#the runaway and the protector (lily&lc)

[forthedancingandthethriving]

(An apology for all the angst lately, lol)

"Lily! Lily, wake up!"

Lily grumbles as she wakes, rubbing her eyes. She sees Lil Coding in his cat form, standing on her stomach. His tail is wagging, and it just confirms Lily's suspicion that he might be part dog.

"What?" she grumbles, gently pushing on his face to get him away.

"C'mon, we need to get up and get everything ready!" Lil Coding chuckles before hopping off of her bed.

The young girl grumbles and sits up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. She reaches for her phone on the nightstand by her bed and turns it on. She deadpans, looking down at the cat. "Get what ready, LC? It's 5 AM!"

"All the stuff for Father's Day, duh!" the cat chuckles again.

She tilts her head as she pushes off her blanket and gets out of bed. "Father's Day..?"

"Yeah!" Lil Coding nods. "For papa and dad!"

Lily hesitates. She knew full well who Lil Coding was referring to. "But.. they.. aren't my dads."

The Code snorts softly but stays quiet. He decides not to call her out on the fact that he used to think the same thing back when he first met his dads.

"Well, doesn't mean you can't help me!" he instead hums, padding over to the door. "Dad and papa actually wake up pretty early, around 8 AM, so we have some time. But we're gonna go get them some gifts!"

"What kind?" she asks, slipping on her shoes before following. She doesn't bother changing. All she wore to bed was sweatpants and a t-shirt anyway. "Like.. computer parts or something?"

"Exactly!" Lil Coding chuckles.

"Oh."

○●○

The two are in a well known computer store just an hour later, scouring through the shelves.

"What.. are we looking for exactly?" Lily asks, keeping her voice soft. They were the only ones in the store, other than the cashier.

Lil Coding pulls out a list and hands it to her. It's divided into two, one list for SMG4 and another for SMG3. "I divided it cause it's easier." the Code shrugs.

The young girl giggles before nodding. She points to SMG3's. "I can get his stuff, and you can get 4's stuff?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Lil Coding nods. He glances once more at the list before walking off towards the parts he would need to get.

Lily took a small breath before glancing down at the list. She then glances back at the basket she's holding before exhaling. She could do this. It was fine. Lil Coding was literally two aisles over, what was she worrying about?

The young girl then, while constantly checking the list, got the parts that were needed. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Maybe it was because it was still so early and there weren't any people in the store.

"Got everything?" Lil Coding's sudden question made her yelp in surprise and back away. She huffs at her friend as he chuckles gently.

"Yeah, I did." she nods.

"Great!" he smiles. "Let's go!"

"Don't.. we need to pay?" Lily furrows her eyebrows.

The Code purses his lips before grabbing her hand. "There's a reason why I brought us to the only store with nonfunctional cameras and through the back entrance."

"Lil Coding-!"

○●○

A while later, they returned to the castle, and with relative ease, the duo had upgraded SMG4&3's computer. They ran much smoother now, even smoother than before, and they had even upgraded some other aspects, too.

"Okay.. so what now?" Lily asks.

"I'll make them breakfast!" Lil Coding smiles. "And you can get them flowers!"

"Why can't I help make breakfast?" Lily crosses her arms.

As her friend stares at her, she looks away sheepishly, remembering the last several times she tried to cook. It always ended up with her burning herself and the stove somehow exploding.

"Okay." she huffs.

"I have some flowers out on the table, but I don't really know which ones work best.." he admits sheepishly and watches at Lily walks out.

As she walks back out to the foyer and to the table, she looks at the vase and the flowers there. Red roses and.. nothing else.

She purses her lips, thinking, before an idea came to mind. Of course!

She smiles and rushes to her room and rushes over to the several vases of flowers on the windowsill by her bed. Whenever she had the chance, she liked to help Luigi out at his flower shop, and sometimes he'd let her take home some flowers as thanks.

She gently takes out gardenias and peonies. She checks them other with a hum both nodding, satisfied. The young girl rushes out of her room and back to the table, gently inserting the gardenias and peonies into the vase.

Lily spends a while arranging them, and it takes her long enough that she doesn't even realize Lil Coding had finished cooking. Just as she finishes arranging the flowers, her best friend walks out of the kitchen, carrying the tray with two plates.

"Ready?" he smiles.

She picks up the vase and nods. "Ready!"

The two make their way to SMG4's room, which they knew SMG3 was sleeping in since he hadn't gone back to the Internet Graveyard the night before. Lily's the one to open the door and walk in first, her brother best friend close behind.

As she set the vase on the nightstand next to SMG3, she notices the two waking up.

"Lily..? Lil Coding..?" SMG4 mutters as he slowly sits up, rubbing his eyes. "What are you two doing up so early..? It's 8 AM.."

"We know!" Lil Coding chuckles, voice soft as he watches his papa grumble as he wakes. "Buuuuut it's Father's Day! And we wanted to make you guys breakfast! And Lily made the flower vase for you guys!"

The two SMGs blink in surprise, seeing the tray with the plates and then Lily standing to the side sheepishly, looking at the floor.

3 chuckles softly and reaches over, patting Lily's head and then his son's. "Thanks, kids. I can't imagine how long this must've took."

"Lil Coding got us up at 5 AM to get everything ready." Lily says, crossing her arms.

"5 AM?" 4 narrows his eyes at Lil Coding. "Why in the world would you be up at 5 AM?'

"We were upgrading your computers, and it took a while." Lil Coding admits with the sheepish chuckle.

SMG3 laughs softly while SMG4 only shakes his head with a gentle chuckle. Lily smiles at how happy they sound.

"Well, thank you, you two." 4 smiles and Lily feels.. prideful. Like she did something good.

"You're welcome!" the two children giggle with warm smiles. This was a good start to Father's Day.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Tw: discussions of emotional neglect

A quick trip to the hospital and with Lily's ankle wrapped up, the two were in the large, iconic park of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Lily hesitates as she glances over at Lil Coding, who was leaning against the tree they were sat in front of. He was looking up at the sky, watching the clouds with a smile.

"I.. I don't really want to go home." Lily finally speaks, voice trembling.

Her statement grabs Lil Coding's attention immediately, and he looks at her with a frown. "Huh? Why? Do you not feel safe?"

"I.. I don't." She admitted. "I-"

"Are those Rosen Stringer guys stalking your house?" Lil Coding sighs. "Damn, those guys are persistent. Well, maybe I could set up some barriers for you or-"

"N-no. It's not them." Lily cuts him off.

The Code frowns. "Huh?"

"It's.. my parents. I.. don't feel safe around them. Especially with my voice." the girl continues. "They.. they don't.. they don't love me like parents should."

The Coding goes to say something but instead doesn't, biting his tongue. He was well aware that he had good parents, and he was also aware that not everyone had parents as good as he did.

"Do they.. hurt you?" Lil Coding asks, choosing his words carefully.

"Not physically.." Lily mutters. She brings her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them. "But they don't really care about how I feel.. as long as I sing and make money for them.."

The young code slowly shuffles closer to her and wraps an arm around her. "As long as you sing for them? But... children aren't allowed to be nationally known singers unless given express permission by Princess Peach.."

".. my last name is Estrella." Lily closes her eyes and she feels Lil Coding jolt beside her.

"Estrella? You mean the same Estrella name behind the.. management of... the singer..." he trails off, eyes going wide.

He looks at her, ears flicking. "You're Anonymous L. That's why no one knows you're a kid. You're Anonymous L."

It went quiet between them again both tried to figure out what to say or what to do.

Slowly, Lil Coding pulls her into a hug and closes his eyes. Lily returns the hug, hiding her face in his neck.

"They dont.. they don't care about how I feel.." she whispers, voice cracking. "They just tell me to ignore the stress and keep singing.. and I.. I can't.."

She grips the back of his overalls. "When.. when I ran into you today?.. I.. I was running away from them.. I couldn't take it anymore.."

"I think I understand." Lil Coding whispers, rubbing her back. "You don't need to tell me more."

The two stay like that for several moments, with Lil Coding rubbing her back. After a bit, they finally pull away from each other, with Lily rubbing her eyes and Lil Coding smiling a bit.

"Why don't you come live with my family and I at the castle?" he offers. "I'm sure it'll be better than living with your partners."

She raises an eyebrow. ".. this is just kidnapping, but asking beforehand."

He grins. "So that's a yes!"

Lily laughs softly as he picks her up and helps move her onto his back. He gently pats her back with his tail before running off in the direction of the castle.

○●○

"Did you guys hear the news?" Meggy asks the next morning, after the whole situation with Lily was concluded. "The Estrellas have been arrested!"

"What?!" Boopkins cries. "They're the people who manage Anonymous L! Aw man.."

SMG4 tilts his head. "How'd they get arrested?"

"Apparently, they were caught trafficking endangered and exotic animals." Meggy informs him whilst showing him an article on her phone. "The prosecutor is looking for the full sentence of 60 years!"

SMG4 frowned. "Aren't they, like, in their mid 30s? Won't they end up dying in prison?"

Meggy shrugs. "Probably."

"Can't do the time, don't do the crime!" Lil Coding calls from the couch where he was watching cartoons with Lily.

"You had something to do with that, huh?" Lily whispers.

The Code only grins. "No clue what you mean."

[forthedancingandthethriving]

"Okay, time to GOOOOO!" Lil Coding shouts, picking up Lily and running out of the room.

"I TOLD YOU THIS COMPETITION WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!" Lily shouts as well, clinging onto her friend as he sharply turns a corner. Behind them, thugs from Azura's gang chase after them, shouting and yelling.

"BUT THE CASH PRICE!" Lil Coding whines.

His feet pound against the floor as he runs through the halls of the overly-complicated building. He quickly accesses memories from a few hours ago and grits his teeth.

He instead turns left instead of right, making Lily gasp. "What're you doing?!" she cries. "This isn't the way we came in!"

"Yeah, but this is the quickest way out!" Lil Coding informs her, moving to the side to avoid daggers thrown their way. He briefly sees them hit the floor, a strange liquid coating them.

He marks the memory.

After what feels like hours of running, Lil Coding finally sees the exit door. He rushes forward and punches it open, not even caring for the fact that it falls off the hinges. He runs out of the building adjacent to the arena and continues running.

The wind blows around the two, swirling and blowing. It pushes and nudges them forward, in a safer direction. One they can't be easily followed.

Lil Coding takes that direction, muttering a thanks to the universe as he does.

Finally, they get to a stopping point, and Lil Coding sets Lily down. He leans against a tree, panting softly as Lily looks back at the building and arena, now small specks in the distance.

"Azura.. seemed afraid." she finally says.

"You noticed that too?" Lil Coding blinks, looking at her.

Lily nods. "Yeah.. she.. she seemed fidgety and nervous, even when disgused as that announcer.." She looks back at him. "And she kept giving us bogus points so we could win. That's.. That's not how Azura goes. She's been hunting me for a while now and.. she's crazy about honor and doing things honorably. She's messed up in the head for hunting me, don't get me wrong, but.. this just.. isn't like her."

Her eyebrows furrow. "This isn't how Azura works."

Lil Coding is quiet before he pulls out a folded note from his pocket. "This fell on the floor when she was confronting us. I thought it was maybe from her. She passed it out and then took it back. But.. now I'm not sure."

Lily takes it and opens it.

The orders are simple. Capture the girl and the boy, then bring them back. Don't fail.

The young girl swallows a growing lump in her throat. Her mouth feels dry. "This isn't Azura's handwriting. It's too neat.."

Lil Coding looks back at the arena in the distance. His eyes narrow as he thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Let's talk about it when we're back at the kingdom."

Lily nods and pockets the note, jogging after Lil Coding as he jogs off. But she can't help but throw one more glance back at the two structures in the distance before continuing to follow him.

...

"What are we going to do, boss?" one thug asks Azura as they stand on the highest wall of the arena, gazing in the direction their two targets went. "Lady Rose.. she'll kill you!"

"Better me than you all." the blue haired woman scoffs. Her face then softens, a resigned expression showing. "But.. You're right. I'm absolutely dead."

"Maybe we could hide you somewhere. Or we could-"

The thug falls quiet as she places a hand on their shoulder. She smiles bittersweetly. "You know as well as I do that Lady Rose is going to send Anton to find me. And I don't want you guys getting in the way of that."

Azura pushes them towards the door. "Head back to the base. If you don't hear from me in three days.. let Anne know she's in charge, okay?"

She watches as, reluctantly, the thug nods and walks away. She looks up towards the sky, watching as storm clouds began to gather. Thunder cracked and the wind began to howl, almost cutting at her like knives.

Azura let out a laugh. "I never thought this would be how I go out, killed with no defense, but hey! Who am I to judge?"

She crosses her arms behind her back. "There was just.. no honor, in this. Those kids didn't have a chance."

The bounty hunter wasn't stupid. She knew she was a horrible person. She had killed so, so many people. But in the end, it wouldn't affect her life, so she didn't care. Who cares if other people got hurt? The only way she was affected was by money, and that's it.

But she still cared for honor. She wanted her victims to have a chance. It what made it fun. At the very least she gave them a choice!

Azura closes her eyes, blonde hair blowing with the wind. "Well.. I guess this'll be the last time I have these thoughts. Better get going to the boss."

She turns and leaves, just as the sky flashes with lightning and rain pours down.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

(Trading one kind of angst for another >:3)

"Guys! Lily and I are home!" Lil Coding calls as he pushes the doors to the showgrounds castle. The afformentioned girl is right behind him, brushing off dirt from the playground.

Silence is what greets them.

The two kids stop and frown, looking at each other. As the doors to the castle close behind them, the two walk into the foyer and look around.

The foyer is.. messy. Well, there was always some sort of mess, but never this messy.

It's as tho there was a fight or something.

"Dad? Papa?" Lil Coding calls, walking to the right.

"Uh.. Tari? Luigi?" Lily calls, walking to the left.

Both begin to search the castle, looking for the rest of the gang. But.. they were nowhere to be found.

The two met up by the bottom of the stairs, Lil Coding frowning, and Lily having wrapped her arms around herself.

"They can't have just disappeared.." the Code mutters, looking around and not seeing Lily bend down to pick up something. "Where could they have-"

"LC..." Lily suddenly whimpers, making the Code look at her. His eyes lock onto the paper she's holding.

Gingerly, he takes it from her and reads it.

It's a set of coordinates and a message.

Be here as soon as you can. Both of you. I doubt you want your family getting hurt.

- Lady Rose

Lil Coding feels himself shaking with rage. Lily is trembling.

How did she get them? There was no possible way she should've been able to. Even if she had spies or something, his family.. their abilities, they should be able to defend themselves well enough.

There must have been a trap. Or something. There had to of been.

"What are we going to do?" Lily whispers.

"What else can we do?" Lil Coding asks grimly.

Gently, his best friend takes his hand and squeezes it. As he pulls up the command box and readies the teleport command, a though comes to mind.

Preemptively, he opens a chat box and then minimizes it.

Finishing the teleport command, he exhales. "I'll protect you."

"I know." she nods.

With a single click, the two disappear in a soft, purple light.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

"Did you twist your ankle?" Lil Coding frowns.

Lily smiles nervously, leaning against the rock. The two were currently in a damn canyon, mostly due to Lil Coding being forced to use a teleportation command to save them from Azura and her thugs after they had jumped them again.

"Uh.. I think?" she shrugs. "It.. definitely doesn't feel good."

Lil Coding kneels down and gently takes her ankle into his hands, inspecting it. He frowns, ears flicking. "Mm.. yeah, it's definitely twisted. Hold still for a second."

The girl tilts her head, going to ask, but watches in amazement as green strings appear and gently wrap around her ankle. The strings continue to appear and wrap before finally stopping.

Her ankle wasn't throbbing anymore, and it almost felt as though there wasn't any pain. Her eyes sparkle at that as she leans down, gently pushing at her ankle. "Woah.. what did you do?"

"Just used some code to act as a cast until we finally manage to get back." Lil Coding answers before turning down. He then kneels down, tail flicking.

"Huh?"

"Hop on." he chuckles. "Even if the strings are gonna keep you out of pain.. it'd be better if you didn't walk. So, hop on!"

Lily hesitates before nodding, taking a few steps forward before hopping onto his back. She lets out a small squeak as he stands up, and she wraps her arms around his neck whilst he grabs her legs.

"Can't you teleport again?" she asks as the Code begins to walk.

"In about 5 hours if we want a random location, 10 if we want to teleport directly to my home."

Lily gapes. "What?!"

"It's a complicated command." Lil Coding sighs. "It takes in your exact location, the area you're in, and the actual entirety of the location, and then you need to know the exact coordinates of where you're teleporting. And then it takes in the area of that location, the entirety of that location, and everything else."

He exhales. "And it takes a lot out of me too. I don't use it a lot."

Lily lets out a hum before frowning. "I'm so sorry for dragging you into this.."

"Hey, don't apologize!" the Code turns his head to look at her. "I would've helped you anyway! It's just how I am, you know?"

Lily nods before silence befell the two of them.

"How old are you?" she asks after an hour or two.

"Huh?" he blinks.

"Like.. are you older than me? Younger?" Lily tilts her head.

"Uh.. I'm 12, mentally." he answers.

"Mentally?" she frowns.

"Yeah. You know how I said I'm basically code and I have a physical form?" he asks, continuing as she nods. "So basically, when I was made, I was given the maturity, knowledge, and all that of a 12 year old!"

"You don't act 12.." Lily hums.

"Yeah.." he chuckles nervously. "I'm.. a little jaded, after a lot of stuff."

Lily frowns but doesn't press at that. "Well.. I'm 11."

Lil Coding nods at that and he continues walking.

It's been several more hours, and Lil Coding is painfully aware of how hot Lily is getting. The sun is beating down on the both of them, but he isn't bothered in the slightest, mostly due to being code. But Lily was human, and humans weren't meant to be out in the sun for hours on end.

Lil Coding looks around before gasping from relief. A quick jog soon had the two underneath a stone arch, and he was kneeling down to let her off of his back. She let out a small 'thanks' before slumping against the formation.

Quickly thinking, he pulled up a command box and summoned a few water bottles and handed them to her. Lily didn't even question it, instead taking one and drinking from it.

"You cool down, and then we'll continue." he informs her, and she nods.

Lil Coding leans against the rock formation as well, ears twitching as he listens out for any noises. They were fairly close to the desert, this canon being a couple hundred miles from it. However, if he remembered right, that was southeast, and they were currently going northwest.

As long as they continued the way they were going, they should make it back to the kingdom soon enough.

His ear flicks, picking up footsteps. Casually, as to not alter Lily, he looks up and around, trying to find the source of the noise.

And then he sees them. Thugs wearing rose red shirts and black combat pants, paired with black boots and belts with various weapons.

However, most disheartening was the emblem of a rose wrapped in strings on their sleeves.

"We need to go." Lil Coding slowly picks up Lily, flicking his tail and having the other water bottles vanish. She looks at him, confused, before looking in the same direction as him.

He watches, ears pinning back as she stifles a gasp.

Without a second thought, he shifts her so he's carrying her bridal style, and takes off running.

"DOWN THERE!"

"QUICK, FOLLOW THEM!"

Lil Coding curses, running faster. He was so glad that he was not only a kid, but a Code with a huge amount of stamina.

His ears flick when he spots a cliff in the distance and the familiar and welcoming sight of trees and towering buildings. He quickly changes direction, heading towards the cliff.

"What are you doing?!" Lily cries, clinging to him tighter.

"Just trust me, okay?" he responds, narrowing his eyes. "I need you to trust me one more time!"

She didn't hesitate to nod but still closed her eyes, clinging to the Code tightly.

"LATER, SUCKERS!" he shouts over his shoulder towards the thugs chasing them, and he jumps off of the cliff, still holding on tightly to Lily.

Soon, he lands at the bottom, the duo now safely obscured by the trees and flora. He shifts Lily onto his back and breaks into a run, grinning.

"We're nearly there!" Lil Coding chuckles, and Lily can't help but let out a small cheer.

○●○

"I'm sorry, Your Eminence." Azura hangs her head as she kneels in front of a figure laying across a red velvet sofa. "My men couldn't catch the girl."

"Again."

"Again." Azura closes her eyes, not flinching as wine is splashed over her head. She had been working with this client for years now and had come to understand what to say and what not to say, and what to do and what not to do.

All she had to do was give the answers her client wanted to hear and it'd be okay.

"You had a perfect opportunity this time." the figure on the chair snaps. She's dressed in a rose red cloak, which had green vines and string patterns all over it. "Everything had been meticulously planned. And yet you failed again."

"I want a good reason."

"She had help, Your Eminence!" Azura clenches her fist. "A young boy with unnatural abilities helped her escape."

"Unatural abilites?" the figure stops swirling what was remaining of the wine in her glass.

"Yes. He had been able to summon spears and strings from out of the air, was able to teleport, and could run faster than a child should." Azura took a small breath. "It was as if he wasn't human."

The figure was quiet before humming. She sips from her glass before sighing. "I'd normally find this hard to believe, but Anton had indeed been scouting and saw that child for herself."

"You are dismissed, Azura."

"Yes, Your Eminence!" Azura quickly nods before getting up and exiting the room, heart pounding in her chest.

The figure sighs, as if this some sort of annoyance. "Oh, how I do want that Lily in my grasp. With that siren-like singing voice, it's no wonder her parents are using her as a cash grab."

"Would you like me to monitor the boy, Your Grace?" A man steps out from the shadows.

"Yes, Anton." the figure addresses the man. "As soon as you're dismissed."

She looks down at her wine glass and hums, gazing at the bit of wine left. She then gazes at Anton, who suppresses a shiver.

"We may need help with that boy. So, keep a close eye on him. Meanwhile.. I will be considering some.. contacts, if you will. Now, you're dismissed."

"Of course, Lady Rose." Anton bows before retreating into the shadows. "Your will is my joyous command."

Lady Rose smiles, swirling the wine in her cup once more. Ah, the perks of being a cult leader.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

The explosion rocks the street outside, and instinctively, Lil Coding grabs Lily and the two dive under the counter of the store they were in to hide from the outside view.

"Great, what now?!" Lily hisses to herself. "Can't we just have one good day?"

Lil Coding doesn't respond as he peers around the counter. Though he quickly pulls back, the ears on his head pinning back. "Say, uh.. Do you know an organization that has a rose with strings on it for a symbol?"

"N-no..?" Lily swallows. "Azura and her thugs are the only ones who ever hunted me.."

Lil Coding grits his teeth, peering around the counter again. "Then we need to go."

"What? Why?"

The Code doesn't answer immediately as he grabs her hand rushes towards the back exit of the store they were in. The duo is there in no time, quickly leaving through the back door.

Before Lily can ask her her question, it gets answered for her by shouting out front.

"We're looking for a young girl named Lily! She has brown hair and green eyes and wears a blue and purple shirt with blue jeans! If you see her, please bring her to us!" a male voice shouts.

"Come on!" Lil Coding whispers, and he motions to a ladder on the side of the building. He begins to climb up it, followed close behind by Lily. Once the two were on the roof, Lily hopped onto his back, and the Code broke into a run, jumping from roof to roof and heading to the castle.

Unfortunately, they didn't make it far before a man jumped in front of them, making Lil Coding screech to a halt.

The man had to have been around 6'2, and he was pretty muscular as well. He was wearing a rose red cloak, yet the hood was down, letting them see his foggy green eyes and vibrant red hair. The rose with strings symbol was on the cloak as well, shadowed menacingly by the man.

"I believe you're taking someone that should be coming with us." Lil Coding and Lily both shuddered at how blank the man sounded.

Lil Coding didn't even think. He quickly brought up the command box, pasted the teleport command, and activated it.

Just in time as well, as the man lunged at them, trying to grab either one of them. But it didn't work, as the duo disappeared in a flash of purple light.

The man turns and glares at the spot where the two had previously been. He jumps off the roof and lands on the street, looking at his subordinates. "Begin searching the entire city. Send more people outward, towards the smaller towns. Leave no location unchecked."

"Yes, Anton, sir!"

Anton nods to himself before hissing in pain, touching his throbbing forehead.

Do not fail me.

"I won't." he whispers, and the pain vanishes.

Anton exhales and shakes his head, eyes now somehow more foggy than before. He looks up to the sky and clenches his fists.

He wouldn't fail Lady Rose. Not like Azura had.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

"Forum and Domain are hiding something."

Lily blinks in surprise and looks at Lil Coding, whose eyes are narrowed. He's looking out the window, tapping his foot against the floor. She's never seen her friend so serious before.

"What makes you say that?" she asks, looking up from her drawing.

"They haven't been around as much, and they're rarely talking to anyone now." Lil Coding got up from his bed and walked over to the window of his and Lily's room. He peers out of it, tail lashing back and forth. "There's something going on, I'm sure of it!"

"Maybe you're just being paranoid." Lily frowns. "A lot has been happening recently.."

"Maybe." he sighs. He pushes away from the window, and his form changes to his cat form. He walks over to the door and slips through the cat door attached to it, which had been added after a couple of times he was stuck in cat form and couldn't open the door.

He pauses when he sees the USBs. Their backs are to him, so they don't see him, but he can see their backs.

On both of their backs, he can see lines of code. Which shouldn't be possible. Their holograms were solid in color, not transparent at all. He wouldn't be able to see the code of the holograms, yet he could.

The more he looks at the patches of exposed code, the more worried he feels. He finally tears his vision away to look at his dads, who are talking to Domain and Forum. They seem fine, don't even look alarmed, and Lil Coding can't tell if that's because they're happy to see their dads or if it's because the USBs have hidden it well.

Domain and Forum were hiding something.

He slowly slinks back through the cat door and continues to watch the conversation. Eventually, Domain and Forum turn to leave. He watches with shock as their holograms quickly repair, covering the patches of exposed code as their backs become visible to their sons.

Lil Coding backs into his and Lily's room fully and doesn't acknowledge the strange look Lily gives him.

'What the heck?' is all he can think as he stares at the door.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Lil Coding: Allow me to take 20 seconds to read you an excerpt of the "Does Bruno Mars Is Gay?" rumor mill.

Lily, giggling: Yeah? Cause I've thought the same thing myself. Does Bruno Mars Is Gay? I have to know!

Lil Coding: "Bruno Mars is gay is the most discussed in the media in the few years ago. Even it has happened in 2012, but some of the public still curious about what is exactly happening and to be the reason there is a rumor comes out about his gay."

Lily, laughing: Oh my god! I can't believe this is real!

Lil Coding: "At that time he became the massive social networking rumor. The public, especially his fans are shocked. He just came out with his bad rumor which is spread massively. This time is not about his music career, but his bad rumor. The rumor is out of standardize of hoax."

Lily: What?!

Lil Coding: "According to the last reported this singer revealed himself as homosexual. Do you still believe or not, this rumor is really much talked by people even in a person of his fans."

Lil Coding: So I- *wheeze* I hope that cleared it up for you.

Lily: So, I- *small wheeze* Did he actually come out as gay?

Lil Coding: I DON'T FREAKING KNOW! You can gleam anything from that?

Lily, laughing: Not really!

Lil Coding: This is going to be a question that haunts me every day for the rest of my life.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Lily: So can you change colors constantly? Like a lava lamp?

Lil Coding: Only one way to find out!

*later*

SMG4: Lily, have you seen Lil Cod- OH MY GOD!?

Lil Coding, in his cat form and inside of a giant lava lamp while changing colors: We can explain-