Youri leaned heavily on Leo's shoulder as they made their way back to the locker room, with the tunnel behind them still ringing with the crowd, shouts, cheers and furious curses all blended into one chaotic chorus. His win had set the whole hall alight, an upset so violent and so unexpected that it had left half the crowd stunned and the other half livid. So many of them had wagered fortunes on Boris, certain the monster would crush the rematch just as he had crushed the first fight, and their money had vanished in a single brutal moment. High above the tunnel entrance, Zeus stood watching. His face was unreadable at first, but as the noise swelled, a rare smile tugged at his lips. Without a word he turned and slipped back into the shadows. Nobody in the crowd noticed him go.
In the locker room, Leo lowered Youri gently onto a wooden bench. As soon as he sat down, the adrenaline that had carried him through the fight began to drain away like water through a cracked vessel. The pain crept in slowly and relentlessly — his ribs throbbing, his knuckles burning, every breath reminding him how close he had come.
"Easy," Leo said, keeping a steadying hand on his shoulder. "You're safe now."
A moment later Boris came in, moving more slowly than usual, his ferocity dulled by exhaustion and bruises, and sat down on the bench opposite. After a brief pause he lifted his head and gave Youri a single nod, heavy with respect. Youri returned it. No words were needed.
Then the door swung open again. Mia came in, and one look at her face made it clear she was not in the best of moods. She walked straight past Leo and Youri to Boris and snapped open her case. "Sit still," she ordered. She shone her light into his eyes and checked the cuts and the swelling along his face and ribs, then stepped back and let out a breath. "You're fine. Nothing serious. Rest, drink water, and don't do anything stupid tonight." Then, with a sharp glance, she added, "And the next time I decide to bet, I'm definitely not betting on you."
Leo laughed. "You're just mad because you lost." Then he blinked as it sank in. "Wait. Don't tell me you didn't bet on Youri either?"
Mia ignored him and turned to Youri and went through the same routine — the light in his eyes, careful pressure along his ribs, a check of his breathing. Youri winced but held still. When she was done, she closed her case and finally looked back at Leo. "Of course I didn't bet on him," she said flatly. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"
Youri tilted his head, curiosity breaking through the pain. "How much did you lose?"
She sighed and snapped the clasps shut. "Five thousand."
Leo nearly shouted. "Five thousand zells?"
Mia glared at him. "Relax. It wasn't my last money." Her expression softened a little. "I thought if I won, I might be able to help Zeus a bit more. I guess luck wasn't on my side tonight."
Before anyone could answer, the door burst open, and Toney stormed in with his eyes wide. "Where is he?!"
Everyone turned. Leo frowned. "Who?"
"Zeus!" Toney scanned the room as if he might be hiding behind a locker.
"He's not here," Leo said. "Why? What happened?"
Toney swallowed hard and let out a long breath. "He just won the jackpot. Three million zells. He was the only one in the whole place who put money on Kronos. Ten thousand."
The room went silent. Zeus — quiet, distant, calculating Zeus — had put his faith in Youri when no one else would, and it had paid off beyond anything any of them could have imagined.
Toney walked over and dropped onto the bench beside Youri, pulled a thick stack of cash from his pocket, and pressed it into his hands. "This is part of your cut. You just pulled off the upset of the year, kid."
Youri looked down at the money for a moment, then pushed himself slowly to his feet in spite of his body's protests, and a tired but genuine smile spread across his face. "Thanks, Toney. I'm going to blow all of this at the casino."
"Absolutely not," Mia cut in at once. "First, you're coming to the hospital with me. You're in no condition to go wild tonight."
Youri looked to Leo for help, and Leo simply raised both palms. "Don't look at me. I value my life."
Youri let out a breath and chuckled. "Alright. The casino can wait."
Leo drove the two of them to the hospital, with the lights of the city blurring past the windows while the adrenaline finally gave way to exhaustion. Once they were inside, Mia checked Youri in and arranged a private room for the night. It was quiet there in a way that felt almost unreal after the chaos of the arena; the hum of the fluorescent lights had taken the place of the roar of the crowd, and the sharp smell of disinfectant hung over everything. Youri lay back on the bed while Mia straightened his sheets and clipped a monitor to his finger. Now that his body finally had time to register what had happened, it complained loudly — every muscle aching, every breath a dull stab in the ribs.
Leo lingered by the door with his arms crossed. "You sure he'll be okay?" he asked, more quietly than usual.
Mia glanced at the monitor and then at Youri's battered face. "He'll live. That's the good news. The bad news is that his body keeps pretending it's indestructible." She looked at Youri over her glasses. "And sooner or later, it's going to remind him that it isn't."
Youri chuckled weakly. "You sound like my conscience."
"That's because you don't listen to it."
"Yeah," Leo added with a faint smirk. "You scared the hell out of all of us tonight."
Youri stared up at the ceiling, where the white tiles blurred together. "I didn't think," he admitted quietly. "I just knew I couldn't lose again."
Mia paused, and her voice softened. "You didn't just win. You changed the odds. People don't forget that." She stepped back. "You're staying here overnight. No arguments."
Leo sighed. "Guess that's my cue." He tapped Youri lightly on the shoulder. "Rest up, Kronos. The city's going to want a piece of you now."
When he was gone, Mia pulled a chair up beside the bed and wrote on her clipboard. For a while neither of them spoke.
"Zeus believed in you," she said at last, without looking up.
Youri turned his head a little. "I didn't know."
"He didn't want you to. That's just how he is." She hesitated. "That money… it might change things for him. For his daughter."
Youri closed his eyes and let that sink in. Zeus's rare smile came back to him. "I'm glad," he said. "Really."
Mia nodded. "Get some sleep. You've earned it."
The next morning, sunlight slipped through the blinds in thin golden lines, and Youri stirred with a groan as his body reminded him of every blow it had taken. When he opened his eyes, Zeus was standing by the window with his arms crossed, looking out over the city.
"You're hard to kill," Zeus said, without turning around.
Youri smirked. "So I've been told."
Zeus turned, his face serious but calm. He came over and laid a thick envelope on the table by the bed. "That's yours. Part of what I won. I don't need it."
Youri frowned. "I can't take that."
"You already did," Zeus said evenly. "By winning."
For a moment neither of them moved. Then Zeus held out his hand. Youri took it and gripped it firmly in spite of the pain, and nothing more needed to be said.
"Take care of yourself," Zeus said, heading for the door. "This city eats people alive."
When he had gone, Mia came in with a small smile. "Looks like you're getting popular."
Youri breathed out slowly, staring at the envelope. Popular. Dangerous. Profitable. All of them words that felt heavier than they should have.
Later that day, Leo came to pick him up. As they walked out of the hospital, Youri stopped and looked out at the skyline of Vegas, where the neon signs blinked even in daylight, promising fortune and ruin in equal measure.
"What now?" Leo asked.
Youri slipped the envelope inside his jacket and smiled faintly. "Now? Now we see how far this road goes."