He poked her nose carefully and asked, "How'd you know I was your Daddy?"
Rose dropped out of his arms and raced upstairs, then came back down. She was holding a black book entitled, Dark Chronicle.
"Ah, I forgot about that," Lara stated. "I had stuffed it in my backpack and never gave it back to you, quite by accident. When Rose was born, I let her read it."
"I had been wondering where that was," he mumbled and pulled the book out of Rose's clutches. Rose, seeing her book going away, started to tear up. Raziel's eyes widened and he hurriedly gave her it back. She smiled, but still looked sad, and the tears threatened to start sneaking down her cheek. Raziel glanced around looking for something, panicked.
"Um . . ." He quickly darted over to the corner, picked something up, and then handed it to Rose. It was one of her balls, which she took looking a bit more happier, but still somewhat sad.
"Fine," Raziel sighed. He picked her up. She immediately brightened up and hugged him, book in one hand, ball in the other. Lara, who had been watching this whole affair, could no longer restrain from laughing.
"The ever-so mighty Soul Reaver, running around at the whims of a child."
Raziel glared at her. "I'd like to see you resist that face." Lara merely chuckled.
"I've been living what that face for four years, Raziel. Unlike you, I have developed a resistance to it." She blinked at her daughter a long moment. "I believe she's also going to have a case of 'Daddy's little girl' syndrome."
"What is that?"
Rose leaned back, dropped the ball, and grabbed hold of one of Raziel's wings and started nibbling on it. Raziel turned on her with a slight growl.
"Stop that," he said sternly. Rose looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes. Raziel felt like he'd been punched.
"No, no, no," he cooed over her. "Don't cry. Go ahead." He looked up to see Lara looking at him exasperatedly.
"That's what I was talking about," she commented blandly.
"What?"
She shook her head and sighed. "Never mind."
"Mummy! Look what I can do!"
Lara looked closer as Rose extended one of her clawed hands and watched the claws split and change into five-fingered human hands. Lara blinked, surprised, and Raziel leaned around Rose and stared at her hand.
"Do that again."
^-^ Pleased she had both parents' attentions, she grinned widely and melded her fingers back into claws again.
"Now if we can teach you to hide your fangs a bit better, you'll be able to go to school," Lara stated.
"School?"
Lara drew close to Rose and kissed her on the forehead, then looked up at Raziel. One of his claws sneaked around her waist and pulled her close to him, squishing Rose, who voiced irritated noises but was promptly ignored. Raziel kissed Lara, and had Rose not been in the way, they would have embraced and held the other tightly. Rose, on the other hand, was not particularly happy with being crushed between two bodies and complained as much. She was even more aggravating when she was still being ignored.
"Raziel, I don't want you to go."
He sighed. "I don't want to, either, but Lara, you know I don't belong to this planet." He touched her cheek. "I love you."
She let out her breath and leaned her forehead against his. "I love you, too."
"And as much as I don't want to—"
"Then don't—"
"Raziel?" a voice inquired from the doorway. Both looked up to see Vorador standing there, watching the two.
"It's time to go."
Raziel nodded once, let go of Lara, then spent about five minutes working to detach Rose from his shirt. She didn't understand what was going on, but she did realize that Raziel was going to be leaving and she didn't want him to. He ended up pulling off the shirt and moving back before she could latch onto him again. Lara carried her and gave her to Hillary so she could go with Vorador and Raziel back to the Pillars.
The trip was made in utter silence, Lara and Raziel both steeling themselves in their paths, Vorador just looking between the two amusedly. After all, it wasn't him. Why shouldn't he be amused?
The Pillars and then the building surrounding them rose in a wall of white toward them. It seemed in the eternity of a blink of an eye they were in front of them and sliding out of the car. Jials met them at the doorway and walked next to Lara through the rooms to the outside. The portal flickered in its life as always. Vorador took one of Lara's hands, kissed the top, and bowed to her, that same sardonic air there as always.
"A pleasure meeting you, Lady Croft, and should you ever decide to change your mind about staying human, I am quite willing to make one such as yourself into a vampire."
"Thank you, Vorador, but I don't believe I'll be taking you up on that offer."
"Pity." He shrugged, but smile, and stepped back into the portal. Lara turned to Raziel. The stared at each other for a time.
"It was good to see you again," Raziel stated in a carefully neutral tone.
"The feeling is mutual." Then she paused and chuckled slightly. "Haven't we already danced to this tune?"
Raziel gave her a confused expression.
"This is about what we said the last time we said good-bye."
He considered it. "That it is." He touched her cheek again. "I will see you again, you know."
"I know. Just go now before I hold onto you and refuse to let go."
Raziel smirked slightly, turned, and walked toward the portal. Without hesitation, he stepped into it, leaving the portal rippled slightly in his wake. Lara watched until the last ripple had vanished, then turned to walk away.
"Uh, Lara?" Jials' voice stopped her. "Someone's coming through the portal."
Lara turned back and watched as a silhouette formed behind the portal, then broke through to reveal none other than Raziel, striding back toward where she stood. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as he stopped in front of her.
"Now you know how I felt when you left me five years ago," he breathed gently to her. Then, in front of all eyes, kneeled before her and held a ring out, asking, "will you marry me?"
Lara's eyes widened for a moment before a genuinely pleased smile broke out across her face. Very primly, she took the ring and slid it on her finger, then looked him in the eye and responded, "Yes." He stood quickly and pulled her into his embrace, fastening his lips tightly to her. After a few moments when he had broken the lock, she became aware of the fact that the people standing around were applauding. Jials came over to them and patted Lara on the shoulder in a jovial manner.
"I never thought I'd see the day the Tomb Raider cried," he laughed, shaking his head slightly from side to side at seeing the tears creeping down Lara's face.
"I'm not crying," she replied in what was supposed to be her famous threatening voice, but came out more as a mock-growl.
"Yes you are," Jials responded. "See, right there—"
Abruptly, a pistol was jammed under his nose. His eyes widened and he quickly walked away saying, "Okay, no you were not crying. The Tomb Raider doesn't cry. Gotcha."
She turned her attention back to Raziel and he kissed her.
"So, when do you think we should have it?"
Lara paused, wondering for a moment if the actual season meant anything to her. She decided, in reality, it really didn't, so she based it off another date, instead.
"One month after Rose's birthday. That should give us enough time to work out the details, don't you think?"
He nodded. "I think so, yes."
"Wonderful. Now, who are we going to invite, and what are we going to serve for dinner? I already can tell quite a few of the guests are going to be drinking only, and it's going to be a beverage that will be a bit hard to come by."
"True. Hm . . ."
Okay, okay, short chapter, but that's because I'm gearing up for a LONG epilogue. Expect it to come in two parts. Now you will all have to WAIT for eternity to see what happens! Mwahahahahahhahahaaa!!!
Or, rather, until I update next, which shouldn't be too long from now.
In the meantime, check out some of my poems on fictionpress, would you? Pwease?
