Barbatos's heart

Part 6: Tension

Elaina looked down at the green-haired butler, she had just run into. She felt so bad about knocking his tray on the floor, food was everywhere. 'If only Beel were here, the poor man wouldn't have to clean it up.' She thought. She extended her hand to him. He was apologizing when he looked up at her and they locked eyes. At that moment everything stopped. Elaina took a sharp breath, eyes wide. He was stunning. He was perfect. Beautiful eyes, perfect nose, soft lips... She had never felt so stunned in her life.

Barbatos didn't accept her help but just picked himself off of the floor and straightened up. "I should have been paying attention to where I was walking," he said politely as he brushed himself off. "My name is Barbatos. I am Lord Diavolo's butler." He bowed to Elaina. Mammon was at her side in a flash. He seemed aggravated as he glared at Barbatos. "Elaina, are you alright?" He asked. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Really." She smiled at both men in front of her. "Your dress...." Mammon groaned. Elaina looked down at her dress which was now covered with frosting from the tea cakes Barbatos was carrying. Barbatos looked at the spot and blushed in embarrassment. "My apologies Lady Elaina. Please, let me get one of the maids to help get that stain out." Barbatos disappeared for a second a reappeared with a female servant, who took Elaina to a suite so she could get the dress off and have it cleaned.

"Here, miss. You can put this on until we finish your cleaning your dress." The young maid said as she tried to hand Elaina a soft, silk robe. 'Barbatos' Elaina was lost in thought. 'Such a gorgeous man, and when I looked at him... What was that? That feeling... It was like he was the only person in the room. I just met him, and I want to know more about him.' "Miss... Miss...?" The maid kept trying to get her attention, still holding the robe out to her. "Huh? Oh...Thank you" Elaina replied coming back into reality. She put on the robe and looked out a window into the courtyard of the castle. Still thinking about him.

Lord Diavolo made his way over to where Barbatos was still cleaning the floor. "Nice first impression," he said with a teasing smile on his face. "Smooth" Lucifer added with a chuckle. "Very amusing. I assume the two of you are having a good time?" Barbatos asked unphased as he got up from the floor, dirty rags in his hands. "Of course we are. We always do." Diavolo said as he wrapped his arm around Lucifer's waist and squeezed. "Now, you should probably go and check up on my cousin you so rudely bulldozed. Make sure she's okay." Lucifer insisted. "Yes, of course, sir." Barbatos left the couple and walked in the direction of Elaina's suite.

Barbatos didn't want to face Elaina again. He wanted to avoid her. He didn't want to risk giving in to his emotions. He wasn't the emotional type. He was pretty much a loner. He had been alone for so long, too busy serving Diavolo, that he was just used to it. That, and the feeling he got from her, could he trust her? He didn't trust many people. Trust had to be gained. Loyalty had to be proven. Love to be won, he didn't believe in "love at first sight". He didn't like feeling the way he did when he looked at her. He didn't like that she had shaken him to the point where he couldn't concentrate. He wasn't being himself. Or maybe he was... Maybe he just didn't recognize himself anymore. Maybe thousands of years in Diavolo's service had turned him stone cold, a robot, as Levi would say.

He opened the door to the suite to find Elaina on the couch resting her head against the window overlooking the courtyard. She was asleep, snoring ever so softly. 'She's so cute' He smiled to himself, then frowned in disappointment as he caught himself fawning over her again. He didn't want to interrupt her slumber so he tried to back out of the room quietly, but stumbled on the corner of the rug and knocked over a candle holder. Elaina shot up from her sleep and let out a little yelp in surprise as she saw Barbatos's green eyes staring at her in the dark. "My apologies... Again... Lady Elaina." She looked at him in fear, wondering why he was there, making sure her robe covered her fully. He picked up on her energy, almost as if he could read her thoughts. "Oh! N-no Lady Elaina... I just came to check up on you. M-make sure you were alright. Y-you were asleep so I was just going to see m-myself out." He tried to explain, stumbling on his words like an idiot. 'aaahh, why?'

Elaina could feel the nervous tension coming off of Barbatos and couldn't help but smile. "It's alright, Barbatos. I am fine. Just resting. Tonight has been a long night. Thank you for checking up on me." She blushed. Barbatos made his way to the door... "Barbatos?" "Yes, my lady?" He turned to look at her. "Can you stay for a minute or two, if you don't mind? I could use some company". She looked at him with the most sincere look anyone could ever give. He was shocked. His heart throbbed. He wanted to say no but how could he?