Shield stared at Twirl over the table, his dark green eyes narrowed to slits. The tip of his tongue darted out to moisten his lips before he pressed them into a thin line, his concentration on the chessboard between them. It would work this time, as it always had. Twirl was as easy to read as the sports magazines he left lying around the house. With chess, one always had to think three steps ahead. Twirl, though smart, could rarely see the bigger picture. That’s what made him an easy mark. It’s what made him swear off playing poker with his friends, and that’s why Shield Strong had smiled when he’d made his last move, confident this game would end in yet another win for himself.
Twirl tapped his hoof on the carpeted floor. The battered card table shook slightly from the vibrations. “You’re only stalling the inevitable,” he said. “I’m going to beat you.”
He paused and Shield watched the telltale dart of his eyes to one side before Twirl returned the steady gaze.“Seriously, it’s long past time for lunch,” Twirl continued. The babbling was another giveaway. Shield had this in the bag. “I’d like to get something to eat before I pass out.”
“If you talked less and paid more attention, you’d win more often.” Shield's smug, satisfied smile inspired a frown from his friend, who glanced down at the board again before returning his gaze to Shield, a hint of doubt now creeping into the bright green eyes.
“I’ve won plenty of the times,” Twirl countered.
Jumpy. Defensive. The last chink in whatever bravado had convinced him he had a chance of winning this chess game. All that remained was for Shield to deliver the final blow.
“Not against me, you haven't.” Shield flashed a small smile.
“I’ve beaten you twice.”
Out of the hundreds of games in the two years they had known each other, Twirl had played no less than three games a week with Shield, the only pony he had met that he couldn’t beat with any regularity.
Shining Armor found the games to be his new source of entertainment in the apartment, although he never joined in on the fun. Though when your opponents could have you second-guessing your moves from the first touch of the pawn, you wouldn’t want to play either.
Shield leaned back in the folding chair, stretching his legs out beneath the rickety table. The bottom tip of his hoof brushing against Twirl’s. “You only beat me cause I was sick. I was on enough meds a foal could’ve won against me!”
“Only the first time I won,” Twirl corrected.
“And I was distracted the second time.” Shield sighed.
The green pony chuckled, his smile brought out a small dimple on the right side of his mouth. “Right. What distracted you?”
Shield looked up from the board and smiled. “Shining.”
“Figures. He-”
The purple pony cleared his throat and nodded over Twirl’s shoulder. “Hey Shining. What's going on?”
Their roommate closed the front door with his rear hoof and nodded to the pair sitting in front of the window. If Shining Armor’s parents would’ve seen him close the door like that they would’ve flipped, possibly leaving a hoofprint in his wake. In spite of momentary lapses like that, Shining had lived in the apartment for two years, leaving his nit-picky life behind him. Family photos had been replaced with band posters and trophy shelves. He still had the couch his parents gave him, deep green and gold upholstery complemented by the mahogany coffee table that was placed in front of it. Shining constantly decorated the top of the piece with coasters, which had a beer can or two placed on it at all times. Gauzy white curtains with gold trimming flowed in front of the windows. The only thing his parents didn’t purchase for him was the rickety folding table Shield and Twirl used to play chess. Looking around, it seemed he hadn’t left his preppy life behind him after all.
Shining elevated the two boxes of pizza in an aura of light pink magic. “Grabbed lunch. You guys hungry?”
Shield nodded, never taking his eyes off Shining. With a body made of pure muscle and a smile to put the sun to shame, it wasn’t difficult for anypony to figure out why his best friend was an occasional distraction. Whenever he walked into the room, Shield had trouble remembering his own name, never mind the best way to protect his queen from Twirl’s watchful gaze. All the attention was pointless though, it didn’t matter how many smexy looks he gave or the not-so-subtle flirting he engaged himself in. he couldn’t change the fact the Shining only dated mares. That didn’t stop him from wishing for a sudden change of heart.
“Always are. Just let us finish this game,” Twirl said, drawing Shield’s attention back to him and the chessboard between them.
“Do you know if Ritzy Orange is home?” Shining interrupted, breaking the tension between the two stallions. “I was hoping he could work out a plan to send my mother some of his dessert recipes, Celestia knows she needs them.”
“He’s not at the moment,” Twirl replied curtly.
“But wasn’t he supposed to meet up later for a game?”
“We can still do that,” Shield said, his attention once again diverted. A chance to get Shining into some hoofball gear and an excuse to tackle him repeatedly? Count him in.
“Granted, we’ve played hoofball with the four of us, but I don’t even think we could pull a three pony game. One on one with a referee?” Shining laid the pizza boxes on the coffee table and flopped on the couch.
“Two against one sounds better,” Twirl suggested. He grinned, his expression turning lecherous as he eyed their roommate. Shining blushed and scooted closer to the other end of the couch, a slice of pizza levitated in front of him acting as a shield.
“I don’t think two against one would be quite fair,” he said.
“I think you’re big enough to handle both of us,” Shield put in. “I’d certainly be willing to give it a shot.”
“We promise it won’t hurt.” Twirl put on his most convincing face.
“Speak for yourself,” Shield added as he licked his lips.
Shining opened his mouth to speak before shutting it quickly and shaking his head. “You’re impossible. Finish your game.” He ate the remains of his pizza shield and trotted off to the kitchen.
Barely glancing at the board, Shield levitated his knight into position with a flick of his dark blue magic, plucking Twirl’s bishop out of play. “Checkmate.” Smiling as Twirl spluttered and stared at the board, Shield got up and followed Shining into the kitchen. As he approached, the white stallion closed the refrigerator door with his hoof, bottles of water levitating in front of him.
“You really don’t have to take us both on,” Shield said, smiling as this earned another blush from his roommate. “I’ll be happy to play with you alone.”
“I’m sure you would.” Shining placed the bottles on the counter. “I don’t think Cadence would appreciate the competition, though.”
Shield's smile widened. “Who said your marefriend had to know? I bet there’s a lot of things you don’t tell her.” The purple stallion walked across the kitchen until he was close enough to reach out and trace the line of Shining’s lips. “You know I can keep a secret, he said, voice low. “I can do a lot of things you’d like.” He stared at his friend a moment longer, hoping to unnerve him as easily as he did Twirl.
After a few seconds, Shining leaned over and whispered back, “Not even close. Good try, though.” He turned to the cabinets and levitated a few paper plates onto the table.
“You can’t blame him for trying,” Twirl Thoughts said from the doorway. “You’re not exactly beating him off.”
“Ooh, that sounds like a plan,” Shield cooed.
Shining rolled his eyes. He placed a slice of pizza on a plate and pulled out a stool to sit on. “Stop,” he said to his friend. Turning to Twirl, he added, “You guys are my friends. I don’t care if you get a kick out of saying whatever you want when no else can hear-”
“He likes the attention and is too afraid to admit he’s turned on,” Shield said to Twirl. The green stallion nodded and grabbed a plate off the table.
“But,” Shining spoke louder to return their attention to what he was saying, “you both know you don’t have the smallest chance with me.”
“You don’t have to say anything in front of Twirl,” Shield began. “I know I’m wearing you down.”
Twirl sat on one of the stools tucked under the table and opened the top box of pizza. “Shining it’s alright. If Shield wants his delusions for comfort at night, he can have them. I’ll be here when you're ready.” He chuckled.
Shining pushed around the bottles of water and reached for the other pizza box. “If you are both so hard up for somepony, why don’t you just skip the middle mare, as they say, and date each other? I think you two would be good together.”
“Just because we’re both gay doesn’t mean were automatically attracted to each other,” Shield said, snatching a slice of pizza with his magic from the box in front of Twirl.
“I didn’t say you were,” Shining Armor said. “You just-”
“Plus, Shield can’t handle a stallion like me!” Twirl said through a mouthful of pizza. “He gets off on going after ponies who he knows he can’t or shouldn’t have.”
Shield frowned, his eyebrows drawing together. “Is that your professional opinion?”
“Did he ever tell you,” Twirl continued, “the last pony he was with had a marefriend?”
Sure, Shield also had serious questions about his sexuality that weekend at a local hotel where Twirl answered questions for him. And, as it turns out, Twirl was wrong. It wasn’t that he purposely went after stallions he couldn’t be with, but it just happened that Shield always found himself more attracted to stallions he knew wouldn’t want more than he was willing to give- a commitment.
With Shining Armor it was different. He was a good friend, and had been since Shield came out to him that night in grade school. The idea of being with him had always felt as natural as breathing. They'd been joined at the hip since they were ten, and it was partly due to his attraction to Shining that Shield learned to recognize and accept his sexuality.
As for Shining’s suggestion that he try Twirl instead, that was laughable. Where he and Shining were loud and outgoing, Twirl was quiet and reserved, preferring to stick his nose in a book than going out clubbing on Friday nights. It was a wonder they had managed to talk him into joining them for track last season, and now hoofball. The weekly practices and games were the only time Twirl seemed to come out of his shell. Shield rarely saw a different side to him than the egghead who preferred to remain in the shadows. With Shining as his ongoing fantasy, Twirl would never have had a chance to compete.
“I thought you said Jet Set was going through something,” Shining said, turning to Shield, “I didn’t think you meant he was looking to play around. Or did you?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Shield said. “I didn’t go after him, or try to seduce him. He came onto me and I just kind of conveniently didn’t say no.” He shrugged. “We both knew the thing was going to be temporary anyway, so that isn’t relevant.” He looked up from his food and smiled. “The point is, you’ve always been the center of my attention and you know it. And if we’re being honest, a healthy bi-curiosity is the reason we shared our first kiss. You just need to take the next step.”
Shield grinned as both Shining Armor and Twirl choked on their food at the same time. Shining quickly levitated his bottle to his lips and took several long gulps before lowering it to stare at his best friend, his tear blue eyes wide with horror.
Twirl swallowed hard and looked back and forth between them. “Is that true or did you just make that up?”
Shield scoffed, “I wouldn’t lie about that,” never taking his eyes away from Shining. “you know what it meant to me...”
“You knew for sure that night,” Shining said, nodding. Moments later, he looked away, “and as much as I care about you, I knew for sure that I- we would never be that way.” He looked up again, a small smile formed. “Don’t let the memory of that little experiment keep you from going after what’s right in front of you.”
Shield picked up the slice of pizza he had barely touched since they sat down and took a small bite. Lukewarm from being laid out so long, though he didn't mind as long as it was edible. He sat down on a rickety stool, barely eaten pizza in hoof. “Oh, don’t worry about that, I’ve got my eye on the prize. It’s just a matter of getting it to come to me.”
