Ode for a Ghost

Summary: After losing everything for the second time in his life, Talon ventured aimlessly around Runeterra, only to happen upon the Lunar Revel Festival in Ionia, where he met a rather peculiar woman who were more than she let on. After meeting her, Talon's life took a rather different turn, and he had become enchanted, despite the brisk encounter. But fate is a cruel mistress, and Talon would soon see her again, albeit under different circumstances.

Characters: Talon, Lux

Genre: romance, drama

Rating: M (for smut)

Men were mostly covered in weaknesses; they would lose track of their selves over the smallest things, such were the spells of the universe. Few Noxians would lose themselves over details, as most of them acted first and thought after. He never bent. That was the path he had chosen as an assassin, and later on, as a Du Couteau. Ever since becoming part of the prestigious Noxian family which was equivalent to royalty, he had sworn to himself and to the memory of his father, never to stray from his path. Thus, he had cast away most unnecessary sentiments, such as empathy, mercy and compassion. But he was a walking paradox. Even though he condemned loyalty, he was still keeping a promise made to a ghost, and even though he swore never to feel anything relatively close to affection, he had pitifully fallen into the abyss called love. With someone towards whom he was never supposed to feel anything more than brotherly affection.

Talon Du Couteau was a notorious assassin contemplating his very own existence to the point of driving himself mad with feelings of love towards a certain redhead. It shouldn't have been a surprise, really. Growing up next to her, witnessing her blossom into a beautiful woman, and watching her give herself away to countless men did not help his cause. And yet, he had harboured feelings of love towards Katarina. But as it was expected, he never acted upon those feelings, even though the urges were eating him on the inside out. And even when she tore apart his heart and stepped on it when she decided to get married to a Demacian, nonetheless, all he was left to do was congratulate her and move on with his life.

Not even attending her only relative's wedding, Talon set off on a journey thorough Runeterra, deciding to down his sorrows by visiting countless cities and bedding even more women. And so it happened that he arrived in the capital city of Ionia, when they held their famous Lunar Revel Festival, illuminating the city and the nearby region with bright colours of red and orange.

Pulling the hood over his eyes, masking most of his features, Talon walked through the crowds and looked around, analysing the happy bunch having a good time. The cheerful music and the multiple smells of food, accompanied by the endless chatter of people did manage to brighten his mood. There were a lot of festivities scheduled, and even fireworks to close the second day of the festival, but all Talon needed at that moment was a good drink, in an isolated place.

Being away from Noxus did not mean that he had no information on certain people, even if he went away for a year already. The best part in walking among people unnoticed was that he could pick up a lot of gossip and speculations.

"Did you hear that the future queen of Demacia ran off again?"

"No way! Why did she run away again? This makes it the third time ever since the engagement."

"Maybe she doesn't want to get married to the crowned prince?"

"Who wouldn't want to marry into royalty?!"

Mostly, he heard gossip. And the subject people loved to overuse was the questionable behaviour of the future Demacian queen. Cow-something, or Crow-something, whatever the name of the family was. Oddly familiar, at any rate.

Then again, Talon learned to filter information and to mould it to his preferences.

Such as, among the red and orange lights and the constant movement, he spotted white. It felt as though his eyes could only see that white, Ionian dress – albeit a bit too short – and the beautiful curves it hugged. Everything else shut out around him, and the assassin found himself daftly following that erratic sway of hips.

Talon ended up in front of a bar, and very much to his satisfaction, at that. The nymph must've walked in there, or maybe she was just a ghost leading him on. At any rate, he was rather content. Pushing back his hood, revealing messy locks of hazel to the cold Ionian air, the assassin walked into the bar without a second thought.

As expected, inside was full. Not that he minded, the only problem being that there was no empty table. So he had to take a stool by the bar. At least the music and the chattering of people were a little dimmed there, compared to the rest of the bar.

After taking a seat, he undid his dark cloak from around his shoulders, and placed it on the vacant seat next to him, and, running a hand through messy hair, he pondered what to order. He would have to get a haircut, quite soon.

"What would it be?" The bartender, a tall and meaty guy sporting long ginger bread asked, as he placed fat hands on the counter.

"Bilgewater brandy," Talon replied curtly, hands still caught up in his hair. It was annoying, as his hair ended somewhere around his shoulders, and was a pain to take care of.

The bartender winked at him. "You certainly have high tastes, lad," and went away to prepare a drink.

A breeze of air seemingly waltzed into the bar, and all chatting momentarily stopped, bringing forth a deafening silence. Talon was probably the last one to notice the sudden shift of atmosphere, but it was mainly because he didn't care. Only when he saw from the corner of his eye a certain white dress did he turn around to look. And his eyes nearly widened at the sight. She was beautiful, the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon. Although she had a different beauty, compared to Katarina, who was raw and crude, the woman standing in front of him had an air of alluring coldness around her, like an endless chain of mountains clothed in white. She was on the shorter side, quite slender, but with all the curves in the right places and pale skin. Her blonde locks were messily tied in a bum, save for a few rebel ones framing her heart shaped face, and she wore the same Ionian white dress he spotted earlier, but with red trimming around her collar, travelling down to the ends of her dress. Even though the dress was short, it revealed little of those milky thighs, as red stockings hugged her legs, matching with the silken gloves which ended around her elbows. The last touch was black, heeled boots, up to her knees. But the most astonishing part had to be her face; aside from the beautiful shape, she had a small nose, plump lips painted red and a pair of big, cobalt eyes with long lashes. She was completely breathtaking. And Talon must have been staring for minutes.

"Excuse me." She repeated with annoyance.

Talon returned to reality and mouthed an apology. "What was it?"

She rolled her eyes, thinking that she'd get away with the gesture. She did not. She was beautiful, but was already showing a bad personality. "I said, would you kindly take your cloak? It happens that's the only open spot." Her voice was flat, but otherwise it was pretty.

What else to be expected of someone like her?

Yet, her antics were slightly tipping him off. With other men, she could probably have her way easily, but Talon was not other men. And if there was something he disliked more than being social, it was the airs of spoiled princesses.

So, instead of giving in to her, the assassin turned his body around, to face her and leaned his head into his palm resting on the counter. "I'm afraid I cannot kindly take my cloak, as I'm meeting someone here." It was a bluff, but the princess wouldn't have means of knowing.

Instead, she rolled her eyes. "Please," she gestured with her wrist, "people like you are lone wolves."

Wow, spoiled and idiotic, wasn't she?

"Well, people like me are waiting for someone, so the cloak stays on the stool." He regarded her with a fake smile, as she was already getting on his nerves. And Talon rarely lost his cool.

The woman made a face, but his taunting barely scratched the surface. She was clearly not that affected by the whole ordeal. Then again, all eyes were on them and Talon was very much aware that the more he kept her waiting, the angrier the pigs would become. And princesses always got what they wanted. Though he wouldn't mind toying with her a little longer, and under different circumstances.

"Now, now, we should all calm down," the deep voice of the bartender brought both hot-headed parties back to reality, and he give Talon his order. "It's on the house," he then added and motioned towards the cloak. Talon understood what he meant, so, complying, her removed his cloak, indirectly letting the woman win their small contest.

She took a seat, and the rambling returned a moment later, but Talon noticed that she held no expression of victory of superiority whatsoever. Maybe she didn't consider it a win either.

"And what can I get you, Lux dear?" The bartender asked, regarding the woman.

Talon nearly choked on his brandy, at the endearing word. The familiarity the bartender used was rather shocking indeed.

"The regular, Gragas. Thank you."

He ended up minding his own business, namely swimming in the abyss Katarina's loss produced and the hole in his heart, without looking towards the woman sitting next to him, pretty much doing the same amount of pondering. She was called Lux. That certainly didn't sound Ionian. Then again, she didn't look Ionian either. But Talon was quite sure he had heard that name somewhere before.

A few minutes into the woman called Lux setting in and savouring her drink, a man walked up to her and tried a few lame pick-up lines to get her attention. It obviously didn't do the trick. Soon, the second, third and fourth all tried their luck, and by the time the seventh asked whether she had fallen from heaven, Talon was having a hard time holding back a smile.

"No, I crawled up straight from hell," the blonde retorted with one of the most angelic smiles, combined with a killer aura.

The assassin burst out in laughter, but had to cover his mouth to hold back his laughter. Luckily, nobody noticed him, as he was good at blending in with the shadows. Or maybe the spotlight was on the woman. Then again, Talon liked to believe that he blended in good with the shadows.

"Are you taking me for a fool?" The brute was annoyed and he grabbed a hold of Lux's arm quite fiercely, jerking her around a bit.

Talon's first instinct was to step in, but decided not to. If she dared to walk around on her own and dressed in such manner, then she could handle her own problems. Besides, he wouldn't step in for a stranger, and lose the comfortable cloak of the shadows.

And, well, an assassin is mostly right. "Come on, Trumpers, cut it out before someone gets hurt," Gragas tried to reason with the man, but there was no stopping him.

"I'm not stopping until this bitch is put down to her pl–" He didn't even get to finish his sentence, as he found himself catapulted through the bar and landing into the farthest wall. All Lux had to do was lift a finger.

"Good grief. They never learn." Gragas face palmed himself as he heaved a heavy sigh and refilled Lux and Talon's glasses.

What the assassin noticed then was that they both had the same brand of drink. The crowd also diminished from around the blonde, the suitors having lost their balls to try and impress her with lame pick-up lines.

"What?" The blonde – a mage, surprisingly – asked with a grumpy voice, directed towards him.

"What what?" Talon repeated her question, lifting his own glass to his lips. He had lost count of how many he had downed in the hour he had spent there.

Lux rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You must be a clever one." Her sarcasm was quite in contrast with her appearance as well, but then again, the blonde was a paradox in her own way.

Talon didn't plan to run an analysis on her, since she would be a brief encounter, but the grimaces and the sarcasm did hit base, in their own ways. She was unique, he'd give her that. And with a character like that, no wonder she was single. Or, well, that's what he guessed, since she'd be quite a lot to handle. In retrospect.

"Thank, Mrs. Sunshine," Talon retorted with an eye roll of his own.

"Pff. Yeah right." She must have made another face and tended to her drink.

Gragas refilled their glasses once again, and this time, Talon caught the woman looking his way. Unable to down the alcohol due to her stares, he turned to face her. And the moment he did, he felt as though an ocean of blue was about to swallow him whole. The bar was poorly illuminated, and there was noise around them, but when his amber eyes locked with cobalt blue ones, he momentarily forgot how to even breathe.

"You're staring," Lux stated with drawn brows.

Talon let out a sigh and decided to have a sip. "You were the one staring before, for your information."

"Yes," she nodded, without a care, "I was wondering when your companion is going to arrive." She did like to provoke people, be it intentional or not.

The assassin had a hard time holding himself back. But doing that was probably easier than peeling himself off of some wall. "People like me, and I quote, are lone wolves."

"Well, that makes two of us." Lux stated and lifted her glass, clacking it against Talon's own. "Cheers."

It did make sense. Sure, she might have had personality issues, but she was strong enough to look after herself. And her mouth probably fitted better with a sailor than a beauty like her, but everyone is flawed.

"Cheers, I guess..."

And suddenly, Talon was lost in the transition. One moment, he was staring at the summer sky, or the ocean – he wasn't so sure anymore – and the following one, his lips crashed against hers in a futile attempt to pin her against the bed. Her lipstick must have smeared his lips but he couldn't care less. No rational thoughts waltzed in his head anymore, the only thought dominating the assassin's body was to fuck that woman senselessly.

But she was headstrong, and she wouldn't give in, even if he held her by her wrists, even as he sneaked between her legs. Somehow, she always found a way around him. And her kisses were infuriating, if not enchanting. The softness of her lips combined with the aftertaste of alcohol, it drove him mad.

Lux broke the kiss, awfully needing some air, but her hands never left the quest of discovering the frames and lines of the man driven by passion just as she was. Slender fingers caressed his lean frame, first playing with the messy locks of hair, then tracing her fingertips over his neck and collarbones, and now tugging playfully at the hem of his black shirt. Talon cocked a brow upwards, but let her do her thing, allowing Lux to take off the shirt with ease.

"We've got a cheeky princess here, don't we?" The assassin teased, taking a hold of her wrists once again, hovering over her just enough not to crush her with his weight. His position was rather comfortable, he had to confess. Nestled between her legs, feeling her thighs at his sides and holding her hands hostage, it was a position many wouldn't even dare to dream of. Not to mention that her already short dress had nestled somewhere around her waist, revealing the lacy undergarments she had been wearing. Not that Lux seemed very bothered about it.

Instead, she pried free and locked her arms around his neck, bringing the assassin down to her level. Resting his weight onto his elbows, Talon closed his eyes and allowed the hunger to dictate his following steps. Her body fitted perfectly underneath his, and the way she responded to his kisses, it only managed to drive him mad. Talon's hand nestled into her hair, which had come undone with the simplest of touches, but he still felt the need to grab a hold of the blond locks, his fingers lost in the softness.

Curious hands mimicked his own gesture, with the only difference that she pulled, as her back arched into him, her kisses reflecting hunger. It was hot between them, hot around them and neither of the two felt comfortable enough in their own skins. Lux tugged at his hair, earning a weak grunt from the man, and trailed her nails further on his flesh, olive skin set on fire with every path her nails left behind. All the while his rough hands travelled from her hair to the small of her shoulders, hesitating just a bit over her breasts and coming to a stop on her narrow hips. He could feel the bones sticking out, even through the dress. Long fingers then tried to discover how her skin felt like, where her thighs didn't provoke him to more perverted thoughts, but Talon quickly retracted them after a second thought. He didn't want to discover stuff about her, how she felt, he wanted to fuck her without a care and let go of the accumulated stress.

So, with a swift movement, the assassin took a knife out of nowhere, and he noted that even as he manoeuvred it in front of Lux, her eyes never fazed. So, instead he proceeded on cutting open the white dress, but not expecting the slight bounce of her small and round breasts, once he pried it off of her. She hadn't been wearing a bra. Lovely.

"Good job, now it's ruined," she made a face in annoyance. "Dresses come with zippers, you know." The blonde then added with sarcasm.

The knife out of sight just as it had appeared, Talon only rolled his eyes and leaned into her, placing his hands on those beautiful breasts and to suckle on her neck. Tiny mewls of appreciation escaped the mage's lips, and Talon kept playing with her breasts, his mouth joining soon. And just as soon, he was everywhere around her. While his mouth and one hand were busy with her breasts, his other travelled further south to ignite her until she could no longer hold her ground. He never touched her stockings though. Damn him and his fetishes.

Long fingers pulled at her underwear and Lux lifted her legs, allowing him to swiftly take it off, and shuddered at the coldness she felt. But the assassin was quick to cover her with his whole being, his fingers tantalizingly circling her folds. The mage cried out when he touched a bundle of nerves, and he applied more pleasure, still caressing her folds. His mouth still on her breasts, and his fingers eventually moved to her entrance, circling it and making the blonde pull at his hair.

"Don't." Was all she said, but what she heard in response was a mean chuckle. They both knew who had the power.

But Talon wanted to feel the pleasure as well, even though she had to get wet first. That wasn't a very difficult task however, as, when he teased her with a finger she was already wet and moaning. The second one followed and the blonde allowed a beautiful eruption of her voice as he worked on his pace. That, and the way she was practically clawing at his scalp.

Forcing himself away from her grasp, the assassin rose a bit to also catch some air, his other hand securing the woman by her stomach. She was a beautiful mess, the more he used his fingers to please her. But she looked so fragile, that she might break at any given second. Not that Talon cared so much.

"Let's do it already, I can't wait anymore," she pleaded and Talon was glad to comply.

His fingers left her hot insides, to which she only sighed, but once his pants and underwear were gone, he took a hold of her legs, running his fingers over her thighs and stockings, and noticing the chuckle she had given. "Like them?" Lux then taunted.

"Shut up," he retorted and to make a point as to whom in charge was, he teased her entrance with his tip. At that, she shuddered visibly.

Talon enjoyed it, he enjoyed it maybe too much. But he couldn't wait anymore either, so he entered her carefully, following any shift in her, if there would be any. Her body seemed a bit stiff, her mouth open but not producing any sounds, hands clawed around his forearms.

"Oh god," she eventually breathed, slowly relaxing around his length. He was a handful, she'd give him that, and she never dealt with something like that before. He fit right in, it felt as though he occupied every place within her, and it only made Lux wonder just how it would feel once he started moving.

Still, she didn't miss the smirk, nor the victorious look on those handsome features and her only response was an exaggerated roll of eyes. If she thought she had regained some control, she was awfully wrong. Talon thrust in her without as much as a warning, and the mage responded with a high pitched shriek and nails digging into his flesh. He loved toying with her, her responses being the most honest ones she could produce.

But he still needed a release, and he needed it badly. So, he started to move with a steady pace, leaning forward and meeting Lux's gaze. She couldn't help herself but cry out whenever he pushed his whole length into her and retracted, only to repeat the process. It was a nice, and steady pace, and she loved it. But Talon wanted something else. So he fastened the pace, thrusting into her harder, more hectic than before. And by the way she screamed atop of her lungs, nearly tearing at his flesh with her nails, she must have loved it too.

"Oh god, how do you even –" Her question was silenced with another scream of pleasure, as Talon made a point. But he wanted to get deeper than that and have his release, so, with swift movements, he grabbed onto her shoulders, lifted the mage with ease and turned her around, forcing her on her fours.

Under different circumstances he would've probably admired her forms longer, the arch of her back, her shoulders, the nice shape of her ass and those goddamned stockings, but his prime objective was fucking her from behind. And since he didn't hear any complaints from the blonde, she must have been fine with it. She parted her legs a bit more, leaning her round ass into him, demanding him back and Talon was more than glad to comply.

Only, he entered her with a quick thrust, and Lux nearly fell forward in the friction it caused her. Grabbing onto her hips and running his palm over her butt cheek from time to time, Talon's pacing was uneven, hungry and fuelled by lust. Lux felt the same kind of need, and all she could focus on was the building tension in the pit of her stomach. He was filling her in every place, in all kinds of ways, and she could no longer fight the heat. Her climax was coming closer and closer, with the way he thrust in her, the way he grabbed onto her so crudely it will probably leave marks, the way his balls were slapping against her flesh, the erratic of his breathing and the next thought she had was how blissful it was to be fucked so well by such a man. Her voice was high, and it lasted wave after wave, as he kept thrusting into her even after she was spent, her body twitching in the afterglow, body fallen against the sheets, but her ass up in the air, as held together by his strong hands.

It was wonderful, how she felt, how he made her feel, and how he kept violating her even after she had her orgasm, when her body was the most sensitive. Lux's voice became louder, the moment he began pounding into her, small grunts leaving his mouth, in cue with the pressure he was feeling. And soon, Lux's body jerked, as he filled her in yet another way, one she was definitely not expecting. Her body shook again, just as his hands did, just as he collapsed on top of her, not quite pulling out yet.

It felt too good, it was too warm to leave.

But he was also tired. So, so tired, that he had no idea how reality shifted from that moment onwards. The colours waltzing around her, red, orange and yellow all turned to monochrome, and by the time he fell against the mattress, every sense left him. The blonde seemed to hesitate about something, but in the end, that didn't matter either. He was wasted. He was going to close his eyes for two minutes, and then he'll see to everything.

The traffic in Piltover was awful. People had all sorts of devices to ride, the streets were full and the noises unbearable. How Talon ended up in Piltover, it was a mystery, as he didn't exactly enjoy the city. He'd rather play tag with the rats from Zaun, truth be told. Still, Piltover was the best place to gather information, so he wouldn't ignore visiting it because of silly reasons. Then again, Talon had a rather hard time leaving Ionia, for the one fact that a certain blonde had taken his cloak and never returned it. Granted, he had that coming since he cut her dress in two, but still.

The assassin stopped on the sidewalk, next to a food stand and decided to grab a bite while wrestling his hair out of his eyes. He definitely needed a haircut. But more importantly, with him stopping in Piltover, it meant that his quest around the continent was completed – minus Freljord and the Shadow Isles, but he was not going there. So what else was he to do?

Recently, Piltover invented some huge advertising platforms and live transmitted news coverage, for the citizens to look at from the streets. Such a live coverage was being transmitted at that moment, and Talon, like another few citizens, stopped to watch just what was presented in the news.

"Oh, look, the runaway queen returned to Demacia," an elderly person pointed out and soon that was the talk on the streets.

Indeed, it showed how the crowned prince, Jarvan the 4th and his to-be bride were getting ready for another engagement ball. Fancy suits, servants, expensive food, but none of it shocked Talon as much as the actual bride. He nearly dropped his sandwich, when he read her name, and associated it with her face. Luxanna Crownguard. She was shown walking around expressionlessly, forcing a smile or two then dropping it almost as quickly. The same slender figure, sun kissed hair, heart shaped face and cobalt eyes. Lux – Luxanna. Just how idiotic can a man be?

How in the world did he not make the connection? Sure, he had no idea what her name was, in the first place, but... He had just fucked the future queen of Demacia into the sheets, finished in her and also ruined her dress. With less than two days ago. Just... how fucked up can something become?

Tossing his remaining sandwich into the nearest bin, Talon pulled his hood over his face and turned his back at her bored expression. That was too fucked up for him to sit well. So Talon made a choice. There were many things he couldn't control – the earlier revelation was one of them – but the ones he was capable of changing, he wouldn't wait one more day.

Talon was returning home.

Liked it? xd It's just the first chapter though, but I had fun writing it. And it might have a continuation sometime as well. Anyways, as mentioned in the summary, I'm going to write oneshots and pair up Talon with different chicks, so Talon will look forward to the gigolo life. That's it for me. Bye bye!