Best One-Shot Terminal Illness Fanfics
Terminal Illness one-shots under 10k words — the trope distilled to a single complete read. Curated from AO3, ranked by kudos.
Top 6 One-Shot Terminal Illness Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with terminal illness and falls in the short stories under 10,000 words range.
Before Dawn
by yeet_all_the_thots
On ordinary missions, when he was alone or tailing a normal group of two to four lower rank slayers, he was able to keep her by his side. But when it came to missions with higher rank slayers, or large groups, or pillars, he left her in the Ubuyashiki family’s care. Most often, that meant Kiriya and
Only way is Up
by Ivrey_SHows
The downfall of the Korblox Administration had come and gone. Scientists and soldiers and the like who committed atrocities behind closed doors were trailed and put behind bars to rot for their crimes. Except Subspace.Through bribery and good behaviour and a god-sent of a lawyer, he managed to be
Please forget me (not)
by iateabug
No summary provided.
heaving through corrupted lungs
by myotheraccount
муковисцидоз, Ilya learns this word when he is two years old and his Mama is very sad. She has it too. Alexei is spared, but she has given it to him and he thinks, if something can be from his Mama, surely it must be good. Да, because she is good. (Or, Ilya has cystic fibrosis).
Uncle Cedric
by WolfsbaneKnight
His mother stood over the grave and the show she’d been putting on for others crumbled. Tears ran freely from her eyes as she stood not caring for the rain that spat down upon her. With only her family as witness she wept openly for their loss. Looking past his mother’s form, Cameron’s eyes found th
In her light
by Ammocharis
He promised to protect her, and he failed twice already. There won't be a third time.After escaping the Wraiths, a strange illness plagues Delta as he vows to keep his distance from Anya. He starts coughing up sharp black crystals made of dramaxil. He accepts his fate and plans for his departure. Ex
More One-Shot Terminal Illness Fics on AO3
AO3's search bar accepts custom word-count ranges. We've pre-filled the short stories under 10,000 words range for you. Then read offline with Fanfict Reader.
About Terminal Illness
A character is dying on a known clock, and the story is about what they — and the people who love them — do with the time. Some fics walk all the way to the end; others find a reprieve; all of them are clearly tagged for readers choosing how much heartbreak to sign up for.
A deadline makes every ordinary moment luminous, and these fics distill love to its essentials: presence, honesty, and the courage to stay.
Common scenarios: A bucket-list road trip narrated by the healthy partner who is not coping as well as they pretend, or a character spending their last months writing letters for every birthday they'll miss.
About This List
This list of 6one-shot Terminal Illness fanfics spans 31,458 total words. Kudos range from 3 on the newest entries to 44 on the most established. Most entries are ongoing works, so subscribe on AO3 for update notifications. The most common rating is Teen And Up Audiences (4 of 6 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Terminal Illnesses · Angst · Chronic Illness · Angst with a Happy Ending.
Read one-shot terminal illness fanfiction on the go
Fanfict Reader is the best way to browse, search, and read AO3 fanfiction on your iPhone. Download for free and start reading your favorite stories today.