#or Sam gets the chance to save Lara!

[washingtonleagueoffurries]

While I was watching a playthrough of RE4 remake, I realized how the Leon-Ashley dynamic reminds me so much of Lara and Sam from TR 2013. Like, literally both games were about saving the girl who keeps getting taken away lol

[helloalycia]

𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐕𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐆𝐄 [𝐓𝐖𝐎] — 𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐓

one / masterlist / wattpad

summary: after managing to escape Yamatai, you’re left to deal with the aftermath of emotions it brings for you, whilst also trying to be there for Sam and Lara.

warning/s: same as last time, with the additional mention of nightmares.

author's note: here’s part two! hope the Lara enthusiasts liked this one :)

also just a reminder, Y/M/N = your mum’s name

"She'll be here, I know it," Jonah said with certainty, but it was looking more and more hopeless as him, Reyes and I stared into the distance at the colourful arrays coming from the monastery.

Sam had been taken again by the island natives and Lara had gone after her whilst Jonah, Reyes and I bought her some time, but we'd all promised to regroup on the beach and Lara hadn't returned with Sam yet. The storm that had been ravaging the island since we got here had cleared up, which could have only meant she'd succeeded in stopping the Sun Queen – but where were they?

After what felt like a lifetime, we spotted Lara approaching through the trees, bloody and battered, carrying an unconscious Sam in her arms. Jonah immediately leapt into action to help her, taking Sam from her arms, whilst I joined Lara's side and led her back to the boat. Reyes was quick to prepare the boat for our departure.

"What happened?" Jonah asked Lara what we were all thinking, setting Sam down in the boat.

Exhausted, Lara answered, "It's over. We can leave now."

Jonah and I exchanged worried glances as Reyes wasted no more time in setting off. Everybody was as tired as they looked, so we sat in silence, looking out at the water as Reyes steered us back to civilisation.

Thankfully, after a few hours, a passing freighter spotted us and took us in, giving us food, drink and first aid supplies to keep us going until we reached land. So much had happened in the past few days that seeing real people who actually wanted to help us felt impossible.

After getting some help with bandaging my arm up by one of the crewman, I noticed Lara approaching me on the lower deck.

"Thanks," I said appreciatively to the crewman, who nodded with a smile before leaving me be.

"Hey," Lara said softly, taking a seat beside me.

"Hey," I replied, offering a small smile. I noticed she'd had chance to clean up a little, but her skin was still littered with bruises and scrapes, and her shirt was soaked with dried blood. "How's Sam?"

"Resting," she said with a sigh. "Jonah is watching her."

I hummed, worried for my friend. She'd been kidnapped, tortured and possessed by an evil spirit – I could only hope she'd get the help she needed to recover when we returned home.

"I wanted to check on you earlier, but I was distracted," Lara admitted, finding my eyes. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, Lara," I assured her gently, before resting a hand on hers. "How are you doing?”

"I'll be okay," she said dismissively, making me exhale sadly. She was always minimising her own feelings, now more than ever.

"You really did it," I said after a moment, knowing now was the right time. "You stopped Himiko. Saved Sam. Defeated the Solarii. You saved us all, Lara. And I can't express how grateful I am for that."

She shook her head, pulling her hand back and sinking her face into her hands with defeat. "I didn't do anything. This was all my fault, Y/N. I shouldn't have insisted we come here."

I furrowed my brows, resting a hand on her back comfortingly. "You didn't know. And you got us out of it. We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you."

She frowned, eyes staring ahead, glazed over and lost in thought. It was obvious she was beating herself up about everything, but I refused to let her soak in self-pity.

Relieved she'd made it out alive and somewhat safely, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. She relaxed after a moment, tucking her head in my shoulder as if hiding from the truth, but I'd keep reminding her every day if it meant she'd listen.

"You're capable of a hell of a lot," I muttered, squeezing her gently. "I've said it once before and I was right."

She pulled back, cheeks tinged pink and eyes avoiding mine, though the tiniest of smiles was on her lips. I smiled at the sight, pushing a loose strand of hair from her eyes and admiring the view.

"I'm really glad you're here," she said quietly, dark eyes darting to mine briefly before she pulled back. "Obviously, I'd rather you hadn't experienced any of this at all, but–"

"I understand," I cut off the start of her probable never ending ramble. "Me too."

She pressed her lips together, looking down at the wooden floorboards of the deck. Despite all of the amazing things she'd done to keep us safe these past few days, she was still her awkward, adorable self. It was refreshing to see some things hadn't changed her completely.

Of course, that didn't mean the events at Yamatai hadn't taken their toll on us in other ways.

We were still a couple of days out from land, so the freighter crew were kind enough to give us all rooms to sleep in below deck. The second night was admittedly the hardest. I found myself reliving the horrors of the island all over again once my eyes closed, but it was worse than the previous night. Between murdering crazy cultists in self defence, being kidnapped, held captive and watching our friends die, my night was riddled with nightmares.

It became too much and I woke with a start, drenched in sweat and trembling with confusion as I couldn't make out my cabin in the dark. Realisation dawned on me – including all the events that led up to this moment – and I suddenly felt nauseous, bile rising in my throat. Without a second thought, I clambered out of bed and raced down the hall for the shared bathroom, just about making it to the toilet before I vomited all of last night's dinner up.

It burned my throat, but it wouldn't stop coming until I was eventually vomiting nothing but my stomach acid. A moment passed when I heard footsteps behind me and then hands held my hair back.

"It's okay," a familiar voice soothed, their other hand rubbing my back, and it took me a second to realise it was Lara.

Once I was finished, I sat back with exhaustion, my body aching from my bent over position, and gladly accepted the tissue Lara handed me.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked with concern, her face lit up from the sliver of artificial light coming through the porthole.

I didn't even realise I'd been crying until her thumb wiped beneath my eyes, and the touch suddenly reminded me where I was and how I looked right now, no doubt a mess before her.

Swallowing hard, I straightened up. "Sorry, I–"

"Don't apologise," she said, returning her hand to my back to comfort me, but the way she was watching me so delicately made my cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

"I'm okay, I–" I started, pushing her hand away and moving back slightly, but I was acutely aware of my dishevelled appearance and the stench of vomit.

"Hey, stop it–" she tried to reassure me, ever so generously, but I couldn't meet her gaze.

"I didn't mean to wake you," I mumbled, moving to stand up.

Pressing my lips together, I flushed the toilet before moving to wash my hands and rinse my mouth in the sink.

"You didn't. I was up already."

I tensed my jaw slightly, splashing my face with cold water before straightening up again, avoiding her eyes in the reflection of the mirror.

"What happened?" she asked gently. "Was it a nightmare?"

It felt so silly to admit that, but I was still in fight or flight mode and the thought of being alone right now was horrible. Instead, I nodded weakly, busying myself with the hand towel.

"Me too," she muttered, making me finally look to her, though with a mutual concern. "C'mon. I know what'll help."

I soon found myself following her down the hall, past our cabins and to the small, deserted kitchen area. She merely motioned to the booth in the corner before moving to fill the kettle. It turned out the simplicity of watching her make us both cups of teas in silence was more comforting than I could have guessed.

She joined me with our teas shortly after, pulling her legs up on the seat beside me and holding her mug for warmth. I mirrored her action, the two of basking in the silence and each other's presence. Though, despite Lara initially trying to be there for me, I was worried about her too.

"Are you okay?" I asked stupidly, glancing at her.

She chewed on her lip, eyes glued to her mug. "Honestly, I've been having these nightmares since we left the island."

I frowned, hand resting on her forearm. "You should have told me. You could have woken me up."

Her eyes lifted to mine. "So could you."

I sighed, knowing neither of us would ever burden the other like that. But I wished she would.

"It's over now though," she reminded me, her hand resting atop mine on her forearm.

"It is," I agreed halfheartedly. "But it won't go away. Not now."

"But it will eventually," she said with certainty, and I wondered how she still remained positive despite everything we'd endured.

I yawned tiredly. "I can't wait to go home."

"Same."

Quiet fell upon us once again, only the creaking of the ship and the distant lull of the waves to keep us company. Periodically sipping on my tea, I found myself laying my head on Lara's shoulder comfortably. Though, with that and the swaying of the ship and my general fatigue, my eyes were slowly closing.

"You're falling asleep," Lara whispered from beside me.

"Mmnot," I mumbled, hoping she'd drop it so I could actually fall asleep.

Unfortunately for me, she found this amusing and began to chuckle, making her shoulders move. "C'mon, let's get you to bed."

"Or we could just stay here," I said tiredly.

"You'll be comfier in your own bed, Y/N," she promised.

"I'm pretty comfy here."

She snickered once more, before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head. "C'mon, love."

I sighed disappointedly before forcing myself up, sliding out the booth. She was lovely enough to take me back to my cabin, leading my half asleep self to bed and even tucking me in.

"Goodnight, Y/N," she said, squeezing my hand and smiling down at me with amusement. "You'll be home soon, I promise."

I smiled tiredly, though my eyes were drooping shut. I wanted to ask her to stay, appreciating the comfort her presence gave me, but I didn't want to overstep. So, I had to settle for the moment I had with her before letting her leave for the night.

—

I'd never missed home more than I had now. As soon as I stepped foot in my family home, still living with my parents, I almost cried at the familiarity of it all.

I could never truly tell my parents what I'd endured, but they must have sensed something had gone terribly wrong because they were as supportive as they could be. Still, it wasn't the same as being with people who had gone through the same thing.

Lara and Sam didn't live far, only a tube ride away, so I visited them a few times whilst we were back. The only good thing to come out of this whole mess was my friendship strengthening with Sam and forming with Lara. They were the only ones who understood how I was feeling, though Sam was less reluctant to talk about it than Lara was.

I stopped by their flat a week after returning, with the intention of checking in on them but also bringing a bunch of leftovers my mum had made for dinner and insisted I shared with them. Lara was a terrible cook and Sam hadn't been herself lately, understandably so, so I was happy to make it a little easier on them if I could.

Once I knocked on the door to their flat, I heard someone on the other side before it opened to reveal Lara. She smiled softly when she saw me, eliciting a smile of my own.

"Y/N, hey," she spoke with surprise, before pulling me in for a quick hug. "I didn't know you were coming."

I returned her hug, admittedly already comforted by the subtle scent of her perfume. "Sorry, I should have called really. It was a last minute thing. My mum made some food for you and Sam and I just wanted to drop it off. If you're busy or it's a bad time, I can just leave you with the food."

"No, no, it's not a bad time at all," she assured me, tugging me into her flat and closing the door behind me. "I'm glad to see you. And gosh, your mum is just the sweetest. She really didn't have to."

I chuckled, holding out the bag of food. "Good luck telling her that."

Lara accepted the bag with a snicker before taking a peek inside. "It looks delicious, Y/N, thank you. I really need to meet the chef behind all this great food."

I followed her into the kitchen as she put the bag in the fridge, before glancing around the place. "Sam not in?"

At the mention of Sam, Lara sighed quietly, her smile fading. "No, sorry. She actually just left. We... we got into an argument."

I frowned. "What about?"

We both took a seat on the couch as Lara collected her thoughts, clearly still upset about their argument.

"Sam's been having nightmares," she said guiltily. "I know she has. I've even had to wake her from a few. But she won't talk about it with me. She's outright denying there's anything wrong. It's not right."

It was true that Sam was in denial about what she'd experienced, but I had at least hoped she'd been confiding in Lara about it, if not me. This definitely wasn't what I expected to hear.

"That's a lot to deal with," I sympathised, feeling a little guilty myself, and I wasn't even sure what for. That I had it easier? That I hadn't been possessed like she has? I didn't know. "But Lara, I'm sure she'll open up to you when she's ready. Everybody deals with trauma in different ways."

Lara frowned, jaw tensing. "But it's me! She's supposed to tell me what she's thinking! We're best friends, Y/N. She's never acted like this before."

"I know, but–"

"This is all my fault," she reminded me, voice breaking slightly. "I just want to help her."

I rested a hand on her knee, squeezing gently. "She knows you're here for her, but this is all frustrating. She's processing it on her own first, okay? You can't rush it. You have to go at her pace."

Lara hummed, eyes staring past me and into the distance thoughtfully. Whether she would listen was beyond me, but I hoped she knew I would be here for them both.

"Aside from that, how have things been with you?" I asked, speaking when she didn't.

Her eyes flickered to mine. "Not good. Not bad. I... Jonah checks in every other day. Reyes won't speak to me."

I frowned at this, though it was expected. She still blamed Lara for the whole trip.

"I spoke to Grim and Alex's families the other day," she continued halfheartedly. "Broke the news."

"That must've been hard.”

She smiled sadly. "Wasn't easy. But someone had to do it. Only felt right it was me."

I leaned on my elbow on the back of the couch, facing her sideways. "I would've sat with you if you'd asked. You shouldn't have had to do it alone."

She exhaled through her nose, eyes twinkling slightly. "That's sweet of you to say, but I wouldn't have asked that of you, love."

I gave her a disapproving look, but she brushed it off as she always did.

"How have things with your parents been since you got home?" she changed the subject. "Sam and I appreciate you always coming to check on us, but we would love to do the same."

"You're always welcome," I said lightheartedly, though I meant it. "My parents would love to meet you. Especially my mum."

She half-scoffed, frowning to herself. "I almost got you killed on an expedition. They wouldn't want to meet me. If they knew the truth, they'd hate me."

I quirked a brow. "Okay, firstly, my mum literally forced me to bring you all that food. You really think she does that for everyone?" Lara opened her mouth to speak, but I continued, "Secondly, they know the truth. Well, most of it. And they don't hate you for any of it. They'd love to meet you."

She pressed her lips together uncomfortably, looking down.

I tried to find her gaze as I said gently, "Thirdly, what happened in Yamatai wasn't your fault. How many times do I have to tell you?"

She didn't say anything, so I took her hand between mine, finally earning her attention.

"It wasn't," I repeated, needing her to believe me.

Her dark eyes softened as they held my gaze and I could have stared into them forever, but then she looked to my hand before slowly pulling hers back. I cleared my throat awkwardly, wondering what I'd said to make her so uncomfortable. I considered apologising, but Lara was quick to change the subject.

"Maybe I'll stop by soon," she said, referring to my house. "It's the least I can do for your mum."

"How about this weekend?" I asked hopefully. "You and Sam can come over for dinner."

"Oh," she said, surprised, and definitely not expecting me to ask so soon. "Erm, I–"

"Please?"

She blinked, glancing at me, before wincing. "I suppose we can."

I began to smile, excited. "Great. I can't wait."

—

"...nothing, not even a hint about it," I pleaded with my parents as they moved around the kitchen, prepping the last few bits for Sam and Lara's visit. "As far as this household knows, Yamatai didn't happen. I don't want to upset them. Or make it awkward. Or–"

"Y/N, we understand," my dad cut me off, squeezing my shoulder. "We won't bring it up."

"It's not you I'm worried about," I mumbled, glancing at my mum.

She only ever meant the best, but I worried bringing up Yamatai might set a bad tone for the evening, especially with Sam's reluctance to acknowledge everything that went down.

"I'll stay quiet, love, I promise," she assured me, though I couldn't be sure she would.

Just on cue, the doorbell rang and I was both delighted and a tad nervous, mainly in case my mum said the wrong thing. Still, I shot both my parents a warning look before going to answer the door.

"Sam, Lara!" I exclaimed with a smile when I opened the door. "So glad to see you."

"Y/N!" Sam returned with excitement, before immediately pulling me in for a hug. "God, it's good to be here after so long. I'm so looking forward to your mum's cooking."

"Wow. And here's me thinking you came to see me," I joked, making her chuckle as she pulled back.

"I think I see you enough," she played along. "I'm here for Y/M/N and Y/D/N."

I scoffed jokingly as she stepped inside, moving my attention to an uneasy-looking Lara, still stood in the doorway. Naturally, it brought a smile to my face and I quirked a brow.

"You coming in today?" I teased, stepping to the side.

She cleared her throat, nervous smile on her lips and some flowers in her hand. "I– yes. Sorry. It's good to see you, Y/N."

I chuckled as she stepped inside, closing the door behind them both.

"We bought some flowers and chocolates for your parents," she added, and I noticed Sam was holding the box of chocolates.

"That's sweet of you both, but you didn't have to," I told them knowingly. "Just you coming was enough."

They exchanged looks, making me laugh, and then footsteps were heard and my mum appeared in the hallway.

"Ladies, welcome!" she said brightly, before looking to Sam first. "Sam, it's so good to see you. It's been too long!"

"It has, Y/M/N, I'm sorry I haven't visited sooner," Sam returned with a laugh, before holding out the chocolates. "Hopefully these make up for it."

My mum looked at the chocolates with a cheeky smile. "My favourite. Of course it does."

Sam winked at me playfully, making me roll my eyes.

"And you must be Lara," my mum continued, expression softening. "I've been very excited to meet you, dear! Y/N has only said great things about you."

"Mu-um," I whined, cheeks flushing.

Lara smiled with amusement, nerves dissipating slightly, which I suppose was worth a joke at my expense.

"What? It's true!" she defended.

"It's lovely to finally meet you, Mrs. Y/L/N," Lara said politely, before holding out the flowers. "These are for you and your husband."

"Call me Y/M/N," my mum replied, before accepting the flowers with a chuckle. "You lovely ladies are spoiling us! Do mind my husband. He's just making sure the roast doesn't burn."

"I just wanted to say that we're also really grateful for all the food you've been sending over recently," Lara added with a small smile. "It's been a massive help."

"And it tastes beautiful," Sam added jokingly.

My mum began to smile sadly as she looked between them both and I knew what she was thinking. Please don't bring it up. Please don't bring it up. Please don't bring it up.

"I'm here to help in any way I can," was all she said, as I held my breath. Then when I shot her a look, pleading for her not to mention Yamatai with my eyes, she cleared her throat. "I'm gonna check on dinner. Y/N will take you to the dining room."

As she walked away, Sam and Lara seemed confused, so I attempted to brush it off as I took the lead to the dining room.

Soon enough, my dad joined us, introducing himself to Lara and reacquainting himself with Sam, before my mum brought out the dinner and we all dug in. To my relief, they both steered away from all things Yamatai, instead talking about work or family or anything else that wouldn't make them upset.

Sam settled in easily enough, as she always did when she spent time with my parents. I was more concerned about Lara, who initially didn't want to come tonight and was acting a little shyer than usual. Thankfully, she seemed to warm up to everyone as the evening went on, and I was glad my parents were able to put her at ease. They truly did like her, and contrary to Lara's fear, they didn't blame her one bit for our disaster voyage.

To make things even better, my mum went out of her way to truly help Lara feel at home by baking her a special dessert.

"Y/N mentioned you fancy a Jaffa Cake every now and then," my mum teased Lara as she brought out the cake in her hand and set it down, "so I thought I should make something special since it's your first time coming over. It's a Jaffa Cake cake!"

Lara stared at the cake with surprise, smile on her lips in disbelief. "What? Seriously?"

"This is literally her dream dessert, you know that?" Sam said to my mum with amusement.

My mum chuckled as she took her seat. "I figured."

Lara blinked, speechless, before her eyes glanced at me across the table, unsure. I nodded reassuringly, trying not to laugh, and then she looked to my mother with sparkling eyes.

"This looks amazing, Y/M/N, I don't even know what to say."

"You don't need to say a thing," my mum assured her. "Just dig in!"

Lara pressed her lips together, smile permanently fixed on her face in a way that warmed my heart.

After having some dessert and tea, my mum insisted on boxing up some leftovers for Sam and Lara.

"Sam, it's been a pleasure as always," my mum said with a smile, before offering her the food. "This is for you and Lara."

"Awesome," Sam mumbled as she accepted the bag, before hugging my mum. "Thanks, Y/M/N."

My mum laughed before looking to Lara. "Lara, love, it's been an absolute delight meeting you tonight. I hope we can see more of you. You're part of the family now!"

Lara smiled, cheeks turning pink. "Thank you, Y/M/N. I appreciate that."

I watched them both hug, always grateful for my mum's ability to put someone at ease.

After she and my dad wished Sam and Lara a good night, I walked them down the hall to see them out.

"Get back safe, yeah? Text me when you're home," I told them both.

"We will," Sam assured, before lifting the bag of food in her hand. "Can't wait to devour this tomorrow."

I chuckled tiredly, accepting her hug before opening the door for her. She stepped outside as I looked to Lara with a grateful smile.

"Thank you for coming, Lara. I'm really glad you did. It wouldn't have been the same without you."

"I don't know about that," she said with a slight snicker, before looking between my eyes patiently, "but thank you. I..."

I waited, curious, but then Sam interrupted, calling for Lara impatiently.

"Thanks for having me," Lara said quickly, aware of Sam's whining in the background, though a tender smile was on her lips. "Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Lara." I pulled her in for a brief hug, though my insides were spinning butterflies at the proximity.

She offered me a final smile before I watched her join Sam's side, the two of them walking away. I exhaled gently, closing the door and unable to clear my thoughts of Lara.

—

A few days later, I was over at Sam and Lara's flat, helping Sam do some cleaning and throwing some old belongings out. With Sam, this meant waiting for her to decide whether a possession was worth keeping or not, fighting her about it, then finally getting rid of the clutter.

As I was leaving another full box of belongings by the front door as Sam continued to dig around her bedroom, I heard keys jingling in the door. Straightening up, I saw Lara letting herself in, eyes finding mine with confusion.

"Y/N?" she said with surprise, shutting the door behind her and kicking off her shoes. "What are you doing here?"

"Just helping Sam get rid of some stuff," I said, before noticing her gym outfit and headphones. "You go to the gym?"

As if suddenly aware of her appearance, she glanced down before wiping the film of sweat from her face with her sleeve. "I– no, sorry, I'm all gross. I went on a run."

I chuckled, shrugging. "It's cool."

She cleared her throat, smiling a little, before saying, "I was actually meaning to call you so it's good you're here." When I lifted a brow curiously, she continued, "I wanted to thank you properly, for dinner the other night. Your family are really lovely and accommodating and I just–"

She paused, eyes flickering away momentarily, and I wondered what she was so nervous about, but I didn't want her to feel rushed, so I waited.

"It was the first time I've properly felt at home somewhere since, well, since I was a child," she continued slowly, awkwardly, and I hung onto every word.

"I'm glad," I spoke gently. "My parents love you. And I really enjoyed having you there."

She breathed out, nodding. "Even after everything... I'm glad it went well. I should have said as much the other night, but... yeah."

I couldn't help but smile at her adorable uneasiness. "No problem, Lara."

She swallowed visibly, eyes meeting mine briefly, before hesitating.

"What is it?" I asked, noticing she was holding back. "What's on your mind?"

She chewed on her lip. "I lost my parents young and I never had a family, not a real one. I had Roth, but he's..."

"Lara," I started, stepping forward with a hint of concern, but she shook her head.

I waited, and then she pressed her lips together. "Forget it."

Feeling bad for throwing her off, I started, "No, wait–"

"No, it's fine, I'm just rambling," she mumbled.

"Keep rambling," I urged, afraid if she stopped sharing now, she'd never do so again.

She paused, pursing her lips as she looked to her shoes. I watched the strands of her fringe loosen from her ponytail, covering her face for a moment, and fought the urge to push it out the way.

"It all seems so futile now," she admitted.

My confusion only grew. "What?"

Just when I thought she may stay quiet forever, she finally looked up, golden-brown eyes meeting mine. "I like you. A lot. I have for a long time now, but after everything... there's bigger things going on and it's a lot to admit. And I understand if you don't feel the–"

She was rambling again, already talking herself out of her admission, so I kissed her without thinking, lips catching ablaze when they touched hers. She froze, shocked, and I pulled back slightly, finally moving those damned strands of hair from her stunning eyes.

"It's not futile," I assured her, meeting her deer-caught-in-headlights expression. "I actually feel the same way."

She breathed out slowly, a small, hopeful smile forming on her lips. "You do?"

I mirrored her smile, nodding. "Do you know how hard it is to fancy someone who barely spoke a word to you?"

Embarrassed, she looked away. "Not any easier than fancying someone who you couldn't say a word to."

I chuckled. "Touché."

She licked her lips, nervous, before meeting my gaze once more. "Why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, it being my turn to be nervous. "I don't know... at first, it was because you didn't speak to me much so I didn't think you'd like me back. And then, like you said, after everything that happened... it was a lot. It didn't feel like the right time."

"How about now?" she asked hesitantly. "Is it the right time now?"

"It could be. If you want it to be."

She nodded. "I'd like that."

I began to smile. "Me too."

She smiled too, eyes flickering between mine before settling on my lips, and without another second wasted, she leaned in to kiss me. I closed my eyes as her finger curled around my cheek, pulling me close, and melted into her touch.

I could have stayed there forever kissing her, but the sound of Sam in the hall grumbling to herself about cleaning made us pull apart. I wasn't sure what would happen with the whole Lara and I and Sam thing, but Lara must have had the same thoughts as I.

"We keep this from Sam until we figure out what this is?" she proposed quickly.

I sighed with relief, glad we were on the same page, and nodded in agreement.

"Oh, Lara, you're back!" Sam noticed when she finally entered. "Great, you can help Y/N and I."

Lara's eyes twinkled with adoration as they lingered on mine before she gave Sam a convincing smile. "Sounds good, Sam. Just let me shower and I'll give you both a hand."

I smiled to myself as she walked past Sam and I, heading for the bathroom. I was still in awe.

I just kissed Lara freakin' Croft. Twice!

[vole-mon-amour]

I find Tomb Raider (2013) kind of ridiculous because all Lara had to do to save her friends was shoot Matthias when she had the chance (and she had more than plenty). Instead she's been shooting his goons and running after him the entire time.

Sure, she'd have to figure out about Himiko and how Sam and the storms are connected, but my goodness. This artificial stretch of the game is so eye rolling.

Plus, the goons show up out of nowhere in paces where Lana had to climb for at least 20 minutes. And when she blows up things, no one reacts. But when the script is triggered, there they are.

Also, Lara is skinny af. And wears a tanktop the entire game. She would've been freezing in the mountains during a snowfall, and she wouldn't made it to Sam during the ritual because the wind is basically a snowstorm there. She would've died there before getting to Sam.

C'mon, guys. Logic went out of the window in this game.

[simonxriley]

OC lore part 1 of 7 for @gear-redfield 

Since I have a ton of ocs I’m gonna start off with the ones that are in different fandoms and then work my way through the fandoms I have multiple ocs for. I think I’m gonna do 5-6 HCs for them so it won’t be a mile long. The other ocs I’ll go into more details (maybe).

Riley Sanders (Metro Series)

Has three Watchers for pets, they’re her babies. But there was barely any room on the Aurora for them until they ended up getting the other rail carts. They tend to sleep anywhere they want, mostly in place where they stop people from moving around the train. 

She’s not very talkative, likes to keep to herself for the most part. The people she talks with the most is Ulman, Artyom, Anna and Duke. That was until Katya and Nastya joined them. 

Being able to breathe fresh air was kind of liberating for her. It made her happy that there were placing where you can live and breathe on the surface, not stuck in the dark, cold and damp metro. 

Besides her and Ulman, Nastya was the first of the Aurora crew to hold their son. 

Her brother wasn’t with her when that whole issue on the train occurred. He has no idea if she’s alive or not and she vice versa. She’s hoping she’ll be able to see him soon and have him meet his new nephew. 

Amazing at stealth. Can sneak by a group or camp in a matter of minutes without killing anyone. 

Kenadee “The Viper” Taylor (Ghost Recon) 

She joined the US Army right out of high school with her high school sweetheart, Maverick. They married a year later and a year after that had their daughter Addison. 

Joined Delta Force at the age of 24. That whole selection process was rigorous but very rewarding. 

She has a very happy outlook on life, always bubbly. You wouldn’t think she’s apart of Delta. It throws people off every time. 

Lost her husband in the field when their daughter was 5 years old. She retired after that and moved back to her hometown of San Diego where she could raise their daughter in a better environment. 

Joined Nomad’s Ghosts five and a half years later. All thanks to Midas, who she met because their kids go to school together. 

Carries around a knife coated in snakes venom, only uses it during interrogations. 

Anja Kovic (Uncharted)

Was born to Borislav Kovic, a General Major in the Yugoslavia Ground Forces and Svetlana Kovic, a former nurse. Also the younger sister to Vladimir. 

She grew up in a highly abusive household under her fathers rule. He had that mindset of the men work and the woman stay home, then add on the strictness of being in a military family. 

Wanted to be a nurse growing up but those dreams got shot down when her father married her off to the war lord Zoran Lazarevic at the age of 18. 

Marriage to Zoran was horrific, she was just happy he spent more time in the field than with her. His death did not sadden her whatsoever. 

Lost her mother to suspicious circumstances when she was twelve. Leaving her and her older brother at the will of their father. 

After Zoran’s death she was finally free. She left for Serbia in search of finding her brother and during that time gave birth to her and unfortunately Zoran’s son, naming him Dragan. And yes, she did find her brother and became the nurse she always wanted to be. 

Evelyn “Evie” Hazelton (The Order 1886)

Was born to Edith Hazelton and an unnamed father in London, England on October 1st, 1860. (Her mom was a prostitute) 

She lived in a brothel up until her mom’s murder. She loved it, to be surrounded with so many women that helped her through her life, gave her advice and helped molded her into the woman she is today. 

Sir Percival/Malory gave her a spot on the Order after her mom’s death and she became the protege of Sir Galahad/Grayson. There she learned how to fight and shoot a gun. 

The first time she ever saw a werewolf she thought it was a big dog. It was late at night, she was young and couldn’t tell since it was in the far distance. 

Has a scar going down her back from being scratched by a werewolf during a fight. 

Very protective of the people she cares about. She was the only person who pleaded not guilty during Grayson’s trial because she knows him. She knew he wouldn’t have worked with the rebellion if it didn’t suit a good cause. 

Lydia Wilson (Call of Cthulhu) 

Her parents were apart of the cult that was trying to bring back Cthulhu. However, they left Darkwater when Lydia was five and moved to Boston. 

No matter how much her parents tried to make her forget the past, she didn’t. She still has memories of the cult, what the uniforms looked like, the masks. It never left her. 

Started hearing the voice of the Leviathan in her dreams once she hit her late 20′s. Eventually she caught wind of what he wanted and she set sail for Darkwater, a place she hasn’t been since she was five.  

Her father ran a tailoring shop and she helped a lot through her childhood. 

When she spaces out she has a resting bitch face. It makes her loo unapproachable according to her mother. 

The first time she saw the Shambler she though she was hallucinating. That wasn’t the case and she never wants to deal with it again. 

Lily (MCU)

Born on the planet Prometheus. A planet cover in lush green grass and waterfalls. 

Ever since she was a child she had this fight in her. She use to find a decent sized stick and pretend to fight a tree. 

Was married to Thanos for over 20 years. The only good that came out of it were her kids. 

Joined the Avengers after Thanos’ death. It was nice to be around people and strike up conversations. She just loved learning about Earth and she would talk about her home world. 

She was the first owner of the scepter until it was given to Loki. That made her angry, she really loved that scepter. 

The first person she befriended was Carol Danvers because her youngest daughter, Lotus really liked her. 

Ashlynn Davenport (Tomb Raider)

Was born into Trinity. Her father was a sergeant in the Trinity army and her mom was a nurse. 

She liked her life for the most part, loved her parents and friends, but the more she found out about Trinity and all the harm they do she wanted out. Unfortunately they didn’t happen when she was being married off to the Trinity field commander, Konstantin. 

Being married to Konstantin meant moving around a lot, never really staying in one place for too long. Once the mission was done then they moved on. She didn’t mind it, not at first. She liked traveling around and seeing the world, but the stuff Trinity did put a bad taste in her mouth. 

Ash can be quite manipulative when she wants to be. It was something she learned from her dad growing up. 

She helped Lara take down Trinity from the inside when they were looking for the divine source. No one figured it out, all of thinking it was Lara. 

Ashlynn actually loved Konstantin, she just thought his mind was corrupted by his sister and was trying to make him see what was right. So when he died she was pretty pissed and was going to say her true feeling to Ana. Unfortunately the Trinity sniper got to Ana first. Leaving her with a bunch of anger inside her. 

Sawyer Monrow (TLOU)

She was 12 at the time of when the cordycepts outbreak began. Her life was pretty great as well and then over night everything changed. 

Her family ended up at the Hartford QZ, where her and her younger brother went through military training (just like in Boston) to teach them how to kill infected and other humans if necessary. 

Met Joel and Ellie in Pittsburgh. She was with Henry and Sam at the time and after their deaths she stayed with them and made the trek to Jackson. 

She can be very standoff-ish at first glance. It’s how she acts in this apocalyptic world, more so to protect herself and because she doesn’t trust people. 

Started a relationship with Joel a year and a half later. He was the first person she really let in and was happy for the few years they were together. She even considers Ellie like a little sister. 

She lost her family when the Hartford QZ fell. She tried to save her brothers, but couldn’t. That still haunts her to this day. 

Phaedra Alexeyev (Werewolf The Apocalypse) 

She’s very good at backstabbing and manipulating people. All thanks to her former caern. A part of her hates it, but the other knows how in handy it can be. 

She was born at the Shadow Lords Thunderstrike Sept, Ural Mountains, Russia. Close to the city of Chelyabinsk. 

Phaedra and Cahal became a surrogate family after they both had to kill a family member. 

Always the first ready to jump into the action. When there’s a fight she’s on the front lines, she’s not going to miss out. And she just likes to fight in general. 

She born under a full moon making her have the Ahroun Auspices.The Full Moon makes the Ahroun the living weapon of Gaia. They are the warrior among a race of warriors, the champion of a martial people. Ever ready to kill, and to die if need be.

Her name means Bright Defender. 

Emma Ross (Stargate Atlantis)

Joined the Marines to help pay for her college tuition. She surprisingly enjoyed it and continued to serve as she got her degree in science. 

Lived a very mundane life growing up. Had two wonderful parents, a good upbringing, nothing exciting really happened. Which might have been the reason she joined the military. 

The hardest thing she has to do is lie to her friends and family when she was transferred over to the Atlantis expedition. Being so far away from them sucks, but with the Daedalus she has more of a chance to go visit them.   

As much as she’s in danger, she’s never felt more alive than being on Sheppard’s team. All the action just makes her blood pump. 

Ronon calls her ‘red’ due to her being a red head. She finds it kinda funny. 

She’s very friends and loves to strike up conversations whenever she can. Getting to know more people on Atlantis made living there easier. 

[oksana-moods]

Ghost of you - Part 13

Summary: The further Ghost investigates, the further she drenches in blood. And Ghost realizes she’s a fly in a spider’s web.

A/N: Sorry if I took so long. Promise part 14 will be here soon.

Trigger Warning: Violence (a lot), language, mentions of death… If you find any, I’ll be glad to add.

 “I'm prepared for this. I never shoot to miss.”

We left Nice early in the morning, arriving in our Hotel in Toulouse right after lunch. While Carol discussed the news with Nat and Steve, I made myself busy analyzing the bracelet. The rocks seemed genuine, just rare and mesmerizing. Everything about it screamed money, an awful big amount of money. This could be a piece of art. I put it in my arm, and nothing happened. No toxins, no poison, nothing trying to pierce my skin. Just a shiny harmless diamond bracelet destined to grace Carol’s wrist. A piece of star for a star herself. The moment we arrived at Théâtre du Capitole, the staff guided us to Greene’s box. It was bigger than I thought it’d be, with room for the Beauffort’s, Batroc, another two couples, Greene himself and us, his bodyguards would stay behind, of course. We had a frontal unrestricted view of the stage, probably the very best of the theater. After the pleasantries and greetings, we took our sits, and an earpiece found its way to my hand. When the show began, I understood why I had one, this was a business meeting. Hm, clever. They talked about money, resources, transports, then they started to plot an attack in London, to force UN’s hand in signing with Beauffort’s company. With this accord, Beauffort would be responsible for every single immigrant on Europe. We were halfway through the show when a new voice joined the conversation. “Can I offer an opinion?” His voice was loud, so this person wasn’t sitting among the audience. “I think that you people should find a better place to meet.” My brows were furrowed and soon a commotion was visible when people started to get up from their sits and walk towards the exit. One of Greene’s goons whispered something in his ear, but I caught ‘Interpol is here’ very clear, he sent a dark look in my direction and left the box, Beaufforts hot in his heels. I couldn’t afford having Interpol asking me questions, so I stood and picked Carol’s hand and started to walk out of the room to follow them, but we were delayed by the others leaving too. When we reached the hall, there wasn’t trace of Greene, so I pick the first set of stairs to find the exit. After a few flights of stairs, I heard Greene’s distressed voice. “This is on you, Jean. You brought her to me, and I let her in. He’ll kill me for this mistake.” That’s news, I never thought that Greene was the leader but a very high member of Spectre, but his fear showed me that he wasn’t that big or… their leader had history of being ruthless. Beauffort’s voice broke my train of thought. “She’s clean, Dom. She has nothing to do with this.” Thank you, Jean. And is true. We never contact Interpol with what we’ve found. Our feet touched the entrance hall just in time to see the deathly glare Greene shot at Jean. “I’ve made my mind, already.” I took the first door and dragged Carol inside with me to avoid being seen by them. “What do we do now?” Carol whispered. “I’m thinking.” She took a deep breath. Fuck. Who the hell called Interpol? Someone else was being investigated, I could only hope that they’d find out who until tomorrow. After all, tomorrow night we’d go to Chateau de Mercues to meet their ‘very important’ friend for dinner, I wonder if this friend is their leader. And something inside me says that yes, it is. “We’ll wait.” I turned to look at Carol. I realized my hand was still holding hers, so I let go. “We stay here and pretend that we watched the show until the end. I’ll call Jean later and see where we’re standing.” I licked my lips; my mind and heart were racing. This ship can’t sink now. We were so close. “We’ll be fine. As long as we keep together.” I said and Carol nodded. I just don’t know if I was trying to reassure her or myself. ------ “Are you okay?” I asked Carol while driving us to our hotel. “Just a bit tired.” Carol being tired was unheard of, but this past week was demanding a lot, from both of us. We were on edge, chasing an invisible enemy, completely out of our elements. I was about to reply when I saw a car from police signaling for me to stop. Something was off. I instantly felt my bones cold and by Carol’s expression, she felt too. They asked for us to step out of the vehicle and we complied with their request. What was going on? There were two of them, one was talking to me and the other had his hand around his gun in his waistband, like he was ready to draw it. We were two women, visibly unarmed, we were no threat to him. This is no good, something is definitely off. God, I’m glad Carol is bullet proof. Obeying his demands, I opened the trunk, and my blood ran cold in my veins when I saw Jean’s very beaten body laying inside. Fuck. This was enough for them to draw their guns and aim at us, the first cop yelled for me to pick Jean from the trunk and so I did. With the movement, he opened his eyes revealing he was still alive but before anything I heard the gunshot hitting him in the back, I pushed him towards the second cop while I hastily broke the first one’s hand, expertly picking up his gun and shooting them both dead in a blink of an eye. Everything happened so fast that Carol was looking at me as if trying to understand the last ten seconds. Before I could reach Carol, I heard Jean coughing, so I crunched beside him. “Is Lara your name, at least?” I nodded to him, my voice caught in my throat, and he gave me that signature sly smile stained with blood. “I liked you. Truly.” He manages to speak. “I’m sorry.” I just don’t know what for. “Run, Lara. Run from this. He’ll kill you…” He coughed blood but kept with his final words. “He’ll kill her.” He softly pointed at Carol with his head. “Tell Debra… that I… I’m sorry.” I saw the light leave his eyes, the familiarity of this hitting me hard. The light always leaves their eyes, but they still look accusatorily at your soul. I closed his eyes and looked inside his pockets for his wallet. Took the money, his watch and asked Carol to jump inside the car. “May your soul find peace.” I mumbled to his body and ran to the car. Minutes later we arrived at the safety of our room. Fuck. Greene set us up.

After we arrived, Carol barely changed her clothes and crawled to bed, claiming she felt being drained. She had a fearful look, and I couldn’t help but think that this was so out of place in her. I was at the door that joint our room with the balcony, I had a perfect view from the door or from the outside in case anyone tried to come flying to caught us out of guard, I stayed the whole night up, but nothing happened. The waitress served our breakfast in the morning and other than that no one came after us. The tv was on, I was looking for any news about last night, nothing yet. “How can you listen the tv? Is extremely low.” Carol’s voice startled me; she had that soft raspy morning tune after waking up. Goosebumps successfully climbed my back and arm. I flashed her a small smile. “Enhanced hearing. Nothing big, though, just a bit more than a normal human.” I lifted a mug with coffee at her. “Feel like eating?” She nodded and climbed down the bed and went to the bathroom to get ready. When she came back, there was a mug with fuming precious liquid and a plate with fruit in front of her chair waiting for her. “Thanks.” She mumbled and I just bowed my head. “Anything yet?” She asked. “No. Nothing in the newspapers either.” I said putting the pieces of paper aside. “Last night… You picked Jean’s money and watch… why?” I sipped from my cup and replied. “That way when the cops find their… bodies, they would think about a possible robbery first. And we’d have time until they come after us.” I felt so uneasy discussing this with Carol. Is not that I felt I’d ever have any chance, but I didn’t want her thinking that I am a cold blood murderer. Too late now, I guess. “How did you think about it? It was too fast.” If she was disturbed because I just killed two cops, she never showed. A weak smile showed itself in my face and I shrugged. “I saw it in an old spy movie. My friend Sam used to like it, a lot.” It’s been years, but I think I’d never stop remembering Sam or Wanda all the time, God, how I miss them. My thoughts were interrupted by a hand reaching mine, I looked up to see Carol’s soft eyes at me. “I’m sorry. I know you miss them.” I wanted to draw back my hand, for her skin was burning mine. “It’s not your fault.” I replied with a small voice, but she squeezed my hand then let go. “I should’ve known about… Thanos. I should’ve been here… with you.” With me? My mind went blank. What did she mean with this? Like being save by the bell, my phone rang, checking the caller id showed me it was Natasha. “Hey Nat.” After minutes explaining what happened the night prior, Steve was perplex with the things I did. “I can’t believe you killed two officers. What were you thinking?” “They were dirty cops, Steve.” I sighed, suddenly realizing how tired I was. “You can’t kill people because you think they’re dirty. And how can you be so sure?” He asked, still pissed and I’m sure he’s right. Just because I’m an Avenger, I can’t do whatever I want. Steve was right. I just can’t bring myself to care, I did what I had to do to protect Carol and I. “Because If they wanted to rescue Jean, they wouldn’t shoot at him when they saw he was alive. This was a setup, Steve. They were ready to draw their guns and they shot Beauffort while trying to shoot at us.” “Are you hurt? Carol?” Natasha asked, concern lacing her voice. I could feel Steve pitching the bridge of his nose, trying not to burst at how stupid I was. “No, we’re fine. Thanks.” “Okay. You two come back and we’ll contact NATO and explain what happened, maybe we still can…” “What?” My voice spoke as if on her own accord. “We can’t go back now, Steve. They’re planning an attack. Haven’t you listened?” I know he was mad, but this? London could be attacked in days, maybe less. “I listened very well, Mav. You’re acting like you run the world, but this is not how we do things! We’re not Hy..” “Don’t even finish this sentence, Rogers. We’re not Hydra, believe me, I know. But I remember when we fought against the Avengers. When we went rogue because you thought you were right, and I believed you, trusted you. And now I know I’m right.” I couldn’t believe he was trying to compare my attitude now with the one I used to have when I was with Hydra. “I’m… I never wanted…” He was out of words; he probably never expected such outburst, but we don’t have time to dwell on such things as past, or… I don’t know what he was implying. “Look, I know what I did was wrong, but that was a choice I made and is up to me to work this through. But we need to focus on what’s at stake here.” I ran a hand through my hair, and I was looking at the phone screen like I could appear at the other side. “We need to keep pushing this. Is the only way.” Even with such small screen I could see Natasha shaking her head. Shit. “No, Mav, you’ve been compromised. They probably recognized you.” I could see Steve agreeing with her. “They sent two cops after us, Nat. If Greene knew who I was, I’m sure he would’ve sent the whole squad.” She looked at me through the phone, but I could see she was thinking, she slowly nodded her head. That’s it! I knew she would see reason. “You’re right. Only Lara is compromised. Still, you need to come back. Is safer this way.” “C’mon, Nat?! You can’t possibly think this is right. What about the attack?” Steve spoke for her this time. “We’ll call the authorities; they’ll work with all the data we’ll send them.” This wasn’t right. It was obvious that they wouldn’t work fast enough. “Steve, what if this isn’t good enough, what if they don’t work fast with all the intel?” He sighed, his telltale that this conversation was over. “They’ll have to.” I closed my eyes and sighed. I couldn’t agree with this. “Mav…” Nat’s voice made me open my eyes and look at her. “We’ll work this through. But we need you two back here in safety.” I nodded at her and she smiled softly. “There’s a flight home in 6 hours, I just bought a ticket for you, girls. We’ll talk when you’re at home.” She sent me one last look, almost pleading for me to be in that plane and I just nodded. “See you in a minute” She finished with a small smile, and she hung up. We would be in that flight, of course. But six hours gave me enough time to attend one last meeting with Greene. “I’ll take a shower.” I said to Carol, who was stunned with our exchange. --------

“Where do you think you’re going?” Carol’s voice startled me at the door. My hand still at the doorknob. “I still have a meeting with Greene. We have a business-lunch scheduled for today.” “But Natasha asked…” I never let her finish her thought. “I know what Nat said. I still have few hours before the flight.” She licked her lips, she was nervous. “But what if he recognized you or try something…” I sighed and pushed away from the door and walked towards her. “Hey, look at me...” Her eyes were locked in mine, making butterflies dance in my stomach. “He won’t hurt me. If anything were to happen, I’ll call you. Is that okay?” She was conflicted and the battle inside her head was visible. She was worried and so was I, but people’s lives were on the line. I couldn’t just sit and wait. “Promise?” She asked softly and my hands found hers, with a light squeeze I let them go. “I promise.”

Greene’s manor was in the outskirts of Toulouse, it was big and beautiful and completely isolated from the other houses. While driving, I devised a plan of action. I would go as if nothing had happened and wait to see his next step. When I arrived at the gates and the security let me inside the property without asking many questions. Hm, maybe it wasn’t Greene who set me up?! However, this thought was soon forgotten, because when I closed the car’s door a fist came in my direction which I easily dodged and kick him down. When I saw a gun aimed at me, I knew that there was no other way around, I’d have to fight to get out of this. I was indeed compromised.

Twelve bodies later, I arrived at Greene’s main room. He was waiting for me, and he wasn’t alone. Batroc was standing by his side with his wicked grin. “Ah, I knew you’d come.” Greene spoke with a cynical grin in his face. “If you knew, why aren’t you prepared?” My comeback was sassy, but dread was roaming in my bones. “I don’t need anyone, except Batroc here.” He said motioning to the man besides him, who started to charge at my direction and before I could even think he knocked me to the ground. Fuck. He was strong, almost strong as Steve was. Who is this guy?

He was trying to break my windpipe with his hands, but after a swift movement he wasn’t pinning me anymore. He came fast and strong with his punches, kicks and different moves, I didn’t know if he was fighting or dancing. I dodged or blocked most of his blows and I got few in. He was fast, but I was faster. His nose was already bleeding when he managed to kick my legs and my back hit the ground once again, before he could try anything else, I kicked his legs and his back found the floor too. I heard gun shots, but my opponent had my undivided attention. All at once, we were fighting on the floor, gripping each other’s legs and arms. Twisting and crawling, pulling and smashing… until he pushed me and tossed over his shoulders, and I hit something sharp when my back hit the table. Fuck. I saw blood dripping from my shoulder blades. With a grunt, I pushed myself off of the sharp edge and got to my feet, right in time to see Batroc charging like a bull. I jumped in his torso, twisting my body in the air making him fall against the broken table, the sharp edge now impaling his back and the tip was coming out of his stomach and he was stuck.

Another gunshot and I stumbled backwards. I looked down and saw my shirt stained with blood in my stomach area. Huh, I fucking hate Greene. I charged at him, he tried to shoot again but I was incredibly fast, even wounded, I took the gun from him and punched him to the floor. Before I could even muster my first question to Greene, I saw Batroc setting himself free from the table. How is he up? I turned and shot him twice in the chest, and with that he fell dead on the ground. I looked at my feet, only to see a very much wide-eyed Greene staring at me like he saw a ghost. Hm, he definitely saw the Ghost.

“I can’t believe you’re real.” His words caught me completely out of guard. “What you’re talking about?” His nose was bleeding and staining his mouth and shirt, but he kept that cynical smile, and my blood was boiling. He screamed after I shot his tight. Good. I wanted to wipe that smile from his face. I picked a chair and sat in front of him. “What the hell?” He screamed clutching his leg. “I asked you a question.” I replied with a flat voice, as if I was asking a trivial question.

“He told me about you. About your arm…” He half laughed and that dread came back to embrace me like a wave. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with. You are a kite dancing in a hurricane, Ghost.” How does he…? I got up and picked him by his shirt. “How do you know this name?” He laughed and I punched him once, twice, and again until blood was covering my metal hand. “You don’t know what you’re looking for, but he’ll come to get you.” I hit him again and again, I just wanted him to stop. “Enough with these riddles. Stop!” I screamed at his face, but he coughed and spat blood on the ground, and he had that smile again. “Look at all these bodies in your way…” He blinked like in deep thought. “Tsc. Is so sad Carol isn’t here to see the type of monster you are.”

At this I felt self-conscious, I used the back of my flesh hand, the one holding the gun, to clean the blood from my lip. “Don’t bring Carol into this.” My voice was so weak, suddenly I felt weak, so I sat in the chair again. “What?” He kept saying with a smile on his face. “You thought she could love you?” My head snaped at his direction. “I never thought…” I began to speak but he stopped me.

“Aah. Please, I saw the way you looked at her. Your desire burned in your eyes…” He coughed one more time, he was paler since he was losing too much blood. “I can see it right now… But she’ll never be with you. How could she? You’re a disaster, you are death… wherever you go, there’s a trail of blood behind.” I tried to run a hand in my hair, but blood and sweat made it impossible. “Stop or I’ll…” He laughed. “Or what? Kill me?” His smile never faded from his mouth but never reached his eyes. “I’m already dead. You are too.” I got up to my feet, suddenly, too restless to stay in that chair. “The only difference is that I’m aware and you’re not.” I walked in his direction. “I said for you to stop!” Focus… Focus… Breathe. I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and turned to Greene one more time. “London. Tell me about the attack.” His eyes focused on me again. “Trying to pretend to be the hero, hm?” He tried to move his body to a comfortable position, but he was too weak, so he gave up. “I don’t know the details…” He sighed. “Is due in a couple of days, maybe in a big event.” I closed the distance between us and punched him again. “Stop lying. Stop with riddles.” When I let him go, he coughed and looked at me dead in the eye. “I’m not lying. We got interrupted last night. We’d discuss this tonight, at the Chateau de Mercues.” Finally, something useful that I can work with. I took a few steps back. “Who else will be there?” He flashed a cold smile at me. “Everybody.” I was about to press further when I heard a faint noise of sirens, and I’m sure they were coming this way. Greene heard too. “Guess we finished here.” He managed to sit against the wall while speaking. “Finish me off. I’ll be only another name on your body count.” I growled at him. I didn’t like the way he talked about me, like I was a wild animal. “I’m not like you, Greene.” I turned to fully look at him. “Oh, of course you’re not like me. You’re worse. You’re the cold murderer they made you to be.” He hissed at me. “Devil created you, Ghost, but I’m not even sure if you’re going to hell or worse.” I shook my head, I had enough of this. I pressed the trigger, but nothing happened, the magazine was empty. I dropped the gun and walked towards him, felling slightly better when he shrank under my glare. “Well, when you see the devil, tell him that I’m not far behind.” Faster than a bullet, my hands moved around his head and a soft snap came from his neck. I got up to my feet. I grabbed his phone and ran down the stairs, the sirens were much closer now. Fuck. This is bigger than I thought. Fuck. Steve was going to kick my ass.

[leviiackrman]

The Encyclopaedia of a Design Students Imagination

Part 5: Jess Carter-Drake (Uncharted)

Part 1: Ophelia | Part 2: Spectre | Part 3: Una | Part 4: Isaac

Notes: there was wayyyy too much to include in her bio, so if anyone is ever interested in a longer writing of her story I can look into it!! anyway this one is long haha (she has been 4 years in the making...)

Words: 1,774

Tags: @chuckhansen​ @simonxriley​ @ciriofcintras​ @noonvvraith​ @ginadotjpg​ @ayrennaranaaldmeri​ @missdictatorme​ @callumtvrner​ @emuzeek​ @tommymillers​

Having been born to a family of adventure, Jess was raised in Britain with the knowledge of treasure hunting; the lifelong profession of her father. With her sister Molly and Brother Aaron, the siblings had an average childhood – but with their fathers interest in history and travel, it soon became apparent where Jess’ attention really was focussed.

Over the coming years, she had followed her mother’s advice of keeping safe as best she could by choosing to study History at university; rather than pursuing her dream career alongside her father. At the age of 19 – while travelling home at night with her father – the two were struck by a truck, resulting in a terrible crash that unfortunately took the life of her father. Out of fear of being his distraction, Jess was terrified to go home, and so fled the UK where she lived on the run for a year or so.

---

Before long, she had made her way to Panama with the little money she had earnt from ‘trading’ goods – a thief’s term for stealing and selling on. Upon finding a decent venue to next smuggle from, Jess planned her approach carefully, but was caught by another shady figure attempting to rob the same Museum. Caught off guard by his presence, she failed to notice his gun before he shot the approaching night guard; fleeing out the window and creating the perfect sabotage for the young girl.

She was arrested shortly after and was thrown into the local prison. Surrounded by crooked smiles and wandering eyes, Jess found herself alone in her prison cell, the only place available being in the male quarters. But after all she was a murderer, so why shouldn’t she be with the worst of the worst – right?

With her new reputation on her belt and the guards not wanting another incident, they kept her separate for a while, until one day she overheard the guards complaining of a broken radio and offered her assistance. It took little persuading to be allowed inside their office – much to her disliking – before showing how the device could be fixed. Deciding she had more use than a treat for the eyes, the guards ordered her to work more around the prison, fixing light switches and other devices.

Within a year she had found herself comfortably wandering around the prison, tool kit in hand onto her next job. A set of lights in B wing had blown during the night, and while fixing one set, the guards ordered a search and sweep of the cell block. Those who refused to move were beaten – horrifically. When the man to her side refused to move, she made her best effort to avoid watching what was about to transpire. Seeing he was clearly in pain rather than being stubborn, she jumped down from her ladder as the guards left to get the man in charge, pulling him to his feet and returning to her station before they returned.

It didn’t take long for this mysterious man to find her, questioning her relentlessly on why she was even there. With the agreement to keep their personal lives and motives to themselves, the pair formed a close bond within the next year, sneaking many moments together without raising the guards suspicions.

---

2 years into her encapsulation, Jess was discovered within the prison and bailed out by none other than Rob; her father’s best friend and professional partner. Concerned for where she had disappeared to, he tracked her down, releasing her from prison and taking her back to the UK. Although relived to be free once more, Jess was adamant she didn’t wish to return home; begging Rob to take her elsewhere so she didn’t have to face the grief of her mourning family.

He agreed to take her somewhere private – somewhere she could be trained to fulfil the career laid out before her. Not knowing where she was going, Jess arrived at Croft Manor where she was introduced to the one and only Lara Croft. With their fathers having been close affiliates in earlier years, Rob was keen to see the 2 work together and learn from one another. Within the next several years – when Jess was now 24 – she had learnt a lot from her new friend (and lover, for a time), but wished to begin travelling again, missing the thrill of causing trouble.

With some solid contacts up her sleeve, Jess was able to make a name for herself within the business, becoming noteworthy to those around her. Aspiring to complete the works her father could not, she was approached by Elena Fisher – and inquisitive reporter keen to learn more of her travels. Over time the two became extremely close, their friendship lasting for years after. Introduced to other notable faces in Elena’s circle, Jess continued to work independently until she was unexpectedly recruited to help discover the location of one Henry Avery’s forgotten treasure.

With a hefty price laid out in front of her by her new employer Rafe Adler, she successfully acquired an old St. Dismas Cross, only to later discover it was worth a lot more than he was paying. Determined to earn a fair wage for her efforts, she donated the artifact to the Rossi estate, where she could witness the auction herself. While searching the venue as any good pick pocket would, she ran into Victor Sullivan – another acquaintance of her father’s she had met many years prior. Knowing of his shady business, his appearance piqued her interest and she soon discovered his plan alongside the infamous Drake Brothers.

---

Locking herself in an office to capture the thief who stole her cross, she could hear the commotion in the main hall of all the attendants being escorted out. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one who chose this hiding place. Appearing from the shadows was a taller gentleman, almost definitely in communication with Sullivan, but didn’t resemble that of Nathan. Not wishing to waste time, she carefully staged the scene – a frightened guest wishing to escape the havoc outside and was graciously saved by the incredibly handsome stranger, blah blah blah.

With his interest now focussed on her, she swiped the cross and began to run; only to end up having a full blown brawl with this stranger to win the cross. The playful flirtation expired and her patience diminishing, she instinctively threw them both through the office doors and out into the hall where the rest of the shooting was taking place. Not wishing to die for nothing, she took her chance to run; leaving the cross behind but carefully watching the exterior so she could follow the boys on their way out.

---

It took a lot of persuasion, but as she explained her situation when approaching them at their hotel, her connection to Elena soon had her welcomed into the group. Sam on the other hand, not so much. Not knowing one another’s names, the years since they had met had faded their memories of one another without them knowing, and in doing so created a tension that lasted a good while into their adventure. Through-out their countless travels and endeavours, the group grew closer, taking each hit in stride and instinctively defending one another. The tension between the eldest Drake and the young explorer soon faded, this forgotten connection arising once more the longer they worked together.

With countless lies revealed along the way, Jess and Sam’s past was soon revealed to them when Rafe held them captive – finding humour in the fact the pair had no clue. Determined to leave Libertalia alive, Jess tried hard to persuade Sam to leave with them, promising more fruitful adventures in the future. Although sustaining a good few new scars along the way, the events of the past few months drove Sam and Jess increasingly closer to one another, keeping in close contact thereafter.

Aware of their past and the position Sam was now in, Jess helped him as much as she could to rebuild his life outside of prison. Over time they spent more time together, soon developing a secret relationship they thought would be fun to keep from the others, until eventually all their close friends knew. Within the first year of being together, a rift surfaced between them in the form of Jess’ ex colleague – Abigail. Successfully snatching Sam away, Jess left sam when she heard of him cheating, feeling empty for months after. Despite this, the two of them were able to work past it, her heart always slightly fragile around him even years into their relationship.

When things became more stable again, the mysterious stranger from Jess’ past in Panama returned, unveiling himself when he kidnapped both of them. Oscar – the man then revealed as the one who murdered her father – wanted to finish his business with the Carter family for good by employing Jess and Sam to find the missing relics of The Fountain of Youth – her father’s most precious job he could never complete. While not wanting to cause more troubles, they followed their orders while held captive, until at the last minute they saw an opening to escape, fighting off their attackers and trying to flee the area. In doing so, Jess was stabbed in the lower abdomen with her own blade, slowly dying in Sam’s arms as he struggled to get her back to a hospital.

---

Recovering from her injuries, they both returned home to live out their lives together, settled in their own apartment together close to Nathan and Elena. Although not certain that marriage was for them, when a sudden job was presented to Sam that he just couldn’t turn down, the 2 committed to marrying, having a small gathering with their closest friends and family.

With many obstacles in their lives, their individual lives work completed and having been successful enough to worry no more, the couple settled further into their lives together when surprisingly Jess became pregnant. Unsure of how to handle the situation and both nervous of what was to come next, they worked to have the birth of their son Tobin not upset the comfortable lifestyle they had built for themselves. As her grew older, they became more comfortable in their new world of parenting, leading to them having another but this time a little girl by the name of Natalie.

Suspense, danger, and tragedy; all ending in a fulfilled and peaceful life spent by the coast as their children grew older, their fears behind them and the comfort of each other guiding them through the final chapters of their lives together.

[sceptilemasterr]

MW Act 3, Scene 3 - It All Comes Together

Title: Most Wanted: The Hollywood Killer (A CIU Screenplay)

Main Pairings: Dave x Sam

Other Pairings: N/A

Genre: Full Rewrite

Rating: PG-13 for violence, blood, swearing, alcohol, and sexuality

Summary: Dave discovers the meaning behind the clues he has gathered, with the help of the analysts and Rebecca.

Previous Scene: Mist Encounter

Masterlist: Link

INT. L.A.P.D. STATION - CRIME LAB - NIGHT

Dave cautiously pokes his head into the crime lab, with Rhea following close behind.

DAVE: ...Hello?

REBECCA: Dave? What are you doing here so late?

Dave visibly relaxes when he sees Rebecca, Nikhil, Reza, and Mirasol all working late, with not a hint of Captain Beckham to be found. A familiar small furball--the dog from the trailer park--sits curled up at Rebecca’s feet. Dave and Rhea walk into the lab.

DAVE (shrugs): I could ask you the same question. Beckham isn’t here, is she?

NIKHIL: That question is never followed with a sensible, rational suggestion, is it...

MIRASOL: What he means to say is that, no, Beckham isn’t here.

REZA: Wait, let me guess: you’ve hit upon some grand, unifying clue, some theory to tie all of this together that will solve our case in--

He catches sight of Rhea, and immediately falters in his speech.

REZA: Er... I mean... you know, we could fix all our problems if... uh...

The others all laugh.

MIRASOL: Ah, the traditional awkwardness of a man smitten with love for--

REZA (blushing furiously): Mirasol!

Dave steps forward and sets his collection of clues onto the desk, just in time to save Reza and Rhea from any further embarrassment. The dog looks up curiously.

PUPPY: Mrrr?

NIKHIL: ...What’s all this?

DAVE: Everything I’ve got on the Tull case.

REBECCA: Never mind me, then. I’ll just keep working on my case... you know, the one we were supposed to be doin’ together...

DAVE: Come on, Rebecca. You know I’d still be working with you if it weren’t for Beckham--

REBECCA: I know. It’s just... (sighs) Forget I said anything. Just focus on Tull. The sooner you catch him, the sooner you can get back to helping me out.

She leans down and scratches the dog behind his ears. The dog murmurs contentedly.

DAVE: Look, I’m tryin’ to do exactly that! And speaking of which...

Nikhil picks up the patch and examines it curiously.

NIKHIL: I assume this is the part where you elaborate further on all of this?

He sets the patch down and looks at the notepad, pushing it toward Nikhil.

DAVE: The patch came from Tull’s jacket; the rest of it was from his trailer. Any chance you could restore the top page of that notepad?

NIKHIL (incredulously): Surely you’re joking. (beat) Give me five minutes.

He takes the notepad and swivels his chair back toward his workstation, passing the pad underneath a device next to his computer.

REZA: That looks like it’ll take a while. I have to say, Dave, I’m noticing a particular someone’s absence from tonight. What happened to Sam?

Dave sighs and puts his head in his hands. Reza and Rhea share a look.

MIRASOL: ...Wow. That bad?

RHEA: It’s kinda complicated. But the short version is: Beckham kicked her off the case.

DAVE: Yeah. Because of me.

MIRASOL: Yes, of course. The self-flagellation that is characteristic of inwardly-directed guilt, common in those with--

RHEA: Mirasol! Not the time!

MIRASOL (genuinely confused): What? I was only offering a useful psychoanalysis that may prove--

Rhea gives her a look. Mirasol relents.

MIRASOL: Though now that I think about it, this may not have been the best time.

REZA: ...So! Back to Tull.

He picks up the photograph.

REZA: Any idea who these people might be?

MIRASOL: Hmm. They look too different from one another to be family. A community of some kind?

REZA: I can run facial recognition!

As he does so, Mirasol’s attention turns to the patch.

MIRASOL: Can’t say I recognize this symbol. Looks eerie, though. Like some kind of... well, I hate to make assumptions, but--

RHEA: Looks like a cult symbol to me.

MIRASOL: Huh. You’re pretty smart! That’s exactly what I was thinking!

RHEA (shrugs): Just a guess.

MIRASOL: Well, guess or no, I’m impressed. The way these lines arc... it’s clearly some indication of a higher power, which gives off the immediate impression of a cult of some kind, but...

As Mirasol talks, Rebecca stands up from her chair and crosses the room, with the dog trotting along behind her.

REBECCA (muttering): I need some coffee, stat. Seriously--

She stops talking immediately as she notices the symbol on the patch.

REBECCA: Wait. Dave, Mirasol... where did you find that patch?!

Mirasol glances at Dave, who shrugs.

DAVE: Tore a piece off of Tull’s jacket in a fight. This thing was on the inside. Why?

REBECCA: I know that symbol.

Everyone except Nikhil stares at her.

REBECCA: This is the symbol of the “Finem Servis.” They’re a cult based out of the Cascades... and honestly, that’s about all I know so far.

DAVE: Wait, you’ve seen this symbol before?!

REBECCA: Yep, believe it or not. It’s popped up a bunch of times in Everett Rourke’s personal files. Apparently, he had some kind of association with them in the past, but as far as I can tell, he’s an enemy of this cult now.

Dave and the others exchange a glance with Rebecca, all coming to the realization that this mystery runs far deeper than they had thought.

DAVE: Hold on. So, then, these people have to be...

He holds up the photograph. Rhea and Rebecca gasp in realization.

RHEA: Other cult members. It’s gotta be--

NIKHIL: And... got it!

Nikhil suddenly swivels around in his chair, brandishing the notepad triumphantly and interrupting the others.

NIKHIL: Tull wrote something on the torn page! “Lara.” Big, scrawled letters too, almost as if--

DAVE: Wait, “L.A.R.A.?” As in, the big celeb charity ball happening tonight, L.A.R.A.?

NIKHIL: Erm... I can assume so, at least--

DAVE (frantic): Rhea, Rebecca, get yourselves dressed up and meet me at the gala, quick! We’ve got a pop star to save!

_______________________

Next: L.A.R.A.

CIU Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn @endlesshero1122 @bbaba-yagaa @acidsugar0

MW Tag List: @griselda1121

[asynca]

Out of all the shows/games you follow, which characters do you feel had the most potential to be a great -- and more importantly, canon -- romantic pair but was wasted by the creators?

OH GOD WHAT A QUESTION!

I can’t commit to just one couple so I’m going to talk about a lot of failures:

1. Xena/Gabrielle was nearly canon, I mean you can kind of argue that it was but it would have been super beautiful to have it be far more explicit and for them to verbalise they were a couple and in love in a way that prevents people like “THEY WERE JUST FRIENDS!!!”

2. House/Wilson from House, MD. Again, like, UGH agonisingly close to canon, especially at the very end, but never got over the line. Would have made some beautiful parallels from the beginning of the series (the first shot of House is him walking down the corridor with Wilson, and the last shot of the series is them literally riding off into the sunset together). Unfortunately it was made in such a way people will always be like ‘nah they were just friends’.  

3. ACTUALLY FUCK IT I CAN COMMIT TO A PAIR

LARA CROFT/SAM NISHIMURA

why CD, why, why, why you forsake us, we are forsook

The whole game was about Lara becoming the person she needed to be because she wanted to save Sam. Like her whole origins story was about her saving Sam and at the end she’s bridal-carrying her down a fucking mountain

HER WHOLE TOMB RAIDING IDENTITY WAS FORMED AROUND SAM, like the reason she was into Japanese mythology was because of Sam’s ancestors, the reason she became an adventurer was because she transformed from a scarred student into a brave and heroic fighter and scavanger for the purpose of saving Sam. “oh but it was to get off the island” MY DEARS SHE HAD A CHANCE TO GET OFF THE ISLAND PRIOR TO SAVING SAM AND DITCHED IT BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO SAVE SAM and only later did she find out she probably coulnd’t have left anyway

and then CD went and fucking masscared Sam’s character and just turned her into an erratic plot device and Lara spontaneous just let her go like “oh yeah it’s painful I don’t want to talk about it” DUDE SHE WAS YOUR WHOLE IDENTITY THE GRIEVING PROCESS IS A BIT MORE COMPLEX AND LENGTHLY THAN THAT

aergalejhrglkwsjhtrlkjsltekhjwtkjARGGHGHHHHHHHh

[iolrachs]

1989, 11th July - Alex is born to Tom and Anna Weiss in Lakeville, Minnesota.

1998 - A nine year old Alex learns to hack, inspired by his older sister, Kaz.

2003 - Tom begins to teach a fourteen year old Alex how to shoot a pistol, taking him to a shooting gallery most weekends.

2007, September - Tom suffers a heart attack and dies, leaving behind Anna, Kaz, and an eighteen year old Alex.

2007, September - Alex begins a four year course at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Engineering. During this time, he joined the Minnesota Running Club.

2010 - Kaz marries Lucya. Alex is the best man at her wedding.

2011, June - Alex graduates from the University of Minnesota with full honours.

                 - Alex remains unemployed, albeit with a sideline in computer repair. The majority of his income, however, comes from hacking gambling sites to increase the odds of him winning.

2013 - After hacking into several government databases and being hunted by the governments in question, Alex came to Conrad Roth for sanctuary on his research vessel. Though he initially offered to work for free, Roth allowed him to stay aboard and welcomed him into his crew as a technician.

- Alex meets Lara Croft and Sam Nishimura, as well as the rest of the Endurance crew, finding his old friend Jonah a member. Alex immediately develops a crush on Lara, nurturing it in secret, though his over-awkwardness annoys Lara to some degree, and becomes fast friends with Sam.

- Alex meets Dr Whitman after the Endurance is hired to help in filming Whitman’s World. Alex does not take kindly to him, having hacked into files about his private life and discovered his messy divorce and financial strife.

- Roth charges Alex with forging the necessary permits for the ship and the expedition, including the crew.

- While setting up a Wi-Fi range extender for the Endurance, Alex fell overboard. He was saved by Lara, though pushed back into the water by Sam in mischief.

- With the expedition to find Yamatai on hold due to funding issues, Alex presents a solution in the form of a self-made 99.9% hacking program. He uses it on gambling sites to increase their chances of winning and accrue the necessary funds – however, the 0.1% chance of detection occurs and Alex is forced to throw his computer overboard to avoid being traced.

- While at sea, the Endurance needed an intermediate repair in the engine room. While Alex insisted it was a mechanical fault, Reyes correctly informed him it was an electrical fault. In attempting to make a joke, Alex made a flirtatious remark about a girl in Reyes’ photo – a girl he soon learned, around the foot in his mouth and disbelief at his own idiocy, was Reyes’ 14 year old daughter.

March - The crew came to a crossroads midway into their journey. Lara suggested venturing into the Dragon’s Triangle, where Whitman rebuked the idea. Alex hacked into a satellite to show the weather conditions over the triangle – with the storms there and Lara citing Himiko’s apparent myth for controlling the weather, a myth that could have some element of truth, Roth decided to make for the Triangle.

- At 11pm, in the vicinity of Yamatai, a storm strikes the Endurance and cleaves her in two. Alex manages to escape the shipwreck and makes it to the beach with Reyes, Jonah, Grim, Sam, Whitman, and another crew member. Although Alex tried to save him with CPR, the crew member died on the beach.

- The crew reunites with Lara while she is caught in a bear trap, having been searching for the kidnapped Sam and Mathias. The crew free Lara and split up – one to go with Lara and head for Roth, who is communicating via radio and attempting to gather all crew at his location, and the rest to fan out and find Sam. Alex offers to go with Lara, but is denied by Whitman, and joins the party searching for Sam.

- When Lara attempts to use an abandoned radio tower to boost the rescue beacon from the Endurance to call for help, it is Alex who talks her through both finding the control bank and the method of patching the signal manually through the tower’s maintenance box.

- While searching for Sam near Himiko’s palace, Reyes, Alex, and Jonah are taken captive by the Solarii Brotherhood and imprisoned in an old airplane wreck suspended in the underground geothermal caverns. The three are rescued by Lara, though are separated from her again while she returns to the caves to hunt for Sam and Whitman.

- The three manage to escape and reunite with Sam, but are cornered by the Solarii and begin a gun battle to fend them off. With Roth and Lara on a helicopter Roth had called, it seems the four will be left to the islanders, until Lara forces the pilot to land for their friends.

- Roth dies protecting Lara, and Alex attends his funeral pyre burial. He suggests to Lara that they only need to regroup, though he agrees there is something strange about the island. He leaves with Reyes, Jonah, and Sam to go to the old PT boat on the beach, with Reyes believing she can repair it sufficiently to allow them to escape.

- With the boat in bad condition, it becomes apparent Reyes needs her tools from the Endurance to properly repair the boat. Taking inspiration from Lara’s “See what you can do.”, Alex volunteers to fetch the tools from the wreck.

- He manages to successfully evade the Solarii raiding the wreck for scrap, as well as climb and travel over dangerous terrain to reach the wreck. On reaching the engine room, however, Alex was surprised by a Solarii gunman. Their brief gunfight saw Alex come out victorious, however a steel girder and several other pieces of the Endurance’s ceiling were loosened in the battle. They came crashing down on Alex, severely injuring his leg and pinning it beneath the metal beams, trapping him there until Lara came.

- Though she attempted to remove the debris, it caused Alex too much pain. The Solarii, aware of Lara’s presence and previously alerted by the sound of Alex’s gunshots, stormed the engine room, engaging in a brief exchange of bullets. After convincing Lara to leave him and return to Reyes with the tools, Alex shot at the ruptured gas pipe, causing an explosion that rocked the ship and ultimately had Lara presume he was dead. Instead, Alex was severely burned along his left side and right arm, thrown from the debris into a lower room by the blast. He was knocked unconscious and sealed within the room as the Endurance sank, with only a limited supply of air.

- Waking up on the seafloor some unknown period of time later, Alex knew he had to act. If his air supply did not run out, it would be the mounting pressure that killed him, his saving prison already groaning under the weight. Eventually forcing himself to stand, though he could not put his weight on the injured leg, Alex dragged himself to the room door, where he forced it open and attempted to swim to the surface before the pressure killed him through knocking all air for his lungs and drowning him, or by giving him brain damage in the process. Successfully making it to the surface, Alex makes for the remaining half of the Endurance, seeking to raid what medical supplies may be left in order to treat his wounds.

- A tourniquet tied around his leg and what bandages he could find binding his leg in a makeshift splint, Alex retreats to rest for the night, resolving to return to the crew in the morning. By the time he awakens, however, Lara and the crew have already journeyed inland to rescue Sam.

- Alex slowly drags himself to the beach, forced to take frequent breaks and rely almost entirely on a crutch (his leg is useless, he knows this, he knows this, but still he forces himself to go on). It is there he sees the PT boat leaving off in the distance, Lara having rescued Sam from Himiko. Though he tries to hail them, his voice is too hoarse, his body too weak, and so they leave without hearing him.

- Three months pass, and Alex is still on the island. His leg is barely healed, broken and twisted beyond all compare. Though he refuses to look, gangrene has begun to set in to the wound by the second month, despite his attempts to keep the wound clean. He searches for any other possible way off the island, evading the stragglers of the Solarii and killing them where he must.

- By the sixth month, Alex resolves that the only possible way to escape is to hail for rescue from the radio tower as Lara did. It takes him several weeks to cross the island, slowed as he is by injury and his leg, and several days to climb the tower. On his descent from the tower, his leg gives out and he falls from the last ladder, breaking his right arm.

early September: Lara travels to Pripyat at the behest of her hallucinations of Alex. There, she meets his sister, Kaz, and her family-in-law, and defends them from Trinity. Although Viktor and Kirill are killed by Mr Cruz, it is revealed that Lucya is still alive, having faked her death to escape Trinity. Lucya, Kaz, Varvara, and Pavel are all taken into Witness Protection, where Lara gives them burner phones that they may remain in contact with her should they need her.

late October - Alex is rescued by plane and flown to Bokutoh Hospital for emergency treatment. He is treated for sepsis and found to be suffering from septic shock; his arm is set and his leg, too far ravaged by gangrene and infection, is amputated above the knee. He remains in a medically induced comatose state for several weeks, half-dead and kept alive by IV lines and antibiotics.

2014, January - Alex begins to stir. Although still disorientated and incredibly weak, hospital staff manage to get two sentences from him – Lara Croft and Yamatai.

- Although not enough to identify him, as his identification was left in the Endurance, Alex’s repeated murmurs of ‘Lara Croft’ drive hospital staff to find her in the hopes she might know their mystery patient. She is located on account of her publishing her testimony of what happened on Yamatai.

10th February - Lara Croft is contacted. She does not remain convinced the hospital have the right person, until Yamatai is mentioned. She immediately packs and fly for Japan.

11th February - Lara reunites with Alex. At first she does not believe it is him, believing instead that it is a hallucination or a cruel joke. Though Alex manages to convince her, through tears on both parts, he is still not strong enough and falls asleep again.

12th February - Lara contacts Jonah, Reyes, and Sam to inform them of Alex’s survival. They all fly to the hospital to see Alex with their own eyes and reunite with one they thought dead.

15th February - With Alex’s permission, Lara has him transferred to Royal Surrey County Hospital, so that she and Sam may keep watch over him.

17th March - With doctors finally satisfied he is recovered enough to be released, Alex is discharged. He is offered a place to live by Lara, in her London apartment with her and Sam.

1st April - Alex begins the process of being fitted for a prosthetic leg. Although he tries to argue, Lara insists on paying for the whole process, as well as his rehabilitation and learning to walk.

November - Atlas DeMornay forces Lara to attend therapy and prove she is of sound mind before he allows her access to her fortune. It is revealed to Alex and Sam by Atlas that Lara is in fact a Lady.

- Obsessed with proving her legitimacy, Lara begins a search for the Divine Source. Although forbidden to accompany her physically, Alex remains in London as technological backup, ready to hack and find information and funding as Lara needs it.

- Following her return from Syria, Lara returns to Croft Manor, bringing Alex and Sam with her. Though it is Lara who does all the work, Alex still attempts to help her find evidence she is the rightful owner of the estate and her inheritance.

- Lara and Jonah fly out to Siberia to find the lost city of Kitezh. Alex remains in Croft Manor with Sam, helping out in the restoration where he can and waiting for Lara to return.

[streetsmartstevie]

Walls Could Talk || Stae + Sam Para

TAGGING → @samerystargaryen, @streetsmartstevie, @yesyesyoumae

TIME FRAME → March 13th, 2019

LOCATION → Amber, Dani, Rachel, and Stevie’s apartment

DESCRIPTION → Sam makes a surprise trip to find out just why Stevie’s been acting so strange. And gets a bit more than she bargained for.

Mae was surprised that Stevie wanted her to come over. As in—Stevie was okay with Mae being around her apartment. Usually, Stevie insisted that she comes over to Mae’s place only to reduce the risk of getting caught by people they really didn’t want to get caught by, so this was different. And it was stupid of Mae to do so, but she had a little hope that maybe things were changing between them. Maybe there was more. But Mae knew. Mae wasn’t more than just sex to Stevie. A great ass. Hot until she opened her mouth. All that stuff. She’d take what she can get, though. And if sex was all she can get from Stevie, she’d just learn to live with that. But if Mae was being honest? It was starting to get to her. Mae wanted more and felt more than Stevie did, so it killed her that sex to Stevie was meaningless when it meant so much to her. 

Regardless, Mae was here. Because she’d take what she can get. So long as it involved that pink-haired grump. As Mae made it up to Stevie’s apartment, she sent a quick text to Stevie to tell her she was reaching Stevie’s door. She knew Stevie wouldn’t want Mae to hang out in the hall for too long and create suspicion. Despite how complicated it all was, there was still something exciting about their situation. The sneaking around. The lustful looks they’d give each other from afar. All of it.

Stevie glanced around her room, doing a mental check of the minimalist space. She'd put away the acrylic paints she'd been working with and the piece she'd been working on was safely tucked away. Given how handsy she and Mae got, she didn't want them to bump into it and ruin all of her work. Patting her hands on her legs mindlessly, she looked over at the clock. Yeah, Mae should be over soon. Stevie made her way out to the living room, scrolling mindlessly through her phone. The texts from Reggie caught her eye and she scowled to herself. That shit at Battle of the Bands, it had lowkey pissed her off. And not in a dumb, jealous way, that wasn't it. She just... didn't like seeing Mae making out with Reggie of all people. Hadn't she and Harper just broken up? What the fuck was that shit? No, she didn't care who Mae slept with. She could fuck Reggie or Lara or anyone, it didn't matter to her. Just, the timing seemed shit on that particular front, that was all. 

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and, not even bothering to check it, she made her way over to the door. Running a hand through her hair to make sure her hair looked just right, Stevie nodded to herself in the hallway mirror. She looked fucking hot and she knew it. Stevie pulled open the door and shot Mae a lazy, cocky smile, "Hey. C'mon in." She said, gesturing for the other girl to enter.

Mae quickly smiled when she saw Stevie. “Hey!” Mae greeted back as she stepped inside. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.” Mae tried not to cringe when she remembered the last time she was here was when she got completely drunk off of Stevie’s moonshine. Mae had made a complete fool of herself, and Mae couldn’t lie, she was still upset that moonshine didn’t taste like the moon.  “Nothing’s really changed.” Mae mumbled as she looked around, anyway. Mae wasn’t sure why she was stalling. A part of her felt a little weird after the whole Reggie ordeal at Battle of the Bands. It wasn’t something Mae did on purpose. It just happened and it didn’t mean anything. And it didn’t really compare to Stevie.  Mae would pick kissing Stevie over anyone. She was in too deep. 

“Did you get tired of hanging out at my place? I thought you thought my bed was comfortable. And there’s no cute Duck to play with.” Mae added. Mae would admit that she definitely took advantage of Duck to get Stevie to stick around longer than usual. Or really any reason. Mae even fucked up her kitchen sink, so Stevie could stay an entire hour longer than usual. Mae drooled over Stevie’s arm most of the time.

Stevie shut the door behind Mae, fully ready to just kiss Mae and get things going but... She just kept on talking. What the hell? What, was she trying to make small talk? They didn't do small talk. That wasn't what they were about. Leaning against the door, Stevie folded her arms across her chest while Mae babbled, waiting for the other girl to finish talking. But goddammit, she just kept going. Mae was the fricking Energizer Bunny of nervous talking, Jesus. When Mae finally stopped, Stevie shrugged. "Just felt like switching it up. Besides," Stevie stepped forward, slipping her hand to rest on Mae's hip, "My bed's pretty comfortable too." She leaned in and kissed Mae, hard. She wanted to remind her that whatever that whole talking thing was? It wasn't why she was here. They were just friends with benefits, if she could even call Mae a friend. People with benefits? Whatever, Stevie liked it better this way.

Mae chewed on her lip as Stevie stepped closer to her and placed her hand on her hip. “Is it? Because I thought mine wa—“ Mae was interrupted by a hard kiss from Stevie and Mae groaned as she kissed Stevie back equally as rough, tangling her hands in Stevie’s hair. Mae pulled away. “Wait.” Mae paused, a smirk forming on her face. Stevie had a little control for a moment, but Mae was usually the one in charge when it came to what went down in the bedroom. “Wrong spot.” Mae pushed Stevie against the wall by the doorway. Anyone could walk in, but Mae wasn’t thinking about that right now. “One more thing.” Mae grabbed Stevie’s hand and moved it from her hip to her ass with a smug look. “That’s better.” Mae pressed her body against Stevie’s as she kissed down to Stevie’s neck, making it her mission to leave a mark or two on Stevie’s neck. Stevie could deal with that later. But right now? Mae didn’t care.  

Something was going on with Stevie. Sam was sure of it. It'd been weeks since they'd spent any time together outside of soccer, and Sam was tired of waiting around and giving her sister space. This whole waiting and letting Stevie come to her thing wasn't working. For all Sammy knew, Rachel wearing her D.A.R.E. shirt around their apartment wasn't helping either. Stevie could have stopped 'just saying no' to drugs without looking back. Losing her sister to addiction, or maybe just to secrets, wasn't going to happen on Sam's watch. With a determined attitude, Sam made her way to Stevie's apartment and didn't plan on leaving until she got some real answers. "This isn't your fault. We can get you help," Sam practiced under her breath as she approached the door.

Stevie groaned as Mae pushed her against the wall, maneuvering her so that her back was pressed against it. Fuck. "Goddammit." Stevie swore under her breath, her hand squeezing against Mae's ass. God damn. As Mae moved her lips to Stevie's neck, her eyes fluttered shut. She was too focused on the sensation, the way Mae was pressed up against her. Fucking christ. She could feel the way Mae was working her neck and had a sneaking suspicion that there would be a mark left over. "You better not." Stevie warned, as she slid her hand into the pocket of Mae's jeans to palm her ass. Stevie was too focused on the way it felt to worry about the door, or even remember that she hadn't locked it.

"Stevie, you here?" Sam asked as she lightly knocked on the apartment door at the same time as she tried the knob. If Stevie was in trouble, Sammy wanted to be there to help her. No more giving her a chance to run off or avoid her. She was determined to get answers today. Luckily for her and her plan, the door was unlocked and swung open. "We really need to ta-" The words stuck in her throat at the sight that greeted her on the other side of the door. If told to make a list of all the possible things she expected to find, Stevie and Mae going at it wouldn't have been on the list at all. It was too crazy to even imagine. With Mae? Stacey's Mae?? "What the fuck?"

When Sam opened the door, Mae’s lips had made their way back to Stevie’s. Mae heard the door open and quickly pulled away. Mae was expecting Rachel, Dani, or Amber to be on the other side—which would’ve been fine. That could be handled well enough. But when she saw Sam on the other side of the door? Mae’s eyes widened and her face turned red. Well, fuck, Mae didn’t know what to do. And her first instinct? Well— “St-Stevie! Breathe!” Mae exclaimed as she smacked Stevie’s chest a couple times to get her to “breathe” again. “You’re good now.” Mae turned to Sam and laughed awkwardly.  “She was—uh—she was ch-choking. Obviously. So…I was giving her mouth to mouth.” Mae nodded. “To save her life.” Mae nodded again. “Yeah. That’s what I was…what I was doing…” Mae trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. That didn’t come out as well as her head imagined it.

Stevie's eyes snapped open when she heard the door open and she caught a glimpse of blonde out of the corner of her eye. A very familiar blonde-- FUCK. Pushing Mae away from her, Stevie stared at her older sister in shock. What the fuck was Sam of all people doing here? They'd been doing so well with the not talking and avoiding each other. It had honestly been really great. But, now of all fucking times, she was here? God, what the fuck. Before Stevie could say a word, Mae was smacking her chest, making her cough in surprise. What. The. Fuck. Glaring at Mae, Stevie rubbed her sternum as the other girl tried to bluster her way through an excuse. Ignoring Mae, Stevie folded her arms across her chest and stared at Sam. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, venom dripping in her tone to mask her fear. Christ...

Sam wanted more than anything to turn around and unsee everything she'd walked in on, but her feet wouldn't cooperate. Too much of her brain was trying to compute the scene in front of her, and that was before Mae started performing some sort of CPR. "Me? What are you doing here?" Sammy asked as she motioned her hand in the general direction of the two girls in front of her. "The only thing you could have been choking on was Mae's tongue." Looking between her sister and her other sister's ex-girlfriend, Sam could come up with no explanation that made sense. None. Not even close. And the more she tried and failed, the louder her voice got. "Does Stacey know? Is this why you broke up with her?!"

At the speculation from Sam that Mae broke up with Stacey because of Stevie, well, it was a thought in Mae’s head that she did toy with from time to time. It wasn’t that far off, but Mae didn’t like to think about that possibility. “No, that’s not…I didn’t cheat on Stacey. This started after Stacey and I broke up. So it’s not cheating it’s not bad— “ Mae closed her eyes and sighed. She wasn’t making this sound better because there was really nothing Mae could say that would convince Sam that sleeping with Stevie while being Stacey’s ex-girlfriend was a great idea. It wasn’t. Mae knew that, but her feelings for Stevie clouded whatever inner conscience screamed at her that this was a bad idea. “Stacey doesn’t know. And she shouldn’t know. It would…I don’t think that’s a good idea at all. So don’t…you know...” Mae chewed on her lip. "Don't say anything." 

Stevie kept her jaw clenched tight as she listened to Mae try to explain the situation. They hadn't been sleeping together when Stacey and Mae were together, that shouldn't even be a question. Was the entire situation... less than ideal? Yeah. But she wasn't the other woman in this. No fucking way. "Besides, we're just fucking. Don't blow this out of proportion, Sam. I swear to God if you try to fucking lecture me about this..." Stevie warned, her hands balling into fists at her sides. What happened had happened, there wasn't anything they could do about it. But, starting now? They needed to fucking keep this on lock. Stacey could never find out about this.

"You'll what, Stevie, go fuck one of my ex-girlfriends?" Sam shook her head as she tried to understand the situation. She was far from innocent when it came to relationship drama herself, but at least she could have honestly say she was following her heart at the time. It'd let her into a mess that she was still trying to mend over a year later, but doing just over sex? It was the crazy cherry on top of the insane sundae she'd stumbled on. No matter which way she looked at it, nothing added up. 

"I get it when you're a jerk to me, but this is Stacey. You know this would hurt her," she continued in a calmer tone. "You both do." Sam looked from her sister to Mae, wondering how she'd managed to misjudge someone so badly. "You guys can't keep doing this. Not without talking to her." Just imagining how much it would hurt Stacey left Sam torn. She hated having to keep her sister in the dark, but being the one to break her heart by spilling everything sounded even worse.

It felt like a hard gut punch to Mae when Stevie told Sam they were just having sex. Nothing else. Well, maybe to Stevie that was case. But for Mae? It was so much more. Mae looked over at Stevie with frown before looking away and sighing as she crossed her arms. For the longest, Mae ignored the feeling that what she was doing was wrong, so when Sam threw it to her face that it would hurt Stacey? She couldn’t hold back the guilt starting to grow in her. It’s not like Mae wasn’t facing the consequences, anyway. Stevie couldn’t give a fuck about her or see her as more than just a meaningless hook up, so maybe that was her punishment for what she took part in. 

“You’re right.” Mae spoke up, looking at Sam. “We should stop.” Mae looked over at Stevie before looking back to Sam. “I don’t think I can keep doing this, anyway.” Mae hated being in this position. People were seeing her as more than sunshine Mae and it was fine if Stevie saw her  as anything but, however Sam seeing her in a not so positive light? Kinda made her want to get the fuck out of here.

Stevie glared at her sister, folding her arms across her chest, chin tilted defiantly. "Maybe I will, don't fucking test me." She said. All of this was bullshit-- the way that Sam looked at her, the way that she acted so much better than her. She hated this. She hated this more than if Stacey had walked in on them. The way that Sam tried to tell her how to live her life, it was being a kid all over again. With Sam trying to boss her around, trying to tell her what was right. "So what? It's not a big deal. You can't tel--" Stevie's words caught in the back of her throat as Mae spoke up. What? She was agreeing with Sam? Swallowing, Stevie stared back and forth from Mae and her sister. Stevie nodded slowly, "You agree with her? You're taking her side on this?" She asked Mae, a pit forming in her stomach. It wasn't because Mae didn't want to see her anymore, that wasn't it. It was the fact that she was following Sam's lead. Just like everyone else did.

Turning back to her sister, Stevie's jaw clenched tight as she tried to contain her anger. "You always do this. Why can't you just leave me the hell alone? I don't give a shit about what you do with Kate or whoever you're fucking, so why do you care about who I'm sleeping with? You don't get to tell me what to do anymore, Sam."

"Why can't you understand that I care about you?" Sam asked with an exasperated sigh. There were quite a few people who had told Sam that she was wasting her time on Stevie. They told her to give up. They'd pointed out how she didn't need to sacrifice things for her sister. Said she shouldn't go out of her way to look out for her when it was clear to everyone that Stevie didn't care about family the same way. For the first time, Sam could see it. 

"But if that doesn't matter to you, then know that I care about Stacey. I don't want to see her hurt, and that's exactly what this will do. I think you know that, or you wouldn't be hiding it." Seeing the smoke coming out of Stevie's ears the longer the conversation went on, Sam decided to leave it alone. Maybe it's what she should have done in the first place, but better late than never. She'd gotten her answers, and at least it wasn't drugs? Leaving Mae to deal with Stevie's wrath was perhaps unfair, but Sam knew she owed her nothing. Mae made her bed, or wall in this instance, and now she got to lie in it. 

"And you're right, I can't tell you what to do, but that means I don't have to keep your secrets for you either. You're on your own, Stevie. It's what you wanted, and now you have it." Sam shook her head and headed out the door. No matter how much she wanted to stay and try to talk some sense into Stevie, to find a way to get her to see the right thing to do, she was getting nowhere. Closing the door behind her, Sam didn't look back.

When Stevie turned to Mae with a surprised look that Mae was agreeing, Mae opened her mouth to say more when Sam started to talk again and Mae stayed silent, chewing on her lip as Sam left Stevie and Mae to their own devices. Mae felt like she shouldn’t have been here for that. For Sam’s leaving—which felt like it was a matter bigger than her and Stevie being caught. Mae stayed quiet for a few moments before speaking up again. 

“Um…I—I’m sorry.” Mae shook her head. “I know you’re angry at her, but she’s right. About us. About this.” Mae paused as she sighed, unsure of how to go about this. But one thing Mae knew for sure? They couldn’t keep doing this. The hooking up. It wasn’t just going to hurt Stacey, but it was going to hurt Mae too. Because Mae wanted more. Mae wanted Stevie to stick around and make her feel like she was wanted by her. And not just in a lustful way. Mae stayed quiet a little longer, debating whether she should say the next words on the tip of her tongue. And then she did.

 “But she’s wrong about one thing,” Mae paused. “Stacey wouldn’t be the only one getting hurt.” Mae chewed on her lip. “I’d get hurt too—I am getting hurt.” Mae paused again. “Because I’m just sex to you and you mean more than that to me.” Even though Sam told Stevie that she was on her own now, Mae would stay if Stevie wanted her to. Stevie wouldn’t be alone. Mae would stay. Mae would stay for as long as Stevie wanted her to. All Stevie had to do was say it. 

Stevie kept her lips pursed tightly together as Sam spoke, fuming all the while. She hardly paid attention to what her sister was saying, she didn't care. She didn't care what Sam thought, she didn't care what Stacey thought, she didn't give a shit about any of them. She didn't need her family, they were the ones who thought they could just interfere in her life. And they couldn't. But, when Sam turned her back on her, Stevie bit the inside of her cheek, hard. Fuck. This was what she wanted, it was. She wanted Sam out of her life. Then why did it suck so much? 

"Yeah, just go." Stevie said, but the door had already shut behind her sister. Staring at the door for a moment, she turned to look at Mae who was already speaking. In a bit of a daze, she listened without really hearing the words. This was Sam's fault, this was her fault for butting in... But as she stared blankly, certain words trickled in, filtering through the haze. getting hurt... mean more than that.... 

That jolted Stevie out of her train of thought. "What? Hold the fuck up, what?" Fighting against the rush of panic that washed over her, Stevie swallowed hard. "No. No, that wasn't the deal." God, this was all going to shit. First Sam's bullshit and now Mae? She couldn't deal with this. She didn't want feelings, she didn't want "more", she didn't want to deal with Stacey, with Sam, with Mae, with anyone. She just wanted to be alone.

Taking in a deep breath to steady her nerves, Stevie pointed at the door. "Get out. Get out of my apartment." Stevie said, her voice quiet and calm as she stared at the floor in front of Mae. She didn't even want to look at her. How had this happened? How had it all been ruined?

Mae wanted to tell Stevie that it was Stevie’s deal, but Mae always thought about Stevie in a different way. As more. What kind of more? Mae didn’t want to get into the details. But it was more than what they had now. Or whatever was left of it, anyways. But Mae didn’t say anything. Mae didn’t even say anything when Stevie told her to get out. Stevie didn’t want her to stay, and that was fine. Mae had a feeling Stevie wouldn’t want her to, anyway. Mae nodded slowly as she pushed down the knot in her throat and quickly opened the door and left, exhaling as soon as she closed the door. 

“Fuck.” Mae whispered as she kept walking. A part of Mae wanted to run back in and tell Stevie she lied. That she didn’t feel anything. That they could still have their arrangement and Mae would just suck it up. Because Mae wanted to pretend a little longer that Stevie wanted her whenever Stevie kissed her or touched or held her for just a second. Mae would pretend for Stevie for as long as she wanted her to. Mae was good at pretending she was something she wasn’t, anyway.

[spaceprimcessleia]

Still Worth Saving Chapter 2/?

She barely spends any time in her flat. It’s show home empty with none of the promise. Someone else has already been in there and stained the walls with food and the door frame with a brown smear of blood. The walls are just a fraction paler in rectangles where pictures used to hang but she hasn’t filled them with any of her own. There’s no one she wants to put there (no one she can put there). The few scattered possessions she’s managed to keep after three stints in a war zone and two failed marriages barely fill up one cupboard. All the furniture came with the lease.

Dervla bounds around it like she’s found her very own Disneyland. First she’d jumped on Sam, leaping up to push her with her front paws before running a few circles around her and jumping up again until Sam had knelt down and given her the fuss she deserved.

Now there’s cheese on toast bubbling under the grill and an excited dog running between their feet, but she still can’t think of a single thing to say to her ex-husband. They can’t talk about the things wedged between them-like the lack of a ring on her hand or the fact that she’s back here again, and so is he, even after they both left the place behind.

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“How’s Lara?” Dylan looks blank. “The woman who fell down the stairs?” she prompts.

He shrugs. “She’ll recover.”

“Did you find anything out about her husband?” She tries to make it sound casual, but her heart is slamming against her chest.

“No, Sam. I didn’t get a chance to ask her if her husband actually pushed her.”

“What about her history?”

“I shouldn’t actually share that with you.”

She flinches, but he’s not wrong. She’s not a doctor anymore, anything that happens after she’s handed the patient over in the hospital has nothing to do with her. But she can’t just leave it. Dylan told her she was like a dog with a bone, but even they give that up eventually, when they get hungry for something else.

Dylan sighs. “Yes, she does have a medical history that could suggest abuse, but Dr Monroe said she denied everything and there’s nothing more we can do. We can only help those who want to be helped.”

She nods but it doesn’t mean anything to her. She knows of the lies you’ll tell even yourself.

//

She remembers the boat when they’re eating slightly charred cheese on toast (and for a moment when she had pulled it out of the grill, her heart had stuttered). She thinks about keeping her mouth shut because it’s either nothing or something and if it’s something he won’t talk about it anyway. But she’s never been very good at rules and boundaries.

“So what are you hiding in your boat?” She expects confusion, to be told to mind her own business. She doesn’t expect the flittering look of utter panic.

“What?” he snaps, just a fraction too late.

“I...I went to your boat last week. It sounded like there was someone in there.”

His shoulders droop. “Yes, me.”

“It sounded like someone who didn’t want to be found.”

“Perhaps I saw you through the window.”

It’s childish enough not to sting. Even though she has no doubt he would hide from her, it hadn’t sounded like him. It had sounded like the children scrambling from behind desks in schools littered with bullets and the bodies of their classmates.

~*~

It’s two days before Sam can talk to Lara. If it weren’t for visiting hours, her husband wouldn’t leave her side at all and Lara refuses to say a word against him. There are injuries, ghost lines cracked across her bones, a nose not quite set, the bubbled trace of a burn across her ribcage that she swears was her own clumsiness with the kettle. And if she won’t talk there’s nothing they can do. Dylan’s reminded her of that enough times.

But finally she’s free of him, free of doctors and Sam slips onto the ward. Lara looks up at her, barely blinking. “Can I help you?”

“You can help yourself by telling the truth.”

Lara rolls her eyes. “Really? Because I’ve been telling it all this time and you still won’t leave me alone.”

Sam almost smiles. At least there’s still defiance in there. “Whatever reason you have for staying isn’t good enough. He doesn’t love you, he isn’t going to change, it will happen again and there’s nothing you can do to stop him. The man you knew before all this started wasn’t real. It was just someone he made up to draw you in.”

Lara’s eyes flash and Sam knows she’s gone too far but kind words and gentle encouragement haven’t shaved a centimetre. “Is that what you tell yourself to ease your guilt?”

“What?” Her blood has turned to frost.

“Your husband. Bet he smacked you around pretty good. Maybe gave it to you a bit rough every now and again and you couldn’t hack it so you walked out on him. I’m not you. I love my husband and some failed doctor isn’t going to tell me how to run my marriage or my life.” She turns her head away. Sam opens her mouth, but it’s like the the other woman has reached into her chest and ripped out everything she could find there.

Then a nurse yanks back the curtain and glares at her for being there. “Visiting hours don’t start until 12,” she snaps, but Sam’s already walking away.

~*~

She’s climbing into the ambulance with Iain when Bea Kinsella sprints over, her hair streaming behind her like a flame. She’s in a bright green observer jacket and for a moment it’s like looking at herself from the outside. “Yes?” Sam raises her eyebrows.

“I’m coming with you!” She beams. “If that’s okay. Dr Keogh said-”

“It’s fine,” Sam interrupts, making a mental note to murder Dylan later.

“Brilliant. Thank-you.” Bea gives her another smile, which Sam barely manages to return.

It’s not personal, really it isn’t, but she volunteers to drive so she doesn’t have to talk. Iain rides in the back with Bea, because he’s nice like that; he won’t leave her out of the club. He had been the only on in their squadron who didn’t leave tampons in her bunk until she stopped a man from bleeding out from a blasted limb with a gun pressed against her temple.

It’s a relief when they pull up to the still blazing house. There’s a woman screaming on the lawn and another man the other paramedics that got here before them are working on. The operator had said three casualties. Iain and Bea are climbing out of the back doors before she’s even pulled the breaks.

The screaming woman doesn’t stop,not even when Iain crouches beside her and asks for her name. There’s not a visible mark on her. “I’m going to need you to try and take a breath for me, love.”

The woman draws in a lungful of air and screams again. “Maisie!”

Maisie? Sam scans the front lawn, the street, the huddle of firefighters raging against the flames, the onlookers holding on tightly to their own children. “Is she still in there? Maisie?”

At the sound of her daughter’s name from someone else’s lips, the woman turns around. She nods. “Where?”

“Her-her room.”

“Upstairs?” The woman nods again, incapable of anything beyond that. But it’s all Sam needs.

She runs, grabbing the nearest fireman by the elbow. “There’s someone still in there!”

He doesn’t even turn around. “I know.” He’s yelling above the roar of the flames and the rush of water from the hose, but she still hears the tightness in his voice.

“There’s a crew in there? They’re going to get her out?” It’s almost a plea, but he shakes his head.

“Had to pull them out. Building’s unstable.”

“You can’t just leave her!”

He looks at her at last, the fire reflected in his gaze. “You think it was an easy choice? I send a crew in there and no one comes out alive. There are people who need medical help, if you fancy doing your own job.” He turns away again and Sam wastes no more time. She sprints towards the building, ducking around the firefighters who will try and stop her, someone’s screams bouncing off of her back.

///

The girl’s being dragged out of her arms and with them empty she tumbles. The ground spins towards her; grit digs into her palms. It’s like the smoke is inside her, coiling inside her skull, behind her eyes. She gasps but all she gets is ash. It’s still billowing from the house, settling on her shoulders. She coughs and the smoke shimmers in front of her eyes. The arm holding her up trembles and she sinks towards the ground until someone lifts her gently.

“Here.” Bea presses an oxygen mask into her hand and Sam grasps it gratefully to her face, gulping in clean air. Ash still smolders inside her chest, but she can breathe. Bea has one hand on each shoulder, half holding her up- she tries to look for the little girl but there’s smoke in her eyes and she can’t see anything beyond a faint blur of red and green. Dylan’s going to kill her for this.

“Iain’s got her,” says Bea like she can see what Sam’s eyes are trying to find.

It’s not enough. She wasn’t breathing when she found her, even her hair was smeared black. But Iain’s seen worse- he’s knelt by her side with a boy who was no more than a head and torso, but still awake, still screaming- and they did that with men who yelled in Arabic but waved guns to make their point in a language she and him could understand.

She should be with him now, but when she pushes on her hands and tries to force herself to stand, Bea holds her down. “No, please, just sit down. Let me-”

“I’m fine!” She tries to shrug her off but pain spears through her shoulder and she remembers something falling from the ceiling, knocking her to the crumbling ground. Now she notices there’s blood. She moves it more gingerly and it does what she wants. No lasting damage.

But Bea won’t let her get up and her head is swimming so badly. She sees Iain leaning over Maise, a mask and pump attached to her face and the mother, no longer screaming but barely able to hold herself up. She’s clinging to her daughter’s hand like she can teather her to life.

~*~

Her curtain is yanked back and Dylan strides in, pausing to shut it again before he glares at her.

She raises an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

“Yes you can actually.” He grabs the pulse oximetry dangling uselessly at the side of the bed and throws it at her. “Put this on.” It’s not a request and when she doesn’t move he seizes her hand and clips it on himself. It beeps steadily.

Sam rolls her eyes. “See, I’m fine.”

“Right. I suppose that’s not your blood?”

She sighs. It’s stopped now, but her shirt is thick with dried blood. It stings constantly, and aches too when she moves it. But she hadn’t let Bea do any more than check her airways before she had pushed away any form of help. They had tried to make her go in her own ambulance, but she climbed in the back of the one she had came in and refused to act the patient. There was still a little girl who couldn’t breathe on her own. So they put her in here, refusing to let her go back out or even home.

Dylan sighs too. “She’s alive. Still intubated, but there’s brain activity and the chest x-ray came back clear. It was utterly idiotic and reckless, but you saved her life.”

Only she’s not awake yet and brain activity doesn’t mean no damage.

“Look, the sooner you let someone treat you, the quicker you can get out of here.”

She closes her eyes. “Fine. Get on with it.”

“Me?”

“You already have the needle in your pocket.”

When she opens her eyes again he’s produced it, along with a vial for her blood and a suture kit. He clears his throat. “You’re going to need to-”

Wincing, she peels her shirt over her head. She feels the wound on her shoulder crack and bleed again. She swallows hard and drops the t-shirt in her lap with slightly shaking hands, feeling sick. She doesn’t look at her ex-husband even though she knows what he’s seeing.

“What happened?” She smiles then. It touches her eyes just a little.

“Just an accident on the bike.” She senses he’s going to say something else, but he just shakes his head.

He gives her a shot of anesthetic before he even cleans away the blood. She had refused any painkillers when Bea had led her through to the cubicle, but now she feels tightness seep from her muscles. Her throat hurts and her eyes sting, but her shoulder is blissfully numb. She sits still while her ex-husband stitches her back together.

pls validate me thanks

[archeolgstarch]

𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 | for @khonschu​

            𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥.  lara staggers between posts and marquees, holding her breath to keep the pained grunts from revealing her location as her arm presses into her bleeding side. getting captured by trinity’s patrolmen was not part of the plan. she delved into cambodia’s forests to find their nexus headquarters, a campsite that spanned impossibly wide and was frankly a suicide mission to brave on her own. but it was her only hope of uncovering the locations of trinity’s digsites. after a lengthy and meticulous questioning, when they’re satisfied she’s alone, they leave her bruised just enough for their satisfaction, when she can no longer grin through bloodied teeth and her head hangs heavy against her chest, but not enough to break direct orders. croft stays alive. the voice had crackled over in the radio time and time again. who was this person so keen on keeping her going? why did he insist on not killing her when she knows trinity’s had the chance time and time again? 

            it wasn’t skill that saved her. sheer chance.  her only hope of escaping captivity had been feigning unconsciousness and as her warden let his guard down, she loops her bound hands around his neck, twisting viciously until the gratifying crackle of bone is heard and his body goes limp, but not before his damned pocket knife is digging deep into her side. in her sights, she sees the main tent. the edges of her vision begin to blur. she’s fading, and fast. but she can’t abandon her cause, not yet. not when she’s so close. her hands, now free, take turns wielding the gun she stripped off the body while holding pressure on the wound.    so close now, keep moving lara.     it’s her voice. not roth’s anymore, or her father’s, or sam’s, or jonah’s. she’s alone on this crusade. lara stops when she feels her world begin to spin, cold sweat forming on her temples as she forces the air out of her nose.   breathe through the pain, lara.   that’s when she hears it; a rifle being cocked. her senses are not as sharp as they are but sharp enough to detect the direction of the threat, and her body veers violently towards it with the gun held up at the ready. it takes a moment for her vision to focus, and even longer for her brain to assess. he stands before her, the trinity sigil patched into his gear, and his eyes are trained on her.  

            lara’s shoulders rise and fall with the effort it takes to stay steady on her feet, though she does her best to suppress it. the silence stretches endlessly between them, lara’s footing shifts, her lip trembles as she bites down on it to still it. any shots would reveal her location. she wasn’t near enough to him to attempt a silent kill. any step she takes is certain death. was that it? is this where lara croft dies? the thought rips the air from her lungs and suddenly she’s small. so small. she forces her grip on the gun to tighten so her hands don’t shake. if she dies then she dies standing. she really looks at him, at the eyes behind those crosshairs. the eyes of a mercenary with only one goal. she usually saw it very clearly … except with this one she doesn��t. there’s a veiled caution, because for as long as it took to decide to hold her own he could have killed her ten times over. maybe there’s a chance for her to survive just yet. maybe her luck hadn’t run out. maybe …. his caution makes him slower to pull the trigger than she does.

[thepaperpanda]

Believer || Part I

Words: 1910

Warnings: none at all

SUMMARY: MCU Crossover With Tomb Raider 2013

Request by: Anonymous

Author: Rouge

“Come here, boys! We have fresh meat over here!”

The man had appeared out of the foliage with barely a rustle of his announcement. His clothing was weather worn and threadbare, a suggestion of a harsh life. He could see stains of questionable and queasy origins spattered here and there, dark like ink but not with the same texture, not at all. His hair was dark and greasy, his scratchy beard thick. The leer in his eyes and the crooked smirk weren’t welcoming either. He had a gun. Bucky recognized it simply because he had grown accustomed to their sight over the many years.

He was alarmed when he began to pick out more bodies emerging into sight from the darkness of the forest, some up high on overhanging precipices; several were in trees, and the rest on the ground, flanking the first man. Some had rifles. Others, pistols. He even noticed, oddly enough, some were armed with bows and arrows.

All were aimed at him.

“If this is your welcoming committee, then I shudder to think about the reception of guests you fail to successfully entertain. This is rather poor in taste, if you ask me.”

The first man, the leader of the ragtag bunch, scowled and spat out a curse at him. It took Bucky a moment to realize he had spoken Russian, the dialect heavy as the syllables growled over one another. It took him another to realize what the man had said.

“Fucking smart ass. I’ve shot men for less insult.”

He jerked the gun in his hand, pointing a vague direction for Bucky to move. Bucky didn’t. Instead, he addressed the man in his apparent native tongue. “Where are you taking me?”

The Russian was unimpressed at being addressed in his mother tongue, even if he did give pause.

“Move!”

The weapon’s hammer was cocked back for emphasis, a loud and unsettling click that cleaved the very air with its sound. He startled when one of the men suddenly pitched forward with barely a grunt and hiss of air issuing from his mouth. He fell forward, his weapon—a rifle—clattering to the forest floor with a loud clatter, tangling in the undergrowth. An arrow protruded from the Bucky man’s backside.

The Russian barked at his men, stirring them into action and they scrambled into organized chaos. The Russian turned on him, the barrel of the gun reestablished on him. He hissed away, stalking forward to close the gap between him and Bucky.

“She’s come for you, boy,” he growled, a dark light sparking in his eyes. “I’ll kill you before she gets a chance to even see your face.”

The gut punch had the taller man doubling over, wheezing heavily at the strike. Bucky wasn’t aiming to kill or maim the man, simply disarm him and relocate. The Russian’s grip on his gun hadn’t broken, but he was too busy catching his breath to notice. He never got the chance to, either.

Another arrow whizzed out from the dark and struck the Russian’s neck, punching through from back to front, an arrowhead sprouting out of his throat. The gun fell from abruptly limp fingers, and then the Russian followed suite with a strangled gurgle. Bucky stumbled back, in horror and shock. The light in the Russian’s eyes went out and he wheezed his last breath, blood bubbling from the oozing wound as he collapsed on his face.

The forest fell silent and it was in that moment he realized all the men that had appeared from nowhere were dead.

All of them.

An unsettling silence had Bucky over the forest, and the shadows around him seemed to grow darker, longer, reaching for him. The hairs on the back of his neck rose up and stood at attention while an icy shudder snaked its way down his spine.

His metal arm reached his vest's pocket and pulled out a handy knife. The dark blade was gleaming in what little light the moon above provided. The familiar weight of a tactic vest settled around his shoulders, providing a comforting sense of security and protection as it did.

He felt eyes on him, but how many and from where, he wasn’t too sure. He just knew that whoever killed the men, they were still here. Bucky didn’t have long to wait. He whirled at the first sign of movement, but he stopped short of himself in surprise at what he faced.

It was a slip of a young woman, much smaller than he was. She was dressed sensibly enough to move fast and not allow herself to be caught up by snagged clothing. It was all form fitting without being too tight on her, she had grey tight cargo pants, a striped shirt which probably was white in the past, pair of a hiking boots. There was a bulk to her build and Bucky saw why. The silhouette of knives strapped at her sides, a rifle on a sling over her shoulder, a quiver of arrows belted at her hip, and a bow held casually in one hand, a pistol in the other. She cleared the area with the pistol, watching for any unwanted movement before holstering it at her back when she deemed it safe.

She had beautiful, big brown eyes and smooth skin. Bucky noticed a little bruise at her cheek. Her little nose was adding kind of a charm to her figure. She slowly rised her brow, glaring at him.

The woman ventured closer, her posture still tense but it had relaxed greatly in comparison to the few steps she had taken when she arrived. She was showing she wasn’t an enemy by holstering her weapons, but she would still ready at the drop of a hat to jump into action if things went south. He could sense all of that just by the way she held herself.

She slowly reached to sling the bow on a holster on her back, leaving her hands open and free. Her eyes never left him.

“These men would have killed you if I hadn’t intervened. The Solarii aren’t known for their kindness and mercy. Negotiating with them is impossible when they’ve been trained to kill without hesitation. Especially if it looks like you’re going to fight back.” She started in way of greeting. The woman tilted her head to the side. “Surprised they delayed so long in shooting you. Good thing they did. Gave me time to get here.”

He was still tongue-tied at the suddenness of the events that had transcended within the span of a few sparse minutes.

She turned, motioning for him to follow.

He trailed after her with uncertainty in his steps. “Wait... wait! Where am I? Who are these Solarii? And what’s your name?”

The woman craned her head to peer over her shoulder at him. Her gaze was steady and even, unfaltering as she studied him. They passed through the undergrowth for several minutes in silence before she answered him.

“You’re on an island called Yamatai. It’s in the Dragon’s Triangle, west of Japan. The Solarii are…shipwreck survivors. They’re a band of murderers that have laid claim to the island, killing or recruiting any men who wash up on shore. They burn any women they come across.”

A sour taste coated the back of his throat and his stomach turned uneasily at that. He didn’t remember how he’d gotten here, and he wondered if he was alone.

I think I am, but…no. Please don’t let the others be here.Steve. Sam. Natasha.

“Have…have there been any others…?” He couldn’t finish. The woman seemed to take that as a cue.

“Like you? No. You’re the only one I’ve come across, dressed as you are.”

There was little relief in her answer. It only meant he was the first, and that the others might very well be here.

The woman unclipped something from her belt and waggled the item. It was an oval-shaped device, black and ringed with perhaps a white or yellow stripe. A thin tube stuck out from its top.

“The Solarii get riled up when others are spotted on the island. No doubt they’ve already gotten on the horn and started bleating like the mindless sheep they are to others on their radios about you.” She continued as they began climbing up a small incline. The trees were thinning, and there was a path up ahead, and it looked like there was an old bridge they could cross. “You’re the only one right now. If there were others, I would have heard about them on this.”

He didn’t feel very reassured, even with that statement. A thought occurred to him.

“You never told me your name.”

They came across the bridge. It might have once been painted a pleasing, imperial crimson red, but time had taken its toll on it. Still, it was intact and spanned over the length of a small pond. The night critters had begun their hushed chorus and he had barely noticed until then.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“But then, what do I call you? My name’s James Barnes, but more often I'm called Bucky.”

When she walked, she was quiet. She moved with the purpose to be as quiet as possible. He sought to do the same, in case they ran into any more of those Solarii men. He didn’t fancy having another dozen guns pointed at his person, thank you very much.

“Lara. Lara Croft.”

He stopped halfway across the bridge, startled.

“There’s a way off?”

She paused at the end of the bridge and turned a little to view him more properly. “Yes. There’s a boat. I’ll have to fix it, but I need to take care of a few things first.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“No. I mean..” She hesitated. “Not by now at least.  have a safe place where you can stay” she offered, shrugging slightly.

She eyed him a little more critically, her mouth pulling into a shrewd, thin line. “Trained fighter or not, I’m not risking a stray bullet hitting you in the head.” Lara crossed her arms at her chest, rolling her eyes. “Besides.” She took a look at his metal hand. “It shoulkd be useful to defend yourself. But you were just standing there, like a child lost in the mist” a sad smile crawled at her rosy lips as she was speaking.

Lara gave a small nod and turned, motioning him to keep following.

“I can help” he pressed insistently. “Please. At least lemme help with something. You saved me.”

“No, you can’t by now.” She said it in such a matter-of-fact tone, it grated on his nerves. He started after her, silence be damned if it meant catching up.

“And how do you know? You don’t know me, or what I can or can’t do. I can do quite a lot. I killed a lot of people..” Bucky growled loudly, streatching his metal fingers.

She glanced at him as he dropped back, his steps faltering until he stopped. “If you could kill, then you would have done so back there. Those men would have been dead before I met up with you. That’s how I know you can’t do what I need to be done by now to get us out of here. It’s kill or be killed on this island. But for now,” she looked around, sighng, “let's get to the hideout. It's gonna rain.”

[holylulusworld]

My best friend’s wedding - Part 5 - Old feelings, new developments

Summary: After two years of radio silence your former best friend finally sends you a letter. An invitation to his wedding. The man who never wanted to settle down wants to marry someone who isn’t you. Will you attend his wedding? Will you bear the pain of losing him forever? Will you find someone new? And even more important can you hide the secret you have?

Pairing: former Dean x Reader, Sam x Reader (platonic), Dean x Lisa, Castiel, OFC’s, Crowley (mentioned)

Warnings: angst, sadness, a secret, lies, fluff, comforting, tears, Dean is a stubborn idiot once again, arguments, language, two idiots in love and too stubborn to admit

A/N: This is partially an AU but the Winchesters and the reader were/are hunters.

My best friend’s wedding Masterlist

 “Sure.” Letting Dean enter your hotel room you gulp, not wanting to talk to him right now you silently close the door. “Come in.”

“I should clarify I’m not going to cancel the wedding, Y/N. I know Sammy, Cas and the others hate Lisa, but I will not hurt her.” Dean exclaims and you laugh to yourself.

“Yeah, great to know you don’t want to hurt that woman but anyone else. Was that all?” Huffing you toss your phone onto the table, not believing Dean only came here to tell you about Lisa.

“We are in the past, Lisa is my future.” Dean’s stomach tightens as your eyes want to fill with tears, but you blink them away, not letting your emotions getting the best of you.

“Great you love each other that much.” Now an evil grin appears on your lips and you stalk toward Dean, grabbing the papers about your deal for Baby. “Lisa loves you so much she just sold your Baby behind your back.”

Dean gasps for a moment, but stubborn as he is he can’t admit he didn’t know anything about the deal. “It was my idea. That old car is dusting in a garage. Why not making money with it…?”

Your heart breaks even more at the realization there’s no way to help Dean out of this.

“Oh, you sold your home, the only piece left of your family for that woman…wow. Sammy is right. You’re not the man you used to be.” Sniffling you turn around to not let Dean see the tears rolling down your cheeks.

“We all change, Y/N. It’s called development.” Choking on his words Dean looks at the papers, realizing you bought his beloved car. “Why did you buy it?”

“Another stupid mistake. I thought you didn’t know and wanted to save the car you loved so much or at least claimed to love.” Your voice is bitter, full of regret as you meet his eyes again. “I tend to make mistakes close to you.”

“I never forced you to do anything!” Dean hates his voice raises even tho, he can see the hurting on your face. “Never…”

“You sure about that? For years you came to me for shelter and comfort. Every time you needed someone to talk to or to hold you at night you came to me…” Closing your eyes you feel the tears roll down your cheeks.

“Y/N…that was…”

“I’m not done, Dean.” Now your eyes are hard, and he takes a step back as your posture changes.

“You will listen to me for the first time in your life and then you will move your ass out here and marry that stupid slut.” Panting heavily, you step closer, circling Dean like an enemy.

“Fine…tell me what you held back.” Dean’s eyes harden too but he flinches every time a sob escapes your lips and he wishes he could just reach out to you, to make the pain go away.

“I always comforted you, as a friend and family but the only time I needed you…” Trailing off you wipe the angry tears away.

“I begged you to stay for a few days after Sam jumped into the pit, but you left me for that slut. Then you came back and I thought we can make it…”

“Listen…Y/N…I was…” Your hand collides with his face and Dean steps back, panting as he didn’t see this coming.

“I’m not done, Winchester. Not at all, because we spent years together as friends and then you came to me that night, made promises and…”

Blinking more tears away you look at Dean, not letting him get away with his excuses. “I fell…hard. So hard I could feel all my bones break when I landed on the ground after you chose her!” Screaming on the top of your lungs you glare at Dean.

“I chose you, not her! You left before I could tell you so.” Dean talks back and you punch his nose.

His chest heaves up and done, eyes dilated he’s close to losing control.

“Shut up, Dean! You took two weeks to decide! Two fucking weeks while I didn’t need a second to fall in love with you. All these years ago when I met you for the first time I fell in love with you. I only wanted you but you…” Raising your hands in defeat you huff, frustrated…done.

“I…didn’t know that…” Stammering Dean rubs his sore cheek, not knowing how to fix what he broke.

“I left, that’s true. I wanted space…air…dunno. But then I realized I couldn’t just leave you behind. I had to fight for your love, so I came back…a week later…” Now your eyes fill with tears and your face falls even more.

“Y/N…”

“Only to see you with her. You had your arm slung around her waist and she looked at the ring at her finger. I drove away, knowing you made your decision without talking to me. Even if you chose me a week ago…”

Laughing bitterly, you shake your head. “How could you give her the ring a week later, Dean? How…?”

Dean’s words die in his throat as he needs to lean against the wall to steady his body. You were there - a week later you were there.

“…” Speechless Dean searches your face but all he can see are hurting and pain.

“Still…” Sniffling you wipe away a few tears. “I tried to call you for two more months until I finally gave up and moved to my mom’s house. I had to stop fighting for a man who never loved me, Dean.”

“You tried for two more months? Why? Tell me why Y/N. I need to know.” Desperately reaching out to you Dean steps closer but you flinch away, and he stops in his tracks.

“I wanted to tell you something important. I wanted to tell you the reason I had to stop hunting for but I knew, the moment she answered your phone, telling me you don’t want to talk to me that I didn’t need to tell you…”

Exhausted you fall onto the couch, not able to meet Dean’s eyes any longer you grab the papers for Baby.

“You can tell me now…” Dean tries, sitting opposite to you, searching your eyes but you refuse to meet his green orbs. “Please…”

“No.” Voice hard you look up at Dean, clenching your jaw. “Honestly…”

Your hands tighten around the papers you try to find the right words.

“The moment I saw you again I wanted to tell you, I wanted to scream it out but now…”

Tossing the papers onto the table you shake your head. “I know nothing of the old Dean, the one I loved with all my heart, the one I still love is left. He died years ago, and nothing is left of him.”

“I’m still me…” Dean chokes out as you get up to open the door.

“No, you’re not. The real Dean would’ve tried to find out why I stopped hunting. The real Dean would’ve burst open this door, scooping me in his arms and telling me he missed me and…” Now you point toward the papers. “The real Dean, the man I used to love would’ve killed anyone selling his Baby - you’re dead and gone.”

“Y/N stop saying something like that…” Dean jumps up, panting heavily as he can see the light in your eyes is gone.

“I don’t want what’s left of you, Dean. I always imagined meeting you again, telling you that back then I wish I fought harder but now I know it would’ve been useless. My Dean is gone, and I hate the man standing in front of me. The one selling Baby, our home…”

A hickuped sob escapes your lips as you look up at Dean. “You sold Baby, you let her down! Just like you let me down. Get out! Get out!”

Pushing Dean out of your room you slam the door shut, sinking to the floor as tears stream down your face.

“Y/N…” Silently walking down the corridor Dean holds back the tears. You hate what he became… These words echo through his mind and he must admit – he hates himself right now too.

Dean messed up once again. Now he lost his beloved car, and even worse his last chance to tell you he’s sorry what happened back then.

----

“Y/N, tell me what happened with Dean.” Sam gently rubs your back as you can’t stop crying. “Tell me…”

“I don’t like this Dean, Sammy. Not at all…” Choking the words out you give your friend a cracked smile. “He said it was his idea to sell Baby…” Placing the keys in Sam’s hands you turn to get up.

“Y/N…”

“I’m sorry, Sam, I really am but I can’t stay here any longer. I’ve got a life far away from all this heartbreak. I need to take care of my mom and my little girl.”

Giving your friend a cracked smile, you stroke his cheek. “I wanted to believe he still loves me, that we can make it but there’s no chance, Sammy. Give up. Let him marry that bitch and drown in the lie he calls free will…”

----

“One last time! I will ask you this one last time!” Castiel pants heavily, eyesshiny blue and angry he spread his wings while he keeps Dean pressed against the wall. “What did you do to Y/N?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about Cas…” Dean lies, knowing his friend can see through his lie.

“You sure about this? I can feel her pain even while I’m not around. What did you do? I told you to fix this. Dean…” Shaking his head Castiel drops Dean to the floor while Crowley smirks, leaning against the doorframe.

“I tried to talk to her and messed up…” Pressing the ring to his heart Dean sniffles. “I couldn’t admit…”

“Silence!” Crowley snickers as Castiel is close to ripping Dean apart. “I never wanted to break her trust in me but now I have no choice…” Gripping Dean’s arm Castiel nods at Crowley before he zaps Dean away.

----

“Dude! You know I hate…” Gasping Dean sees your mother stand in your house. Eyes widen, she holds your little girls’ hand and Dean’s heart drops. You moved on with someone else, even got a child with him.

“Castiel?” Your mother tries to hide Lara Mary, but your daughter turns around, squealing as she missed her Uncle.

“Uncle Cas!” Lara sniffles, holding out her hands as her emerald eyes look at the man next to your daughters’ friend.

“What…” Dean starts panting, even sinks to his knees as Lara walks toward Castiel. He’s looking at your little girl in awe, admiring her soft features, her soft voice and the way she smiles innocently.

“Dean, may I introduce you to your daughter Lara Mary?”

SPN Forever Tags

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My best friend’s wedding

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[invctus]

1989, 11th July - Alex is born to Tom and Anna Weiss in Lakeville, Minnesota.

1998 - A nine year old Alex learns to hack, inspired by his older sister, Kaz.

2003 - Tom begins to teach a fourteen year old Alex how to shoot a pistol, taking him to a shooting gallery most weekends.

2007, September - Tom suffers a heart attack and dies, leaving behind Anna, Kaz, and an eighteen year old Alex.

2007, September - Alex begins a four year course at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Engineering. During this time, he joined the Minnesota Running Club.

2010 - Kaz marries Lucya. Alex is the best man at her wedding.

2011, June - Alex graduates from the University of Minnesota with full honours.

                - Alex remains unemployed, albeit with a sideline in computer repair. The majority of his income, however, comes from hacking gambling sites to increase the odds of him winning.

2013 - After hacking into several government databases and being hunted by the governments in question, Alex came to Conrad Roth for sanctuary on his research vessel. Though he initially offered to work for free, Roth allowed him to stay aboard and welcomed him into his crew as a technician.

- Alex meets Lara Croft and Sam Nishimura, as well as the rest of the Endurance crew, finding his old friend Jonah a member. Alex immediately develops a crush on Lara, nurturing it in secret, though his over-awkwardness annoys Lara to some degree, and becomes fast friends with Sam.

- Alex meets Dr Whitman after the Endurance is hired to help in filming Whitman’s World. Alex does not take kindly to him, having hacked into files about his private life and discovered his messy divorce and financial strife.

- Roth charges Alex with forging the necessary permits for the ship and the expedition, including the crew.

- While setting up a Wi-Fi range extender for the Endurance, Alex fell overboard. He was saved by Lara, though pushed back into the water by Sam in mischief.

- With the expedition to find Yamatai on hold due to funding issues, Alex presents a solution in the form of a self-made 99.9% hacking program. He uses it on gambling sites to increase their chances of winning and accrue the necessary funds – however, the 0.1% chance of detection occurs and Alex is forced to throw his computer overboard to avoid being traced.

- While at sea, the Endurance needed an intermediate repair in the engine room. While Alex insisted it was a mechanical fault, Reyes correctly informed him it was an electrical fault. In attempting to make a joke, Alex made a flirtatious remark about a girl in Reyes’ photo – a girl he soon learned, around the foot in his mouth and disbelief at his own idiocy, was Reyes’ 14 year old daughter.

March - The crew came to a crossroads midway into their journey. Lara suggested venturing into the Dragon’s Triangle, where Whitman rebuked the idea. Alex hacked into a satellite to show the weather conditions over the triangle – with the storms there and Lara citing Himiko’s apparent myth for controlling the weather, a myth that could have some element of truth, Roth decided to make for the Triangle.

- At 11pm, in the vicinity of Yamatai, a storm strikes the Endurance and cleaves her in two. Alex manages to escape the shipwreck and makes it to the beach with Reyes, Jonah, Grim, Sam, Whitman, and another crew member. Although Alex tried to save him with CPR, the crew member died on the beach.

- The crew reunites with Lara while she is caught in a bear trap, having been searching for the kidnapped Sam and Mathias. The crew free Lara and split up – one to go with Lara and head for Roth, who is communicating via radio and attempting to gather all crew at his location, and the rest to fan out and find Sam. Alex offers to go with Lara, but is denied by Whitman, and joins the party searching for Sam.

- When Lara attempts to use an abandoned radio tower to boost the rescue beacon from the Endurance to call for help, it is Alex who talks her through both finding the control bank and the method of patching the signal manually through the tower’s maintenance box.

- While searching for Sam near Himiko’s palace, Reyes, Alex, and Jonah are taken captive by the Solarii Brotherhood and imprisoned in an old airplane wreck suspended in the underground geothermal caverns. The three are rescued by Lara, though are separated from her again while she returns to the caves to hunt for Sam and Whitman.

- The three manage to escape and reunite with Sam, but are cornered by the Solarii and begin a gun battle to fend them off. With Roth and Lara on a helicopter Roth had called, it seems the four will be left to the islanders, until Lara forces the pilot to land for their friends.

- Roth dies protecting Lara, and Alex attends his funeral pyre burial. He suggests to Lara that they only need to regroup, though he agrees there is something strange about the island. He leaves with Reyes, Jonah, and Sam to go to the old PT boat on the beach, with Reyes believing she can repair it sufficiently to allow them to escape.

- With the boat in bad condition, it becomes apparent Reyes needs her tools from the Endurance to properly repair the boat. Taking inspiration from Lara’s “See what you can do.”, Alex volunteers to fetch the tools from the wreck.

- He manages to successfully evade the Solarii raiding the wreck for scrap, as well as climb and travel over dangerous terrain to reach the wreck. On reaching the engine room, however, Alex was surprised by a Solarii gunman. Their brief gunfight saw Alex come out victorious, however a steel girder and several other pieces of the Endurance’s ceiling were loosened in the battle. They came crashing down on Alex, severely injuring his leg and pinning it beneath the metal beams, trapping him there until Lara came.

- Though she attempted to remove the debris, it caused Alex too much pain. The Solarii, aware of Lara’s presence and previously alerted by the sound of Alex’s gunshots, stormed the engine room, engaging in a brief exchange of bullets. After convincing Lara to leave him and return to Reyes with the tools, Alex shot at the ruptured gas pipe, causing an explosion that rocked the ship and ultimately had Lara presume he was dead. Instead, Alex was severely burned along his left side and right arm, thrown from the debris into a lower room by the blast. He was knocked unconscious and sealed within the room as the Endurance sank, with only a limited supply of air.

- Waking up on the seafloor some unknown period of time later, Alex knew he had to act. If his air supply did not run out, it would be the mounting pressure that killed him, his saving prison already groaning under the weight. Eventually forcing himself to stand, though he could not put his weight on the injured leg, Alex dragged himself to the room door, where he forced it open and attempted to swim to the surface before the pressure killed him through knocking all air for his lungs and drowning him, or by giving him brain damage in the process. Successfully making it to the surface, Alex makes for the remaining half of the Endurance, seeking to raid what medical supplies may be left in order to treat his wounds.

- A tourniquet tied around his leg and what bandages he could find binding his leg in a makeshift splint, Alex retreats to rest for the night, resolving to return to the crew in the morning. By the time he awakens, however, Lara and the crew have already journeyed inland to rescue Sam.

- Alex slowly drags himself to the beach, forced to take frequent breaks and rely almost entirely on a crutch (his leg is useless, he knows this, he knows this, but still he forces himself to go on). It is there he sees the PT boat leaving off in the distance, Lara having rescued Sam from Himiko. Though he tries to hail them, his voice is too hoarse, his body too weak, and so they leave without hearing him.

- Three months pass, and Alex is still on the island. His leg is barely healed, broken and twisted beyond all compare. Though he refuses to look, gangrene has begun to set in to the wound by the second month, despite his attempts to keep the wound clean. He searches for any other possible way off the island, evading the stragglers of the Solarii and killing them where he must.

- By the sixth month, Alex resolves that the only possible way to escape is to hail for rescue from the radio tower as Lara did. It takes him several weeks to cross the island, slowed as he is by injury and his leg, and several days to climb the tower. On his descent from the tower, his leg gives out and he falls from the last ladder, breaking his right arm.

early September: Lara travels to Pripyat at the behest of her hallucinations of Alex. There, she meets his sister, Kaz, and her family-in-law, and defends them from Trinity. Although Viktor and Kirill are killed by Mr Cruz, it is revealed that Lucya is still alive, having faked her death to escape Trinity. Lucya, Kaz, Varvara, and Pavel are all taken into Witness Protection, where Lara gives them burner phones that they may remain in contact with her should they need her.

late October - Alex is rescued by plane and flown to Bokutoh Hospital for emergency treatment. He is treated for sepsis and found to be suffering from septic shock; his arm is set and his leg, too far ravaged by gangrene and infection, is amputated above the knee. He remains in a medically induced comatose state for several weeks, half-dead and kept alive by IV lines and antibiotics.

2014, January - Alex begins to stir. Although still disorientated and incredibly weak, hospital staff manage to get two sentences from him – Lara Croft and Yamatai.

- Although not enough to identify him, as his identification was left in the Endurance, Alex’s repeated murmurs of ‘Lara Croft’ drive hospital staff to find her in the hopes she might know their mystery patient. She is located on account of her publishing her testimony of what happened on Yamatai.

10th February - Lara Croft is contacted. She does not remain convinced the hospital have the right person, until Yamatai is mentioned. She immediately packs and fly for Japan.

11th February - Lara reunites with Alex. At first she does not believe it is him, believing instead that it is a hallucination or a cruel joke. Though Alex manages to convince her, through tears on both parts, he is still not strong enough and falls asleep again.

12th February - Lara contacts Jonah, Reyes, and Sam to inform them of Alex’s survival. They all fly to the hospital to see Alex with their own eyes and reunite with one they thought dead.

15th February - With Alex’s permission, Lara has him transferred to Royal Surrey County Hospital, so that she and Sam may keep watch over him.

17th March - With doctors finally satisfied he is recovered enough to be released, Alex is discharged. He is offered a place to live by Lara, in her London apartment with her and Sam.

1st April - Alex begins the process of being fitted for a prosthetic leg. Although he tries to argue, Lara insists on paying for the whole process, as well as his rehabilitation and learning to walk.

November - Atlas DeMornay forces Lara to attend therapy and prove she is of sound mind before he allows her access to her fortune. It is revealed to Alex and Sam by Atlas that Lara is in fact a Lady.

- Obsessed with proving her legitimacy, Lara begins a search for the Divine Source. Although forbidden to accompany her physically, Alex remains in London as technological backup, ready to hack and find information and funding as Lara needs it.

- Following her return from Syria, Lara returns to Croft Manor, bringing Alex and Sam with her. Though it is Lara who does all the work, Alex still attempts to help her find evidence she is the rightful owner of the estate and her inheritance.

- Lara and Jonah fly out to Siberia to find the lost city of Kitezh. Alex remains in Croft Manor with Sam, helping out in the restoration where he can and waiting for Lara to return.

[savesamnishimura]

Why does Sam matter?

Tomb Raider is one of the first games I played when my parents finally offered my brother and I a Playstation. It was our first console and even though we didn’t have many games, I remember how in awe my 7/8 year old self was at the time. Even if I was just a kid, it was amazing to realize that, not just my brother could incarnate a ‘super hero’ of his gender, I could too. I could be this badass British woman who kicks ass and takes name and who has a weird obsession with doing headstand just to climb an obstacle (show off*!).

I also remember that, even though I’ve never been close to my brother, we were morphing into a real team when we were playing the game together. Maybe that is why I’ve never seen Lara as a lone wolf so much, because I remember Wilson (the fridge part is a nice memory, even if it makes you sound like a psychotic person) and all the characters that were around her along her adventures. Not only that, but I also remember how I used to look for game guides with our very slow 56k Internet connection (I don’t miss that time!) to guide my brother through the game when it was his turn to play.

The thing is, although I look fondly at this part of my childhood, I can’t really tell you what the plots of the games were. I was young and even when I played as a teenager; I only remember bits and pieces, because I loved playing this badass woman but I couldn’t relate to her. Along the years, she looked less and less like a normally constituted person with a soul (triangle boobs, really? Can you even run with that?) and more and more like a Terminator.

So I slowly lost interest, focusing on other role models, because I was lucky enough to be born in a time when strong women were starting to appear on TV on regular basics. Time flies and before I knew it, I was a young adult, finishing my master degree and ready to take on the world (things didn’t go as planned, kinda like with the search of Yamatai but that’s another story.) and what do I hear one day? There’s a Tomb Raider reboot, with a Lara who’s practically my age! I was ecstatic, memories of my childhood came flooding back and I couldn’t wait to play it, to incarnate my girl Lara once again, now that I’m older and wiser. Of course, I expected a lot.

And boy, I wasn’t let down, it was AMAZING! Unlike the games in my childhood, I didn’t just appreciate Lara character, I fell in love with it.  She wasn’t a cold robot killer anymore, she was human, flawed and beautiful and struggling to find her path, just like you do at her age. And she wasn’t alone, she had her mentor, friends and more importantly her bff Sam.

This time, the plot was captivating. I was so immersed into it, ignoring everything just to play the game (I played it several times since and I’m still amazed). I wanted to save my homegirl Sam, not because the game was telling me to, but because the character that plays the “damsel in distress” wasn’t weak or annoying, she was also strong, funny and witty, she was Lara’s rock, Lara’s motivation when she wanted to give up. Their connection was so organic and beautiful. And the end of the game was just iconic.

It was like I had found my Lara Croft, badass and yet human, strong and fragile, a woman who gets hurt, who suffers but who keeps going, someone not to mess with yet still shy and bookish because women are not one dimensional character. This Lara inspired me and a part of what makes her even more likeable was her relationship with Sam, no matter if romantic or platonic.

After that, I needed to know more about them and I started reading the comics. Rhianna Pratchett and Gail Simone did a wonderful job portraying Sam and Lara, as individual and as friends. It was all I could ask for. 

But oh why do all good things come to an end? Suddenly Sam was written off in preparation of the new game. I had a bad feeling, and it turned out I was right…

Although I liked playing ROTTR, it lacked of something and I can barely tell you what the story was about. Despite Jonah’s presence, Lara was less human, like a part of her was missing, funny, just like Sam… When I played the DLC Blood Ties, I couldn’t help but think how Sam was to Lara what Amelia was to her father Richard, and yet, Sam was still nowhere to be find. Why does Lara need to be a lone wolf when even her mother and father left her letters telling her she didn’t have to be alone, that they wanted her to be loved and cared? It was supposed to be a reboot, a fresh start, so why slowly going back to the killing machine she was in the previous generation the game?

I understand that the studio wants to please old and now fans, but you can’t please everyone, and TR2013 was a commercial success, so why disregard the new generation of fans to try and seduce players that won’t like the reboot version anyway?

A lot of new video games hero and heroine have companion going with them on adventure and they are not less of a success, so why Lara Croft couldn’t be one of them? Why couldn’t she have Sam going with her, being there, if not physically, through video recordings or over the radio? And Jonah could help too, but having him isn’t enough or the same, his relation with Lara is different, he’s like a big brother, but with Sam, Lara lets herself be, like she does with no one else and that’s what’s missing now…

After reading the last Tomb Raiders comics issue, I have little hope of seeing Sam again (it was like years of canonically strong bond between them never existed), and seeing Lara turn back into a loner just breaks my heart. I’m not sure I want to invest my time, money and love into supporting this franchise if that’s where the story is heading and I don’t think I’m the only one (There are articles that prove that Sam is loved as a character and the humanized version of Lara too).

Sam matters to Lara’s story, to us, to me, please don’t write her off.

I know it’s already long, but I’ll just finish with this. Lara Croft isn’t a one dimensional character, Lara Croft doesn’t have to be cold, Lara Croft doesn’t have to be a stereotype. My Lara Croft is a wonderful young woman who can go on adventure and still have friends, people to come home to. My Lara Croft falls, struggles and gets back up again, not for her dead father’s memory, but for herself, for her friends that she loves and who cares for her, my Lara Croft could be so much more if only you could give her a chance…