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Media studies wasn't a hard course, so Sam had quite a lot of time to do the chores at home. Lara was meant to be cooking dinner tonight, but she would be tired after coming home from uni. After so many nights of take away, Sam thought that it would be nice to have a home cooked meal.

She dropped by the grocery store on the way home and picked up some ingredients. She was going to cook pasta tonight, but she couldn't cook it every night so she decided to pick up some extra ingredients. Chorizo, chicken, some vegetables- things to spice up future pastas and to make new dishes. This was going to be tough, but Sam had faith in Jamie Oliver's recipes.

When she got home she vacuumed the house first before starting on dinner. Pasta was easy, and Sam decided to throw in some of the chorizo just so there was something different.

She had just put the sauce on the heat when she heard the front door open. "Sam?" she heard Lara call out.

"In the kitchen!"

She heard footsteps come down the hall and into the room. "Are you cooking?" Lara asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied, "I hope you don't mind."

Lara walked up behind her. "No…it smells delicious. But I thought dinner was my job tonight."

"Ehh I just felt like pasta," Sam shrugged. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's fine," she said. Sam glanced behind her as she felt Lara linger. Her hair was a mess and her eyes seemed unfocused. Lara gave her a tired smile and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Sam kissed her on the cheek. "Okay sweetie."

Dinner was only one of the things she took care of.

Sam made an extra effort to clean the house and do the laundry, and by the end of the first week she understood why Lara had been so exhausted the past month. Juggling uni, her assignments and her house work and errands, Sam had no energy left in her body on Saturday morning. All she had to do was lie in her bed and sleep, but she had to do the laundry today. So with a groan, she swung her feet over the side and pushed herself up.

Lara was too busy to question why she was doing all this work, something which Sam was grateful for. If she found out that all this was killing her she wouldn't allow her to continue. Lara was grateful though, offering a thanks before she shuffled back to her room to study or sleep. Her work never seemed to end and neither did her assignments, so Sam would sometimes drop in with a fresh cup of tea, a Jaffa cake and a quick kiss just to keep her revitalized.

And her efforts were paying off.

Lara was more energized, and Sam didn't need to beg her to watch a movie with her anymore. They would cuddle on the couch, watching some terrible B-grade film until they were tired and headed to sleep. One night, Lara had come into her room whilst Sam was editing a video in bed, claiming she had done enough study for the night.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Lara Croft?" Sam asked incredulously, taking her headphones off and watching Lara crawl into bed next to her.

"Oh quiet," Lara scolded. She ducked under the covers and then lay on the pillow next to her, throwing an arm over her legs. "I just missed you."

Sam was glad Lara had her eyes closed then or else she would have seen her blush. After that, Sam couldn't concentrate on her assignment as Lara slept next to her. She quietly shut her laptop, placed it on her bedside and snuggled under the sheets with her girlfriend.

Although all the extra work drained her to the bones, she gradually got used to it. Cooking was surprisingly enjoyable, and it was nice eating different meals every week.

After the first few successes (and some failures, but we don't talk about those), Sam was trying new recipes for dinner. One night she made smoked salmon on a bed of zucchini salad, whilst another she made them enough curry to cover two dinners. It wasn't as good as the Indian place, but hey, she was learning.

Today, she had come home after a lecture and was trying out a recipe for tuna bake. Lara had her final exam today, and work after. If Sam could get this ready before 6, then they could have an early dinner and watch that new show that just came out on Netflix before she went to work. That would be a nice way to spend the few hours after an exam.

She was busy chopping the mushrooms when she heard keys in the front door. "Sam?" she heard Lara call.

"I'm in the kitchen!" she replied, turning back to her mushrooms. "How was your exam?" she asked.

"It was good," she replied. Warm arms wrapped around her waist and she felt Lara place a kiss on her neck. Sam froze, startled at the sudden intimacy. She turned to ask Lara what was happening but the words were taken from her lips with a kiss.

Sam caught her breath, slowly kissing back and lifting a hand to cup her jaw. When they broke apart they were both breathless.

"What was that for?" Sam whispered, turning around and resting her forehead against Lara's. Not that she didn't like surprise kisses, but…this was just so unlike Lara.

Lara rested her hands on her waist and smiled at her. She had a dreamy look on her face. "You know," she said. "For being amazing."

Sam shrugged bashfully and smiled, "I didn't do much."

"You did plenty," Lara said. "Even when you didn't have to. Don't think that I haven't noticed what you've been doing this past month."

Sam smiled and felt her heart swell. She liked the way that Lara was looking at her right now, with those eyes of pure love and adoration. She wouldn't mind seeing them for the rest of her life.

"I was thinking we should go out tonight," Lara continued, her hands pulling them closer together. "I've heard about this nice place in the city- French food. Do you want to try it? My shout."

Sam frowned. "Don't you have work tonight?" she asked.

Lara shrugged. "I called in sick. After these past few months, I think I would like to spend some time with my girlfriend."

Sam beamed. As much as she would have loved to impress Lara with her tuna bake, fancy French food sounded better. "I would love that," she said.

Lara smiled. "Good…" Her smile turned sly and she bit her lower lip, her eyes flicking down to her lips for a second. "Well…since you don't need to cook anymore...how about we spend this free time…" Her head cocked to the side and her eyes darted towards their bedroom.

Sam raised her eyebrows, unsure if Lara meant what she hoped. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Well, it depends if you're still wearing that purple lingerie."

Sam grinned and guided Lara's hands to the waistband of her jeans. She leaned up, closing her eyes slowly. She stopped just before her mouth, and could feel her lips tingling in anticipation. "Come and find out."