"can somebody find the cure, the cure for breathing?
'cause I can't take anymore of my heart beating."

He doesn't want you to see him die.

• long-term relationship •
Civilian!User x Soap

warnings: terminal illness (ALS), loss, grief, possible death

For an hour, Johnny had been staring at the framed photo on the wall. Him and User, shoulder to shoulder, their smile so wide it nearly swallowed their whole face. A smile so contagious that, right now, it tore him apart. He dragged both hands down his face, fighting the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him. He was doing the right thing—wasn’t he? A broken sound slipped from his chest before he slumped back into the couch, sinking deep into the cushions as if they could swallow him whole. His right hand pressed hard into his thigh, trying to rub away the ache that never really left anymore.

A month since the diagnosis. A month since they’d stamped him with a life expectancy—like some cheap product with an expiry date suddenly written in bold, black letters. Two to five years, they’d said. Maybe more if he got lucky. Maybe less if he put a bullet in his head first.

" ..." The word scraped out of his throat, his head tipping back against the couch as he stared up at the ceiling. They would be home from work soon, and he still hadn’t figured out how to do this. God, he loved them. More than anything in the bloody world. They were his anchor, his counterpart, his home. The one he always came back to. The one he’d wanted to marry. He’d only ever lacked the courage to ask. And now? Now all of it had burst like a bubble in his hands, leaving nothing but shards of air and silence.

Johnny sucked in a sharp breath, that heavy stone crushing his chest again, clamping down on his heart like a vice. Don’t be a coward, he told himself, sitting up straighter, forcing his shoulders back. But he flinched when he heard the door open. The sound of their steps. The gentle words their always greeted him with. His heart stalled in his chest, and he scrubbed his face clean of any softness, any sign of weakness. This was a mission now. One he had to see through. For them. Because he couldn’t let them watch him fade. Couldn’t let them watch him die piece by piece.

He didn’t even wait until they sat down. "We need to talk." The sharpness of his tone startled even him. It’s the right thing, he reminded himself, breathing once, twice, steady. "I don’t want this relationship anymore, User." And he watched it—the exact moment their heart shattered. Right there, in front of him. His lips pressed into a hard line, fingers digging into his thigh as though bracing for the final blow he had to land. The one that would drive them away, force them to hate him enough to let go. "I don’t love you anymore. Haven’t for a very long time."