"Check," Issei said, capturing the final bishop piece of Rias, "And mate."
"Good game, Issei." Rias chuckled, feeling somewhat bewildered at her Queen's rapidly progressing prowess at chess.
"Good game Ria-sempai. Thank you for playing with me," he said before started clearing the chess pieces and board while Rias cleaned their snack wrappers off the table. "You did realize that if you sacrificed your queen, you could have won right?"
"Yes." The redhead replied nonchalantly, undisturbed by her defeat.
"Then why didn't you?" Issei asked in curiosity.
"Why should I?" Rias turned and cupped Issei's cheek. She smiled in all sincerity, a smile that you wouldn't expect from a Devil. "You are my Queen piece… ..and the most valuable member to me. I don't want to lose you, my dearest Issei." She gave him a peck on the cheek, emphasizing her feelings for him.
After putting the pieces and board away, Issei gave her a deadpan look "Ria-sempai… It's a game…" before chuckling to himself, what Rias said not lost on him. She treasured him most of all.
"Well, I saw that you didn't place your king piece in harm's way, earlier in the game. You could have won faster if you didn't run from my knight," Rias said as she bopped Issei on the nose with her finger. Rias tried and failed to contain her smug smile at Issei's reddening face. "Does that also have a meaning? Hmm?" she hummed happily as she took Issei's arm in hers and pulled him along, clearly enjoying the flushed face of her boyfriend.
"Let's go get some ice cream, Issei-kun. I need sugar for my brain after that exercise," she giggled, not waiting for his answer since his face said it all. Issei sighed with a small grin before complying, extending his arm which Rias gladly took into her arm and bosom. The busty redhead leaned her head on the young man's shoulder, not at all minding the extra effort it'd take to walk like that if it made them closer. The couple departed from the old school building, getting jealous looks from students and amused ones from teachers going about their day.
Issei silently trudged along, feeling content to be beside her. At some point during their walk to an ice cream parlor, he took the initiative and started to be the one leading Rias instead. The couple walked slowly, intent on spending as much time together with their arms intertwined. Like any protective boyfriend would, Issei walked on the roadside of the sidewalk.
"You know Issei, you are a pretty fast walker," Rias commented, drawing Issei's attention as he turned to look at her.
"Oh?" Issei arced his eyebrow "I never really noticed."
"Yep, you are a fast walker. I sometimes have trouble walking beside you." Rias poked his cheek, pouting cutely as she faux complained.
"Then, shall I pace my walk to match Milady's speed?" Issei smiled charmingly, leaving Rias stuttering for her next words.
Pink dusted her cheeks, the girl faked a cough to calm her demeanor, tugging a stray strand of her behind her ear. Rias stayed quiet for a moment, quietly contemplating what to say "I heard from a study somewhere that people who walk faster are unhappy. Since you are one, does that hold true?" losing her blush, she decided to throw a random question to change the subject.
Issei pondered for a moment, his gaze contemplating as he looked at the road before him "…I guess? I was pretty unhappy when I was a kid." his gaze turned far away, before turning his head, bright brown orbs looking straight into aqua ones, "But that was before I met you."
"Eh?!" the blush on Rias' face returned with a vengeance. If an outsider looked at the couple, they'd have imagined steam coming from Rias' face.
"Before I met you, Rias… I felt really unhappy. My friend just left and… you know what happened. Then you came, Rias. You saved me and stayed with me until I felt better. You healed my wounds. You took care of me until today, and you're still taking care of me. Now, I'm always happy when I'm with you!" a large smile made its way to Issei's face.
Issei stopped walking and grasped Rias' hand firmly, a serious look in his eyes. The redhead blushed at her lover's intense gaze, her mind turned putty at the warm grasp. "I don't think I would be here without you, Rias. And I'll be with you until the end of time."
Rias' face was redder than her hair at this point. Still, she smiled brightly at Issei's words, feeling her heartbeat accelerate and the comforting warmth in their hands, "I love you Issei, you know that right."
"I love you too."
"I'll never leave your side either. You have become akin to a lifeline to me…" Rias said. Placing a quick peck on Issei's cheek, Rias' eyes gleamed with a mischievous glint before she quickly turned away, running to the nearby ice cream stall with child-like glee.
Issei laughed before chasing after his King. Once they reached the ice cream parlor, the pair ordered their ice cream. Rias ordered a chocolate caramel with mint syrup ice cream while Issei had a strawberry flavored one.
The couple leisurely walked to one of the many benches in the park and took a seat there. Tentatively placing her hand above Issei's, Rias smiled happily after seeing Issei's own, before happily eating her cold treat.
"It's funny, you know…" Issei said slowly, drawing his lover's attention.
"What is?" Tilting her head to the side cutely, Rias asked.
"You just said 'I'll never leave your side' then immediately ran away to get ice cream." Issei laughed out loud. Rias' ears flushed red like her hair at the jab, stammering before she pouted cutely like a chipmunk. Glaring at her lover's laughing visage, she flicked a small orb of demonic energy towards his way as Issei hastily conjured a holy light shield to cancel that out as he continued laughing.
Eventually, the pair calmed down. His laugh subsided and Issei wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes, "You're cute, you know that."
Rias just pouted and hid her face behind her food, her face once again glowed crimson "Bully!"
Issei took a bite. "I am your bully." He said casually with a smile on his face.
Rias smiled, "Yes, you are my brutish, lovely bully."
The young couple enjoyed their ice cream and the calm atmosphere of the park that winter day. The weather was slowly starting to get warmer, but some of the snow still covered the grounds of the park. The children and youth whose school days haven't arrived yet played with their friends on the playgrounds quite a way away from the two but the squeals of happiness could be heard quite clearly from where they sat.
Issei recounted a story about how he got scolded by a guard making his rounds for climbing a tree when he was a kid while Rias laughed at his over-the-top dramatization and the faces he made. The two talked about random things around the world, sometimes sharing sweet nothings as the late afternoon turned to night and they decided to leave the park. Rias would admire how the Issei's face looked serene as he told of his adventures as a kid.
And to think this was the bloodied-up kid she saved all eight years ago. Rias frowned inwardly but didn't let it show on her face, remembering how the Issei of before was like a broken husk of himself. If she was grateful for one thing… ..it was that she had met him all those years ago. Would she have changed the way they met?
Rias shook her head. That was not a question to contemplate now. They were together now and they were both happy. That was that. No need to change the past now. The smile on Rias' face grew a little wider. They were together now, that's what mattered.
"What is it?" Issei, having had finished his tale, asked Rias.
"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just remembering the past with you," Rias giggled, hiding her smirk behind the empty ice cream cup.
"Do tell," Issei said.
"It's a pretty traumatic memory but pretty funny. You know that my family's sign is a camel right? Well, when I was a kid…" Rias told the story of when she got traumatized by a camel eating her hair as a kid and her family's reaction to that. About how her brother nearly went on a genocidal rampage to kill all camels, her father saying: "I will never forgive the camels!" and her mother just watching the chaos unfold with a small smile on her face.
Issei admired how Rias told her stories. She told them with all the hand gestures that you could think of as well as how animated she spoke. While she had told the story of camels a thousand times over, Issei would hear it a thousand times more and more if it meant he could be there with her.
Issei admired how beautiful she looked too. How the red rays of the setting sun paled in contrast to how red her hair was. How her skin was fairer than the snow. How her blue eyes made the sky look less majestic. And how everything just complimented her instead. The peach sky perfectly contrasted her silhouette. The snow just made her stand out more. The red and golden rays of the sun accented her hair, giving her something akin to a halo.
Issei smirked to himself. How ironic. The most beautiful angel in the world was a devil.
The cold winter-turning-spring wind made the pair desire warmth, supernatural physiology be damned. The night coming also contributed to this. The couple huddled closer together while still basking in each other's presence. Issei breathed a long dramatic sigh when Rias finished her tale.
"You know, you've told that story a hundred times already," Issei said with a grin.
"Yep, and you are going to listen to it till your ears rot off," Rias replied with her own grin. "Let's go home?"
"Yep, sure," Issei got up and offered his hand to Rias, who took it.
An odd owl hooted as it circled the park, in search of city rats or any unfortunate critters that managed to catch the hunter's fancy. The streetlights lit up, the hectic day life of the city was slowly retreating, and the exciting nightlife was slowly awakening. Cafes closed as bars opened, police did their rounds around the neighborhood, and the 24-hour family restaurants said goodbye to their everyday customers and welcomed their everynight customers.
"Do you want to grab something for Koneko?" Rias asked. Mist slowly spread from her mouth as she spoke, the air temperature dropping low enough to frost her warm breath.
"Why don't we just have a take-out so we could eat it at home? It's getting pretty chilly. I think it's supposed to be colder tonight than yesterday." Issei said.
"Ehhh?" Rias said, exaggerating her surprise, "Eat it? Didn't you just have ice cream? I said we are going to buy food for Koneko."
Issei coughed and ignored Rias who pouted when he didn't take the bait. "I'd prefer it if we enjoy our meal in a warm place. Pizza? It's your call, you're the boss."
"Oh, you're going to let me top you later?" Rias smirked at Issei, and the latter gave a perverted grin in response to her joke "Pizza it is then! I remember Koneko wanting some spaghetti the other day. Let us go get a party-sized pizza at Keysha's Pizza and some spaghetti."
"Let's go then!" Issei shouted with an enthusiasm. "Magic circle?" Rias nodded and a pair of eyes appeared on Issei's head as he checked for anybody looking at them. "It's clear." Rias nodded again and casted a teleportation spell to take them to the restaurant on the other side of town.
Koneko mewled as she chomped onto the slice of pizza, completely ignoring the spaghetti that was bought for her. Her cat ears and tail twitched happily, mozzarella dripping down her chin as it split from the rest of the pizza.
Issei and Rias just watched in amusement and oh my Maou! She's so cute! as the cat girl finished her pizza and got another slice off the box of hot pizza.