July 25, 1944
Near Marigny, France
It was close to midnight now. At least I thought so. Stiles wasn't around with his handy watch, so all I could do was guess by how tired I was getting. Zuss and I were about to start our second bottle of wine which was bound to really put me to sleep.
Just as Zuss opened up the bottle, we heard some shifting around and heavy breathing coming from behind us. When I turned around, I saw Daniels sitting up on the chair he had fallen asleep on with his hand over his heart. I knew immediately what had happened.
"Same dream, huh?" Zuss asked him.
"Pretty much. Can't seem to shake it."
"Well, here. Have a drink," I told him, handing him the bottle. He took a swig and I could tell he really needed that.
This wasn't the first time Daniels had woken up in a panic. When it first started happening, I didn't pay much attention to it since I figured it was because he was a new recruit. It continued on happening though and it was becoming worrisome, but I didn't really want to ask him about it in case it was too personal.
"I'm good now. Thanks for lettin' me get some sleep. Y'all should get some rest," Daniels suggested.
I wasn't gonna turn down that offer. I was feeling pretty tired and the wine was putting me to sleep like a warm glass of milk. Zussman seemed hesitant to get some rest though. When I looked over at him, he was sitting on a wooden chair, smoking a cigarette with a hand on top of his wound. He sat there with a serious face and I was left wondering why his mood had changed.
"No, I'll keep watch," Zussman said, "I can't risk going to sleep. I have to show Pierson that I'm ready."
"I don't care what he says. You ain't got nothin' to prove."
"Daniels is right, Zuss. Nothing we do seems to be good enough for Pierson. You don't need to stress yourself out because of him," I told him, but I could already tell he was going to be stubborn.
"Yeah, well I'm tired of taking his shit," he said aggressively as Daniels handed him back the wine bottle, "Back home, you wanna settle somethin', you do it head-on. It's the only way to earn respect."
"Sure, earning someone's respect feels pretty damn good. When it comes to someone like Pierson though, is it really worth it? Is it really worth constantly getting treated like shit by someone in order to earn their respect?" I asked him. Talking about Pierson was beginning to make my blood boil.
"I get it, Zuss. A man has to fight his own battles, but respect don't mean a lot if you get yourself killed," Daniels said and I couldn't agree more.
"I'm just glad you two have my back. Besides, good old Saint Michael's watchin' over us, so we got nothin' to worry about," Zussman said sarcastically as he pulled out the pendant necklace he had won from the bet him and Aiello made before D-day.
"Didn't realize you guys believed in that stuff," Daniels said curiously.
"I'll take all the help I can get," Zussman sighed. He was standing on the edge of the second floor of the home we were in, looking at Marigny in the distance since the wall had been blown off. "So are you gonna tell us about that dream or what?"
I was interested in finally learning about this dream that seemed to be causing Daniels a lot of fear. You think sleep will allow you to get a peace of mind, but it's not always like that when it comes to nightmares. At least I thought it was a nightmare until he explained it was something that had really happened.
He explained how the dream takes him back to his youth, specifically to when he and his older brother were out hunting wolves because they kept killing their cattle. While trying to kill a wolf, it ended up attacking his brother Paul. Daniels, only a youngin* at the time, struggled to load his gun in order to kill the wolf because he was in a panic, so his brother ended up having to pull out his knife and kill it himself.
"From that day on, I swore I'd never let Paul down again, but now it's not just him I have to live up to. It's Pierson."
"He's really something. He's always ready to bust our chops, yet here you two are trying to earn his respect. Hell, even I'm guilty of wanting to earn his respect. Why? Because we just want him to acknowledge that we're good soldiers, but it's like he won't give us a chance to prove it," I said, feeling my frustration rise.
"That damn chance! That's the problem. We came into the Army knowin' nothin'. We've had to work ourselves up and prove that we are fit to be soldiers. With Pierson, it's like we can't prove it though and that's what gots us goin' crazy," Zuss explained.
"Exactly," I told him, "Maybe someday he'll see we are good soldiers, I don't know. Just the thought of him frustrates me, but I've been learning to stop trying to please him. He seems to hate me being here, so I just focus on following orders and staying out of his way even though he makes me wanna blow a fuse."
"I'd like to think he hates us cause Turner actually appreciates us. He's just like us; trying to earn the respect of his superior except he's more of a kiss ass," Zuss joked and we all chuckled.
"Ay, L/N, you wanna finish off this bottle of wine?" Daniels asked, holding the bottle out to me.
"Nah, I'll pass. I think I'm gonna try to catch some sleep if that's okay," I told them and got up from the floor.
"Of course, you go on ahead, L/N. You too, Daniels. You guys deserve the rest," Zuss said as he stepped away from the edge of the second floor.
"C' mon, Zuss. I can keep wat-"
"Nope, I ain't backin' down, Daniels."
"He really won't, Daniels. No point in arguing with his stubborn ass. The argument will last all night," I said, smirking at Zuss.
"She's right, y' know."
I laughed as Daniels didn't even bother to say anything else as he headed to the chair he had been sleeping on earlier. I wished them both a good night and carried all my equipment to a corner of the room we were in.
I laid down in the corner, using my bag as a pillow. It wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep, but it was very rare for us to sleep in a bed. The floor was our bed most nights and we just had to accept that. Just being able to catch some sleep makes us feel lucky enough.
I had dozed off when I was suddenly shaken awake gently. My eyes opened to reveal Zussman smiling at me. He was swaying a bit and the smell of French wine was coming off of him.
"Sorry to wake you. I just couldn't let ya go to bed without telling you that I think you're a lovely dolly," he whispered, "Oh, and can I kiss you?"
"Wow, ain't you the romantic," I teased.
"Oh, excuse my manners. May I please kiss you?" he asked and I quietly began to laugh. I wasn't even sure how much French wine was left but it sure gave him a buzz.
"Are you sure this isn't the alcohol talking?"
"No, nope. I'm speakin' for myself. Don't you worry."
"I believe you," I chuckled out before leaning in to plant a kiss on his lips. I meant for it to be a quick kiss, but before you know it, we continued to kiss until we found a nice rhythm to follow.
Our pace was quick and I ended up pulling Zussman on top of me which he didn't seem to mind. As we continued to kiss and I ran my fingers through his hair, I remembered that Daniels was in the same room as us. I ended the kiss and we both breathed out heavily for a moment; We both hadn't expected that.
"Well, uh, now I'll let you get some rest," Zussman said as he pulled away from me and gave me a shy smile.
"Wake me up if you want to catch some sleep. I can keep watch next," I told him before pulling him in for one more kiss. He gave me one last smile before walking off to keep watch.
As I dozed off, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Being in this war feels a whole lot less crappy knowing I have him by my side.