Episode 3

Luiz was in his home office, surrounded by papers, but his mind wandered far away. The lamp's light cast soft shadows on the walls, while the clock hands insisted on reminding him of the passing time. He tried, in vain, to revise the agency's report—but the words seemed scrambled, as if they were in a language he no longer understood.

From the next room, Andressa's voice lulled Elisa to sleep with a lullaby. It was a scene that should bring peace. But everything in Luiz seemed restless.

As if on impulse, he got up from the chair and went to the bookshelf in the back, where old boxes had been resting for years, untouched. They were covered by a thin layer of dust, memories of a time he himself couldn't say when he had started to forget.

Upon opening one of the cardboard boxes, he found college notebooks, an athletic t-shirt with his name embroidered on it, a black and white photo torn in half. But what caught his attention the most was an old, metallic keychain, shaped like a stylized motorcycle helmet. On the back, an almost erased inscription was engraved in cursive:

"Forever us, B."

He frowned, confused.

""B...?"" he whispered, turning the keychain between his fingers.

He felt a shiver run down his spine. It awakened something—but he couldn't name what. It was as if a memory was there, behind a locked door. He knew he had felt that object before. That engraving seemed intimate, promising. But at the same time, it was a complete mystery.

He squeezed the keychain in the palm of his hand and took a deep breath. A slight headache formed, throbbing behind his eyes. The emptiness inside him grew—and with it, a bitter sense of loss.

"Why does this, which should just be an old object, make me feel like I'm losing something..."

Without saying anything, he put the keychain in his pants pocket. There was something there. And even without understanding why, he needed to keep it close.

Federal Police Headquarters – Central Auditorium

The next day, Luiz walked through the corridors of the Federal Police headquarters with firm steps, but his mind was still in turmoil. The interagency meeting promised to be long and full of protocols. Agents from Europol, Interpol, representatives from the FBI, federal delegates... all gathered to discuss progress in joint investigations into transnational organized crime activities.

The atmosphere was formal, tense. He greeted some colleagues, kept a low profile. He tried to concentrate, to push away the disconnected thoughts from the night before.

He was about to sit down when the double door opened and a new team entered.

And then, as if time had frozen for a moment, Luiz looked.

His eyes met Braian's.

The world fell silent around him. His breath caught. His body froze.

Braian also stopped. He stood motionless in the doorway. His gaze landed on Luiz like a sure arrow. He didn't even blink. His heart was beating too hard, and the ground seemed to have disappeared beneath his feet.

For Luiz, it was as if a lightning bolt had struck through his chest. There was no immediate recognition. But there was something. Something visceral.

"Why is he looking at me like that...? And why does this man's gaze give me the feeling that... I'm about to remember a forgotten dream?"

Braian swallowed hard. The Luiz in front of him was not the same man he had kissed in the rain years ago, nor the one he shared nights of affection and getaways with. He was another. But still, he was there. Alive. Breathing. And the smell... God, the smell was still the same.

The meeting began, but no one was really paying attention.

Glimpses crossed each other. Brief, tense. Braian avoided direct contact, afraid of exploding inside. Luiz tried to understand why this stranger awakened so much restlessness in his chest.

Part 3 – The Unknown Feeling

Corridor – after the meeting

Luiz was walking distractedly through the corridors when he stopped in front of the coffee machine. Next to him, Braian.

For a second, the silence was so dense that you could hear the sound of the machine preparing the coffee like thunder.

""Lawyer Luiz Felipe,"he said, extending his hand, trying to sound formal."

Braian turned his face slowly. There was a slight tremor in his body.

""Braian Vieira, Interpol.

The touch between their hands was brief, but something crossed them. Like an electric spark that ran through both of their bodies. Luiz was static. A heat rose from within, inexplicable.

He tried to disguise it, but failed.

""Have we... met before?"" Luiz asked, staring into Braian's eyes.

Braian hesitated. His eyes sparkled, full of everything he couldn't say.

""Maybe in another life.

Luiz smiled nervously, not knowing why. Something hurt. Something echoed deep in his chest.

"If this is what they call deja vu, then why does it hurt so much?" — he thought.

"It's still you..." Braian thought.

Headquarters Rooftop – Late Afternoon

The wind blew warm, gently swaying Braian's dress shirt. The sun painted the sky with golden and orange tones, but his heart beat as if he were in the middle of a storm.

He leaned on the rooftop railing, looking at the distant horizon.

The pain consumed him.

"He's alive."

"Luiz."

But he was no longer his Luiz. The look was the same—but empty. The lack of recognition hurt more than any mourning he had ever felt.

His hands trembled. His body seemed fragile, as if about to collapse.

He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes.

""You really are here, aren't you?"" he murmured to the sky. ""But what about me? Where did I end up in you?

The memory of the touch returned like a discharge. The way Luiz's fingers trembled when they touched his. The lost look, as if searching for something... that he himself didn't know.

And Braian was there. He always was.

Memories came back in an avalanche:

Luiz's smile lying on the couch, his laugh after the first clumsy kiss. The scar on his right shoulder. The way he hugged him during cold nights, as if he were home.

And now, all of that seemed to have been deleted from his life.

""I wonder if, if I touch him one more time... will he remember?"" he whispered.

His whole body screamed to run to him, hold him, beg him to remember. But his mind held him back. He needed to be rational. Professional. Strong.

But the pain... was something else.

""I've thought about you all these years... and now that I see you, it's like I'm just another unknown face in your path.

He closed his eyes again, pressing his fists against the cold concrete of the rooftop. He fought back tears.

His voice still echoed in his mind:

""Have we... met before?

Yes, Luiz. You've seen me before. You loved me before.

And I... never stopped loving you.

And for the first time in years, Braian didn't know what to do.

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