Hail To The End Of The World~
(1-?)
Short story # 18
✨Fandom(s) - The Expendables (Movies) & The Walking Dead (Series)
💍Pairing - Gunnar Jensen X Reader
🕯Summary - While traveling with Gunnar in search of the rest of your team, you cross paths with a survivor group, who upon seeing your equipment practically beg you to stay and help them.
⚠️Warning(s) - None really. Except for an age gap between you and Gunnar if that's something that should be warned? And like zombies dying but that's to be expected.
📝Note(s) - This just kinda popped into my head the other day, so here we are. So firstly Tool is your dad in this story, and your described as having a bunch of tattoos, and quite a few scars, including some facial scars. Other than that I don't think I go much into detail about anything else to do with you, other than a troubled past. (But that comes with the territory.) oh and you can draw now, like really well because I thought of something cute like 3/4th of the way through this. Plus you're Tools kid, so it's fitting.
🗝Key information - Text in orange parentheses (EXAMPLE) is the translation google gave me for the quotes written in Swedish.
🌬Year posted - 2023
📖Reading Time - Roughly 23 minutes.
🙈Rating - SFW/NSFW
◈Pt. 1 | ◈Pt. 2 |
"Come on." Gunnar muttered quietly to his partner, (Y/n). Who was swift if advancing as he had instructed her, her rifle snug in her arms felt so natural, like a another part of her. "Knives only." He reminded her, despite not actually needing to, as they crept up on a small cluster of five walkers. They dispatched their targets without a hitch, and continued on their way, slowly carving their way through Atlanta. "Five minutes." (Y/n) tossed over her shoulder to Gunnar, before she slipped into the old tech store, Gadgets 9000. Stupid name for a store, but that didn't matter. Gunnar scanned the surrounding area once more before following the younger woman inside. She'd killed the one walker that was inside, and was scowering the shelves and floor for the items she needed. "Bingo." She muttered and quickly shrugged off her bag, tossing the necessary items into the bag, along with a few simple items that would be good backups. "Times up." Gunnar called as he neared her, tapping her shoulder with two fingers to signal that she needed to be on guard again. Wordlessly she finished up and slung her bag back onto her back, readying herself for a potential fight as she picked up her rifle.
"Through the back." Gunnar instructed, on the off chance someone might have followed them, and would be waiting to ambush them out front. (Y/n) nodded her head and took the lead, per the usual. Once outside and they'd started to make their way down the alleyway, (Y/n) spared a quick glance back to Gunnar. "Where to now?" She questioned quietly, knowing they couldn't go back to their old camp, which was now overrun by a hord. "West." Was all he said as he pointed the barrel of his rifle in the direction. (Y/n) nodded in understanding and kept moving, now to the west, realizing quickly that it would be the quickest way out of the city. The realization making her smirk a little, as impressed as always with Gunnars tactical observations. Wordlessly Gunnar tapped two fingers against her shoulder once more, having taken notice of another set of footsteps approaching them, precise steps of a living person. (Y/n) instantly dropped to one knee in front of him, bringing her rifle up and aiming at where he pointed to the source of the sound. Gunnar also quickly trained his rifle, taking a sturdy stance behind (Y/n) and waiting.
Two men then rounded the corner, both of them freezing at the sight of the rifles pointed at them. "Woah h-hold on." The shorter of the two instantly holds his hands up in surrender, even with the bat still in his hands. "Don't shoot." The second guy also held his hands up in surrender, a crowbar in his hand. "Who are you?" (Y/n) asked, her voice stern and stoic. "I-I'm Glenn t-this is T-dog." The shorter male explained. "You never saw us." Gunnar stated tapping at (Y/n)'s shoulder to signal their retreat. "W-wait!" Glenn called out a little louder than he intended, jumping when the pair quickly spun on their heel, guns trained on him again. "W-we have a group." He started, looking increasingly nervous about having guns pointed at him, which was fair. "We could use your help." T-dog cut in, having realized like Glenn that these two strangers were far more equipped for this new world they all found themselves in. (Y/n) and Gunnar shared a look. "I could focus on fixing the transmitter more with a group of people looking out for the geeks." (Y/n) stated casually. "Yeah." Gunnar nodded his head, the thought having occurred to him as well. "Let's go." He stated as he looked to the others, who both nodded then turned to lead them back to their camp by the quarry.
----
Initially when Glenn and T-dog showed up with next to no medical supplies, Shane was beyond annoyed, at least until his eyes cast to the newcomers. Now he was annoyed for another reason. "Deputy Shane Walsh." He introduced himself as he approached the two, the rest of the group crowding behind him to observe the new faces. "(Y/n)." She introduced herself before nodding her head back towards her partner. "That's Gunnar." She wouldn't offer their last names, what was the point in last names anymore anyways? Shane took in the sight of their gear. "You guys military?" He asked what everyone else was thinking. "Something like that." Gunnar stated without offering an explanation. "We just need somewhere to lay low for a little while, then we'll be out of your hair." (Y/n) explained as she propped the butt of her rifle against her hip. "We can offer a hand with setting up some defenses." She added, as she looked around observing that they had no defenses. Shane internally bristled at her words, hating that he hadn't thought of setting any defenses up in the first place. "Alright." Shane agreed with a nod of his head, stalking off to sulk about being shown up by the newcomers.
The rest of the group was quick to welcome the pair, well aside from the degenerates in the crowd, and the pair was quickly bombarded with questions. When (Y/n) realized they had originally sent Glenn and T-dog out to get medical supplies, she offered a helping hand to look at the minor injuries a few of them had sustained while doing odd jobs. "Thank you (Y/n)." Andrea smiled warmly, as (Y/n) finished tending to the burn Andrea had sustained to her hand. "You're welcome." (Y/n) smiled back, though it didn't reach her eyes like it had Andreas. "Who..." She started as (Y/n) was packing up the little supplies she hadn't used. "Who exactly are you guys?" Andrea asked in a soft tone, clearly nervous about asking that question. "Ghosts." Was all (Y/n) offered before walking off to assist Gunnar with a quick perimeter check. "Their gonna get themselves killed." Gunnar stated as they slipped into the woods. "Probably." (Y/n) agreed with a shrug. "This world isn't what their used to, not even that deputy." She added, her words making Gunnar chuckle. "He doesn't like us." The Sweed pointed out. "I have a feeling he doesn't like many people." She snickered softly.
"You met the rednecks yet?" Gunnar asked as they continued their task. "Can't say I have." (Y/n) shook her head, recalling that she'd seen them, but she hadn't met them. "Avoid the older one, he's trouble." He stated casually, and (Y/n) simply nodded in agreement, trusting her partners judgment. Once they'd finished their patrol they made it back to the camp, going over some ideas of defense plans with a few of the group members, the few who seemed competent enough to offer input. "Honestly your best bet out here would be to just set up noise makers." (Y/n) concluded, knowing it would take far to long to set up proper defenses in such a large place. "Noise makers?" Dale wondered aloud, pulling an almost inaudible sigh from Gunnar, but (Y/n) had heard, she always heard. "Yeah just some tripwires attached to something that'll make a bunch of noise, so if a walker as you all call them trips over the wire, you'll all be alerted to the noise. They're easy to make, and convenient." (Y/n) explained, and the older man nodded his head in understanding. "Right. Sorry." Dale chuckled softly. "Don't apologize, questions are good." The younger woman waved him off before casting her gaze to Glenn.
"I assume you all have a designed place you take your trash?" She asked him, and he quickly nodded his head in agreement. "Good. We need to gather all the cans and bottles we can, and we'll need fishing line, a lot of line." Dale quickly perked up at that. "I've got a bunch of extra fishing line in the rv." He stated. "Perfect." She nodded before turning to follow Glenn, only to stop when Gunnar placed a hand on her shoulder. "You go deal with the lines, I'll deal with the trash." He instructed, making (Y/n) smile softly. "If you say so." She mused before following Dale. As Gunnar and Glenn rummaged through the garbage pile Glenn couldn't help but glance at the larger man from the corner of his eye, unsure of how to feel about the brooding behemoth of a man. "So (Y/n)." Glenn tried striking up small talk, and Gunnar simply grunted in acknowledgement. "Is she... Single?" Glenn asked. "No." Gunnar deadpanned. "Oh." Glenn swallowed nervously, understandably intimidated by the older man. "You guys?..." Glenn wondered aloud before he could stop himself, mentally scolding himself as soon as he did. "Yep." Gunnar hadn't even spared the young man a glance, which Glenn was admittedly grateful for, he was already anxious enough.
"S-she uh... She mentioned something about a transmitter?" Glenn tried changing the subject. "Doesn't concern you." Gunnar quickly shot him down, and Glenn took that as a sign to just stop talking. Gathering what they could into a few boxes, Gunnar lugged the majority of it back, while Glenn carried what he could. "Perfect timing as always." (Y/n) mused at Gunnar when he placed the boxes by her feet. When he straightened his back he allowed (Y/n) to tug him down to her height by his vest, smirking when she planted a quick peck to the side of his mouth. But before she could pull away, he quickly pulled her back, kissing her properly, his large hands splayed out on her lower back. (Y/n) chuckled softly as she pulled away from the kiss, staying close enough that when she spoke their lips brushed. "Someone askin' 'bout me?" She wondered with a playful glimmer in her eyes. "Just making sure they all know what's mine." The large Sweet murmured back before pecking her lips once more and straightening back up. A ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips when he noticed just about everyone was staring at them.
"You're impossible." (Y/n) mused before snatching up the first box, setting to work on making the noise makers part of the trap. "Probably." Gunnar shrugged casually before moving to assist her. By the time they'd finished that, and properly set up a perimeter with the noise makers, the sun hung low in the sky. "I'm gonna go down to the quarry and clean up a little bit." (Y/n) informed Gunnar, patting his shoulder affectionately before walking off. "Hey." He called to her before she could get to far, smirking when she turned to him without argument. "Yeah?" She tilted her head a little. "Just in case." He stated before tossing her his knife, still in its sheath she caught it with ease. "Careful." He added. "Always." (Y/n) mused before walking off, tucking the knife into her back pocket, after popping the safety strap in case she needed to grab it quickly. Satisfied Gunnar turned his attention back to her rifle, having offered to clean it for her a short while ago. Lori, Andrea, Amy, Carol and the kids tagging along with (Y/n) as she made her way down to the quarry.
----
"So you and Gunnar huh?" Carol asked with a smile as the group of women huddled knee deep in the water, cleaning up a bit as best they could while the kids played on the bank. "Yeah." (Y/n) mirrored her smile. "How long?" Lori asked kindly. "Since long before this all started." (Y/n) shrugged a little. "Maybe five years, give or take." She thought about it for a moment, shrugging again with a small chuckle. "How did that happen?" Amy asked, the others all perking up at that question. "Oh well I've known Gunnar for, hell half my life. He and my father worked together, well he worked for my father on occasion. Eventually my dad got me in the same line of work, and when the team noticed how much I mellowed Gunnar out they'd team us up all the time. My father pushed us to get together, and well eventually we took his suggestion, and we've been inseparable since." (Y/n) smiled fondly. "The first time I realized I loved him, he'd saved my life for the first time, he nearly..." She cut herself off realizing she was about to reveal more than she intended. "He what?" Amy pried, completely enraptured by her story.
"Doesn't matter now, that was a long time ago." (Y/n) shook her head with a small smile, going back to the task at hand. Amy was about to pry further until Andrea nudged her side, her younger sister taking the hint she bit her tongue. "It's sweet." Carol mused aloud, the others all nodding in agreement. "You have an awful lot of tattoos (Y/n)." Lori stated casually, her eyes raking over the ink covering a good deal of the skin (Y/n) was now showing, after having striped down to a tank top and her underwear earlier. "Oh yeah my father was also a tattoo artist, he'd been tattooing me since I was sixteen." (Y/n) smiled fondly as she looked to her arms. "Sixteen!?" Andrea gasped in surprise. "Yeah... Um well something had happened when I was sixteen... I was left with a whole bunch of scars because of it." (Y/n) licked her lip, lightly tracing the scar that ran over her lips. "My father felt guilty... Because... Well because in a way it was his fault. And he saw how insecure I had become because of the scars, so he offered to start tattooing over them, to make them beautiful, to make me beautiful. And well... I took him up on that offer." (Y/n) shrugged a little, the others feeling rather saddened by her story.
"They are beautiful." Lori smiled, despite never really being one for tattoos, or really understanding why anyone would want any until now. "Thank you." (Y/n) hummed with a small smile. The group quickly turning to the bank at the sound of approaching footsteps. "Hello ladies." Merle smirked as he waved his fingers at them, an anxious atmosphere washing over the group aside from (Y/n), who simply observed him. "Get out of here." Andrea hissed at him, the kids running into the water to be shielded by their mothers. "Well that's not very nice." Merle mocked with a small frown. "I suggest you listen to her." (Y/n) moved to place herself between the women and Merle, who shamelessly looked her up and down like she were on display for him. "Or what sweetheart?" He wondered tauntingly. "Or I'll crush your fucking windpipe you creep." (Y/n) hissed, her threat making him chuckle darkly. "Oh you're feisty." Merle grinned. "I ain't playin'." She stepped onto the bank, Merle hadn't noticed the sound of rapid footsteps.
"I don't believe you." He got in her face, still grinning. "Can't say I didn't warn you." (Y/n) hummed before suddenly headbutting him. Merle cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding nose. "Merle!" Daryl called out, him and half the guys all rushing down the hill, Gunnar included. "Fucking bitch!" Merle hissed as Daryl pulled him to his feet. "I'll fucking kill you!" He yelled as he fought his younger brother to let him go. "You can try." She taunted defiantly, feeling even more confident with Gunnar at her side. "You stupid bitch." Merle hissed, having broken from Daryl's hold, only for Shane to snatch him by his coller. "Fucking let go of me!" He shouted. "You need to cool it." Shane shoved him back. "She broke my nose!" Merle hollered. "You're lucky that's all she did." Shane shot back, fully aware she could have done far worse. "Let it go." Daryl muttered to his brother, who shoved him away before storming off. "You all okay?" Shane asked, looking to Lori. "Yeah." She nodded her head, and most of crowd that had formed retreated.
"Vill du att jag ska döda honom?" (Do you want me to kill him?) Gunnar asked in his native language, making (Y/n) grin softly. "Nej." (No.) She shook her head, kissing his cheek before walking off to get properly dressed. "Thank you (Y/n)." Lori embraced her after they'd all gotten properly dressed. "Of course." (Y/n) patted her back, and smiled softly as they broke away. "He's going to have it out for you now, you know?" Andrea pointed out as (Y/n) moved to walk beside Gunnar. "Doesn't matter, I've dealt with far worse." She shrugged before leaning into Gunnars side, while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "He has no idea who he's dealing with." Gunnar mused aloud, his words only making the others that much more curious about the pair. Once back at the camp, Gunnar led (Y/n) to the main fire, sitting down first then pulling her down to his lap. "Eat." He instructed as he passed her the MRE he'd prepared for her earlier, chili and macaroni. "What about you?" She questioned, taking note that he hadn't made two like he normally would.
"Just eat." He instructed before kissing the side of her head, more interested in taking care of her than himself at the moment. "Är de borta?" (Are they gone?) She wondered softly, knowing he wouldn't want the others to know what they were talking about, even though she doubted any of them spoke Swedish. "Nej." (No.) He rest his chin on the top of her head, his hands encasing her waist. "Okej." (Okay.) She accepted his answer, knowing better than most just how odd Gunnar can act at times, especially when he feels the need to protect her. So she did as he instructed, and ate the food, though only about half of it. "Here." She offered it to Gunnar, who glared down at her softly. "You need to eat as well big guy." (Y/n) pointed out, turning around in his lap as she stuck the spoon down into the bag. "Open." She instructed as she held the spoon out for him, he rolled his eyes playfully but complied anyways. Biting down hard enough to keep hold of the spoon when she tried to pull it back.
"Don't be like that." (Y/n) scolded playfully, giving the spoon another small tug, and smiling when it came lose. "Atta boy." She hummed softly, a giggle escaping her when Gunnar snatched the bag from her hands. Turning back around in his lap, (Y/n) reached for her bag, which lay beside Gunnars. She retrieved her precious leather bound journal, and charcoal pencil, then flipped to an empty page. "What are you up to?" Gunnar wondered as he watched her from over her shoulder. "The usual." She mused as she began drawing the sight before her. The warm fire, surrounded by some of the folks of this little survivor group. Lori, Carl, Shane, Andrea and Amy, Carol and Sophia, T-dog, Glenn, and Dale. They seemed happy in the moment, and (Y/n) wanted to commit this moment to memory. Who knows how long they'll stick around, or how long these people will survive. But tonight the world feels normal, calm and safe, and she didn't want to forget that feeling.
←Previously | Next→
*I had thought about writing this one with Joel Miller, but ended up deciding that he's getting enough attention, and my baby Gunnar needed some so I went with him instead. (^_^) And it's admittedly playing out better that way anyhow.