Richard ‘Dick’ Winters x Reader
Warnings: Fluff, Sobel Being a Jerk
𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵.
Summary — Winters recalls the three moments that made him fall in love with you.
Three moments. All it took was three moments and Dick Winters knew he was a goner. If Winters was honest with himself, he was gone from the very first moment, the moment he saw her.
It was 1942 at Camp Toccoa and Easy Company had just finished their basic military training. They were in the mess hall, celebrating, Winters standing off in a corner speaking to Nix, taking sips of his non-alcoholic drink and watching the boys that made up the 2nd Battalion. He allowed the corners of his mouth to turn upwards as his eyes lingered on the faces of the friends he had made, each of them getting progressively drunker and, in turn, the hall getting louder. But the moment she walked into the large room, everyone fell silent.
It was a shock to see a woman standing in the middle of Toccoa, but not shocking enough to be able to hear crickets chirping. If she had been dressed as a secretary or a nurse, perhaps the hollars of the drunk men would have simply quieted for a moment before rousing again. No, the silence was because she was wearing an airborne uniform.
Winters was awestruck, not just because she was a woman standing in a sea of men wearing a uniform with the insignia of Easy Company on it, but because she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes upon. Sure, her physical features were attractive, but the aura that seemed to surround her is what truly made the woman stand out. The way she stood with the strength and assertiveness of any man in this room, but also how her eyes moved across the hall, kind and analytical. However, she beamed with excitement and energy.
It was when Sobel stepped up in front of her that her eyes finally reached Dick, pausing on him for a split second longer than they had on anyone else. A hint of a shy smile graced her perfect features, making Dick’s eyes only grow wider before he began to blink rapidly, as if he imagined it. Her eyes moved away from him, her attention returning to the room.
Winters cleared his throat, swallowing hard and looking down at his drink as to attempt to calm the heat that had risen to his cheeks. He could feel Nix smirking in amusement from beside him, surely having noticed the bashful look on his friend’s face, hiding his smile with a sip of his drink. Dick lightly elbowed him in the ribs, but this only made Nixon smirk wider.
“This is Sergeant (Y/L/N) and she will be joining Easy Company under my direction as we move into jump school. I expect you all to treat her with the same respect and camaraderie that you treat your fellow soldiers,” Sobel finished speaking, leaving the girl to the wolves.
Winters expected her to be terrified, to freeze with the eyes of a mess hall of men on her, but she didn’t. She smiled brightly, finding her seat amongst her new company soldiers, and the sound once again returned to the room, with one more voice joining the chorus.
In the following days, Winters found out where she came from. Apparently, she had completed basic training in an experimental task force of female soldiers, specializing in sharpshooting and snipers. However, it seemed that some of the male higher-ups did not believe that a group of all-female soldiers would fare well on their own, so the group had been disbanded and the women sporadically placed in different companies that did not have sniper specialized members. In a way, coming to Easy Company was a demotion as she had been a Second Lieutenant in her old group. She still holds that title, but is being referred to as a Sergeant as to not ‘confuse’ anyone, or so Sobel put it.
While Sobel had been the one to say he expected his men to treat her the same as any other soldier, he was the only one who refused to follow his own rules. He picked on her incessantly, doing his best to make her resign or find something he could court marshall her for, but she was resilient and determined. Sobel couldn’t crack her, no matter how hard he tried. Every attempt he made at breaking her down only seemed to strengthen her resolve.
It was the day that Sobel had finally had enough of Y/N’s lack of reaction that the second moment took place. Sobel seemed extra angry that day, lining up the company and yelling in each soldier’s face one at a time. When he came up to Y/N, his face seemed to darken even more, almost twitching in excitement at the thought that this was the day he would break her.
His screaming started off as it does with every soldier in his company, the topic being nothing in particular. However, it suddenly got very personal and revealed Sobel’s very obvious true feelings on the matter of a woman being assigned to his company. He screamed about how she was a weak casualty, slowing the company down and only waiting to be killed. He yelled at her that she needed to return home to her womanly duties and that she was a waste of space and air in this camp.
Winters nearly stepped in at this point, his jaw clenched and his hands balling at his side. He convinced himself that the anger he felt building in his chest he would feel for any of his men that were being chewed out in the same way. Perhaps this was true, but perhaps not.
He did not have the chance to react, however, as Sobel finally got his reaction. Although, it was not one that he wanted.
“You are completely and utterly useless!” He finished screaming, the entire world around them falling silent. Y/N’s eyes shifted, staring right at Sobel.
An amused smirk found its way on her lips and she almost looked like she was having trouble holding in laughter. Sobel’s face began to grow even redder, giving her enough satisfaction to shift her eyes away from him and ahead once again, at attention.
“You are nothing,” Sobel spoke, his tone deep and filled with venom. He turned away from her, mumbling to himself as he began to walk back up to Winters, who was standing in front of the group. “Couldn’t even shoot a target ten feet in front of her,” Sobel muttered.
“You wanna bet on it?” Her voice rang out, causing Sobel to stop in his tracks. He spun around on his heel, glaring daggers at the girl, who was staring back at him.
“What was that, Lieutenant?” He spat, marching back up to her, expecting her to return to attention and stay silent. She didn’t.
“You said I can’t even shoot a target ten feet in front of me,” she spoke, her voice steady and sure. “How about we test that? You and I both take three shots at three targets from four hundred yards, just to make it easy,” she grinned. “Whoever shoots the most targets with the most accuracy wins.”
Sobel was silent for a split second, clenching and unclenching his jaw, the gears in his mind turning. He began to shake his head, knowing that humiliation was too great of a possibility.
“I’ll do you one better. I win and you clean the latrines for a month,” she said, all eyes on her. Winters stared at the girl in a state of both atonishment and amusement. Normally he would not condone insulting superiors, but this was a different case. “And if you win, I’ll leave Easy Company.” Winters could see the glint in her eye. She knew that Sobel wouldn’t pass that chance up.
The targets had been set up and Sobel took his place, a rifle in hand. He raised his rifle, aiming at the first target, his hands shaking. He missed the first target entirely, skimmed the second, and just barely hit the corner of the third. Obviously irritated, Sobel stepped away from his spot, shoving the rifle into Y/N’s hands as she stepped up to the plate. It took her seconds to line up and take her shot, her posture tall and her breathing steady, moving the gun swiftly to shoot at the second and third targets. She hit all three targets, dead in the middle.
Unfortunately, Sobel didn’t end up cleaning the latrines, but everyone knew that would never happen. He did, however, leave Y/N alone after that and she only became more respected and revered by the men of Easy Company.
The third moment occurred the night the company had earned their jump wings, graduating from training and preparing to move on to England. Winters had left the rowdy group of soldiers in the main hall of the camp to get a breath of fresh air, walking along the gravel pathways with his hands in his pockets. He found himself wandering over to the grassy field at the edge of the camp, some invisible tether drawing him to it.
As he came up to the edge of the field, Winters realized what had drawn him to it. In the middle of the grass, sitting in a patch of wildflowers, he saw the figure of Y/N. Her face was pointed up towards the sun, her eyes closed and a soft smile resting on her face.
Dick considered turning around and walking away, not wanting to disturb the girl’s comfortable solitude. He stood there for a moment, admiring her from afar as he debated his options in his mind. Finally deciding he didn’t want to bother her, he took a step away from her, his foot pressing upon a stick, the snapping sound alerting Y/N to his presence.
She opened her eyes and turned her head, smiling at Dick’s warming face as he chuckled nervously. She waved him over, inviting him to join her. Winters ignored the twisting in his stomach, slowly making his way towards her.
“Sorry to disturb you,” He apologized as he reached her, standing a few paces behind her with his hands still in his pockets.
“You didn’t,” She shook her head, turning to smile at him once again.
She has the most beautiful smile, he thought to himself, allowing a split second of indulgence. Winters wanted to stop his mind there, before he allowed it to run free with thoughts of her, but he couldn’t stop it as he took in the scene in front of him. She sat in the soft grass, her fingers fiddling with picked wildflowers, the calming landscape of the meadow laid out at her feet. Her hair was loose and fell in soft waves down her back, a few strands tucked behind her ear. The setting sun illuminated her face, the rays mirroring a halo around her head as she looked at him, making Winters wonder if she had been an angel sent by God.
“You can join me, if you’d like,” she spoke, snapping Dick out of his thoughts. He watched as she turned back around to continue fiddling with the flowers in her hands, a soft breeze making the grass around them sway. He smiled warmly to himself, taking a seat beside her on the ground.
“What are you doing out here?” He asked her, doing his best to focus his eyes on the serene in front of him and not the girl by his side.
“I’m hiding,” she spoke with an amused smile. “I’ve never really been one for big parties.”
“So, you’ve never been dancing?” Winters asked, mentally smacking himself in the forehead. What kind of question was that?
“I’ve been dancing. I love it, in fact, but typically the testosterone is evened out a bit,” she joked, making Dick laugh. “I can’t believe it,” she continued, setting the wild flowers down and focusing on him. “I just made the eternally poised and professional Second Lieutenant Winters laugh and it wasn’t even a good joke!”
“Oh, c’mon, it wasn’t that bad,” he smiled at her, watching as she shook her head with a laugh.
“Please, if I had tried that one on Nixon, he would’ve just stared at me and walked away.”
“Well lucky you that I’m not Nixon,” Winters turned his head, staring straight out at the field ahead. Y/N and Nixon had become close friends over the past few weeks while Winters tried to avoid being alone with Y/N as much as possible. He couldn’t afford any distractions and anytime he was with her he was distracted, but he chose to forget that fact at the moment.
“Trust me, I feel very lucky,” she smiled at him without any hint of sarcasm. She was being completely honest.
“So is that what you’ll do when you get home?” Winters changed the subject before he lost himself in her eyes completely. “Go dancing, I mean?”
“Among other things,” she spoke, with a soft smile, her gaze focusing on her lap.
“What other things?” He pried.
She bit her lip, his eyes darting down to her mouth to watch the action before forcing them on something else.
She let out a long breath lifting her head. “I’m going to continue college and earn my degree,” she began. Winters hid his surprise, learning that she was a collegiately educated woman, something very uncommon in their day and age. “I want to watch my younger siblings grow up and my parents grow old. I want to get married to a man who loves me and raise a family on a plot of land like this,” she motioned towards the field around them. “I want to watch my children grow up and make families of their own. And then, when God has decided it’s my time, I want to pass away just as everyone should: old in age and surrounded by those they love.”
This was the third moment, the moment that Dick Winters knew that he was completely and eternally in love. Staring at her now, watching the way she smiled softly as she watched the grass and flowers sway in the wind, the breeze pushing back her hair and the sun casting an ethereal glow on her face, Dick Winters knew that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her.
