Disclaimer: Twilight and the Tomb Raider franchise belong to their respective owners. Which is certainly not me. I just play with it.

AN at the bottom

The sun was setting over the rough sea when Bella and Edward finally made it out of the caves. They had gotten lost inside a few times, taking wrong turns or circling back to the mystical door. It cost the two several hours. Bella had taken that time to tell him about James and how he betrayed her, opting to leave out the bit where they'd been lovers.

In turn, Edward was noticeably tired, reeling from what had happened to himself. He tried telling her what he had experienced but it seemed to confuse her more than it did him.

After the blue light had enveloped him, he felt as though he had been transported to a different place, making his head spin painfully. There, he had seen flashing images of ancient medieval buildings, a canal and hidden tunnels under a city. The tunnels would lead to a chamber in which part of the key to Yggdrasil would be hidden. The flashes were quick and painfully bright, marking them on his corneas like stamps. It left him with a stinging headache. Something had touched him and he had jumped away from it, his injured hand burning and throbbing. When the pain stopped, the wound on his hand was gone, leaving flawless skin behind, free of the scars he had accumulated over the years.

He was then brought back to the caves where he had found Bella.

Now, as they were stepping into the fading sunlight, the two were quiet. Both having told their stories, they settled into a companionable silence. They walked slowly down the rugged beach, heads down, weary of the long and troubling day they'd had. Their climbing gear was waiting for them at the spot they had landed hours ago, the ropes swaying in the wind.

The climb up was methodical, done with ease courtesy of years of training and agility. But what was waiting for them at the top of the cliff, neither one of them expected.

Peitre's lifeless body was lying face down in a puddle of her own blood.

Edward walked over to her, pushing her hair away from the neck and uncovering a distinct bullet wound.

"Son of a bitch," he spat.

"James," Bella said, her voice tight with anger, looking straight into Edward's eyes which had a golden hue because of the setting sun. He nodded, looking back down at Peitre.

"It's a mercy shot," he whispered.

"Bullocks," Bella bit back. "He's just too big of a coward to look his victims in the eyes before he kills them."

Edward frowned, bringing his hand up to rub his throbbing forehead. Bella noticed the action, along with the tightening of his eyes as he did so. She knew he had a massive headache but was unsure what to do. Let him be or take control and make sure he rested before they returned to England.

She decided on the first.

"We should go," she told him and he nodded, getting up in one fluent movement. The walk back to the car was quiet again and Bella took the time to shake off her anger. It was a tragedy what happened to Peitre and her coven but she felt as though it was inevitable. Besides, it was almost merciful that she'd perish so close after her husband did. Save her the agony.

She took a deep breath, stopping to look back at the cliff. She could swear she saw Peitre standing there for just a blink of an eye but then it was gone and she shook her head, blaming what she had seen on fatigue and lack of food. Edward, who hadn't stopped walking, realized Bella had fallen back and stopped to turn to her. Their eyes met for a few seconds, silently asking each other if they were okay. They didn't answer each other.

When they reached the car, Edward silently took dominance and got behind the wheel. Bella let him, too tired to fight him on it although it was out of character for her. She didn't question it this time, just went with it.

They left the tragic village behind, driving down muddy back roads and passing other towns on their way until Edward rubbed his head again.

"Your head," Bella said. "How bad is it?"

"It's okay," he answered automatically.

"You're lying to me."

He sighed, putting his hand back on the wheel and squinting into the growing darkness. "It's bad."

Worse than Bella imagined. His head was pounding with every beat of his heart, growing in intensity as time passed by. He felt sick to his stomach, his neck was tight as a coil and the light of the headlights hurt his eyes. He didn't want to admit it to her, but he was having a massive migraine attack.

"There should be an inn at the next town over," she hinted and he briefly looked over to her.

"You look tired," he told her.

"I am," she admitted. "Very tired, and you can't drive all the way to Dublin. We'll stay at the inn, rest and go home tomorrow."

"Okay," Edward whispered.

The inn was pretty easy to find as signs along the road led the way right to it. It was small and homey, with a keeper that was downright cliché. He was large and fat, with a general air of good nature around him as he happily checked the two raiders into the one room he had available. The only other room was already occupied by the town's drunk, sleeping off the bender he'd been on the last few days.

Bella was polite as the keeper brought her bag up to the room, letting Edward carry his own bag and making him cringe in pain every time the large man opened his mouth on a volume that was just too damn loud.

The room was bigger than they expected but still too small for two people to move comfortably. It held a fairly large bed with fluffy down comforters and big, soft pillows. There was a desk sitting against the wall past the bed, with a small light on it and a notepad with a pen. A mahogany dresser was wedged into the corner next to the door and that was all the furniture the room allowed. There was barely any room to walk past the bed to the desk.

Bella thanked the keeper, tipping him handsomely and smiling politely as he closed the door behind him.

"I'll have the wife bring up some good food," he assured her with a booming laugh, making Edward swear under his breath. "You look like you could use it."

"Thank you again," Bella replied, keeping the polite smile on her face. Edward ungraciously sat down on the bed, clutching his head.

"I don't care what you bring up, as long as you bring lots of painkillers up with it," he grumbled, causing the keeper to laugh again.

"Rough day, eh lad?" His voice made Edward cringe in pain.

"You could say that."

"I'll have the wife make you her special tea! It'll cure that head of yours nice and quick!"

With that said, the man closed the door behind him with a resounding whack that was multiplied dramatically in Edward's head.

"Lay back," Bella ordered him, patting the pillow and Edward let himself fall mindlessly, clutching his head.

"So," she said. "A migraine is called nothing more than 'bad headache' in your mind?"

"It is a bad headache," he protested as she roughly picked up his legs and placed them on the bed.

"No, a bad headache is uncomfortable but you can function. A migraine knocks even the strongest man down, you fool."

"Stop shouting."

"I'm not shouting, you stubborn oaf," she retorted, but lowered her voice anyway. "You should've told me."

Edward didn't say anything, just grunted and kicked off his shoes. He got comfortable on the bed and Bella sat in the desk chair, watching him as he quickly dozed off to sleep. This was the time in which she observed him completely, without interruption.

His face was set in a pained frown, even as he slept, and his shoulders were tense. His hand was balled into a fist on his sternum and this was the first time she noticed there was a delicate golden chain around his neck, disappearing into his shirt. It almost seemed as though he was clutching it through his shirt. It intrigued her but went on with her observation.

His body, she recognized, was poised to strike at all times. Even in sleep he was ready to fight, like a good raider should be. She kicked off her shoes and placed her legs on the bed, crossing her arms around her chest. She allowed her eyes to close for a second.

She woke up an hour later from a sharp knock on the door. Edward shot up from the bed immediately, ready for a fight.

Another knock sounded, along with a decidedly female voice calling out that she had food. Edward rubbed his eyes and his forehead, shaking off the tension as he opened the door. The woman on the other side of the door smiled warmly at him as she passed him with a big tray. There were two steaming plates of mashed potatoes, big pieces of juicy pork and vegetables. Bella and Edward's respective stomachs immediately started rumbling.

"My goodness, child," the woman said, looking at Edward. "You look like you've been to hell and back."

"Bad day," Edward replied, smiling through his squinted eyes.

"Aye," the woman tutted. She looked over at Bella, observing the state of her guest and noticing the bloodstains on her clothes. It made Bella uncomfortable enough for her royal façade to kick in.

"I won't ask," the woman told them sternly. "But I'll have you know that I won't tolerate trouble here."

Bella nodded in understanding.

"Now, you may leave your dirty clothes by the door and I'll wash them for you. As for you," she said, turning to Edward. "I made you herbal tea to help with your headache. It tastes horrific but it works so drink it."

"Thanks," the two muttered in unison and Edward took the tray from her. She left without another word.

They ate in silence. The only sounds coming from the room were Edward's groans of disgust every time he drank from his tea.

"I swear, this tastes like horse pee mixed with cow shit," he complained after he drained the last of it.

"Ugh, Edward, I'm eating," was Bella's response. He shot her an apologetic grin and went back to his food. His headache gradually and swiftly lessened and by the time he was done eating he felt a million times better. He scooted back until his back was against the headboard of the bed, placing his plate somewhere next to him and looked at Bella.

She was back in her desk chair, eating the last of her meal, focusing entirely on the plate.

Except she wasn't, silently she was back to observing him and she felt the inexplicable sense of wanting to know more about him. Before it dissipated, she broke the silence with an almost casual sounding, "So tell me a bit more about your team?"

Edward took a breath, dropping his gaze from her and out the window. "Uhm," he started. "Well, Emmett and Alice are actually my cousins from my father's side. We all grew up on the same property in Washington.

"Carlisle was my parents' good friend and physician. When they passed, he took to taking care of us and he's never left since."

In her mind, Bella noticed the similarities between Carlisle and Esme. Both staying to take up a kind of parental role. It made her like Carlisle more than she already did.

"If you don't mind me asking," she whispered, looking up into his eyes. "How did your parents come to pass?"

Edward looked at her for a moment, wondering if he wanted her to know but decided to open up to her. There was something about her, something enticing yet comfortable, that made him want to forge a true bond. Never mind that just a few days ago they had both sworn not to get personally involved, to just do the job and move on. A memory flashed across his mind, of cold sea wind and soft lips crowned by passionate brown eyes.

However, Bella's earthy colors were replaced by luscious strawberry blond locks and loving bluish grey eyes as his memory took him to times before true darkness hit his heart. He shut down immediately, absentmindedly stroking the delicate locket under his shirt.

Bella cocked her head, confused as she saw the change come to his face and posture. In kind, her own defense mechanism was triggered and the mood in the room changed from comfortable to cold. It was clear as day that he didn't plan on including her and she briefly kicked herself for believing he would.

"Never mind," she said, too politely. "It was not my intent to pry."

Edward, who instantly mourned the loss of connection, sighed when she got up, picked up her bag and disappeared through the bathroom door next to the desk.

Frustrated with himself, he fished out his phone and called the manor. He told Esme, who had answered the phone, that they were spending the night in a hotel before coming back tomorrow and briefly wallowed in her kind responses. He vowed to pick up a bunch of flowers for the kind-hearted woman on the way back.

He got up from the bed, grabbed his bag and took out a clean shirt and soft track pants which would double as sleep pants for the night; he'd shower in the morning. Once he had changed, he slid in between the thick, soft covers. He made sure he took up the space he needed close to the edge of the bed and flicked the covers open on the side of the bed that was intended for Bella.

He waited for the shower to turn off before closing his eyes, cursing his memory for ruining a good moment, and closed his eyes. When she got out of the bathroom, he could sense her hesitation for a good few minutes. Pretending to be asleep, he turned away from her in the hopes of creating a sense of space and it must have worked because the next thing he felt was her weight dipping the bed on the other side.

She smells good. He thought and he turned back around to her. She was facing away from him, her shoulders rigid and her back tense underneath the big shirt she was wearing.

He took a deep breath as he looked at how her chestnut hair cascaded over the pillow.

"My father," he started, taking another deep breath as he registered her surprise. "He died out on a case. My mother died a few months later of a broken heart."

He swallowed past the lump in his throat as Bella cautiously turned around. "Bill Black killed him."

"I'm so sorry," came her whispered response.

He looked into her eyes and watched how she briefly turned into the woman with the blond hair.

"And then two years ago," his voice broke, his hand clutching the locket. "His son murdered my fiancé."

~*TR*~

Music was blaring from the training room in Swan Manor. The raider inside was lost inside the angry beats and the frustrated lyrics pounding in his head. Edward's fists were getting sore from his overly vigorous exercise. After they returned from Ireland, he had secluded himself, opting to claim space for himself to get his mind straightened out.

Bella's response to him opening up to her had left him with mixed emotions. It had been a sweet little gesture, just a quick soft kiss on his forehead, but the impact had been huge. He recognized the tugging of his heart as she did it and guilt set in immediately. To whom, he wasn't sure.

The punching bag swinging in front of him was taking the brunt of it. In the back of his mind he knew that he'd been going at it for hours and that he should stop, but as flashes of the day before grew stronger in his mind, so did the force he put behind his fists.

Gerard. Left hook.
Peitre. Straight punch.
Stubborn witches and flying bullets. Left right combo.

Bella… he took a step back, letting his hands fall to his side and he stared up at the high ceiling. He had no idea how to deal with how he responded to her. That morning, he woke up a good hour before she did. Sometime during their sleep, they had moved closer together resulting in her head on his chest and his arms protectively around her. Waking up to find himself in that position and the way his body was humming from the contact had freaked him out a little. Not wanting things to be more awkward, he decided to leave the bed before she woke up. He could only imagine her reaction if she knew how intimately they had slept.

"Edward?" Esme's friendly voice came from the door opening. He looked over at her and smiled, wiping the sweat from his face with the back of his bandaged hand.

"You haven't eaten yet," she reminded him with a smile before leaving. He sighed, fidgeting with the bandages around his hand and looked around the room. Another sigh escaped his chest and he left, leaving his frustration behind. Upstairs in his room, he quickly showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt, showing off the half sleeve tattooed on his arm. He briefly wondered how the other team would respond to it since neither of them, not even Bella, had seen his tattoos before but the thought was gone as quickly as it came up and he made his way back downstairs and into the kitchen.

The room was rich with the smells of Esme's cooking. The woman responsible for it was facing away from him, draining spaghetti and humming under her breath. Bella was there too, sitting at the bar and reading an ancient looking book while absent-mindedly eating off her plate.

"Mind if I join you?" he announced his presence, making Esme turn around with a smile and Bella look up at him.

"No, no," Esme gushed. "Of course not! Come, sit, eat!"

He obliged with a chuckle, sending a smile at Bella which she returned, much to his relief.

"What're you reading?" he asked, craning his neck to see the pages of the book were filled with runic scripts.

"Just doing some research," she answered with a gentle voice which caused a wave of warmth to spread out through his chest. With that said, she gave him another of her rare smiles and went back to reading and eating.

He thanked Esme when she put a plate of mouthwatering spaghetti in front of him and he dug in, silently letting his mind run away with thoughts about the woman next to him. She was an enigma to him; on one hand open and inviting, on the other closed off and frustratingly hard to get to. But when she looked at him, really looked at him, he couldn't deny that she had a pull on him stronger than he'd ever felt before. She made him feel calm and drove him crazy all at the same time. It was impossible for him to forget their kiss on the beach the other day, and the promise he had silently made her to make up for the rude way he ended it.

He wondered how she'd respond if he were to try and kiss her right now.

It was a bittersweet feeling. He was undeniably attracted to her and he couldn't wait to see if he could bring back that moment on the beach. However, with each passing thought of her lips on his, there was a small voice in the back of his head that spoke of a different woman. Gloriously beautiful, just like Bella, but in such a contrasting way.

Tanya had been his entire world. Kind, caring, funny, gorgeous. He was hers and she was his. It'd been that way for six glorious years before she was so brutally taken away from him.

He couldn't help compare her to Bella as he gazed at her profile in the cozy lit kitchen. Where Bella was a stark contrast between dark and light, with her chocolate hair and ivory skin, Tanya had been the very essence of warmth. Sun kissed skin, a dusting of adorable freckles on her nose, warm grey-blue eyes and long flowing strawberry curls.

But Bella was just as stunning in her own right. Statuesque and powerful, she stood in a league of her own. Her beauty was more exotic and enticing, as opposed to Tanya's innocence. While Edward was sure that Bella didn't realize it, the look in her eyes had the power to make him want to kneel down before her. There were times where she looked at him and it took all he had to not throw her against a wall and have his very wicked way with her.

Where Tanya had played on his protective, caring side, Bella enticed a completely different side from him. He dared even think a more equally leveled side. He didn't need to protect or care for her. She didn't need him and that was also part of his attraction to her.

He let out a deep breath, realizing that in the chaos of his thoughts he'd somehow managed to empty his plate without slobbering all over the kitchen. He had also somehow missed Esme leaving the kitchen and he briefly felt guilty for not wishing her a good night. He looked around, only to feel the prickle of Bella's eyes on the side of his face.

He gave her silent permission and space to observe him as he gazed out the dark window. Her gaze didn't waver and after a few moments, he met her eyes with his own. Forest green and chocolate brown collided in a moment of mutual openness where they both allowed the other to truly look into their souls.

What he saw there made his heart thump. What she saw in his eyes was a vulnerability that hadn't been there before.

"Bella," he broke the silence, clearing his throat. She didn't answer but silently urged him to go on.

He took a breath and spoke again: "On the beach…"

A wariness came into her eyes, an instinctive defense mechanism but he wouldn't let her stop him from what he was about to say.

"I'm sorry," he started, holding her gaze. "I shouldn't have left you hanging."

"Its okay, Edward," she said, gently closing their connection and Edward mourned the loss of it. "It's better that way."

He nodded, frowning in disagreement as he glared down on the counter.

"Let's just finish the job and try not to get killed," she continued, putting her hand on his shoulder as she got up. "It's better if we don't blur our concentration."

"Yeah," he rasped, though he still disagreed with what she was saying. She leaned in to gift him with a soft, compelling kiss on his cheek and he swore she lingered over his skin longer than she should have.

She retreated and left the kitchen so he wouldn't see that for the first time in a long time, she had allowed a man to truly touch her soul. Leaving him behind in her kitchen, she gave his treacherous heart enough space to speak to him.

As he sat there, feeling a chill spread out throughout his body; his heart spoke to him, disguised as Tanya's voice. You can't love her, Edward. Not if you love me. Would you really dishonor my death in such a way?

In the cozy, warm kitchen, he let his head fall into his hand and he cried. He truly cried for the loss of his angel but mostly he cried for the loss of his ability to carelessly love again.

So, poor Edward :-(

A thousand apologies for the late update but thanks to everyone who has the patience to stick it out with me.

A lot of love to my sweet beta Smmiskimen and my prereader Lorraine. Thanks girls!

See you next time.