Call 'em as you see 'em
Title: Call 'em as you see 'em
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle near the end
Prompt: 050 Spade.
Word Count: 1927
Rating: PG
Summary: Vince goes to a pub for a game and leaves Greg behind. Now he's come up with a way to finally apologize for it.
Vince had spent more time with the muggles than he would ever admit to anyone; well anyone who he knew that would make it into a bigger deal than it actually was. He was one who was thought to be a Death Eater and still active even with the Dark Lord's fall. There were only two who knew this for certain and Vince never went out with short sleeves on because he didn't want anyone to know if this was a fact or not about him. He had no problems with people thinking what they wanted about him.
He found many different places where he could go and just blend into the crowd. They were places where no one really cared about who you were or what your past was or anything other than if you had money to spend or not. It was a local pub that he and Greg had spent many nights at, but this evening he thought it would be better if he went alone. First he had to meet up with a friend to talk some business, but after that, he was free until the place closed and he had to return home to his sleeping boyfriend. He hoped he wouldn't have too much less money than he started with.
The business part of his outing went by pretty quickly. There were only a few minor details about his new real estate venture. He needed to talk about a few properties that were found after everything with the war settled down. He also knew that there were people who were homeless now because of all the places that were lost. The best part about this was that Vince had found a firm that had agreed to design some middle class houses if he could just supply them with a map that showed where the property was. That was probably the easiest part about the whole thing because he no longer had to worry about what he was going to do with all the land that he never found a use for.
That was the easy part. He didn't even have to think about it any more. Vince got himself a seat at the bar and a drink so that he could relax a while before he had to do any more real thinking. The regulars seemed to be really nice to him since he started to frequent this place more and more.
Many nights that he was at this pub, he would gather about three or four numbers from women who found him attractive and tonight didn't seem any different when a woman settled in on his right side. He smiled at her before taking another sip of his drink. She moved her stool over a little closer and winked. "How are you this evening, sir?" She whispered in a husky voice.
He laughed softly at being called sir. "The name's Dylan, sweetheart," he said softly. "And I'm doing just fine, a little better since you decided to join me." He flirted with everyone who flirted with him. Greg never minded because he did the same thing. The only thing they promised each other is that neither would go further than flirting. The woman smiled at him and rested her hand on his knee. "My name's Janet, but I do like the sound of sweetheart," she whispered softly as she leaned in.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Vince asked as he got himself another drink from the bartender. When Janet nodded, he ordered her another of what she was having.
They stayed close like that for a while, talking about anything and everything they could think of. Vince enjoyed the conversation because it was intimate, but at the same time it was just like a meeting between friends. He felt no need to tell her anything too personal about himself. Not that he was really worried that she would know anything he was talking about, but the conversation just stayed on their jobs and how that was going.
After about twenty minutes of talking, he didn't feel her hand on his knee any more and glanced down to see where it was now. He almost jumped out of his seat when he noticed it was now on his upper thigh and working its way higher. He placed his hand on hers and smirked slightly. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I don't get with people I meet at pubs," he whispered softly as he removed her hand. "There are some blokes over there who look interested in a lay. I'm sure you will have better luck over there." He finished his drink and winked at her. "If you'll excuse me for a minute," he stepped back from the bar and made his way to the loo. He had to make a quick call to Greg to tell him about what just happened and take care of...obvious business.
When he came back to his seat, he saw a napkin with a few things written across it. He laughed softly at the number before sticking it into his pocket. He shook his head and got himself a pint. Vince finally noticed that they were finally playing and found an open spot. "I'm playing for the normal amount," Vince said softly to the dealer. He put a fifty pound note onto the table and had it exchanged for chips.
After a few moment of conversation, the game had started.
Vince and Greg had been living with muggles for a couple years now and Vince learned about the different type of poker games. It was usually what he did when he went out to pubs by himself. Greg would come sometimes, but he didn't enjoy throwing his money away as much as Vince did. He had been doing it a while, so he learned all the rules to the different games and he actually became quite good at it. He no longer needed to change any cards to the ones he needed so he didn't lose big.
"Full house," Vince said softly as he laid out his cards. He had ladies over threes which usually meant he had the best hand. He waited a moment before he reached in and pulled the pot towards himself. He was already up twenty pounds. He enjoyed playing with these people because by the end of the month, they would have all evened out how much they lost with how much they won. It seemed like every night a different person won the most games.
Vince was happy about this because it seemed like his night. He had plans for his winnings after everything was said and done. He wanted to take Greg out of town for their anniversary and also get him a gift. Money was never an issue with the two of them, but the reason Vince enjoyed winning so much was because that meant he didn't have to stop at a bank or go to Gringotts before going home with the money he shouldn't have used.
Folding out of another hand, Vince stood up and made his way to the bar. He got himself another drink and a round for the table. He thought he might as well be nice since he was still winning, even though he did just fold the last four hands. Three people from their table had already been knocked out by him and someone else. So that left him and three other people at the table. He enjoyed when the game got to this point because it meant that more things were bound to happen between them all.
When Vince joined the table again, he smirked at the other who had their drinks as well. "To the best man," he said as he raised his glass. He made it sound like the best man in the game, but he knew he was drinking to. After everyone drank, he smiled to himself as he looked at his cards. He placed a bet that was going to put two out of the other three left all in, but really didn't mind. One took him up on it while the other hesitated.
There was a smirk on the dealer's face while the one decided whether he was going to play or watch the hand. After a few moments of decided, he pushed his pile of chips in as well. After a few more moments, Vince turned his cards showing a winning hand.
"Sorry, mate. There is always next time. I did enjoy this game though," he said as he stacked up his chips and put aside the fifty he had started with. He now had more than the other man who was playing against him.
His name was Tyler. It seemed like it when ever Vince was one of the last left, it was always against Tyler. Tyler was a good player, but there was something about him. He was always easy to read when it was only the two of them and Vince had noticed this. He knew that Tyler didn't do it on purpose and Vince was pretty sure that he wasn't like that when they played the whole table. He could have been, but no one really focused on one person when there was a table full of people. If you did, you'd miss out on the clues that the new people offered by mistake.
Last hand, Vince thought as he looked over his hand. Spades. Most of his winning hands had spades as the main suite and this one was no different. Vince pushed his all his chips to put the other all in. Tyler hesitated before agreeing to it. He had a pretty decent hand himself, three of a kind. It was something that was difficult to beat when there were only two people, but he thought he had this one easy.
"Straight flush," Vince said as he turned his cards over. It started with the seven and ended with the Jack of spades. He smirked when he gathered the chips and changed them in for the actual amount. He bought another round and left the bar with his usual tips to the bar tender and the dealer.
When he was safely out of the bar and down the street, he pulled out his phone and called Greg again. He explained how he might be a little bit later because he had a few things that he needed to do before he got home. Greg understood because Vince never really ever finished his work for the day. There was always another place to see or another map to send out. He just agreed to stay up until Vince got home because Vince was in a good mood about something.
After about an hour, Vince came home with a smile on his face. They hugged and kissed, but before Greg could say a thing, there was a set of house keys in his hand with a little card.
Greg,
Thanks for putting up with me through everything. I know it's early and our anniversary isn't until next weekend, but I couldn't wait.
Love,
Vince
By the time Greg had read the card and looked at the back for the directions for the house, Vince had already climbed into bed. Greg climbed into bed after him and set the keys and the card on the night stand. "Thank you," Greg whispered with a soft kiss on Vince's cheek. He closed his eyes and held Vince close, knowing he was the luckiest man alive.
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freakydork) wrote,
