Author's note: Hi... yes, I have been gone for a very long time. Firstly, I want to start off by saying that everyone that left kind comments on my last story is amazing. You guys are cool and the reason I got excited to do this again. Secondly, I'm between work and college, so updates may be slow, but I'm excited to write about my favorite games again. Thirdly, this will be a series following the entirety of their relationship up until my planned third installment. I've opted on rating this M only due to the idea of foul language and other themes. I don't really know if there will be any sexual content to be wary of yet lol. And, as always: I don't own anything related to the Uncharted series or the Tomb Raider series. Enjoy! EDIT: I've since changed it to T until other changes come.

In sitting across from Nate at the table, Lara could feel the butterflies that were once in her stomach begin to ease. This was, technically, their first official date. It felt somewhat strange for the both of them in realizing that, considering neither of them had been on a date in quite some time. Lara had even decided to wear a dress, a garment she hadn't worn in what felt like forever. Nate managed to wear a simple but nice outfit made up of a button-up and slacks. Maybe the thought was to dress nicely for their "first date," but, on the other hand, they were also sitting in a rather expensive restaurant in New Orleans.

"I didn't expect the dinner for my first day here," Lara smiled, tilting her head as she looked at him across from her. She had planned at least a two-week stay. They were supposed to spend more time together, and now they had the excuse considering their budding romance. Lara enjoyed the concept, especially since it had been so long since she had enjoyed an actual vacation. Her traveling usually was always for expeditions, not for personal downtime. This time, she even rented a nice vacation house. She got to research things she wanted to do and see. She was excited. She wouldn't have to worry about anything dangerous or insane happening. For once, she could relax.

"Yeah, that was the plan," Nate laughed. "I wanted to surprise you, I guess."

"That's sweet of you."

He flashed her a warm smile before looking down at his plate. He hadn't eaten much. The realization made him think he probably should, in which he soon started to eat his steak. He wasn't sure if it was because he was too nervous or too excited about Lara being there that had distracted his appetite, but he had to admit it certainly embarrassed him to some degree. It felt as if he had been brought back to the age of a teenager, having some silly schoolboy crush that made him feel lightheaded at times.

"So… how's Jonah?" he asked, realizing he hadn't really heard anything about him yet. Of course, the planning for this trip had been a month in the making. They would send emails back and forth, trying to figure everything out. Nate could remember the gap of two weeks when Lara didn't reply to his emails because she had gone on another expedition. When she had finally got back to him, he was relieved to know that she was okay. Throughout all that back-and-forth, he never really asked about Jonah or Winston. Lara had told him she would tell him about the expedition later. It seemed as if both of them were too focused on this specific trip in order to talk about anything else. Now, they actually had the chance to.

Lara mustered out a giggle, "He has a girlfriend now, actually."

"Really? Jonah?"

"He met her on the expedition we took a while back," she explained, perking up then. "God, I haven't even told you anything about the recent one." She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to figure out how she had been so forgetful. "You were probably so worried while I was gone."

"I guess I would be lying if I said I wasn't… even if you can kill a man with a bow."

She gave a small snort. "And a gun."

He nodded in return. He knew very well that she could best him in any kind of shooting range, never mind archery. He didn't even know how to hold a bow. Nate grabbed his wine glass, "What's the lucky girl's name?"

"Abby. We met her in Peru… that was when the whole jaguar situation happened too. Same trip."

"How romantic. So, how did they fall in love? Did he save her from gunshots?"
Laughing, Lara rolled her eyes. That joke felt painfully close to home. She shook her head, deciding to eat some of her pasta before replying. "No, actually. As shocking as that is."

"How did that come about anyway?"

"They kept in touch. The whole long-distance thing… I'm happy for him."

He nodded. "That's good. He deserves it."

Lara didn't say anything. Silent, her eyes shot up to look at him. Her lips had curled into a smile, leaning forward as she asked him about Sully and Sam. She hadn't seen them yet and she had to admit she had missed them. She wondered when she would be able to see them again.

"Do you really want to go see them?" Nate joked. Her smile had brought a certain type of joy back to him that he hadn't had since… well, the last time he saw her in person.

The pair ended up in his apartment after dinner, laying on the bed. Lara's fingers traced his bare chest as she laid on top of him, smiling as he stroked her hair. She felt relaxed. Safe. Calm. She felt at peace.

"I'm sorry you had to pay," Nate muttered.

"I offered to pay," Lara reminded him. "And I don't mind anyway."

"But—"

"It's fine, Nate," she said, looking up at him. Her eyes were gentle, trying to tell him that it was okay. She knew how he could get about things like this. Situations similar to this always made him feel somewhat vulnerable. While he didn't mind opening up, any vulnerability was still hard for him to ever want to show. She patted his chest. "Really."

He reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Okay," he murmured, believing her over such a thing, even if he did still feel the tiniest bit of guilt. He wished it didn't have to be like this. Part of him felt like maybe he shouldn't have quit his job at the salvage company, even if it made him miserable. At least he would have a more reliable paycheck coming in. Now he had to save his money after each find in order to actually have something to survive off of. It wasn't all bad. Normally he got pretty decent pay… but he never knew how big of a gap it would be between the different hunts.

Lara grabbed his hand and leaned her cheek against his palm, her thumb running across his knuckles. She stayed this way for some time before she leaned down and kissed his lips. He kissed her back, returning the same energy she gave him before she pulled away and rested her head on his chest again, laying back down.

"How have things been by the way?" Lara asked him, curious.

"Mm… they've been okay," he murmured, his hand stroking her hair. "I don't know, it's better with you here."

She furrowed her brows, her hand starting to fidget with some of his chest hair. Pursing her lips, she tried to think about what to say. It was hard, really. She knew the reality of the situation, even though he himself didn't want to admit anything to her. Lara was smart though, it wasn't hard to figure out that Nate was obviously having issues financially. She finally sighed, "Divorces are expensive."

"Yeah… all of that's been over and done with for a little while now," he explained, closing his eyes as he thought about it. He could remember how the beginning of all of it was so bitter. It left a sour taste in his mouth. The repercussions of the divorce still lingered even now, although differently for each party.

Lara watched Nate with intense eyes. She wanted to talk to him about everything. She knew that he wouldn't want to, but she felt it was needed. She had to have a conversation before she went back home.

"I know," she said. She closed her own eyes then. "Goodnight."

"Night, Biscuit."

The two sat down on the couch of Lara's rental home. The TV was on, playing a random movie that they managed to find after almost thirty minutes of searching. They often found themselves playfully arguing with one another about what it was they wanted to watch; a documentary? An action flick? They weren't too sure themselves, eventually they had given up their hunt and just put whatever on.

Nate's arm was wrapped around Lara's shoulders as they watched the television. He was, admittedly, a little confused about it.

"What was this again?" he asked her.

"Ninja Mime," she replied, looking up at him with a smile. "You never really watched it before?"

"No," he said, leaning back as he glanced back at the TV. He had never watched the film before, probably because of how silly the name was to him. Then again, he didn't really watch movies all that much. Admittedly, he watched more history documentaries than actual Hollywood blockbusters.

Lara patted his knee. "I would've figured you would've watched it before… seems like something you'd like," she teased him, kissing his chin. "But I guess I was wrong."

He leaned his head down and gave her a dumb smirk. "You? Admitting that you're wrong?" he asked, touching the tip of his nose against hers. His hand touched her cheek as he leaned his head into her forehead. "Since when?"

She giggled, her hands on his chest as she playfully pushed at him, but not enough to actually shove him away. "I can admit when I'm wrong," she replied, looking away at the TV for a moment. She pursed her lips into a smile, finally focusing back on him. "It's just that I'm normally right."

"Well, now you're just lying."

"It's not a lie, more of an exaggeration."

"I wish you would teach me how to be so perfect," he begged jokingly, kissing her cheeks. As she laughed, Nate began to pepper kisses all over her face. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he started to lay down with her on the couch. His mind went back to a similar scene of him and Elena, although a happy memory at first, it had soon tainted itself when Nate pieced it together with new context.

"Are you happy?" Elena had asked. It had always struck him as odd, even in that exact moment of time. He didn't understand why she would ask that; now he knew the double meaning behind that simple question.

Nate's eyes focused on Lara. The familiar scene was causing something within him to bubble in his chest. He didn't know why these memories often came to him like this; it was like a strange habit he couldn't break out of. Memories of the past, sometimes of red flags that he missed, often flooded his brain and caused deeper scars than what was already there. He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm at that moment. He should be focusing on the now, he knew. Sometimes it was just hard to do such a simple task.

A smile came back upon his face and his hand rested on her cheek. Lara, he had always noticed, was always gentle despite her survivor status. As many hardships she had faced, as much stress that she had gone through, she always managed to keep her warm personality. It was never in the way of a fragile, lonely human. No, it was never like that. Lara was strong. The things she had gone through had taught her well. She was, in every sense, someone with big dreams. That was the best way to describe her, at least to Nate. She wasn't just a survivor or another Croft. She was a dreamer with a curious heart. He wished he could be like her.

"You should come back to earth," she said, her hands on either side of his face. A cheesy but amusing sentiment that Nate took with a chuckle. He gave her a few lip pecks before resting his head on her chest, laying down with her fully on the couch. Although this was a rental they were in, it oddly felt cozy and homey. He couldn't quite explain why that was as the house, modern and sleek in design, was something he was never really familiar with. He had never lived in anything like it before and he certainly never stayed in anything like it before. Yet, he felt as if he were in a place of familiarity, if only because Lara was there, he thought.

"Was there anything you wanted to do tomorrow?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. Her hands began to stroke his hair. She always thought his hair was soft, she wasn't really sure how he managed to keep it that way. She had a rough time managing her own hair usually, finding split ends most of the time. She sighed. "Nate?"

"What is it?"

"If we're going to make this work… you know it's going to be very rocky in the beginning, don't you?"

"What do you mean?" He perked, his head tilting up to look at her. His eyes, wide and full of uncomfortable curiosity, stared at her, not unlike that of a confused puppy.

"I mean… It's going to be long-distance for a while."

"Oh. Right."

"I mean, with visits obviously. But—"

"I know," he muttered. He understood all that, even if it was hard to accept. "It's too early for us to be doing anything else. I get it."

She couldn't stay there for months on end, just as he couldn't stay in England for months on end. They both knew it was much too early to even be thinking about moving in with each other. The big issue, though, was that neither of them would know where to go once it did get to that point in their relationship, so they mutually decided to just cross that bridge when they got there. Although the decision was made out of the silence of never talking about the topic, it was certainly made or implied at the very least.

Lara kissed the top of his head. She could smell the faint scent of coconut in his hair, which inadvertently made her think of the islands she had gone to before that were infested with coconut trees. She could remember the sweet taste of fresh coconut water and the tropical heat that accompanied the islands.

She pulled away from him and leaned back more comfortably. "I wish it were easier," she admitted. "But…" She trailed off without finishing that sentence. This was one part of the conversation she wanted to have with him; it had gone well. She hoped the other conversations she wanted to have were just as easy. Oh, god, she really hoped they were.

"Nothing we do is ever easy," Nate murmured. "If it was, we'd be out of a job." He rested his eyes for that moment, taking a deep breath. He had come to understand that a long time ago. Nothing in life was easy, but sometimes it seemed much more against them. It was silly to even think like that he knew, yet in remembering everything either of them had gone through, it made him truly wonder about the real balance in the world. Was there actually any? Perhaps they were just caught up in the chaos. It sounded like a sob story. He sighed. "But we'll figure things out."

The silence, now awkward and filling the two of them with tension, made either of them want to viciously break it. They both knew the issues at hand. While it was important to talk about it, it was also important to remember that they were together at this moment to enjoy each other's company. They could worry about this all later on, at a better time.

"Maybe tomorrow we could go see Sam and Sully, would you like that?" he asked.

"Oh, finally?" she replied, more lighthearted. The corners of her mouth began to lift into a smile. She was happy about the prospect of seeing those two; they had been much too kind to her, she felt. "Have they been up to anything?"

"They go on a lot of trips together," he said. He shifted, trying to get into a more comfortable position as they laid together on the couch. "Which is good. They didn't always use to be so close."

"Really?"

"Sam was always… ah, I don't know. He was–"

"What? Rebellious?"

"Sure, that works," he laughed, looking at her with a grin. "When we were kids, Sam never liked listening to Sully."

Lara figured that made sense. Sam had practically been the one raising Nate after they left the orphanage, when Sully came into the picture, it only made sense to be cautious. He probably didn't like the idea of some father figure that could possibly leave Nate again, she thought. Even if that were years ago, it was interesting to think about. At least to her.

"They argued all the time. Nonstop. There was always some shouting match," he continued. He could remember the time when Sam and Sully had argued over something as trivial as what kind of food to buy. "I guess in their old age they managed to mellow out a little."

She leaned her head back, resting it on the arm of the couch. "You're so mean to your brother," she teased. "He isn't that old."

"You're right. He's only a few years younger than Sully."

She gave small laugh at that, her hands petting his hair. She hoped this trip would feel longer than shorter.

Lunch was at an old-style American diner. Sully and Sam had been glad to hear they would be seeing Lara again, dare Nate even say excited, and that was made quite obvious when the couple had walked up to the booth that the two men had been sitting at.

They scooted their way out of the booth and stood up, greeting the woman with smiles to indicate they were happy to see her. Sully had put his hands out towards her, his eyes looking her over; it was almost odd to see her in a more comfortable setting due to their last encounters.

"Ah, geez… aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" the old man cackled.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. She had to admit that she had missed him, even if he did sometimes curse like a sailor and had some of the most strange sayings she had ever heard. Perhaps that was part of his charm.

"Hey, now, why does he get such a warm welcome, huh?" Sam suddenly cut in, though with a sarcastic tilt in his voice.

"You ever think it's because of the cigarette smell?" Nate said, providing the other with a teasing food for thought.

Lara pulled away from Sully and shook her head in response, an amused smile on her face as she heard what was said between the two. Their teasings towards one another were sometimes amusing, she had to admit. She stepped over and held her arms out to him playfully, inviting him into a hug that he graciously gave to her.

"It's nice to see you again," he told her. He let go of her and gestured towards the booth for the couple to sit down. "How's it been?"

She scooted into the booth so she could be closer to the window, Nate sitting next to her. The others sat across from them. Nate had noticed that they had already ordered their drinks; Sully was drinking a black coffee and Sam was drinking a coke, though he knew it was probably diet. He rested his elbows on the table as he leaned forward a little, tapping the heel of his foot as he listened to what Lara had to say.

"It's been fine," she told them. "I went on an expedition a little bit ago and didn't die. I suppose that counts for something."

"That always counts for something," Sam replied with a chuckle.

"Have you been likin' New Orleans so far?" Sully asked.

"It's beautiful here." Smiling, she grabbed a pair of menus that stood at her end of the table, tucked away between the salt and pepper shakers. She handed one to Nate. "I'm trying to make the best of my trip."

Sully nodded in response, his eyes going from Lara to Nate. "And what took you so long to bring her around again, kid?"

Nate read over the menu, his eyes glued on the words he was reading. He noticed a few things that caught his attention and he was trying to figure out which he wanted to get to eat. He didn't look up from his menu. Sarcastically, he said, "Lovey-dovey stuff, Sully."

Sam cackled, playfully slapping at Sully's chest as he leaned back and shrugged. "You can't exactly argue with that, old man," he grinned. "They're freshly in love."

"'Freshly in love,' my ass," Sully snorted. "I still wanna see the lady."

Lara set her menu down on the table and rested her chin in her hand in response to listening to their conversation. It was such silly bickering. She enjoyed how they played off one another. She dearly missed that from her crew back during the Yamatai days.

"If it makes you feel any better, I asked to see you earlier," she told them.

"Ah, so Nate was just being selfish." Sam nodded, wagging his finger at the couple with a smirk. "Figures."

"Cut me a break," Nate said jokingly. "Our original love affair got cut short if you remember."

"Alright, alright. I'll give you that."

Their waitress, red-haired with a face full of freckles, smiled at her new customers when she had walked over to their booth. She asked for what they wanted to drink and if they were ready to order. She was met almost immediately with everyone's orders and she told them she would try and get everything out as soon as possible. Walking away, she left the group back to their own devices.

Sully took a sip of his coffee. "How's everything back home, Lara?"

"Good. Jonah's really happy with Abby," she replied.

"Oh, he got himself a little girlfriend?"

"He did," she nodded.

She leaned against Nate, her eyes glancing over to see what was happening outside. Cars passed by, people walked by… it was nothing very extraordinary but she enjoyed watching it all nonetheless.

Between the small talk and catching up among the group, they had eventually passed enough time for their food to come out. Lara had ended up excusing herself to go to the restroom halfway into the meal, which prompted Sam to give Nate a look.

"So, here's the big question for the hour: is she gonna end up meeting Elena on this trip?" he asked his brother.

Nate made a face in response. A heavy sigh escaped him as he grabbed his water, taking a sip of it as he tried to think of what to say. What a heavy question that he didn't think about. In the back of his head, he had wanted to avoid the interaction. The issue was that he didn't know if that was possible. He shrugged, "I… I don't know."

"Listen, I just know that you're trying to be nice to Elena. She asked to still be friends with you," Sam murmured. He began to poke at his food with his fork. "But I don't know, Nate. I don't like it."

"Have you mentioned anything about Lara to her?" Sully wondered. "Coming to town, I mean."

"It slipped, sure." Nate leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I mean, she said something about wanting to meet her… but I don't know."

Sully tapped his fingers against the table. He knew the situation well; Elena had wanted to be friends despite the divorce. She tried very hard to remain friends. It was obvious that Elena still cared for Nate even if their romance was stomped out and dead. Elena still liked their little group, it was just hard for social interaction to happen with the context involved.

"Listen, kid," Sully said. "You don't owe her anything. You don't gotta be nice. You don't gotta do anything."

"I know."

"She hurt you. You don't always gotta forgive people when they do that."

"I'll figure it out," Nate replied softly.

The older man nodded, even if it was only for Nate. He knew that he hadn't fully grieved. He had been too busy distracting himself to ever actually take in the full situation that he had been hurt from the divorce. And, while Sully knew Elena had good intentions, he sometimes felt it made everything worse for the kid. Maybe they needed another conversation and another apology, he thought.

"Look, little brother…" Sam added. "I just wanna make sure you're okay. You got that?"

Nate smiled weakly. He knew that well. The issue was that he didn't want to talk about this anymore. He decided to change the subject. "I think Lara wants to go bowling sometime this week." It was a weak attempt but he didn't care.

"Yeah?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

Just wanted to end this with a note of me saying: please notice my cheeky Mortal Kombat reference. Haha, anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.