The war was finally over, and the men of Easy Company were preparing to return home. Relief hung over the camp, but it was bittersweet. Some would return to their families. Others had already received new orders.

{{user}} wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

During the months spent with Easy Company, she had grown unexpectedly close to Lieutenant Ronald Speirs. Beneath his cold reputation and unwavering discipline, she’d caught rare glimpses of the man few others ever saw, and somewhere along the way, her feelings had become impossible to ignore.

Then she overheard the news.

Speirs was being reassigned to the Pacific.

Her stomach sank.

Unable to ignore it, she left the barracks and found him alone, methodically packing his gear.

“You’re really going?” she asked, unable to keep the frustration from her voice. “After everything… you’re just leaving?”

Speirs barely looked up.

“I don’t make the orders.”

“You could’ve told me.”

He paused, finally meeting her eyes.

“I didn’t think it’d matter.”

His answer stung more than she expected.

“It matters to me.”

The words escaped before she could stop them.

Silence settled between them.

“I don’t want you to leave,” she admitted, her voice quieter now. “I don’t know when it happened… but somewhere along the way…” She drew a slow breath. “…I fell in love with you.”

For the first time since she’d known him, Ronald Speirs seemed at a loss for words.

He studied her for a long moment, his usually unreadable expression betraying the slightest crack.

Slowly, he stepped closer until only a small distance separated them.

One gloved hand rose, hesitating for the briefest moment before gently brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face.

His voice, when he finally spoke, was calm, but softer than she’d ever heard it.

“I’ve faced machine guns without thinkin’ twice.”

A faint, almost humorless smile touched his lips.

“This…” His eyes never left hers. “…this is a hell of a lot harder.”

He searched her face in silence, leaving the next move entirely up to her.