Chapter Text
The night air in the Redstone City server was rather quiet, with most of this city’s residents in their homes or out of town. The full moon hung high in the dark veil of the sky, with some stars glittering the dark. The city was mostly quiet.
Within the apartment above a small art supplies studio, loud, strained coughing echoed through the walls. The bedroom where the noises came from was dimly lit with a small, white candle sitting upon a barrel. There wasn’t a need for very much light.
Joey’s hoarse coughs sounded again as he tried to calm his fit, and when he finally did, he laid near the left edge of the bed. The Bloompuff’s breaths were soft, strained, as if Joey was struggling to breathe properly. Well, that much was true.
Joey knew his illness would catch up to him soon, but this soon, he never would have thought. Joey knew he was sick. He had known this for years. He knew his immune system had started with its problems in his legs. And the Bloompuff knew his body would give out on him at some point.
He just didn’t expect it to be so soon.
Joey’s green eyes weakly opened as he heard a small shuffling noise. Though his eyes were getting worse by the moment, he could see the two loves of his life, the two people who actually gave his life meaning. Linda and Henry, his Vaniwisp wife and Amorapuff husband. A very, very weak smile crossed Joey’s face as he looked up at them through half closed eyes.
Linda closed the door behind her and Henry as the two entered the bedroom. Henry’s hands were clasped together and Linda clutched onto the fabric on her chest as they stood by the side of the bed.
Henry felt his eyes spill over as his emotions overwhelmed him. He had known for so long now that Joey was ill. But never did the artist think it would happen like this: the day Joey would truly become sick. It had been a few weeks now of the Bloompuff being bedridden, and Henry and Linda had hoped that it would pass, like many of his smaller bouts did.
But the Amorapuff and Vaniwisp knew it was truly serious when Joey had collapsed in the kitchen, and nearly stopped breathing.
And now, here they were. Joey had been in bed for weeks now, and he wasn’t getting better. As much as Linda didn’t want to say it, and as much as Henry refused to accept it, Joey wasn’t going to be able to stop being sick. They both knew Joey was chronically ill. They both knew his life wouldn’t be as long as either of theirs. And they both had dreaded this day for a long time.
Joey’s weary, watery green eyes looked to Henry as he knelt to his level, gently taking his hand. “Joey, can you hear us,” the Amora asked.
Joey took a moment, but he nodded, then went into another coughing fit. When he finally calmed his breathing, it sounded so hoarse and so tired. Henry bit his lip at hearing how much pain their husband was in, and he carefully held onto the Bloompuff’s hand. He ran his thumbs over Joey’s knuckles. “Joey, I… I’m so sorry.”
Joey raised a brow. “What… what for, Henry? There’s… no reason–to apologize.”
Henry found himself shaking his head. “No, Joey. I’m sorry, because I’m supposed to take care of you. I was supposed to from the day I formed years ago, and… and I couldn’t even stop this. I–I just… I made a promise from that first night that I would keep you safe, and happy, and healthy. And now… I can’t do anything. I feel so… helpless.”
Linda watched from her place as Henry shuddered and let out a small sob. She could see Joey move his gaze to her as a few petals from his succulents dropped off the pillows, and she whimpered. “Joey,” she started. “I’m so sorry. I… I know I can’t do anything either, and I just… I didn’t ever want this day to come. I… I feel so… so terrible. We should have done something sooner, I should have–”
Joey shook his head, catching her and Henry’s attention. “No, Linda. No, Henry. It’s not either of… of your faults. We–we all knew this would… would happen.” He blinked very slowly, and at this point, anyone could see Joey could hardly keep his eyes open anymore. He took a few soft, strained breaths, before smiling weakly. “Linda? Henry?”
Henry nodded softly, barely holding himself together. “Yes?”
Joey chuckled. “Thank you. Thank you both… for the wonderful years… you’ve–you’ve given me. You both… make me–me so–happy. I love you both so much. I–I know I wouldn’t want… to spend my last mo–moments with anyone else. You’re… the loves of my life. I… I love you both so much.”
He looked away for a second. “I’m… I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I–I couldn’t be… here for a little longer. I… I wish I could.”
More of the leaves of Joey’s succulents began to fall, and Henry shook his head. “Joey, there’s no need to apologize.”
The Bloompuff returned his eyes to his spouses. He squeezed Henry’s hands with the remaining strength he had. “Henry? Linda? I want… I don’t want my life ending to–be a sad thing. I want the memories of me to… be happy ones. Please, don’t remember me–like this. Remember me… for who I was. Remember me for–for every moment… of love I gave you. I don’t–want to just… be a memory. I… I want to be… I want to be something more. Okay?”
Henry took a moment for Joey’s words to soak in, before he nodded. Linda did the same, and the two of them smiled softly at their husband. “We love you, Joey,” Linda sobbed out.
“We do. We will always love you,” Henry spoke in a quivering voice.
Joey nodded with his weak grin. “And… I love you both, too. Thank you… for everything.”
One last, soft breath slipped from Joey’s lips, and his hand fell limp from Henry’s. His green eyes closed, and his head rolled to the side.
The Amorapuff looked in shock for just a moment, before realization hit him. His eyes went wide, and he asked, in a voice barely above a whisper, “...Joey?”
There was no response. Just the quiet of the room, the dreadful quiet that Henry had always feared. The Bloompuff in the bed didn’t move.
Joey was gone.
And there was nothing he could have done to stop it.
Linda could see Henry beginning to shudder, and she carefully reached out a hand to put on the Amorapuff’s shoulder. “Henry… Henry, I–”
“ JOEY! ” Linda jumped in place as Henry suddenly shouted out. His hands flew to the sides of his head, wrapping over his temples. He threw his head back and shouted in denial again, before hunching over and bowing his head. The Amorapuff cried out and sobbed as loud as he possibly could and found himself falling to his knees. His hands moved to his eyes and he buried his face in them.
The next few moments were filled with Henry’s sobbing in agony as he stayed by the side of his husband’s bed. He couldn’t stop, and tears fell from his bright blue eyes. Henry was in hysterics and he couldn’t even peel himself off of the floor by the side of Joey’s bed. He only cried out his husband’s name in despair.
Linda could only stare down at Henry with such concern and deep anguish in her own eyes, before she knelt to the Amorapuff’s level and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Linda held Henry close, and she felt her emotions overwhelm her. She sobbed ever so softly next to her Amora husband, and their sounds of grief were the only sounds that filled the room for several long minutes.
It had happened, and Henry and Linda knew it. They knew they would never be prepared for this, and it had come and gone. They still couldn’t believe it, and it was a reality now.
Joey was gone.