gotta get down for a mingle

[redactions]

Who: The crew of the SS Heron and visitors.
Broadcast: nope.
Action: Aboard the SS Heron.
When: After returning to the ship.

[ finally back on the right ship, except the corridors are all mysteriously cold and the ship seems smaller. Thanks, Atroma. New crew, visitors, starters in comments ]

Comments

[redactions]

Twenty minutes first, then we reduce the heat and wait until the crust is golden. You'll know by the smell.

[ He eyes the oven, and stretches. ]

Maybe the next planet will have some apples too, and we can get a better kitchen at the end of the month.

[enshields]

[Steve takes a seat at the table, managing to look more-or-less at ease.]

Got a deck of cards?

[redactions]

He does.

[ He nods to Winter. ]

Wanna play a game, while we wait? You can do more with three people. Hey, we should ask Carter or Romanoff if they want to join us for poker sometime.

[reconstitution]

[ He jerks his head toward Jim, nodding in reply. ]

We haven't in a while.

[ It would be nice to play something that didn't involve just he and Jim. He disappears from the kitchen to go retrieve the deck of cards from his spot in the cargo bay.

Winter sneaks back in and hands them to Jim. ]

[redactions]

[ Not really sneaking if they're both watching the door out of habit, but Jim shuffles the cards, quickly. ]

So, what can we do with three people?

[reconstitution]

Poker was the only other game you showed me.

[ Unless Jim did and he lost track of it.. God, he hopes not. ]

[redactions]

I've been remiss in your education. C'mon. Blackjack.

[enshields]

[Steve just raises an eyebrow and then, mildly,]

Go Fish is always a classic.

[reconstitution]

[ Winter looks between them and shrugs a shoulder. ]

Whichever you think is best.

[redactions]

No, you pick.

[reconstitution]

[ Fuck. Why do you do this, Jim? ]

Blackjack?

[enshields]

Sure. I'll be the house.

[He gestures for the cards, all the better to let Jim teach him.]

[redactions]

[ He hands them over. ]

This is real simple. He deals, we compete with him. We gotta be higher than his without going over 21. Aces count for fourteen or one, depending on how you wanna play. Two cards to start with, you can ask for more until you get 21 or somethin' close to it. You go over, you're done.

Got it?

[enshields]

[He shuffles with only the slightest bit of dexterous flair. Cards were always a big hit with the Commandos, and though he rarely played with them (mostly due to his rank) he sat in on a lot of hands. And he's always been surprisingly good at gambling. In demonstration, he deals out the appropriate number of cards, flips his.]

[reconstitution]

It sounds simple enough, yes.

[ Now all that's left to see is how well he does at it.

He watches Steve deal the cards with a flourish, and it feels almost nostalgic. Something they may have done a long time ago, but the memory has faded like sand through his fingers. ]

[redactions]

[ He waves at Steve, lazily. ]

Hit.

[ His cards add up to nine. Just great. ]

[enshields]

[House cards are sitting at nineteen. It's a hard hand to beat, and Steve nods in approval of the choice as he deals out a card. It's a seven, which-- complicates things.]

[reconstitution]

[ He looks at his cards and then at the house. His own are at 13. There really isn't much option at this point. ]

Another.

[redactions]

[ 16 is a tough set. Jim looks over to Winter's new card, and then to Steve. ]

You always get the best hands, you need ta tell me how you do it.

[enshields]

[Steve flips a five onto Winter's pile and then, with a slightly conspiratorial smile he leans just slightly in Jim's direction and in an obvious stage whisper he says,]

I cheat.

[He cuts the deck demonstrably, nimble-fingered, and swaps the bottom card for the top card, and back again in the blink of an eye. But he's smiling, as he sets them to rights again.]