Lily Found Herself Snickering At Kaia's Attempts To Defend Herself, Holding Her Own Hands Up Slightly

Lily's nose scrunched up ever so slightly in amusement at Kaia's happy dance, honestly finding the action rather cute. She won't say anything just yet though, not wanting to go flustering her and making her choke or anything. So instead she opted for just focusing on her food and watching Kaia analyze her own dish.

At the question, she hummed. "It tends to vary based on the time of year, but in general I'm partial to rice and stew or curry," she answered after some consideration.

"How about you, for that matter? What's your favorite food?"

"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.

While his concern was appreciated, and extremely sweet, Lily shook her head reassuringly. "You didn't hurt or upset me, don't worry." She reassured "I'm not that tender headed."

She took a moment to debate if she should just go ahead and explain why she's flushed, knowing he's already going to ask if she's okay. Maybe she can throw him off enough to take the focus off of her for a moment?

"You just look really cute when you focus on something so mundane."

“I trust you” - @lily-of-the-linkon

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

--

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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.

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He's an idiot, but he's our idiot :P

I'm at least good about making sure I get my work done at a reasonable pace still! So then I get to go home and scroll on my phone in the comfort of my couch!

Lillllyyyyy. God, can you please tell Xavier to stop spamming me pics every time he wins you a plushie. I get it.

He's what?

Xavier- ugh. Sweet of him to be so excited, but I'm sorry he's dragging you into this >//~//<

I'll see if I can get him to stop spamming you so bad.

On the bright side... At least he wants to share his successes with you? Maybe? ^-^"

Lily couldn’t help but beam as she watched him process, biting her tongue ever so slightly just to keep herself from breaking into giggles and shaking the mirror.

“You can take it out if you want.” She reassured, the giggles finally bubbling up some. “But I saw this cute little set and thought of you, so I had to get it and share!”

When he called her out for already having put her clip in, she tilted her head slightly in surprise. Does he like the idea that much?

“If you want, you can put it somewhere else for me?” She offered, easily letting him take the mirror from her.

“I trust you” - @lily-of-the-linkon

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

--

Ask meme

When he accepts the offer, Lily doesn't hesitate to return the hug. His caution to ensure she wouldn't be hurt or uncomfortable was appreciated, though she still did her best to give him a good squeeze. A little squishing is good for a person!

Letting out a small, content hum when he placed his head on her shoulder, her expression softened as she rubbed his shoulder. For a moment she debated if he'd appreciate it if she ran her fingers through his hair, or if he'd be off put by it. Deciding it best to test the waters, she moved one hand from his back to instead settle it on top of his head.

"You're more than welcome to ask me for a hug whenever you want one." She offered, keeping her voice quiet, almost a whisper.

( 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.

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.

While he wouldn't find his desperation mirrored in her, there was still curiosity and affection. A fondness that she still reserved for him and him alone. She can tell he's looking for... something, but she doesn't know what. Whatever it is, he apparently didn't find it, and some sort of heavy guilt settles itself in her.

She does her best not to linger on it, focusing on what he said. "I certainly wouldn't complain about going out like this. I think we look rather adorable, matching like this." She answered easily, her tone genuine but playful at the same time. "We could probably use the relaxed outside time, too." She mused.

“I trust you” - @lily-of-the-linkon

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

--

Ask meme

Still flustered by her admission, Lily didn't even notice the rollercoaster of emotions that she'd sent Xavier through. Though when he finally spoke again, she found her shoulders relaxing in relief. On some level she knows that Xavier is far from judgemental, especially when it comes to her, but that reassurance still helped shake away the last of the anxiety.

"Honestly I'm a little impressed by how much you remember about me," she admitted with a small laugh, "In no time you're going to know me better than I know myself."

Her cheeks warmed at how genuine he sounded, insisting that she was worth hearing over and over. It was making her feel some kind of way, like it was something she never knew she needed to hear.

When he took her trash for her she sat up a bit straighter, making sure to thank him. When he returned with his wind-tossled hair, she couldn't help a small laugh as she stood slightly to lean across the table and gently help him finger brush it back into place.

"Your hair is so soft..." She mumbled, more for herself than anything.

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 got myself one of those little fake jellyfish lamps that changes color, and it is downright hypnotic-