A/N: This was initially written for Albus Potter and Ivy Spinner (OC from my fic 'I'd Rather Not Talk About It'), but applies just as much to Rose and Scorpius, so enjoy it with either couple in mind, or your own OTP :)
She's quiet, hesitant, but notices everything. The first dandelion of spring, the songbirds of summer, the vivacious palette of fall, and most of all, the inexplicable bond between holly and ivy in the snow.
He meets her one day, in class of all places. They're both shy, and so avoid talking to each other. He supposes that she's pretty, but he has more pressing things on his mind.
She's terrified to talk to him, but they are paired to work together and hence become acquainted. He notices her but she's still just another girl, a dime in a dozen.
They become friends over time, the slow give and take that leads to camaraderie. Both sharing small parts of themselves, both accepting the other's flaws. She becomes a point of light in his life, and he brings out the best in her.
She's frustrated. She's had a difficult day and has a mountain of assignments ahead of her. When he comes to see her she snaps at him and he retorts, wounded but hiding the effect of the blow. They argue and part with angry words. She seeks him out later, full of remorse because she didn't want to hurt him.
She shoves him playfully. He answers with a wicked smirk, and shoves her back harder, tickling her sides. They continue, until she slips out of her seat and crumples on the floor. The smile instantly vanishes from his face and is replaced by an apology as he rushes to make sure she's okay.
They're nervous around each other. He doesn't know what to say and nor does she, and the most trivial happenstance becomes charged and awkward. They circle and dance endlessly, both too afraid to take a leap of faith.
She needs a distraction, she can't think clearly around him, and so she begins to see someone to keep her mind away from him, for even a moment. But nothing works, and what's more, he isn't there anymore for her to talk to or joke with.
His heart shatters into a million pieces when he watches them together - he knows that it was bound to happen, he knows that he should have said something sooner, but he didn't want to break what was already sacred to him. And so he withdraws, preferring silence over sorrow.
She hates not being near him, she can't keep her mind off of him, her best friend, and so she decides to take the leap of faith. She corners him one evening, and is ready to demand an explanation for his distance when she sees his eyes. His tired, defeated, but still bright eyes. And she realizes with a sinking feeling that she's the one who's caused those dark circles, like delicate bruises, to appear under his eyes.
He waits for her to speak, wary but hopeful, and does his best to quell the spark that alights in his chest. She asks him, in her quiet way, if they can be friends after all that she's done to him, and he so wants to say no, just to make her feel a small part of what he's felt, but he knows that in the end, it isn't pettiness that matters.
They sit together in the sunshine, lost in each other. Their linked hands and staring eyes convey everything that they want to say. Neither speaks, neither wants to break the spell. Before he can lose his nerve, he closes the infinitesimal chasm between them, ever so faintly touching his lips to hers.
When he kisses her, time seems to slow to a standstill. He is the only person in her world, and she hesitantly moves her hand up into his hair, ensnaring him. She responds to him with a passion and fervor that has built up over the years, and he reciprocates with sweetness and gentleness, as he always does when he's with her.
Holly and ivy, their fates are twined together. Ever shifting like leaves in the wind, grounded by one another as though foretold by the magic of nature.
