[TST] The Surrendering King (Roy/Rou)
THE IDEAS THAT COME WHILE YOU ARE IN THE SHOWER. e_e Anyway yes, more Roy/Rou fic just because I can.
the surrendering king.
1782 words oneshot.
For all that he had ever been expecting, it was safe to say that this was the last thing that Hijikata Toshirou had ever expected to come from his twin brother.
“Well?” started the voice of said twin, the tone of faux-disappointment all but obvious as Roy Mustang looked at the boatswain with a curious look. “Aren’t you going to make a move? I’m sure that you at least know that white makes the first move.”
“Of course I know that!” Hijikata snapped back, glaring daggers back towards the other. “Why the hell are we even doing this in the first place?!” Seriously, just what was up with this? He could hardly see how things had ended up the way they did from what he could remember.
To those words, the alchemist only put on a mildly disappointed face as he looked at his brother. “You were one who said to do something different tonight.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that they were on the Amestris and that the other people in the nearby cabins were all most likely asleep (because it was pretty damned late into the night already-why was he even up again?!), Hijikata would have tablefipped the chessboard before him by now. Instead all he did was to scowl back, very much unamused and irritated as he hissed back. “That doesn’t mean we need to play something like chess, goddammit!” Why the hell was it even chess anyway?! It made no sense at all!
“But that’s the only other thing I can think of,” Roy smoothly returned as always, still pulling what was possibly the best and most infuriating expression of neutrality which Hijikata had ever seen. “So, are you going to play? Because otherwise that means I won the bet.”
“What bet?!” the samurai instantly returned.
The alchemist only sighed in a way that bordered on the melodramatic. “Didn’t we discuss it earlier? The one who wins this chess match will have his way for the rest of the night-”
“I never agreed to anything like that!!”
“But we’re playing already, which means that you have,” the quartermaster smiled, mirth and amusement clear as day on his features. “Or are you going to take back your words? I thought that samurai never took back their words.”
Hijikata could only glower at his twin brother for a good few moments after those magic words were spoken, his unhappiness over this whole situation quite apparent. Goddamned Mustang and his way of pushing him around-there was no way he could refuse now, and the alchemist knew it; the asshole was using his own pride against him, and as much as he hated that, he wasn’t about to just swallow his own pride either because all he had left now was his pride.
“Tch. Fine,” he eventually snarled out, settling back down properly onto his side of the table and doing his best not to glare the chessboard to oblivion. “My turn, right?”
“As I was saying earlier, yes,” Roy returned, the smile on his face never faltering.
The boatswain gave his brother another warning glare at that response, but otherwise never commented as he stared at the chessboard and made his move.
“You’re really bad at this game, aren’t you?”
“Shut up,” Hijikata snapped back instantly, glaring at the board for a few more seconds before moving his knight. Thirty minutes had passed into the game, and it was obvious that Roy was winning-already he had lost all of his pawns, both of his bishops and rooks, a knight and even his queen. The alchemist on the other had only lost several pawns and one rook. With only the king and a knight left on his side, even the samurai knew that he was on his last legs; it was really only a matter of time before he lost. The only question was how long he could last.
The alchemist chuckled lowly as he moved his bishop, casting an amused look at his brother. “You should just surrender, you know. Things would be easier that way.”
Hijikata gave his brother another glare, stubbornness written across his face. “Like hell I will.”
“Your call,” was the only response he’d get from the other, complete with dismissive shrug.
Resisting the urge to scowl once more, the boatswain returned to the board, looking around the field to see what was the best course of action. The bishop seemed to be about to targeting his king… best to get out of there then. Hijikata moved his king one step to the left, debating for a moment more before letting go of his piece.
Roy only looked at the board for a moment after that before he smiled in that annoying way of his, now moving his rook upwards towards him. “Check.”
Shit! the samurai swore to himself, having not seen that move coming. At least it wasn’t checkmate, which meant that he could still get out of this somehow. Hijikata stared down at the board, brows furrowing as he thought over what move he should do now. Moving his knight from where it was now would only give space for the queen to check him again, so he couldn’t move it… all he could do was to move his king then. That decided, he then moved it diagonally to the right.
“Check,” came the irritatingly cheerful voice just a second later, having moved his own knight to put him in danger.
Clenching his jaw, Hijikata took only a second to debate this time before he moved his king piece once more, this time one step forward.
“You really are bad at this,” the alchemist remarked again with another laugh before moving his queen. “Check.”
Goddamnit, came the swear, and the swordsman was feeling very damned close to flipping the board now for all the annoyance that Roy put him through. Seriously, just why the hell was he even going through with all of this again-
-and just right then and then, he noticed an opening, a way to move his king piece in order to check him. Immediately the man acted, moving it to right before the black king and letting a small smirk cross his face as he spoke. “Check.”
“Checkmate,” was all that Roy went in return, the tone of his voice one of nothing but pure amusement as he moved his queen again. Hijikata instantly felt his heart dropping into the bottomless pit of his stomach and gut as he stared at the move the alchemist had pulled so flawlessly-without him even noticing, he had all but fallen into the other’s trap. Shit, he should have noticed it earlier…
The quartermaster smiled as he laced his finger’s together, bracing them under his chin as he tilted his head to gaze at his brother. “I suppose this settles it then. Since I won, I get to have my way for the whole night~”
“I already said that I never agreed to that!” Hijikata immediately snapped back, glaring at his brother once more. Would the asshole ever stop putting words into his mouth for once?
“It’s bad to lie, you know,” the alchemist returned, still smiling.
“I am not lying!” came the retort, and the samurai was standing up so fast now that the table shook. The remaining chess pieces on the board rattled, though none topped over from the force.
Roy sighed once more, shrugging as he made a face of disappointment. “To think that my honorable brother is one to take back his words so easily… such a disappointment.”
Hijikata scowled at those words, using his anger to hide the embarrassment that he was feeling right about now. Goddamnit, he had never said anything like that at all… and he knew damned well that the asshole was just pushing his buttons like the goddamned telephone operator that he was-but it was still a fact that what Roy was saying was indeed getting under his skin and making him react like this. He knew, just like in that chess match earlier, he had all but fallen into his brother’s trap all-too perfectly.
“Bastard,” he growled out eventually.
“Always am,” was all that the quartermaster returned with, smile in place yet again.
The boatswain was silent for a few more moments after that, the glare still obvious in his eyes as he stared at his brother. But once those moments passed he was moving, going over from his side of the table to where the other was sitting. Roy, to his own credit, did turn his chair around as the younger twin approached, smiling as always as he glanced up to look at his brother’s face.
“Only tonight?” came the words, and Roy knew immediately that he had won, if the upward curve of his lips was of any indication.
“Only tonight, yes,” he confirmed.
“If you extend it I’m going to have you commit seppuku.”
“I’m a man of my word, you know.”
“Like hell you are,” Hijikata returned in a dark undertone, using his annoyance to hide how he was really feeling now.
Roy only laughed upon hearing that, and then shifted, straightening himself on the chair so that he could use one arm to reach the back of his brother’s head and pull him closer. Hijikata stumbled forward as he was pulled in, one hand grabbing onto the edge of the table with the chessboard. Once again the pieces rattled from the movement, and he distinctly heard one of the pieces falling from its position-he didn’t get a chance to see what piece it was though, for soon his face was just inches away from his brother’s, their breaths mingling.
“Like I said,” he started, voice low and still so deeply amused, “it would have been easier if you just surrendered when I told you to.”
All Hijikata did was to scowl once more, moving forward just enough so that their lips were in that critical zone of touching but not quite. “Are you done talking already? I’m not going to wait all night for a bastard like you.”
A chuckle came from Roy this time as he smiled, the fingers in his hair tightening. “Impatient as always, Toshirou.”
“Shut up,” was the returning snarl, and Hijikata moved in properly to kiss him, closing the last few inches that was between them. He was quick to lose himself in that familiar tangle of tongues and lips, and so never noticed what had happened to the board and its pieces after he accidentally shook it earlier-
-the white king, fallen and clattered right before the foot of the black king.
The sign of surrender.
the surrendering king.
1782 words oneshot.
For all that he had ever been expecting, it was safe to say that this was the last thing that Hijikata Toshirou had ever expected to come from his twin brother.
“Well?” started the voice of said twin, the tone of faux-disappointment all but obvious as Roy Mustang looked at the boatswain with a curious look. “Aren’t you going to make a move? I’m sure that you at least know that white makes the first move.”
“Of course I know that!” Hijikata snapped back, glaring daggers back towards the other. “Why the hell are we even doing this in the first place?!” Seriously, just what was up with this? He could hardly see how things had ended up the way they did from what he could remember.
To those words, the alchemist only put on a mildly disappointed face as he looked at his brother. “You were one who said to do something different tonight.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that they were on the Amestris and that the other people in the nearby cabins were all most likely asleep (because it was pretty damned late into the night already-why was he even up again?!), Hijikata would have tablefipped the chessboard before him by now. Instead all he did was to scowl back, very much unamused and irritated as he hissed back. “That doesn’t mean we need to play something like chess, goddammit!” Why the hell was it even chess anyway?! It made no sense at all!
“But that’s the only other thing I can think of,” Roy smoothly returned as always, still pulling what was possibly the best and most infuriating expression of neutrality which Hijikata had ever seen. “So, are you going to play? Because otherwise that means I won the bet.”
“What bet?!” the samurai instantly returned.
The alchemist only sighed in a way that bordered on the melodramatic. “Didn’t we discuss it earlier? The one who wins this chess match will have his way for the rest of the night-”
“I never agreed to anything like that!!”
“But we’re playing already, which means that you have,” the quartermaster smiled, mirth and amusement clear as day on his features. “Or are you going to take back your words? I thought that samurai never took back their words.”
Hijikata could only glower at his twin brother for a good few moments after those magic words were spoken, his unhappiness over this whole situation quite apparent. Goddamned Mustang and his way of pushing him around-there was no way he could refuse now, and the alchemist knew it; the asshole was using his own pride against him, and as much as he hated that, he wasn’t about to just swallow his own pride either because all he had left now was his pride.
“Tch. Fine,” he eventually snarled out, settling back down properly onto his side of the table and doing his best not to glare the chessboard to oblivion. “My turn, right?”
“As I was saying earlier, yes,” Roy returned, the smile on his face never faltering.
The boatswain gave his brother another warning glare at that response, but otherwise never commented as he stared at the chessboard and made his move.
“You’re really bad at this game, aren’t you?”
“Shut up,” Hijikata snapped back instantly, glaring at the board for a few more seconds before moving his knight. Thirty minutes had passed into the game, and it was obvious that Roy was winning-already he had lost all of his pawns, both of his bishops and rooks, a knight and even his queen. The alchemist on the other had only lost several pawns and one rook. With only the king and a knight left on his side, even the samurai knew that he was on his last legs; it was really only a matter of time before he lost. The only question was how long he could last.
The alchemist chuckled lowly as he moved his bishop, casting an amused look at his brother. “You should just surrender, you know. Things would be easier that way.”
Hijikata gave his brother another glare, stubbornness written across his face. “Like hell I will.”
“Your call,” was the only response he’d get from the other, complete with dismissive shrug.
Resisting the urge to scowl once more, the boatswain returned to the board, looking around the field to see what was the best course of action. The bishop seemed to be about to targeting his king… best to get out of there then. Hijikata moved his king one step to the left, debating for a moment more before letting go of his piece.
Roy only looked at the board for a moment after that before he smiled in that annoying way of his, now moving his rook upwards towards him. “Check.”
Shit! the samurai swore to himself, having not seen that move coming. At least it wasn’t checkmate, which meant that he could still get out of this somehow. Hijikata stared down at the board, brows furrowing as he thought over what move he should do now. Moving his knight from where it was now would only give space for the queen to check him again, so he couldn’t move it… all he could do was to move his king then. That decided, he then moved it diagonally to the right.
“Check,” came the irritatingly cheerful voice just a second later, having moved his own knight to put him in danger.
Clenching his jaw, Hijikata took only a second to debate this time before he moved his king piece once more, this time one step forward.
“You really are bad at this,” the alchemist remarked again with another laugh before moving his queen. “Check.”
Goddamnit, came the swear, and the swordsman was feeling very damned close to flipping the board now for all the annoyance that Roy put him through. Seriously, just why the hell was he even going through with all of this again-
-and just right then and then, he noticed an opening, a way to move his king piece in order to check him. Immediately the man acted, moving it to right before the black king and letting a small smirk cross his face as he spoke. “Check.”
“Checkmate,” was all that Roy went in return, the tone of his voice one of nothing but pure amusement as he moved his queen again. Hijikata instantly felt his heart dropping into the bottomless pit of his stomach and gut as he stared at the move the alchemist had pulled so flawlessly-without him even noticing, he had all but fallen into the other’s trap. Shit, he should have noticed it earlier…
The quartermaster smiled as he laced his finger’s together, bracing them under his chin as he tilted his head to gaze at his brother. “I suppose this settles it then. Since I won, I get to have my way for the whole night~”
“I already said that I never agreed to that!” Hijikata immediately snapped back, glaring at his brother once more. Would the asshole ever stop putting words into his mouth for once?
“It’s bad to lie, you know,” the alchemist returned, still smiling.
“I am not lying!” came the retort, and the samurai was standing up so fast now that the table shook. The remaining chess pieces on the board rattled, though none topped over from the force.
Roy sighed once more, shrugging as he made a face of disappointment. “To think that my honorable brother is one to take back his words so easily… such a disappointment.”
Hijikata scowled at those words, using his anger to hide the embarrassment that he was feeling right about now. Goddamnit, he had never said anything like that at all… and he knew damned well that the asshole was just pushing his buttons like the goddamned telephone operator that he was-but it was still a fact that what Roy was saying was indeed getting under his skin and making him react like this. He knew, just like in that chess match earlier, he had all but fallen into his brother’s trap all-too perfectly.
“Bastard,” he growled out eventually.
“Always am,” was all that the quartermaster returned with, smile in place yet again.
The boatswain was silent for a few more moments after that, the glare still obvious in his eyes as he stared at his brother. But once those moments passed he was moving, going over from his side of the table to where the other was sitting. Roy, to his own credit, did turn his chair around as the younger twin approached, smiling as always as he glanced up to look at his brother’s face.
“Only tonight?” came the words, and Roy knew immediately that he had won, if the upward curve of his lips was of any indication.
“Only tonight, yes,” he confirmed.
“If you extend it I’m going to have you commit seppuku.”
“I’m a man of my word, you know.”
“Like hell you are,” Hijikata returned in a dark undertone, using his annoyance to hide how he was really feeling now.
Roy only laughed upon hearing that, and then shifted, straightening himself on the chair so that he could use one arm to reach the back of his brother’s head and pull him closer. Hijikata stumbled forward as he was pulled in, one hand grabbing onto the edge of the table with the chessboard. Once again the pieces rattled from the movement, and he distinctly heard one of the pieces falling from its position-he didn’t get a chance to see what piece it was though, for soon his face was just inches away from his brother’s, their breaths mingling.
“Like I said,” he started, voice low and still so deeply amused, “it would have been easier if you just surrendered when I told you to.”
All Hijikata did was to scowl once more, moving forward just enough so that their lips were in that critical zone of touching but not quite. “Are you done talking already? I’m not going to wait all night for a bastard like you.”
A chuckle came from Roy this time as he smiled, the fingers in his hair tightening. “Impatient as always, Toshirou.”
“Shut up,” was the returning snarl, and Hijikata moved in properly to kiss him, closing the last few inches that was between them. He was quick to lose himself in that familiar tangle of tongues and lips, and so never noticed what had happened to the board and its pieces after he accidentally shook it earlier-
-the white king, fallen and clattered right before the foot of the black king.
The sign of surrender.