civil war au } { please leave the light on for me

[hasperkynipples]

He doesn't see it coming.

He should have. He's a soldier, he's trained for these things. He should have expected that after so long of being occupied, the citizens of New Orleans would start striking back. There's no reason why they wouldn't pick off Union soldiers seen on their own. Dean had gotten complacent. Gotten sloppy. And now he was probably going to die before he could even make it back to his unit.

His hand stays pressed to his side as he continues to stumble up the street, trying to keep himself mobile as best he can. He hurts, everywhere from the beating he had taken and the blood is still leaking through his fingers. He's not going to make it. His parents, brother, they may be prepared for him to die in the heat of battle. He doesn't think they would appreciate hearing that he was killed by being jumped on the street.

He trips on a crack in the pathway, pitching forward into a nearby fence post with a pained groan. He tries to push himself back to his feet again, but he can't. His body drops to the ground, slumping against the fence as he does, trying to catch his breath. Things are starting to get hazy around the edges, but he still thinks that he can make out the faint sound of footsteps.

"Help me," he manages to whisper, unsure if he's talking to anyone at all. "Please."

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[hasperkynipples]

He smirks a bit at the flush of her cheeks - he can't help himself. As polite as he is, his ego demands at least that much. But he lets it fade almost instantly, turning his gaze back down to his cards again.

"Only if you wish to speak with me, Miss Chapel."

[hypospraying]

It seems he's putting it into her hands, letting her pursue him. She admits to herself that he intrigues her, so she can't help but continue.

"I think I would like that. Let's see, what should I ask?" She lets the question hover in the air as she selects a new card and begins rearranging her hand.

"Would you happen to have a sweetheart back home?" May as well get the big question out of the way first, right?

[hasperkynipples]

He smirks a bit at that, before shaking his head. "No. Nothing lengthy at any rate." Nothing that really felt right, the way it should. It's not as though his family had any kind of wealth - there weren't women beating down the door to be his wife. But there were small things - a child's idea of love.

[hypospraying]

His answer makes a fresh blush bloom on her cheeks and she raises her cards a bit to hide behind them. The handsome, single young man in her drawing room is making her all aflutter. She has to remind herself that he's a Yankee and shouldn't be delighting in the fact that he's unattached.

"But you have family to write to you while you are away. That's good."

[hasperkynipples]

He nods, taking his turn with the cards before leaning back to let her take her turn. "It can take some time for me to get their letters, but it is still good to hear from them, even if it is delayed."

[hypospraying]

"Oh? How long must you wait for each letter?" She threw away another card and picked up a new one. "It must be very hard, being away."

[hasperkynipples]

"A week, at least," he says with a nod. "Sometimes a little longer, depending on the weather and the condition of the roads. I know it doesn't seem like such a great stretch of time, but when you're used to speaking with someone every day ... " It adds up.

[hypospraying]

"Of course. Especially if you are very close." Not that she's close to anyone, but she has a yearning to be. Maybe someday she'll have that person and an hour apart will feel like an eternity.

Her eyes fall on her cards as she tries to decide whether three of a kind is better than anything he might have.

"If we think we have the cards we need, do we reveal them yet?"

[hasperkynipples]

He glances up and nods. "If you have the set you need, yes. You say gin and you put them down on the table." He's happy to take the distraction from talking about his family. Especially when he misses them as much as he does.

[hypospraying]

"All right." She shifts in her seat, clears her throat rather grandly, and says, "Gin!" Then she giggles and sets down three eights, glancing up at him to see if she's done it right.

[hasperkynipples]

He glances up a bit, before giving her a small smile. "Not quite. You need another pair to fill out the five cards."

[hypospraying]

Her eyes widen and her mouth forms an O-shape in surprise. Now she feels very silly for doing it incorrectly.

"Oh, dear, do I? Have I ruined my chances?" Quickly, she gathers her cards back up into her hand. "Could you perhaps pretend that you simply didn't see this?"

[hasperkynipples]

He nods before holding up a hand. "Just like it never happened. You can even take your turn again, if you like."

[hypospraying]

Oh, she likes him. It's completely unexpected, but she truly does. Her cheeks flush a little as she retakes her turn, discarding a card and receiving one just as worthless. She lifts her eyes to his, feeling shy now that he's been so generous when she was once so rude to him.

"Thank you. D'you need anything? Something to drink, perhaps?"

[hasperkynipples]

He pauses as he moves to take his turn, glancing briefly at the cards in his hand. "Some water would be good. If it's not too much trouble."

[hypospraying]

"No trouble at all! I'll be right back." She leaves her cards face down on the table and moves from the room to the kitchen, where she has the cook fetch her a glass. A minute later she returns, offering it to him.

"Here you are."

[hasperkynipples]

He shifts his cards to the side to take it from her, with a smile. "Thank you." Once he has it steady in his hand, he takes a long sip. "And it's your turn."

[hypospraying]

She peeks at him from behind her cards as he sips to make sure the action isn't causing him any pain. But he tolerates it well and she finds herself admiring him all the more. But the game requires her attention and she selects another card, pouting at her failure to match up her two remaining cards so she can have gin.

"I do declare; I think the card I need has scurried away under the settee somewhere." It's punctuated with a slight huff of irritation.

[hasperkynipples]

He laughs a bit at that, before moving to take his own turn. "It'll come. Sometimes it's just a matter of having the right luck." Besides, the sooner the game is over, the sooner he's sure she'll probably move on and give him some time to rest. He's not sure he wants that quite yet, even if he probably should.

[hypospraying]

"What does this say of our luck, then, if neither of us have succeeded yet?" Christine exchanges another card and sighs. "And again, I'm without the card I need. We are through most of the deck now."

She's only frustrated because she wants to win. The thought that the end of the game should be the start of his rest hasn't yet occurred to her.

[hasperkynipples]

He glances down at the straight in his hand, and the one outlier card he hasn't quite given up yet. He considers for a moment, before picking up his card, and while it is not the one he needs, he doesn't discard it right away. Instead, he passes the one he's been hanging on to.

"Perhaps we just didn't realize what we already had."

[hypospraying]

"That must be it. I confused the rules earlier and I'm sure that's where I had it wrong and threw away what I should have kept." She'll have to be more cautious from now on. Taking her turn, she chooses the card he discarded and her face lights up as she sets down her cards.

"Gin! You had just what I needed."

[hasperkynipples]

He smiles a bit at that, before placing his cards down and pushing them back towards the center of the table. "I'm happy I could help."

[hypospraying]

She stares proudly at the cards. Her very first card game and she won! Luck was apparently on her side after all.

"I enjoyed myself, Private Winchester. I hope you did too?"

[hasperkynipples]

"I did," he says with a nod. "You may become quite the card shark yet."