A/N: Happy holidays! It's late December now, so I took some inspiration from the current break.
It had been four months since Xin had left Ionia. Irelia had said goodbye and made him promise he would come back soon. Xin promised he would, and so, four months later, he arrived back at The Placidium of Navori on Snowdown Eve. It looked much like the Freljord here, of course not as extreme, but the ground was covered in white, fluffy snow that had recently fallen. The trees had lost all their leaves, and the branches were bare. Small, frozen droplets of water could be seen on the underside of branches, making the tree seem as though it had been drenched in a rainstorm. Xin walked along a dirt path, the snow crunching under his feet and his scarf doing little to block the wind blowing against his slightly rosy face. He saw a small town in the distance, with its merry lights lining the roofs and windows of many buildings, lighting up the night sky. He had come to Ionia alone, Garen having declined to go to Ionia in favor of meeting Katarina somewhere in Central Valoran, and Jarvan IV staying in Demacia as usual. Xin had decided to spend Snowdown here in Ionia, wanting to reconnect with his homeland, but also because he said he would visit Irelia.
Not that he was complaining. He thought it was very enjoyable to be with Irelia, laughing at her unusual behaviors and joking around with her. She also had spunk. Sometimes the things she did and said were very close to being downright insults; not a single dull moment passed with her in the vicinity. He reminisced about their short time together three weeks ago and chuckled to himself.
Upon entering the village, Xin felt an immediate drop in the wind. He started to relax, recognizing familiar places in the little town, especially the food stall he had ordered food for Irelia and himself at. Xin Zhao walked down the main road until he was in front of a building named The House. He walked in through its doors and was immediately greeted by a strong scent of whiskey and Graggy Ice. Here there were men rowdily laughing and talking, some women who gave him suggestive glances, and other people who appeared to be quite shady in their behavior. He walked to the bar at the back of the room and asked the bartender whether or not he had some spare rooms upstairs.
"Yes, we have some spare rooms. How long are you planning to stay?" said the bartender.
"Three nights," replied Xin.
"Sorry, we can only accommodate you for one night," said the bartender.
"What? Why is that?" asked Xin.
"We have reservations with another party. Will it be one night or none?"
"Fine. One night then," said Xin.
"Okay, you have room seven," said the bartender, handing Xin a pair of keys. "Would you also like a fine woman to go with you?" asked the bartender, gesturing to a nearby group of women.
Without even turning around to look at the women, Xin said calmly, "No, I'm fine." He walked towards the stairs to the right of the bar, where he was approached by a woman. She had brown eyes and hair, a sharp nose, and medium eyebrows. This woman seemed to be Noxian. In addition, she was wearing very revealing clothes, a single loose bra and a pair of ragged short shorts barely covering her sexual parts.
"You sure you don't want a woman tonight, hon?" she said, winking at him. "25 placids and you can do whatever you want with me."
"No thank you. You spend the night with your friends," said Xin easily.
The woman scoffed and walked back towards the group of women nearby. Xin turned towards the stairwell, but as he did, he heard the woman mention Irelia's name. His ears immediately perked up and he listened closely.
"...to be honest. That stupid bitch Irelia thinks she owns all of Ionia. If I got the chance, I would—"
A spear stuck itself deep into the wood column next to the woman's head. She turned around and found herself looking at the same man to whom she had offered her services, but this time he didn't seem as calm.
"Aren't you Noxian? What would you know about Ionia?" questioned Xin.
"I know enough to realize that Irelia isn't that hero everyone admires. She's just a power-hungry whore who wants nothing more than to control every inch of Ionia," spat the woman. People had started to listen in on the argument.
"You've got some nerve calling other people whores," said Xin angrily.
"Fuck you! I bet everyone here agrees with me!" the woman said. She turned to the rest of the tavern and yelled, "WHO HERE AGREES THAT IRELIA'S AN IGNORANT, FUCKING BITCH?"
Many of the customers in the tavern showed their assent by nodding. One man in the corner of the room yelled, "THAT SLUT IS FULL OF BULLSHIT!"
Xin took one step towards the woman, and a man got out of his chair and rushed him. The man tried to strike Xin with his right fist, but Xin easily blocked the man's arm from continuing on its path using the back of his own forearm. He gave the man a quick jab to the gut and had him doubling over onto the ground.
Another man came rushing at him saying, "Don't hit my pal, you fucker!"
Xin dodged the man's punch, letting it go past his face. He then wrapped his arm around the other man's extended head, capturing him in a headlock, and swiftly lifted his left knee to the man's stomach. He fell to the ground. More and more people were rushing him now, all trying to beat him up. He punched the nearest person squarely in the jaw, rendering him unconscious. He grabbed a second man's face and kicked him back into the people behind him. Someone tried to hit him on the back of his head with a bottle of beer. Xin rolled to the right, dodging the glass, and punched his attacker on the right side of his jaw, making him fall to the ground momentarily. Another person wrapped their arms around his neck, holding him in a headlock. Two men with knives ran at him. He kicked the knife out of one's hand, then caught it with his own. He quickly stabbed the man holding him, making him lose his grip. Xin jumped up and kicked the two men in front of him, sending himself flying backward and landing on top of the man who had head locked him.
He surveyed the room. About 20 people were still ready to fight him. Others ran out of the tavern and backed up against the far walls. He needed his spear if he wanted to end the fight quickly. Xin spotted his three-talon spear at the other end of the room, still sticking out of the wood column. Either everyone was an idiot or everyone was a smart-ass leaving it there.
A few people had guns out. Xin kicked a table onto its side and ducked down behind it. Many shots were fired, and many holes in the table formed. Good thing the table was quite big or Xin would have taken a bullet. When some of the gun holders stopped shooting to reload, he ran at the crowd with the table in front of him. A couple of people were knocked back, but most moved out the way, allowing Xin to reach his spear. He quickly dislodged it and turned around to face the 20 people that still had the fight in them.
"You lot are dead now," said Xin.
The people with guns raised their weapons. As Xin dashed forward, he threw his spear out in a wide arc, slashing half a dozen people and making them fall to the floor. He then thrust his spear towards a man with a gun, stabbing him directly in the chest. Xin withdrew his spear and continued to fight the rest, slashing and cutting everyone who was trying to harm him. When only Xin was left standing, along with the bystanders, he walked up to the bar, sat down at a stool, and asked the bartender for a drink.
"O-Of course, sir. It will take one moment," said the bartender hastily. He came back with a glass of Graggy Ice. "H-Here you go, sir. Hope you like it."
Xin downed the whole glass in one go. "Thanks, I'll be off to room seven now." He walked up the stairs and went down the second floor until he reached a wooden door with the number "7" on it. He turned the knob and walked inside. It was a small room, but not so much that you couldn't relax in it. The walls were a solid brown, there was a room off to the side the size of a closet, barely fitting a small shower and a toilet, the bed was creaky, and there was no nightstand.
At least it's cheap here, thought Xin Zhao.
He took off his clothes, took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, crawled under the blankets, and drifted off to sleep.
Irelia woke up in her home residence to the sound of her door being smashed open. She groggily half-opened her eyes and felt two strong, furry arms slipping under her body. She was then immediately lifted off her bed and torn from the warm, cozy atmosphere under her blankets. The cold rushed Irelia and invaded her body, waking her up instantaneously and making her hiss and shiver. She looked at the person who had ruthlessly ripped her from her heavenly rest and yelled.
"WUKONG PUT ME DOWN!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that. Fox's orders," replied Wukong, walking out the bedroom door.
Irelia tried to break free from Wukong's grasp, but his hold only got stronger. "I SAID PUT ME DOWN!"
Wukong replied, "I can't do that until you're in the kitchen."
Irelia started hitting him as he carried her down the hallway to the kitchen.
"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. You do know that I have stone skin, right? You can't really hurt me without your blades," said Wukong lazily.
As they reached the kitchen entrance, Irelia said, "Can you put me down now? We're in the kitchen."
"No, not yet. Ahri, would you come here with a bowl please?" said Wukong.
Irelia looked around and saw Ahri in her kitchen making breakfast. "Ahri? What are you doing here?"
"Making breakfast for the three of us on Snowdown Day? What do you need, Wukong?" said Ahri. "Are you cheating on me with Irelia?"
"Yes, I was making out with her in her room just now. I think I prefer her over you," said Wukong plainly. Irelia gawked at Wukong.
Ahri scoffed. "Is this true, Irelia? Why were you making out with my boyfriend? I thought I could trust you, but you betray me so easily!"
"What—how—I—what?" sputtered Irelia.
"And to think that all this time you only pretended to be my friend just so you could get with Wukong!" Ahri cried, running to the couch and curling upon it, sobbing.
"What—no—Wukong is just spitting lies! I never made out with him! I would never steal your boyfriend!" exclaimed Irelia. "LET ME DOWN WUKONG!"
"It's just a joke, Irelia," laughed Wukong, setting Irelia down. She glared at Wukong and looked back at Ahri. There were no tears on her face as she approached Irelia.
"Oh come on, Irelia. Don't you think my act was a bit dramatic? I would never doubt your loyalty, or Wukong's. He wouldn't dare cheat on me," chuckled Ahri.
"Oh, wouldn't I?" Wukong teased.
"You two. Always causing trouble in my house," said Irelia.
"Haha, maybe. But let's finish what we were doing. Irelia, I need you to stand here," said Wukong, gesturing to the entrance of the kitchen. "And Ahri, I need you to stand to her left with that bowl."
Once they were in their places, Wukong moving to his position to the left of Ahri, Wukong said, "Ahri, hold onto that bowl tight."
"Okay?" said Ahri.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Ahri," said Wukong. Before Ahri could respond, Wukong reached to his left and pulled down on a piece of rope, sending water splashing down from a bucket hanging from the ceiling onto Ahri. In the confusion, Wukong grabbed the bowl from Ahri's hands and tossed it at Irelia. It hit her head and made her yelp in pain.
The water stopped coming down and Wukong surveyed the mess. Ahri was completely drenched from the tip of her ears to the end of her tails and Irelia was clutching her head. He started to howl in laughter.
"Ahri, I thought you were holding that bowl tightly! How did it slip out of your hands and hit me in the head?" said Irelia angrily.
"I didn't throw it at you! Wukong, why did you drench me in water?" questioned Ahri, enraged.
"What are you talking about? It was your idea!" replied Wukong, laughing.
Irelia cut in. "Ahri, what kind of idea is this? Is this another one of your pranks?"
"No! Wukong is lying again! He threw the bowl at you!" exclaimed Ahri.
"I'm not going to fall for it again, Ahri! I know it was you!" cried Irelia.
Ahri turned around to look at Wukong. He was barely holding his laughs in. She felt a sudden urge to grab him and choke him to death. Ahri rushed him. Wukong dodged to the left and ran away from her, laughing. Ahri chased after him.
"Oh, you're not getting away!" said Irelia, and ran after Ahri.
Irelia chased Ahri, and Ahri chased Wukong, forming a little train of madness. Wukong was running around the house in circles, all the while howling in laughter. After a minute of running and swearing, Ahri finally reached Wukong and tackled him to the ground. She flipped him onto his stomach and straddled him, trying to grab at his throat as Wukong did his best to avoid Ahri's hands. One moment later, Ahri was flying off Wukong onto the ground as well. But before Irelia could grab Ahri's arm, there was a knock on the door.
"Oh well, looks like you have to answer that!" said Ahri.
Irelia glared at Ahri and said, "You are one lucky bitch." She moved to the door and opened it, finding Karma standing outside looking like her usual self, but with much heavier clothing. "Hi, Karma," Irelia greeted, embracing her in a hug.
"Hi, Irelia! Merry Snowdown!" Karma greeted back. "Oh, you might want to get dressed."
Irelia looked down at herself and only then realized that she was still wearing a nightgown. "I'm sorry, I was too busy dealing with a couple of people, but it's fine now."
"May I come in?" Karma asked.
"Of course, make yourself at home," replied Irelia. Karma walked in, and just as Irelia was about to close the door, she spotted someone else standing outside the doorway.
"Hey, Irelia. Merry Snowdown," said Xin, smiling at her.
"Hey, Xin. You came," said Irelia calmly, trying to hide her excitement, and wrapped her arms around Xin in a warm hug.
"Contrary to what Karma said, I think you look great in your current clothing," said Xin, winking.
Irelia didn't hesitate in her reply. "Glad you like it. I would like your outfit too, if only you had all those coats and shirts off," she smirked. Xin laughed. "Come in, come in." Xin went in and sat down next to Karma on the couch facing the couch Wukong and Ahri were sitting on. After Irelia closed the door, she walked off to her room and changed her clothes. When she came out of her room, she saw Xin standing outside the doorway again. She walked to him.
"Don't you want to stay a bit longer, Xin?"
"Don't you want to come with me, Irelia?"
Irelia paused to think for a moment. She ducked her head back in her house to look at her friends. Ahri had thrown all her wet clothes off, now cuddling with Wukong and his warm, dry fur, him barely shielding her sexual parts from vision. He was engaging in a conversation with Karma, but there was a slight blush visible on his face, no doubt due to the naked Ahri sitting in his lap. As they talked, Karma would occasionally glance at Ahri with an amused look on her face, as if she was watching a romantic drama.
My friends are crazy, thought Irelia. She turned back towards the door, threw on a coat, and shut the door behind her. "So, where are we going today?"
Irelia lay on her bed, replaying the eventful day in her head. She had spent the entire morning walking around town with Xin, laughing and chatting about their lives. She had forgotten to eat the breakfast Ahri had cooked up, and instead bought from a food stall, eating with Xin. She felt guilty for it, so when they had returned to her house, she apologized to Ahri. Ahri's mood had lifted considerably since the "scuffle" in the morning. She insisted that Irelia help her and Karma make lunch, so Irelia did. Wukong and Xin also helped out, Xin preparing and cutting produce as Wukong cooked. Everyone did a good job and was rewarded with a delicious lunch. After sitting down for a bit and digesting the big meal, the five of them went out. They sparred in the snow-filled forests, sipped hot cocoa, went ice skating, did as much as they could until it was time to prepare dinner.
When they had arrived back at Irelia's house, they went to work right away. This time the meal was much bigger because they were expecting more guests. Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Irelia went to get the door and found Shen, Akali, and Kennen standing outside. She let them inside, and not much later, Lee Sin and Master Yi had arrived. The party of ten chatted enthusiastically until dinner was ready. They all sat down at the table, toasted to each other, and started to eat. Irelia must have used up a lot of energy that afternoon because she found that she could still eat an even larger dinner.
An hour later, the dishes were all empty and everyone was happy, their stomachs full. They laughed and chatted away the night until it was time to part. One by one, the guests said their goodbyes and left the house until Irelia was alone. She sighed happily and looked at the table, the empty bowls and plates still there. I'll clean it up tomorrow morning, she had thought. Irelia walked to her bathroom, brushed her teeth, showered, and threw on her nightgown. Just as she was opening her bedroom door, she heard a knock on her front door. She walked to the door and opened it.
"Hey, Irelia. Sorry for bothering you, but do you think I could stay at your house for a couple of nights?" Xin had asked. "I can't seem to find any other lodges besides the one that only allowed me to stay one night."
"I knew you'd want to stay here a bit longer," Irelia had joked. "Also, I want payment."
So Xin helped Irelia clean the table and wash the dishes. When they were finished, Xin had gone to the bathroom and did his nightly routine. He came out ten minutes later and found Irelia reading on her bed. She had closed her book and stood up off her bed, hugging Xin. They exchanged goodnights and Xin headed off to the guest room Irelia had set aside for him.
Irelia let her mind wander after she had finished reproducing the day's events in her head, and soon dreams flowed in.