Title: Checkmate

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Chess isn't a thinking man's game; it's an escape from the reality of stupid parents

A/N: This came out of nowhere in a span of forty-five minutes. That is why it is so crappy. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

"Checkmate."

Benji frowned. "That's not checkmate."

"Yes, it is. Look, you can't move there because of my queen, you can't move there because of my knight, and you can't move there because of my pawn. And anywhere else you might've moved is blocked by your own pieces. Therefore, its checkmate," Will smirked.

Benji sighed. "Ok, fine, it's checkmate. Are you happy?"

"No, not really. Wanna play again?"

Benji stared at the male across from him. "What, just so you can cream me again, as you always do?"

"I don't always cream you. You've beaten me before."

"Only because your little sister stole half your pieces when you weren't looking, and that doesn't really count," Benji said. Will pouted.

"Please? One more game?" His eyes got all watery and Benji sighed.

"Ok, fine. But only one. I have to go home and do homework," he said, and began setting up the chess pieces again.

Will flicked a piece of blonde hair out of his eyes. "You could go get it and I could help you," he offered, but Benji shook his head.

"It's English; the one subject you fail to dominate in," Benji smirked. "I really don't see how you could help me."

Will made a face and moved a pawn. "Just because I don't ace everything is English doesn't mean I'm not good at it."

"Will, you couldn't spell 'essay' on our last essay!"

"Yeah, but I can recite pi to 100 digits. Therefore, I kick your ass," Will countered and stole a pawn with his knight. Benji frowned.

"Just because you rock at math doesn't mean you can kick my ass," he said, moving a rook.

"True, but since I'm also better at you in science, history, band and everything else, I do."

"I'm better in art."

"Art isn't a subject."

"It is too!"

"Well it's not a very good one."

"That's only because you can't do it!"

"Well, duh." Will smiled and captured another pawn. "Haven't you learned? If I fail to excel far above and beyond my classmates at a subject, it isn't a good subject." His smile brightened when Benji moved a knight, and he swiftly captured it. "Thank you!"

Benji stuck his tongue out. "The world doesn't revolve around you, Will."

"It might as well. God knows my parents think it does." The smile faded from Will's face and his shoulder slumped. Benji reached over and touched his hand.

"Don't think about them," he said softly. "Just concentrate on the game, ok? I'll feel guilty if I beat you now."

The blonde's smile returned. "Is that a forfeit, then?"

"Why would I need to forfeit? I'm going to lose anyway."

Will's smile changed to a grin as he captured Benji's queen. "Indeed you are, Benji. Indeed you are."

"Where were you?" Mrs. Richardson asked when Benji walked through the door. "I put dinner on the table over an hour ago!"

Which is exactly why I'm late, though Benji. But he said, "I was over at Will's house." Which was really just as bad, if not worse.

Mrs. Richardson frowned. "I've told you before, Benjamin, I don't like you hanging out with that boy. He's a spoiled brat."

Benji sighed. "He's not a brat, mom. His parents just… Love him. Excessively."

"I don't care. You're not going over there anymore."

"Mom-"

"Son, listen to your mother," Mr. Richardson said without looking up from his newspaper. Benji frowned and walked to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" asked his mother.

"To do my homework."

"Don't you want dinner?"

"I already ate, and I doubt I'd be able to force down any crap that you made anyway!" Benji yelled and slammed the door.

He flopped onto his bed and buried his face into a pillow. He hated it when his parents talked about Will like that. Will wasn't spoiled; he was a perfectly normal kid apart from his very high I.Q. and filthy rich parents. Will didn't asked to get spoiled, it just happened. His parents lavished their affection upon him with gifts.

His cell phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello?"

"Finally!" the voice on the other end said. "I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

Benji smiled. "Will, I left less than ten minutes ago."

"Yeah, well, it felt like hours. My parents just got home and the first thing they did was praise me for the wonderful grade on my math test and give me more crap about how special and great I am and it was so annoying!"

A pang of sympathy stabbed Benji through the heart. "I'm sorry," he said. "Do you wanna sneak over here? My parents won't notice. Probably."

"Nah, I'll live. Just don't hang up on me, ok?"

"Depends. Are we going to have to play phone chess?" Benji asked teasingly.

There was pause too long for Benji's comfort. "Do you want to?" Will asked finally.

"Will it help you?"

"Yes."

"Then, of course." Benji reached under his bed and pulled out a chess set. "You wanna be black or white."

"Black," said Will. "It suits my mood right now."

"I'll have you playing white by the end of this phone call, then," Benji swore, only half kidding.

He could hear the smile in Will's voice. "It's a deal."

Benji scribbled a problem down in his notebook. "I hate Algebra," he muttered. Will gasped.

"Benji!! How could you hate something so pure, so innocent, so-"

"Deathly boring and extremely hard," Benji retorted flatly. He brushed brown bangs out of his eyes. "Though you may not believe it, math does not come naturally to most people."

Will pouted. "That doesn't mean you have to hate it," he said.

Benji couldn't resist the smile that pulled at his lips. Will was too cute when he pouted. "Fine, I don't hate math. I just really, really dislike it. Better?"

Will smiled. "I'd rather you say you love it," he admitted. "But since I know that will never happen, this will have to do."

Benji smiled. "Help me with this, will you? I don't understand anything."

Will scooted over to where Benji was seated on the floor. "Hmm… Well, you're doing it wrong, for one thing."

"What?"

"You're supposed to factor it like this." Will took Benji's pencil and made a few marks in the notebook. "The middle number has to equal the inner multiplied by the outer. Here," he handed the other teen back his pencil. "Now try."

Benji bit his lip in concentration, though not because of the math. Once Will explained something to him it wasn't hard anymore. But Will was resting his chin on Benji's shoulder, his breath warm as it ghosted past his Benji's cheek, and the brunet was trying not to think about how good it felt to have Will touching him, and was most obviously failing miserably.

"Like this?" he asked when he finished the problem. Will smiled and nodded. "Thanks, I owe you. I have fifty more of these to do before tomorrow."

Will slid away from him and Benji tried to hide his disappointment. "So does that mean you can't spare time for a game of chess?" the blonde asked.

Benji raised an eyebrow. "You want to play chess again?"

Will blinked. "I always want to play chess, Benji." He lowered his head, looking sad. "I thought you would've figured that out by now."

The sadness laced through Will's words broke Benji's heart. "Well, if we're going to play, we may as well do it now," he said and grabbed Will's chess set. The other male's head shot up in surprise.

"Now? Don't you have to do you homework?" he asked, but moved to his side of the board anyway.

Benji shrugged. "Homework can wait," he said. And you'll always come before anything else, he thought. He stared at the chess pieces in his hand. They were ebony and ivory, intricately carved and each piece had a small ruby set in it somewhere. The board was white and black marble surrounded by mahogany. It was one of the only present Will had gotten that he didn't keep locked in a storage room or throw out. Benji wasn't surprised; the gift had been from his grandfather, not his parent's.

"Are you going to stare at the pieces all day or are you going to play?"

Benji grinned and set up the pieces. "I was talking to them telepathically," he said.

Will moved a pawn. "Oh? And what were you telling them?"

"To move themselves while you're not looking so that I'll win." Benji moved a pawn.

Will grinned and captured it. "Fat chance, Benji."

"Young man, where have you been all evening?!" Mrs. Richardson shrieked at Benji when he walked through the door.

"At Will's house," he said, and quickly darted to his room before she could begin yelling at him again.

Sighing, he sat down at his desk and stared at his Algebra homework. It would take longer now that Will wasn't there to help him, but he didn't care. Will had wanted to play chess, so he was going to play chess, goddamnit.

He knew one person shouldn't have so much influence on him, but he couldn't help it. Will to him was like the apple to Eve, or the pomegranate to Persephone. He was a forbidden fruit that Benji just couldn't get enough of. True, his parents spoiled him, but Will hated them because of it and Benji loved that even though he had a classy upbringing, Will was almost no different than any other person. He never thought himself above anyone else at school and helped those who asked for it. Will was helpful and caring and sweet and nice and beautiful and Benji loved him for it.

The brunet groaned. Screw homework. He couldn't work like this anyway. He took out his cell phone and dialed Will's home number. It rang once… Twice… Thrice…

The answering machine picked up. Benji swore. The voice on the other end said, "Hello, you've reached the Peterson's and we're not here right now because we've gone to take our genius son out to dinner. Please leave a message."

Benji cringed and hung up. From the sounds of the message, Will would be pissed tomorrow. Benji turned back to his homework and, determined to finish it, started writing down the math problems. The blonde woudl want to play chess until he fainted tomorrow, and Benji wouldn't deny it from him.

"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate your coming over here when I'm mad at my parents?" Will said as he captured Benji's rook.

Benji looked up, surprised. "No, you haven't," he said.

"Well, I do. Without you I think I'd have committed suicide a long time ago."

Benji frowned. "Don't say that," he whispered.

"Why not? It's true."

"But I'm here, which means I can help you deal, which means that you don't have to think about doing it, so just don't talk about it, ok?" Benji pleaded. He couldn't bear the thought of a dead Will.

Said boy smiled. "And have I ever told you how nice it is that you care about me so much?"

Benji shook his head. He could feel the stupid grin on his face and the heat in his cheeks. "I don't believe you have," he said.

"Well, I'll tell you then: it's wonderful. It's so nice to wake up in the morning and be able to think 'I have someone out there who cares for me because he likes me, not because I'm a genius.' It's the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning." Will moved his pawn, and Benji captured it.

"Well, you're not a genius."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Benji smirked. "Genius's don't get C's in English," he explained.

"That's not my fault! Mr. Dale is out to get me!" Will protested.

"According to you he's also out to get Hannah Fowler and she still managed to get an A," Benji said.

"That only because she slept with him," Will retorted, voice dead serious.

Benji stared. "You're joking," he said.

Will shook his head. "I saw them one day after school. I had come to get my notebook because I left it there and he was in his chair and she was giving him a blowjob. I asked her about it later and she told me she got an A because she slept with him."

Benji's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. After a minute he said, "Wow. I mean… That's just… Holy crap, are you really serious?"

Will nodded and smiled. "Oh, and Benji?"

Benji looked at him, remembering the other two compliments. What was next, a love confession? "What?"

Will smirked. "Checkmate."

Benji's eyes snapped to the board. "Hey!" he protested. "That's not fair! You just said that do distract me!"

Will shrugged. "What can I say? The opportunity was too good to pass up."

Benji pouted. "I thought you liked me?"

"Hmm, true. Ok, I'll tell you what: we'll play another game and if you win, I'll give you anything you want," Will said. Benji stared again.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"What if I lose?"

"Then I'll do your Algebra homework for you."

Benji grinned. "It's a win-win situation for me either way."

"Did I not just say I liked you? Think of it as your reward for keeping someone from committing suicide." Will smiled and set up the pieces. "And no, I'm not going to go easy on you."

Benji hadn't expected it. He really was going to have to pay attention now, because he knew damn well what he wanted if he won. He watched as Will moved his pawn, and then Benji moved his knight. He needed new plays. Maybe he could throw Will off.

The game was intense. Benji could tell this because Will wasn't smiling; he only did that when he was really concentrating. But Benji was concentrating also, and so far they were locked in a stalemate. Benji was determined not to lose.

They were sitting there for at least two hours. Then, Benji saw his move. All he needed to do was move his bishop into position and he'd win. But if Will moved his rook, he was a goner. He bit his lip and thought hard.

What if I were to distract him?

The solution was so simple it almost seemed too good to be true. But it kind of was, because Will wasn't easily fazed, and with his concentration this intense it would take just the right thing for him to be broken. Now what could do that…?

Of course.

Benji fought hard to keep the grin off his face. Will picked up his rook and Benji said (in a casual, small talk sort of way), "So, Will, have you ever been in love?"

It worked. Will's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped open and he set his rook one square too far away from Benji's king. "What?!"

Benji shrugged. "Just a question…"

"That's kind of a personal question to ask in the middle of a chess game!" Will said. Benji grinned.

"You sound like you have something to hide, Will. So…" and he deliberately drew it out, "have you ever been in love?"

Will opened his mouth, closed, and opened it again. "Yes," he said. "But I don't think they'd feel the same way."

Benji almost missed the glance, but he didn't. Will's eyes darted to him for one brief nanosecond before moving to look out the window. Benji grinned.

"You never know," he said cheerfully. "Oh, and Will?"

"Yeah?"

Benji smirked and slid his bishop into place. "Checkmate."

Will stared at the board. Then at Benji. Then at the board. Then at Benji. Then at the board. "You," he said, "are a jackass."

Benji laughed. "Be that as it may, you still lost, which means I won, which means I get my prize."

Will sighed, but the brunet could see the smile tugging at the corner's of his lips. "Ok, you win. So what do you want?"

Benji grinned. "I want you," he said simply and in one fluid motion launched himself at Will, pinned him to the floor, and kissed him.

Will gasped, and Benji took the opportunity the slip his tongue into Will's mouth. He could feel the other boy tense below him and he slipped a hand around Will's neck and began to massage the muscles there. He smiled as he felt Will begin to relax and soon the other boy was kissing back.

Their tongues met and Will moaned softly. Benji sighed and moved to explore every inch of Will's mouth. His hand moved from Will's neck to cup the back of his head, and they sat up together, still kissing.

All too soon, Benji was forced to break off for air. He pulled away panting and noted with a grin that Will's face was flushed and his eyelashes were fluttering.

"Benji…" he whispered, and Benji used his hands to push their lips together again. Will met the kiss with more vigor this time, pushing his tongue against Benji's and wrapping his arms around the brunet's waist.

There was a knock on the door, and the boys broke away. "Who is it?" Will called out, unconsciously pulling Benji closer to him.

"It's your mother, Will. Do you boys want something to eat? I made cookies."

The irritating voice of Will's mother grated against Benji and he placed his lips by Will's ear. "If you say yes to that," he murmured, "what just happened will never happen again."

Will snorted. "I wasn't going to." He pulled away from Benji a bit and yelled, "No, we're not hungry, mom! Maybe later!"

"Ok!" The sounds of her footsteps faded and as soon as he could no longer here them Benji began kissing his way up and down Will's neck.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate your mother?" he said, and Will laughed.

"Yes," he said, and pushed Benji's head closer to his skin. "But I enjoy hearing it anyway."

Three days after his win, Benji was stuck facing his extremely pissed off mother. Again.

"I have told you time and time again, not to go over to that house!!" Mrs. Richardson screeched. "This is the last straw, Benji!"

Benji doubted it. It had been the last straw at least five times now, and he was still going over to Will's house.

"I don't care how good of friends you two are, I am not letting that spoiled brat anywhere near you!!"

"Well, we're not friends anymore," Benji said. His mother stared at him.

"You're not?" she asked.

"Nope," Benji grinned. "We're boyfriends!"

"WHAT?!" Mrs. Richardson screamed. "BOYFRIENDS?!"

"Yeah, it just happened a few days ago. Speaking of which, I promised I'd go over to his house tonight. I'll see ya later!" And Benji was out the door in five seconds.

He could hear his mother screaming all the way to Will's house. It was a relief when he let himself into the blonde's bedroom.

"I don't think my mom is very happy with me right now," he said and sat down opposite Will, then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "She started screaming when I told her we were boyfriends."

Will giggled and pushed the chess board between them. "Maybe it'd be safer if you stayed here tonight."

Benji grinned. "Probably. Would your parents mind?"

"All that much better if they do," Will said, and moved his pawn. "Shut up and play."

The brunet pouted and moved his knight. "I'm hurt. One would think you care more about chess than me."

"Maybe I do." Will moved his queen

Benji gasped. "Will! How could you! It's the pawns, isn't it?! Their little round heads make you crazy!" He moved a pawn.

Will shook his head. "It's the bishops," he said, grinning. "I can't say no. They're just the right size and they have pointy heads. I don't go for round."

Benji grinned. "It's a good thing I have a pointy head, then."

"What're you talki- OH!" Will went bright red. "Benji!"

Benji laughed. "Well, it's true. I have a pointy head."

"That is not something I needed to hear!"

"Well, how else am I supposed to draw you away from the bishops?" Benji asked and moved another pawn. "They're tough to beat."

Will giggled and moved his queen. "Yes, they are, but I suppose you're better than them. I'd much rather have someone alive than a chess piece. Except if it was my parents."

"Here, here!" Benji said. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Will smiled. "A few times. But I enjoy hearing it. Oh, and Benji?"

"What?"

Will smirked and moved his queen into position. "Checkmate."

End