The Proverbial Queen

It was terrible good luck. Without a doubt the most wonderful thing to ever fall into his lap.

If it was true.

The young wizard paced his room, his thoughts going faster, almost, than he could interpret them. "Oh, Albus, Albus, Albus…" A grin came to his face as he said the words.

He certainly hoped it was true, or the plans wildly flinging themselves through his mind would be shattered into almost irreparable pieces. It was a risky operation, but the ahh, the spoils would be grand…

"My dear Albus," Gellert laughed slightly, small feet pivoting to pace the cluttered room once more, "What a gift indeed."

He'd not believed it when he'd first seen it, and that had taken longer than usual. Albus was a smart man, a careful man, but luckily for Gellert he was letting his excitement get the better of him and slipping up. It was even still hardly to be believed, but he had seen the signs before from the girls he'd met. Eye contact and the avoidance of were erratic, touches were not returned, but never avoided, the slight shaking or hesitation when they were forced to touch each other…well, Albus had the good nature to not be so gauche as to blush, most of the time.

And it wasn't as though the German wizard had taken it lightly. He had needed to know exactly what he was dealing with. It hadn't taken much of a push, just a subtle change in behavior. When he stood over Albus's shoulder he would lean in, just slightly touching and gauge the reaction. A friendly arm would be casually slung over the other man's shoulder at a random moment. As they read or talked he would lean on the other man or, in the case of his most recent experiment, lie down and place his head in the red headed man's lap.

All signs pointed to yes. The way Albus froze up, the nervous smile a touch elicited, the way that, when touched, his reading time slowed incredibly. If Gellert was right, and it certainly seemed so, Albus had taken to him more than he had originally thought. Albus was infatuated.

It was wonderful. It was the in he needed to surpass the other's doubts. The hesitation and lack of passion that occurred when it came to the messier parts of the operation would be gone. The looks that Albus gave him, unhappy and slightly disgusted or disturbed, when he spoke certain phrases or made a particular plan would dissipate. He had spent so long worrying how to keep Albus, terrified the man would begin to slip from his grasp when things began to fall into place. He showed every sign of one who would begin to get cold feet.

But a romantic bond…yes, that would certainly do the trick for the secluded genius. No doubt Albus had never been in any sort of a relationship, he would never have settled for anything less than what was his own level. And now that he had it, yes, it all made sense now.

It was falling into place so nicely. It was as though it was meant to be. As if destiny itself desired for Gellert to succeed.

He would not let go of Albus, he had known that much the moment they had spoken. So talented and brilliant, wasted caring after an invalid and a goat herding fool. The thirst in Albus for knowledge and power so great it near rivaled his own. And more so the thirst for a peer, something that only Gellert could truly provide him.

He would need to be quick; the window of opportunity was small. No doubt if he waited too long Alus would stop and think about the infatuation and chalk it down to his desperate need for a peer. No, Gellert turned on his heel; he could not let it remain as just infatuation. He need more. He needed romance.

It would not be hard, certainly. Albus was no ugly man with his long, straight, auburn hair and clear blue eyes. And though Gellert had little patience for them, his hormones certainly still did run amok in his body. Albus would take care of that, two birds with one stone. It would make things even easier. Instead of silencing a protest to a key point in his plan with a placation or needing to find more ambiguous ways to phrase it he could simply silence Albus with a touch or a kiss. He had seen the method before, and it appeared far more effective.

And most importantly; Albus would be his. All of that power, all of that talent and all of that brilliance would belong to him and no one else. It would be all at his disposal to use how he wished because he would have the ultimate bargaining chip to deal with.

Gellert stopped pacing, his grin widening at a pile of letters from the other genius. Yes, it was the perfect solution. He would have Albus as his to mold and to use.

He had planned on taking a wife at some point in his reign and had assumed that Albus would have similar plans, but this was even better. Less people, less of a chance for betrayal. And less people he would need to keep alive eternally. Albus was the perfect replacement for that shadowy woman who he had vaguely decided to take. Albus was intelligent and powerful and integral to him. Physically he was as attractive as anyone had ever really been to Gellert, and intellectually he was the most attractive person the wizard had ever met.

Yes, it was perfect. He would be the King of his empire and Albus would be no adviser or lesser man, no, Albus would be the proverbial Queen, although he certainly wouldn't tell the man that. He would be the one to help Gellert rule, support and protect him, build him up. And all he needed to give to Albus was the illusion of love. And with the admiration and kinship he felt towards the wizard that would hardly be his most challenging feat.

They would get what the wanted. Albus the love Gellert was sure the other had convinced himself was impossible and Gellert would get the most powerful chess piece on the board.

It was so perfect Gellert could hardly fathom it. The blonde haired man turned to lie down in his bed, snuffing out the candle on his way, though he knew he would get no sleep at all. Instead he would lie awake, planning the best way to make it happen in this small window of opportunity. The most efficient way to convince and seduce his proverbial Queen.

A/N - Ohhh, Dumbledore...this is why you don't fall in love with an evil genius. They use you like there's no tomorrow =D

So, jumping on the bandwagon a little late but srsly, I am in love with with pairing. They are the greatest thing since...screw sliced bread. I'd slice it myself for some grindeldore! But I love love love them, and this is how I immagine it with Dumbledore all "I love you Gellert" and meaning it and Gellert all "I love you too, Albus" and manipulating him and lying like no one business. And then later on in Nuremgaurd he realizes just how much he threw away for power. And in the (in canon but not really there????) afterlife they get together and have hot manlove. As their younger selves. Yeaaaah...