Against Our Demons

Epilogue

A/N: it's been real <3 (bittersweet)

"So, this one's for all the marbles, huh?" Ryusei asked Sae, coming up behind him, wrapping his tanned arms around his neck. "You nervous?"

Sae didn't fight him, but he wasn't going to let himself get distracted by it either. They were about to step onto their field for the last official game of their one year joint contract. Their betting on the outcome of who scored more goals during their matches had continued without repose. For all of two games, the outcome determined who slept in who's room, but once that got boring, which it did quickly, they branched out and used these bets to get things they wanted out of the other or settle disagreements.

If I win, you admit in that magazine interview that we're dating. (I don't see how that's relevant to the season we've been having, but fine.)

If you lose, you post those pictures of you sleeping on me from the plane on your social media. (Could I post better pictures instead? Possibly ones where I'm awake?) (No.)

If I win, I'm picking the restaurants for the next month. (I didn't mean for you to get food poisoning, I swear!)

If you lose, you admit that movie fucking sucked. (It wasn't that bad, you professional bummer!)

Sometimes, depending on the stakes, one of them would subtly, or not so subtly, allow the other to win, and sometimes, it was a foul heavy brawl. As it was, Sae did indeed admit they were dating in his magazine interview, he had not been made to post those photos (which Ryusei did on his own social media without having to lose any bet), he did get to pick the restaurants and avoid another bout of food poisoning, and Ryusei had been made to admit that the strange cyberpunk indie movie he'd dragged Sae to and had sworn was genius had indeed sucked.

But for this last game, the stakes weren't anywhere near as playful or insignificant. It had started as a kind of joke. You know what would be kind of funny to bet for the last game? But it had quickly spiralled out of control as they'd been playfully bickering (less playfully on Sae's part – who was taking this extremely seriously) about it for the past two months. It was indeed for all the marbles and would be nothing short of a brawl.

"You wish," Sae responded. "You're going down."

"Yeah, on one knee," Ryusei told him back. "Or, alternatively, on you after I propose."

Sae shook him off then. No distractions. "You're an idiot."

Ryusei smiled to himself upon hearing it. He'd long learned that was quite the tender phrase coming from Sae's pretty little mouth.

The rest of the team had been made aware of the bets largely against their own will, because as they existed in a world all their own, Sae and Ryusei made and discussed these bets openly. Most of them didn't care much about them or the outcomes of them, because it didn't matter to them. Who cared who had to admit or post what? All they cared about was that the bets stayed good natured, and their two strikers stayed on good terms, because these borderline childish bets were one of, if not the main reason their team had gone largely undefeated over the year. In fact, this had been their best year in over two decades. This bet, however, was the exception.

"Don't get your hopes up, demon," Junior said, coming up on Sae's side. "It's not like you'll be getting any passes from me."

Junior had since reclaimed his status as friend as far as Sae was concerned. It was hard not to like him, him being who he was, and Sae didn't have much reason to hate him once he'd realized the whole reason he'd started to dislike him in the first place was because he'd been telling him the truth. So they had re-entered their mutually respectful friendship, and while Junior was a big supporter of Sae and Ryusei's relationship, he was objectively team Sae. Especially in this matter.