A/N: Well, a break between posting was definitely longer than anticipated, but... better late than never, right? Set between Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2.

I know I mentioned in the notes for the previous chapter that this one would be based in Yemen, but I had a change of heart since then. The Yemen chapter is still going to happen though.

CHAPTER 12

PERFECT CRIME

Lights of random lampposts and cars flickered in the night and Elena watched them absentmindedly with her head propped up on her hand.

How could such an embarrassing thing happen to her?! And in front of him of all people?!

Elena couldn't help but wince as the details flooded her head again. Slowly she glanced at Nate, who had been sitting unusually quietly in the driver seat, and caught him watching her, as the truck stood motionless at a traffic light. She instantly broke eye contact and retreated to the safer option of pretending to observe the window view again.

"Hey, you okay?" Nate asked after a second.

"Yeah."

"Look, if it's about what happened at the restaurant, I…"

He didn't finish as Elena grunted and buried her face in a face palm.

"Please, let's not talk about it, I swear it was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me."

"Well, I don't think it was as bad as you're imagining it."

"Really?" a mad chuckle escaped her lips.

"Yeah, I've done so much worse, I swear."

"Hmmmm," Elena hummed, not at all convinced.

"If that makes you feel any better, I think it was my fault, I shouldn't have insisted on…you know. And- hey! Remember how awesome the day started? That was just a minor…setback…just one little cloud on an otherwise perfect day," he nudged Elena gently on the shoulder in optimistic attempt to cheer her up.

She smiled. The smile came out rather sourly, but… It really was a great day. A great day and a great date. Probably the best date she ever had. Until she screwed it up. She was pretty sure that she did despite Nate saying otherwise. Because she was pretty sure he was just being nice.

And it all started with…

It was morning and the colors of dawn were only starting to brush upon the dark canvas of the sky. Light strokes of peach burst into gold and spread a glow of azure blue, dissipating the night behind the kitchen window of a two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of New Orleans. Small light shone from under the microwave, casting shadows around the joint kitchen/living room and provided the only source of light for a man, sitting by a small table in his robe and soft sherpa slippers, sipping his morning coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet of such early hour.

Victor Sullivan breathed in the heavenly scent of Arabica and took another sip. There were scuffling noises starting to emerge from the other bedroom. They steadily intensified until finally Nate burst out of the room, still quiet disheveled after waking up, but carrying a duffle bag in his hand and a resolute expression on his face.

"Hey Sully!"

"Well you're up early," Sully noted, watching Nate put the bag down by the front door and step into the bathroom, where he grabbed a razor from the counter, "Thought you'd sleep in after being on the phone half the night."

"Aaah," Nate mumbled vaguely and, as the buzzing sound filled up the apartment, kept talking, but there wasn't much Sully was able to successfully make out of that ruckus.

He did catch the name Elena popping up far more than once. Sully smiled a knowing fatherly smile. Elena. Of course. That's what it was all about. Like roads, leading to Rome, all of their conversations ever since they came back from Panama, inevitably led to Nate's mention of Elena Fisher.

The buzzing stopped and there was splashing of water and the sound of teeth being brushed and, after a small moment of relative quiet, Nate appeared with his hair styled in the usual seemingly effortless manner and blue eyes brightly sparking on the freshly shaven face.

"Going somewhere?" Sully threw bait in. He already knew what he was about to hear.

"Gonna go see Elena," Nate declared with a wide grin.

"Going to Florida, huh? I've been wondering when you'd finally go see the girl. This is turning into something more than a fling, isn't kid?"

"You know it's…," Nate hesitated, trying to pick the right words and, as he flipped the switch on the coffee maker and coffee started slowly dripping into the pot, he leaned against the kitchen counter, "She is…amazing, gorgeous, funny- she's just…special," he finally shrugged, giving up on the petty efforts to transform his feelings into verbal form.

"I see," Sully hid a smile in his mug, "Well, just make sure to be back before our trip, okay Romeo?"

"You got it," Nate answered in between mouthfuls of muffin he grabbed from out of the pantry as he stuffed a plastic bag full of snacks, "Well," he glanced at Sully, "Don't miss me too much!"

"What with the whole apartment to myself and no one to complain about the cigar smoke – talk about a great staycation!" Sully chuckled, his mustache twitching to the side.

"Hey, at least air the place out before I come back and I'll get you a little prize in return."

"Florida magnet from a gas station? Thanks, we've got plenty of gators here as it is, better spend your money on the girl," Sully parried and watched Nate grab a tumbler full of coffee and make his way to the door, leaving a tray of crumbs on the floor as he went.

The younger man grabbed his brown leather jacket from the hook and put it on, swung the duffle behind his shoulder and, as he opened the door, he looked back at his mentor.

"See you in a week Sully."

"Have fun kid. And…a small word of advice before you go…"

"What's that?" Nate lingered by the door.

"DON'T screw this up," Sully raised his finger importantly, giving Nate a meaningful look, the one Nate recklessly shrugged off, "I might be an old timer, but that comes with experience and…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Nate rolled his eyes impatiently, "Be who you are, not who you think she wants you to be and don't jump into bed right away- that kind of thing?" he recited with a bored expression.

"Sort of- and give the girl some flowers for heaven's sake!"

"Flowers?" Nate furrowed his brows dubiously, "Is that still a thing?"

"Well, if it was one of your silly little hanky-pankies then no, but she's not that kind of girl and if it's as special as you're saying it is, then yeah - get her the damn flowers."

"Hmmm, I'll think about it," Nate said after a moment, still as doubtfully as before and raised his hand in goodbye, "Now if you're done with your Ted Talk…"

"That should do for a start."

"Great, that means there's more coming."

"Go already, this newspaper is not gonna read itself!"

The door closed with a click of a lock and it was quiet again. Sully stared at the door with irony a couple of seconds longer, then he shook his head with a well-meaning chuckle and spread the newspaper out in front of him once more, preparing to enjoy the rest of the morning in harmonious silence.

Elena Fisher stared at the pale sage-green wall with a blank expression on her face, while the black vertical line flickered patiently on the laptop screen in front of her. Her mind refused to participate in this farce any longer. Thesis for the school paper, she's been working on all morning, remained unfinished and she (for the life of her!) could not come up with anything else worthy of typing.

In the end she decided she just needed a break – it was Sunday after all - and resolutely pushed the laptop screen down, zipped up her soft light-grey jacket and grabbed the keys from a small wicker basket on the entry table. Leading her bike through the narrow doorway, Elena mulled over the many possible routes her ride could take her on and eventually settled on one which went through the quiet, but quite extensive subdivision neighboring her apartment complex. It seemed long enough to adequately air her head and refresh her thoughts and maybe even give her some much needed inspiration to finish the darn paper before the day was over.

She led the bike toward the stairs, when the door on the right flew open and a head of disheveled black hair popped out.

"Hey Elena!" Shaun, her next-door neighbor, said with a hesitant smile and the rest of him slowly emerged from within the doorway.

"Hey," Elena slowed down to answer and smiled back shortly before throwing another glance at the stairway and then back at the man, "How is it going?"

"Good-good, you?"

"Doing well, just couldn't sit inside anymore, so… thought I'd go on a bike ride," she tried to hasten her escape.

"Oh yeah, the weather is great outside. You look great today by the way- I mean- you always look great, but today especially I guess," Shaun finished awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, "So…here's a thing…my buddy and I were gonna go on this concert on Tuesday, but he got sick and I was thinking," he hesitated and Elena almost winced feeling an unpleasant foreboding of what he was about to say, "I was thinking maybe… you'd want to go with me?"

"Uhm…this Tuesday?"

"Yeah, Tuesday night."

"Like a…?"

"Date? Yeah…"

Hands in the pockets of his grey sweatpants, Shaun examined the stains on the concrete of the second floor apartment landing with newfound interest, while Elena anxiously tried to come up with a polite way of saying "no". His green almond shaped eyes finally rested on her face and, as she opened her mouth, her phone suddenly beeped and, by this saving grace, Elena gave him an apologetic smile. Leaning her bike against the wall, she glanced at the phone, which won her additional time for a more graceful reply.

"Hey, what are you up to today?" read the text and the butterflies in her stomach soared up to her chest.

Her finger hovered to start typing a reply right away, but she forced herself to look up.

"I-ya…I'm kind of seeing someone already," Elena answered earnestly.

"Oh," Shaun's expression slightly wilted and his gaze dropped down again, but he managed a strained smile and shook his head light-heartedly, disregarding the topic, "I see- you know it's totally fine- I just thought what the heck – it's worth a try, but anyway, if you need anything I'm one step away, ok?"

"Sure, thanks Shaun."

"You got it," he winked and raised his hand in goodbye before disappearing behind the closed door.

Uncomfortably rubbing the bridge of her nose, Elena looked down at the phone again and quickly typed in the reply, "Nothing much, just working on boring college papers, about to go on a bike ride, you?"

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the text was delivered, but as she waited, staring at the phone, no response came back, so she grabbed her bike and, giving out a long heavy sigh, carried it down a short flight of steps. She hopped on, shifting into high gear and steered past rows of parked cars and toward a mass of single-story houses in the distance. She breathed in deeply as wind played with the flyaway strands of her hair. Shaun was right. It was the Goldilocks kind of weather – not too hot and not too cold – and it felt invigoration to be outside and stretch her muscles out.

Soon the awkwardness of her recent encounter with Shaun vanished out of her mind and, as she crossed a small busy road and entered the subdivision, Elena allowed herself to fully relax and immediately her thoughts went to… Nate. Her lips curved in an absentminded smile. She couldn't help it. Neither the smiling, nor the thinking about him. Ever since Panama… no matter what she did, the thoughts of him always lingered in the back of her mind.

What was he up to? She kept glancing at her phone mounted between the handle bars, but still there was no reply and it was her turn to feel disappointed. She wanted so badly for conversation to keep going. But she didn't want to send any more messages and appear needy, same reason why she didn't want to call either. She didn't even feel like she had a right to feel annoyed at him – she wasn't his girlfriend or anything… truth be told, she didn't know where they stood at all. Aside from everyday texts, phone and video calls, they never discussed the actual status of their relationship. For all she knew, he could have a bunch of "Elenas" waiting on his every text and call. She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips and peddled faster.

She kept riding for a good hour, going up and down small hills, in and out the quiet suburban cul-de-sacks, looking at houses adorned with manicured lawns, lush flowerbeds and quirky Halloween decorations. As Elena was on her way back to the apartment, the wind intensified, peddling became increasingly more tedious and she was almost glad the ride was about to be over.

She crossed the road again and rode into the parking lot of her apartment complex. Another gust of wind blasted and she dropped the gears down, struggling to keep the bike going. A grey pickup truck passed her on the left and drove in front of her. It had Louisiana license plate and she thought of Nate again, wondering with annoyance as to why he still didn't answer her text. The grey truck slowed down, almost to a halt, and Elena swerved to the left to pass it, but then…

"Why hey there beautiful!"

Came the voice out of the window of the grey truck and, utterly surprised, Elena almost fell forward, as she missed a speed bump and her bike bounced, jolted and shook, but she managed to hold on and avoid the fall.

"Nate!"

"Woah there Evel Knievel!" Nate laughed, his arm held out of the truck in attempt to somehow save her from crashing seconds earlier and he folded it against the window frame, "So…are you here often?" he raised his brow with a devilish expression, his eyes sliding down the length of her leggings and quickly shirking back up.

"Quite often actually, I live here!" Elena laughed, still not believing her eyes, "What are you doing here?!"

"Weeeell," Nate drew out, tapping his finger on the steering wheel, "I just sat there with nothing to do and thought – hey! - why won't I go surprise my girl with a visit?! I haven't seen her for whole three weeks!"

Elena felt blood rush to her cheeks and exhilarating euphoria take over her as he said those words, but she tried to not let it seem so obvious.

"It worked, you surprised me all right!" she answered and, realizing they neared her side of the building, tilted her head to the left, "hey, park here next to my car and come on in."

He looked so full of himself as he gave her one last grinning look before swerving into the parking spot, that Elena bit her lip, suppressing an ear to ear grin herself. She felt like a child on Christmas morning again, and she tapped her foot with impatience, as she leaned her bike against the wall by the steps and waited for Nate to get out of the truck. He looked just just as she remembered him - blue jeans and tan long-sleeve Henley – but freshly shaven and eyes sparkling with excitement.

What was the status of their relationship? Elena didn't care anymore – her steps hastened into a trot and she flew into his waiting arms. Nate leaned down right away and they shared a yearning kiss. All good things come to an end, and their lips parted as they heard steps tapping down the stairs and an elderly lady appeared, carrying a black trash bag. The neighbor measured them with a disapproving look and as she walked off, they could distinguish bits and pieces of her quiet rambling about youth with no morals these days.

The couple suppressed bursting giggling as they looked each other in the eyes until the elderly lady's voice disappeared around the corner.

"Hey, I've got something for you," Nate stepped back and walked toward the truck, turning back to point his finger at Elena who was about to follow him, "You stay right where you are."

"Okay, okay, is it something good?"

"Eeeeh…depends on who you ask," Nate drew out vaguely.

With increasing curiosity, Elena watched him lean over the front passenger seat and when he straightened back up, there was something long and dangling in front of him which, as he walked back toward her, appeared to be an orchid – potted in a fancy ceramic pot with abundance of white flowers hanging off of two stalks and spotted with myriads of deep purple specks.

"For you," Nate stretched his arms out with a look of a kid, presenting his best art work.

"Oh Nate what a beauty!" Elena exclaimed, taking the plant into her hands.

"Thanks, I woke up like this," Nate said humbly and Elena graced him with a glance full of unvoiced sarcasm, "For the record," Nate added importantly, "This is extremely out of character for me, just so you know."

"Oh yeah? Well, why did you do it then?" Elena teased him with a coy rise of her brows and for a moment he seemed at a loss for words.

"Well, I…,"

"Hmm?"

"Well because…just take the flowers, would ya?"

"Oh I'll take the flowers- actually it is a plant" Elena chuckled, "Here, hold it a moment, I'll get the bike," she nudged the pot back into his hands, but he pushed it back.

"Nah-ah, you hold your flowers and I'll get the bike," Nate said and walked past Elena, grabbing onto her bike.

"It's a plant."

"But- it's got flowers on it," Nate grunted, lifting the bike up and carrying it in the direction of the stairway with Elena following closely behind.

"It's a flowering plant."

"TomAto – tomatO."

"Now you sound like Sully," Elena laughed and, as they reached the second floor, went around him, showing the way to her apartment, "Here, right this way."

"Speaking of Sully," Nate continued the conversation as they walked down the corridor, "He told me – go get the girl some flowers," he mimicked Sully's low growling voice, "But then I thought about it and got you this…flowering plant instead. Cause, you know – flowers die, but this won't. And you'll think of me every time you look at it.

"Aaah, look at you, so thoughtful," Elena smiled approvingly and, as she pushed the key into the lock and held the door open, Nate guided the bike through the doorway after which she placed the orchid down on the entry table, "Gotta loooove the gentleman," she commented and, as he leaned the bike against the wall, snuck back into his arms and he locked his hands behind her back.

They savored the closeness for a little while, until Nate drew back with evident effort, "I-ya

I kinda had something lined up for us. Not that I'm not enjoying this."

"Hmmmm, what's that, do you mean to say we're gonna have a…"

"…real date? Yeah" he finished for her, seemingly enjoying the look on her face, "They gotta start sometime, right?"

"Yup…the four week mark seems like a good place to start," Elena nodded her head with irony, "Let me go freshen up real quick. And feel yourself at home!" she added, as she walked off toward the bathroom, discreetly tucking a pair of panties deeper into the laundry basket as she passed it by, "Sorry for a bit of a mess, I didn't expect company."

"Mess? Pffff," Nate's reply reached from behind, "You haven't seen mine. Your place looks great! And looks like I guessed it right with the present, huh?" he added, throwing a look around and observing numerous plants scattered about the apartment.

Elena smiled for the umpteenth time, as she watched Nate through the bathroom mirror while she was getting ready. It seemed like a dream. Or maybe what they had in Panama felt like a dream. Yet there he was – in flesh, wandering about her Florida apartment. And - though all good things do eventually come to an end, she knew that for them the good things were only getting started.

An hour later they were in a coastal town and the truck swerved into a parking in front of a large square.

"Pirate festival? Seriously?" Elena asked with bubbling excitement as she spotted numerous tents and banners and crowds of people out of the window.

"Thought it sounded like a fun date," Nate shrugged, looking left and right for a place to park. Finally, he found one - a narrow spot by the curb he seemed determined to take, "Here goes nothing," he announced and scrunched up his nose as he slowly turned the steering wheel and the truck squeezed into the space and suddenly tilted, "I ama good driver," Nate said in defense before Elena even had a chance to say anything.

"Yeah, I know, the curb just doesn't belong there!" she replied with a coy twinkle in her eyes.

"No it does not," Nate agreed and, after finally positioning the truck up to his expectations, shut the ignition off.

Holding hands, they walked into the square and were greeted by men dressed in pirate costumes who tried to outdo one another in terms of proper pirate talk. Loud music blasted from a stage on a grassy area in the distance and various vendors set up booths and tents all along the sidewalks.

"A rose for your fair lady, matey?" a man in Jack Sparrow costume offered as they neared him.

"Sure," Nate stuck his hand into his pocket, fished a bill out of his wallet and gave it to the man, getting a long stemmed red rose in return, "Here you go," he offered it to Elena.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate," Jack Sparrow gave Nate a wink and dramatically bowed before stepping off the sidewalk to let them pass.

They walked on and Nate shook his head, "Not all treasure is silver and gold…pfff, that guy," he rolled his eyes.

"Hmmm, what a crazy thing to say," Elena nodded with irony and leaned against his shoulder, "Well now you can tell Sully you got me two servings of flowers - you'll make him proud."

"I thought that was a flowering plant?"

"He doesn't need to know that."

They passed another group of pirates who were giving out pirate swords and hats made out of black foam with a logo of the festival and politely accepted the gifts, though they didn't know what to do with them. In the end, they gave them away to a bunch of kids, who were passing them by screaming and running, fully immersed into a pretend pirate game.

They walked around, perusing the shops for a while, until teasing aroma of food led them to food trucks parked around a giant tent with tables and chairs underneath, with long lines of people waiting on their turn in front of each window.

"Five bucks for one corn dog?!" he couldn't believe his eyes, "You gotta be shitting me."

"Got free swords and hats though," Elena lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug, "Give and take."

"Yeah, I guess…Hey, how about we go eat at a real restaurant for a change?" Nate offered, leading her toward the exit, "Unless you wanna walk around here some more?"

"No, lead the way, I'm starving!"

"I saw this one restaurant on the way – Margaritaland or something like that, wanna check it out?"

"You had me at margarita, no land necessary," Elena purred and he chuckled as they walked further and further away from the square.

The small vacation town burst with life - so much to do and see on every corner and doorstep! As late hours of fall played out its last warm melody, both locals and tourists took advantage of agreeable weather by flooding the streets, diligently ignoring the occasional gusts of uninvited north wind.

"Designer glasses – two for twenty-four," Nate read a sign on one of the street carts, "Want some designer glasses?" he turned to Elena and she snorted.

"Some Hugo Loss and Channels?"

"Maybe some Guffies?"

"I think I'll pass."

Nate and Elena walked down the sidewalk, carefree and happy, washed by the crowds of similarly carefree people. Or so it seemed. Had Nate taken off the rose-colored glasses he'd notice the annoyance on the faces of some couples, or the sheer exhaustion on the faces of others as children played masterfully on the exposed nerves of their parents. But he didn't see it. To him the day - and everything in and about it - was perfect (except for the corn dogs perhaps- five bucks a piece!) And he held on to Elena's hand like his life depended on it, wondering why on Earth he didn't make this trip earlier.

Lured by a bunch of chirping teenage girls, Elena pulled on Nate's arm and they stepped into a cool air-conditioned ice-cream parlor where they got one bowl for two of pistachio almond alternated by scoops of neapolitan and sat at one of the outdoor tables overlooking the dunes of the beach on the other side of the road.

"Aah, this is just perfect," Elena sighed, briefly covering her eyes as the spoonful of ice cream tickled her taste buds.

"And to think you were gonna slave over a school paper all day!" Nate teased, shaving a piece of pistachio almond she picked and concluding it wasn't bad at all.

"Uh-hum," Elena hummed in agreement, attacking his side of the bowl with her spoon, "Lucky me you came and saved the day!"

"Well... that's just kind of what I do," Nate shrugged with all modesty and Elena playfully rolled her eyes.

"I guess I better get used to it," she raised her brow.

"Yeah, you better, " Nate countered with smoldering bravado.

Suppressing a laugh, with spoon frozen halfway to her mouth, Elena gasped and reached for napkins as ice cream treacherously dripped on her jeans, "crap."

"Can't take you anywhere," Nate sighed with fake disappointment and Elena smiled back slyly.

"Hey," she said with more seriousness, as she finished wiping the stain off and glanced across the road, "have you noticed that any time we're together there's always ocean or beach nearby?"

Nate followed her hazel eyes and, as the sun slowly lowered down toward the horizon and the colors of gold, apricot and orange spread around it's halo and beamed along its sides, a memory of another time came to mind - a quiet sultry tropical night with lightning in the distance and stars in her eyes.

"Ah yeah? Well, if you wanna stall the dinner we can... go take a stroll?" Nate rushed to offer, scraping absent-mindedly on the last scoop of ice cream in the bowl.

"Well, now that we had this giant bowl of ice cream, I think we gotta shake some calories off," Elena tilted her head, licking the ice cream off her lips in a quick motion and Nate felt the same sinking feeling in his heart that he did that night.

"First desert before dinner, then work some calories off, I gotta give it to you - I like the way you think," Nate said, rising from the table and offering her his hand again and Elena gave him a long coy look before following suit.

They crossed the road and, holding shoes in one hand, stepped into the sand. Wobbling down treacherous surface, they passed kids splashing in the shallows and scattered groups of people, until they reached a relatively unpopulated spot where they threw their shoes down and, rolling jeans as far up as they could, wandered into the water. It was lukewarm and calm. They stood side by side - his arm around her waist and her head on his shoulder - watching the giant globe of fire slowly descend into the deep as mellow dusk fell over the Gulf.

"Do you ever get tired of this?" Elena said quietly after a while, "I bet you've seen some breathtaking sunsets in your travels."

"Yeah... it never gets old," Nate replied and turned his head her way, "but this one is definitely breaking top ten."

"Ten?!"

"Well... maybe seven."

"Oh, c'mon, who tells that to their date?"

"All right-all right...number-ehm," Nate squinted, estimating, "four...?"

"I mean, we're slowly climbing up the ladder, so I give you that."

"Hey, you know what?" Nate suddenly said with suspense, "You're right, this is actually a whole different category now that I think about it."

Elena's brows knitted together as she looked at him with slight confusion and, after a meaningful pause, Nate explained, "All those sunsets were without you," he said with defeating simplicity.

"Hmmmm," Elena drew out with a smile melting on her lips, turning toward him and Nate locked his hands behind her, "Now we're talking."

Sand seeped softly around their toes and water gently ebbed and flowed against their legs.

"So...," Nate said with a sudden determination, "what do you say we commit a perfect crime together?"

"Hmmm? What would that be?" Elena murmured.

"You steal my heart and I steal yours?" Nate offered after a moment's hesitation.

Surprise reflected briefly on Elena's face, but then she smiled and the fleeting sunlight danced in her warm eyes like ripples on water.

"I think we already did that cowboy"

Looking at her, Nate felt lost and found and unexplainably lost again. He leaned down. They closed the distance and, as their lips met, the last ray of sunlight flickered in between their profiles, then glared brightly before disappearing under the distant darkening line of the horizon.

Finally, it was hunger that led them away from the beach. It brought them to a nearby restaurant that was neither Margarita, nor Land, but it was the closest they could find. As they walked in, they both instantly regretted the venue choice. Snow-white tablecloths, candlelight, fully-served tables and servers dressed in suites.

Elena looked at Nate with uncertainty, but, after a moment, he gave her a wink and stepped in the direction of the host station. Impeccably polite hostess flashed a trained smile, one which froze for a second as her eyes slid across a wet trim along their pant legs that was still partially covered with sand. But she quickly recovered from the surprise and led them to one of the tables.

Declining the offer of triple-filtered water in favor of regular, they ordered appetizer and main course.

"Look at that, they've got New Orleans Hurricane!" Nate said with a devilish grin as he observed the drinks menu, "You never did let me order you one, remember?"

"Well, as far as I remember we kept ourselves pretty busy on our last days in Panama."

"Yeah…I remember something like that" Nate smirked.

He ordered himself a beer and Elena finally conceded to the Hurricane drink.

It arrived in a giant glass with an extra shot of run, poured into a straw, which Elena carefully moved over into an empty glass nearby.

"I'm a cheap date, a little goes a long way for me," Elena shrugged simply under Nate's eyes and he chuckled, "So," she resumed the conversation, smearing fragrant butter over a warm slice of baguette, "You still didn't tell me how long you're here for?" she looked at him expectedly.

"Well…," he tilted his head, chewing on a stuffed mushroom, "Sully and I have a trip to Germany lined up for next Sunday, but other than that," he spread his hands out, "I've got nothing."

"What a whole week?!" Elena smiled, biting her lip in anticipation, "How long are you gonna be in Germany for?"

"Eeehm…about a…month?" Nate finished with a wince and, seeing as Elena frowned, hurriedly added, "But I'm sure it's not gonna be any longer than that!"

"Well that's a consolation," she said sarcastically and there was a pause, disturbed only by the sounds of clinking silverware.

"Look, I know I'm not exactly the most steady kind of boyfriend but…," he started and when Elena looked up at him, his face carried the most genuine expression that reached into his eyes, "you and I…we decided to try and make it work, right? I think it's been going pretty well so far."

Elena chewed thoughtfully on a piece of lobster tail, "Well…all in all I think it's been going fantastic I just…wish that we could see each other more often," she said with matching honesty.

"I know, I get it, I do too!" Nate agreed, then his face took an expression of deep thinking and when he looked at Elena again his warm blues eyes flared up with decisive fire, "Here's the deal – you, me, that ice cream place by the beach, in one month sharp," he proposed and extended his hand her way, "What do you say?"

Elena measured his hand with a thoughtful look. She was totally faking it since she knew exactly what she'd say from the start, but… every woman should have a little mystery about her.

Then she looked squarely at him and slowly shook his hand. And she couldn't keep a smile off her face. It was all the alcohol of course!

Nate took a triumphant swig of beer and dug into his steak. Everything was going so smoothly, so naturally easy. It was going so well that something just had to go wrong.

And it did.

The lazy haze that lay over Elena's perception like a light weightless blanket of snow suddenly turned overbearing and rude. Snow became sleet and she felt as if her ears were stuck full of cotton as the surrounding noise quieted down and her vision narrowed down to a corridor.

"And this guy-," Nate chuckled, idly tossing a single olive with his fork, "- he looks up at me and says with this thick cockney accent – You got a light, mate? As if he wasn't trying to knock my brains out a minute earlier! I swear I-"

"Nate!" Elena interrupted him and the urgency in her voice made him immediately look up, "I'm not feeling good."

Nate squinted his eyes, looking at her, and his frown got significantly deeper, "C'mon, let's go to the ladies room," he made attempt to stand up.

"No… I don't think I can make it," she stopped him with a rise of her hand and Nate slowly sank back down.

"Okay," he nodded just as slowly and searchingly looked around, "Let me just…"

"Oh no…"

Iridescent static noise intensified. It was second only to the sound of her pounding heart and a wave of heat engulfed over her body, as Elena threw last panicked look at Nate and…

Her eyes slid across the blasted Hurricane glass, still half-full and…

In one quick motion, her hand reached for the empty breadbasket.

Elena stared at lights flashing in the night behind the truck's passenger window. Radio played an upbeat pop song and then got switched to soft rock as Nate fiddled with the knob.

He showed himself as perfect gentleman, she had to give him that.

As she hunched over the breadbasket, Nate quickly orienteered himself and spotted a busboy, clearing one of the tables nearby. The guy happened to have a huge tray for collecting dirty dishes, one which he immediately let Nate borrow and so they both stood there – Nate and the busboy – shielding Elena from unwanted attention as she gratefully turned from the breadbasket to the tray until the buzzing in her ears subsided and the knot in her stomach released.

Not daring to raise her eyes, Elena forced herself to thank the busboy and weakly reached for her handbag as Nate hurriedly paid the bill and escorted her out into the fresh air under curious stares (and surely ones of disgust according to Elena's memory) of the restaurant patrons.

He was utmost care and thoughtfulness and Elena just couldn't stand it - she was sure after that it was probably the last date they were ever going to have. Which was a shame. Because she really liked this guy. She really really liked him.

Finally, the headlights illuminated entrance into her apartment complex. They followed the road to the same parking spot from this morning next to her own little car. And then they disappeared as Nate switched off the ignition and the truck froze in place.

"Madam?" Nate opened the door for her and Elena took his hand, still being eaten by unpleasant foreboding of the incoming end.

Silently, they walked up the stairs – down the short landing and toward her apartment.

As they reached the door, Elena stopped and, picking up on her cue, Nate did too. A lonely cricket chirped somewhere in the shrubs and a brisk wind played in the leaves. Nate shuffled his foot on the concrete.

Keys jiggled as Elena took them out of the pocket of her jacket, "Well…thanks for the date," she looked up at Nate with an awkward chuckle.

Miserly light illuminated his features, including a dumbfounded frown her words evoked, "What? I got you ice cream and flowers and dinner and…a pirate hat and sword," he passionately plucked through reasons that could prove his case, "You're not even gonna invite me in for coffee at least?!"

"Well…to be correct, I didn't exactly keep the dinner in, so here goes that…"

Nate snorted an indignant chuckle.

"What you think a little bit of puke-"

Elena winced.

"…- is gonna be enough to discourage me? Is that what you think of me?!"

The gloomy fog started to dissipate and Elena looked at Nate with a changed expression in her eyes and the coy flickers in them re-emerged as she smiled.

"Now that I think about it, you might actually be panicked you might have to sleep in the truck tonight," she flashed a sarcastic glance at him.

"Oh. Wow. Now do you mean to say it's a tremendous sex drive that made me travel two hundred miles to see you?!"

"That is a pretty tremendous drive," Elena pursed her lips, staring back at him with a challenge.

Nate chewed on his lip, his eyes squinted wickedly…irresistibly…and he made ready to respond with a smartass comeback, but then his expression changed as if he got a better idea.

"You know what," he raised his hands up in defeated gesture, "I'm just gonna go sleep in the truck, like you said, wouldn't be the first time. Had to sleep on top of a car once, so not a biggie," he shrugged and made it look as if he was ready to leave.

He took a step toward the stairs, turning away from Elena, but...

The door opened with a click, Elena grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the apartment and he followed without a protest.

"Just one thing," he finally said and his hands rested on her shoulders as the door closed behind them, "I'm'a…not squeamish or anything but…could you brush your teeth for me please?"

"We're never going back to that restaurant!" Elena said, walking toward the bathroom.

"Do you think years from now they'll be like- oh that's the lady who filled up the breadbasket!?" Nate grinned and Elena's jacket flew into his face in response, "Well, I like where this is going, I think I might just keep joking about it until I get a bra thrown at me," he shouted after her.

"So it's not about the sex drive, huh?" Elena parried with a chuckle.

"Not at all," Nate casually shrugged it off, "That part is just a...bonus, we can just...snuggle and watch tv -I don't know- play board games...," he lowered his voice to a grumble as he added, "It would be pretty cruel though after I've been on my best behavior all day."

"Your cruel sounds like fun," Elena replied in a mysterious tone, leaving him room to wonder and, as she heard him plop down on the couch, started diligently brushing her teeth, all the while her toes curled impatiently on the tile floor.

She splashed water over her face and foamed some soap up and when, after another splash of water, she raised her eyes to the mirror again, strong arms wrapped around her waist and hot breath caressed her neck.

He didn't disappoint her expectations.

Briefly she saw Nate in the reflection and as drops of water ran down the mirror and their fingers laced together, she had no doubts that it was definitely, undeniably the most perfect crime there ever was and they both definitely and undeniably committed it.

A/N: Big shoutout to jollyjackclewline and Chapter 4 of his awesome story Reprobates - a reference to which I dropped at the end of this chapter when Nate was about to walk away to sleep in the truck (I hope you don't mind!). Awesome author of so many awesome Uncharted stories, which inspired me to keep writing my own!