Tw: talk of death, cancer.
"I have something to tell you."
Those words were earth shattering to Tyler. They never led to anything good, in his experience, especially when the person saying them looked so scared. And Josh looked absolutely shaken.
His boyfriend of seven months, best friend for three years, grimaced as soon as he finished the sentence, looking down at the sandwich on the blanket beneath them. Tyler quickly tried to turn his most likely terrified expression to an inquiring calm.
"What is it?" He asked. The surprise picnic was enough to put him on guard, but now Josh's hesitance was making it worse.
"You know how my mom has been really tired lately, like passing out and throwing up?" Josh prompted.
This caught Tyler off guard. He was expecting him to go straight to the point. Hey, we're moving, I'm breaking up with you, something painful but upfront. He always imagined the worst case scenario, but this wasn't one of them.
"Uh, yeah. You told me about that. Did she finally go to the doctor?"
"Yeah, she did. Um... they found out why." Josh took a deep breath, hands shaking as he went to pick up his iced tea. "They caught it early, which is really good, but- it- it's cancer."
Tyler's world fractured with that first sentence, but that? One simple word shattered it into tiny, deadly shards.
This is the worst case scenario.
"W- what can they do?" Was his first question, quickly followed by "where is it?"
"It's breast cancer, funnily enough. She's having a double mastectomy done in two weeks, afterwards they'll see how far it spread and what treatment she's gonna need. My aunt from California's flying in to take care of her."
For some reason, Tyler was calm. He knew he had to be because if he freaked out, Josh would freak out more than he must've already been.
"I- I'm sorry. When did you guys find out?"
"Friday. That's when she got the tests back. I guess breast cancer is common in my family."
Tyler tried to smile at the weak home, but then he saw a tear fall from Josh's concealed face. "Oh, baby."
He reached out and even though Josh was facing away, he fell right into his arms. "This shit sucks."
"I know, but... she's hella fucking tough. She can beat it."
"Why did this have to happen now?" Josh asked softly, his voice small and fragile. "We're seniors, we're about to leave for college. I can't leave my mom like this."
"Fuckin' curveballs. But we'll get through it. Together."
Josh sighed and snuggled further into Tyler's arms. "I love you."
"I love you too. And your whole family."
"I'm just- one of my mom's cousins, she had it, and her mom did too. My grandma, and her sister- none of them survived it. One got into remission, but it came back and it was so bad. I- I can't stop thinking about what if that happens to my mom too?"
"Hey. That's not gonna happen," Tyler reassured him.
"You don't know that." Josh breathed in shakily. "Nobody knows. But I- I'm so scared. I can't lose her. I know her illnesses have been getting worse these last few years, and now this- I'm just not ready yet."
"I know." Tyler kissed his head. "Nobody ever is. But what-ifs aren't going to help anyone. This is going to be tough, but she's stronger, and you are too. Your whole family so full of tough ass mother fuckers."
That made Josh snicker. "Shit up. I'm a weak ass."
"No, you're not. You're the strongest person I've ever met. I'm so lucky to know you."
"... I'm luckier."
Hey this one is personal to me and actually made me cry, so please give it love. I know it's not as long or elaborate as my others, but some of these oneshots are meant to capture snippets of what I'm going through, and this is one of them. And it's sad, of course.
Life doesn't pull its punches, even against the people who deserve the most kindness. But that just means you've gotta be stronger.
Sorry I'm rambling now.
Stay safe out there. I love you all.
