Love You Till The End (Robert Zussman x Reader)

22 - Y/N L/N

"Listen, L/N, you've been nice to me from the moment I met you. I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you feel the need to talk about anything; Zussman included," he smirked when he mentioned Zussman and I rolled my eyes.

"You're a good person and I'd just like to thank you for the way you've treated me," he spoke in a low voice, so the boys inside couldn't hear.

"Thank you, Stiles. That truly means a lot. Don't be afraid to come talk to me too. I'm here for you as well," I assured him and he nodded at me before walking into the tent.

*Later that evening*

We had just finished our supper and were heading for our tents to relax for the evening. Normally, the boys and I sit in a circle and talk about random things.

Aiello would give us advice for combat. Stiles would mention something he had read in the training manuals. Zussman would groan and mention how much he misses Chicago. Daniels would sit there listening and writing letters home. I would just sit there messing around with my canteen and joking around with Zussman. That's normally how our evening talks went and they never failed to be special to me.

Today was going to be different. Mainly because what I was doing for Zussman would remind not only him but all of us of home. Being in camp, you're always being told what to do and you're on a strict schedule. Even though a cake is simply something you eat, it would allow us to step off that strict schedule for just a moment and have a good time together. With life or death soon to be hanging over our heads when we get into combat, we sure need a good moment to forget reality for a while.

I told the boys that I would meet them at the tent because I needed to go do something real quick. They understood and walked off; except for Zussman.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," I responded with a smile. "Don't you go worrying about me. It's your special day!"

He laughed and nodded his head at me before continuing his walk to the tent.

I eventually arrived at Sergeant Miller's office. He was in there looking at some documents. I spotted a medium-sized box on his desk.

"Hello, sir."

"Ah, hello there, L/N. Here's that cake you asked for. I hope I got his name right," he got up from his desk and handed me the box. I opened it to find a simple, whipped cream frosted cake that had "Happy birthday, Zussman" written sloppily on top. It wasn't the best looking cake, but I didn't really mind.

"I know it's not the best. Now that I think about it, them damn cooks ripped me off. I had to trade lots of cigarettes for them to make that cake and that's what they gave me?" he said with a huff.

"Oh, Miller, it's fine. Here, take my cigarettes. I'm not much of a smoker anyways," I told him and handed him my ration of cigarettes that I carried in one of the pockets of my coat.

He thanked me for the cigarettes and just as I was about to leave, he said, "Wait! I almost forgot the most important part."

He looked around his desk and grabbed something. He walked up to me and handed me a tiny candle. I thanked him and headed towards my platoon's tent. When I arrived, Aiello was the first to ask what was in the box.

"My, my, you sure do love to stick your schnozz* into everything, don't you?" I told Aiello jokingly which caused Daniels and Zussman to snort. Even Stiles looked up from his book and chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. Say whatever the hell you want," Aiello said, acting like he wasn't bothered.

"Anyways, this box is actually for you, Zuss. Happy birthday again," I told him and handed him the box. He opened up the box and a huge smile appeared on his face. He then put it down and got up to hug me.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," he whispered into my ear. I could feel Stiles' eyes on us as Zussman finally pulled away from the hug.

"Thanks to the lovely L/N, we have ourselves a cake and I intend to share it with you all and finish it," Zussman said. The rest of the boys nodded and got closer to the box of cake.

"Now, hold on," I interrupted. They looked at me as I put the candle Sergeant Miller had given me into the cake.

"Challenge accepted, Zuss, but we're singing happy birthday first."

Aiello struck a match and lit the candle. We sang happy birthday to Zussman and let him make his wish before he blew out the candle. What happened next was regrettable afterward, but we had the best damn time eating that damn cake.

~ ~ ~

* "schnozz": nose