Author's Note: Hope you're all enjoying the story so far! I'd love to hear what you think about the Anya and Loki arc.
For this chapter, the Italian song is 'Mamma' sung by Beniamino Gigli and 'Only Forever' by Bing Crosby.
Reviews are always appreciated!
-Kiara
December 25 1940
The next morning, Christiane woke to the first rays of sun between the twilight briefly shining through thick fluffy grey clouds, dancing through openings before vanishing completely. Twilight reflected off the snow that had built up overnight outside, casting a luminescent blue shade into the apartment. She rubbed her eyes, stretching her body with one arm in the air, looking at her wristwatch reading 6 in the morning, before plopping back on the pillow to look at a pair of bright blue eyes watching her. Her eyes drifted to her leg that brought down the pillow barrier between them, her cheeks blushing, before looking back at those eyes.
She could see a gentle smirk appearing on his lips, as he propped his head on an arm.
"Mornin'", he whispered, his smile growing.
"Mmmm bonjour (Good morning)", she smiled, putting an arm in the air to cover her eyes from the twilight of the room.
"Did you sleep well?", he looked at her intently.
She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment, "Very well, and you?" before opening her eyes to look over at Steve, still wrapped up in a tiny ball across from them in a pillow fort he created.
"The best sleep I've had in a while," he whispered, turning over onto his back, hands behind his head.
"Should we wake him?", she looked over at Bucky.
"Not yet, he doesn't sleep in often. Usually does the morning paper runs around the neighborhood before first light and then goes back to sleep until he goes to the art shop."
Christiane carefully got up quietly, Bucky watching her as she padded on the wooden floorboards with her socks. He smiled, watching he hunched over, carefully tip-toeing around the living room to Steve. She grabbed a blanket from the sofa, putting it on Steve as he curled up tighter.
Looking up at Bucky, she padded next to the living room table, taking the wooden-carved bear into her hands and quietly tip-toed to her room, placing it on her bedside table next to the framed photograph of her family. Her fingertips carefully picked it up, brushing her thumb over the dust that had collected on the glass.
"Can I come in?", a whisper came from the door.
She turned around nodding quietly, sitting at the edge of her bed as Bucky joined her.
"Is that your parents?", he asked through a whisper again.
Her finger pointed to the tall man with a moustache, "That's my papa, Eduard", she pointed to an old lady beside him, "That's my baba".
"What's a baba?", he looked back.
"It means grandmother in Russian. She was from Leningrad, met my Papi Gérard-Marceau (Grandpa Gérard-Marceau) studying in Paris when baba was living in Paris with her family who worked for the embassy." She looked at Bucky, smiling to herself, "Their relationship was such a scandal, with baba's family wanting her to marry a Russian. Papi Gérard-Marceau did anything he could to try and convince her parents he was the right man for her, but he would sneak her out at night so they could spend time together. Baba used to tell us about the times he would take her to the Parisienne bars, back in the day of the Belle Époque, and they would stroll arm in arm by the Seine, over the bridges and by the Eiffel Tower. Finally, in the end, her parents agreed and they got married and moved to Champagne and lived off the land, happily making champagne." She giggled softly at the memory of her countryside home.
"What was her name?", he whispered.
"Anya Ivanovich-Bougourd"
"Anya's namesake?"
She nodded, before continuing to point to the woman beside her father, "That's my maman, Maria. She's from the Alps but really her family came from Norway."
"How'd they end up in France?", Bucky tilted his head to the side.
"Maman said her father, Kristian, came from the north and was a sailor. He sailed to France with the navy and decided to explore more of the country so he went to the mountains and fell in love with mémé Delphine (Grandma Delphine)."
She looked over at him pausing, taking a breath, "I never met any of my grandfathers but apparently Anya got Papi Kristian's eyes and maman's eyes too."
Bucky leaned in closer, looking intently at her, "And what about you?"
"Maman said a mix of everything," she smiled to herself before turning back to the photograph.
"That's Anya," he pointed to a small toddler in a dress with boots, holding onto her father's hand. "And I'm guessing that's you?" he leaned in closer pointing to the photograph to see another toddler smiling brilliantly, hair down in curls like she'd just gone running in the forest, dressed in a dress and boots with dirt on it, hugging onto the neck of a big German Shepard dog, a ribbon around it, with a Beauceron dog on Christiane's the other side.
"How did you know?", she looked to him. "Anya's a bit taller than you here, but what gives you away is the fact you stand out from everyone else."
"I remember," she chuckled, "I had taken Pamplemousse (Grapefruit) and Ulysses for a run through the horses' yard behind. My mother called out my name from the house to come for the photograph. She was hysterical when she saw I had tied the ribbon from my hair to Pamplemousse's neck, my face smudged with mud and boots all dirty. In the end, they all said it made the photo what it was - baba with her apron always on from her cooking, Papa with his iconic mustache, Maman always keeping a hand on both Anya and me, Anya being the grown-up."
Bucky continued, smiling as his nose crinkled, "And you being the stubborn one always finding something to do."
Christiane turned over the frame, sliding the photograph out of its sleeve to see the writing behind:
"1924, La Famille Bougourd: Anya Ivanovich-Bougourd, Eduard Bougourd, Maria Andersen-Bougourd, Geneviève Anya Bougourd, Christiane Gérard Bougourd, Pamplemousse, Ulysses"
She sighed, putting the photograph back into its frame, "This was taken a year before Papa passed."
"What happened?", his voice going quiet, a fainter whisper.
"Car accident over a bridge."
He took her hand into his, holding it closely, "I'm sorry."
"It's the past, we all need to move on.", she looked down, whispering as she put the photograph back on her bedside table.
There was a silence, before Bucky whispered back to her, "My parents and sisters passed a few years ago from a car accident also, the same year Steve's folks passed."
She looked up to him, searching in his eyes before putting her head on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Bucky."
He put his arm around her, reaching to her head, stroking her hair soothingly as he kissed the top of her head.
They sat like that for a few minutes, taking in each other's presence before a rustle from the other room and footsteps came. "Mornin'", Steve yawned as he stretched. He looked at them, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "How long was I out for?"
"Well after the vodka…" Christiane raised her eyebrows,
"…and the park bench you set on fire last night!" Bucky continued trying to contain his laughter.
Steve's eyes widened, as he began to run his fingers through his hair, "That can't be possible…"
"We're kidding, pal!" Bucky erupted into a fit of laughter, walking over to Steve giving him a slap on the back.
Steve could only smile, rolling his eyes before shaking his head, "You two, honestly."
Christiane got up towards to two, "Come on, let's get some breakfast."
"And afterwards we'll go outside in the snow" Bucky smiled, anticipating Christiane's reaction.
She ran over to the window, looking over as her face brightened up, turning around nodding quickly, a giant smile on her face.
After breakfast, the three wrapped up warmly as they walked to a park, Christiane occasionally taking snowballs to throw at Steve and Bucky and vice-versa, with Christiane jumping into the snow to make snow angels before getting up and Bucky brushing any snow still stuck on her off. The air was crisp, fresh and light. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes, letting it out as she tried to remember Christmas with snow back in France.
Anya and she would walk through the yard, jumping into the snow also and bringing their dogs that would run, kicking up flurries of white into the air before their mother would call them into the house to have a cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace.
Steve started shivering and sniffling, as Christiane put an arm around him, taking off her scarf to put on him. "We better get back inside, you're freezing Steve!" Christiane looked at him concerningly.
"I'm alright, you two go ahead, I'll go back to the apartment. See you there?", Steve turned around.
Bucky and Christiane waved to him as he walked back. The two walked further into the park, looking at children playing together in the snow.
"Well that's a shame, I wanted to take you two for ice cream?"
"In the middle of winter, Bucky!" Christiane looked at him in shock, eyes wide.
Grinning a cheeky smile as he put an arm around her as they continued to walk, "Why not! It melts quickly in the summer, so why not have it now when it won't melt at all?"
"You're crazy, you know, that right? It's freezing and you want to have an ice cream. You'll catch a cold! None of the ice cream parlors are open anyways today either."
"That's true," he pouted, before pulling her to sit on a bench as they looked out to a snow-fight between children. Bucky pulled her in closer, making sure she was warm as possible.
They sat there, watching the light cast through the trees overhead onto the snow, children laughing together as they threw snowballs at each other, parents watching their children as they were deep in conversation.
For a while, it was silence with just the few giggles and laughs from the snowball-fight.
"Do you think we'll ever get there?", Bucky asked quietly.
"Get where?" Christiane turned to look at him.
He looked towards the children playing together.
"Bucky, we've only known each other…"
"Five months, I know, and we've only been going steady for about a month."
"Isn't it peculiar to you that we may have gotten into this too quickly? What will other people think?"
"I don't care what other people think, and some people might say it's odd but I don't think so. There's nobody around to judge us. The first moment I saw you, I knew there was something about it and I wanted to get to know you better. These five months that have passed, and we've spent every day together and each day passing by, I want to be even closer."
"I feel that way too."
"My ma used to talk about how you fall for someone at first sight, how it hits you in the face and you feel like you're flying ten thousand feet in the air. I felt that the moment I saw you.", he took her hands in his, "Not because of your looks, doll, believe me you are the most beautiful woman I've ever met, but because you were so kind, gentle and curious about everything around you. You stood up for Steve God knows how many times, been through hell and back and yet you're standing here still smiling and laughing. I don't know how you do it."
Christiane looked out to the open, letting out a silent chuckle that cast an icy mist from her breath, before looking back at him.
"We were never going to be a traditional couple, let's just admit that."
"Then we write our own rules, we make our own paths." He took her hands in his again, squeezing them tightly, "We'll do it together."
"Bucky..", she looked at him, feeling as if everything went silent around them as a brush of cold wind stung her cheeks. "I don't know how this all works. I've..", she hesitated ducking her head down, "never felt this way before about anyone. This is all new to me."
He brushed aside a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ears. His fingers brushed down to her chin, lifting up her face to look at him. Her eyes shone brightly, the blue icy, the golden tint seeming to deepen endlessly.
"This is all new to me too, but to make this official," he turned to the open, pulling her in closer to him before turning to look at her with a toothy grin, "I've got to take you on a date, doll!"
Christiane returned a smile, "Parfait (perfect)", leaning her head onto his shoulders as they watched to the open.
New Years Eve
"Bucky come on! We'll be late!", Christiane tried to put on her earrings from the bathroom as Steve and Bucky were in the living room.
Steve adjusted Bucky's neck-tie, looking over his shoulder before re-doing the knot.
"And you thought you'd be the one early, pal." Steve laughed, shaking his head as he straightened it to Bucky's collar.
"Punk." He gave Steve a little push on his shoulders.
"Well, what do you think?", Christiane smiled, purse attached to her wrist, lipstick on, her hair in curls and a deep lapis blue dress with heels.
Bucky looked at her in awe, "You...you um...", before Steve gave him a shove. Bucky cleated his throat, "Ahem, you look beautiful."
Christiane walked up to Bucky, putting her arm through his.
"You two look very dashing.", Steve smiled, picking up a mug of hot chocolate Christiane had made earlier.
"Come on! On y va! (Let's go!)" Christiane took Bucky to the door. "Steve, are you sure you don't want to come?"
"No no! It's your night, and I'd rather stay home reading if that's alright with you. Plus Buck said he wanted to swing in the new year with you," he added, glancing up with a smirk to Bucky.
"Of course! See you later", Christiane hugged Steve before walking out the door. Bucky saluting to Steve on his way out.
The two walked over to the subway station, arm in arm, the sound of Christiane's heels echoing through the streets mixed with singing, music from open windows and tires crunching on the icy roads.
"So what shall we do tonight, Monsieur?" Christiane skipped forwards, turning around to face Bucky.
"How about a dance?" he took her hand, twirling her around.
"You're not afraid I'll step on your toes?" a small grin appeared on her lips.
"Never!," he looked at her gallantly, kissing her hand gently.
They walked together hand-in-hand to the garage where the Savini's invited them to their apartment party at their apartment above. Christiane and the other boys had been invited to Lorenzo's house. By the time they arrived, the party was in full swing, drinks in hand and the record player playing loudly.
"Cristiana! James! Sei qui! Lorenzo vieni a prendere i loro cappotti! (Christiane! James! You're here! Lorenzo come get their coats!)", Gloria opened the door, hugging the both of them tightly before shouting over the music to her husband.
Lorenzo shouted from the other room, "Lo farò! Dammi un minuto! (I will! Give me a minute!)"
Gloria shook her head, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose before mumbling to herself, "Perché devo fare tutto… (Why do I have to do everything…)" Before she looked back up, "Come come, there's drinks and food on the table. Make yourselves comfortable!", turning into the living room where the dining table was pushed to one side and the center of the room was a make-shift dance floor.
Christiane waved to the others, taking a round to introduce Bucky to the boys and their dates before settling down in the corner watching them dance.
Gloria suddenly appeared clapping and dancing as a cheery Italian song started playing, before making it for Bucky and taking him by the arms to dance with her.
"James! Dance with me!", before winking at Christiane, turning back to Bucky to look him up, "Dear boy, you're tall!"
Following suite shortly was Lorenzo who took Christiane's hand to dance.
Mamma, son tanto felice
perché ritorno da te
La mia canzone ti dice
ch'è il più bel giorno per me
Bucky twirled Gloria as she laughed hysterically, struggling to hold her hands up high to Bucky's height before he held her to dance across the room to Christiane and Lorenzo doing a sort of foxtrot.
Gloria leaned back to Lorenzo behind her, "Let's let these two dance, shall we?"
"Ma! (But!)" Lorenzo protested.
"Lorenzo!", she gave him a quick kiss before dropping Bucky mid-dance and walking to the record player and her friends.
Lorenzo patted Bucky's arm, giving a quick nod to him before following his wife.
Christiane stood there smiling to herself, the two of them reminding her of the stories her baba would tell her about her parents.
"Christiane?" Bucky approached her, extending his hand out.
"Hmm?", snapping out of her thoughts.
"I did tell you we'd dance tonight."
"Yes you did," she said cheekily, taking his hand as he dipped her first before pulling her in close to him, the song coming to an end.
For a moment, they held each other in silence before the record player scratched to play a new song.
Do I want to be with you?
As the years come and go?
Only forever,
If you care to know
She laid her head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of the cologne he put on before closing her eyes as they swayed together.
Do you think I'll remember?
How you looked when you smile?
Only forever
That's puttin' it mild
Bucky held her by the waist, before leading her to take a twirl and back towards him. Cheek to cheek.
Would I grant all your wishes?
And be proud of the task?
Only forever
If someone should ask
"Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?", Bucky whispered to her ear.
"I don't believe you did.", Christiane replied as she felt her cheeks blush.
How long would it take me?
To be near if you beckoned?
Off-hand I would figure
Less than a second
"Tu es la plus belle ce soir (You are the most beautiful one tonight)", he whispered back.
"Tu es le plus beau aussi, tu sais? (You are the handsomest also, you know that?)
Do you think I'll remember
How you looked when you smile?
Only forever
That's puttin' it mild
"I don't know what you just said, doll", he chuckled.
"That you're very handsome tonight.", she whispered back to him.
This time, it was Bucky's turn to blush. He could feel his cheeks burning as his grip tightened around her to twirl her again to the ending of the song.
Around them, Gloria and Lorenzo clapped with the others cheering and whistling behind.
Bucky and Christiane startled looked around them, only to realize they were the only ones dancing to that song. The both of them looked down smiling, hiding the shyness of their newly-found relationship.
"It's almost midnight, we should get to the rooftop for the fireworks!" Lorenzo exclaimed going quickly to the front door of the apartment.
Already at the door, they could hear people from the floors below rushing upstairs shoving their way past them as each apartment's party fought to get the best views up top.
In that second as Christiane stepped to the moving crowd in the staircase, she halted. Her mind wanted her to move, but she couldn't as she felt the coldness seep through her skin. The flashes rushed to her as if she was back in Paris.
Christiane stood by the staircase, looking as the soldiers ran past her, shouting orders. Her feet froze to the ground, a hand in her jacket crumpling up a piece of paper that an agent had passed on to her from the Marais Resistance cell to deliver to the Saint-Germain/Luxembourg Resistance cell where Anya waited for her. She tightened her arm around the package she held, concealed in a bag of bread. The sounds of their boots stomping on the granite floor, the sound of metal clanking against each other, the sight of tailored dark green uniforms running past her.
Her heart thumped, as if trying to find a way to escape her body. From above, she could hear a scream of a woman and the shouting of a young boy as a door was kicked in.
"Christiane!", a voice came from far away.
"Christiane!", the voice in front of her, shaking her.
Suddenly, arms were around her as she realized she was on the ground in the doorway of the Savini's apartment.
"Christiane, are you okay?", Bucky held her tightly in his arms, his eyes filled with concern, shock and worry.
"I…", she hesitated, her eyes blinking hot tears. "I was there."
"Where? What happened?", smoothing her hair out, his embrace tighter.
"In Paris..in May", her words lost, her eyes searching, "I can't be here, it's just like when they came," her eyes turning to Bucky in desperation. "Bucky, I can't be here."
"Okay, okay. Where do you want to go?", he held her by her cheeks softly, stroking with his thumbs brushing away the tears.
Christiane tried to process the shock, the crowd around them clearing as they were the ones alone in the hallway. The tears coming back again.
"Take me home, please. Take me home Bucky.", her voice quiet as she tried to keep back a sob.
He could only hold her tightly, kissing the top of her head softly before bringing her to her feet as he went to get their coats, taking her hand down the staircase outside.
His arm wrapped around her, her head against his shoulder as she bit her lip to stop the sobbing. They walked out into the cold Brooklyn night, a new year sounded as fireworks lit up above them.
By the time they got home, Steve sat in the armchair in the corner reading, watching the two of them walk in quietly. Bucky took her to bed, tucking her in and kissing her on her forehead before closing the door to her room.
He looked on to her, eyes already closed, her lips parted slightly.
Steve looked up to Bucky, settling into the sofa, throwing a blanket over at Steve.
"How was it?", Steve asked.
"It was nice, but something spooked her when everyone started running up the stairs for the fireworks.", he replied, a look of worry still on his face.
"Anya did mention something, when we were at the beach," Steve pondered, his brows furrowing to remember. "Chrissy almost got caught sneaking a message for the Resistance. She was a courier."
"I remember Christiane telling me that also, and that her friends were taken away for creating fake papers."
"Anya told me; the reason why she didn't get caught that day was because she disguised herself as a boy delivering bread to the apartment."
"She didn't tell me that...", Bucky whispered, his eyes to the ground as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"It's better to leave it at that, pal." Steve sighed.
Bucky stood up, walking quietly to Christiane's room to check on her, "I won't let them come for you", whispering almost to himself.
Steve looked to his friend, seeing his eyes filled with love, concern and worry. His hands shakily running through his hair, his breath heavy as he sighed, looking at the girl sleeping.
1938
Anya looked over at her little sister bundled up in the bed beside her. She closed her eyes, holding tightly onto the bag she hid under her duvet from her grandmother. She held onto the piece of memory she had from her numerous visits to Asgard, concentrating on the tree in the courtyard.
She felt herself float in her dreams, her eyes opening again to reveal a stream of rainbow shower in front of her, fading away, showing Loki standing against the tree, waiting for her.
"You came," she smiled, walking towards him under the shade of the tree.
"Of course," he returned the smile back.
"It's been so long, how have you been?" she looked up to him.
"This and that, Thor being a pain in the back as always, Father once again turning a blind-eye to me.", he replied rolling his eyes sarcastically.
"They are your family, Loki.", she touched him on his arm.
He looked at her puzzled, before taking her hand into his.
"Come, my mother awaits us. She'll be delighted to see you again.", he brushed his hand on her cheek before taking her hand to lead her.
"Wait!", Anya pulled him.
"What is it?", his voice gentle.
"I have something for you.", she pulled him closer, taking the bag and opening it.
Loki pulled out a tiny copper wolf on a piece of green ribbon. He took it in his palm, looking at it in awe before looking to Anya.
Anya shyly put her hands behind her back, her cheeks rosy, "I found it at the Christmas market earlier today with Christiane. I thought you'd like it."
"You know I don't care for these mundane occasions.", he hesitated, seeing Anya's eyes drop to the floor, "But I like it."
He lifted her chin to look at him, "Thank you."