river_meimei | (no subject)

Moon Base Station is, apart from certain restricted-access sectors, built for tourism. Some tourists, like Duo, are just killing time during a layover; others come here, to the cheap hotels or the expensive ones with a real-time video view of Earth, to spend their whole vacation within the base's walls.

There's a casino area somewhere not too far away, but River and Duo have opted for one of the more family-friendly bits instead. It's a shopping area, full of glittering storefronts and small food-court nooks, with an intricately tiled floor and fountains every few dozen meters. Tiny potted trees show off the station's opulence -- this is space, after all, where trees are hard to come by.

River's already found herself cotton candy somewhere.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

river_meimei

This is the correct reaction, Duo!

River beams back, right on the verge of laughter. "It's a deal," she informs him; she's trying for solemnity, but failing pretty miserably on that score.

From:

maxwellsdemon02

"Actually-" Duo says, with the air of someone who has just remembered something awesome "-some of the casinos here offer use tables to people who want to practice before placing bets against the house. They'd probably get mad at us if we sat there all night and didn't lose any money to them, but we'll probably get bored of cheating each other first. Wanna go?"

From:

river_meimei

And hey, now River has a legal ID and everything!

Well, a totally illegal ID. But it's an excellent fake.

"It's efficient," she approves, with conspiratorial cheer.

From:

maxwellsdemon02

"Let's roll." They head towards a nice upscale casino in another part of the complex. 'MARE NUBIUM', this sign reads, and the metal walls and ceiling start to be covered by gauzy curtains, softening the angles of everything around them.

From:

river_meimei

The casually dressed are rarer in this section, and tend to be getting discreetly disapproving eyes. River's boots apparently pass muster, though, or at least can be overlooked because of the gown above them; nobody looks at them twice as Duo maneuvers towards an empty table.

It's probably to the good that he's steering, and that River still has her hand on his arm, because she's giving most of her attention to the ceiling. (Possibly looking for clouds.)

From:

maxwellsdemon02

Seems she's in the right place! Metaphorically, at least.

"You know, there's actually some new kind of depressive hallucinogenic they're calling 'Clouds'. I hope no one tries to go for dramatic irony and uses it tonight where I can see them. I just got off duty."

From:

river_meimei

River is not the type to scold Duo for jinxing them.

Instead, she's peering at him with the dubiousness River reserves for the concept of volunteering for depressive hallucinations.

"It's not an appropriate scene dressing."

From:

maxwellsdemon02

"Hey, don't look at me. I don't volunteer for-" Uh. Well, there was that one time with the thing and the guy and the place.

And way back in training when-

Okay, FINE. He sighs.

"Nah, I agree. Not really all that much fun in the end, is it?"

From:

river_meimei

"It's in the subjectivity," says River, to a table across the room.

Or maybe to the empty air in between.

From:

maxwellsdemon02

"Poor choice of topic," Duo says, remembering exactly who he's talking to, here. "Come on, maybe I'll let you beat me, first game."

From:

river_meimei

River is not so subdued as to not give him an outraged look.

Which was probably Duo's plan, but hey, it worked!

From:

maxwellsdemon02

He is getting better at this! Duo beams at her and offers her an unopened deck of cards, with the plastic wrap still on and all.

(These decks are, of course, of a different mark and color than the official house cards.)

From:

river_meimei

River accepts it with great dignity.

And examines it for several seconds, with interest, before she remembers that one is supposed to take off the plastic wrap.

(Sitting down is something else she'll get around to in a minute.)

From:

maxwellsdemon02

Well, since they're still playing at being proper young ladies and gentlemen, Duo pulls out her chair for her! With a flourish, even.

From:

river_meimei

It takes River a second to notice. Sorry, Duo.

Then she blinks at him. "The chair moved," she informs him. "We'll call it a vestigial gesture. I don't have a bustle."

Like a proper young lady, with great dignity (or at least some approximation thereof), she settles herself in the indicated chair.

From:

maxwellsdemon02

"Hey! I would never accuse a lovely young lady of having a bustle!" Whatever that may be. (Duo is not up on his pre-colony fashion.)

He settles in the seat opposite her, so as not to encourage cheating by peering at his cards.

From:

river_meimei

River sticks her tongue out at him, as a good all-purpose answer, and starts to shuffle.

Without looking, although also without any particular show-off variants. (She's got the dexterity for them, but not the practice. She doesn't actually know any fancy shuffling well enough to replicate it.)

From:

maxwellsdemon02

She's got an excellent fancy shuffler sitting right across from her!

"...wait a sec. We have to deal with another one of those cross-universe dealies, now. What game are we playing? And do we both know the same set of rules?"

From:

river_meimei

Well then, steal the cards and show off, Duo! Otherwise, how will River know?

Or, uh, wait a round and take over dealing. Whatever.

River, meanwhile, is giving him a blank look. "It's in the variables," she says, unhelpfully and possibly as a question.

From:

maxwellsdemon02

She is always helpful...

"It's like the math," Duo says. "Remember we checked the baselines, just to make sure everything worked the same? Check the deck, is it the same as one from your universe?"

From:

river_meimei

"Fifty-two," River says patiently to the cards in her hands, though she turns them over to check as she does so. "It isn't Long Pai."

Someday, Duo should learn that one. It has fruit cards!

River doesn't seem to be particularly disconcerted by anything she's seeing on the card faces, at least.

From:

maxwellsdemon02

"Okay, good? You know any poker?"

Business is starting to pick up a little around them, now that it's getting later in the evening.

From:

river_meimei

It takes some more back and forth before they settle on a variant, and establish that River, whether she knew it previously or not, is willing to abide by those rules.

(Well. As far as Duo does, anyway.)

Eventually, though, they're both scrutinizing poker hands. River's poker face leaves something to be desired, but it probably helps that she gets distracted by any number of things that aren't her cards, too.

From:

maxwellsdemon02

Having ignored the auto-dealer, Duo shuffled the cards himself. They were too stiff and new for him to stack the deck or palm anything on the first deal. Next time.

For now, he hems and haws over a hand that's got absolutely nothing useful. Bets are low, they're both cautious. "Two," he says, ditching a pointless seven of clubs and three of hearts.

From:

river_meimei

River studies him.

Oh yeah, and her hand.

"It's a duality," she says, seriously. Beat. "One."

With great solemnity, she puts down a card. (The six of clubs.)