They were a rowdy bunch, these lot. Easy Company. Rowdy but funny, especially the one with the floppy brown hair and the infectious grin. There was a charismatic draw to them as a collective and as individuals they were an interesting mix of differences, from the quiet and sincere to the excitable and playful to the incorrigible flirts who could talk their way into someone's bed– and out of it again with no repercussions.
It was one of the quiet ones who caught Olivia's attention time after time. Tall and broad with sandy hair that she had no doubt would curl beautifully if left to grow a little longer. Always with a cigar hanging out of his gently sloping mouth, and a deep tone with an accent that reminded her of the westerns her brother, Mark, was so very fond of watching,
Bull, she'd heard them calling him– no doubt due to his size– but Olivia wondered if his friends had noticed the gentleness that radiated from within him as well. For all he was big, he moved with ease and with a quietness, and Olivia wondered if his real name might reflect that side of him or not.
"He don't bite, you know," a face appeared in front of her as she continued to work on tea towelling an already dry pint glass.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Bill," she smirked.
Bill Guarnere, or Wild Bill to his friends, hadn't been shy in introducing himself the first time he had walked into the pub where she worked. Loud mouth from somewhere called Philly, he was far more observant than his brusque and sarcastic manner let on. Which was why Olivia knew for a fact that he had most definitely caught her staring at his friend.
"Oh, don't play coy with me, sweetcheeks," Bill wagged a finger at her. "And for what it's worth, I've noticed him looking at you too. Eh, you can smile about that you know; it won't break that pretty face and it's a change from that sucking on a lemon thing you've always got going on when you're telling us off."
"Shaddup," she mocked his accent, drawing a cackle from him.
"If you decide to forget about the hick, I reckon you'd do alright in South Philly."
"And surprisingly, I reckon I'm actually alright here in boring, old Aldbourne, thank you," she set down a beer and whiskey chaser down in front of him without even being asked.
"Aint much different to boring, old Arkansas," he commented. "Hey Bull, getcha ass over here. Olivia wants to know about Arkansas."
Bull's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he smacked a grinning Luz as he stood up and slid out from behind the table he was sitting at.
"Bill," Olivia hissed, punching his arm as Bull approached and Bill did nothing more than smirk knowingly. "I'm going to spit in your beer from now on."
"Bull, you know Olivia right?" Bill motioned for Bull to stand behind him at the bar. "Get Bull a beer would you, Liv?"
Gritting her teeth at Bill, she quickly smiled politely at Bull and reached for a glass on the shelf above her.
"Oh, you know what? I just remembered I gotta be somewhere," Bill pulled some money out and slammed it down on the bartop. "There's enough there for a few more drinks for my buddy here and a pretty generous tip for you, lovely Livvy."
"I'd hardly call that generous," Olivia muttered, setting Bull's beer down in front of him.
"How about this then?" he slammed down a few more coins.
"Very generous indeed, Bill," she smirked. "Hope you don't fall and hurt yourself in the blackout on your way to that big pile of bullshit you're off to shovel."
"Old Gonorrhea'll be fine, sweetcheeks," he chuckled. "Night all; and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Oh, he'll be fine alright," Olivia murmured under her breath, brushing a loose wisp of her chestnut hair behind her ear, and wishing that Bull wasn't looking right at her. Then again, where else was he supposed to look when his sole purpose in being where he was was to talk to her about Arkansas… wherever the bloody hell that was.
Bull laughed heartily when she told him that last bit.
"Aint many people outside of the states who do know," he smirked. "But I'd be more than happy to tell you anything you wanna know about it."
"Erm, what's your favourite time of year there?" she asked quickly.
"I like the fall," he answered without hesitation. "When the air grows cooler and the leaves change colour. All of the reds and oranges and the smell of my mama's apple pie."
"The leaves are my favourite thing about autumn too," she smiled. "I like to catch the falling ones and make wishes on them."
"Me too," Bull smiled back.
"Any of your wishes ever come true?"
"Some," he shrugged. "You?"
"Never yet," she shook her head. "I hope that might change sooner rather than later though."
… … …
"Bull, we're heading back to barracks; you coming?" Hoobler shouted as most of the company was halfway out of the door.
"You go on ahead," Bull called back, offering Olivia a tentative smile. "I'ma stay here a while longer."
Olivia smiled back, wiping down an invisible spot on the bar as Bull's friends all muttered to themselves with knowing grins.
The pub quietened immediately the second the door closed behind the men, and with Harry, the pub owner, being the only other person with them, Olivia suddenly felt like the easy conversation that had flowed between her and Bull for the past couple of hours suddenly stilted to a halt.
Harry, who had been watching the sweet exchange between the two all night, smiled to himself. Unlike many of the other older town folk, he had no problem with the yanks, and as a man who had served in the great war himself, he knew how important it was to grab happiness when one could. And knowing Olivia for her whole life, he knew she deserved it more than anyone.
"Liv, love, you get yourself home and I'll close up," he told her. "And I'm sure this nice young man will be more than happy to see you home."
"Oh, that's alright," she shook her head. "I can see myself home."
"It'd be no problem, ma'am," Bull countered gently.
"Alright then," she nodded, hoping she didn't look as thrilled as she felt at the thought of resuming their conversation once more. Bull waited by the door for her as she grabbed her coat, and on her way past Harry she squeezed his arm and narrowed her eyes playfully. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, you old devil."
"Go and have some bloody fun, Olivia," he winked. "God knows you deserve it."
Rolling her eyes and ignoring the twang of pain in her chest, Olivia kissed Harry goodbye and followed Bull out into the cool, night air.
"You really don't have to walk me home, you know," she told him as she slipped on her coat, feeling in her pockets to make sure she had her house key.
"I know I don't have to, but I'd like to," Bull lit his cigar. "And you'd be sparing me from having to nurse some of those drunken buddies of mine 'cause they can't hold their liquor."
"Well, in that case I can't refuse your offer," Olivia laughed softly.
The silence between them was a comfortable one as they walked through the mostly quiet village of Aldbourne. At one point Bull realised his large stride was proving difficult for Olivia to keep up with and he slowed down with a smirk.
"So what'd he mean; the man who owns the pub?" Bull was the first to break the silence. "When he said you deserved some fun. I hope it aint too forward for me to say, but he said as though there was a story behind his words."
"He worries about me," Olivia answered after a moment of hesitation. "He's been a friend of the family for years and now there's only me at home, I think he's taken it upon himself to make sure I'm enjoying life and not turning into a hermit."
"How come you're alone then?"
"Dad left when I was a baby, my brother's off fighting in Italy or somewhere or other, and my mum died last year," she answered robotically, as though reciting a shopping list, but Bull could see the flash of pain behind her hazel eyes.
Stepping closer subconsciously, Bull realised that he had an overwhelmingly primal urge to protect Olivia. Maybe it was because she was so small that she only came up to his chin, or maybe it was because she clearly wasn't as tough as she liked to portray, but whatever it was, he felt like it was his duty to look after her. It was a thought that seemed crazy to him given that they barely even knew each other.
"So your brother's in Italy? He write much?"
"As much as he can, yeah," she nodded. "But not as often as I'd like though. I've not seen him in over a year and a half though. The army gave him special dispensation when mum died," her voice cracked briefly but she tried to cover it up with a cough. "Hopefully he can come home soon."
"My mom probably thinks I don't write to her enough," Bull said, coming to a stop to help Olivia pull her hair back from her face when a sudden gust of wind caught them unaware.
The rosiness creeping up her cheeks was visible under the bright light of the almost full moon, and when he stepped closer he couldn't help but smile at the way her lips parted ever so slightly as she craned her neck to look up at him.
"I wrote to her about you," his voice sounded husky, even to his own ears. "Told her you was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
"Me?" she frowned in disbelief as he cupped her cheek and his thumb brushed across her bottom lip.
"I was thinking of kissing you right about now," Bull tilted her face up slightly. "Been thinking about it all night, and every other night since I first watched you tell Cobb you was gonna smack him in the privates if he touched your waist one more time."
"I would have done it, you know, but I figured that his ego couldn't take being hit by a woman when he was already such a bloody idiot."
"I'd agree with that," Bull laughed, and it was a rich sound that reminded Olivia of rain on a hot summer's day. It was the kind of noise to make someone feel thankful that they were alive just to hear it.
"So, you said something about kissing me?" she remembered suddenly, cursing herself for sounding so forward.
"I believe I did," Bull's eyes traced her lips before coming up to look into her eyes with such intensity that her breath was caught in her throat.
Bending, his lips were close to grazing hers when she let out a giggle that came completely out of nowhere.
"Something funny?" Bull frowned, his lips mere millimetres from hers.
"No," she laughed nervously again. "I just… I haven't done this in a while."
"How long's a while?" he murmured.
"Since I was eight," she admitted with a nervous grimace.
"Well in that case I'ma show you how a real man kisses his woman then," Bull decided.
"His woman?" she raised an eyebrow.
"After tonight, darlin', you aint never gonna wanna be kissed by anyone else. That's a promise."
"And there was me thinking Bill bloody Guarnere was the cocky bastard of Easy company," Olivia grinned.
"I aint cocky, I'm just sure," Bull grinned back. "Now about that kiss…"
