Okay, so to make up for how long you had to wait, this chapter is a little longer.
WARNING: The ending to this chapter is a little NSFW! Nothing too explicit, but exercise caution. Also yes, this is a sign of things to come, this story will become more adult. There will be more situations like this in the future of this story and it's planned sequels.
"Focus Lara." She whispered to herself. "Aim up to compensate for distance. No wind, so aim straight." Lara loosed the arrow and it swiftly cut through the air, and ripped though her target. an inch to the left of the bulls-eye. "Dammit!"
"Nicely done, Lara." Mrs Hoven, the instructor told her. Lara smiled appreciatively at the compliment. "Okay, team. That's enough for this week."
The girls of the Sisters of Artemis archery club began to saunter away. Lara stayed behind. She wanted to get some more practice in. She'd missed the last two meetings.
"Don't stay too late. Lara." The coach warned her. "We don't want you getting locked in again."
"Yes, Mrs Hoven." Lara nodded, freshly embarrassed as she remembered the incident; having to call for help, and be released
Mrs Hoven smiled and turned on her heels and made her way to the exit.
Lara notched another arrow and aimed for the target once again, she allowed for the space of a breath before allowing the arrow to fly. Bulls-eye. She smiled.
The sound of clapping caught her attention. She spun around and saw Alex sitting on the bench closest to her. How long had he been sitting there?
"Not long." He grinned "Nicely done, by the way."
"Are you a spy for the opposition?" Lara joked as she made her way over to him.
"Sort of." Alex said playing along. "This guy paid me fifty bucks to find out why his girlfriend never showed him how beautiful she looked in that archery uniform."
"Oh is that so?" Lara chuckled. She looked down and her ensemble. "Well it's not going to do you any good, because we don't use 'bucks' here in England."
"That's too bad, I guess I'll just have to enjoy how amazing she looks instead." Alex told her standing up. "That's infinitely more rewarding."
"Are you sure my boyfriend isn't the jealous type?" Lara giggled as she wrapped her arms around Alex's neck.
"I'm sure he'd understand." Alex joked as he closed the gap between them and kissed her softly.
Lara returned it eagerly. They broke apart after several seconds.
"You know I think I'm going to leave my boyfriend and date you instead." Lara smirked. "You're much more charming."
"Well I guess he's losing the best girl in the world." Alex cocked his head to the side.
"All right enough of that, I have to practice." Lara told him, turning away and making her way back over to where she could take another shot at the target. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I told you." Alex said teasingly. "I wanted to find out why you never showed me how good you look in that archery uniform." Despite the fact Lara had her back to him, he could see a small blush in her cheeks.
Lara notched another arrow and released it. Once again it landed several inches from the bulls-eye. Alex was distracting her. But she really didn't mind.
Alex let out an impressed whistle.
"Have I told you that I find archery to be an incredibly awesome skill?" Alex asked.
"Oh yeah? Are you sure you're not jumping on the bandwagon of the Hunger Games."
"Pfft." Alex scoffed "Yeah, because I didn't grow up with Characters like Rambo, Link, Green Arrow, Hawkeye, Legolas and countless other archers making it awesome before those books came out."
"Fair point." Lara let out a small laugh. "For me it was Robin Hood."
"Men in Tights or Prince of Thieves?" Alex laughed.
"Neither, it was the Disney one." Lara informed him "You know the one with with the Fox?"
"Oh yeah. I used to love that movie. Ah youth." Alex laughed as he feigned reminiscence of his childhood. "I haven't seen it in years."
"I have it on Blu-Ray." Lara told him. "Come over tonight, we can watch it."
"Sounds like a plan." Alex said, planting a kiss on top of Lara's head.
"So, what are you doing out here anyway?" Lara giggled, before taking another shot.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"I thought you didn't have any lectures today." Lara stated. "I'm just wondering why you're here instead of at the computer.
"I had an appointment about getting my drivers licence." He told her. "I'm thinking about getting a motorcycle."
"Really?" Lara arched an eyebrow the tone of her voice ambiguous. "Do you know how to ride one?"
"Yeah." Alex said "I had my licence back home."
"Well I guess we both learned an attractive quality about each other today." Lara teased him.
"Really? You like motorcycles?" Alex asked in disbelief.
"Mmhm." Lara hummed. She'd always found them fascinating. "They're so much less constrictive than a car. Something...liberating about them."
"Maybe I could teach you..."
"No need." Lara grinned. "I've already passed the test. Me and Sam took lessons last year."
"You're kidding." Alex said disbelievingly.
"See for yourself." Lara reached into her back pocket and produced her driver's and handed it to Alex.
"Wow. I guess I learned two attractive qualities about you today."
"I'm full of surprises." Lara smiled. "Do you want to try?"
"What...the bow?" Alex said nervously.
"Yeah." Lara offered him the bow. "You did say you thought it was 'Awesome.' Why not try it."
"I'm not sure. I tried it one before and...well I nearly killed Mrs Stolski's cat." Alex tugged at his collar awkwardly."
"There's not harm in trying again, is there? Besides, there's no cats here." Lara smiled reassuringly. "I'll show you. Here."
"No, Lara I don't think..."
"No excuses." Lara said playfully demanding. "You've taught me how to pick locks, and how to fix my kettle and toaster, I'm teaching you something."
"Okay, if you insist." Alex said accepting the bow.
"Okay. First thing you want to do, is keep a good stance...Keep your back straight..."
Lara spent the next hour teaching Alex the proper technique. Keeping his back straight, holding his his arm at the correct level. He was improving, but he had yet to hit on of the inner rings of the target.
"I didn't actually think this thing would be harder to use than a gun." Alex admitted. "I have even more appreciation for it."
"Really?" Lara teased him. "So does that make me even cooler?"
"You couldn't be any more awesome, Lara. You're already top of the board." He whispered. Once again he caught her lips. Lara let herself melt into this one a little more. Wrapping, her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and herself deeper into the kiss.
"Lara?" Mrs Hoven's voice came from behind them.
"Mrs Hoven?" Lara exclaimed as she broke apart from Alex. "I thought you went home..."
"It would appear I haven't." She directed at the guilty looking teenagers. "I thought I told you not to stay too late?"
Lara glanced at the clock, They had been there nearly an hour. She'd completely lost track of time.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"And you do know, the bows are for use by the archery club only, right?"
"Yes, Mrs Hoven." Lara said, her gaze not meeting that of her instructor."
"I'm going back to my office. I expect you and...Your friend to be gone when I come back to lock up." She turned on her heel and headed back down the hall.
Lara and Alex stood in silence for several seconds.
"That was...awkward." Alex said, finally breaking the silence.
"I'll say." Lara said.
"I'm sorry, I got you in trouble." Alex told her.
"No it's fine." Lara assured him. "She's always a little crabby."
"Lara Croft. Are you gossiping?" Alex said, "Sam has been a terrible influence on you.
"She's not the only one." Lara retorted with a smile.
"Must be all that, rock and or roll, and them video computer games." Alex said in a voice mimicking a stereotypical southern preacher. "You think I can try one more shot before we go? I think I've nearly got the hang of this."
"Sure." Lara nodded. "You want to pick up some take out on the way home?"
"Yeah, I'm starving." Alex told her. "Tell you what. If I hit a bulls-eye, you're paying."
"And if you don't you pay." Lara agreed.
"Deal." Alex grinned. He knew there wasn't a hope he would hit it. But he didn't mind the prospect of paying.
"I'll call Sam, and find out if she wants anything. Hope you've been to the ATM, Weiss." Lara said teasingly. Lara scrolled through her phone, selected Sam's number and hit the call button. The phone rang six or seven times before Sam finally picked up.
"Hey, Lara." Sam said.
"Hi, Sam." Lara began. "I was-"
"Sweetie, before you say anything else...is Alex with you?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I'm with Alex, we're going to pick up some take out, do you want anything."
"Yeah sure...Hang on a sec." The line went quiet. Lara could hear Sam talking to someone over the line, but she couldn't make out who it was. "Yeah...can you bring extra. We have a guest."
"A guest?" Lara repeated. "Who."
"I...can't say." Sam told her. "Look hurry back, and make sure Alex is with you."
"Sam...what're..." Lara began.
"I got to go." Sam told her. The line went dead, signalling that Sam had ended the call.
Lara pondered for a moment who a guest would be. Given Sam's vague detail she figure it was probably Declan. And that since she was so quick to end the call, she considered that she had inadvertently called her best friend while she was in bed...with Declan. It wouldn't have been the first time Lara had called while Sam was...busy. Though she was more curious as to why she wanted to know where Alex was?
"Hey, Lara. I hope you've been to the ATM." Alex called over. Lara looked at him, as he indicated the target. He had made the bulls-eye.
"You have to be kidding." Lara said astonished.
"I'm thinking Chinese food." Alex smirked.
-Twenty Minutes Earlier-
Sam sat in her bed. She was only wearing an over sized shirt and her underwear. She'd, been free of classes for the and decided to have a personal day. Which had reached it's current Highlight. March of the Penguins.
"Oh, Morgan Freeman. You're voice is so perfect." She swooned as she reached for a cookie. "I hope you Narrate one of my documentaries someday. Or Sean Connery. I wonder what kind of documentary I could do that he would come out of retirement to narrate." Sam pondered aloud to herself. "Maybe...I could do a documentary about men with cool voices. Let's see. Sean Connery, Morgan Freeman...James Earl Jones, he has to be in it...Who was that guy who narrated Babe?" She picked up her phone to check the internet for an answer. She reached for another cookie with her spare hand, finding the pack empty. She paused the DVD, and went to the kitchen, to retrieve more.
Sam rummaged through the cupboards to find the pack of Chips Ahoy, she'd stashed. The faint sound of knocking on the front door caught her attention. Who could that be? Lara had her keys, and Alex would pick the lock (Lara having given him permission to do so.) It was an odd sort of knocking to. It wasn't like Roth's loud, rhythmic knock. It was silent, almost as though it were apologizing for interrupting whoever was on the other side.
Sam thought about ignoring it for a minute, before knocking the stool she had been using to reach the top shelf to the ground with a loud bang.
"Damn it." Sam said defeated. She got up and went to her bedroom door. Before realizing she wasn't wearing any pants. "Hang On a second, I'm not wearing any pants." She returned to her room, and reached the pair of jeans she had been wearing yesterday. "Whoever this is better be worth putting pants on for." She growled to herself as she tugged them on. She loved how her jeans hugged her lean legs, but they were such a hassle to get on and off. Now at least mildly appropriately dressed, Sam made her way to the door.
Sam looked through the peephole. All she saw was mane of Brown hair. Whoever it was had their head turned. She couldn't see their face. But the long hair narrowed it down to a girl, or a metal head. She turned the lock and pulled the door open.
The unknown person turned their head. It was a girl. A pretty girl. But that's about all Sam knew so far. She seemed oddly familiar.
"Hi?" Sam decided to begin with the simplest greeting she could muster. "Can I help you?"
"Hi, I'm sorry yo bother you, I'm looking for Alex." The girl replied. Her accent implied that she was American. Another thing added to the list of things Sam knew about this person.
"Well, Alex isn't here." Sam informed knew she probably sounded a bit rude, but she didn't like it when people interrupted her personal time. Especially strangers. As well as that she'd already had to deal with one girl interfering with Lara and Alex, she didn't want to deal with another if avoidable. She decided she needed to find out a little more about this girl.
"Oh...His roommate, said he might be here. He said his girlfriend lived here." The girl said. "Are you Lara?"
"No, I'm Sam. Lara's roommate." Sam corrected her. Sam narrowed her eyes, slightly. "And you are?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I probably should have opened with that. My name is Kaz."
"Kaz?" Sam said, implying that Kaz hadn't finished her introduction properly.
"Oh...Weiss." Kaz added. "I'm Alex's sister."
"It was beginner's luck." Lara stated as the elevator door pinged open. She got her keys out of her pocket and sorted through them.
"Whatever Lara." Alex teased her. He handed her the second bag of take-out "You're just mad that you lost the bet. I'm gonna grab some soda from my place."
"Okay. I'll see you in a minute. I'll leave the door open." Lara said as she headed for her door. She inserted her key into the lock. As the door swung open, she spotted Sam who was turned to face the door opening.
"Hey Sam. I hope your hungry. Mr Cheung gave us extra prawn crackers and chicken balls. " Lara said. "So who's our...guest?" Lara asked as she caught sight of the woman on the couch next to Sam. "Hi."
"Hi." She smiled nervously. "You must be Lara."
"I am." Lara nodded.
"Lara, this is-" Sam began.
"You're Alex's sister." Lara finished. "You're Kaz."
"How did..." Kaz's eyes widened.
"He showed us a picture of you two last year. I never forget a face." Lara told her. "You're older now, but, it's definitely you."
"Yeah. It's me." She gestured to herself weakly. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Lara replied, unsure of how to proceed.
An uneasy silence descended over them. The sound of the door being opened drew everyone's attention.
"Okay, Jack's friends took the last of my coke, so All we had was Seven Up." Alex said as he walked through the door, he planted both bottles on the kitchen island. "But it goes great with..." He froze upon registering the girl, who stood as soon as he entered the apartment.
"Hi, Alex." Kaz smiled nervously, her arm raised as she gave him a small wave.
"K...Kaz?" Alex stammered.
"It's good to see you." Kaz said, sounding a little choked.
Alex suddenly rushed to hug his sister, whom he had not seen in so long. Kaz eagerly returned the hug.
"It's been so long." Alex released her from his grip.
"I know. Let me have a look at you." Kaz smiled, a small sob in her voice, as she took in the sight of her younger brother. "You're all grown up."
"Only physically." Alex joked.
"Oh come on, I'm sure you're a little more mature." Kaz laughed "You have a girlfriend and everything now. Who, by the way, smoking hot."
"Thank you." Lara felt her face burn. She had been hit on by women in the past, and Sam had called her hot before, but this felt more awkward than those occasions. Probably because she was the subject of the conversation and not an active part of it.
"I like the tattoo." She said, "Chemical structure for caffeine. Still addicted?"
"Not so much." Alex laughed. "I only need one cup of coffee to function in the morning."
"The circuit board." Kaz said in awe looking at his wrist. "I remember when you drew this."
"I got a few more but...I'm not taking my shirt off." Alex said jokingly.
"Me, neither." Kaz smirked. Both sibling erupted in laughter, "It's so good to see you again, Alex." Kaz chuckled, "I'm so sorry, for running."
"Hey it's okay." Alex assured her. "I never told...Mom and Dad still don't know..."
"Actually they do." Kaz corrected him. "I told them when I went home last week."
"You came out? Why, I thought..."
"I'm not afraid anymore Alex. I couldn't hide it from them anymore...Turns out I didn't have to hide it, they already knew." Kaz smiled.
"Well, you never did have any boyfriends. Probably a give away." Alex laughed. "So, what's brought all this up. It's kind of sudden. I mean...no phone call, no e-mail."
"I have news, and I didn't want to tell you over the phone." Kaz told him. "Or through e-mail."
"Must be important." Alex remarked.
"It is. Alex, I'm in love and I'm...I'm getting married." Kaz stated.
Alex released his sister. And looked at her disbelievingly.
"You're getting married?" He repeated.
"Yes." She nodded. "I am."
"Miss, 'I never want to get tied down' is getting married? She must be special." Alex smiled. "So do I have to shake this girl down, and you know, tell her she better be faithful." Alex chuckled.
"Pfft, Yeah, good luck with that. She's got three brothers, who are all bigger than you." Kaz chuckled.
Alex was about to retort, when a loud bang caused everyone to flinch.
Everyone turned to see Sam, holding a freshly opened bottle of champagne over the sink to stop it spilling around the floor.
"Sam, what are..." Lara began.
"Come on Lara this is cause for a celebration. A family reunion and a wedding. Champagne for everyone!" Sam said as she began to pour it into glasses.
"Oh, shit." Kaz said, slapping the side of her head. "I forgot."
"Forgot what?" Alex asked.
"Family reunion." Kaz told him. "Mom and Dad are here."
"Wait, like 'here' here?" Alex asked suddenly worried.
"No, but they are on their way." Kaz informed him. "They'll be here at seven."
"Oh, fuck." Alex said after looking at his watch. " Five to six already. You can't be serious."
"They wanted to go out for dinner and try 'Real English Cuisine' or something like that"
"So I guess they're getting fish and chips." Sam said elbowing Lara in the side.
"I hate you sometimes." Lara told her. Sam gave the most innocent smile she could muster.
"We should probably go back to your place." Kaz told him.
"We can't." Alex told her. "Jack's been organizing that damn, get together for two weeks."
"Wouldn't think it matters." Sam cut in. "It's the same thing they do every time. Watching football and drinking cheap beer."
"Sam." Lara snapped at her.
"What? It's true." Sam shrugged.
"It's okay. We'll...Um..." Alex began.
"Tell your parents to come here." Lara blurted out suddenly.
"What?" Alex said. His eyes widening.
"Yeah. 'What?'" Kaz repeated.
"I'm gonna need more champagne." Sam said excitedly as she reached into the cupboard.
"Lara what are you...?"
"Kaz call your parents, tell then to come here instead of Alex's apartment. I want you and you're family to have privacy. Sam that means no camera."
"Buzzkill." Sam pouted, as she handed everyone their glasses of Champagne. "Well...here's to family reunions." Sam said, taking a large mouthful of Champagne.
"You do realize this means you're meeting my parents." Alex told her, taking a small mouthful of champagne."
"Well...you met Roth." Lara reminded him. "And that went pretty well." As true as that was, it didn't stop Lara indulging in a little Dutch courage, and downing her glass of champagne.
"Okay." Alex smiled. "We'll tell my parents that you saved me from an armed robbery."
"Armed robbery?" Kaz asked, concern evident in her voice, she froze in the middle of dialing. "What are you talking about."
"Long story." Alex shrugged. "I'll tell you later."
"You're goddamn right, you'll tell me later." Kaz said forcefully. she took a mouthful of Champagne before redialing. "Wow, that's awesome."
"Right?" This stuff is great for weddings, I can hook you up with a guy who can get you a reasonable price. But more importantly, can we eat?" Sam interjected.
"Yeah, actually I'm starving." Kaz said as she held the phone to her ear.
"I'll get plates." Lara rolled her eyes.
"I'll help." Alex told her.
Lara and Alex made their way into the kitchen. Lara reached into the cupboard and produced four plates. Alex opened the bags of take out the contents and laid them out on plates. They decided to leave the chicken balls and prawn crackers in their bags, so they could be accessed by everyone. They heard snippets of Kaz's conversation on the phone.
"Hi, mom..Yeah, I saw him...I'm with him now actually...He seems great...Yeah, same old Alex...Listen um...there's been a change of plans...No...No, mom, Alex wants to see you and dad...I'm just calling to inform you of a change of address...No he didn't move...I'll...Alex will explain...Yeah, it's the same building, it's just a different apartment...Yeah it's number hang on...Sam, what the number again?"
"One, Two, Seven." Sam told her.
"Apartment, One, Two, Seven...It's on the top floor." Kaz reiterated. "Yeah...Okay. I'll see you in an hour...no I'm eating now. Okay. See you then. Bye." Kaz hung up the phone then turned to address Alex, who was heading towards the couch with two plates. "Done. So what did you get me?"
"Pork Chow Mein." Alex said as he handed her a plate.
"You know me so well." Kaz smirked.
"I didn't even know you were here when I ordered." Alex reminded her.
"I guess our force connection is stronger than you thought." Kaz winked.
The group began to eat, silently, almost awkwardly. Lara decided to try and make conversation with their guest.
"So, Kaz." Lara began. "What do you do for a living."
"I'm...actually between jobs at the minute. I quit my last job last year, and haven't been able to to get anything new."
"What did you do?" Alex laughed.
"Nothing." Kaz defended.
"Kaz, I grew up with you, you had three jobs in the space of two months, you quit all of them because you did something." Alex said. "To your bosses"
"In my defense, I had shitty bosses and they deserved it." Kaz retorted. "And I didn't do anything. I'm a little too old for that kind of behavior anyway, I just...realized I hated the job. And the company."
"Mmhmm. Sure." Alex jabbed, as he took a mouthful of his Chicken.
"So what are guys all studying?" Kaz asked. Eager to change the subject, to anything but herself.
"I'm studying to become the greatest documentary film maker on the planet." Sam said, gesturing to herself. "With your permission I'd like to start by telling the heartwarming story, of the Weiss Family reunion." Sam said, giving her best puppy dog look.
"No, Sam." Lara said. "You're not turning this into a project."
"But...it's perfect Oscar bait." Sam pleaded.
"Yeah, that's probably not the best idea." Kaz told her. "Mom and dad...they..."
"They are the most hammy people on the planet if you put them on camera." Alex finished. "They refuse to act like humans."
"Your kidding?" Sam said, with obvious excitement in her voice.
"Mom and Dad, can overact more than Jerry Lewis and Nicolas Cage." Kaz confirmed.
"In a kabuki class." Alex added.
"On cocaine." Kaz finished.
"Okay, now I have to get my camera." An evil glimmer in her eye.
Lara couldn't muster any more than a groan.
"What about you Lara?" Kaz asked. "What's your major?"
"Oh...I'm studying archaeology." Lara told her.
"Pfft. That's total crap Lara." Sam laughed. "Lara, lives archaeology. Seriously, every other thought she has is an obscure fact, a long dead civilization would use in a trivia contest."
"Thank you, Sam." Lara glared at her best friend as she took another mouthful of her food.
"You're welcome Sweetie." Sam smiled, reaching` for a prawn crack to dip into her sauce.
After eating, Lara rose to collect the plates. Kaz stood as well and stopped Lara.
"Here. Let me do the dishes." Kaz offered.
"Sure." Lara smiled appreciatively. "I'll dry." Lara led Kaz into the kitchen, placed the plates into the sink and allowed Kaz to fill it with water and washing up liquid. Meanwhile Alex and Sam had the TV on and were trying to guess answers on the first game show that they could find.
"So," Kaz said turning to face Lara. "How did you and Alex meet?"
"It was a back in my first year." Lara asked taken aback. "I had started working at the Nine Bells and, let's just say there was an incident that involved a tray of spilled drinks and a ruined comic book."
"Only Alex would bring comics to a bar." Kaz chuckled. They stood in silence for several seconds before Lara spoke again.
"So...how long have you been dating."
"Just a couple of weeks." Lara stated. "But...I think it's going to last a while."
"I'm glad." Kaz said offering a smile.
"Can, I ask you a personal question?" Lara asked as she placed a plate back into the cupboard.
"Yeah, sure." Kaz said, rinsing off another plate and handing it to Lara.
"Why...why did you stay away for so long?" Lara blurted out, not being able to find another way to say it, so she simply chose to be direct. "I mean, Alex...always got sad whenever he talked about you. It was really obvious he missed you."
"Um...Well...can I level with you?" Kaz lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper.
"Sure." Lara nodded.
"My Uncle Dave, wasn't the only reason I left." Kaz admitted. "I wanted to make my own way in life."
"I can understand that." Lara told her. Lara knew from experience the want for someone to live how they saw fit, regardless of others opinions. Lara however, had gotten plenty of support from Roth, even if he didn't always agree with her choice.
"I got a job with this...security firm, it was great for a while. The money was good, I got to travel...but, they were involved in some...unsavory endeavors. So...After I quit my job, I was homeless for a while...four months to be exact." Kaz told her.
"Oh...I'm sorry." Lara was shocked. Despite choosing not to take her inheritance, she had always managed to live a life of relatively good luxury and comfort. She couldn't imagine, being without a roof, excluding her camping trips with Roth and Sam.
"I didn't want to go back to my parents, or Alex. I didn't want them to view me as a failure, some wild child, who was gonna do it all her way, until it ended horribly and came crawling back home to mommy and daddy. I"
"I'm sorry, I can't imagine how horrible that must have been." Lara said.
"Anyway, After I got back on my feet, I met Lucya. I knew right away that she was the one. We'd only been together a year before I proposed. She agreed on the condition I visit my parents. She even paid for me to go home and see Mom and Dad, and well, here I am now."
"I'm glad things worked out for you." Lara said sympathetically.
"Thank you, and...I'm glad my brother got such a great person to actually put up with him."
Lara let out a small chuckle.
The door knocked rhythmically.
"I guess we've gone back to the stone age." Sam chuckled "Everyone's knocking today."
Lara rolled her eyes. She moved to the door opened it without checking to see who it was. On the other side of the door, stood A neatly dressed man and woman stood in front of her.
The woman was in roughly her late forties. She was short and thin, and had dark brown hair tied up in a bun. She wore gold wire framed glasses and floral dress.
The man was as tall as Alex, his black hair showed significant grey patches. He was well built, but a large gut betrayed his muscular frame. He wore a tidy Navy blue suit.
It was very clear to Lara that these were Alex and Kaz's parents.
"Hello." Lara said sheepishly, with a small wave.
"Hello dear." The woman began. " We got a call from our daughter, and she told us to come here."
"Yes, Alex and Kaz are here, Mr and Mrs Weiss." Lara said, as she opened the door fully and motioned for them to make their way inside. "Please, come in."
"Thank you very, much." Mr Weiss Smiled as he and his wife moved past Lara.
Lara closed the door once both of them were inside. She immediately heard the sounds of the Weiss siblings greeting their parents. She felt bad for intruding. But she was also slightly annoyed that this had all been sprung on her on such short notice.
Lara wandered next to Sam and watched the scene unfold
"So, now that we're here. Maybe you can explain, why we aren't in your apartment." Mr Weiss addressed his son.
"Um...well. Jack and his friends planned this get together, weeks ago and, well, I didn't know you guys were coming til an hour ago..."
"Yes, Alex but, Where are we?" Mrs Weiss asked.
"Oh, right. Mom, Dad." Alex indicated to where Lara stood in the kitchenette. "This is Lara and...Lara, where's Sam?"
Lara turned her head. Sam was gone. She had been there just a moment ago.
"Isn't this delightful." Sam's voice came.
Everyone turned to see Sam looking through the viewfinder on one of her camcorders.
"Damn it, Sam." Lara sighed, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She was nervous enough, she didn't need the camera to see it.
"Oh, my." Mrs Weiss chuckled. "Does my hair look okay?"
"Mom, dad, this is my friend Sam." Alex groaned, fighting the urge to face palm himself. "We're working on having her committed."
"It's lovely to meet you." Sam said. "Can I just ask, how does it feel to have both of your children in the same place for the first time in so long?"
"Sam!" Lara snapped.
"It's lovely to meet you Sam. " Mr Weiss smiled and gestured to the camera a bit. "But, we were in the middle of another introduction."
Lara had thought for a moment she would be able to slip away. But, that idea had swiftly went out the window.
"Right, um as I was saying this is Lara...She's my girlfriend" Alex said in as nonchalant tone as he could muster.
Mr and Mrs Weiss eyes traveled back and forth between Alex and Lara several times.
"It's about time son." Mr Weiss teased. "Nice catch."
"Dad!" Alex hissed.
"Please ignore my husband." Mrs Weiss assured her. "Shakespeare he is not. But he means well."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Mr Weiss said, scratching the back of his head.
"No it's okay." Lara smiled meekly. "I can see where Alex got his terrible sense of humor? Besides, it's nicer than what Kaz said." she joked to try and break the ice.
The rest of the room erupted into laughter.
"You're funny too. That makes you a keeper in my book." Mr Weiss smiled as he walked over and extended her hand to Lara. "Tom Weiss."
"Hello." Lara smiled as she took his hand. His hand shake was firm, she could feel some light callouses on his hands, not working hands, but perhaps those of a man who engaged in some D.I.Y as a hobby.
"Some grip you have." He motioned to her hand.
"Mountain climbing." Lara shrugged. "Would anyone care for some tea or coffee." Lara offered. She didn't know what else to say, so she immediately went for her default response.
The room gave a unanimous agreement.
"Please, let me give you a hand." Mrs Weiss said as she rushed forwards to the kitchen.
"No, that's not necessary." Lara said quickly.
"I insist. Please, I want to feel useful." Mrs Weiss smiled.
"Okay, thank you Mrs Weiss." Lara smiled thankfully.
"Oh, please call me Rebecca." She said feigning disgust. "Mrs Weiss is my mother in law, and she is insufferable."
"I heard that." Tom called over.
"You were supposed to." Rebecca smiled. "I'll get the cups, you get the kettle on." She said as she started poking about for the drinking vessels. Lara felt odd, being bossed around in her own kitchen.
Lara smiled to herself. She thought back to a time when she was five years old, her mother was making Christmas dinner dinner for herself and Lara,The kitchen staff had tried to insist on making dinner for them, but she insisted they take the day off, jokingly threatened that she would fire, anyone who didn't. The finished product was surprisingly tasty, she had never known her mother could cook.
"Are you alright dear?" Rebecca asked.
Lara crash landed back into the reality of her kitchen.
"Oh...yeah just...reminiscing." Lara smiled.
Having tea with Alex's parents was surprising relaxing. On the plus side, they didn't seem too focused on Lara. Which suited Lara down to the ground. She didn't want to be the subject of conversation anyway. Kaz and Alex were right though. They were unbelievably over the top, though only when they were addressing Sam and her camera, much to the annoyance of Kaz and Alex.
"So...When's the big day, Kaz?" Sam asked, pointing the camera and zooming in close to her face.
"Well...we were thinking some time in the summer." Kaz said
"Wow, you're not one to wait are you?" Sam chuckled.
"Nope." Kaz laughed. "I was always the impatient one."
"Yeah because we all know how patient Alex was as a kid." Tom said. "How many days were you camped out in that line for that PlayStation?"
"Funny, dad." Alex said glumly.
Lara patted his hand reassuringly.
"Enough, about us. Lara why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"
Lara froze. She had been expecting to divulge some details of her personal life, but, she hadn't quite expected to be put on the spot like this. She took a breath.
"Um...Well, I'm studying Archaeology." She began. "Specializing in East Asia."
"Oh, training to be Indiana Jane, huh?" Rebecca joked.
"Not exactly." Lara chuckled. "I've just always had a passion for history, my father was away a lot when I was young, so I read a lot of books. I was practically raised by the library."
"You could learn a thing or two from her, Alex." Tom jabbed. "She's using the brains she's got, you're wasting them on video games and magazines."
Lara could tell there was some tension between Alex and his father. It wasn't the bad kind though. She could see that he loved his son, but didn't seem to agree with all of his lifestyle choices. But he was trying to advise his son to make the most of his time.
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but Alex seemed uncomfortable. She decided, to try and change the subject, and get Alex a little good grace with his father.
"Anyway, I'm working at the local pub at the minute called the Nine Bells. If you fancy a pint during your stay, come on down." Lara offered a smile. "I can show you the bottle Alex used to knock out a someone who tried to rob us."
Mr and Mrs Weiss' eyes, as well as Kaz's were immediately drawn to Alex, who gave Lara a deer in the headlights look.
"You knocked out a robber?" Tom asked.
"Yeah, it was no big deal." Alex shrugged
"An armed robber." Lara added. "He had a gun."
"I just...sneaked up on him." Alex didn't finish the sentence, he merely made a motion as though he were clubbing something.
"Oh, my...Why didn't you tell..." Mrs Weiss began.
"Mom, nothing happened, I'm fine..." Alex said, trying to brush it off as not a big deal.
"It was really something, one hit and he was on the ground. Alex is a hero...he's my hero." Lara said, hating herself for sounding like a damsel in distress, but it was true. She'd wondered what could have happened if Alex hadn't been there. None of the conclusions she came to were good.
"Wow, Alex, you're a regular, Casanova." Kaz said impressed.
"Really...it was nothing." Alex assured them.
Mr and Mrs Weiss, scrutinized their son. Lara tried to gauge their response.
"You were never any good at poker Alex." Tom chuckled. "Way to go, Son."
"So...I'm sorry but I have to ask...Is that why you're dating?" Rebecca asked.
"MOM!" Kaz yelled, "That is not appropriate."
"No, it's fine." Lara said. "No, well kind of...the incident gave Alex the courage to ask me out. He was too shy to ask." Lara said flashing him a smile. "I always thought, he was always a great guy. I would have said yes if he'd asked me out before."
Alex had barely been able to string a coherent sentence for the last few minutes, yet Lara was singing his praises. Lara had told him, how she had felt, but it had never felt so surreal. He wanted nothing more than to kiss Lara at this moment, but the presence of his sister, parents and Sam's camera made him choose not to.
"My, boy a hero." Mrs Weiss chuckled. "I can't believe it, what did your parents say about the incident."
Lara's heart sank. Those words stung, a scorpion sting with venom oozing out. This had backfired horrendously. She was suddenly lost for words, and didn't have a response. She didn't want to talk about her parents, but she didn't see any alternative.
She looked around the faces in the room, all of which faltered at her reaction to Mrs Weiss' words. She noticed Sam put the camera down.
"That's...not really..." Alex began, attempting, to help, Lara as she had just done.
"My...my parents are both dead." Lara said flatly. "Mum disappeared in a plane crash when I was a young...and my father...I don't like talking about what happened to him."
"Oh...I'm sorry...I..."
"You didn't know, How could you? It's fine really." Lara hated leaving herself emotionally vulnerable, "My...Uncle was very appreciative. He offered Alex a job."
"Really? What's the job?" Tom asked his son.
"Well, he's a a ship captain...he want's me to be a technician." Alex told his parents.
"Hey, you finally get to live your dream of being a pirate." Kaz teased him.
"I really don't know, how I feel about it Alex." Alex's mother said, "I mean you couldn't even stomach the water slide at Six Flags?"
"Mom, I was nine years old and full of junk food. What kid wouldn't throw up?"
Sam let out a fit of giggles. Lara was just glad that the conversation had moved away from her.
"Still, I'd like to meet this, Roth. Just to make sure my son is in good hands." Tom said.
"Roth, is out of town, but, he should be back tomorrow." Lara told them. "If you're staying for a few more days, I can organize a meeting."
"That'd be great." Mr Weiss smiled warmly at Lara. "Thank you."
"Oh, my look at the time." Mrs Weiss Said quickly rising to her feet. " Tom, We have to be going."
"It's only eight o'clock." Lara pointed out. She pondered for a moment that She was leaving to try and escape the awkwardness of what she had said.
"Yes, but Tom and I are going to a Show. Wicked." She smiled warmly.
"Oh, I've seen it it's glorious." Sam said. "I love the theater...I don't think it's as good as the Broadway cast, though."
"Well, we'll have to compare opinions sometime. I'm sorry to leave you with the dishes." Rebecca frowned.
"It's all right. It's my turn to do them anyway." Alex told her as he began to collect the cups and plate, that Lara had kept the biscuits on."Sam, you can dry."
"Yes, sir." Sam smirked as she placed her camera gently on the table, after lovingly kissing it.
"Also, again, Lara. About what I said...I can't apologise enough."
"It's okay. Really." Lara assured her one last time.
"Thank you." She smiled, before turning her attention to her children. "Are you two free for lunch, Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. It's not like I have anything else to do." Kaz chuckled.
"Probably." Alex said "I don't usually plan my day around when I eat."
"And that's why you're so skinny." Tom laughed.
"Do I even need to make a joke about that gut of yours." Alex arched an eyebrow at him.
"Touché. We should get a drink tomorrow, son." Tom smiled. "I might check out that place, you work at tomorrow, Lara. The Nine Bells, right?"
"Yeah. I can give you directions..." Lara began.
"Not, necessary. I'm sure I can find it on Google. I'll see you there tomorrow." He assured her. "We better go. Thank you ladies so much for making us feel welcome."
"No problem." Sam smiled. "We're more than happy to facilitate, any Family reunions, weddings, therapy sessions, christenings, or seances you may have."
Lara stared daggers at Sam. Who simply offered her most innocent smile.
"I'm sure, we'll see you again before we leave. So long girls." Mrs Weiss smiled.
After a quick word of good bye, Lara let them out. Closing the door behind them. And making her way back towards the living room.
"I better go too..." Kaz said getting off the couch.
"Are you sure you can't stay a while longer?" Lara asked.
"Nah, I have a few things to do before Lucya arrives tomorrow." Kaz said. "Oh, crap that reminds me. Alex." She made her way over to the kitchen.
"Yeah." he said, turning his attention away from the sink.
"I wanted to ask you to be my best man." Kaz stated.
"What...r-really?" Alex asked. "Do lesbian weddings even have that?"
"I don't know." She admitted. "And frankly, I don't care. Will you do it?"
"Yeah...of course, I'll do it." He grinned.
"Thank you." She reached her arms around her brother, one last time. Alex returned the hug, though, he forgot his hands we're covered in suds, which were now covering his sisters back.
"Oops." He smiled nervously.
"Klutz." She smirked. "I gotta go. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."
"I'll let you out." Lara told her, once again making her way to the door.
Kaz paused for a moment after passing through the door. She turned to face Lara.
"Listen, those things you said about, Alex...I know what you were doing, and...I really appreciate it." Kaz smiled. "Dad and Alex...have different opinions on certain things."
"I noticed. I don't think he's doing it to be mean." Lara stated. "I think he just wants what's best for Alex."
"They're more alike than they know, they're both great." Kaz smiled. "Not many families would welcome back a disaster like me, wholly unconditionally."
"I'm sure you're not a disaster."
"Pfft, you'll see." Kaz chuckled. "Just tell me one thing. Is is true? What you said about the robbery."
"Every word." Lara assured her. "The guy that tried to rob us, had shot someone earlier that night and...I don't like to think about what would have happened if Alex hadn't been there."
"Alex always did want to be a hero." Kaz smiled. "I guess he got his wish." Kaz reached out and hugged Lara, who returned it. She was much more physically affectionate with everyone this last month. Alex must have brought it out in her.
"I'll see you later." Kaz told her. "I'll have to put you and Sam on the guest list to the wedding...Or are you just gonna be Alex's plus one?"
"Stick a pin in it for now?" Lara told her. "We'll figure it out."
"Okay. I might join Dad and Alex at the bar tomorrow." Kaz smiled. She turned on her heel and headed down the hall. Lara watched, as she entered the elevator and disappeared.
She closed the door and walked back in to Alex and Sam.
They both stood there, silently.
"So..." Sam trailed off.
"That went...surprisingly well." Alex finished. "Up to the whole..."
"It's fine. I brought it on myself." Lara said.
"Anyway...I'm gonna go back to bed." Sam told them. "I need to finish watching March of the Penguins."
"I'm sure you don't need to finish watching it." Lara rolled her eyes. "You've seen it a million times."
"Do I need to remind you how cute those baby penguins are?" Sam smirked before retreating to her room. "Good night." The door clicked behind her.
"So...Kaz invited me to her wedding." Lara told Alex.
"Really? Do you want to go?" Alex asked her.
"I...I don't know." Lara admitted. "Now that I think about it...I've never been to a wedding."
"Really?" Alex was dumbfounded. "I've never met anyone who hasn't been to a wedding before."
"Well yeah, I guess I should go." Lara chuckled. "I guess I should take 'Wedding Virgin' off my list of things to do."
"Still leaves you a normal Virgin." Alex teased.
"Look who's talking." Lara laughed, standing on her toes and pulling him into a kiss. Alex returned it eagerly.
After breaking apart, they stared at each other, for several long seconds. Alex's hand made it's way to brush some of Lara's hair away from her face. Lara's hand clasped on the Alex's, which now rested on her cheek. Both quickly came to the same conclusion.
They both wrapped their arms around each other much more firmly, and kissed again, a little more forcefully this time. Lara dragged Alex back to the couch, falling backwards into it, their lips still interlocked. Alex's stubbl, scratched gently across the surface, of Lara skin.
Lara remembered the last time they were in this position. Alex had panicked. She didn't want to push him too far too fast, but decided to try her luck again. Her tongue traced over the line of Alex's lips, seeming to ask for access.
Alex paused, before granting her request. Their tongues meeting each other. Alex's hand trailed down the length of Lara's spine, pausing when she reached the base. Without warning. Lara rolled them over, so that she was now the one on top. She pulled back, pushing herself up, both of her hands resting on Alex's chest. She looked at him, his glasses askew. She took them off and placed them on the table.
"Go ahead." Lara said in a breathy voice. "You've got better access while I'm here.
Alex nodded. Both of his hands traced up her thighs, and stopped when they reached her shapely rear end. He gave a small slap, but felt like an idiot immediately. Lara however responded positively to the sensation.
"I didn't know you were that kind of guy, Alex." She said, trying to sound sexy.
"Me neither...I didn't know you were that kind of girl." He grinned.
"Neither did I." She said, before moving back down and capturing his lips with her own again.
Alex was ecstatic at the situation...but he was aware of the growing stiffness. He was hoping Lara wouldn't notice. He was sure, that Lara might react negatively to it, but then again, maybe she wouldn't.
She had admitted she wanted to have sex with him, but was probably just working her way up to it. Still this was a pretty big jump. He decided to just forget about his negative thoughts, and just go with the flow. His hands rubbed up and down her sides enjoying the shape of her body.
Several minutes later, Sam walked out from her room, having remembered she left her camera on the coffee table. Her socks covered the sound of her feet against the hardwood floor. It wasn't until she was in the living room that she registered the sounds she had heard. Which was not her original assumption of a movie.
Lara and Alex were both in full make out mode, Lara was on top of Alex. getting really into it. In fact nothing could have prepared Sam for what came next. She sat up, her back to Sam, straddling, Alex's Pelvis. She arms crossed at her abdomen as she grabbed the hem of her long sleeved top, which she peeled off in one swift movement., revealing her plain black bra strap.
"Whoa..." Alex said, completely out of breath.
"Nothing you haven't seen." Lara smirked.
"Yeah but...this is different...It" Alex said lost for words. "Nevermind." Lara reached back down and continued to kiss Alex, as his hands, reached up to Lara's side, and traced their way up stopping below her armpits.
They broke apart again, Lara simply nodded, before kissing him again. Alex's hand's made their way to Lara's chest giving a firm squeeze, causing Lara to whimper into Alex's mouth. Spurring him on.
Sam was shocked. Ten minutes ago, they were having tea and chatting With Alex's family, who were sitting on that couch. And now...this was the kind of Transition she made herself made, not Lara. She smirked.
She caught sight of her camera. she decided to simply leave it there. She didn't to invade her friends' privacy. She crept slowly back to her room. Closing the door as slowly and quietly as she could.
About a half hour later Lara and Alex, were lying on the couch, Lara on top of Alex, breathing heavily. They had halted their progress. Content to revel in how things had went. Alex and Lara's shirt's both lay on the ground, though their lower bodies remained follow clothed, Lara's bra had also remained on, Alex didn't mind though, her ample breasts were squashed against his stomach the soft layer of fabric being the only thing that, kept their flesh apart. adding to the eroticism of the situation.
"That was...fun..." Lara panted. Her head resting on Alex's chest, she could hear his heart thumping, and the sound of his breathing
"Yeah...really something..." Alex smiled, planting a kiss on the top of her head, whilst he played with her ponytail, which had become very loose. "We should do this more often."
Lara raised herself up and crawled up so that she was at eye level with Alex. She gave him a quick peck.
"I'm free on Tuesday afternoon." She grinned.
"So am I." Alex smirked.
The lay on the couch, silent and content for a while.
"So...you wanna watch Robin Hood?" Alex asked.
"Maybe later." Lara said rubbing her hand from his chest to his stomach. "But for now, maybe you can can me when you got some of these tattoos."
"Yeah sure." She smirked. "But only if you tell me when you got that belly button piercing." he ran his hand over the firm expanse of her abdomen.
"Deal." She kissed him again, deeply. There was no need to wait for Tuesday afternoon, as they continued as they were for another half hour.
Okay, so that's this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. I'm accepting prompts through the ask box on my tumblr page, for random tidbits, you'd like to see added to my story, "Lara's New Job and other Stories." Just search tumblr for "thedemonsreflection" Please note, I will NOT be answering any anonymous asks.
Also just as a side note, if Anybody wants to know who Narrated Babe and it's sequel, His name is Roscoe Lee Brown.