Chapter Text
Chapter One
Freminet had found himself diving into the depths of Fontaine Harbor again. He didn’t know why; maybe it was to stay away from the stares and whispers he received from passers-by, or the bustling crowds that occupied the markets.
However, this time, he felt something reaching out to him; call it an instinct of sorts. It was strange, but Freminet decided to trust this feeling and put on his diving helmet.
A few moments later, he was fully submerged under the sea.
Usually when he was diving, Freminet would often gaze at the night sky under the water, letting his thoughts roam free. In the sea, there was something about it that puts him at ease more than anything else. Perhaps it was because he knew that he wouldn’t be judged by the sea creatures, unlike most citizens of Fontaine. The fish and crabs and eels wouldn’t talk about him behind his back and offer fake smiles to his face, nor would they abruptly stop their conversations with one another as soon as he approached them.
It wasn’t fair, how they treated him differently than everybody else. Just because he was part of the Fatui, he did no wrong and instead of foiling Traveler’s plans, he, Lyney and Lynnette only helped them, yet they were still being discriminated.
Freminet sighed and floated up, gazing up at the serene stars dotted across the endless night sky. He slowly closed his eyes… It was around nighttime, after all. And a short sleep couldn’t harm him much…
Suddenly, just before he fell asleep, there was a loud shout followed by a splash. A flash of glowing red caught his eye, pulling him out of his sleeping state.
Strange…
Curiosity overtaking Freminet, he swam to where he saw the glow, which quickly turned into frantic strokes when he saw the outline of a struggling human.
He hooked his fingers onto the other’s clothing and pulled them to upwards with all his might; when he resurfaced, Freminet checked for a pulse.
There… But it’s faint…
He gently dragged the person onto the surface, laying them down on the docks. Now that the person was out of the water, he could relax a little. Freminet decided to get a better look at the person he had just saved. They were male, wearing Liyuean style clothing. A black hoodie was fitted on top of a loose red shirt, loose black pants worn underneath. His hair was dark brown with red highlights, a black headband that fitted on his head.
He was… beautiful.
No, Freminet, he scolded himself. What kind of weirdo thinks like this about a stranger?
He shook his head vigorously as if trying to somehow shake off the blush that now was on his cheeks.
There was movement.
Oh no…
Just as soon as the stranger opened their honey-coloured eyes, Freminet had already disappeared into the waters of Fontaine with a small splash.
…
It was now midnight. Although Freminet had tried to be as discrete as possible while entering Hotel Bouffes d’ete, Lynette’s hearing was impeccable as ever and spotted her brother in an instant.
“Late night diving, huh?” Her eyes flicked over the puddle Freminet had left on the mopped floor.
“Uh… yeah. Please don’t tell Lyney.” Freminet did not feel in the mood for another one of his older brother’s lectures.
Lynette affectionately sighed, which he took as a “fine.”
The blonde heaved in relief, but just as he was about to enter his room, his sister interrupted him.
“Wait. Why are your cheeks heated up…? Did something happen?” Her tone turned from curious to suspicious in a blink of an eye.
“N-no! It was nothing...!” Freminet stuttered, knowing that the guilty tone that he was evidently trying to hide was not helping.
“Hm…”
Lynette was successfully intimidating him with her infamous, unblinking stares.
“…Fine. I just found a person drowning in the sea and saved them…” Even though it was the truth, it sounded like a lame excuse that was created with no effort. However, Lynette seemed to believe him, her eyes softening.
“Just don’t get yourself into any trouble, alright?”
Freminet nodded and went into his room, throwing himself into his bed.
For some reason, even though he was tired, he couldn’t sleep, his mind too occupied with thoughts of the stranger he had met, and if they will ever see each other again.
…
A few days had passed since he had saved the person he had called beautiful. Strangely, Freminet had wanted to see him again, although their interaction was less than a split second.
Freminet had woken up to the very unwelcome noise of a crowd and music that he had not heard before. He tried again and again to catch some more sleep, but no avail. Sighing, Freminet knew that he had no chance of resting his eyes because of the noise and decided to see what was causing such a commotion.
Just as he walked down the stairs, Lyney’s excited face popped up into view.
“Ah, Freminet! You’re awake at last. Come outside and see!”
“Eh…?”
Not bothering to wait for an answer, he was unwillingly dragged outside by his overly- enthusiastic brother.
The too-bright rays of sunlight hit his eyes, and the noise made from the growing crowd were the first things he noticed when he was outside.
The second thing what he saw was someone. Someone awfully familiar…
Freminet’s eyes flew open; it was the stranger who he had encountered a couple days ago. Much to his relief, they seemed to have recovered.
The stranger was performing some sort of dance, simultaneously keeping a glowing, intricate lion-head accessory and pulling off incredible aerobatic moves.
They moved elegantly, flipping, jumping and stepping in a rhythm that synchronized perfectly with the music; Freminet was awestruck.
Suddenly, the person seemed to notice him and smiled at Freminet’s direction. The blonde frantically glanced around, then pointed at his chest, as if to say, who, me?
He received another grin in return, one that sent his stomach doing flips.
Freminet shyly glanced at the dancer, who then subtly waved. He looked away while returning the gesture, not wanting them to see his face which rivalled a tomato’s.
After the performance had ended, the crowd eventually dispersed, leaving only a dazed- looking Freminet and amused Lyney and Lynette who were shooting glances at their little brother.
“Hey, how are you? I feel like I’ve seen you before.” A warm voice cut through the trails of thought that stampeded through Freminet’s mind.
“O-oh. Yeah… Me too.” The blonde awkwardly replied, feeling the blush creeping up on his face again.
“I noticed that you held a mechanical penguin back there; mind if I could take a look?”
Freminet was surprised that anyone had noticed; he had only brought Pers out for a few moments, then put it back.
“Sure…” The blonde gently held up Pers for the other to see.
“Wow… It looks so cute.” They commented, taking the penguin in their own hands with such care that Freminet melted inside.
“Thank you.” He unconsciously smiled, something that never occurred when meeting strangers.
“My name is Gaming, and I’m from Liyue! Nice to meet you.” Gaming said, handing Pers back to Freminet, their fingers touching for a second.
“…Mine is Freminet. Nice to meet you too.” Freminet smiled back.
“Since I’m going to be staying here for a while, would you mind by taking the honour by being my first friend here…?” The dark-haired asked.
Freminet could only feebly nod; while he appeared calm (if you ignored the obvious blush) on the outside, internally, he was an absolute wreck.
“Alright then; See you tomorrow!” Gaming said. It sounded like a promise.
The blonde waved.
For the rest of the day, the only thing that occupied his mind was Gaming’s parting words.
See you tomorrow…
After a while of observing Freminet, Lyney came to a conclusion.
“Yeah, he’s definitely love-stricken.” He whispered to Lynette.
“Yup.” deadpanned his twin.