Xaviers!

Basil took the cards as he'd been instructed to do and mirrored Diego's behavior spot on in terms of the game itself.

"So you really think there are people who enjoy losing?" Diego asked while examining his cards.

"Not losing per say.

I think people confuse achievement or accomplishment and winning as the same thing. Some people simply don't care if they win or lose, as long as an accomplishment was made.

For example, a runner may not win the race, but they might run further than they ever had before. They still lost, but something was accomplished, so they're satisfied with the result anyways.

Further still, there could be a type of person for whom their goal is to lose. So it's like a reverse win condition to them."

"Ah, but if losing is winning than it isn't losing anymore," he said with a smirk.

Basil laughed, letting it go.

Basil was thinking hard again, doing the twitch. Did he always think this hard.

He threw in five chips.

Diego thought longer about his bet this time, before simply calling the bet with the vaguest possible look of what may or may not have been annoyance.

"Sure you want to do that friend?"

He shrugged and tossed out an extra chip.

Basil tossed another chip in as well.

"I can smell that fifty already," he taunted as the game continued.

"Ya-huh. I bet.

I can too because it's in my wallet where it will remain and eventually turn into something fun, delicious, or both to please Madame. "

"Then show me your cards and prove it."

"Looks like ogling my queens got me something after all." He stated, laying out his cards and sounding amused.

It was only two pair.

Diego frowned, sighed, and slowly tossed down his own, lower numbered, two-pair.

"You win this time Mister Binzun."

Basil didn't seem nearly as amused by winning as Diego had been. He simply discardrd his cards and awaiting Diego to give him some more.

"You still have a chance friend. Best 2 out of 3, yea?"

"Exactly. You got lucky this time," he said as he dealt the next hand, "But Lady Luck likes cats."

"Do you know what Matou means?"

"Not one bit of a clue. Exactly zero clue."

"It means tomcat." Basil replied, his hooded head turning and tilting to look at the deck in Diego's hand.

"Okay... that is what I am. And?" he asked as he finished dealing.

"Actually, I bring it up because it's what Madame calls me." He says, seemingly reorganizing his cards.

Ok now he was definitely fucking with Diego.

"Poor Basil, girlfriend fantasizing about another guy," he tsked, turning the fuckwithery back on Basil.

That frazzled him. The hood tilted upward quickly to look at the other man, and he was not paying attention at all anymore.

"Too far?" he asked, "Feels like too far."

"Play the game, Diego." Was Basil's curt reply.

That was probably a good indicator.

Diego just kept his yap shut and played quietly until the awkward moment passed, lest he shove his other foot in there.

Basil too was exceptionally quiet, but he would keep playing, maybe out of spite.

"Listen man, I... don't always know how far to take a joke. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Basil replied. It wasn't, obvious in the fact that Basil seemingly bet with no intended purpose.

After a moment, he spoke up.

"We're not that different really. Physically."

He raised a brow. "Riiight. I missed that you were a catboy too."

"We're both slim, classically handsome, curly haired.... And you can be seen all the time, so that's a nice bonus."

"Thanks for the handsome bit, but what are you getting at about me looking like Latin cat Basil?"

"I'm just saying I'm not entirely irreplaceable is all. So much so there is literally a replacement rooming with me who comes with perks and advantages I do not. Not that you would do that yourself, but the realization that I'm expendable keeps me up at night... sometimes.

It's a sore spot. Sorry."

"Dude. I may fit certain physical criteria, and maybe a few interests, but that's more or less where the similarities end. I couldn't just adopt a British accent, don an invisibility cloak, and successfully pretend to be you."

"Are you certain?

You'd feel the same up top anyways." It kinda sounded like he was joking?

"And then someone steps on my invisible tail, I yowl like a cat, and it's all over," he quite obviously joked.

"You never know. They might be into it, in some kind of 'OC do not steal' way.

Are we playing or what?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, finally meeting the bet and raising a few chips. He failed to entirely suppress a confident smirk.

Basil's heart really wasn't in it anymore. He considered folding, but thought better of it as that may not placate Diego's ego enough to accept that as a win, so he called the bet purely for his friend's benefit.

"Say hello to the ladies," he grinned, showing off four queens.