Band of Brothers Imagines

Shifty Powers

Part I.

Soulmate Prompt #1 - Your soulmate's nickname is tattooed onto your wrist.
Requested by moi.
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Shifty. What the hell kinda nickname was Shifty? Most people had normal nicknames of their soulmate tattooed on their wrist. Johnny or Drew. You were the only one out of your friend group with a weird tattoo like Shifty. Although your friend did have a weird one. Babe. At least some other person you knew was just as baffled about their soulmate as you.

On the bright side though it'd be easy to find your soulmate and you were less likely to be lied to. When you told guys your tattoo they could never hide the confusion. It was a bit of a weird thing, your nickname should have also caused confusion. Monkey. But maybe you'd meet him in the military. You had already signed to be a nurse. Your father had been a Colonel in the first war so you were going in as a field nurse to help the Doc of whatever company you would be assigned to.

When the mail truck came rumbling down the street and stopped at your mailbox, you barreled down the steps ignoring the rocks stabbing your feet through your already torn pantyhose. Racing back into your house while also tearing the letter open, you let the screen door slam closed behind you. You took your bottom lip between your teeth as you read. Easy Company. 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 101st Screaming Eagles. Parachute Infantry was brand new and you heard some of the men at the market talking about volunteering a couple days back.

You couldn't say you were fond of the idea of jumping from a perfectly good airplane but you were happy to be in the war at all and ecstatic to be a field nurse. So you sucked it up and began to pack your things. You took one suitcase of the essential things and a few day's worth of clothes. Once your bag had been packed and zipped then carried to the front door, you grabbed your letter and made your way into the kitchen to tell your parents.

It didn't go well. In short, if you walked out the door, your father made it clear you were not to return. As far as he was concerned you were as good as dead already. Ignoring the cries and pleas of your mother, you carried your suitcase from your childhood home and started on your journey. You kept your head high as your made your way to the train station, the letter forgotten on the kitchen floor.
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As the train came to a stop in Georgia you followed the other men who were paratroopers in training to the military trucks waiting to take you to Camp Toccoa. Your home for the next year. The gates opened for you and the last of the men entering the camp. Immediately you spotted Easy Company. And they were being yelled at by their C.O. who you could already tell was an ass.

You walked over to join the Easy Medic. Or who you assumed he was. The man was attractive but you weren't attracted to him. It didn't make any sense to you either. He had pale skin and dark black hair. His face was pulled into a frown as his soft brown gaze stared pitifully at the assembly of men. His jawline was defined and moved gently as he greeted you. Eugene Roe. Easy's field medic. Gene, as you settled to call him, was pleased to have an extra set of hands. He figured with Sobel in charge of Easy, there'd be a lot of injuries.

You couldn't wait for him to actually reach combat. You felt bad for the men of course, but you had heard many stories of the First World War and this one was rumored to be worse. So naturally you were anxious to see Sobel realize that he just wasn't shit. And that was exactly what you had told Doc. He chuckled softly at your profanity. A blush crept onto your face as you remembered what your mother would have said.

It's unladylike to swear. Besides no man will marry you if you've a mouth like that. Men want a woman who keeps quiet, does her job, and listens to him. If that's really what marriage is like, then you want no part of it. That wasn't love to you. Plus you weren't exactly entertained by the thought of losing your dignity to a pea-brained, egotistical, asshole.

Easy Company was instructed to fall out. Even though they knew they'd receive a punishment, they lingered. All eyes were on you as you walked stubbornly up to Sobel. You looked him in the eyes, ignoring your mother's voice in the back of your head to never make eye contact. "Sir, Nurse Y/l/n reporting for duty." You said with a quite perfect salute. "A woman. In my Company. Are you jumping?" His voice was sharp and yet wavering slightly.

"I believe so, Sir. This is Parachute Infantry isn't it?" The sarcasm earned you consequences. "Fall in with the men. You too Doc. You'll all be running Currahee. Three miles up. Three miles down. And Nurse you'll run it again after for the lip. The rest of you will report to the barracks and prepare for the midnight march. FALL OUT!" You wiped the spit from your scowling face. You pulled your dress over your head to reveal your PT uniform. Stuffing your dress into your suitcase, you followed the men quickly. Looks like you'd be running in flats.

You quickly passed the men. You ran track and swam all four years of high school and cheered your senior year. You were fit and ready. You ran Currahee the first time with speed and strength in every step. However upon making it to the bottom of the mountain you most painfully noticed the blisters from your shoes. You took advantage of the fact Sobel was nowhere near you and took a break.

As soon as the chanting of the men reached your ears, you began back up again. One man. The two of you had not yet been aquatinted yet he broke from his rank and followed you on the second track up Currahee. All the brown eyed man knew was that he felt a pull towards you.
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When you finally stopped your second journey at the bottom of the mountains you could barely walk. Let alone march. The mystery man wrapped an arm around your waist and held your arm over his shoulder as he guided you to medical. "Thanks for this." You hissed between your teeth. "No problem ma'am."

"Oh god don't call me ma'am. Call me Monkey. My friends do." The man stopped in his tracks, your arm falling from his shoulder as he moved to stand in front of you. One hand remained firmly on your waist to keep you upright but the other one was held in front of you in a handshake. You eyes trailed from the man's hand to his face, eyebrows raised in a silent questions. Was this really the time to shake your hand?

Nevertheless you slapped your hand into his and shook his hand firmly. His palms were rough but his touch was gentle. His face remained shocked and you snapped twice in his faces. "Sir are you okay?" His eyes snapped to yours. A wide grin filled his face and the man looked stunning. Also very much so like a puppy. He pulled your hand to his lips in a kiss. "Darrell C. Powers, ma'am. But please, call me Shifty."

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Part 2? Or I was also thinking of making this into a series maybe. Comment what you think
Much love,
@Ginny_Potter00 🌸