#can2

It’s quiet when Pythia gets home. No laughter and soft meows as Icesis plays with Apollo, or the clang of Icesis trying to make dinner, or the whir of Icesis’s sewing machine. Instead, she’s on the couch, curled up tight with Apollo at her feet, like he knows something is wrong. And something definitely is; Icesis hasn’t stirred or acknowledged Pythia, and that stress line is there between her eyebrows. 

“What’s wrong?” Pythia hovers by the couch. “Is it your anxiety? Do you feel sick? Did work suck and make you want to punch your boss in the face and light the whole building on fire? Because I’ve been there.”

A hesitant smile appears on Icesis’s face, and Pythia’s heart lightens a little. “Are you trying to comfort me with ideas of arson?”

“If it works.” 

“Do you have a lot of thoughts about arson?” Icesis asks, teasing a little.

“I’ve never seriously contemplated it.” Pythia rolls their eyes. “But you work retail in a department store all summer and try not to fantasize about punching your boss and torching the place.”

“That’s fair.” Icesis gives a full smile, softening the stress in her face. 

Pythia strokes her hair gently. “Seriously though, whatever you need to feel better, let me know. Preferably something legal.”

Icesis fiddles with her sleeve. “It’s stupid.”

“I’m sure it’s not.”

“Would you mind just holding me for a little while? You don’t have to.”

But Pythia is already joining her on the couch, opening their arms and wrapping Icesis inside them like a blanket. They draw her close to their chest with one arm around her and the other rubbing her back, trying to soothe the stress out of her. 

“Work sucked,” Icesis admits finally. “But I don’t feel like talking about it now.”

Pythia nods. They’re not going to make Icesis talk if she doesn’t want to. “That’s fine. We’ll just stay here for a bit.” 

“Did you see the new reward the king and queen are offering to rescue Pythia?” Kendall asks Icesis.

Icesis sips her water. All anyone has been talking about for weeks is Pythia, adult child of the king and queen of Elterash, kidnapped by the king’s enemy, Lord Ather. Pictures of Pythia have followed Icesis from planet to planet, staring at her tirelessly. Even here, on Icesis’s home planet, in her favorite restaurant, Pythia’s eyes burn a hole in Icesis’s head. She’s sick of looking at them.

“How much?”

“Ten thousand gold pieces. You should do it.”

Icesis nearly spits out her drink. She’s never done a smuggling job for that much–-has never dreamt of doing a smuggling job for that much. “I smuggle goods, Kendall, not people.”

Kendall shrugs. “It’s the same idea.”

“I don’t need a risk like that. Besides, everyone in the galaxy will be trying to rescue them and get that reward.”

“Yeah, but you’re good at what you do. You could rescue them first.”

Icesis shrugs, trying to hide how much she wants to attempt this rescue mission. Ten thousand gold pieces means she won't have to do so many smuggling jobs, won’t have to spend weeks at a mechanic’s shop working off repairs her ship needs. She would be set, free to explore the galaxy and do anything she wants. At the very least, she’ll stop seeing that picture of Pythia everywhere.

It would involve sneaking onto the Titan–-the biggest, deadliest, best-guarded ship in the galaxy. But Icesis has gotten herself out of bad situations before. She’s won duels against people bigger and stronger. She once smuggled thousands of jewels off an embassy ship. She really could do this.

Icesis isn’t just good at what she does–she’s the best. So when she decides she’s going to rescue Pythia, it isn’t a matter of if.

It’s a matter of when.

—

The when comes roughly a week later, after Icesis sets a plan. In her travels across the galaxy, she’s done enough to plan any job she needs to do, and this one, though bigger, is no different.

A trade of rare spices she smuggled gets her ship stocked with fuel and supplies. Intercepting a jewel shipment gets her a rough layout of the Titan’s insides. A day of work for the travel commission gets her the Titan’s trajectory, so her ship, Northstar, can meet them between planets. Her ship next to theirs is an ant beside a giant, but small is what she needs. Small means she can go unnoticed, her ship pulling into the docking station the Titan uses for its own ships. From then she has to move through the ship until she finds the cells in the lower part of it. She’s in control now, quick and graceful, with the confidence and stealth that years of sneaking around has given her.

For all the talk about the Titan being the best-guarded ship in the galaxy, she doesn’t meet a single guard until she reaches the cells. There are two at the hall entrance, five more down the hall, and a final two outside a door that must have Pythia behind it. They’re indistinguishable to her, in their identical black uniforms, blaster guns in hand. She can do this. She’s made it this far, after all.

She takes a breath and runs.

Guards fall at her feet as she fires with her blaster gun, dodging their shots. In mere seconds, all the guards are down and she’s at the cell door. It’s controlled by a screen in the wall, and she grabs one of the unconscious guards and presses his hand to it, grinning when it glows green. The door slides open, and Icesis runs inside—

Something slams into her shoulder, pain jolting down her arm. “Ow! What the hell?” She hisses, rubbing her shoulder and spinning around to find who hit her.

Pythia is in the corner of the room, still holding the metal tray they hit Icesis with. Their black hair is messy, hazel eyes narrowed, and they’re much prettier than the photos Icesis has seen. So pretty she forgets the throbbing in her shoulder for a second.

“Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?” Pythia lowers the tray and crosses their arms. There’s no excitement, or relief, or anything Icesis would expect from someone who’s getting rescued from this suffocating cell.

“I’m Icesis, Your Highness—is it Highness?—and I’m here to rescue you, duh.”

“Well, I don’t need rescuing.”

Icesis gestures to the cell. “You obviously do.”

“I’ve been working on escape ideas.”

“Like attacking whoever came in here with a tray?” Icesis asks, and Pythia at least looks a little sheepish.

“I would’ve gotten out eventually.”

Icesis stops herself from arguing. She’s already been on this ship too long, and it’s growing riskier by the second. She needs to get Pythia out of here and back to their home planet, where that reward will be hers.

Before she can get Pythia out the door, an alarm blares, followed by thudding footsteps.

“More guards are coming. Let’s go,” Icesis says.

Pythia takes a step, then stops. “Why should I trust you?”

Icesis sighs. She never thought convincing Pythia to be rescued would be harder than sneaking onto the damn ship. “Look, those guards are coming, and that’s not gonna end well for you. I’m the best option you have right now.” It makes sense to Icesis, and she sees Pythia’s head spinning as they reach the same conclusion.

“Fine.”

Icesis grips her blaster. “Just stay behind me.” She creeps into the corridor, moving quickly over the white floor.

Blasters fire after them, and she throws herself in front of Pythia. It burns down her back and side, but she needs to get Pythia back in one piece. They reach the docking port, where Icesis’s ship is waiting. She ushers Pythia inside, sprinting to the captain’s chair after them and setting the ship toward her planned route away from here. She turns on the extra thrusters, getting them miles away before the Titan can send anyone after them. When the ship is finally a speck in the distance, Icesis collapses in her seat.

“So now what?” Pythia asks, and Icesis jumps. She’s always been alone on her ship, never had anyone sneaking up on her and talking. “You dump me back home?”

“Yes. We’ll be there in three or four days.”

Pythia nods, still disinterested.

“This is the cockpit,” Icesis continues, unsure if she should keep talking. “There’s two bunks behind us. Bathroom’s across from the bunks.”

Pythia slips into the lower bunk while Icesis tends to her burns from the blaster. She can’t reach her back, but she bandages her side and shakes her head at the bruise on her shoulder from Pythia. That gold will be worth it.

Pythia is already asleep when she finishes. Again, Icesis marvels at how much more real Pythia looks in person than on those posters. One hand is tucked under their chin and their chest rises and falls gently, mesmerizing Icesis with their even breaths. Icesis snaps herself out of it and reaches for the blanket in her bunk. It’s the only blanket on the ship; Icesis has never had need for two. She tosses it over Pythia and settles into the captain’s chair, watching the night pass.

—

Pythia wakes up in a bed that’s not theirs, covered in a blanket that’s also not theirs. It’s made of blue wool, worn and somehow softer than all the fancy silks in their kingdom.

The past hours rush back to them. Sitting in that cell and being rescued by Icesis, roaring in with guns blazing like some hero. And now put on this rusty old ship that’s going to bring Pythia back to the last place they want to go. Pythia sighs and shuffles out of the bunk.

Icesis is still in the cockpit, staring out the window. There’s bags under her eyes and Pythia doesn’t think she slept.

“So, how much did my parents offer you to rescue me?”

Icesis jumps at the noise. “What makes you think there’s money involved?”

Pythia rolls their eyes. “There’s no way you went to all this trouble out of the goodness of your heart. Come on, what are they paying?”

Icesis bites her lip. “Ten thousand gold pieces. They offered it to whoever brings you back.”

“Thought I’d be worth more,” they say dryly. “Ather wanted my father’s kingdom as ransom. I heard one of the guards say it. And my father paid someone to find me instead.”

Icesis frowns, looking at Pythia in concern. “You seem pretty…calm for someone who was kidnapped.”

Pythia shrugs. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The cell was small and the food sucked, but other than that it was the same as sitting in my room all day.” At least they got to go somewhere. On Elterash, they never left the kingdom at all. Just day after day staring at the same walls, following every rule their parents gave. “Is there food here?”

“Oh, right.” Icesis scrambles over to the far corner of the ship, which is a tiny kitchen with a small table and a chair. She digs around in a cabinet and pours some coffee into a small machine, handing Pythia a steaming mug seconds later. “It won’t taste like royal coffee, Your Eminence. Or whatever your title is.”

Your Highness is the correct title, but Pythia doesn’t tell her that. They like seeing what she comes up with, how she throws out titles like a game and treats Pythia like a person instead of a royal. They take a cautious sip of the coffee. It’s so strong it’s like a punch in the face, but it’s not bad. “It’s good.”

Icesis resumes her digging, and Pythia realizes she’s looking for another mug. Icesis must really be used to being on her own, if she only has one mug. Her black shirt rides up as she searches, revealing a red mark that looks like a burn.

“Is that from the blaster?”

Icesis quickly lowers her shirt. “Yeah. I couldn’t reach it to bandage it. It’s fine.”

“I’ll do it,” Pythia says. “It’s my fault you got hurt.” Seeing the mark shifts something inside them, and even though Icesis is annoying, she did throw herself in front of a blaster for them, and that’s more than anyone has ever done.

“I said it’s fine.”

“And I said I’ll do it.”

Icesis sighs and brings over a burn cream and some bandages before turning her back to Pythia and lifting her shirt. Two round burns dot her back, the edges blistered. There are other marks on her skin, old lines that have healed. Yesterday definitely wasn’t the first time she’s been hit with a blaster. They wonder how many of these wounds had to heal without care, because Icesis couldn’t reach them and didn’t have anyone to help her. Pythia’s fingertips ghost over the hard muscles on Icesis’s back, and it’s a few seconds before they remember what they’re doing. They spread on the cream and carefully tape a bandage over it. Icesis stands completely still, but goosebumps break out on her skin from the touch.

“All done.”

“Thanks,” Icesis says shyly, resuming her search and finding another mug.

Pythia just nods, their fingers still tingling.

—

Hours pass as Pythia lays on the lower bunk, trying to form a plan that doesn’t involve them being brought back to their parents. If they can convince Icesis to land somewhere, maybe they can escape. It’s worth a shot. They walk to Icesis, dragging the kitchen chair over partly so they have somewhere to sit in the single-person cockpit and partly to make noise so Icesis doesn’t jump when they speak.

Their plan falls apart when they see the stars glowing through the cockpit window, mouth dropping in awe.

“The stars look so different up here,” Pythia says.

Icesis smiles, and Pythia likes it far more than they should. “Best view in the galaxy.”

“It’s like they’re close enough to touch.” Pythia has never seen anything like this, never seen the stars so bright.

“Yeah. I like it up here.”

“You’ve been doing this a while, then? Doing, um, whatever your official title is?”

Icesis actually laughs, a softer, higher sound than Pythia expected, and they’d do anything to hear it again. “I’m a smuggler. That’s about as official as it gets.”

“What kind of things do you do?” Pythia didn’t intend to get this interested, but it’s so nice having someone to talk to.

“People hire me for different jobs all over the galaxy. I get stuff for them–-tools, clothes, whatever. Medical supplies for this health clinic to give out for free. Food for my friend’s restaurant. I like helping people.”

It’s the most Icesis has said at once, and Pythia smiles despite their annoyance at speeding back home. For all Icesis’s cool bluster, there’s warmth in her, pulling Pythia in and making them want to learn more.

“You must’ve been to so many places,” Pythia says softly. What they would give to have seen the planets Icesis has seen, to be free like this, no one to tell you what to do.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been to desert planets and frozen planets. One planet that was dark all the time. And planets with really cool lizards in different colors!” She laughs again, and Pythia joins her.

“And you do the smuggling alone?”

“I do everything alone.” There’s a hint of sadness there, one Icesis tries to hide by sipping her cold coffee.

“I do too,” Pythia says softly, wanting to comfort her somehow.

Icesis nods in understanding, though the nod quickly becomes a yawn.

“Shouldn’t you sleep?” Pythia asks.

“Someone needs to make sure we don’t crash.”

“Can’t you just…land somewhere? So you can sleep?”

“It’ll delay getting you back,” Icesis says, like Pythia cares.

“That’s fine.”

“My home planet isn’t far,” Icesis says finally. “We can touch down for the night.”

They touch down in a valley on Northan an hour later, and Icesis climbs into the bunk above Pythia, barely grunting good night before she’s asleep. Part of Pythia itches to run now, run and never go home again, but going out into an unfamiliar planet with unknown dangers, especially at night, isn’t a good idea. In the morning, they’ll figure out a way to keep Icesis here, and then run.

Icesis sighs in her sleep, and Pythia almost feels bad about tricking her.

Almost.

—

Icesis blinks awake, feeling more rested than she has in a while. Maybe it’s the familiarity of being home, despite the unfamiliarity of someone in that bunk below her. Her stomach growls, dreaming of the breakfast cakes and eggs at Kendall’s restaurant. Whenever she’s home, she eats there instead of on the ship. She’ll have to take Pythia; she can’t just leave them here. But they’ll need a disguise.

“I have a place we can eat, but we have to disguise you. Can you put these on?” She hands Pythia a hat and scarf.

“You mean we get to leave the ship? And go places?” Pythia leaps to their feet, excited for the first time Icesis has seen.

“Yeah. I don’t know how exciting it’ll be for you here, Your Majesty–-”

Pythia shakes their head. “I’ve never been anywhere. It’ll be fun.”

“You’ve never been anywhere?” Icesis asks. She couldn’t imagine being stuck in one place, never seeing the deep rivers and tall mountains, never seeing the stars just out of reach beyond her window.

“No. My parents don’t let me.” Pythia tugs on the hat and scarf, looking away from Icesis. “Let’s go.”

Pythia is like a little kid as they leave the valley and enter the city, spinning around to see all the shops and people they pass before reaching the restaurant.

“Hey, Kendall.”

Kendall’s face lights up when she sees Pythia at her side. “Wait, you’re with someone? Icesis, you made a friend!”

Icesis shushes Kendall as Pythia snickers. “This is that…smuggling job you told me about,” Icesis whispers.

Kendall’s eyes widen. “Oh.” She recovers quickly and points them toward the corner booth.

Icesis fidgets in the seat. She always sits at the counter, but it’s more than that. She gazes across the table at Pythia and realizes it’s been years since she’s eaten with someone like this. She’s been on her own what seems like forever. In a few days, she’ll be back to that. She won’t have to deal with Pythia’s company, even if it isn’t as horrible as she thought it would be. There’s something about Pythia that she likes, really—how they tease her, how they seem to understand her, how they treat her like an equal even though they’re royalty. Icesis has never met anyone who could keep up with her, and she finds herself pushing away the thought of their upcoming goodbye.

“What do you eat here?”

Icesis smirks as Pythia cluelessly browses the menu. “I always get these cakes Kendall makes. They have nuts and fruit.”

Pythia nods eagerly, and when the plate comes, they cut themself a delicate piece like a proper royal. Though there’s nothing proper about the gasp they let out after they eat.

“Can we get more?” Pythia asks breathlessly.

Icesis snorts. “Sure.”

Soon the table is covered in plates as Pythia tries some of everything, and Icesis quickly sees that this won’t be the silent eating she’s used to, since Pythia raves about every bite. Icesis just rolls her eyes at their antics and eats her food–-

“Did you steal my bacon?”

Pythia looks up mid-chew. “Maybe.”

“Unbelievable. And I thought I was the smuggler here.”

Pythia laughs and asks for another order of bacon, and they eat until the plates are spotless.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Wait!” Pythia jumps up frantically. “Can’t we stay? Or stop somewhere else?”

“I should get you back,” Icesis says. This little delay was more than enough; Icesis wants her gold.

Pythia tugs at their dark curls. “But what’s another day? You already have me, it’s not like someone else can bring me back and get the reward.”

That is true, Icesis will admit. She’s already done the work; she just has to finish the job. A day doesn’t matter, and she knows Pythia will be a stubborn pain in the ass if she doesn’t just agree now. “Well, I guess one day won’t hurt. There’s a festival on the other side of Northan tomorrow. We can go to that.”

Pythia’s cheer makes the delay worth it.

—

“What does this button do?”

Icesis swats at their hand. “Don’t touch it!”

Pythia snorts to themself. They can’t help it–-teasing Icesis like this, watching her cheeks flush, is just too fun. Especially after they managed to convince her on another delay, one where they’ll definitely be able to escape. A crowded festival is better than anything Pythia could have planned.

“You’re abusing my ship. It’s bad enough that you’re in the cockpit with my kitchen chair,” Icesis grumbles.

Pythia looks around at the scuffed floor and dents in the walls. “Looks like this thing has already seen its share of abuse.”

“Excuse you, this ship has character.”

“Is that the Northan term for rust?”

Icesis pouts in her chair, looking more like a kitten than anything scary.

“What does this button do?”

“Pythia!”

—

“Hey.” Icesis stands in front of Pythia’s bunk, wringing her hands like she’s still unused to talking to people, and Pythia’s heart tugs with affection. “There’s gonna be a meteor shower in a few minutes. If you’re into that.”

“Of course I am!” Pythia sprints to the cockpit, settling in as the first meteor streams across the deep black sky. The meteor glows pearly white, shiny in the center and hazy at the edges, and Pythia’s mouth drops. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“I thought you’d like it,” Icesis says shyly. Pythia couldn’t imagine Icesis doing this the first night on the ship, when she barely talked. But she seems at ease tonight, her face softer, eyes hopeful as she watches Pythia. Her hand rests on the armrest, and Pythia has to hold themself back from reaching out to hold it, to connect them in this moment, with meteors lighting up the world. It feels special to be here right now, with Icesis at their side, like the two of them are the only ones in the entire universe, sharing this perfect moment.

When the moment ends, Pythia blames the tears in their eyes on the dust.

—

Pythia runs out of the ship once it touches down, taking off down a crowded path lined with merchants selling all sorts of food and clothes and trinkets.

“Wait up! You’re always running everywhere, I have bad knees as it is.” Icesis pants as she catches up, and Pythia loses their own breath when they see her.

Icesis has her black hair pulled back and the sleeves of her black shirt rolled up, and her forearms are so distracting that Pythia almost falls on a stand where a merchant sells hats. They snatch up a bright orange one. “You should wear this,” they say to Icesis. “Break up that all-black wardrobe.”

Icesis shoves the hat away. “Black is a fine color.”

“I was wondering: do you have one black shirt, or a bunch of the same one?”

Icesis scowls, but her eyes are light. “I have a bunch of the same one. I also have a few gray shirts, I’ll have you know.”

Pythia laughs, running to more stands. Being here, surrounded by people and their happiness, Pythia feels free. Free to do whatever they want without their parents scrutinizing their every move, without their criticism. Out here, warmed by the sun, a blur of colors around them, home is the farthest it's ever been. The reminder of home stings, and if they never want to go back, they have to run. They take one last look at Icesis, at her dark eyes that soften around Pythia, and they run.

The ground is hard under their feet, but everything inside them is light. Pure light and freedom, forever.

They don’t hear footsteps behind them. They don’t see the man in black trailing along their side. They don’t realize anything until something slams against the back of their head, and then everything goes dark.

—

Icesis trudges through the festival, head spinning around for Pythia. She shouldn’t have let them go so far, but they said they’ve never been anywhere, and Icesis at least wanted her to have a good time here. But now they’ve completely disappeared, and it’s making Icesis’s chest tight. She steps on something, and realizes it’s the scarf she used to disguise Pythia.

This isn’t good. This definitely isn’t good. Her chest squeezes around her pounding heart, and the sound of people shoving each other does nothing to calm her nerves. She spins around in time to see three men in black carry someone in white toward a ship that quickly roars into the sky. Icesis knows–-she knows–-that they have Pythia. She didn't think of the others who would be attempting the rescue, and now Pythia is in danger.

Icesis sprints to her ship in the next second. It’s her fault those men have Pythia, and she can’t let them get hurt because of it. Can’t let those men take her reward, though she hasn’t even thought of that gold in over a day. She jumps in the captain’s chair and takes off. There isn’t time for a plan, but Icesis knows she can’t attack the ship in the sky–-it’s too risky with Pythia on board. Icesis needs to meet them on Elterash, keep the battle on the ground.

Plan set, she starts towards Elterash, ignoring the kitchen chair left besides her own. Pythia has only been here a few days, yet somehow the ship seems empty without them. The silence that was once second nature to Icesis is suddenly suffocating, unsettling. She misses Pythia, misses their teasing and talking and laughing, and she didn’t think that was possible. Didn’t think it was possible that she would ever wish for someone’s company, but Pythia really seems to like her, like being around with her.

As Icesis cuts through the night sky without sleep, she’s starting to think the same is true of her.

—

Icesis knows her way around the galaxy, and she touches down near the kingdom on Elterash a few minutes before the men. She hides her ship and ducks behind some shrubs, ready to spring into action when the men land. Her blaster is in hand, and the second the door of their ship opens, she jumps inside, taking out the captain with rapid hits.

“Pythia, where are you?” This ship is bigger than hers, and she can’t find Pythia anywhere. The second man fires and hits her arm while she’s distracted. She dodges another hit and knocks him out with the butt of her blaster.

There’s just one man left, and Icesis is ready for him, shooting before he can and running deeper into the ship, calling for Pythia. There’s a locked metal door around the corner, and Icesis blasts the lock off, yanking the door open. Her wild eyes meet Pythia’s, and Icesis’s heart settles down for the first time in over a day, her chest able to accept a deep breath.

“Icesis! You–you came for me.” Pythia looks up at her in sheer relief, sheer wonder, and Icesis knows. The reward doesn’t matter to her anymore. All that matters is that Pythia is okay.

“Yeah, I did.” She flashes them a smile. “I’m a dashing smuggler, Your Grace. It’s what I do.”

Pythia crushes her in a hug, and though Icesis stiffens at first, unused to the physical contact, she quickly relaxes into it, her hand running up and down Pythia’s back. Everything feels normal again with Pythia in her arms, and she doesn’t want to let go.

“Are you okay?” she asks when Pythia pulls back.

Pythia nods shakily. “They didn’t do anything, just locked me in here until they could get their money.” They gently touch the burn on Icesis’s arm. “You’re hurt again.”

“It’s pretty common in my line of work.”

Pythia smiles, but it quickly fades. “Icesis, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay?”

“I don’t want to go home.” Pythia’s voice shakes and tears spring in their eyes. “My parents treat me like a child. They don’t let me leave. They control everything I do and wear and say. I don’t want to go back there, ever.” They bury their face in their hands, and Icesis’s heart breaks.

It makes sense now–-Pythia caring less about their own rescue, trying to stall Icesis so much. How they understood Icesis’s loneliness, why they loved her adventures so much. They don’t want to go back. A weight settles in Icesis’s chest. If she doesn’t bring Pythia back, she won’t get her gold. But if she does bring Pythia back, they’ll be back to suffering under their parents’ rule. She thinks of how happy Pythia was when they had breakfast, how they looked around at all the merchants with such excitement. Can Icesis take that away from them for a sack of gold? Gold she doesn’t even care about anymore?

Icesis takes a breath. “I’ll take you anywhere you want.”

“You will?”

Icesis nods.

“But you won’t get the reward.”

“I’m aware of that,” Icesis says dryly. Her face softens as she watches Pythia smile. “I’m not gonna make you go back there if you don’t want to. I–I care about you.” Her cheeks burn at such an admission, but it’s true. She does care about Pythia, when she’s never really cared about anyone.

“Can I–can I stay with you?” Pythia asks, their cheeks also burning red.

“Yes,” Icesis says, surprised at how right the words feel in her heart. “I would like that, actually.”

“Me too.” Pythia is in her arms again, and Icesis doesn’t want to let them go.

—

“Icesis, is this necessary?” Pythia tugs at the scarf around their eyes as Icesis lets them into the cockpit.

“Yes. You need to be surprised when you see the new repair.” Icesis tugs away the blindfold, and Pythia gasps.

Icesis has installed a second captain’s chair, right beside hers.

Pythia knew Icesis was hesitant about them traveling together, that she was so used to being alone she was unsure about having someone there. But this chair is proof that Icesis does want them, that she likes Pythia enough to let them end her solitude. That Pythia has someone to end their solitude too.

The galaxy is theirs, for the first time ever. Pythia can do whatever they want, go wherever they want. Freedom and excitement they’ve never known blooms in their chest. Maybe they’ll stop home someday, just for the satisfaction of telling their parents that they’re never coming back. But that’s someday, and right now, they want to be here with Icesis. To travel with her, and talk to her, and share themself with her.

“Thank you, Icesis. I love it.”

The second she felt her head start to hurt, Pythia knew she was fucked. It was too early in the morning to deal with this, and they had a painting date scheduled at Icesis’s apartment in a couple of hours. A migraine was not supposed to be on the agenda for the day.

They rolled out of their bed, going to get her migraine medication, downing the big white pills with Gatorade and getting a glass of water to also drink so they could stay as hydrated as possible. Her doctor had given them a whole list of what to do as soon as her head started hurting, which she never ends up doing until it’s too late.

The last time they had a migraine, they delayed everything because she was in class and didn’t want to leave early. Boy, does she regret that! She had to go to the doctor when the headache was still raging five days later, having to get a shot in a place they did not feel comfortable taking out in front of someone who wasn’t Icesis, even though her girlfriend found the situation hilarious. (It was not.)

Not wanting to cancel on Icesis since this was the first time in two weeks that they were both free at the same time, they hoped that she caught it early enough for it to completely vanish by the time that she had to start getting ready to head to her girlfriend’s apartment.

It did not get better. In fact, it got worse as the hours ticked by, which did not make sense in the slightest to Pythia. By the time she had to start getting ready, they didn’t want to remove her head from the pillow she had slammed their face into an hour prior.

Canceling on Icesis was going to be difficult for her. She had wanted to do a painting date for ages now and was telling Pythia all about the painting tutorial she had found on YouTube and desperately wanted to try. Icesis was so passionate and cute about the entire situation; they didn’t want to let her down and break her heart by postponing it; but there was no way they would be able to make it.

The pain had moved its way down to the back of their neck, something that happened whenever Pythia happened to get a migraine while they were stressed out. Finals were approaching, so it made sense, but it didn’t mean she was okay with it.

Lifting their head off the pillow and grabbing their phone, they decided to call Icesis to cancel instead of through text because the light coming off of the screen was far too much light to deal with.

She answered right away. “Hey! I’m so excited about today! Are you getting ready?”

Fuck. Pythia groaned, “I’m dying. I think I have to cancel, I’m sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Migraine.”

Icesis sighed, going into motherly mode. “Did you take your medicine and hydrate?”

“Yes, right when it started but it got worse. If I have to go back to the doctor, I’m going to cry.”

Icesis stifled a laugh. “My poor baby. What if I came over and kept you company?”

That sounded really nice, Pythia thought, “Please do. I’ll get up and unlock my door for you.”

----

Icesis arrived fifteen minutes later, climbing straight into bed with Pythia and spooning them. “Hi.”

“Hi, hun. I’m really sorry about everything.” Pythia felt terrible about having to cancel, but at least they could still spend some time together.

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault your body hates you. I’m sure you didn’t choose to have a migraine to get out of our date.” One thing Pythia loved about Icesis was how understanding she was with her. Pythia had a terrible fear of letting Icesis down, but that never seemed to happen.

“Do you think I could talk you into getting my pills and some water? I’m supposed to take more after a couple of hours.” Pythia asked, feeling Icesis kiss the top of their head before sitting up and crawling out of the bed.

“Thank you!”

Pythia opened their eyes again as Icesis came back with two white pills and a glass of water, sitting up as they were handed said things. “You’re so nice to me.”

Icesis cracked a small smile, “Well, we are dating. I wouldn’t do this shit for anyone else.”

“I’m gonna tell all of our friends that you’re a softie.” Pythia teased after swallowing the pills.

“You’re going to be mean to me when I’m taking care of you?”

“I won’t tell anyone if you rub the back of my neck,” The pain in that spot was truly awful, almost as bad as her head hurt, and they wanted it gone.

“Deal.”

Icesis’s hands felt spectacular on the back of their neck, the pain slowly easing as the minutes passed by. The massage made Pythia so relaxed that she ended up dozing off, waking up to no neck pain and only a small headache.

Her girlfriend was still in bed with her, scrolling through Instagram. “I feel better for the most part.” They said, scooting closer to her.

“Well, that’s good, I’m glad.”

“All thanks to you, Doctor Icesis.” She teased, leaning over to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek.

“Does that mean I get to give you the shot in your ass?”

Pythia squealed, “Shut up about that! I was mortified!” It was really not something they wanted to recall, but Icesis loved bringing up.

Getting a text from Gigi calling for a ‘special’ meeting during lunch made Pythia want to throw up. They had all finished their dresses and in Pythia’s case, her suit, so the reason for the meeting was incredibly clear in their mind; the girl had finally decided who her replacement was going to be.

They knew this was coming as prom was later in the evening and the number of days until summer grew smaller and smaller, but she did not feel prepared for the announcement in the slightest. They had tried their very best to impress Gigi the most, but deep down, she felt like Icesis had been handed the spot since the first day of their junior year.

The members all made their way into Mrs. Hytes’s classroom as the lunch bell rang, no one seemed to be nervous besides Pythia. She silently took a seat next to Kendall, who was busy chatting away with Gia about where they were going to go for dinner later.

Icesis was the last member of the club to roll in, making sure to sit down right next to Pythia. “We’re still going to be friends after I win, right?” She joked, making the blonde swat at her.

Even though it was a joke, she didn’t know the answer to the question and did not want to start thinking about it, “Shut up! I’m so nervous about this and I will not hesitate to puke in your hat.”

The black-haired girl took off the snapback she wore every day and put it on the opposite side of her so Pythia couldn’t reach it without draping herself across her lap. “Good luck vomiting in it now.”

Icesis had a massive case of hat hair, but Pythia thought she looked adorable. They wished everything would stop being so confusing so she could act on her new feelings about the girl. She wouldn’t know what to do with herself if she liked Icesis and resented her at the same time after she got the position.

Gigi wrapped up her unimportant conversation with the English teacher and made her way to the front of the white board to make her special announcement. “I’ll try to make this quick so I don’t take up the majority of your lunch.”

“Gia should really learn from you!” Kendall interrupted her, making everyone laugh. They had a habit of speaking in ten-page essays whenever Gigi asked them what inspired them to make certain looks.

“Thank you, Kendall. Anyway, this was a tough decision, but Mrs. Hytes pressured me to announce it now instead of waiting until after we’re all the best dressed at the prom like I wanted.” Gigi had still not let go of the fact that the prom theme was questionable at best, something that all of the members had gotten used to.

“This club is like my baby, since I’ve been running it for two years. I have so much fun thinking of concepts to have you guys create and love seeing what you guys come up with, and I had to make sure that the most creative person gets the reins next year.” Hearing Gigi say that made Pythia grin. They would call herself the most creative out of the bunch, coming up with out of the box ideas whenever they could.

“But, if I’m being quite honest,” Gigi continued, “the choice was quite obvious to me, but I didn’t know if Mrs. Hytes would go for it, but I am so persuasive so you’re very welcome. Your new leaders for next year are… Icesis and Pythia!”

Everyone in the room lost their minds, doing the most by cheering and clapping for their new leaders. Pythia turned to look at Icesis, who was just as stunned as they were. Icesis reached out to squeeze their hand, sending a shock through her entire body.

Icesis screamed, “Wow, we did it!”

Pythia couldn’t believe it. They both got the position? Kendall and Gia had gotten out of their seats, making sure to hug both of the new leaders.

“I can’t believe this!” She shouted, the high of the news hitting them as they pulled away from Gia. “We’re going to be the design club leaders!”

“You deserve this so bad. You really do,” Icesis said, grabbing and pulling Pythia into the tightest hug possible. “I’m glad I get to share this title with you.”

Gay thoughts interrupted Pythia’s celebration. Now that they were pressed up against each other, they got to inhale Icesis’s scent, and she smelled like lavender, and she wanted to bury her face into her chest for the rest of the lunch period.

“I’m glad I get to share this title with you!” They squealed as Icesis pulled away from their hug, “We’re going to have the best ideas.”

“We are going to do fantastic things, Pythia. I really can’t wait.”

----

Pythia wouldn’t have gone to prom if she hadn’t made the suit for the project. She didn’t like large crowds for the most part and none of her friends outside of the design club were going, but they were so proud of their creation, they just had to wear it to prom.

As they were getting ready at their desk, they had a wonderful idea. Earlier in the week, Icesis had mentioned to Gia that she didn’t have a date, thank God, so why not find her as a slow song played and ask her to dance?

All of the negative feelings towards Icesis were gone now that they had both secured the position. While she’s sure she would’ve still felt her newer thoughts about Icesis, they would’ve still felt some form of resentment towards the girl if she was the only one Gigi chose. Thank fuck that wasn’t the case.

With all of that out of the way, it was finally time to make a move since Icesis hadn’t done anything that wasn’t platonic.

It was crowded when Pythia arrived at the gym. Right away, they could tell that not a lot of people knew what to do with the goddamn prom theme, no one coordinated with each other, but they still thought that every single person in the cramped room looked fantastic.

They made a beeline straight to the punch bowl, getting a cup of the fruity drink before walking around to see if she could find anyone she knew. The majority of the design club said they would be there, but she had yet to spot any of them.

Walking around, they started to spot everyone. Gigi and Crystal were at the photo booth, taking a silly photo. The girl loved getting her photo taken, so this didn’t surprise Pythia in the slightest. Kendall, Gia and their friend Synthia were huddled in the corner, whispering harshly about something that must’ve happened. Synthia was in tears while Gia rubbed her back to try to calm her down, while Kendall was about to go cuss someone out. Adriana was in the middle of the crowd with her boyfriend, dancing to the song that was playing. It was an overplayed pop song that had been popular on TikTok, but she could tell that Adriana clearly enjoyed it.

Pythia still hadn’t spotted Icesis, which was starting to make them worry. What if Icesis didn’t come because she didn’t have a date? She turned around, debating on interrupting whatever was going on with Gia, Kendall and Synthia to ask if any of them had seen the girl with black hair when they felt a gentle tap on their shoulder.

“Hey! You look great!” It was Icesis. She looked the prettiest Pythia had ever seen her in her red dress. They hoped that she couldn’t tell that their breath was being taken away.

“Hi! You look great too, wow.”

“How’s your punch?”

They looked down, having completely forgotten that she was even holding the red solo cup, “Pretty good. I might have to go back and get more before the bowl is empty.”

“Maybe I’ll have to try it.” Icesis trailed off, and Pythia could tell that she was probably going to wander off, which they did not want.

Not tonight.

“Wait, before you do that… do you… maybe want to dance?” Pythia asked, hands starting to shake.

“I would love that, Pythia.”

Before they knew it, the red solo cup was long gone, and they were very close to Icesis. Their arms were wrapped around the girl’s neck as they rocked back and forth to the slower song that was playing. It felt natural, like her hands were supposed to be there.

“I know I already said this, but you look absolutely gorgeous tonight. I’m literally at a loss for words.” Pythia whispered to fill the silence, grinning like mad at Icesis.

“Thank you! I can never tell if someone is flirting with me or just being friendly. But I’m going to assume that under all of that rage I saw, you’re actually nice.” Icesis replied, starting to laugh nervously.

Could Icesis really not tell what Pythia’s motives were? They were dancing together at prom, after all.

At that moment, Pythia decided to be bolder than they had been the past few weeks, “Maybe we should kiss until you figure it out?” She suggested, giggling as Icesis’s face dropped and her cheeks heated up.

“What? Are… are you fucking with me right now?”

“Why would I do that?” Pythia sincerely asked her. She had never seen bold and confident Icesis so flustered before. “Maybe I want to kiss you. Don’t you want to kiss me?”

“You little shit, of course I wanna kiss you. Been dreaming about it for ages now.”

“Well, now's your chance, silly.”

Icesis leaned in, kissing them for the first time. She was an excellent kisser; way better than all of the boys Pythia had kissed in the past. Her lips were so soft and they didn’t want to pull away.

The song they had been dancing to came to an end, causing Icesis to pull away. Both of their faces were red, both of them grinning. “Not to be dramatic, but I felt like, fucking fireworks.” Icesis confessed.

“Oh, really?” Pythia asked, grinning ear to ear. They didn’t know they wanted this until recently, but now that she had it, she didn’t want this night to end.

“Pythia, for the hundredth time, I am not”—Icesis cuts herself off with a loud sneeze that does nothing to improve the pounding in her head—“sick,” she finishes with a sniffle.

“If you could say that without sneezing, I might believe you,” Pythia mutters, crossing their arms. “Also, you sneeze like an old man.”

“I do not!”

“Yes you do, you literally sound like my grandfather.” Pythia is enjoying this way too much, smile tugging at their lips. Icesis loves that smile, but not today, not when she has work to do and she feels like utter shit, even if she won’t let that stop her.

Icesis sputters, trying to thread the sewing machine with shaky hands. “Well—well, you won’t hear me sneeze again, because I’m not sick.” But she can feel the tickle in her throat building even as she talks, and while what comes out is not a sneeze, thank you very much, it is a cough that burns through her ribs and sends pain all the way up to her head.

“Shit, Icesis.” All the joking in Pythia’s voice is replaced with concern as they rub circles on Icesis’s back. It feels nicer than Icesis wants to admit, and she finds herself leaning into the touch.

“I’m fi–”

“You’re definitely not fine.” Pythia gently brushes hair off Icesis’s face. “You’re getting back in bed. No arguing.”

“I have work I should finish,” Icesis says, but it’s a weak protest. It feels like someone is hammering on her skull, and she can barely keep her eyes open. She can’t even get the needle threaded; there’s no way she can work today, even if she hates to admit it.

“You’ll finish it when you’re feeling better,” Pythia says firmly. They wrap an arm around Icesis’s waist, and she doesn’t have the strength to push it away. Pythia leads her back to bed, forcing her under a mountain of blankets.

Icesis sighs into the pillow, ready to sleep–

“You have to take medicine first.”

Icesis groans, rolling over to see Pythia holding a little plastic cup of green sludge. “Oh, hell no. I’m not drinking that, it’s disgusting. I’d rather drink poison. Actually, that probably is poison. You’re definitely trying to poison me.”

“If I wanted to poison you, I would have by now.” Pythia rolls their eyes.

“I’m still not drinking it.”

“You sneeze like a grandfather and complain about medicine like a toddler,” Pythia says, but they’re smiling. They hold up another cup. “What if I give you apple juice with it?”

“I’ll consider it,” Icesis mumbles, and then Pythia is holding the cup of sludge to her lips, whispering soothing words as Icesis pinches her nose and chokes it down. It’s followed by the best apple juice Icesis has ever tasted, and then Pythia is laying her back down, fixing her blankets.

“Get some sleep,” Pythia whispers.

Icesis does.

—

Icesis has no idea how long she’s been asleep when the smell of soup wakes her. Pythia is in a chair next to the bed, a steaming bowl in their hands.

“Good afternoon, sleepyhead. Think you could eat some soup?”

“You…you made me soup?” Icesis can’t remember the last time someone made her soup when she was sick, can’t remember the last time she even spent a sick day in bed. Normally she just takes some Tylenol and goes on with it.

“Of course I did.” Pythia helps her sit up, then hands her the bowl. “It’s a Greek recipe. It’s the best thing for when you’re sick. Even for people who insist that they’re not sick.”

Icesis grins weakly. “Okay, I’m sick.” She slurps a spoonful of soup, sighing as it warms her whole body. “This is so good. Way better than that toxic slime medicine you gave me.”

“Oh, speaking of which, you probably need another dose after you eat.”

Icesis swats at them, her arm still wobbly and weak. She goes back to her soup, finishing the bowl and then digging in again after Pythia refills it for her.

“Why are you always so stubborn?” Pythia asks. They don’t sound mad, just curious.

Icesis shrugs. “I’ve just always done things myself. I’m the oldest out of my siblings, so I always helped them with stuff, and–”

“--And no ever helped you,” Pythia finishes sadly.

“No one really expected me to need it. And a lot of the time, I didn’t. I was always good at everything. Sometimes…sometimes I probably did need it, though. I just thought it would be weak to ask.” Icesis doesn’t know if it’s her sickness, or the medicine, or just the calmness of being here with Pythia, but the words come out without her really meaning them to. She’s never told that to anyone, but she knows she’s safe with Pythia.

“It’s not weak,” Pythia says firmly. “It’s okay to need help, and I don’t want you to feel embarrassed to ask me for it, okay? Ever. I’m here for you, always.”

“Okay,” Icesis says. It’s still so strange, having Pythia there for her. Having an extra set of hands to help her finish garments when she’s stressed and on deadline. Someone to help with the cooking. Someone to listen to her when she’s upset, to really listen and comfort her, not just expect her to be fine all the time. Someone who always wants to be there for her, even when things aren’t great. Pythia is always able to see right through her, and maybe it’s not so bad to be known like that.

“I love you. Even when you’re stubborn,” Pythia whispers, leaning over to kiss Icesis’s forehead.

Asking the cute girl from her art class, “Do you want to hang out over winter break?” was the bravest thing Icesis had ever done in her fifteen years of being alive, she thought.

She wasn’t one to get nervous easily, but being sat at the same table as a vibrant and bubbly redhead named Pythia brought out the nervousness in Icesis. She was talented, creative and just pleasant to be around; more pleasant than hearing Kendall and Gia gossip about the other girls in their geography class.

Their first project in class was to draw a portrait of someone at the tables they were all seated at. Kendall and Gia quickly declared themselves partners, why wouldn’t they when they had spent the entirety of their middle school years attached at the hip? That left Icesis to be paired up with this girl she had never seen before, and she found herself stuttering and messing up her sentences while introducing herself to her partner.

It got better as the months passed, but Icesis could never act ‘normal’ in front of Pythia. Kendall and Gia obviously caught on, teasing her about it (luckily) whenever the ginger wasn’t around.

“Have you asked her out yet?” Gia asked one day when the other girl wasn’t there, making Icesis nearly fall out of her chair.

“Ask who out?”

“Don’t play dumb, Icesis. We have less than a week left of this class, who knows if you’ll see Pythia again.” Kendall spoke up, “you should ask her to hang out over winter break!”

Icesis rolled her eyes, like she really needed advice from someone like Kendall and Gia, who had yet to confess their own feelings for each other. She could barely speak around the girl no matter how hard she tried and how focused she was on not fucking up, and she would probably die of embarrassment if Pythia declined her offer.

“I’ll think about it.” She concluded, and thought about it, she did. They did have a point, Pythia had mentioned signing up for a bizarre elective for the next semester that Icesis wouldn’t dream about taking, meaning that she would be the one who got away if the stubborn girl didn’t make a move.

-

Icesis gave herself a pep talk on her way to art class the next day, trying to hype herself up so she wouldn’t chicken out the second she looked into Pythia’s beautiful eyes.

“Hey! What did I miss yesterday? I’ve been sick,” Pythia greeted Icesis as she sat down at their table.

“Nothing much, we just colored and watched a movie. I think our teacher ran out of things for us to do, if I’m being honest.”

“I’m not complaining, I love coloring.” She giggled while Icesis tried to think of something to say to segue to asking Pythia to hang out on their two week break, but nothing was coming to mind.

Fuck, why was asking out a girl so difficult?

“Are you excited for winter break? I can’t wait to just lay around with my cats for days on end,” She started babbling. Pythia loved to talk, which was not something Icesis minded one bit. Listening to her voice was quickly moving up on the list of the top ten of her favorite things.

But holy fuck, here was her chance.

“Yeah, I am. I was actually going to ask you about that. Do you maybe want to hang out with me over winter break? We can go to McDonalds.” Icesis was fifteen and broke, while she thought Pythia deserved a feast, fast food for two was the most she would be able to afford.

Pythia’s dark eyes widened at this, face heating up as well, “I would love to! I actually bought you a gift for you over the weekend, I could give it to you then too?”

Icesis swore that she was floating. Pythia said yes and had gotten her a gift? She swiftly pinched her arm under the table, but she was wide awake.

Flash forward to winter break, Icesis was standing outside of the McDonald’s closest to Pythia’s house, waiting for the ginger to arrive. It was quite cold, considering the harsh winds and the decision she made to wear a lighter jacket simply because it looked cooler than her winter coat.

She finally spotted Pythia crossing the street, feeling giddy as the girl she had been enamored with since the beginning of her freshman year came closer and closer. Icesis really was brave for asking her out, despite the fact they had yet to discuss if this was a friend hangout or an actual date.

“God, it’s cold. I would’ve told my parents not to move here if I knew this.”

“Hey, don’t say that. If you didn’t move here over the summer I would’ve had a lame partner in art class.” Icesis laughed, opening the door for her crush and following them inside.

“I guess I did luck out, getting paired up with the prettiest girl in the room.” Pythia smirked, catching the girl with black hair completely off guard,

“W-well, are you su-sure you weren’t the prettiest person in that room? Like, I know Gia is convinced that it’s them, but I actually think it’s you?” She managed to get out, watching Pythia’s face, hoping for a good reaction.

Pythia blushed, reaching up to lightly punch Icesis in the shoulder. “What? I’m right.”

Pythia chuckled, “Yeah, whatever you say. I’m starving.”

They ordered, Pythia ordering a quarter pounder with no pickles, and Icesis getting twenty piece chicken nuggets. There was no way she could eat them all, being nervous about hanging out with Pythia, but she was thinking they could share them.

The two slid in the booth Pythia wanted to sit in, both smiling nervously. They made small talk as they waited for their order to be done, both of them not sure what to talk about.

When their order number was called out across the restaurant, Icesis offered to go get it, telling the worker thank you before heading back, trying to think of cool things to talk about with Pythia.

They dug in right away, Pythia making a sour face as they bit into their burger.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, watching Pythia take her burger apart.

“They added pickles.” She whined, disappointed about the workers getting her order wrong on accident.

Icesis stood up, “I’ll go talk to them.”

“No, it’s fine, I can just take them off.” She protested to ears that were not listening to her.

“Lalalala, can’t hear you!” She teased, going back to the counter and explaining the situation to the worker. They apologized and Icesis came back to their booth with a brand new quarter pounder that did not have any pickles on it.

“You’re really sweet for doing that, you know.” Pythia said after biting into her burger, “I’m always too scared to do that.”

“I want you to get what you want. It would be a really sucky date if you didn’t get it fixed,” Icesis shrugged.

“Who cares about the fucking burger? I’m here with you.” She pointed out, stealing a nugget from the box, “I’m over the moon just because I’m spending time with you.”

Having actual confirmation that Pythia felt similar to her made Icesis’s heart melt. “I’m so happy you feel that way. I’ve been crushing on you since the first day.” She shyly admitted.

“Me too!”

“No way.”

They continued eating their ‘feast’, switching from talking about school to flirting with each other. Pythia finished off the last nugget, digging a small bag out of her purse and placing it on the table. “I almost forgot about your present.”

“I didn’t get you anything, though. I feel bad!” She insisted, not knowing to expect from this.

Pythia scoffed, “Did you not pay for our lunch? Open it!”

“Okaaaay.” She dragged out, opening up the bag to reveal a blue crystal necklace. It was absolutely stunning, not something Icesis would usually wear, but for Pythia she would make sure the necklace was in her rotation. “It’s beautiful, thank you so much!”

“It’s kyanite! It just reminds me of you, since you wear a lot of blue. I just had to pick it up when I saw it at the crystal shop. I didn’t know if it was too forward, though.” “I don’t think so. Would you have given me this if I didn’t ask you out?”

Pythia blushed again. Icesis thought she looked adorable with rosy cheeks, “I would’ve gotten to it eventually!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!” She was starting to get flustered now, making Icesis want to reach over the booth and just kiss her already.

Pythia spent almost their entire school day rehearsing what they wanted to say to Icesis in their head. She was the one who reached out to Icesis and offered to talk to them in person to explain the issues they had with her, but when they woke up in the morning, they were hit with the most intense anxiety they had felt in her life about it.

Despite spending nearly seven hours thinking about it, she still didn’t know exactly how she was going to tell Icesis. Along with comparing their designing abilities to hers, Pythia wasn’t quite sure who she was. They knew they were non-binary, but that was it. She definitely liked boys and girls, but she had yet to say anything about it or publicly show interest in someone who wasn’t a boy. Icesis was an out and proud lesbian, and Pythia dreamed of being able to be so open about their sexuality and gender. The most coming out she had done was to tell the design club that they want to be referred to as they and them as well as she and her.

They wished she could be like Icesis, who was confident in her identity. They weren’t ready yet, but she wished that she was. They still had their senior year left to come out, though; that is, if they wanted to.

However, that was a lot to unload onto the girl, and Pythia wasn’t entirely sure if she should even bother mentioning it or if they should just stick to the designing related jealousy.

The bell rang, dragging her out of her head, scrambling to pack away their notebooks and textbook, making her way to her locker to unload everything from class and grab their jacket so they wouldn’t have to make another stop to grab it after the club meeting was over.

Part of her told her to skip, because every step closer they got to Mrs. Hytes’s classroom, the worse their anxiety got. They didn’t understand why they were having Icesis related anxiety or why it was affecting her so badly.

It didn’t help to see that Icesis was sitting right next to her unofficial assigned seat, instead of sitting across the room with Kendall and Gia like she usually did. She took a deep breath, going over to sit next to the girl.

“It’s okay if I sit next to you, right?” Icesis asked politely, Pythia nodding.

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.”

Has Icesis always been that pretty? Why had Pythia never noticed that before? They had many questions, but not enough time to answer them because the black haired girl started talking again.

“So, I think I’m finally ready to start making my dress. I’m obsessed with the design, I think it’s really me.” She spoke, flipping her notebook to the page that she had been sketching her prom dress on. It was a red, glamorous dress and Pythia had to stop herself from imagining how hot Icesis would look in it.

There it was again. Seriously, what was going on?

“That’s so gorgeous. Do you want to see mine?”

Icesis nodded at that, so Pythia got out her notebook and flipped to her sketch.

“Oh! That reminds me of the Addams family. I think that really suits you. Get it? Because it’s a suit!” Icesis said, making Pythia wheeze. “That was so lame, I’m sorry.”

“No, that was good! But prom is so heteronormative, and I want to make my look be the opposite.”

“I think you have this in the bag. I love the ‘prom queer’ sash, I had no idea you were..” Icesis started, but Gigi rushed in later than she was supposed to, rushing over to her chair to start the meeting and stopping the conversation going on between the two.

“Sorry I’m late! Some random sophomore stopped me in the hallway and started hitting on me. Like, God, I’m a happily taken woman! Anyway, if I haven’t seen your design yet, I’m talking to you, Icesis, I would love to see it before you start constructing.”

“Can you tell us about this encounter?” Gia spoke up, making Kendall snicker.

“I’m not letting you procrastinate, Gia. Go work on your dress.”

Gigi got up, making her way to the table where Icesis and Pythia were seated. “Hi guys. Pythia, I’m sure you’re doing great as usual. Icesis, I need to see your design.”

She turned her open notebook towards Gigi, who let out a gasp.

“This is gorgeous with a capital G! I really can’t wait to see this in person, like I would wear this to prom if I didn’t already commit to a color scheme with Crystal.” Gigi hyped her up as usual, seeming way more excited about this than she was with Pythia’s idea. “I literally want to make out with your brain right now, holy fuck!”

Gigi adored Pythia’s message when she first saw the illustration, but didn’t seem to be too excited about the aesthetic. The older girl was into brighter colors, and the Y2K aesthetic that had made a resurgence. While Pythia had played into those things earlier in the year to try to have her like their design more than Icesis’s, it wasn’t them.

It sucked that this was the project that Gigi was going to pay attention to when it came to making the decision of choosing her replacement. Their changing feelings about Icesis aside, the feeling of not getting something you’re trying your absolute best to accomplish hurts.

“Thank you! I really am proud of it, I think it’s going to turn out great. I can’t wait to make it.”

“If you really felt like that, you would’ve come in yesterday to start.” Gigi deadpanned, “Just kidding!”

“I was… sick. I’m feeling better now, though.” Icesis trailed off, the lie clear in her voice. She was clearly fine now, since she had chosen to sit down next to Pythia instead of her friends, but the guilt from causing her to skip yesterday made the blonde feel even more shitty.

Gigi gave her a strange look, “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. Get to work guys, prom is right around the corner!”

They spent the rest of the meeting time working on their garments, Pythia focusing entirely on constructing her suit to make it turn out as good as they could possibly make it. The jealousy they felt from Gigi praising Icesis fueled them, and by the time it was time to finally head home, she felt like she had made a ton of progress. They had completed most of the suit, all they had to do now was add the lace detailing and create the ‘prom queer’ sash they had in mind.

At 4:30, Gigi got the attention of the other club members, letting them know that their meeting time was up. Sometimes the hour they had felt like too short, but today Pythia had felt like she had been working on her garment for at least three hours.

Everyone made their way out after Gigi dismissed them, including her and Mrs. Hytes, finally leaving the two alone. They both gathered up the cloth and made their way back to the desk they had been sitting at before going over to the sewing machine, Pythia’s anxiety skyrocketing.

“What’s up?” Icesis asked, “You seem… kinda sad?”

She wasn’t wrong, hearing her get that level of praise bummed her out even though she didn’t want to feel jealousy towards her anymore. “Honestly? I’m just a giant idiot.” They confessed, looking at the wood detailing on the desk instead of the girl.

“I’m sure you’re not.”

“I just… really want the position. Bad. And it sucks because it’s so clear that Gigi likes you more than me and it makes me upset. I try my hardest on everything to get her to like me and it just never seems to work because no matter what I do, you’re always going to be better than me.”

Icesis put her arm around Pythia’s shoulder. “I’m not better than you. Granted, I’m a cocky bitch so it might come off like that sometimes, but you’re an amazing designer. You have as much as a chance of getting the position as I do because Gigi cares more about this to just pick who she likes the best. All factors are going into her decision, and I’m positive that you’re being considered even though you might not think that.”

“I just feel shitty because I want to like you but my brain is so stupid and jealous. You’re the best designer I know and I just envy your confidence about everything so much.”

“I wasn’t born this way. It took a lot of hard work to get where I am today. I wouldn’t do half of the shit I do now when I was twelve. Never in a million years would little middle school me think I would tell anyone that I liked girls or show anyone the designs of clothes I made when I was bored in class. You gotta start somewhere, you know?”

Pythia nodded, not knowing what to say. All they could focus on was how fast their heart was beating because Icesis’s arm was still around their shoulder.

“But there’s nothing to envy me about. I’m just a regular lesbian, a regular lesbian who would like to be friends with you.”

“I think we could work that out.” Pythia wanted to hint at them being more than friends, but couldn’t gain the courage to do so. “I feel a lot better about everything. I’m sorry I felt that way about you, you seem really nice.”

“Can I tell you something?” Icesis said after a moment, peaking Pythia’s curiosity.

“Yeah, what?”

“I-” Banging on the door startled both of them, turning their heads towards the door. It was the janitor, ready to clean up the classroom.

“Sorry, we’ll get out of your hair in a second,” Icesis called out, scrambling to get her shit as Pythia did the same exact thing.

They were going to ask her to continue what she was saying, but Icesis had rushed out the door and down the hallway, Pythia not being able to keep up with the girl to find her and get the chance to ask..

[pythia444]: What were you gonna tell me?? :0)

[itsicesis]: oh it’s nothing important don’t worry

[pythia444]: Oh. Are you sure?? You can tell me anything since we’re friends now!

[itsicesis]: nooo i promise it’s fine. nothing to wrap your silly little head around.

They let it go, changing the conversation, but Pythia didn’t buy that for a second. It was probably something related to the jealousy they had come clean about, but she was secretly hoping that Icesis was going to ask her out.