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3:10 to Yuma - Two Aces
Title: Two Aces
Author: yayforjae
Fandom: 3:10 to Yuma
Summary: Ben and Dan gamble.
Rating: PG
A/N: A drabble for baggyeyes! You are continually awesome and your stories blow me away. You rock!



"I could teach you how." Wade shuffled the old deck slowly, slipping the cards back and forth in his hands. He tapped them on the table before spreading them in an arc across the wood. He grinned his slow wolf-grin. "It's easy enough; just need to be quick and smart."

"No thanks."

"So Dan Evans draws the line at cheating at cards. Somehow it seems like a lesser sin than your other pursuits, Dan."

"You're the outlaw here, Wade." Dan watched as Wade gathered them up again and split them into two piles to shuffle.

He tapped them together and made a neat pile in the center of the table, then grabbed the bottle of whiskey, refilled his glass and Dan's, which was still only half full. "Easy," he said again. "Riffle shuffle. Learned it as a boy. Go on - Lift the top cards."

Dan waited a moment before obeying. He leaned forward, flipped the top two cards: aces. "Manipulation."

The grin was back. "Useful trick when there's a good prize to be won. Sure you don't want to learn?"

"I don't gamble."

"Sure you do, Dan. Want me to list them all? Coming out west was a gamble. Buying a ranch was a gamble." Wade stretched across the table to gather the cards and then started shuffling the cards again, cutting the pile twice before setting the deck back down. He pressed his tongue against his teeth and tapped the cards with a callused finger. "Joining me was a gamble."

The room was hot and his throat was dry, but Dan didn't trust himself with anymore whiskey. "That's not the same-"

"Fact of the matter is that you're gambling right now."

Dan could hear the tinkling piano music from the saloon below them. "All right, Wade," he said at last, grabbing the cards to shuffle before Wade could. "What are the stakes?"

"Same as always," Wade replied as he raised his glass to his lips, "Dan."