North || Nathan Drake

03

Dante let Sully drive. He lounged in the passenger seat with Nate shoved in the back. The man had grumbled at them about it but Dante had laughed and stolen the front seat before he could argue. He wasn't going to deal with Spanish traffic when right off the plane and jet lagged. Instead he kicked back in the seat, feet up on the dash as he sung along to the radio. The Spanish leaving his lips with the ease of fluency.

"How's your mother?" Sully's question broke him out of his relaxation. Dante sat up. The golden sun bright through the windows and horns honking outside as the cars trailed forwards, the traffic horrid for midday Barcelona.

"She's dead. Killed in a landslide during a tomb raiding in Tibet".

"Oh", Sully hummed. "Shame. She was a very intimidating woman".

Dante rolled his eyes. "I would rather not know anything else about what you think of my mother Sully".

Behind them, Nate frowned. "Eww Sully. Have some respect". Dante sniggered and glanced up to the rear view mirror to catch sight of Nate's teasing grin. They shared a smile before Dante was turning back around to face the front.

"She was a very intimidating person", he agreed. "Not that I knew her very well. She left when I was a kid, only showed up once a year or so with presents before going off again". He shrugged and slumped further in his seat, curls frizzing in the heat. "Can I put on music?"

"No", Sully stated immediately. "Driver rules".

"Tough", Dante snapped back as he plugged his phone into the stereo. "My car".

"Well maybe you should drive then".

"I don't know where we're meeting your contact. So there's no point".

"Bite me, North".

"I'd sooner suck Sam's dick". Music began blaring over the stereo. Metal with heavy electric guitars. Nate watched from the back, fascinated as Dante began nodding his head along to the music. His voice singing along, surprisingly matching the deep rasping screams, before climbing high enough to reach the singing parts.

"Turn that shit down!" Sully yelled over the bass. "I can't hear myself think over here!"

"Buzz kill", Dante muttered sourly as he turned the music down to a reasonable level. Sully took a turn that had another car coming to a beeping halt. The driver stuck his head out and yelled something at them in Spanish. Probably something rude. Dante rolled down his window and screamed back several words, voice too fast for Nate to pick out what he said. Then he slumped in his seat and sighed, the air brushing his curls as they finally hit a long stretch of empty road.

"Dante", Nate voiced after a minute of quieter metal playing through the speakers. It was a band he had not heard before. Not a classic band, more modern. "Why did you say that you'd much rather suck my brother's dick?" He meant for the question to be slightly grossed out and teasing. Instead, Sully snorted and Dante sunk further into his seat.

"Your brother and North here had a bit of a fling every so often".

"The first time was when we were drunk. The second, Sam was questioning his sexuality. It only happened twice and we were intoxicated each time. By the way, the answer to your brother's sexuality question was that he is bisexual. Mostly straight but down to fuck dudes when drunk".

Nate wished that he hadn't asked. "Eww. I did not need to know that. Not about Sam being bi, he's my brother whatever he is. Just about his sex life. I meant that as a joke". He grimaced and Dante laughed. The tanned boy looked pretty when he laughed, though there was a maniacal edge to his smile. It was too sharp sometimes and it was slightly unsettling. Nate didn't trust it. Dante was too sly to be trusted.

"What about you?" Dante turned in his seat to flick his dark eyes up and down Nate's body. He smirked. "How do you swing Drake number two?" Then a flash was blinding him and Dante hummed at his camera.

"Oi", Nate grumbled at the photo. "I am pan, thank you for asking. What about you?"

"Bi", Dante turned back around and made himself comfortable in his seat. The camera tucked away in his backpack.

Sully chuckled. "Dante North is pretty famous in the tomb raider community. He gets around. I mean that in multiple ways".

"I got the picture, thanks". Nate rolled his eyes.

"We don't slut shame here Sully. Or you would undoubtedly win", Dante smiled icily. "Andrea, Rose, Karen, Sheryl, Joanna, Roxanne, Cherry, Evelyn. Need I say more? And those are just the women you hooked up with when we were on raids. I can name more".

"Fuck off you gremlin", Sully put one hand onto Dante's face and pushed him back into the seat. The younger man just rewarded him with a laugh. "What are you looking at?" The question was directed at Nate through the mirror.

Nate just held up his hands. "Nothing, just wondering how many of them were out of pity".

Dante burst into laughter. "You are so much better than Sam. No offence, may he be having the time of his life wherever he has disappeared too. But you have a better sense of humour. We are going to be great friends". He beamed at Nate. It was sharp toothed and slightly too intelligent to be fully real, but there was genuine amusement and honest joy in there. Dante just didn't seem to be sure of what to make of Nate just yet.

"I haven't seen Sam in years, so none taken", Nate chuckled.

Dante jerked in his seat. "Wait, I said I would show you some more pictures. Let me just"- He untucked his seatbelt and pulled himself between the two seats to join Nate in the back. Sully swerving the car for a second as a foot almost kicked him in the face.

"Whoa! Whoa! Give me some warning North!"

"Jesus", Nate yelped as the car swerved again and he suddenly had a lap full of a tumbled Dante. The curly haired man having fallen into the back seat, legs against the window and torso sprawled across the other boy's lap. For a second, Dante gaped up at him with wide brown eyes and slightly flushed cheeks. Nate blinked, brain malfunctioning for a second. "Comfortable down there?"

"Very", Dante winked, before flipping his feet over his head in a backwards roll that ended with him in the seat next to Nate. It was an impressive show of flexibility to do that so smoothly in a moving car. He straightened his clothes.

"You have a death wish", Sully commented from the front. "I swear to god North, if you don't stop flirting with my new partner, I will leave you somewhere very far from civilisation".

"Been there. Done that. Five separate times. It's growing old Sully, but thanks for offering". Dante rolled his eyes and leaned over to pull his bag from his original seat. He propped it on his lap and grinned at Nat as he pulled a stack of photos from the front pocket. There had to be about twenty there, all printed on glossy photo paper and wrapped in a ziplock bag, held together with elastic bands. Dante held them out.

"Here. I printed off my favourites but there's more. I thought you'd like your own copies but I can also text you them later if you want". Nate took the photos reverently. Through the clear plastic, he could just about see the colours of a sunset. He tugged off the elastic bands and pulled the first photo from the bag. It was Sam, he recognised his own brother from the other photos he had seen. Sam was half turned towards the camera, golden sunset light from the skies behind him glinting off his blonde hair and beard. The sands of the desert behind him as golden as his hair. His gaze was warm and face caught in a mid laugh, as if caught in the middle of a shared joke. It was a candid shot, intimate.

Nate stared at it. "You're a good photographer", he said. Dante hummed, smiling at the photo nostalgically.

"Thanks".

Nate glanced at the other boy. There was something on Dante's face. Guilt? Sadness? Longing? His dark eyes were unreadable as he stared at the photo. Nate swallowed and turned his gaze back to the picture. What was the relationship between Dante and Sam? Were they merely friends as the curly haired boy had said, or where they more?

unedited