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Another night has fallen above Liyue Harbor, the city was illuminated by the lanterns. Citizens going back to their house from a long day working, while other went outside for a refreshing nocturnal walk. While the harbor was still quietly falling asleep, some people’s night was still far from done. At Third-Round Knockout, three people were having an unusual gathering. The consultant of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, a famous bard from Mondstadt, and the almighty ruler of Inazuma.
The three Archons were gathered around a large table inside the restaurant, in a quiet place where they could avoid drawing attention to them. After all, what would the people think if they saw the Raiden Shogun feasting with a simple bard and a member of the Funeral Parlor? The suspicions were already looming over them when the Electro Archon herself arrived from Captain Beidou’s boat, greeted by her fellow Archons in disguise. Or when the three of them walked together all the way to the restaurant in a comfortable silence. Once they settled comfortably, the trio began their heart-warming reunion, talking about each other’s stories. Their chit-chat was briefly interrupted by the waitress’s arrival, “Greeting’s lady and gentlemen, how can I help you today?”. The three companions gazed upon the menu, the decision being quite difficult. “I’ll have a plate of Matsutake Meat Rolls please” Zhongli said, “I think I’ll take some of your Rice Buns” followed Ei, “And give us your best dessert wine!” finished Venti. Zhongli and Ei eyed his rather… unique choices for a dinner. “Excellent choices! Your order will arrive shortly, enjoy your stay at Third-Round Knockout!” The waitress exclaimed, before turning to Ei and bowing to her, “Your excellency” “No need for such formalities please, just treat me as an ordinary customer” Ei replied with an embarrassed smile. The waitress simply nodded and walked away, leaving the trio alone again. “I must say I expected your choice in drink, but I didn’t know you’d even skip the main course” Zhongli said, looking at Venti, “Hey! It’s a special occasion, it’s not every day that we get to gather around the same table, plus, I’m pretty sure a certain someone will be loving my order~” The bard teasingly claimed, turning his gaze to Ei, “Do not expect me to take part in your alcoholic activities Barbatos” the Electro Archon calmy replied, not looking away from the menu, desperately looking for a dish that would satisfy her sweet tooth. “You don’t need to look for dessert you know, as said earlier, I believe my order can satisfy your need for a sweet meal”, “Is that so?”, Ei seemed finally more interested in Venti’s proposition, , “Let’s not forget Ei has a reputation to maintain, she can’t afford to lose her senses just for a beverage” before the God of Freedom could go on with his corruption, the elder archon interrupted them, making the short bard sighting in defeat, “Alas, I guess you are right… My apologies Ei, it seems you will have to eat salty tonight” The younger god frowned to the sentence, she knew Zhongli was right, but the idea of having a dessertless meal was just unbearable.
The chit-chat between the three Archons continued for a while, only to be interrupted again by a different waiter, holding two plates. “Ladies and Gentlemen, your meal. Sir, my Lady” He said as he served Zhongli and Ei’s orders, the two thanking him for his service. Their host then turned to Venti “Sir, your wine will arrive shortly” The Mondstadien bard nodded, patiently waiting, letting the waiter walk away. “You two can start without me- “The two were already anyway, clearly enjoying their meal. Venti giggled to himself, enjoying the other two’s presence, before something crossed his mind. “Hey guys um… Who’s paying?” He hesitantly asked. The three looked at each other, perfectly understanding that none of them had any way of payment. Fortunately, a voice familiar to Zhongli called for him. “Well, if it isn’t Zhongli! I should have known you’d be around here!”. The geo archon, who already figured out who it was, got up and turned to face the voice, who belonged to a rather tall ginger man. “Greetings Childe” He coldly answered, “Hey now, what did I do to get such a cold salutation? There’re no hard feeling for what happened the last time right?” The Fatui Harbinger faked an offended expression, “Oh no, do not worry about it, I was just wondering why a Fatui Harbinger would be following a group including the Electro Archon”, “I see, you have a sharp eye you know? But I assure you I have no interest in your girlfriend, nor your boyfriend” Zhongli frowned in confusion at the last words, ‘girlfriend’ ‘boyfriend’? How did he figure out? “I just happened to see my old comerade Zhongli, and I decided to follow him! After all what would you do without your walking wallet?” He winked, pulling a bag of Mora, the god of Contracts kept a neutral expression, knowing exactly what Tartaglia was talking about. “So, Zhongli, care to save your date?” The ginger had a smug smile on his voice, to Zhongli’s annoyance. “This is not a date-“ “It is!” Venti’s voice happily echoed from the back, “But your monetary contribution would be indeed helpful” “We’re doing the nasties afterward!” Zhongli turned to give a death glare to the Anemo God, who looked back with an innocent face, while Ei was looking away to hide her red flustered face from that last statement. After a grunt, Zhongli turned to Childe, who was holding back his laughers. “Well comrade, don’t worry about that! Your date is on my expenses!” The Harbinger enthusiastically gave the bag of mora to Zhongli, and with that, he left. “Enjoy your date!” He said, insisting on the word ‘date’, to Zhongli’s annoyance. The lord of geo came back to sit with the other two, Venti was giving a taunting smirk while Ei was still recollecting herself, the three of them didn’t speak, the taller archons silently continuing their meal while the smaller one was waiting for his order. The come back of the waiter finally broke the awkward silence, bringing the final peace to Venti’s plan on the table “Sir, your Dessert Wine” “Thank you my kind sir!”. After the trio was left alone again, Venti poured himself a glass of wine, and lifted it. “I’d like to make a toast to this amazing reunion!”. Playing along, Ei and Zhongli lifted their glasses too, despite them being empty. “Indeed! Let’s cherish the moment to remember for years to come” “May this day stays in our hearts for eternity!”. The gods laughed, and thus continued their feast.
Right in the middle of their celebration, Zhongli suddenly got up, “I’ll pay the tab, does any of you want something else?” “Nothing I can think of”, “Well, if it is not too much to ask, could you ask if they have any desserts? Preferably cold ones” Ei asked, “Very well, I’ll see if anything can suit your needs” The elder answered, taking the sweet-toothed lady’s hand, landing a gentle kiss on it, the receiver timidly blushing to the action with a warm smile. Before he could away, a jealous Venti called Zhongli, “What about me?! I nee to be treated as a princess too!”, after letting out an amused sight, the taller man took gently grabbed his cadet’s chin to make his pouting face look at him, before kissing him on the forehead. Venti’s frown quickly turns into a satisfied blushing smile. And finally, Zhongli walked away, leaving his two beloveds together. With the elder Archon away, Venti’s little experiment can finally begin, with an innocent look, he turned to Ei, “My dear Ei, my sweet little angel, my darling, my star in the sk-“ “No need to shower me in love, what do you want” Blankly interrupted the Electro Archon. “Would you be interested in some of this wine?”, “You know our tastes in drink aren’t matching.”, “But that one is an exception! It is called ‘Dessert Wine’ for a reason! You know it pains me to see you with an unsatisfied desire for sweets”, “Morax is already bringing desserts” “Darling, I assure you, me and Zhongli have already been countless times here, there are no actual desserts.”. Ei hesitated, Venti had a genuine concerned face, while pouring the wine in her glass. “At least give it taste, just for me, please?” He nearly begged, giving a soft smile to Ei, who with an exhausted sigh, took the glass full of whine. She hesitated, but after all, one sip wouldn’t hurt, right? Closing her eyes, the Shogun had a small taste of Venti’s order. The sweetness overwhelmed Ei’s mouth, unconsciously drinking more and more, until she ended with an empty glass, under the greatly interested look of her partner. “Hum- It does, taste quite good indeed, thank you.” She said, looking away from Venti’s playful smile. “What about another glass? You seemed so ecstatic when you tasted it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy another one!”, “Mmmmh… Maybe another glass wouldn’t hurt, right?” “Of course!” affirmed the short man while pouring Ei her second glass. And so Ei took a second drink, finishing it even quicker than the first one. “More!” The God of Eternity asked, slamming her glass on the table. “Um- Are you sure? You don’t look like you have a good tolerance to alcohol-“ His lover’s death stare was enough to convince him, and so a third glass was filled, emptied immediately by an eager Shogun, who still wanted more. The temptation of alcohol had already corrupted Ei, whose brain quickly found itself muddled up by the effects of the beverage. The younger Archon was completely red, heavily breathing while mumbling incomprehensive words to herself, and that after only a third drink. “Hey Ei, m-maybe slow down on the wine. If you’re already in this state after only three glasses, then you should- Whoah!” The poor Venti was jumped at by an already drunk Ei, pinning him to the ground, he was already regretting that little experience of his. “E-Ei?! What are you-“ “Shhh..” the woman on top of him laid a finger on his mouth with a lustful yet calm gaze, interrupting him for the second time, the distance between their faces shortening. Venti could feel Ei’s sweet breath, as the gap between their mouth was getting smaller, while the electro Archon’s right hand was getting dangerously close to the bard’s pants. “Say, Barbatos, what about I have another kind of drink tonight?”, the Shogun’s fingers were past Venti’s pants, felling his nails gently scratching the soft skin. “E-Ei please! What if someone walked by!?”, but there was no reasoning with Ei now, she wanted Barbatos, and she will get him, her hand sliding deeper in his clothes. Then, just like a miracle, an unknown force lifted Ei away from the God of the Wind, force that revealed itself to be Zhongli coming back just in time, holding the drunk God like a princess. “Hey! That’s not fair! I wanted to do the nasties!”, Ei squirmed in her Elder’s grasp and cried like a child while talking about her impure desires. It didn’t take long for the taller man to understand that the Shogun was drunk out of her mind. He proceeded then to look at Venti, who was a blushing sweating mess on the floor, coming back from an awful sexual tension. Normally, Zhongli would have scolded the bard for his awful ideas, but this time, he believed that what happened earlier was enough of a punishment. “Let this be a lesson for passing your drinking habits to the others. Come now, we are leaving. We can’t have Ei publicly like this” The Lord of Geo harshly said, before walking away, leaving Venti to collect himself, shameful in his guilt.
The trio surely didn’t walk unnoticed from the restaurant. The Almighty Shogun, eternal ruler of Inazuma, was being held by an ordinary consultant like a little child, followed by a Mondstadien Bard, visibly drunk and out of her senses. Luckily, the way to Zhongli’s home was nearly empty, leaving the three Archons in a silent and lonely road, with the only sounds being Ei’s sleepy hiccups. “Are you mad?” Venti finally broke the silence, “I should be, after all, your actions were completely stupid, just satisfy your selfish desire to see what Ei would look like in a drunken state despite my warning and the credibility she has to maintain.”, the cold words hit the Anemo Archon right in the hearth. But to his surprise, Zhongli’s tone became softer “But since it is a special occasion, and that I don’t want an unfortunate accident to ruin such a beautiful night, I won’t hold it against you”. Reassured, Venti walked closer to the taller man, a slight smile on his face, the consultant returned the smile. No words were spoken, the anxiogenic silence replaced by a calming one, only to be broken again. “Does that mean we’re doing the nasties when we’ll be back home?”. Venti restrained himself from bursting into laughers, while Zhongli embarrassedly giggled. “Hum- M-maybe another time Ei, okay?”, the younger woman pouted, burying her head into Rex Lapis’ torso. “You’re lucky your chest is so soft, if it wasn’t I wouldn’t have forgiven you…”, Barbatos’ muffled laughs were harder to contain, mocking a blushing Morax, “I… appreciate the compliment.” The trio continued their walk, with no other dialogue interrupting the rest of the silence of this calming walk.
Ei opened her eyes, a strong headache earning a groan from her. She slightly got up, trying to look around the dark room. It seems she was in a bedroom, and after her brain was active enough, she finally noticed Zhongli and Venti’s sleeping bodies respectively at her left and right, wearing nothing more than their underwear. Ei was herself half naked, her lower parts only covered by her black panties. The headache forced her to lay back down, slipping between her two lovers with a slight smile. While trying to go back to sleep, Ei’s hand accidently found itself caressing Zhongli’s torso, and she couldn’t help but think, his torso is really soft