"Ooooh look at this beautiful French chateau, darling! It's marvelous," Frankie exclaimed dramatically, throwing her arms around Bucky's neck.
Bucky rolled his eyes and put his arm around Frankie's waist. "It's more of a French cottage, doll."
"Oh. Look at this beautiful French cottage, darling! It's marvelous," Frankie repeated, throwing her weight back so Bucky had to hold her more tightly.
"Glad you're having fun," Steve laughed, moving in a piece of furniture with Tony. They had all arrived the day before and spent a day looking at maps, photos of people of key interest, and going through safety protocols. Frankie had found it all incredibly boring. To make everything look as natural as possible, Tony and Steve were moving furniture into the house and Bucky and Frankie were making a big show of being a young, married couple.
"That's the last of it," Tony said. "I have a question about where to put something, if you two could just come take a look."
Frankie wrinkled her nose. The masks he and Steve were both wearing made them look like completely different people. And sound completely different. They both had French accents.
"Alright," Tony said when the door closed. "Remember what I told you?"
Frankie rolled her eyes. "You told me so much I don't know what you're referring to."
"Franklin, I'm being serious."
"So am I!"
"Now you know how we all feel dealing with you," Steve said.
"To communicate we need to tap the ring twice and spin once," Bucky said, taking Frankie's hand and demonstrating on her fake wedding band. Tony had rigged two intricate gold bands, hers with flowers on the band, his with matching flowers and a small bird. "To turn off the communication, spin twice and tap once."
"You don't really ever need to turn off the communication."
"What if we're doing something sexu-"
"Stop," all three men exclaimed. Frankie laughed and threw her hands in the air.
"I've got how all the tech works. We'll all be in daily communication. Stop acting like I can't be reminded of anything at any point in time. This actually isn't my first rodeo." Frankie wandered away from Bucky, Steve, and Tony in favor of exploring the house. It was stone and rustic, reminding her of the vague images she'd come up with in her head as a kid reading Harry Potter. There were big windows in the kitchen that she imagined opening up to let in the cool air while cooking in the spacious kitchen. She roamed around and found that everything was on the main floor, except two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.
"The bathroom has a clawfoot tub! I'm fucking pumped," Frankie exclaimed, dancing her way down the stairs. The three men smiled at her excitement.
"This isn't a vacation," Steve reminded her. Bucky slapped him in the stomach.
"Let her have an ounce of fun. Today we need to get settled and find a way to meet the neighbors. We've got it under control."
"Let's give the newlyweds some time alone," Tony said, putting a hand on Steve's shoulder.
"Remember, we can be here in no time if something happens."
"There's plenty of safety measures," Tony reminded. With a few more mutterings about safety and the mission the two left.
"What a couple of worry warts!"
"This is all you," Bucky laughed. "I have never seen Tony like that."
"He's very sensitive to my well-being. So I have a great idea about how we can meet the neighbors."
"Which is?"
"We make cookies and knock on doors. I think maybe wine too," Frankie added. "We are in France."
"So we need to go to the store?"
"We need to go to the store," Frankie confirmed. "To the market!" Bucky shook his head and followed Frankie out their front door.
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"You are a disaster in the kitchen! Is this just because you're baking? Pasta wasn't this… messy," Bucky exclaimed, looking around with wide eyes. Flour was spread throughout the kitchen as though a child had been in the kitchen helping.
Frankie looked around and shrugged. "Baking is creative. I'm an artist, James, don't stifle me."
"Wouldn't dream of it, doll," Bucky shook his head. "I'll even help ya clean this chaos up."
"I think these are gonna be really good. They're vegan so that way if anyone is vegan they can still enjoy them. Not gluten free, I didn't think about that." Frankie's brows furrowed.
"If they're gluten free there's still the wine. Don't worry."
"I just… I don't know what I'm doing and I wanna be helpful. Like I think I'm useless here and I feel bad because I'm on vacation and I should be working with my team at home." Bucky's softened stare made Frankie cringe internally. "Don't respond to that. We need a wicker basket or two for delivery and some cute tins to put the cookies in. Can you run out and grab some?"
"Sure. Anything else, sweetheart?" Bucky asked, a teasing lilt in his voice.
"Ew, sweetheart is not the married nickname," Frankie said, wrinkling her nose.
"What's wrong with sweetheart?"
"It's boring. Utterly lacking in creativity. Use your trip to the store to think about it some more."
Bucky rolled his eyes. "Yes darling."
Frankie heard the front door close a minute later, then the beeping of the oven. She stuck the cookie trays in the oven, then glanced around. "It is kind of a disaster in here." Frankie blew a piece of hair out of her face, wet a towel, and got to work cleaning up the mess she'd made.
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"James and Frankie Dubois, we married two months ago on the eleventh, you worked in private security but your family comes from farming which is why we moved here and I worked at my family's flower shop."
"Perfect. I'm rethinking you keeping your name," Bucky sighed. "Do you really think you won't react to a fake one?"
"Maybe if we would've practiced," Frankie shrugged.
"She won't remember," Tony said through their earpieces.
"If this is something we make enemies with…"
"He's right," Steve mumbled.
"Birdie," Bucky said.
Frankie smiled, "Alright."
"Get this welcome committee going," Tony said, slightly irritated. "It's three o'clock."
"Ready?" Frankie nodded and Bucky opened the door, gently pushing her forward before shutting behind them. They looked at each other and Bucky placed his hand on her lower back and started walking to the neighbor, about fifteen feet away, on the right. They only had four houses to go to and had decided they would ask where the local pub was and would go there after dinner, hoping to meet more of the locals.
A woman that looked to be in her fifties opened the door and gave what Frankie assumed was a French greeting. Frankie's eyes widened and she looked up to Bucky with wide eyes. He smiled down and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer into his side. Then he began speaking flawless French.
'Geeze. What can't he do?' Frankie thought. She smiled and handed the woman a tin of cookies and a bottle of wine from Bucky's basket, and stood listening to the conversation she couldn't translate. She waved as Bucky stepped back and the woman closed her door.
"You speak French?" she whispered.
Bucky nodded. "I'm fluent in several languages. That might happen a lot since we aren't in a tourist area. Any tech for that?"
"I'll work on something. The translating is easy. It's helping her respond. I can make something, I already have an idea. It will be ready by tomorrow."
"Last one," Frankie sighed.
"You good?"
"I feel a little more overwhelmed since I don't know the language."
"Tony'll come up with something."
"I'm smarter than him. How is he going to make it without me?" Frankie pouted. Tony grumbled and Steve could be heard laughing. Frankie knocked and pulled a smile onto her face. Bucky wrapped his arm around Frankie and pulled her closer into his side.
"Should I knock again?"
"Can't hurt," Bucky shrugged. Frankie lifted her hand when the door opened, a man and woman that looked to be around Frankie's age stood in front of them. Bucky began speaking, Frankie listened, though she was bored listening to him now and not as impressed as she had been at the first house.
"You speak english?"
"Oh! Yes! Hi," Frankie exclaimed, looking at the woman in front of her excitedly. Her blonde hair was curled delicately and she spoke with a french lilt.
"This is the first house that has," Bucky smiled. "Birdie here has just been having to listen to me talk. She's taking lessons but not quite confident in the delivery yet."
"That's a lovely name," the man said, his green eyes staring at the two intensely. "My name is Hugo and this is my wife, Camille."
"What brings you all so far from home? Normally the tourists stick to Paris."
"My family is from here originally," Bucky answered.
"His Dad would tell us stories about growing up in the French countryside and had beautiful pictures of his childhood on the farm. I thought it sounded so lovely. I told James we just had to move and give it a whirl. Finally he agreed," Frankie said, rolling her eyes dramatically.
Bucky shrugged. "Happy wife, happy life, right?"
Hugo laughed, "That is certainly the truth."
"Would y'all like to go to the local pub with us tonight? And also show us where it is?" Frankie asked.
"Brilliant, Little Bird," Tony said.
"Oh that would be great fun," Camille said, clapping her hands together. "We simply must dress up, I never have an excuse and a girlfriend to get dressed up with. Hugo? Let's go!"
"Happy wife, happy life," Hugo laughed. "Meet us here at 7:30 and we'll all go together."
"See y'all then," Frankie smiled. She wrapped an arm around Bucky's waist and began walking them back towards their house. She couldn't help but notice how warm and solid Bucky felt. His hand held her firmly against him as they walked down the street.
"Great job, guys. Keep it up tonight. Frankie, don't drink too much."
"When you tell me what to do it makes me want to do the opposite, Stevie."
"Their door hasn't closed. Don't turn around."
"I wasn't going to." Frankie rolled her eyes and wondered if he thought she was totally incompetent. When they got to their door Frankie looked over to see Hugo and Camille picking herbs from the garden she'd noticed outfront.
"We've got to get a garden started."
"What?"
"We moved here because you're from farmer stock. Hugo and Camille were in the garden picking herbs. It made me think that we're going to have to get something started. Herbs are easy and I know a little about them."
"We have a little bit of an excuse in not knowing weather patterns and all that here. I'll find some books in town though, you're right."
"Capsicle and I are out."
"We're going to get dinner. We'll be back on by seven and ready to listen."
"Got it," Bucky nodded. The two turned the rings listening devices off. Frankie sat down on the couch and ran her hands through her hair.
"Alright, Birdie?"
"It was smart to go with that. I like it. My grandma used to call me that. Her middle name was Bird, too. Grandpa used to call us his Ladybirds." Frankie looked away from Bucky, directing her attention out the window and into the backyard in the afternoon sunlight. A morose feeling began creeping in. She didn't want to acknowledge it and knew she would have to shake it before they met Hugo and Camille later.
"You didn't answer my question." Bucky sat down beside Frankie on the couch, tucking a leg underneath himself and facing her. "Are you alright?"
"Everything is just weird, ya know? Like I think I've had the most change I've ever had in my whole life in the last, like, seven months. And then things were a little normal because I was working again. And now it's a new thing again. And then it'll be back to the new normal again. It's just… a lot,"
"Have you thought about seeing if you and your therapist can set up a time to talk while you're here? It's a six hour time difference, that isn't that much."
"Oh. I hadn't thought about that at all. That's a great idea."
After a long pause Bucky took a breath. "If you ever want to talk to me, I'm a pretty good listener… I at least know a lot of what not to say because I remember all the things people have said to me that really pissed me off."
Frankie laughed, "Thanks. Maybe sometime. In the meantime, I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap. Sleep off the funk in time to be fun and charming." Frankie stood, trying not to think about what Bucky's frown might mean. Just as she turned to go to the bedroom Frankie felt Bucky's hand take her own.
"We don't have to go tonight."
Frankie smiled. "We do. You know that. You're just feeling bad for me. Stop it."
"I don- Alright. I'll wake you up in an hour or so for dinner."
Frankie nodded and continued on her mission to crawl into bed and get under blankets. She climbed the stairs and chose the bedroom on the left and closed the door. She crawled beneath the blankets and wrapped herself as though she were in a cocoon. Frankie counted sheep in her head, determined to ignore all the thoughts that were trying to invade her mind.
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"You look gorgeous," Camille exclaimed, kissing the side of Frankie's cheek. Frankie's eyes widened as she took in Camille, whose dress hugged all the right places and had done her makeup flawlessly. Frankie wore an open back black slip dress and had pinned her hair back and put on mascara and lipstick. She felt like she was practically invisible next to Camille.
"You do!"
"To the pub?" Hugo asked.
"To the pub," Frankie exclaimed. She quickly linked arms with Bucky. She thought Camille was probably the type that would want to pair off, and it made sense based on all of their neighbors being considerably older. Normally Frankie would be that type, but she wanted to make sure there wasn't an opportunity for her or Bucky to say something that contradicted each other.
"How long have you two been married?"
"Two months."
"You still have the newlywed glow," Hugo said. He smiled at the couple. "Camille and I have been married three years. She tires of me occasionally, but I have yet to feel that way about her."
"She gets tired of me, don't let her fool you," Bucky joked.
"We aren't too far way now. It is rather nice living so close to the pub. There are some great shops around too, and the market vendors are out most days. They tend to sell out by mid-afternoon, though."
"That's good to know," Bucky nodded. "We'll have to check that out this week. Birdie and I wanted to check out the town and pick up some gardening guides. We'll have to search for jobs, too."
"What did you do in America?" Camille asked.
"I worked at my family's flower shop. I don't know if it was a passion or anything, but I can put some great looking floral arrangements together. James worked in private security."
"We definitely have a florist. The language barrier would possibly be an issue," Hugo said.
"Yeah, I sorta worry about that."
"We have enough saved that Birdie will be able to stay at home for awhile, work on getting comfortable with the language."
"Here we are," Hugo said, arms out.
The two couples walked into the small pub and up to the bar. Bucky ordered two whiskies on ice and handed one to Frankie. Hugo got a glass of wine and Camille a martini, then they found a table close to the band that was playing jazz.
"For some reason I thought everything here would look so different… It is different but also similar."
Camille smiled. "Isn't that always how it feels when we're somewhere else? It's easy to remember we're all people that enjoy similar things in life."
"That's certainly true," Frankie agreed. "It makes this big move feel a little less scary."
Bucky wrapped his arm around Frankie and kissed the top of her head. "You'd never know it from the way she's talking now, but it was her idea to move."
"Smart woman," Hugo said, tipping his wine glass in her direction. "France is infinitely more beautiful than your home country."
"What's it like here? So far it seems quaint and quiet. We have only been here a day and a half so maybe it isn't fair to assess yet…" Frankie said, taking a sip of her drink and leaning into Bucky's side.
Hugo and Camille looked at each other.
"Great job, Frankie. Really excellent." Steve's tone was laced with pride.
"Oh I hope that wasn't insulting," Frankie exclaimed, feigning embarrassment. "Part of the appeal of moving here was to get away from constant noise and chaos. I'm really looking forward to peace and quiet."
"Birdie sometimes puts her foot in her mouth. She doesn't mean any harm," Bucky added, pretending to be embarrassed that she could have insulted their new friends.
"No, no. It's not that…" Camille said. "It is normally very quiet here but that has not been the case lately."
"Oh?"
"There have been… There has been more crime lately. It seems unorganized but surely there is a pattern we just aren't aware of."
"What kind of crime?"
"It seemed like kids at first… Crops being ruined, that sort of thing. Then a business burned down, there was a murder. It's not a tiny town but it is a small one so these things feel different than in a city, you see?"
"I'll be sure to lock the doors and windows," Bucky said reassuringly to Frankie.
"Let's talk about something else," Camille said, waving her hands. "Enough gloom. James, what sort of work are you interested in doing here?"
The four continued making small talk, getting to know each other. Frankie continued sneaking in probing questions here and there, playing the role of a nosy American perfectly. She made sure to be just charming enough that Hugo and Camille didn't find her to be unappealing. After about an hour Huge and Camille said they had to leave because of work in the morning. Frankie and Bucky decided to stay a little while longer.
"I think we picked the wrong night to have many people to try and get information out of," Frankie said, looking around. Aside from them and the bartender there were only two other patrons, and the two of them were in deep conversation.
Bucky shrugged. He stood and stretched out his hand. "Guess that just leaves dancing."
Frankie laughed and shook her head. "I'm a terrible dancer."
"I'll lead."
"I'll embarrass you."
"Ladybird," Bucky said seriously. "Dance with me."
Frankie laughed, seeing that Bucky was clearly determined. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her the rest of the way up and lead her to the dance floor. Frankie found herself having more fun than she thought she would, allowing Bucky to lead their movements. For a little while Frankie was able to pretend they were just two people in France to have a good time.
