The Golden Soldier (Call of Duty: WW2 Fanfiction)

Chapter 48

Sergeant William Pierson's Point of View

Don't get caught up in her. You are soldiers fighting a war. Remember...duty first.
    It was the first thing Turner had said many months ago to the boys and myself. Avaline Baker had just become part of the platoon and Turner had made sure boundaries were clear. For me, I thought it was ridiculous and unneeded. A woman in the military...what a damn joke. The boys were the ones who'd be distracted by it, not me.
    Little did I fucking know.
    I told myself multiple times that one woman wasn't enough to change who I was or what I stood for, but Ava broke that. She killed the fuck outta me. From annoying to frustrating, the woman had proven herself in many ways...ways I had hoped would fail on her end at first.
    Turner was crazy to ever let her stay and I doubted his abilities to lead a platoon when he allowed it. I tried way too hard to make her life miserable, to run her away.
    But she wasn't just any woman.
    Avaline fought against me with every ounce of what she was. She proved herself. She hurt herself. She became a soldier.
    At first, I loathed the woman and her story. From the future...some well thought out trick by Krauts. I kept a sharp eye on her to show Turner any sign of spy activity yet something about her snagged at my throat like a hook.
    I found myself more curious than anything as time went on. I wanted to know her and be nice to her. Her round green eyes burned a damn soft spot in my chest because of it. When she was right, I knew she was and it was frustrating; god, her being right irritated me. But those soft little eyes buried any anger I could express.
    Suddenly the hair she rarely let hang loose was intoxicating. The sound of her laughter warmed my belly better than whiskey. Whenever she touched me, I wanted to flinch from the contact. I never flinched.
It was just that damn sweet soul of hers. While she grew into a tough soldier never did the logical side of her let go. The purity of her fucking soul was painfully welcomed by every part of me. She cared. She looked out for all, for everyone, like a fucking goddess.
    You are soldiers...duty first.
    Yet this Avaline Baker changed all of that. She was more than a distraction at times, but also something I wanted to protect. Cage her up and make sure she never got hurt.
    With the boys and her going home, I knew she never would. Avaline would find a lovely home and husband to live the rest of her life with. Leaving this world behind was something I wanted her to get the chance to do.
    However, the thought of never seeing her again broke some odd thing inside of me. I couldn't imagine her actually settling down with someone because I didn't want her to. Not without me. I couldn't stand to think of another man making her his. Or having a happy life; no life would be happier than one with me, I was sure.
    I managed to control the annoying drips of salt draining from my eyes--it had to be a dust in the air--before I reached the ship which would take me back out to the remaining war. My legs stopped just before the ramp, quivering in their pants like some child.
    I looked over my shoulder, seeing Ava's small form wiggling through the crowd. Her strong shoulders carried the weight of everything she'd gone through and, my, how they'd gained strength in the last year.
    My lips released a breath and I looked down at the hand which had wiped away one of her salty tears. I felt the drying liquid between my fingers, glancing upwards to the ship before me.
    I was supposed to be a soldier without remorse, without second thought. I was supposed to know what to do and be confident about it, but I found myself struggling for once. For once, I felt like I didn't quite know what to do.
    "Excuse me, sir," a younger man also returning to the battlefield was waiting to board.
    I shot him a glare that made him swallow in confusion. Achingly, I stepped onto the wood, off the concrete of the port. My legs bounded up the ramp to the first level of the ship and I moved out of the way of the man also boarding behind me.
    A short way across the port, I knew Avaline was heading to say her goodbye to Zussman. After, she would board her ship home and move on with her life. A happy ending for a woman who deserved it.
    You are her happy ending, asshole.
    I shoved the thought down. I was only a monster to Avaline and always would be. What I'd said and done in the past which included her were things I could never correct. What reason did she have to like me?
    My hand gripped the railing of the ship and I narrowed my eyes to look across the sea to the east. It wouldn't be long and I'd return to where I was meant to be, where I forced myself to belong.
    Still, there was a slow and burning ache in my lower gut.
    I would never see Avaline Baker again.
    The statement was maddening and I let out a breath to avoid kicking the side of the ship. Never would I hear her gut-warming laugh or feel her purely kind green eyes burn the side of my face when I said something rude. I'd never feel her hand on my forearm, bringing me back to logical thoughts in times of stress.
    "Sir, are you William Pierson?"
    I turned, glaring at the deckhand. "I am."
    "As one of the higher ranked men on board, the captain would like to conduct a meeting."
    I faced the port again, trying to see Ava through the crowds of milling men. The man next to me dished out impatience and I rolled my eyes. He obviously wanted an answer.
    "Did you forget something down there sir? You still have time to retrieve it."
    I leaned off the railing, standing straight once more. "I suppose I just may."

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And now we all see a peek into Pierson's thick head. Figured y'all would enjoy it even though it goes against the normal flow of this book. Why not? ;)
Question is...what's he gonna do?
Song: Can't Help Falling in Love by Tommee Profitt (ft. brooke)
~MS~