🐝  *  ―  𝑵𝑶𝑵-𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑺𝑻 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺.

Lily beamed as she watched him place the book on the shelf, proud of her choice when seeing how perfectly fit in. While she was relatively confident that he'd like it, she still had that little inkling of doubt that could finally be silenced.

She stood when he did, humming happily as she followed him to the door. "You don't have to worry about giving me anything in return." She reassured, even waving a hand dismissively. "You look out for me, so that's the least I can do in return." She insisted, nodding to his instruction. She'll do her best, if nothing else!

Routine appointments with Zayne were common, to make sure that Lily's heart wasn't suddenly deciding to rebel against her. However, she was more eager than usual for this appointment to end. Once they had finished the usual routine and she would normally be getting ready to leave, she instead reached into the bag she'd brought with her for running her errands for the day.

"Oh! Before I go, I have something for you." She chirps, pulling out what seemed to be a book, and setting it on his desk. She was ever careful not to cover any paperwork or anything, and made sure that it wasn't in his way either. The book was in various shades of blue with some gold accenting to it, and no words on either cover or the spine. If he opens it, he'd find that it's a fake book, and inside are a few baggies with sweets in them, including some homemade cookies.

( - @lily-of-the-linkon for Dr. Zayne, for whenever you have the energy for it! <3 happy to have you back, mun!)

Zayne almost stands up to walk her to the door, but her announcement makes him stay seated. He looks at the book, curious, then looks back up at her.

"What's the occasion?" He raises an eyebrow.

Looking at it, he notices all the details, surprised and grateful for such a gift. Seeing no markings on it, he brings it closer to him to open it. It's then that he sees it's a box.

The sight of sweets makes him smile.

"You didn't have to... Thank you." He picks one of the bags, studying its contents. "These look delicious. Did you make them yourself?"

He feels his mouth already watering, wishing his break was sooner so he could eat them without having to wait.

Lily didn't mind him holding her wrist to keep it stable, waiting patiently as he takes a sip. Something about the way he phrased his thoughts made her cheeks warm up, but she refused to linger on it for now. "Maybe?" She hummed thoughtfully.

When he held his own drink out for her she took a small sip, her head tilted slightly as she considered the flavor. It was a bit strange, having just been drinking her fruit tea. But it wasn't bad.

So she gave an appreciative hum and nod. "That's actually pretty good, even with the residual fruitiness from my drink!" She beamed. "Thank you, for letting me try it."

After a moment of consideration, she started down the street again, figuring she can head towards more food places while they decide.

After spending the morning doing research on places in Linkon City that offer milk tea, Lily finally found a place that seemed like it would be a nice place to visit and had the coffee milk tea that Xavier mentioned. Plus it wasn't far from a few good places to eat so they'd have options based on what they were feeling up to without having to go all the way across town. Perfect.

Lily finally sent Xavier a text in the late morning.

'I found a place that has that coffee milk tea you mentioned! And it has really good reviews.'

After a moment of thought, she sent another text as well.

'And thank you for walking me home last night. I really appreciated it. It was nice, looking at the stars with you.'

If not for the sporadic texts, Xavier would still be asleep. Outside the birds that often bickered over his balcony were squawking at a volume loudly. The combination of factors is enough to stir him, just barely. He knows its her before having to unlock his phone.

↪[ Audio: I'm awake. I'm up. I'm coming. ]

↪[ It was nice. Let's do it again sometime ]

In a flash he rinses off, takes care of basic hygiene, and is donning a favored hoodie in spite of the weather.

By the time he gets downstairs, he's already rubbing his eyes again as he knocks on the door.

Once he set her down, she moved one hand up to cover her mouth with a loose fist to muffle the remaining giggles, finally settling down some herself. His 'attack' re-started the giggles, prompting her to smile at him innocently, moving her hand away from her mouth to instead rest under her chin playfully. Her? Being a chaotic little brat? Hardly~!

"Mmhm! I had to take my bike to the shop to get it checked over, so I got the rest of the day off to deal with that. Wanted to come say hi while I was in the neighborhood."

( Jump - sender jumps on receivers back - @lily-of-the-linkon )

Lily grinned when seeing Jeremiah wasn't paying attention to her, a mischievous little plan forming in her head.

Putting her training to the test, she carefully approached him from behind. She kept her movements as silent as possible, slowly lifting her arms to brace herself for step two.

When she was finally within reach of the (unsuspecting?) man, she lunged to jump on his back. While she was careful not to knock him over if she could help it, she was still dramatic.

Almost immediately after 'impact', she couldn't help but break into giggles, shifting to at least attempt to look at his face. "Hi Jer~" she greeted with playfully exaggerated casualness.

"What the- ah!"

The sudden surprise and sensation of warmth pressed against his back shocked him enough to let out a yelp in surprise, but the familiarity of the voice immediately calmed his instincts.

He adjusts his grip to ensure her safety but doesn't put her down.

"Stars, Lilyyyy! Where did you come from!? How did you manage to be so quiet!?"

“Being a good person does not mean putting up with other people’s crap.”

— LifeAdvancer.com

Lily watched eagerly as Zayne investigated the gift, settling her bag back on her shoulder. His questioned earned a small giggle and a shake of her head. “No occasion. I found the book while I was out running errands the other day, and it made me think of you. Then I got the idea that you could use it as a secret sweets stash if you wanted, and it spiraled a little.” She admitted, her tone turning more sheepish towards the end of her explanation.

“I made the cookies yesterday, but the rest of it is just store bought.” She answered easily, having found a small selection of various sweets that seemed like something he’d be willing to try at least once.

Routine appointments with Zayne were common, to make sure that Lily's heart wasn't suddenly deciding to rebel against her. However, she was more eager than usual for this appointment to end. Once they had finished the usual routine and she would normally be getting ready to leave, she instead reached into the bag she'd brought with her for running her errands for the day.

"Oh! Before I go, I have something for you." She chirps, pulling out what seemed to be a book, and setting it on his desk. She was ever careful not to cover any paperwork or anything, and made sure that it wasn't in his way either. The book was in various shades of blue with some gold accenting to it, and no words on either cover or the spine. If he opens it, he'd find that it's a fake book, and inside are a few baggies with sweets in them, including some homemade cookies.

( - @lily-of-the-linkon for Dr. Zayne, for whenever you have the energy for it! <3 happy to have you back, mun!)

Zayne almost stands up to walk her to the door, but her announcement makes him stay seated. He looks at the book, curious, then looks back up at her.

"What's the occasion?" He raises an eyebrow.

Looking at it, he notices all the details, surprised and grateful for such a gift. Seeing no markings on it, he brings it closer to him to open it. It's then that he sees it's a box.

The sight of sweets makes him smile.

"You didn't have to... Thank you." He picks one of the bags, studying its contents. "These look delicious. Did you make them yourself?"

He feels his mouth already watering, wishing his break was sooner so he could eat them without having to wait.

Humming thoughtfully as she followed after Kaia, Lily ended up laughing with her quietly. “If they have a personal chef then yeah, food may not be the best of gifts unless it’s something you made yourself.” She mused, her tone playful as she followed the server to a table.

She nodded to Kaia explaining her train of thought, her expression soft. “I understand, don’t worry. You know they like receiving gifts, and you like to prove that they’re on your mind. It’s sweet.” She reassured as she sat down finally, setting her shopping bag beside her carefully and well out of anyone’s way.

"Oh, wait! Before you leave, what color do you think the jacket should b—" Not looking away from the clothing rack in front of her, she grabs the sleeve of the person nearest to her without thinking, and realizes a little too late that it felt... Different. She turns, blinking; the person she'd been talking to had left, and beside her instead was...

"Wait, you're—! Lily?! You're Lily, right?! Oh, my god, I am so sorry, I totally thought you were someone else! Gosh, and this is the first time I'm actually talking to you, too..."

—&&. @kaiakaya 🤍

Lily was more than a little startled to suddenly feel her sleeve grabbed while she was looking for a new jacket to replace her favorite one that has... been through it. It's getting a few small holes in it but she's already mended it so many times it's time to retire it.

She blinked in surprise at Kaia for a moment before she started laughing, keeping it relatively quiet for the moment so they don't draw too much attention.

"Yes, I'm Lily. You're Kaia, right?" She asked, hoping she doesn't make a fool of herself.

At Kaia's concerns about how this is the first time they're speaking, she shook her head with a smile and waved a hand dismissively. "It's alright, don't worry!" She reassured easily "Do you need help finding the person you're here with?" She offered, tilting her head slightly.

Happy New Years! <3

Wishing everyone a happy new year, and all of the best!

May the world be kinder, and your heart fuller!

“I can if you want,” she answered easily, “Or you can always come over while I work on something too.” She’d just need to start a new project to keep the scarf a surprise, but that wouldn’t be too hard.

Accepting the spoon she took to carefully mixing the ingredients together, not wanting to go flinging their batter everywhere.

Xavier’s confusion honestly explained... a lot to her. “Ohhhh dear.” She mumbled with a small laugh, shaking her head. “You don’t change the temperature after you pre-heat it. You preheat the oven so that it stays at a consistent temperature when baking so that the time doesn’t end up varying based on weather or climate or anything.” She explained, trying so hard not to upset him with her amusement. But also... hun. “That explains why everything keeps exploding, though...”

[Phone call, Xavier's voice sounds urgent] "I'm in great danger I need you to come downstairs right now. Please! You're the only one that can help. In fact, the entire complex may be in danger if you don't help me stop this right now."

As soon as she registered the urgency and he mentioned 'upstairs', Lily was rushing out of her apartment, only sparing enough time to grab her guns as a precaution.

"I'm on my way!" She reassured as she hurried upthe flight of stairs between them. Her thoughts were already racing a mile a minute, wondering what could possibly be causing Xavier of all people to struggle and call for help, especially without causing much of a ruckus.

By the time she reached his door her heart was pounding and she was braced for a fight.

Does she do her best to be healthy and take care of herself? Of course.

Does she enjoy junk food as much as the next person? Absolutely.

So she hummed in agreement, laughing a little as she led the way to the nearest pizza shop. "So long as it isn't the only thing you eat this week, sure." She teased lightly. His thoughts about toppings earned some nods of agreement, snickering at vegetables being a second thought.

"We can try a few different meat and vegetable combinations, sure. I'm curious which ones would make good left overs, anyways."

After spending the morning doing research on places in Linkon City that offer milk tea, Lily finally found a place that seemed like it would be a nice place to visit and had the coffee milk tea that Xavier mentioned. Plus it wasn't far from a few good places to eat so they'd have options based on what they were feeling up to without having to go all the way across town. Perfect.

Lily finally sent Xavier a text in the late morning.

'I found a place that has that coffee milk tea you mentioned! And it has really good reviews.'

After a moment of thought, she sent another text as well.

'And thank you for walking me home last night. I really appreciated it. It was nice, looking at the stars with you.'

If not for the sporadic texts, Xavier would still be asleep. Outside the birds that often bickered over his balcony were squawking at a volume loudly. The combination of factors is enough to stir him, just barely. He knows its her before having to unlock his phone.

↪[ Audio: I'm awake. I'm up. I'm coming. ]

↪[ It was nice. Let's do it again sometime ]

In a flash he rinses off, takes care of basic hygiene, and is donning a favored hoodie in spite of the weather.

By the time he gets downstairs, he's already rubbing his eyes again as he knocks on the door.

Lily went through the transaction easily, laughing quietly at the peace sign as she followed her out of the store, but staying close to the wall while they figure out where they wat to go. "I think there's a few new places, from within the past few months?" She hummed thoughtfully as she looked around.

She shifted her bag to settle it on her wrist, crossing her arms as she considered. "Hmm... I had a pretty light breakfast so maybe something a bit heartier..." She mused, cupping her chin as she considered their options and what was nearby.

The question regarding souvenirs earned a small laugh. "I suppose that that depends on the person. Some people are satisfied with food as a souvenir, but some prefer to have something more long-lasting, like a trinket of some sort."

"Oh, wait! Before you leave, what color do you think the jacket should b—" Not looking away from the clothing rack in front of her, she grabs the sleeve of the person nearest to her without thinking, and realizes a little too late that it felt... Different. She turns, blinking; the person she'd been talking to had left, and beside her instead was...

"Wait, you're—! Lily?! You're Lily, right?! Oh, my god, I am so sorry, I totally thought you were someone else! Gosh, and this is the first time I'm actually talking to you, too..."

—&&. @kaiakaya 🤍

Lily was more than a little startled to suddenly feel her sleeve grabbed while she was looking for a new jacket to replace her favorite one that has... been through it. It's getting a few small holes in it but she's already mended it so many times it's time to retire it.

She blinked in surprise at Kaia for a moment before she started laughing, keeping it relatively quiet for the moment so they don't draw too much attention.

"Yes, I'm Lily. You're Kaia, right?" She asked, hoping she doesn't make a fool of herself.

At Kaia's concerns about how this is the first time they're speaking, she shook her head with a smile and waved a hand dismissively. "It's alright, don't worry!" She reassured easily "Do you need help finding the person you're here with?" She offered, tilting her head slightly.