"So, those two…" Reyes tapped the tips of her toes against the metal floor curiously, the backs of her shoulders leaned into the wall behind her.
Jonah looked up from his hands, having memorized every dip and crease in his palms over the last ten minutes, and responded with a quiet, "Hm?"
"Lara and Sam, they're…friends…" She crossed her index and middle finger together ambiguously. "Friends…like…"
Jonah cocked and eyebrow, paused, and chuckled deeply. "Are you gossiping, Josilin?" he teased. "That's rather uncharacteristic of you."
She waved a hand dismissively. "Seeing Lara like that, Christ. I had no idea she was that hurt. I mean, I saw the blood, but I guess she had a brave face on the whole time. Tricked us all into thinking she was alright."
"Tricked? That's a rather negative word for it."
"Sorry," she sighed. "That was unnecessary. Guess I'm still wound up from everything that's happened."
They fell quiet for unmeasured minutes before Jonah spoke up again. "How are they doing in there? Has Lara come to?"
"Not yet," Reyes breathed, letting her back slide down the length of the steel until she was sitting opposite to Jonah on the cold floor. She crossed legs and propped her elbows up on her knees, leaning over tiredly. "It doesn't make sense. We saw her leave for the shrine. Even then, she was scaling rock cliffs and sprinting like nothing was wrong, like she was barely hurt. Why now? And the day we got rescued…" They stopped to recall that day; two steps onto the boat, Lara had fallen to her knees and collapsed in a heap on the entrance ramp. Sam had nearly jumped over the rails to get to her, and when she got back to her feet she forced a smile and told them she was okay, just exhausted. It was, in compared to everything that had happened over the last week, a small event. Nothing particularly surprising.
But after witnessing Lara's state currently, Reyes ran a hand through her thick hair and silently cursed herself. She'd pushed her hard, been on her back every second she got the opportunity because, just like everyone else there, she wanted to get the hell off that island before it killed all of them. She hadn't asked if she was injured, and after Roth…Jesus.
"I…ugh," she moaned, pushing her hands against her forehead. She didn't want to linger on Roth, didn't want to talk about it.
"You know she'd go back in time if she could. She would have taken that axe if it meant keeping Roth alive," Jonah said, softly but firmly.
"Big words." She had to stop herself from hissing the words. Lara didn't deserve any more shit, but statements like that made her ears ring.
"It's true, Josilin. She took bullets, literal and figurative bullets, for all of us. We've suffered loses, but without her running around acting as a human shield, charging head first into that shrine, none of us would have made it."
"Alright, alright," she shooed. "I feel guilty enough, thanks. Let's talk about something else."
"Like your odd curiosity regarding Sam and Lara's…"-he raised his hands in air quotes- "Relationship?"
Her dark skintone, masked by the darkness of the hallway, made it difficult to tell that his bringing the topic back up seemed to fluster her a bit. Difficult, but not impossible.
"Just forget about it. It's a stupid thing to bring up."
"So what," he said lightheartedly. "Let's discuss something stupid. Maybe we both need it."
She paused, and smiled in a small way at the notion. After a second, she lifted her head and rested it on the wall. "Fine, let's gossip. So, what do you know about them?" She emphasized 'them'.
"Well, they met in their first year of college. I think they dormed together, and became fast friends. Which seemed a bit odd considering they couldn't be more different."
"Seems like the knight and the damsel. Or Rambo and Princess Peach."
Jonah chuckled heartily. "Something like that. Back then, it was probably something more like the Bookworm and the Party Girl."
"No kidding."
"Yes, Lara had always had an obsession with knowledge, discovery. Sam…well, she took things a lot less seriously. Her filming, that she took seriously. Lara was like an exotic animal to her. Especially regarding her yearning for exploits."
Reyes shook a hand in the air for a moment, halting him. "Wait, wait, wait. How do you know all this? I thought you met them through the expedition."
"We'd been in contact a couple of months beforehand, discussing the expedition and the particulars. Sam liked to talk about her, like a proud mother. She'd fawn over her; every time she pointed the webcam in Lara's direction she'd have her nose buried in some rare book, notepad in hand." He chuckled at the memory, now hazily distant.
"Fawn over her, huh? Sounds like more than a friendship to me. They were very…touchy on Yamatai, too."
"Does that bother you?" There is no accusation in his tone, but she knew what he was alluding to.
"Nah. I mean, I guess I'm a little old fashioned. But damn, if you're into that, it's your own business. Ain't affecting me at all, why should I stick my nose where is doesn't belong?" she shrugged, pulling absently at the strings of her gray, unzipped sweatshirt.
Jonah grinned knowingly. "They were very close before all of this. Attached-at-the-hip close. Did you see something in there that struck you as so?"
"Yeah. Sam…" She felt awkward talking of others in such a way. But even the odd discomfort was a welcome distraction from her thoughts. "I don't know, I probably read too far into it. She just kissed her hand and looked at her a certain way."
Jonah mulled over the information with a loose smile. "Perhaps Sammie has realized something after Lara rescued her?"
"Maybe." She thought, and smiled, and clamped at hand over her eyes with a bark of a laugh.
"What?"
"Goddamn. You know what I just thought?" Reyes chuckled, and let out an audible, high exhale. "I just thought that they're kind of a cute couple."
Jonah grinned, and was about to respond when the door to Lara's room cracked open.
"You guys still out here?" A quiet voice, no longer muttled by sorrowful tears.
"Sammie," Jonah breathed with relief. "Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she's awake now…Not for long though. Her breathing's steady, but I think she's a little out of it, so I'm staying here with her tonight. Make sure she doesn't…" A vague hand gesture. "You know."
"Of course, Sammie."
"Thanks so much for your help guys." A deliberate, gracious gaze to Reyes followed, and a warm smile. "Really, I don't know what I would've done if you weren't at the Bridge. Thank you."
"No problem. If you have any more upsets, you know. Just start screaming and running around like last time and we'll find you."
The chuckle that follows is relieving. "I will. Goodnight, guys."
"'Night. Stay safe."