"Alright, now concentrate." Spencer Reid tried unsuccessfully to stifle a grin as Avery sat, dissolved in laughter. It had been a mounting exchange of literary puns, and he couldn't be sure if any other person in the world would have found it funny. The breeze coming in from the open window chilled the room, and he wiggled his bare feet to warm them against the cool wood floor of his apartment, but Avery's laugh filled him with a welcome warmth.

"Shut up." Avery choked out good-naturedly between fits of giggles.

"No, you've almost got me." Reid insisted, laughing.

"Oh, you liar, I do not." Avery retorted, regaining her composure and wiping a tear from her eye.

"Okay. Focus." Spencer told her again.

Avery stared hard at the chess board in front of her. Despite what she was certain was the good doctor's noble attempt to take it easy on her, she was losing abysmally. The pile of clothes flung onto the floor- one article for every piece captured – was proof of that. Six months of strip chess, and she didn't feel she was getting any better. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. Her back shivered against a cool gust from the window, clad only in the band and straps of her bra.

"Okay." She forced a serious face, hiding a smile behind a sip from her wine glass next to the board.

"Alright." Spencer explained. "Now, mathematically speaking, all chess games are a simple variation of a finite number of possible moves, meaning -"

"I'm an artist, darling, not a mathematician." Avery reminded him dryly as she slowly picked up a piece and moved it carefully across the board.

"Check." She beamed proudly. "And that would be the shirt, Dr. Reid."

Spencer grinned and began to remove his green sweater, only to be interrupted by the familiar chirping of his cell phone.

"No!" Avery groaned disappointedly.

With frustration, Reid lowered his shirt, brushing his hair back into place as he picked up the phone and read the text.

"I gotta go." He said, his voice filled with equal disappointment. "I'm sorry."

Avery sighed as Spencer gathered his things.

"Be careful." She said, watching him move about the room.

"Always." Spencer smiled as he leane over and kissed her.

"I love you." Avery told him, brushing a curling lock gently away from his face.

"I love you, too." He replied earnestly. "Checkmate."

Avery looked in surprise at the board, where, with one quick, unnoticed move Spencer had finished the game.

"Don't worry. We'll pick up where we left off when I get back." He added cheekily as he closed the door behind himself.