Lily Waited Patiently For Xavier To Finish His Food Enough To Get His Thoughts Out, Laughing A Little

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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His answer prompts her to tilt her head as she looked up to him. "We don't have to if you think it would taste bad, of course." She reminded gently. "Just because we want to try something new doesn't mean we have to completely forgo all preferences, after all."

His suggestion to eat outside earned an eager nod in response. "I think eating outside is a great idea! We could eat at the park, maybe?" She hummed, trying to think of any other places that might be a good place to eat and people-watch.

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 flashed Xavier a playful grin at his teasing, batting her eyelashes innocently. "The most pressing of questions~." She agreed through small giggles.

Truthfully, she'd spent a lot of time trying to figure out his preferences, but... sometimes he could be hard to read, especially in when it came to more 'trivial' matters such as colors. "Lavender, hm?" She hummed, tilting her head. "That makes sense. I honestly was starting to think it was white, since that's most of what you wear." She teased lightheartedly.

She easily followed his guidance around the uneven spot, turning her attention down curiously even though he'd already guided her away from danger. His question caught her off guard, prompting him to look up at him to confirm she heard correctly.

Her perfect life? It's not as though she hadn't ever thought about it. Of course she has. But that doesn't mean she ever thought she'd end up voicing her thoughts.

"My perfect life... All I'd really want is to be generally healthy, and for everyone I care about to be safe and healthy too... having enough time to spend with people I care about."

Perhaps it's the fatigue loosening her tongue, or maybe it's Xavier's presence, but she finds herself continuing despite herself.

"I just... wouldn't want to be alone."

❛ you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. ❜ 

Send me a prompt!

~

Normally, Lily tries to be fully aware of her surroundings. Working as a Hunter means she shouldn't let her guard down, especially when by herself. Who knows what threats are just waiting for a chance to strike, after all?

Though normally, Lily doesn't have to resort to late night walks to try and clear her mind so that she can sleep.

Suddenly hearing a voice nearby startles her out of her own thoughts, immediately setting her on alert. Her head whipped around towards the source, her posture tense and ready for a fight. Once she finally recognized Xavier, she let out a slow breath that ended in a sheepish laugh.

"Xavier!" She half-greeted, half-scolded.

Once she finally processed his warning, she offered what she hoped came across as a reassuring smile. "I know, I know. But I'm a big girl, I can handle going for a little starlit walk before bed." She teased, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm herself down further so her heart wasn't pounding so hard in her chest.

"What about you? You're out rather late too."

Lily lit up when Xavier didn't really question her, giggling as quietly as she could as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, just like she usually does when straightening out his hair.

This time, however, she also adds a cute little star-shaped hair clip to help keep his bangs out of his face.

After a few more moments, she finally spoke again. "Okay, open your eyes."

She had a compact mirror held up so he could see his reflection, having a matching clip in her own hair, on the opposite side as she'd placed his.

“I trust you” - @lily-of-the-linkon

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

--

Ask meme

When he set the tray on the counter, Lily moved to stand next to him and look at the cookies. She was momentarily distracted from her appraisal by his comment about thinking of her hair, flushing before laughing a little, hiding her face in his arm for a moment. "Just remember, you can't eat my hair," she teased, scrunching her nose up playfully.

Humming approvingly, she nodded and patting his shoulder excitedly, beaming up at him. "These look perfect! Good call! Give them a bit to cool, then we can put them on the plate with the others."

[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 think one of my favorite feelings is laughing with someone and realizing half way through how much you enjoy their existence.”

— Unknown

If anyone wanted to see what I almost chose for my profile pic :P

Lily has updated her profile picture!

Lily couldn’t help but snicker a little when Jeremiah commented on how easy her day was, nodding happily. “It probably means I'm going to have a rough or more tedious mission in the near future, but I'll deal with it when I get there.” She hummed casually, still examining the pin. “I really am fortunate to have as many friends as I do, and the fact they have such varied interests and backgrounds just makes it even better.” 

When he started to tease her and Xavier, she finally set the pin down to turn her attention back to her properly. “I may not know a whole lot about the stars, barely more than the average person, but I do love looking at the stars at night when I can. They're just so pretty…” 

There was a bit more to it, a feeling of something *more*, but that's hard to pinpoint and even harder to explain to someone. She'd rather that Jeremiah not think she's crazy when they're still getting to know each other. 

The barely-subtle suggestion that she make Xavier a new charm for his sword caught her off guard, even as her cheeks warmed up at the compliments. “It's something from highschool? It must be important to him, since it's in such good condition despite being on his sword…” she mused, tapping her cheek in absent thought. 

Jeremiah’s continued insistence made her giggle again though, shaking her head. “We’ll see. I might be able to find something, and if not I should be able to make something. I don't know if it would compete durability wise, though… I'd need to take a closer look at it…” 

At this point she's thinking out loud, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she tried to plan out the entire project in her head, where she could look for a pre-made one, what materials would work, what styles, everything. 

( 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!?"

If she were to be completely honest, Lily hadn't realized how much she needed the company. Perhaps that's what she needed, more than anything else...

Before she could dwell too much on the thought as she fell into step beside him, his warning sets her on alert again. She started to look around for what had set him on guard, using her Evol to try and sense for any threats their watches hadn't picked up on yet. She took a slight step closer to him, turning slightly to see if the threat might be behind them.

When she feels him relax she followed his gaze, relaxing when seeing the cat just across the street. Letting out a small laugh she carefully squatted down, still holding on to Xavier's hand for balance this time, trying to coax the cat over.

"Nothing wrong with that... It's nice, at night." She mused absently. "Especially outside, it's just so... peaceful."

❛ you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. ❜ 

Send me a prompt!

~

Normally, Lily tries to be fully aware of her surroundings. Working as a Hunter means she shouldn't let her guard down, especially when by herself. Who knows what threats are just waiting for a chance to strike, after all?

Though normally, Lily doesn't have to resort to late night walks to try and clear her mind so that she can sleep.

Suddenly hearing a voice nearby startles her out of her own thoughts, immediately setting her on alert. Her head whipped around towards the source, her posture tense and ready for a fight. Once she finally recognized Xavier, she let out a slow breath that ended in a sheepish laugh.

"Xavier!" She half-greeted, half-scolded.

Once she finally processed his warning, she offered what she hoped came across as a reassuring smile. "I know, I know. But I'm a big girl, I can handle going for a little starlit walk before bed." She teased, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm herself down further so her heart wasn't pounding so hard in her chest.

"What about you? You're out rather late too."

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