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“can you swim?”
freminet sits on the edge of a small pier stretching out over the harbor of liyue, where the water shimmers with reflections of lantern lights. this is already the second lantern rite he’s spent here - and yet it still feels as though he’s seeing all this splendor for the very first time.
maybe that’s because this time, he isn’t alone.
“nope.”
that’s gaming - his new friend. new by feeling, at least, though in truth they met a year ago. the two of them met right here, after the lion dancer finished his performance in honor of the festival, dancing directly above the water. back then, freminet was deeply impressed by his bravery - silently, but still. to dance before an entire crowd, suspended in the air, and to do so with such grace and mastery! one would have to be incredibly confident in their own strength and abilities.
and really, gaming practically burned with that fire of confidence. it seemed he could even pass that energy on to others, because after just a few minutes of talking to him, freminet already felt warmer and happier.
their meeting was completely accidental - and might never have happened at all if freminet hadn’t gotten lost in the crowd while looking for his brother and sister so they could watch the lanterns rise together. while he was buying gingerbread shaped like red flowers from a very kind-looking vendor, lyney and lynette wandered off somewhere, leaving him behind at the stall. later it turned out they’d been invited to perform on one of the small stages set up for the festival - they agreed immediately, and freminet eventually found them conjuring fluffy white doves before a stunned crowd.
he noticed gaming while standing by the railing of the quay - the dancer was just beginning his performance, but freminet was instantly captivated by his movements. he stood through the entire dance as if spellbound, barely blinking so as not to miss a single moment.
gaming was simply… astonishing.
when the dancer came back down, he nearly collided nose-to-nose with freminet. freminet apologized for a long time afterward, but gaming assured him it was fine and that it wasn’t his fault at all. they started talking - mostly gaming talking, though freminet realized he was very pleasant to listen to. soon, however, gaming was called away by his relatives, and after thanking the diver for the nice conversation, he left.
several months passed, and freminet had almost forgotten about the beautiful, fiery boy, swallowed up by work - the house of the hearth had been receiving many assignments lately, transporting weapons to outfit the fatui. but then, on one of those sunny days when at least one good thing always seems to happen, he ran into gaming again, on a pier in chenyu vale. he was sitting by sacks of tea, thoughtfully counting them.
that was how their friendship began.
they usually met on tuesdays - now freminet’s favorite day of the week. at first, they simply sat side by side while freminet waited for loading and unloading to finish, tuning and repairing pers in the meantime, while stories poured endlessly from gaming - stories from his life, his friends’ lives, or even traditional liyue tales freminet didn’t know, as he once admitted.
gaming told stories very emotionally, jumping from topic to topic, smoothly flowing from an explanation of why peaches are so cheap in liyue to a story about how he once ate a butterfly as a child, seasoning it all with a dozen more facts about himself, the harbor, and life around them in general. at first, freminet was a little afraid of such sudden, expressive conversations, but soon he got used to the realization that gaming wasn’t shouting at him - it was simply his way of speaking.
before long, conversations turned into walks - long weeks spent wandering the harbor together, meeting in libraries and teahouses. freminet doesn’t even remember when they grew so close, or the exact moment it happened. with gaming, everything was… simple. simply talking to him, doing things together, even just being near him - simple. of course, coming to understand that he could be trusted took a long time, but in the end, freminet doesn’t think he made a mistake.
“what? like… you really can’t swim at all?”
freminet looks at gaming in surprise. he’s sitting beside him on the pier, body pressed close, his restless head nearly resting on freminet’s shoulder.
“no one ever even tried to teach me.”
gaming swings his legs in the air, chewing on his nail.
“i’m really scared of water, you know?”
“but back then… at that festival… you danced over the water like you trusted it as much as solid ground.”
“haha, no. at that moment i wasn’t confident in anything - and for your information, i was terrified. my legs were shaking when i went out there!”
“who would’ve thought… i still admire your courage a lot.”
“thanks. honestly, i thought i’d fall in and drown, because i can’t even dog-paddle!”
“they wouldn’t have let you. i wouldn’t have.”
freminet looks into gaming’s eyes, trying not to think about what would’ve happened if he had fallen. the very thought of losing him is as bitter as undercooked oatmeal.
“unlike you, i’m an excellent swimmer…”
“yeah, yeah, don’t brag.”
gaming nudges him lightly with his elbow.
“maybe i could teach you how to swim?”
“i told you - i’m scared of water. though… with you, i might think about it.”
gaming gazes thoughtfully at the lanterns in the sky, glowing like maple leaves in autumn. freminet lifts his head to follow his gaze, glancing at his friend now and then to see the lights reflected in his eyes, like stars in a cup of tea.
“if you learn to swim, someday i’ll show you romaritime flowers underwater. they’re very beautiful.”
“i’m sure i’ll like them.”
gaming’s eyes laugh brightly, lanterns still glowing inside them, like amber trapping ants within.
“for you, i’d do anything!”
gaming settles more comfortably against the diver’s shoulder, and freminet rests his head against gaming’s hair. his brown hair is soft, like the fur of liyue dogs.
yes. this lantern rite really is different - because he has someone to rest his head on.
he has a friend.