Foreword: Well, I was probably going to do something like this eventually and I've working as hard as I can to get this done for all you good readers out there. This story may get fluffy to the point of utter sapiness, but please don't hate it.

Also, "Tomb Raider" is a product of Core Design, Crystal Dynamics, and Eidos Interactive. I don't own any part of the franchise or the characters (but it would be totally cool if I did). Everything else is mine.

Lara Croft ducked behind the crumbling pillar as the bullet ricocheted off with a sharp snap, peppering her face with small bits of stone flint.

She finished reloading her pistols and readied herself. She leaned out from behind her cover and took her shot. The robed interloper went down without a sound.

These were the Disciples of the Silent Step. They were a religious organization, a cult really, that believed that silence in all things would lead to inner harmony and then world peace. Furthermore, they took the pronoun, "Silence is golden" a bit too far; each member had to cut out their own tongue as part of their rite into the group. Therefore, the cult and its members tended to communicate through hand gestures and written notes. This bizarreness did come with a certain benefit; they had astonishing hearing and made for excellent, almost totally silent thieves and assassins.

Lara had run into groups like this before. For the most part, they were harmless; just misguided fools seeking answers while they were being scammed for everything they owned. But every so often she would encounter groups who decided she had to die and she would end up having to kill them.

Lara had been in the middle of studying an ancient artifact which the group had stolen from her, as it had some religious significance to them. She had tracked them across Italy to Sicily until she discovered their island compound, several miles off the coast of Corsica. She had managed to find it and retrieve it (along with a few other choice artifact the cult had), but someone sounded the alarm while she was trying to escape and now it seemed the entire cult was bearing down on top of her.

One cultist saw they had an opening on Lara and tried to sneak up on her. Before he could reach her, a loud rifle shot rang out and Lara's attacker's head exploded in a crimson mist and he fell to the ground.

Lara looked back to see a figure with all-too familiar features, other than the pale skin with visible blood vessels, the glowing yellow eyes, and crimson red-hair; it was Doppelganger, her expedition partner with a smoking rifle and her usual cryptic smile.

Once one of Lara's most formidable enemies of all time, the Doppelganger was the product of ancient Atlantian alchemic cloning by the fallen god-queen Natla; fortunately, Lara had been able to turn her clone against her mistress. Not long afterwards, she and Doppelganger became partners in Lara's tomb raiding adventures; soon after that, they realized the depth of their feelings for each other and became lovers.

She was perched up on the wall, covering Lara as they made their way to the extraction point. She smiled at Lara who smiled back; it was always good to know that Doppelganger was keeping her covered. She got up and ran for the extraction zone.

With her shadow powers active, Doppelganger ran the walls of ruins as fast and gracefully as a jungle cat, following Lara as she continued taking shots at cultists and watching them fall dead.

Doppelganger wasn't going to let anything happen to Lara. She still had to ask her the question. She had wanted to ask Lara on the train in Tuscany, the hotel veranda in Sicily while watching the sunset, and on the boat to this island. But she kept putting it off, not sure if the timing was right.

The helicopter they had radioed for extraction came in over the ruins and started to land on the far side. Several cultists took potshots at it, but they all missed and Doppelganger quickly put them down before they could have a second chance.

Lara and Doppelganger were almost at the landing zone when it set down for them. Lara climbed in first with Doppelganger leaping off the wall close behind her. She yelled at the pilot in Italian to take off while Doppelganger held onto to the chopper bulkhead with one hand while standing on the landing skid.

As they began to take off, the cultists began to charge out of their cover and fired wildly at the escaping intruders. Doppelganger fired her rifle one-handed at them in a long, sweeping, but accurate, burst. Many of the cultists dropped dead while the rest took cover.

As soon as they were safely away from the island, Doppelganger climbed in and sat down on the cabin bench next to Lara who embraced her. Fortunately, the pilot was too busy getting them away from the island to notice that Lara Croft suddenly had a twin sister.

"Nothing quite like a spending time around new ruins," Lara said half-jokingly. Doppelganger just nodded and didn't say anything; she just stared off at something.

"Are you alright?" Lara asked. Doppelganger hadn't been acting like herself lately; she seemed anxious and preoccupied about something.

Doppelganger had seen this once when she was watching some television programming, and she hoped that it would work here; it was now or never. She took Lara's hand in her's, looked her in the eye. "Lara, I've been meaning to ask you this for some time…"

"Doppie, what is it?"

Doppelganger took a breath and finally asked, "Lara, my love, will you marry me?"

Lara stared slack-jawed at Doppelganger. This woman, this clone of her, had just asked her to marry her. A thousand possible objections tried to run through Lara's head. It was crazy…it would never work…

But Lara knew that none of those thoughts rang true. She loved Doppelganger, more than anyone or anything she had ever known. "Yes," Lara said, tears of joy in her eyes. "Yes, I will."

Doppelganger grinned in delight. She pulled Lara to a kiss which Lara eagerly returned.

Lara closed her eyes in joy as she embraced Doppelganger.

Lara opened her eyes as she felt the warm ocean breeze caress her face and smelled the sea. The sun was setting; the sky was lit up with shades of red and purple.

It had been three weeks since Doppelganger had proposed to her in the helicopter, but it felt like only a second to Lara. The past weeks had been a whirlwind; they needed time to find someplace quiet enough for Lara and Doppelganger to get married.

One of the first things they had done was to find rings for them to wear; something nice, but practical. Finally, they custom-made a pair of gold wedding bands with each other's names inscribed on the inside. The jeweler had been paid enough to keep quiet.

Finally, they had found this remote Caribbean island resort. Ordinarily, it was well-staffed enough to cater to any of the guests' whims but Lara had paid well for the entire staff to take a vacation; she didn't need them. There was no phone, no pager, no distractions whatsoever to speak of. It was the absolutely perfect setting for their wedding and honeymoon.

And now Lara and her guests were standing on the beach, waiting for Doppelganger. Doppelganger had sent a message that she was almost done; she had one more thing to finish preparing.

For the occasion, Lara wore a white silk sleeveless dress that perfectly highlighted her tanned skin. She had a string of jasmine flowers wrapped around her hands and wrists. She had also let her hair loose and free from the usual ponytail.

As for the wedding attendees, Lara had invited only her support staff as they were really the only people who Lara considered family and because they already knew about her and Doppelganger's relationship. They were only too glad to attend, since it was technically a paid vacation for them all. Winston wore a white linen suit for the tropics. Zip wore a Hawaiian shirt with wraparound sunglasses. Amanda wore her halter top and blue jeans, some of her mystical tattoos visible for all to see.

Finally, Lara saw Doppelganger coming. Like her template, she wore a matching white dress, along with jasmine around her hands and wrists and her hair loose from its usual braid. To Lara's mild surprise, she also wore a veil over her face. She walked to Lara and said, "I'm ready."

As Lara and Doppelganger walked down the beach together to where they wanted to get married, Lara leaned over to Doppelganger. "You didn't have to wear a veil, you know," Lara whispered in her ear with a smile.

Doppelganger smiled back. "I wanted to do something surprising for you."

Lara and Doppelganger looked at each other as they took their places, both hardly daring to believe what was happening. They were finally getting married, promising themselves and their lives to each other.

Lara decided to address her guests for a moment and turned to them. "Thank you, everyone for coming here. It means so much to me that you all came."

"Well, we weren't about to miss out on a free Caribbean vacation," Zip joked. Everyone chuckled at that.

Lara smiled. "Yes, that too," she said before continuing. "But in all seriousness, you're the best family I've ever known since my father died; having you here to see this means more than you know. And as much as I wish my mother and father were here on the happiest day of my life, I know they're with me in spirit, no matter." Everyone nodded their heads in accord with that.

Lara tuned from her guests and took Doppelganger's hands into her own. In a tone that was full of wonder and love, she looked deeply into Doppelganger's amber eyes and confessed, "Doppie, when you came to my home, looking for a new purpose in life, I knew I had to help you. You are the greatest treasure I've ever found, the one thing I love more than myself or anything else I've ever known. I swear I will love you and stand with you for the rest of my life," she said as she slipped her ring, the one inscribed with her name, onto Doppelganger's finger.

In turn, Doppelganger said in her haunting voice that was so full of love and emotion in this moment, "Lara, from the moment I saw, I was always fascinated by you, even when I was Natla's slave. You are the one who liberated me, gave me freedom. And then, because of your kindness, your grace, and your will, you showed me what love is. Those are the greatest gifts you have ever given me; I can only begin to repay you now. I swear I will stay with you forever." Doppelganger had tears of joy in her eyes as she slipped her ring onto Lara's finger.

With that, Lara lifted the veil from Doppelganger face and tossed it off to the side. In the blink of an eye, Lara and Doppelganger's lips connected. They let go of each other's hands as their arms snaked around each other, drawing them into a tight, loving embrace.

Zip, Winston, and Amanda all applauded and cheered the newly-wedded couple as they shared the first kiss of the newly married life on a Caribbean beach.

The post-wedding reception was held under an open canopy with Lara and Doppelganger at the head of the table. The reception feast was marked by an excellent selection of seafood cooked by Zip. Dinner was followed by dancing. After everyone was done, everyone said their good-nights to each other and happily wished the newly-wedded couple their best. Lara and Doppelganger walked down the path to their own private bungalow.

Part of the reason Lara and Doppelganger had picked out this island was because of its layout. It wasn't a large island; only a mile across with a small cove on one end. There were several bungalows on the one edge of the island. On the other side, right on the cove, there was a beachfront bungalow that offered total privacy to its guests. Lara and Doppelganger intended to use the privacy as much as possible while they were here.

Their bungalow was quite nice. It had comfortable furniture and an even more comfortable king-sized bed. It was sheltered by a cluster of palm trees and had lounge chairs out in front and on the beach that were set up under an additional pair of palm trees.

As they got there, Lara picked Doppelganger up bridal-style. Doppelganger raised an eyebrow and smiled at being carried around by Lara. Lara carried her across the threshold in the bungalow and through the building before setting Doppelganger down on the bed before giving her a quick kiss.

Lara stepped back and slowly slipped the dress straps from her shoulders. Her dress cascaded down her body and pooled around her feet. She was only wearing lace panties, and a combat knife strapped around her thigh.

Doppelganger eyed the knife with a raised eyebrow. "I love your taste in accessories," she said with a smile. Lara quietly laughed and unstrapped the knife, setting it on the bedside table.

Lara climbed up on the bed and straddled Doppelganger, leaning down to kiss her. She slipped Doppelganger's dress straps off and pulled the outfit down her body, tossing it to the floor. Also like Lara, she wore only a pair of lace panties. In the dim light, her ivory skin almost seemed to glow.

Lara made her way down to Doppelganger's breasts. She ran her tongue teasingly around Doppelganger's areole before taking it in her mouth and sucked on it. She gently kneaded them as she gently sucked on the one nipple before turning her attention to the other one.

Doppelganger closed her eyes and she continued to enjoy Lara's lips and tongue. But now she wanted to give Lara the same kind of pleasure. She slipped her legs out from under Lara, wrapped them around her, and then rolled her over.

Doppelganger leaned down and gave Lara a deep kiss which Lara eagerly returned. Doppelganger soon focused on Lara's neck and she slid her way down Lara's beautiful body until her mouth was equal with Lara' breasts. Very gently, she kissed her way around Lara's breasts before taking one in her mouth.

Lara let her head roll back, sighing and moaning with pleasure as Doppelganger continued to suckle her. Lara ran her hands over Doppelganger's back, increasing Doppelganger's own arousal and encouraging her to intensify her treatment on Lara's breast.

Doppelganger ran her hands up and down Lara's beautiful, perfect legs. Her hands made their way to the lace of Lara's panties and she slipped them off. She did it so smoothly that Lara hardly felt it as she enjoyed Doppelganger's treatment.

Suddenly Lara felt Doppelganger's fingers began to brush their way around her hips and she knew what her clone had planned; she didn't want this to end so soon. She gently pushed Doppelganger's head and hand away. Doppelganger looked up at her template with a questioning look.

"I want…us to finish…together," Lara breathed as she looked her clone right in the eye. Doppelganger grinned, realizing what Lara had in mind.

Lara pulled Doppelganger's face up to her's as Doppelganger slid out of her own panties. They lay down on their sides, facing each other in a tight embrace as they continued caressing each other's bodies and sharing passionate kisses.

Doppelganger's hand stroked and caressed Lara's body and lower. Finally, her fingers began to work their way down to Lara's womanhood and gently stroked her there. As Lara quietly moaned from Doppelganger's touch Doppelganger plunged her finger into Lara's wetness, followed by another finger, and began to massage her from the inside.

As Doppelganger enjoyed the sounds of her lover's moans, Lara's fingers made their own way to Doppelganger's core. It was Doppelganger's turn to moan with delight as Lara's hand began to stroke her. Lara massaged her there before she worked a finger into Doppelganger's own opening, soon followed by another.

For both women everything seemed to slow down as their passions and ministrations sped up. Lara kept her eyes closed in utter bliss as she and Doppelganger drove each other to the place of their dreams. Doppelganger opened her eyes, which blazed with an amber light like her passion and joy for each other.

Finally, they came at the exact same time. Lara felt her toes curl and she gripped the sheets with her free hand as tightly as possible. Doppelganger's eyes glowed brightly. Both women screamed and moaned into each other's mouths as they rode their orgasms, sharing one breath and one love.

As they came down their mutual Cloud Nine, their tongue-locking trailed down to short sweet kisses on each other's faces and necks. Lara and Doppelganger embraced each other as they felt their hearts and souls pulse together in unison. They had not experienced love-making that intense since the pool. Then, it was because they had finally admitted the depth of their feelings for one another; now it was because they had sworn each other to themselves in a bond of love.

Lara licked Doppelganger's nectar from her fingers, closing her eyes as she savored the taste of her lover. It smelled and tasted like jasmine and honeysuckle. Doppelganger also sucked Lara's essence for her fingers, which smelled and tasted very similar. Her eyes remained fixed on Lara glowed in the dim light.

Before Lara could do anything else, Doppelganger quickly straddled her. She looked Lara straight in the eye, and simply said, "Again."

Lara's laugh was quickly silenced by Doppelganger's lips on her's.

For the next several hours, both women continued to explore and taste each other in all new, delectable ways with as much love and passion as they could ever hope to know.

Finally, both women lay there panting. Doppelganger was snuggled up next to Lara, who had an arm draped around her and pulled into a tight, loving embrace. The bed sheets and covers had been kicked to the foot of the bed.

Doppelganger lay there with her head on Lara's chest, eyes closed in contentment, as she enjoyed the sound of Lara's heartbeat and the smell of her skin and juices. "I love you, Lara."

Lara could have heard Doppelganger say that to her an infinite amount of times, and it would always make her heart beat a little faster because she knew her love meant it. She kissed Doppelganger's forehead and said, "And I love you, Doppie."

Lara gently hummed Doppelganger a tune, and Doppelganger snuggled close while Lara gently tightened her embrace.

Both women enjoyed each other's closeness as they drifted off to sleep.

Lara awoke to the sounds of the beach, including gulls cawing and waves gently crashing, but she didn't open her eyes right away. She felt the warm sea breeze kiss her naked body as she lay in bed.

She slowly opened her eyes and blissfully smiled as she examined the ring on her finger. Lara had never thought she would find anyone in the world worth spending her life with. Now she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with anyone other than her beloved Doppelganger, her Doppie.

Lara looked over at the other side of the bed and realized she was alone. But there was a note in Doppelganger's place. Lara picked it up and read it.

Lara –

Went for a walk on the beach. Come and join me.

– Love, Doppie

With a smile, Lara climbed out of bed and put on her white bikini swimsuit and walked out the door onto the beach.

From the doorway, Lara had a clear view of a beautiful sunrise over the cove. The rising sun cast. The sky was bright with only a slightly red-ish hue. The sun-glare on the water rippled, creating beautiful, shimmering patterns of light. Lara smiled; she could already tell it was going to be wonderful day.

Doppelganger was outside, just walking about and admiring the beach and sunset. She was wearing her black bikini which looked wonderful on her.

Lara walked down the beach toward her; with her highly tuned hearing, Doppelganger heard Lara coming and turned around to face her. "Good morning, love," Doppelganger said with a smile.

"Morning, Doppie," Lara replied as Doppelganger took her in her arms and gave her passionate kiss right on the beach. They were already beginning to enjoy the first full day of their marriage.

"Should we wake up Zip so we can get breakfast?" Doppelganger asked with a smile, somewhat looking forward to scaring Zip awake.

Lara briefly considered it. "Not yet, my love. I just want to spend some more time with you first."

They both sat down in the lounge chairs under the palm trees, holding hands as they chatted and laughed about the wedding, their expeditions, and what they expected married life to be like for them.

Eventually, Lara gave Doppelganger a short, sweet kiss as she stood up from her chair and began walking back to the bungalow. "I'm going back to bed," Lara said as she began to unhook her bikini top, casting Doppelganger a flirtatious look over her shoulder. "You're welcome to join me, of course." She dropped her top in the sand as she walked inside, keeping her back to Doppelganger.

Doppelganger got up and followed her with a hungry look, losing her own top along the way. Her eyes refused to leave Lara's body, especially as Lara discarded her bikini bottom.

For a brief moment, Lara wished that they could stay in this tropical paradise forever. They could play on the beach, eat fresh seafood, and make love all the time, every day for the rest of their lives.

She knew that wouldn't work of course, not for them; it would simply get to be too boring. There were still plenty of ancient secrets in the world to uncover, more lost civilizations waiting to be found again, more fun and adventure for her and Doppelganger to have.

But until then, Lara thought as Doppelganger's lips found her's and they fell on to the bed together, I have more important things to do.

FIN

Author's notes and afterword: Well, I hope you enjoyed this story (personally, I'd quite proud of the ending). So please write a review so I know it didn't suck too badly (but please, no flames).

Also, unfortunately, this might be my last Tomb Raider fanfic for a while. I don't really have any more ideas for what to do with Lara or any of her friends. Of course, if anyone has any ideas and/or requests for another Tomb Raider fanfic by your's truly, then feel free to submit them to me and I will give them all possible consideration. In the meantime, I've got some other ideas in the works and I'd like to finish those up.