For Bjorkubus's challenge, despite it being issued in 2006. I'm going to do a chaptered story each centred around one of the themes provided in the challenge. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

Chess

It all started with a game of chess. Well, for him it did, anyway.

He, being descended from a long line of speedsters, did everything quickly. It was his nature, like breathing. He could travel the world in an instant, marvelling at all of the sights of the world faster than it took most people to arrive at even one. He, in fact, prided himself on the fact that he was well travelled and had seen pretty much everything worth seeing.

Of course, it wasn't really that interesting to stand and look at inanimate objects. You saw it and then, well, that was it. Like the Mona Lisa, even though everyone had made a big deal about it, he thought it was nothing spectacular. Okay, so it was a famous painting of a mysterious woman smiling. Great. Check.

That was, in a nutshell, his main problem. He always needed to be doing something. He was restless. As such, he was an incredibly social and outgoing individual-using people and conversation to entertain him when he wasn't busy running, eating or going on missions.

Perhaps that's why he neglected to notice her at first. She was silent and rarely spoke more than a few choice words to anyone. Talking to her was like trying to talk to a rock. A rock with a penchant for being insulting and sarcastic. Not to mention, he'd thought she was quite boring. Who else could sit, legs tucked into the lotus position, hovering for hours outside chanting the same mantra over and over? Not to be rude but, well, he'd much rather jump off a cliff. He couldn't think of anything more excruciating (except maybe reading one of her thick, dusty tomes—the minuscule font size of those alone was enough to give him a nasty headache).

He knew she wasn't stupid but...well...she was just slow. And that made her boring. Something to acknowledge, say hi to, and move on.

He remembered that day where, in a proverbial flash of lightning, he finally saw her. Truly noticed her. It took an accident with a game of chess to hit him over the head and make him realise how slow he had been.

He remembered it clearly. She sat behind their purple sofa, levitating in front of the board with her head cocked slightly to the side as she contemplated her next move. Robin sat across from her on one of their barstools with his gloved hand stroking his chin as he did the same. One of her slender hands was hovering over a particular piece as she decided whether to move it or not.

He'd seen them playing chess and had decided that it was nothing spectacular. They played chess more often as of late since crime was at an all-time low in Jump. Quickly making a sandwich, he dashed out of the room eager to find something fun to do. He had no idea how much time had passed (after all, he never bothered to keep track of time anymore—it was something he never lacked), however, it must have been considerable because the black-and-white battlefield was a mess of pieces—nothing was close to where they had started on their respective sidelines.

It was to this scene that he came barreling in, running at top speed away from some mayhem he'd caused. He no longer could remember just what he was running from (Jinx, probably...they rarely got along despite his best efforts), though he did remember the glares he'd received from the birds as their game (which they had been playing for a better part of the afternoon) had gone sprawling—a victim of his carelessness.

Robin groaned, running a hand through his perfectly spiked hair as he looked over the pieces that littered the floor. Unfortunately for them, they had neglected to write down their moves.

Rolling her violet eyes at her distraught leader and chanting her usual incantation, the board righted itself as though the incident had never occurred. Both boys eyed the sorceress with incredulity and Kid Flash was fairly certain his jaw had dropped open at the display.

She looked at them wearily, "What? I analyse the whole board."

Robin frowned, "That bishop wasn't on that square."

She gave him a small, amused smile, "That's my move, Blunder Boy."

"Oh," he replied, surprised, still examining the pieces for anything out of place.

After a few moments, he conceded that she had managed to get them back to the correct point. It was this admission, that she had made absolutely no mistakes, that made Wally realise that he, for all of his pride at seeing the world, had still somehow managed to overlook much of what was in front if him.

Yet she, the one he considered glacial, was able to put back their game perfectly in a matter of seconds. Her stillness and concentration allowed her to notice her surroundings in minute detail. Needless to say, he was impressed.

Because of this incident, he, for some reason, felt compelled to stay and watch the rest of their game. He decided he would act as though he were playing. Looking at the pieces, he tried to anticipate their moves...and failed miserably. Thinking ahead was never a strong point for him, however, it clearly was for her. Her arm gracefully fluttered over different pieces as she analysed all possible outcomes to her actions. She was logical.

He wasn't surprised when she won.

And sometime while watching her, another epiphany hit him: everything about her was deliberate. Methodical. It was like a piece of machinery—exact and flawless. It was beautiful (in an odd way) to behold someone so perfect. In that instant, she had humbled him. Maybe he needed to slow down sometimes to really see and admire what was there.

That day, he realised, he could have overlooked the most interesting Titan if not for an accident and a game of chess.

I know there's not too much dialogue but I wanted to introduce the idea first—to give some background on Rae/KF's changing relationship. It seemed fitting to start before they were really friends and go from there. Hope it wasn't too boring.

Please review—makes my day!~

~RR