She Scrunched Her Nose Up Playfully When He Returned The Boop, Wiggling Her Nose For Further Emphasis.

As a heads up, I'm trying to work on revamping this account a little, cleaning up my tagging system and such. So bear with me if things look kinda messy!

pearl stars

Lily hummed happily as she ate her pizza, a much slower eater than him but certainly not hiding her appetite either. At his admission, she flushed light pink and hummed appreciatively. "I see. Well, you don't have to go such round about ways to ask me to hang out." She teased affectionately.

At the question about the pizza, she hummed thoughtfully. "It's a really good one, for sure! Not overly greasy, and a good flavor." She mused, putting genuine thought into her little 'review'. "I'd definitely add them as an option for dinner when I'm too lazy to cook." She concluded, turning her attention to him. "What do you think?"

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.

"I'm honestly trying to be flexible with weaponry, but I'm most comfortable with a gun. I prefer keeping a distance where I can." Lily answered honestly "Though I've been practicing with the sword lately. It is a lot more active, and exhausting." She laughed sheepishly, shaking her head. "Talk about a workout..."

She looked at the jacket curiously and felt it curiously, humming happily "Ooo it feels nice!" She beamed, checking the size before taking off her white jacket to try on the blue one. "I think this is actually a really good fit. Good choice!" She praised, turning her attention back to Kaia.

"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.

Perhaps she was more in-tune with him than she thought, because as he stared almost longingly at the other cookies, she had only one guess what was on his mind. 

"Don't...." She warned gently, her shoulders relaxing when he seemed to decide against burning his mouth further. Shaking her head affectionately, she grabbed a mitt to playfully nudge the hot tray just a little further away from him. 

"Where would you be without me?" Lily echoed, the sincerity of the question catching her off guard. In hopes of keeping the mood light, she laughed a little and cupped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm, well, I suppose you wouldn't have burned your mouth in your excitement to try the cookies."

[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.

Lillly ugh I'm so tired from my mission. I don't think I'm hydrated enough. Wait, ohmigod I forgot didn't you have a doctor appointment? How did it go? Did Xavier go with you??

Do you need me to bring you some water?? Please take it easy...

Yes, yes I did have a doctor's appointment, and it went about like they always do, honestly. Xav did go with me, he tries to tag along whenever he can. I'm pretty sure he ended up asking more questions than I did, honestly!

Lily couldn't not notice the slip up, though she couldn't put her finger on what he almost said. She couldn't even decide on how to bring it up, so she at least tried to leave it there for the moment, instead focusing on teasing their absent friend. 

"He did." She confirmed with a small laugh and shake of her head. "I went rushing up because I thought he was getting attacked or something, and nope! It was just him trying to cook. Then the brat basically tricked me into helping him make waffles the next day." She snorted, rolling her eyes.

The insistence they try to ensure Xavier only bring drinks earned some eager nods of agreement. "Oh absolutely. Either drinks, or he just brings himself." She agreed, since that's a safe enough bet. 

She did check her phone when it buzzed with the notification of the group chat, humming happily and nodding. "Perfect! Once I get home I can figure out what days would be best and send them in the chat."

( 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!?"

Like who and how!! Not a cousin or something right? In which case, is he single 👀💀

Rumors in the office are you been talking to someone soooo just a teensy bit curious!

No no no, not a cousin! And I take that to mean you didn't recognize the person in the photo?

Hmm, as for me talking to someone... What do you think?

Lily didn't even have the opportunity to warn him about how hot they'd be fresh out of the oven, just letting out a small sigh to keep from laughing at such a familiar mistake.

She took a moment to quickly get a cup of cool water to offer for him with one hand, the other hand gently reaching to take the plate from him as well. "Here, drink this to cool off your mouth." She instructed gently.

Any semblance of scolding can be saved for when he's not at notable risk of burning his mouth, and even then, it was adorable. That he was so excited to eat the sweets they'd made that he apparently forgot that they were hot out of the oven.

[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.