"Come in, come in... shit, I'm so sorry again, how are you feeling?"

"Gellert, I'm fine."

"I shouldn't have done that, you were recovering for a whole night out in the snow and now you are wet and covered in freezing water! Up! Upstairs, you are taking a warm shower!"

"Gellert-"

"Don't 'Gellert' me, up the stairs and into my room now."

"Okay okay" Albus mumbled, being pushed up the stairs by a very determined Gellert. They walked to the second floor and Gellert lead him to his room, opening the door and getting inside, looking for something. Albus walked inside slowly, sniffling and looking around. It barely had no decorations. The bed was made, there was a little bedtable next to it, the walls were mostly empty but by a landscape painting and a picture of what looked like Gellert's family, there was a dresser and a closet, and over the dresser, there was a little silver music box. The closet itself was empty, and there was a bag thrown somewhere in the corner, opened and with clothes falling out of it.

It wasn't the coziest room ever, but like, it was fine.

"There" Gellert said, handing Albus a bunch of things. "Got you two towels, some sweatpants, a fluffy coat, and the newest pair of boxers I own. I wash them well, don't worry about it. Go take a shower."

"Thank you" Albus said, picking the things up and looking at the door to the side of the room. "Over there?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

Slowly, Albus walked to the bathroom and got inside, closing and locking the door behind him. He placed everything in a fairly large sink, and walked to the box, turning the water on and checking the warmth. When it was pleasingly warm, he began removing his clothes. He placed his glasses carefully next to the towels, and then pulled away the borrowed shirt Gellert had given him at the lake.

He tried not to think about how he was showering in Bathilda's house without her permission, just next to Gellert's room, where Gellert was standing. No, that wasn't… good to think about. He was already getting warm on his face just by thinking about it.

Shaking his head, Albus walked into the shower and let the warm water fall over him, shivering at first before sighing once his body got used to the warmth. He needed to pay the gas bill when he got home. Frowning at the thought, he picked up a bottle and checked to see if it was shampoo before getting another, and then another, until he found the one with the right label and began washing his awfully long hair. He needed to buy Ariana some stuff as well, and he remembered Aberforth saying he wanted some special type of hair gel he had seen somewhere in the internet. There was also the internet bill. And some others. And he had read somewhere that grains were going to grow more expensive that year. He needed to stock them before they got worst prices.

Sighing, Albus rubbed his scalp and then washed his hair, down to the tip. Frowning, he held his long hair in his hands. It was so long. It wasted so much shampoo. Maybe he should cut it like Aberforth had said.

"Decided to man up a little? Tired of looking like a girl, Dumbledore?"

The sudden memory made him wince, and he let go of his hair, getting under the water to rinse the shampoo off.

The length was fine. He just had to buy some cheaper brand, that was all.

He applied the conditioner to his hair and let it do its job as he washed the rest of his body, looking down and smiling at himself, sliding his fingers over his side.

Oh yes, he always forgot.

Fondly, he drew over the phoenix on his side with his fingers. It was the most stupid, and the best decision he ever had before his mother died, to do that tattoo. Now, he wouldn't have made it because of how expensive it would have been, but at the time, fifteen years old, he didn't worry too much about money, and his mother was nice enough to let him do it. The phoenix's head poked around his waist like into his stomach, while its wings went one to each side, one reaching his right shoulder and the other going down to the middle of his right thigh. It had been a pain to do it all, lasted around eight hours total between sections, but it was worth it.

He even had a name for it. Fawkes.

After admiring it for a while, Albus remembered that that was not his house and it was not his water bill to pay, so he quickly rinsed off the soap on his body and the conditioner on his hair and got out, looking around. He grabbed the towel and wrapped around his waist before grabbing the other and rolling his hair into it to dry.

Then, he dried himself off the best he could in the moist surroundings and put on the clothes Gellert had given him.

It smelled like Gellert. It felt… strangely nice.

Then, he undid the towel in his head and brushed his wet hair, putting his glasses back on and walking out to meet Gellert again.

When he got out, Gellert was dressed with warm clothes, his hair was also wet, and he was doing something in his phone over his bed. Upon hearing Albus come out, he looked up, and Albus smiled.

"Done."

"Good" Gellert said, sitting up and then standing. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. Just a runny nose, that's all."

"Could be worst" Gellert mumbled and Albus agreed with a nod. "Sit down, we still have time until you have to go home."

Albus looked around to see if he could find a chair. When he didn't, he hesitantly walked to the bed and sat, looking awkwardly around. Gellert sat down as well and raised his eyebrow, staring at Albus and being stared back after a while.

They were silent, the mood was awkward, and Albus could feel his cheeks warming up.

"So…"

"Albus, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you oblivious or are you intentionally avoiding my intentions?"

Albus blinked slowly, eyes widening, and his cheeks were definitely at least pink now, as he stared at Gellert. He, however, seemed dead serious, eyes slightly narrowed, mouth in a straight line.

"W-what do you mean?" Albus asked, his voice cracking a little, and Gellert sighed.

"I mean that I've been flirting with you for almost a week straight and you are giving me literally no feedback" he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "So give me an honest answer. Are you unsure or are you not interested?"

"… you're not used to not getting what you want, are you?" Albus asked, softly, but more than an actual question, he just wanted to shift the subject. Gellert looked at him surprised at first, and then chuckled.

"Albus, darling, listen up" he said, getting closer and making Albus' heart race. "I'm not the owner of the truth. I'm also not a powerful god. I can't make everything I want happen. However, I tend to be good at the flirting game, and usually, yes, I get what I want. And believe me, I have won difficult fights. You, however, doesn't even seem to want to start a fight. You are slippering away from me like a snake, and I am very unsure as to what to take from it."

"What do you mean?" Albus asked, moving back slowly, and Gellert chuckled.

"I mean that I don't know why you don't accept my flirtation even if you are extremely attracted to me and everyone can see it" he said, ever so softly, and Albus bit his bottom lip to hold back a whine he was very close of letting out.

Was he that obvious?!

"S-so what?"

"So what that I want to know if you are doing this on propose, if this is some type of game… do you have a boyfriend? A girlfriend? A partner? Is that the problem?"

"N-no, I don't have anyone…"

"So are you like… from one of those crazy religions where you can't date anyone? Do you have a vow, something like that?"

"N-no, nothing like that."

"Then were you just oblivious as to how much I actually want you and now that you know, you are willing to give me a chance?"

"Gellert…" Albus mumbled, sighing shakily and standing up. "Stop. Let's not do this please."

"Do what? Albus, come on" Gellert said, standing up as well. "Even your siblings know you're into me. Even my aunt knows."

"My… what?" Albus asked, his eyes widening, and Gellert tilted his head.

"Ariana is basically pushing me to you, and Aberforth has already threatened me" he chuckled, smirking. "Come on, everyone knows."

"They… they know?" Albus asked, his voice trembling, his stomach knotting up, hands shaking slightly. "N-no, they can't… they can't know, that's not… I… I've never given them any reason…"

"Albus… what are you on about?" Gellert asked, frowning, and Albus shook his head, covering his face with his hands.

"They can't… I never… They shouldn't know, no no, this is… this is a disaster" he mumbled, shakily, and suddenly Gellert was pulling his hands away from his face.

"Albus, they are not against it, if that's what is making you freak out…" Gellert mumbled, confused, and Albus groaned, pulling his hands away and stepping back.

"This is your fault!" he said, loudly, completely losing it. "If you hadn't arrived, if you hadn't come to Godric's Hollow, everything would have been fine!"

"Hey hey hey I'm not going to be attacked in my own house" Gellert said, firmly. "If you fancy me, it's not my fault. It's your own fault Dumbledore."

"I'm going. Enough of this" Albus said, looking around and finding his bag. It was wet, but he didn't care. He put it over his shoulders and walked towards the door of the bedroom. But Gellert didn't seem very keen to that idea.

"Oh no wait a second" he said, walking faster than Albus and standing between him and the door. "You're going to explain to me this internalized homophobia you're carrying around right now. You're not leaving my house until you give me an answer."

"Grindelwald, get out of my way" Albus huffed, angrily, but Gellert shook his head and crossed his arms.

"No way Dumbledore. I want an answer to my question."

"Fine. I'm not interested."

"An honest answer."

"It is an honest answer. I'm not interested."

"That's not an honest answer."

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because of this."

It was fast. Gellert leaned closer, held Albus by his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. A kiss that lasted less than seconds, that felt uncomfortable, that was only lips pressed against lips in a awkward position due to how 'in the heat of the moment' Gellert's decision had been, but still, it was a kiss.

A kiss that left both of them silent and frozen as they pulled away, their widened eyes locked, Gellert's hands still on Albus' neck.

The reaction came after a few seconds. They met in the middle, Albus' hands gripping onto Gellert's coat, pulling him closer, while Gellert's went to Albus' waist, pulling him in as he nibbled and licked the redhead's bottom lip, pulling out a moan from him and using his open mouth to deepen the kiss. Using his new found position, Gellert used his body to turn them around and push Albus against the door, all while sliding his hands underneath the coat he was wearing. Albus let out a soft sound into his mouth, hand sliding up to Gellert's hair and tangling his long fingers into the almost white hair, letting their bodies press together almost desperately.

They only pulled away when they needed to breathe, and Gellert immediately attached his mouth to Albus' pale neck, kissing and sucking and biting it down as he pulled off the goddamned wet backpack from Albus' shoulders. Then, he bit down Albus' pulse point, making him let out a gasp, shivers running down his spine at every kiss and scratch and bite Gellert left on his skin. Albus' hands moved down from his hair to his back, tugging onto his shirt, and Gellert seemed to understand exactly what it meant, taking his hands away from Albus to pull off his coat before returning for a kiss in the redhead's mouth.

The next to leave was Albus' borrowed coat, both getting onto the floor. Gellert pulled away, just enough to get a quick glimpse, and Albus looked at him through barely open eyes, his heart racing inside his chest, his stomach knotting up, his mind completely fuzzy with this weird sensation he had never felt before.

And when Gellert kissed him again, hard and hot and intense, he melted into his hold once more, wrapping his arms around his neck and scratching between Gellert's shoulders.

It was the best Albus had ever felt. Ever.