diff --git a/gateway/middleware.go b/gateway/middleware.go
index 652bc33..e949259 100644
--- a/gateway/middleware.go
+++ b/gateway/middleware.go
@@ -161,8 +161,10 @@ func RequestTimeoutMiddleware(timeout time.Duration) gin.HandlerFunc {
 		var cancel context.CancelFunc
 		var ctx context.Context
 		if timeout <= 0 {
-			// Preserve the existing behavior for zero/negative values.
-			ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(c.Request.Context(), timeout)
+			// Zero/negative timeout means no timeout — use the existing context
+			// without wrapping it, so requests don't cancel immediately.
+			ctx = c.Request.Context()
+			cancel = func() {} // no-op to avoid nil cancel panic in defer
 		} else {
 			if d, ok := c.Request.Context().Deadline(); ok {
 				desired := time.Now().Add(timeout)
@@ -170,6 +172,7 @@ func RequestTimeoutMiddleware(timeout time.Duration) gin.HandlerFunc {
 				// a new deadline at the desired point.
 				if d.Before(desired) {
 					ctx = c.Request.Context()
+					cancel = func() {} // no-op to avoid nil cancel panic in defer
 				} else {
 					ctx, cancel = context.WithDeadline(c.Request.Context(), desired)
 				}
@@ -177,9 +180,7 @@ func RequestTimeoutMiddleware(timeout time.Duration) gin.HandlerFunc {
 				ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(c.Request.Context(), timeout)
 			}
 		}
-		if cancel != nil {
-			defer cancel()
-		}
+		defer cancel()
 		c.Request = c.Request.WithContext(ctx)
 
 		origWriter := c.Writer