There was a nervous silence that settled around them, his eyes blown wide as he watched for Basil’s reaction. He’d felt his hands against his own hips before he’d stepped backward, and when the other stepped forward, Gus did the same, lessening the distance between them. He wanted to reach forward, cup his cheeks and kiss him again, but instead his fingers curled around the edges of his sleeves. His heart still beat heavily in his chest, and for once he was pleased with the cage his ribs kept it in. Of all the bloody emotions he could have revealed to Basil, it had to be the one he was trying hard to kill and bury. It couldn’t have been frustration or anger at the world. They both knew he was still in love with Basil, and if he were to say he was trying to fall out of it, they might as well mark him as a liar.

Gus eyed the wand nervously in the brunette’s hand hand as he held his own up in surrender, his own wand still tucked away in his robes. Their reactions to each other, spell stricken or not, had proved to be catastrophic, and while he wasn’t going to blame himself for this one, he could only hold his breath as he watched Basil, waiting for the spell or the sudden excuse of having to leave. He wouldn’t blame him - they were both good at running away instead of facing each other. Not instantly finding a spell to face, Gus deliberately moved slowly. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks once again tinged pink, the color seeping between his freckles until he felt like he was glowing.

Gus bit his lower lip as Basil finally seemed to come to life, spurting out a few words that must have made sense in his mind. “I-“ But nothing followed suit. If there was an apology against his lips, it was dead, buried and mourned. Tilting his head, he could only wonder what conversation he’d just missed and what he had said in response to man. Whatever had been silently said seemed to satisfy him, and Gus dumbly nodded his head at the prospect of moving on with the task at hand. Guess they weren’t going to talk about it just yet, which suited him just fine.

The hedges separated and Gus followed him through. In front of them was something different than the previous rooms: a marsh, stood in front of them, the pools of water gently, and shallow. The room too, was loud. “I borrowed them, and have to return them to the ministry.” Gus found himself explaining, gesturing broadly to the space in front of them, as of that provided all the answers he needed. The path to the door was straight, although there were a few hinkypunks scattered about to mislead them for their path toward much bigger bodies of water, although above waist level.  One of their lanterns glowed few paces in front of them, silently beckoning them to follow.  A grindylow lurked in the water, the little horns peeking just above the surface before it dove back in, waiting. A few other creatures were milling about, yet to be seen by the pair.

Gus tugged his wand free, just in case.

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