I do not own Homestuck. There's a character death in here, so yeah. . .

You stand next to John's bed; you can barely pick up on his faint breathing. You watch as his eyes slowly open, he stares back up at you and a faint smile flickers across his thin and pale face. Your hand cups his hollow cheek and you return the smile. You see him struggle to raise his hand to your own, after a moment of trying, he gives up. Ever since he was diagnosed with ALS last year you slowly watched him go from an energetic boy with no worries in the world to him being bed riddled. Even though he can no longer walk and he can barely move his arms, he still puts on a smile every day. You have no idea how he manages it, you haven't been coping with his illness very well. You've taken the habit of drinking and you have such a short temper now, abandoning your cool and you dropped contact with all of your friends.

"Dave, stop looking so sad." Your eyes slowly meet his once vibrant azure eyes. Your fist clenches at your side and you shake your head.

"Why can't I be sad? You're fucking dying John." He cringes for a moment, good job; remind him that any moment he will be gone for good. Ten points goes to the douche bag in the red hoodie. You let out a sigh and crouch down next to his bed, becoming eye level with him.

"Dave?"

". . .What?" You watch as he feebly jerks his hand upwards and he clasps your hand with his own cold one.

"Have you ever noticed how pretty the world is?" This catches you slightly off guard, "Stop being so down all the time. I know that I'm sick and that I won't be here for much longer, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy things. I don't like seeing you like this all the time please smile. I don't want to go with you being sad." Tears prick at your stoic face but somehow you manage to tug the corners of your mouth upward. John's face softens and for a moment you forget that John is dying. He lets out a soft cough and he turns his head over to the window.

"Dave, can I ask you something?" You caress his hand gently and you nod, "I was wondering if you could take me outside. I want to watch the sunset." His faded and defeated eyes stare into your own tired eyes, you nod reluctantly. You get the wheelchair from the corner of his room and park it beside his bed and you pick him up. He's so light now; John has always been slender with not much muscle, but now with most of his muscle wasted away you are now able to see bones underneath his thin skin. Gently setting him down onto his chair, you slowly wheel him outside. You sit down next to him on the patio bench and take his hand. He stares up at the sky and a beautiful smile spreads across his sickly face. For a moment, you see the old John you knew before he fell ill as he continues to stare up at the golden sky streaked with red and purple.

"Dave?"

"Hmm?" He tears his gaze away from the sky and looks at you nervously.

"Are you mad at me?" His question comes out as a barely above a whisper. You are taken aback, why would he ever think that you are mad at him?
"What do you mean?" He takes in a shaky breath.

"For getting sick I mean. Are you mad at me for being sick?" You intertwine your fingers with his and shake your head.

"No, why would you think that I would ever be mad at you for getting sick? It wasn't your fault that this happened. John, I would never blame this on you. You are my everything and even though that you might leave soon I will always love you and I want you to know that I will never ever be mad at you. You are my best friend and more than just a best friend to me, you are my other half. My one and only. My love." Tears start to fall down John's face and he twitches his fingers.

"I want to sit on the bench with you." You wrap your arms around his thin waist and carefully hoist him out of the chair and set him down next to you. His head falls on your shoulder and he lets out a small sniffle.

"I love you too Dave. When I'm gone though, I want you to move on. I don't want you to waste away your life just because, just because I'm not here." His voice starts to get thick but he continues, "You taught me a lot of things and I'm so glad I got to ever meet you. I don't know where I would be without you." You wipe a tear falling down his cheek with your thumb and you pull him into an embrace. He lets out a soft sigh, and you bend your head down and bury your face in his soft raven black hair.

"I wish we could just dance one more time." You and John had started dancing together to help keep the strength of his muscles from deteriorating too quickly. Lately though, it was just swaying back and forth with you holding him so close to you because you know that the moment you let go of him, he will be unable to stand by himself anymore and he will fall to the floor. You stand up and pick him back up from the bench and pull him into you, you hum softly as you sway back and forth. John's eyes light up and he lets out a peal of laughter. You two only dance for a short while until you start to hear his breathing becoming laboured. You sit back down with him, John's eyes look up to you and he adorns a tired smile.

"That was a lot of fun Dave. Thanks, I don't think you know how much that meant to me. Yeah, I know that it was just swaying, but it was fun and we should do it again tomorrow" You give a small nod; you turn your head back to the sky. The sun has just nearly finished setting. John calls out your name softly, focusing your attention back to him; you see that he is no longer smiling. You take off your shades and stare into his baby blue eyes with your fiery red ones.

"What?"

"I just want to say that I love you and thank you for staying with me. I don't think that I would be able to survive this long if you weren't by my side." A lump rises in your throat. You feel as if you would've taken John to the doctor earlier, they would've discovered his disease earlier. There was nothing you could do though, it's incurable but you still feel so helpless watching your boyfriend waste away to nothing. You silently curse yourself for being so worthless. You lean down and kiss him gently on the lips; despite his dry lips they are still soft against your own.

"I love you too Egderp." He grins softly at your pet name for him, you watch as his blue eyes slowly flutter close. He whispers silently against your shoulder and you have to strain your ears to hear him.

"I'll be waiting for you." You feel his body go limp and you watch as he breathes his last breath. Your body goes numb and you let out a sob. You don't move and you just bring John closer to you and whisper his name, his body grows cold. The sun has finally set and the moon's rays fall gently around his pale body as you stare into space; lost in your own thoughts.


You are an old man now and even though that John has told you that you should move on and build a family for yourself, you never felt the same after he passed away. You found yourself unable to grow a relationship with anyone because John was your only love. Instead you lie in your bed alone, your closest relative lives out of state with her wife in a retirement home. You would never allow yourself swallow your pride and submit to a retirement home and let someone take care of you when you can do that by yourself. Your lids grow heavy and you let out a sigh.

You find yourself in a field, the breeze is warm, carrying the smell of apples and freshly cut grass, and the sun shines brightly on your face. You feel a tap on your shoulder and you turn around to see John standing behind you with a huge smile on his face. All traces of his sickness is gone and his bright azure eyes are bright and lively.

"I told you I would be waiting for you."

Author's Note

So I was listening to this amazing song called Inevitable by Anberlin (you should totally check it out, it's like my favourite songe ever.) And it really wanted me to write a story so I did. Ahaha, yeah. . . Anywhoozle, I'll post the sequel Hide and Seek sometime next week. Until then, fairwinds!