Chapter Text
As he entered the room, he breathed in a familiar scent of old books and paper. Tiny particles of dust were floating everywhere and seemed to dance and flicker in the afternoon sun. It wasn’t surprising that the library was quite crowded at the moment - the exam season was approaching and students were meeting there to do some last minute cramming or finish their research projects. They were flipping pages of their notebooks so fast that he was surprised it hadn’t created a wind inside the library yet.
One of the girls was surrounded by old volumes, all in leather covers, and when she closed the book in front of her it caused a wave of dust to fly up and made a person next to her sneeze. Many students looked as if they hadn’t slept a wink for the past few days and were on the verge of passing out. Ratio tore away his gaze from a guy that kept talking to himself as if he held an actual conversation about whether he should go to sleep or drink another cup of coffee and keep working. He rolled his eyes at some students he barely recognised but they raised his heads at him with wide grins. He might have been swift in math calculations but it didn’t mean he would do them for people who (out of their laziness) decided not to attend classes but very eagerly begged others to help them with final essays or projects. He hated that kind of person and pretended he had his own work to do although it wasn’t true. Ignoring every person that dared to think about asking him for help, he held the book closer to his chest.
His gaze focused on the furthest corner of the library, lingering on the tables that were still mostly empty and cabinets that were usually overflowing with books - today were almost empty. Sometimes people actually needed them for their essays - sometimes they used them as props for their laptops, phones or notebooks. Or to hide behind them and cry in misery.
The weather today was rather cool and moody as befits October. He was glad he put on a sweater, dark wool kept him warm and it was so oversize he didn’t mind having a shirt underneath. On a daily basis wearing layers drove him insane because it was unbearably uncomfortable to have a sleeve rolling up and no way to pull it down without undressing and then dressing up all over again. He made a mental note to look for another one of these the next time he goes shopping. He played with the fabric to keep his fingers busy as he passed by his colleagues and avoided interactions - he will blame it later on absent-mindedness or stress. It was better than saying I didn’t want to see you so I decided not to ignore your existence.
Ratio preferred the camaraderie of books than people but at this time the library was unfortunately full of both. Dark wooden furniture never failed to make the rooms feel more cosy. Slowly walking over to his favorite corner, he noticed that his usual table was already occupied. He didn’t overthink it, the guy seemed to be focused on the papers in front of him so they wouldn’t bother each other too much. Ratio sat on the opposite side of the man and opened his book that he initially planned to read outside but the wind was insufferable. He had no strength to fight against the will of nature that tore away the slim copy of Julius Caesar out of his hands twice . He didn’t spare the blond a second glance but after a few minutes he could feel the other started gazing at him. At first he thought nothing of it. Maybe the other realised they knew each other - what Ratio also noticed. He was sure they attended some classes together but he didn’t seem like one of the idiots he so much despised. The blond had a bottle green hoodie on with an embroidery of Alea iacta est in the front. Ratio saw him wearing similar colours before.
Maybe he heard him talking a few times in class but didn’t consider it interesting enough to remember. The blond has never tried to talk to him either and they never had the pleasure to work together. The guy rather chose his place here today totally randomly and it just happened to be the table Ratio typically was working at. The probability of them meeting here was quite low, he only ever saw the other in afternoon classes and Ratio preferred to study in the mornings since afternoons appeared too noisy for him to focus on his assignments. When he was showing up in the library in the evening it was mostly to read or do something that didn’t demand that much of his attention. The other was probably working, maybe not a typical 8AM-4PM job but possibly half-time, maybe at a coffee shop or some bookshop? Their accidental encounter was just pure luck. The chess was sprawled on the table as usual - mostly for students to play in their study breaks because besides that there was really nothing else to do if one yearned for some entertrainment. You could either take a book off the shelf to read about something different than you studied about or leave all your stuff and get outside for a smoke. Based on the appearance of the man before him - he didn’t look like he belonged to the second group. His nail and fingers were clean and he didn’t have nervous ticks as most smokers he knew. He also didn’t use any perfume to cover up the possible cigarette smell, there was only a soft aroma of citruses and green apple in the air - not enough to fend off any sort of smoke. He raised his head and their gazes crossed but Ratio’s heavy look wasn’t enough to make the blond look away. Ratio also didn’t want to break eye contact first so he only stared intensely into these unusually coloured irises. It was almost uneasy to see someone having such vibrant purple tones in their eyes that seemed to glow around the pupils. His eyelashes and brows were as fair as his hair which was rather rare to see in this part of the country. It must have been natural, he could bleach hair but he surely wouldn’t do the same to eyebrows and eyelashes. At least he hoped so.
“Do you wanna play?” He was so focused on analysing the fellow student that when the blond finally spoke up - he almost startled him. He kept his voice quiet not wanting to bother anyone around although they didn’t seem to care if their chats and laughs disrupt the silence in the room.
“Why would I?” Ratio tilted his head to the side. It wasn't a daily occurrence for unknown people to talk to him - apparently he was intimidating and looked like a douchebag. That’s what he once heard. Okay. Not once.
“You’re not doing anything either way.” He smiled and his eyes seemed to change their colour a little bit as if something moved inside them, like in a kaleidoscope.
“I’m reading.” Ratio raised the book in his hand.
“You haven’t turned the page for the past five minutes.”
“Some pages need a reread.” He said plainly. It didn’t put the other off.
“If the content is so mentally straining as to reread it so many times a break would be advisable.” Ratio scoffed. This guy surely knew how to be annoying. His fingers tapped against the chess board and he turned it around so white pieces would be on Ratio’s side. “It won’t hurt. I’m done with my book too.” He closed the little copy he held in his hand so the title wasn’t visible. Ratio squinted his eyes, he didn’t have enough time to check what title was engraved on the cover. “Let’s play.”
“I don’t have time.”
“You’re not reading this for class so you’re certainly not in the middle of cramming for an exam. You have time.”
“How can you know?”
“Your major is math, what would you need Caesar in Greek for? However I don’t understand how you can read that for pleasure.” He shrugged and pulled the chessboard closer. “Come on. Just one game.” Ratio knew it was getting late, the sun was setting and the light in the room changed. Just when he was about to decline the offer, rays of the sun hit the stained glass that decorated library windows and the colours climbed on the blond and created a motley mosaic on his hair. He blanked for a moment when the man noticed what happened and reached out his hand to catch some of the colours on his skin.
“Just one.” Ratio sighed and decided he would get rid of him faster if he gave in and chess was probably the best game he could agree on. He won’t have to think much and they’ll be done in a span of a few minutes. He’ll win, leave and read his book on the bus home.
He always wins.
So what happened today?
Did he steal his pieces when he blinked? He looked so smug while moving black pieces… at first sight he just looked like he was enjoying the opportunity to play. But taking his attitude into account - if someone told Ratio that this is a cheater - he would believe. Ratio was always a reasonable player, he took his time, thought a few, if not dozens, moves ahead and hasn’t lost to anyone since he got into university. He was aware he was a bit hectic and just wanted to finish the game but he didn’t think it would end in his loss. His hand hovered over the board and his eyebrow twitched when he realised he had no moves. The blond looked at his king with interest as if he was looking for a move for Ratio too, as if he didn’t know he had already won. Eventually he chuckled.
“Well, you have nowhere to run.” He smiled and grabbed his bag, throwing the book inside. “Thanks for the game. I need to go now.” He moved swiftly and before Ratio could stop him - he was already gone. Meanwhile Ratio stared intently at the board. The moves of the other weren’t complex at all but didn’t lack fineness so did he simply make the worst mistake of all? Did he… underestimated the opponent? It seemed so. He relived their game once again and didn’t understand why he omitted such obvious clues. Everything the other did was risky, like a few beginnings of different actions that somehow ended up in a success. He was slowly moving the pieces back and forth, analysing a chess game so closely for the first time in forever. He didn’t notice when the autumnal day ended and it got dark outside. He could probably sit there for another hour but then one of his colleagues joined him by the table for obvious reasons so he quickly organised the chess board and excused himself before the girl could ask for help with her probability assignment (again).
On the way out he bumped into many students who were just starting their exam preparation and entered the library with energy drinks in hands. Ratio ran downstairs, grabbed his coat and left the crowded space with relief. The sky was clear, free of clouds and stars blinked at him from above as he let out a long sigh. The air was crispy and he covered himself tighter with a scarf because the wind kept ruthlessly pinching his cheeks. Colourful leaves made crunchy sounds under his shoes as he walked towards the bus stop, grateful for not meeting anyone on the way. He watched the passing cars with a tired gaze, the colours were getting blurry and any letters melted into incomprehensible mix, he should have put on glasses. The trees around him created eerie melodies as their leaves and branches moved with the wind. These constant rustling sounds almost made him forget there were people around him. The wind was so loud that only honking could outshout it. Autumn wasn’t kind this year, as soon as it embraced the world, the days got darker and weather turned cold in a matter of one week. He kept walking along the bus stop to keep himself warm, trying to force his thoughts out of his head and focus on whatever was around him. Yet his eyes kept tearing up due to fatigue and constant wind and his mind didn’t want to stop thinking about the man he met in the library. He didn’t ask him for the name but he will easily get to know during the next lecture, he might as well sit in the back and check the attendance list. Or he could just ask, that’s also not a bad idea, especially when he really wanted to play a game of chess with him again. This time he would pay more attention and wouldn’t treat him with so much ignorance. Someone nudged him in the ribs as they tried to jump on the bus on time and he huffed with anger. He couldn’t get the blond out of his head. How come he didn’t talk with him before? He pondered and when his bus finally arrived he slowly hopped on and stood by the door.
Your major is math, what would you need Caesar in Greek for?
How did he know that? Was it possible that this stranger knew more about Ratio than he was able to deduce about the blond? And how did he not know about someone who was able to play chess so well? Ratio wasn’t the type to get interested in people, so why was he getting so absorbed?
Just because of chess. Surely. There was nothing more to it.
He remembered this smug smile and a few sentences they exchanged and he almost groaned in annoyance. He was not getting fixated on random people, especially strangers. Well.
Apparently people change.
He will find the guy and ask him all burning questions he already had memorised.
The interest peaked. He could blame only himself, he agreed for the game himself, he should have known better than to comply with the stranger’s request.
Alea iacta est.
The die has been cast.
He just didn’t know when he threw that freaking dice, they were playing chess for heaven’s sake.