[ dextera smiles, too fond as he watches guren go to grab the chess board and set it up. he’s so in love… and this is why he doesn’t want the town to change at all. he wants to keep living out these days, doing quests and playing chess with guren for as long as he’s allowed. ]
[Well, they barely know each other, after all, and Guren just started assaulting him with words about his brother and his life. So. He can get it. He sets up the chessboard as he sits down.]
[ dextera refuses to believe that his brother wouldn’t like guren, if they gave each other a chance, so he absolutely stubbornly does not listen to the possibility that sinistra doesn’t like guren. ]
Not yet.
[ he does admit that, though, rolling one of the pawns under the tip of a free finger.
[ it’s not going to get worse, and that’s just a fact of life. dextera refuses, absolutely, to believe that anything bad is going to come of this even if he knows logically that sinistra won’t like it. ]
…
[ dextera is going to take the advantage of white, and he moves his first piece. ]
[Lovers is the first word he was going to use, and he pauses as he thinks of more. Honestly, who needs a chess timer when they're distracted by this, instead. He makes a move.]
Or... boyfriends, if you want to say it like that.
[ “lovers” feels closer to his heart, to the reality of his feelings, but there’s something comforting in the simple straightforwardness of “boyfriends,” too.
he smiles. ]
I like… being your boyfriend.
[ so earnest it’s disgusting, honestly. already, dextera takes one of guren’s pieces. ]
[ maybe he is, but either way, guren’s fluster helps him forget that he’s worried about revealing this non-secret to his brother. he doesn’t know what he’s going to say, or when he’s going to say it, but for now, it’s fine. ]
[Be quiet, he says. But gosh, his face is still burning, but he can recover from this. Like he said, he'd been practicing...!! And so he makes his next move, and it's noticeably more focused.]
[The next move from Guren makes it seem like Dextera's didn't affect him at all— but he's got a good poker face, so who knows whether that's true.]
Izuku saw us, so I knew that... But I'm surprised Noct hasn't bothered me about it. [Weird.] Pretty sure my housemates have all guessed, by now, since you were over there when you came back, but I haven't actually told anyone.
[ dextera doesn’t elaborate on that at all, at least for a moment, since he’s busy squinting down at the board and trying to figure out what he wants to do next.
he’s not good at reading guren’s expressions, in a situation like this. he moves a piece, and it’s clear that he’s taking a moment to figure out what he wants. ]
[He meets that gaze for a few seconds before turning down to the board and thinking.]
But I like it, too. [It's hard to put it to words, or embarrassing, he guesses. But he likes people knowing. He definitely does. He moves his piece carefully, and smirks back up at Dextera.]
[ they’ve come a long way, haven’t they? not just in their relationship, which is obvious, but in the way they interact with each other, their willingness to be open about their feelings.
it’s nice. ]
…
[ dextera smiles to himself as he figures out where he wants to move his piece, and makes a bold decision. this is… chess flirting. ]
[This is chess flirting and Guren loves every minute of it, of course.]
That's an unusual move for you. Are you trying to throw me off guard? [Well, he's trying to do the same, though. This will be a game of unusual moves, and as he makes his next move, it becomes clear that his first couple of flustered moves weren't actually as clumsy as he pretended they were.]
[ dextera realizes he’s been baited with that next move, his eyes widening slightly as he sits back to look at the board in full. he’d fallen for it completely, with guren flustered, and now he’s walked himself into a position that could have been dangerous if he hadn’t caught himself. ]
Hmph.
[ what a pouty little sound, but he wouldn’t make that noise if he weren’t having fun. he’s annoyed with himself for wasting a move earlier, and so he takes a little longer to figure out how he wants to correct it.
it’ll take an attacking move that’s out of his usual defensive play, which is exactly what he does. ]
[There's that familiar thrill. It's always different, always improving, on both of their parts. And each time he can catch Dextera off guard enough to get him to react like that, it's a treasure. His fingers twitch as he laughs.]
Haha, now you're moving completely differently! You must be desperate.
[HE'S TOO INTO THIS... but anyway, he knows he has to keep up with crazy moves himself, or Dextera will quickly spin this over. He might still, anyway. But Guren is going to try his best. He makes his move with pointed confidence.]
[ ah, dextera knows how to counter this one. if he can bait guren in the right direction, he can pull the game back in his favor—but guren seems excited now, and he thinks better when he gets excited.
it’s fun. even if he loses, dextera thinks he’s going to like how this plays out. ]
Hm.
[ he’s trying to get guren to play his queen early. ]
[So now he's focused, huh. Guren has to be suspicious of every opening, of every clear trap that looks like an opening behind it— he can't trust anything he sees, with Dextera's tricky way of handling the patterns he's used to. That's what's so thrilling.
And he really, really wants to win this.
He won't keep taunting, because cockiness is a mistake. Instead, he's focused even if he's smirking and his eyes are practically on fire, and he does everything he can to avoid making moves too early. It means more extra bold moves on the side.]
[ dextera should have expected that guren wouldn’t fall for it. he’s not falling for anything, actually, which gets dextera’s mouth to curl in a smile. although he doesn’t get quite as heated about chess as guren does, there’s no denying that this is a form of foreplay for them both. how embarrassing it is to type that. ]
…
[ dextera’s poker face isn’t as good, when he’s this into it—and honestly, not trying to hide it at all in the first place. he bites his lip, realizing that guren dodging all his traps has put himself in a precarious position. not make or break, not yet, but he doesn’t have much of a choice anymore.
he’s going to gun for guren’s king directly with his knight, tapping down the piece a little too hard. ]
Take it.
[ he is literally daring guren to take his knight, like, with his hands and mouthing it and everything. ]
[Ohhh my god, he loves this? This is the best. This is the most he's seen Dextera react, which tells him that his "practice" is working and he can't let up at all, or he'll slip. But the smirk he gives is unbelievably heated, and he leans over the chess board, fingers pressing down over the piece that could take that knight, like he's considering it.
[ this is the heaviest pause in a game of chess that he’s ever experienced, and he has no idea how this happened, but he’s savoring it. he touches guren’s fingers over that piece, and glances down to the board as if urging him to look.
if guren leaves the knight, his king can be placed in check in a mere two turns, though there’s still a way out of it if he plays right. a strategic, if tense, path to take. if he takes it, dextera will be able to take his piece in return, leaving them, effectively, both defenseless and the game becomes a matter of boldness and time. it’s up to guren, whatever chase he wants to play. ]
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You should play with big brother.
[ they made up, in case it isn’t obvious. ]
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[Well, they barely know each other, after all, and Guren just started assaulting him with words about his brother and his life. So. He can get it. He sets up the chessboard as he sits down.]
Have you even told him about us?
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Not yet.
[ he does admit that, though, rolling one of the pawns under the tip of a free finger.
he doesn’t know how to address it. ]
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[That's his prediction, as he finishes setting up the last few pieces and then sits back to process this first with a sigh.]
And if you hold back and wait to tell him too long, and he finds out first, it'll be even worse than that.
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…
[ dextera is going to take the advantage of white, and he moves his first piece. ]
What are we?
[ what does he even call them? ]
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[He pauses for a moment, eyeing the board, making his move and still waiting before he speaks.]
Do I have to say it out loud? Isn't it obvious?
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We’re together. I know. Are we…
[ he moves a piece, before he finishes that thought, and then spells out the word as he’s still looking at the board. ]
”Lovers”?
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[Lovers is the first word he was going to use, and he pauses as he thinks of more. Honestly, who needs a chess timer when they're distracted by this, instead. He makes a move.]
Or... boyfriends, if you want to say it like that.
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he smiles. ]
I like… being your boyfriend.
[ so earnest it’s disgusting, honestly. already, dextera takes one of guren’s pieces. ]
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S-shut up, I know that! I feel the same, so don't make me keep saying it. You're trying to distract me to win.
[HELP HIM he can't even make his move yet]
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[ maybe he is, but either way, guren’s fluster helps him forget that he’s worried about revealing this non-secret to his brother. he doesn’t know what he’s going to say, or when he’s going to say it, but for now, it’s fine. ]
Hurry up.
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[Be quiet, he says. But gosh, his face is still burning, but he can recover from this. Like he said, he'd been practicing...!! And so he makes his next move, and it's noticeably more focused.]
...Have you told anyone at all?
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Noctis.
[ they’re bffs, after all—dextera needed to tell someone, he was so enthused. ]
Izuku guessed.
[ he slides a piece across the board, trying to cut off an advance. ]
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Izuku saw us, so I knew that... But I'm surprised Noct hasn't bothered me about it. [Weird.] Pretty sure my housemates have all guessed, by now, since you were over there when you came back, but I haven't actually told anyone.
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[ dextera doesn’t elaborate on that at all, at least for a moment, since he’s busy squinting down at the board and trying to figure out what he wants to do next.
he’s not good at reading guren’s expressions, in a situation like this. he moves a piece, and it’s clear that he’s taking a moment to figure out what he wants. ]
People knowing.
[ he looks up at guren’s face. ]
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[He meets that gaze for a few seconds before turning down to the board and thinking.]
But I like it, too. [It's hard to put it to words, or embarrassing, he guesses. But he likes people knowing. He definitely does. He moves his piece carefully, and smirks back up at Dextera.]
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it’s nice. ]
…
[ dextera smiles to himself as he figures out where he wants to move his piece, and makes a bold decision. this is… chess flirting. ]
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[This is chess flirting and Guren loves every minute of it, of course.]
That's an unusual move for you. Are you trying to throw me off guard? [Well, he's trying to do the same, though. This will be a game of unusual moves, and as he makes his next move, it becomes clear that his first couple of flustered moves weren't actually as clumsy as he pretended they were.]
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[ dextera realizes he’s been baited with that next move, his eyes widening slightly as he sits back to look at the board in full. he’d fallen for it completely, with guren flustered, and now he’s walked himself into a position that could have been dangerous if he hadn’t caught himself. ]
Hmph.
[ what a pouty little sound, but he wouldn’t make that noise if he weren’t having fun. he’s annoyed with himself for wasting a move earlier, and so he takes a little longer to figure out how he wants to correct it.
it’ll take an attacking move that’s out of his usual defensive play, which is exactly what he does. ]
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Haha, now you're moving completely differently! You must be desperate.
[HE'S TOO INTO THIS... but anyway, he knows he has to keep up with crazy moves himself, or Dextera will quickly spin this over. He might still, anyway. But Guren is going to try his best. He makes his move with pointed confidence.]
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it’s fun. even if he loses, dextera thinks he’s going to like how this plays out. ]
Hm.
[ he’s trying to get guren to play his queen early. ]
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And he really, really wants to win this.
He won't keep taunting, because cockiness is a mistake. Instead, he's focused even if he's smirking and his eyes are practically on fire, and he does everything he can to avoid making moves too early. It means more extra bold moves on the side.]
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…
[ dextera’s poker face isn’t as good, when he’s this into it—and honestly, not trying to hide it at all in the first place. he bites his lip, realizing that guren dodging all his traps has put himself in a precarious position. not make or break, not yet, but he doesn’t have much of a choice anymore.
he’s going to gun for guren’s king directly with his knight, tapping down the piece a little too hard. ]
Take it.
[ he is literally daring guren to take his knight, like, with his hands and mouthing it and everything. ]
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But he's got the game on full pause, otherwise.]
What're you going to do if I don't?
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[ this is the heaviest pause in a game of chess that he’s ever experienced, and he has no idea how this happened, but he’s savoring it. he touches guren’s fingers over that piece, and glances down to the board as if urging him to look.
if guren leaves the knight, his king can be placed in check in a mere two turns, though there’s still a way out of it if he plays right. a strategic, if tense, path to take. if he takes it, dextera will be able to take his piece in return, leaving them, effectively, both defenseless and the game becomes a matter of boldness and time. it’s up to guren, whatever chase he wants to play. ]
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