Like Who And How!! Not A Cousin Or Something Right? In Which Case, Is He Single 👀💀

"Xavier! I know I'm a little late, but I have something for you!"

Lily beams as she offers him a plushie of an all-white, very sleepy cat, with embroidered paw pads. If he got close enough, he'd realize that it has the faintest floral scent, like the perfume that Lily uses on special occasions.

"It's a weighted plushie! I know you don't really need help falling asleep, but... maybe it'll make the sleep a little better?"

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

@lily-of-the-linkon

More than the spirit of the holiday, was the fact that for the first time in his life he had someone to spend it with,

And she was looking at him like that.

He wished he could capture this feeling like a photograph.

Taking it into his arms, he gave her a small look while he smiled, a bit shy.

"So you're saying I can imagine it's you when I need to hold you? I could get used to that."

Reaching out he brushed his fingers along her hairline and drew closer to place a kiss on her cheek, dwelling there long enough to take in that pretty perfume he loved.

"I can't wait to grow our plushie family more. They'll have many adventures with us. I'm just looking forward to spending every Azure Echo Day with you from now on. I'm... happier then I've ever been, Lily."

His lips traced her cheek towards her lips, teasing before chasing after them. "I love you, Valentine."

Lily didn't even have the opportunity to warn him about how hot they'd be fresh out of the oven, just letting out a small sigh to keep from laughing at such a familiar mistake.

She took a moment to quickly get a cup of cool water to offer for him with one hand, the other hand gently reaching to take the plate from him as well. "Here, drink this to cool off your mouth." She instructed gently.

Any semblance of scolding can be saved for when he's not at notable risk of burning his mouth, and even then, it was adorable. That he was so excited to eat the sweets they'd made that he apparently forgot that they were hot out of the oven.

[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 have to try and be good about it," Lily admitted with a small sigh, absolutely pouting a little bit to herself, "I don't need to go making it harder on myself to function by not maintaining a sleep schedule... plus my body tends to refuse staying up late anyways if it can help it." She hummed, laughing a little. "I remember trying to pull all nighters when I was studying for the entrance exam for the Association... but I just never could, no matter how hard I tried."

She couldn't help but doubt his comment regarding how cozy places are, since she's caught him sleeping standing up a few times. But... he must be trying to dismiss it for a reason, so she wouldn't press too much more.

"Probably a familiar one? Maybeeee one of the racing games?" She suggested, tilting her head as she looked at him. She could definitely feel the heat too, but had the advantage of her ponytail keeping her hair off her neck so it wasn't quite as stifling for her... yet.

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.

"Hold still." Xavier leaned forward and placed a chicken nugget shaped hair clip in her hair. It's very realistic, but clearly plastic. He pulls back when it's secure, clearly proud and admiring his work, as well as how cute she looks. "Cute."

Lily obediently held still when instructed, humming in confusion and watching him out of the corner of her eye.

When he pulled away, she curiously reached up to run her fingers over the clip, starting to giggle when realizing what it was. "Of course you'd find something like this...," she mused before shooting him a playful smile.

"Is this your way of telling me you want to eat me up?"

Lily was more than happy to listen to the ramble, lacing her hands behind her back casually as she listened to him, keeping her eyes on the flowers in hopes of not making him too anxious or flustered. She doesn't want him to risk accidentally drowning a poor plant if he gets panicky because she's watching him too closely!

His warning to not test the fire resistance inside earned an amused snort, turning her head for a moment as if trying to hide it, despite not actually trying to do so. "Noted." She commented, audibly amused. She can only imagine the shenanigans he must get up to, testing the limits of various materials.

Both he and Xavier seem to be men of many talents... far more than most people.

She distracted herself from that thought when he continued his rambles, humming to show she heard. "Thank you, Jeremiah." She beamed at him this time, adding on a playful "I'd probably make a lot of people jealous, having a personal tailor." She teased.

( 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 waited patiently for Xavier to finish his food enough to get his thoughts out, laughing a little as she leaned against the table instead of sitting properly just yet. "I thought that today it was my turn to spoil you?" She asked playfully, but did sit down when he insisted he was okay.

At the offer, she shook her head and grabbed a slice of pizza to start eating. "I've still got some, so I'll be fine for now." She reassured before finally taking a bite

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 flushed at the affections, giggling a little as she slowly released him to prepare the last batch of cookies for the oven.

"So XaviLily's Bakery, then?" she asked with a wistful hum, expression soft as her thoughts unintentionally mirrored his own. All the times she had dreamt of domesticity and peace like this, but doubted she'd get to have it for any number of reasons.

"Anything else I want...," she mused, drawing out the syllables as she pretended to think hard about any further requests, "Could you please put this in the oven for me?" she asked playfully, offering the prepared tray to him with a smile. "If you want, I can start on an icing for them, too?"

[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 nodded her agreement, crossing her arms again casually as she listened. “Fortunately the only gifts I’ve received that I didn’t... feel terribly partial to, were all little knick knacks I could display and be done with.” She admitted with a small snort. “My clothing style is pretty simple, so that helps a lot.”

Kaia’s excitement earned a small laugh and more enthusiastic nod. “Of course! Honestly it’s kind of hard to get to know everyone, what with us all ending up on different missions and things like that.” She mused “Even worse that I’m not really a drinker, and that’s their go-to bonding activity after work.”

Her commentary about her now-absent companion got a small snort of amusement from Lily, shaking her head. “I suppose so, but still. At least a little warning isn’t too much to ask, right?” She hummed before shrugging dismissively. She sure wouldn’t know.

"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 hummed as she considered, absently sipping her drink. "Ah, I get that." She chuckled sympathetically. Being hungry, but not knowing what for.

"Pizza then? It makes really good left overs, if we get more than we manage to eat." She offered, looking up towards him for his thoughts. Sure, he said she can decide, but she still cares about his opinion!

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.

Gold Minimalist Grey Labradorite Ring by Eastwaypearls