I'd see that trying to get him to talk about it drove him tears, as if it wasn't something he really wanted to do. I would fix the situation as best as I can, calm him down and we would be good again. this happened again a couple weeks later about another misunderstanding and he would just go right to, "I don't think we are good for each other. I think we should break up." But I fixed that break up too. From then, we worked on communicating better with each other to avoid these misunderstandings and extreme reactions.
What I don't get is, why cut out something that is a good thing in his life? With all the negative stuff, why cut out things that are a positive in his life? And what could he possibly mean by telling me that he has to forget his feelings for me and focus, and then say something like a year is too long to be separated. Is this some behavior that is typical of recovery/use or just specific to him?
Why cut something out of his life that is a good thing? In my humble opinion ... he didn't want you around so he could 1.) get the space that he needs to focus on himself and himself only 2.) to start using again and not hurt you like he has hurt everyone else in his life with his addiction.
You might not realize it now - because everything has been wonderful - but when someone is in active addiction they are evil and untrustworthy.
Also, using subutex doesn't mean that he can't use heroin. It's only a drug for someone who is serious about quitting the lifestyle. He may or may not be. It's up to him.
Being in a long-term relationship with an addict is a roller coaster ride... and until even after long-term sobriety relapse is always lurking... some people don't, and some people do. It's a roll of the dice.
I hope you can get clarity on your situation and you seek a non-addicted person for your future. And.. this is coming from an ex-addict. I use to be addicted.. it destroyed many things for me and hurt a lot of people. However, they didn't even know I was an addict. The behaviors associated with addiction are selfishness and untrustworthiness. I hope you get the clarity you are seeking.