The Reckless and the Brave

Chapter sixteen

I'm sorry... I told y'all it would end sad... It gets sadder in this chapter and the next one... I'm sorry... :/
On another note, I'm thinking of trying out writings non-fanfiction book. So I'm very excited about that.
That stitch pic is probably going to be you guys (and me) after this.
Okay, here's the last one before the epilogue. Sadness ahead.
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you know when you're driving, and it's pouring down rain, you drive under a bridge, and everything stops. Everything goes silent, and it's almost peaceful. Then you finally get out from under the bridge, and everything hits you a little harder than before. You were my bridge
~anonymous
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Percy was standing by the campfire, wondering where his boyfriend was amid the celebrations. He glanced across the fire to see Reyna standing there, holding her hand to her chest and looking at him with a grim face. He walked over and stood in front of her.
"Reyna? What's going on? Where's Nico?"
His heart sank as her eyes brimmed with tears.
She glanced at the sky before she spoke in a voice that cracked with sadness.
"He-He said the stars are guiding him home."
Percy froze.
"We tried so hard... But he pushed himself too much... I-I kept telling him to rest... By the kept saying he'd keep going... For you..."She wouldn't look him in the eye.
"He wanted to come home. He-he knew he wasn't going to make it. In-in the end... He asked the stars to guide him home..." Reyna was crying, her shoulders shaking as she tried to keep it in.
"Percy, he said to tell you he was sorry. And that he loved you. I-tried to save him. I did. But he was fading... So fast. There wasn't anything I could do. He gave me this, probably wanted you to have it. I tried. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Reyna winced as Percy glanced at her.
She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"In his memory. He loved you. Please... Please don't forget him." She disappeared into the crowd. Percy looked at his hand blankly, not really focusing. The thing in his hand glittered in the firelight. He blinked slowly, focusing on it. It was Nico's ring. Percy stared at it as though it was something otherworldly. Then, it all came crashing down on him. It felt like he couldn't breathe. His lungs closed as he realised that he had lost the most important person to him. He had lost the person that grounded him, gave him peace, made him feel safe.
He felt tears brimming his eyes.
He glanced at the hearth, noticing a little girl, poking it with a stick and looking at him with a sorrowful expression.
He closed his eyes, willing this to be a nightmare, but knowing it wasn't. He opened his eyes, looking up at the stars, twinkling like there wasn't any pain. Like there hadn't been a heart broken.
The stars...
Percy couldn't take his eyes away. As he realised what that meant, he broke. His tears coming out, falling down his cheeks. He dropped to his knees, staring at the sky.
Nico had been the calm to his raging sea. He had been the one thing in life that had kept him grounded, gave him peace. He was everything Percy had needed in life.
The stars will guide you home, Nico had said. But...Where was Percy's home now? Now that Nico was gone. Percy's home was gone as well. What did he have left?