A/N: This was my piece for NNT Flashbang! I worked with kuronekotchiiiiouu (who was an amazing partner and made a wonderful drawing, you can find it on tumblr) and our prompt was "Soft". We wanted to focus on Meliodas and Elizabeth's last night in Liones before going to the Demon Realm, and we started working before chapter 310 came out, so the whole thing turned out way more bittersweet and angst that it should have been.
Enjoy anyway!

Last dance

Meliodas finally lets out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand while he scans the ballroom. It seems that finally things are getting a bit better; most of the guests are on the dance floor, dancing to the sound of the slow, soft air that the musicians are playing now – Meliodas knows it, he has heard it on many occasions, in different Kingdoms, palaces, times, but he can't recall its name right now.

Not that it matters at the moment. What matters is that his friends finally stopped moping around and glancing at him with sad, unsure eyes and understood that even though this is a farewell party, it's still a party. He can't help but smile a bit when he sees Ban spinning Elaine, her wings shining under the light of the candles, the shadow of a smile on their lips, while not far from them, King and Diane are slowly dancing, holding each other, their feet barely touching the floor – is King floating? Really?, Meliodas wonders with an amused huff. He spots also Margaret and Gilthunder, her arms holding his neck and his hands on her waist, their eyes locked in a way that makes it clear that they only see each other. They soon disappear between the other couples, and so Meliodas takes his eyes off the dance floor, looking for the others.

Gowther is not far away, talking with King Bartra, and even though none of them seems amused they don't seem sad either, not as before at least – Bartra had been in a pretty bad mood all the afternoon, not that Meliodas can blame him. Then his eyes catch a flash of pink – of course Hawk would have been next to the buffet table – before they meet Escanor. He is standing in the corner of the room, his hands joined and his eyes fixed on something in the distance. Meliodas knows what – who – he is watching even before following his gaze; he knows his friend and he knows the look in his eyes, so he is not surprised when he spots Merlin on the border of the dance floor, her black, long dress floating around her like a dark mist.

But he feels his heart pounding when his eyes meet Elizabeth. She is standing next to Merlin, talking with her, a soft and sweet smile on her lips – her smile; when she shakes her head, her silver hair follows her movements, fluttering around her like a silver curtain. He can't help but stare at her, his gaze traveling on her figure. She is wearing a long, white dress that leaves her pale shoulders exposed, the long sleeves covering her arms; when she spread them – Meliodas wonders what exactly she is saying at this point – they almost look like her wings. He can't help but think that she looks so much like the first time he met her, a white dressed Goddess with gentle eyes and a soft smile, looking almost too ethereal and innocent in that bloody, broken battlefield.

The party was her idea, of course; there is no way Bartra had the desire to celebrate – celebrate, like it was a good thing – the departure of his third daughter, but Elizabeth insisted, saying that it would have been the best, less traumatic way to say goodbye. And to be fair, she worked a lot on it; organizing a whole ball in a few hours is an almost impossible task, but she did it well. Everything is as it should be – the lights, the room, the food, the music – and it would be a success, really, if it wasn't for the overall mood.

No one wanted to celebrate, not after they understood that Meliodas would have soon left them, and especially not after Elizabeth's announcement – to be honest, not even Meliodas himself was in that mood to have a party, after that. Nevertheless, they are all here. The Sins, the Holy Knights, the friends they managed to invite, they are all here, because – Meliodas has realized not without some surprise – they love them, and they wanted to be there for them. Some of them even helped Elizabeth with the organization, Diane and Elaine above all. Meliodas is grateful for that, really. At least they are trying, even though they are not happy.

Still, he is exhausted. He passed all the evening trying to cheer the other Sins up, trying to smile and to joke as always, trying to pretend that everything was good because they deserved to think that. It should have been easy for him, he is so used to lie about the reality of the situation, to cage his emotions inside him and act like everything is fine. So he told them that it was good to him to finally return in the Demon Realm after so long, really, and they shouldn't have worried at all, he would have been fine. He would even have Elizabeth with him, everything would have been great!
None of them seemed convinced at all, but he has to keep doing it because if he doesn't it will be worse for them. And after all, he faked for so many years by now. It shouldn't have been difficult to do that only for another night.

It was. It is.

Meliodas purses his lips, suddenly feeling something like a weight on his chest that takes his breath away, making him feel dizzy and lost for a long moment. He is so tired to lie, so tired to tell even to himself that everything is fine because it isn't. It isn't at all.

He has to go, to be the King of a Realm of corruption and loneliness, a Realm he had never really wanted to rule, and this is not good; he has to leave this world, this beautiful world that still manages to surprise him, after all this time, an this is not good. And he has to leave them, his comrades, his friends, all those people he met during his long life and that he has to abandon forever, and this – this is not right.

And more of that, it's not good that Elizabeth will come with him. When she announced it, holding him tightly, a soft, happy smile on her lips, for a moment he has thought she was joking – it was stupid, she would have never joked on something like this, but the other option was too absurd to be even considered. Of course, she meant it, she really wants to leave everyone and come with him, confining herself in a kingdom she doesn't know and that is not made for people like her.

And all that was because of him.

How can he accept this? How can he accepts that the woman he loves will abandon every person important to her just to be with him? How can he accepts that he will ruin her life?

The only thought makes Meliodas shiver and stumble back, at the point that he almost fear to fall on the ground – but he recovers the balance just in time, his long, too long training taking over him. He inhales sharply, trying to calm his breath, and looks up. It seems like no one has noticed his current state, and that's good because he doesn't think he would be able to fake if someone approached him now. He has to go away. He needs to get some air and to move away from the crowd – all those people who apparently love him and he is hurting, at least for a moment, just a few moments. Then he will wear his happy, carefree mask again, at least until his departure. He can do this, really. He just … needs a moment.

It's almost too easy to reach one of the large balconies that surrounds the hall of the palace without no one stopping him, but Meliodas knows how to move unnoticed when he wants, using his darkness to shelter himself from people's gazes. When finally the cool air of the night hits face he can sigh of relief, rapidly reaching for the balustrade ad leaning his hands on it.

He breathes in and looks up, his gaze wandering on the night sky; he can't really see the stars because the moon is full tonight, its soft, white light illumining the building of Liones; they look almost ghostly like this, a broken, ruined memory of what they were before. He looks away, his eyes on the moon again, admiring it. It's better out there; he can still hear the music from the inside, but it's not as loud as before, and above all, he can't stop smiling. He can stop pretending that everything is fine.

A sigh escapes his lips as he buries his face in his hands. It's not that he is not ready to go. He is. He chose to renounce to his freedom, and if that means to save Elizabeth's life, he would do it again and again. Of course, it's hard, but he can – he has to – bear it. But he hadn't considered the fact that Elizabeth would have wanted to follow him. He simply hadn't. She was free, after all, free from the curse that forced her to fall for him and to die because of him. It would have made sense if she had simply let him go, and then lived a happy, full life with her family and friends, maybe even a future lover – it would have hurt, but she would have been happy and that was the only thing that mattered.

And yet, she wants him. She still wants to be with him, to love him, even after all he did, even after what they have been through. He spoke to her, after she had announced her intent, trying to talk her out of it because it was insane, but she was so determined. She didn't hesitate even once, looking right into his eyes with a determined, loving gaze, and she told him that she would have followed him wherever he would have gone. She meant it, he could say it, and he knew that she wouldn't have changed her mind. Elizabeth can be terribly stubborn when she wants to, she has always been.
Meliodas knows very well that he can't simply go away without her. He doesn't think he has the strength to do this to her, and anyway, he knows that she would find a way to come in the Demon Realm to reach him once more time like she always does.

But the thought kills him anyway; he tries not to think about it, but he knows that soon her light will extinguish because there is no way that it will survive to the Demon Realm, not for long. He doesn't want that. He doesn't want Elizabeth to lose herself for him, he doesn't want to see her die a little bit every day because of the loss and the nostalgia, he doesn't –

"Meliodas?"

He flinches and turns abruptly, and his heart loses a beat when he spots Elizabeth on the edge of the balcony, her head tilted and her eyes on him. Under the moonlight her hair seems to shine with its own light, her skin looking even paler and smooth, and when their eyes meet Meliodas feels his heart beating faster. She is beautiful, so beautiful and pure, and above all she is real; for the first time for so long, he doesn't have to worry that she will be dead in his arms in the blink of an eye.

"Meliodas," she repeats, and then she purses her lips and moves towards him, her forehead furrowing and a hint of concern emerging in her eyes. "What's going on? Are you all right?"

For a moment, Meliodas can't speak, the words blocked in his throat – I'm not all right, there is nothing right in what I have to do, in what I'm forcing you to do – but luckily he manages to swallow them back and make her a large smile, clapping his hands and taking a step towards her.

"Elizabeth! Of course, I'm alright, I just needed to get some fresh air, you know, that room is too crowded. How many people did you invite, exactly? All the citizens of Liones?" He grins, the corners of his mouth are almost aching. He doesn't want her to worry about him, she doesn't need that now – now she should be inside, spending her last hours with her family and friends.

Elizabeth doesn't smile at his poor attempt of humor. In a moment she is right in front of him, her eyes still on his face, gentle and caring as always but still worried and – and sad, he realizes. When she raises her hands and cups his cheeks Meliodas raises a brow, ready to say something else, something silly and fun that will show her that he is fine, really, she doesn't have to worry. But then her finger is caressing his cheek and he is surprised to feel something wet on his skin – are her hands wet? But then he realizes that she just brushed away a tear. He didn't notice that he has started cry, probably because – he tries to reassure himself – it was only a few tears. Still, Elizabeth doesn't have to see them.

He immediately raises his hands, ready to wipe out all the traces of the tears from his face – and then acting like it didn't happen, because that's what he does, always, but Elizabeth's voice stops him.

"Meliodas." She whispers, her finger caressing her cheeks again, her lips curved in a soft, sad smile.

"Ah – Elizabeth, it's nothing, really, just the smoke of the candles – " He hurries to explain, but she doesn't let him finish.

"Don't lie to me, please. Not anymore." Her voice is low and soft and sweet, and it sends a thrill through his spine, making impossible to him to deny – it wouldn't make sense.

"I know you are used to do it," she continues, when he doesn't speak, "and I understand that, truly. You had to. But now – now we are free. You don't have to lie to me anymore, so please don't. Even though you think you'll hurt me, I want you to be honest with me because nothing hurt me more than seeing you holding back."

"I – " Meliodas starts, but he doesn't know what to say. His first instinct, he has to admit, is to lie, as he always does, to hide his feelings deep down so that no one – not even himself – can be aware of them, but at the same time he knows he shouldn't – he can't – lie to Elizabeth like this, not anymore.

So he breathes in and raises his hands, putting them on Elizabeth's shoulders, rubbing his thumbs on her soft, warm skin, trying to draw strength from the contact. She rewards him with an encouraging smile, like she is ready to hear everything he will say, no matter what's about, and probably it's exactly that, her undying trust in him even after all he did – to her, to everyone – that finally push him to speak.

"It's just … this entire situation," he begins, hesitantly, looking away. "I understand why you wanted to organize this, really, and I think that our friends appreciate that, but I … I'm tired Elizabeth. I'm so tired to fake, to pretend that everything is okay." Now that he said it out loud it sees easy to continue speaking, and the words start coming out from his mouth like a river hold back for too long by a dam. "I keep smiling and acting like that's what I want, what I chose, but it isn't. It all so wrong."

"Oh, Meliodas," Elizabeth murmurs softly, her thumb brushing his cheek. "You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. If I don't, they'll suffer, they'll feel like they are abandoning me and maybe they'll also try to find a way to save me, save us, but they can't. There is no way. And that will hurt them even more, I can't allow this." His voice dies, almost a whisper when he says those last words.

"Meliodas. Meliodas, look at me." He voice is firm now, and when he finally looks up to meet her eyes, they are still full of love and comprehension as they always are when she looks at him, but the way they shine under the moonlight and her slightly furrowed brows make him understand that she is also determined. "They are your friends. Our friends. You don't have to keep them safe from this because they don't want that. They want to be there for us, and lie to them is not the right way to handle this. They know you, they know that you are lying. It's okay if you show them your emotions, if you show them that you are sad. It will be better."

"But – "

"Of course they will be hurt, they already are, but they will be better if they know that when you left them you trusted them and loved them."

"But I'm the one who is making them feel like this! I – after all this time, I'm leaving them, and in addition, I'm taking you away from them! I'm taking you away from your own family, Elizabeth!"

She blinks and purses her lips, then she lets out a sigh. "We talked about this. It's my choice to make, and I talked with father and sisters. They will be good." She nods, and Meliodas wonders if she is trying to convince herself other than him. "Margaret and Gilthunder will probably take the lead of the Kingdom when my father will renounce to the crown, but they have time. And Veronica will be fine, she has Griamore. And – "

"But what about you? Did you really think about this?" He stops her, shaking his head. He knows he already spoke to her about that, but he can't stop himself from asking her again. "You are renouncing to all of this to follow me in a place of death and desolation. One day you'll regret this, you'll understand that you made the wrong decision and then you … you …" He can't take himself to end the sentence, the words heavy in his throat.

"What I'll do, then?" She asks, and when he shakes his head, she leans her hands on his shoulder and squeezing them gently. "Tell me."

"You will hate me." He finally whispers, not daring to look at her. Of course, he fears her slowly consumption in the Demon Realm and her death, but the thought that one day she will look at him with hate and rage makes his head spinning and his heart aching. He doesn't know if he will be able to bear that.

For a moment, Elizabeth remains silent, her grip still firm on his shoulders. Then she lets out a sigh and let him go, moving her hands on his own, holding them, before. "Dance with me."

He looks up abruptly, his eyes widening – did he hear wrong? "What?"

She holds his hands firmly and moves them on her hips, her eyes fixed on his. "The music is quite lovely, and we have enough room here. Dance with me."

Then she ties her arms around his neck and starts moving, so Meliodas can't do anything but follow her, holding her hesitantly. At first, they are clumsy, and Meliodas knows that it's because his body is stiffened and unsure. But slowly, maybe because of the sweet melody that wraps and isolates them from the outside world, maybe because of Elizabeth's fluid motions that lead him in the dance, he starts to relax. Soon he is moving in conjunction with Elizabeth, until he takes control and spins her, his lips spontaneously curving into a little smile. She returns in his arms with a giggle, her eyes shining, and Meliodas finally feels like the weight that burdened him all the evening is abandoning him, letting him free.

He doesn't know how long they keep dancing, adjusting their movements when the music changes but never stopping, without speaking but looking at each other, a smile on their face, when she finally speaks.

"Meliodas," Elizabeth whispers, "I need you to understand something."

"Hum?"

"I will never hate you. Never," she quietly says, and her voice is firm and sure, but that doesn't stop Meliodas from stiffening again, his mind returning to what awaits them tomorrow.

"You can't know that," he murmurs, looking down at their feet. "You can't be sure without even having seen that place."

"I think I do, actually. I love you, I love you from so long, and I know that if I'll let you go alone I will regret it forever. I'm choosing to follow you, and I will never – never – blame you for that. Or regret it."

"Elizabeth, the Demon Realm – "

"It's not for Goddesses, you said that, but that doesn't mean that things can't change. At first, it won't be easy, I know that, but we can make things better. After all, we challenged the Gods, together. And we just won against your father, together." She stops abruptly and raises her hands to cup his face, making him look at her. She smiles at him, her eyes determined like the moment she told for the first time that she would have come with him. "And besides, I talked with Merlin about this. She will help us Meliodas, all the Sins will. And she actually thinks that it will be possible for us to visit sometimes! She is working on something, and you know how Merlin is, she will succeed soon or later."

His eyes widen in wonder as he looks at her, speechless. She giggles. "What? You really thought I wouldn't try to figure out how to makes things a little better for us? I know that you were likely to accept that destiny without a word, resigned to close yourself up in the Demon Realm and never return again, but I won't allow you to do so."

"Elizabeth, I …" He doesn't know what to say. She is right, of course; he was ready to leave this world behind, not because he wanted to leave his friends but because he knew that seeing them once in a while would have made it worse, for him, for them – it was better for them to forget about him and for him to let them go. But with Elizabeth with him, he starts to realize, everything will be different. He won't be alone again.

He heaves a sigh and raises his hand, caressing her cheek, smiling at her when she tilts her head a bit to follow his movement. And while he looks at her like this, her eyes shining of sapphire and garnet, her silver hair surrounding her head like a halo, he can't help but remember how wrong he was the first time he had seen her, a lonely Goddess flying right in front of him, unarmed and vulnerable, her mouth full of words of hope and desperation.

He thought she was a fool, and above all he thought that she was soft – soft like the shape of her body, like the gentle look in her eyes – and that this was her greatest weakness, to have a heart too soft to bear the burden of the war.

But then he met her again and again, always ready to stand up to avoid fights and massacres, and he decided that yes, she was a fool and a softhearted, but maybe she was right. And then, the more he knew her, the more he understood that yes, Elizabeth was soft – and sweet and gentle and beautiful – but that didn't make her weak. On the contrary, there was a strength in her softness, a force that he has never seen in any other person. It hit him, chained him, and it was one of the things that made him fall in love with her, not only that first time but all the times after, during those long millenniums under the curse. Her soft, gentle strength had always been there, in every single Elizabeth he had met.

Tonight, he can clearly see that strength almost pouring out of her, enveloping him and making him finally feel like he can really do this. A little laugh escapes his lips as he pulls her in his embrace, making her squeal of surprise. "Elizabeth, you are wonderful," he murmurs in her ear, and he feels her relaxing in his grip, hugging him back. "Thank you."

And holding her tightly, her warm, soft body in his arms, he realizes that he believes her. He always did and he always will. They will be all right.