Chapter Text
Louis doesn’t exactly remember when their story started. It feels like forever ago. But he definitely remembers where it started. The lake. The magical, perfect lake only a block from his building.
One of the perks of living near the edge of the city was that nature was never far away. It was one of the reasons why Louis was living in his current flat. Commuting to his job took him about an hour each day, but he didn’t mind. Because in return he was close to nature. Close to the lake he loved so much. The lake he had always loved, even before they met.
Louis had taken to swimming in the lake almost as soon as he had moved into his flat. He had stumbled upon the precious piece of nature during a walk in his new neighbourhood and the next day he had gone back to take his first swim.
It had quickly become a habit. Twice a week he would go to the lake for a swim. As early as March, as soon as the water was warm enough. Until late October, when it became too cold to be comfortable. Always at night, because he loved the peace and quiet. The lake was always deserted and that was just the way Louis liked it. Just him, the water and the starry night. Until one night it wasn’t anymore.
One night, he had been under water for as long as he could, testing his own limits. When he came back up for air, he noticed a stranger sitting near the edge of the water. The boy, who looked around Louis’ age, just sat there staring at him.
Louis found he wasn’t bothered by the intrusion. After all, the stranger wasn’t disturbing him. It was still peace and quiet surrounding him. So Louis was merely curious. He swam to the shore to go introduce himself, but by the time he was out of the water the boy was nowhere to be seen anymore.
This went on for a couple of nights. Each time Louis was at the lake, the boy would show up. He never said anything, just sat there staring out at the lake. At Louis. And when Louis tried to make his way to the boy, he would always be gone by the time Louis was out of the water.
Eventually Louis grew tired of their game of chase. The next night, when the boy showed up Louis was careful to stay in the water when he called towards the boy, “So, creeper much?”
Much to Louis’ surprise, the stranger didn’t even blush. He didn’t seem embarrassed at all. He just smiled at Louis and said, “Hi, I’m Hersch.”
Louis did his best to ignore the way the boy’s smile and the sound of his voice pulled at his heartstrings. Instead he snorted at the name. “What, as in Herhey’s kisses?”
“Not quite.” The boy kept a smile on his face when he cheekily added, “But I can assure you I’m just as sweet.”
Louis couldn’t help but laugh again. And then he realized he didn’t really mind this boy being around. There was something about him that made Louis like him without even knowing him. Feeling bold, he shouted, “Care to join me?”
The boy shook his head lightly. “No thanks,” he politely declined. “I don’t do well in water.”
“Oh, come! Don’t be such a wimp!”
Louis didn’t even know why he was pushing. Why he wasn’t creeped out by the boy with the crazy name that came here every night just to stare at him. But there was just something about him, something intriguing. He wanted to know more about this stranger.
In an effort to coax the boy into the water Louis splashed some water towards the boy. He was close enough for the water to hit his bare arms. What followed wasn’t anything Louis could have expected. There was a quiet hiss when the water touched the boy’s skin. The water evaporated quickly and left a red mark.
With big eyes, Louis stammered out an apology. “Shit, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? So sorry!”
The boy briefly examined the red spot on his skin. Then he gave a dismissive wave and said, “Don’t worry about it. One drop of water won’t kill me.” He looks up to Louis again and adds, “But I guess you can understand now that I’m not a fan of swimming. Or water in general.”
Louis gave a short nod in return. “Yeah, I can see that.”
A silence fell over the lake again as the boy on the shore focused on his reddened skin again and Louis floated in the water watching him. It was then that Louis realized they were closer together than they had ever been before. And that this could be the moment to get even closer to the boy.
Louis doubted it for a few seconds, but then decided to take a chance. He slowly planted his feet and rose up into a standing position. He stopped moving when Hersh’s lifted his head again to look at Louis. When the boy made no movement to get up and run off again, Louis continued wading out of the water.
He took his time to walk over and sit down next to Hersch. It was only when there were sitting just a few inches apart that Louis noticed that the orbs beneath the boy’s brown mop of curly hair were the brightest green he had ever seen. He wondered how he could have missed it before.
Hersch didn’t run off, but it also seemed like he wouldn’t be the one speaking first. So after waiting a few moments Louis curiously asked, “So, are you like, allergic to the water or something?”
Hersch offered Louis a shrug. “I don’t know really. It’s always been this way. For as long as I can remember.”
The way Hersch talked about it, completely calm, it intrigued Louis even more. He couldn’t explain it, this feeling he had, the way his heart beat just a bit faster around the boy. He only knew he wanted to know everything about the boy sitting beside him.
While they sat together in the sand underneath the moonlight, Louis struck up a conversation. He was happy to notice that despite keeping his answers quite vague, Hersch did ask a bunch of his own questions in return. It felt good for Louis to meet someone who seemed genuinely interested in him.
In the back of his mind Louis knew that he should be a bit more apprehensive. Yet somehow he didn’t find it strange that Hersch was a bit secretive. He enjoyed the boy’s company and for now that was enough for Louis.
They talked for quite awhile, about everything and nothing. How their day had been, hobbies and things they liked. Louis only realized that they had been sitting there for quite some time when a voice sounded behind them, “Hersch! There you are!”
Louis looked over his shoulder to find a young man jogging towards them. His heart sank when besides him Hersch shot the boy a happy smile and gave him a wave. He should have known a boy like Hersch wouldn’t be single anymore.
When the blonde reached where they were sitting, he was slightly out of breath. He needed a few moments before he got out, “Do you have any idea what time it is? You scared me here, man.”
Louis raised his eyebrows at the scolding tone of the man in front of him. Before he could say anything, however, the boy turned to Louis and asked, “So sorry. I hope he wasn’t a bother?”
The man had showed up less than a minute ago, but Louis was already getting annoyed by him. He didn’t like the tone he used to speak to and about Hersch. Not at all. He had to do his best to sound polite when he answered, “No, not at all. His company is quite nice actually.”
“Huh, how about that,” the blonde answered. He looked between Louis and Hersch, and Louis noticed a small smile appear on his face.
The upward movement of the blonde’s lips did nothing for Louis’ confusion. “I’m sorry, what was that?” he questioned.
The next moment the young man had grabbed Louis arm to get him up and dragged him a few feet away from Hersch. “I’m Niall. I’m Irish and I need you to forget everything you ever believed to be true about leprechauns,” he told Louis before he could question his motives.
“Okay…” Louis’ response was slow, he was still not sure what the boy was talking about. While he spoke he looked over the Niall’s shoulder. He tried to estimate how much time it would take him to get to his phone in case he needed to call the cops.
Niall must have picked up on Louis’ uneasiness, but he went on like nothing happened. “We don’t spend our days searching for gold to fill our pot at the end of the rainbow. It would be nice I guess, but we don’t have time for that. We are always busy making stuff. Making robots.”
It took a moment for the words to register in Louis’ head, but when they did, things suddenly made a bit more sense. The bright green hoodie Niall was wearing and the four leaf clover that was pinned to it suddenly didn’t seem so weird anymore. Something else clicked in his head and he found himself looking over Niall’s shoulder to Hersch. The boy was staring straight back at him.
“Yes, he’s a robot. One that I designed,” Niall answered Louis’ unanswered question. His voice made it clear he was proud of the fact he had build Hersch. And when Louis looked at Hersch, he couldn’t even blame Niall. “And he seems to have taken quite a liking to you. I have to admit it’s quite surprising.”
Louis felt himself getting defensive immediately. “What, you think I’m not likable?”
Niall’s eyes grew big at the accusation. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that! But that one over there,” he explained, jotting his thumb in the direction Hersch was still sitting. “He’s been around for a couple of years. Usually they are matched with someone within a week or two.”
“Matched?” Louis felt like this whole situation was a headache waiting to happen. He wondered what he had gotten himself into.
Niall didn’t seem bothered by Louis’ many questions. He nodded his head eagerly and went on to explain, “Yes, that’s what they are for. We make them and then we send them out into the world. They are designed to automatically reach out towards people that are a match for them. Usually lonely people in need of some company. Companions, I guess you could call them. They go out to find someone fitting and then we sell them to that person and never see them again.”
He paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder to Hersch. He was still sitting where they had left them, watching them in silence. There was a look of mild curiosity in his eyes.
When Niall looked back at him, Louis could from the look of his eyes that he had grown quite fond of Hersch over time. It was also clear in his voice when he said, “That’s how it usually goes. But this one, he would come back every night. Alone. Has been so every night for the past two years. Until tonight. He was supposed to be back quite some time ago, so I got worried and came out to look for him. And that’s how I ended up here.”
For a few moments nobody said anything. Louis took the silence as a chance to let everything he just heard sink in. It felt weird to know that only an hour ago he had been a normal guy taking a swim in the lake near his flat. And now here he was, talking to some stranger about leprechauns and companion robots. Weird, but, Louis realized after a while, not exactly unpleasant. He didn’t feel threatened by Niall and he had really enjoyed his time with Hersch. It was mostly because of that last reason, that he found himself wondering out loud, “So you want to sell him to me?”
A tiny smile appeared on Niall’s face. Louis could tell he was trying to keep the level of excitement in his voice to a minimum when he said, “Well, I can’t force you to do anything. I can only tell you that you must be something special. Otherwise Hersch wouldn’t even have looked at you twice. But you’re suggesting it yourself, so…”
Louis didn’t immediately respond. In his mind he took a walk through his life. Where he was at right now. He had a nice job. His friends were great. He loved his family, even though he didn’t see them as often as he would have like since moving to the city. He liked his life. Yet sometimes he felt like something was missing. There was no boyfriend and he lived alone in his apartment. He had nobody to come home to at the end of the day. And he missed that sometimes.
As he contemplated his decision, his gaze went to Hersch. He found that the boy had clearly been listening to their conversation. He was looking up at Louis expectantly. That one look was the last thing that Louis needed to be convinced.
“Sure, why not?” he told Niall. He did his best to keep his voice leveled. He felt like he shouldn’t show too much excitement at this sudden change in his life.
The tiny smile playing around Niall’s mouth turned into one that lighted up his entire face when he heard Louis’ answer. “Perfect! Great, so great. I’ll even let you have him for half the usual price. Seriously, I’m really happy to finally have him matched up with someone decent.”
Louis returned the smile and went to grab his wallet. He noticed that Hersch eyes followed his every movement and it made him feel giddy. As soon as he had paid Niall and watched the boy walk off again, he turned to Hersch and asked, “So, lets get you home then, shall we?”