The tension in the room had become unbearable, as if the air had been sucked out entirely.

"I'm sorry. That was a shitty way to test you," Roenan said, rising to his feet and brushing himself off.

"Are you gay?" Drakke asked abruptly, not even waiting for the apology to land.

Roenan froze.

"I asked you a question," Drakke pressed, turning to face him, his tone dark.

Roenan met his gaze, keeping his expression neutral.

Drakke's eyes searched Roenan’s with a fierce urgency. "No one can know about this," he said, voice sharp. "Do you understand? Not a soul. Ever." His hands were trembling.

"Look, I..." Roenan took a hesitant step forward, but Drakke stepped back.

"It's more than just illegal here - it’s condemned. Punishable by prison, torture, even death. This country calls it unclean. Do you get what I’m saying?" Drakke’s voice was taut, and the shadows playing across his face made Roenan’s chest ache. He gave a slight nod.

Drakke turned to the table and poured two drinks. For a long moment, he said nothing.

Roenan began wracking his brain with things to say, when Drakke finally spoke.

"You’re going to be harder to look after than I thought." His voice was lower now, steadier. He turned and held a glass out to Roenan, meeting his eyes.

"I already told you I don’t need your protection," Roenan replied, taking it. He glanced  into the glass, watching the ice swirl.

"And I already told you—you’re getting it."

Their eyes locked, a stubborn challenge passing between them, before Roenan sighed.

"Look, I’m sorry for jumping you like that. I was vaguely aware of Vernajja’s laws, I just didn’t think..." He shifted uncomfortably. "Can we just clear the air and have a decent night?"

"I want to enjoy the night too. I rarely have the breaks to do this sort of thing anymore." Drakke sighed, whispering something to himself. Finally, he straightened up and lifted his glass, toasting in Vernajjian. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Roenan replied in Jaedan, clinking glasses. He tossed the drink back and coughed violently, covering his mouth with his sleeve. Drakke chuckled.

"Gods, what the hell are they putting in your alcohol?" He choked, wiping his sleeve across his eyes.

Drakke tutted, "Take it easy, it's probably been weeks since you've drank last. Unless... you've been sneaking some in behind my back?" 

"Hah, ah, yeah. You should see the underground supply business I've been running out of the hospital. Can't believe I've actually been exposed." 

Drakke smirked as he slid a desk of card off of the table and began shuffling them in his hands.

Roenan nodded toward them. "What’s the game?"

"It's a twist on war. If you lose, I get to ask you a question—you can answer honestly, or choose to drink. This goes the other way around, too. And a tie means we owe each other a favor, but refusing the favor means drinking. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough," Roenan agreed.

Drakke grabbed his chair and pointed at the one Roenan had been using, which had rolled near the end of the table. "Grab that and sit your ass down."

"Yeah, yeah," Roenan mumbled, complying. Drakke dealt the cards and refilled their glasses.

Once they were settled, Drakke indicated so that they would flip their first cards at the same time. Drakke drew a seven, Roenan a four.

Roenan frowned. "Is this game rigged?"

"Not at all. Are you gay?"

Roenan arched a brow. "That’s your question?  I thought you'd go for something better."

"You never actually answered." Drakke said defensively.

"Well, you can just work on figuring that out then, that's not my problem."

"I'm trying! And you're still not answering."

Roenan rolled his eyes and took a sip from his drink.

"You—" Drakke shot him an accusatory look, but Roenan grinned, flipping his next card.

Drakke pulled his own, drawing a queen against Roenan's two.

Roenan frowned, "Totally rigged," He muttered.

“Hardly,” Drakke countered. He brushed his thumb around the bottom of his glass as the corners of his lips turned up. "Alright, let’s go for a classic then: tell me about your first kiss."

Roenan snorted and looked away. "Still trying to backdoor your first question, huh?"

"No dodging."

"There is if I drink."

"You won’t do that again," Drakke said confidently. "I can sense it."

”Oh, yeah?” Roenan laughed. “So much confidence in someone you know nothing about.” He thought he saw Drakke’s fingers flinch on his glass, but when he looked up at his face, he had on a cool smile. Roenan looked back down at his card and relented, “It was back in middle school. She had a crush on me and caught me off guard.”

"Hah... is that right?" Drakke leaned in. "What’s it like, getting caught off guard with something like that?"

“You're can be really annoying, huh?" Roenan said, leaning in and meeting his eyes. 

Drakke sat back with a cocky smirk. "You know, thinking about it a little more, who can blame you? With these undeniably good looks, and a personality that is unmatched, you aren't the first to lose their senses over me."

Roenan gaped at him.

"Wow. You desperately need to be humbled," He muttered.

Drakke to snickered at his response.

When they flipped again, Roenan drew a win, pulling a king to Drakke’s three.

A delighted expression spread across Roenan's face, and Drakke looked at him suspiciously when asking, “You’ve been dying to ask something, haven’t you?”

"Of course I have."

"Give it to me then."

"Did you like it?"

Drakke stared at him questioningly, before realization struck and he snorted. 

"You're unreal, you know that? And to think that I was just the one getting preached at to be humble.” He lifted his glass, with a grin that exposed a dimple. "Get off your high horse, Jaeda." He added, before taking a sip. He added, before taking a sip.

"You definitely liked it," Roenan chuckled. He took pleasure in watching Drakke's ears turn slightly red.

Drakke lowered his glass and shot him a look. "Sounds to me like you need some reminding - I fucked my friend’s sister, not his brother." He flipped his next card.

Roenan flipped his own card. His eyes landed on his five, before glancing over at the eight that Drakke pulled, then shifted up to meet his face. When he saw Drakke's expression, with his eyes flashing, as they slowly lifted away from their cards, he felt his adrenaline spike. A subtle chill filled room. It was a shift in the atmosphere that he couldn’t ignore.

"Hey, Roenan," Drakke said, voice suddenly serious.

Roenan’s breath hitched. He looked down to keep his eyes on his card, unwilling to look back up.

Drakke idly tapped the corner of his card on the tabletop, the rhythm slowing with each beat until the sound faded entirely.

"Why did your mother try to kill you?" Drakke finally asked, voice low.

Pain sliced through Roenan's chest. He looked away to shield his expression. The question felt like it pierced directly through his fresh wounds, stirring a deep ache within him - something beyond just physical pain.

“I don’t know," he answered quietly, his voice wavering. He wasn’t ready to confront what had led his mother to such a dark place—he’d spent weeks trying to block it from his memory.

Drakke’s voice softened further. “I know it's a tough subject."

"It's like I just said, I don’t know. So don't pry." His voice was barely a whisper, but his statement was firm. "Let’s move on."

Drakke studied him for a moment, letting the silence settle before nodding. They flipped again, Roenan winning this time with a ten to Drakke’s three.

Now it was Roenan’s turn. He hesitated briefly, but when their gazes met again, he asked. "Why were there Vernajjians at my home... that night?"

Drakke stiffened, seemingly caught off guard by this. His lips parted slightly, and his hand suddenly drifted toward his drink.

Roenan caught a glimpse of something off in his expression, and narrowed his eyes. "I thought you played by the rules."

Drakke gripped his drink and lifted it, "This is part of the rules."

"Drakke," Roenan warned, as he reached out to grab his wrist. Drakke looked down at Roenan's grip on his arm, then back up to search his eyes. He sighed, setting the drink down. 

"It's because I don't know all the details. They'd been keeping tabs on your family. They were going to talk to your father." He admitted. "I don't rank high enough to receive that type of information directly."

"Keeping tabs on my... why? What did my family have to do with anything? In the entirety of my life, my parents and I never even left Jaeda."

”Hey, you’re now asking too many questions within your turn.” Drakke cut in firmly.

“Drakke.” Roenan said again, not allowing him to try to take the conversation elsewhere.

"That's all I know." He said dimissively. He pulled his next card and laid it down on the table and gestured for Roenan to do the same.

Roenan studied him in silence for a long moment, questions running through his mind at a rate he could hardly comprehend. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before he flipped his card. When he read what he pulled, he reached over the table to lie his card down next to Drakke’s. 

Two sixes - for favors.