North || Nathan Drake

11

Santiago Moncada was at his desk in a large building that Dante recognise. It was consisted of a warehouse style frame with floors suspended off the ground where half uncovered foundations of ancient buildings were half uncovered. It was currently a building where his grandfather had funded archeologists in excavating the remains of a roman villa. Glass cases with old pottery and  gleaming coins dotted the place. The black floors and dark furniture contrasting to the sand below. His father stood at the desk at the head of the room and Dante could see his grandfather's working glasses sitting neatly on the table surface. 

"Mr Moncada", Jo greeted as she gestured for the guards to wait behind. Dante huffed, their grips on his arms bruising. Moncada's eyes flickered up from the laptop screen. "We've ran into some difficulties. The gold was never here beneath the city". 

"Yeah I know", Moncada sighed. "It's quite embarrassing". 

Jo's expression twitched. "I believe there was a clue down there. We know who has it, a miss Chloe Frazer. My people are out looking for her now-"

"Oh", Chloe's voice interrupted. "You mean the big guy who doesn't talk and his sidekick, the highlander? Yeah, they didn't find me". She had come through another door and hadn't noticed Dante yet. The guards were holding him tightly in the shadows of a pillar and away from the white electric lights. 

"Diversified investment", Moncada smiled. "I hired Miss Frazer the same day I hired you. Of course she shall lead the operation from here on out". Dante stifled a wicked smirk at the anger brewing in Jo's eyes. 

"Well. You will be glad to know that I had more success with my other mission", She smiled sharply and waved the guards over. Dante rolled his eyes as they shoved him forwards and into his father's line of sight. 

"North?" Chloe frowned. 

"Bitch", He greeted. "I would have expected more from you, but unfortunately I know you on a intimate level. You really didn't surprise me". She stepped towards him with fury on her face but Moncada raised a hand. She stopped, looking between them in confusion. 

Moncada laughed and stepped down from the desk. As he approached, the guards let go of Dante's arms and his father immediately wrapped him in a hug. Dante sighed but hugged him back slightly. While work was things that they disagreed on, he did hold some love for his father. "Did you really need to have Braddock kidnap me? You could have just called?" He huffed as Moncada stepped back. The older man clapped him on the shoulder. 

"As if you would have listened to me. Come now son. We should finish this together, like out ancestors would have wanted. The gold is rightfully ours". 

"Wait, he's your son?" Chloe voiced. 

"Can't you see the family resemblance?" Dante rolled his eyes. They had the same dark hair and eyes. Though Dante was shorter and tended to favour his mother's facial features. "Also, I don't really care much about the gold. Your servant there", he jerked his head at Jo. "She killed Sam". He went to throw himself at her but his father pushed him back. 

"That was just business", Jo shrugged. 

"None of that", Moncada chided as if Dante was five again and was caught wrestling with the other children in the playground. "I need her for a bit longer". 

"I can't believe abuelo is letting you do this". 

"About your abuelo", Moncada sighed deeply. "I'm sorry Dante". 

Dante blinked. He was sore from the fighting and the bruises were making themselves known. "Did you kill him?" His father's unreadable expression said it all. Dante let out a dry and sharp laugh and ran his hands through his curls. He didn't know what to feel. Sam's death grieved him but it wasn't an surprise. This news made him sad in a different way. Maybe it was the last of the hope that his father was a good man draining away. He had always known that he was the only person his father ever loved and the reminder that the same love didn't extend to anyone else just made him feel disappointed. He had never gotten along with his grandfather but if Santiago Moncada could kill his own father, how long would Dante last? 

"He was going to give away our family fortune", Moncada stated grimly. "Our money". 

"Have you read his will?" Dante spoke tiredly. 

"Yes", Moncada was now looking at him with a grim expression. "He left everything to you. I don't get a penny. Which is why you are here son. I am sure you wouldn't mind helping me get the gold our family is owed". 

"And what afterwards?" Dante's face was empty. "What after that Padre? More treasure hunting? Unethical business deals? I am quite happy where I am. I have enough money to fund my hobbies and I have a good job". 

"You are nothing but a photographer!" Santiago Moncada snapped. "We should take back what our family rightfully deserves!"

"Why? We have enough money. More than enough. I am not greedy enough to need more". 

"Shut up". Moncada was looking at his son with a furious disappointment. "I need not hear from lectures from you. Tomorrow we are flying out and you will be coming with us. Until then, you shall stay in your room". He gestured at the guards and they took Dante's arms again and began to march him away. 

"I can't believe you're sending me to my room like a child!" Dante called behind him as he was dragged from the building. Their family house was only a street away and he let himself be marched towards it. It was a beautiful old building, fifteenth century with pillars and stone that had to be renovated several times. He seethed indignantly the entire journey until the guards had locked the door of his bedroom behind him. 

It had been his childhood bedroom, not that he had ever used it much. Most of his childhood was following his father around the world and sleeping in hotels or temporary apartments while his father attended business deals or treasure hunts. This room had been his in the months between and he had maybe spent only a month of two here a year until he left the family and struck out on his own. It hadn't changed. Large windows over green gardens with a cushioned window seat. The bed was pushed into a corner and the old furniture was still covered in stickers from when he was five and thought that antiques needed decorating. He pulled his camera from around his neck and set it on the bedside table with a deep sigh before flopping back onto the mattress. 

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the earbud and stuck it into his ear. "Nate? Did you hear that?" 

A soft exhale of breath emanated down the line and Dante felt relief fill him. He suddenly didn't feel so alone. "Yes. Wow your family is messy". Nate's voice commented. Dante chuckled as he pulled off his shoes. He curled up on top of the mattress and duvet with a sigh. The room smelt of dust and stale air. 

"I am sorry about your grandfather". 

"Don't be. We never got along. But if he really did leave all the fortune to me, then that's put a big target on my back. My padre is never going to let me go again". 

"Do you need that rescue now?"

"What am I?" Dante smiled. "Some princess in a tower?"

"I can be your charming rouge turned hero". Nate's voice was warm and he could hear the humour in it. It had been a long night for both of them and Dante felt his eyes slip closed. 

"Sounds sexy", he hummed, voice dropping. "Do you do that for all the girls?" 

"And the boys". 

"I'm flattered to be one of many". 

"Don't worry", Nate's voice was a soft sound as sleep crept up on him. "You're the prettiest prince of them all". He may have said something else but Dante lost it as the haze of sleep overwhelmed him. 

unedited 

love these boys flirting down the coms. 

vote, comment, follow and all that jazz