Work Text:
You bent the deck carefully and carefully released the halves under your thumbs, letting them flutter between your fingers to shuffle them. You scooped your fingers under the deck and let the cards shuffle themselves back into a single deck before dealing out two number cards and a single assist card to Zayne, then yourself.
“Today’s goal is a small victory!” You neatly placed the assist deck and the number cards deck in the center of the table between the cups.
“That’s not what you usually say,” Zayne raised an eyebrow, sliding his cards over to himself.
You slid your cards over and pursed your lips. “Today’s goal is a flawless victory?”
He laughed softly and tilted his head slightly, “We should both do our best.” Zayne thumbed his cards carefully before turning them over, his hazel eyes scanning his hand.
You turned your hand over, too. You had a red four, a blue three, and a “kitty plot” assist card. That wasn’t too bad. There were two green and two red cups in the ring, so you had a one in two chance for your cards to land.
“Would you like to go first or second?” Zayne asked.
“I’ll let you go first!” You smiled brightly. You knew that you had better chances of drawing more cards going second and having a hand above Zayne.
“Don’t come crying to me later,” he shook his head. “Remember our deal?”
Your eyebrow only raised at him. “Every time a card fails or we get skipped, we strip. If we lose completely, we have to get naked and do whatever the other person wants for twenty-four hours.”
“Mhm,” he nodded. “But darling, if you wanted to get me naked, you could have just asked.”
“This is more fun,” You shrugged. “And I owe you a fair game of cards, don’t I?”
“Hmm… You’re not going to grab another layer? Or several ?” He asked, his tone light and playful. Zayne was wearing his usual suit, tie, and tan-hued vest. He hadn’t grabbed another layer, so why should you?
You narrowed your eyes at him. “I’m not a coward. And I’m not a loser. I’m gonna beat you, Zee.” You were going to beat him wearing your casual weekend clothes.
His lips only twitched into a bigger smirk. “We’ll see.”
You huffed and grabbed a card from the numbers deck.
Zayne grabbed an assist card and instantly turned it over to you. It was a “paw combo”. He scanned his hand quickly and pulled a brown five-point cat card, placing it in a white cup, and quickly played his last numbers card: a blue four-point cat card. In total, gaining nine points.
You frowned. That’s already a lot of points to gain in a short amount of time. You drew from the assist pile and gained a “skip” card. You stared at your hand carefully before playing the “skip” card immediately. You waited for him to play a “meow this!” card.
That was probably the strongest card in a person’s hand. Drawing two cards sometimes helped. But the card that was the bane of your existence was the “change cup color” card. It eityour worked in your favor or it bit your spectacularly in the ass.
Zayne didn’t play anything and frowned slightly. He loosened his tie and took it off, placing it on the table.
You smiled at the sight of the loose fabric between you both. So your card worked. You played your red four-point card, placing it into one of the red cups. You were only a point behind Zayne.
He drew from the assist deck, the corner of his lips suddenly turning up in a smirk. “This is going to send shivers down someone’s spine…” he hummed. The look on his face was more than enough to do that to you.
The longer you looked at his smirking face, the more your stomach fluttered. You quickly averted your eyes and focused on your deck, carefully playing out your next moves in your head.
You could draw an assist card, not really looking at it, and then quickly play your green three-point card. That would push you to earn a total of fourteen points.
Zayne tried to draw from the numbers deck but then glanced at the “skip” card in the center of the ring. He sighed and drew his hand back. It was your turn now.
You placed it under the assist deck and drew an assist card, relief washing over you when you were greeted by the “meow this!” card. Your relief only grew when you saw that you had two “meow this!” cards, including this one.
You quickly played your green card and smiled brightly at Zayne.
“Seems like the match is going in your favor,” he tilted an eyebrow. “But let’s see how long that lasts…” He drew from the assist pile and from the numbers pile after not playing every one of the cards.
Your brows knit slightly from the interesting move. It wasn’t like he could play a number card anyway; You were just curious why he didn’t play an assist card. Both of you were tied up for the types of cards they had. One number card and three assists. That made you begin to sweat slightly under your collar.
You didn’t pull from the assist pile, jumping right into playing your final number card. You placed the blue three-point cat into a white cup. You now have seventeen points. Even with the bigger gap in points between you, there were three cups left, but there were three assist cards in his hand. You could easily lose it all completely.
Zayne drew from the assist pile and glanced at you, “I think this is what you wanted.”
Your skin was buzzing with nerves. That could be anything. It could be a red or green six-point card, or a “meow this!” card.
He played a “purrator” card. You scowled instantly. There it was. The bane of your existence.
You instantly slapped a “meow this!” card from your hand.
Zayne’s eyebrow rose. “Hmph,” he huffed and shook his head, “You got me.”
He unbuttoned his vest and shrugged it off, hanging it on the back of his chair. He quickly played another assist card. A “magic paw”.
You slapped down your final “meow this!” card. You were holding onto your seventeen points for dear life. Zayne sighed and placed his cards facedown on the table. He unbuttoned his shirt slowly.
You watched each one get undone, his long slender fingers carefully unnotching the buttons from and pulling the fabric more off his chest. Your eyes clung to every curve and dip of his toned body. He had a little bit of chest hair, but it was so light. There was a thicker trail of hair that started at his navel and disappeared below the waistband of his slacks.
You couldn’t stop staring. Something about seeing Zayne shirtless made you get all hot inside. There was a sudden need to see him up close. To feel him.
He pulled his shirt from his pants, his biceps flexing slightly as he pulled his sleeves off. Zayne hung it over the back of his chair as well.
You shifted slightly in your seat as you thought about how his chest would feel under your hands. You wanted to see how far that trail of hair went. You wanted to see his chest turn pinkish from his exertions when he’d—
“My eyes are up here,” his voice snapped you from your thoughts.
Your eyes fluttered up to his. There was a questioning look on his face, but his eyes shone with something dark and just as heated as your gaze had been.
You cleared your throat. “Since you don’t have any more ‘meow this!’ cards, I’m sorry about this.”
He pushed up his glasses and sat back in his chair. “You don’t sound sorry at all.”
You smiled. You didn’t bother trying to squeeze faux sympathy in your words, too happy seeing him undressed like this.
Zayne pulled from the assist deck and revealed the card to you. “Meowster”.
“Shit…” You hissed, sinking into your chair.
Zayne carefully pulled five cards from the bottom of the assist deck and held them up to himself, his eyes carefully skimming over each card. He looked at you and pulled out a card, holding it up in the air.
“Purrator”.
“ Fuck ,” You seethed sharper than you intended.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a good card, anyway,” he shrugged, but the way his eyes twinkled behind his rectangular lenses made your hands sweaty again. You prayed to a benevolent god to let you hold onto your seventeen points.
You may have wanted to get you both undressed under any circumstances, but you wanted to win more.
Zayne played the cursed “purrator” card, and you were powerless to do anything about it.
He studied the table and selected your red cat card. The cup began to flash through multiple colors, each one setting more of your nerves on fire.
The cup turned green, and you slumped in your seat. You were down to nine points, tied with Zayne.
“It had to be done,” Zayne shrugged.
“You think I’m gonna buy into that?!” You gasped. “Get your Machiavellian logic out of this game!”
“Isn’t the whole premise of this game your Machiavellian attempt?” He tilted his head.
Your mouth snapped shut, and you sank lower in your seat, earning a smug smile from Zayne. The smile made your stomach flutter with dark heat that crawled lower between your legs, but your competitiveness overrode the arousal.
You wanted to wipe that smile off his face.
Zayne looked at the assist deck and then at his hand. He played his last assist card, revealing a “meowster” card. He drew the last five cards from the deck.
You gnawed on the inside of your bottom lip as he stared longer at the deck. He drew a “magic paw” card, sending a low chill down your spine.
No… please…
“This will have to do…” Zayne mused. He stared at his hand before playing the same card he had just drawn.
Zayne selected your green cat card after he slid his assist card under the deck. He just reduced you to five points.
“And here I finally got a good card…” You whined.
“Try to get another one,” Zayne replied instantly.
You glared at him. It was still his turn.
He drew a number card, and his eyebrow quirked, “This is getting interesting…”
“ This is getting interesting… ” You mocked his voice under your breath. It made him smile.
“You’re not even undressed in the slightest,” he said.
“Did you forget the entire stipulation?” You hissed at him.
Zayne hemmed and hawed as he thought about it, acting as if he were having a hard time remembering. “Oh yes…” his smile only grew. “The loser has to get naked and do what the other player wants for twenty-four hours.”
Zayne laughed softly, but there was no sympathy behind it. “Did you think I’d go easy on you?”
Your eye twitched. The thought running through your mind was no longer your hands running down his abs; it was to completely destroy Zayne at this stupid card game.
It was finally your turn.
You drew from the assist deck, drawing a “paw combo” card. You stared at it for a while. You didn’t have any more number cards to play. It was useless to you.
You sighed and drew a number card.
Zayne drew from the assist deck and couldn’t bother hiding the amusement in his voice. “It will be more interesting now.” He played the card.
“Freeze”.
“It’s like I’m using my Evol,” Zayne said.
You just glared at him and yanked your socks off. You tapped your nail impatiently on the back of your cards.
Zayne drew a number card.
“What’s the number?” You asked.
“Somewhere between one and six,” came his quick reply.
You sighed and drew an assist card, but when you were about to slide it on the table, you saw the “freeze” card on the table. You couldn’t play the “purrceive” you just drew. You stared at Zayne over your cards. It was as if he was reading your damn mind.
You grumbled and played your only number card, placing it in the last green cup. “As long as it can be doubled.”
“It’s an easy condition to satisfy,” Zayne nodded. He then drew an assist card. “It’s my favorite card.”
You groaned. At this point, any card could be his favorite. From “meow this” to “purrator”… He was somehow able to overpower you, no matter what move you made.
He played a “purrceive” card.
You nearly crumpled your cards in your hands. “You—!”
“Hm?” He tilted his head. “Was this a card you wanted to play?”
You pinched your lips shut and swore to plant carrots in his lunch. “Just get it over with.” You held out your deck to him.
Zayne selected your “paw combo” card.
“You’re so merciless…” You whined.
“Thank you for the compliment,” he chirped as he played a green three-point card in a white cup. He was now at twelve points. You were at nine.
You dove onto the assist pile before he was done withdrawing his hand from the cup. You drew a “purrator”.
Please! Please! Please! You chanted in your head. “With this, I’ll surely be able to win today!” You blurted out. You then dropped your head into your hands and sighed. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud…” Your nerves felt like they were frying up under your skin.
“Wishes don’t come true if you say them out loud,” Zayne replied.
“Shut—” You took the “purrator” card and slapped it onto the table “—Your gob.”
You were about to select his brown five-point cat card when you froze.
There was a four in five chance you could make him lose. It would take him down to seven points with you and potentially prolong the game.
But there was a one in five chance you could lose everything .
Were you really going to gamble with fate? With your cataclysmically awful luck? You’ve got a date with destiny, and it’s not going to end with a kiss.
You decided that you were going to fuck it and find out. You chose his brown five-point cat card.
The cards flashed through the colors.
“Dr. Zayne, how do you like it?” You chirped, hoping for retribution.
Your face fell instantly, and your eyes glazed over when it turned brown. You found out the consequences of your actions.
“Nothing special,” he shrugged with only the biggest shit-eating grin that the stoic doctor could manage. “Now… you remember the deal…”
You got to your feet and yanked the sweater off. You were down to your tank top, underwear, and shorts. You weren't even wearing a bra; You were so confident in winning. Plus, you also weren't insane enough to wear one on your weekend off .
You were too busy stewing in your miserable luck to notice Zayne staring at your chest.
He was at seventeen points. You were at seven points.
Zayne had two number cards left, and you had two assist cards left. A “purrceive” and a “kitty plot”. There was one red cup and one white cup left.
You drew a number card.
Zayne drew an assist card, “I remember this card is very powerful.”
“Zayne, please! Please ! I’m begging!” You instantly crumpled to the floor before he could even play it. His casual threat made your knees buckle. You whined, “Please have mercy!”
“No,” he slid his assist card over. “Bye-bye!: demolish and discard a Kitty placed by your opponent”.
You took one glance at it and broke into a small faux sob, resting your forehead against the edge of the table. “You’re so mean!” You cried.
“It’s all in the name of the game, sweetie,” he hummed. “Not my fault you’re so—”
“ Watch it .” You hissed at him.
“—So unlucky this time around,” Zayne hummed, still looking far too smug about what was going to happen.
“Dr. Zayne, where is your mercy as a doctor?” You hauled yourself back into your chair.
“I’m currently off work,” Zayne said, his eyes shining darkly, “There is no benevolence in me.”
Your breath hitched suddenly. That shouldn’t have turned you on, not when you were losing so badly. You crossed your legs together, pinching your thighs close.
The memories of his hands meticulously massaging your body and drawing out orgasm after orgasm flooded your head. The look he wore now was the same that he wore then, as you helplessly cried through a mind-shattering orgasm in his arms.
Zayne played a brown two-point card in the white cup. Nineteen points.
“Was that a mistake?” You asked.
“A new strategy,” he responded simply, not elaborating further.
“Really?”
He nodded, “You’ll know.”
You looked at your hand and then realized the danger.
There was the final red cup. He had one number card left. Even if he played a different colored card and earned zero points, he was going to wipe the floor with you.
You had one number card and three assist cards. One of which was not helpful if he was going to play his final card before you could get a chance to play the additional number cards you drew. The other allowed you to draw more assist cards, but it would erase cards from your deck, not his. The final one was slightly helpful because it would take away all of his cards, forcing him to draw from the deck.
You had to stop him no matter what it took. That was the safest option.
But there was the chance that he might not play the card, and you could earn a red cat card and then play one of the two assist cards that would take away his final card.
And like a moth to a flame, you chose to gamble and play your “cat-ching!” card, drawing two number cards: a blue three-point card and a red two-point card.
If you played the red card, you would be at eight points.
“Take what you want,” Zayne said. You weren't really paying attention to him anymore.
You were already fighting a losing battle, but you were going down playing everything you could.
It still wasn’t Zayne’s turn yet. You played your “purrcieve” card and took away his only number card.
Now it was the final decision.
You stared at your red card.
You could play it and end the round. You would lose spectacularly at only eight points to his nineteen. It wasn’t upsetting that you were against stripping to your birthday suit for Zayne. It was upsetting that you were losing at a game.
You could hold onto it and draw another card. If you were able to draw an assist card, there was a chance it could be a “freeze” or “skip” card. It would hold Zayne back a little longer as you tried to gain a red six-point card or another assist card that could somehow erase his points down to zero with “purrator” or down to one point with “magic paw”. But you could only draw a number card this round.
You took a breath and then sighed. You drew a number card.
Zayne pulled an assist card. “The deciding card is here.”
He revealed a “kitty plot” card, earning two more assist cards. He swapped one assist for a number card. You drew an assist card. Some hope rushed through you as you read the description.
“Dr. Zayne, are you ready to receive my attacks?” You asked. You weren't going down without a fight.
“Have you forgotten what my Evol is?” He countered.
You stared at your hand carefully again. You played your “magic paw” card you just drew. You selected his brown five-point cat card, your body thrumming with anticipation that it would be taken down. It would only take his overall points down to fifteen points, but that was still a good amount of points to lose—
Zayne instantly played his “meow this!” card.
You deflated in your seat. “I’ll let you have it this time…” You mumbled.
“Thank you,” he chirped.
You pouted as you scoured your choices. You can play your final assist card: “kitty plot”. It would only help you gain more assist cards and discard a number card from your hand. It wouldn’t erase his.
You can play your red two-point card. You thumbed at the red cat beaming up at you. It was only two points and amounted to four when played.
Or you can draw a card. Get a chance to earn a red six-point card, but then lose your chance to play it when Zayne plays his final number card.
You lose in every decision. It was now down to losing because you were either proactive or inactive.
“Letting your mind wander is a bad habit…” Zayne’s voice broke through your decisions.
You chose to be proactive. You played your red card.
You lost.
“One day, I will become the Kitty Card Master,” You sighed, placing your cards down on the table.
“And then?” Zayne did the same, revealing a blue three-point card.
“I’m waiting for my next challenger,” You replied, sitting back in your chair. At least you’ll lose on your own terms.
“I guess there can be more than one Master of Kitty Cards,” Zayne shrugged. “I don’t mind sharing the title with you.”
You rolled your eyes.
“Now…” Zayne reached up and took off his glasses. He folded the legs carefully before looking at you intently.
Your body got hot, and you shifted in your seat, trying your best not to break under his heated gaze. Your stomach fluttered wildly, sending bolts of arousal down between your legs, making your cunt ache already.
“Strip.” He ordered, a dark smile growing on his face. “You’re mine . For twenty-four hours…”