the hair out of her face so their eyes could meet. It seemed to take her a moment to realize what was happening. She looked at him, confused. "Sir Meliodas?" She asked. He nodded, internally cringing at the honorific she added to his name. He thought she had finally gotten past that. She looked around at the others. And then, in a sudden rush of realization, her face grew red and her eyes grew wide. Meliodas stroked her hair and smiled.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

She looked at him in absolute horror, embarrassed beyond words. Tears started streaming down her face, and she hurriedly tried to wipe them away. She couldn't look at him. The tears started falling faster. This was the very thing she was trying to run away from. This feeling of absolute helplessness. Like she was nothing more than a damsel in distress. Meliodas waited, apparently in no hurry. Eventually, Elizabeth was able to choke out, "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for the trouble."

He should have known he wasn't going to get an honest answer.

Diane sunk down beside her friend and hugged her tight. Elizabeth took her hands away from her knees and hugged her back, crying into her shoulder. Diane had no words. Not right now, at least. She was just glad Elizabeth was safe. They stayed like that for a moment. When she pulled away, she realized her friend was shaking. She felt Elizabeth's forehead with the back of her hand. Meliodas gave her a confused look. "What?"

Diane shook her head. "I think she's a little hypothermic." He nodded.

"We need to get her out of those wet clothes." Elizabeth still wouldn't look at him, and he resisted the very strong urge to cup her face in his hands and try to make her eyes meet his. As happy as he was that she was safe with him in the Boar Hat, he now had a whole new set of worries to address. She was pretty banged up from what he could tell, and that wound on her head was particularly concerning. In an effort to try and access the damage he said, "Do you think you can stand up at all?" Again, without looking at him, Elizabeth wordlessly began to stand. She was incredibly wobbly, so much so that she grabbed Meliodas' hand for support. Without a second thought, he scooped her up in his arms. She wasn't walking anywhere like that. He looked at his group of friends. They looked so tired and worried. "Thank you guys for your help."

"No thanks needed." Ban replied. The rest of the group nodded along in agreement.

"We're just glad you're safe." Elaine added, smiling softly at Elizabeth.

"I'll go ahead and take it from here." Meliodas said. "You guys get some sleep."

After saying goodnight to Elizabeth, the group began to file up the stairs.

"If you need anything-" Diane smiled, "Just come get me. I probably won't be able to sleep anyway."

Meliodas nodded. "I will."

Diane gave Elizabeth a small peck on the forehead, and then followed the others up the stairs.

She couldn't help but lay her head against Meliodas' chest as he carried her up to their room. She was so dizzy, and her head was pounding so hard that it was difficult to see. He waited until they were in their room, Elizabeth safely seated on the bed, before he asked a question that he needed answered. As he dug through drawers, pulling out towels and pajamas for her, he asked, "Did I do something?" He tried his absolute best to sound nonchalant but in truth he was terrified that the answer would be yes. It didn't really even matter what kind of explanation followed. She froze, finally meeting his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean" He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "You've been really distant lately. And I don't know what's going on but I know something is wrong. I just want to know if it's because of me."

"No." She said softly. "You didn't do anything."

That was good to know, at least. Meliodas ducked into the bathroom and turned on the water, getting it to a comfortable temperature. "Do you think you can handle taking off your clothes?" He asked, peeking his head out from behind the door. She blushed and nodded. "Okay. I'll wait in here. There's some towels beside you for you to wrap up in."

Elizabeth pried the wet clothes off her body, shivering as the air hit her damp skin. She threw them into a heap by the bed and grabbed the towel next to her. It was big and soft. "I'm done." She said in a squeaky voice.

Meliodas walked back out and started draping more towels over her shoulders in an effort to keep her warm while the tub filled up. "You scared me, you know." He said softly. She looked back down at her hands, trying desperately not to cry.

"I'm sorry, Sir Meliodas."

Internally he cursed himself. He wasn't trying to upset her, but it was hard to know how to best avoid doing so if he didn't know what was wrong. Not knowing what else to do, and not use to being at a loss for words, he sat down next to her and took her cold hand in his. They stayed like that for a few moments before he got up to check if her bath was ready. With a twist of the faucet, the water stopped. He returned to her side, not really knowing how he was going to gracefully maneuver through the next few moments. Teasing her was one thing, but looking at her completely naked body was quite another. Towels still wrapped around her, he helped her stand. She was still unsteady. Together, they walked to the tub. He made sure both her hands were on the ledge before he asked, "Do you think you can handle it from here?" She nodded. "Okay. Be careful."
When Meliodas left, Elizabeth began to shed the towels. Ironically, she was beginning to feel worse. She dipped herself into the tub, the water scalding her skin, and watched as the dirt colored her bath. She sunk down to her chin and then all the way under. Aside from further aggravating her already throbbing head, it was a pleasant feeling - quiet and calm. She held her breath until her lungs burned, determined to preserve the moment of peace.

While he waited for Elizabeth to finish, Meliodas decided to go downstairs in hopes that Ban had some leftovers he could heat up. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised to see his friend sitting on one of the bar stools.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, leaning over the table. Ban nodded.

"Not that it's anything new." He put down his drink. "How's she doing?" Meliodas shrugged, laughing at himself internally for the almost comical understatement. He wanted to tell Ban everything. But since he wasn't really sure what was happening himself, the words that came out were,

"I think she'll be ok."

His friend eyed him with a skeptical smile. "What are you doing down here?"

"I just thought she might be hungry." He shrugged again.

"You didn't ask?"

Meliodas shook his head. "Even if she was, I doubt she would tell me." He rummaged around in the icebox.

"There's some leftover stew in there. Near the bottom, I think." Ban offered. Meliodas pulled out the container and dumped the contents into a bowl. "You look like you could use a drink." Ban said with a laugh.

"That bad, huh?" Meliodas asked, putting the bowl in the oven to reheat.

Ban shrugged. "You've looked a lot better." He stood up and grabbed a cup. "Sit down. I'll pour you one." Meliodas didn't argue. He slumped down onto one of the stools and put his head in his hands.

"I don't know what to do." He sighed. "I can barely get her to look at me." Ban set the drink down in front of him.

"She has been acting a little odd lately." He mused.

"So you've noticed too?" Meliodas asked warily. His friend nodded and joined him on the opposite side of the bar. He let out a sigh.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Captain. It'll work itself out." Ban said, patting him on the back.

Meliodas took a long drink of ale, silently hoping Ban was right on this one.

He had made his way back upstairs, food in hand, and was about to tell Elizabeth through the door that he had brought her something to eat when he heard a loud thud.

"fuck." A voice muttered from inside the bathroom.

He couldn't help but laugh. He'd never heard her curse before. "Elizabeth?" Meliodas set the bowl down. "Are you ok?"

There was a long pause before she replied, "Yes, I'm fine." Her voice sounded strained. "I'll be out in just a minute."

Though he didn't want to, Meliodas stayed planted outside the door and waited.

Elizabeth was an absolute disaster. She had somehow managed to slip the moment her foot hit the tile and was now sprawled naked across the bathroom floor. She didn't stay in the bath for a very long time; the heat made her heart feel like it was going to beat out of her chest. Still shivering, she pushed herself up onto her knees. All she needed was to get to the pajamas Meliodas had placed on the counter. She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her body before trying to push herself up onto her feet. Shakily, she walked towards the counter. She slowly pulled the gown he had laid out over her head and looked at herself in the mirror. A memory flashed before her eyes.

It was sometime during the second week of her stay at the Boar Hat. She had been wearing Meliodas' shirts to bed because she had no pajamas to speak of, which was very embarrassing for her. The fabric barely covered her thighs, and she went to bed each night anxious and uncomfortable, especially with Meliodas sleeping less than an arm's length away. He had teased her about it at first just as he teased her about so many other things, but one day she came home to a new gown laying on their bed. He hadn't offered much explanation when she had asked. He had only smiled, shrugged, and told her that he just wanted her to be comfortable around him.

She smiled softly at herself in the mirror. What a sweet memory. She then let go of the ledge and promptly fell producing another loud thud.

"I hope you're dressed because I'm coming in." Meliodas called seconds before swinging the door open. Elizabeth stared up at him from the ground, feeling tiny, and wishing she could just turn into a dust particle and float away. His face broke into a wide grin, which did nothing to soothe her embarrassment. Wordlessly, he bent down and picked her up. He set her down on the bed and handed her a bowl of, what looked like, the stew Ban had made yesterday. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Still cold, but otherwise fine." She said, smiling weakly.

Meliodas plopped down on the bed beside her and, without so much as an explanation, began to take his shirt off. When he saw the confused look on Elizabeth's ever reddening face, he laughed and said, "Body heat. We've got to warm you up." She timidly scooted closer to him, and he wrapped them both in a blanket. He watched as she took small, dainty bites of stew.

"How was training today?" Elizabeth asked, in an effort to make conversation while deliberately avoiding the elephant in the room. In truth, this was actually another sore subject for her and Meliodas knew that. She had asked him several times if she could join them, desperate to learn how to fight, to improve in any way that she possibly could, but he had said no. Diane had even gotten involved once and Meliodas had nearly lost his temper. Of course, no one else knew that but him. He had mastered the art of putting on a facade over the years.

"It was good." He said, scooping up her legs and putting them across his so they would be closer. "Do you like the area we're in?"

Elizabeth nodded. "It's pretty. There's a nice view of the stars."

His mind went to what Ban had said earlier that evening about her sneaking out to lay on the grass at night. She continued to shiver in his arms. He sighed.

"Elizabeth-" Meliodas started, determined to at least start this conversation. He watched as her expression changed after hearing the tone in his voice. "I need you to tell me what's been going on." Her eyes suddenly resembled that of a cornered animal, and he knew that she was running through different explanations in her mind that would get him off her case. "The truth, please, Elizabeth."

She stared down at her hands intently trying to formulate some sort of plan to get herself out of this. Even if she had wanted to explain, she didn't have the words, didn't know where to begin. So, in one last-ditch effort, she decided to play dumb. "I'm not sure what you're referring to, Sir Meliodas. Everything has been fine."

'Fine'

The word echoed in Meliodas' mind. He didn't understand why she was being so obstinant about this. Was it that horrible? Frustration and concern grew in his harmony in his chest, making it hard to breathe. "Do you want to go home?" He asked, hating how brittle the words sounded, even to him.

She shook her head fervently, like a wounded child. "No, please, I-" Tears started streaming down her face which she angrily wiped away. "I want to stay here."

"Elizabeth-" Meliodas whispered, his heart nearly breaking and his resolve crumbling. He pulled her into a hug and held her as she sobbed against his chest. What sore spot had he hit? "I want you to stay here too." He lightly kissed her forehead, not wanting to aggravate her wound.

A few moments passed; Meliodas waited for the crying to subside before he drew back to look at Elizabeth's tear-stained face. Though he was frustrated that she had put up this wall, he knew that he would just have to be patient and take it down brick by brick. "Let's go to sleep, ok?" She nodded. He took her bowl and put it on the table by the bed, then pulled back the covers for them. Within moments of settling in, her head nuzzled in his shoulder and her arm draped across his chest, Elizabeth fell asleep.