Chess

Chess

A totally PG rated Kuroshitsuji fic by

Talon

~~~

Ciel frowned as he examined the chess board. If he moved his knight, he would have to sacrifice his remaining bishop for board position. If he moved his rook it would only be a lateral move, strategically neither threatening him nor benefiting him. Across the board from him, Prince Soma sat, quietly for a change. Ah. There. He moved his queen in anticipation of a conflict he could see from the position of the pieces of the board.

“Your move,” he said quietly, leaning back in his chair. Soma startled a little as though coming out of a dream.

“My move? Oh yes.” He looked down at the board and carelessly, as Ciel had anticipated, moved a pawn so Ciel’s rook could easily take it without sacrificing its position.

Ciel smiled a bit as he took the white pawn and added it to its fellows, sitting beside the board on his side of the table. “Your move again, Soma.”

“Again?” the prince complained? “I don’t like this game. It’s boring and all you do is take my pieces and then say ‘Checkmate.’” Nevertheless, he moved one of his knights to protect his king.

“It’s not boring,” Ciel said absently as he studied the board. “It’s a thinking game.”

“It’s BORING,” Soma reiterated. “It takes too long.”

Ciel paused. Their games did seem to last a long time. But if one player was clearly superior to the other, the game should be short, easy and done with in a minimal amount of time. And yet they had been playing since lunch, and it was nearly tea time. He glanced at Soma who was staring out the window, watching the rain stream down it. Then he looked back at the board and moved his bishop experimentally. What would Soma do? “Your move.”

Soma glanced at the board again and took Ciel’s bishop with a pawn, one of only two he had left. Ciel blinked. That had been a good move. In fact, looking back on the rest of the game, the entire game had been composed of good moves, but he had been too intent on his own game to notice.

“Nice move,” he commented. Soma grunted in return as Ciel studied the board and moved a pawn.

“It rains too much here,” Soma complained. “It’s dark and depressing and BORING.”

“No one’s forcing you to STAY here, you know,” was Ciel’s retort.

Soma stared at him in disbelief. “You want me to go off and leave you all alone without your ‘big brother’ to look after you? Without me and Agni to take care of your townhouse? Why, I love it here!”

“Well you can’t love it and complain that it’s dark and depressing and boring,” Ciel bit back with more than a hint of exasperated vehemence. “Either you like it here and you want to be here, or it’s dark, depressing and boring and you don’t want to be here. Make up your mind. Check.” He said as he moved his knight into position.

Soma stared at him, then suddenly laughed delightedly. “You don’t want me to leave,” he announced. “You like me and you’d miss me if I were gone.” And before Ciel could deny anything, he swiftly moved his queen and pronounced, “Checkmate. Agni, Ciel LIKES me!!” he yelled as he bounced up from his chair in search of his servant.

Ciel stared at the board, then at the ajar door where Soma had bounded from the room, then back at the board. Soma had actually beaten him at chess. Beaten him! He scowled as he rang for Sebastian and scowled at his butler when he came as called.

“You needed me, young Master,” queried Sebastian calmly even as the cheery voice of Prince Soma drifted down the hall and into the room.

“Bring me some tea Sebastian. And I DON’T like Soma!”

Sebastian smiled and bowed.

“Yes, my lord.”

Owari