The Lara and Hillary Tomb Raider Fanfiction Archive
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Epilogue
It took a long time for Lara Croft to recover emotionally from the trauma she faced both during her adventure with the Cradle of Life, and afterwards. For nearly a year, she suffered the same appalling dreams, and at times she doubted her own sanity. However, time, as her dear friend and lover Hillary had said, was all that she needed, and as it passed, the nightmares became less frequent. She could never quite forget just how close she had been to her own mortality, and how she had been responsible for ending the life of someone who had once meant so much to her, but eventually she was able to accept these facts, and move slowly on.
When Hillary was released from hospital, he realised pretty quickly that he could no longer continue as Lara's butler. In spite of the nurses' discretion, news travels fast in hospitals, almost as swiftly as it does in the outside world, and so both Lara and Hillary decided that it was time to tell the world, or at least their nearest and dearest, about their relationship. Hillary still couldn't quite believe that Lara loved him, but as time moved on, and the aches and pains of his fall subsided, he felt safer more secure in the knowledge of her affection.
He still found his altered role in her life strange, and it took him a while to break the working habits of nearly two decades. Although he had never felt anything less than an equal to Lara, in his own way, he found being 'seen' by the outside world as an equal an interesting, and at times trying experience. He still recalled the somewhat frosty reaction of one particular maiden aunt of Lara's, who, when told the news, had made quite disparaging comments about 'fraternising with the help'.
Lara, in spite of her own slow healing process, was beginning to realise that she had never been happier. Still an adventurer at heart, she was determined to continue on with her quests as and when the mood took her. However, she was considerably more careful when in the process of jumping from planes or scaling cliffs, or whatever her adventures demanded of her. Hillary was still an invaluable part of her team, and, as he had always done before, he still kept the home fires burning. Granted, Lara made a conscious effort not to be away from home for such long periods of time these days, but the routine that they had developed over so many years still supported and maintained them in their altered relationship.
Almost a year to the day of the accident, Lara was preparing for her role as hostess at a charity gala held at Croft Manor in aid of the local hospital that had looked after Hillary so well. Everything was in place, and she felt confident that the army of caterers she had employed for the occasion had pulled out all the stops to ensure a great evening of dinner and dancing, with all proceeds going to the hospital. As she brushed her long hair back from her face, the door to her dressing room opened softly.
"Are you nearly ready?" Hillary asked, placing a glass of champagne on her dressing table. He was dressed in a very well cut black suit and a white dress shirt. A fraction too long, the cuffs of the shirt were adorned with simple gold cufflinks. Lara had been used to seeing Hillary in the butler's uniform for so long, that she kept being surprised at just how different Hillary looked "out of uniform", and tonight was no exception.
"Pretty much," she replied. "I'm having a spot of bother deciding which jewellery to wear though." She sighed, not without a trace of humour. "After all, one of the perks of the Croft title is the acres of family heirlooms that one is required to get out and dust off on a regular basis!"
Hillary smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on Lara's bare shoulder. Even before he was officially her partner at such occasions, he had always chosen her dresses, as Lara was notoriously impatient when it came to shopping for clothes, and the blood red velvet creation she was wearing tonight was no exception. It showed off her curvaceous figure to perfection, and even though Hillary had chosen it, seeing her in it still took his breath away.
"How about adding an heirloom from my family to the collection?" he said softly, placing a small box in front of her.
Curious, Lara opened the box. There, nestled on a bed of crimson velvet identical to the colour of Lara's dress, lay the most exquisite diamond pendant.
"It's beautiful!" Lara gasped, gently picking up the pendent on its fine gold chain.
"It belonged to my mother," Hillary replied. "My father gave it to her on their wedding night." Carefully, he took the pendant from her and fastened it around her slender neck. "It brought them luck for over fifty years; I hope it will do the same for you and I."
The diamond glittered in the light of Lara's dressing room, and she smiled. Turning around to face Hillary, he met her gaze with tender eyes. "It looks absolutely stunning. As do you."
Lara rose to her feet, and looked up at Hillary. "Thank you," she said softly. "This means more to me than I can ever say."
"All I want to know is that you love me," Hillary replied, the barest of trembles in his voice. He tilted his head slightly, and met Lara's lips with his own.
As they broke apart, Lara murmured. "Now, and always."
For a long moment, they just looked at one another. Then, eventually, Hillary said. "Well, are you ready to face the world?"
"As long as you're by my side, I can face anything," Lara replied.
"Anything?" Hillary teased. "Even Great Aunt Hortense?"
"Absolutely," Lara said, thinking of her maiden aunt's astounded expression. "Hired help indeed!"
Taking Hillary's offered arm, Lara checked her hair for one last time and they wandered out onto the upper landing that overlooked the Great Hall. They had faced a great deal over the past year to get to this night, but as Hillary and Lara descended the sweeping wooden staircase to the ground floor of the manor, neither could have been happier.
The End