Tag · 10 works
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
The two of them walk to the nearest subway station together. Out of nowhere, Freddie asks, “have you ever been to Chicago?”She blinks at him, trying and failing to make sense of the question in her head. “No. Why?”He doesn’t look at her, instead preferring to track the streetlights they walk under. “Do you wanna go with me?”
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
“Have you ever kissed a woman before?” Florence asks cautiously. Freddie shifts just so he can peek through his fingers, just enough to glare at her. The answer is obvious, but it’s more of a rhetorical question anyway. “Well, I have.”His head jerks up, and he stares at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. “Huh?”
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
“Chess,” Walter says contemplatively. He hasn’t played since he was a child—he always found it rather boring. He tries to look at it from Molokov’s perspective, to see what the draw might be. “I can’t say I envy the thought of waiting on some genius chess player hand and foot. Doesn’t sound very lucrative, either.”“Perhaps not for you,” Molokov agrees. “We should play next time we meet. I’m very rusty.”“You’d still kick my ass,” Walter says.
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
Freddie holds the queen piece out to her, between his thumb and forefinger. “Hey, what’s this from?” he asks.Her eyes grow wide when she registers what it is, and she grabs it from him, squeezing it in her palm. “It’s nothing,” she says.Freddie frowns up at her from the floor. “Okay,” he says flatly.Florence looks away, then sighs and sinks down onto the mattress. She opens her palm to look at the queen piece. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you,” she says. “It’s from my father. He gave it to me right before I left Budapest.”
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
A running list of things in Freddie’s life that are going wrong.
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
Very soon, if Anatoly continues to progress at the rate he has been, Molokov is likely to find himself with a permanent charge, and Anatoly will be on the narrow path to the top of the top. It will be a heavy burden to bear.But right now, Anatoly isn’t quite there yet. Right now, he’s 16, and he wants to go sightseeing.
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
“How are you feeling? Are you resting?” Anatoly asks, unable to squash his natural tendency to worry.“I have rested plenty,” Svetlana assures him. She sounds tired. “Actually, Anatoly… Is there anyone else around?”Anatoly looks around his empty hotel room. “No one,” he says. “What’s wrong?”“Nothing is wrong, I promise,” she says. “But, Tolya… the baby was already born. I’m calling you from the hospital.”
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
Svetlana doesn’t understand how Anatoly can sleep through it. The crib is right there, just a meter away from their bed, and yet he only stirs when she makes contact with his shoulder and squeezes. He grunts to wakefulness, and Svetlana doesn’t say anything, just curls up in the blankets. He rolls out of bed to check on their child.
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by ruggedindividual
Gregor reaches for the globe on the kitchen counter. “See? Here’s us again, Hungary. Here is Austria. And here is England. You’re going to get on an airplane in Austria, and when you get off, you’ll be in England.”“It’s too small,” she says, very seriously.“It only looks small here. It will be much bigger when you get there, I promise,” he smiles.
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
by allofthetime
“If I were to die tomorrow, who would you seek out then?”“Will you die tomorrow?” Molokov asked plainly.“Maybe,” Anatoly said. “I will see.”“Then I will see you tomorrow,” Molokov said, ”if you remain undecided.”