#icethia

Ch. 10: The Only Exception

Epilogue

The culmination of hours of hard work, months of uncertain feelings, two overwhelming proclamations, and a random twist of fate has finally arrived. The student showcase for their collaborative fashion collections was here and underway. To say nerves are high would be an understatement, but through the stress, Pythia and Icesis and there for each other before, during, and after.

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the grand conclusion!! tysm to everyone who loved and supported this story through its extremely long run. it has meant the world and more to me to see all the reactions and comments that never failed to turn my days around 💖💖💖

chapter (and fic) title from The Only Exception by Paramore

Hi babes I’m so sorry this took so long but I hope you like it 💗💗💗

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Icesis was aware of two things when she woke up. The first being just how cold it had gotten the night before, the early morning breeze blowing through the open window and breaking her out in goosebumps. The second was the comforting weight of Pythia presses into her side. They were more or less on top of her, blankets pulled high to their chin as they slept, gentle puffs of warm air leaving their lips to meet the skin of Icesis’ neck.

It had been late when they’d finally stumbled into bed, barely shedding their outerwear before collapsing under the blankets to sleep the day off. Icesis stretches her legs out, careful to not jostle Pythia, and chuckles quietly when her toes brush a little lump of fur underneath the blankets. Apollo had taken to sleeping under the covers with them, something that scared Pythia the first time they’d bumped the little kitten with their feet on accident.

Icesis watches the blades on the fan spin lazily above her head for a while, blinking the sleep from her eyes while she traces slow patterns on the bare skin of Pythia’s back beneath their blankets. Mornings like this were her favorite, lazy and slow and making her feel like nothing could break her from the moment.

That was until Pythia’s body tensed beneath her fingers and let out a noisy sneeze. Icesis tried not to jump at the loud noise in an effort to not wake Pythia but her efforts proved fruitless when their head popped up lazily anyway.

“Mornin’,” they mumble, wiping at their eyes for a minute before nuzzling closer to Icesis. “What time is it?”

“Not even nine, you can go back to sleep if you want. We don’t have to meet Synthia, Kendall, and Gia until noon.” Icesis kept her voice quiet, burying a little kiss in Pythia’s curls.

“No, just want to lay with you.” Pythia insists, wrapping an arm tighter around Icesis’ waist. They return Icesis’ kiss on her neck, nuzzling their nose into her soft skin and grinning when she yelps.

“Pythia stop! Your nose is cold.” She huffs poking their side in retaliation. Pythia giggles, kissing her neck again in apology before settling down.

“Hold me a little longer? Then we can go shower if you want.” Pythia pouts, long lashes fluttering up at Icesis as if she would ever tell them no.

Hi anon! Here’s some icethia from a potential teachers au I’m working on

When the hall lights shut off, it fully sunk in just how lame Icesis was. Here she was, 5 p.m. on a Friday, sitting at her desk, making her way through a stack of geometry tests, the classical music playing in the background guiding the sweeping movements of her pen.

Sure, she’d received the same drinks tonight? 😈 😈 😈 from Gia that everyone else on the team did. And she contemplated going as well; the thought of rushing home, running a straightener through her hair, and throwing on that dress—the one that was a bit too short on purpose—in the hopes that a certain art teacher would be there and would finally take notice of her—almost made her respond.

But once she caught her mind gripping onto the thought of finally impressing them, she immediately released it and settled in for a late night of grading, ignoring Gia’s text. It wasn’t going to happen.

Icesis could say she tried, but that was a lie as well. Every professional development when prompted to turn and talk, Icesis couldn’t muster anything beyond a textbook answer to the question about common standards in instruction. She waved to them as they made their way across the parking lot at the end of the day, but had to force out a “have a good weekend,” in a sqwalking voice, which made her throw her forehead against the wheel immediately after getting in her car.

And when Kendall, bless her heart, paired the two of them for the trust fall exercise?

Pythia ended up on the floor, not falling for Icesis, but rather because of them.

“You cannot possibly be doing this?”

Of course it was Kendall standing in her door frame, taking in the scene, nose upturned in the most well-meaning way she could muster.

“I’m grading Kenny, it’s test season.” Icesis capped the pen, seeing Kendall perching herself on the filing cabinet. She wasn’t getting out of this conversation any time soon.

“It’s also Friday. And drinks night. And a certain someone with no tests to grade is coming, so…”

“I figured,” Icesis said, meticulously stacking the tests. “I mean, how does one grade a sculpture?”

Of course they were coming. Everyone liked Pythia—and really, what wasn’t there to like? Between the wicked smile, the silly weekly pictures of their cat, their gorgeous body and quick mind, there was enough for anyone to be gravitationally pulled toward them, let alone Icesis, who at times felt willingly dragged into their force.

“I’m not going to answer that—even though as the AP, I’ve got an answer—because you’re totally changing the subject. I told them you were going.”

Icesis turned her head so fast, she felt her reading glasses loosen from the bridge of her nose. “No no no, Kenny,” she sputtered out. “You wouldn’t.”

Kendall crossed her legs and said “I absolutely did, and you want to know what I said to them?”

She was too sure of herself. A trickster’s grin stretched across her face, her legs swinging in time with the Vivaldi. Terrifyingly sure of herself.

“What did you say?” Icesis forced out of her tightened jaw.

“Well, I obviously started with how you were really excited to spend time with them, because you’re in totally different departments so you never see them.”

Icesis started off at Kendall, eyes unfocused. Kendall took it as her sign to keep going.

“And then I said that you thought they were really interesting and had a cool perspective and that you mentioned they were really pretty, but you’d also totally smoke them at pool…”

“Wait, wait, no,” Icesis butted in, holding her hands up as though she could physically hold off Kendall’s words. “So…ok let me run this down. You walked into their room. You told them I was going when I wasn’t. Then you said I think they’re interesting, pretty, and that I could beat them at a dumb bar game.”

“I mean, they were in the teacher’s lounge and I was coming out of an IEP meeting in conference B, so it’s like I ran into them, but yeah,” Kendall shrugged before throwing in, “Oh and also we’re going to McGrady’s now, because Squid doesn’t have pool.”

“So you just hit on them for me?”

“Well you weren’t going to so I had to.” Kendall replied, as though it were entirely logical. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spend your next progress meeting planning an engagement between you two than going over categories of instruction that I already know you’re advanced in.”

“Engagement?” Icesis threw back, only noticing her voice raising when the night custodian rolled by with a trash can. “I can barely talk to them.”

Kendall hopped off the filing cabinet. “Well you’ll do it tonight, because they’re excited to finally chat with you.”

Icesis felt a heat prickle in her chest. “They said that?”

“Yeah. And that they’d beat you at pool.” Kendall picked up her bag, turning toward the door.

But just before she left, she threw back “I’d change out of those slacks. They won’t properly highlight your ass when you’re bending over that pool table.”

Icesis scrambled for her words. “I’m gonna report you to HR!”

Icethia 4/?