meet in person first. Our success is ours. Our happiness is ours, because we are and always will be gamer girls and gamer guys first and above all else."
From the door, a soft voice added, "Because while we are flawed, we are not alone."
They all looked over to see Dez hugging Chance's side. Her eyes were drooping, but she stood there in her hospital gown, with another thrown on over her backside, and a tired little smile touched her lips.
"Dez," Braden said.
"I heard you got back," she told him. "Thank you, Brae. You saved us. You saved me."
"Protected," he corrected. "Babe, you saved your damned self. All of you did. I just made a distraction."
"And almost took a shot for Kate," Jason added. "You know, just because Adam wasn't up there to see it. Figured he should know about that."
"Asshole," Braden grumbled.
Riley just chuckled. "This? You know why this keeps working out for us? Because teamwork is overpowered, and we're a team. For now, and I hope we will be forever. Let's not make this the end of our story, ok?"
Around the room, they all nodded in agreement.
"You know why teamwork is overpowered, right, Riley?" Zara asked.
"No," Riley said. "I actually don't. I just know that when we work together, it always works out in the end."
"Because none of us," Zara explained, "are experts in everything, but combined, we can do it all. Together, we fill each other's gaps. We hold each other up. Most of all..." She looked over at Jason. "We trust that our team will always have our backs. No judgement and no questions asked, because we are and always will be loyal to each other."
Jason just rubbed her hand. "Another word for that is family. Maybe gaming brought us together, but in the end, we're so much more than just a team, and I plan to make sure we always can be."
"Forever and always," Chance breathed softly in agreement.
Epilogue
One year later...
Kate walked into the gaming hall with Adam and took her place in the last chair before the line that made up the official high table. Adam sat down beside her. One by one, her friends were making their way in, but this? Today? It was special for her. She'd actually made notes for her speech this time.
With a groan, Riley dropped down into the chair beside her. "Hey, chica," she mumbled. "You look like you slept well. Ice, I think you're slacking off now that you're married."
"I will have you know that I'm not," Adam assured her.
"He's not," Kate promised. "I just... I slept good."
"I had too much tequila," Riley said.
Then Kitty claimed the spot across the table from Riley. Across her chest was the logo from some lingerie company called Risqu茅, and the shirt definitely showed off her "assets." Depending on how things went with this match, it was likely that Kitty would end up being the second woman professionally signed with the PLG. Then there was Knock. He'd slacked off a bit, but he still had his sponsors, so he still got to sit up there, and Kitty was thrilled that she might get a contract before he would. Knock, however, had a little too much on his plate to even care.
"Hey, baby?" Murder said. "Um, Braden's watching Ryan while we play. He's got a little laptop set up for him."
"He'll drool on the keys!" Kitty groaned.
But Murder just pointed to where their son smacked at a bright red-and-yellow child's computer. It was more of a toy with a tablet inside, but little Ryan didn't care. Beside them, Zara was handing over her little girl to Rhaven. Jason leaned in to kiss the baby, and then guided his wife toward their chairs.
"Kitty!" he said. "That shirt looks good. I see Ashton's figuring out how this sponsor thing works, huh?"
"Mhm," Kitty agreed. "And he bought a couple of geldings from us." She winked. "Owe you for that hookup, Cyn."
Dread just leaned back to see Jason. "Hey, how old is little Rylie now?"
"She's four months," Zara answered. "When is Myst bringing Alice?"
"She was worried about the baby at the tournament," Dread admitted. "So, maybe I'll talk her into it next time. When are you giving us one, Adam?"
"Not yet," he said, waving Dread down. "Kate's got about six more months of training to take over my mom's position, and then we'll start trying."
Logan just leaned in and bumped Knock's shoulder. "Wait a while, man. Do not let them get you thinking about babies until your