𝙷𝙱𝙾 𝚆𝚊𝚛 𝙸𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜

One Last Time [1] | Eugene Roe

This piece (and any future pieces written for the Band of Brothers fandom) is based off the TV show version of the character(s), not the actual heroes that served in Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. I mean no disrespect to them, nor do I wish to portray them in the wrong way.

Main setting will be during Bastogne. Female reader (yes I'm aware that females weren't allowed in the army in the 1940s but this is fanfiction, so...). Mentions of death and gore. Probably some curse words littered in. Mostly just the buildup until we get to the final scene, to the lines that inspired this whole thing. There's a lot of rambling so feel free to skip to the action bits. This part is mostly getting to know how Eugene and your relationship started out. First time writing a piece in the second person.

~~~

Eugene had seen a lot of death, especially as a medic. It was gory and a real mood dampener, and it was never something taken lightly. But in a time of war, you had no choice but to keep going and move on. Mourning the death of your comrade was a luxury most couldn't afford when you were being shot at in every direction.

Never get too attached to anyone; it wouldn't do you any good if you got too attached to someone and they ended up dying later on. That was something you learned as a soldier. And as a field medic especially. That was what Eugene told himself when he had his first taste of battle in Normandy. Don't get attached, don't use nicknames, don't get close.

But that was all thrown out the window when he met you. You were a replacement sent in right before the happenings of Carentan. Like Shifty, you were a sniper.

Eugene noticed you kept quiet and to yourself, never making much conversation with any other soldiers. You probably felt a little excluded, considering all the fighting you hadn't been a part of. He didn't blame you.

He kept an eye on you, making sure you were fitting in well and had everything you needed. He even offered a shoulder to lean on if you ever felt you needed it. You were surprised, wondering what had made the medic make such a bold statement.

"Are you okay?" you had asked him with a twinkle of humor in your eye when he made his offer.

Eugene blushed and lowered his head, a smile making its way onto his face. You found it endearing, and accepted his offer.

"I'll be sure to find you when I want to talk." you assured him with a nod. "Thank you, Eugene."

~~~

You found Eugene sitting in one of the trenches that night, sliding down next to him. He smiled in greeting when he saw you, offering you a cigarette. You took it, leaning toward him so he could light it.

"How you feelin'?" he asked.

You shrugged, leaning back and looking up at the sky pensively. "Like I've just been through hell. Except hell grew sentient and decided to start sending machine-gun handling Krauts after us."

Eugene laughed. It always felt like that for him. Running around, dodging bullets and ricochets and explosions as he helped patch up wounded soldiers to send them to aid stations; the death and pain that surrounded him was never-ending. He often wondered when it would end, when it would all be over and everything could go back to the way it was before.

"I don't know, the battles are only going to get worse as we keep going. There's no point in trying to describe it." You turned to face him. "How are you? You've been running around taking care of all the wounded. You must be exhausted."

He shrugged. "I'm as good as you can get on the battlefield." He had picked up a leaf, shredding it to pieces and throwing the pieces into the dirt. "You kinda have to move past the pain and just keep going. It doesn't get any easier each time, either."