Chapter Text
Lara feels the weight of gravity pulling her down as she opens her eyes to complete darkness. Reaching up, she tries to scream but nothing comes out. Out of nowhere, she hits the ground with a thud, grains of sand flying all around her. The waves lap at her shins as she slowly gets up and surveys her surroundings. She’s back on Yamatai. She looks down at her hand and notices the pistol in her grip and the bow strapped to her back. Not again. All around her are dead bodies with unrecognizable faces. She starts running towards the mountains feeling a familiar sense of panic overwhelm her. Climbing through the bodies she notices one that looks very familiar.
“Matthias.”
As she crouches closer, she examines the bullet holes she left in his body. Suddenly he jumps up and strangles her, jaw cracked open, his dark eyes depicting a soulless creature attached to what’s left of a manic smile. With a newfound rage, she throws him off of her and puts a new round of bullets in his brain, he continues to walk towards her as she does. She starts shaking, the panic overwhelming her again. Just before he gets within arms reach, an ax splits into the back of his skull. He drops to the ground as a familiar set of warm brown eyes meet Lara’s. Sam heaves as she rips the pick axe out of his head, dark velvet splattering all over her white tunic as she hands it back to Lara.
“You left your ax behind, I took good care of it, don't worry.” Sam cheekily smiles as she takes Lara’s hands, guiding them around her waist. With her blood stained fingers, she reaches up, her gaze dropping to focus on the Brit’s bottom lip. Slowly, sensuously, she grazes her thumb across it, leaving behind a crimson smudge.
“Lara, you’re ok. Wake up.”
Lara opens her eyes to Sam lying on top of her, chocolate irises full of concern.
“Are you ok sweetie? It seemed like you were having a nightmare.” Sam asks as she brushes a damp strand of hair out of Lara’s eyes.
“Another Yamatai dream.” Sam nods in understanding while Lara sighs and leans her head back against the pillow of the couch.
“At least you were alive in this one though.” that causes Sam to raise an eyebrow.
“Ohhh, so that’s why you were whimpering. It turned into a sexy dream of me, didn’t it.” Sam teases with a wink.
Lara groans in response, slinging her arm over her eyes as her blazing pink cheeks tell Sam all she needs to know. Sam giggles before squeezing Lara one more time and getting up off the couch. “I’m going to go take a shower, brb.”
As Sam gets under the warm water she reflects on last night's events. She’s so happy she is reconnecting with Lara again. It’s been too long, she really did miss her despite everything. The only problem now was how much she liked Lara’s touch and the realization of how badly she wanted Lara to bridge the very small gap they had between their lips. That memory kept replaying over and over in her head. Sam groans at the frustration she feels, her heart running against her wishes. She thought she had done a good job suppressing her feelings for her best friend. And for the most part she had, between dealing with Himiko, one night stands, partying and not seeing Lara for two years. Her true feelings for the Brit seemed manageable. Now that they are together again…Sam forbids the thought from finishing as she refocuses her senses on the soothing sensation of shampoo being rubbed into her scalp. It’ll be a little more difficult but she can manage it again. She has too.
While Sam gets cleaned up, Lara decides to brush her teeth in a different bathroom and let off some steam in the gym. When she opens the doors to said gym, her face splits in two as her gaze travels around the climbing and swinging poles, rock climbing fixtures, moving platforms and giant swimming areas in the vicinity. If there was one thing she missed about the manor, it was definitely this. After grabbing some supplies left off to the side, Lara proceeds to walk to the back of the gym towards a stone wall. Using the grappling hook, she throws it tightly around a lever for the half circle bar to re-adjust it horizontally. The Brit then jumps up to grab onto the ledge of the stonewall and then uses her legs to propel herself onto a swinging pole. She strains her biceps as she lifts herself up and over the pole into a handstand, then uses gravity to swing around it before launching herself onto a nearby vertical one. Once there, she jumps off, swings herself around the half circle pole and launches herself onto a rock wall. The Brit then proceeds to climb, slide, jump, flip and maneuver around obstacles all around the gym. By the time Sam comes in to check on her, she is already on one of the moving platforms at the top of the room, ready to dismount back onto the poles that’ll get her safely to the ground.
“Wow, I forgot how nice the gym is here.” Sam states as she leans on the doorway edge, looking up at Lara. “Took me a second to find it.”
Lara jumps down onto the pole above the doorway, Sam watches her bicep flex as she lowers herself down to the floor in front of her. The American can’t help but stare at the taut muscles on Lara’s stomach as she lifts her shirt up to dab at her sweaty face.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been here. I’m surprised you remembered.”
Sam shrugs her shoulders while tearing her eyes away from Lara’s stomach. “I was determined to map out this part of the manor to memory. Your baby pictures are in the next room over, I remember the time Winston showed me some pretty adorable photos of you.”
Lara rolls her eyes. “You mean embarrassing.”
“If you’re talking about the one from your backyard when your skirt got ripped off as you adventured too hard and accidentally slid through a pile of thick mud…” Sam revels in the creeping blush that adorns the Brit’s cheeks. “Yes that is embarrassing, I could definitely blackmail you with that one.”
“Saammmm.”
“But it’s cute nonetheless.” Sam reaches out for Lara’s wrist and steals the hair tie off before tying up her wet hair into a high pony. “Come on, let’s spar for a little bit.” Sam walks past Lara grazing one finger across her hand as she heads towards the back of the room where the mats are.
Lara turns with a hand on her hip, tilting her head to the side as she looks at the back of Sam’s head. “Since when do you spar?”
Sam turns around walking backwards with her arms wide open. “I figured since we get into so much shit, why don’t I have my best friend teach me some moves.” Sam twirls back around stepping onto the mat and throwing a one two punch in the air. Lara’s lips quirk up amusedly as she catches up to her.
“Right, let's start with the basics. Jab, uppercut, lead round kick, straight, hook, rear round kick.” Sam follows Lara’s moves as they go through the first combo.
“Looking good Sam, let's adjust a few things though. First, when you are kickboxing, you want to stay on the balls of your feet for faster movement.” Sam switches to the balls of her feat and feels herself get faster as she runs through the motions. Lara’s impressed by her progress but notices something a little off. She comes up behind Sam and places her hand on her hip. “You’ve got nice footwork, let's try turning your hips a little more with the rear round kick. You’ll create more power that way.”
Sam does as Lara says, letting her guide her hips. The tips of Lara’s fingers accidentally slide under the hem of Sam’s shirt sendings shivers up her stomach. As the Brit starts sliding her hand away, the American holds her hand in place, smiling up at her flirtatiously. “Why don’t you show me again, I don’t think I have it down quite yet.” Sam looks down at Lara’s lips and back up to her dark brown irises in challenge. With a raised eyebrow and a playful grin, Lara shifts her right foot in front of Sam’s and delicately slides her fingers across her waist before getting in close. “I think you have it down just fine.” Before Sam can respond, the Brit quickly crouches down, grabs Sam from behind her thighs and uses her body weight to drop the American over her left leg and onto the floor. Taking advantage of Sam’s surprise, the Brit quickly climbs on top of her and pins her down. “You really shouldn’t get distracted when your attacker is this close to you.” Lara emphasizes by leaning down closer to Sam’s shocked face. As the seconds tick by, Lara’s victorious smile falters as she gets lost in Sam’s eyes. As she leans down for a kiss, Sam suddenly smirks and tugs her arms downward, out and around while hip thrusting Lara over her head. While the Brit tries to catch herself from face planting, Sam seizes the moment. In one fluid motion, she latches her arms around Lara, pulls their bodies close, and uses the leverage of her hips to flip Lara onto her back. Lara’s legs are wrapped around Sam’s waist as Sam rises up on her knees. “You should take your own advice.” Sam winks before detangling herself from Lara and helping her up. Forty-five minutes later Sam calls for a timeout as she walks towards the edge of the mat to drink some water. “I think I’m good for the day.”
“You did really well, are you sure you haven’t taken any classes?” Lara asks as she wipes her face with a towel.
Sam blushes and looks away. “I’ve watched a few YouTube videos.”
Before Lara can question her further, her phone rings. A beaming smile graced her lips as she answered the call and put it on speaker phone.
“Good Morning Jonah!”
A deep chuckle sounds over the speakers. “Good evening to you too! You sound cheery. I’m guessing the talk with Sam went well?” The Brits cheeks tint pink as her friend’s lips quirk up amusedly. Sam slings an arm around Lara’s shoulders and speaks into the phone.
“Yeah, we talked things out. We’re on speaking terms again.” Sam catches Lara’s timid gaze and beams happily easing her worry a little.
“Thank goodness.” Jonah replies. “I did not enjoy being the middleman between you two. Seriously, the amount of times you two have asked about each other, that talk was long overdue.” Jonah laughs heartily as Sam and Lara look at each other sheepishly. “Anyways, I’m coming back home next week with Abby. I wanted to ask if you guys wanted to come out to dinner with us. You finally get to meet her, Sam.”
Sam pumps her free fist in the air. “Yes! I can’t wait to meet the woman that makes you giggle the way you do now.”
“Huh? Do I giggle?”
“Yes you do.” Lara responds. “I’ve heard it at least a handful of times while we were in Paititi, it’s cute.”
“Well, I guess I can’t help the way she makes me feel.” Jonah says fondly.
“Who makes you feel what way?” Lara hears Abby’s pleased voice in the background.
“Lara and Sam are saying I giggle when I’m with you. And I was saying I don’t mind giggling like a little school girl if that’s how I feel.” Lara and Sam giggle while Abby chuckles on the other end. “You don’t giggle like a school girl my love, your voice isn’t high pitched enough for that.”
Lara and Sam hear chuckling and then a smooch on the other end before Abby starts speaking again. “Now, we have to go. We are going to be late for our reservation, chop chop. It’s always great to hear from you Lara and Sam, we’ll see you guys next week yeah?”
“Yes, we’ll put it in our calendars.” Lara responds happily.
“Bye guys, have fun tonight!” Sam adds with an implied wink. Everyone says their goodbyes before Jonah hangs up the phone.
“They are cute aren’t they?” Sam states as she starts playing with the Brits ponytail across her shoulder. “I’ve only talked to Abby over the phone but I like her for Jonah, I always see him taking care of everyone else, it’s nice to hear about it reversed for once.”
“It is refreshing to see.” Lara agrees. Her smile slips down into a thin line as the Brit recalls the first part of the phone conversation they just had. “Sam, are we ok?”
Looking into Lara’s eyes she can see the timidness emerging again. She looks away and removes her arm from Lara’s shoulders. “I think we are getting there. One day of talking some things out isn’t going to fix everything, but…” Sam takes both of Lara’s hands in her own. “It’s a start. I’m really glad you called me back.” As Lara gazes into Sam's eyes, all she sees is warmth and affection before the American lunges and wraps her in a tight embrace. Lara hugs her back with just as much force. “I’m never going to let you go again.” Sam whispers before leaning up to kiss Lara on the side of the head. The American lets go and steps out of the brunette's embrace, wiping her watery eyes. “Ok, I stink again.” Sam breathily chuckles. “I’m going to take another shower.” Sam turns on her heel and leaves the gym before Lara can get a word in. The Brit sighs and brings her hand up to rub the side of her neck, lost in thought. Eventually she shakes her head and grabs the towel, making her way to a different shower to get freshened up.
——————————————————————————————————————————
Lara’s in the kitchen plating her freshly cooked beans and toast when Sam walks in smelling like the citrus body wash that is held in the manors showers.
“Here, I got you some pizza from the fridge.” The Brit sets Sam’s plate down right next to hers on the island.
“Mmmm that sounds good right now. I am starving after our little sparring sesh.” Sam takes a bite out of the pizza and sighs in contentment. “So, what’s the plan for today?” Sam asks in between bites.
“Well, there are still a couple boxes we didn’t finish putting away in my bedroom. I was planning on finishing that up.” Sam dismisses that response with a wave of her hand. “Lara, it’s a Saturday, we can save that for tomorrow. It’s a beautiful day today, I say we should go bar hopping.” Lara laughs at the comment. “You do realize it’s only half past eleven right?”
Sam shrugs while taking another bite of pizza. “It’s 5pm somewhere.” She playfully grins.
“No you goofus.” The brunette chuckles.
“Fine.” Sam concedes. “How about we do lunch and a movie, then it should be late enough to go bar hopping.” Sam pauses to rake her eyes over Lara’s sports bra and sweatpants combo. “Don’t get me wrong you always look hot in whatever you wear but I’m thinking we should wear something a little fancier. After we go see a movie, we should eat at Oblix. Celebrate our rekindling.”
A slow pleased smile breaks out across Lara’s features. “Ok, yes let’s do that then.”
The two women spend the rest of their time eating and chatting. They decided they were going to go over to Sam’s place to pick out some nicer outfits since Lara doesn’t have much. As they step out the manor door, the brunette tunes Sam out when she hears rustling in the nearby bushes. Seeing nothing, she tunes back into the conversation when suddenly a click is heard to her right. Springing into action, she tackles Sam to the ground as a bullet whizzes past her and scrapes Lara’s arm. Suddenly two burly men rush Lara and zip tie her hands behind her back. Lara shakes them off and as a third man gets closer, Lara sprints towards him then jumps, planting her feet on the man’s chest and propelling herself back into the two men behind her knocking all four of them down to the ground. She grabs her knife that’s strapped beneath her sweatpants and holds onto it as she somersaults and runs over to Sam.
“Sam, we have to go!” The American, holding her head, tries to get up as fast as possible but it’s too late.
“I don’t think so.” The third guy gets up and points a gun at Sam while two more guys emerge behind the two women. One guy forces Lara down onto her knees and puts a gun to her head while the other one restrains Sam’s arms behind her back. It’s five masked people against two women. Not terrible odds but not the best either. Sam’s ears perk up at the German accent and she scowls as a fiery rage burns in her stomach.
“Nice to see you again Sam.” The person with the gun pulls off his mask to reveal a blonde haired man with a piercing cerulean eye and an angular jawline. He’d be pretty without the patch over his left eye and the long scar that protrudes downward from it.
“Frederick.” Sam grits out through her teeth.
“Sam?” Lara questions as she silently continues to cut through her ziptie.
“I’ll fill you in later sweetie.” Sam glances over and clocks what Lara is trying to do then stomps on her attacker's foot. When he doubles over in pain, she snaps her head backward, the impact shattering his nose with a sickening crunch. His grip loosens just enough for her to slip free. She pivots and delivers a powerful jab to his face, then spins behind her right shoulder, channeling the full momentum of her hips and torso into a devastating elbow strike to his jaw. He crumples to the floor, unconscious. She quickly comes after Frederick, noticing the other two goons Lara knocked down starting to get up. Sam stops in her tracks when he pivots his gun and shoots toward the ground right in front of Lara. Lara doesn’t flinch, just glares at Frederick as a smug smile creeps across his face. At this point his other two goons have already caught up and have drawn their silencer pistols on Sam.
“I just need you to come with us. And she…” Frederick says as he eyes Lara. “will be the perfect insurance for that.”
Sam shoots Lara a look silently asking if she’s ready. Lara nods subtly.
“Fine, I surrender.” Sam raises her hands up begrudgingly.
A victorious smile glides across Frederick’s features as he speaks in German to two of his goons. They walk closer to Sam, once one of them is close enough, Lara quickly grabs the gunman's shooting arm and twists making him shoot the second guy in the knee. As he screams in pain, Lara gets up and twists her body around her own attacker pinning his armed hand behind his back. Using his body as a shield, he screeches as she applies enough pressure to rip his shoulder out of his socket and take his gun as Frederick shoots bullets her way. At the same time, Sam grabs her shooter's arm and presses the tip into her shoulder. Once the shot rings out she grits her teeth and uses her hands to grab his shoulders to spear knee him in the chest, the force causing him to be pushed back into Frederick as they both collapse. Sam dives for the gun as it goes skittering across the ground, aiming the tip of the barrel towards Frederick only to find him struggling to get out from under the dead weight of two of his goons. Lara had thrown her meat shield onto Frederick, successfully pinning his gun arm to the pavement. Sam, holding her left shoulder, walks up to him and kicks him in the head knocking him out.
"I watched YouTube videos, complete bollocks! You've been taking Muay Thai classes.” Lara scoffs, her eyes drilling into Sam while she casually raises her gun to finish off the wounded goon who's foolishly aiming at her. “Could've just told me the truth, you know.”
“What are you so mad about?? Are you really angry I didn’t tell you? Or are you just frustrated because you weren’t in control this time around.”
“That’s— ugh—-whatever.” Sam rolls her eyes as Lara throws her hands up out of frustration before shaking her head, letting them fall down onto her hips. She looks over at Sam’s shoulder, eyes widening in surprise as she runs over to look at Sam’s bleeding wound. “Shit Sam! Are you ok?”
“Hurts like hell, nothing a hospital can’t fix though. Help me move these guys off of Frederick first. I need to see if he has his passport or wallet on him.” Lara does as she’s told and finds a wallet and three passports. “Great, let’s go. I’ll explain everything on the way.” Sam starts walking towards the car when she stumbles. Lara catches her and helps her upright again.
“I’m feeling a little woozy, carry me?”
Sam rests her head on Lara’s shoulder as she carries her bridal style to the car.
——————————————————————————————————————————
Sam wakes up in a hospital bed, her blurry vision focusing on a sleeping Lara slouched in the chair next to her. The American’s lips curl up sleepily.
“Morning sleepyhead.” Lara’s eyes jerk open at the sound of Sam’s voice.
“Hey, how’re you feeling?” Lara grins as she squeezes Sam’s hand.
“Well, my shoulder hurts less that’s for sure.”
Lara chuckles. “That’s good. I was worried for a second, you passed out on the way to the hospital.”
“It’s not everyday someone gets shot in the shoulder, unless they are you.” Sam teases.
Lara smirks at Sam when the doctor comes in with her clipboard. “Ok, Ms. Sam Nishimura. Your partner over here told me you got shot in the shoulder. Lucky for you the bullet passed cleanly through without hitting any bones. However your major blood vessel in your shoulder was ruptured which is most likely why you passed out. We sutured you up and with the proper care, you should be able to use full range of motion again in about four weeks time. I’m prescribing you some medications to take, you can get them on your way out tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks Doc.” Sam replies to which the doctor just nods and leaves the room. Sam then turns to Lara.
“Partner?” She smirks.
Lara shrugs. “That was the only way I could stay before you woke.”
Sam’s heart melts at the Brit’s protective nature. “You are adorable. So, how many kids do we have back at home?”
Lara’s eyes grow as wide as saucers. “Pardon??”
“Duh, you’re my domestic partner. We’ve been together long enough we probably have kids and pets at this point. I’m thinking, a little two year old named Toby and a little baby named Stacy.”
“Oh no. I would never agree to name our kids Toby and Stacy.” Lara pauses as she scrunches up her nose in thought. “Ok maybe Toby, that’s a cute name but not Stacy. And no pets.”
Sam slightly raises her eyebrows as she throws on a goofy smile. “I know you don’t like your aunts Corgi, or care about any other dog for that matter. But, I’ve seen you with stray cats before. When I would catch you reading in your secret spots at uni, there were many times when you had a little furry companion with you either lounging around by your feet or snuggling up next to you. I’m pretty sure I remember one time you were surrounded by literally five strays.”
“Well yes but, owning a cat and knocking about with a cat are two different things. Besides, I have a love-hate relationship with them now.”
Sam internally winces as she recollects the Brit telling her about her Jaguar attack. “That’s true, but kittens are cute and do less harm.”
Sam grabs her cellphone by the bedside table and searches up a really cute photo of a black and white kitten. “How could you say no to Mr.Snufflewufflpufflemufflekins.” Sam pouts.
Lara just stares at Sam and wrinkles her nose. “Never say that horrific name again. IF we got that cat and that is a huge IF, he’d be named Peter.”
Sam breaks out into laughter. “At least you gave in, we have a cat now.”
Lara releases a bemused huff, breaking into a reluctant smile. “I never gave in, I said if.”
“And we both know what your “if’s” actually mean.”
Sam beams from ear to ear while Lara props her head up against her hand and snorts. Her gaze lands on the American, noticing how her smile reaches her eyes, how relaxed her shoulders are, the way Sam is rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. She hasn’t seen her this carefree in a while. The two women start blushing as they realize how long they have been gazing into each other’s eyes. Sam looks away first.
“So, Frederick.” Sam lets go of Lara’s hand and fidgets in her bed. “He’s a one night stand gone wrong. I went out to a few bars after I recovered in Jamaica. I met him at one and you know me, I have a thing for European accents. We hit it off, he told me he was from Germany and he was on vacation looking to have some fun. I ended up taking him back to my place, we had sex and then I woke up in the middle of the night to him ruffling around in my clothes pockets. He was looking for my wallet and ID. I guess he got what he wanted because the next thing I know he rips me out of bed and puts me in a choke hold, he faces me towards the mirror and calls me “pretty girl” with this eerie smile on his face…” Sam pauses looking uncomfortably away, bringing her knees up to her chest. “It is a look I will never forget.” Shaking her thoughts away she continues on. “I grab his balls and try to rip them out of him so hard he lets go of me, then I kick him into a vase on the dresser in my room. The vase shattered, I grabbed a shard, got on top of him and tried stabbing him in the eye. I missed his eye the first time and he almost threw me off, but I was able to knee him in the face and use the opportunity to stab his eye out. He screamed, I grabbed a nearby robe and ran out the door with my ID and passport.” A weight pulls down at the corners of Lara’s mouth as Sam stares off into the distance, recounting what happened. The Brit climbs into the small bed and pulls Sam into her arms. “The thing is, I don’t think he was trying to kill me. He had a firearm, he could’ve just shot me in my sleep. That leads me to believe he wanted to abduct me instead.”
“Why would he want to do that?” Lara asks more so to herself.
“Remember when I told you I have been attacked by people who were heartbroken or angry over something Himiko did? I have to think it’s related to that. Himiko caused a lot of chaos in Germany, if this guy is actually from there, maybe we can pinpoint the “why”.”
“And that’s why you wanted his passports and wallet.” Lara realizes.
“Exactly. Gotta start somewhere.” Sam sighs. I wish I had my camera right now. I could be recording this whole brainstorming sesh we are having.”
Lara smiles and rests her chin on the top of Sam’s head.”Of course that is what you would be thinking about at a time like this.”
Sam snuggles closer into Lara making the corners of her lips increase in warmth. “I’m just saying, if I was able to film the fight we just had, a documentary on the life of Lara Croft and Sam Nishimura would be really interesting. Aren’t you glad I took self defense classes now?”
Lara chuckles. “You know, you never did answer my question. Why didn’t you just tell me you were taking classes?”
Sam, not willing to admit she just wanted to be close to Lara, was not about to get flustered by her again. She quickly straddled the brunette, resting her hands on her waist, keeping her face near her chest and slowly dragging the tip of her nose up from the base of Lara’s neck to her ear. She seductively whispers, “Maybe I wanted an excuse to have your hot sweaty body all over mine.” Lara tilts her head to give Sam more access as she parts her lips and softly exhales across her skin, ghosting her lips back down.
The Brit bites her lip silently as she tries to suppress the groan she feels rumbling around in her chest. She fears she’s going to lose the battle when Sam sneaks her hands underneath her shirt, tracing scorching patterns over her stomach when all of a sudden she gets off and back into the original position they were in. “Seriously though, you did actually teach me a couple things. I haven’t done any kickboxing so thanks.” She innocently pecks Lara’s beet red cheek before snuggling down onto her chest again.
“You’re killing me.” Lara mumbles affectionately.
“What was that?” Sam smirks against Lara’s chest.
“I am not saying it again.” Lara playfully rolls her eyes. Sam satisfactorily grins as she snuggles even closer into the Brit.