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Elizabeth was focused on the flower in front of her when she felt the presence of another. From the corner of her eye, she saw Meliodas softly land a bit away from her. She ignored him for the moment as she let her power travel from flower to flower, not stopping until the flowerbed before her was once more standing tall and colorful with life. Despite the fallen and forgotten state of the rest of Heaven’s Theater, this small spot really brightened up the atmosphere.
“Why do you even bother with that?” Meliodas sighed, sitting down beside her. Elizabeth glanced at him. His eyes were their usual bright green, but there was a tense pull of his brow. His mouth was a thin line as he poked at the red flower at his feet.
It still felt rather new, this whole thing between. This unexpected truce turned hesitant comradeship. Neither of them had been happy at first, finding their sworn enemy at their own secret hiding place. Yet both of them had been too torn down by the war and their parents and everything else to really do anything about it. As it turned out, they had a lot in common. Elizabeth had found over their multiple accidental and not-so-accidental meetups that she didn’t mind the demon as much as she probably should. Meliodas was a lot different here. Nothing like in the rumors and stories, or how she herself had seen on the battlefield. Then again, Elizabeth supposed she was a lot different here too, compared to how she was in the Celestial Realm. It was nice to have someone she could just be herself with. Someone who understood it.
“What do you mean?”
Meliodas raised an eyebrow at her; “We’re sitting in literal ruins, Ellie.”
That was also new. Ellie. She wasn’t sure if it was just a more respectable step away from her infamous nickname, Blood-Stained Ellie. Or something more familiar than her full name. She liked it. Even if she would never admit that to the demon himself. It was a rare occurrence too. Usually, he only let it slip when they forgot themselves in this little sanctuary-away-from-reality of theirs, or when he seemed especially preoccupied with his thoughts.
By now, she felt like she had gotten pretty good at reading his moods. The good days were the easiest to tell. On those Meliodas was all smiles and jokes and she would forget he was supposed to be her enemy. The bad days were harder because they came in so many shades. Some days he would be all tense and cold. If she herself were in the wrong mood, they’d fall back into old habits; sharp jibes and clenched fists, words chosen just because they would hurt. They’d treat each other like enemies again and she would always feel worse when they left. Some days there would be a heaviness to him. An unintelligible sadness to his whole self. A certain desperation for something she wasn’t sure how to give. Some days, he seemed to flicker, and she wouldn’t know which way he’d fall until she’d made the wrong move.
“It doesn’t mean it can be beautiful,” Elizabeth said as she focused back on the flowers. “Just because it has broken from its original mold doesn’t mean there can’t be life left.”
“What the hell is that even supposed to mean?” Meliodas muttered, watching as she wrapped her hand around a particularly small flower. “It seems… pointless.”
Elizabeth just hummed at that. She knew that some days, some things they would never share the same perspective on. Once the flower had grown a bit more, blending in with its strong neighbors, she leaned back. A content smile on her face. As she turned toward Meliodas again, she noticed how a strand of his hair had fallen down, hanging in his face. Elizabeth reached out without thinking.
Meliodas flinched – and for a moment neither of them moved. Elizabeth realized her horrible mistake as Meliodas eyes flashed black. His entire body turned taut with tension. She wasn’t sure he was still breathing.
“I’m so sorry!” Elizabeth blurted out, quickly pulling her hand back. The darkness faded from Meliodas’ eyes, leaving a haunted expression in its place. “I shouldn’t have-”
“Don’t,” Meliodas croaked. His voice was rough but firm, leaving no doubt as to why every demon would listen to his command. If he hadn’t staggered wobblily to his feet, Elizabeth might have listened. The sudden ungracefulness to his usually calculated movements were almost as startling as the flinching had been.
“No, I didn’t think-” Elizabeth tried again, but he cut her off once more.
“I have to go.”
What, no!
“Meliodas-” It was no use. He had already flashed his wings and taken off into the sky before Elizabeth had even pulled herself from the ground. The guilt stabbed through her.
The realization of it all settled like a poison deep withing her mind. Heavy and unnerving. Its dark tendrils spreading out and wrapping around her. A chill she couldn’t shake formed in her gut. Meliodas – the Prince of the Demon Realm, the Leader of the Ten Commandments, the Next Demon King – was frightened by her mere touch.
It made sense when she thought about it. Goddesses and their power were one of the few purely lethal things to a demon. Here she was, a goddess notorious in the Demon Realm for her fighting ability, suddenly reaching towards him. No other goddess had reached out with kindness to him.
It took a while before Elizabeth saw Meliodas again. It wasn’t like they saw each regularly before, but she got the feeling he was avoiding her. She hoped that at least he only stayed away when she was there, rather than avoiding the theater all together. She knew what that place meant to the both of them. She would hate to take that away from him.
Then one day. There he was.
She was sitting by the flowerbed again, trying to stop them from wilting. Suddenly there was a rush of wind and a soft thud behind her. Then Meliodas flopped down on the ground beside her. His hands interlocked behind his head as he closed his eyes. He groaned dramatically.
“Man, you’ve ever gotten chewed out by someone with acidic spit? It’s a real mess let me tell you that. Every damn time.”
Elizabeth stared at him. It felt surreal. She’d spent so many days here, wondering what would happen the next time she saw him, how she was supposed to act after what happened. And here he was, as if nothing had happened at all.
Meliodas opened one eye, frowning up at her; “What’s wrong?”
“I-… What?”
Not her most impressive moment, admittedly. She didn’t know what to say. How would she even explain it to him? She didn’t want to do that. Scared of how he’d react if she brought up the incident. Would he leave again?
She let her gaze fall from his eyes. She couldn’t contain the gasp as she saw it.
“Oh my- What happened to your arm?”
“Huh?” Meliodas glanced down, sounding genuinely confused. As if he wasn’t aware of the horrified burn covering up a good third of his left forearm.
“Why haven’t you healed it?”
Meliodas snorted, “Of course that is your first thought.”
He sat up, giving her a noncommittal shrug.
“You have kept up with the latest war news, right?” There was a bitterness to his words, but not directed at her. They both shared that one.
Oh, right, she thought. She knew exactly what he hinted at. The battle had mostly been a win for the Goddess Clan, which meant it had been a loss for the demons.
“That from the battle?” she asked. The burn didn’t look like it came from an Ark, but a part of her needed to know. A heaviness fell in Meliodas’ eyes. He wrapped his other hand around the burn, wincing slightly at the action.
“It didn’t happen in the battle.”
Elizabeth didn’t ask. Instead, she stared at his arm. Her fingers twitched, moving on their own before she realized what she was doing. She quickly curled her hand against her own chest, remembering what happened the last time she reached out to him.
“I-,” she paused, then shook her head, determination filling her mind. “Can I see it?”
“What?” Meliodas spluttered. He stared at her wide-eyed. Elizabeth didn’t let it discourage her. Of course he’d be wary.
“Please?”
Meliodas hesitated. Then, slowly, he let go of his arm and let her take it. She was careful to be gentle and transparent in her actions as she pulled his injured limb closer to her. She reached out with her other hand too and let it hover over the burn.
Meliodas breath stuttered in his throat. Elizabeth stopped. She met his gaze again. Praying he could she her true intent in her eyes.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” she promised. Then before either of them could back out, she let her magic flow. Slowly at first and then more and more intense as she focused on the damage, willing it to mend and heal.
After what could only have been a few moments, but felt like an eternity, she was done. She dropped her hand and somewhat reluctantly let go of his arm.
“That feel okay?”
Meliodas didn’t say anything at first. He stared at the unmarked skin for a long moment. Then he let out a soft chuckle.
“You’re amazing.”