Slouching Toward Bethlehem
A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

Disclaimer:
I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

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»Chapter Fourteen: Calm Before The Storm »

Kurtis had been outside smoking on the balcony for some time now, and Lara figured he would probably be out there for a while.

She never could understand why people felt the need to smoke. It was stupid, dangerous and extremely damaging to your health.

Then again, she thought, a smile pulling at her lips, So is being a tomb raider.

She turned to the side slightly and peered over her left shoulder. She saw Kurtis out of the corner of her eye, standing, leaning against the railing of the balcony with his back to her, sending another plume of smoke into the night sky.

Looking over at his effects on the bedside table, she craned her neck once more to make sure Kurtis was still smoking, before abandoning her pretence, getting up from her seat and stepping over towards the bed.

She picked up his Boran X first, admiring the unique weapon as she turned it over in her hands. She opened the chamber, examining the bullets inside before twirling it around and clicking it back into place. She carefully put the gun back exactly where she had left it, directing her attention to his Chirguai. The bladed weapon fit into her grip nicely, but try as she might she could not get the blades to spring out. She was just about to give up when the Chirguai came to life suddenly, causing her to almost drop the object in shock when it nearly cut her fingers off.

"Be careful," said a voice behind her, and she turned guiltily to find Kurtis standing in the doorway, "Seems to have a mind of its own."

"I was just looking," she replied.

"Uh huh," he said, walking over and taking the Chirguai from her. Immediately the blades retracted and Kurtis leaned over Lara and put it back on the bedside table. "You seem to have a strange fascination with going through my things."

Lara was caught off guard by this comment. It was the first time either of them had mentioned the events of a few nights ago.

"Sorry," Lara muttered, watching as Kurtis sat on the edge of the bed.

"What were you looking at my things for anyways?" he asked, although he seemed more curious than angry.

Lara shrugged, walking over and joining him on the bed.

"I don't know, it's just… Ever since you pointed that thing at me in the Louvre I was just curious about it that's all."

There was a pause. After a while Kurtis stood up and retrieved the Chirguai from the bedside table. He sat back down next to Lara.

"I got this," he held up the Chirguai, "Along with the Periapt Shards after my father was murdered… He made arrangements for them to be delivered to me on the event of his death." Another pause followed this statement, and Lara knew Kurtis found it difficult talking about his father.

"It's alright Kurtis," she told him, reaching out a hand and placing it on top of his own, which currently rested on his knee. He looked down at this contact and sighed.

"Konstantin – my father - began my Lux Veritatis training when I was only three. It was simple exercises at first, but the training got much harder as the years went on. At sixteen I underwent the most intense stage of my initiation. A test – to hone my mental and physical skills. I was lucky to get through it alive. Me and my father never did connect the same afterwards. I kept myself distanced from him, since he was the one who had forced me into such a dangerous situation. When I reached nineteen we had a huge blow-out. I packed up my stuff and left the house without even saying goodbye. I ran off to France and joined the Foreign Legion."

Lara was aware that Kurtis was telling her much more than she needed to know. She simply sat quietly and listened as he told her about his experiences in the Legion. Events linked to the occult had followed him even whilst at war all over Europe.

"I knew my cover had been blown in the Legion," he continued, "They'll let anyone sign up, regardless of their past. A lot of guys join the Legion and just disappear. I changed my name to Trent and never spoke of my heritage to anyone there, and yet I wasn't able to hide completely. I was in the Legion in the end for less than 5 years… After that I drifted. I found work whenever I could, doing… Well, you already know what work I was doing."

Mercenary, thought Lara, although she did not say it out loud.

"How come you ended up working for Gunderson?" she asked him. She had been pondering it ever since she noticed his employer on the ID card she had found.

Kurtis rubbed the back of his neck with his fingertips.

"He runs something called the Agency, which is basically a mercenary recruitment service. Thinly disguised of course. Anyone who's ever done that kind of work has heard of himor worked for him, especially in Europe."

"So I guess the guy has a lot of power and influence over the authorities," Lara caught on, "That's why they managed to find you at the hospital so easily."

Kurtis nodded thoughtfully. Silence reigned for a moment.

"Kurtis?" Lara asked timidly, "Do you ever… Do you ever get sick of it? I mean. Do you ever get sick of this lifestyle?"

"What do you mean?" he replied, furrowing his brows.

"It's just," she stood up from her position on the edge of the bed. "I used to love life. I mean, I used to get this feeling, whenever I was exploring an unknown tomb, or recovering some long-forgotten artefact." She began pacing back and forth at this point. "It was like this sense of awe. Like there was something sacred, beyond this life, worth risking your life for. You know?" She turned to Kurtis at this point.

He simply nodded, still unsure where she was going with this.

She sighed, wiping a hand over her face.

"I used to live for adventure, exploration, all of that stuff. But lately… I don't know, but it's like I've changed. I don't think I can ever go back to that lifestyle. I have a responsibility. We both do. I've got to help save the world again, but this time it feels as though it's gonna be the last time that happens…" She sighed again. " I really don't know if I can do this. I'm afraid, Kurtis."

"Lara," Kurtis told her, "I agree it seems a bit hopeless at the moment, but if we manage to destroy this city… Well, it'll give us more time to come up with a way to kill Karel."

Lara shook her head.

"You don't understand Kurtis," she answered wearily, "I'm not afraid of the world ending. I'm not afraid of Karel. Hell, I'm not even afraid of dying anymore. I'm afraid of losing you."

Kurtis blinked at this. What the hell was she talking about?

"You're afraid of losing me?" he repeated.

Lara nodded, standing completely still by now.

"But what about the IDs? What about my past? I thought you didn't even trust me, let alone care about my wellbeing."

"God dammit Kurtis, do you not understand this?!" Lara suddenly shouted, her voice filled with pent-up emotion, "Of course I care about you! You may be a stubborn bastard, but it's damn hard not to care about you. You killed people, I know… But I don't care."

There was a very long pause after this, during which Kurtis continued to look confused.

"I know you did all this stuff in the past. Bad stuff. Very bad stuff. And if I had met you back then, well, I'd have probably shot you without a second's thought."

"Lara, I-"

"You've done some bad in the past, but I know you're a good person. I just want to help you see that." She paused at length, and their eyes met and held. "There's something here Kurtis," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "Something you can't deny. And no matter how hard I try I can't seem to ignore these feelings… God help me I try. It's just too hard. I can't…"

"Lara…" He had stood up from his position on the bed by now. She continued to look distraught, and within her eyes was reflected the same pain, doubt and fear he felt.

Her next words were a fleeting whisper, and if they had not been standing so close then Kurtis doubted he would have been able to hear them.

"I can't help falling in love with you."

There was a moment as they both simply stood, caught in this revelation. Lara's eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, and the sight chased away any doubts Kurtis had ever had.

He leaned forwards, taking her face in both his hands, and pulled her to him. The kiss was soft and quick; filled with a tenderness Lara had never experienced in her life. Involuntarily she moaned against him. Tracing along the curve of her cheekbone with his palm, he lingered for a long while, his movements hesitating and slow. Perhaps she had been expecting this all along, he could not be sure, but they were now so close that he could actually feel her heartbeat quickening. His mouth lingered against hers for a moment, anxious and wavering. She remained motionless in shock.

Kurtis pulled back from the kiss and rested his forehead against her own, waiting for Lara to open her eyes. When she did Kurtis could not help notice just how truly beautiful she was.

"Neither can I," he breathed.

There was no need to speak. No need to say a word. Just a soft sigh of relief as he took her face in his hands again. Their lips met with an infinite softness; slow, gentle, and yet quick and urgent at the same time. Almost without thought her hands were tangling in his hair, and she opened her mouth onto his as his arms slid about her waist.

No words were exchanged as Kurtis tugged at the fabric of her shirt. She simply drew back and let him pull the garment over her head. Soon it lay upon the floor as their lips met again, and Lara pushed Kurtis up against the wall, hands sliding beneath his shirt and up his bare back, gripping his shoulders even tighter than before. They had to stop a moment later to come up for air, and both gazed at each other, desperately trying to catch their breath.

Suddenly the heat of the room had become unbearable.

Their tongues met again with a newfound fire, and quickly any garments which had before shielded their bodies were strewn haphazardly across the room. Lara leant back against the edge of the bed, pulling Kurtis down with her. His mouth left hers and began to trail kisses along her collarbone, making her arch her back away from the bed and gasp in pleasure. Her hands clung to his back, attempting to find some sort of anchor.

She wondered exactly when this had happened. The very moment when she had fallen in love with him. Perhaps it had been that night so very long ago, when she'd held his hand on the way to hospital. Maybe it had been even earlier than that; when she'd first spun around and come face-to-face with her assailant at the Louvre, only to find herself lost in those beautiful blue eyes…

The Turkish sun had long set below the Marmara Sea, and yet the water continued to shimmer with fading pinks and pastels. A light sea breeze drifted in from the balcony, causing the curtains to stir gently. The view was lost to Lara however.

As Kurtis lowered himself down onto her, the whole world seemed to melt away. All the doubt, fear, pain and apprehension of the past few weeks seemed to just disappear. Lara Croft forgot about all Karel, the Nephilim, and the impending apocalypse.

At that exact moment nothing else in the world seemed to matter.

TBC…

God damn that was the hardest chapter to write! The rating for this story might change because of the nature of up-coming chapters. If this is the case, then you will only be able to view it if you change the search box to all ratings, as opposed to G to PG-13... Do not worry; this story has barely begun! :D

nickless – Thank you! I found this site a bit daunting at first, but everyone here is so nice. You'll soon get settled in :) And no, I won't write by candle light anymore lol

Acid-Rush – You swapped comments with a guy on a geology trip like Lara and Kurtis? Where there something between you, or was he just being a typical guy? :D I'm actually eating chocolate now, but you don't appreciate hot meals until they're gone… Prince Charles visited my city the other day. It's weird, no-one has ever heard of Carlisle and now it's all over the news! (One guy I spoke to thought it was in America lol)

Angel-Trent2 – Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Nice to find someone else with good taste in music :) I can't wait to go see Linkin Park when they tour the UK…

PunkStatik – Thank you! The dynamics I had going between Lara and Kurtis is called UST: Unresolved Sexual Tension. I don't know how I'd write without using it! I always try to update as quickly as possible. I hope this chapter was put up quickly enough! :)

lara-n-kurtis - :D What else can I say? Question answered...