Lily-of-the-linkon - Lilynkon

Lily calmed down to tiny giggles, running her hand over her ponytail to tidy it up a little.

"Learning from other people's mistakes, a good strategy." She approved playfully, shaking her head. "I found out that for all the skills Xavier has, cooking is not one of them, thanks to hearing an explosion from his apartment on a day off because he was trying to make an egg tart, if I remember right." She admitted, her expression torn between amusement and 'I still can't fathom how he messed it up that bad.'

The offer for him to have them both over for dinner did catch her attention, laughing a little at his justification.

"Well if you're willing to have us over, I can make dessert to keep it fair?" She offered. If he's willing to open his home to them and cook dinner, the least she could do is offer to make dessert!

Fortunately, Lily was able to shake her head at the question regarding allergies. "No allergies here that I've found!" She answered easily.

( 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 couldn't help the small chuckles that bubbled up at Kaia's excitement, nodding along as she casually crossed her arms. "Of course!" She reassured with a relaxed smile. "I do my best to make sure I remember people, especially my coworkers! With how work is, the last thing I'd want is to be put on a mission with you and then not remember your name." She admitted, keeping her tone lighthearted and playful.

She listened to Kaia's rambles easily, humming thoughtfully and cupping her chin. "A jacket could make a good gift... Depending on the person, and the thought going into it." She mused, head tilting slightly. "Though, if the person is picky about colors, your best bet might be neutrals that can pair with anything. Black tends to be a safe bet since it doesn't look dirty easily, and goes with everything. Though, that's a general answer, and still depends on the person."

For a moment, Lily almost forgot why she was there to begin with, laughing a little. "I'm actually here looking for a new jacket myself. Mine has been through a lot and I've mended it enough... It deserves to retire." She snickered

"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.

Lily kept her arms wrapped around his neck, ever careful not to risk hurting him in the process of course! She also made sure that he could maneuver her as necessary so he wouldn't be unnecessarily uncomfortable.

His exclamations made her giggles turn to proper laughter, pressing her head against his shoulder for a moment until she could compose herself enough to talk properly again. Or, mostly properly.

"I came from the void~," She teased through remaining giggles, "Sorry for scaring you though."

Lifting her head again to try and semi-face him, she did at least offer a more serious answer to his second question. "I've always been pretty quiet, but I honed it more when training to be a Hunter. Sometimes I have to actually make an effort to make noise to not scare people."

It's almost ironic that she's a naturally quiet person, considering her preferred weapons.

( 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!?"

It took a moment for Lily to even register he'd spoken again, too caught up in being so close to him. Running her fingers through his hair carefully, even after she'd already straightened it out some.

She didn't dare look into his eyes long, as much as she loved them. Being this close means that he'd be able to see how flustered she gets, and she doesn't want to go making him uncomfortable by just staring.

Though even through her own fluster she managed to see his flush, earning an affectionate little giggle as she backed off some to give him breathing room. "That sounds like a good plan," she reassured, having finally processed his suggestion.

His attempts at distracting her managed to get more openly amused responses, Lily covering her mouth for a moment to hide her giggles. "And yeah, we can head somewhere else. Anywhere that you want to go?" She asked, packing up anything left of their pizza.

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.

Lily hummed happily as she nodded, even turning to walk backwards for a little bit so she could face him properly. "Mmhm! And it has good reviews, which is all the more promising."

She faced forward again to ensure that she wouldn't risk running into anyone or tripping over her own feet and making a fool of herself, in public no less. Fortunately she had meant it when she said it wasn't far, just a couple of blocks and a few turns away she checked her phone again, then pointing to a small storefront. "There it is!"

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.

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!

[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 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!?"

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.

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.