"Do you think Luna knows what we're doing?"
Lily glanced at Astra pointedly. "We told her that we were going shopping, three days before her birthday, and explicitly told her she couldn't come. She definitely knows what we're doing."
'What they were doing' was shopping. Lily had planned to get a birthday gift for Luna weeks ago, but hadn't been able to figure out what to get for her, and so had eventually resorted to asking Astra and Cobalt for help. The two had already picked something out, so this way, Lily could at least be sure she wouldn't accidentally get the same thing as them.
Of course, spending the afternoon with Astra and Cobalt without Luna to reel them in was bound to be mentally exhausting, especially when Astra was constantly stopping to look at every little thing that caught her eye, and already had a bag full of items before Lily had even found something for Luna.
Lily stopped to observe a neat potted plant, albeit a synthetic one, but still pretty. "What about this? Do you guys think she'd like it?"
Cobalt squinted at the plant. "I think you would like it."
"It's got purple flowers on it!" Lily protested, knowing that Cobalt was right anyway. "She likes purple, right?"
Her teammate patted her on the shoulder. "Try something else, Lil."
Lily sighed. They'd shot down everything she'd looked at so far. Saying she didn't need any new shirts, she already owned too many mugs, she didn't really wear jewellery.
"This isn't exactly something I'm used to, you know." Before that year, the only gifts she'd ever brought had been for her mother, and only when she'd been able to afford it. Buying for a friend was a lot different.
"Hey, you managed alright with me," Cobalt gave her a friendly nudge, "I use those pencils all the time."
"You're easy," Lily replied, "You like drawing, everyone knows that. Luna's…harder to figure out."
"She's got a point," Astra piped up, "Even I struggled to find something I knew she'd love, and I'm literally dating her."
Cobalt chuckled. "Come on, it's not like she's picky. Luna loves any gift that has meaning. You should definitely get her something she'll like, but it's pretty hard to get it wrong with her."
That was easy for him to say. Cobalt and Luna had practically grown up together; of course he knew her better than Lily or Astra could have. Gift-buying would be easy if you'd been doing it for that person for eighteen years. This year, he'd gotten her a beautiful tea set, and Astra had gotten a figurine of Luna's favourite cartoon character. Lily wasn't sure how she was supposed to measure up to that.
"Well, I'm pretty sure Astra's the only one finding anything to buy in here," Lily pointed out, glancing at her teammate and her bulging shopping bag, "Let's try somewhere else."
After Astra had paid for her stuff, the group left the small gift shop and stepped back out into the streets of Vale. It was a nice day for shopping, at least. With summer drawing to an end, the heat was getting less unbearable, and the sunlight was softened by a cool breeze from the mountains. It felt nicer to Lily to be outside, rather than stuck in a cramped and crowded shop. Out here, neat little trees grew alongside the sidewalk, thick with leaves that were just starting to dry out in preparation for autumn. As Lily walked underneath them, she reached out a hand to brush along the branches, replenishing the leaves until they were bright green again.
Cobalt watched her. "You know, those are just going to dry out again in a couple of days."
Astra nudged him. "Oh, let her have fun with her Semblance. I'd do the same thing if mine was as useful as that. It's fun, right Lily?"
"Yeah," Lily smiled, "It's fun." She didn't think she'd ever get bored of using her Semblance. How she'd gone for so many years without it, she'd never know.
She smirked. "Cobalt's just jealous because all he can do with his is throw rocks at things."
Cobalt looked playfully indignant. "Hey, come on! Can you reinforce your weapon with your Semblance?"
Lily didn't even look at him. "I can literally fire plant dust from Evening Jade and grow what comes out in any way I want."
Cobalt frowned in playful defeat. "Fair play, Lillian. Fair play."
"That is not my full name."
Astra's eyes twinkled, and Lily realized her mistake as the redhead leaned forward. "But you do have a full name?"
Cobalt bounded ahead of her. "Can we guess what it is?"
"Nope," Lily replied, as if there was any point.
Astra bounced along on her other side. "Is it Lilena?"
"Nope."
Cobalt stared at her closely. "Lilith?"
Lily tried not to react to his guess, to no avail.
Astra squinted dramatically. "Is it Lilith?"
Lily lifted her chin. "I'm not answering that."
Cobalt's blue eyes lit up. "It is Lilith! Wow."
Astra chuckled cheekily. "Why would you name yourself that?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "It sounded cool when I was twelve." She smirked at Astra. "And I don't think you're one to talk, Princess Astra."
Astra threw a hand over her chest, pretending to look hurt. "Ouch. And here I thought we were friends."
"Should've thought of that before you insulted my name," Lily tossed her head jokingly.
Astra stared at her, mock apology in her eyes. "Aw, I'm sorry Lilith. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Only if you stop calling me that," Lily laughed. "My mother's the only one who does."
"Speaking of which, isn't that her?"
Lily stopped in surprise and followed Cobalt's gaze. Sure enough, Emerald was seated outside a café, and even more surprisingly, Neo was with her. Lily wouldn't have thought the ex-criminal would show her face in public this soon. The two women were smiling as they sipped coffee, and Lily was struck by how happy they both looked.
Beside Lily, Astra drew in a loud and excited gasp, staring at the two women with sparkling eyes. She didn't speak, but bounced in place and gave Lily a pleading look.
"You know she'll go over there whether you let her or not," Cobalt pointed out.
"Alright," Lily gave in with a sigh; she would have gone to see them anyway, "Just try not to overwhelm them. No begging for a party."
As Lily and the others headed over, Emerald looked up and caught her gaze, her face lighting up with pleasant surprise. Neo turned too, smiling as she saw Lily.
"Wasn't expecting to see you out here," Emerald commented as Lily walked up, Cobalt and a barely-contained Astra behind her.
"I could say the same thing about you two," Lily replied, stopping beside the table. "I didn't think Neo would want to be out in public for a while yet."
Emerald smirked. "That was the case at first, until she decided she didn't want to be cooped up in one place anymore."
Neo leaned back, her eyes twinkling. "Maybe you were just too boring."
Emerald huffed. "Jerk. You're the one who asked me to come with you for coffee."
For all their teasing words, the affection between the two was louder than it had ever been, their banter clearly their way of communicating their feelings for each other. Lily found herself wondering how many dates they'd been on by now.
"So, these two must be Cobalt and Astra," Emerald commented, her gaze flicking from Neo to Lily's companions as Neo turned in her seat and offered a wave.
A squeal sounded in Astra's throat as Emerald addressed her. "It's so cool to meet you both! I'm a big fan of your work. Even yours," She winked at Neo, who winked back.
Thankfully, Emerald didn't look put off by Astra's enthusiasm. Lily wondered if she perhaps even appreciated being treated as a hero of Remnant for once, and not an ex-criminal. "It's good to finally meet you two in person. I've heard good things."
The glow in Astra's eyes was briefly replaced by a teasing glint as she turned to Lily. "Aww, have you been bragging about us?"
Lily gave her a light punch in the arm. "You wish."
"Oh, she talks about you lot all the time," Emerald told Astra, giving Lily away in an instant. "Always going on about how lucky she is to have such good friends."
Cobalt leaned on her shoulder. "Aw, our Lily has a soft spot for us. I knew we were appreciated."
Lily shook him off lightly. "Come on, you guys know I care about you. Or whatever." Of course, that didn't make it any less embarrassing to have her mother comment on it in front of them.
"So, where's Luna?" Emerald asked, "I would've expected to find the four of you together at all times."
"We're birthday shopping for her," Lily explained. "It's in two days and I haven't managed to find anything."
Emerald sipped at her coffee. "I'm surprised you're having a hard time," she replied, "You always managed to find me the perfect gifts."
Lily smiled gratefully at her. "Okay, but you're biased."
"Maybe," Emerald chuckled. "But you know, I always did love whenever you'd make me those handmade cards. You always put everything you had into them. I still have them all, actually."
Something twigged in Lily's mind. That was something she hadn't thought of- making something for Luna, instead of buying it. She didn't have a lot of time, but maybe she could pull something together in the next two days.
Lost in thought, she almost didn't notice Neo signing at her. "For future reference, my birthday's November 25."
Lily laughed. "Got it. I'll be sure to get you something special."
Astra's gaze flicked between Neo and Lily. "I've really gotta learn sign language at some point," she commented, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Neo turned to face her. "You should. It's a fun way to make fun of people without them knowing."
Astra glanced at Lily. "What did she say?"
Lily hid a chuckle behind her hand. "Don't worry about it."
Astra's only response was to look very skeptical.
Lily's mind was now racing with ideas of what to do for Luna, itching to get started as soon as possible. She needed something that would last, and something that would be meaningful. An idea started to form.
"We should get going," she told Emerald and Neo, "As much as I'm sure Astra would love to stay and get to know more of her idols, I've got a gift to plan."
Astra's face fell. "Aww."
Emerald smiled kindly. "You'll have to bring your team over to visit sometime," she suggested, "I'm sure they'd love to hear all of your most embarrassing childhood stories." Astra instantly perked back up again.
"If they're lucky," Lily chuckled, "And if they're very nice to me."
After saying her goodbyes, Lily left Emerald and Neo to their date, her head still full as she pieced together how to achieve what she wanted to create.
"I take it you've come up with something then?" Cobalt asked.
Lily nodded. "I think so. But I might need some help. Are either of you any good at carving wood?"
