Albus and Gellert aparated to the foot of the door, clutching brown paper bags filled to the brim with their recent purchases. They were laughing their heads off, Albus trying to steady himself as a few tomatoes tumbled out of his bag to the floor.
"Did you see his face when-" said Gellert cackling cheerily, but was cut off by a coarse voice that shattered the buoyant tenor.
"You two look like you've had a great time" He growled. Albus composed himself immediately but Gellert spoke first.
"Stop being such a killjoy" he teased but he had barely strung the words when Albus uttered;
"Lunch will be ready in a moment- Er...sorry we got la-"
"OH FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! STOP PRETENDING LIKE YOU CARE. YOU SELF ABSORBED DEGENERATE LUNA-"
'Oscausi'
Aberforth's lips vanished and in its place was a thin layer of skin. It was almost as if he never had a mouth.
"There much better" Gellert said lowering his wand.
"That ought to teach you some respect" He circled Aberforth his lips curling upwards maniacally.
"Don't-ever-insult-Albus-Dumbledore-in front-of-me"
Albus watched indecisively from the door. He had come face to face with the question he had been pushing back for weeks. 'Who do you choose?' He gulped, flicked his wand and his brother's mouth reappeared.
"Gellert, I think you should leave" Grindelwald glared at Albus. His lone blue eye flickering dangerously.
"Now." He dropped the packages he held and slammed the door as he departed. Albus shut his eyes. Pained by Gellert's absence. Moments ago they had been trotting about the winding lanes of Hogsmeade. The familiarity of the place and Gellert's company had given him an unusual warmth but now he had to cope with the consequences.
"Aberforth" his voice cracked
"I need to get out sometimes, okay. It's not like me to-"
"Sit at home and look after your unstable sister and wayward brother?"Aberforth said without loosing a beat. Albus looked up at him. His expression hardened.
"I didn't-" he paused.
"Lunch will be ready in a moment" he said monotonously and dashed off to the kitchen picking up the bags Grindelwald had relinquished...
Albus sat restlessly on a short wooden stool. The softly simmering tomatoes and the chomp of slicing onions the only obtrusion for an otherwise piercing hush. Aberforth had left minutes ago. 'To throw goat dung at unfortunate by passers' Albus guessed grudgingly. He gazed listlessly through the broken window that had grown yellowish and translucent with time. His heart skipped a beat. 'Were those a pair of mismatched eyes that-' he thought 'no...just a trick of light' He sighed deeply, his face hidden in his palms. His palms...just over week ago they had-it was too painful to recall now. Had he made the right choice?...
They had a strained lunch. Ariana doing all she could to break the tension but eventually giving up when Albus who had barely sat down to eat gobbled up a few slices of bread, excused himself and positively ran up to his room.
He continued his uneventful leering until he was absolutely certain that Gellert was not in his suite, which was right across his own. Frustrated, he slumped on to the bed. His head throbbed unbearably. Each second he spent apart from Grindelwald seemed like torture. He had to see him, but how?...
He walked unsteadily down the stairs, to prepare dinner. Gellert had still not returned. 'That's odd' he thought as he set the table. Once more he wolfed down a few chunks of cheese and ham (oblivious to Ariana's protests) and shot off...
Aberforth hadn't affronted him for what Grindelwald had done. Had Albus' swift dismissal of Gellert saved him from what would otherwise have been a treacherous confrontation? Had Gellert really lost his temper because Albus had been insulted? He shifted to the scene where Gellert had used the Cruciatus curse on an homophobic muggle. That had been right after Albus' cheek had been grazed. Had Gellert's true intention been simply, to avenge Albus? Or was it merely out of his obvious dislike for both muggles and Aberforth? The line between love and hatred seemed to blur in Albus' mind...
Albus jerked awake at the constant rapping of the window. It took a while for his eyes to adjust, his pupils slowly dilating to take in more light. He caught a glimpse of gold and groped in the dark for his wand. Was it Gellert? Why hadn't he just magiked his way through?
'Lumos'
The effulgence poured over the shadowed silhouette, bringing to light the unmistakable figure of his peer. Albus opened the window manually and glimpsed for an instant at the distraught look in the mismatched eyes. Then everything went blank.
In a blink of an eye Gellert cast the muffliato charm, clasped Albus face in his arms and kissed him without warning. He kissed him passionately... no, desperately awaiting Albus' response. To Grindelwald's relief Albus reciprocated. It seemed as if the world would end if they broke apart. They couldn't stop...shouldn't stop. The boys collapsed onto the floor gasping for breath, like fish out of water. Albus' prior doubt ebbed away faster than light. They began cackling uncontrollably.
"You could've have warned me,you know" Albus teased graciously ruffling Gellert's hair. Grindelwald blushed furiously.
"I-I'm sorry I couldn't think straight" he looked apologetically at the flickering blue eyes that had regained their sparkle. Albus grinned ecstatically.
"So was there another reason you barged in or should we just...continue?" Gellert smiled at the floor.
"Come on" he said averting his eyes to the window.
"Where are we going?" Albus asked unable to keep the excitement from his voice.
"Somewhere" Gellert replied. Albus rolled his eyes.
"Is it New Zealand again?" he teased.
"You'll see" Gellert replied mischievously. They whisked off. Albus could feel the cold night air flitting through his hair. His arms lay tightly wrapped around Gellert's waist, he loved this feeling of lightheadedness...of freedom. It had been so long since he traveled on a broom...
