Chapter 12: Poker Night

"Alright, poker time!" Finn called out.

The dinner cleanup had finally ended and Puck had just gone below deck to get his deck of cards. Mike and Artie were already sitting down in the middle of the deck, surrounding a large flat box that they used as their poker table. Everyone else went around them to watch, and Santana suddenly remembered something from her conversation with Brittany at Port Lima.

"Hey Puck!" she called out when he arrived with his cards. "Deal Brittany in."

Puck looked up at Brittany. "You wanna play?"

"Yeah!" Brittany replied. Then her face fell. "Um, but I don't have any money."

"You have shares," Mike said.

Brittany looked confused. "What are shares?"

"Of our booty," Mike explained. "Everyone on the crew works together, so everyone gets an equal share. Most of the money stays with the ship so that we can buy supplies and stuff, but we split the extra and we can spend it however we want."

"But I haven't helped you guys get any booty," Brittany said.

"Doesn't matter. You're in the crew now, you have a share," Santana said. "But they also like to bet cigars and snacks. And services."

"Yeah, like people will take your chores or your watch," Mike said. "Finn sometimes offers to make food for people. Just stuff like that. Whatever you want."

"Okay," Brittany said. "How do I get to bet my...my shares?"

Mike turned to Tina. "Do you have the ledger?" he asked. Tina held up a brown notebook. "That's where we keep our records," Mike explained. "Tina keeps track of how much loot we've brought in and who gets what part of it. She's excellent at math, right babe?"

Tina shrugged modestly. "I'm okay."

"Someone go downstairs and get Brittany her gold," Santana said to no one in particular. Mercedes was the first one to hop up and head over to the hatch. The other boys removed the gold from their pockets, as well as an assortment of cigars and beef jerky. Santana made a face. "I hope you're not planning on eating that," she said.

"What? It lasts for months, come on. I'll eat it," Puck said. Mercedes came back with a small bag of gold and handed it to Brittany. Brittany looked inside and nodded.

"Okay," she said. "I think I've got it. Let's play."

Puck dealt out the cards and Santana went to sit behind Brittany. Poker nights always started out fairly civil, but quickly got heated as the spectators started looking at everyone's cards and throwing out advice. It definitely wasn't a gentleman's game, and Santana hoped Brittany would be up to it. Brittany fanned out the two cards she'd been dealt. A three of hearts and an ace of clubs. Okay. There was potential in that.

The four boys and Brittany went around placing their money in the pot, and Puck dealt out a new card every round. Normally, Santana would be joining them in their game, but she wanted to make sure Brittany was doing okay. It was a good thing that Quinn had also opted not to play, deciding instead to sit by Rachel and talk. Quinn would beat Brittany for sure. Against these guys, however, Brittany would have a fighting chance. If she were actually good, anyway. Santana had to keep the victorious look off her face when the last card was turned over. Another ace! "You got this, Brittany," she whispered. "Go for it."

"Fold," Brittany said, setting her cards face down in front of her. Finn smiled smugly and dropped his cards onto the barrel.

"Two pair!" he said. "Can anyone beat that?"

"Dammit," Artie said as the other boys shook their heads in defeat. Santana glared. If Finn beat her girl at this game, she might just have to throw him overboard.

"Sweet," Finn said, sweeping the pot into his own pile. Puck collected the discarded cards and began to deal out a new hand.

The next round began and Brittany started out with an even better hand than before—a pair of eights. When a third eight hit the table, Santana was practically bouncing up and down. "Okay this time you have to go for it," she muttered. "You have to."

"Fold," Brittany said again, before the last card had even been turned over. Puck just shrugged as they kept going around.

"What are you doing?" Santana hissed. "Three of a kind, that's a great hand."

Brittany just glanced at Santana mysteriously and kept watching the game. Mike won the second round with two pairs: fives and eights. The second five had been turned over as the final card. "He got lucky," Brittany said quietly to herself. "He started with nothing."

"Three of a kind would beat two pair!" Santana tried to stay quiet, but she couldn't help herself. She usually refused to even join in on the poker nights because she was notoriously competitive.

"I know it does," Brittany said. "Duh."

"Then why—"

"Because," Brittany said simply.

The game continued and Brittany kept folding. She never raised once, even though her hands were no worse than anyone else's. Puck bluffed his way to a win twice, and Santana was about to slam her head against the deck in frustration. Brittany was faring a little better than Artie, who had lost most of his gold when Finn had a full house, but if Artie quit—and he looked like he was about to—Brittany would be dead last. And Santana couldn't have that. It was her first game for God's sake, couldn't her crew go a little easy on her?

Everyone else was mostly ignoring Brittany as more rum was consumed and the unwanted advice began. "Come on, Mike, stop playing like a little kid!" Tina screeched. "That's the money we're saving for my birthday dinner, dammit!"

"I'm trying honey, I'm trying," Mike said, his cheeks turning pink.

Sam was sitting behind Artie, urging him on, and Rachel was squeezing Quinn's thigh somewhat unintentionally as she strained her neck to see the cards that Puck was holding. Santana was busy braiding a small section of her hair and she barely even noticed when Brittany quietly said, "Raise."

Everyone got quiet. Mike, Artie, and Finn had already folded before the last card was set down. Puck looked at Brittany and then back at his hand. "No biggie. I'll raise too."

Brittany wordlessly added more gold to the pile. Puck narrowed his eyes at her and did the same. They went back and forth, raising the bets, as everyone watched. The crew had gone from insanely noisy to dead silent—Santana could swear they were all holding their breath.

"Wanna go all in?" Brittany said. "Come on, let's get this thing over with."

Puck bit his lip. Then he shook his head. "Slow and steady," he said. "I'll raise you two more. Getting scared yet?"

"Nope, not scared." Brittany just shrugged and placed another handful of gold in the middle. Santana leaned over and looked at Brittany's hand for the first time. She struggled to keep her face unreadable, but she couldn't help letting out a tiny gasp. Brittany had…

…nothing.

She had nothing, not even a pair, not even a handful of matching suits. Her highest card was one on the table, a king. Puck would beat her with almost anything. And yet, she was sitting completely calmly, with the exact same expression she'd worn in every other round. Santana's eyes were as big as dinner plates as Brittany reached forward and pushed all of her gold into the center of the circle.

"All in," she said.

Her words hung in the air as everyone waited for Puck's reaction. He looked down at his own pile of gold, considerably bigger than Brittany's but sadly depleted from what it had been at the beginning of the round. If he went all in and lost to the new girl, he would lose all his dignity. But what Puck didn't know, and what Santana practically did, was that if he copied Brittany's move, he would take it all. He would clean up. He would win the biggest pot in the history of McKinley poker. Santana couldn't breathe.

"Fold."

"Yes!" Santana shrieked before she could stop herself. She immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, but it didn't matter—Brittany set down her cards, and everyone lost it.

"You had nothing?" Puck gasped. He threw his cards down. "I had a pair of kings and you had nothing! Oh my God. How the hell did that happen?" He grabbed the sides of his head in frustration, but Santana could also see the admiration in his eyes. "Shit, girl! What kind of alien are you?"

"She's a force to be reckoned with, for sure," Artie said, shaking his head in disbelief. Brittany just smiled as she began to put the gold into her bag. Santana was so happy that she completely forgot herself, and she threw an arm over Brittany's shoulder. Brittany did not shy away from the touch.

"Wow," Finn said. "Where did you learn to bluff like that?"

"Just…around," Brittany said, still smiling mysteriously. Santana looked at her, feeling irrationally proud.

"Well," Puck said breathlessly. "I think that's a good time to end, I don't know how we could do another round after that." He reached forward and held out his hand. Brittany lifted her good one to shake it. "That was well played, Britt. Very well played."

"Thanks," Brittany replied. Artie gave her a hi-five. Everyone else got slowly to their feet, collecting their empty rum bottles and showering Brittany with praise. Brittany made no move to get up, however, and Santana cautiously rested her chin on Brittany's shoulder.

"That was amazing," she said quietly.

"I guess," Brittany said casually, but she was beaming. "I feel bad for taking all his money, though. Maybe I can say we were just playing for fun."

"No, don't do that," Santana said. "Puck has enough money, he'll be fine. He usually wins." She shifted so that the top of her head was now resting against the crook of Brittany's neck. Just like with the hug, Brittany stiffened but did not move away. "So let me guess. You kept folding so that everyone would think that when you did bet, you had a great hand. Am I right?"

"Kinda," Brittany replied. "I also just wanted to get a feel for how everyone else played."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Puck only had one pair. He was mostly bluffing. Every time he bluffs, he rubs the back of his neck between rounds."

"Really?" Santana asked in surprise. She'd been playing Puck for years and she'd never noticed that. But then again, she hadn't really looked.

"He did it every time," Brittany said. "Everyone has a tell. It's what they do when they're bluffing. Don't tell anyone this," she added quickly. "If people know about it, I won't be able to beat them."

"Don't worry," Santana said. "It'll be our secret."

"You two look cozy," said a voice from above them. Santana looked up to see Mercedes, walking by with Sam on their way to the hull. She blushed and sat up straight, letting her arm slide down to the small of Brittany's back.

"Are you guys going to bed?" Brittany asked. "I'll come with you."

"You sure?" Sam asked. "You don't wanna stay here and, uh, celebrate your victory?" He looked pointedly at Santana, and she longed to make some witty retort. But her mouth felt like it was sealed shut.

"I'll celebrate with you guys!" Brittany said. "I'll be down in just a minute."

"Okay," Sam said. He took Mercedes's hand and helped her though the hatch before following her. Santana turned to look at Brittany.

"You should go hang out with them," she said, even though she kind of wanted Brittany all to herself right now. "The first watch is gonna start soon, and I'm sure everyone wants a chance to congratulate you." She smiled. "Poker champs are taken very seriously around here."

Brittany shifted so that she was turned towards Santana. "Really?"

"Yeah, definitely," Santana said. "Poker champs and good storytellers. Anyone who can entertain us is worth having around, in our book."

"Hm," Brittany said. "Well…I like stories. I told one last night."

"You're good at telling them," Santana said, thinking back to the story she'd told her over breakfast. "I have to be honest with you, I was there when Finn fell overboard. But you still made it funny as hell."

Brittany blushed. "Right, of course you were there," she said. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"Don't be sorry," Santana said. "I'm glad you told it."

"So I guess that means I'm pretty cool, right?" Brittany said. "I mean, if I tell stories and play poker."

"Oh, for sure," Santana said. "You'll be, like, the most popular person on the whole ship." Her tone was light and playful, but she was actually serious. And there was a little selfish part of her that didn't want anyone else to see how awesome Brittany was. But she brushed it off quickly. "They already love you."

"Good," Brittany said, grinning. They were silent for a few moments, each looking absentmindedly at one another. Santana looked at the wisps of blond hair falling from her ponytail, the sparkling blue of her eyes, the way the corners of her lips were turned up in an almost-smile. Santana could not stop staring at those lips.

"You look pretty tonight," she said quietly. She felt silly saying it, but it made Brittany smile.

"Thanks," she replied. Then she blushed. "You want to kiss me right now, don't you?"

Santana forced her eyes back up to meet Brittany's. "Maybe," she said, her heart thudding.

Brittany smiled and reached up to trace her finger lightly across Santana's cheek. "You look pretty tonight, too," she said. "I better go get some sleep before my watch."

"Okay," Santana said, trying not to pout as Brittany pulled away. They got to their feet and Santana walked her over to the hatch. "So what are you going to do with all your winnings?" she asked.

"I don't know," Brittany replied. "I still feel like I don't really deserve it, I don't know what to do." She paused as she reached the entrance to the hull, and looked up at Santana. "Help me think of something?"

Santana smiled. "Alright," she said. "I'll let you know if I think of something. And, you know, I wouldn't be opposed if you decided to put it towards my castle fund."

"Oh?" Brittany raised her eyebrows. "You're building a castle?"

"A small one, yeah," Santana said with a nod. "For when I become Queen of England."

"Ah, yes, that makes sense," Brittany said. Then she leaned in so that her lips were grazing Santana's ear. "You'd make a sexy queen."

"You bet I would," Santana replied. She tried to sound cocky, but it just came out as breathless. "I'd kick ass at it, too."

"I'm sure." Brittany pulled away. "Goodnight Santana."

"Night Brittany," Santana replied. Brittany gave her a small wave as she descended into the hull. Santana waved back and then turned to go to her cabin.

She was going to have to find some way to become Queen of England—like, right now.