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Porco’s footsteps echoed as he ambled the dim hallways toward his destination, the air of the building was unpleasantly sanitary. Porco sniffed and pushed the button on the elevator to call the elevator; he sighed watching each floor light up as the elevator made it’s descent to the ground floor, the doors opened and Porco stepped in, “Third floor. Same as always, Pock,” Porco mumbled to himself, it had been a while since he last visited- longer than he wanted at least.
The elevator dinged as it came to a sudden halt; the doors opened and Porco stepped out into the barren hallway- it was more desolate than he remembered, only a nurse and what appeared to be a patient’s family were gathered outside of one of the rooms, a passing no doubt.
“Hey, Mr. Braun!” A familiar voice caught Porco’s attention, making him jump on his heels.
“M-Mina, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Porco shouted just above a whisper, he quickly regained his composure and fixed a stray lock of hair that fell, “I-It’s Galliard-” Porco stated matter of factly, only garnering a quiet giggle from the young nurse’s aide.
“Sure it is-” Mina teased and waved for Porco to follow her, it was strange to see how someone could remain so bubbly in the medical field. Porco had always been afraid of hospitals, he couldn’t imagine being at one as frequently as the staff here was. Yet here he was, his stomach turned as his destination grew closer with every step.
“How is he?” Porco queried, concern bubbled up in his voice- despite his attempts to hide it.
“He’s been doing better, I think.” Mina responded promptly, “At the very least, he did well in therapy today-” Mina stopped outside of the correct door, “Bertholdt and Annie just left not too long ago, he was very tired today- so he might be asleep.” She warned and knocked on the door, She pushed open the door enough for Porco to be able to slip by her and into the room. “Just come find me if you need anything, I’m done with my rounds, so I’ll be around.”
“Yeah, of course. Thank you, Mina.” Porco nodded and watched as she closed the door behind him.
Porco turned on his heels and froze up, this happened every time he visited. His eyes locked onto the vague silhouette behind the sheer white privacy curtain. The steady beep of the heart rate monitor echoed inside of his mind, the steps he took matched it almost perfectly, Porco peaked around the corner and felt his knees grow weak. Asleep, just as he was told- Porco took a seat in one of the two chairs that was pulled beside the bed. He sat silently for a moment, eyes scanning the room- the walls were a bland white, the lights were dimmed just enough to avoid straining the eyes. Porco turned his attention to the nightstand beside the bed, it was covered in gifts and photos- neatly organised so that nothing was lost.
Everything was almost exactly how it was when Porco last visited, there were less machines in the room- a small relief. Porco’s eyes caught a glimpse of a fresh bouquet- no doubt Bertholdt had just put these in, Porco knew nothing of flowers, but he knew Bertholdt was a gifted florist- and it showed with every new bouquet that he swapped in with each visit.
“Bert says that they’re for healing. I don’t think he’s accepted what’s going to happen yet.”
Porco jumped in his seat and turned his attention to the reason he was in the hospital to begin with, “Reiner,” Porco whispered and leaned closer, “don’t talk like that-” He knew Reiner was speaking the truth, but it never hurt any less to hear it.
“You said you wouldn’t make it today..” Reiner pointed out, his voice low and gravely. Reiner sat up slowly, a small smile forming on his features- even though his face was noticeably more hollow than it once was, Reiner was still the handsome man that Porco had fallen head over heels in love with.
Porco swallowed and shook his head, “I felt guilty-” guilty for what exactly, Porco knew Reiner never made him feel obligated to visit, “-and I missed you,” Porco blushed and reached into the pocket of his jacket, fishing out four separate envelopes. “From your kids!” He couldn’t help but smile, he knew Reiner had so much love for his kids, and they never failed to make Reiner smile like some kind of proud father. Even on his worst days
“So you’re playing the messenger today, huh?” Reiner teased, gratefully accepting the envelopes from Porco, normally he would read them immediately- today however, he sat them down on the nightstand. “Come here-” Reiner mumbled, he took Porco’s hand and tugged him into the bed with him. Reiner made sure he was careful not to knock the heart rate monitor off of his finger, he didn’t want to give the staff another scare like the last-
Reiner held Porco in a firm embrace, it had been months since his armour had crumbled and his body gave up on him, but Reiner could still muster the strength to move Porco how he needed to.
Porco melted into Reiner’s embrace and pressed his cheek against Reiner’s chest to hear his heartbeat for himself, all of the problems in his life melted away, nothing mattered- hearing Reiner’s pulse in his chest meant the world to him, Reiner was still alive- Porco’s lip quivered and he blinked the tears out of his waterline.
“Hey- none of that now.” Reiner mumbled, he allowed himself to knead the small of Porco’s back, “Look at me, Pock.”
Porco brought his gaze to Reiner’s own, “That’s not my name, dummy.” He bickered, Reiner only smiled in return and stroked away a rogue tear from Porco’s cheek with his thumb, Porco’s cheeks turned red, he was still just as bashful as he was when they were kids- Reiner adored him for it too-
“Porco-” Reiner corrected softly, he ran his fingers through Porco’s hair, he closed the gap between their lips and Porco immediately melted in Reiner’s arms. Porco brought his shaky hands to cup Reiner’s face, his thumbs brushed needily over the stubble on Reiner’s jaw.
“This isn’t fair-” Porco pulled back, now straddling his lover’s lap- Reiner’s hands now firmly holding Porco’s waist, “Why did it have to be you?”
“Porco- we do this every time-” Reiner frowned, every time Porco visited he would mention how unfair life was- “I’d rather it be me- than you. Or anyone for that matter, I’m still here- let’s make the most out of it, Eventually this chapter of your life has to close, just like how my story needs to come to an end.”
“No! You’re not allowed to die, you can’t just leave me.” Porco whimpered, he tightly squeezed Reiner’s arms, “I don’t want this chapter to end- I don’t want to lose you- I love you, Reiner.” Porco’s heart sank, he had confessed- the realization that this was the first time Porco had told Reiner he loved him, “I love you.” He repeated, a large weight lifted from his shoulders and he collapsed back into Reiner’s arms.
“I love you too,” Reiner stated, all he could do now was comfort his lover while he poured his emotions quite literally into his chest. He held onto Porco tightly, feeling Porco’s body tremble as he cried made Reiner’s heart ache, the monitor beeped quicker as Reiner’s pulse quickened, “You’re okay. We’re okay. I got you.” Reiner reassured in an attempt to soothe his distraught lover. “You know I don’t like it when you cry, darling.”
Porco bit his lip to stifle the sound of his anguish, he sniffed and nodded, “I know. I-I just can’t help it.”
“I’m not going anywhere yet. I promise.” Reiner reassured and pressed a soft kiss into Porco’s neck, he held onto Porco tightly, unwilling to let him leave. He found his eyes had become uncomfortably heavy, “I’m tired- you’ll stay tonight, right?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you for the happiest years of my life.” Reiner mumbled, allowing his eyes to fall shut. The monitor beeped at a steady pace once again, slumber soon washed over him.
Porco finally relaxed in the strong embrace of his lover, he missed being held every night by Reiner, he made the most of it now, he had taken it for granted before- but now he no longer could. The time he had left with Reiner was precious, he closed his puffy eyes and soon found himself drifting off as well.