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Argo couldn’t comprehend why Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt had thought it would be a good idea to bring a chess set to a boarding school. He had eyed it in the barbarian’s suitcase on multiple occasions - never quite building up the courage to ask him why he had bothered lugging the extra weight to the school - only to never use it.
There had to have been a chess club somewhere here - or maybe there was one at Fitzroy’s old school. Argo had developed a habit of cataloguing the intricate details of seemingly expensive items. A rogue’s intuition, he had called it. A sick joke he had liked to make to himself.
Despite himself, he wondered how much something like that would sell for. He tried to recall the details. Fitzroy had packaged it in a sort of clear glass, the board itself a dark square of oak, painted red and black. The pieces were similar, intricately crafted with small, gothic details that looked as if they were fashioned by magic. It must have cost him a lot to acquire.
Then why didn’t he use it?
Argo had thought he was better than this. To be staying up late, pondering the logistics of his roommates chess board. It really wasn’t any of his business, but everything this half-elf did fascinated him. Not in the material sense, but in a way that was so distinctly different to anything he had ever felt before. He knew he should hate him. The way he composed himself, the way he spoke - Fitzroy Maplecourt reeked of narcissism. Argo was almost jealous.
Fitzroy should, by all accounts, be the last thing on his mind. He should be getting some sleep.
Argo turned to face the wall - and closed his eyes.
~
A week later, and Argo was beginning to consider therapy over this god-forsaken chess board. It obviously wasn’t normal to obsess over your roommate’s possessions - let alone a chess board. Argo hadn’t played chess since he was a child, an old friend trying to teach him the various moves each piece made. He could never understand the point of it.
They had sat on the concrete playground, his friend excitedly setting out the pieces one by one, explaining each one’s name. Pawn. Rook. Knight. King. Queen. There was way too many rules, and he had ended up surrendering after three moves, running back inside the classroom.
Argo wondered if the only reason Fitzroy played chess was to entertain his dreams of being a knight.
Chess was a game of simulated war. But war was hardly as rigid and controlled as wooden figures on a checkered slab. There weren’t any rules - just fight. Just kill. He had never seen the appeal. Either go to war yourself - or steer well clear of it. It wasn’t such a hard concept. But people seemed to worship this board, this sick celebration of war by-proxy. Why did Fitzroy insist of taking this with him? Was it some sort of inspiration? A memento?
He sighed. Many of his walks back to the dormitory had been plagued with these thoughts. Thoughts about Fitzroy. He could cope with the mystery surrounding Master Firbolg - he doubted he would ever be able to get the truth out of him. But his relationship with Fitzroy had been at odds.
They both had so many secrets, and they both knew that the other wasn’t exactly what they seemed. Argo played the role of the strangely eccentric swashbuckler, and Fitzroy was the famed knight of Goodcastle.
Their conversations weren’t scripted, but they may as well have been. The same “Hey”, “Hi”, “How were classes?”, “Good”, “Same”, “Bye”, “Bye”. It was so painfully simple. So boring that it became infuriating. These conversations were simply another excuse to keep up this pretence of friendship. He would rather they were enemies.
Argo had opened the door to the dormitory, climbing the flights of stairs to reach their shared room. He looked at the door, going for the handle before pausing. He had decided. He was going to try and talk to him today. To get a few answers.
He shook his head. He knew this wasn’t the first time he had made such a resolution. In fact - this was almost a daily occurrence. He didn’t understand why he got so nervous around him. He had always paused, and gone into the room with utmost confidence - only to see Fitzroy lying down on his beds and immediately feel his face flush and his stomach knot. He had tried to talk, to figure out a conversation starter that had momentum. Something that complimented his ego just enough to get him talking, and eased Argo’s nerves enough so that he would actually reply.
He swallowed, pulling the straps of his backpack back onto his shoulders, and opening the door. He looked around, first of all checking to see if the Firbolg had arrived. He wasn’t around, probably still in an accounting class or something. Argo then turned his attention to Fitzroy, noticing only a small tuft of hair poking from behind the double bed. The room was unusually quiet. Usually Fitzroy would be humming to himself, or mumbling over some notes in his book.
He slid his arms out of his backpack, tossing it to the corner and tiptoeing towards the clump of hair. He climbed onto the bed, lying on his stomach and looking over Fitzroy’s head.
He could hardly believe what he saw. Fitzroy staring wide-eyed at the red knight chess piece. He rolled the chess piece around in his palm, almost determined to inspect every angle of the small wooden horse. Something about the way he had held the knight had proved Argo’s idea that this board did indeed mean something to him.
This provided no comfort to him. He knew that Fitzroy had a softer side, but he didn’t want to see it like this. He wanted to hear about his soft side in person - when they had finally opened up to each other.
He didn’t realise how much he wanted to know Fitzroy until now.
He decided he had to ride this momentum. He tapped him on the shoulder - donning his signature roguish smile. Fitzroy had practically jumped out of his skin, his head snapping around to meet Argo’s eyes.
“Argo!” He said, his voice bordering on a yelp…His eyes lingered on Argo’s for a brief moment, before realising that Argo had practically been spying on him. They looked away quickly, dropping the chess piece back into the suitcase. “How long have you been here?”
“Oh, y’know - couple of minutes. Maybe five.” Argo said, scratching his head.
“And why exactly did you think that was a good idea?”
“Well I was curious! You’re never usually this quiet, Fitzroy.”
There was a pause. Argo knew this was probably his only chance to ask about the chess set. He wasn’t entirely sure how to go about it, so he just blurted it out. “Say - why’d you bring a chess set to a school of heroism and villainy, anyways?”
Fitzroy turned back towards Argo. It was clear he hadn't been expecting a question like that. It was also clear that the question was much more loaded than Argo had intended. “Excuse me?”
“I uh… It’s just a bit weird - don’t you think? You’ve never used it. Do you even play?”
Argo immediately knew from Fitzroy’s expression that he did, in fact, play chess. His expression changed from shocked, to offended, to smug. He was used to Fitzroy’s smug smiles - but this one had another element. Pride. Argo wasn’t sure if he had ever seen Fitzroy look proud about anything before.
“Do I play?” He replied, his tone indicating that they both already knew the answer. “I was only the grand master of Clyde Nite’s Night Knight School’s chess league two years in a row!”
Argo had become accustomed to tuning out at the very mention of the Knight School, but his time was different. He had asked a question - and this was the answer. It was actually pretty surprising that this barbarian had a love of chess. It sounded like he had a talent for it to. “Really?” He asked, pressing for more information.
“Would have been a third too-“ Argo could still sense the anger in his voice, though he was no longer certain of whom that anger was directed towards.
“You didn’t join the chess club here? I’m sure there’d be something in this school.” He offered.
Fitzroy rolled his eyes. “Have you forgotten, Argo? I didn’t want to be here. I’m still not sure if I want to. A chess club was the last thing on my mind.”
He was right. Argo shook his head, remembering the way Fitzroy had conducted himself on the first day. Whilst he could appreciate that he had become somewhat more bearable, he had to wonder if Fitzroy’s attitudes had changed at all. Maybe he had finally realised that if he was to be liked at all - he would have to be more silent about his disapproval of his situation. Argo had never met a person with such a fragile ego before.
“I know.” Argo said. He paused - unsure where he should be going from here. But it had dawned on him that Fitzroy may still be planning on leaving the school - and for some reason that scared him. “You are still staying here - right?”
There was so much that needed to be said. They just sat for a moment, Fitzroy seemingly pondering the question. “I think so? I’m still terribly annoyed about this whole situation, as I’m sure you know. I have Goodcastle waiting for me. I just need to get the credits. I suppose it doesn’t matter how I get them.”
“I-“ Argo had to bite his tongue from going into his rant about how Goodcastle was probably a scam and Fitzroy should begin preparing for a cold hard shock of what the real world actually was.
But he couldn’t. Despite the fact that Fitzroy was so painfully stupid, he felt relieved that he would be staying. “-I’m glad to hear that, Fitz.”
Fitzroy looked just as surprised as Argo. “I...Argo...I-It’s almost mealtime.” He quickly blurted, standing up and pushing the suitcase under the bed.
Argo was disappointed by Fitzoy’s response - but was hardly surprised. “Yeah...you’re right. We can talk later.” He rolled off the bed, standing up and heading towards the door. Usually, he would have left him behind and rushed to the fruit bowl for a variation of citrus fruits. But this time - he stopped.
“You want to go down together? Y’know - so we can continue talking.” He offered, trying his best to sound as if he didn’t care either way. Fitzroy had tossed on a wine-red cardigan, noticeably surprised that Argo hadn’t left the room yet. He considered Argo’s offer for a moment, and nodded.
“I guess? I mean - sure. It sounds nice.”
Argo opened the door, gesturing for Fitzroy to go before him, which he gladly accepted. The brief pause in conversation had caused Argo to lose the emotional momentum in which he was able to think of things to say. He ran through the catalogue of potential conversation starters in his head.
Politics, Music, Fitzroy’s Magic. Wait - wouldn’t that would be too sensitive of a topic for him? It was probably best to stick to music. He had some wonderful sea shanties he could sing to him-
“Say, have you ever played chess yourself, Argo?”
Oh thank god.
“I’ve played one game of chess, and I gave up after three moves-“ He admitted, chuckling at the sheer absurdity of the difference between their upbringings.
“How long ago was that?”
“Ten years, give or take”
It was Fitzroy’s turn to laugh, throwing his arm over Argo’s shoulder with a grin. “That’s insane!”
Argo blinked. “Is it?”
“Say -“ Fitzroy said, buttoning up his cardigan. “Why don’t we play a game after dinner? You and me.”
Argo opened his mouth to say something, although he wasn’t sure exactly what words to use. Fitzroy had seemed to have preempted this, holding up a finger to shut him up. “And you’re notallowed to give up.”
Argo knew he barely had a choice, but he would have said the same thing either way. “Uhm, sure.” He said, trying his best to act as if he didn’t care.
“Now hurry up, or all of the seats will be taken.”
~
Argo had developed a habit of taking small risks. The sorts that had no real consequence either way. Today - he had taken the risk of pocketing a lime in the inner pocket of his jacket, and it had paid off. He figured he would need the extra energy if he would be playing chess with Fitzroy.
He had finally admitted to himself that he was excited to spend time with Fitzroy. To get to know him. Fitzroy had gone to find some chess books for Argo to study after their game. Did he expect Argo to learn? Was this going to become a regular thing?
Argo lay on his side, staring at Fitzroy’s empty bed. Just beyond, the Firbolg had finally made himself seen. He was slumped in the corner and picking at some dirt in his hair.
“Hey, Bud-“ Argo hummed, raising his voice slightly so he could be heard.
“Argo- Hello-“ He replied, looking up as he let his arm slump to rest on his lap.
Argo had grown to appreciate his small interactions with Master Firbolg - small, meaningful and extremely memorable. Something in the Firbolg’s demeanour had indicated to Argo that the feeling was mutual.
“Where have you been? I didn’t see you earlier after class.” He enquired, tilting his head to the side.
“Needed to calm down. Went to spend time with the trees.”
Argo nodded solemnly. He was well aware that Bud’s accounting classes have caused him a fair amount of anxiety and discomfort. He could certainly sympathise, especially regarding the sheer dehumanising nature of “Blame Taking” class. Like his Firbolg friend, certain classes made his head hurt.
He was jealous of Master Firbolg. It must be so nice to have a tiny piece of home so close by. If he could visit the ocean, he would be there for hours and hours after every class.
Argo gave him a look. The sort that told him ‘I know exactly what you’re going through - even though you may not have the words to describe it right now.’ “You alright?”
“Yeah. I will sleep soon.” He had said with a small smile.
Argo smiled back.
“Fitzroy’s going to try and teach me to play chess tonight. We’ll try and keep it down.” Argo said.
“Thank you… It is...much appreciated”
A few moments later, Fitzroy had burst through the door, his face barely visible over a tall pile of books.
“I’m back, Argo!” He said, his signature loud voice jarring to both Argo and the Firbolg. He placed the books in the middle of his bed, sitting cross legged of one side of the pile and patting the other side. “Sit here. We’ll sit on the floor to play the actual game, obviously”
Obviously?
Argo pushed himself up from the bed, standing up and moving to sit on Fitzroy’s bed. He looked at the pile of books, the top cover saying “[b]CHESS FOR DUMMIES[/b]” in big, bold letters. He cracked a smile.
“I managed to grab these from the library.” He said proudly, before listing them off. “We have Chess for Dummies, Understanding Chess, The Magic of Chess, Top Tips For Chess, Chess and You and Chess is the Best! That was one of my favourites back when I was learning the basics. There’s quite a few more advanced books too - so let me know when you’re done with this lot.” The way Fitzroy read each of the titles indicated to Argo that each book had a certain memory attached for it.
He made a silent promise to read each and every one.
“I’ll teach you the basics now, but these should help you out with the more complicated stuff. Right-“ He moved himself to sit on the floor, pulling the chess set from his suitcase. “-This is how you set up a board. We put the pawns in the front, and then the back row is a symmetrical set up, with the king and queen in the middle.”
Fitzroy did so, and Argo was in awe at the way he worked, his fingers grabbing each piece and placing them directly into their retrospective squares. He did it so quickly, with so much confidence that Argo immediately knew that Fitzroy wasn’t lying about his past with chess.
“You can see the diagrams in the books-“ He explained, somewhat embarrassed about the almost obsessive nature with which he set up the board.
Fitzroy had finished the board, making a small flourish with his hands to show off his handiwork.
Argo suddenly realised that he had been silent for way too long - and that he should have stopped gawking to give the half-elf some validation. But all he managed to say was “Wow-“
“I’ve been playing chess for way too long for my own good” He muttered. Argo noticed Fitzroy’s cheeks growing pink.
“Hey, it’s not too long if you got that many awards, huh?” Argo said quickly. “The way you’ve been talking about it all tells me it makes you pretty happy, right?”
Fitzroy nodded. “I guess?”
“So you shouldn’t be ashamed about it, yeah?” He said. An uncomfortable silence followed, and Argo shifted awkwardly on the floor. “I must admit - I’m pretty excited to play with you”
“Seriously?” Argo couldn’t understand why that shocked Fitzroy. Strangely, he had never seen such genuine vulnerability from him.
Argo reached out his hand, placing it on Fitzroy’s shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Seriously.”
~
“So what does the knight do?”
“It’s an ‘L’ shape, Argo. Two squares horizontally, and one square vertically. Or vice versa.”
Argo sighed, tracing his finger over the chess board repeatedly. One up, two across. Two up, one across. One up, one a - wait.
He had already tried to give up twice, and it had only been around 10 minutes. Why was this so hard? Needless to say - he had given up on the idea of trying to win long ago.
He gave up, moving the knight in the first direction he could see. The look in Fitzroy’s eye had told him he had made the wrong decision, but Argo didn’t know what the ‘right’ decision would have been. Fitzroy moved a pawn, sweeping the knight off the board,
“I thought you said the pawn could only move forwards!” He protested.
“Only when it’s not capturing another piece” Fitz said.
Argo threw his head into his hands. “Jesus, this game makes no sense-“
That was when Fitzroy began to laugh, covering his mouth to silence his giggles. Argo looked up, pressing a finger to his lips, which only made Fitzroy laugh even more.
“The Firbolg is asleep!” He shout-whispered, trying to get him to shut up. His face was red with laughter by now. Argo wanted him to be quiet so bad. Maybe because he didn’t want to wake the Firbolg up, or maybe because he wanted Fitzroy to stop laughing at him.
He found Fitzroy so intriguing, so exciting. He wished he would stop laughing and start talking. He glared at him, waiting for the laughter to die down until it had settled into a wide smile. “Finally-“
“You’re so annoying-“ Fitzroy pouted.
“You’re so annoying” Argo rebutted, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I can’t help it that you’re so hopeless at chess!”
“The firborg is asleep!”
“Shut up-“
“I’m not gonna shut up when you’re the one making the noise”
“Shut up and play some chess.”
Argo smirked. “Make me-“
There was a small silence. A brief moment where Argo dared to make eye contact with Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt of the Realm of Goodcastle. It was awkward, and somewhat alien to the rogue - but Argo liked it.
Fitzroy giggled “God, are you flirting with me?”
Argo paused, looking at Fitzroy with a questioning look. Was this flirting? Was Argo flirting with Fitzroy? The thought sat somewhat uncomfortably in his mind, but he eventually decided that he could live with that. He had no idea what flirting was, but he liked this. He liked Fitzroy. Not just the idea of him - but the strong, stupid, handsome knight that sat in front of him. He liked Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt. He liked him a lot.
Suddenly everything made a bit more sense.
That damned chess board was merely an excuse.
“It’s your move, Argo”
Argo had forgotten that he was sitting directly in front of Fitzroy during his moment of introspection. He noticed the castle was directly in front of his pieces, and moved the queen to capture it. He looked up, grinning - he was so proud of himself.
At least, he had been. Until Fitzroy had started laughing again. At least he was quieter this time.
“Checkmate- My god, you actually put yourself in checkmate.“
“Does that mean I’ve won?” Argo teased.
Fitzroy’s laugh grew louder. “You’re fuckin’ with me”
Argo nodded in mock shame. “I’m fucking with you-“
“So, I win”
“You do-“
“You, uhm. You put up a good fight.” Fitzroy said, sweeping the chess pieces into the case as he talked.
“You’re lying.”
“I am.”
Now it’s was Argo’s turn to laugh. He chuckled despite himself. “I’m such a hypocrite” he admitted, trying to shut himself up as soon as he could.
Fitzroy sealed the case, putting it back in his suitcase. “I must confess, Argo. That was actually really fun. I should play more.”
Argo nodded. Fitzroy was so right - he certainly had talent, even if it wasn't best displayed against a complete novice such as himself.
“I’ll play again with you.” He offered. “I’ll read those books and try and get a bit better.”
“I’d really like that, Argo”
They smiled. “So what happens now? Now you’ve won the game, I mean.”
“Well usually I’d be moved on to the next round of the tournament, and you would be eliminated. But, since we’re not in any formal game, I just have the pride of winning! Or-“
“Or what?” Argo questioned.
Fitzroy’s eyes turned hopeful. “You could give me a prize?”
“Like what? You know I haven’t got much to give” Argo said uncomfortably.
“I wasn’t thinking that. I was thinking you could”
Fitzroy was blushing again.
“I was wondering if you could kiss me?” He asked. It wasn’t forceful, far from a command. The way it sounded to Argo - Fitzroy was admitting something. He wanted Argo to kiss him. Argo wanted to kiss Fitzroy. He took a moment to consider it. He was going to take this chance.
Argo inched closer, placing both of his hands on the back of Fitzroy’s neck. “You want me to kiss you, Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt?”
Fitzroy giggled again. Argo loved the way he laughed. “I would love that - Argonaut Keene.”
So he did.
He pressed his forehead against Fitzroy’s, brushing his lips against his. They were much warmer than his own. It felt so strange - letting someone get so close to him. He wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but he knew that he enjoyed it.
Argo wasn’t sure what else to do, so he tilted his head, and slightly opened his lips. He found himself surprised that Fitzroy did the same. He felt the barbarian’s hand caress his side. He wondered if he could kiss him forever. Capture this very moment and revisit it in the moments where he thought he wasn’t good enough. He was good enough for Fitzroy, and surely that was more than he could ever need.
He wondered how long was too long to kiss somebody. He wondered if time had really slowed down, or if it had just felt like it had. There were so many questions - and no answers. He realised he didn’t need answers. He just needed to make sure this wasn’t a throwaway thing. He was going to kiss him again
Once he had made that promise to himself, he found it was much easier to pull away - albeit with reluctance. He looked back into the knight’s eyes and smiled.
Fitzroy smiled back. “That was-“
“I...I loved that, Fitzroy.” Argo admitted bashfully. “I think I might love you-“
He laughed. “Dammit, Argo - I think I might love you too.”