Tamsin had her fist propped on her cheek as she twirled the small black piece in her left hand idly. Looking down through her eyelashes, she yawned and placed the piece down onto a off whitened square.

"Check and mate," she sang quietly, moving her right hand from her cheek to flick the white's king onto the board, watching as it rolled around the other pieces that were supposed to protect him with little amusement. The ornate piece, which was heavier than the new centuries small plastic ones, clattered onto the protected chased silver board as she flicked it down, and she flinched with the sudden noise in the apartment.

Good thing the pieces could never break, Tamsin thought as she looked down at the fallen king, it's head adorned with a cross looking particularly flimsy, though she knew it would never break from even Dyson's strength.

She was caught off guard when a pair of slim hands moved down and around her shoulders and upper chest, resting just below the nape of her neck, and a soft kiss was placed on her head. Reaching up and holding the small appendages with her right hand, Tamsin turned slightly and saw her girlfriend had on her signature tank top with white shorts.

"Mmm, I've never seen this before," Lauren Lewis said softly into Tamsin's ear as she leaned onto her shoulder. "What is it?"

"It's a chess set," Tamsin said, her eyes flicking toward the set to try see how it could resemble anything else. The rustic warrior like design could make anyone misinterpret what the game was, but Tamsin's mind was pushed away from it as her girlfriend spoke again.

"I didn't know you played."

"I do."

"Will you teach me?"

Tamsin's eyebrow raised in question and watched as Lauren went into the kitchen to find an already brewed pot of coffee the valkyrie had made for her. As she poured, Tamsin called, "Your incredible smarts and you've never played chess before?"

"I just never had time to play, Tamsin," Lauren called back.

"I doubt I'd be a great teacher." The valkyrie began to set the pieces back onto the board, putting the king back into position first, and she called, "Really, I'm not the greatest-"

"How long have you been playing?" Lauren cut in as she came around the couch with Tamsin's favorite green mug in her left hand, along with the blonde's own brown mug.

"I doubt that matters…"

"Uhuh. How long?"

Tamsin looked down as her girlfriend sat beside her and she mumbled a few words that much sounded like 'apricot, beers, and this is ridiculous'.

"Whaat," Lauren sang as she playfully banged her shoulder into Tamsin's, a large smile on her features.

"For a very long time," Tamsin reprimanded.

Lauren laughed slightly and picked up the castle from the end of the board and held it at eye level. "So," She said, looking at the pieces after she put the castle back, "teach me."

It had been almost an hour since Tamsin had told, and taught, Lauren all of the individual piece's names and their functions when they had their third match. The first two Tamsin had won easily, getting to her girlfriend's king in no time at all, but the third match was proving… difficult.

"Checkmate!" Lauren squealed, her hands flying up to her lips and then above her head in excitement. It was strange to see the doctor so giddy and Tamsin had smiled for a few moments before shaking her head and looking down at the board.

The valkyrie, who had had her fist propped against her cheek for most of the time they were playing together, had taken her hand away from her face after she realized she was losing. Looking down after her girlfriend called out she had won, Tamsin had to backtrack in her mind the moves that were played to have gotten her novice girlfriend her first win. When she had almost gotten to her fatal mistake, Lauren cut in.

"You let your king open after you moved your queen to take my piece. I saw that you tried to distract me by moving your bishop, something you love to do, and I compensated." Lauren was triumphant and she smiled broadly towards Tamsin.

Tamsin cleared her throat and rubbed her hands on her thighs. "Well, it was uh, good. It was a good match. Third time's the charm, right?"

"You can say what you really want to, you-"

"I've been playing this game for over fifteen hundred years!"

Lauren burst out laughing at Tamsin's outburst and she moved from around the table, Tamsin had chosen to sit on the ground as Lauren took up the couch, and sat beside her girlfriend.

"It's really okay, we can play again," Lauren said, running her finger up Tamsin's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Or," Lauren said, placing her right hand on Tamsin's shoulder and moving her body to the left over Tamsin's crossed legs, "I can get your mind off of your very first loss in a millennium."

"I like that idea better," The sore loser said, her hands tracing small patterns across Lauren's sides and back. "Next time, I'm going to win."

"I'm sure you are," Lauren said, moving slowly up and down as she talked. "I'm sure you are."

fin