As far as card games go, canasta's not one of Aiden's favorites.
But he's always preferred six handed to four, it's a card game he's decently good at regardless of whether or not he likes it, and they have so many people on set at all times that the experimental nine handed game they're playing is more entertaining than expected. With this many people, getting creative is practically necessary.
The muffled yells and muted dialogue of what's actually going on a couple of thin walls away on camera create an odd but perfect background to go with the shuffling of cards and their own quiet chatter.
And the clinking of coins, because while no one here's really into serious gambling, pocket change doesn't seem like a big deal either.
Milo's grin is loose, toothy and sly as he glances at Nell over his hand.
It's a little over the top, but the dramatics are part of what makes it fun, and while Milo might not be used to acting, he fits in well enough with the colorful group they have.
"Let's see if you're as good at faking a poker face as you are an accent." Aiden doesn't blame him either, because the five he throws out onto the center of the closely crowded around table wouldn't be a worry if it was for anyone but Nell.
Throwing anything Nell's way is a bit like throwing to a black hole.
"No idea what you're talking about, dude." Nell's grin is just as cheesy as the thick and sudden accent, but she rolls with it well enough, slipping back out of it as she throws down another five and a wildcard and scoops up the pile of cards into her hand. The groans from everyone but her teammates don't seem to hinder the smiling any. "Good luck finding anyone as trustworthy as me."
"You're one to talk." It's one of her own team members who speaks up, Olivia raising an eyebrow even as she throws Nell a thumbs up. "Who gave Petra pot brownies?"
"Hey, she literally asked me for some." The cards click together and against the wood of the table as Nell straightens them out, fishing out a jack Olivia had tossed to Aiden in the beginning to finish off one canasta before she begins lying down more cards to start new ones.
Anyone not on Nell's team doesn't really play to win.
"Yeah, well, you weren't the one cleaning up the vomit." Axel grimaces as the others let that sink in, everyone offering up some sort of wince or groan. Even arbitrary team divisions can't keep them from feeling a little sympathetic about something like that, and Aiden's more than happy that he missed that day when he did.
"Isn't talking across the table against the rules?" Isa seems to feel the same way, if the way she neatly sets her cards between her hands says anything.
"Meh." Aiden shrugs, beginning to sort through his hand before realizing most of what's in it's already down on the table in front of Nell. "Not like we're in a tournament or anything."
And Isa cheats as much as her fiance does, which is nearly as much as Axel and Aiden do. It might be a good thing none of them are on the same team, even if it hasn't stopped Axel and Aiden from helping each other.
Aiden holds up two fingers behind Olivia's back twice, which works out well because apparently Axel was about to throw her a four. The ace is riskier, but she doesn't take it, and what catches Aiden's eye more is the new clink of coins and flash of silver across the table. Nell might be winning the game, which should get her the overall pot of money in the end if she keeps it up, but until then, it doesn't seem like she's winning in the money department.
"Hey, are you guys betting on how much we're cheating?"
Em shrugs, grinning as she pockets the quarters and looks up from her hand to him.
"It's not cheating if everybody knows about it, right? Besides, it's not like you're going to stop, so we might as well make a little something on it."
"Gotta keep it fun somehow."
"Yeah, because three teams totally doesn't make it interesting enough already." It makes the cards scarce and the rounds lightning fast, not helped by the way Nell seems to somehow be sucking up most of the wildcards.
(She's not allowed to deal anymore for a reason, but there's not much they can do about luck.)
There's a pause in nearly everything, from their small movements to the shifting of the cards, as things go quiet before the set erupts with laughter. From where they're sitting, they can't know for sure what just happened, but today's mostly been the filming for the PAMA scenes and the only place they've been having this kind of consistent trouble with is any scene involving Ivor's crush on Harper.
It's good to hear everybody laughing, though, and the muffled but frantic apologies coming from Ivor confirm the problem and just seem to make anyone near the cameras laugh harder.
(It gets even nicer when Aiden realizes Axel took that as his chance to repay the favor, judging by the new joker resting in his hand. Gill seems to be the only one who noticed, looking wholly unimpressed, but that's fine because they're on the same team and Aiden bets Maya's already done something similar for him.
Okay, maybe they all cheat, but it's fun.)
"That's another one for the blooper reel." Maya holds out her hand for a moment, sounding as smug as she looks while Gill gives her a dollar. They all bet as much as they cheat, though Aiden's pretty sure everyone in the studio has some kind of bet going for who's going to screw up what scene.
"Sounds like they're having fun."
"Harper is, at least." Olivia glances at the cards face up in front of Aiden before discarding a black three, smiling as she ignores his pout. "It's nice that she and Hadrian don't mind."
Not like Aiden envies Ivor; on screen romance can be really awkward even without the love interest's husband watching from the sidelines.
"Yeah, it's helped Ivor be less worried about it too. Keeps the whole thing from being too awkward." The side eye Gill gives Axel as he speaks only gets worse as Aiden puts his joker down on the canasta closest to being finished.
"Maybe dying of embarrassment would be in character for him, at this point." Isa taps her cards against the table, immediately playing the red three she draws before drawing again. It's a play that makes her teammates happy, and while everyone else at the table might be a bit bitter about it, the statement's hard to argue with.
So they lull, Milo probably biting back some kind of comment to keep it going as he plays and Nell not bothering at all with it.
"Go out?"
Nell's grin cuts through any confusion, the two cards in her hands being slipped back and forth between her fingers, and everyone else puts down their cards with varying amounts of energy as Olivia and Maya give her a thumbs up.
It's easy to smile at, even if having to hand over two dollars to each of the winners makes it a little less funny.
