#ler!ei

It wouldn't be such a big deal, except that he'd never met Raiden Ei, Only her sister Makoto. From Venti's knowledge, Makoto was much nicer than Ei is, and he even got on her nerves. Could you imagine what Ei would be like?

The traveler wasn't any help, either. He just said stuff like, "Don't worry, if she's an Archon than she has to be somewhat nice to you, right?" Or "She's probably mostly harmless." Neither of these were true, as the only two Archons that were somewhat tolerant of him was Makoto and the Tsaristsa. And Ei was one of the most powerful archons.

Nevertheless, Venti had promised to stick with Aether this entire trip, so he'd suck it up and continue on. This did work out for awhile, until the Shogun decided to show up in the flesh one day. And to make it worse, Aether wasn't even with him

"There you are," said the cold voice. Venti immediately tensed, slowly turning to face her. He mustered up any brat attitude he could before he spoke.

"Aha! I see little ol' me has already caught the eye of the Almighty Shogun. To what do I owe the plessure?"

She just stared back, seemingly not impressed. "For one, I am not the puppet, I am Ei. Second, I'm afraid charm doesn't work. Please come with me. If you refuse I will not be kind."

Venti thought for a second 'The puppet?' Yet he still spoke, "Why would I refuse such an amazing offer?" He tried to sound confident, but he was not excited to see where this would lead.

~~time skip because lazy writing~~

"So this is where you stay? Quite interesting!" Venti smiled brightly, this being the first thing said since the two had started walking.

"Why are you speaking to me like we are old friends?" Ei looked disappointedly at Venti.

"Because we technically are!"

"Please do explain how we are."

Venti hesitated, "Because I'm Barbatos, God of freedom!"

Ei almost laughed. Almost.

"Please, I'm not stupid. You really expect me to believe that you are Barbatos?"

"Well, yes, because I am! I get you've never met me in person, but really?" He pouted and crossed his arms.

"Even if you were to be the Archon of Freedom, which I sincerely doubt, you would be the opposite of eternity. The enemy, if you will. I have no reason to respect you." Raiden shifted slightly, as if to get a better look at the other. She studied him astutely.

Venti looked mildly offended, turning away from the younger, "Soften the blow, much?" He then turned around to walk away, but he never got the chance. Raiden grabbed his side, causing him to jump and squeak slightly before pivoting to glare at her.

"I knew it. If you were an Archon, that wouldn't work unless you let it. And I doubt anyone would simply let that happen."

Venti flushed. "Tell that to Morax..."

"He was assassinated, was he not?"

"Not really. He's still living in Liyue under the name Zhongli, but he is no longer Rex Lapis."

"Well then, it would make sense to not classify him as an Archon anymore, correct?" She said smugly. Venti's face dropped. "So, are you going to admit you are not Barbatos, or I am going to have to make you?"

Venti didn't like his options, but he had to choose. He decided protecting his title was more important, "I am Barbatos though!"

The younger grabbed his hip this time, elicting another squeak. Raiden Ei smirked, "So then, answer me this; if you were to be an Archon, why would you want to be so... sensitive?"

"I- I um..." Venti blushed profusely, and Raiden seemed to understand.

"Pathetic. Well, since you don't seem to be letting up your act, I suppose you have decided that I must make you." Raiden stepped forward as Venti stepped back, his eyes wide.

"Now, now, no need to be hasty..." He took one more step and booked it. Of course, he didn't get far at all, as Ei was one step ahead. She basically teleported right infront of him and tackled him to the floor, to which he screeched like a little girl.

"Nonononono! This isn't necessary! Release me!" He struggled like his life depended on it. It kind of did, though, so nobody can blame him.

"I do not think I will, Venti." She smugly smiled at the smallers squirming, "Hmm... This may be a problem..." She studies his corset, then begins untying it.

"Hey now! I don't appreciate my corset being disrespected!" He tried to push her hands away, but she just grabbed both of his and pulled them above his head. "Waitwaitwaitwait, no!" Next thing he knew, his corset was on the floor next to them and her hand was hovering above his stomach.

"Last chance."

"I am barbatos!"

"Your funeral." With that, she started scribbling across his stomach, causing him to shriek and start laughing hysterically. He kicked his legs up and down, but to no avail. All was fine for Ei, until he kneed her in the back, which resulted in her squeezing his knee. He screamed, straightened his legs, and arched his back. That put an end to any ideas of kicking her again.

"Thihis ihis NOHOHOT fahair!"

"I think this is plenty fair. Do you want to see not fair? I'll show you not fair."

Immediately after, Venti felt tiny shocks of electro as she scribbled. Not enough to hurt, of course, but enough to feel. And boy he felt it.

"NOHOHO NOHOT ELEHECTROHO!"

"You wanted not fair, I gave you not fair. You know how to stop this."

"Ihi aham nohot gohoing toho tehell you a lihiehe! Aha nohot nihice!"

"You do know that by saying you do not enjoy or tolerate this, you are admitting that you are not an Archon, correct?"

"Thahats nohot- ihi cahant sahay-"

"Can't say what? You enjoy this? Or you're not Barbatos?"

"Bohoth!"

Raiden switched to raking her nails up Venti's ribs, then all the way back down. He squirmed more intensely than before, and Raiden noticed something peculiar. He wasn't trying to get away.

"Well, if you wouldn't let yourself be ticklish-" she was interrupted mid-sentence.

"SHUHUT UHUP!" Venti's face grew redder, and his squirming became worse.

"Oh? What is this?" Ei leaned closer to him and paused her attack for a moment, noticing his greedy breaths. "Is it the word that gets to you? Can you not handle it? Let's see..." She began to squeeze his hips, giving him a break from the electro, not that it felt any different. "Tckltckltckltckl!"

"NOHO BEHE QUIHIEHET! SHUHUHUSH!" Venti was bucking at this point. He tugged on his arms and tried to throw her off of him, but he failed.

"You are telling me to shush? You're the loudest one here."

"YOHOU AHARE WOHORSE THAHAN MORAX!"

"Am I, now? I am not even doing my worst."

"WHAHAT?!"

"Let me show you," she summoned electro to hold the olders arms in place, turned to face his knees and thighs, and went crazy. She used electricity as she scribbled, Squeezed, spidered, scratched, and even traced. Venti screamed, then fell silent. He didn't kick, out of fear of hurting the younger. She took notice of that, too.

It went on like this for another minute or two before Ei heard frantic tapping from Venti. She assumed it was him tapping out, so she stopped and flipped around to face him. He didn't let his arms free though.

"So, are you barbatos, or not?" Ei crossed her arms and leaned towards his face.

"I- ihi am Barbatos. And I dohont care if you don't believe me, but-" fear of another round was eminent in his voice.

"I know you are."

"You what now?"

"I know you are Barbatos. I knew even before I came to collect you in Ritou." She smiled, as of she just awarded him a trophy.

"So then what was the point of all that?"

"Oh Morax sent a letter that you would be visiting and told me to mess with you. The traveler was in on it too." Venti flushed, and he hid his face in his arm.

"Did Zhongli tell you to do this exact thing?" He mumbled.

Ei nodded, "He knew you didn't mind being tickled - don't make that face at me - so he said that would be a good idea. Also the whole thing about the 'admit you like it or you're not an archon' thing is true. You chose to be ticklish-" a groan from Venti, "So this is your fault, really."

"Great, can you let me go now?" He grumbled.

"I suppose I could." Ei delivered one last poke to his stomach before standing up, walking a safe distance away, then releasing him. He brought his arms down quickly and sat up. Then he stood and fought with putting his corset back on.

"Why did you have to it off. Why does everybody take it off. It's supposed to be protection!"

"Everybody, huh? This happens often then?"

“Gotcha again!~” Venti appeared behind Zhongli practically out of nowhere and quickly poked the taller man in the ribs, making him yelp uncharacteristically and swiftly put his arms back down to defend himself.

...Yeah, it's easy to forget that the Anemo Archon is here too, maybe because he's not doing anything useful (because sneaking up on your companions from behind and distracting them from business by tickling them randomly can hardly be considered something useful). Venti did that, like, 4 or 5 times to both of them already? It is indeed hard to understand what is going on inside his head.

“Barbatos-!” Zhongli turned around, his brows furrowed in annoyance, but the bard had already ran off again, giggling cheerily. Even the Lord of Geo was starting to lose his patience, wasn't he?

“Venti, if you aren't going to help, then stop following us and find something more interesting to do,” Ei said nonchalantly, watching the small birds sing and jump around nearby.

“But I am helping!” the bard crossed his arms on his chest, coming out from behind a tree, “Helping my dear friends to not let their guard down while we're in the forest. And also making you two smile!”

“...That is the most tiring journey I've had in a few recent decades,” Zhongli pinched the bridge of his nose hopelessly.

“Oh come ooon Morax!” the Anemo Archon laughed, patting the taller man on the shoulder, “Look, Ei doesn't seem to really mind! You know, it's not my fault that you're a grumpy, quiet, stoic and emotionless boulder around meEEEK!”

Suddenly, Venti was swiftly yet gently dragged forward and down to the grass. After what felt like a second, he found himself sitting in his companion's lap as Morax was sort of hugging him from behind, preventing the little Archon from escaping.

“Ei, would you like to help?” Zhongli asked, absolutely calm.

“I guess finally teaching him a lesson won't hurt,” the Electro Archon stepped closer, sitting down beside the two.

“No!” the bard squeaked, trying to wiggle free, but to no avail, “Nonono wait, you know I wasn't serious! M-Morax, I'm sorry!..”

He didn't think that they were going to hurt him or something, they certainly would never do this. But they can do something embarrassing, like trapping him in a geo structure and leaving him like this for a few hours. Something Old-Man-Zhongli-style. Not that the God of Anemo wanted to experience the methods they usually use against enemies.

But, in a situation like this, he didn't expect to feel unfamiliar fingers starting to wiggle (in the almost awkward movements) under his arms.

“Wha- waHAhaha wahahait!..” Venti didn't have the time to hold his surprised giggles in, “Whyyyyhehehe?!..”

“Simply giving you a taste of your own medicine. That would only be fair, don't you think?” Zhongli replied matter-of-factly, actually glad that the bard couldn't see his amused smile right now. He wasn't really the type to be playful or get someone back.

“Soho yohou thihink it was fuhun, ahafter ahahall!~” the Anemo Archon tried to tease through his squeaky giggles, squirming from side to side, his eyes shut and his nose scrunched up adorably.

“I didn't say that. But this means that you must be having tons of fun right now, Barbatos”, this wasn't meant to be a tease. Teasing others wasn't a “Zhongli thing” either, but Venti did feel his ears starting to get warmer after these words.

“Now that's going to be a problem...” Ei hummed thoughtfully, observing the bard's leather corset, “You've got some good defense there...”

She almost chuckled at his miserable attempt to let out a “sigh of relief” while laughing uncontrollably with the oldest Archon's fingers dancing over his highest ribs.

“...But you know that there is no clothing in this world that would be able to protect you from the lighting's wrath, right?~” the Shogun finished her sentence, smiling down at the little bard and making his eyes widen in horror.

“Nononohoho, dohohon't you dare!..” to Zhongli's surprise, Venti started squirming further into his lap to try and somehow save himself, probably, “Mohohorax, hehehelp!”

Now that was... well, not cute, that's definitely not the right word to describe this little mischievous gremlin.

“He can look pretty endearing, sometimes,” Zhongli commented, lowering his hands to squeeze at the troublemaker's hips playfully, seemingly feeling a lot less awkward than before.

Ei smirked, all while calmly positioning her fingers on different spots on Venti's tummy and using her Vision to send the tiny shocks of Electro element through his clothes, not even bothering to listen to his shrieky half-hearted protests.

“GuhuHUhuys, coHOHOhome ohOHOHOON!..” Venti squealed, kicking his legs out slightly at the horribly tickly sensations.

"Y/N, are you sure that you want this?" Interrupted the well known Shogun from you're headspace, the dream of this to happen, turning into reality? You couldn't believe it for the life of you! "Ei, be easy on them, after all, they did suggest it." Chorused the fox eared female as she entered the Euphimiya, euphoria filling the empty spaces of you're newly tingly nerves, a smile forming as Ei's hands just held onto your now trembling torso. A teasing smile dazzled over you, her hand taking place atop your tummy, gently squeezing ever so slowly into the wiggling flesh, "Oh? This seems to get you a bit, doesn't it?"

You couldn't help but flush brightly at the gentle yet curious smile Ei had worn, the obviously devious smirk Yae had telling a thousand word's, ugh, why did they have to be so mean to you!? Not like you minded anyways, after all, you did wish for it.

"What's wrong, darl? Is this not what you had requested earlier? Or was it more on the line's of.. this?" The sly fox couldn't help but smirk at the squeal that erupted out of you as malicious fingertips danced over you're ribs, tip toeing and vibrating her finger's between and atop those dancing key's, eliciting the most adorable squeals and gaffaws from you, Ei couldn't help but trace the rim of your underarms, the soothing yet horribly great feeling overwhelming you just slightly.