March 18 // Tex, Church, the Master, Robin, Richard, James
Date: BACKDATED March 18, after Church's meeting.
Characters: Tex, Church, the Master, Robin, Richard, James
Location: Rec Room
Summary: Some of the colonists get together for a game of poker. There's a lot of bickering and banter. Some of the rules of the game get forgotten, Robin invents a new system of currency and considers growing a mustache, James gets godmoded, Church loses his pants, Tex drops the implication that she doesn't need to eat but no one notices, the Master washes his own deck but no one notices, and Richard foils his plans to stack the deck by arriving late and ends up doing quite well, thanks to despite his senior moments memory issues. A good time is had by all... except maybe Church and Tex, the sore losers.
Warnings: Language... bickering?
Robin grabbed a couple of decks of cards and a set of chips off the game shelf and brought it over to one of the rec room's round tables. He sat in one of the chairs, leaning back precariously and propping his legs on the table, shuffling one of the decks and pensively pondering Church's strange rock over on Morpheus.
Having had no real reason to leave after the meeting - snacks, bathroom breaks, and such being completely unnecessary - Church shoved off onto his feet, left his map in the chair, then walked on over to the poker table and took a seat to Robin's right. "You gonna deal, then?" he asked with a bit of a smirk in his voice.
James had gone to the restroom, then stopped in the kitchen to pick up a snack bowl. Poker needed snacks, and water. He was still thinking about how to make alcohol but thought it wasn't a good idea at the moment till they had more resources. He sat down to Robin's left.
Robin pulled himself from his thoughts, looking over at Church. "Dealer rotates," he replied. He shoved one of the decks at Church. "Here. Shuffle."
The only reason Tex left for while was to get a break from Church and when she reentered the room, she made sure to take a seat across from him to avoid being in direct contact with him. While they were playing with the cards, she reached for the chips to get them handed out.
"So, how much imaginary and completely useless money should our chips be worth? Twenty bucks?" Robin glanced at James, flashing a grin. "...Or pounds?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's just funny to think of you starting us off." Church took the cards and tried not to make too much of a mess of shuffling them. The thick gauntleted robotic fingers weren't exactly conducive to fine tasks.
James laughed, "Or yen. Marks. Dreaded Euro."
Robin gave Church an even look. "...Why is that funny?"
"Because it looks like you haven't even hit puberty yet," Tex supplied.
"Yeah... yeah, that might have something to do with it," Church replied, amused.
The Master reentered the room shortly afterwards, having stored his portable away in his room. He pulled back the remaining chair, spun it around, and sat down, arms over the back, looking back and forth between Robin, Church and Tex with a bit of a smirk.
"...Like you two look any less weird playing cards in full battle armor," Robin pointed out in his best Totally Unimpressed voice, even though he knew perfectly well they couldn't very well take the armor off.
"Shut up." Church glanced over at the Master. "...What?"
"Like your mask and cape are much better," Tex responded as she finished putting the chips out.
"Please you two... save it," James asked of the normal bickering between Church and Robin.
"Next time I'll wear a cowboy hat and smoke a cigar," Robin replied dryly. He took his feet off the table, letting the chair drop back onto four legs.
"Ha! Yeah, that'd be the day," Church said.
"Don't forget to draw a beard on you, that'll help you look more mature," Tex said, amused.
"Yeah, there's some paint down in that storage room. I'd be glad to help you out," Church teased. "'Cause, you know, I actually know what facial hair looks like."
"I was thinking a mustache, actually." Robin set his deck of cards down. The Boy Wonder glanced over at James' snack bowl. "Watcha got in there, James?”
The Master picked up the chips that had been set in front of him, idly toying with them and listening to the dynamic between Robin and the two soldiers. He had no inclination to interrupt.
"Going for the highway bandit look?" Church asked, shoving his clumsily-shuffled cards back at Robin.
Tex reached for the cards once Robin was done with them. "I'll deal first, unless someone has a problem with that."
Snacks are of toasted bread and nuts.
"Cool," Robin said, looking into James’ snack bowl, then, "Yeah, sure, go for it, Tex." He slid his deck across the table to her. "Cyril's small blind, Church's big blind... what do you think, nickel small blind, dime big blind?"
"Sure," Church replied with a shrug.
"And this imaginary money is redeemable for, what, exactly?" the Master asked.
Robin slid Church's deck towards Cyril. "I suppose technically you should be washing this deck, although Church did shuffle them already... actually, in that case you should definitely shuffle it," he snickered.
James starts arranging his chips in his OCD manner to have them in order that he likes.
"...I dunno, bragging rights? I don't think we ever agreed on some sort of currency or prize for the winner..." Robin replied.
"Not this time around, maybe in the future we can make something worth it?" James points out.
"There's not exactly much we can bet, since I doubt any of you want to risk your rations," Tex said with a shake of her head.
"What, you're trusting him? Look at the guy, he's totally the type who hides cards up his sleeve," Church said to Robin. "I mean, he looks like a freaking birthday party magician or something, don't you think? Something about the face."
The Master took the deck from Robin and shuffled it neatly, not even glancing at the cards themselves. "I'm not looking for bragging rights," he lied. "None of you have anything to make this interesting?"
Robin laughed, giving Church a funny look. "Church, what-?"
The Master passed the deck back to Church, letting the comment go unremarked upon, testing his reaction. "Personally, if any of you beat me, I'll offer to build you something. Anything. Your design," he said with a grin, picking up one of his chips and spinning it on the table.
"Build what, exactly? For all we know, your expertise is 'building' macaroni sculptures," Tex asked, unimpressed by the offer.
Church shrugged and took the cards. "What, you've never seen those birthday magician guys?" He glanced over at the Master.
The Master shrugged. "You'll have to take me at my word."
"Actually, I can attest to that- the man has skill," Robin put in. He looked at the Master. "I mean, I've only got your word that that neutron sine-delimiter you built actually does what you say it does, but it was an impressive piece of work any way you look at it. ...But I'm with James. Let's call this a practice game... there's always next time if we think of things we want to bet. So shall we play cards already?" He raised his eyebrows at Tex.
"A newt-a what a what?" Church asked in confusion.
"Once they put in their blind bets, we will," Tex replied, eyeing the two men to the left of her.
James nodded, they didn't have a system in place to make awards, but the future... "Play and then we'll discuss for future, we might find something here to divvy up to make it precious.”
"A neutron sine-delimiter," the Master enunciated each word condescendingly. "In short, a very basic teleport detector." He pushed his blind towards the middle of the table. "But very well, we'll call this 'practice.'"
Church put his in as well, and looked over at the Master. "You found anything?"
"We think we found Shadow," Robin commented, mildly amused... though he was, of course, disappointed nothing else had turned up.
Now that the bets were in, Tex finally dealt out two cards face-down to everyone, all the while listening in for the Master's response. Hopefully it'd be more promising than Robin's.
"But nothing else," the Master added. "Though all we've really done is rule out some forms of teleportation."
"Huh. Well, better than nothing, I guess. What kinds can't your neutron thingamajig detect? Or should I even ask...?" Church, well, asked.
"Something called a... transmatter teleport?" Robin raised his eyebrows at Cyril for confirmation. He glanced at his cards, pursing his lips. 10 spades, 7 clubs. "Check," he said, waiting to see if the others would bet.
"Check,” said James.
The Master peeked at his cards before continuing. "Assuming laws of physics consistent with my own universe--and they do appear to be--it can detect any non-transmatter teleport, yes."
"Check," Tex said absently. "And that device sounds useless."
"You're familiar with transmatter teleportation?" the Master asked, somewhat incredulous.
"No, she's not, unless her fancy program taught her something special. So what's transmatter mean, then? How's that different from normal teleportation?" Church asked. His experience with teleports was pretty much only from the layman's side of things, of course, but he was curious nonetheless.
"Check," the Master said, before continuing, "Transmatter involves the transit of particles as a wave through wormholes and other exploits in space-time, rather than a direct beam." This conversation seemed rather familiar, but he decided to give the soldiers the benefit of the doubt on having a grasp of wave/particle physics.
"Check," Church said. "So, not the sort of standard 'here's a teleporter, go walk through it' kind of set up, I take it. Wormholes sound a little... harder to contain."
If she had eyes, she'd roll them. "Do you think you can get that to work and take us out of here? If not, it's useless." While talking, Tex discarded the top card and dealt out the flop - a King of hearts, 6 of clubs, and a 2 of spades.
Wow, best flop ever, Robin thought sarcastically. There didn't seem to even be much opportunity for a good bluff, so... "Check."
James couldn't make anything work with what he had: Jack of Clubs and 5 of diamonds. "Fold." He threw the cards back in.
"It's a detector, not an actual teleport," he said, turning towards Tex. "Don't you think it's a tactical advantage to know what kind of technology is being used here?" the Master asked.
Tex was less-than-pleased with her hand, too, but since this wasn't a serious game, she decided to stick it out a little longer. "Check. That's not my area of concern. All I'm concerned about is getting out of here and killing off any pests that might show up."
Church snickered. "There's a whole bunch of 'em here, have at it," he joked.
"Watch it, or you might count as one," Tex warned.
"And therefore we should know whether we're dealing with advanced technology or very advanced technology." The Master pushed his cards back. "Fold."
Robin raised his eyebrows at James and the Master. "Pro tip... never fold when you can check. If no one bets you could get a free look at the turn."
The Master shrugged. "Probability."
"I doubt I could have done anything with the cards I was given to play with," James told Robin. "Rubbish cards."
"If it's an actual problem, I'm sure you'll let us know, then," Tex replied to the Master.
Church shrugged. "Alright, well. Check." Maybe this game would eventually get interesting.
Tex wasted no time in burning the top card and flipping the next, a queen of spades this time.
Robin smirked a little, glanced at his cards, and said, "Check." Lamest round ever.
Yeah, Tex would be surprised if she ended up winning this. "Check," she said and eyed Church.
"This is such bullshit," Church sighed. Then again, he wasn't exactly going to raise with his stupid pair of sixes. "...Check."
Robin laughed. "This is ridiculous."
"Don't you have a great poker face," Tex said sarcastically and repeated her actions from before, this time with a five of spades showing up.
"This is why we should be betting tangible things," the Master said. He was passing the time by flipping a chip in the air repeatedly.
"Yeah, well maybe if we had anything worth betting. Here, I'll bet my pair of track pants. Whoever wins this hand gets them," Church grumbled.
"No one wants your crappy clothes." At least he hadn't worn them first, Tex thought.
"No one was betting," Robin pointed out. He raised his eyebrows at the river... that was a lot of spades. Well, okay, he could pretend to have spades. "...Until now," he continued, shoving a blue chip in. "Yeah, no kidding, way to make us all not wanna win this hand, Church," Robin said, making a face.
"Fold," Tex said, tossing her cards in the discard pile. "Enjoy his pants, kid."
Church glanced at the cards on the table, then back at the ones in his hand, before tossing them aside. "Yeah, I fold too, that was bullshit. Tex, learn to deal cards better," he snorted.
Tex snatched his cards to add to the pile. "If I wanted to stack the deck, they sure as hell wouldn't be in your favor."
Robin grinned. He had absolutely nothing worth anything in his hand. "Sweeeet," he said, raking in the chips. "And since you offered, Church, I'll take those pants. I could use a grease rag, maybe."
"...Wow. Well, hey, you won 'em. Like I give a fuck." Church shook his head.
The Master picked up the deck from next to Church and prepared to deal the next hand, glancing around the table. "Shall we move on?"
James agreed and played with a .50 chip while waiting.
"Yeah, go for it," Robin said, eyeing his meager winnings with amusement. "Tex, hand me that deck, my turn to wash."
Tex finished gathering the cards that remained on the table. "Have at it, kid," she said as she passed them off to Robin.
Richard was a bit late to the game-- blame his nap-- eyebrows furrowing slightly as he glanced over the players. "Hey," he said glancing behind him for a moment before approaching the table to lean on it, observing how things were going.
James scoots over automatically to give room for Richard to sit between him and Robin. "Have a seat."
Church slid the small blind into the center, then looked over at the newcomer. "Oh hey, been a while since you've turned up for anything. What happened, you get sick or something?"
"Hey Richard!" Robin grinned at him. "You joining us? You haven't missed much... so far I've won fifteen cents and a pair of pants, so we can deal you in."
Robin put in two nickels for his blind.
"A pair of pants?" Already? Richard laughed a little as he slid between his Mate and Robin, settling down to cast a glance to Church, "Something like that."
"Not a prize to be proud of, considering who used to own them," Tex snorted.
Robin reached for some chips, starting to count some out for Richard.
The Master tapped the deck on the table; he'd been just about to deal out the first cards when Hammond sat down. "Yes, it's been very exciting," he said dryly, resisting the urge to re-shuffle the deck and dealing out the cards.
Looking down at his cards for a moment, eyebrows raised, Richard decided to call the blind, placing out a few 'chips'.
James looked at his cards and watched what Richard put out. He put in the same to stay in this time.
Robin eyed his cards. Well, they already had better potential than what he had in the pocket last time. ...Which was good, since he'd already committed chips to this hand. He waited to see what the others would do.
Tex casually chipped in the amount necessary to stay in.
The Master called as well, then waited for Church.
The lack of conversation during the game was a little weird, Church thought as he called the bet. Instead he occupied himself with trying to think of a way to wire one of the portables to his helmet so he could listen to music whenever he wanted. That would be awesome.
"Well, at least someone will win some money this round," Robin commented. "...Imaginary money." He reached for the snack bowl. "May I?" he asked, directing the question to James.
Setting aside the first card, the Master dealt out the next three cards: 9 of diamonds, jack of clubs, 9 of hearts. He divided his attention between the humans at the table--Church and Tex had impenetrable poker faces, making them far less interesting to watch.
"Sure, have some..." James replied.
After a moment Richard bit his lip, especially with someone watching it was hard to keep a straight face. He set his slightly upturned cards back down before putting a dime into the pot. "Raising ten."
Impenetrable poker faces, yes, but reflective visors made for severe disadvantages at card games. Luckily, Church had gotten good at sneaking glimpses at his cards without revealing them on his face, due to some long boring days back in Blood Gulch.
"Thanks!" Robin grabbed a handful of nuts and popped them into his mouth, eyeing the flop.
James put a dime in.
Tex eyed Richard before tossing in another dime. "Next time, let's find something worth winning."
"I offered," the Master said as he tossed a chip in.
"What, you sure you don't want my jumpsuit?" Church said to Tex as he, too, called the bet.
"Yeah, but... it only works if we all put something on the line... which means we have to figure out what everyone can offer, and what everyone wants ahead of time," Robin said. He glanced at his cards again. "Fold."
"I could use it to dress a target dummy and pretend its you," Tex replied, a little too amused with the thought.
"Better the dummy than me," Church replied.
The Master burned the next card and set down the next: the king of clubs.
Richard took a moment to look at his cards again, feeling rather forgetful, before he offered an abashed shake of his head. He checked.
James checked.
"You'll be lucky if you don't become the dummy once that one's riddled with holes," Tex said while giving the cards on the table another look. "Check."
Robin pondered this currency of exchange thing. "We should try to think of things that are in short supply on the station... has anyone not eaten their complimentary mints yet?"
"There’s mints?" Richard looked hopeful.
"Yeah, it was attached to that useless intro letter that came with our Kits? When we first arrived?" Robin reminded Richard.
"Oh." Richard said looking absently down to his hands, furrowing his brow. "I didn't read the letter."
Debating the relative merits of unintentionally winning the hand, the Master pushed a ten-cent chip to the center. "Raise."
"I still have mine," Tex grumbled. "There has to be something better than them to bet." Since she couldn't exactly benefit from something like that.
"Hey, I'm saving that mint. I'm not gonna bet it in some stupid poker game," Church grumbled. Sure, he couldn't eat it, but maybe later it'd be worth something even more. He glanced at his cards, then at the cards on the table, and sighed and called the Master's bet. Why the hell not.
Hammond took a moment, looking unsure, before he tossed another dime out to call the raise.
James called.
"You value a mint over your workout clothes?" Tex asked unsurprised and she, too, called.
"I can see James is feeling chatty today." Richard commented absently.
"Who the hell needs workout clothes when I've got this thing?" Church retorted.
"Like you would have used them even before you got that," Tex snarked.
The Master wordlessly laid down the next card, the queen of hearts, listening to Church and Tex with some curiosity.
"What, are you calling me fat? Seriously? Just because I'm not an exercise freak like you doesn't mean I wouldn't have ever used it," Church said.
James was concentrating on organizing his stacks of chips.
"Please, you've always had pudge and you weren't exactly jumping for joy every time I tried to get you to work out," Tex replied.
Richard looked amused at their banter, pushing in another dime to the pot. "Raise."
"Because it was at like six in the morning! Who even wakes up before eight? Ever?" Church grumbled.
"You do, or did you forget about basic already?" Tex said irritably.
Robin listened with amusement as well, reaching for a piece of toasted bread to munch on.
"That was fucking years ago. I'm over that shit," Church said.
"They argue like an old married couple." Hammond murmured glancing over to Robin.
Robin smirked at Hammond. "I know, right?" he murmured back. "I'd be willing to bet they have history~."
"That's not something to be proud of, asshole," Tex said.
"Oh, I have no doubts about that." Hammond offered a small chuckle at the idea.
"What, you think I really want to act like I have a drill sergeant breathing down my neck when I run my own outpost? Yeah, I really don't think so. I set my own rules," Church snorted.
"Ha! You call that running an outpost?" Tex asked, stifling a laugh. "All you morons do is yell at each other all day."
"I meant after that, remember? I already told you, I got a new assignment." Church said the last part slowly, to make sure she understood it this time.
"Now now, kids, play nice," Robin said more loudly, obviously amused.
"Yes, or no more legos." Richard agreed.
"The one where you're sitting around, by yourself? Yeah, I don't call that running an outpost either," Tex said before turning to other part of the table. "Playing nice with this idiot doesn't get you very far."
"Hey, speak for yourself, Tex. Playing nice with you usually gets someone killed, or worse," Church snorted.
James finally throws a dime in to move on the pot and the conversation.
Robin just rolled his eyes behind the mask, shaking his head a little.
"And that someone is never me," Tex warned sharply and added a quarter to the pot. "Raise."
"And I really thought Richard and Jeremy were bad in arguing," James said.
The Master shot James a grateful look. The argument was enlightening on a certain level, but hardly worthwhile. He then matched Tex's bet.
Church thought a moment, then matched it, too. Not like he had the greatest hand or anything, but hell, it wasn't like they were playing with real money.
Richard called the hand, he was already far enough in for it not to matter.
The Master nodded almost imperceptibly as Richard called, then peeked at his cards quickly for show.
James throws in a quarter to match the bet. He knows he won't win this but it's getting to a point of playing something.
Robin rubbed his hands together and leaned forward, being overly dramatic. "All right then, let's see who wins the big pot of imaginary dollars... or pounds... or Euros. …We should make up our own imaginary currency maybe. Icelus... Ickies?" He grinned.
Once James had put in his bet Richard allowed himself a smile, feeling decent about his hands. He dropped his cards down to show his two pair.
Robin whistled at Richard's cards... a good hand.
"Well, I've got crap," Tex snorted as she tossed her cards down.
The Master turned his cards over and sat them down near the pot: a pair of sevens.
James threw his down, showing he had nothing.
Church shot a look at Robin, then shook his head and put down his two pair as well.
"So close, but so far away." Came the murmurings of a surprised Hamster.
"Well Church, that was a good hand for you," James looked at the cards.
"...How the crap did you manage that," Tex asked in shock, staring at Church's hand. Her confidence in him wasn't very high.
"Huh." Church looked at the rest of the cards, then at his own again. "I... won? ... I mean, yeah, of course I won, suck it, losers!" He chuckled and scooped the chips toward himself. "Skill, Tex. Skill, pure and simple. Ha!" When was the last time he'd actually won a hand of cards?
The Master glanced over at Church, one eyebrow raised. "You didn't even know you won," he stated simply.
"Oh, shut up. You'll be lucky if you even have half your chips before this is over." Tex gave Church the closest she could to a glare.
"No, you shut up, you raised with that bullshit? Idiot," Church replied smugly.
Richard shook his head but offered a good-natured grin, "Congratulations."
"Heh. Thanks, man," Church said, nodding back to him.
"You won't be saying that for long," Tex grumbled. "Let's get the next round started before the win goes much more to his head."
They did get the next round started, and a good several more rounds after that. Church's win was remarkably short-lived, and it wasn't long before he was out of the game entirely. Fed up and not terribly interested in seeing the outcome, he wandered off to do something that didn't involve watching enviously as those who remained continued to play.
The Master consistently held his own until the final rounds, when, with a few carefully misjudged bets, he removed himself from the game in order to better observe the remaining players.
Tex’s chips slowly chipped away and just before the final round, she lost the last of them. Ever the graceless loser, she left the room with a huff and grumbled to herself. At least she had lasted longer than Church.
James looked at his chips and the two other piles and shook his head. "Hammond how do you do that?"
Richard took a moment to look to his chips, and then to James with a bit of a grin, "Well, for being unlucky I'm rather lucky." Sure he got hurt a lot, but he always lived through it.
"Years of experience. Many, many years," Robin teased, fiddling with one of the chips in his own modest pile.
"You're just lucky Jeremy isn't here, he would be harking on you forever, that something was amiss in the world to have a pile that big," James said.
"Yes well if Jeremy was here he'd have had a fit and left long ago," Richard mused.
James gathered the cards and started shuffling them, making it look like he knew what he was doing. He finally stops and puts them before Robin.
"Your friend Jeremy sounds kinda like Church," Robin commented. He reached for the deck. "All right, gentlemen, put your blinds in."
Richard put out the small blind, at Robins notice.
James put in his blind. "Jeremy can be an arse, but he's a loyal friend."
"Unless you’re afraid of something…" Hammond joked, offering a slight nudge to James.
James shook off the nudge, "He's a pillock, we both know that. He has no regards to someone having a fear of heights to that a girl standing in the audience getting him horny. It's just Jeremy."
Robin dealt the cards, then looked at his. Hmmm, not bad... go in cautious or bluffing? he wondered. He thought for a moment, then compromised, putting in the minimum raise. "Raise. ...Ten Ickies." He grinned, then pursed his lips. "Or are Ickies the dollars? What would we call cents? ...Ickles?" Robin smirked a bit.
"I think we're just going to confuse ourselves." Richard commented absently, looking to his cards for a moment before calling the small raise.
The Master stepped away from the rec computer so he could pay closer attention to the hand. The game seemed to be nearing its end. He peered over Robins shoulder, glancing down at his cards.
James matched the raise.
"Awww, I like my fake money!" Robin turned, raising an eyebrow at the Master. "No telling, Cyril," he warned with a smirk.
James eyed the cards and looked once more. "Richard?" he asked.
"Huh?" Richard glanced over to James, eyebrows coming upwards for a moment before back to his cards. He was fairly sure it wasn't his turn.
The Master clicked his tongue behind his teeth. "Your secret's safe with me," he said with a wry smile before stepping over to peer down over Richard.
Robin burned a card and dealt the flop: 4 of diamonds, king of diamonds, 9 of diamonds. He pursed his lips, considering how to bet. Tapping his fingers on the table a few times, he smirked and put in a dollar.
James looked at the cards and then watched as Robin put in the dollar. There wasn't much left to Robin's money to do that. "Interesting," James commented.
"I like to live dangerously," Robin replied, grinning.
"I'll call you, O dangerous-one," Richard said grinning as he placed in a dollar himself.
James decided to ride this too, and put in a dollar.
"Pffff, you can afford it," snorted Robin. He burned a card and laid down the turn... a two of clubs. "Hmmm." Robin pursed his lips again, then slid in a dollar fifty.
Richard’s eyebrows went upwards, offering a bit of nervous chuckle he called the bet.
James couldn't see a winning situation here; he shook his head, "Out," and sat back, leaving it to be between Robin and Richard.
Robin grinned widely and innocently at Richard, then pouted at James. "Awww, you're no fun." He reached for the deck, burned a card. "Looks like it's just you and me, old man~," Robin said to Richard, then flipped over the river: a king of spades.
Richard laughed shaking his head, "I need this, to buy a scooter, you know?" He went along with the joke, offering that ever-cheesy cock of one eyebrow.
Robin laughed. "One of those Rascals, for the elderly?" He eyed the cards in front of him and stroked his chin thoughtfully. He glanced over to Richard, eyeing him speculatively for a moment. He glanced at the cards again... then shoved all of his chips into the middle. "All in." He gave Richard a challenging stare, smirking slightly.
Oh, he really couldn't resist. At the expression on Robins face he offered that cheeky grin. "I'll call you then…" Richard counted up before placing the matched bet in the middle of the table.
The Master looked over at Robin, then back down at Hammond's cards, keeping his expression neutral.
Robin grinned wider. "Read 'em and weep," he said, putting down his jack and 10 of diamonds. "Flush."
James chuckled at the play action between Richard and Robin.
"I…" Well that was a mistake. Richard offered a gracious nod of his head helping to push the 'chips' toward Robin.
"Ha! Touch luck, old man~!" Robin grinned wickedly, raking in his chips. "Sweet, sweet Ickies~."
At the last comment Richard couldn't help himself and lost to a fit of laughter, "Sweet, sweet Ickies indeed."
Robin's triumph was short lived, as over the next few hands Richard stole all of his chips back from him, eventually edging him out of the game.
Hammond had always been, and still was, a terrible winner. "Victory!" Hands threw up into the air as that devilish grin came forward. "Now I have all the.. Ickies!"
Robin leaned back in his chair with a smirky grin. "Good for you, Richard. You can afford that Rascal!"
"A Rascal with spinners,” Richard said laughing, because the idea itself was ridiculous.
Robin cracked up at the thought. "Paint a racing stripe on it!"
The Master shook his head at their silliness and returned to the rec computer.
James listened to the humor between them. It was good to hear it.
"Not just one, but two,” Richard nodded offering his best sagely expression, before glancing to James. "No worries chap, I'll let you ride in it sometimes."
"Thanks, I think," he said. James stood up and took the bowl that was nearly empty. "Just remember I don't need like you do Mr. Accident prone."
Characters: Tex, Church, the Master, Robin, Richard, James
Location: Rec Room
Summary: Some of the colonists get together for a game of poker. There's a lot of bickering and banter. Some of the rules of the game get forgotten, Robin invents a new system of currency and considers growing a mustache, James gets godmoded, Church loses his pants, Tex drops the implication that she doesn't need to eat but no one notices, the Master washes his own deck but no one notices, and Richard foils his plans to stack the deck by arriving late and ends up doing quite well, thanks to despite his senior moments memory issues. A good time is had by all... except maybe Church and Tex, the sore losers.
Warnings: Language... bickering?
Robin grabbed a couple of decks of cards and a set of chips off the game shelf and brought it over to one of the rec room's round tables. He sat in one of the chairs, leaning back precariously and propping his legs on the table, shuffling one of the decks and pensively pondering Church's strange rock over on Morpheus.
Having had no real reason to leave after the meeting - snacks, bathroom breaks, and such being completely unnecessary - Church shoved off onto his feet, left his map in the chair, then walked on over to the poker table and took a seat to Robin's right. "You gonna deal, then?" he asked with a bit of a smirk in his voice.
James had gone to the restroom, then stopped in the kitchen to pick up a snack bowl. Poker needed snacks, and water. He was still thinking about how to make alcohol but thought it wasn't a good idea at the moment till they had more resources. He sat down to Robin's left.
Robin pulled himself from his thoughts, looking over at Church. "Dealer rotates," he replied. He shoved one of the decks at Church. "Here. Shuffle."
The only reason Tex left for while was to get a break from Church and when she reentered the room, she made sure to take a seat across from him to avoid being in direct contact with him. While they were playing with the cards, she reached for the chips to get them handed out.
"So, how much imaginary and completely useless money should our chips be worth? Twenty bucks?" Robin glanced at James, flashing a grin. "...Or pounds?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's just funny to think of you starting us off." Church took the cards and tried not to make too much of a mess of shuffling them. The thick gauntleted robotic fingers weren't exactly conducive to fine tasks.
James laughed, "Or yen. Marks. Dreaded Euro."
Robin gave Church an even look. "...Why is that funny?"
"Because it looks like you haven't even hit puberty yet," Tex supplied.
"Yeah... yeah, that might have something to do with it," Church replied, amused.
The Master reentered the room shortly afterwards, having stored his portable away in his room. He pulled back the remaining chair, spun it around, and sat down, arms over the back, looking back and forth between Robin, Church and Tex with a bit of a smirk.
"...Like you two look any less weird playing cards in full battle armor," Robin pointed out in his best Totally Unimpressed voice, even though he knew perfectly well they couldn't very well take the armor off.
"Shut up." Church glanced over at the Master. "...What?"
"Like your mask and cape are much better," Tex responded as she finished putting the chips out.
"Please you two... save it," James asked of the normal bickering between Church and Robin.
"Next time I'll wear a cowboy hat and smoke a cigar," Robin replied dryly. He took his feet off the table, letting the chair drop back onto four legs.
"Ha! Yeah, that'd be the day," Church said.
"Don't forget to draw a beard on you, that'll help you look more mature," Tex said, amused.
"Yeah, there's some paint down in that storage room. I'd be glad to help you out," Church teased. "'Cause, you know, I actually know what facial hair looks like."
"I was thinking a mustache, actually." Robin set his deck of cards down. The Boy Wonder glanced over at James' snack bowl. "Watcha got in there, James?”
The Master picked up the chips that had been set in front of him, idly toying with them and listening to the dynamic between Robin and the two soldiers. He had no inclination to interrupt.
"Going for the highway bandit look?" Church asked, shoving his clumsily-shuffled cards back at Robin.
Tex reached for the cards once Robin was done with them. "I'll deal first, unless someone has a problem with that."
Snacks are of toasted bread and nuts.
"Cool," Robin said, looking into James’ snack bowl, then, "Yeah, sure, go for it, Tex." He slid his deck across the table to her. "Cyril's small blind, Church's big blind... what do you think, nickel small blind, dime big blind?"
"Sure," Church replied with a shrug.
"And this imaginary money is redeemable for, what, exactly?" the Master asked.
Robin slid Church's deck towards Cyril. "I suppose technically you should be washing this deck, although Church did shuffle them already... actually, in that case you should definitely shuffle it," he snickered.
James starts arranging his chips in his OCD manner to have them in order that he likes.
"...I dunno, bragging rights? I don't think we ever agreed on some sort of currency or prize for the winner..." Robin replied.
"Not this time around, maybe in the future we can make something worth it?" James points out.
"There's not exactly much we can bet, since I doubt any of you want to risk your rations," Tex said with a shake of her head.
"What, you're trusting him? Look at the guy, he's totally the type who hides cards up his sleeve," Church said to Robin. "I mean, he looks like a freaking birthday party magician or something, don't you think? Something about the face."
The Master took the deck from Robin and shuffled it neatly, not even glancing at the cards themselves. "I'm not looking for bragging rights," he lied. "None of you have anything to make this interesting?"
Robin laughed, giving Church a funny look. "Church, what-?"
The Master passed the deck back to Church, letting the comment go unremarked upon, testing his reaction. "Personally, if any of you beat me, I'll offer to build you something. Anything. Your design," he said with a grin, picking up one of his chips and spinning it on the table.
"Build what, exactly? For all we know, your expertise is 'building' macaroni sculptures," Tex asked, unimpressed by the offer.
Church shrugged and took the cards. "What, you've never seen those birthday magician guys?" He glanced over at the Master.
The Master shrugged. "You'll have to take me at my word."
"Actually, I can attest to that- the man has skill," Robin put in. He looked at the Master. "I mean, I've only got your word that that neutron sine-delimiter you built actually does what you say it does, but it was an impressive piece of work any way you look at it. ...But I'm with James. Let's call this a practice game... there's always next time if we think of things we want to bet. So shall we play cards already?" He raised his eyebrows at Tex.
"A newt-a what a what?" Church asked in confusion.
"Once they put in their blind bets, we will," Tex replied, eyeing the two men to the left of her.
James nodded, they didn't have a system in place to make awards, but the future... "Play and then we'll discuss for future, we might find something here to divvy up to make it precious.”
"A neutron sine-delimiter," the Master enunciated each word condescendingly. "In short, a very basic teleport detector." He pushed his blind towards the middle of the table. "But very well, we'll call this 'practice.'"
Church put his in as well, and looked over at the Master. "You found anything?"
"We think we found Shadow," Robin commented, mildly amused... though he was, of course, disappointed nothing else had turned up.
Now that the bets were in, Tex finally dealt out two cards face-down to everyone, all the while listening in for the Master's response. Hopefully it'd be more promising than Robin's.
"But nothing else," the Master added. "Though all we've really done is rule out some forms of teleportation."
"Huh. Well, better than nothing, I guess. What kinds can't your neutron thingamajig detect? Or should I even ask...?" Church, well, asked.
"Something called a... transmatter teleport?" Robin raised his eyebrows at Cyril for confirmation. He glanced at his cards, pursing his lips. 10 spades, 7 clubs. "Check," he said, waiting to see if the others would bet.
"Check,” said James.
The Master peeked at his cards before continuing. "Assuming laws of physics consistent with my own universe--and they do appear to be--it can detect any non-transmatter teleport, yes."
"Check," Tex said absently. "And that device sounds useless."
"You're familiar with transmatter teleportation?" the Master asked, somewhat incredulous.
"No, she's not, unless her fancy program taught her something special. So what's transmatter mean, then? How's that different from normal teleportation?" Church asked. His experience with teleports was pretty much only from the layman's side of things, of course, but he was curious nonetheless.
"Check," the Master said, before continuing, "Transmatter involves the transit of particles as a wave through wormholes and other exploits in space-time, rather than a direct beam." This conversation seemed rather familiar, but he decided to give the soldiers the benefit of the doubt on having a grasp of wave/particle physics.
"Check," Church said. "So, not the sort of standard 'here's a teleporter, go walk through it' kind of set up, I take it. Wormholes sound a little... harder to contain."
If she had eyes, she'd roll them. "Do you think you can get that to work and take us out of here? If not, it's useless." While talking, Tex discarded the top card and dealt out the flop - a King of hearts, 6 of clubs, and a 2 of spades.
Wow, best flop ever, Robin thought sarcastically. There didn't seem to even be much opportunity for a good bluff, so... "Check."
James couldn't make anything work with what he had: Jack of Clubs and 5 of diamonds. "Fold." He threw the cards back in.
"It's a detector, not an actual teleport," he said, turning towards Tex. "Don't you think it's a tactical advantage to know what kind of technology is being used here?" the Master asked.
Tex was less-than-pleased with her hand, too, but since this wasn't a serious game, she decided to stick it out a little longer. "Check. That's not my area of concern. All I'm concerned about is getting out of here and killing off any pests that might show up."
Church snickered. "There's a whole bunch of 'em here, have at it," he joked.
"Watch it, or you might count as one," Tex warned.
"And therefore we should know whether we're dealing with advanced technology or very advanced technology." The Master pushed his cards back. "Fold."
Robin raised his eyebrows at James and the Master. "Pro tip... never fold when you can check. If no one bets you could get a free look at the turn."
The Master shrugged. "Probability."
"I doubt I could have done anything with the cards I was given to play with," James told Robin. "Rubbish cards."
"If it's an actual problem, I'm sure you'll let us know, then," Tex replied to the Master.
Church shrugged. "Alright, well. Check." Maybe this game would eventually get interesting.
Tex wasted no time in burning the top card and flipping the next, a queen of spades this time.
Robin smirked a little, glanced at his cards, and said, "Check." Lamest round ever.
Yeah, Tex would be surprised if she ended up winning this. "Check," she said and eyed Church.
"This is such bullshit," Church sighed. Then again, he wasn't exactly going to raise with his stupid pair of sixes. "...Check."
Robin laughed. "This is ridiculous."
"Don't you have a great poker face," Tex said sarcastically and repeated her actions from before, this time with a five of spades showing up.
"This is why we should be betting tangible things," the Master said. He was passing the time by flipping a chip in the air repeatedly.
"Yeah, well maybe if we had anything worth betting. Here, I'll bet my pair of track pants. Whoever wins this hand gets them," Church grumbled.
"No one wants your crappy clothes." At least he hadn't worn them first, Tex thought.
"No one was betting," Robin pointed out. He raised his eyebrows at the river... that was a lot of spades. Well, okay, he could pretend to have spades. "...Until now," he continued, shoving a blue chip in. "Yeah, no kidding, way to make us all not wanna win this hand, Church," Robin said, making a face.
"Fold," Tex said, tossing her cards in the discard pile. "Enjoy his pants, kid."
Church glanced at the cards on the table, then back at the ones in his hand, before tossing them aside. "Yeah, I fold too, that was bullshit. Tex, learn to deal cards better," he snorted.
Tex snatched his cards to add to the pile. "If I wanted to stack the deck, they sure as hell wouldn't be in your favor."
Robin grinned. He had absolutely nothing worth anything in his hand. "Sweeeet," he said, raking in the chips. "And since you offered, Church, I'll take those pants. I could use a grease rag, maybe."
"...Wow. Well, hey, you won 'em. Like I give a fuck." Church shook his head.
The Master picked up the deck from next to Church and prepared to deal the next hand, glancing around the table. "Shall we move on?"
James agreed and played with a .50 chip while waiting.
"Yeah, go for it," Robin said, eyeing his meager winnings with amusement. "Tex, hand me that deck, my turn to wash."
Tex finished gathering the cards that remained on the table. "Have at it, kid," she said as she passed them off to Robin.
Richard was a bit late to the game-- blame his nap-- eyebrows furrowing slightly as he glanced over the players. "Hey," he said glancing behind him for a moment before approaching the table to lean on it, observing how things were going.
James scoots over automatically to give room for Richard to sit between him and Robin. "Have a seat."
Church slid the small blind into the center, then looked over at the newcomer. "Oh hey, been a while since you've turned up for anything. What happened, you get sick or something?"
"Hey Richard!" Robin grinned at him. "You joining us? You haven't missed much... so far I've won fifteen cents and a pair of pants, so we can deal you in."
Robin put in two nickels for his blind.
"A pair of pants?" Already? Richard laughed a little as he slid between his Mate and Robin, settling down to cast a glance to Church, "Something like that."
"Not a prize to be proud of, considering who used to own them," Tex snorted.
Robin reached for some chips, starting to count some out for Richard.
The Master tapped the deck on the table; he'd been just about to deal out the first cards when Hammond sat down. "Yes, it's been very exciting," he said dryly, resisting the urge to re-shuffle the deck and dealing out the cards.
Looking down at his cards for a moment, eyebrows raised, Richard decided to call the blind, placing out a few 'chips'.
James looked at his cards and watched what Richard put out. He put in the same to stay in this time.
Robin eyed his cards. Well, they already had better potential than what he had in the pocket last time. ...Which was good, since he'd already committed chips to this hand. He waited to see what the others would do.
Tex casually chipped in the amount necessary to stay in.
The Master called as well, then waited for Church.
The lack of conversation during the game was a little weird, Church thought as he called the bet. Instead he occupied himself with trying to think of a way to wire one of the portables to his helmet so he could listen to music whenever he wanted. That would be awesome.
"Well, at least someone will win some money this round," Robin commented. "...Imaginary money." He reached for the snack bowl. "May I?" he asked, directing the question to James.
Setting aside the first card, the Master dealt out the next three cards: 9 of diamonds, jack of clubs, 9 of hearts. He divided his attention between the humans at the table--Church and Tex had impenetrable poker faces, making them far less interesting to watch.
"Sure, have some..." James replied.
After a moment Richard bit his lip, especially with someone watching it was hard to keep a straight face. He set his slightly upturned cards back down before putting a dime into the pot. "Raising ten."
Impenetrable poker faces, yes, but reflective visors made for severe disadvantages at card games. Luckily, Church had gotten good at sneaking glimpses at his cards without revealing them on his face, due to some long boring days back in Blood Gulch.
"Thanks!" Robin grabbed a handful of nuts and popped them into his mouth, eyeing the flop.
James put a dime in.
Tex eyed Richard before tossing in another dime. "Next time, let's find something worth winning."
"I offered," the Master said as he tossed a chip in.
"What, you sure you don't want my jumpsuit?" Church said to Tex as he, too, called the bet.
"Yeah, but... it only works if we all put something on the line... which means we have to figure out what everyone can offer, and what everyone wants ahead of time," Robin said. He glanced at his cards again. "Fold."
"I could use it to dress a target dummy and pretend its you," Tex replied, a little too amused with the thought.
"Better the dummy than me," Church replied.
The Master burned the next card and set down the next: the king of clubs.
Richard took a moment to look at his cards again, feeling rather forgetful, before he offered an abashed shake of his head. He checked.
James checked.
"You'll be lucky if you don't become the dummy once that one's riddled with holes," Tex said while giving the cards on the table another look. "Check."
Robin pondered this currency of exchange thing. "We should try to think of things that are in short supply on the station... has anyone not eaten their complimentary mints yet?"
"There’s mints?" Richard looked hopeful.
"Yeah, it was attached to that useless intro letter that came with our Kits? When we first arrived?" Robin reminded Richard.
"Oh." Richard said looking absently down to his hands, furrowing his brow. "I didn't read the letter."
Debating the relative merits of unintentionally winning the hand, the Master pushed a ten-cent chip to the center. "Raise."
"I still have mine," Tex grumbled. "There has to be something better than them to bet." Since she couldn't exactly benefit from something like that.
"Hey, I'm saving that mint. I'm not gonna bet it in some stupid poker game," Church grumbled. Sure, he couldn't eat it, but maybe later it'd be worth something even more. He glanced at his cards, then at the cards on the table, and sighed and called the Master's bet. Why the hell not.
Hammond took a moment, looking unsure, before he tossed another dime out to call the raise.
James called.
"You value a mint over your workout clothes?" Tex asked unsurprised and she, too, called.
"I can see James is feeling chatty today." Richard commented absently.
"Who the hell needs workout clothes when I've got this thing?" Church retorted.
"Like you would have used them even before you got that," Tex snarked.
The Master wordlessly laid down the next card, the queen of hearts, listening to Church and Tex with some curiosity.
"What, are you calling me fat? Seriously? Just because I'm not an exercise freak like you doesn't mean I wouldn't have ever used it," Church said.
James was concentrating on organizing his stacks of chips.
"Please, you've always had pudge and you weren't exactly jumping for joy every time I tried to get you to work out," Tex replied.
Richard looked amused at their banter, pushing in another dime to the pot. "Raise."
"Because it was at like six in the morning! Who even wakes up before eight? Ever?" Church grumbled.
"You do, or did you forget about basic already?" Tex said irritably.
Robin listened with amusement as well, reaching for a piece of toasted bread to munch on.
"That was fucking years ago. I'm over that shit," Church said.
"They argue like an old married couple." Hammond murmured glancing over to Robin.
Robin smirked at Hammond. "I know, right?" he murmured back. "I'd be willing to bet they have history~."
"That's not something to be proud of, asshole," Tex said.
"Oh, I have no doubts about that." Hammond offered a small chuckle at the idea.
"What, you think I really want to act like I have a drill sergeant breathing down my neck when I run my own outpost? Yeah, I really don't think so. I set my own rules," Church snorted.
"Ha! You call that running an outpost?" Tex asked, stifling a laugh. "All you morons do is yell at each other all day."
"I meant after that, remember? I already told you, I got a new assignment." Church said the last part slowly, to make sure she understood it this time.
"Now now, kids, play nice," Robin said more loudly, obviously amused.
"Yes, or no more legos." Richard agreed.
"The one where you're sitting around, by yourself? Yeah, I don't call that running an outpost either," Tex said before turning to other part of the table. "Playing nice with this idiot doesn't get you very far."
"Hey, speak for yourself, Tex. Playing nice with you usually gets someone killed, or worse," Church snorted.
James finally throws a dime in to move on the pot and the conversation.
Robin just rolled his eyes behind the mask, shaking his head a little.
"And that someone is never me," Tex warned sharply and added a quarter to the pot. "Raise."
"And I really thought Richard and Jeremy were bad in arguing," James said.
The Master shot James a grateful look. The argument was enlightening on a certain level, but hardly worthwhile. He then matched Tex's bet.
Church thought a moment, then matched it, too. Not like he had the greatest hand or anything, but hell, it wasn't like they were playing with real money.
Richard called the hand, he was already far enough in for it not to matter.
The Master nodded almost imperceptibly as Richard called, then peeked at his cards quickly for show.
James throws in a quarter to match the bet. He knows he won't win this but it's getting to a point of playing something.
Robin rubbed his hands together and leaned forward, being overly dramatic. "All right then, let's see who wins the big pot of imaginary dollars... or pounds... or Euros. …We should make up our own imaginary currency maybe. Icelus... Ickies?" He grinned.
Once James had put in his bet Richard allowed himself a smile, feeling decent about his hands. He dropped his cards down to show his two pair.
Robin whistled at Richard's cards... a good hand.
"Well, I've got crap," Tex snorted as she tossed her cards down.
The Master turned his cards over and sat them down near the pot: a pair of sevens.
James threw his down, showing he had nothing.
Church shot a look at Robin, then shook his head and put down his two pair as well.
"So close, but so far away." Came the murmurings of a surprised Hamster.
"Well Church, that was a good hand for you," James looked at the cards.
"...How the crap did you manage that," Tex asked in shock, staring at Church's hand. Her confidence in him wasn't very high.
"Huh." Church looked at the rest of the cards, then at his own again. "I... won? ... I mean, yeah, of course I won, suck it, losers!" He chuckled and scooped the chips toward himself. "Skill, Tex. Skill, pure and simple. Ha!" When was the last time he'd actually won a hand of cards?
The Master glanced over at Church, one eyebrow raised. "You didn't even know you won," he stated simply.
"Oh, shut up. You'll be lucky if you even have half your chips before this is over." Tex gave Church the closest she could to a glare.
"No, you shut up, you raised with that bullshit? Idiot," Church replied smugly.
Richard shook his head but offered a good-natured grin, "Congratulations."
"Heh. Thanks, man," Church said, nodding back to him.
"You won't be saying that for long," Tex grumbled. "Let's get the next round started before the win goes much more to his head."
They did get the next round started, and a good several more rounds after that. Church's win was remarkably short-lived, and it wasn't long before he was out of the game entirely. Fed up and not terribly interested in seeing the outcome, he wandered off to do something that didn't involve watching enviously as those who remained continued to play.
The Master consistently held his own until the final rounds, when, with a few carefully misjudged bets, he removed himself from the game in order to better observe the remaining players.
Tex’s chips slowly chipped away and just before the final round, she lost the last of them. Ever the graceless loser, she left the room with a huff and grumbled to herself. At least she had lasted longer than Church.
James looked at his chips and the two other piles and shook his head. "Hammond how do you do that?"
Richard took a moment to look to his chips, and then to James with a bit of a grin, "Well, for being unlucky I'm rather lucky." Sure he got hurt a lot, but he always lived through it.
"Years of experience. Many, many years," Robin teased, fiddling with one of the chips in his own modest pile.
"You're just lucky Jeremy isn't here, he would be harking on you forever, that something was amiss in the world to have a pile that big," James said.
"Yes well if Jeremy was here he'd have had a fit and left long ago," Richard mused.
James gathered the cards and started shuffling them, making it look like he knew what he was doing. He finally stops and puts them before Robin.
"Your friend Jeremy sounds kinda like Church," Robin commented. He reached for the deck. "All right, gentlemen, put your blinds in."
Richard put out the small blind, at Robins notice.
James put in his blind. "Jeremy can be an arse, but he's a loyal friend."
"Unless you’re afraid of something…" Hammond joked, offering a slight nudge to James.
James shook off the nudge, "He's a pillock, we both know that. He has no regards to someone having a fear of heights to that a girl standing in the audience getting him horny. It's just Jeremy."
Robin dealt the cards, then looked at his. Hmmm, not bad... go in cautious or bluffing? he wondered. He thought for a moment, then compromised, putting in the minimum raise. "Raise. ...Ten Ickies." He grinned, then pursed his lips. "Or are Ickies the dollars? What would we call cents? ...Ickles?" Robin smirked a bit.
"I think we're just going to confuse ourselves." Richard commented absently, looking to his cards for a moment before calling the small raise.
The Master stepped away from the rec computer so he could pay closer attention to the hand. The game seemed to be nearing its end. He peered over Robins shoulder, glancing down at his cards.
James matched the raise.
"Awww, I like my fake money!" Robin turned, raising an eyebrow at the Master. "No telling, Cyril," he warned with a smirk.
James eyed the cards and looked once more. "Richard?" he asked.
"Huh?" Richard glanced over to James, eyebrows coming upwards for a moment before back to his cards. He was fairly sure it wasn't his turn.
The Master clicked his tongue behind his teeth. "Your secret's safe with me," he said with a wry smile before stepping over to peer down over Richard.
Robin burned a card and dealt the flop: 4 of diamonds, king of diamonds, 9 of diamonds. He pursed his lips, considering how to bet. Tapping his fingers on the table a few times, he smirked and put in a dollar.
James looked at the cards and then watched as Robin put in the dollar. There wasn't much left to Robin's money to do that. "Interesting," James commented.
"I like to live dangerously," Robin replied, grinning.
"I'll call you, O dangerous-one," Richard said grinning as he placed in a dollar himself.
James decided to ride this too, and put in a dollar.
"Pffff, you can afford it," snorted Robin. He burned a card and laid down the turn... a two of clubs. "Hmmm." Robin pursed his lips again, then slid in a dollar fifty.
Richard’s eyebrows went upwards, offering a bit of nervous chuckle he called the bet.
James couldn't see a winning situation here; he shook his head, "Out," and sat back, leaving it to be between Robin and Richard.
Robin grinned widely and innocently at Richard, then pouted at James. "Awww, you're no fun." He reached for the deck, burned a card. "Looks like it's just you and me, old man~," Robin said to Richard, then flipped over the river: a king of spades.
Richard laughed shaking his head, "I need this, to buy a scooter, you know?" He went along with the joke, offering that ever-cheesy cock of one eyebrow.
Robin laughed. "One of those Rascals, for the elderly?" He eyed the cards in front of him and stroked his chin thoughtfully. He glanced over to Richard, eyeing him speculatively for a moment. He glanced at the cards again... then shoved all of his chips into the middle. "All in." He gave Richard a challenging stare, smirking slightly.
Oh, he really couldn't resist. At the expression on Robins face he offered that cheeky grin. "I'll call you then…" Richard counted up before placing the matched bet in the middle of the table.
The Master looked over at Robin, then back down at Hammond's cards, keeping his expression neutral.
Robin grinned wider. "Read 'em and weep," he said, putting down his jack and 10 of diamonds. "Flush."
James chuckled at the play action between Richard and Robin.
"I…" Well that was a mistake. Richard offered a gracious nod of his head helping to push the 'chips' toward Robin.
"Ha! Touch luck, old man~!" Robin grinned wickedly, raking in his chips. "Sweet, sweet Ickies~."
At the last comment Richard couldn't help himself and lost to a fit of laughter, "Sweet, sweet Ickies indeed."
Robin's triumph was short lived, as over the next few hands Richard stole all of his chips back from him, eventually edging him out of the game.
Hammond had always been, and still was, a terrible winner. "Victory!" Hands threw up into the air as that devilish grin came forward. "Now I have all the.. Ickies!"
Robin leaned back in his chair with a smirky grin. "Good for you, Richard. You can afford that Rascal!"
"A Rascal with spinners,” Richard said laughing, because the idea itself was ridiculous.
Robin cracked up at the thought. "Paint a racing stripe on it!"
The Master shook his head at their silliness and returned to the rec computer.
James listened to the humor between them. It was good to hear it.
"Not just one, but two,” Richard nodded offering his best sagely expression, before glancing to James. "No worries chap, I'll let you ride in it sometimes."
"Thanks, I think," he said. James stood up and took the bowl that was nearly empty. "Just remember I don't need like you do Mr. Accident prone."