❛ You Shouldn’t Be Out Here By Yourself. ❜ 

Lily had a feeling that she had indeed figured out his plan, giggling quietly to herself. She took a moment to lean into him, the best sign of affection she could offer at the moment without risking their drinks. 

She hummed thoughtfully at his suggestions, nodding along. "Bell peppers maybe? They'll add a nice refreshing aspect to it." She mused, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the security of having him so close. 

As much as she knows she doesn't understand Xavier, she can't deny the comfort and safety he brings. She tries to her best to pull her own weight, to be alert, but it still pales in comparison to his own skills. So while it's just the two of them on a day off... She's willing to let herself indulge in letting her guard down for the time being.

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.

“Well...” Lily started, her thumb absently tracing a few of the scars visible on his hand as she spoke, “Anyone can be intimidating, in the right circumstances. Even more so to people who don’t know them.” She hummed softly. She doubts that she looks terribly approachable when she’s actively armed for battle, after all.

Any further reassurances she had ready for him were derailed by his counter, her face flushing pink again. She still found herself giggling though, giving his hand a small squeeze in ‘retaliation’. “And you, sir, are proving my point.” She teased playfully as she looked up at him.

( from @lily-of-the-linkon )

Lily holds her arms out slightly towards Dawnbreaker, hoping to make it so he won't feel bad if he refuses her invitation.

"Would you like a hug?"

His eyes light up briefly at the prospect of physical comfort.

"...Yes, I would."

He steps towards her, enveloping her in a gentle embrace to avoid causing her any discomfort, despite his wishes. He leans his forehead on her shoulder, closing his eyes.

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 snorted at Jeremiah's jab at Xavier, ducking her head as a pathetic attempt at hiding the amusement, even though Xavier isn't even there to hear them. He would have probably responded to Jeremiah's verbal jab with a physical jab, if the one night in the green house when she first met Jeremiah was any indication.

"The point still stands, I don't want to go taking him away from you, since you two have been friends for longer than I've known either of you." She insisted, sticking her tongue out at him playfully as she put her hands on her hips dramatically.

( 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!?"

Lily quite honestly hadn’t meant to tease him for falling asleep outside of buildings, not having even realized he’d done so. It’s hardly surprising, considering she’s seen him doze off most anywhere and everywhere, but it had somehow never crossed her mind.

His offer kept her from getting too lost in her concern, her expression softening. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She hummed appreciatively. “And the same to you. If you ever end up too tired, go ahead and call me.” She wants to make sure that he knows he can rely on her too, after all!

Lifting a hand to try and block some of the sun from her eyes, Lily glanced back at Xavier, only to notice him struggling to adjust to the brightness too. So she reached out with her other hand to gently shield his eyes from some of the sun as well, offering him a playful grin in response to his teasing. “I came prepared, don’t worry! It’s my turn to treat you, today!”

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.

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.

[-> Jeremiah: Maybe we can get together tomorrow then? Get some food or tea or something then go to the claw machines?]

[-> Jeremiah: Meeting up around noon means we won't have to rush around in the morning at least.]

( @lily-of-the-linkon )

~ Hey, Jer, about that plushie date, I've got the next few days off

~ If you want / are able to, we could try to get together sometime soon?

~ Otherwise I can grab us a bite to eat and bring it over during lunch one of those days as repayment?

[->Lily: Hey, Lily! That would be great. I'm no Xavier at the claw machine but I'll do my best 😊]

[->Lily: No need to treat me to lunch. We can just do milk tea if you'd like. Let me know what day works best for you. Don't worry about the shop, things are slow lately so I can close up one of these days and save on electricity.]

How Xavier manages to say just the right thing as though it came as naturally to him as breathing, Lily will never understand. She already found herself a little flustered by his words, so when he followed it up with a move straight out of a fairytale?

Made her feel like royalty, regardless of how exhausted she felt?

Her face flushed, color flooding or originally pale cheeks, taking to searching for his phone in hopes of recomposing herself. Picking it up once she saw it on the coffee table, she offered it over to him and set the first aid kit on the table in it's stead. Within reach, but out of the way.

Satisfied with their little makeshift recovery set-up, and thoroughly done with moving, Lily carefully leaned against his side. Doing her best not to irritate his injuries, she offered a quiet hum of approval. "The audiobook sounds perfect."

Wanting to return the affection, but not wanting to over-exert either of them, she turned her head slightly to plant a small kiss against his shoulder, hoping it could at least somewhat convey her gratitude.

"I'm fine, don't worry... it's just a scratch. What about you? Isn't it a nope day? You should lie down..."

"I'm still going to worry," she insisted stubbornly, her eyebrows furrowed, "Sit down for now, I'll be right back."

As much as she knows she should listen to him and sit down, trust him to tend to himself, not over do it... She can't help but fuss. Is she going to pay for it later? Probably. But it's worth it to know he's okay now.

So she shuffled her way to the bathroom, grabbing a hair tie and messily pulling it back and out of the way for the time being. Once relatively satisfied with that, and once again dismissing the thought that short hair would be easier to deal with on days like this, she grabbed her first aid kit from under the sink and shuffled her way back to Xavier.

“There’s a universe inside your head; constellations of the things you left unsaid.”

— Laren Aquilina, Talk to me

"Lilies of the valley for Linkon's very own Lily? I think these are long overdue. I know you've been busy on missions lately, but I want you to know everybody in the association talks about how they miss you're beautiful smile when you're away. Me included!"

"Oh, thank you so much! These are beautiful!"

Lily beams as she accepts the flowers, only to find herself getting kind of emotional as she continued listening.

"You're so sweet! I'm sorry that I haven't been around much lately, like you said, it's just been so busy... Hopefully things will settle down some soon, I miss spending time with everyone."