North || Nathan Drake

01

Dante could swear that his suit was trying to suffocate him. At his side, his father smiled as he lifted the glass of champagne to his lips. It was a forced smile, Dante could tell. "What are you doing here Son?" The words were muttered around the glass as more people in formal wear walked past. The auction house of white paint and glass full to bursting with rich and elite here to bid over the remnants of history. Rich and elite, like his father, or the sneaky and lucky like Dante. Though, he guessed that he wasn't as sneaky and lucky as he hoped to be. 

Dante let his gaze sweep the room. It lingered on the bar where Victor Sullivan was talking to a handsome young man around his own age. He allowed himself to let his gaze wonder before flitting back over the rest of the room. "Merely coming to take a look at the cross you are so obsessed with, don't get your nickers in a twist", he grinned as he popped the cherry from his Shirley temple into his mouth. 

Santiago Moncada sighed. "You have spent far too much time with your mother". His mother was dead and they both knew it. Gone a year already but this was not the time nor place to argue about it. 

Dante rolled his eyes as he spotted the familiar viper figure of Jo Braddock slinking across the polished black floors towards them. The black dress hugging her figure and the blonde waves over the shape of her skull doing nothing to dissuade the viper comparison. "You hired her? I am right here". He gestured at her in mock disbelief. Of course his father had hired her. Jo smiled sharply at him as she drew closer. His hatred of her coiled like frost in his stomach. It soured his mouth and sharpened his smile.

"Mr Moncada", she greeted with polite warmth. Her eyes glittered as she turned them to Dante. "And Mr North as well. Why it's a pleasure to see you. After the incident in Japan, I had heard you've been cut off from the family company". 

"Grandfather and I had different views on how my life should be lived", Dante smiled with teeth before taking a sip of his glass. "I am now up for hire". 

Jo pretended to think. "Oh yes. What is it you do again?" 

"Photographer", Dante drained the last of his drink and handed it off to a passing waiter. 

"Photography", Jo hummed. "Dangerous work? That scar looks new". 

Dante met her gaze, the scar across his brow and cheek twisting as he smiled. A lucky man with a knife had given him that scar during a tomb raid in china. He was just glad that it had missed his eye. "Well I dabble. It seems that I need a new drink. Excuse me. We shall catch up soon dad", he flashed them a sharp smile before sauntering across the floor.  

Sullivan and his new face saw him coming. He winked at them as he grew close enough to  join them at the bar. "North", Sullivan greeted with an amused smile. "I am going to ignore politeness, what they fuck are you doing here? And what the heck happened to your face?" 

"Gin a tonic please", Dante waved at the bartender before grinning at Sullivan. "Sully. Is that all you can say to me after leaving me in that bar in Deli? I thought we had an arrangement. Where's your Drake partner by the way? Sam not here? Or did you trade him in for someone younger?" He eyed the new boy up and down, smirking as their gazes connected. 

"Sam disappeared two years ago, if you haven't heard", Sully grumbled. "And stop eyeing up his younger brother". 

"Brother? Another Drake? Where does Sully keep on finding you?" Dante turned and leaned back against the bar between the two men. He gave the new man a teasing look before chuckling. "What's your name?" 

"Nate". Nate Drake gave him a once over and smiled. "And yours?" 

"Dante. Dante North. Pleasure", he grinned coyly. 

Sully groaned from his other side. "North. Stop flirting with the new kid. Why are you here?"

"Simple", Dante shrugged. "Gold of course". 

"And smoozing with Moncada? You working for him now?" Sully asked. Dante picked up his newly arrived glass of gin and tonic and took a sip. He had known Sully and Sam on and off for about seven years now. They had met in a tomb raid in Mexico when Dante was just eighteen and testing the limits of his family's tolerated rebellion. His grandfather disapproved enough of his father and the obsession for hunting for gold, he disapproved even more of Dante's mother and her thief ways. Ways that Dante took after, though he did it less for the gold and more for the adventure. After the tomb raid in Mexico, he had bumped into the duo a few more times over the years, the last time being two years ago. Neither of them had known about Dante's ties to Moncada, the young man going by his mother's last name when working. 

"Na. As you can see, he had Braddock", he gestured at where his father and Jo were still talking. 

"Bad news that one", Sully remarked. Dante hummed in agreement and took another sip of his drink. 

"So how do you know each other?" Nate interrupted. Dante turned his attention back to the brown haired boy. 

"He shot at me during a tomb raid in Mexico seven years ago. I still have the scars to prove it. Made Sam patch it up". 

"Who freaking climbs into a tomb with nothing but a camera?" Sully scoffed. "The kid is insane and you'd do better staying away from him. He robbed me blind that day". 

"I left Sam's loot", Dante reminded. "Only because he stitched me up right. Also I got a good selfie with the two of you. What to see?" He turned to Nate as the other man leaned in eagerly. Pulling out his phone, he unlocked it and brought up the photo folder he had of various selfies he had taken in various places that he was not supposed to be. It was a large folder. 

The photo was slightly grainy and showed a younger Dante, face free of scars and curls more wild. He was pale under the LED lights set up in a cave, grey shirt filthy and bloodied around the arm. He was half leaning on the blonde man next to him, Sam in filthy jeans and a tshirt, grinning and holding up the sign of the devil while Sully glared at the camera next to him. Nate chuckled as his face lit up. "Wow. He looks so different. I haven't seen him since I was ten". 

"Give me your number and I'll send the photos if you want", Dante offered. Over his shoulder, Sully was wincing and hiding in his drink. Nate glanced at the older man but the lure of seeing more photos of his brother won out and he pulled his phone free. Dante grinned happily as he programmed Nate's number into his contacts. Hook, line, sinker. 

"There", Dante stated as he cut the call to Nate's cell. "Now you have mine. Nice to catch up Sully but the bitch is approaching and I'd better make myself scarce". He patted the man on the shoulder and flashed Nate another smile before slipping through the crowds. It was easy to move between their forms and step through the staff only door. No one the wiser as he left the building, a satisfied grin on his face. 

unedited