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“I don’t have anything left to bet,” Grace protested, trying to escape this game that had managed to spring up. It wasn’t quite poker. It sort of was, but was more its twisted cousin. Similar enough that it was obviously the original game. But after so long on a ship, they had certainly calvinballed it.
And hadn’t that been a fun metaphor to explain, the idea of always changing the rules at the whim of the players. He had to find a copy of the comic strip showing how anyone could change any rule and any time. Though they didn't fully embrace the truly random nature of Calvinball. They happened to be adults and there were a few hard and fast lines that would get a person banned from the game.
Still, this game had somehow become the most popular version of card games on the Vat.
Grace suspected it was because far too many people on this boat were able to count cards. So the constant rule changes made it fun to play again.
“No,” Olesya said. “You aren’t allowed to leave. New rule! Must bet your shirt before leaving if out of candy.”
Everyone took a moment, considering that new rule. It skated near the territory of not allowed, given that it involved the removal of clothing. That was one of those lines people had agreed was too far. However, everyone looked to Grace. As the person that the rule was being created for, he had final say on if it was too close.
He thought about it for a moment. “Okay, but last hand, and this counts as my full bet for all the raises and such. I have to get up early to fly out with Stratt to America.”
There were several cheers, as several people enjoyed the idea of getting Grace out of his shirt. He had never done that before, though he wore some that were tight enough that it seemed he was quite built under it.
Maybe people were curious, and a few slipped Olesya some candy as a reward for this.
“You know, I’m easy to bribe,” Grace told them, even as he reached up and pulled his shirt up and off. Then he rolled it up and dropped it off by the pile of candy they were betting with.
There was a long moment of blatant stares, and Grace just rolled his eyes and lounged back in his chair. His appearance was not something he was all that worried about, but he also knew how to use it to his advantage.
While he may have doubts about how how he stood among all of these amazing scientists, and was sometimes atrocious at social interaction, Grace had long learned that he could use his looks to his own advantage.
Never let it be said he was bad at using the excellent genetics his parents had given him.
“Oh my god, you look photoshopped,” muttered someone, and Grace just grinned. That was a new one.
He hummed and stole some of Olesya’s candy, nibbling on the Twizzler and smiled innocently at her as she looked at him indignantly. “Hey, that’s mine!” she protested.
“Nope. Mine now. Payment for being okay with this.” He grinned around the candy as he waved at himself, and there were several small sounds. Grace hummed. He made a note to keep his favorite cardigan somewhere safe for the next few weeks. Just in case.
“You have a tattoo?” someone asked, startled. Grace looked over, and saw it was Mark, who ran the section that was focused on making greenhouses powered by astrophage to help alleviate some of the danger later. He followed the man’s finger and saw he was pointed to the one visible on the side of his ribs. There sat a little poke and stick tattoo of a circle with a dot inside, and another circle with three lines behind it.
“Yah,” he said. “I was really drunk when that happened. I think we were debating and someone had a bright idea. So we dug out a book of astronomical symbols and I got a sun and a comet.” He absently scratched at the marks. “Surprised they are still as clear as they were. Think we made the dye in a sink.”
Olesya was delighted. This was going better than she expected. Grace stories were always amazing. He seemed so quiet and awkward, and then he would tell the wildest stories from college.
“What’s that?” someone else asked, pointing to the other side of Grace’s chest. He glanced, and the smile on his face fell away. It was easy to see they were scars, but one was a line along the curve of his ribs, and the other was a circle.”
He looked at them for a moment. “Got shot,” he said. “Are we dealing the cards?”
“What do you mean you got shot?” This was from Yang, and she looked horrified at him. Olesya agreed. Who would shoot Grace? He was so sweet and charming that the idea of someone hurting him seemed unimaginable.
“Well, I was swinging a microscope at his face,” Grace said easily. “Though he deserved it. He pointed a gun at my kids.” He hummed, expression mild. “I took exception.”
Oh, that was right. Grace worked in an American school. Olesya stared. “You got shot at school?” she asked, eyes wide.
“Most likely place for me to be shot,” Grace told her. “It was my…third year teaching. Guy’s mom worked at the school and he was pissed at the world. Guess he thought he was owed more, and decided to take it by doing something big to make himself famous.”
The calm look was gone, and Grace almost hissed out the words. “He wanted to be famous for killing a bunch of kids. I wasn’t going to let him hurt my kids. So he came in, I grabbed the microscope, because it was close at hand and -heavy-.”
He took a deep breath and then forced himself to relax. “Broke the microscope, but I also broke his head, so I think it was a worthy sacrifice.” Then Grace smiled. “We lucked out. He did it on impulse and didn’t have all the stuff you see when they plan it better.”
Then Grace gave himself a shake. “So, traumatic story over. Are we playing?”
Olesya huffed at him, aware he was trying to distract them. But she was willing to go along with it. No reason to remind him of such a shitty time. But her heart wasn’t in the game.
Didn’t seem like anyone else had their attention on the game either. Which was why Grace handily won back all of his candy plus some. The man didn’t even put his shirt back on, just turned it into a pouch to carry his winnings.
He stood, and Olesya had to appreciate the flex of his abs as he did. Scars or not, Grace was very fit. She almost wished that he wasn’t ace as hell, and that she actually saw him as anything other than her awkward friend and psuedo-sibling. But he was her awkward, -pretty- friend. And she could appreciate eye candy when she saw it.
“It was fun. Later.”
Grace walked off, munching on one of his winnings. The people still around the table were quiet, trying to imagine what it was like for him. A newer teacher having to defend his class. Olesya made a note to look the event up. Was curious if breaking the man’s head was Grace’s gentle way of admitting he took a man out.
The idea was wild. She never would have expected something like that from her friend Grace.
But she also wouldn’t have expected tattoos or wild parties or calling someone a staggering waste of carbon from the Grace she knew either.
He had -so- many secrets under his fluffy hair.
“How much do you think it would cost to bribe him to do some work in just a pair of jeans and a lab coat?” asked one of the techs who worked in the cubby next to Grace’s main lab.
That was enough to distract everyone from their thoughts, and Olesya cackled. Grace was either going to be thrilled or horrified.
Either way, she was going to be entertained.