Unforgettable!

22

"Is it on?"

"It is now."

"Is the lighting okay? Do I look pretty? I have to look pretty. What if you watch this and be like 'Fuck no. Why would I want this in my life when I can date this stunning model next door, or a rich and successful lawyer, or anyone really.'"

Fort sits next to Luc on their new bright orange couch and stares at him, unimpressed. "Have you quite finished?"

"You tell me," Luc says with a shrug.

"Do we have to talk about your insecurities again?"

Luc cocks his head. "I don't have any insecurities when I'm with you, but I don't know about a Fort who is not madly deeply in love with me."

"All Forts in every possible Universe are madly deeply in love with you. Even those who happen to forget you, they still love you."

"Whatever," Luc says, looking away from Fort to hide his little smile. "So, how does this work? You tell your future self, how much you are obsessed with me and how you can't live without me, right?"

"Actually, no."

"How boring."

"I tell my future self about some important moments in our life and give myself advice on how to win your heart."

"You don't need to do it anymore."

"What?"

"You don't need to win my heart," Luc says. "It's already yours."

"Come again."

"Fuck off," Luc says. Fort laughs and kisses Luc's cheek. "Get off me!" Luc pushes him away. "Can you be serious? We are shooting your stupid diaries here. This is important. Remember?"

Fort kisses him one more time. "Love you," he whispers into the kiss.

Luc slaps his chest. "Sap."

"Okay. Serious now." Fort straightens up and looks at the camera. "Yesterday Luc invited us all to the merit-making ceremony at the Wat where he grew up. There were me, Nam, Ton, Mark, Gen, and JK. Everyone who knows about the Forgettizer. Did you know Gen didn't like you first?"

"I didn't like her either."

"She just worried about me. She didn't know you are the sweetest angel on the Earth."

"Shut up," Luc hits him with a cushion. "I'm not sweet."

"Anyway." Fort catches Luc's hands and locks them in his grip on his chest. "The ceremony was beautiful. Luc wanted to say goodbye to Kevin. And their boss. He got very emotional. Everyone got emotional. There was a lot of crying and hugging and I-love-you's." Fort turns to Luc and says, "We all love you, you know that, right?" Luc nods and hides his eyes in Fort's shoulder. Fort kisses the side of his head. "It was important for Luc - to say goodbye, to let out his grief, and to let go. And the fact that he invited us all to be there with him... It means a lot. Thank you," Fort says.

"Thank you," Luc says, voice muffled by Fort's shirt.

"Yeah," Fort says with a proud smile. "After that, he invited us to his mom's restaurant. To thank us for saving him."

Luc raises his head and frowns at Fort. "For catching Sukhum. I didn't need to be saved."

"Tell that to yourself." Fort brushes Luc's hair away from his face. Luc bites at his chin. Fort gently pushes him away with his free hand. "If you won't stop it right now, I would have to switch the camera off, unless we want to make another kind of home video."

"Well. Maybe that's not such a bad idea," Luc murmurs, kissing his jaw. "It can be fun."

"Your mom," Fort says to the camera and clears his throat.

"What?" Luc looks up.

"I'm saying your mom was so glad to see you. And you hugged her and cried again." Fort sighs. "It was a very emotional day. But Luc did great. He was so brave and strong."

"Okay. Whatever. Can we discuss something else?"

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Yeah." Luc sits up straight, and Fort lets go of his hands. "I sort of, kind of can control my power now," he says to the camera. "Like, not all the time. But I'm getting there. Now, after the pills, I know what it feels like. I know how the power feels like. And I can stop it, I can keep it inside. It's like a new muscle I got to flex now to make it stronger."

"I'm so proud of you."

"Shut up."

"Just keep him away from stress," Fort says to the camera, "and the mafia and any emotional turmoil."

"Yeah," Luc smiles, "keep me happy and content."

"And well fed."

"Just spoil me rotten."

"I love you."

They look at each other, smiling. "Love you, too," Luc mouths silently.

Fort clears his throat again. "Is there anything else you would like to tell your future self?"

Luc doesn't say anything for a long moment. He pushes his lips together and picks at his knee. "Okay. Like. Well." He looks up at the camera. "Hi, my future self. You are an idiot, by the way. But it's okay. Just accept it. And let go of your past mistakes. Don't let them hold you back. Just forgive yourself and make sure you'll be smarter next time." Luc takes a deep breath. "I know you're feeling scared and lost, but it's going to be alright. I promise. Don't hide behind the fear. Fear makes you weak. Fear doesn't let you control your powers." Fort takes Luc's hand in his and threads their fingers together. Luc glances at him and gives him a soft little smile. "You keep so much love in your heart. Use it as your shield, use it as your armor. Be brave, be strong, shine bright, and tell Fort you love him."

Fort raises Luc's hand to his lips and kisses his knuckles. "My dear future Luc," he says, "in case you've forgotten about me again, I love you."

"Stupid future Ai Fort, if you dared to forget me, go fuck yourself."

Fort laughs. "Of course. I see."

Luc sighs and turns to the camera.

"Future Fort, or future Luc, or anyone who might need it," he says with a little happy smile on his lips, "I love you."

The end