Work Text:
Sandburg & Sandburg; Card Sharks R Us
by Scorpio
David was sitting on his small bed in the first floor bedroom in the loft at #307. The room used to belong to his cousin Blair Sandburg B.A., M.A., A.B.D., but now Det. Blair Sandburg shared the big bedroom upstairs with Det. James Ellison. That was just fine and dandy for David. It gave him someplace private to read, sleep, and at times like this, to quietly freak out.
His cousin Blair and said cousin's buff lover Jim were hosting a monthly 'Poker Night' at the loft. David had known about it. Hell, since he had moved to Cascade there had been two of them. The first at Captain Joel Taggart's home and the second at Det. Rafe's apartment.
David hadn't been invited to either event. That was fine with him. During the first game he had been working, and during the second he had borrowed his cousin's library pass to use the computers there. He had spent almost two hours in a gay men's chat room after sending e-mail off to his friends back east. No big deal.
This month it was Jim and Blair's turn to host the poker game and he was invited. Yes, definitely time to freak out.
It wasn't that he *didn't* know any of the guys from Major Crimes. Hell, he was *dating* Det. Henri Brown. Exclusively. He had met them all. He was even on friendly terms with H.'s partner Brian Rafe. It was,... well, he didn't know them all very *well* and Blair had a *plan*.
David loved his cousin Blair very much. Some of his best memories from his childhood were from when Blair came to stay with his family. When David had finally found the courage to 'come out of the closet' as a gay man, it was only his, admittedly bi-sexual, cousin Blair who hadn't turned away from him or tried to 'cure' him. Blair had always believed in him, encouraged his dreams, supported him, respected him, and loved him unconditionally. He would do anything for Blair. Even go along with the 'plan'.
Earlier in the day, while they had been cleaning the loft, making lots of food, and generally setting everything up, Blair had neatly and efficiently outlined his idea. He had laid it all out and then countered all his arguments with logic and reason. Then he had pulled out the big guns and threw in the 'little lost Blair' look. It came complete with major lip-action pouting, big soulful puppy-dog eyes, and the hopeful bounce on the balls of the feet thingy. David was a goner,... and he knew it. Best to just give in gracefully and spare himself the pain.
Now, here he was, waiting to upset some of the biggest, toughest guys he knew. And frankly, Megan Conner scared him worse than any of the men. Blair could always hide behind Jim, and if worse came to worse, he could always pout at them. *He* would be fine, but David would be stuck holding the bag. Sure, he could pout with the best of them, he *was* a Sandburg after all, but he just couldn't get that look of complete *innocence* that Blair could. He knew, he had tried.
Just then there was a knock at the door. With a fervent prayer that Henri would forgive whatever was left of him by the time the other Major Crimes detectives were through with him, David got up to go greet the guest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was the last hand of the evening. Henri Brown leaned back in his chair and looked around with an amused grin.
His best friend and partner, Brian Rafe, was sitting another hand out due to lack of funds and, incidentally, consciousness. He was flat busted. He was also more than a little drunk. After losing the last of his money two hands ago, he had retired to the sofa with some beer. His soft snores blended into the quiet background music nicely.
Megan Conner and Joel Taggart were both watching with interest and amusement while they shared the last of the tex-mex dip and tortilla chips. They had both folded and were now trying to figure out who would take the last hand.
Captain Simon Banks had an unlit cigar jammed in his mouth, the end chewed mercilessly. His pile of money had dwindled alarmingly over the course of the evening, but he was a trooper, and was determined to battle it out to the very end.
Jim Ellison, like himself, had stayed in the game for amusement purposes, but it was obvious that the grinning man wasn't really concentrating on the game. He only had eyes for his partner and lover, Blair.
Blair and David. Sandburg and Sandburg. Henri grinned at the very thought. Both of the short, curly haired men had unsightly large piles of crumpled bills in front of them. The undisputed winners of almost every hand. At first, it hadn't been too obvious, but after awhile it had sunk into even the thickest Major Crimes skull. The Sandburg men had everyone *way* out-classed when it came to poker. It was almost a crime. They had cleaned out everyone at the game while laying on the charm so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
Henri glanced over and caught Jim's eye. They shared a smug smile. Pride in his mate beamed from every pour in Jim's body and Henri was certain he looked the same way about David.
Turning his attention back to the last hand just in time to watch David scoop the pot over to the money cluttered space in front of him, Henri couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping. David looked up at him, confused blue eyes open wide with guileless innocence.
"What?"
He chuckled again and then leaned over to steal a quick kiss.
"On our next date,... you're paying."
END
Sandburg & Sandburg; Card Sharks R Us