"Buy me some time..."

Quick Prey

Chapter 21

Talon awoke to the feeling of a wet towel patting his forehead and face. His amber eyes slowly blinked open to his familiar bedroom ceiling. He slowly glanced over to see Quinn hovering over him, her eyes concentrated on wiping away the assassin's sweat. She was dressed in casual clothing, most likely Cassiopeia's old human clothes, and she looked like she had recently bathed. Quinn smiled when she noticed he was finally awake. He tried to sit up but his body felt stiff. The assassin's looked down at his chest and saw that it was tightly wrapped in bandages.

"You're awake," Quinn whispered while she moved stray hairs out of his face. She felt his forehead with the back of her hand, "You still feel a bit warm but I think your fever is fading. You're getting your color back in your cheeks too."

"How long have I been asleep?" Talon asked.

"Almost a week," the scout answered while she placed the towel in a bowl of cold water. She submerged it under and then wrung out the excess water before patting his neck. The cold cloth felt refreshing on Talon's unusually warm skin. "How do you feel?"

"Not as bad as I did before," he smiled. The Noxian tried to move his arms. It felt as if an invisible force was pinning the assassin's arms to the mattress. He grunted, "I do feel very sore however."

"You were almost beaten half to death by LeBlanc's brood— I would expect you to feel a bit of the aftermath. When you're ready, I'll help you sit up and stretch out." Quinn covered his shoulders with the blanket he had draped over him before she stood. She gathered the dirty bandages and bowl of water, "I'm going to dispose of these and I'll bring you back some food."

Talon watched the scout walk out his bedroom door and listened to her footsteps fade somewhere into the Du Couteau mansion. He took in a slow breath as he tried to move once again. The exhausted assassin flexed his fingers and toes before moving onto his arms and legs. The movement was as painful as it was infuriating. He counted to three in his mind while he attempted to move a third time. Talon growled as he helplessly stared at his ceiling.

"Are your wrappings too tight?" Talon heard a voice at his doorway. He forced his head up from the pillow and saw Katarina smirking at him. She walked in when he dropped his head back on the soft pillow with low growl. Talon turned to see his sister looking out his window with her arms crossed. "The girl hasn't left your side for a week. I can see she cares for you deeply. It's actually kind of gross— her being so attached to a dog like you."

The redhead moved her hands to her hips as she shook her head. Outside the window, Talon saw the clouds were dark grey as if it were ready to rain. He heard the strong winds whistle through the trees in their garden. The assassin moved his amber eyes back to his sister, who had turned to face him, her expression softened.

"I hate to admit it but I probably think she's the best thing I let live," she chuckled slightly.

"Same here," Talon grinned. Both of the assassins heard Quinn's footsteps coming from down the hall.

The scout walked into Talon's room with a tray of food in her hands. She was surprised to see the redhead interacting with her brother after almost a full week. Quinn herself was still a bit uneasy around the sister but she confidently walked forward to tend to Talon. She placed the tray on the desk beside his bed and silently began to prepare something for him to easily swallow.

"With how much you have been babying this brat," Katarina snickered, "I wouldn't be surprised if you chewed his food for him."

"If that's what I have to do for Talon to make a full recovery, I'll do it." The Demacian remained focus on her task, making the female assassin grimace. Talon, on the other hand, turned his head to conceal his smirk.

"Well, if you're going to that, I don't want to stick around to see it." Katarina said as she made her way to the door. Before exiting, she turned to them, "When you're able to stand on your own, I need to have a talk with the both of you. It's important."

Quinn's hands stopped as she thought of all the possible things Katarina wanted to talk to them about. Does she know what's going on with Swain? If she does, is she working for him or against him? Will she turn the scout in if she is? The Demacian suddenly found that her hands were shaking, uncontrollably tapping a spoon against a bowl full of soup.

"That woman is always so vague with her words," she heard Talon sigh. His hand slowly reached over to grab the hem of her shirt, snapping her back to reality. Quinn dropped the spoon beside the bowl and sat beside Talon.

"Right, uh, let's try and sit you up." The scout said as she firmly wrapped one arm around his torso and the other around his shoulder. Talon managed to get one hand latched onto Quinn. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever—"

Quinn took in a deep breath as she pulled the assassin up as hard as she could. Both of letting out a series of grunts and groans while Talon's stiff muscles fought against them. With enough strength as she could exert, Quinn gave one last yank on the assassin. After what felt like several years, Talon finally sat upright. The scout looked over his bandages to see if anything had torn but luckily everything was still intact.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"I'm starving," Talon chuckled. Quinn rolled her golden eyes as she reached over for the small tray of food. She placed it between them while crossing her legs on the bed.

"Where did you find Cass' old clothing?"

"Katarina lent them over when she saw how torn my bodysuit was. Actually, she kind of threw them at me." Quinn explained while getting a spoonful of soup for the Noxian. Talon took the spoon for himself when his scout tried to lift it up to his mouth. She pulled away, shaking her head.

"Quinn, I can feed myself. Go get something for yourself," he said.

"I ate before I began bathing you earlier." She answered back, putting the spoonful of soup up to his lips. The stubborn Noxian kept them shut tight. Quinn's eyes narrowed in annoyance as she watched droplets of soup drip of the spoon, down Talon's chin, and onto his clean bandages. The scout put the spoon back on the tray, "I'm starting to miss the unconscious Talon. He wasn't so difficult."

Quinn grabbed a slice of bread on the tray, ripping it in half before she took a bite from it. She gestured Talon to eat on his own. The assassin grinned at her as he reached for the other half of bread.

"So was it a full body bath?" He teased, "Did you get a good look at me?"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before, Talon." Quinn answered back calmly. By the pink tint of her cheeks, Talon could tell that she probably did.

Her golden eyes caught Talon's shaky hand reach over for the spoon. She saw the struggle on his features while he tried to hold it correctly in his hand. It hurt her to see him try and steady his arm by holding his wrist still. As he lifted the spoon up, more soup got on him than in his mouth. Quinn knew he would refuse her help, so she just let him continue on. She did however grab a towelette to wipe the soup off his chin. Surprisingly, he allowed her to do so.

They sat in a comfortable silence as they continued to eat.

"One," Quinn said as she held Talon by his hands. He sat on the edge of his bed, preparing to finally stand on his feet after almost a week. They have been trying for an hour already but Talon's muscles wouldn't relax. She readied herself to catch him in case he fell again, "Two…"

"Three," he grunted. The assassin hunched over, trying to conceal his pain from the Demacian scout.

She heard him however and she dropped to her knees to examine him. Quinn lifted his chin up, feeling how damp his skin was. The scout felt her throat beginning to dry up when she looked down at his bandages. Talon had torn open his chest wound with the pressure he was putting himself under. Spots of blood were growing on the white fabrics.

"We'll try again later…" She said lowly as she pulled her hands away from him.

"No!" Talon growled, clutching onto her wrist. The scout stood there, watching her Talon tried to pull himself to his feet. He grunted in frustration as he only managed to pull Quinn into his bleed chest.

"Talon, stop." She whispered, trying again to take her hand away.

The scout felt the dryness becoming evermore present in her throat again while she felt Talon continue to push himself. She wrapped her other arm around his neck in an attempt to calm him. Quinn brushed his hair to the side with her fingers, seeing his amber eyes full of rage.

"Talon, stop, you're just going to continue hurting yourself," her voice hitched slightly as she pressed her cheek against his head. She blinked away the tears she felt forming in her eyes, "Please."

Quinn felt the wetness of his blood begin to soak into her own shirt. The assassin was pushing himself too hard. She knew Talon would ignore her warnings so she just let him get out all his frustration. After a few minutes, he became still. The scout looked down and saw his eyes were fixated on the blood on her shirt. He pulled away to glance down at his chest. Realization washed over his features when he gazed back up at Quinn and saw her glossy eyes.

"Quinn… I…"

"Sit still for a moment while I fetch more bandages," she said. Quinn leaned down and pressed her lips against his forehead before she stepped away.

Talon's amber eyes followed her out of the room and when she was far enough he fell back on the mattress. The assassin slammed his fists against the blankets in anger. He clutched his chest in pain when the sudden movement agitated his wound. The searing pain felt like it was going to burn a hole through him. Talon forced himself to sit back up when he heard Quinn's footsteps.

The scout walked in with her arms full of medical supplies. Talon recognized them— he used them several times during his novice training. Even he was prone to cutting himself on a blade from time to time and those ointments healed him rather quickly. The downside to them was it hurt like hell.

Quinn set the supplies on the desk and pulled a pair of scissors from her back pocket. Carefully, she cut through the filthy bandages. Talon felt his skin sticking to the fabric as she pulled them away. She wadded them up into a ball, tossing it to the side. The scout wiped her hands down with sanitizer before she reached over for the ointment. She spread the greenish cream on her fingertips and then over Talon's chest wound. He hissed at it's coldness.

"Quinn," the assassin said through his teeth. She only acknowledged him with a small hum. Talon sighed, "I'm sorry."

"May I ask you something?" She asked. The Noxian nodded while he watched her give her question more thought. She walked back over to the desk for a towel, "What are you trying to prove?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean: why do you always put yourself in harm's way for me?" She dropped her arms to the sides. Quinn looked up to the ceiling, remembering all the things he has done for her. She chuckled dryly, "You've started a bar fight, you broke me out of your sister's holding cell with Viktor trying to pull my eyes out, not to mention that Cassiopeia nearly tore you in half while you tried to hide me."

"Quinn—"

"You let Prince Jarvan and the rest of the Demacian troops beat you senseless when they thought you were trying to defile me. You willingly stayed in my bedroom, knowing that you would eventually be caught just so you could sleep in my bed beside me." Quinn's voice began to rise, "You broke Ionian treaty just to make sure I was safe and ended up almost dying for—."

"It's because you're the only thing I have left, Quinn." Talon interrupted her. "I have to protect you. If something were to happen to you, I… I would go insane."

"What about your father?"

"I've come to terms that there is a possibility that my father is dead."

"But," the scout's voice softened, "You have your sisters too."

"Cassiopeia hates me to my core and Katarina is a trained assassin who can handle herself. I only stick around because my father asked me to look after them if something were to happen to him." He pulled her closer by her wrist, "Quinn, just believe me when I say you're all I have. I know I'm probably not the first thing you'd put before yourself. You have Valor, your team, and your country. But, Quinn, I'd die for you."

The scout was silent. Never had she heard him be so open about his feelings for her. Yes, he had told her before that he loved her but that was all. Amber and gold eyes locked onto each other, intensity forming between them. Quinn nodded as she understood his reckless behavior moments ago. He wanted to stand because if he was bedridden he couldn't protect his scout.

She lowered herself when Talon tugged her forward. The Noxian lead her to his lap and the scout was careful not to touch his open wound when she sat on his knee. Talon put his in the crook of her neck, letting out a slow sigh. Quinn stoked his long hair, easing the tense assassin.

"I'll always forgive you, Talon. Just promise that you won't push yourself to the brink of death." She smile as she leaned back to kiss him, "You can't protect me if you're dead."

"Okay," Talon pulled her forwards to kiss her back, "I promise."

Notes: Why did this chapter take a while to come out? Because it made me sad next question.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this *clenches fist* angsty chapter.

See you next chapter!