Hello again!
I am so sorry for the lack of updates, school is taking much more time now that I've got online classes.
Now, part II will follow the second Expendables movie. I will say this again, I do not own The Expendables or it's characters. I only got my OC and the changes to the movies storyline (and my/this fanfic storyline). (I felt like I should say it because you may recognize some of the original scenes/dialogues from the movies.)
Finally, the second part is done and will be published in the next few days. Part III should follow shortly after.
As always, feel free to leave reviews and/or suggestions.
Enjoy your reading,
Pavs.
Prologue, Part Two: When All is Said and Sometimes Done
[Gabrielle]
I sighed as my hand touched the empty space where Gunnar should have been. I opened my eyes and looked at the picture of us he now kept on the nightstand next to his side of the bed. I had been taking pictures a lot lately. I got up, took a shower and came back to the bedroom to get dressed. I put on some jean shorts, a black tank top and my beloved Converse shoes.
I looked at myself in the mirror, and I smiled. It had been three months since the incident at Trench's hangar. The bags under my eyes were gone, I was seeing my therapist again, and I had started to hang out with Hale and Toll. I even spend enough time with Tool to actually learn how to use a tattoo gun. I took my bag, then I decided to take my camera too. Just in case.
I got out of Gunnar's room and saw that Lee's door was opened. I went to his room and saw him sharpening his knives beside his open window. He was so focused on his task that I doubt he even knew I was there.
Not that I went to his room anymore. We did talk when we saw each other, but I could feel that he was more distant. I still was trying to figure out how I felt about that. But seeing him working on his knifes with this serene look on his face, the sun shining behind him…I turned on my camera and took a picture.
''I was wondering what you were looking at,'' Christmas said without looking up.
I could see a smile growing on his face. I blushed a bit but smiled nonetheless. I put my camera in my bag, left all my things at the door, and entered his room. He looked at me as I got closer.
''How do you do that?'' I asked, and he started to put his knives back in their holders.
''Wouldn't you like to know?'' he teased me, but I could sense the tension.
I sighed loudly. He frowned.
''Maybe I would. Knives are badass you know?'' I answered, and he got up to put his things back in his closet.
''Gabrielle,'' he said, and I knew what was coming.
''Don't bother. I know you all are trying to protect me, but maybe, just maybe, I would like to protect myself too. I am not as fragile as you might think. Have a nice one at the hangar,'' I said before I took my bag and left.
[Lee]
He sighed while looking at his bedroom door. Things had gotten complicated, at least for him. This was why he was keeping his distance. He couldn't think too much about the fact that Gunnar was the one sleeping with her two doors down from his own. But he couldn't ignore her smile either. He knew that she'd started to trust him too. Only, he wasn't Hale or Toll. She was more than a friend to him.
Seeing her in his room, staring at him, thinking him worthy of a picture…it made his heart ache just a little.
Then she told him off, and he felt like something was out of place. Not him, or her, but something. She had been just a tad too defensive about the whole 'I can take care of myself' thing. Almost arrogant, even.
His thoughts were cut short when his phone rang. He was late.
''Bloody hell,'' he said before he took what he needed and got out.
[Barney]
The Kid had a huge potential. The team had made jokes about the fact that they could've used another man on their last job, and Barney had decided to take it seriously. They weren't getting any younger after all. And since Tool wasn't about to go back to the team…
He looked at Billy sitting in Christmas's seat and remembered how he was at that age. The army had quickly disillusioned him, but he hadn't been able to see himself doing anything else, and so he had become a mercenary almost as soon as he got out. He had come a long way since then, they all had. The Kid would too.
He was still young after all, just a bit older than Gabrielle. His daughter, the one he was still trying to protect with the help of his team this time. She was doing so much better; he didn't want her to have a relapse. Billy smiled at him, and Barney looked at the sky. Maybe it would do some good for his daughter to hang out with someone her age. Or maybe he'd have to talk to the Kid as to what Gabrielle needed to know.
Well, this was going to be fun.