𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩

We were following Snart and Vostok from afar waiting for our favorite thief to do is job. It was freezing so much I could barely feel my fingers and my cheeks and nose were starting to turn red. I sighed heavely with annoyance, arms crossed as I tried to warm myself up.

"So?" Ray breaks the silence as I frown.

"𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭?" I ask looking up at him on my right. He shrugs casually before answering, sighing as he disconnect our earpieces.

"You and Snart?" He asks me as I roll my eyes.

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?" I say and it's his turn to frown but there is a slight amusement in his tone.

"Really? Cause I'm pretty sure all Russia can see your jealous." He tells me as I stop abrubtely turning around to face him.

"𝐈 𝐚𝐌 𝐧𝐎𝐭 𝐣𝐞𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐔𝐬!!! 𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲!?!" I respond more irritated than I thought I would be as Ray gives me a knowing look. "𝐈......" I start but don't know what to says as I groan before turning back again and keep on following the lovebirds. "𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭."

"You know you're allowed to feel and have feelings just like the rest of us right?" He starts again more seriously.

"𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡...."

"Maybe....but I bet you 10 bucks that Snart feels the same." He says and I stop again, hands in the pockets of my coat as I narrow my eyes thoughtfully.

"𝐇𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞....𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐦𝐞?" I ask and he just smiles and keep on walking as I follow his steps smiling in amusement too as we reconnect our earpieces.

"Are you sure you don't want your coat back? I can't believe how you're not freezing." I hear Vostok say as I refocus on the mission at hand.

"Oh, I love the cold."

"And ballet."

"𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝-" I say to no one in particular as Ray rolls his eyes.

"So what is it about the ballet that you love, Valentina?" Snart cuts me off, probably trying not to roll his eyes also.

"The combination of grace and strength, pushing the body to its breaking point. It's a thing of beauty."

"𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 ?" I sigh again, not even sure myself if I'm talking about the cold or their love affair, and it seems like my prayers have been heard.

"My apartment." Valentina states before turning to face Snart as Ray and I hide behind a statue. "You know, this time of night, it's colder than a Siberian winter."

"Sounds perfect."

"You know, I'm sure we could heat it up." She proposes him flirtatiously.

"Sadly, I have business elsewhere this evening."

"Well...if this is good-bye..." She finishes before kissing him as I look away pretending to gag, Ray giving me another knowing look so I slap him in the belly to shut his mouth.

"You enjoyed the show, fellows?" Snart gets out of character after Valentina walks away.

"I think I've got frostbite in some not-so-fun places from waiting out here." Ray tells him.

"𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞. " I follow as Snart gives me an annoyed look as if I was a child.

"Did she tell you what kind of weapon Savage is building?" Ray ask him before Snart shrugs in response.

"Didn't come up. Such a romantic evening, I didn't want to spoil the mood." He says as I raise a brow.

"So other than a steamy good night kiss and a possible case of hypothermia, we've got nothing." Ray sums up nodding toward Snart first and then me.

"I wouldn't say that." Snart tells us before getting something out of his pocket. "It's Valentina's security badge for a place called Luskavic Labs. Whatever weapon she's building for Savage, we'll find it there."

"I guess I should just be happy you didn't swipe her wallet." Ray speaks too fast as Snart show him Valentina's wallet, he gives him a disapproving look just before I sneeze.

"Alright, let's go back to the ship before Lara here gets a pneumonia."

"𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈'𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚."

∙ ∙ ∙

After I changed back into my black outfit, gear,  combat boots and biker vest, I was tying my hair in a ponytail when the Med-bay doors open as I was walking by. I stoped when I realised Snart and Mick inside.

"𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞?"

"It better be." Mick answers as he is sitted with a tube in his left arm. I look at Leonard questioningly but he just shrugs with his arms crossed.

"𝐆𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐧?"

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘵. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴."

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬." I tell her before looking back at Mick. "𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭....𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐬𝐞....𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠....𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?" I say before leaving the room as I hear him mutter like a child with a groan.

"You're not my mom."

I only make a few steps in the hallway before a hand grips my wrist gently stoping me. I turn around as Snart let's go of my hand.

"Hey."

"𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐩?" I ask and he takes a few seconds to answer.

"Nothing much, what about you?"

"𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠." I shrug casually.

"You sure?" He ask again doubtfully as I furrow my brows.

"𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐰𝐡𝐲?" I ask again but he sems hesitant and doesn't speak. "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭?" I try again more demanding and annoyed and he suddenly takes hold of my arms before pushing me inside a small compartiment which he opened the door I never realised was there. It looks like a closet and the fact there isn't much space forces us to stand only inches apart from one another. I gulp as I try to stay calm because of our closeness before looking up at him as he sighs.

"We didn't talk about your last encounter with Savage." He starts matter of fact as I was trying to get out before he even finished his sentence but he kept blocking my way. I sighed annoyed in return, crossing my arms, waiting for him to go on.
"And I would like you to talk to me."

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐨 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲? 𝐀 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?" I ask irritated but his next words calm me.

"I wanna know if you're okay." He says and I look away. "I thought I made that clear by now." I still don't talk so he tries again. "Lara..."

"𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭! 𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲?...𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭...𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭...𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞...𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞,𝐈..." I burst out frustrated but it's hard to find the words. I try to regain my breath as I pass a hand on my forehead before putting both of my hand on my hips, not knowing what do to with them. Snart takes a step closer than we already were, taking my hands in his before speaking and I look back in his eyes.

"I'm not anyone, Lara....I'm your friend...............You can talk to me." He tells me and I let my walls down as I hug him with my arms around his shoulders, sniffing as tears start to fall. He holds my waist and my back, moving his hand up and down in a comforting way.

"𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦." I say with a small weepy voice. "𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝,  𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐫...𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐈-"

"Hey, hey." Snart cuts me off as I start to ramble. We stop hugging to look back at eachother but still holding. "We'll get you answers....together, okay? You can count on me...I'll always be there." He says looking me with so much intensity I can't speak so I just nod before he gives me another hug, my face in the crook of his neck as I close my eyes with that familiar feeling of safety.

∙ ∙ ∙

We now got ourselves in Luskavic Labs. Stein was going to take care of the thermocore while Ray, Leonard and I where going to keep the radiations as low as possible so he could get to it safely.
We found ourselves in the control room in front of the console after Snart and I knocked off the guards.

"Remember, Dr. Palmer, that shutting down the core incorrectly can lead to the creation of--"

"Strangeness, black holes, and uncontrolled fusion reactions that consume the universe? See? I was listening during class, professor."

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐢𝐭-𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬." I tell him playfully as I pat his shoulder but loose my smile at his next words.

"Uh oh."

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧?"

"The power of the console is off and the only other room that can control that thing is too far."

"𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨?"

"I'll go get it back on, as soon as the buttons light up you take care of it, got it?" Ray says looking at me and I nod to him before he leaves but something caughs his eyes before he can do so.

"Uh oh."

"𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐰?" I ask before he nods towards behind me so I turn and see the russian female scientist.

"Valentina's headed toward the core containment unit. The radiation Stein's about to unleash...if she opens the door.. " Ray tries to make us realise the risks for her as Leonard stops him.

"We're here to stop Savage from building a nuclear-powered superhero. Saving some commie broad ain't on the agenda."

"Even if the radiation doesn't kill her, Savage will, the second he finds out the lab's been sabotaged. Look, we gotta get her out of here." Ray protests again.

"Well, who's gonna shut down the core, Raymond?"

"𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥."

"Lara, we don't have time for thi-"

"𝘙𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳?"

"𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚, 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?" I say pointing to the both of them.

"You're willing to risk the mission for a woman you barely know?"

"Be helpful to others. It's the Scout motto." Ray says like it was pure logic.  I roll my eyes as I push him to the door.

"𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐩, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭." I tell him before turning around to face Leonard again. "𝐆𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬." I say but he hesitates. "𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭." I reassure him more fierfully.

"I know you can." He sighs before forcing me to sit on the chair. "30 seconds. I'll get Vostok, you kill the power for Stein, and, Lara, promise me." He say pointing a finger at me as I reply in a sassy tone.

"𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

∙ ∙ ∙

I'm waiting for Stein's signal to tell me when he's done, as I'm wondering what's taking so long for Snart when my thoughts are interrupted by a feminine voice.

"Turn the core back online." I hear Valentina say as I get up and see her holding Leonard at gun point on the other side of the bridge. I make my way toward the glass to see them more closely. "You will turn it back on or I will put a bullet in your boyfriend's head."

"Don't you dare." Leonard warns with a cold look as I try to stay calm about the situation."She's gonna shoot me wether you do it or not."

"That may be true, and you can take that gamble if you like. It's only his life you wager."

"𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲." I try to say casually, after a pause, but fail.

"Now isn't the moment, Lara, we will have plenty of time to friendzone eachother once we are back on the ship." He tells me but I don't budge. " It means now, Lara." He gives me an order but I just shake my head slighty from side to side quickly and blink my eyes as I feel my eyes strating to water. " I'm not joking, Croft.  Don't you dare push that button." I see Valentina take a step back to hold the barrel against the back of his head and I cant help but flinch slightly before turning around and smashing my hands on the button all in the blink of an eye. I hear Stein asking why the core is back to full energy as I answer him.

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭." I look back at Valentina and Snart hoping she'll let him go but not really believing it.

"You idiot." Snart says looking at me as I give a small apologetic shrug and a sad smile. I then hear Stein say he's gonna try anyway, I'm about to protest when a fist connects to my jaw and I fall inconcious to the ground.

∙ ∙ ∙

I start getting my spirits back as two soviet soldiers are holding me by my arms. I'm still very weak and can barely hold myself up. I see Mick being held by two other soldiers also, but more like restraining him and Ray was being transported on a gurney.

"You better kill me now." I hear Mick groal.

"𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐤...𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭." I try with a weak voice, almost out of breath.

"If I ever get my hands on you, I'm gonna get all Rocky IV on your ass." He threatens before the commanding officers throws his head against the truck getting him a bit bloody, only making Mick more motivated to beat him up.

"𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐤!" I call as I try to get to him with no evail.

"I'm gonna remember that, comrade." He warns him before they keep on leading us to a truck but another voice stops them.

"Not her. Savage will have a special treatment for this one." We see Valentina walking closer with Martin also captured behind her. She nods for the soldiers to take me away and as they do I try to get away calling for Mick's help but we are both helpless as we are held back. Eventually, I'm too problematic as they sting me with a sedative and Mick calling my name is the last thing I can hear before I black out.