Two Can Play That Game
When she heard him call out �come in�, she carefully pushed the door open and walked in. Albus stood by the fire, wearing light cotton, summer robes in a deep, purple colour. �Hello Minerva, I�m so glad you�re here�, he said smiling. �Would you like some tea?�
�Yes, please�, she answered nervously. Carefully she sat down on a chair by the fire, watching as he busied himself with the teapot and cups.
Meanwhile Albus was chatting merrily. �I love those holidays, don�t you? The castle is all quiet and peaceful, no students around to cause havoc. It gives you time to get some things done you�ve wanted to do all year, but never found the time for.
I�ve cleaned out my desk today, it�s amazing how much mess a person can collect during the year�.
Without stopping one moment he handed her a steaming teacup and a biscuit. Minerva stared at him in horror. �You can�t do this to me�, she thought franticly, �you can�t just drive me almost insane first and then fall back in the �best friend- routine� again.
Albus sat down too and the both of them drank their tea and chatted about trivial matters, both trying to pretend nothing was going on.
He felt slightly nervous. Teasing her like this had been enormous fun. The most fun he had in moths actually. And then there was that kiss� That amazing, breathtaking, much too short kiss� All he wanted now was to take her in his arms and finish that kiss. But first he had to know how she felt about him. He still wasn�t completely sure.
The tension between them build. They both wanted to talk about it, but couldn�t found the words to bring the subject up. Finally Minerva had enough. If she sat here for one more minute avoiding eye contact she was going to scream. And she highly doubted that would help the matter. �How about that game of chess?� she asked rising to her feet.
Albus rose too and for a moment she caught his eye, but he looked away quickly, turning around to clean away the teacups.
And suddenly realisation dawned on her. He was nervous! Albus Dumbledore was actually nervous around her. The knot in her stomach magically disappeared and she felt the tension being lifted from her. It was time for some serious payback.
They both sat down at the chess table and the game began. Albus found it very hard to concentrate. Somehow she seemed to be much closer then normally when they were playing chess. He could actually smell her perfume.
And she was smiling. That was very unusual. Minerva never smiled while she was playing chess. She was always fully concentrated on the board in front of her, too caught up in the game to notice anything else. But now there was a constant smile playing around her lips which widened every time she glanced at him.
He almost jolted out of his chair when he felt her leg brush against his. She didn�t seem to notice anything and moved her bishop to take one of his pawns.
He cleared his throat before he spoke. �Would you like some more tea?�
His heart skipped a beat when she used the full force of her smile on him. �That would be lovely�.
He practically dashed back to the fireplace to make some tea.
As soon as he�d turned his back to her, Minerva�s smile grew evil. It was working! It was working beyond her expectations. She decided it was time for plan B. She reached to her hair and removed a few of the pins from her bun. Hastily she stuffed them in the pocket of her robes. Soon she felt her hair come down.
Albus turned around holding two cups in his hands. He looked at her in surprise. �Minerva, your hair��, he began.
Minerva reached to her hair and removed the remaining pins. �Oh dear�, she said innocently, �this happens every time I use those pins. They�re just no good�. She shook her head and her hair flew around her shoulders to her waist.
�Do you mind if I wear it down tonight?� she asked Albus sweetly. �I really don�t feel like pinning it up all over again�.
Albus swallowed hard, nearly dropping the cups. �She looks so different now�, he thought, �so beautiful�� Suddenly he became aware that he was staring at her like an idiot. Quickly recovering his senses he handed her a cup.
�No of course not�, he replied, wondering how her hair would feel between his fingers. �It looks wonderful�.
She blushed slightly, but smiled nevertheless. �Thank you�.
They continued their game of chess. More or less. Albus found he couldn�t concentrate at all anymore.
Ten minutes later he had lost spectacularly. He didn�t really mind.
Minerva insisted on clearing away the chess pieces. Albus moved back to his chair by the fire. Subconsciously he rubbed his neck. �What the hell had happened? At what point had he lost control of this little game and had Minerva taken the lead?
�Does your shoulder hurt?� Minerva asked softly from the table.
�Just sore muscles�, he answered, �I think I�ve slept in a wrong position or something�. Suddenly she was behind him and he felt her hands on his shoulders. Slowly she began to knead the tense muscles.
For a second, neither of them spoke, then Albus let out the breath he hadn�t realised he was holding. �What are you doing?�.
Minerva continued to massage him, a little firmer now. �Did you know Professor Dumbledore�, she said teasingly, �that you have knots in your shoulders instead of muscles?�.
Albus chuckled. Thankful for the thin summer robes, he began to relax under her touch. �That feels good�, he said after a while. �where did you learn this?�
Minerva merely grinned. �Wouldn�t you like to know?�.
She was lying if she said that this wasn�t having any effect on her. They were so close. She felt the heat of his skin through the material of his robes, how the knots eased away under her fingers. Gradually she moved her hands from his shoulders to the back of his neck.
Albus fought hard to control himself. She was too close. Way too close. He could definitely smell her perfume know, or was it the smell of her hair? He wasn�t sure. Her hands worked their own magic on him and he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time.
Finally he grasped one of her hands and rose to his feet. Looking straight in her eyes he leaned closer, until his lips almost brushed hers.
Then Fawkes made a little noise and Minerva stepped back. She glanced at the clock and smiled. �It�s almost midnight�, she said with a small sparkle in her eyes. �I think it�s time for me to go back�.
Glaring furiously at Fawkes, who shrank visibly, Albus walked her to the door. By the door he took hold of her arm. �Thank you for the massage�, he said.
�Any time�, she answered, moving a little closer to him.
Somehow the hand on his arm had found it�s way around her waist, pulling her to him. Carefully he touched her lips with his own. When she didn�t withdraw, he kissed her gently. Her arms moved up and she wrapped them around his neck. Drawing her even closer, he deepened the kiss, while he ran his other hand through her hair. �It feels like silk�, registered his mind vaguely. The kiss grew more and more passionate, but eventually, they had to come up for air. Reluctantly Albus broke the kiss.
�Minerva��, he began quietly.
But she disentangled herself gently from his embrace. With a smile at the corners of her lips she pressed a quick kiss to his mouth and whispered, �I really should go back now�.
With that she turned around and left, leaving Albus completely petrified by the door�
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