Work Text:
A red seven was slid across the table. Its player had launched it was such calculated precision such that it lands exactly in the center of the table.
“壹”
“HEY, SHE DIDN’T SAY UNO!” Franklin complained.
“No, he did say it, actually,” Alice communicated using her telepathy.
Franklin glared at the psychic, his paws tapping against the metal floor.
“Uhh, guys,” Draven muttered, looking between his fellow cats, “Maybe we should play a different game? You guys are like, getting really wor-”
Franklin, Alice, and Chan Hung all turned to face Draven, who shrank in his seat.
“No.”
“I THINK NOT!!”
“不行!”
“Oh. Ok then.”
The four around the table stayed silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.
Franklin raised his hand, drawing the others’ attention.
“LET’S JUST PLAY ANOTHER ROUND.”
Three hands were shoved towards the deck and playing pile, which sat close to Alice. She pressed a paw against her head, her tongue sticking out of her mouth. The cards began to float in the air, as the purple cat started the shuffling. Alice was banned from playing, forced to be the dealer, as she was prone to cheating with her psychic powers. Nobody likes a cheater.
“If you’re starting another round, could I join?”
The lab cats, except for Alice, looked over to the source of the voice. There, sitting in a chair that was previously unoccupied, was Arthur. He spun around in the chair, his cap and bells making a jingling sound that somehow didn’t announce his sudden arrival. Chan Hung was the only one who didn’t seem surprised in some way.
“I’m great at cards! I’ve played them all! Poker, Blackjack, Crazy Eights, Whitejack, Russian Roulette, Sk-”
“我们明白了。”
Arthur did another spin in their chair, cheering with her paws raised up.
Draven shrugged, not really having much to say. “I’m kinda fine with it if you guys are…”
Franklin nodded eagerly, Chan Hung gave a thumbs up. Alice was still shuffling cards, but she didn’t really say anything against it.
“Then, uh, yeah. You can play with us.”
The spinning chair came to a sudden stop, Arthur somehow not getting immediately flung out. Its smile somehow got bigger. Does she have literally any other expressions? Probably not. He scoots his chair closer to the table.
“Amazing!!! You will NOT regret it!”
Alice quickly dealt out four hands, gently placing the deck in the middle of the table, where the others could easily reach it. “Franklin starts.”
“GREAT!!”
Franklin leaned across the table, slapping a blue 3 next to the deck.
“So, like…do you, like, think animals are cool…I’ve asked the others, and none of them really do.”
Draven had the (mis?)fortune of sitting closest to Arthur. Arthur, who was continuously changing the positions of the cards in his hand, was grinning like a FREAK. “Of course I do! Back home, I have a-”
“FUCKKKKK”
Franklin’s face slammed against the table. He had been the victim of multiple draw 2 cards, because they were playing the FUN rules where you can play a draw card when the last card is one to pass it on to the next person. You guys know what I’m talking about. Nobody is taking this fic seriously.
“吃屎吧，废物！” Franklin had no idea what Chan Hung had said, but he knew that it wasn’t an apology. Arthur cleared his throat, trying to get back into its conversation.
“As I was saying…” Arthur’s tone of voice turned back from anger to his usual cheerfulness. “Back where I live, I’ve got a seven-eyed Wivnel!”
Draven blinked. He had zero idea what that was.
Alice’s third eye stared at Arthur, and she raised an eyebrow. “There is no way that’s a real thing.”
“It is though! I swear on MY life.”
. . .
“Want some catnip, bro?”
“Dude. Fuck yes.”
“壹”
Chan Hung played a card, leaving him with just one. Franklin, Arthur, and Draven knew what they had to do. They nodded at each other.
“DRAW TWO.”
“Draw two.”
“Draw four.. Uh, its red.”
The tension in the room continued to rise, as Chan Hung stared at the single card in his hand. Franklin’s shaking worsened, Draven picked the petals off the flower he was holding, Alice bent a spoon somewhere because psychics do that I guess, and Arthur bit his claws. Chan Hung smirked, and Franklin’s eyes widened. Chan Hung lifted the card in the air, slamming it onto the pile of played cards. Another draw 4.
“NOOOOO!!!! DAMMIT!!!”
“我赢了。”
“Yes, you did,” Alice agreed.
“Awwwww.”
But not everybody at the table was a good sport.
“THIS GAME IS BULLSHIT”
“This game is bullshit!!”
Franklin and Arthur stared at each other, standing up from their seats. They then hit the coolest handshake in the history of Boon County. Arthur did some finger guns at Franklin.
“Jinx.”
“HECK YES.”
The tinkerer and jester sat back down at the table, seeing that Alice was already reshuffling the deck. A loud shattering noise broke Alice’s focus, the deck dropping down on the table and spilling cards everywhere. Turning around, the group watched Dr. Beanies climb through a now broken window, scurrying past them like a rat, heading to the back of the lab, towards Spewer’s territory.
“Aren’t we supposed to, like, stop him?”
“...”
“Another round!”
Cheers erupted from the table.
The sun had long since set, but there was no stopping a good game of UNO. Except for some things.
“YES!!!”
Franklin jumped in his seat, resisting the urge to flip the table over. “I FINALLY WIN!!!! TAKE THAT!!!”
Arthur giggled, but his excitement was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Pulling his cellular device out of, somewhere, Arthur stared at the screen. “Give me a second, guys.” Arthur strolled to the farthest side of the room, holding the phone up to his ear.
“Yeah. What’s up? Oh. Yeah, that’s fine. I’m at the lab. Give me a second.” Arthur hung up the phone, stepping back towards the table. His teeth were grit as he gave the bad news, “Ah, sorry. I gotta go now. My mom wants me back home before tomorrow.”
“Awww,” the lab cats complained in unison.
“Can I join you guys next time?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Arthur turned around, where a rift tore through the air. A large eye peered through.
“Ruhtra, sdneirf ruoy htiw emit doog a evah uoy did?”
[translation: “Did you have a good time with your friends, Arthur?”]
“Yeah! A ton of fun!”
The eye of Soahc moved back into the rift, and Arthur stepped through.
“See ya guys!”
The rift stayed open for a bit, long enough for Arthur to come back and look through it.
“Can I bring my bro too next time?”
The lab cats shrugged.
“Thanks! Again, lots of fun with you guys tonight.”
The rift closed, leaving the four sitting around the table confused.
“I’M GONNA ORDER SOME PIZZA, DO YOU GUYS WANT SOME?”
“Yeah.”
“I would like some.”
“给我来一份玛格丽特披萨。”