A/N: More Richard and Simonne. This is probably going to be very long, if I don't end up splitting it in two. We'll see how it turns out when I get to that point.
I am going to TRY to put Simonne's accent on the names, but I may forget occasionally (or completely) or just get tired of it after a few chapters.
February, 1922 Atlantic City, New Jersey
Simonne clung to Richard's hand as they stood in front of Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson. The gaunt, blue-eyed treasurer of Atlantic City regarded them for a long while, and when he finally spoke it was to say to Richard "You're gone for almost two months and the only thing you have to show for it is...her?" he waved his hand at Simonne.
"Monsieur Thompson, s'il vous plait. It is not Ree-shard's fault zat he was gone for so long. C'est moi...I am ze reason." Simonne let go of Richard's hand, even though she felt like she was letting go of a life line, and she moved closer to Nucky, looking sad and apologetic. "You must not be mad at him," she continued. "He...he helped with with a...problem zat I had, a problem zat I could not handle myself. Ree-shard he helped to right a wrong zat was done to me..."
"You seem to think I give a fuck," Nucky said.
"I zink zat you do," Simonne said, studying Nucky carefully. Richard knew that tone of voice, and he figured Nucky Thompson had fifteen minutes before he was completely charmed by the French woman before him. "I zink, Monsieur Thompson, zat you understand ze need to bring justice to zose who have wronged you, oui?" Nucky nodded, and Simonne silently begged Richard's forgiveness for bringing this up, knowing even hinting at what Nucky Thompson had done to Richard's best friend would hurt him, but she had to do it, to keep Richard himself from getting killed. "You, Monsieur Thompson, you most likely have more experience as zis zan I...I do not zink I am wrong to assume zat, being a man in power, you have had many people do zings to hurt you, and zat you have had to deal with zese zings forcefully, on occasion. Moi, however...I did not know how to go about what needed to be done, mais, Ree-shard, he did know, and he was able to show me, and he helped to keep me safe zrough it, and..." She paused and looked back at Richard, her love evident in her eyes, "he is ze only reason I came zrough what happened to me with anyzing zat resembled sanity." She looked back at Nucky, her eyes wide and pleading. "Please, if you must be angry at someone, it should be me zat you are angry at, not him."
Nucky looked at Simonne, his face impassive. He was extremely curious about how this couple came to be, to look at the two of them it seemed the most unlikely pairing imaginable. She was beautiful and worldly, he was scarred and introverted. She was easy too like, Nucky had to admit, falling under her spell in spite of himself. Richard...well...Nucky knew he was a nice enough guy, if you could get him to open up any, and he was surprisingly good with children, but Richard just didn't look like the kind of man you wanted to get to know. Finally, he asked, and he found himself smiling when Simonne smiled and told the story of how she and Richard first met in Paris, how they were reunited three years later in Atlantic City. "I had a special Christmas surprise for Ree-shard," she said. "Merci for letting him journey to Paris, by ze way...mais, ze surprise, zat went over very well, unfortunately, mon pére had a surprise for me zat...did not go over so well..." Simonne looked at Nucky's desk for a moment, taking a deep breath to steel herself. When she looked back at Nucky, he noticed her eyes had gone flat, that charming sparkle gone, and her voice took on a tone of recitation, as if she were repeating something she had learned, not something she herself had experienced. "I suddenly found myself with a fiance zat I did not want, because I was in love with Ree-shard. And zis man, on top planning to kill mon frére et mon pére, he et four of his friends brutally raped and beat me. I needed to make zem pay, Monsieur Thompson. Ree-shard showed me how. I did not come out of it...right, here," she made a waving motion at her head. "Ree-shard, he has helped me to not...be trapped in my zoughts, for zey sometimes run in circles and will overwhelm me. It is because of zis zat Richard was gone so long. Zat is why I am ze one you should be angry with."
"Jesus," Nucky said, "I'm not that much of a heartless bastard." He chose to ignore the quiet snort that came from Richard. He did look at the tall marksman, however. "I understand. I still think a more informative phone call would have been nice, however."
"I, mm. Hate the...phone," Richard replied.
Nucky opened his mouth, but Simonne interrupted, a smile on her face "I have tried to make him understand ze benefits, mais mon amour zinks ze phone is a horrible invention. He says it is too intrusive, zat it makes it too easy for people to pester you. I zink he is quite old fashioned." She smiled fondly at Richard, and a small smile crossed his face. It was the first time he'd seen the veteran smile, Nucky realized. He hadn't been entirely sure Richard was capable of it, given the extent of his injuries.
"But zat is part of ze reason zat I love him so." And Richard blushed and looked down at his shoes. "Ah, oui! Also because he is so modest. And zen zere is his sense of humor. Oui, he does have one," she assured Nucky when he looked at her with arched eyebrows. "It is...tending to be dark humor, mais it is zere. Ah, je m'excuse. I am probably telling you zings you do not need to know."
Nucky leaned forward, elbows on his desk and looked Simonne in the eye. "Why do I like you?" Nucky asked her, honestly curious. "Why are you so...so...?" He wondered how he could use her to his advantage.
"We all have our strengths, Monsieur Thompson. You, you are good at,...s'il vous plait, do not take offense if my words do not quite sound flattering. Sometimes my English does not come out correctly." Nucky nodded, willing to hear her out. "You are good at running people. Zere are many who work for you, you must make sure zat zey all do what zey are supposed to, and zis is somezing zat takes great intelligence as well as great skill, oui?" Nucky nodded once more. Simonne began pacing, her hands clasped behind her back. Richard watched her carefully, wondering what she was up to. "Ree-shard, he is very good at killing people. You know zis, of course. You also know zat he can be quite intimidating, alzough zat is mostly because people are stupid and do not zink to look beyond ze surface of zings. So because Ree-shard does not look 'normal' he must not be 'normal' and zerefore he must be feared. Zis is part of ze reason you give him some of ze jobs zat you do, oui? He will eizer frighten ze people into what you want, or he will kill zem. But Richard, he does not like zis. He is a gentle man, Monsieur Thompson. He does not like zat people fear him, or even pity him. So zese jobs, zey kill a little of him each time." Richard shifted uncomfortably. He didn't think Nucky wanted or needed to know these things. He was pretty certain he didn't want Nucky to know these things. Nucky was looking at him like he was seeing him as human for the first time. "I do not like knowing zat Richard is sad," Simonne said as she stopped in front of Nucky's desk and placed her hands on the surface, leaning forward to look the treasurer in the eyes. "Zat is where I can be useful. As you have noticed, I am likable. I am also good at getting people to do what I zink zey should, especially if it is somezing zey may not want to do. I can save Ree-shard a great deal of pain, not to mention avoid a great deal of ….quel est le mode?...Scrutiny? Zat too many dead bodies may raise."
"What do you have in mind?" Nucky asked, sitting back in his chair.
But Richard knew, and he'd be damned if he was going to let her get involved in it.
"No," he said firmly, stepping up beside her and looking at her sternly. She straightened and glared back at him stubbornly. "Oui."
"No."
"Oui."
"No."
"Oui."
I hope to God they don't argue often if it always goes like this. They'll never get anything figured out, Nucky thought before he cut in with "Why don't you two go home and discuss this. In detail," he clarified, easily imagining them repeating 'oui' and 'no' for hours. "Take a couple of days to get settled, work this out. Come back and see me next week."