#alt.6

[comfy-whumpee]

Losing Game

Whumptober Alt 6 - Playing Cards

-

He closes the door to the toybox. Inside there are no windows, only a small en suite, a sofa and a bed, and a chest of draws. Sometimes he puts a TV in there, but not for this one. Too volatile.

Her name’s Lucy, but Harvey calls her Minx. The nickname pisses her off. The first time he said it, she threw her dinner plate at him, but she paid for it in blood. There’s a scar in the side of her thumb that will never go away.

So he took out the TV because he didn’t want to replace it. She has nothing to do all day but lie and wait for him to get bored of his work or his weekend. She’s there for if he gets the itch.

Locking the door just in case, he leaves the toybox behind and heads to the living room. His evenings have been quiet, recently. He hasn’t been in the mood to go out on the town and cause trouble while there is a hole in his life. Someone will always be missing, now.

He stops off at the kitchen and washes his hands clean of blood, before grabbing a drink. Minx took surprisingly well to the muzzle. He had threatened her with it once already, of course, the first time she tried to bite him. This time, she had very nearly made contact, teeth flashing towards his wrist as he’d pushed her head back. She took the consequences in stride, her eyes always blazing hatred as he locked it on.

He sits on the sofa opposite the TV. He thinks about turning it on. There’s nothing to watch. Usually, he’d unwind with a hilariously unrealistic horror, or some thriller that will take his mind off the day. But he’s been feeling…lacklustre.

Cutting Minx open had been good fun. For all her bravado, she’s not good with pain. She stares him down all the same when the knife comes out, but it’s only two or three slices in that the tears start. She struggles as soon as he notices them, trying to hide her true feelings, and he enjoys that about her. If he pretends not to notice, she’ll cry for longer. But the second he cuts his eyes up to hers, she’s kicking and twisting to get away.

A cross-hatch of cuts remains on her back, thin and lazy, but covering from neck to waist. He’s been building it up over days. She used to take more before she cried, but he can see she’s getting worn down by him. She’ll get tired before too long, and then she’ll be that fatal thing: boring.

Everyone just feels boring. Work is boring. The numbers change, but what he does to them stays the same. People bring forms for him to sign. Contractors ask for their wages, payroll ask for the details, Harvey signs off on each outgoing payment. He goes out with people who aren’t as fun or interesting. He comes home to a captive who can’t fill the gaps.

He leans down under the table and grabs a deck of cards. He goes back to the toybox.

Minx is curled at the foot of the sofa, head resting back on its cushions, turned to the side. Blood is crusted in her unkempt hair. The bruises on her ribs rise and fall with her breaths. He looks at her and feels nothing.

He closes the door behind him and sits down opposite her on the floor. He sets the cards down. One of her wrists is tied to her ankle, but the other one is free, so she can play.

She stares at him, aggressive even while she’s confused. He smiles at her fondly. He’ll drive her body out to the lake, when the time comes. They’ll probably find her there, in a year or two.

“We’re going to play snap,” he tells Minx. “You can cope with that much, can’t you?”

She makes a noise that sounds very much like fuck you.

He lets his hollow smile widen. “Attagirl. You use your hand. I’m using the knife. We play until you win a game.”

It’s been years since he played cards for more than the odd game at the pub. For a few months, back in college, it was Alistair’s favourite trick. Poker, especially. He could get away with more, in poker. Pin it all on his cold reading. He made a killing from the students before Harvey guessed he was cheating, got him drunk, and discovered his secret.

They stuck to games like snap, after that.

Minx still looks uncertain, but when he sets half the deck in front of her, she flips the first card to start the pile, and he follows, knife in his other hand. She keeps her eyes on the cards as they come, and when the first match lands, she’s quick to slap her hand down onto the pile – before jerking it back as the knife stabs down.

“Very good,” he tells her, amused at her wide-eyed stare. He collects the half-dozen cards.

She makes him take two more piles as his mind wonders, remembering his adventures with Alistair at the casino. Seeing through his opponent’s eyes was one thing, but being able to see through Harvey’s was better. He could see other hands, and he could see himself, and monitor his own tells. They split the winnings. It was a fun summer.

On the next match, he’s not far behind Minx’s hand, and she flinches back before she even touches the cards. She takes the pile. Harvey tries to focus.

The next set, he slams first. She doesn’t even try.

They’re even again. The tug-of-war won’t end until she commits. But when she snatches the next victory, the knife stabs down between her fingers and she shrieks, pulling back against the sofa.

He fixes her with a stare and a smirk, and she looks back with those pretty wide eyes like a trapped animal, breathing fast. He spins the knife across his knuckles. “Want to forfeit?” he asks casually.

She’s shaking her head immediately. The alternative to a game is always worse.

“Then it’s your turn,” he tells her. He wonders if she’ll keep playing if the knife goes through her hand. He’ll have to burn these cards, once the game is done.

It makes him feel just a little better.

[incredubious]

MODERN AU ACESAN !!!! first impressions with a guy who barely passes the No Shoes No Shirt No Service rule

[mothcpu]

Good morning Show me the place where he inserted the blade

[idonthaveanyurlideas]

is this the adventure you were looking for

[larvamars]

I missed maid day but I'll draw him in maid outfit anyway

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

YOU CAN’T THROW AWAY YOUR FUTURES! | HOPE IS CONTAGIOUS!

even if this is all fake, our suffering and pain is real.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker.

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[couch-house]

yippee knuckles comic done! wanted to try several things: tell a story in 4-7 pages, attempt to style layouts and writing a bit more like stc comics, and lump my "knuckles raised unknowingly by the m.e." headcanons together. mixed results I think but I still think it turned out nice :)

[asfodeltide]

[renthony]

I put entirely too much effort into this.

[sirensde4d]

twilight sparkle scene hair inspo ⋆⁺₊✧

[tarosuna]

ʕ⁎̯͡✭ུᏪ FANCY 이건 참 화려해 ��♪─❛❜

��᭨ᬽ｡ﾟ♡ ˖ ࣪ ｡

[incredubious]

another ole collection of one piece doodles...enjoy

[tobyisave]

It drove me nuts that Steven never tells Peridot what happened on the moon in Can't Go Back. Of course, I forgot that in canon it was daytime when he got back and she was already out of the house, so this scene isn't quite plausible. Oh well!

[larvamars]

my wife y'all

[chloesimaginationthings]

Sister Pucci