I May Or May Not Know A Tiny Bit Too Much About Gemstones And Various Other Shinies...

"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."

The amount of books you buy is between you & your wallet. It’s nobody else’s business & their opinions don’t matter.

Lily hummed at the suggestion and nodded. "I could make us little scrapbooks." She offered, looking up to him to see what he thought. "There's still plenty of photos on our phones to start with, after all."

The idea starts to snowball in her head, already figuring out what all she'd need to make it happen, and she is looking forward to getting to work on it. Looks like she's figured out how to spend her weekend, if she gets it off!

Though all productive (and self-deprecating) thoughts were derailed by his comment as she outright gawked at him. "You brat!" She laughed, moving to smack his arm before grabbed the food. No risking the food!

"Yes, let's go." She snorted, taking the lead out of the store to hold the door open for him as she thought. "I know there's a kind of small playground just a few minutes away that has some tables we can sit at?"

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.

Honestly.... I applaud the dedication!

I may or may not be interested-

It's a good thing I have Captain Jenna blocked here... Anyone need a limited edition Lumiere body pillow? I might have bought extra in my excitement (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)

There's no way I was going to miss it.

[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.

Giggles began to mix into the melody as she hummed with him, spinning with his help and a proper laugh.

This is it. This is the kind of moment she's always silently dreamed for. Getting to just be happy and silly in the safety of home, dancing with someone she loves and baking. What more could she ask for?

When he released her to check on the cookies, she went back to humming. Satisfied with how they looked, she found some oven mitts to pull out the tray and set it aside to cook before putting the next tray in.

"Oh that's right!" She beamed as she closed the oven, setting the mitts aside again. "Hopefully they aren't sold out already, because it would be fun if we got to go." She hummed thoughtfully, resetting the timer on her phone.

[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.

"I get that, trust me." Lily reassured, shaking her head with a chuckle. "I can't count the number of times I've defaulted to neutrals for others, but it hasnt failed me yet!" She snickered.

With the questions, she nodded with a sheepish laugh, putting her hands of the white jacket. "Mmhm! It's really comfy and not too heavy, but it's not trapping heat as well as it used to, and the pockets are hanging on with a prayer." She admitted, even showing her.

Kaia's offer for company earned another nod of agreement "Sure, I don't mind!" She answered easily. "Plus then we can both tease the person who oh-so-cruelly abandoned you in the middle of the store." She teased lightheartedly.

"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.

Once Xavier leaned down within her reach, she hummed affectionately and worked on gently wiping the flour off of his face, ever careful not to be rough. Deciding to continue the playfulness, she grinned and reached up to tousle his hair to get any flour out of it, but she had the forethought to ensure she set her hand above his eyebrows to keep any of it from getting on his face again.

"Is that so?" She asked, somehow surprised that it sounds like he's never ended up with flour all over the floor and counter in past baking endeavors. Her surprise only grew when he placed the flour on her nose, prompting her to go cross eyed trying to look at it. "Very special indeed." She agreed with a soft smile, leaving the flour on her nose as she turned her attention back to measuring her own ingredients and ensuring that the oven was preheating properly.

To his question, she shook her head. "No, I was working on a new yarn project, actually."

[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.

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

You, my darling Maeve, are such a fucking menace

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