“Two pairs.”
“Fahk me dead! Ace high.”
“Close, but not close enough. Flush.”
“Tch.”
“Cor, kept tha’ bloody quiet din'tcha!”

The others grumbled as Conrad raked in the chips from the table with a shit-eating grin, and everyone threw their cards into the pile to be shuffled before the next hand.

“Giv’ ‘em ‘ere! I’m dealin’!”
“Blinds in.”
“Hah, just a drop out of the ocean over here.”
“...”

The three of them turned to face the last member of the group, who sighed heavily before placing two chips on the table.

“...I'm in. Deal me.”
“Good onya cob!”
“Glad you decided to join us.”
“The more the merrier!”

Picking up his cards, Yuuji wondered how the hell he had ended up in this situation. What had originally just supposed to be a quiet afternoon drinking a coffee in his favourite coffee shop, had now somehow become a 4-man game of Texas Hold’em in the private lounge at the back of the building.

At first, it was a welcome surprise when he sat down to drink his coffee only to notice Conrad on the table beside him, and they had begun chatting. The small talk was pleasant and it served as a good way to pass the time, but things all began to go downhill once another person arrived - the chef from the nearby restaurant, A Taste of Home, which had left quite the impression when Yuuji had last been. Though the chef himself was in good spirits, the man’s Australian accent was thicker than syrup, and Yuuji could barely understand a word he said when they’d first met.

Conrad jumped at the chance to call him over, and the two immediately acted like long-lost brothers, laughing and joking loudly as they shattered the cosy atmosphere of the room. It was already getting quite late, so there weren’t any other customers around, but seeing the two burly men roaring with laughter in the centre of the building likely wasn’t going to attract many last-minute patrons looking for a quiet place to relax.

As the owner quickly stormed over, Yuuji felt sure he was going to kick out the lot of them, but to his surprise he actually joined in with the greetings, patting the newcomer on the shoulder as he gestured towards a door on the far wall of the room. As it turned out, the three of them were close friends, and they had a monthly get-together where they’d drink and play cards while catching up on life.

...

“I’ll call.”
“Fahk it, I’m in!”
“Call. C’mon, let’s see something good!”

One thing had led to another, and now Yuuji was stuck with the three middle-aged men playing rounds of cards and drinking booze.

*flip* *flip* *flip*

“Hohoho~, the rich are about to get richer. I raise by 2.”
“Conno, don’ bully the kid!”
“You think I can? Just watch him Ollie, he’s a smart one.”
“...I call.”
“This was a bad flop for me. I fold.”
“Yer I’ll call awright, call ya out fer ya bullshit Conno!”

As the coffee shop owner laid his cards down, the Australian beside him chucked two more chips into his own pile with vigour. The three remaining competitors eyed each other up eagerly, looking for some kind of tell they could begin latching onto.

When they started, they’d made it clear that there wasn’t actually any money involved, and the chips were evenly split between them all. Yuuji wasn’t entirely sure if that was always true, or if they’d set it up that way so that he could join this time, but after he sat out for a hand or two he figured there wasn’t much harm in playing along - he was here anyway, after all.

“Oi Owna! If yer out, grab us a tinny would ya?”
“Of course Oliver. Young man? Conrad? Could I interest either of you two in a drink?”
“The usual please Owner. Bourbon on the rocks.”
“...I’ll have a beer, no preference. And please, call me Yuuji.”
“Gladly. One moment.”
“Cor fahkin’ right! He’s got balls, dunnie?”
“Hah, just watch him.”
“I’m right here, you know?”

While it was his first time playing Texas Hold’em, it certainly wasn’t the first time he was surrounded by people much older than him, and he was more than able to hold his own.

*flip*

“Too easy. I raise 4.”
“I call.”
“Pfft, raisin'!? Conno, yer’ shit at bluffin’!”

Conrad chuckled as he held his cards close to his chest while the other two matched his bet. From the hands they had played prior, he was far and away doing the best - and the Australian chef Ollie was losing by a considerable margin.

*flip*

“A pair on the river’s a good omen y’know Ollie? I’ll raise 4 again.”
“I call.”
“Fahkin’ bite me! I re-raise ta 8!”

Chips clunked down onto the table as the betting round continued.

“Sure, I’ll call that. Thinking of buying myself a nice new jacket once this is over.”
“I call.”
“Awright, flip ‘em!”

Yuuji had a decent enough understanding of cards to know whether or not his hand was good, but more than anything he felt he could read the expressions of others quite well. It didn’t take an expert to see that his teacher was leading the other man by the nose, and he had fallen for it, hook line and sinker.

Sadly for both of them, Yuuji had his grandfather’s stone-faced mask, and they didn’t stand a chance if they underestimated him.

“Two pairs!”
“Hah, try a Full House!”
“Oh piss off, ya jammy prick! Who fahkin’ shuffled these!?”
“...Four of a kind. I believe I win?”
“...”
“...”

The two of them blinked quietly as Yuuji placed his cards forward, and after a moment’s silence, he began to rake in his winnings. Holding a pair in his hand was certainly a great start, but just as Conrad had said - the final card of his four-of-a-kind being dealt on the river was a lucky omen.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise? Drinks are here, everyone.”
“...I should have mentioned, Yuuji here is the director’s grandson.”
“Ya don’ say…”

As the coffee shop owner returned with a tray, he chuckled at the sight of the shocked men staring in disbelief and took his seat once more. With their thirst now parched, the four of them chatted freely over cards, and continued to trade rounds between each other as chips exchanged hands.

Ollie managed to use all of his chips up multiple times, and the others regularly bailed him out by splitting up the remainder once again. Other than the chiding jabs from Conrad, nobody really minded as it was purely for entertainment, and he certainly helped to make the bets lively.

“Aincha a bit too good there kid?”
“I can’t read his face at all.”
“Even though I invited him, he’s making me look bad…”
“Haha…”

Yuuji smiled wryly as he reaped his rewards once more. He’d lost a fair few hands, but when he won, he won big, and the others were starting to get a little suspicious.

“Conno you sure the cobber ain’t hustlin’!?”
“...Honestly, I’m not so sure anymore.”
“I’m telling you, I haven’t played before.”

It wasn’t like there were any stakes to their play, but he was beginning to feel a little guilty. The owner was simply too honest to bluff his hand, and with Ollie taking every risk put in front of him regardless of his actual cards, it was only Conrad he was having to contend with. The man had started to get wise and play properly, but from the amount of time they’d had in class together, Yuuji had quite a solid understanding of the little quirks he showed on particularly good or bad hands.

“I guess I just got used to reading people’s faces as I grew up.”
“Strewth, ya first job bein’ a lie detecta?”
“No, but when hunting demons, interrogation was sometimes a necessary evil.”
“...”

The table fell silent, as Yuuji bit his tongue. The liquor had started to get to him, and the mood fell a little sombre as his words slipped out unintentionally.

“Sorry, kiddo. Din’ mean ta bring up any bad mem’ries.”
“...It’s alright. Sorry for bringing the mood down.”
“Hah, what’s this kid apologising to us for? Some adults we are!”
“Oh? Conrad, since when did you become an adult?”

In just a moment, the air lightened up once again. It was clear to see that the three men had a history together - either from meeting early on the island, or perhaps knowing each other even before that.

“When I had a kid, that’s for damn sure!”
“An’ he’s bloody five, come back when ya kid turns sixteen!”
“Oliver, if you ask me, little Grace is possibly more of an adult than you are.”
“Fahkin’ too right mate!”

Ollie burst into raucous laughter as he swigged his beer. His face had become somewhat flushed, and he cracked a wide smile as he spoke fondly of his daughter.

“Too bloody right. Gracie’s a spittin’ image o’ Laura now. Cracks the shits just like ‘er an all!”
“Can’t blame her for that. Long as I’ve known you, you’ve always been a pain in the ass.”
“Hah! She keeps me sane, I keep ‘er busy. I’d be fair dinkum buggered without ‘er.”

The three older men all grinned at each other, as Yuuji sat quietly listening beside them. As the outsider of the group, he didn’t know much of their history, but piece by piece he was beginning to understand the kind of people they were.

“Gentlemen? If I may - a toast to family.”
“I’ll fahkin’ drink ta that! Cheers!”
“Blessed as I am, I have to say…”

Conrad trailed off, as he raised his tumbler and turned his gaze towards the student at his side.

“...Sometimes your family aren’t linked by blood. Cheers to the people who make us who we are.”
“...Cheers!”

Yuuji smiled back as he clinked his glass with the others. Having never truly known his parents, he couldn’t help wishing he had a father like Conrad, as his relationship with his grandfather was a rocky one at best.

At first, he was confused when he’d been invited to take part in cards, but he was glad he took the chance and accepted. He had very little in common with the three friends, but he knew there was a lot he could learn from them, and being able to broaden his horizons was something he had come to cherish.

“Puah! Hits the fahkin’ spot! Now then - min’ tellin’ me why the lad I was thinkin’ is Elis’s boyfriend, is goin’ round puttin’ moves on other lasses!?”
“It seems the young man is quite the womaniser.”
“You two don’t know the half of it! The shit I’ve seen as his bloody teacher…”

Yuuji’s pleasant thoughts immediately shattered, as he was plunged into the cold, harsh reality of the older generation’s lack of boundaries when discussing someone else’s love life, and his evening took a turn for the worst.