A/N: Here's another update...it's a little short but it's an update so it calls for a cheer at least! I can't believe my weekend is almost over... back at work tomorrow again :( .
"Checkmate," Jared's soft voice bumbled through the moderately quiet plane.
He sighed at the minor disruption of peace before he glanced toward the direction of Jared's voice.
"It looks like he's won again," Pepper whispered to him.
He smiled, comfortingly tightening the hold around he said softly, "It seems that way."
"Has he ever actually lost before?" she asked quietly as she laced their fingers.
"A few times," he murmured into her hair, his eyes still fixed on Jared busily grinning at Happy who seemed to be deeply mortified.
"To who? Jarvis?"
"Me actually, but I highly suspect Jarvis lets him win all the time," he replied.
"That seems like a Jarvis thing to do," she commented.
"Jarvis can be sentimental when he wants to be...I'm not sure I ever programmed that in him. He probably learned it from all those movies he loves watching."
"You mean the Simpsons, Family Guy and the occasional comedy?"
"Okay, so maybe he doesn't get his sentimental values from television but I'm sure he picks it up somewhere."
"Maybe he learned it off you?" she asked curiously and leaned back to look at him properly.
He raised a brow as he turned to her. "Me? I hardly had any sentimental values when Jared was a baby."
"Pfft..." she snorted and added, "When Jared was born you were at your pinnacle of sentimental-ness, if there's even such a word that is."
"You really think so?"
She nodded as if in disbelief. "You were the more attentive parent than I ever was, Tony. Surely you knew that."
"Huh...it hardly felt like it... It was more like something that I..." he trailed off into silence as if searching for the right words before he continued, "Like something I had to do...something that I wanted to do."
She smiled warmly and slipped her hand onto the side of his cheek. "If there's one thing I've learnt about you after all this time we've been married, it's that you can be extremely endearing when you really want to be."
"It's a bit like chess I suppose," he mused and smiled when she rolled her eyes at the subject choice of comparison.
"I'm assuming you're the Queen?"
"Hardly," he replied swiftly.
"The Bishop?"
He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before he mumbled, "I'm the Knight."
"-in shining armour?" she smiled politely when he glared at her.
"I'm untouchable if I am played correctly."
"Hmm... I wouldn't say you're untouchable."
"True, but I'll bow and kneel to my Queen if need be..." his eyes softened as he looked at her, "I'd even die for her or my King."
She smiled warmly at him as she murmured, "And who's the King?"
"Jared."
"The Pawn?"
"I'd like to say Rhodey but I'm sure he'd kick my ass if I did so I'd have to say Happy is the pawn."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, a little weak looking on the outside but when you look closely, the strongest piece on the board."
"Because they get to resurrect a piece if they reach the other end?"
He nodded and added, "Most of them will die but there'll always be one that'll make it eventually."
"The Castle?"
"You my dear," he smiled warmly.
"Oh," she raised a brow, "I was under the impression that I was the Queen."
"You are on my chessboard but on Jared's you're the Castle."
"I see...and why is that?"
"Because if need be, the Castle will perform the castling move in its last attempt to save the King."
"You've given this some serious thought, Tony... Is that what you've been doing the whole time I was sleeping earlier?"
"Actually no," he murmured as he pulled her closer, "Jared explained it to me the other day when we were playing chess."
"Jared came up with all of that?"
"Well," he started softly as he glanced at Jared again, "Jared started by saying that when he plays chess, he puts himself in the position of the King and strategizes how he should instruct his other pieces and place them properly on the board to protect him. I asked him who he thought the rest of the pieces were and he said you were the Castle and I was the Knight."
"And he said Happy was the pawn?"
"No, that one I actually just came up with a few minutes ago."
She sighed quietly and leaned against him before she murmured, "I can't believe you and Jared relate all of us to a chessboard."