"Eight moves? Eight moves?" Christine threw her arms up in an exasperated gesture. "You checkmated me in eight moves? Is that even allowed?"

Erik shrugged and began rearranging the pieces (admittedly only the white ones as he didn't lose any of his pieces save one pawn.) It had been roughly twenty minutes since Christine had thought up the brilliant idea of challenging her dear Erik to a game of chess. Brilliant, save for the fact that Erik had never lost a game so far.

"I thought you were going to, I don't know, let me win or something." Christine, normally so polite to Erik, pouted and crossed her arms.

"Let you win? Now why on Earth would I do something so silly?" Erik would never allow such an easy victory for an opponent, even an opponent who owned his heart and soul. What an absurd notion indeed!

"Uh, because you love me?" Christine mumbled, surprising herself. When had she become such a sore loser?

Erik blinked and then burst into laughter, "That may be true my love, but what would you learn if I just let you win? How would you improve?"

Christine laughed along with him, hoping to dispel her burgeoning irritable mood. "I suppose that's true." She fixed her gaze on him, and grinned. "I suppose now I also have to bestow upon you your prize for beating me so splendidly."

"Oh, a prize? Indeed?" Erik raised an eyebrow in an attempt to retain his excitement. Given Christine's attitude, he had an inkling as to what this prize was going to be.

"Mhmm," She hopped off the stool, and practically skipped her way over to where Erik was sitting across the chess board.

Erik sat up in his own stool, his golden eyes gleaming.

"Stand up."

He obliged, smirking at her new found commanding attitude.

"Now bend down."

Erik bent over, "What are you- "

She placed a finger on his lips, effectively cutting off his speech. "Be patient."

"Close your eyes."

Once again, Erik obliged her request. After all of these years together he knew that no matter what it was, he could deny his Christine nothing.

Christine leaned up on the tips of her toes and cupped his cheek. She lightly brushed her lips against his own. She pulled away and peppered kiss on his forehead, over his hollowed cheeks, and around the area where his nose should have been.

Erik sighed happily in response to the attention Christine was bestowing upon his face. She eventually looped her way back around to his thin lips and kissed him again.

"I love you." She murmured against his lips. Erik opened his eyes, warmth spreading through his body from her touch. Despite the countless times Christine told him that she loved him, it never failed to leave him in awe.

Christine pulled away and rested her head against his chest, griping his lapels lightly and sighing happily as Erik leant his chin on the top of her head.

Erik smiled dreamily as he wrapped an arm around her waist, snugly fitting her body against his. With his free hand he ran his fingers through her golden hair, savouring the feel of the silky strands. Winning a game of chess had never felt so sweet.