By: Zigster

Prompts: ribbon, fedora

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A/N: Happy Birthday Nina... hope it's a great one. :-)

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Lingo index:

donks - newbie players

playing blind - paying without looking at your cards

floorman - person in charge of the proceedings

the cage - where you buy in, exchange money for chips

Heads up - a one on one game in poker

Sharks - seasoned pro players

Fishes - poor players

Rabbits - weak players

ante'd up - placing bets

broadway - triple aces

bullet - ace

hole cards - first two cards dealt to each player, face down

paints - face cards such as jack, queen, king

the turn - fourth card placed down on the board

kick it - raising the bet

ladies - queens

ammunition - chips

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The Rabbit and His Tell

That night we took the use of an old man's wine cellar as our home base. It was damp and smelled of wet sawdust, but there was a barrel of whiskey free for the taking, so no one complained once that cork was popped.

The senile man who owned the property had left his basement door unlocked, like a fool. An egotistical move to be sure, thinking your surroundings were ever secure enough to let your guard down. Silly, silly aristocrat. Then again, the fact that our new makeshift cardroom was so easily accessible ensured the old man's life would not be harmed -- there was no need to kill him if he was sleeping peacefully somewhere in the recesses of his home. Ignorance is bliss after all, and in this case, life insurance.

The brick walls held no insulation in the damp fermented holding cell we had so easily inhabited. The only heat was coming from the kerosene lamps the donks had hung so we could actually see our hands in front of our faces. I always said that I didn't mind playing blind, but I never meant that in the literal sense.

I was puffing on my pipe, wiling it to smolder in the damp chill when the floorman came up and wrapped a blood red ribbon round my upper bicep. I gazed down at it with disdain as my pipe smoked to life. The color clashed sickly with the faded green and blue paisley pattern of my oxford, and I gave the Doc back in the cage a look of annoyance that clearly stated: you're crampin' my style there, bitch.' He merely smiled back at me as the floorman smacked my back strategically after I took a deep drag off my pipe. The result was a hacking fit of embarrassing proportions. My coughs cut the quiet air at an inappropriate decibel level for such an operation, and twenty sets of glassy eyes fell to me with varying looks of impatience and disgust. None of them registered, save one pair: they were deep jade flecked with gold. I was immediately pulled in by them, and almost missed the floorman doling out his schpiel.

"Tonight, as opposed to our usual ten player tables, we'll be doing a Heads up tourney. The ribbons you've been given each have a pair. Find your partner and pick a table. Get a drink, or take a squirt. You have five minutes."

A murmuring started up in the dim light of the room as the sharks and fishes intermingled, hesitant to find their partners. I could already smell the sweat from the rabbits being paired with the sharks. Poor souls.

I was sipping gingerly on my whiskey -- which clearly hadn't aged properly yet, I felt like a right pedophile drinking it -- when someone cleared their throat to my left. I turned and those green eyes were staring back at me again, eager as fuck, and nervous to boot. I smiled at the rabbit. Poor little boy lost with his mommy nowhere in sight.

"Howdy," I said, extending my hand, laying heavy on the accent.

The pretty boy with the matching ribbon shook my hand hesitantly before saying a quick, "Hello," and averting his gaze to the table. I smiled at his shy nature.

I had this shit in the bag.

We sat down, we ante'd up, drinks were refreshed, hands were dealt, and it was all running smoothly, until the flop when little green-eyed Jim pulled a Broadway outta nowhere. I didn't even know he had a bullet in his hand, and that scared me. This kid was dangerous, and I had been so preoccupied staring at his big emerald eyes, I hadn't even bothered to try and play slow and watch him squirm.

I gave him a once over, cocked my head to the side, and asked, "How old are you?"

Jimmy looked taken aback for all of a second before answering. "Twenty." He then shook his head and corrected himself as his hair fell into his eyes. "Sorry, twenty-one."

"Never play blackjack, kid."

"I just turned twenty-one yesterday," he piped up, "getting a buy in to this game was my... present," he finished explaining with his head down.

"Ah, congrats Jimmy," I tried to sound legit, but all I could think was that this kid was way too shy for poker.

"My name's Edward," he spat out defiantly, surprising me. I smiled at him, deciding then and there I should stop giving him shit, and just focus on the game. I obviously had years of play on this kid, but in truth, I was only a year older. My condescending tone probably made me sound like a dick, and for some reason, I didn't want him thinking of me like that.

The next hand was dealt and my hole cards came up as a pretty little pair of paints. I didn't have to worry about the smirk on my face telling squat to Edward, since I had been smirking the whole time, but it was slightly harder to keep my eyes from bugging when the flop was placed on the board. Edward raised, I matched, and the turn was... well, turned. It was a shit card, a rag, and Pretty Boy still kicked it. He either thought he had something better than the ladies in my hands, or he was trying to play me -- and I hated getting played.

I went all in, and watched as Pretty Boy's eyes fell slightly. The deep green becoming glassy with realization before they locked with mine and flashed with anger. He knew. He could ether match me, or fold, and if he matched, he'd lose.

He dropped his cards, and I took the pot. His ammunition would not last long. I hoped that his trust fund would hold out long enough for him to learn some skills. He had a pretty face, I wouldn't mind him sticking around a bit longer. What really got me, though, were his eyes. They were soulful, and tinged with a caramel sweetness that made him a danger to anyone foolish enough to let themselves be drawn in by them.... and I was exactly that kind of fool.

The floorman called break, and I blinked, finally being released from the hold Edward's gaze had on me. I leaned back in my chair and stretched my arms above my head, happy for the momentary rush it brought me. When I settled my chair back down on all four of its legs I saw Edward studying me from across the table. His eyes were resting on my neck and the exposed skin from my partially unbuttoned shirt. I smirked at him until he realized he was caught. His eyes darted up to mine and then away as a flaming blush crept up his cheeks.

His tell.

A really fucking irrational and sudden urge came over me at the sight of his heated skin, and I leaned in over the table, speaking hardly above a whisper, "Do you smoke?" I asked. A grin tugging at the corner of my mouth.

He blinked before answering, "No... never tried it," he admitted with his head down.

"Would you like one?"

His head shot up at my smug tone and he narrowed his eyes. I smiled fully back at him before repeating, "Would you. Like. A smoke?"

We locked gazes, his green eyes burning into mine with an obvious want.

A minute passed and then he swallowed thickly, his adams apple bobbing in a very appealing way, before he nodded once in answer.

The sound of my chair scrapping back on the stone floor echoed through the room before I grabbed the lamp off the table and his hand in mine. I dragged him into the recesses of the basement, far away from the murmurs of the other players...

Mine, I thought. All mine.

Edward didn't say anything, but I could hear the hitch in his breathing accelerate with every turn we made around the rows of carefully stacked bottles. The green tinted glass held an eerie glow in the dim light of the lamp.

Along the back wall was a small window, perched high in the brick. Through it filtered in a cascading glow of moonlight, and I pushed Edward into its path, wanting to see as much of him as possible. I wanted to remember this.

I had my hands on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breathing and the beating of his heart underneath my palms. He was excited, I could see it in his eyes, but I also saw apprehension that made me pause.

Time to play with him a bit. Test him.

I took a step back, releasing my hold on him, and quickly lit a match off the scrape of the brick wall. I pulled my pipe out of my vest pocket and proceeded to try and puff it to life in the damp air, yet again. I stole a glance at Edward from under my lashes as I manipulated the leaves in the bowl, willing them to smoke. His look of disappointment told me everything I needed to know.

"Hold this." I placed my pipe in between his slack jawed lips. He bit down hard, and I smirked at his frustration. The bowl hadn't lit, but he needed to be quiet, the pipe would help. Bracing my hands on either side of his head and affectively trapping him, I leaned in ever so slowly to assess his reaction. My intended target was his neck, but the rim of my hat was in the way of me doing anything without hitting that razor sharp jaw of his.

"Here," I said, while topping Edward's head with my hat, and tipping the front down to shade his forehead. "It suits you." And it did. Damn, the boy looked good in a fedora.

Edward smirked and I continued, only breaking eye contact to dip down and nip at the sensitive skin of his neck; licking and blowing on the moistened skin. He actually stopped breathing, and I was about to pull away and ask what was wrong, but his hands grabbed hold of my hips the next second and his body slammed into mine. Edward let out a growl, and my head fell back as he ground his hips into me repeatedly. Yeah, this kid was most definitely a little frustrated.

My hands were on his belt buckle in a flash, quickly unfastening the latch, his button, and pulling down the zipper of his pants before he could even blink.

I did blink however... the boy went commando.

"You shittin' me?" I thought out loud, amazed. Edward gave a deep and throaty laugh, and I felt the resonance low in my gut. I tried to speak, but I could only drop to my knees to get a closer look. I kind of loved this kid.

Edward's erection was impressive, beautiful. I touched the velvety skin with gentle fingers and watched a drop of moisture appear at the tip as a result. I smirked up at Edward as I wrapped my hand fully around him, feeling him hot, hard and soft all at the same time. His head fell back to the shelf behind him as he closed his eyes, his jaw moving with tension and anticipation. I wasn't planning on disappointing him.

"Look at me," I told him, as I ran my tongue around the head of his cock. He moaned, and my lips pulled into a smile around him before I took him as deeply as I could into my mouth. Edward's head immediately fell back again with a clink against the bottles.

"Fuck," he choked out around the pipe in his teeth. I released him and breathed "shhh" on his sensitive, wet skin while stroking him, wanting him to stay quiet, but teasing him all the same. He nodded his head, and braced his hands harder against the selves behind him.

Wrapping my lips around him again, I hummed as I bobbed up and down, willing my throat to relax more and more with each descent. I wanted to take all of him, fill my mouth and throat just to see his reactions. He was so responsive. I gently dragged my teeth up his length, flicked rapidly with my tongue underneath the head of his cock, and watched him squirm.

"Shit, what are you doing?" he asked with a husky voice. I didn't answer, I simply swirled my tongue around him and plunged back down, taking him fully this time, which elicited a loud moan from Edward. I pinched his leg to quiet him. He hissed from the pain, and yet simultaneously pulsed inside my mouth.

His hand came up to run gently through my hair before I once again flicked the skin under the head of his cock, and his grip tightened. It was my turn to moan then, and Edward echoed. I brought my hand up to massage his balls as I worked, wanting him to feel as much as possible for his first time. His hips were now jerking and thrusting in a somewhat steady rhythm against my mouth, and I knew he was close. The muscles were straining in his neck as his thrusts became faster. I stopped moving, letting him fuck my mouth as he pleased.

He started to vocalize unintelligible sounds that made my lips pull into a smile around him. He was falling apart in the most pleasurable of ways, and he was doing it because of me.

"Shit, I'm gonna... what's... what's your name?" he asked with his eyes hooded and his words slurred.

I pulled up and released him with a loud pop.

"Jasper," I answered, swirled my tongue around him once more and then plunged down until his head hit the back of my throat. Edward let out a strangled scream, jerked violently off the shelves and immediately I felt the streams of hot liquid pulsing down my throat. I took it all, and pulled away from him gently as I looked up at his relaxed and beautiful face.

I rocked back on my heels and stood in front of him, placing my hands on either side of his face.

"That hat really does suit you," I told him as I leaned in for a kiss. Edward's lips felt slack and loose, and I pulled back to give him a once over. I had worked him well.

"You should keep it," I said, and he looked at me with a question on his dazed face.

"Keep what?"

I tapped the hat on top of his head and took my pipe back from his lips, figuring that I could really use a smoke after all.

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A/N2: Hope you enjoyed it. :-)

Gotta thank Chicklette and FDM for holding my hand, and beta'ing this little ditty. *hugs* Thanks girls, love you.

Thanks for reading,

Zigs