"Definitely." Lily Hummed In Agreement, Beaming Up At Him. "Even Better When Making Those Memories With

Lily has updated her profile picture!

Lily beamed when seeing him get flustered, even if she ended up not being too much better. "Well, you also don't get to see your own reactions," She pointed out casually. "so you don't get to see how cute they are. And with how stoic you are otherwise, it just makes it all the better."

Why yes at this point she can't help but tease him a little more.

She was perfectly content to lean into him, only moving enough to take one of his hands into her own so she could play with it, both as further evidence that she's happy to have this contact with him, and to resist the urge to keep poking at his face.

( 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.

Lily shook her head affectionately, running her hand over her ponytail. "He's something, alright." She agreed playfully.

She nodded to his offer, standing a little straighter. "Of course! I'll try not to distract you too much." She teased playfully, stretching out carefully. "Though speaking of, I should probably get out of your hair. Once I'm home I'll let you know when I'm supposed to be free so we can try to coordinate a day to come over."

( 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!?"

Seeing him in such a state, frazzled and covered in who knows what, she spares just a moment to look him over for any visible injuries. Not seeing anything too obvious just yet she hurried in towards the kitchen at his urging, even though something in her brain flagged that particular room as being of note.

But once she reached the kitchen, she realized what it was that was noteworthy.

The kitchen. The one place Xavier should not be left alone in. The only thing she's found he's not very good at.

Cooking.

Letting out a slow breath to release some of the tension in her muscles, she put her guns somewhere safer since she didn't even have their holsters on her at the moment, and settled a hand on her chest to try and calm her racing heart.

"Xavier... I love you, and you're an amazing hunter with unparalleled skill, but I swear, you are going to give me a heart attack one of these days." She shook her head with a small, breathless laugh, both teasing him and not.

But with that she rolled up her sleeves to get to work cleaning so she can figure out what in the world he was trying to do.

[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.

Lily was caught off guard for just a moment at his attempt to imitate her, but she was quick to start giggling, elbowing him. Though she ended up leaning against him again for support through her laughter that she tried to keep under wraps to not draw too much attention to them.

"Oh shut up." She snorted, shaking her head. "Besides I'd be more upset about missing an episode of a TV show than I would be some celebrity news." She added playfully, beaming up at him.

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 snorted and moved to pat his back instead when he came closer, giggling quietly at his dramatics.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for being such a cruel bodyguard and attacking you," she teased, not sounding the least bit apologetic, "we can go get you some hot chocolate, okay?"

She didn't mind his exaggeration, if only because it was so clearly over the top. That, and she'd never turn down an excuse for a hot drink.

❄️ -@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 took to quietly humming when he stayed quiet, wanting to fill the silence in hopes he wouldn't feel quite so awkward about the embrace. She was half tempted to start swaying them a little as if they were dancing, but that might be a bit too much, especially with how exhausted he seemed. While she wouldn't blame him for falling asleep like this... She's not entirely sure she could support his weight properly or move him anywhere more comfortable.

When he finally stepped back, she stretched out her arms so they wouldn't get too sore. Her smile didn't falter though as she looked up at him, biting back giggles. It's kind of cute, seeing such a big strong guy get awkward over something as simple as a hug.

Perking up slightly at the offer of chocolate, she did accept a piece, but gave him a very gentle nudge as she unwrapped it. "You don't need to repay me or anything, honest." She reassured. "I enjoyed it too, and I'm just glad I could give you a moment to relax, as short of a moment as it was."

Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment, wishing there was more she could do to comfort and support him, but she couldn't think of a single thing... Hopefully that hug will help at least a little bit for now.

( 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.

Lily was still content to watch him work, in the least creepy way possible. Though, it was reassuring to hear his insistence that he was there for her too.

While she isn't the most lonely person in the world, and was in fact very fortunate to have as many friends as she does... it's still comforting to know. Especially with how things have been going, as of late... The more support, the better.

"For what it may be worth, I'm happy to help you out if you need anything. I may not have as many talents as you or Xavier, but I can still try." She offered with a playfully sheepish smile.

"I'd be more than happy to join you two for an outing, so long as I won't be interrupting any plans or anything! I love the arcade, and it's always better with friends!"

( 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 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.