Alright I'm back with a sequel. This story is my idea; i didn't get it from past games so bare with me. I am going in blind on this and is willing to take reviews that are helpful and encouraging.
The rain was tapping against the glass as the clouds continued to darken the already black night; the only light in the apartment was the glow of the T.V. that was flashing between images of Tom Willcox and a video clip of a riot outside of a football stadium. Tom was speaking but no sounds were coming out; the T.V. had been muted hours ago; the only sound that could be heard was the rain and the gentle breathing of the lone occupant sleeping stretched out on the couch.
A smile graced Sam's lips as she watched the beautiful figure sleeping on the couch; she was leaning against the frame that separated the kitchen from the living room. Glancing at the soft orange glow of numbers on the cable box she saw that it was 12:27; she debated with herself on whether or not to wake her. Sam wasn't supposed to be home; she was expected to take her flight straight to Boston from California but at the last minute changed her mind without telling anyone. She had just spent the last two weeks with her parents and although it was nice to see them she really missed the person who was currently the focus of her attention.
Pulling her shoes off to prevent the creaking of the floor boards, Sam quietly made her way over to the couch. It was then she noticed the worn out journal that looked to be desperately hanging by its seam lying on the rising and falling chest of the sleeping woman; the journal was unfamiliar and didn't look like the ones she had seen before. Slowly crouching down next to the couch Sam reached over and grabbed the journal; she closed it and placed it on the coffee table next to her before turning her attention back to the now snoring figure.
Sam couldn't help but let out a low chuckle; the sight before her was breathtaking. Lara was dressed in a black wife beater that clung to her body; she had an arm hanging over the side of the couch and her fingers her touching the floor while her other hand was tucked between her head and the pillow. Moving down her body Sam saw the top of Lara's favorite gray and white checkered flannel sweats before the rest of her lower body disappeared under the black University of Cambridge fleece blanket.
She trailed her eyes back to Lara's face; Lara's hair had started to come loose from her elastic and was falling in her face. Without hesitation Sam leaned forward, closer and allowed her hand to reach forward to tuck Lara's hair behind her eyes; she didn't remove her hand afterwards instead she proceeded to graze it along the smooth defined jaw line that also partnered a faint scar under the chin. Still allowing her fingers to linger on Lara's face Sam leaned in to place a faint kiss to her cheek; then she moved up so that she was mere inches from Lara's ear.
"Lara…sweetie…" she whispered softly. The young British shifted to move her arm from under her head to her side but didn't wake up. This comforted Sam because it meant that Lara wasn't so on edge that every sound woke her up; she was finally allowing herself to sleep. After Yamatai and Natla, Lara was constantly waking up to the faintest of sounds so the fact that she was able to get this close to Lara without waking her made her feel better.
Moving her lips close to Lara's ear Sam once again whispered, "Sweetie." She than placed a kiss to Lara's temple; this caused Lara to stir. Sam drew back to watch Lara's eyes blink open a few times and scan the room. She smiled as she watch those hazel eyes briefly connect with hers before looking elsewhere and then snap back at her. Lara quickly realized she wasn't alone and who was crouching besides her, "Sam," she whispered. She pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes with the palm of her hands. Sam stood up from her crouched position and moved to stand in front of Lara. Sensing Sam's movement Lara pulled her hands away from her eyes and gazed up at the appealing women in front of her; Lara was surprised to see that she was actually dressed in just regular jeans and a sweatshirt. Lara smiled brightly at her then reached out to grip her waist and pull her down to straddle her waist. Sam squeaked at the sudden pull but quickly recovered by wrapping her arms around Lara's neck.
"Completely ignored the fact that we were supposed to meet in Boston?" Lara questioned as she nuzzled her nose into the crook of Sam's neck.
"Are you complaining?" Sam challenged. Lara's response was connecting their lips into a much needed passionate filled kiss. "Never," she mumbled against Sam's lips. Sam tightened her hold on Lara and pulled their bodies as close as they could get. She could feel the heat of Lara's hands on the skin of her back and let out a muffled moan.
Lara pulled her lips from Sam's and directed them to her neck and began to leave love bites. "Bloody hell, I missed you," Lara expressed after sucking on Sam's skin leaving a bruise.
"I missed you too," Sam replied. She threaded her fingers through Lara's hair pulling the rest of it out of the elastic. Lara pulled back to look at Sam; her eyes flickered back and forth between the chocolate orbs in front of her. She brought her hand up to cup the side of her face; her thumb caressed her cheek. Sam let her eyes flutter closed; she placed her own hand on top of Lara's and enjoyed the heat that it radiated.
Lara let out a contented sigh as she led Sam's face closer to hers and brought their lips together. She allowed her hand that was on Sam's face to explore its way back down her neck, the side of her breast, down her torso until it mirrored her other hand, gripping Sam's hip.
Sam could feel Lara slip her hand back under her sweatshirt and skim across her stomach; the feeling was great but…
Lara moved her hand lower to the buttons of Sam's jeans but before she could continue she felt Sam stop her. Pulling back, Lara gave Sam a questioning looking. Sam gave Lara's hands a gentle squeeze, "it's not the sexy wetness," she informed. Lara groaned loudly as she dramatically let her head fall back against the back of the couch, "mother nature…" she growled. Sam chuckled at her girlfriend's exaggerated reaction but couldn't help but also feel what Lara was currently feeling.
"I swear Mother Nature doesn't want me to get laid," Lara informed. Shaking her head Sam got off Lara and walked into the kitchen to grab her large suitcase to bring into the bedroom. "Sweetie, it will be over with when we get to Boston," Sam commented while walking through the bedroom door.
Lara got up from the couch and made her way to the bedroom where she leaned against the frame to watch Sam attempt to unpack. "That's in two days," she pointed out. The older female turned to the pouting girl and shook her head at her, "there are days that I really wish people could see this part of you; then they wouldn't think that I was the whiner," she expressed. Lara's response was to stick her tongue out and cross her arms. "And childish…"Sam added.
Lara dropped the childish look to give Sam a smirk before approaching her, "you can unpack and repack tomorrow," Lara said. She grabbed the shirts Sam was hold and dropped them back into the suitcase lying on the floor. "Let's go to sleep, you had a long flight."
"Fine…let me go to the bathroom and change and I'll be right there," Sam gave in.
Lara got herself comfortable under the sheets and waited several minutes for Sam to come out of the bathroom; she didn't realize how tired she was until she felt her eyes struggling to stay open. Sam finally came back into the bedroom dressed in sweats and Lara's soccer sweatshirt; she crawled under the covers and instantly felt Lara wrap a strong arm around her front and pull her against her chest.
"This is the most inviting this bed has been in two weeks," Lara whispered against her neck. Sam laced her fingers with Lara's before surrendering to sleep.
Lara woke up to the sun streaming through the curtains and into her eyes. Groaning she tried to roll over but the weight lying on her chest prevented her from doing so. Opening her eyes, Lara looked down and smiled at the girl that was gripping her side and breathing against her collarbone. She was happy to finally have Sam next to her; two weeks had been a long time. Lara couldn't think of a time where they had been separated for a long period of time; the only thing that did come to mind was Yamatai. Looking over at the clock; Lara read that it was quarter to 7 in the morning. As much as she would love to stay in bed with Sam she had to go to the museum to make sure that she had everything to bring to Boston and finish some work.
She slowly pulled her arm out from under Sam and gently shifted Sam's head from her chest to the pillow. She froze when Sam began to move but let out a sigh of relief when Sam continued to sleep. Finally out of bed Lara proceed her way to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth.
After finishing with the shower Lara walked back into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around her body. She walked straight to the closet and didn't notice a pair of brown eyes watching her movements. Those eyes watched Lara unwrap her towel and let it drop to the floor; they scanned the perfectly sculptured body that rippled with every motion Lara made. From the hard calf's to the muscular thighs and firm ass, Sam let her eyes climb their way up Lara's hardened abs, pert full breasts to her face. She covered her mouth to muffle her moan; the worst of it was that little droplets of water were still sliding down her body.
Sam could feel herself becoming aroused and squeezed her eyes shut to lessen the torture but the image was still burned into the back of her eyelids. "Dead bunnies…Dead bunnies…" Sam muttered trying to erase the image of Lara's dripping body; if she didn't it would be the center of her thoughts all day and she wouldn't be able to give herself any release unless it was in the shower.
"Hey…you're awake," Lara said. Sam felt the bed sink in by her legs from Lara sitting. "Please tell me that you're fully dressed," Sam groaned.
Lara chuckled, "So you were watching me," Lara stated. Sam peeked open an eye to look at the now fully dressed young female pulling her hair into an elastic. "No," Sam denied. Lara just shook her head at her girlfriend before shifting forward to place a kiss to her forehead.
"Are you coming in with me?" Lara asked as she got up. Sam threw back the covers and slowly made her way out of the warm bed. She shook her head at Lara's question, "I've got to clean and repack my clothes and then call my dad."
Sam followed Lara out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where she saw that Lara had already started the coffee pot. She reached up to one of the cabinets to grab two mugs; she handed one to Lara and began to pour coffee in her own.
"Who are you kidding? You're going right back to bed once I leave," Lara said. Sam smiled behind her coffee cup because that was exactly what she planned to do. Lara leaned up against the counter next to her and bummed their shoulders. "I know you babe," Lara whispered in her ear.
"I still have to do those things just not this early," she informed. Lara rolled her eyes and smirked.
"How was the trip by the way?" Lara asked. The kettle that Lara had turned on when they got into the kitchen began to go off. She reached behind to pull it off the burner and pour the water into her cup.
"Kind of boring really. I went to several meetings with dad to figure what kind of time slot I can get for the documentary. And those people are really picky about their shows and times." Sam replied.
"So your father is going to air the series?"
"Yeah…he watched a couple more episodes and really got into it. He believes that it will draw a new crowd of people."
Lara made her tea and once again took her spot next to Sam against the counter. "That's good. A few days ago you sounded unsure that he was going to air it."
"I was but more because he couldn't find a slot for me due to the amount of episodes I have but I think he is pushing for me to get a slot on Fridays or Thursday but as of right now there is no definite answer." Sam cupped her coffee cup with both hands and stared into the steam allowing her mind to drift. The last two weeks were chaotic with all the meetings and negotiating and still she didn't feel like she got much accomplished.
Sam was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a pair of lips press against her temple, "You've done a fantastic job and the documentary is going to be a hit," Lara stated. Sam turned to face Lara and smiled; she placed her cup on the counter so she could wrap her arms around Lara's waist.
Lara put down her own cup and wrapped her own arms around Sam's shoulders. She held her tight against her chest and let out a contented sigh. This is what she missed most of all in the two weeks, being able to just hold Sam.
"I still haven't thought of a name for it," Sam mumbled against her.
"When do you have to come up with one?" Lara asked. Sam shrugged her shoulders, "Even if I got a slot tomorrow I'd still have to wait a few months for it to air."
"Then don't fret about the name, let it come to you."
Lara squeezed Sam one last time before pulling away, "I have to have to get going."
"Do you have too?" Sam pouted. Lara nodded her head and smiled. "Fine, I'm going back to bed."
Lara watched Sam make her way to the bathroom before turning to grab her wallet, keys and bag. Sam was coming out of the bathroom just as she was leaving. "I'll see you later," Lara said. Sam waved her with her hand before ducking into the bedroom.
"Ms. Croft," the guard acknowledged her through the glass as she went through the security procedure to get into the IAA quarters below the British Museum. Lara nodded her head at the young guard before walking through the doors into the common area. It was there that she was greeted by Lisa Torres who was currently working with her on her recent project. Lisa looked up from the iPad that she had in her hand to grace Lara with a pleasant smile. Lisa was slightly older than Lara and was the current girlfriend of Steven Fuller, Thomas's best friend. She was tan, with long black hair that enhanced her dark blue eyes; she was virtually the same height as Lara but a bit curvier. Her and Lara were assigned to the same project about a month and half ago and hit it off right away; she was a lot like Lara in the quiet sense.
"Lara, about time," Lisa said. She pushed off the desk she was leaning on and walked in step with Lara towards the library downstairs.
"I'm not late, in fact I am early," Lara shot back as she checked her watch. "Yeah whatever I still had to wait," Lisa stated.
Lara pushed open the door to the stairwell, "Why are you here so early?" Lara asked. Lisa just groaned in response. "Fuller?" Lara asked.
"Yes…who else would drag me here before I need to be here," Lisa growled, "I mean really, it's not like he is working on some project that requires him to be here."
"You could just take a taxi," Lara offered as an alternative.
"By that point he has already woken me up with his usual banging around the room getting dressed; there'd be no point in trying to get back to sleep."
Lisa and Fuller had been going out for about 6 months; they got together while they were stationed in Spain together. They were an odd couple since they were complete opposites but they went well together since they balanced each other out; a lot like Sam and Lara.
They pushed through another set of doors and into the library. They made their way to the back of the library where they were yesterday to continue where they left off.
"Sam came in last night," Lara informed as she took a seat at one of the long tables.
Lisa looked up from the iPad, "Really? I thought she was going straight to Boston?"
"She was supposed to but it's Sam," Lara said. She pulled her bag onto the table and pulled out her laptop. Lisa placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin upon her hands, "Bet you had a good night though," Lisa inquired with a wink.
"Not exactly," Lara said. She glanced up at Lisa as she waited for her laptop to boot up; Lisa held a confused expression. "A female's 'best friend'," Lara clarified.
"Ahhh, that sucks," Lisa sympathized.
"Yeah…" Lara agreed. Her mind wandered to Sam; she could picture Sam lying in bed sound asleep. Lara shook her head as her imagination began to rid Sam of her clothing. "Anyways…" Lara croaked; a blush was forming along her neck and face. Lisa gave her a knowing smirk before sliding the iPad to her and they continued their work.
"This is rubbish," Lara groaned. They had been working on this project for a while and haven't found anything. She shut the book and dropped her head on it.
"You sure your father had nothing on El Dorado?" Lisa asked; she also shut her book.
"No, nothing," Lara replied. They had worked through lunch and it was just hitting Lara now how hungry she was. "What time is it?" Lara asked.
"Just hitting 2," a voice that was much deeper than Lisa's answered. Lara lifted her head and turned; Fuller was walking up to them with his hands in his pocket. Today he was dressed in Jeans and a black long sleeved shirt instead of his usual attire of the black military uniform.
Soon after everything in Egypt Fuller had returned to the United States with Ricardo since his own project was finished. Fuller was a real jokester; he always had a smile and was always trying to get people to laugh but most of all he was a very loyal friend. When he had met them at the airport he had flown from Spain where he was station undercover; he risked blowing his cover to help them. He risked even more by allowing Ricardo to stay with him in Spain but he had somehow managed to convince the people that Ricardo was his step brother. It was Fuller that got Peter to give Ricardo an internship with the company; he even gave Ricardo level two clearance to IAA under the condition that Thomas and Fuller were both responsible for him. So Ricardo was living with Fuller and was going to school to get his diploma. Both Sam and Lara were smitten with Fuller; and he quickly accepted them as family.
"Really? We've been at this for hours and I feel like we found nothing," Lara groaned. Fuller came up behind her and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Come on call it a day and put the books to rest. Besides we are going on vacation tomorrow so it's time to relax," Fuller said.
Lara groaned once more before pushing out her chair and ridding the table of the scattered books. Fuller had moved to stand behind Lisa and judging by her blush had whispered something scandalous in her ear. Lara left them with a smirk to put the books back where they belonged. As she put the books away she couldn't help but get a feeling that this project was just a dead end; so many people had worked on it before and came up with absolutely nothing. She leaned up against the bookcase and let out a frustrated sigh; this project was becoming pointless.
The project was El Dorado, to find the location and its true nature. Lara was excited at first because of all the stories she had heard about the city but soon she realized that there really wasn't anything to be excited about. Quite frankly she felt that Peter had given her this project to keep her busy and to avoid any life threatening adventures for a while.
Lara pushed herself off the bookcase and began her way back to the table when something caught her eye. It was a book that was lying on a book cart; it was thick and dusty but the title was what caught her attention; her mind raced back to the journal she had recently acquired from the Manor. She stared at the book with hesitation before reaching forward and grabbing it. She tucked it to her side and continued back to the table where Lisa and Fuller were shamelessly flirting with one another. She was able to walk past them and slipped the book into her bag on top of her laptop without bringing any notice from either of them.
"Get a room," Lara said when she had everything packed away; Fuller and Lisa hadn't done much cleaning up while she was gone. Lisa pulled her attention away from Fuller and grinned at Lara, "Don't be jealous," she mocked. Lara rolled her eyes at her, "Jealous of what?" she asked.
Fuller grabbed Lisa's iPad and began to walk ahead of the girl back towards the common area. Lisa checked the table to make sure nothing was left before moving next to Lara; she leaned in close and whispered "I can get laid tonight and you can't." With that Lisa rushed head to catch up with Fuller leaving Lara glaring in her wake.
Sam wasn't home when Lara got home but she had left a note on the table saying that she had gone to the mall to buy some shoes. Lara smiled at the note; Sam had tons of shoes but with every new dress she got she had to get new shoes.
She placed her bag on the table and began to fish through the cupboards for something to eat; she pulled out a box of mac and cheese. Lara put the water on to boil and then moved to take out the book she had gotten from the library. She put it on the table and went into the living room to grab the journal that was on the coffee table. She made her way back to the table and took a set.
The journal was worn, very worn. It had rips and peeling edges. Flipping the pages Lara saw her father's elegant handwriting on every page except that last twenty or so; they were completely empty. Since the moment Lara found the journal she was put off by the sudden stop in the journal. If there was anything she knew about her father it was that he never stopped his work; never. Originally she thought it was because of his sudden disappearance but checking the dates put a damper on that idea. His last entry was February 15 2004; two years before he went missing and four before he was declare dead. Lara couldn't wrap her head around this journal; the sudden stop, the location it was in and the topic of it seemed really fishy yet extraordinary.
Winston had shown Lara her father's secret vault; it was the 'everything' that Herbert had been talking about when she sign the papers for her inheritance. The journal was the only journal in the vault and it was tucked between two large books; if Lara hadn't pulled one of the books out she would have never seen it. It left her dumbfounded; this was every archeologist dream yet Lara couldn't get the feeling that she had stumbled upon something that was dangerous.
Her father had made a sort of discovery; it wasn't an idea or hypothesis, it was an actual discovery. He had drawings, calculations even a living subject but it just stopped. Lara was annoyed when she first read through it; there was so many question that were left unanswered; so many questions that were answered but weren't 100% positive. The journal had a middle but there was no beginning or ending; her father had found something that he had not been looking for therefore he had no history only facts that he discovered.
"Bloody hell, Dad. What is this?" Lara whispered to the empty apartment.