AN: This is for Buchworm. I promised you a Butler-romance, well, here it is. It isn't really a tragedy, alas, but I hope you guys will enjoy it anyway. Review please!
Disclaimer: I only own the anonymous girl
You're beautiful
My life is brilliant.
Butler smiled, as he saw Artemis and Minerva being together. It reminded him of that summer, a long time ago. The best summer of his life.
He was seventeen years old, then. He had taken a few weeks off from the academy, to go on holiday with his family. They were going to Rome for two weeks, and then to Paris.
My life is brilliant
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
In Paris, it happened. The room next to him in the hotel belonged to the most astonishing girl he'd ever seen. Well, to be honest, she wasn't that pretty, but there was something in her eyes that seemed to make her looks something unimportant. When young Domovoi saw her for the first time, she smiled at him. And from that moment on, he knew why Paris was called 'cité d'amour', or city of love.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.
Domovoi was in love. He spent the whole next day, thinking of her bronze-coloured eyes, her face, her thick, dark-brown hair and her beautiful smile. He didn't see a lot of the city, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered to him that day, except one thing: how to get closer to her. He was determined to at least get to know her name, and maybe some more. Since he had no experience in romance whatsoever, he thought of all the movies he'd seen. At last, he knew how he would handle this. He gave the name of the hotel and the number of her room to a local flower salesman, and told him to bring her a couple of flowers the next morning. Then he went to the cleaning lady, and asked her to give the girl a letter, a few hours after she'd got the flowers.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
He didn't know what he expected from it. But he was relieved when she came to the restaurant he'd asked her to come in his letter. He saw the look of surprise on her face when she saw it was him. 'You?' she asked in French. 'You're the boy next to my room, right?'
He nodded. 'Oui. That's me. And you're the girl next to mine.'
She smiled. 'I know that. Why am I here?'
'As if you don't know,' he said. 'I had a feeling, when I saw you for the first time, and it felt so good, I wanted to feel it again. A bit longer, this time, if possible.'
And so, their first date started. More followed. Many more, one for every night Domovoi was there.
Until his father found out.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.
'I'm sure you'll understand, Domovoi,' his father told him. 'You can have your fun now, with that girl, but as long as you keep in mind your destination. You are going to be a bodyguard, in a tradition of the best in the world. You won't have the time for girls then.'
Domovoi stared at is feet. Yes, he knew all this. But he didn't like it. Suddenly, a thought struck him, so new and unexpected, he wasn't able to utter it to his father. Why fulfil the destination someone else created for you? It lasted just one second, then went away, and it left nothing but a uneasy feeling in Domovoi's mind.
Yes, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last 'till the end.
That night, he told her it was over. She denied it, and asked him why, asked him whether he didn't love her anymore, she shouted and yelled, and, finally, she started to cry. He placed his arm around her shoulders, and started to explain.
'I still love you, and I really want to be with you, mon chèrie, but I can't. I'm going to be a bodyguard.'
She laughed at him. 'Bien sûr. And I'm a princess who can't love just anybody.'
'No, really,' he assured her, 'I'm a Butler, and it is Butler tradition to have at least one son sent to become bodyguard. When this summer is over, I'm going back to the academy for my last year. And then… I'll find myself someone to guard. I won't have the type of life or even the time to be in love.'
At last, she accepted it. 'But,' she said to him, 'if I'm not going to see you after this summer, why break up now?'
Domovoi laughed in surprise, and before he knew it, their lips met each other.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.
'I'm going now.'
It was the last day of their vacation, and Domovoi nearly had to force himself to tell her goodbye. To his great relieve, she didn't cry. They had spent the rest of their time together like the summer would last forever, knowing that it wouldn't be that way. They had laughed, they had kissed and most of all, just been together.
And now, it was over. She hugged him, and he held her, as if time could be stopped by being close together. She looked up to his face, and her eyes were calm. 'Would you do something for me?' she asked.
He smiled at her. 'Bien sûr, anything, anything you ask for.'
'Then, remember me,' she said. 'Remember me, our time together. When you're a bodyguard, I suppose you need happy thoughts, don't you think? I want you to be happy, Domovoi.'
La la la la la la la la la
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
Although he'd only known her for a few weeks, she was the best thing that ever happened to him. When Madame Ko was harsh on him, when he was forced to stand still for hours while his employer was holding a speech, when he lost friends, the memory of her kept him going. He never showed it. He never told anybody. But when the night fell, and he lay in bed, his last thought before he fell asleep, was her face. He did what she asked him to do: he remembered her. Not with sadness, or anger about his forded life as a bodyguard, but with happiness. She was his secret guardian angel.
But it's time to face the truth,
He had known it, from the first time he'd seen her.
But he hadn't cared. Until his father showed it to him clearly. And after that, he didn't care either.
I will never be with you.
They'd had their time together. That was enough.
And that was how it ended
