Lara stared quietly out the window of the rented car she shared with Sam as they traveled up the highway through rural Oregon. True to form, they still didn't take the easy path, always highways and backroads. Even when they were in the States, they had to have their adventure. It was in her blood, and by extension, now it was in Sam's too. She would stare at the abandoned homes and other buildings they passed and wondered what kinds of treasures lay hiding in there. Some might call her crazy, but her definition of treasure was also pretty broad at this point. There was archaeology to be done in America, just like any other country. Just because it was newer (in the grand sense of things) didn't mean there weren't layers upon layers of history. Just because her resumé had been updated significantly in the past few years didn't mean she wasn't still a gigantic nerd at her core.
Speaking of nerds, it was tough to remember exactly how Sam had managed to con her into coming along to her old alma mater, Blackwell Academy. She had talked about the place so much during their college years she felt like she already knew it well. Following the success of her first full documentary, Samantha Nishimura had been invited to come speak at her former school to give some hope to all the little ones that were still struggling to find their footing. Of course, Lara knew that she had been convinced with the same silver tongue she'd used to get Blackwell to pay for both her and Lara to go..
Arcadia Bay was the textbook definition of picturesque, but seeing Sam's nostalgic delight was far more entertaining. It seemed as though she had a story about every building they passed – the local cafe, the lighthouse, the school... Well, alright, there wasn't a lot, but to hear the other woman speak about it, this was a bustling metropolis constantly full of life. It was sweet, in a way.
Chloe groaned in the overly-dramatic way only she could manage. "You mean to tell me you had me come all the way across town because you want to drag me to some nerd lecture that's not even required?"
Max sort of knew this was coming, but she had already prepared for her girlfriend's resistance. "Two words, Chloe. Lara. Croft." The immediate change in her face was kind of delicious. She knew that would get her attention! "Sam and Lara have known each other for ages, and she talks about her all the time on her blog! Wherever Lara goes, she goes."
"So they're fucking."
"Jesus, yes Chloe, I wasn't going to go there, but Lara is not only her favorite subject but also... erm... her favorite subject." It didn't actually take much more prodding before Chloe was snatching up her hand and hauling her across campus to the auditorium.
Sam was standing in what might generously be called the backstage area of Blackwell's auditorium finding she was having more trouble than she expected going out on stage to give her talk. "Put me in front of a camera and I'm fine! But a couple dozen high school kids and suddenly I freeze up... Talk about pathetic, huh?" Lara cupped her cheek and smiled that same warm smile she always smiled. Here it comes...
"You, Samantha Nishimura, are going to go out there and give your big fancy speech. Then we're going to go get a couple burgers at that diner you won't shut up about, go to our B&B, and sleep for ages."
Sam brought her hands up and rested them on top of Lara's, closing her eyes and soaking in the absolute cheesiness of this moment. "Thank sweetie..." She turned the other woman's hand slightly and kissed the knuckle before going out to the podium before her fear started to overwhelm her again. Lara's words rang through her mind, echoing over and over again and she began to speak.
"I thought about trying to avoid cliches. But then I realized that cliches are one of the greatest common languages we have. So yes, follow your dreams, go on adventures, open yourself to the world, trust those closest to you. As artists, that's what we're here to do. To live our lives and make interesting art."
This chick isn't half-bad. She reminds me a little of Max. All tiny and spunky and full of hope. I guess I can understand why she was so excited for this. Still can't believe I let her con me into this, though. Lara's not even on-stage, she probably isn't here at all. What a fucking idiot I am, thinking I'd ever get a chance to talk to her. The speech seemed to be winding down, and finally Max leapt to her feet with applause, along with a few other photo nerds.
"A-Anyway, we'll be around for a while to answer questions and chat if anyone is interested. Even though I'm sure most of you have better things to be doing on a Friday afternoon. I understand the Vortex Club is still alive and kicking!" That was met with another few loud cheers, and Chloe watched with the slightest hint of disgust as Sam gave a small fist pump. Max's big hero was a former Vortex bitch? Well, she just lost a few cool points in my book... Still, that word, 'we,' stuck out to her. And she felt a moment of hope as her heart skipped a beat. Just maybe she would actually get to meet her own hero after all!
The crowd of students that had come to listen to the lecture had already been rather small. The one that stuck around to chat more was even smaller. But Max was right there, front and center, with Chloe next to her, as Sam and Lara came up to the edge of the stage to sit and hang out. Even with all her negativity, Chloe was pretty excited too. She was right there! Lara Croft! In the flesh! All buff and beautiful and holding her girlfriend's hand! Chloe reflexively grabbed Max's hand just to try and emulate a fraction of their awesomeness.
It was sort of difficult to miss the girl with the bright blue hair. She stood out, which was impressive considering what an artistic crowd was present for the small Q&A. The thing that really caught Lara's attention was that she didn't seem to be all that interested in Sam. She was far more curious about Lara, constantly looking over at her before looking back away bashfully. It seemed like some kind of schoolgirl crush. Certainly the archaeologist adventurer didn't have fans of her own. It made sense that Sam would have fans, her work was incredible! But ultimately she was just a dork who dug around in the sand and the mud for artifacts, and occasionally went scaling cliffs and fighting bad guys.
But she remained fixated, and no matter how many questions the students had (particularly her friend... girlfriend? Well, whatever) she stayed planted, still looking at her from time to time. As things wound down, only the two young girls remained, fixed at the hand, along with Sam and her. The one with the sandy hair approached Sam and anxiously asked if she would sign something.
Finally, finally the blue girl approached looking somehow cocky and unsure all at once. "Hey there. Chloe. Um, big fan. You're... like... super cool..." So it was true! Somehow, meaning only to follow her passions, Lara had actually managed to accrue followers?
"Um, the uh... the pleasure's all mine, Chloe. I'm sorry, I'm not really used to this. Normally I just sort of tag along when Sam has a thing and just stand there looking mysterious." Lara crossed her arms, suddenly feeling rather bashful herself. "Even with all that time on-camera, I'm not used to having people know who I am except for academic committees."
Surprisingly Chloe didn't seem too phased. Instead she just popped up onto the edge of the stage next to her, reclining slowly. "Nah, that's alright. It's probably best to be real about stuff. I'm a Blackwell drop-out and good for nothing layabout who just acts tough to mask her insecurities about the future. Nobody's perfect."
Well, if this is what it's like having fans, Lara wondered if maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
"A signature?" Sam looked honestly surprised as the small girl approached her with the stack of papers that looked like she had printed them out herself shortly before arriving for the lecture. Which was precisely when Max had printed them. "I mean I'd be happy to! I'm just not sure it's going to be worth a whole lot to anyone..." She finally took the document and her surprise only grew. Max was sort of expecting this. "How in the world did you find this? I only posted this to my private blog"
Ugh, she knew this was a terrible idea. The last thing this woman probably wanted was someone fangirling all over her about a failed project that she couldn't get anyone to go along with. But the script for her documentary Yamatai was one of the most important things Max had found in months. Ever since October, it helped her to stay sane, to see something so cohesive and sensible about a situation so horrific and impossible. "Yeah, that's where I got it. I-I thought it was brilliant."
Okay Max, you can do this. You've only been thinking about it since you found this in December. "Tell me honestly, all the stuff in here... This happened, right? Because... Because I think I need to hear you say that this is autiobiographical and not fiction."
Sam stared at her for a long time, long enough that she could hear Chloe and Lara chatting idly in a much brighter and friendlier tone than her own conversation. It felt like ages, though it was probably only a few seconds. Sam's lips parted and Max heard the most glorious sound, one that she didn't even realize would make her tear up slightly. "It did. Lara can confirm it. So if you're one of those assholes..."
"I-I'm not! I'm not an asshole! I... We..." If anyone else had been in the room at the moment Max wouldn't have continued. But even Principal Wells had already taken off. It was just them. She saw Chloe's blue hair coming closer in her peripheral vision and her hand filled with the presence of her girlfriend's, their fingers intertwining.
"What's going on? Why aren't you an asshole?"
"Sam?" Lara looked about ready to kill someone, and if Sam's script and story were anything to go by, she wouldn't hesitate.
Dammit, she wasn't trying to make a scene, but here she was now, and there was really nowhere to go but forward. "October seventh, 2013. I suddenly gained the ability to move backwards through time in small bursts..."
"Woah, Max, hang o-"
"On the other side of the world, you two survived a ship crash on an island. Sam, you are assumed to be the last surviving member of a holy line and get captured by a cult. Five days later, I'm involved in the death of a serial killer and a gigantic storm shows up on the shore of Arcadia Bay. It's capable of leveling the town. On Yamatai, Lara kills an ancient goddess of storms, and the tornado dissipates as suddenly as it arrived." She was trembling and even Chloe's steady grip wasn't enough to stop it. "I-I spent two months having panic attacks and night terrors, never knowing why. Then I found that and I felt a little less insane. S-S-So if you could just sign it. I'm not going to sell it..." Lara's hand rose to rest against Sam's shoulder and they shared a look that Max and Chloe knew intimately well. Each nodded and Sam slowly scrawled her signature on the bottom of the first page. "It-It's Max, by the way."
"Well then... To Max, Shit Happens. We Move Forward." Sam smiled wearily and passed it back to Max who cradled it and put it in her camera bag. "Look, we really need to eat something, so I think we're gonna just go hit the Two Whales and then crash."
Chloe piped up, because of course she did, just to help save the moment. "Oh, duh! You're an alum, of course you know the Two Whales! Joyce is my mom! I can totally hook you guys up~"
Sam looked a bit shocked before recognition dawned on her face. "Wait, so that would make you... I know this... Chloe, right?"
"Jesus, does everyone in this town know who I am?"
Max finally felt like smiling again and fondly poked her girlfriend in the ribs. "You make yourself sort of hard to miss, Chlo..."
Sam wasn't entirely sure exactly why she had allowed the two girls to come along. Mostly curiosity, perhaps. But there was also just a need to finally relate to someone else. The rest of the surviving crew had some idea of the true horrors they'd seen, but for the most part it was just her and Lara. Everyone else considered her insane. She couldn't blame them. She sounded pretty insane, talking about having an ancient god-witch poking around inside her head, trying to take over her body.
Joyce had always been good with names, but it still came as a small shock that the woman knew who she was the moment she approached their table. "Chloe, Max, the usual? Ah, our local celebrity! Welcome back, Samantha. And who is your lovely companion here?"
Most people tended to assume they were merely friends. Go figure it would be the charming southern belle in small town America that would actually know what she was on sight. Having a daughter like Chloe probably helped. "Joyce, it's so good to see you again! This is Lara, my girlfriend..."
"Delighted to meet you, Lara."
"Likewise, Joyce. I've heard a great deal about you. I feel like I already know you."
The woman gave a quick laugh as she pulled out her notepad. "And she has an accent to boot! Don't let this one go, young lady. She's a keeper."
"I'm well aware, ma'am." Sam's face couldn't get much redder as Lara's arm wrapped possessively around her. "I'm told the burgers are to die for. And two waters?"
With the pleasantries over, the four were able to finally return to their conversation. It wasn't like the two pairs had gone through exactly similar experiences. It wasn't so much comparing notes as swapping stories. As humble as Chloe and Max tried to be, they had done something amazing for a pair of teenagers. Stopping a girl from committing suicide, saving multiple students from being hurt, ending a serial killer, even attempting to do the impossible and halt a giant storm!
Yes, Sam and Lara's 'adventure' had included far more gunplay and death, but frankly at this point she would have preferred the smaller scale mystery over everything the two of them had endured. But it wasn't as if this was a dick measuring contest either. You couldn't compare and contrast stories like these. You just had to tell them and let them be. None of them had escaped October unscathed, and for once something kind of nice had come out of it.
The conversation did eventually turn to happier things. Sam's undercut from her own younger days, pictures of Kate's bunny, stories of less murdery adventures, pictures of Lara's lame archaeological finds, dirty jokes that Grim had taught them, stories from going to gay clubs in Barcelona. If they had hung around any longer Sam likely would have put something poppy on the jukebox and started a dance party like she did during her junior year. But the heroes were losing their energy and Joyce was threatening to kick them out (lovingly, of course).
In the parking lot, there were some hugs goodbye and exchanges of phone numbers. Sam was headed for the driver's side of the rental car when Lara suddenly cried out "wait!" and rushed for the trunk. Sam watched in mild curiosity as the other woman fished around for a while before giving a little sound of victory and standing up, holding her most precious treasure - if such a thing could be called anything other than a hunk of junk.
Still, knowing its history, she could understand why Lara moved toward Chloe, holding it as though it were a tool of mass destruction, which is was. "Chloe, this is... the climbing axe I found on Yamatai. With some quick thinking and ingenuity, I turned this into a multi-purpose object – torch lighting, door opening, box destroying, human killing. But ultimately it's still just a climbing axe. The only thing that changed was how I modified it and how I used it. I keep it around to remind myself that... that things are ultimately what you make of them. You're more than a Blackwell drop-out with blue hair and a rusted truck. You're Chloe Price." She hugged her one more time before finally bidding goodbye.
Sam refused to admit as they climbed into their car together that she was wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye.
Chloe stared at the window of the airplane as it began its final descent into Greece, feeling that familiar sensation of Max's hand becoming slightly more snug around her own. "Hey~" And there was the voice, reassuring and calm and gentle. Chloe loved that voice. And Max too, obviously. "She asked you to come out here. I don't think you have a single thing to worry about..."
"You've been with me now for, let's be generous and say my entire life. Twenty four years. I would think by now you understand that I can and will worry about anything and everything. What if my shiny new degree is bullshit? What if she gets sick of me following her around like a puppy dog? What if I break something? What if... I look like an idiot?"
And as always, with the gentle voice came the patient sigh. Chloe knew it well. "Just keep telling yourself every embarrassing story she's ever told you over the years. Compile them all in your mind and remember that everyone starts somewhere. Besides, I'm right there beside you, terrified I'm going to screw up and embarrass myself too. We're both in danger of looking like dorks in front of our very dorky heroes. We'll survive."
The Athens airport was as busy as one would expect, and there was a lot less English than either of the girls were hoping for. The only thing that gave them any hope was the sight of a hand-written sign in familiar, sloppy letters spelling out MAX AND CHLOE PRICEFIELD. And behind it were Sam, Lara, and a pretty radical looking jeep. "Get in nerds, we're going adventuring!" called Lara with an excited wave as Sam cheered, shaking the sign back and forth.
"Like I said. Dorks." Max grinned and started putting her things into the back of the vehicle, followed by Chloe's things. Sticking out of her bag was an old, weathered climbing axe.
It would be several hours later as she looked out across the expanse of a new dig site that she felt the sigh of relief pass her lips. She would bury her hands in her pockets and whisper softly to her herself. "It's not Paris. But it'll do."
[A/N: So initially the only reason I did this was because they were both Square games. But the more I worked on the idea, the more I loved it. But the intersection of the timelines was the final piece of the puzzle. Enjoy~]