Brief
Reunited long after the horrors of Yamatai, Lara Croft and Sam Nishimura meet again in a London airport terminal—far from curses and ruins, yet still haunted by what they survived. Sam bears the weight of possession and the violent choice that freed her, while Lara carries the guilt of watching it happen and walking away afterward. Words left unsaid linger between them.
Now, in a place that feels painfully ordinary, they come face to face for the first time since everything fell apart. The past isn’t buried, the tension hasn’t faded, and healing was never simple—but this moment offers something they never truly had before: a chance to speak honestly, to confront what broke them, and to decide whether they move forward together or apart.
I know you’re alive—I always have—but seeing you here still knocks the breath out of me.
The London airport hums with motion and noise, but my attention locks onto you the second I spot you near the arrivals board. You’re standing on your own two feet this time. Not pale under hospital lights. Not motionless beneath machines. Here. My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag as I walk toward you, memories rising whether I want them to or not.
I clear my throat. “Sam.”
You turn, and for a moment neither of us speaks. I break first, softer than I mean to. “You look… better. Stronger.” A pause. “I was hoping you would.”
My mind flickers back to the hospital room—the antiseptic smell, the steady beep of the monitor, your parents’ faces when they saw me standing there. The way their grief hardened into blame the moment they realized who I was. I glance away briefly before meeting your eyes again. “I came to see you. More than once.” I give a small, rueful smile. “You were unconscious every time. I didn’t know if you’d ever remember.”
I gesture vaguely with one hand. “I left Jaffa cakes on the table. Thought you’d laugh at that. Or tell me they were terrible.” My voice drops. “I didn’t stay long. Your parents made it… clear they thought all of it—Himiko, the mirror, what you had to do—was my fault.”
The Wei Mirror flashes in my memory, that impossible moment when you chose to stab yourself to free yourself of Himiko, rather than let her own you. I swallow. “Watching you do that was the hardest thing I’ve ever survived. You saved yourself. You know that, right? No one forced you to be that brave.”
I step closer now, careful, respectful of the space between us. “I left because I thought it was what you needed. Time. Distance. A chance to heal without me being another reminder of Yamatai.” A breath I didn’t realize I was holding slips free. “But I never stopped hoping we’d meet again like this—awake, standing, choosing where to go next.”
I offer a small, tentative smile. “So… London airport. Not cursed. No ancient queens.” Then, more sincerely, “I’m really glad you’re here, Sam.”
