Disclaimer: Just playing with the Harry Potter universe, but you know that. Carry on, dear reader.
Warnings: Muggle AU.
AN: Quick little oneshot inspired by a prompt I saw on the subreddit r/WritingPrompts.
"Seriously? That's where you're going to move?"
She looks back at me steadily, not taking the bait, and color rises in my cheeks at our continued eye contact. Somehow she effects me this way, and I don't even know why. I look away.
She speaks after a moment, and I look back at her. "Yes. Got a problem with that?" Her voice is steady, but there is a challenging glint in her eyes.
"Not at all," I say, and my face breaks into a grin as I see my next move. "Check."
She glances at the board, and there's no change in her expression. She looks back at me. "Sarah," she says gently, quietly, and there's a note in her tone that I can't ignore. I don't speak, but look at her, and something deep, something unspoken and unknowable and yet all-knowing sparks between us as our gazes connect. I can't breathe, I can't speak, I can't even blush, and the moment seems suspended in time until slowly, ever so slowly, her hand reaches across the small table to touch my cheek. I instinctively lean into her touch and close my eyes.
And then her hand is gone and I open my eyes to see her smug face as she swiftly moves a piece on the board between us. "Checkmate."
My mouth drops open as my heart sinks into my chest. "You cheated!" I exclaim, shocked and frustrated.
The smile slides off her face at my words. "And just how did I do that?"
"You – you – " I can't even say the words, for fear of what they might mean.
"Why don't you just admit it?" she says angrily.
"Admit what?" I play dumb, but my heart beats faster and my breathing, already uneven, speeds up from nerves.
"Admit that you're attracted to me!" she shouts shrilly. "Damn it Sarah, how long is this going to go on? How long do I have to flirt with you before you take the hint and do something about it?"
"You've been flirting with me?" I question, but it's just to stall for time, because I don't know what else to say.
"What else would you call it? All the eye contact, the way I smile at you, the way I can't stop laughing when I talk to you, all the times I playfully touch you, all the conversations I start with you, the banter, the double entendres – what the hell else would you call that?"
"I thought you were just being friendly?"
"No you didn't, and don't insult me by saying that. I could tell you felt the undercurrent of tension, I could read it in your eyes!"
"But why would you even flirt with me?" I was panicking now. This wasn't how our weekly night for chess was supposed to go, and this is completely unknown territory for me. I'd never stepped into the romantic world before.
"Because I fucking love you, you idiot, that's why!" she screams at me. My mouth drops open, and she stares at me for a moment, tears gathering at the corner of her light blue eyes before she stands up, fleeing the room, leaving behind the sound of a strangled sob and the white and black pieces of our finished game. I gaze blankly at the board in front of me for long moments before my mind starts to turn, working though the events and what they might mean, and for the first time I allow myself to think honestly, refusing to hide from the consequences of her accusations. She is my best friend, and I can't lose her. To lose her would be to lose a part of myself.
I get up and walk to the window, still in thought, and slowly pace back and forth. Minutes turn into an hour, and with it, the knowledge I've hidden from myself, but I don't know how to handle what I've discovered. I turn back to the chessboard, staring at it like there is a hidden message deep within the black and brown checkered wood. Slowly, a thought makes itself known. It's my move.
All of a sudden, I can't wait any longer. I run down the stairs, throw on my boots and coat, and am out the door. It's cold outside, and I know I should get my car, but I can't spare the ten minutes it would take for the engine to warm up, and anyway where I'm going isn't far. As I run, a piece of an old conversation flashes through my mind.
"This is where I go."
"Where you go?"
"Where I go when I need to get away. When I'm upset or stressed or just need some peace."
By the time I reach the gate the sun has set. I shiver. This is not where I want to be after dark, but I don't have a choice. I step across the threshold and walk quickly, the path memorized from the many times I'd walked with her here.
I'm walking fast, too fast, and I slip on a stray patch of ice. I fall with a shriek, landing on my side.
"Who's there?" A voice comes from nearby, and my heart jolts as I recognize the worried tone. "Katie? It's me," I say. I speak quietly, but in the total silence of the cemetery it's too loud.
A light turns on, and I see the flashlight move around until the beam focuses on my figure, lying in the snow. Katie doesn't speak, but moves to help me up. I accept her hand gratefully, and brush myself off once I'm upright. I seem to be fine, although I can tell there will be a bruise on my hip tomorrow.
"What are you doing here?" She sounds wary, and I can't blame her.
"I – " Now that the moment is here, I don't know what to say.
"Say what you want to say or leave," she tells me.
I'm quiet, the words stuck in my throat. Her face hardens and she turns to leave. "Wait!" I cry, and I grab her arm. She tries to fight me off, but in desperation I push her against a nearby tree and trap her body with my own. For a moment I'm disoriented by the wonderful, intense feeling of being so close to someone else, and I barely register that she's stopped struggling against me, surrendering to my nearness. I gaze at her, and she stares back unflinchingly, and I can't help it. I lean towards her until our foreheads touch. Her breath caresses my face, and all at once I know what to say. "Check."
She doesn't respond, and I almost think she didn't hear me until without warning she flips our positions and suddenly I'm the one being pinned by her body. "Checkmate," she says, and I can hear the grin in her tone but I don't have the time to dwell on it before her lips capture my own and I willingly surrender.
~fin~