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A Game of Cards
folder
M through R › The O.C.
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
8,993
Reviews:
14
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
M through R › The O.C.
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
8,993
Reviews:
14
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own The O.C., nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
A Game of Cards
Round 1
OK, so here it is. This tries to be as true to cannon as possible in terms of attitude, but of course the situation would be hard to imagine. I suppose if Luke came home to visit Ryan and Seth for a weekend or something, which is vaguely possible after the events of season 2, episodes 1-2. I'd like to say there is more to come, but this is hard for me to write.
This is also a little bit of an exploration of relationships, believe it or not. It may not be immediately apparent, but I have a plan. This is Ryan, Seth, Luke and Zach who are, well, in over their heads. Who knew Luke couldn't catch a ball?
Round 1
Spoilers: nope, as long as you know that Zach and Luke exist. Oops, I guess I spoiled that.
Ryan shuffled. His eyes were hooded, he was looking down. He thought the summer air was a little cooler than it should have been, and this could be a little embarrassing.
“Deal, dude.” Seth said.
“Why are we doing this?” Luke asked.
“Because you lost the bet for us.” Ryan replied.
“Hey, this isn’t just my fault. If Seth over there had run a little faster…”
Seth snorted. “Who knew Luke couldn’t catch a ball?”
“Just deal, Ryan.” Zach said, and sat back.
“I feel like we are on display here. It’s weird.” Luke complained.
“We are.” Ryan passed out the cards. He looked at Seth, whose _expression was unreadable.
Ryan picked up his cards. Ace of diamonds. Ace of spades. 2 of clubs. 2 of hearts. Two of diamonds. Luck was with him.
Zach’s face was puzzled. Luke was smiling. Seth remained unreadable. “Ante up,” Seth said, in a monotone.
Everyone threw a blue chip into the center of the pot. Seth threw in two red chips. Zach followed suit. Luke did the same, and so did Ryan. Back to Seth. 1 more red chip.
“Why are we betting?” Ryan asked.
“Well, we might as well get something out of this” Luke said.
“We didn’t even agree how much the chips are worth. This is stupid. Let’s just deal the hands.”
“No, we bid. We play. We don’t let them…” Zach’s eyes went behind him to the other group of people in the room, “control everything, or get what they want too soon. Plus, it adds skill. You don’t bid, then it’s just luck of the draw. I’m not surrendering skill right now.”
Seth asked conspiratorially, “You’ve got skills?”
“Oh, yea, I’ve got skills” Zach replied.
“Bid.” Luke said again.
Ryan put in two red chips of his own and took no cards. Seth gave him a mock salute, and added his own, taking a card. Luke added two red chips and took a card. After several more bets, and some more exchanging of cards, it came around to Zach again. He folded.
Ryan was incredulous. “Zach, you folded.”
“So?”
“So you want to loose?”
“No, I just don’t want to loose my shirt and my shirt,” Zach said.
“Call.” Luke said.
Luke laid down his hand. 2 pair, fours and sixes.
“Nice, but not nice enough,” Seth said, putting down two pair, 10’s and Jacks. “What did you have, Zach?”
Zach turned his cards over. “Nothing.”
Ryan turned his cards over. “Full house.”
“Fuck.”
“Shit”
“Nice, Ry,” Seth said, and pulled off his shirt to reveal his slim chest. Luke pulled off his shirt, his tan perfect and his shoulders round. Zach did the same, looking like a smooth river god.
“Fucking water polo team,” Seth muttered.
“Don’t freaking look at me, Cohen” Luke said.
"Try not making a spectacle of your pecs, then. What is your bra size?”
Surprisingly, Luke didn’t reply, but Ryan snorted.
Ryan heard whispering behind him, but did not look. He looked up to see Luke scowling, and he smiled at him. “Shut it, Chino.”
Ryan laughed, and suddenly, Luke did too. It was pretty funny. Seth smiled, but Zach looked uneasy.
Ryan passed the deck clockwise, and Seth shuffled.
“Wait!” came a voice behind them.
“What?” Zach said.
“You forgot the deal. After every hand, the losers draw a slip. You get a task, you perform it. You agreed! Heck, you wrote most of them…” Marissa said. “Here’s the level one pile.”
“Seemed like a better deal when we thought we were winning…”Luke said.
“Too bad, babe,” Summer said.
Zach, Seth, and Luke each pulled a slip.
Zach read his and looked relieved. “Blank,” he said.
“Mine too,” Seth said.
Luke’s lips drew tightly together. “Read it! Read it!” chanted Summer and Anna behind him.
“Rub the shoulders of the person to across from you for 3 minutes. Nibble and/or lick their ear while doing it.”
Seth looked aghast. Ryan smiled, and Zach laughed. The girls clapped. “You have to do it right!” Summer cried, gleefully.
“I wrote that one,” Seth said quietly.
“What is this and-slash-or shit?” Luke asked.
“It sounded good when I thought it would be Marissa and-slash-or Summer,” Seth pleaded.
“Dude, you are dead when I’m done nibbling your ear,” Luke said.
“I have spent my life hoping you would never say any part of that sentence,” Seth said.
Luke got up, walked around the little circle. The candlelight coming from the candles on the deck furniture cast more light than he really liked, especially with the moon as full as it was. “Why don’t we go into the poolhouse?” He asked.
“Ixnay on the oolhousepay,” Marissa said. “You wanted it by the pool, so do we.”
“Start the timer, dude. Start the timer.”
Ryan helpfully handed Luke a bottle of sun-tan lotion. He threw it back at Ryan, hitting him in the chest. “Fuck you. Ryan.”
“Hopefully not,” Ryan replied.
“Can we just get this done?” Seth said.
Luke knelt behind Seth’s shoulders. His hands were large and smooth, and warm on Seth’s cool back. He began to rub Seth’s shoulders gently. Surprised that Luke wasn’t trying to hurt him, he wasn’t sure whether to enjoy it, or just feel weird. He was leaning towards weird, especially the way his heart was beating. Definitely weird. Luke’s arms were big, and he could feel the strength of them. Then he felt Luke’s face moving closer to his ear, breath warm and smelling slightly of beer. Seth wasn’t sure what to expect, but he was surprised when Luke began to nibble his ear. His tongue wrapped around the outside of his earlobe. It tickled and Seth shrugged away. Marissa giggled. Seth noticed that Zach and Ryan were watching. Ryan’s _expression was curious, and a little concerned. He wondered what his own _expression was.
“Time?” Luke demanded.
“1 minute to go.” Ryan replied.
Luke continued to rub Seth’s back and shoulders, kneading and stroking gently, firmly. His hands traveled down Seth’s back with surprising ease. Clearly, Luke had rubbed someone’s back before. Aside from the whole “how did I get into this?” thing, Seth didn’t think it was half bad. Luke’s thumbs met down in the small of Seth’s back, and his hands spanned Seth’s waist. He was once more surprised by Luke’s teeth on his earlobe. It hurt, but not too bad. Luke wasn’t really trying to hurt him, that was clear from the second he started this backrub. “Remember this if you… have to do anything…” Luke whispered between clenched teeth. Suddenly it made sense to Seth. He sat very, very still.
“Time!” Zach said, looking at the stopwatch in Ryan's hand. Luke stood up and walked back around to his place, candle-light and moonlight making the sweat on his chest shine. Ryan put the stopwatch down and hoped he had imagined the tremble in Seth's lips.
OK, so here it is. This tries to be as true to cannon as possible in terms of attitude, but of course the situation would be hard to imagine. I suppose if Luke came home to visit Ryan and Seth for a weekend or something, which is vaguely possible after the events of season 2, episodes 1-2. I'd like to say there is more to come, but this is hard for me to write.
This is also a little bit of an exploration of relationships, believe it or not. It may not be immediately apparent, but I have a plan. This is Ryan, Seth, Luke and Zach who are, well, in over their heads. Who knew Luke couldn't catch a ball?
Round 1
Spoilers: nope, as long as you know that Zach and Luke exist. Oops, I guess I spoiled that.
Ryan shuffled. His eyes were hooded, he was looking down. He thought the summer air was a little cooler than it should have been, and this could be a little embarrassing.
“Deal, dude.” Seth said.
“Why are we doing this?” Luke asked.
“Because you lost the bet for us.” Ryan replied.
“Hey, this isn’t just my fault. If Seth over there had run a little faster…”
Seth snorted. “Who knew Luke couldn’t catch a ball?”
“Just deal, Ryan.” Zach said, and sat back.
“I feel like we are on display here. It’s weird.” Luke complained.
“We are.” Ryan passed out the cards. He looked at Seth, whose _expression was unreadable.
Ryan picked up his cards. Ace of diamonds. Ace of spades. 2 of clubs. 2 of hearts. Two of diamonds. Luck was with him.
Zach’s face was puzzled. Luke was smiling. Seth remained unreadable. “Ante up,” Seth said, in a monotone.
Everyone threw a blue chip into the center of the pot. Seth threw in two red chips. Zach followed suit. Luke did the same, and so did Ryan. Back to Seth. 1 more red chip.
“Why are we betting?” Ryan asked.
“Well, we might as well get something out of this” Luke said.
“We didn’t even agree how much the chips are worth. This is stupid. Let’s just deal the hands.”
“No, we bid. We play. We don’t let them…” Zach’s eyes went behind him to the other group of people in the room, “control everything, or get what they want too soon. Plus, it adds skill. You don’t bid, then it’s just luck of the draw. I’m not surrendering skill right now.”
Seth asked conspiratorially, “You’ve got skills?”
“Oh, yea, I’ve got skills” Zach replied.
“Bid.” Luke said again.
Ryan put in two red chips of his own and took no cards. Seth gave him a mock salute, and added his own, taking a card. Luke added two red chips and took a card. After several more bets, and some more exchanging of cards, it came around to Zach again. He folded.
Ryan was incredulous. “Zach, you folded.”
“So?”
“So you want to loose?”
“No, I just don’t want to loose my shirt and my shirt,” Zach said.
“Call.” Luke said.
Luke laid down his hand. 2 pair, fours and sixes.
“Nice, but not nice enough,” Seth said, putting down two pair, 10’s and Jacks. “What did you have, Zach?”
Zach turned his cards over. “Nothing.”
Ryan turned his cards over. “Full house.”
“Fuck.”
“Shit”
“Nice, Ry,” Seth said, and pulled off his shirt to reveal his slim chest. Luke pulled off his shirt, his tan perfect and his shoulders round. Zach did the same, looking like a smooth river god.
“Fucking water polo team,” Seth muttered.
“Don’t freaking look at me, Cohen” Luke said.
"Try not making a spectacle of your pecs, then. What is your bra size?”
Surprisingly, Luke didn’t reply, but Ryan snorted.
Ryan heard whispering behind him, but did not look. He looked up to see Luke scowling, and he smiled at him. “Shut it, Chino.”
Ryan laughed, and suddenly, Luke did too. It was pretty funny. Seth smiled, but Zach looked uneasy.
Ryan passed the deck clockwise, and Seth shuffled.
“Wait!” came a voice behind them.
“What?” Zach said.
“You forgot the deal. After every hand, the losers draw a slip. You get a task, you perform it. You agreed! Heck, you wrote most of them…” Marissa said. “Here’s the level one pile.”
“Seemed like a better deal when we thought we were winning…”Luke said.
“Too bad, babe,” Summer said.
Zach, Seth, and Luke each pulled a slip.
Zach read his and looked relieved. “Blank,” he said.
“Mine too,” Seth said.
Luke’s lips drew tightly together. “Read it! Read it!” chanted Summer and Anna behind him.
“Rub the shoulders of the person to across from you for 3 minutes. Nibble and/or lick their ear while doing it.”
Seth looked aghast. Ryan smiled, and Zach laughed. The girls clapped. “You have to do it right!” Summer cried, gleefully.
“I wrote that one,” Seth said quietly.
“What is this and-slash-or shit?” Luke asked.
“It sounded good when I thought it would be Marissa and-slash-or Summer,” Seth pleaded.
“Dude, you are dead when I’m done nibbling your ear,” Luke said.
“I have spent my life hoping you would never say any part of that sentence,” Seth said.
Luke got up, walked around the little circle. The candlelight coming from the candles on the deck furniture cast more light than he really liked, especially with the moon as full as it was. “Why don’t we go into the poolhouse?” He asked.
“Ixnay on the oolhousepay,” Marissa said. “You wanted it by the pool, so do we.”
“Start the timer, dude. Start the timer.”
Ryan helpfully handed Luke a bottle of sun-tan lotion. He threw it back at Ryan, hitting him in the chest. “Fuck you. Ryan.”
“Hopefully not,” Ryan replied.
“Can we just get this done?” Seth said.
Luke knelt behind Seth’s shoulders. His hands were large and smooth, and warm on Seth’s cool back. He began to rub Seth’s shoulders gently. Surprised that Luke wasn’t trying to hurt him, he wasn’t sure whether to enjoy it, or just feel weird. He was leaning towards weird, especially the way his heart was beating. Definitely weird. Luke’s arms were big, and he could feel the strength of them. Then he felt Luke’s face moving closer to his ear, breath warm and smelling slightly of beer. Seth wasn’t sure what to expect, but he was surprised when Luke began to nibble his ear. His tongue wrapped around the outside of his earlobe. It tickled and Seth shrugged away. Marissa giggled. Seth noticed that Zach and Ryan were watching. Ryan’s _expression was curious, and a little concerned. He wondered what his own _expression was.
“Time?” Luke demanded.
“1 minute to go.” Ryan replied.
Luke continued to rub Seth’s back and shoulders, kneading and stroking gently, firmly. His hands traveled down Seth’s back with surprising ease. Clearly, Luke had rubbed someone’s back before. Aside from the whole “how did I get into this?” thing, Seth didn’t think it was half bad. Luke’s thumbs met down in the small of Seth’s back, and his hands spanned Seth’s waist. He was once more surprised by Luke’s teeth on his earlobe. It hurt, but not too bad. Luke wasn’t really trying to hurt him, that was clear from the second he started this backrub. “Remember this if you… have to do anything…” Luke whispered between clenched teeth. Suddenly it made sense to Seth. He sat very, very still.
“Time!” Zach said, looking at the stopwatch in Ryan's hand. Luke stood up and walked back around to his place, candle-light and moonlight making the sweat on his chest shine. Ryan put the stopwatch down and hoped he had imagined the tremble in Seth's lips.