that's when ─ s. drake

5; a normal life

He shook the tube a few more times before putting it down and turning over towards the codebreaker that he had gotten back from Marlowe all those years ago. "Sire Francis and his elaborate puzzles." Nate scoffed, looking at the Latin letters engraved on the gold, circle puzzle in his hands. It had caused him, Sully, and Zara too much trouble - he couldn't truly admire the work anymore.

A box sat in the corner of the attic, and Nate carefully opened it. Inside sat his mother's journal, the cross of Saint Dismas, and Sam's old jean jacket. Over the fifteen years that his brother had been gone, Nate came to terms with it. He had a lot of help from Zara, who was the only one who really knew that he had a brother in the first place. His death hit her hard, too, even if she didn't know him too well.

First, he picked up the white journal with the initials C.M. on them. Cassandra Morgan - the woman that was obsessed with Sir Francis Drake's disappearance, and the mother of both Nathan Drake and Sam Drake. He began pulling out one of the photos in the journal, but the feeling of his brother was too overwhelming. "Nah..." He sighed, pushing it back in between the pages and placing the journal back in the box.

The second object in the box was the cross that he had used to find Avery's treasure all those years ago. "Yeah, thanks for nothing, Saint Dismas." He spat with distast. Zara was still looking for his treasure, but they were certain that the cross would do them no good. It seemed to only bring misfortune and bad luck. Nobody could even think to touch it after what happened in Panama.

With caution, Nate shut the box again, sighing deeply as he made his way across the attic again. Another one of his notebooks was stashed on a table, the label Iram of the Pillars taped to the front. "Now this was a crazy ride." He exclaimed, remembering how he ran through the sand dunes alongside Zara and Sully to try and get his ancestor's treasure away from Marlowe.

Inside was an old letter from an old friend, and he could immediately recognize the small and fancy handwriting of Chloe Frazer.

Nate - How's things? I've been up to my usual shenanigans. Nothing major, but enough to keep the heat on and the wine stocked.

I caught wind of something that sounded right up your alley - and should you ever change your mind, give me a yell. I'm always on hand for a quick getaway.

Love, Chloe.

Nate smiled at the note, missing his dear friend. "Maybe in another lifetime, Chloe." He sighed, putting the note back into his journal. "You should ask Zara for help on that one, sounds like she might need an adventure." He stated to himself, knowing that nobody could really hear him. Nate placed the notebook back down on the table, the overwhelming feeling of reminiscence forming a deep pit in his stomach.

His fiancée's voice echoed up to the attic from the downstairs area of his house, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Hey, Nate!" Elena yelled. "Are you coming down to eat?" She asked, causing the delicious smell of spaghetti to waft up towards the top of the attic.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'll be right there!" Nathan replied.

Slowly, he opened the attic hatch, brushing his hands against his jeans before sliding down the ladder towards the downstairs of his house. Surrounding him was posters of everywhere he had been on his adventures. Nepal, China, Brazil, everywhere that had caused him trouble. No matter where he and Elena went, he always needed some kind of vacation. It was the closest he could get to his old life.

Ridding his mind of those thoughts, Nathan walked downstairs, stepping across the hardwood floors and into the kitchen and living room. Elena greeted him from the couch, a laptop sitting on her lap and her feet resting against the coffee table. "You were up there for a long time." She teased, continuing to type away on her computer as Nate scoffed and replied.