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[sketchycharacter]

[The face that appears on the MID is familiar, despite the age loss. Nathan Drake is recognizably himself. But there are fewer lines on his face, no touch of gray in his hair, and he's skinnier, without twelve years of built-up muscle.

He's also got an obvious black eye and a set of plain prisonclothes that are pretty threadbare. Those are new.]

Okay, so, space. That's a thing. Which you've all probably figured out by now, since you're here and all.

[He lifts a hand in greeting.]

I'm Nate. And I don't want to complain, because I got lifted out of a shitty place and I'm sure someone thought they were doing me a favor, but I'm going to complain anyway, because I didn't actually need it. I wanted to be there. And if someone had to spacenap me, the least they could've done is take my brother too. Sam's gonna be pissed he missed this.

[On the plus side, his prison garb at least smells better now. Thanks, Moira laundering facilities.]

So is there a complaints department? Or some way I can get a ride back to Panama? Probably not that lucky, huh.

Comments

[sketchycharacter]

[He startles at the (true) assessment of his name, and his face goes pale as she continues.]

What about my mother?

[His lips feel numb even as he speaks.]

[tearsinajar]

Your mother's name was Cassandra Morgan...

[ Her voice is softer now; she knows how delicate of a subject this is for him, doesn't matter how old or young he is. ]

[sketchycharacter]

[He sucks in a sharp breath.]

I never told anyone about her.

[tearsinajar]

I know.

[ Elena goes quiet and looks down at her hands, thumb brushing over her wedding ring. This would be a lot for anyone to take in, but she still wonders where her husband is.

After a moment of silence to let him digest that, she lifts her head. ]

[sketchycharacter]

[He's quiet, looking at her harder. He believes her now—how could he not?—but it's still intensely weird to look at a stranger and know that this is the person he'll choose to spend his life with.

Nate wonders vaguely if he actually got Sam to dress up for the wedding.]

That's—wow. [Something occurs to him.] Do we have kids?

[tearsinajar]

At my point in time, no.

[ Her smile is soft, a tiny bit shy and amused. If he has questions, she'll answer what she can. ]

We've...talked about it, on and off. And hey, if there's anything else you want to know, ask. I know you're not one to be shy.

Though...you should be sure first on what you want to know...

[sketchycharacter]

[That's a relief. Future wife is one thing; future kids is a whole extra level of responsibility, whether they're here or not. If he's going to have a son or daughter one day, he wants to find out as it happens.]

I'm not sure what I want to know.

[He laughs, a little disbelievingly.]

Sorry, it's just a lot to absorb. Last thing I knew, my brother and I were in prison chasing after Henry Avery, and the next thing, I'm married.

[tearsinajar]

It's definitely a lot to take in, you're right. [ Then Elena's laughing with him, hands tucking in the front pockets. ] That's quite the jump, even I wouldn't know what to do with that.

[ It's quite the accomplishment, keeping any change from her expression and tone when be talks about his brother. That's not something she's going to touch, at all, as heartbreaking as it's going to be for him when the event comes into play, if this young version of her husband does go back. ]

[sketchycharacter]

I'm glad you're not mad or anything.

[Not that it would be his fault, but don't wives have expectations?]

This is going to sound stupid, but—why me? I don't exactly live a settled-down life.

[And he can't really picture that changing in eight years.]

[tearsinajar]

I was more worried than anything else. We were going to grab something to eat and then you kind of never came back to the room. But...here you are.

[ A gesture to his young, handsome self. Ah, this question. It draws out a chuckle. ]

You don't, you're right, but then again you still kind of don't. Or, well, we talked about it, figured everything out.

[ Her expression settles into something a little more serious and yet encouraging. ]

We've been through a lot of ups and downs, Nate, but we're still going strong. We make it work because we've always been good as a team, as silly sounding as that might be to you right now.

This is going to sound stupid, but...I ask myself that question about myself a lot, and I know you can't answer it. I don't expect you to.

[sketchycharacter]

[So he's, what, replaced his older self? Swapped places? Maybe Older Nate is in Panama right now. Huh.]

Well...I did ask.

[It's not great that she can't answer, but then she doesn't sound too troubled by it. Maybe it's okay as long as the have more ups than downs.]

I feel like I should ask you to lunch or something now. I mean, maybe that's dumb since I apparently already asked you to marry me. But that's all a mystery from my end.

[tearsinajar]

There's nothing wrong with a little mystery. Solving puzzles have always been your thing.

Although... [ A slow smile grows; she has no problem warming up to him (eating some lunch, showing him around the ship, talking), he's still Nate. Eight years difference does give a lot of room for growth but he's still Nate. To her. ] I won't say no to some lunch.

You did leave me hanging...

[sketchycharacter]

[That they have. She really does know him.]

Then let's get lunch. It'd be rude to continually stand up the future wife I didn't know I had until now.

You're going to have to tell me where to go, though. I get pretty lost around the ship.

[tearsinajar]

I bet it's one of the biggest surprises of your life. One of many.

[ Elena looks up at the tree and then off to where the exit is. ]

I don't mind showing you around. But I do have to warn you, the food here is a little limited now.

[sketchycharacter]

So far, yeah.

[That sounds...serious. Huh.]

Damn, and here I was hoping to pig out. Did something happen? Weevils get into the kitchens?

[tearsinajar]

Something like that. Real nasty weevils. The new captain called for rationing. Not just of the food but also the hot water.

[ Knowing he's waiting for her to move she begins heading for one of the exits, arms crossed while she leads, glancing at him. ]

The last part is the worst, in my opinion.

[sketchycharacter]

[That gets a pulled face. He can deal with bad or less food, but you do not mess with the showers.]

Oh no, that's just wrong. I hate cold showers. [Unless they're for a specific boner-killing purpose.]

Please tell me we won't have to gnaw on stale bread, at least.

[tearsinajar]

Cold showers are the worst. You have no idea how difficult that makes it for the mornings...

[ TRAILING OFF...

They can barely jump into a quick shower together in the mornings now with this stupid restriction, and morning showers with her husband were always a favorite past time. Lazy shower morning sex, the best. ]

Uh. The bread? No, everything is fresh, or as fresh as it can be up here in space. The meals are decently good.

[sketchycharacter]

[He raises an eyebrow when she trails off, but doesn't press for elaboration. Yeah, he can imagine.]

I'll take decent. The stuff we were eating in Panama didn't even approach that level of quality.

[tearsinajar]

I can imagine. At least here you have more than a bucket in the corner.

[ She gives a small smirk; she's heard that story too many times. ]

[sketchycharacter]

Ugh. Yes.

[He'll leave out the part where he didn't even have a bucket this last time he was in solitary. No need to gross her out.]

So...how do we meet, in eight years? Aside from the con. That's pretty general.

[tearsinajar]

You apparently saw one of my old TV show episodes I hosted and got the brilliant idea that you could use me to get to Sir Francis Drake's coffin.

[ Despite all the hardships Drake's caused them... Elena's smiling gently at the memory. He brought them together. They wouldn't be here if it weren't for that four hundred year old dead asshole. ]

It was...actually a good time.

[sketchycharacter]

So I marry a TV star? Neat.

[He can put some of the pieces together, vaguely formed as they are. If he's right about Drake faking his death—hell, even if he isn't and the coffin contains a body—that kind of expedition would take serious cash. Why not open someone else's wallet to pay for it?]

Did we find it? Was I right?

[tearsinajar]

Something like that. I go from TV star to journalist to being a foreign correspondent stationed in Yemen for a few months.

[ His questions and the gleam in his expression at needing to know make her smile. ]

We found it. But do you really want me to answer the rest and ruin the surprise?

[sketchycharacter]

That's quite a journey.

[Impressive, though. He feels like he should be proud.]

Well...maybe? I guess it depends on how long I'm gonna be here. Whether I get to experience the surprise anytime soon.