Hello everyone!
This is the first time I've posted under this username and figured I would post a series of one-shots that I've been working on for the Expendables.
They are in no particular order and center on my OC, Jacoba Dixie Kooper, and her relationship with Gunnar in particular. They are all set after the first movie and Gunnar doesn't have as much of a drinking problem.
I have been using writing prompts that I found on Pintrest and thought would work in this setting.
Now for the legalities. I do not own any of the Expendables franchise (characters, places, and objects especially) and this is mostly au.Rated M just to be on the safe side.
Hope you enjoy!
Prompt: "What the heck? I retired for five minutes and you let the entire universe go to shit!"
Jacoba stood in front of the front door to Tool's Tattoo Parlor, contemplating whether or not she should actually go in. While she needed to turn her gear in to Barney, well her gun at least, Gunnar would more than likely be there. He was the reason that Jacoba had told Barney that she was retiring about an hour before. They had had a fight; it wasn't like the little fights that they had periodically had over the years, either. No, this was a full-blown fight that almost caused her to throw a punch, something that she still had yet to do.
Sighing, Jacoba finally reached for the knob. The feelings she felt for Gunnar had changed drastically since she had joined the active Expendables team nearly two years ago now. Well, not that drastically. It had just recently become more evident to her that her feelings for the 6'5" Swede had never really been those of anger but instead those of love. Unrequited love, she mentally corrected herself with another sigh.
Instead of dwelling on her feelings, Jacoba just kept on walking to the back so she could find Barney. What she saw when she got there made her stop and raise her eyebrow. There were Lee and Yin yelling at Barney, who was just shaking his head and leaning back in his chair. On Barney's left side sat Gunnar, who was getting a similar treatment from Toll, Tool, and Caesar. It showed how distracted she was that Jacoba hadn't heard the cacophony of sound coming from the backroom on her way there. It was practically impossible for her to discern exactly what exactly was being yelled about, but Gunnar was leaning forward with his head in his hands, looking so sad and impossibly small as his friends berated him. It broke her heart to see him look so dejected, causing her to step in purely on instinct, raising her voice to be heard.
"What the heck, guys‽ I retired for, like, five minutes max and you all let the entire universe go to fuckin' shit!"
It had the desired effect. Lee, Yin, Tool, Toll, and Caesar all stopped yelling and turned to face her looking like deer in the headlights. In fact, all of the team looked at the tall woman as she stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and her eyebrow raised. Barney started to smirk as those standing started to knit their brows in confusion.
Jacoba belatedly realized that an outburst like that would direct all attention onto her, which was not an experience that she relished in. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Jacoba began to open her mouth to speak, only to close it again as she saw Gunnar stand up with a determined look on his face. He walked straight over to her and lightly grabbed her elbows, causing her to look up at him in confusion. He sighed and rested his forehead on hers.
"I'm sorry."
Jacoba's eyes went wide and she pulled back to look into Gunnar's eyes, searching for any clue as to what he was really trying to say. Putting her own hands on his chest, she said, "Pardon?"
"I'm sorry. For everything. And I've just realized that I really can't do any of this without you. I love you. Stay with me."
Her heart was beating faster than she thought physically possible and her mind was running even faster. When she didn't respond after a minute, she felt him let go of her elbows and begin to back away. Oh no, she wasn't letting him out of this situation that easily. So, she leapt up into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could with her whole body, since she had wrapped her legs around his waist. Gunnar stumbled back slightly before sliding his own arms around her waist a moment or two later. She could feel the rest of the team's confused stares, but she didn't care.
After a minute, Jacoba leaned back and looked into Gunnar's questioning blue eyes. She smiled down at him and said, "I'll stay on just one condition, big guy." He cocked his head to the right and raised his eyebrow. Jacoba giggled and rested her forehead on his, just like he had done earlier. "I'll stay here," she repeated softly, "with you and the team. If, and only if, you kiss me."
She heard a gasp, most likely from Caesar, but she didn't care as Gunnar smirked and angled his lips towards hers. The last thought Jacoba had, amongst the rest of the team's catcalls, before she succumbed to the bliss of her and Gunnar's first kiss as a couple, was that the love she felt toward her tall Swede wasn't so unrequited after all.