jack, queen, deuce on the river.

[theory]

TITLE ➲ Jack, Queen, Deuce on the River.
SERIES ➲ Sakoda
CHARACTERS ➲ fifteen-year-old!Sakuto & UN-NAMED TWENTY-SOMETHING LADY
RATING ➲ PG for...things idk.
WORD COUNT ➲ 713
COMMENTS ➲ ;lkafdl;kasjfdl;kasfd features Sakuto as an awkward, somewhat-desperate, hormonal fifteen-year-old ;lakjsdfl;ajksfd idek. Also: Ryuu = Sakuto's older brother.

She sits across from him, sipping so slowly at her cola that he begins to watch the stream of carbonation crawl its way up the straw, counting the bubbles, all thousand million billion infinity of them.

“I’m leaving.” She says, using her tongue to push the straw into the corner of her mouth, knowing that he can’t stop staring.

“Come again?”

“I’m leaving Sakoda.” She repeats, slowly.

“When?”

She sighs. “Tomorrow morning.”

“Why?”

She sighs again. “You know why.”

“But the last job went off perfectly—”

“I know. That’s why I don’t want to risk it.”

“They have no idea—”

“Sakuto.” She takes the straw out of her mouth, swiveling it towards him. “I won’t risk it. Even for you.” She pauses. “Especially for you.”

“But—”

“No. If we keep doing this, Ryuu will track us down sooner or later. He isn’t the kind of person to let anyone off the hook, even his own little brother.”

“Can I come with you, then?”

“Don’t be stupid.” She rolls her eyes. “Come with me? How old are you, Sakuto? Fifteen?”

“I’ll be sixteen in November!”

“You’re still a kid.”

“I am not! You said so yourself! You said you’ve never seen anyone who could get in and out of a bank system faster!”

“I said you were talented. You’ve got a good memory, good intuition. Still doesn’t mean you’re not a kid, kid.” She reaches across the table, ruffles his hair affectionately. “You’re trying to deal with stuff you’re not even old enough to understand yet. Just be yourself for a couple more years, will you? Have some fun. Go to an amusement park or something. Ride a couple of roller coasters.”

“But—”

“No buts. Why don’t you just forget about me?”

“…I can’t.”

“Why not? It’s not like I’m anyone special.”

“No, you are! You’re the first woman I ever—”

“Stop right there, kiddo. You’re way too young for me to be your anything. Like I said, you may be smart, but you’re light years away from being an adult. You don’t even know how to feel like an adult. You’re interesting, which is why I picked you up in the first place. You were like a new toy, like a puppy dog. It’s been fun, but that’s all it will ever be.”

“So you’re just going to drop me, just like that? After all we—”

“Well, I wish I could have done it more gently, but you and I both know that’s just not the way I go.”

“You’re saying it was just a game? All this was for your entertainment? I was doing all that for your entertainment?”

“Life is a game, kiddo, there’s no other way to look at it. You were my trump card for a while, and I play to win.”

She gazes at him through half-lidded eyes, a little half-smile, letting the silence fall cold and thick all around them like leftover congee. “I think I’ll head over to Ryuu’s to say good-bye before I leave. Want me to take you home?”

“No. I can make it on my own.”

“Doubt it. Come on.”

She slides out of her side of the booth, leaving him without any option but to follow her. She never turns around; she can hear him shuffling across the linoleum behind her. They get in her car, drive along the highway with the top down, crossing the Sakoda night skyline. In the night-owl hours, the buzz of the city still hums in their ears.

“Listen,” She murmurs, pulling him close to her as they stop in front of the Fuutonaka complex. “Ninety-nine percent of us are a dime a dozen. Sure, we’ll hack a couple of systems, maybe screw with a couple of online poker tournaments, rig a security system or two if we’re lucky, but that’s all we’ll ever amount to. In the end, no one remembers our names and we’ll be replaced and we’ll sink back into that mundane abyss from whence we came. If that’s what you really want, then fine. But…”

She pulls away, winks. “If you ever want to see me again, make a name for yourself. Do something no one’s ever done before. Play the game, see where it takes you.”