Never forgot estranged first crush/bestie/first relationship

A mid trope. Good if well-executed, but kind of easy and over-used. Either it's an 'omg you showed up out of nowhere and I have so many unresolved feelings after you suddenly disappeared!' or an 'at the end it turns out they vaguely knew each other as kids all along, and one of them never forgot the brief interaction they had.' To be honest I think sometimes this trope is used so authors don't have to think of reasons why they love each other so much. Sometimes it's a way of skipping show-don't-tell relationship development. But not always.

For characters who were so whipped for their first and only love that they crossed lifetimes, see the reincarnation list: link.

For characters who went back in time to be able to save their only love, see this list: link.

All gay.