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Every time In touched someone, there was a chance he would see their future. Through clothing, it typically only happened the first time they brushed against each other. Skin-to-skin, the chances of In's magic acting up grew exponentially.
Being Thap's lover often meant living in two moments. Thap kissed him hello in the evening and In saw him sighing over a mountain of files a week from then. They brushed hands while passing food at dinner and In knew Thap's car would have a flat tire in a month. Thap invited him to slow dance in the living room and In was already aware of the surprise party Thap was going to throw for his mother's birthday next year.
He never told Thap about his visions, though Thap often recognized the symptoms—the dazed eyes, the pause in movement, the shortness of breath. His boyfriend never asked what they were about, even though he had to know the visions were about him. If their places were reversed, In wasn't sure he could have that kind of self-control.
Luckily, In had not woken from a nightmarish vision since he dreamt of Thap's shooting. No one important to him was in danger of dying. Since Karn's arrest, things had become calm—domestic even.
Thap often spent the night at In's house. If he wasn't there when In went to sleep, something would wake In up just in time to greet Thap, no matter what time of the night it was. Thap called it his second magic power. The latter happened often enough that Dao had taken to joking that they should move in together already.
One night, Thap arrived at the house around eleven, and In woke up just as he reached the front door. Then, only a few hours later, In again slipped from the land of dreams, this time with a vision lighting up his mind. A simple metal ring with a flat, triangular protrusion on top. The name 'Thapfah' carved on the inside of the band. Thap rolled over, his hand leaving In's side, and the vision cleared.
In gasped softly and turned his head to watch Thap's sleeping face. Without seeing when or how the ring was created, or hearing any words about it, In instinctively knew it was a wedding ring. That was the moment Thap proposed to someone.
Was that someone In? In had never had a vision suggesting he and Thap would break up, that there was anyone else coming into Thap's life that would take In's place, and yet…In's heart raced as he reached out toward Thap's bare shoulder. Was he more anxious that he would see another man's face, or excited to see his own?
There was no guarantee that another touch would gift him with a vision, or that the next vision would even be related to the last. Still, In took a deep breath and gently, hesitantly, touched Thap's shoulder.
A simple metal ring with a triangular shaped space cut out of the top. The name 'Inthu' carved on the inside of the band. A match to the other.
"Be with me forever, In."
Thap sliding a ring onto In's hand. His smiling face and eyes full of love.
"What do you say?"
Even without pulling his hand away, the vision faded abruptly. It left In breathless in a way that had nothing to do with fainting or changing fate. It was him. Thap was going to propose to him. It was still weeks, maybe months, away, but it would happen.
He was getting married.
In almost wanted to slide out of bed, go find the picture of his parents, and tell them all about it. He wanted to celebrate with them. His very skin itched with the desire to talk to them—to anyone—about his vision. Thap was going to propose!
Instead, In glanced at the still dark sky outside the windows and snuggled further under the covers. He would wait until Thap went to work. Then he would tell his parents about it. For now, he didn't want to risk waking the doctor up. Thap had just gotten off a twelve-hour shift, after all, and needed the rest.
Feeling the warmth of their bodies under the covers made In sigh in contentment. He curled forward until his knees touched Thap's legs and his forehead met Thap's shoulder. No vision came to him that time, but the skin-to-skin touch was comforting, and soon In was drifting off.
He was getting married. Even a year ago, the idea would've terrified In. Now, he fell asleep with a tender smile on his lips.
…
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fin