Actions

Work Header

A Bathe in The Foamy Reef

Summary:

After Eula had one too many drinks, the woman sitting near her had taken some interest in her, standing up to offer a companion on the way home.

Notes:

saw one of EimikoPosts' tweets on this and i just had to write it... thanks for the idea ducky ^__^

this can be taken either way: platonic or romantic, i dont mind whichever way you see it.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

A day spent drinking could be seen as unusual for someone like Eula, having kept from everyone for the sake of her own good.

 

When most of her morning was spent in The Cat's Tail, she decided to stop by Angel's Share for a change in taste. Perhaps a coffee will top the liquor she previously downed.

 

Trudging her way to said tavern, she didn't expect to see Lumine, the traveler, and her traveling buddy, Paimon, serving as bartenders that day. It was rather embarrassing for someone like these two see Eula in such a state, drunk and wasted, but part of her didn't mind it. The traveler and Paimon were more than just acquaintances to her at that point, if anyone had to witness her like this, she'd rather it be these two.

 

"What can we get you, Eula?"

 

~♥️~

 

After all the drinks, the woman at the table next to Eula seemed to have her eye on her, observing the way Eula had stumbled after every step. When the stumbling turned into tripping, the woman stood up carefully and walked over, bending down a little to examine her state. She pressed the back of her hand to Eula's forehead, making note of her temperature mentally.

"Hey, you doing okay?" the woman asked, her voice gentle and soft, her hands going to hold one of Eula's arms and waist, keeping her standing. Eula flushed slightly and closed her eyes, a strained look appearing on her face. "There's... N-No need for this..." she breathed, fighting the urge to lean into the woman's warm touch. Eula pushed herself up a little higher, her heels slowly digging into the weak wooden floor under her. The woman scoffed and held onto Eula tighter, manually pulling her up and walking her to the door of the tavern. Once they were outside, she scanned the area for people to avoid drawing attention to them. Once she was sure no one was around to witness her hauling Eula home, she started to guide her to the nearest stairwell.

 

"Would you care to tell me where you reside? Like, your home?" The woman asked Eula, stopping to let her rest against a stone wall. Eula was too tired to refuse, and the feeling of being held like this was rather nice to her. She mumbled some details about her house, but loud enough for the stranger to hear. She nodded, and went to bring Eula up on her feet again.

Eula took this as an opportunity to actually look at the woman who was now taking her home, well, look at whatever she could see from the angle she was in. She had snow white hair, long, and kept in a braid, with unusual looking bangs that almost covered her eyes. Her attire didn't look like local attire and even then, it looked wonderful on her slender figure. Perhaps a little too wonderful.

The red ropes surrounding her waist to hip area were swaying in the wind, matching the way her hair swayed too. Her shoes had rather tall heels that clicked against the ground in sync with Eula's, it sounded comforting to Eula.

Her eyes went back up to the stranger's face and fell on their eyes instead. 

 

Oh lord, were they pretty. They were extremely pretty, but the emptiness in them brought out a stare that could kill.

 

The woman's appearance in general was captivating and gentle, but it also had a sharpness to it that made her presence quite intimidating.

Gosh, just how drunk was Eula? Falling this much for someone whom she had just crossed paths with? Allowing them to walk her home? Or even worse, letting them see her in such a low state? In the heat of it all, Eula didn't seem to care. Yes, she would probably have to scold herself for it in the morning, but as of right now... She'd allow it. She liked it.

 

Eula suddenly leaned into the woman's touch, startling her at the unexpected intimacy. After a few moments, the stranger didn't seem to mind. And if one were to examine her closely, they find that she seemed to be enjoying it. The two carried on walking like this in a comfortable silence, the only noise between them being Eula's heavy breathing and the clinking of their heels. 

Mondstadt was the city of freedom, and even if they were walking in an empty alleyway at nighttime with one of them drunk to bits, they could still feel the freedom be carried in the wind, like a gentle whisper none of them could hear. It was refreshing.

 

The pair had eventually stopped in front of an ordinary house, where Eula said she had lived in. The woman helped her open the door and she brought her inside to the nearest couch, laying her down and draping a blanket over her. The clicking against the floor was once again heard, as she wandered around the area, looking for things Eula might need when she awoke in the morning. Things such as a bag or bucket to throw up in, a glass of water, a snack that wouldn't go bad overnight, and extra blankets and pillows. The woman had also rummaged the cabinets and retrieved a small jar of natural pain killers, placing it on the coffee table along with all the other necessities she had compiled.

The woman finally took out a bottle of what looked like fogged water from seemingly nowhere, and also kept it on the table. "This is water infused with Qingxin, a type of herb from Liyue. I'm not sure of the side effects to the normal resident of Mondstadt, but I suppose it's worth the try." She informed Eula, readjusting the blanket she had placed on her before. She had checked Eula's temperature one last time, and after deeming it an acceptable one, she stood up and turned to leave.

 

However, before she could make it out the door, she heard a voice from behind her. "It's late. Stay here for the night, I don't trust what's lurking out when it's dark." She turned to face the woman she had just tucked in, who was looking straight at her. The now guest of Eula's house gave her a gentle smile, one that Eula had no idea just how lucky she was to be seeing. "That's quite alright, my homeland is not too far from here-"

 

"Liar."

 

The woman now fully turned away from the door to look at Eula, the smile she just had on her face slowly disappearing. 

 

Even if Eula was seeing her from a sideways angle, just what she saw would be a sight she'd never be able to stop reliving in her head. The way the woman's hair gracefully blew in the breeze coming from her slightly ajar window as she gently turned to look at her left Eula flushed in the cheeks, a warmth washing over her, as her heart started to pound. Her gentle gaze overlooking her from were she was on the couch was something ever so soft, something so tender, something that Eula never felt before. 

Something about the way this woman had taken care of her tonight was so incredibly intimate. Divine. Eula wishes she could experience this every night.

A butterfly flew in from the open window, it's patterned wings glowing in the moonlight, as it flew around the white-haired woman, making her all the more enticing. It was something out of a movie, something out of a cliché romance novel, and once again, something that Eula never felt before.

 

"Liar?"

 

"Yes, liar. No one from here would take care of me so t-tenderly like you did, so you must be from someplace else."

 

Eula wiped her mouth after saying that, and fell into the covers again. It was once again, silence between the two, before that silence was broken by the soft and slow breathing coming from Eula. 

The woman approached the sleeping one, kneeling down to gently whisper in her ear: "I'm Shenhe from Liyue" before she moved Eula over a little bit to lay down next to her on the couch.

Shenhe moved a strand of hair from Eula's face, smiling.

 

"I'd like to know more about you."

Notes:

i rushed it at the end... any who hope u liked it idk !!! yes i took a little hiatus but i'm back now :D i'll add in my links later or smth im rushing this DHKDHSKJF

Series this work belongs to: