𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨 ―𝐠. 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭

16.5 || Drunken Words

a/n: maybe I'll do a part 2 of this haha. it was fun to write. anyways, thank you guys for 3k! i literally looked away for a second and boom. your comments all make my day <333

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Rex Lapis was in a bit of a predicament. What in the world could trouble the stoic God of Liyue, you may ask? 

Well, Barbatos had dropped by on a whim as he usually does when he's bored, and you happened to be with Morax when the God of Wind flew in the deck of Wangshu Inn. Of course, Barbatos had come with multiple drinks in his arms, and neither you nor Rex Lapis were one to reject them.

But, Morax should have seen it coming. How could he have miscalculated to such an extent? After all, while Barbatos was a known drunkard that could hold as much alcohol in his stomach as there is water in an ocean, you...

"Oh ho ho!" the bard hiccuped, swinging around his lyre after playing a tune full of slurred words and wrong notes. "That may have been my best song yet!"

Sighing, the God of Contracts crinkled his nose and replied, "No, it was not. Please refrain from taking another cup. You reek of alcohol."

"But this is what makes it fun, does it not?" Barbatos grinned slyly, now swinging a wine bottle in his other hand. "What do you think, Buer?"

Both of the Archons turned toward you, one bursting out into laughter and the other pinching the bridge of his nose. The upper half of your body was sprawled on top of the table, and because of your oversized robe, it looked as if you had become a puddle of cloth. You looked up at them with half-lidded eyes upon hearing your name, your face flushed but in a small smile.

Yes. You were someone who got drunk a lot easier than your mature facade gives out.

"Drinks...nice. Yes...nice."

"Hear that, Morax? More drinks it is! Cheers!" the bard cackled, (messily) pouring more of the liquid into everyone's cup. While the eldest god pushed his cup away, you slowly pulled yours closer to your face laying on the table.

"Hmm," you sounded. "Barbatos, your song....mine...mine are better." Your words came out slower than an old snail.

"Is that a challenge?" the God of Wind sneered, taking a swig of his cup and wiping his mouth in one dramatic motion.

"No, Barbatos, sit down. Do not flip the chair."

With a slight pout, you raised your head from the table and bobbled around before finding your balance point. You mumbled, "He said...he likes my melodies."

"He?" the Anemo god questioned.

You nodded your head sluggishly.

"Xiao..."

From the other side of the marsh was the said Adeptus. His entire body froze when he heard your voice, and his ears perked up in curiosity. There weren't many times where you called out his name, so he tended to pay more attention to the voices of the winds when you do. Why did you sound so weary? Were you in some trouble, perhaps? His innocent concern got the best of him, and he teleported right to your side.

He was taken aback to see three gods sitting around with bottles of alcohol.

"Oh?" you murmured, seeing the Yaksha appear beside you. You squinted your eyes and languidly pulled Xiao's face closer to yours in an attempt to determine if he was really there. A warm smile graced your face when you realized that he really was.

"Xiao," you hum dreamily. "Xiao..."

You liked the way his name rolled off your tongue. You mumbled his name a few more times before slurring together sentences of sweet nonsense, keeping your hold on him.

Your eyes were hazy as you looked into his, and his entire stomach did flips and turns when you brushed your fingers through his hair. When you kissed the jewel on his forehead, he was left completely speechless. His face flared crimson.

"I apologize," the Geo Archon said with a sigh. "As you can see, (y/n) is intoxicated."

"I...will return to uphold my contract," Xiao stammered, his voice wavering slightly as you loosely hugged his waist, preventing him from leaving. He could feel the heat of your hands through his shirt. The heat of his face, he thought, might have been hotter.

"Oh don't be such a party pooper! Why don't you take a sip?" Barbatos offered, somehow taking out another bottle of wine from Archons know where. However, Xiao shook his head, glancing down at you. He wanted to carry you back to your room to rest, but would that be disrespectful to the other gods?

The god who had given him his vision seemed to feel his worries. With a sly smile, the drunk bard commented, "Buer would only talk about you this entire time. Say, why don't you take them back to their room? I bet you-"

"Barbatos." Morax's stern voice interrupted the sentence, and the God of Wind sank back into his seat, grinning from ear to ear.

Xiao was already hoisting you out of the seat, carefully slinging your arm over his shoulders and holding your waist. When you registered what was going on, you only gave him a lazy smile.

"Have fun!" Barbatos waved enthusiastically as the two of you left the deck. He hiccuped and poured himself another cup of alcohol.

Rex Lapis sighed and rubbed his temple, wondering why he let you drink in the first place.