Work Text:
Three fives. Not a bad hand.
It had become a sort of tradition. Every morning, usually half an hour before the rest of the crew had awoken, the three Russians would climb out of their hammocks and gather around the table to play cards. They would rarely play for more than a few hands and a few coins, but it gave them some much-needed mental stimulation. It was a welcome change of pace from the mind-numbing manual labour that took up most of their time, being shouted at all day in a language that - at least in Aleksei’s case - they could barely understand. It wasn’t even that the three particularly enjoyed each other’s company - far from it, they hardly talked without a hand full of cards - it was simply easier to play with your fellow countrymen. At least, that’s what Aleksei had thought.
Before he placed his bet, Aleksei just so happened to glance across the table. In doing so, he caught Leonid leaning rather oddly toward Alarcus.
“Focus on your own cards, you dolt.”
Alarcus had heard such a statement so frequently from Aleksei that he instinctively turned to face Leonid, who appeared to be trying to shift into a more natural position in a vain attempt to ease suspicion.
“I should be saying the same to you.” Leonid told Aleksei, with his usual brand of smugness.
*********
He had a straight, Alarcus had folded last round, and the pot was larger than usual. Everything was looking good for Aleksei.
“Call.”
Leonid wasn’t backing down. Aleksei wasn’t worried – unless he was looking at your cards, Leonid had a habit of being too greedy. They both revealed their hands.
“Flush. I win.”
Damn. Leonid had got him. And Aleksei was fairly sure that he hadn’t cheated this time. Leonid reached to retrieve his winnings.
“Unless I am seeing double, something is wrong here.” Alarcus stated with a blend of disapproval and boredom.
Aleksei peered down at the cards. They each had a six of spades.
Both turned to glare at the prime suspect.
“Perhaps he is being a cheater today.” Leonid gestured in Aleksei’s direction, as shameless as ever.
*********
“Stop your cheating.” Aleksei muttered.
“Worry about yourself.” Came Leonid’s unbothered reply.
Leonid had his hand almost entirely below the table. He had obviously given up on subtlety.
The Russians tried to continue their game, but there was some sort of commotion going on amongst a group of seamen that made it hard to focus. They made a valiant attempt at persevering, but gave up as soon as they saw a fresh corpse being wrapped.
“We’ll do this tomorrow.”
Alarcus and Leonid murmured affirmatives in response, before all three slinked away to begin their various jobs aboard the ship.
A minute later, Aleksei remembered that he had forgotten to retrieve his betting money. He jogged back to the table to find it completely bare.
He spent the rest of the day considering the best way to sabotage the rigging.