william schofield falling in love with a stenographer:
this is my first hc request, so i’ll give it a shot :) though please keep in mind this is my first time doing anything like this, so please be easy on me (esp. with typos/mistakes) !! also, this ended up being pretty long i’m sorry ahhh !!
warnings: none really, fluff! kinda cliché in parts though oop, i’m a sucker for it
(also i apologise for any historical inaccuracy, this is all for the purpose of the story!)
will was in the trenches, which he was somewhat used to at that point, when he first saw her
a beautiful young lady (he especially thought so) stood with her pen and paper in hand, scribbling down her observations
will was instantly intrigued by both her beauty and what she was doing
she was allowed restricted access to near the front lines, in order to record her eyewitness accounts of the horrendous war that was happening around her
this made will think a lot about how different their roles were, in the same place at the same time
while being deep in thought, he also made the decision that he needed to talk to her, at some point or another
but initially, he couldn’t bring himself to
what if he made a fool of himself? why would such a beautiful woman want to speak to him? she was surrounded by men, after all
he brushed away his irrational thoughts by moving along the trench to check on his fellow soldiers
he also made a promise to himself - that he will talk to her next time
the next time her saw her, however, she wasn’t alone
another soldier he didn’t know the name of was striking up a conversation with her
although he was too far away to hear what they were saying, he did hear her let out a laugh
and wow, was it the most angelic laugh he had ever heard
but he then remembered why she was laughing
because of another soldier. another soldier that wasn’t him
filled with involuntary jealousy, he stayed put until the soldier (finally, he thought) left her alone
this was his time to talk to her
so with sweaty palms, a nervous gulp and sigh of frustration for getting so worked up, he started to make his way over to her
his jealously faded more and more the closer he got to her, her beauty being undeniably overwhelming to him
when he finally got to within a metre of her, she noticed his eyes directly on her
this lead to the most vibrant smile making its way onto her face
oh boy, will almost died on the spot
the smile was aimed at him
he faintly smiled back, being in too much of a trance to reciprocate it properly
if he could rewind time he would’ve replayed that moment a thousand times over
but since he couldn’t, he found himself clearing his throat nervously, realising he should probably say something
“uh, hi, i noticed you here a while ago - not that i was watching - well i was, but only a bit, uh, and thought i’d say hi.. so, hi?”
he cursed at himself in his head for saying ‘hi’ 3 times and being a blabbering mess
but she let out another one of her angelic laughs, to which he suddenly took back the mental cursing
he didn’t care what he said, he made her laugh
“well, hello” she smiled again, following it up by introducing herself, “and you are?”
it took a few seconds to even process his own name
“i’m lance corporal schofield, uh, william schofield. but uh, you can call me will”
“we’re going by nicknames already, will?” she joked
that was all it took - her beauty, her smile, her laugh and her witty remark was all it took to know he had fallen
from then on, that was how it went
every time he saw her (which he made the effort to do a lot), he’d make conversation
he gradually got more confident around her, making jokes himself
and he definitely appreciated her laughs he received in return
it even got to the point where blake noticed his frequent visits to the young woman
so of course, teasing endured
will always replied with a “shut up” or “get lost, you bloody idiot”
but he couldn’t ever deny blake’s remarks
because he was right - he was well and truly whipped for the young stenographer
after a few more weeks of talking, laughing and even a bit of flirting (go on, will ;) ), the time had come
she had to retreat back from near the front lines, as she had a satisfactory amount of records to keep her going
but she didn’t want to go, she really didn’t
and will most definitely didn’t want her to
as relectuant as will was to let her go (for now, he determinedly thought) he was also partly relieved that she was going to a less dangerous place
he thanked god that nothing bad happened to her while she was here
and although war doesn’t stop for love, he sure as hell felt like it did when it came to her
so they both savoured the last few times they shared with each other
where it became apparent, for both of them, that their love for each other had grew immensely
out of all the things will expected from the war, falling in love was definitely not one of them
never in his life has he felt this way about a woman
no girl he’s ever met at school, the pub or down the street has ever come close
so when they were sharing their last moments together before she had to go, will simply couldn’t keep it in any longer
“hey, uh, i have something to tell you before you go,” he stammered
the same nerves he had when he first met her came flooding back
“yeah, what is it?” her intrigued, somewhat concerned voice asked
“i- well, you’re just so amazing, funny, beautiful, god, you’re so beautiful, caring, and every other positive word i can think of,”
he was rambling again, like he did during their first meeting, but still, it felt so different this time
“and anyways, what i wanted to say is, uh, i love you”
and again, just like their first meeting, she laughed
it was a lighter laugh this time, almost like laugh of relief
will looked confused for a second, almost regretful in case she thought he was being ridiculous, until she replied to his confession
“i love you too, will. so much. i wish i didn’t have to leave you just yet”
let me tell you, will’s heart EXPLODED
and the fact she felt the same, combined with the fact she was leaving, gave him a confidence boost
to do what he’d been wanting to do pretty much since he laid eyes on her
with literal heart eyes and a deep breath, he slowly leant down
and then he felt her soft lips on his, as she met him half way
they both melted into it, like their lips were made for each other
cliché, i know, but that’s exactly how he felt
his hands went to rest on her waist, while her arms wrapped loosely around his neck
when they finally (and reluctantly) pulled apart, their foreheads lay against each other, neither of them wanting to move
“hey, will, promise me something?” she broke the silence
he hummed in recognition of her question
“when all this is over, you’ll come find me?”
“of course i will, but you’ve got to me promise me you won’t get hurt. stay safe for me, love, and i’ll come find you as soon as i can” he said
even just the thought of something happening to her made his heart beat faster
“then you’ve got to promise that as well, stay safe for me”
and that sentence, that very sentence, gave him all the determination in the world to make it through the war
he kept going, through each gruelling day, just to see you again
he saw some sights he never wants to see again, lost some people he wish he didn’t, and escaped close calls along the way
but he knew, deep-down, that she was still out there - his love
and she was, waiting for the day will came back to her
thank you so much for reading, i hope you enjoyed :) i feel like i ended it kind of abruptly i’m sorry, but i already got too carried away lmao. i’m also experimenting with tenses, and my next one might be using ‘you’ rather than ‘she/her’, which will also help to make some of my future ones gender neutral :D
P.S. i hope the formatting is okay, it’s done on mobile so let me know if it’s not worked!
