My goal was two thousand words (at least) and thankfully, I reached it (without the A/N). I must admit, though, it was hard. I think I've lost my touch. Writing oneshots is definitely harder now. It takes a lot more effort. Dedication oneshot will be put up some time ... I don't own Shugo Chara!

Enjoy this oneshot that came to me in a bookstore (for more information, check my profile). Nagihiko's POV, if you can't tell. If you think the beginning/middle is boring, persevere through it (because the whole oneshot sort of connects) to the end which, I think, is better than the rest.

Checkmate

The clacking of wood against wood echoed from the Royal Garden's glass walls and back to the table where I sat. I wasn't alone, but I might as well have been. Other than these noises, the Garden was essentially quiet.

I chuckled nervously as Rima continued to glare at me loathingly, arms folded over her chest and cheeks puffed in an arrogant pout. Again, I tried to communicate with her, using another means than the dirty looks she kept sending my way.

"Come on, Rima-chan …" I murmured, "there's nothing else to do." I continued to make the clicking noise to her great irritation and smiled encouragingly as she stared at my hands in disdain. The other Guardians: Amu, Tadase, and Yaya, had abandoned us again in one of their schemes to bring us together. It was their goal to make us, at the very least, friends. This plan probably would have worked, if not for the Queen's stubborn and hot-headed personality, though she denied the description countless times. "It's just him," she would say, "He's … I don't want to be friends with him." Rima never did seem able to list a few of my characteristics.

I begged them, or more accurately (because it was against my pride), asked them politely to cease in their useless attempts but Amu was quite persistent, Tadase would not go against her, and Yaya loved to 'match-make', as she liked to call it. "It worked with Amu-chi and Tadase, Sanjou-san and Nikaidou, so why not Nagi and Rima-tan?"

I tried to explain repeatedly that it was different, that Amu and Tadase both liked each other (though secretly, I objected to them being together), and that it was the same case with Sanjou and Nikaidou. I liked Rima-chan (maybe as more than a friend, though I kept this a secret), and Rima? Well, she hated me. It was fine, I told Yaya, but she only winked and snickered, stretching the last word into two syllables, "Yaya doesn't know …" Somehow, I knew that Amu was mislead and told Yaya that I 'like-liked' Rima-chan. I couldn't be sure myself.

But I had to admit, to my utter embarrassment and disappointment, being with the blonde made my heart race, though I never told this to anyone. It must have shown through, I guessed. Even if I did love Rima, she would never love me back. I knew I was in denial, though. I'd never felt this way around someone before.

She glared again and then huffed, giving in grudgingly. It would be hours before anyone came to pick her up.

"Fine," was all she said as I smiled and passed her half the pieces.

"Do you know how to play?" I asked as nicely as possible, for I knew she would think that I was underestimating her.

"What? Chess? You think I'm stupid or something?" she questioned aggressively and I laughed forcefully.

"Of course not …" She always seemed to misunderstand me, anyway. The petite girl simply sat there, as if waiting for something. "Okay … why don't you go first." Rima possessed the white pieces, so it was obviously her turn. She seemed surprised, and, hesitantly, she moved a pawn one space forward. I mimicked her move and my lips curled upward absentmindedly as I waited for her next move.

She brought another one of the miniature pieces forward, as did I. Making a wall with her pawns, I realized happily. Rima really did seem to know how to play. I decided to give her a tip she was unaware of, for she continued to only move them one space at a time.

"On your first action for each pawn, you can make them move forward two steps," I reminded her, generously, I thought. Rima looked murderous for a moment, but blushed irritably and looked down, suddenly examining her hands, clasping and unclasping in her lap.

"… What's a pawn?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the clueless expression on her face. She'd made her act so convincing: it looked as if she could actually play. Rima glared threateningly in my direction and I stifled the sound behind my hand.

"S-sorry—Rima-chan—but the pawn—is the one you've been—moving this—whole time," I managed to squeeze in between chuckles, her face turner crimson as she looked more and more annoyed.

Slowly, I informed her of the names of each and every chess piece, what they did, how to use them and strategies she could form with different ones. Gradually, from occasionally to frequently she beamed and eyes lighting up, she commented on them.

"The Queen's powerful. There's no Jack, though …" she frowned genuinely. It made me feel exuberant, euphoric, as if I was floating. Rima cared for me, if only a little bit.

"Just like you," I responded to the first statement, smiling affectionately. She looked away, blushing bright red as I glanced in the other direction thoughtfully, pretending I hadn't seen; her comfort and her happiness were at jeopardy.

"And you say 'check' when you're going to win, and 'checkmate' if you win. Do you think you're ready to play yet?" I inquired, deliberately changing the subject.

She looked up and smiled, smiled at me, mostly recovered, and excitedly exclaimed, "Yeah!" I'd only seen her look so enthusiastic with Amu or Yaya. It made me feel warmer …

Rima seemed to understand the basics, asking only for reassurance when she spoke. Sadly, though, being a much more experienced player, I won each game. Soon, the muttering of 'check' and 'checkmate' came every few minutes from my mouth. Knowing the blonde, if I lost for her sake, she would be more deadly than if she lost. I'd had my fourth win already.

We played for hours on end, somehow landing on the topic of what we both thought of the Guardians.

"I don't know … Yaya can be pretty dense sometimes …" Then she smiled softly and began again, "But she's always easygoing and energetic. It's comforting. How ironic it is that sometimes it's like she's the motivator of the group, even though she's like a baby herself." I laughed, agreeing with her.

Awkwardly, I asked, "What do you think of Tadase …?" Her opinion of him, perhaps, mattered the most to me. Why? Because he was a boy, as well as one of her friends. What if she liked him the way I liked her? What would be of me?

She was quiet for a moment, as the clinking of chess pieces continued.

"He's nice," Rima finally replied indifferently, "but he's also boring. And not my type. Or Amu's either, for that matter." I raised my eyebrows. Did she think the blue-haired teenager suited more for the pink-haired girl? And more importantly, what was her 'type'? Nine games had gone, by now, and I'd won them all.

"Do you prefer Ikuto? … For Amu, I mean!" as I saw her blush mingled with her glare. I knew she felt it coming, the question that I would ask after she answered.

"Yeah … I think Amu could do good for Ikuto … and vice-versa of course. Amu needs to loosen up." It was silent again as she moved a knight backward to protect her king.

"… What's your type?" My face painted pink as I asked this, my eyes flickering up and down, left and right uneasily as she thought of an answer.

"W-well …" I held my breath as she stammered. "I-I don't know … Nice, I guess?" She blushed madly and was suddenly very preoccupied with inspecting the chess pieces. What a vague answer. I'm nice, aren't I? I though bitterly. Thirteenth win in a row.

"What about you …" she broke the silence, "What do you think of Amu?" I tried to delude myself into thinking that the edge in her voice and the grinding of her teeth was jealousy. But, being the honest and logical person I was, I told myself that she was only worried that I would try to steal Amu from her.

"She's a friend," was all I replied as we continued to play. Nineteen to zero wins for me, so far. Though I was winning by a landslide, the blonde across from me, however, didn't seem upset, but delighted, for which I was glad. Rima slowly understood the game in more depth and was becoming harder and harder to beat. I could tell that she was improving immensely.

After a few more games, I realized a question that might've killed me a few hours ago when Rima still hated me. A question I still dare not ask, even if I was more friendly with her now. 'What do you think of me?' were the simple words I couldn't say. What if she hated me? Could I live like that? It would imbalance the fragile relationship we didn't really have. I could think of it as a friendship, at least. Judging from Rima's eyebrows knitted together and the thin line that was her mouth, I could assume that she had a similar question to mine.

I wished that I could have shouted it at her, screamed it at her, 'I love you!' But it was impossible. I was too cowardly, too frightened of rejection, of loneliness, of emptiness.

Distracted by the previous conversation and my own confusing thoughts, she took down my queen and I stared. Even if I had been paying attention, she would have prevailed of ridding it from the board, having a pawn, a bishop, and a castle surrounding it. I was dazed for a few more seconds, petrified, before I hugged Rima across the table and grinned widely.

"Great job Rima-chan! You're getting better!" I kissed her hair instinctively, placing my head on top of hers blissfully. She didn't say anything at once, so I pulled back. Her face was bright red against my chest. I instantly let go of her completely, my face slightly pink.

"S-sorry," I stuttered immediately and took my next move, for which I muttered a quick "checkmate", seeing as her king had fallen. Twenty-fifth win. Throughout this, the blonde looked about to explode, and finally, she did. But not in the way I had imagined. She laughed giddily, loudly, without effort or restraint and was unable to stop. She went on and on as I became angrier and angrier, sadder and sadder.

It was frustrating. Everything about her was so frustrating. Her smile, her laugh, her frown, her glare, her happiness, her sadness. And last of all, her ignorance: her inability to comprehend how much she meant to me.

"Check …" I muttered as I moved ever so slightly closer to Rima, my eyes fixed on hers.

She looked up from laughing and frowned worriedly as she saw my face contorted with rage, grief … and bemusement. "Hey … Nagihiko? Are you oka—" she began, before I cut her off with my lips on hers. It was like a flame that suddenly sparked to life at my very core, as if the despair and anger I'd previously felt was warded off, and it was just us at the moment. Only us. With my vision, all I could see was her pale face, her blazing cheeks, and last but certainly not least, her beautiful eyes. Golden and melichrous, they were dazzling. They mesmerized me, engulfed me, and made it so that I couldn't stop …

It was hard to control, the inevitability of this rapidly growing fire. The flames licked up and down my body, emphasizing the places that made physical contact with Rima: mostly my hands on her face, my chest on which she had her palms, and most significant of all, my lips moving beseechingly on hers.

The blonde stayed quite rigid for a moment until, it seemed, she realized what I was doing and quickly tried to pull back, suddenly pushing with her clenched fists.

"N-Nagihiko?" Rima panted, "What are y—" She was interrupted yet again by the urgent movement of my mouth on hers. I could tell that she was overwhelmed as, curious and uncertain, she wound her arms around my neck and began to kiss back.

Finally, after my earnest need for her was satisfied, I stood and grinned, such a simple action that didn't explain any of my feelings at all: exhilarated, free, joyful, ashamed, and so much more. But at the moment, the negative, pessimistic emotions didn't matter. How could it when I was probably, definitely happier than I'd ever been?

I leant down over the table, my long violet hair swishing by my sides as she blushed, breathing heavily, her face only inches from mine.

"Checkmate," I whispered yet again, before walking away, leaving the girl I loved stunned behind me. I smirked as I thought smugly, Twenty-sixth consecutive win.

Constructive criticism welcome! I would really appreciate it. It was my first time at a romance scene like this … it's different … Yay! More thought/description-ish too! That's something I was trying for, so please comment on that, too! Personally, I don't like it when fanfiction has French-kissing so I did this, instead. I wasn't sure about the genres, so I just put Romance/Friendship. I think that's right, what about you? Hopefully, this one is more popular than the last one (which I deleted because it wasn't actually for fanfiction and because it sucked).

Did you like it? It was pretty fun to write. I didn't think the beginning and the middle were going to turn out like this, though. I wrote the end first, because that was what came to me first, and because I thought that I would forget it (I have bad memory). This was going to have more angst, because there weren't enough words and I remembered an idea that I was going to do for it. But then I thought it didn't fit and that it was sort of awkward and badly written. So this was the end-result. It was boring, don't you think? But I liked the end. :] Hope you had fun reading this!

Review?