Tonks fully embraced each flaw that Remus Lupin could bring up to try to convince her that he was not worth loving. She compared his lycanthropy to her own lunar cycle, finding equal —if not less— annoyance and inconvenience in it. She assured him that her ministry salary left her with more than enough galleons to support them both. On the other hand, there was one article of his being that she was absolutely tired of…
"Checkmate," he said, clearly pleased with his fourth triumph over her in Wizards' Chess.
She made a pained face and turned her hair from its customary pink to a violent shade of tomato red. "Do you ever lose?" she spat, frustrated at the fact that he could still win, even when playing with one of the Black family's sets instead of his own loyal men, which she had commandeered for herself, hoping that some of his ability was actually luck that they held and that she could harness.
"Not unless I choose to," he replied jovially, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, hoping it would reverse the scowl that her distinctive pale features had just formed into. Tonks feigned indifference and studied the chessboard intently. "Dora?" Remus pressed, foolishly falling for her act. She kept her stony silence for a few more moments and then looked back up at him.
"Once more," she said, gesturing towards the game, and sticking her hand out, searching for a shake of accord. This time, she'd just have to cheat, Tonks thought to herself as she formed her game plan around strategically distracting the general of the black armies.
Author's Note: This was written for the LJ community rtchallenge's August R/T ficathon. This was off of prompt number nine--"cheat".
