Lily Flushed At The Affections, Giggling A Little As She Slowly Released Him To Prepare The Last Batch

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

Lily had a feeling that she had indeed figured out his plan, giggling quietly to herself. She took a moment to lean into him, the best sign of affection she could offer at the moment without risking their drinks. 

She hummed thoughtfully at his suggestions, nodding along. "Bell peppers maybe? They'll add a nice refreshing aspect to it." She mused, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the security of having him so close. 

As much as she knows she doesn't understand Xavier, she can't deny the comfort and safety he brings. She tries to her best to pull her own weight, to be alert, but it still pales in comparison to his own skills. So while it's just the two of them on a day off... She's willing to let herself indulge in letting her guard down for the time being.

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 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.

Sylus’s teasing earned a proper, if short, laugh from her as she offered a playful shrug in response. “I've learned it never hurts to be prepared,” she hummed. A simple response, not betraying how she considered the fact that the N109 zone is so much darker than Linkon, and his nocturnal habits mean he doesn't spend much time out in natural light, so she took to keeping a pair of sunglasses on her as a precaution when they hang out. 

Each time she felt his hand brush against hers, she felt her cheeks warm ever so slightly, wondering if he would take the initiative and hold her hand properly, or if he even realized what he was doing. 

His compliment both confirmed that he knew exactly what he was doing, and caused her face to flush properly as she looked up at him before looking away in embarrassment. Giggles still bubbled up as she lightly nudged him, her hand brushing against his this time. Two can play at this game. 

“You tease,” she fussed through giggles, not even the slightest hint of heat in her tone. 

How could she even pretend to be frustrated with him when she's dealing with how... soft he looks, surrounded by cherry blossoms. Like he's a normal guy, and not the leader of Onychinus. "I think I have the best view, yes," she hummed playfully before turning her gaze forward again, reaching out to catch some of the falling blossoms in her hand.

closed starter ofr: @lily-of-the-linkon

Sylus picked up his phone, swiping through the screen as he dialed Lily’s number, his thumb tapping rhythmically against the glass. He leaned back in his chair, watching the soft light of the afternoon filter through the blinds. As the phone rang, he let out a small sigh, a hint of impatience buried beneath the calm exterior.

When the call finally connected, he greeted her with a casual tone. “Hey, Lily, you busy? If not… would you want to come see me for the spring? The cherry blossoms are finally blooming, and I haven’t had the chance to see them with anyone yet.”

There was a slight pause as he adjusted his position, a faint smirk creeping across his lips.

"Thought it might be nice, you know... to have someone to appreciate them with."

He exhaled, gaze still fixed on the view outside of the dark N109 zone. "Never had the chance to see it with someone before." The words were quieter, almost absentminded, but laced with something unspoken

"Sorry, sorry," she apologized quietly when hearing him hiss in pain despite her trying to be careful. Still she continued, making sure it was all as clean as she could get it before covering it in gauze and bandages as needed.

His questions made her pause, processing them and thinking over her answers. She at least tried to take proper stock of herself so she could answer honestly, taking a slow breath.

"Certainly not the worst it's been, on all accounts. We should probably find something that doesn't involve a lot of movement, for both of our sakes. As for medicine...," she trailed off, her movements faltering as she genuinely debated if she'd remember to take her meds today or not. Brain fog is a bitch.

"I'm fine, don't worry... it's just a scratch. What about you? Isn't it a nope day? You should lie down..."

"I'm still going to worry," she insisted stubbornly, her eyebrows furrowed, "Sit down for now, I'll be right back."

As much as she knows she should listen to him and sit down, trust him to tend to himself, not over do it... She can't help but fuss. Is she going to pay for it later? Probably. But it's worth it to know he's okay now.

So she shuffled her way to the bathroom, grabbing a hair tie and messily pulling it back and out of the way for the time being. Once relatively satisfied with that, and once again dismissing the thought that short hair would be easier to deal with on days like this, she grabbed her first aid kit from under the sink and shuffled her way back to Xavier.

Once he hung up, Lily worked quickly to make herself look more properly put together. While she normally tried to focus on practicality when she knew she'd be spending time with Sylus since it's hard to tell when things are going to get a little.. chaotic, this time she opted to dress more for the occasion.

Grabbing a simple skirt with shorts underneath and a red blouse, she made sure she looked decent and had a hair tie for later, since she knows that it's very likely that he'll show up on his bike.

That thought was confirmed when hearing the engine rev outside, peeking out the window to see him.

Shaking her head in amusement, she grabbed her bag and went downstairs to meet him, her arms crossed playfully as she approached him, quirking a brow with a small smirk.

"Always have to make an entrance, hm?"

closed starter ofr: @lily-of-the-linkon

Sylus picked up his phone, swiping through the screen as he dialed Lily’s number, his thumb tapping rhythmically against the glass. He leaned back in his chair, watching the soft light of the afternoon filter through the blinds. As the phone rang, he let out a small sigh, a hint of impatience buried beneath the calm exterior.

When the call finally connected, he greeted her with a casual tone. “Hey, Lily, you busy? If not… would you want to come see me for the spring? The cherry blossoms are finally blooming, and I haven’t had the chance to see them with anyone yet.”

There was a slight pause as he adjusted his position, a faint smirk creeping across his lips.

"Thought it might be nice, you know... to have someone to appreciate them with."

He exhaled, gaze still fixed on the view outside of the dark N109 zone. "Never had the chance to see it with someone before." The words were quieter, almost absentminded, but laced with something unspoken

✏️

Send in ✏️ and I’ll use this (improved) incorrect quote generator featuring both our muses!

--

Lily: You’re alive. Caleb: No need to sound so disappointed.

--

Caleb: I don’t know, this plan seems complicated. Lily: You once said that about an orange. Caleb: They don’t make sense. Apples, you eat their clothes but oranges you don’t.

🐝  *  ―  𝑵𝑶𝑵-𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑺𝑻 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺. (  some triggering content ahead. add " + " to reverse the action.  )

[ wipe ] sender wipes away receiver's tears [ hurt ] sender hurts receiver with words [ lonely ] sender finds receiver alone in a dark room [ wounded ] sender patches up receiver's wounds [ crying ] sender finds receiver crying [ help ] sender runs to receiver when they scream for help [ nightmare ] sender wakes receiver up from a nightmare [ dying breath ] sender talks to receiver before dying [ hold on ] sender pulls receiver into their arms [ anger ] sender takes their anger out on receiver [ argue ] sender gets into a heated argument with receiver [ scared ] sender scares receiver [ sick ] sender cares for receiver while they are sick [ palm ] sender places a hand on receiver to stop them from doing something [ fight ] sender gets into a physical fight with receiver [ comfort ] sender tries to comfort receiver [ blood ] sender notices that receiver is bleeding [ collapse ] sender collapses into receiver's arms [ pressure ] sender puts pressure on receiver's wound [ slap ] sender slaps receiver in the face [ panic ] sender helps receiver through a panic attack [ lie ] sender catches receiver in a lie [ sobs ] sender sobs uncontrollably while receiver holds them [ hiding ] sender finds out that receiver has hidden an injury from them [ death ] sender just died, receiver finds out [ chin up ] sender lifts receiver's chin to stop them from hiding their tears [ fears ] sender talks to receiver about their fears [ scream ] sender screams at receiver [ coping ] sender teaches receiver some coping mechanisms [ loss ] sender is there for receiver after they've lost someone important to them [ needs ] sender asks receiver what they need [ bullet ] sender takes a bullet for receiver [ bruises ] sender finds bruises of unknown origin on receiver [ rainfall ] sender finds receiver out alone in the rain [ hospital ] sender wakes up in a hospital bed and finds receiver sitting by their bedside [ intrude ] sender walks in on receiver treating their wounds [ calming ] sender tries to calm down receiver [ inspection ] sender holds receiver's face while inspecting an injury they got [ rescue ] sender carries receiver to safety [ clean ] sender cleans blood off of receiver's body

The question prompted her to laugh, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Right, we want to avoid them being blackened anywhere. Make sure that they aren't shiny at all, paying close attention to the center. Use an oven mitt and give the tray a tiny shake. If they jiggle, they need a bit longer. If they don't jiggle, they should be good."

She wanted to give him the chance to check them over himself first and try to make a call before she went to give her own verdict. Low stakes practice!

As she placed the last cookie from the first batch on the plate, she debated grabbing one to try herself since it had already cooled off. Plus then they could see if they should make an icing for 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.