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1
It had been a long night. A long night of not agreeing to dance politely and not so politely, eating a lot of terrible food, and watching out for Sam who was busy with the guys who invited her here. While there was somewhat less alcohol consumption than Lara expected there to be here, it was still a lot. And this place gave her a bad feeling. She just wanted to leave and prepare for Sam’s hangover tomorrow.
However, they were waiting for Sam’s friend whose name she had already forgotten to get them home because he said he would give them a lift, but the guy seemed to be still saying his goodbyes. And she was holding a very drunk Sam at the moment, so that didn’t help her patience. Sam had spent the whole night drinking various interestingly-colored drinks while Lara got herself a beer she didn’t even try. By the end of the night, she was demanding to be carried home by the most beautiful lady in the place and singing a terrible rendition of some song she didn’t know, so there wasn’t much else to do but intervene and take her before the next round of drinks.
In all truth, judging by her dancing five minutes ago, she probably could walk a little, but didn’t want to.
It was fine, though, even if feeling her fingers poking at her biceps was a little annoying. Said poking began when she re-discovered she had fingers and could move them, which would usually be funny, but Sam was extra appreciative of her arms tonight. And that was usual for her, honestly speaking. Taking into account how strange her eyes looked and how she eyed her after the second shot, her drinks probably had something weird. Or had too many of them. Any of those.
The pokes became more insistent. “Alright, what?” Lara asked.
She giggled again. “A pretty girl is gonna go…” She paused for a moment. Lara thought she had forgotten what she was going to say, but then she giggled again. “She’s coming home with me! To my home!” For her current state, Sam was talking pretty well. Her speech was slow and slurred, but impressively understandable.
She rolled her eyes. “I usually do, yes.”
Sam looked at her in awe. “You do?”
If she didn’t have her hands full at the moment, she would have facepalmed. “I do.”
“Why? Do you love me?”
Lara told herself that Sam was just being her inebriated self right now and she was just imagining that hopeful note in her voice. She couldn’t take her words seriously in this state. And she was just joking, as usual. And none of those things were something her racing heart understood at the moment. “Sometimes I think you get more insufferable when you’re drunk. But then sometimes you get less insufferable, so I think that evens it.”
“Thanks. I’m cold.”
“We’ll be going soon, just hold on.”
She suddenly jolted in her arms, startled. “But what about Lara? I can’t leave her alone! Take me back, I have to go with Lara! Lara!”
She began wiggling and trying to climb over her. Lara did her best to keep her balance. “I’m Lara.”
Sam stopped. “Oh. Hi, Lara. Why is everything moving?”
“Because you’re intoxicated.”
“Eh, barely. And… why does your face look like that?”
“What, annoyed?”
She frowned. “You’re mad at me. Did I do something wrong?”
Lara breathed deeply. “I just want to leave and go home,” she said.
“Me too. Home’s nice.”
“It is.”
“And you’re pretty nice too. What’s your name, again?”
She couldn’t be serious. “Lara. I’m Lara.”
“Oh, beautiful name! It suits you because you’re beautiful too. I think that’s my favorite name. Maybe. I don’t remember. Did you know my best friend’s named Lara too?”
That, plus some other remarks, was exactly what she said when she dragged her off someone’s empty table. “Not this again…” she said to herself. She briefly considered just dropping her now and walking back, but knew she wouldn’t be able to.
“I think she didn’t wanna come tonight, y’know. She usually comes just because I make her. Am I a bad friend?” Sam was a lot of things, but a bad friend wasn’t one of them. “But if I don’t bring her along, then when is she going to live life outside of her books? And I’d hate to leave her all alone and… depressed… and alone… I don’t want her to be alone…”
Sam looked as if she were about to cry at the thought. Since Lara didn’t feel like discussing her pathetic social life with her right now, she decided the conversation was over. “Don’t you want to sleep for a while, Sam?”
She nodded. And put her head on her collarbone. Which wasn’t giving her any strange feelings about it. Absolutely none. “Only with a goodnight kiss. I want goodnight kisses. I like goodnight kisses. Can I have one now?”
“From me?”
She laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in history. “No, from the other Lara…” She squinted at her face. “Actually, can you tell the other Lara I want her to give me a kiss too? She’s right there by your side. Hi, Lara. Wow, she looks just like you tonight. Same dress and all. Are you… What’s the word? Something like family?”
She was about to reply when she heard Sam’s friend arrive. Finally. “I’m sorry for taking so long, let’s go.” Lara followed him to his car.
Sam nodded in understanding. “And who are you two? Wait, wait, I know the word…”
“Uh, what?” he asked.
“Twins!” Sam exclaimed.
He seemed offended. “I look nothing like your girlfriend!” Now Lara was offended.
“I have a girlfriend?” Sam wondered. She looked at her. “Are you my girlfriend? Cool.”
Lara blushed at that. “I’m not her girlfriend!”
“You’re not?”
“You’re not?” she echoed, disappointed. Lord help her. The night was about to get longer.
—-------------
2
“I’m sorry for getting you so dirty,” Sam said.
Lara shrugged. “Don’t worry. Just don’t trip into any more holes filled with mud and strange plants next time you want to wander off to photograph nature or something.”
She groaned. “I ruined this, didn’t I?”
Yes, they would go back to the city earlier than they expected, but the rest of the trip was fun. A lot of walks through nature, far from the stress of lectures and people, just the two of them. It was good while it lasted. “I wouldn’t say ruin… just prematurely end, maybe?”
“Whatever. I’m so sorry.”
“These things happen,” she said. “When we get back to the camp I’ll fix you up.”
“And later you’ll make me go to the hospital even if my legs feel well, I assume?” Sam asked.
“And after that I’m also going to make sure you rest them well for the next two months at minimum,” she added. “Besides, you should be the one worrying about getting yourself to the hospital, but since you are not, then I guess someone has to make sure you do.”
“I still think I don’t need the hospital,” Sam murmured.
“You looked like a newborn trying to run when you tried to stand up back there,” Lara reminded her.
She gasped, offended. “If anything, it would be a toddler, sweetie.”
“In any case, you’re not walking anywhere. Baby.”
Some part of that sentence seemed to startle Sam so much that she didn’t say anything for the next twenty seconds. Maybe it was the fact that she lost this discussion sinking in? “We’ll see,” she murmured.
—-------------
3
When she first entered, Lara only wanted to head to bed and be over with the world until she woke up. Work hadn’t been awful, but it left her tired.
And then she saw Sam, passed out, with her laptop still open and an empty mug of coffee on the floor by her feet. She must have fallen asleep a while ago, her screen was black. Probably working on that big project she had due for next week. There was also a new box by the kitchen. Jaffa cakes, by the looks of it. Sam must have noticed that she was looking for some yesterday. She smiled at that.
Lara picked her up, careful to not wake her. She shifted, but didn’t seem startled. She carried her to her bed. It wasn’t a long path by any means, but since she had to be very mindful of the girl in her arms, it took her longer than usual.
Finally, Lara put her down on her bed. Very gently. Her feet first, and then adjusting the rest with an arm on her back and another at the back of her head. Lara let herself linger on the moment, simply holding Sam. This was nice. The position was uncomfortable, but still nice. Perhaps, if she could do this more often…
But she couldn’t, so better to forget it. She stepped away.
Her foot hit something hard.
Lara flinched. That hurt. Hopefully whatever it was didn’t get damaged. Sam groaned and snuggled the arm by her head. “Gimme five…”
She cursed in her mind and stood still. “Sorry, Sam. Go back to sleep.” Now both of her arms were trapped and she was still leaning awkwardly over Sam. She waited until her breath evened out a little to get one arm back, but Sam seemed intent on keeping the other one hostage.
Which she didn’t completely mind, but she should still get herself out of Sam’s room.
Lara waited a few minutes in that position. She moved again, slowly. Sam hummed. “Just come already,” she said sleepily, yanking her arm.
Lara wasn’t sure if she was talking to her or whoever she was dreaming of. Still, she decided to stay. Just until she was more asleep and let her get her arm back.
Or so she told herself as she fully climbed into bed.
Sam moved closer. “Love you,” she whispered, still dreaming. Maybe. Probably.
A part of her hoped that it had been aimed at her after all.
—-------------
4
Lara looked around and walked as silently as she could towards the big rock that would be their next cover, just to be safe. While she rationally knew the hostile beings of this island were all dead, she still thought one would appear out of nowhere if she wasn’t careful enough. And, after every fight and every injury and every kill, losing Sam to a second of distraction was the last thing she wanted.
She couldn’t lose her to the Solarii. Not again. They were too close to get out of this cursed island and escape towards the safety of civilization, where there weren’t mad cultists, or other things, going after Sam or anyone else.
“Maybe you could put me down here,” Sam said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
“Huh?”
“You’re tired,” she said, “and you need to rest from carrying me all the way-”
“If I did that,” Lara interrupted, “we would take longer to meet the others. I can hold on until then.”
She began moving. They were alone. Sam gave her a look. “Or what if I walked the rest of the way?”
That was out of the question. Her side was killing her and her head hurt and many of her injuries wanted to get some of her attention too, but in her state honoring that request was out of the question. “As we discussed two times already, you can’t walk, you’re too weak now. I’m carrying you the rest of the way and that’s final.”
“Fine, mom,” she said.
She didn’t mean to sound so harsh. “Sam…”
“No, it’s fine, I get it, you worry for me and all that, but I’m worried about you too. You’re about to collapse, sweetie.”
Even though she said it so softly, Lara still felt scolded. “I’m not about to collapse.”
“Yeah, sure.”
She was about to say something else when she stumbled on air. She didn’t drop Sam, but her body protested. Well, she had a point. If she stayed alert, then some rest wouldn’t kill them. “Maybe I do need to sit down for five minutes.”
Which she was sure would be two at maximum, and she wouldn’t let go of Sam. The thought of letting go seemed too terrifying to try now.
With some effort, she sat down on the floor, behind the rock. She moved Sam so that she was sitting in her lap. “Even though this place is horrible, I gotta admit that the seats are comfy. I could get used to this.” She only hummed in response as she looked around.
Lara hoped something like this would never happen again, but she had to admit that she enjoyed their current position too.
“How are you?” Sam asked. “Aside from exhausted, I mean.”
“Fine,” she said, not wanting to tell her the truth about her state at the moment.
“Lara. I’m not blind.”
Lara debated whether or not to tell her about the things she had to endure to save her, but settled on staying silent. That was a lot to say and she didn’t want her to start feeling guilty over things she had no control over. “Okay, maybe not fine, but as fine as I can be. Besides, I’d rather be injured than mourning you.”
“Same here.” Sam put a hand on her face, which caused her brain to short-circuit. And the kiss on her cheek made it turn to goo. “Thank you.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” she stammered quickly, failing to hide the blush her kiss provoked.
—-------------
5
It had been a rough last couple of days. From finding which unregistered plane flew into Russia recently to spending sleepless nights worrying if she might be too late to rescue Sam to fighting mercenaries to get to her, the whole ordeal was exhausting.
But it was over now. Sam was safe. In her arms, asleep. The last days were more rough on her, judging by the visible injuries. Looking at the hand buried in the back of her head, Lara noticed there was blood. Not the dried one from a few days ago that also dirtied her home, this was more recent. A part of her wanted to go back and make the surviving bastards pay for it. Wanted it too much. “What did they do to you, Sam?”
Of course, Sam couldn’t answer. Lara kicked herself. Maybe if she had answered any of her previous calls, she would have known Sam was in danger before she was kidnapped, or at least might have heard something about her investigation through the years. Maybe if she had been faster, Sam wouldn’t have gotten hurt.
Maybe if she had contacted her earlier, none of this would have happened. Why had she stayed away for so long, even when she didn’t have to?
It was no use thinking about that now. It had happened, and now she was on a modified jeep with a ruthless woman who came out of nowhere to save Sam. “Thank you for that,” Lara said, breaking the silence. “For your help, I mean.”
She grunted in response. “How is your…” She seemed to debate the right word. Lara herself wondered that too. “Uh, her?”
“Alive,” she replied without clarifying, “and hurt. I need to take her to a doctor.”
Her companion glanced at Sam. “Exactly how serious are her injuries?”
“She won’t die on the way.” She hoped.
“May I ask, what was her business with those people?”
If she didn’t know already, Lara wasn’t about to tell her anything about Sam’s work. “That is something I can’t answer now.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“May I ask, why did you come here? Did Sam… or any of her friends… hire you?”
“That is something I can’t answer now,” she replied simply.
Lara nodded. “I understand.”
They didn’t talk any more after that. She busied herself looking at Sam properly. This time not at her wounds only. She still looked too much like the last time she had seen her in person, but older. Her unguarded expression as she slept was something she missed a lot, her features looked softer and calm.
Lara had missed her a lot, period. And she knew Sam must’ve missed her a lot too. The guilt ate at her. “I promise I won’t disappear on you like that again, you hear me?”
“She can’t hear you.”
“I’m aware, thank you.”
The jeep stopped moving. The mystery woman cursed. No fuel. “We walk the rest of the way. You can manage, right?” Lara nodded and tightened her hold on Sam. She had done this more times than she would have liked. “Good.”
“Where are you taking us?” she asked.
“I believe there is a hunting lodge up there. With signal, in case you have to talk to someone. I have to make an urgent call myself.”
Maybe someone up there was a doctor. Or had a first aid kit. In any case, they should have soap, water, and some bread at the bare minimum. “Lead the way, then.”
And, thus, they began walking.
Eventually, Lara felt a shift in her arms. A hum filled her ears. Sam seemed to be close to regaining consciousness. Good. “Almost there,” she said, “hold on a little longer.”
—-------------
+1
“This is getting old, y’know,” Sam said.
“Yes, I’m aware of my age,” Lara replied and adjusted her hold on her.
“No, you carrying me. I can go by myself. If only you told me exactly where you’re taking me.”
That would give her a better idea of where they were going, so no. Besides, Lara felt like it today. Today was a special day. “The blindfold I put on you would be a problem.”
“I could be holding your hand. Seriously, didn’t you hurt your back carrying some heavy thing from your basement like four days ago?”
It barely hurt now, so there was nothing to worry about. “Moving an old table, actually, and that was a week ago. Besides, I… wanted to.”
She could almost feel her rolling her eyes under the blindfold. “Okay, if that’s what makes you happy, I think I can endure this suffering.” Lara chuckled. “But are we there yet?”
It was the third time she asked that. “Almost. Just hold on.”
“Okay, but I’ll be doing the heavy lifting next time.”
Next time she would find another excuse to be the one doing the carrying. “Sure.”
“Are we there yet?” Finally, they arrived.
“We’re there now.”
Sam climbed off her, removed the blindfold, and gasped as she took everything in. The flowers that decorated the trees, the picnic basket, the champagne Lara stored for a special occasion, and the giant banner with a “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” written in bold letters.
It had taken her an embarrassing amount of time to do this, but Lara had to admit it looked well. Over the last years, when there weren’t any antique artifacts and people trying to kill her to worry about, they had spent most of the time together. Their relationship became stronger than ever, and Sam basically lived with her now again. Despite there being an obvious unnamed something between them that only seemed to grow with each passing day, neither of them had asked the question yet. Until now.
“So?” Lara asked, nervous. She got no answer. “What do you think?”
Sam didn’t react for a while. She was starting to get worried, maybe she had misinterpreted everything or maybe she hated how she did it or maybe it was too soon. Maybe she should have waited a few years just to be sure and gather more information. “Are you serious?” she finally said.
Lara deflated. Oh, this was a big mistake. “I am. I’m in love with you, Sam. But it’s totally okay if you aren’t, honestly, I shouldn’t have said anything, forget this happened and-”
And Sam was kissing her. With her mouth pressed to hers. Which was the way people kissed, of course.
It took her a moment to fully process, but when she did, she kissed back eagerly. It was sudden, fast, strong, and it was more than she had dreamed of. Sam was digging her fingernails in her back, and Lara’s hands found their way towards her waist. It was beautiful. Perfect.
But it had to end eventually. When they ran out of air, their faces barely separated. Their breaths mixed.
“Why did it take you so long?” Sam said, resting her head on her shoulder.
“The fear, I guess. I wasn’t sure you’d love me back. Why didn’t you say anything ever before, huh?”
Sam gave her a weird look. “I did and tried several times. Remember?”
She clearly remembered, but how was she supposed to know Sam had been serious about it all along? “I remember you were very drunk those times. I wasn’t going to believe anything you said in that state!”
“And the times I wasn’t drunk? All of my flirting? All the times I said I would love to kiss you and how hot you were and how in love I was with you? Come on, Lara!”
“I might have… believed you were just messing with me. Or that you were like that with everyone and I wasn’t special. Or that you meant it in a friendly way.”
Sam facepalmed. “Damn, I just had to fall in love with the dumbest, slowest, most oblivious woman on this planet. I thought you weren’t interested in me. Honestly, a part of me gave up on this five years ago.”
Lara scratched the back of her head. “Uh…”
“But,” she continued, moving her hands to her waist, “better late than never, I guess. Idiot.”
“So is that a yes?”
“God, this is why you stayed single for so fucking long!” Lara laughed. Sam gave her a short kiss. “Does that answer your question?”
She hummed. “I don’t know, can you repeat that very slowly just to be sure I understood you right this time?”
“I can repeat that all the times you need. If…”
“If what?”
“If next time you carry me I have a wedding dress on.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
Lara shook her head. “I’ll think about it, but we haven’t even gone on a single date yet!”
“Oh, okay, then we should fix that first. Like, now.”
“Agreed. Now, would you like a sandwich or head straight for the cake?”
“Depends. Are you the cake?”
That caused her face to go through several shades of red. “Sam!”
She feigned an innocent face. “Because you’re sweet and your lipstick is delicious! Wait, what were you thinking?”
Lara kissed her. “Nothing. Just that I love you so much.”
Now it was Sam who blushed. “I love you too.”