A/N: This is a song fic based on Billie Eilish's Ocean Eyes. The pairing is Grindelwald-Dumbledore. Both of them are slightly OOC. Well, Grindelwald certainly is. Hope you enjoy the story. And oh yes, however much I wish it did, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. On with the story then!

Ocean Eyes

(Battle of Nurmengard)

They look at each other, sizing up on each other. It's been years since they last faced each other, on that fateful day at the Godric's Hollow.

Now, circling each other at the Nurmengard feels like a déjà vu to him. For some years now, he has been tracking Albus' moves. Out of caution, to safeguard his empire, he tells himself. But of course, he knows better, in the hearts of his heart. Those blue eyes enthral him, like a siren to a sailor.

They are surrounded by the ruins around the mighty Nurmengard. The cities that he destroyed to establish his stronghold on the Eastern Europe. The air is alight with fire and smoke. The feel of the spells that they've fires at each other cling to their skins like napalm. The sense of familiarity with his magic is, at once, disturbing and inviting to Gellert.

He watches those ocean eyes flaring with each new spell that Albus throws at him. The complex charms and spells that Albus is performing leave Gellert mesmerised, like all those years ago.

Those enchanting ocean eyes are going to be his undoing. He knows, just as he did back in his boyhood.

(Godric's Hollow)

Gellert had just arrived at his aunt's. Bathilda Bagshot was a celebrated historian in Britain. It was helping him a bit. She would give him snippets of the history that were helping him to shape up the path to his destination.

But the most intriguing aspect of his stay was, of course, Albus. How could he not be! The boy had him mesmerised. Every time Gellert pitched in an idea with Albus, he put in much thought into it. The British boy was extremely intelligent and keen. He would ensnare the shortcomings of Gellert's plans and suggest changes that left Gellert impressed. And Albus did it quite effortlessly, too!

And those eyes….. His beautiful blue eyes… It wasn't fair, the way they played with his heartstrings effortlessly. Albus probably had no inkling of the havoc he wreaked upon Gellert's heart and mind, just by looking at him with those intelligent blue eyes.

Every time Gellert looked into those ocean eyes, alight with happiness and ambition, he fell a bit more for the boy in front of him. and it scared him. Sure, he's had his fair share of trysts at Durmstrang, but this was something different. Something acutely different. He had never fallen this hard for anyone.

Somewhere, he knew that this was the first and last time he would fall in love with someone so desperately. Those captivating blue eyes were proof enough.

(After Godric's Hollow)

Gellert was of tired wizards and witches promoting equality among Muggles and magicians. He marvelled at their stupidity. Did they not see what the muggles could do if given free rein? They were developing weapons of mass destruction hitherto unknown, quite beyond the scope of magic. They were making weapons using the fundamentals of existence. Their blindness provoked him and annoyed him. It had been a relief when Albus had agreed with him that the muggles needed to be controlled for their own welfare.

But now, Albus had changed with time. That sly old….! But try as he might, Gellert could not find it in himself to fault Albus. When Albus had openly promoted equality in muggles and wizards, it had left Gellert crippled. Not that any of his followers or enemies knew that. But in that instance, he had known that he was fated to be defeated, because Albus was no fool.

If Albus had changed his mind, then there must have been some rationale behind it, a rationale that he, Gellert, had missed. Gellert was now left lonely to fend off for himself. To support his beliefs all alone. Of course, he had all the followers who believed in him. But they were just as blind as the others, following him because he had enchanted them with a world of freedom. But Albus… Albus had been the one who understood the reason of the belief. And now, he was gone.

That Albus' precious, diamond mind no longer supported him, crippled Gellert's belief in his own ideas. He was utterly alone, haunted by those brilliant, twinkling, mysterious blue eyes.

(After Duel of Nurmengard)

As he knew would happen before the battle had even commenced, Gellert lost. Battling Albus was no easy task even on a particularly good day. And Gellert, riddled by doubt and his love for Albus, definitely was not having a good day. He knew he was fighting for a lost cause.

He was hauled off to Nurmengard. His home had been turned into his prison. The only silver lining, if it could be called so, was that Albus had taken him to be locked. He had dismissed all the people who had offered to assist him. Gellert knew why he had done that. He wanted to be alone with him.

Safely locked in his prison, Gellert and Albus sat opposite each other. Albus was looking at him steadily. If he was in a turmoil, it wasn't apparent in his manner or eyes. The only sign that he was affected more than he let on was the graveness of his eyes. They no longer twinkled. And looking in those eyes, the first tear came, followed steadily by another. Slowly, tears were cascading down Gellert's cheeks.

Albus wiped his tears gently, and kissed his forehead. And then, Gellert couldn't contain himself any longer. He grabbed Albus' head and crashed his lips against Albus'. Like all those years ago, their lips still moved passionately, in sync.

Gellert rested his head against Albus', breathing heavily. He whispered raggedly, "I love you. I never did stop." Albus whispered back, "I know." His voice was choked with emotion that no one standing outside, who had witnessed the duel, was capable of understanding. Albus continued, "So do I." And his tears, held back with much effort, slipped. Gellert understood it for the goodbye that it was.

Several decades later, as that foolish Voldemort utter the words that snuffed his life, the last image that flashed in front of Gellert's eyes, the last thing that he remembered, was that of those enchanting ocean eyes, twinkling and full of love, as they gazed upon him. And then, Gellert Grindelwald was gone.

...

A/N: Hope you liked the story. Please do drop in a review offering your thoughts. Thank you very much for reading this.