Finally free to be together, Meliodas and Elizabeth spend the night under the stars. Co-created with the amazing LickitySplit! Set after the ten commandments, so spoilers if you don't read the manga!

A/N

Hi there! So, this fic is the wonderful creation of Lickitysplit, who got me motivated to create some artwork when I was feeling less than inspired, in return she took a very incoherent idea of mine for a fic and somehow turned it into a masterpiece

(We also collaborated to create the picture too! I did the line work and she did the colouring!)

Thank you so much lovely!

If you haven't (which is probably no-one) please go check out Lickitysplit's other amazing fics!

Please enjoy!

It is a beautiful summer night in Liones. September would be soon arriving, but the air is warm, the sky is clear, perfect for two people in love.

On a hill outside of the city walls, Meliodas and Elizabeth walk together in the twilight. She stops occasionally to pick wildflowers while he strolls beside her, his hands behind his head as he watches the stars come out. It is an evening similar to ones they had shared more times than either could count during the course of three millennia; but this one is different.

This one is not tainted with the heavy burden of their parents' curse. This one is not one on the path to an inevitable loss. This one is free of pain, for the first time since their meeting.

The sense of freedom is new and wonderful and gives Meliodas a rush of energy. He grabs Elizabeth's hand and takes off at a sprint, the girl (princess, goddess) running behind him with a shriek of laughter. He pulls her a little too quickly down the other side of the hill, so their feet are going too fast and they begin to lose their balance. But her hair is flying behind her and her cheeks are flushed and her mouth is open in laughter, and that is all that truly matters.

They collapse together at the bottom of the rise, both still erupting into fits of giggles, their laughter contagious. Finally both settle down, and Meliodas moves until their shoulders are together, and Elizabeth eagerly takes his hand.

"It's been a long time since we did this," she sighs.

He peeks over at her out of the corner of his eye. "Did what?"

"Sleep under the stars like this." Her head tilts a bit until her forehead rests on his shoulder, and Meliodas grins. "You really wanna sleep out here?" he murmurs.

"Maybe?" He feels her shift a bit as her face turns towards him. "Why not?"

"Well…" Meliodas squeezes her hand as he tucks his other under her head. "We do have a perfectly comfy bed back at the Boar Hat. We can sleep in, cuddle a bit… or y'know… maybe other stuff?"

He turns his head to smirk at her, and Elizabeth giggles. "What sort of other stuff?" she whispers.

It is the way her voice catches, the slight huskiness, that makes his heart pound and his neck feel flushed. Their eyes connect, and they look at one another, the first time each has the freedom to truly do so. Elizabeth thinks of before the curse, when their love was taboo, and they had to keep their feelings hidden from each other and the world. Meliodas remembers each time afterwards, when he had looked into her eyes and saw the real her, knowing it would not last.

It is Elizabeth who moves first, as always. She leans up on her elbow and looks down at Meliodas (soldier, Sin, demon) with a soft smile. His fingers slip through the hair that hangs down, and gently he tucks it behind her ear and lets it fall over her shoulder. "Do you remember when we first slept under the stars together?" Her voice is soft, almost like a dream, but Meliodas keeps his focus on the strands sliding through his fingers. "You probably don't remember-"

"We went to a meadow near the coast, sneaking off for some time before we had to meet Gloxinia," he says, interrupting her. Elizabeth breaks into a wide grin, her eyes lighting up as he goes on, "You wore that pale green tunic and leggings. You got hot later and took them off, and I kept getting distracted by your thighs."

She bursts out laughing, the sound skimming away into the night, and she rolls onto her stomach to look down at him with a twitching mouth. "What's wrong with my thighs?" she teases.

"Absolutely nothing," he sighs. Then he looks back at the sky, now a blanket of darkness and tiny dots of light. Elizabeth presses closer. "You were excited because we found a cherry tree, and your lips were stained by the time you were done eating."

He smiles and looks over at her finally, chuckling to see her mouth hanging open. "I forgot about the cherries," she murmurs. "How do you remember everything?"

"Do you really think I would forget? You ate enough for ten goddesses."

She laughs again and shakes her head, and he chuckles too as he simply looks at her. There is a long pause as they both remember: Elizabeth, the taste of the sweet cherries, Meliodas, the shape of her mouth as she slipped one inside. Then, another memory surfaces. "You gave me a rose," she smiles.

"Hmm?" His eyes snap back to the sky, and Elizabeth shifts so that her arm is on his chest.

"You gave me a rose," she repeats. "And you called me beautiful."

"Did I?"

To her amazement, his voice is tight, and she peers closer at his face in the dark. "Yes, you did," she laughs. "You were blushing so much-"

"What? I didn't blush!" he protests.

Elizabeth laughs harder this time. "Yes you did! I remember thinking your cheeks would match the color of the rose and… are you blushing right now?"

She gasps out a laugh, and at once finds herself flipped onto her back. Meliodas climbs over her, and she braces herself for a kiss; however, instead his hands grab her waist, and she yelps as he begins to tickle her. "Meliodas!" she gasps, her hands flying to push him away even as peals of laughter escape her gasping body.

"I remember this too," he growls, his lips next to her ear, and then he pinches a spot on her upper thigh, just below the curve of her rear. At once she jolts, another round of laughter from the sensation, but Elizabeth is determined to have her revenge. Her own hands slip under his shirt and brush against his ribs, and Meliodas jerks away, falling backwards onto the grass. "Okay, okay!" he gasps.

The girl is not satisfied. She climbs onto him, straddling him easily, her fingers dancing along his sides. "Take that!" she giggles.

His hands snatch up her wrists and with a quick yank she is laying flat on top of him. Her hair falls down again like a curtain around them as Meliodas drags his hands down her arms and continues down her back. Elizabeth catches her breath, her eyes trained on his lips, which are just an inch away. His hands reach her hips, and he holds her steady, the silence thick and electric between them, the only sound their heavy breathing.

Then he pushes her hair back again, his fingertips grazing the shell of her ear, and his other arm curls securely around her waist. Elizabeth feels nearly overwhelmed as her gaze roams over his face. "How do you remember all of this?" she whispers. "Really?"

Their eyes lock together. "I could never forget a moment with you," he answers simply.

Unconsciously Elizabeth licks her lips. "It was our first kiss."

"What?" he laughs. "No it wasn't."

Elizabeth frowns. "Yes, it was. I don't count the one inside my tent."

Snorting, he says, "Hey, it took a lot of courage to kiss you the way I did."

She laughs again, her body shaking with it. Will he ever tire of hearing that sound? "That may have been your first kiss," she teases, "but it wasn't ours. I was too surprised to even react, let alone kiss you back!"

"Well it only lasted a second," he grumbled, smiling when she stifled a chuckle. "I still kissed you though."

"Fine," she grinned. "It was our first proper kiss, then."

Meliodas nods in agreement. "The fire was dying, so it was chilly, and you curled up against me and pointed out constellations. Your hands were very cold, if I recall."

Elizabeth smiles. "You warmed me up though."

"It was the least I could do, to finally have you."

She sucks in a breath before she moves, leaning up over him. Their eyes meet once more, and Elizabeth reaches up to cup his cheek. He presses against it, turning his face for a second to leave a feathered kiss on her palm before his arms slip around her waist, pressing her tightly against him.

"You're beautiful, Elizabeth," says Meliodas quietly.

She smiles at his words, and at the memory of that night; he was gazing down at her, just as she is gazing at him now, his hands in her hair, the only light coming from the sky above them. They had simply held each other then, not speaking, until finally they both moved as one, sealing their mouths together to bring about the beginning and the end.

Now, they gazed at each other again, the same look that had traveled over thousands of years, the same eyes and hands and hearts and lips. Elizabeth tips her face down, pausing for a moment to graze her nose against his as her hair cascades down around her face. Then, their lips meet, in another end (the pain the curse the wait finally over), and another beginning.