In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio.

Updated for 2011: This project began while the manga was still smack dab in the middle of the storyline, and Brotherhood wasn't even a twinkle in anyone's eyes. I've tried not to break canon too much along the way, but certain guesses and playful assumptions did eventually get disproved. It happens. -K

Checkmate:

Roy groaned for the umpteenth time as he scribbled away at the paperwork on his desk. He never should have made that bet with Hawkeye. He thought he'd been clever, daring her to a chess match; thinking that he'd have a miniskirt-clad Riza to look forward to all month. Instead, he was stuck at his desk, forced to do the backlogged paperwork he'd been putting off for as long as possible.

He'd thought daily games with Grumman-Chuujou would have improved his skills…

…too bad for him that he didn't know who taught her Grumman-jiichan to play in the first place.