#c!caro

[autistic-ranboo]

some short pawnduo fluff to make up for Bronstein-Larson (im not sorry):

li can tell that caro's struggling to keep her mouth shut; caro might be a chess genius, but her face has always been an open book, and li can tell.

"i'm about to make a terrible move, aren't i?"

caro, to her credit, says nothing. li sighs.

"well, if i die, i die." she sets down the queen, and in a flash, it's gone, replaced by a black piece and caro's smug smile.

"bishops can move diagonally."

"i noticed."

and then they're laughing, loud and bubbly and free, outside in the garden that smells like growing things and feels cool enough that they can almost forget the oppressive heat.

almost.

the giggles die down as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, illuminating the board as li inspects it.

"you know the exact move i should make right now, don't you?"

there's a twinkle in caro's eye.

li's eyes narrow as she studies the board. it's almost the endgame now, and for once, despite having lost her queen, she thinks she might be able to claw out a victory.

she picks up a pawn and moves it forward.

caro's eyes widen, just for a second, and li smiles.

she can win this. she *will* win this.

it's a few more tense moves before she strikes.

"checkmate!" li crows. "it only took 341 games, but i *fucking* did it!"

"yeah!" caro holds her hand up for a high-five, but li just stands up and leans across the table, wrapping her arms around caro, pulling her into a hug.

she intends it to be short, quick, but caro grabs on and doesn't let go, and it's nice. it's really nice. li doesn't remember the last time she's had something this nice.

"best two out of three?" caro challenges as they let go, resetting the pieces.

"you're on."

[autistic-ranboo]

sometimes love is trusting someone to hold your lives in their hands.

sometimes love is trusting someone to hold your death in their hands.

and sometimes love is choosing to stay together, even though you can't protect each other, because to go back to being alone is unthinkable.

anyways, i'm still crying over pawnduo dhmu (/j feel free to hit me up)

[autistic-ranboo]

pawnduo my beloved,,,,,,