Just A Memory

I will protect you two with my life

It was dark out when Meliodas returned home with Tristan. He took him straight to bed. Elizabeth had informed her family of the situation. Bartra wanted to make sure his grandson was okay.
"Oh, my days. Is he okay?" Bartra flapped.
"Yeah, He's worn out. Bless him"
"Can't say I blame him" Bartra patted Tristan back.
"Can you see anything with your vision power?" Meliodas whispered. Bartra looked at the sleeping child.
"It is not clear. Just 4 shadows and fire"
"We will talk in the morning" Meliodas insisted. Bartra nodded. He said he would see Tristan in the morning.

In Tristan's room, Meliodas and Elizabeth were cuddled up to Tristan. He hadn't stopped crying since Meliodas put him in here.
"You okay there kid?"
"I miss my friend"
"We know. We will find him"
"I know you will" Tristan hugged his dad "Can I asked something?"
"Sure" Meliodas spoke. He knows what Tristan was going to ask for.
"One last story" Tristan mumbled.
"Okay, Kiddo. What do you wanna know?" Meliodas ran his hands over Tristan's hair.
"When did you know to tell mum that you loved her?"

{Flash-Back} - Meliodas's Pov -

My mother always told me about the stories of when she and my father first met and when they fell in love. I didn't really care about them, I was just a kid back then. I just wanted to play and fight with my brother. Why would I care?

I didn't know any better.

I wish I paid more attention to the details when mom talked about the time she realized she loved dad. She was right, Love gradually creeps up on you and never goes away. Elizabeth. I never get tired of her eyes or her smile.

I remember our first conversation. Well, part of it. It was back when we decided to talk instead of fight.
"Or maybe, you should just work with me" She glanced at me, then back at the sky and shuffled a bit.
"I thought you liked working alone"
"But we work great together, remember?" I wasn't about to let her push me aside like that. I just wanted to see her face more often.
"Okay, We will work together"

I often asked myself why I never decided to go for it and just tell Elizabeth about how I felt. Honestly, I was scared. I never felt this way about anyone before. I guess I wanted to protect myself from getting hurt again. More importantly, I wanted to protect Elizabeth.The years flew by and we got older. Elizabeth and I are now veterans in our line of work. I had deflected to Stigma and was working against my father ad brothers. One night after finishing a job with Drole and Gloxinia, Drole took me aside.
"Meliodas. You're not getting any younger. Even your hair's greying, which I never thought was possible, and that's saying something. Either you tell her now or you take it to the grave"
"Why're you so concerned? I thought you didn't care about us" I immediately got annoyed with him and scoffed, irritated with how unnecessarily invested he was in my business.
"I care that you are being a dumbass who disregards his own well-being and drowns himself in ale" I tried to tune her out by watching the bords "You hardly speak up about what you want" Drole glared at me in return.
"So what?"
"You're hopeless, literally"A low, frustrated groan escaped his mouth In an excruciatingly long hour or so, Elizabeth finally showed up. Luckily by the time she got here, Drole and Gloxinia decided to run off. Elizabeth casually strode over to the desk, like she always did, and smiled at me.
"Hey"
"Hey. So where's Sir Drole and Sir Gloxinia"
"I can't for the life of me keep up with what they are doing " I tried to relax by acting aloof.
"So, Yesterday, Sir Drole said you need to tell me something" Elizabeth shuffled on her feet "So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"
"I forgot" I lied "I'm sure it wasn't even important"
"Meliodas, you are horrible at lying" One of the disadvantages of knowing Elizabeth for so long is that she knows me almost too well.
"What is it, Talk to me" I guess there is no turning back now. It's now or never, right?I stood up from my seat, moving around the rocks so I could stand beside her. She just watched me, her mouth slightly open as if to say something, yet unable to find the words.
"For the longest time, I've been fighting with myself. Wondering if things will ever change or stay the same... between us" Elizabeth froze, her gaze unbreaking. I slowly placed my hand on her shoulder, gently bringing it down to her hand as I continued.
"Meliodas"
"I always felt some way about you" We intertwined our fingers "Man, I never get tired of looking at those eyes" Without warning, she abruptly backed away from me and pulled her hand from my grasp. I sighed, knowing it was too good to be true anyways. She leaned back against the rock face and let out a short, shaky breath while keeping her eyes down to the floor.
"Meliodas," she said warily "This had better not be a joke"
"I was never joking, Elizabeth. Why would I ever -" I shook my head, disbelief flooding over me and drowning out my anxiety.
"Do you actually - "she trailed off.
"Love you?" Her eyes locked onto me "Yeah. Have done for a while now" She was silent for a few seconds.
"Wow... " was all she said. She inched closer to me, taking both of my hands in hers. She gently pressed her lips against mine "I've always loved you too, you know"
"Well it's not like you really said anything either" I decided to tease her a bit.
"All the flirting and teasing really went over your head, huh?" She frowned.
"I'm a bloke. We are quite dense when it comes to women" I shrugged as I pulled Elizabeth into my arms. Elizabeth looked so beautiful while I held her in my arms. I couldn't help smiling while looking at her.

{End of Flash-Back}

Tristan and Elizabeth have both fallen asleep during the story. Meliodas smiled softly at his family.
"You two could have waited till I finished" Meliodas chuckled to himself. He tucked the pair in and snuggled down "I will protect you two with my life"

- Author's Pov -

So, That is the end of this book.

Thank you guys so much for reading it. I hope that you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now if anyone has an idea of what I could write next that would be great.

See you all soon

Jammy :)