Hello to everyone! xD It's been a long since I posted anything and I feel very glad to finally be inspired to come up with new stories! I know I stated that I will be posting some stories already written but you can't prevent ideas from coming! :P

Explaination on the Story: In the specific fanfic, I will be presenting some possible theories on how Lara and Kurtis could have met each other, had they not met in Paris the way they actually did. Each chapter will contain a different version, some will be less possible and some more likely to have happened. Each chapter will have a title with two words that each represents Lara and Kurtis under the circumstances they could have met. The first adjective describes Lara and the second one Kurtis. In each chapter, explaination about how Lara and Kurtis' lives are will be given in order to keep up with the events of each chapter.

Note: I decided to keep Core's facts about Lara's life and not include any Crystal Dynamics information.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent or any other characters that appear in the fanfic. All rights of the characters belong to Eidos.

I hope you'll enjoy this fanfic as much as I will enjoy writing it. Here's the first chapter, hope you like! :)

~The Daughter and the Son~

* Lara's father, Lord Henshingly Croft never disowned Lara. He wanted her to have an adventurous life while contributing to the progress of the field of archaeology. Lara remained with her father as a loyal daughter, helping him in whatever research he may be carrying out. Lara's lively nature and desire for adventuring made her believe that she would one day raid forgotten tombs on her own.

* Kurtis never abandoned the Order. He stayed on his father's side, trying to help with the Shadow War as much as possible. That, however, doesn't mean that the young man buried his desire for freedom and a life away from the Order.

In the meanwhile, Lord Henshingly Croft and Konstantin know each other and Richard helps Konstantin in the Shadow War. Their children meeting each other was obviously inevitable…

A rainy day dawned in England. The sky was overcast, gray clouds making sure that this wouldn't be an appropriate day for children to play outside or for people to take a walk so as to escape their demanding daily routine.

Their plane had landed the previous day, taking them from the eventful America to the quite depressing England. A man, probably in his mid forties, and a younger one who was probably the older man's son, walked through the busy streets of the city of Surrey while light drops of rain were falling from the sky. They would soon get a taxi and would reach their destination; a manor in the suburbs.

It was difficult for any passer-by to guess what kind of life this man and his son had been leading. Their lives seemed impossible to be made up even by one with the wildest kind of imagination. Hunted down by beings with unimaginable power. They were parts of a dying Order, struggling in order not to become remnants of a deceased Order. And now, they needed help.

Lord Henshingly Croft was particularly popular for his remarkable achievements in the field of archaeology. His daughter, Lara, was following her own father's footsteps with undying faith and total loyalty to her beloved father and mentor. Her father was helping a friend and now he had arrived in England to collect the additional information that Lord Croft had gathered. What made Lara more anxious was that the man had also brought his son along. Lara had heard stories about the Order by her father and she had even met Konstantin. But the idea of meeting his son made her feel anxious for some reason. Or maybe cheerful. Lara was unable to understand. As a young woman who had just stepped into adulthood, it was hard for her to know where her feelings were trying to lead her heart. But as her father, Lara also tried to always live in the rational side of life in order to avoid mistakes and act responsibly. One day, she would learn to control feelings as well.

Asking help from this archaeologist seemed as not a very good idea, despite his father's opposed opinion. Well, his father seemed to always have an opposed opinion. What else could he expect though? Living in an endless fight against the enemy had made his father tough. And he himself, born and raised into the cause of a war he had yet to comprehend, had grown quite emotionless as well. Or he was just trying to hide emotion, weaknesses that could prevent him from becoming the warrior his father always wanted him to be. But Kurtis' spirit was restless. He could never stop dreaming of a life away from the Order, away from the duty he felt he wasn't meant for. How he longed for his soul's release, how he longed to break the chains that bound him with the Order and escape, run away to the real life. But something was holding him back. The subsequent remorse, his duty, his consciousness? He could never understand.

His thoughts were interrupted as soon as he heard his father's voice calling him to get into the cab.

"Konstantin will be glad to hear that I have found where it's located" Lord Croft uttered in apparent delight. His research had lasted tiresome days and nights of three whole months and finally he had located it; an ancient weapon that might have the power to destroy Konstantin's enemies once and for all, apart from the three Periapt Shards.

"You never explained this to me, father. I mean about this… weapon" Lord Croft heard the youthful voice of his daughter from behind.

"In due time, my dear, you will know everything you need to know" he turned and spoke to his daughter.

"I could have helped you with the research, it took you so long to carry out" Lara offered willingly. Lord Henshingly Croft smiled to his daughter. How he loved her vigorous nature.

"What's done is done now, dear. In fact, I believe you will be glad to know that today you will be able to practice with a real warrior. He will be here in any minute" he told his child. Well, that's what I'm mostly worried about, Lara thought when she heard the door of the library be knocked on.

"Enter" she heard her father utter. The door opened and Lara welcomed Winston with a smile. She felt so close to the butler. He always used to read her stories when she was just a child and would always help her with matters that shouldn't be discussed with her father. He was in fact like a second father to her.

"Sir, they have arrived" the faithful butler announced. Lara's smile changed to a rather apprehensive, pale expression. Why was she so anxious of meeting Konstantin's son anyway? She didn't even know his name, was she supposed to feel happy for seeing him? "Let them in, Winston" Lord Henshingly demanded and Winston departed.

Her loving father observed her worried face. "It will be alright, my sweet Lara. You have nothing to worry about" he reassured her. Lara just managed a faint smile. "Come on" he then instructed, "Let us welcome them in the Main Hall".

Kurtis was never really talkative. Neither was his father, but he himself could make anyone near him feel unsettled by his everlasting silence. And his eyes, his ocean-blue eyes could even penetrate into anyone's soul if he wanted to. He could be referred to as mysterious, distant but not with adjectives such as anti-social.

He leaned against the doorframe, staying as far away from his father and the other two people that would arrive as possible. He didn't know what to expect so he preferred to keep his distance. Konstantin had sat on a couch, waiting impatiently. Unbreakable silence between father and son had settled after the butler's departure. It was gradually broken by coming footsteps that could be heard in the distance. After a while, the door opposite to the one near where Kurtis was standing opened. Konstantin stood up at once.

Richard and Konstantin shook hands, while Lara was standing behind her father, her eyes cautiously searching for the one that was supposed to come along with his father. Then, she spotted someone leaning to the doorframe opposite of her. Her eyes remained there, to the figure before her. She watched the two men, reunited friends walk out of the Main Hall after her father murmured to her, "You two will have a lot to talk about". The Hall was afterwards left in silence, making her and the young man before her be the only ones that could break it.

After a minute of silence, Lara decided to put her logic to sleep for a while and leave her courageous spirit determine her actions instead. She began approaching Kurtis. "So", she began. "You're one of this Order my father has spoken to me about" she was close enough now to make out the details of his face. Without displaying it, she felt utterly stunned by his eyes, a shade of blue she had never seen to anyone before. His other features made her feel even more attracted to him; His long hair tied to a messy ponytail, his cold expression, the one of a warrior. Lara could not deny her attraction to him. Now she longed to hear how his voice sounded like.

Kurtis stared at the young woman, silently admiring her beauty. He slightly smirked and asked in an American accent, "What has he told you about it?". His voice was deep, as charming as his face was. Lara sensed darkness and mystery in him. And she was in love with both. Something inside her told her it would be only a matter of time before she fell in love with him.

"That you fight for the sake of humanity" she replied. All she received was a bitter, slight, laughter, as if mocking the purpose of the Order, as if mocking the Order itself. He looked at her brown eyes and found a burning flame of curiosity inside them. He admired the woman's lively mood and wished that his youth hadn't died within the Order before he even became a child. He shortly found out that another kind of flame started burning inside of him; a flame of desire. For her… No, this is a bad idea. Get a grip! he mentally forced himself to focus on reality and stop dreaming about nonsense.

"We're not heroes, or anything you may think we are" he stated after a while. Lara smiled a bit ironically. She moved away, never losing sight of his blue eyes. "Maybe" she uttered. She slowly stepped towards a nearby cabinet, searching for something while her gaze was still locked to his eyes. "But I am told that you are quite a skilled warrior" she told him.

Kurtis couldn't understand whether she had said that with a seductive tone or a threatening one. Perhaps it was both. "Let us test that, shall we?" she said and without wasting any time, she grabbed a fighting rod and attempted to attack the American, all happening in just few seconds. Kurtis, being the hard trained warrior he was, dodged Lara's attack and grabbed the rod with his hands. Lara was holding the rod as well, now both of them being face to face as they were holding the rod.

Their eyes met again.

Kurtis smiled devilishly at her as he slowly let go of the rod and after a while it broke in two pieces. Lara let out a gasp of surprise and dropped the rod on the floor, astonished because of the fact that she hadn't put the slightest effort to break the rod. As if it had been broken by magic.

Lara stared at the broken rod on the floor and then faced Kurtis who still held that devilish smile. Lara's eyes were staring at him wide. "Convinced yet?" he challenged her.

But she wouldn't fall. Lara Croft never rejected a challenge. Lara, without a warning, made an effort to punch Kurtis but he held her hand in time so as to avoid her hitting him. Lara once again unsuccessful, felt her rage rising as well as her attraction for him (which right now she would never admit, not even to herself). Kurtis felt amused by her rage but he couldn't deny that he admired her persistence and intelligence. He grabbed both of her wrists and held them tightly with his one hand while with his other one he grabbed her shoulder and brought her closer to him. Their faces were now just inches away and Lara could feel Kurtis' hot breath caressing her soft skin. "Is that all you can do?" he whispered.

That was it. Lara was enraged and out of patience. She kicked him hard and after another kick to a spot where she knew that would agitate the enemy's nerves and would cause their fall, she made him fall on the ground and she sat atop him, while keeping his hands immobile beneath her knees. She smiled triumphantly as she observed Kurtis' rather shocked expression. He really hadn't seen that coming. Lara bit her lip and kept on smiling at him.

"My name is Lara by the way" she said as she held him down, not willing to get up any time soon and lose this sense of victory. He smiled while staring at her eyes. "Kurtis", he responded.

Things had eventually gone much better than she expected.

A/N: Reviews and constructive criticism would be much appreciated. The second chapter, "The Hunted and the Hunter" will be darker and more likely to have happened, in my opinion.

Bye-bye until the next chapter is posted and of course, Merry Christmas! xD