"I won't let you die, for God's sake." – coming back to her senses she jumped up and not having any better idea, she simply pulled the same lever again they had used before. For a moment there was nothing happening just as earlier, only the water was swirling softly below her. Covering his face and Lara could not do anything against it. Then suddenly the grate pulled away and Nate burst to the surface, spitting out the water he swallowed.

"It was about time." – he grinned, gasping for air.

"God damn right." – they heard the woman's cold voice behind them and the click of the gun kept them in place. Lara peered to the door that was going down.

"Run." – Nate yelled at Lara and she did not hesitate. Not caring about the gun in the woman's hand, she raced towards the slowly closing gate. Nate jumped out of the water, hurling to the side when the woman shot at him. "Crap." – he cursed, hiding his face behind his arms. Not that it would have helped anything.

Lara rolled under the door, watching Nate run towards her. Shots echoed between the ancient walls, showing them a sound they had probably never heard before. Nate ran for his life, hurling forward in the last second, before a bullet hit the wall exactly where he had been sprinting a second earlier. Landing hard on the floor, he rolled under the gate that stayed open only to a few inches.

When anger cleared a bit, despair took its place. As the woman realised her situation, she let the gun down and started to run towards the gate as well. The gate moved lower, and she knew there was not much chance left anymore. She threw the gun away, as if it helped her to run faster.

"Come on." – Nate reached out to her, but the gate was almost down, and in the last second he had to pull his arm back. Suddenly the gate crashed down and there was all darkness around them. They were sitting on the floor, panting for air. Around them nothing stirred, no sound came through from the other side.

"I can't believe you still wanted to help her." – Lara said after a while, breaking the silence.

"You know I can't resist women in danger." – he joked, reaching for the lighter in his pocket. When the small light flickered, he could see the reprimand on Lara's face.

"I could see that." – she countered, standing up from the floor. To avoid his stare, she started walking down the corridor.

"Why are you saying that?" – he hurried after her, looking around with the lighter. They ended up in a corridor just like the ones before, looking like a sewer.

"You seemed to enjoy her company a little too much, don't you think?" – the words slipped out of her mouth before she could have thought about them. Damn it, she cursed herself for losing her temper. She did not want to see that stupid grin on his face again.

"I'm just such a nice guy." – he walked behind her, keeping the lighter a little lower to look at her bottom.

"She tried to kill you after all." – Lara realised the move, but did not turn to say anything. Hell, no.

"It wasn't her, it was the trap." – he continued teasing her, just to see where this conversation would go.

"So you don't mind that she wanted to leave you there to drown?" – this time Lara stopped, and instantly regretted it. Where was her cold British reservedness? She wouldn't let him mess with her.

"I knew you would save me." – he stepped to her, but Lara turned away before Nate could have finished the move. He enjoyed this far too much, she thought angrily. And had to admit that she did not mind it. But the hell would she confess that to him.

"Really?" – she countered, her voice becoming lighter and lighter. After all it was not a bad thing, they both made it out of there. Even got rid of the woman. Probably it was not a nice end to be closed into a lost tomb, but everyone deserved their fate. "Then why did you start to say goodbye to me?"

"Should I have missed the chance for that kiss?" – he grinned and Lara could hear his giggle. Why did she let him tease her and why did she not care? "Come on." – he grabbed her arm to stop him. "Admit it that you don't mind having saved me."

Lara squeezed her lips together when their eyes met. No, she did not mind. Not at all. "You kissed her." – she whispered, her voice holding a reproachful tone.

"No, I didn't. When I kiss someone, that looks different." – he held the lighter a bit higher to see her face. To see that funny little jealousy in her eyes. "Are you..?"

"Indifferent?" – she narrowed her eyes on him, interrupting before he could finish the sentence. She definitely did not want to hear that word. Lara bit on her lower lip when he stepped closer.

"Interested…. I wanted to say." – the annoying grin appeared on his face again that made her eyes sparkle in anticipation. No matter how she strained for the opposite, she felt attracted to him. More than she wanted to.

"I guess it's not so easy to get rid of you." – she smiled when Nate leaned closer.

"No, it's not." – yes, he liked that sparkle. The little green monster disappeared, and something naughty took its place. With an instinctive move he threw the lighter away to use his hand for something more exciting. The flame stayed on, landing about two meters away from them.

"What is that?" – Lara suddenly pulled away when she glimpsed something in the corner of her eyes. When Nate dropped the lighter, the small flame cast some light to something. To something that was far too interesting to pass by.

Nate turned his head to the same direction she had and saw what she meant. In the dim light an opening outlined, something like a door, but it was open. Lara moved away from him, approaching it slowly, carefully. Lifting the lighter from the floor, she held it high to see something. The small flame flickered, revealing a bit more with every step they took.

Lara noticed the small channel on the floor, and bent down to light the oily liquid. The fire burst across the room, lighting it up in a warm yellow light.

"I love these people." – Nate muttered, looking around in amazement.

"Now this seems the right place to me." – Lara declared, seeing the same carving on the opposite wall. Attila on the horse. Lara sniffed into the centuries old air, and felt the same excitement as always. A long forgotten place and she was the first one to put a foot on this floor for a thousand years. The tomb was far not as rich as the one of Genghis Khan, but there was enough treasure to keep them busy for a while. This time though, both Lara and Nate were looking for something else.

"Where's the coffin?" – he wondered, carefully examining the place.

"I'm afraid the game is not over yet." – she mused, walking slowly towards the middle of the room. On the floor there was a huge board, with four signs on it. Tilting her head to the side, Lara studied it. "What could be the rules?"

"What about trying it?" – Nate stepped to her side, cocking a brow at her.

"I like to take the careful way. I think we had enough surprises for today." – but before she could even grasp it, Nate stepped on the board, ready to jump if anything happened.

"Where would be the fun in being cautious all the time?" – after he made sure nothing happened, he pulled Lara to him. "Let's play." – he grinned at her.

"Tell me the rules then if you're so smart." – she looked at him defiantly.

"We'll find out on the way." – Nate took her hand and pulled her towards one of the signs on the board. When Lara stepped on it, a faint click could be heard. "You see, we're getting somewhere."

"I really hope for you that we're not going to land in water again." – smiling at her, Nate walked over to the other sign with the same colour.

"Don't tell me you don't like to swim with me." – he stepped on it and another click broke the silence. "I think we're all ready for the game."

"There is a difference between swimming and drowning." – she sent him a cheeky look, not moving an inch. "So what are we doing now, captain?"

"We've never drowned so far." – he grinned, moving his stare away from her to look around. "Considering there are two other signs, my best guess would be that we have to come to those at the end."

"That would be it? We just move over there?" – Lara teased him a bit, intentionally letting him lead her this time. It was a game indeed.

"Patience is a virtue. Have I said that before?" – when Nate stepped to the side, trying to guess the rules of the game, the clicking got fast, sounding threatening and harsh. Nate hesitantly returned to the sign and the clicking stopped. "Hmm…" – he mused aloud.

"I'm ready when you are." – Lara cocked a brow, imitating his earlier gesture. Wasn't it more entertaining to tease than being teased? Crossing her arms on her chest, she looked at him expectantly.

"Let's move together." – he suggested, holding her gaze. They both took a step to the same direction, but the harsh clicking started again.

"We're not getting anywhere like this." – Lara looked around. The board was very similar to a chessboard, but the small tiles had no different colours. It was only divided into smaller squares. "I'd say we mirror the other's moves. You move right, I move left."

"Just one at the same time." – he nodded and they started. The clicking started again, but this time it was slow, just like the second hand of a watch. The game had started.

"Move up and then left." – Lara stopped for a moment to plan the next steps. It was not at all easy to get to the other signs with the exact same moves. The clicking kept the rhythm. "I think we're good till it gets fast again." – Lara was not sure she wanted to know what would happen if they make a mistake. Knowing the tomb so far, it would not have been anything pleasant.

"Almost there." – Nate stated when they finally got closer.

"Take the right." – Lara urged him. "Not your right, my right."

"I know you excited about the old guy, but take it easy." – he looked at her in a mocking way again, but then did as she had told him. When they finally both stepped on the signs the clicking died away. Not daring to move they were waiting. Then something stirred under the floor. The ground shook, and they instinctively backed away. The middle of the board opened up and a small platform rose out of it, with the coffin on it.

"I'll be damned." – Nate shook his head, an easy smile spreading on his face. This was not the only thing happening though. At the entrance something moved too, but they were too busy looking at the coffin to realise it. Some heavy, droning noise could be heard from somewhere far. "Now tell me I wasn't right." – Nate stepped to the iron coffin, slowly pulling his finger over it.

"Unbelievable." – Lara whispered. If legend was true, inside the exact copy of the coffin was to be found in silver and then in pure gold. And the lost resting place of Attila, the greatest Hun. Their eyes met, smiling at each other happily.

"What a nice moment. I'm so sorry to destroy it." – a female voice talked out behind them and they jerked their heads to the direction of the door. The blonde woman was standing there, training the same damn gun on them. She looked a bit dishevelled, but not less elegant as before. "Thanks for finding it for me." – she signalled with the gun, telling them wordlessly to move away from the coffin. The droning noise grew louder.

"How did you get out of there?" – Nate looked at her in disbelief.

"Does that matter? I'm also resourceful when it's needed. Now step away from there." – she said in a cold voice, but did not move towards them. Standing at the door still, her greedy eyes studied the coffin, then the rest of the tomb. At that moment Lara noticed the small intrusion on the floor. Just in front of the woman. Hearing the noise grow louder, an idea started to take shape in her head. The woman also realised the sound, as if something was pressing against the walls from outside.

"Care to swim with me again?" – she whispered to Nate, who looked at her in surprise, but then he understood what she meant. Putting their hands up, they backed a few steps. The woman instinctively came closer, stepping on the button on the floor before she could have noticed it.

And then hell broke loose. Parts of the walls and the ceiling crashed and water poured in with such brutal force that it swept away everything and everyone. Lara reached out, grabbing Nate's hand, but then they went under, losing all sense of direction in the dark, swirling water. It mercilessly seized them, and Lara choked when they were washed out of the room. The water was finding its way through the tomb, racing down the corridors unstoppably. For a moment they came to the surface, grasping for air, just to be drawn down again. Lara willed herself not to breath in the water, objects swirled around her in a total chaos. She kicked, trying to get to the surface. Something caught her arm, and pulled her upwards. At least she thought it was upwards. A gasp of air again. The rumble was deafening, then she went under again and there was silence. When the idea had come to her mind, she had not imagined it so bad. The ruthless drift threw her against the wall, all air ran out of her lungs, letting thousands of bubbles into the water. Nate pulled her out again, Lara gratefully breathed in. Inhale… that was all she wanted. When she thought all was lost, the current crashed into a huge mass of slow water and all calmed and slowed down around her.

She tried to look around, but only saw the blackness. She needed air, desperately. Kicking herself away, she swam towards the surface, wherever it might be. Bursting out of the water, she drew in a deep breath, trying to keep her head out. She frantically looked around, and saw another head not far from her in the water.

"Nate." – she swam to him. When he heard her, he turned around, a smile on his face.

"That's what I call swimming." – he grinned, hugging her under the water. "But next time choose a place with warm water. I beg you."

Suddenly the river under them started to swirl again, and they looked around in despair what would come next. Bubbles rose to the surface, and they prepared for the worst. Not a meter away something big plunged to the surface. First only one end of it, then the other one, finally swimming on the water as a huge trunk.

"I won't believe this." – he laughed out, seeing the coffin of Attila floating next to them. "You wanted the old rotten guy, now you have it." – he grinned at her.

"And you are completely oblivious to the golden coffin inside, right?" – she said with feigned annoyance, then finally burst out in laughter. "You're one lucky bastard." – around them all kinds of objects emerged from the water, washed out of the tomb by the current. All kinds of shiny, golden objects.

"I hope the next one won't be her." – he joked.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" – Lara pulled away a bit, watching his grinning face in the moonlight.

"Don't tell me you're still mad at me for that kiss. I told you I had no choice. What would you do if someone pushed a gun into your stomach? You really can't hold this against me. And after all it was you, who.."

"Nate." – she interrupted in an impatient voice.

"What?" – he looked at her annoyed expression that slowly turned into a naughty smile.

"Would you shut up and kiss me finally?" – she teased him and enjoyed it.

"As you prefer." – he grinned back and pulled her into a kiss, not caring about the coffin and the treasures swimming all around them. Bryce would send a boat, but till then he would just make the best out of the moment. Maybe the best of all of it.

Another story comes to an end. Amazing how time flies.

BIG thanks to everyone who read this and reviewed! Thanks guys! Special thanks to Najel, Angy1996 and Arthemida as always... for reviewing and beta reading! You helped me a lot.

I hope you all like how things developed between Lara and Nate. Any comments or suggestions are welcome! I plan to make a third part for this one, so they can get to know each other a little better. Maybe there will be something of that holiday after all!

In the meantime prepare for the sequel of the Simon story... it's on the way very soon!

Cheers!