Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chess ❯ Chess ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Chess

Warnings: None, really. This is a side-fic to The D.C. Saga.

Rating: heavy PG-13, I suppose. ::shrugs::

Pairing: 3+/x5

POV: WuFei

A/N: Can't think of any. Just what it says. A lot of what happens is implied, though, so don't think I'm going to get descriptive or anything. At least, not quite yet...^_~

Thanks to: Asuka Kureru, who helped me a lot with this part. Thanks, Asuka-sama! ::huggles::

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He liked chess. I think that was the first thing that drew me to him and away from my room, where I stayed alone with my books and my music. We were the only ones there, he offered a game of chess, and I, for reasons unknown, accepted.

It was perhaps the most fun and intellectually stimulating event that had happened to me in months. I had no idea that he was such a skilled player. It was a wonderful challenge, not only for me, but for him as well, I like to think. Both of us have such a thirst for knowledge, though for different reasons. He requested to borrow a few of my books and I conceded, delighted that someone, finally, shared my interests in something.

After that first time playing chess, Trowa came to me a bit more often when we were both unoccupied. And every meeting was the same-I'd be sitting still, either reading or playing solitaire, and he would enter the room in that quiet way of his.

`Are you busy?' he would ask, voice very monotone. I would raise an eyebrow every time.

`Does it look like I am busy?'

`It's just a question.'

`So I gave you an answer.'

That would make him smile a little, he would sit down across from me and say, `Chess?'

And if I was in the mood, I'd say, `Chess.'

So he would relax, cross his long legs in front of him, fold his slim hands, and I would pull out my crystal chess set, expensive wooden chessboard, and he and I would play. The wins and losses were spread equally among us-neither was better or worse-and I enjoyed the losing as much as I did the winning, if that makes any sense at all. Trowa did not gloat about it, he merely gave me that look that meant, `Ha, I won,' and we'd play again.

It went on for a few months, and before I think either of us knew it, we were on missions together, working well with one another. We finally started rooming together, which I think upset Quatre a little bit, but Quatre and Trowa were still the two who were naturally close.

Trowa is a very interesting person. He has these poignant moments where his logic makes complete and perfect sense, and our conversations can go on for hours and hours before we realize that any time has passed at all. I don't know what it is about him, really, but I feel such a...a connection to him. I feel like we are truly kindred spirits-we even started finishing each other's sentences. It was an eye-opening experience for me. I have never had someone close to such as him, someone that knows my thoughts, my feelings. Someone that truly understands me.

When we roomed together, we had moments of what I termed as SWU. Silence With Understanding. It would be completely dead silent in the room. He'd look at me, and I'd look at him, and if I'd been having a bad day he'd know it. He'd give me that soft look that he has, where his face is as still as a statue but his eyes are so open, warm, and trusting. And I would feel myself melting, almost, as though all my worries, my stresses, my fears were completely...gone. We hardly ever spoke after that-we didn't need to. We just...knew.

He was my best friend, I admit, though I never came out and told him (and I never will). It was one of those understandings that we had between us-I cared for him more than I did anyone else at that moment, and I trusted him more than anyone I'd ever known. I found that in the darkness of the room, late at night, while we lay in our separate beds...I found that I would whisper to him my inner thoughts, my ideals. I told him of my colony's destruction. I told him how I felt when I knew that my entire world had been torn apart. I explained how I had come to pilot the Nataku. I told him why I'd named her so.

And he was very quiet through the whole thing, though that was expected. He wouldn't speak until he knew I was done. Then he sort of sighed and said, `I know exactly how you feel.'

He didn't know his parents or his own name. He called Catherine his sister, but he was never sure. He was just as confused and jaded as I, and I cannot tell you how enlightening it was. The next day, he and I watched an old movie on TV together. I never watched much TV and neither did he, but it was a very good movie, and I think it was worth it. Just for the connection that burned between us, it was worth it.

It was a dark, rainy day in New Orleans, at the large estate we'd inhabited, when Trowa and I connected on a completely different level.

**

I was sitting on the large swing on the back porch, enclosed as it was in New Orleans with screens and mesh, listening and watching the rain. It was extremely humid-I'd never felt air so humid in my life. I kept imagining a giant sponge pressing in on me. It was almost hard to breathe.

I loved rain. I always had. My mother would tease me about being a rain cloud in a past life. I couldn't help it, it simply fascinated me, so whenever it stormed I was there, either sleeping and listening to it, or watching the drops fall in sheets.

I was only half-dressed, something odd for me. I always tried to remain immaculate, a trait from my youth. My father hated it when I wasn't well-groomed.

There I sat in an attire that would shock my father, comfortable but with cold, sockless feet, watching the first storm I'd seen in months.

Actually...it was the first storm I'd seen since Trowa and I had become friends.

So I watched the gray rain fall, soaking the dark green grass in the backyard. I eventually shrugged the shirt off-it was just too hot. Sticky, almost. I nearly couldn't stand it, but there was nothing I could do about it. And the rain was more important, anyway.

Someone sat next to me then, and I glanced over. It was Trowa, and he was still in his jeans and turtleneck, though I didn't understand how he wasn't burning up. The heat was draining.

"It's supposed to flood in some places," he said conversationally. Everything he said sounded conversational, even if he was talking about blowing up an OZ factory.

"Will it flood here?"

"I don't believe so, but the New French Quarter is already flooding."

"Ah."

The sound of the rain upon the roof, on the ground, was soothing. I leaned into him a bit, though I don't think I realized consciously what I was doing. I barely blinked, staring into the half-night as I was.

There was a hesitation beside me. I felt it. And when I glanced at Trowa, his eyes were on my hair. "No ponytail?"

"No. I didn't feel like it." I generally did not allow people to see my hair down-it was just too intimate a thing-but around Trowa, strangely, it didn't seem to matter.

"I've never seen it down."

"I know."

There was that unspoken friendship again and he leaned back against me until we were propped up against each other, my bare shoulder pressed to his clothed one, watching the rain.

"WuFei."

"Yes?"

"Why are you out here?"

I didn't answer at first, instead taking my time. My hand fell to his knee. "Because I want to be."

"But why?"

"I like it."

"The rain?"

"And the thunder and lightning, yes."

"Why?"

I glanced at him, pushing away strands of hair that had fallen across my eyes. "Listen for a moment. Do you hear it?"

"I only hear rain."

"Exactly. It's...it's soothing to me. Reminds me of home."

"Rainstorms on the colonies?"

"Scheduled ones. I've always liked them."

He quieted. I felt him relax, lean back against the wooden bench, and I watched him as he tried to understand what it was I liked so very much about this rain. After many minutes, he gave a silent sigh. "I like it, but I don't see why you would sit out here for hours."

"You will one day." And I knew he would. He understood me too much to let this one thing slip by.

"WuFei."

"Yes?"

"Will you come inside when it is over?"

"For what?"

He smiled. I'd only ever seen him smile like that twice. "For chess."

I pondered. "Yes. When it is over, I will play chess with you."

"Good." He leaned close to me then, his green eyes like jades, muted and soft, and he touched my long, unbound hair. He pulled me to him and our lips met. We held the kiss for a few moments, comfort and friendship and mutual like flowing through it. We parted and I went back to watching the rain, and he stood up and left me to myself.

Later that night, after the storm had dissipated, we played chess.

And every time it stormed, we kissed.

**

It is raining again. I sit here, in Texas now, and I watch it as it falls. I grow restless knowing that I am inside, so I walk outside in the backyard and sit on the porch, this one open and not enclosed like in New Orleans. I liked those Louisiana porches.

In one hour, Trowa is at my side like he usually is. I look up at him and I see him watching the rain. He gives another silent sigh that I am used to. "This is very nice."

I nod. "It is."

He looks at me, hands in his pockets. "I see what you mean. I like the rain."

"I do too."

"Chess later?"

"When it is over."

He nods. I smile. And we watch the rain together. His hand escapes his pocket to find mine, our palms warm, and I pull him to me for a quick kiss. He watches me for a few moments before brushing my lips again. "I need to go inside and help Reiko with the cooking. She requested assistance."

"She is kind." She may be a woman, but she is sweet and good to us, to all five of us. I don't care for her company, though-she is too hyper for me at times-but there is no denying that she tries her best to keep us comfortable, fed, and warm.

"She is very kind," he agrees. We kiss again and I let him go, going back to the rain. I think back to that first time in New Orleans when he kissed me. It was pleasant. I listen to the rain and I wonder if it sounds the same everywhere we go. Is it different in Beijing? In Sydney? Or is all rain equal?

I find that I am looking forward to the chess match. I wonder who will win this time. It is always hard to tell, for he and I are quite the equals when it comes to games such as those. I hope to win, of course, but I cannot win every game. Trowa will not let me, and I would not want him to let me. If I win, I win because I play well, not because he lets me.

The rain falls, hard and gray, and I realize that I am content. Chess. My best friend. The connection we have, the moments of SWU. It is all astounding, but then again, it isn't. It feels as though I have known him my whole life.

I turn and I walk inside, eating the meal they have prepared and thanking the young woman. I leave quickly, however, and return to the rain. It ends around midnight.

Time for chess.

**

The chess match that night is interesting. I win, he wins, I win, he wins, and then he suggests something new. "Parcheesi?"

"Parcheesi?"

"Yes. I've never played. Want to learn how?"

"Yes."

Every rainstorm is the same, and every chess match different. Trowa is my best friend. We are close.

And every time it rains, I look forward to his kiss....

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A/N: The end. That's the first little sidefic for D.C. There will be others, just not anytime soon. ^^;; So please review and let me know if you like it. I love feedback. ^__~