Beth Harmon
you look... good.
you changed your hair.
when i needed you most, you were gone.
i was a lousy partner.
you look... good.
you changed your hair.
when i needed you most, you were gone.
i was a lousy partner.
Pronouns: He/Him/His, Male!Reader
A million things ran through Beth's mind as she furiously tried lighting her cigarette but the damn flame refused to flicker for longer than a second. Her mother, Benny Watts, Harry, Cleo, Bargov, Bargov, Bargov, they all consumed her every waking moment. Her hangover thumped violently in her head, the consequences of spending the whole day drinking whatever she could get her hands on the day prior, yet another thing distracting her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to break the damn lighter and-
"Beth?" The flame flickered, lighting her cigarette as a new voice sent a chill down her spine. Familiar, oh so familiar. A voice she so often thought about, dreamt about even. Her arms dropped to her side, pulling the cigarette along as she shakily exhaled a cloud of smoke into the crisp morning air. Her tongue swiped over her lips and she turned to face him. He was no longer a boy. He was a young man now.
"(Y/N)." She greeted, her eyes dropping to scan his figure. He wore a cozy-looking long-sleeved sweater and his coat draped over his arm. He looked grown, obliviously, but it startled how mature he appeared. No longer the sly jock who smoked with her behind the school and listened to her explain chess without teasing her or trying to change her. Her former second biggest fan - her first biggest fan would always be Alma, her beautiful complicated adoptive mother -, her first kiss, her first time, her first heartbreak. "You look... good." She hadn't intended for it to come out so bitter.
"You changed your hair." (Y/N) smiled, that damned smile that'd made her heart skip a beat when she'd first seen it directed at her in the hallway at school. His gaze lifted to her red locks, mostly blocked by the beanie she wore. She'd barely brushed it that morning, only raked her fingers through it and when it refused to comply she'd opted for covering it. "It suits you, Beth. It's- It's good seeing you."
She looked a mess, she realized, and bit her tongue. Beth smiled, forcibly and awkwardly, and took another drag from her cigarette to ease her jittering nerves. Not even Benny Watts had that sort of effect on her, even with his fluffy hair and cheeky smile. "I didn't think you'd still live around here. You said you wanted to leave this place and never come back."
"I did leave. For college, I mean. I came back after graduating." He explained with a casual shrug. Of course, he had his life together. Beth hummed absentmindedly and nodded, rolling the cigarette between her index and middle fingers as she tried shoving down all the 'what ifs' desperately trying to rise. "I hear you've made quite the name for yourself, Beth. I'm happy for you."
"You weren't so happy when I had to attend tournaments." The words tumbled out quickly, far too fast for her to shut her mouth before she got the sentence out. (Y/N)'s smile faltered slightly and he chuckled dryly, something that made her wince. But all the inconveniences that'd piled up had put her in too of a bad mood to even think about apologizing.
"Yeah, it doesn't help you chose a tournament over being here when my father passed, Beth. When I needed you most, you were gone. I think most people would be upset over that, don't you?" Beth pressed her lips together and she nodded, her gaze dropping down onto the pavement beneath her feet.
"Yeah, I... I was a lousy partner." She admitted quietly. "I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to hurt you, (Y/N). Really. I- I just-"
"It's fine, Beth. It's in the past. We were kids. I never thought we'd end up as high school sweethearts, anyway." It stung to hear, especially when Alma had teased her about him being 'the one'. She nodded, forcing another tight-lipped smile in feigned agreeance and taking a long drag from her cigarette before dropping it on the floor and stepping on the end. She exhaled the smoke and motioned toward the building.
"Are you here for someone?" For her?
"Yeah, actually, my..." He paused. "My, uhm, my fiancée's nephew is actually competing today. She's out of town so she asked me to, uhm... show some support, I guess."
Fiancée. God, it'd felt like she'd been sucker-punched. "Oh." She simply blurted out in response, her mouth refusing to form any other words. (Y/N) nodded, releasing a breathy laugh as if her world hadn't suddenly turned on its axis. There'd always been a part of her that believed they'd find each other again, that he'd attend a tournament and they'd catch up only to begin their romance all over again.
"I could... I could see about getting you an invitation if you'd like? It'd be... nice to have you there, Beth."
"Yeah, of course, I'm... I'm happy for you." What a lie.
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THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT AO3 SERIESES
EVERYTHING FOR THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT
Beth Harmon
Benny Watts
(Any of the other characters don't have any requests written nor pending as for now, so I'm unable to have serieses for them as AO3 requires you to have at least one oneshot written to be able to add it to a series, and I can't promise serieses for characters who don't have requests pending/I have no ideas of my own for them)
For anyone who's concerned, THESE ARE NOT ONESHOT COLLECTIONS, they are made using AO3's "series" feature.
If you want to be informed about new fics for The Queen's Gambit or its individual characters, create an AO3 account and subscribe or bookmark any of those serieses listed above. There are buttons at the top right corner for those, or on top on mobile. I do not do Tumblr taglists anymore.
Also, if you're wondering, requests are ALWAYS open and you're welcome to leave one or multiple. Just remember to read my rules and pick a request type from this list.
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