Leo drove Youri home after Mia had patched him up, with the lights of Vegas streaking past the windshield and the engine humming low. Neither of them said much on the way. Youri leaned against the passenger door with his eyes half closed and one hand pressed firmly against his ribs, where the pain pulsed with every breath. Even with the bandages and the painkillers, Zeus had done real damage.
Leo parked outside the tired old building on the edge of the city, with its cracked concrete walls, flickering lights and narrow staircases climbing upward like a challenge. No elevator, never an elevator. He sighed as he got out, already knowing what came next. "Alright," he muttered, looping Youri's arm over his shoulder. "Let's get you home."
They climbed slowly, step by step, with Leo carrying most of the weight. By the time they reached the fifth floor they were both breathing hard, sweat running down Leo's temple while Youri winced quietly and refused to complain. At the door, Youri tapped him lightly on the back. "Thanks," he said, his voice rough but sincere. "I owe you."
Leo waved it away with a grin. "You owe me nothing. Just don't die before your next shift at Lux." And he turned and went back down the stairs, his footsteps echoing away into the distance.
Inside, Youri barely made it to the sofa before he collapsed onto it. The impact sent a sharp wave of pain through his ribs. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and stared up at the cracked ceiling while pieces of the fight replayed themselves in his head. Zeus's fist. The cage rattling. The moment he had almost had him.
He groaned and rolled onto his side with a cushion pressed against his ribs. After a while he forced himself up and staggered to the fridge, hoping for ice, and found nothing but a half-eaten container of leftovers and a single bottle of water. He shut the door with a dull thud and leaned back against the counter, exhaustion washing over him.
At last he pushed himself toward the bathroom, and while the shower sputtered to life in uneven streams, he stood in front of the mirror with his shirt off and looked at himself. His body was a map of scars — jagged lines across his torso, old burns, the neat, pale seams of surgery — and every one of them held a memory he never spoke about. His jaw tightened. For a moment it all came rushing back, the pain, the loss, the nights spent screaming in silence. He closed his eyes and took a slow breath until the room was still again. Then he stepped into the shower and let the water wash it all away.
The next morning, pale sunlight crept through the tall window. Youri stirred and sat up with a groan, and to his surprise, the pain was manageable. Still there, but dulled. He could breathe more easily.
A knock echoed through the apartment. Leo came in a moment later and stopped dead at the sight of Youri walking to the kitchen. "What the hell? You were barely breathing last night."
Youri shrugged and tossed him the bottle of water. "Fast recovery."
Leo caught it and shook his head. "That's not normal." Youri only smirked, and after a pause, Leo glanced at his phone. "I've got to head over to Mia's hospital. She left her medical bag behind last night and asked me to bring it."
Youri leaned against the counter. "Want some company?"
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Like I'd leave you here."
The hospital smelled of disinfectant and quiet tension, and the receptionist sent them down a series of long corridors to the children's wing, where faint, fragile laughter echoed from somewhere nearby. The door to room thirty-three stood open. Inside, Mia was checking the monitors beside a small bed, where a young blonde girl lay pale and thin, her breathing shallow but steady. And standing beside the bed with his arms crossed and his body rigid was Zeus.
Leo froze. "Uh… hey. I brought the bag."
Mia glanced up and smiled faintly. "Good. Wait outside. I'll be there in a minute."
They stepped back into the hall. A minute later she joined them, and Leo didn't waste any time. "What was Zeus doing in there?"
Mia adjusted her glasses. "He was with his daughter."
Leo blinked. "He has a daughter?"
"Yes," Mia said softly. "And she's very sick. She has Cosplex."
Youri went still.
"Her cells can't maintain their own functions," Mia went on, calm but heavy. "They break down faster than her body can replace them. She's bedridden most of the time. The treatment is expensive, and all it does is slow down the inevitable." She looked toward the door. "At this rate, he's only buying her time."
Youri looked away, and for a moment he was not in that corridor at all, but in a dim room in Altex, watching through a vent as nurses scrambled around a silver-haired girl whose monitors were screaming. He had seen a body fail like that once before, and he had given his blood to stop it. He had simply never let himself think about it again.
Leo swallowed hard. "So that's why he fights so much."
Mia nodded. "I help when I can." At the exit, she turned to them both. "Zeus may seem cold. But don't judge him too quickly."
Later, as Leo drove them to Lux, he let out a long sigh. "I feel like an asshole for thinking he was just another brute."
Youri stared out of the window. "Everyone's fighting something."
Lux was already alive when they got there, music thundering through its walls and lights flashing in hypnotic patterns. Gloria was sitting in one of the VIP booths beside a man who was having a tattoo done right there at the table. She spotted them and waved. "Boys! Come here."
They went over, and she nodded at the man. "Meet Kano. An old friend."
Kano looked them over with sharp black eyes. "I'm looking for muscle. Casino job."
Leo leaned forward. "What kind of job?"
"Security," Kano said smoothly. "Simple." His gaze moved to Youri. "Not sure about him."
Leo smiled. "Trust me. He's tougher than he looks."