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"Shen Wei-ah... Have we really met before?"
Their first kiss was a long time coming, and Zhao Yunlan can barely hold back either, now that they're here. But there's something about the way Shen Wei grasps at him, hands trembling— There's something about the tears he kisses away from Shen Wei's eyelashes that makes Zhao Yunlan ask this nonsensical question.
The quip about their unexplainable familiarity was supposed to be a pick-up line, a confusing inkling at most, not a fact.
It is a fact. Shen Wei nods, and Zhao Yunlan believes him.
"And I don't remember because— You made me forget?" He ventures.
"No." Shen Wei's reply is instant, unwavering. Maybe Zhao Yunlan believes him too much for his own good. This is one more item on the laundry list of major secrets, and Shen Wei himself has admitted that he could erase his memories.
But he didn't.
Zhao Yunlan caresses the skin under Shen Wei's eyes with his thumbs and leans in until their foreheads touch.
There are many other possibilities, and he definitely doesn't have anything close to the full picture, but somehow he knows. "I don't remember because I haven't lived it yet."
It's not a question, and Shen Wei doesn't reply; he just stills in Zhao Yunlan's embrace, fingers wrapping even tighter around his upper arm.
Zhao Yunlan kisses the corner of Shen Wei's lips, barely more than a breath, hoping that Shen Wei will relax into it. He doesn't, and Zhao Yunlan wishes it didn't take this much time to figure out how to say the only thing there is to say.
"I promise I won't ask any more questions about this. I can't wait to meet you for the first time again." He finds the words that feel right, and none of the dizzying confusion he feels is half as important Shen Wei's reaction — a tentative exhale, and a soft, startled laugh when Zhao Yunlan adds, "Who else gets to have this honor twice?"