Love You Till The End (Robert Zussman x Reader)

18 - Y/N L/N

January of 1944
Fort Devens
Ayer, Massachusetts

Sergeant Miller was right when he said those exams would be a pain in the ass, but I was finally done with them.

It was the new year and I was finally going to meet my platoon. I was feeling pretty excited to meet my comrades. I hadn't talked to many people since I've gotten here, so I guess I can say I've felt pretty lonely. A few of the young men I have talked to tried to make a pass at me. It was pretty annoying, but I was just glad they were pretty respectful.

When Sergeant Miller and I arrived at my platoon's tent, there were no more than 25 men standing and sitting around. Some of them were getting to know each other while others just looked like they wanted to be left alone.

"Your sergeant should be coming soon. Just stay here and try and get to know your platoon. I'll bring your belongings later," Sergeant Miller said and he walked off.

I felt very awkward as I stood around. I noticed a soldier with glasses and red-brown hair fiddling with a camera, not bothering to talk to any of the other soldiers around the tent. He was standing off to the side just like myself and I decided to go talk to him.

"Hello," I said and held out my hand, "I'm Y/N L/N."

"Oh, hello." He looked up and shook my hand with a shy smile on his face. "I'm Drew Stiles. Nice to meet you."

"Where are you from?"

"Uh- I'm from Illinois. Chicago, Illinois. And yourself?"

As I was about to answer his question, another soldier walked up to us.

"Hey, college, who's this you got here?" the random soldier asked. When we both finally got a good look at each other, our eyes went wide.

"Hey! I know you! I remember you from the Chicago Union Station," he said excitedly.

"That's right! I never did catch your name," I said, feeling a slight blush on my cheeks.

I couldn't believe I was actually seeing him again. I couldn't help but feel excited to see him. The thought of him crept into my mind many times before arriving in Massachusetts even though I tried not to think about him. I was yearning to know his name.

"Well ma'am, you're talkin' to Private Zussman. Robert Zussman," he said with a wink. "And you are?"

"Well sir, you're talking to Private L/N. Y/N L/N," I said mockingly.

"You're that first woman soldier everyone's talking about!" Drew said excitedly.

"Shut it, college. Can't you see I'm having a conversation with a pretty lady here?" Robert glared at Drew and followed that with a punch to Drew's arm while he laughed. "I'm just jokin' with ya!"

"No, but seriously, you're one brave woman and it's an honor to be in the same platoon as you. I mean if I'm bein' honest with you though, you're too pretty for a crappy place like this," Robert turned back towards me.

"Oh gosh, Zussman. Will you shut the hell up and leave the dolly alone?" said another soldier walking up to us. He had a strong New York accent. I couldn't help but chuckle at his comment.

"So, you're the woman soldier, huh? Don't you have better things to do at home than join the military forces? You sure you can handle it?" the soldier with the New York accent asked me.

My face immediately went straight. He has some nerve to say that to someone he's just met, but it's no surprise; I'm going to be accepted by every soldier.

"I have a father at home still suffering from The Great War. I'm here for him, not to impress you. Who the hell are you anyway?" I  at him.

"Aiello, lay off, will ya? Feel free to get to know her before you start actin' like an asshole," Robert told him.

I could tell Drew was doing his best to stay quiet. He was sitting on the floor with his belongings, playing around with a camera once again.

"Alright, alright! Lay off, Zussman! I'm Frank Aiello. Technician Fourth Grade," he said and just as we were about to shake hands, a man walked up to our platoon and told us to listen up.

The man turned out to be our sergeant. He informed us he would be training us until it was time for us to get shipped off to wherever we were going to fight. He explained how Infantry tends to split up men when they arrive at the war zone, so he wasn't sure if this platoon would be our permanent one which really bothered me. Good friendships are built in basic training all so they could possibly be thrown away. I didn't think that was very smart to put people who hardly knew each other together on a battlefield and expect them to have great coordination.

He took roll call and told us to get settled into our tent before supper. I felt slightly excited to get into training since we were finally going to learn useful things for combat.

I waited around for Sergeant Miller to bring me my belongings as the men in my platoon put theirs into the tent.

"Hey, I know Aiello can be a bit of a handful. Don't let him get to you though, alright?" Robert told me as he stood right next to me after coming out of the tent.

"You're probably unaware, but he's actually a veteran from Europe. He's seen combat and lost some buddies over there from what I've heard," he continued.

"Wow. Why's he back here?" I asked.

"They gave him documents to go on leave for a couple of weeks so he could see his family, but they're having him do some stuff over here and letting him retrain with us since we leave for Europe or the Pacific in like two months. They're squeezing him on an already tight ass ship with us. Uncle Sam's bein' resourceful, dontcha think?" Robert said jokingly. I chuckled and agreed sarcastically.

Miller eventually arrived with my belongings and I was finally able to put them near a cot in the tent. Turns out my cot was right next to Robert's.

Robert eventually went off with Drew and Frank to eat supper while I went with Miller.

"So, make any friends yet?" Miller asked.

"I think I did. They're pretty interesting and I think they'll eventually make good comrades once I get to know them better," I told him as I grabbed a tray and waited in line for supper.

After I grabbed my supper, Miller told me to go sit with my platoon and I felt pretty excited to do so. I looked over to where Robert, Drew, and Frank were sitting. Robert waved me over and I began to walk on over to them. I still had a lot of getting to know them, but I felt at ease knowing I at least had a familiar face there with me.