This is my third fic! It didn't quite play out as I thought it would in my head, but hopefully you like it.

I forgot to say this with my other stories, but I don't own Final Fantasy or any of it's characters

(8th October- I just wanted to edit some mistakes :D)

You wouldn't have guessed it, looking at the happy-go-lucky, slightly clumsy, sunny exterior, but Rikku was actually a champion at chess. Cid and Brother had taught her (her mum wasn't that great when it came to chess) and after learning basic strategies, she could beat Brother hands down. Cid was a tougher nut to crack, but four out of five times, it would be checkmate, good game.

So when Gippal suggested with they play with the new set he got for his birthday, she decided to humour him. She hadn't hung out with him much lately, not since he got a new girlfriend. She hadn't even met Taryn yet, and she didn't really care to. Just hearing the name made her want to punch something.

"I haven't played in ages," said Gippal eagerly, carefully pouring out the black and white pieces. "Do you even know how to play, Princess?"

"I've dabbled," she lied. When she was younger, she used to play all the time. She even had a portable set she took with her on Yuna's pilgrimage. Tidus and Wakka were easy opponents, but Kimahri… He knew some brilliant moves.

She watched him set up the white pieces and frowned.

"Gippal, you've got the board the wrong way around."

"No I haven't, it's fine."

She grabbed the board and turned it 90°.

"See, the white square is always in the bottom right corner. And," she added, swapping his king and queen around. "The queen always starts on her own coloured square."

Sighing, he rearranged his pieces and moved his first pawn. Instantly, she moved her own to block his way. He was familiar enough with the game to do the next few moves rapidly, moving the pieces into the open to allow them to move.

"The Faction's so much bigger now. You've done heaps good, Gippal."

He shrugged.

"It's coz everyone works so hard. And we never had any of the political-ness that the Youth League or New Yevon had, so everything's been pretty smooth."

She moved her bishop into danger, hoping to entice him into her trap. If he took with his rook, it left her knight in the perfect position.

"Yeah, I went out to the digs for the first time in ages, and there were so many people there!" said Rikku, waiting in anticipation for his move.

He nodded and considered the board carefully. "Nhadala hired this new girl, Yadna, to help oversee everything. She's really smart."

"I met her. She's nice too, and really pretty," said Rikku, thinking of Yadna's perfect features and short, curly hair.

"Yeah, she's fairly pretty," he said, finally moving his rook right where she wanted it. "But there are some girls that are much more beautiful."

Gippal caught her eye and smirked. She looked away to hide how much she had blushed. He didn't mean her, of course not.

"Like Taryn?" she said, checking the board one last time for any hidden dangers.

"Taryn? She's ok, I guess."

Rikku raised an eyebrow at him and moved her knight to attack his king and queen at the same time.

"You shouldn't say things like that, you'll lose your queen," she said seriously.

Gippal clicked his fingers in frustration and moved his king out of check.

"What do you mean?" he asked, missing the pun.

"You shouldn't say things like that about your girlfriend," said Rikku, taking the white queen for herself and dumping it in the box.

"Girlfriend? Taryn?" he gaped at her, wide eyed with disbelief.

"Yadna said you had a new girlfriend called Taryn," she said quietly, though inside her heart leapt with joy.

"I don't have a girlfriend, Taryn's my newest recruit. Though, if she was, I wouldn't mind losing her as long as I got a new one," he said slyly, exchanging a pawn for a new queen. He looked up at her and grinned cheekily. "That is, if she'd take me."

Was he, was he asking her out? Inside she was buzzing with excitement, but instead of yelling with joy, she calmly took his second queen.

"If you were careful not to lose her, maybe she'd consider going out to dinner with you…"

"Well, I hope she'd like a picnic on the Moonflow, and I'd pick her up at six tomorrow," he smiled charmingly.

Rikku stood up and pecked him on the cheek.

"It's a date," she whispered in his ear.

"Then, I'll see you tomorrow night," he said, leaning back with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Halfway out the door, she turned.

"By the way, Gippal. It's checkmate."

He sat up and stared at the board in disbelief. He smiled anyway and picked up the black queen. In his mind, he'd won.

Did anyone get the metaphors, like how your girlfriend is like the queen and whatever? I'm not sure if I explained it properly... oh well. :)