Characters: Rose & Scorpius

Summary: There is something very warm about him...

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When you first meet him, you think of midnight, caffeine and vampires. The rings under his eyes and his overwhelming arrogance terrify you.

The second time you meet him, you can only think of the words on the paper in front of you. You think of hot chocolate and laughter and home and you forget his piercing gaze.

The next time you see him, you lift your chin in the air and try to squash the lead in your stomach. His appraising sneer freezes your brain and your tongue. You look away.

You'll see him again and again, for painfully long hours that stretch out before you like a sea of ice. It brings all the hidden anxieties and fears and insecurities to the front of your mind and suddenly you're just a little girl in a world of sophisticated adults.

And one day, one day you just feel the ice crack. You're sitting across from him and suddenly the words just burst out of your mouth, like hot vitriol.

You're the fire, and he's the ice.

Your insides ignite every time you see him, you're spitting flames. If he thinks he can take you down without a fight, he's got another thing coming.

The fourth last time you meet him, he melts just a little and you're surprised to find that you're pleasantly surprised.

The third last time you meet him, there is no more flame-throwing or icy daggers. You're not sure who's losing – is he warming a bit or are you cooling?

The second last time you meet him, you think of summer evenings and thunder. You see his approving gaze and you know he can feel yours.

Suddenly your insides are igniting for very different reasons and you're glowing with the heat of it.

The very last time you meet him, the minutes slip away and he's ever so gently wrapped around you and you feel his warmth seeping into your soul and you're on fire and he's on fire and you wonder if you were ever the fire and he was the ice, because he's so very warm in that moment.

You'll see him again, when the summer months have stretched by and he has frozen over, and the cycle will begin all over again.

But somehow, you know exactly where the cracks in his icy façade are.

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Sadly, this was inspired by a very recent experience. In fact, to be honest, I wrote this about two entirely different people (who exist in reality, not in a fictional universe, haha) and it made me think of Rose & Scorpius. I've never written them before, and I'm not a particularly dedicated supporter of them, but somehow, this just made me think of them... :)