Chapter Text
A loud sizzle emitted from some frying oil was followed by a light curse from a cooking recently burned from said oil, Nathan Drake.
As for the fries he was frying were coming out very nicely given all Flynn had in his kitchen was either fish fingers, fish fillet, fries or just a lot of bread and many types of cheese. So harry liked fish and cheese.
'Who the hell puts bread in the fridge anyways?' He pondered, turning over the salmon with a spatula. He offered that they just order Chinese food like any normal person but apparently British people like to cook their food? Or maybe it was just that Nate never really had a solid home to spend enough time in to bother learning the art of cooking. Plus Harry didn't even like Chinese food.
The fish and chips? Yeah, they called fries chips, were ready. Or at least Nate hoped they were. Pouring them all mixed up into two plates, one for him one for Flynn. He grabbed some ketchup and mayonnaise, called for Flynn and set out the table slightly, only really moving some papers and a gun to the other side. Other than that it was empty anyways.
Nate turned around to call Harry again only to find he was already creeping up through the doorway, he didn't even hear him move. God Nate hated how sneaky Flynn was, but then again they were thieves, being stealthy was part of the job. Plus Nate knew how useful Harry's stealth could really be, saved his ass more times than he could count. Still scared the crap out of him though, he chuckled to himself at the thought of telling Harry 'no sneaking in the house.' Like some commanding peeved spouse.
'Spouse.'
"Smells good, nice work love." His voice rung out in Nate's mind like a gong.
"Hope you like it." He smiled, pulling back a chair then splashing some ketchup onto no where particular on his dish and digging in. Nathan rated himself 6/10 on the food, given he's used to eating unhealthy crap all the time but it will do.
Flynn however was looking at his plate with a strange expression, he shuffled the chips around to one side of the plate and the fish to another side before neatly cutting up the fish into bitesize bits with his fork and knife, occasionally glancing at Nathan's chaotic scene and when he squeezed some Mayo into the mix Flynn actually felt his face scrunch up uncomfortably. This Nathan saw.
Sure ever since he moved in with Flynn after Panama Nate could pick up on some neat freak, slightly OCD traits of the taller man; everything nearly always laid out in particular places not cleanly but just in a order, for example all sauces or dipping in separate plates, he was also nuts about putting any disks or DVD's back in their original case, one thing in particular was 'leave guns and anything job related on the table.' It wasn't neat but Nate guesses he wanted it so nobody had nothing to hide, Nate used to think it was stupid since anyone could just grab the gun and shoot but he checked and they were empty. A sort of trust test, a good one too.
'I guess it's just more paranoia than OCD for that one.'
Taking another bite into his food he could hear Harry grumbling from the other side of the table. Looking up to watch him he saw Flynn slowly eating a chip, then another, one by one slowly his eyes somewhere else, like he was distracting himself from the food. Nate saw him do this at many restaurants or open dives, it meant he didn't like it. Harry also noticed his staring and then shot a grin but Nate saw right through it.
"What's wrong with it?"
"What? Nothing, it's fine."
"Come on Flynn you know I don't like it when you lie to me at home."
"Oh so on a mission I can?"
"Well we might be dying or something I don't know."
Harry chuckled at that before stressing his finger, drumming it against the table. A nervous tick he had that Nate had mentally made note of.
"Alright it's just, I don't know how you managed to make the fish dry but the chips so...oily and wet?"
"Isn't that how fish and chips are supposed to taste?"
"Yeah from a really low deli shop."
"Ah, so you're not supposed to cook it like the good stuff?"
Sarcasm dripped in his words as Nate wore a lopsided grin, taking a bite from his mixed dipped messy fish, watching Harry's eyes die on the inside at the mess.
"Yeah? Well you cook so it doesn't taste like that, cooking is a great perk of life."
"Yeah well I never learnt to and fast food has done me just as fine."
Nathan argued, frustrated. He never would've taken Harry for the 'eat healthy' type considering neither of them were living above below average given their chosen occupation. In Nate's experience it was more grab anything you could eat and be grateful, clearly Harry was raised differently. But on a job he wouldn't fuss as much given the circumstance.
Still Harry's eyebrows raised, challenging Nate like 'are you sure about that?'
"Really? Even in your doughnut phase?" He slyly grinned, ear to ear as he finished his sentence and triumphantly biting into a piece of fish.
"Listen! We've been over this! That was a minor setback! And it will never happen again!"
"Minor setback!? Nate I left for a job for 3 months and when I got back you couldn't even get back up from the couch let alone climb a security fence or something!"
Now Nathan sat with an embarrassed pout, Harry really would never let that go.
"Three months mate! I don't even think it's humanely possible to get like that in 3 months!" Making his point by showing three fingers. His pearly white teeth bared in his wolffish grin.
Nathan's fists clenched and unclenched and he bit his lip.
"Yeah Flynn I know! I remember! I'm sorry the food is shit alright." Nathan yelled, his tone turned sombre. Usually he would've laughed along but it was one of those days where Nate just felt down constantly no matter what for the entire day. There was a time after Panama where he felt down constantly no matter what he did, Harry stuck it through with him though. No matter what had happened Harry was always there, Nathan would always be grateful for that.
But not right now, he wanted to get some pity points here, he wanted to feel cared for and fussed about right now and as Harry looked remorseful he knew he'd get it.
"Listen mate, yes the food was shit but you know-
"Shit?!"
'So much for that.'
"Hey you said honesty! But don't worry mate we'll have some cooking sessions when we're both off, yeah?"
"Or I just leave cooking to you? Since you'd be worse than Gordon Ramsay without lamb sauce."
Harry chortled at that, Nathan couldn't help but crack a grin at the comparison too.
"So you finally started watching it like I recommended?"
"Yes I did, and I have to ask what the hell is wrong with that guy?"
"Don't question good T.V mate."
They contained to laugh before an uncomfortable silence quickly arose. It laid there, heavy and overbearing before being broken by Flynn.
"He would go bloody ballistic over these wrinkly fries."
For God's sake.
"Y'know what, why don't you just eat my ass?!"
The grin that had then stretched on Flynn's features told Nate that he'd live to regret those words. And a few flirty retorts back and forth before Flynn grabbing Nathan's wrist and guiding him back to his bed told Nate that instead of regret he'd have some fun that night. And fun they did.