Work Text:
There are probably, Gaming thinks as he navigates to Freminet's brother's Instagram, better ways to do this.
Listen, Gaming's just a guy! It's summer, he misses Freminet, and Freminet never posts. Which is like, good for him- don't live your life chained to social media and all. It's just- Gaming is busy working his part time security job, and Freminet rarely ever goes outside if he can help it. He hasn't seen Freminet since school ended, and summer is already halfway over.
So- and Gaming is only slightly ashamed of this- he's taken to constantly checking the Instagram account of Lyney, Freminet's older brother, for new photos featuring Freminet.
Yes! He internally pumps a fist as the page loads and he sees a new photo has been posted with Freminet front and center. He taps it.
-
[A picture of Freminet in-between Lyney and Lynette. Freminet is wearing a gray cardigan and jeans, and is holding a navy cap in front of his face. Lyney and Lynette are dressed in stage outfits. Lyney is beaming and Lynette's lips are upturned slightly. Freminet's face is mostly obscured by the cap, but below the bottom edge, a shy smile is visible.]
1,090 likes
thats.my.lyne our brother showed up to teyvat national university's summer showcase to watch our performance! love you, little bro!
-
Gaming is totally dignified about this. He is definitely not squealing with excitement and kicking his feet while lying on his stomach on his bed.
Okay, who is he kidding? He's absolutely doing all of that. But you would too, if your crush wore a gray cardigan and had the cutest smile-
Gaming doesn't know what posseses him to do what he does next. Maybe he just forgot it wasn't Freminet's own Instagram he was on. Maybe his thumb just slipped.
Whatever the case, he double-taps the photo and a red heart appears in the bottom left corner below it.
"Oh, no." Gaming almost drops his phone. "No, no, no, no-"
He un-likes the photo as quick as possible, but the damage has already been done. Un-liking a photo doesn't unsend a notification. He doesn't even follow Lyney, so this is so awkward. Hopefully, the deluge of notifications that Lyney receives on a daily basis will be enough to bury it.
Hopefully.
-
"Huh," Lyney says, staring down at his phone after he and Freminet arrive back at the hotel room. Lynette split off from them and booked a separate room so she could have, in her words, 'peace and quiet'. "Your friend liked my post."
"Hmm?" Freminet says, blinking to try and stay awake.
"Your friend, the one in the dance troupe. Gaming, right?"
Suddenly, Freminet feels like he drank six shots of espresso. "Gaming? What did he do?"
Lyney chuckles. "He liked my post that I made an hour ago." Glancing down at his phone again, he frowns. "Huh. He un-liked it."
Freminet tilts his head in confusion. "How do you know? Wait, how did you know he liked your post in the first place?"
"Ah, that..." Lyney winces. "Your friend doesn't follow me, but I follow him." Translation: I like to keep an eye out to make sure he isn't a bad influence.
"I see..." Freminet stares at the floor, unsure of what to say. Gaming doesn't follow Lyney, but why was he on Lyney's page to begin with?
A sly smile spreads across Lyney's face as he continues looking at his phone. "Oh, now this is interesting. Why do you suppose he liked and then un-liked my post? I have a few theories, of course, but I'd like to hear yours."
"He probably likes you." Freminet mumbles. He doesn't know why the ache in his muscles from tiredness suddenly feels ten times worse. "That's why he un-liked it. He was scared you would see."
He turns it over in his mind. Gaming's crush, if he has one, is hopeless. Lyney is three years older than them, and definitely sees Gaming as a little brother. But what if Gaming likes him a lot? What if he's willing to wait a few years for Lyney to come around? What then?
It's so stupid. Their personalities (both extroverted, fiery souls) work well together. They seem to enjoy each other's company from the few times Gaming has come over at Freminet's invitation. They would look good together. There's pretty much no one else Freminet would trust with either of them.
So why, why, does something inside of him cry out with sadness?
Lyney splutters. "Wha- Freminet, no!"
"Freminet yes," the boy in question grumbles.
"I promise you, he does not like me."
"Why not?" Freminet challenges, looking up from the floor and into Lyney's eyes as he tries to stop his own from welling up tears. "Why doesn't he, huh? You're cool, you're a college student, he admires you. Why wouldn't he like you?"
And not me.
"Freminet..." Lyney lays a hand on his shoulder. "Trust your big brother on this, okay? Maybe he admires me, but he doesn't like me like that."
"Sure..." Freminet mutters, looking away and shrugging off Lyney's hand. "I'm going to go wash up now. Our flight back is tomorrow, so make sure you don't stay up too late on your phone."
"Wha- I would never!"
"If you say so."
-
told u you'd regret not rooming with me and fremi again!!
Did I miss something?
oh nothing much
our little brother has a crushhhhh
it's sweet really
but he thinks the guy likes mwah
so uh
please help?
I leave you alone for five minutes.
is that a yes???
please I don't know how to deal with middle school crushes I haven't been a middle schooler in years
Lyney, you do know Freminet is going to be a high school senior, right?
Also, given how you are with Lumine, you have zero right to talk.
LYNETTE 😭
he's still just a babyyy. he'll always be my baby brother
also WHY. you KNOW how many times I've tried to ask Lumine out since I met her
57.
That's really sad for you, brother.
Fortunately, I can't relate.
FUCK YOU
Love you too.
Go to sleep. I'll help you tomorrow. It's way too late for me to deal with this now.
have I ever told you how much I love you, dearest sister?
I could stand to hear it more often.
-
Time is an unrelenting force, and thus Lynette awakes at 7:30 am to the annoying chirps of her phone alarm clock.
She dresses in suitable airplane clothes (comfy sweatshirt and soft sweatpants), completes her bare-minimum skincare routine, and checks around her hotel room to make sure everything is packed. She didn't unpack much in the first place, so there's not much to fret over on that front.
No doubt her brothers are still asleep. Lynette was aware of the risks of booking a separate hotel room, but she had deemed it necessary in the pursuit of a good night's sleep. Judging by the texts she exchanged with Lyney the previous night, her decision was a sound one.
Time for that later. Compartmentalizing is what Lynette does best, so she packs her worries for her brothers away neatly with the rest of her luggage.
When she goes to Lyney and Freminet's room to check on them, she finds them, to her surprise, already awake . Unsurprisingly, the air in the room is tense. Lyney is scrambling around the room, throwing items into his suitcase haphazardly. Freminet seems to be fully packed.
Freminet, sitting on the edge of his bed staring aimlessly into space, stiffens up when Lynette walks towards him, no doubt expecting some sort of acknowledgement of what happened last night. Most likely, he assumes that Lyney already told her.
Lyney did tell her what happened, but still. That's a bit unfair. They're twins, but they don't tell each other everything. Probably.
"Be ready to leave in thirty minutes. We need to get to the airport by 9:30."
"Got it." Freminet's voice is quiet. Normally in this situation, he would at least respond with something along the lines of 'I'm already finished' as a way to project competence. It's clearly worse than she thought.
Lynette needs to address this immediately. She makes her way back to her room with a singular goal in mind.
-
This is Yip Gaming, correct?
um
yes?
Good.
??
oh wait
just checked your username
idk why I didn't do that before
hello Freminet's sis!!
is everything okay over there?
is Freminet doing okay?
Hello.
That remains to be seen.
???
you're scaring me Freminet's sis
is he okay???
idk why you'd be texting ME if something went wrong
but you're kinda scaring me rn
Calm down.
Physically, my brother is fine.
physically???
He's uninjured.
you still haven't told me if he's okay
did he forget his meds back home???
please just tell me what's going on
Ah.
I realize that I may have made the situation sound more dire than it actually is.
In general terms, Freminet is unharmed physically or mentally.
so he DIDN'T forget his meds
Correct.
Yip Gaming, why were you on Lyney's Instagram page last night?
uh.
what?
Answer the question, please.
okay still don't see what this has to do with anything.
but I knew you guys were doing that magic show performance so I checked his page so I could like it.
And you liked and unliked one of his posts?
oh
you saw that huh?
Yes.
I'm just curious as to what your reasoning was.
Do you like Lyney?
no no definitely not
no offense to him ofc!!!
I see .
actually
no not actually sorry I'm trying to segway
wait give me a sec
aghhhhh
Hmm?
okay promise you won't tell anyone else?
or at least Freminet ig
I shouldn't expect you to keep it from your twin that's unfair
If you're going to tell me what I think you're going to tell me, I can promise that.
ah
I was pretty obvious huh
but yeah
Freminet never posts on his own page
and even when he does it's just pictures of the ocean
which are beautiful and I love seeing them!!
but sometimes I wanna see him yknow?
so sometimes I check his brother's page for photos of him
and I liked this one on accident
bc he just looked so cute
I really like him
it's really nice being able to finally tell someone this I felt like I was going to explode.
also please don't give me a shovel talk at 8am I'm really not awake enough for one
I wasn't planning on it.
You seem good for Freminet.
ty
I wanna be good for him
wAIT THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT
AGHHHH
you know what I mean
And I won't tell him.
tysm
On one condition.
?
You'll be the one to tell him.
HUH
WHAT
WHY
Gaming.
Trust me when I say this:
I have given you this information for a reason.
It's up to you to decide what to do with it.
[Pictures of the siblings' boarding pass information, including the airport, gate number, and time of departure. Gaming has reacted to this message with a thumbs up.]
-
[Screenshots of Lynette's text conversation with Gaming]
Done.
you're the best sister ever
I'm well aware.
-
Minlin Airport is bustling with activity even at 9:30 in the morning. Many of the people there are college students who are coming home from the TNU showcase, or future TNU students returning from orientation. As such, the three siblings don't stand out much. Lyney and Lynette do get some scattered congratulations while Freminet tries to hide behind them, but that's just par for the course.
They arrive early, like usual. Their flight isn't for an hour and a half, but thanks to an incident involving Lyney and several premium cans of Sumeru coffee, nowadays Lynette wrangles them all into the airport hours ahead of time.
When they reach their gate, the seats in the waiting area for future passengers are, thankfully, mostly unoccupied. Lyney sprawls across a few, Lynette sits dignified in the next seat over, and Freminet hugs Pers as he slumps down in the seat next to Lynette.
The next thirty minutes or so pass uneventfully until Lyney stands up with a yawn as he stretches and gets up from his seat(s). "I'm going to get some snacks. Anyone want anything?"
"Some sort of baked good, please."
"Noted. Freminet?"
"I don't want anything. I'm not hungry." Freminet stares glumly at the ground.
"Really? You don't want anything? Nothing at all?" Lyney coaxes.
Freminet just nods.
Lyney sighs, and Freminet feels even worse. "Alright, can't say I didn't try. Well, I'm off!"
As Lyney disappears into the crowd, Lynette turns to Freminet. "I'll give you some of mine if you change your mind."
"...Thanks."
They wait there in silence for a while as more passengers start trickling in to the area. "Lyney is going to have to sit like a normal person when he gets back," Lynette remarks.
Freminet chuckles weakly. It's his fault that the atmosphere is this tense, but he can't help it. He knows it's stupid, but he has to allow himself a little bit of time to feel heartbreak.
Because he realized last night, staring at the hotel ceiling in the pitch black, that he likes Gaming. And liking someone like Gaming isn't something that goes away easily.
He'll get over it eventually. Gaming will probably move on from his brother at some point, will probably like another cheerful and extroverted guy. And Freminet will have to learn to live with it.
It's fine.
Lyney returns carrying a paper bag with a delicious smell wafting from it. "Cinnamon pretzel bites," he explains. "No donuts, sorry!"
Lynette pops one of the pretzel bites into her mouth, but Freminet doesn't move, not even when the bag is proffered to him.
With all three of them back, they lapse once again into an awkward silence. Freminet wants to apologize, since the awkwardness is his fault, but what would he even be apologizing for? Sorry the guy I have a crush on likes you and not me? Don't make him laugh.
"Freminet!"
Freminet snaps to attention, heart pounding like crazy in his chest. Neither of his siblings said that.
A very familiar figure sprints into view, clearly out of breath and looking like he dressed in a hurry. His face is flushed with exertion. He beams as he skids to a stop in front of the siblings. "Freminet!"
"Gaming...?" Freminet says in disbelief, standing up from his seat. His heart feels like he's holding a piece of popping boba between his teeth. One wrong move and it will burst. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in the area for a delivery and Lynette told me to come here," he says, still trying to catch his breath. "Well, not told, it was just kinda implied and your sister is pretty scary-"
That traitor.
Gaming sees how Freminet's expression has become stormy and hurries to explain. "But if I had known, I would have come anyway by myself! Because-" he takes a deep breath, clearly nervous, before looking right into Freminet's eyes. "I really like you!"
It takes a few seconds for Freminet to realize what he said, because he was so distracted by the brightness of Gaming's eyes. "...what?"
A nervous laugh bubbles up from Gaming's chest. "Uh, yeah, is that okay? I hope it's okay. I'm crazy about you, and you never post, so I was on Lyney's page for photos of you. I don't like your brother, I like you."
Freminet's face is burning. His palms are tingling. "You... like me."
Gaming nods. "Yes!"
"You like me."
"Yes!"
Freminet's heart sings. It's like he bit down on the popping boba and the sweetness floods his mouth. It's summer, Gaming likes him, and everything is alright.
Belatedly, he realizes that Gaming is rocking back and forth on the balls of his heels, hands behind his back, a small flush visible on his cheeks. "Can I... like, kiss you?"
Freminet looks around. Their heartfelt display attracted a lot of attention from bored passersby. Not to mention his siblings are standing right there. "No," he says. Before Gaming has the chance to get sad, he adds, "you can when I see you again. Just not here."
"Oh, right, sorry, forgot about the crowd! My bad, Freminet!" Gaming scrubs a hand over his hair, still blushing. His voice goes quiet and Freminet has to strain to hear. "I just really wanted to kiss you."
"...idiot..."
"Huh?"
Freminet is an idiot. He is about to do the most idiotic thing.
Before he can talk himself out of it, he lurches forward, cups a hand behind Gaming's head, and kisses him.
Warm. Soft. Perfect.
People around them are cheering, but for once, Freminet doesn't mind the influx of attention.
When he pulls away, face still burning, Gaming squeaks and covers his mouth. "You-!"
"I can do it again, if you want?" Freminet offers nervously, but with a hint of cheekiness in his voice.
"Please."
As they both lean in once again, Lyney pipes up behind them. "We do still have a flight we need to catch, Freminet. Freminet? Hello?"
"Just let it happen, brother."
A sigh. "Fine."
-
[A picture of Gaming and Freminet standing in the airport, side-by-side. Gaming is smiling and his arm is draped over Freminet's shoulders. Freminet's face is covered by a cap he's holding, but it appears as though he's kissing Gaming on the cheek.]
104 likes
yip.yip.hooray me and my boyfriend!