As Achilles descended to the Underworld, he could feel the cold clamping his skin. It was dark, all so, so dark. After what seemed like forever, he finally reached the shore of the Styx. Charon stood in front of him, his face expressionless. Looking around him, Achilles saw the souls lined up in front of the small boat, waiting to be allowed to cross. And further, he noticed the ones who knew they never could. The ones buried namelessly, the ones who would never be allowed passage to Hades's kingdom.

As the figure of the young man became clearer and clearer, he could sense that the souls surrounding him started recognizing who he was. He could have easily tried to board Charon's boat right here right now, and nobody would have tried to stop him -either of of respect, or out of utter terror. He did make quite a reputation for himself.

But Achilles had no interest in passing to the other side of the sacred river. Not alone, at least.

So he turned on his heels, and walked toward the cluster of souls wandering the shores. He could hear the whispers of incomprehension coming from the people waiting to cross.

The darkness was so thick, Achilles could barely see anything. He felt like it was suffocating him, holding and twisting his lungs. He half-expected a hand to emerge from the almost solid mass and claw at his throat.

As he made his way through the hundreds of souls, he was looking for one face and one face only. But as he passed more and more people he didn't recognize, the boy started to lose hope. What if he could never find him?

But, as the doubts inside him started to mirror the helplessness around him, he finally saw him. He was sitting near the shore, his brown hair looking slightly faded, his skin way too pale. But it was him. Achilles knew it in the very marrow of his bones before the boy even looked up.

And when he did, when their eyes finally met again, the immense cave didn't seem so dark anymore. When he had burned his body, Patroclus had taken every ray of sunshine with him to the Underworld. But the Fates had been kind enough to give him back his sun. His light. Everything that was good about Achilles was standing right in front of him.

Feeling his eyes fill with tears, the boy ran toward Patroclus, and as soon as his hands could reach him, pulled him into a tight embrace. He then rested his forehead on Patroclus's, their fingers intertwining.

As a smile spread over both of their faces, Achilles's grin suddenly dropped. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I sorry for dragging you into this war. If it hadn't been for me, you might still be alive. I wanted... I wish you could have had more time, I... I wanted you to live a long-"

Patroclus took both of his hands in his, and kissed them. "Listen to me. I don't regret a single choice I made. My life, everything that made it a life worth living, is tied to you. You're my beginning and my end. You're my life. My life started the day I met you. A life in which you're not would not have been a life. If you had left this life first, I would have followed you in the next one soon anyways."

They were both crying now. With a shaky voice, Achilles spoke. "I love you."

"I know."

"I need to say it now."

"We have all the time to-"

"Then I'll say it everyday, until the Gods die and this world burns away. I love you."

Patroclus smiled, and kissed him. "I love you too," he answered against his lips.

Slightly pulling back, their faces still close enough that their noses were almost touching, he added. "So, how does it feel to be finally free?"

"What do you mean?"

"No more prophecy, grand destiny, no more golden legacy to ensure. No more enemies to kill, allies to protect. No more Fates weaving the threads of your existence, no more gods and goddesses intervening in your life. How does it feel?"

As they sat on the shore, Achilles smiled. "Amazing. And terrifying."

Patroclus raised an eyebrow. The blond boy continued. "I never had to think about what to do next. Be a good prince, prepare to be a good king, go to war, be a good solider, be a great leader, make Troy fall, ensure going down in history. I always had my path in sight, right in front of me. No choices to question, no turns to think about. But now... now I get to choose. Now, for the first time, I get to decide where I go next." He turned his head to look at Patroclus. He waited until he was looking back at him. "You're right, I didn't choose my birth, my life, or my destiny. But I chose you. And I'll keep choosing you for as long as you'll have me."

"Does the rest of time sound good?"

"Sounds about right, yeah." He paused for a few seconds, the two boys looking out, their hands resting together. "You're ready to go?"

"Are you kidding me, you're the one that kept me waiting."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not destroy a whole army by myself fast enough for you?"

As the both laughed, they walked toward Charon's boat. They may had been robbed of their time before, but now, they had eternity laying at their feet.