𝙷𝙱𝙾 𝚆𝚊𝚛 𝙸𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜

Warmth | Bill Guarnere

bill. just bill. needed to show some love for the angry philly boi. short ficlet. what better way to ring in december than with a piece that takes place in the snow of bastogne?

~~~

You were dozing off in the observation post. It wasn't the best thing to do, but with what little sleep you had been getting, you couldn't help it. The biting cold did nothing to shock you and keep you awake. Anything you tried to stay awake didn't work. (Besides, Toye was with you and he didn't feel like waking you up. He knew how much sleep you had been getting.)

You felt yourself drifting off to a deeper sleep when a voice rang out from above you.

"(Y/N)? You okay?"

You jolted out of your sleepy state and aimed your rifle at the voice, eyes wide with caution.

"Whoa, whoa, relax, it's just me."

Your initial caution disappeared when you saw Bill and Babe crouched above the O.P. edge. Bill looked concerned.

"You okay, (Y/N)?" he repeated.

You nodded, clutching your arms closer around you and looking forward. "Doing just fine, Bill."

"Don't look like it. You're falling asleep in the O.P., for Christ's sake!"

You grit your teeth and kept your eyes forward. "I'm fine, Bill. You can leave me be, okay?"

Bill huffed and Babe slid into the trench next on your other side as Bill tapped the top of your helmet. Babe offered you a reassuring smile when you looked over at him, confusion and slight irritation on your face.

"Come on, let's getcha outta here."

You sighed resignedly and crawled out of the observation post, following Bill back to your foxhole. Bill slid in and tugged on your hand with a soft smile when you stood at the edge of your foxhole, staring down at him with a blank expression.

"Bill, you didn't need to make Babe fill in for me."

"I didn't. He volunteered. Well, Winters volunteered him, but that's not the point."

"Still. I don't like people doing things for me. I told you, Bill."

"Eh, your shift was over anyway. You need sleep."

You frowned and slid into your foxhole, wrapping your arms around yourself. Bill sighed as you closed your eyes and leaned your head back against the snow-covered dirt.

"(Y/N), it's okay to admit you need a break. We all need one, it's nothing new. Even Winters needs one." Bill pulled you closer and you let out a tired sigh. You didn't even have enough energy to push him away. "He saw how tired you were, so he asked me to get you some sleep somehow." He paused, smiling down at your dozing form. "You're doing a lot for us, (Y/N). Might get yourself a promotion."

He began humming a little tune, some nice lullaby that found you slowly relaxing under Bill's arm. You'd have to remember to ask him to hum to you again when the war was over. Or maybe teach you that song. Before you knew it, you had fallen into a 

You didn't know how long it was that you slept, but when you woke up again, Bill was trying to carefully unwrap his arm from around you. You kept your eyes closed, but frowned and wrapped an arm around him tighter.

"Babe, you gotta let me go."

"No. Stay. Warmth." you protested sleepily.

"(Y/N)." 

"Warmth. Stay."

Bill sighed and muttered something that was inaudible to you. Faint footsteps were heard walking away, the snow crunching growing quieter with each step. 

"Alright, I'll stay here." Bill said. You could hear the smile in his voice.

He leaned his head on yours and you let out a content breath. Nothing could beat the feeling of being held by Bill. The cold and war may have made life miserable, but at least you were warm right now.