North || Nathan Drake

18

The sun had not been up for very long when Dante awoke. For a moment he blinked blearily at the ceiling. The bed was soft under him and the duvet had been kicked down to his was it during the night. He distantly recalled falling asleep the night before on the sofa while trying to figure out Sam's secrets and wondered for a moment how he had gotten to bed. Then something shifted next to him and he turned his head to watch Nate roll over in his sleep. The other man tugging the duvet up over his shoulders sleepily. Dante watching the action with a tingling in his chest as the other man drifted back into a deeper sleep. 

Nate was unguarded in this moment. Soft, warm. Dante felt a warmth in his chest as he tried to picture Nate carrying him to bed. He was a light sleeper so he must have been extremely exhausted to have been moved without waking. A small smile tugged at his lips, soft and anxious as if he expected something to ruin this moment. The grief of the day before was still there, a heavy weight on his chest, but there was a light on the horizon. He would always miss his father, for they had loved each other despite their messy relationship. But he knew that he would get through the loss. One day, he reminded himself as he watched the morning sun stream through the gaps in the curtains and light up Nate's bare arm where it was lying on top of the duvet, the loss would not be drowning him. One day he would be able to breathe. 

Something clattered in the lounge. Dante pushed back the duvet and stood up. The bathrobe was still hanging onto his shoulders and he untangled it and retied the ends as he padded towards the door. Chloe was tying her boots by the sofa. She was fully dressed in her clean and washed clothes from yesterday, backpack on her back and ready to go. She looked up as Dante closed the door behind him as not to wake Nate. 

"He figured it out", She stated, not bothering to hide it. She picked a torn page from the memo pad and folded it up to tuck into a pocket. Dante did not try to stop her. 

"So you are going after it?" He waved a hand at the door behind him. "You were going to leave us and get the gold all for yourself?" His tone was not accusing, just factual. 

Chloe gave him a brief smile that was more self deprecating than warm. "Do you expect anything else from me?" She paused and the silence between then took on a heavier note. "You can come with me", she suggested softly. 

Dante was shaking her head before she had even finished voicing the question. "You know I won't". 

Chloe's smile was small but real. Bittersweet. "We were good once". 

"For a small time", Dante agreed. Maybe it was what they had been through in the last few days, or it was the fact that the man sleeping in the other room had saved both of their lives. Nate was different to the rest of the people in their world. That much was obvious. Something between the two of them had changed and the younger Drake had been a part of it. 

Dante inhaled deeply. Better now, when he was vulnerable and soft for once, or he would never say this again. "I thought I was in love with you. I wanted to open up myself to you, you know? I would have told you everything". His voice trailed off. 

"Then I left you", Chloe finished. "You had been stabbed and I left you to die. I chose the treasure before you". 

Dante tried a smile. It was silly and tinged with an old hurt. "Not one of your finest moments, but now I know better". 

Chloe returned the same smile. "I broke your heart, so you cheated on me until we broke up". 

"I wanted to break your heart in return". 

She chuckled. "I should not have expected any less. You certainly hurt my pride, my feelings. But I don't think you broke my heart. Looking back, I don't think I could have ever given it to you". 

The words stung but it was a distant sting. The part of Dante that was still heartbroken over his first love died. Old wounds and issues began to ever so slowly start the process of stitching themselves together. The smile took on a more real note. A gratefulness. "I know that now". He sighed deeply. "But I agree, we were good once. A real team for a small time". 

Chloe's smile was wide and happy. "We were. We just were not what each other wanted. But we can be friends. I understand you better now". She held out a hand and Dante took it. 

"Friends", he agreed as they shook. 

Chloe's smile turned teasing as she let go. "He looks at you like you're treasure", she nodded at the closed bedroom door. "If it was between you and all the gold in the world, I actually think he might choose you. I don't know why, you're a terrible person". 

The laugh that came from Dante's mouth was surprised and genuine. "I am", he agreed. "But I am not sure I want to be that person anymore. You're still a bitch though". 

Chloe laughed. "I am not arguing against that". She pulled her pack from her shoulder and pulled a familiar object from it. Dante took his camera from her with an expression of wide eyed amazement. 

"My camera. But I left that on the plane". He recalled putting it on the table in the plane's command room back before his father had called a meeting to go over the plan. Then things had turned south and it was forgotten in the shock of his father's murder. Dante had cursed himself for it in the bath afterwards. He had somehow grabbed the map but not his precious camera? 

"I stole it just when your father was telling us that story. Just before- everything. I wanted to annoy you. I did not think she would do that. I am sorry". Chloe's voice was honest. 

"I forgive you", Dante ran his fingers over the familiar edges of the device. His dark eyes rose to meet hers. "For everything. Friends right?" 

"Friends", Chloe nodded. "I am still leaving with the coordinates though. You can't stop me", she narrowed her eyes at him challengingly. 

Dante shrugged. "I never cared about the gold. It was all about my father. As long as Braddock does not get it, I honestly don't care". 

"What about Nate?" 

"If he wants to chase after you when he wakes. I will help him. But I will leave that decision up to him". Honestly, Dante doubted that Nate had really left the coordinates out in the open for either one of the to steal. The man maybe much more trusting than the others in their profession but he wasn't dumb. 

Chloe turned to stride towards the door. She placed her hand on the handle and turned back for a moment. "Don't treat him like you treated me", she warned. 

"I won't. Nate knows more about me than I have ever told anyone. Some of that is due to the situation. But he is easy to talk to, you know". 

"He is. He will treat you better than I did. I shall see you again North". With those parting words she was slipping out of the front door and into the sun. 

Dante watched the door click shut. He turned his camera around in his hands and left himself think about what he wanted. His family was dead. There was nothing to rebel against, nothing to fight, nothing to return to. For the first time in his life he was completely untethered. His father was no longer trying to influence his decisions and his grandfather was no longer trying to bend him back into being the perfect heir. He had the whole world at his feet and his family's vast fortune in his name. For once, Dante did not know what he wanted. 

unedited