"For what is love, if there is no loss?" The spaceman had cooed, choking on his own rasping breaths, looking up at the sky once more. Here he had been brought to this world and here he would leave this world. Specs of gold and blue tugged at the sides of his vision. The pain had stopped but he knew it was there.
"There's no need to wall up the pain, Ridge. Let it flow and you will know peace and when you know it, so will I" Xephos was struggling to speak but he pressed on. No words would stop the inevitable.
"Xephos, why must you go? I could let you live again!" The demigod tried desperately.
Xephos slowly shook his head "Don't be s-sad, I will finally see the stars again and you will see me fly by like a shooting star every time you look up. You may be a God, but you ca-can't cheat death. Just look at th-the Open Skies and you will see me." His words stuttered and faulted but he persisted. He managed a small smile, looking up at the molten gold eyes he knew so well, stained with tears.
Ridge gently stroked the spaceman's mocha hair looking into the glowing sapphires he knew so well. "Promise you'll visit?" He choked. Xephos smiled and nodded slowly, his weight increasing in the demigods lap
"We will see each other again, in another life. Another world. I wont be gone for long..." In panic, as the spaceman's eyes began to close Ridge took his last chance and used it. He lent down and kissed the spaceman on the lips lovingly, whom could barely return the gesture. He held the embrace for a few long moments before reluctantly pulling away. When Ridge opened his eyes he expected surprise from Xephos but instead he was seemingly smirking weakly.
"I... was wondering... how long... I'd... take... you to do... that..." Xephos smiled softly again, his voice barely a whisper. He then mumbled out a long overdue "I love you"
Ridge chuckled through tears smiling at his friend, "You silly spaceman, I love you too"
"I want... to see... your grin before... I go..." Xephos asked, almost his full weight on the lap of the demigods now dirt coated robe. Ridge tried his best and grinned his signature toothy grin, tears still streaming down his face.
He was so brave, in all his life, the demigod had never seen someone so accepting of death. He was scared, terrified even. Ridge could see it, even though he put on a brave face, just for him, to ease the pain.
The spaceman smiled one last time as the life finally left him. His eyes were partly open and Ridge was able to see the brilliant sapphire embers burn out and die with his love.
He cried. He yelled. He screamed into the night, not wanting this to be real. He wanted the nightmare to end and he'd wake up by the spacemans side.
He slid his fingers over the spaceman's eyes to close them. He was sleeping now, an internal slumber from which he could never awaken.
Now every night he would come to the place were the story began and ended. He would look up at the open skies of the night and watch blissfully as his spaceman smiled to him and waved a greeting, just like every night. Ridge would talk to the stars like he would Xephos. No words were returned but the demigod knew that he was there watching over him.
Sometimes he'd fly up into the skies and reach for his spaceman, but he was too far away to ever touch again... At least in this world.
This world was old, tattered and falling apart. It had been many years and few were left. Maybe it was time to start anew. Maybe it was time to mend the world. And it was.
Ridgedog, whom everyone came to know so well, was never the type to do nothing and simply enjoy the world. Today however, he settled upon a tree and looked up. Today was the day it all started. Today was the day he would finally be whole again.
The familiar whistle rang through the open skies and an explosion followed. Ridge floated down to the rubble and grinned, the same grin he had made for Xephos that one last time. He would play the game again, they would talk, they would laugh, and they would get to know each other all over again. Ridge was happy he had his spaceman. He loved his spaceman and his spaceman loved him. Everything would be the same as before but this time, there would be no ending to the story.
A/N: I actually cried writing this... Wow, that's new. Anyway, hope I ripped your feels out, I know I ripped out mine and I wrote the damn thing! If you liked... Yay! This is my first time writing this sort of thing and I'm not sure how well I did so a review would be nice! Have a nice day/night!