𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘪𝘯 ♤ 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦

II. Roulette

❝ ʟᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀɴᴅꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀꜱ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇ ᴏᴜʀ ꜰᴀᴛᴇ, ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇ? ❞

《♤♡♧◇》

[Name] returned to their seat, angled at Sylvester the conquered gun comfortably in one hand, and rested it on the table. They snuck a glance at Aventurine, who was still comfortable on the couch opposite. He didn't miss a single look, and he knew then that this was a game to raise the stakes - simultaneously a warning and a lure, deterring and galvanising all at once.

Somehow then, Aventurine believed the tension to be greater between the two of them than [Name] and Sylvester. He wasn't dreaming here, not with thrillingly his heart beat now as Sylvester kicked back his chair.

The woman half-concealed by shadow stepped out now and let herself be known to Sylvester, lifting the lapel of her coat to reveal her own weapon - a formidable scabbard that shone in all hues of violet.

"Acheron, it'll be fine," [Name] griped, their voice lowering to a gentler tone - though it sounded more whiny than an order.

"Say that to me again when you're on the way to the hospital with a bullet in your face."

"Can a bartender not have their fun anymore?"

"Your idea of fun is... mildly questionable. You raise a few ethical concerns."

Aventurine shifted uncomfortably. Sylvester's face was unreadable, and he had no clue whether he was going to accept the challenge or lash out. He was irascible, that much was clear, and capricious. If only he could have kept that poker face for the actual round of poker, ha... What a farce this man was.

"Sylvester, you don't really have a say in this," [Name] said pointedly. "Especially not when your wives didn't in divorce. It's only fair, right?"

Sylvester's face darkened, and the muscles in his neck grew taut, but begrudgingly he sat himself back down across from them as so politely requested, blocking Aventurine's view. [Name] was making capital use of the power shift - right now, they could say anything and nobody could object, so long as the gun was in their hand. It was incredibly entertaining in this way for Aventurine to simply sit back and spectate, which he found strange. He was usually the one doing the entertaining. Yes, then he realised that simple people were amused by simple things - shallow fools who had nothing better to do, those who truly found amusement in cheap tricks.

By his reasoning it meant that he too was just as superficial as them, however he would argue against that.

But don't we all?

[Name] studied Sylvester for a long moment before finally asking, "Why do you appear so hesitant? I already told you I'm playing alongside you. You know what, just to make things easier for you, you can place the gun wherever you want on your body. Doesn't matter if it'll kill you or not. There's no catch for you."

"You're insane," he rebuked.

"Oh, trust me, I know," they responded dismissively, sitting back. They exposed the barrel of the revolver with a quick flick.

"I'll follow suit with the positioning of the gun, and you also get to determine the number of times I have to pull the trigger. I'll do the number of times you do, plus one. Doesn't it sound like an awfully good game in your favour?" [Name] removed the fifth bullet from the chamber and flicked the cylinder back into the revolver again.

"The odds are quite convincing." They paused for a moment before adding thoughtfully, "...if you know how to do basic probability, of course. Chance makes the game truly exciting."