Lily Lit Up When Xavier Didn't Really Question Her, Giggling As Quietly As She Could As She Gently Ran

She hummed happily with an idea, getting her own phone out and opening the camera app. She shifted ever so slightly to stand a little bit more in front of him, but still leaning against him for support.

"Nothing wrong with having more photos!" She agreed with a grin, stretching out her arm to try and get a good angle for a few selfies.

And because she's still feeling rather playful, she tilted her head back some to gently boop him on the nose in one of the photos.

“I trust you” - @lily-of-the-linkon

"Huh? What are you up to?" He closes his eyes.

--

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Catching his expectant look, she laughed softly and checked the timer herself. "Just a couple more minutes then we can check them." She reassured, finishing her tidying up as she started to sway to the music he chose.

Giving an affirmative nod to his question, she couldn't help but playfully do a semi-dance while still working on prepping for the next batch so she can toss that in once the first batch was done. She took to half-humming, half-singing along to the music.

Though she did take a short break to gently take his hand to 'dance' with him, grinning up at him playfully as she still hummed along.

[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.

Lily at least tried to help with carrying the boxes so that they could head home, not the slightest bit phrased by his phrasing. “We should probably at least stop home to drop off the food, yeah,” she agreed, starting to lead the way once they had everything gathered.

His comment about taking a nap earned a small laugh, humming thoughtfully. “Honestly a nap does sound pretty nice...” She admitted, even if she knows she probably shouldn’t let herself take a nap. She’d ruin her sleep schedule if she did, and that’s the last thing she needs right now.

“To be fair, you work really hard, so I’m not surprised that you end up so tired.” Even if she wishes that she could do more so that he wasn’t exhausting himself so much... but she has such a long ways to go to even begin to compare.

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.

Half of Lily's strategy in life is throwing people off, so realizing he hadn't expected that earned excited laughter as she continued her pursuit. "Oh~? Did you perhaps underestimate your bodyguard~?" she teased. When she managed to feel relatively confident that she could make the shot, she threw the snowball at his back. Of course, she did her best to ensure she wouldn't risk hitting him in the head or anything!

❄️ -@artistrafayel

Send ❄️ to throw a snowball at Lily!

Lily yelped in surprise at the sudden impact before turning to Rafayel, seeming almost offended for all of... two seconds.

A wide grin spread across her face as she leaned down to make a snowball of her own. "Are you sure you want to play this game~?" she asked playfully, glancing up at him from where her hands were making quick work of the snow.

Lily playfully tilted her phone away from him when she caught him trying to peek, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "It's a surprise."

She finally started to cross the street once the signal turned, similarly alert but still plenty relaxed. "It's not far, no. I just haven't been there before. It seems to be a pretty new place, so I figured it'd be fun to try it out together." She explained easily, leading the way.

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.

🎉🎊 Confetti Attack! 🎊🎉

Oh!! Is there a party? A prank? What did I miss??

It's been so long since I lost the game.

You, my darling Maeve, are such a fucking menace

Lily blinked at his response, still flushed as she tried to calm her racing thoughts.

It didn't take long for her to start giggling, moving her free hand to cup her own cheek in hopes of cooling off some. "I'd say that means I lost, since I didn't ask a question for you to answer? So I owe you milk tea."

While she didn't sound too certain, she didn't mind losing either. Either way it's a chance for more quality time with him, and that's still a win in her book.

Seeing their complex in front of them, she couldn't help but be a little... disappointed? That their impromptu walk was coming to an end so soon. But it was late, and they both desperately need the rest, so it's not like she can try to detour or anything to selfishly get more time with him.

❛ you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. ❜ 

Send me a prompt!

~

Normally, Lily tries to be fully aware of her surroundings. Working as a Hunter means she shouldn't let her guard down, especially when by herself. Who knows what threats are just waiting for a chance to strike, after all?

Though normally, Lily doesn't have to resort to late night walks to try and clear her mind so that she can sleep.

Suddenly hearing a voice nearby startles her out of her own thoughts, immediately setting her on alert. Her head whipped around towards the source, her posture tense and ready for a fight. Once she finally recognized Xavier, she let out a slow breath that ended in a sheepish laugh.

"Xavier!" She half-greeted, half-scolded.

Once she finally processed his warning, she offered what she hoped came across as a reassuring smile. "I know, I know. But I'm a big girl, I can handle going for a little starlit walk before bed." She teased, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm herself down further so her heart wasn't pounding so hard in her chest.

"What about you? You're out rather late too."

Pumpkin space latte, anyone? ☕

Hubble captured this festive array of stars, Terzan 12, found in the Milky Way about 15,000 light-years from Earth. The stars in this cluster are bound together by gravity in a sphere-like shape and are shrouded in gas and dust. As the starlight travels through that gas and dust to Earth, blue light scatters, leaving the redder wavelengths to come through.

Download the full-resolution image here.

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Lily found herself snickering at Kaia's attempts to defend herself, holding her own hands up slightly in surrender. She's hardly in a position to argue since she doesn't have evidence one way or another, after all.

After placing her order, she turned her attention back to Kaia and laughed softly at the questions, waving a hand at her playfully. "Well, what do you want to know?" She tried, quirking a brow playfully. "Perhaps we could start with hobbies, for getting to know each other?"

That feels like a safe enough starting point, and can actually say a lot about a person. How active they are, how much they practice coordination skills outside of training, a glimpse into other possible interests, things like that. It's also a good basis for an outside-of-work friendship, and good inspiration for future gifts!

"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.