A/N: This is a quickish piece I did for the day 2 prompt "Board Games" for the Moms Made Fullmetal 2018 Celebration. Neither character particularly behaved themselves, so it's not exactly the story I was trying to write, but in the interest of the celebration, I'll share. Presenting Madame Christmas inspiring a love of Chess into her young nephew. (I've never written these two together before, but I had some wonderful inspiration in the challenge, so I tried it)
A/N 2: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. Maybe if I did, the characters would behave themselves better!
"Make your move, Roy-boy." The cigarette danced as his aunt interrupted his careful planning for his next move.
"I'm thinking!" His newly cropped bangs fell into his eyes as he looked back down at the board, and all the confusing pieces laid out before him.
"Times up."
Roy let out a frustrated squawk as she took his 'forfeited' turn. It was the third time she'd done it since they'd started, and Roy was getting tired of it. He stood up angrily. "How am I supposed to make any headway when you don't give me any time to think?"
Madame Christmas shrugged as she moved another one of her pieces and captured one of his pawns. "Try playing in a league. They time every move."
Stomping his foot, Roy glared as his aunt. "This isn't a league. You're my aunt. You're supposed to spoil me."
That was probably the worst thing he could have said, as his aunt rose slowly from her chair. Roy imagined the cigarette smoke surrounding her face was not unlike the steam from an enraged dragon's snout.
She took a long drag of it before she spoke. "I'm not going to spoil you. I'm going to raise you. If you don't like the way I do the raising, you can take yourself elsewhere."
It was an empty threat, Roy was sure of it. She couldn't just throw him out on the street. He was her only nephew after all. And he'd report her to the authorities for child endangerment.
He opened his mouth to tell her as much only to have the wind taken out of his sales. "Go ahead." She settled herself back into her seat, taking another turn, this time capturing his knight. "They'd be on my side. But if you want to go take your chance with a foster mother, be my guest."
There was a long pause as more cigarette smoke drifted between them. After a moment, Madame Christmas moved another piece, and when he still didn't sit down, or move any of his pieces, she moved her queen directly across from his king.
"Check and mate." She reached over to lay his king down in surrender, earning another squawk of protest from her frustrated nephew. "Now sit down and try it again."
Slowly, Roy sat down. He wasn't going to play. He crossed his arms to glare at her as she reset the board, placing the white pieces on her side. She made the first move, soundlessly sliding a pawn out two spaces. It sat between them like a challenge as she took a long drag.
"Listen, Roy-boy. Play or walk away. Don't sulk."
"I'm not sulking. I'm protesting unfair treatment."
"Suit yourself." Another pawn slid out to join the first as Roy's eyebrows knit together.
Giving in, he haphazardly thrust a pawn out into the middle of the board.
"Rash." His aunt already had her fingers on her knight and moved it out around her own pawns, temptingly in reach of his own front line.
It was the work of seconds to place his pawn next to her knight, and even faster for her to capture it with a waiting pawn. "Big picture."
Roy kicked the table leg. "No fair."
"Life isn't fair, Roy-boy. Better learn that now then later."
She clucked at him as he made another quick move, sliding his knight onto a random square away from all the other pieces.
"New strategy?" She asked.
"Maybe." Roy sullenly moved another piece after she had taken her turn.
"Stop." She put her hand over his before he could take his next turn. "Take two seconds. Survey the board. Assess your options. Do your pieces align with your end goal? No. Then fix it."
"But you won't let me think …" Roy whined and Madame Christmas sighed.
With a long drag on her cigarette and a look that clearly expressed How dumb can you be? she pulled her hand back, allowing him to make another move.
"I'm going to teach you one strategy. My goal is to take out your king," she pointed at it, "with this rook." She gestured to her own piece, sitting on the white square next to her queen. "Look at the board. Is this rook in line with your king yet?"
Leaning forward to check, Roy shook his head.
"Good. What do I need to do to get it there?"
"It needs to be out on this line. It's not even in the right row to take out the king."
"Good." Cigarette drifted between them as she waited for him to say more.
"But this pawn is in the way." Roy pointed at the offending piece. His eyes brightened. "You should move it."
"Is it safe to move?"
"No." Roy deflated. "If you move it out, my knight will take it." He brightened. "I blocked you, I blocked you."
"Stop crowing. What can I do to take your knight out?"
"Like I'm really going to tell you that." Roy was practically dancing in his chair.
With a snort, Madame Christmas moved her rook out, threatening to capture the knight if it wasn't moved to another square.
Chewing his lip, Roy moved out a bishop, starting when his aunt starting laughing.
"Now you've got it Roy-boy." She continued when it was clear he didn't understand. "You strategically blocked me. And you even did it quick." She moved a different pawn out, still chuckling. "Let's see if you can do that again."
For the rest of the game, Roy managed to take every single one of his turns without forfeiting the, to Madame Christmas for taking too long. He didn't win, but he eagerly reset the board for another match, claiming the white pieces for himself and making the first move.
His chess game improved, his aunt started philosophizing about its correlation to life. "The world waits for no man."
"Know what you want and how you're going to get it."
"Readjust when the situation changes."
"Know how to think on your feet."
"Know how to employ a decoy." She muttered a curse under her breath as she missed a trap for one of her rooks and Roy triumphantly removed it from the board. "And in all cases, be a gracious winner." She gave him a crooked smile as she took her final move, "Check mate."
She swept the pieces into the box before he could set up for another round. "Give it a rest. You're not going to beat me today."
"Maybe not today," he dropped some of the remaining pieces back into the box, "But someday soon. You just watch."
Madame Christmas laughed. "In your dreams, Roy-boy. In your dreams."
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!