Nothing here is mine. No one pay me to write it. It's just love, guys.
Challenge: none
Pairing: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Summary: He isn't a bad player. He just plays a different game.
Spoiler: 3x09
Beta: Dark K
Date: August 02, 2013
Chapters: 01 - It's complete
NA: This fic is happening in the near future of the show timeline. In facts it's after 3x09 episode, but I suppose they will be really busy in next few days and I'm a believer, so I hope they will just survive to enjoy life soon.
The title is Harvey Specter's sugar.
Don't play the game. Play the man.
"I can't understand why you don't play chess, Stiles." Lydia says opening the chess box on the floor between them "You should be really good at this. You are intelligent enough for it and all that shit happening in our lives showed me you can be good with plans too. So let's do this."
"I used to play with my dad sometimes, but I just can't win. I'm bad at this thing, Lydia, I'm telling you."
"So you know how the game works. I will begin just because I can." It makes Stiles smiles and he sits on the floor, moving the chessboard to have the black pieces, and Lydia moves her pawn to begin the game.
They play in silence for some minutes until Lydia tries a more elaborated move and Stiles breaks it and puts her bishop out of the board.
"Do you see what you just did? You can do that, Stiles. Don't be a such girl saying you can't. You were just trying to make me be soft with you."
"No. It's more like we are just beginning. Now I can see your moves and two or three moves after that, and I can plan something. But then playing is not enough and I need more information to play and my brain starts to create stories for the pieces and why there are these pawns that never leave the tower? Maybe they are in love. Maybe the horse knight enemy kidnaped the pawn's lover and locked it inside the tower and he can die to protect the tower now. Or your bishop is in your queen's way and she can't make a good play. Is he a traitor? Is he in love with the other queen? Is he the bad twin and the other bishop is the good twin and they change places on the chessboard to kill my queen? And the kings, they are always in some kind of relationship and the play is just a furious break-up between them. One can't hurt the other with his own hands so they start a war, a vendetta, just because their hearts are broken. And when I look again to the chessboard I have no idea what to do anymore."
"I never thought how romantic a chess game could be." Lydia laughs about his explanation.
"Everything is about love and war. Didn't our crazy lives show you that yet?" he makes a move, but Lydia just doesn't do anything about it and he stops to look at her face.
She is looking at him in a weird way. Like she never saw him before. For a moment, Stiles is almost happy because he waited a long time for Lydia to realize how amazing he is but now it's just scary (part of his brain is not waiting for it anymore and it's thinking her looking at him like that is just weird).
"Lydia, are you ok? Did I say something wrong? You're scaring me. Just don't do the banshee screaming thing again, ok?"
"So it's what you do. You understand us and you play." She stops and Stiles just looks back at her, confused "We aren't chess pieces, Stiles, me and you and Scott, Isaac, Derek, Allison, Peter, and the alphas, we are human. We have feelings and we were so hurt, everyone, there was so much heart break and regret and pain and sadness and grief…"
"Ok, I get how broken we are," Stiles sighs.
"You just don't get it. You take it and put it on the board. You plan and play and fight, taking all this crap with you. It makes you the best player in the pack. It makes us win." She keeps looking at him like he's her savior and Stiles sighs again. He knew it. He knew all the time what was happening but he isn't a hero. He can't be - neither is he a good chess player.
"You are sad." She says soft "You did so much, Stiles."
"Yeah. I just…" He turns his look back to the chessboard "The alpha king loved the Hale queen but she's dead and the new Hale king needs do deal with his pain. Here on the board, we should have the Darach queen and an army of hunters for this war to be right. But when the Hale king wins and his horse knight Scott becomes a new king he still is the lonely piece on the board." He puts his king down and smiles sadly to Lydia.
"You are the worse chess player in the universe, Stiles! Oh my God! Get out of here!" She gets up and goes to the door keeping it open and looking to him like she's waiting for him to get out.
"Hey! It's my bedroom!"
"Not anymore! You need a new one! One in a loft with a big window and a furious werewolf alpha in your bed! Now get out of here and go play your man!"
"Oh, and I suppose you have some idea as to how to do a furious emotional constipated alpha werewolf get into my bed. Because I don't."
"Come on, Stiles, we are the best players here and I will help you. He doesn't have a chance."
Stiles knows she's right. He stands up and follows his queen to take his king.
THE END
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