for my lovely, lovely friend floydtab on tumblr
***
The sun glimmered through the leaves, and you inhaled, feeling the warm air fill your lungs. You leaned back on your elbows, your legs stretched out in front of you. For months, you and your company had been stationed in possibly the coldest places you've ever been in, from Belgium to France.
But this was Austria, and the water was so clear and blue, the trees so lush and green, you could cry. It had been so long since you've seen this much color in the world, you had forgotten it wasn't just grey. You sat now at the edge of Lake Zell, a tiny lake in the Austrian Alps. You could hear the Easy boys talking behind you about what they'd do after the war— This was a common topic. They were all so excited, their plans changed every time they talked about it.
"What about you, Y/N?" George asked, and you peeked over your shoulder to see them from your peripherals. "What are you gonna do once we get home?"
You shrugged like you always did whenever they asked, because the truth was you had no clue what you'd do when you got home. You had dropped out of college to enlist in the army, and you always just imagined yourself going back to school like the the past 4 years never happened. "Probably go back to school," you smiled, "Get a degree or something."
The boys whistled, teasing you. "Woah," Babe laughed, walking up to you and patting you on the head, "A degree? You turning into Web here?" You scrunched your nose in response and swatted his hand away from your head.
You turned away from the lake and faced the boys, watching them as they talked about their dreams— How eager they were to get back to their families and get their lives back together. You wanted to picture this moment, with the pine trees at their backs and the warm summer sun making everything golden.
"Talbert," Frank suddenly piped, "You never told us what you were gonna do." All of them, including you, turned to the brunet expectantly.
He had a stick in his hand and was busy poking George in the stomach with it, but at the mention of his name, he lifted his head. "Well, Frank," he started, "I've gotta be honest with you. Zero clue. Might get a dog though." Floyd smiled, and it was so infectious all of them smiled as well.
You and Floyd were close. The two of you had shared foxholes back in Bastogne, and spent long nights talking about what life was like back home. He often told you about his childhood in Indiana, and joked about taking you there someday. You always fired back and said you'd love to meet his mother. He would just say she'd love you.
But they were just teasing in dark foxholes. Floyd would return to Indiana, and you would go back home.
***
You stood by Speirs, the tall man watching as the boys played a game of baseball. The sky was incredibly blue, and you realized you couldn't stop thinking about how bright it was compared to the darkness you've all had been surrounded with for weeks.
"How many points do you have, Private?" he smiled, looking down at you.
Tilting your head up, you shrugged. "Not enough, that's for sure." With a twinkle in his eye, he nodded with faux sadness. A questioning look crossed your face, and he lifted his hands innocently.
"So we'll still be seeing you around then," he said, "I know Talbert's gonna be real happy about that."
Talbert? What does he have to do with anything? You thought to yourself. Shrugging, you simply nodded and went back to watching the boys play.
Major Winters appeared, smiling at the two of you. "Easy Company," Speirs yelled, calling everyone's attention, "School circle!" The men neared, tossing down their baseball bats and gloves and encircled their three officers.
"A fast man would've had it, Perco," Major Winters smiled with a nod, "Listen up. Got some news." You made your way beside them and the men leaned in attention, expectantly awaiting his news. Were you all being shipped out to Japan already?
"This morning," Major Winters paused, "President Truman received the unconditional surrender from the Japanese." His words rang in your ears, as murmurs spread amongst them. George nudged you with his elbow, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "War's over." he ended, looking each of you in the eye.
All of you were going home, regardless of the points any of you had. Smiles broke out on everyones faces, and they slowly filed out to their cabins, punching each other in the arm and celebrating. Walking towards Major Winters, you nodded a thanks and ran towards the men you would have done anything for.
***
"Y/N," Floyd whispered, waving a hand for you to come over, "I got something to ask you." You rolled your eyes, picked up your tray of food and walked over to his table. He was seated alone and had a serious look on his face. "Listen, what are you gonna do now that you're going home?"
You sheepishly rubbed the back of your neck, "Probably go back home and try and go to school, I guess? Why?" You furrowed your eyebrows in suspicion. He merely nodded, deep in thought.
"You see," he started, leaning in a bit closer, "I kinda remembered we had a deal." Confused, you shrugged, twirling your spaghetti onto a fork.
"You've completely lost me, Talbert. Where you goin' with this?" you asked, chewing slowly on your spaghetti. You had to get used to eating a lot slower now that the war was over.
"I was wondering if you really wanted to go see my ma'" he grinned nervously, flashing you his pearly whites. "You know, in Indiana."
You nearly choked. "Are you serious?" you said incredulously.
"We could get a dog, we got another room in the house," Floyd continued, his arms moving as he spoke, "Unless you wanted to sleep with me, just like old times?"
"You're asking me to head out to Indiana... with you?" you asked, downing a glass of water. "I can't do that, Floyd. I haven't seen my own family in years."
His face fell in disappointment, but he tried to mask it and lifted his glass of water as a toast, "It was worth a try, you know." The two of you ate in silence, before he stood, nodded a goodnight to you, and retired for bed.
***
Eyes filled with tears, you hugged the men as tightly as you could. The years you've all spent together were ingrained in your heart, and despite the joy of going back home, your heart was filled with an intense sadness. "Promise you'll write," you mumbled into George's chest, "I gave everyone my address. I wanna hear from you, alright?" Nearly all the men shakingly gave you a quiet promise.
As you stepped back, you realised you hadn't seen Floyd yet. The two of you haven't spoken since that dinner where you rejected his offer. Of course you felt bad, but it was a ridiculous idea, and a joke that should have stayed in your foxhole back in Belgium. Now it was out and it left a horrid stench and a terrible feeling in your stomach.
"Wait!" you heard a voice behind you yell, "Hold on." You exhaled, turning to face him.
"Floyd," you started, but he quickly interrupted you.
Holding up a hand, he pushed an envelope into your hands. "It was stupid of me to ask you to run away with me when you weren't even sure if I was serious in the first place." he began, still out of breath, "But the thing is, I was serious, Y/N. Every night in that foxhole, I meant every word I said."
You didn't know what to say, and you looked down at the envelope with your name on it, eyes once again filled with tears. "What do you want me to say, Floyd?"
"Nothing," he replied, taking off his dog tag and putting it in your sweater pocket, "You have this, so you don't forget me. That has my address, and the number for our telephone."
Nodding, you turned away and left.
***
The air smelled like grass, a warm breeze rustling through the trees. It was very reminiscent of Austria, which you left over a year ago. You now found yourself dragging a suitcase towards an old house by a farm. The man you hitched with directed you here, to the outskirts of Kokomo.
As you came closer, you noticed him standing on his porch taking out his mail. You called for him, and he turned, barely believing his own eyes. Dropping his mail, and you tossing your bag to the ground, he ran to you, sweeping you off your feet.
"You came," he whispered, pressing his forehead on yours, "You really came."
"Of course, I told you I'd love to meet your mother." Floyd smiled before planting a kiss on your lips. The two of you stood there, and you realized you should have kissed him in that foxhole, and you definitely should have kissed him before you left. "I wish you had done that ages ago." you whispered against his lips.
He let out a laugh that made your heart soar, and took your hand in his. "Come on, my ma' would love to meet you. She's heard all about you."
***
a/n: this is probably the longest one i've written so far, and i'm proud of myself for not running out of words to use!
i wrote this for one of the nicest people i've ever met in this fandom, and i hope she likes it. and i hope you do too!
with love,
𝓖.