The Demacian entered the tavern first, Talon lingering behind her, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was nearby. It was nearly two in the morning but one could never be too sure.
It was dimly lit and dirty inside the bar, with only two people there, one of which was passed out at the bar and the other the barkeep who seemed to be debating on whether or not he should kick the bastard out. He looked up at the sound of the door creaking open and narrowed his eyes when he saw Quinn.
"Hey, we don't serve your kind here," he said upon noticing the distinctly Demacian armor she wore, attempting to wave her out from behind the bar.
"She's with me."
Talon's voice was curt as he stepped in behind her, pushing the scout towards the bar to take a seat. The barkeep's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't make any further comment about the kind of company Talon appeared to keep.
"Well," he sighed, "What happened? You look like shit, Talon."
He scoffed as he pulled out a stool, gesturing to one of the bottles of alcohol on the shelf. His shirt was still mangled and half missing, his cape drenched in red while Quinn's bloodstained cloak rested over his shoulder.
"Had to take care of some things," Talon muttered, "Hurry with the booze, would ya?"
The bartender rolled his eyes and reached back to grab the bottle Talon had motioned to earlier. Quinn looked between the two of them puzzled.
"Come here often?" she asked.
Talon snorted.
"Is that your way of asking if I'm an alcoholic?"
"No!" Quinn stammered, "Just… He recognized you. I thought your identity was a secret."
The bartender let out a boisterous laugh and pointed at Talon.
"You think that I don't know who he is? Who else would wear a cape made out of knives!"
Quinn couldn't help but chuckle at that, despite the annoyed look that flickered in Talon's eyes. He reached over the counter and grabbed the bottle out of the man's hand, placing it to his lips and taking several loud gulps.
"Ah, come on," the barkeep groaned, "That's some of my best shit."
Talon brought the bottle away and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You're right," he agreed, "You can put it on the Du Couteau family tab. Sure Kat won't mind."
The bartender started to protest when Talon offered the bottle to Quinn. When she didn't take it immediately, he practically shoved it into her hand.
"Drink," he ordered, "Good for you. Takes the edge off."
Quinn wanted to reply that she hadn't been injured like him, so she didn't necessarily need to take the edge off of anything, but she was slightly afraid of what would happen if she refused. Reluctantly, she took a swig and almost choked on the bitterness. The alcohol burned her throat, a vaguely familiar feeling she hadn't dealt with in quite some time.
A smirk crawled on Talon's face when he noticed the way her nose wrinkled in disgust. A lightweight, how adorable.
"You know I'm paying for that with my own sister's money," Talon said coyly, "You should enjoy it."
"I'm not much of a drinker," Quinn admitted, coughing at the taste of alcohol on her tongue.
"Couldn't tell," he lied.
He reached over and placed his hand over the one she held the bottle with, tilting it back to make her drink more. She nearly gagged and had to spit some of the drink out in order to avoid choking.
Talon laughed and released her, grinning as she pounded at her chest in an attempt to clear her throat.
"Hey, I don't need any more dead bodies at this bar," the bartender warned.
Horrified, Quinn looked over at the man who was slung over the bar, and began to stand from her seat.
"He's joking," Talon assured as he placed his hand on her shoulder to ease her back on to the stool, "Speaking of which, what are you gonna do with him?"
"I'll throw him out on the street if he doesn't get up soon," the bartender replied, "Will you be joining him? Or should I put a room on your tab as well?"
Talon simply nodded and took the bottle back from Quin, taking another swig.
"Your usual room then?"
Quinn raised a brow.
"He gets into lots of trouble," the bartender explained, "Can't always make it back to his comfy mansion so he'll hole up here for a night or two while he recovers."
"Don't act like you know me, Sid," Talon spat as he finished off the rest of the bottle.
"Getting drunk already?"
Talon scowled and pushed the now empty bottle to the side, pointing at a different one.
"I shouldn't let you," Sid said slowly, "But if I refuse, you'll probably kill me."
Talon gave him a sly grin and nodded in response, stretching his arm out and waiting. Sid reluctantly offered him the new bottle, which Talon quickly opened and offered to Quinn. Startled, Quinn looked at the bottle and then back to Talon. His eyes had gotten a little cloudy, but he didn't seem too far gone.
"Drink," he demanded, more forcefully than last time, "… you'll like it."
Quinn obeyed and took a small sip from the bottle. To her surprise, Talon was right. It wasn't nearly as bitter as the first time, and there was almost a fruity aftertaste that danced on her tongue.
"It's good," she admitted.
"Figured you'd like it," he replied, motioning for her to take another drink.
She obeyed, taking a larger gulp this time and could feel a pleasant warmness in her stomach that made her smile. She had been honest when saying that she wasn't a drinker; she'd only really had some wine at some Demacian galas and a few beers when the soldiers wanted to reward themselves after a particularly difficult mission. There had been a few other occasions, but she didn't like to think back on them as they brought up painful memories.
Before she knew it, she'd finished off the bottle almost entirely by herself, Talon occasionally stealing it for a few sips but allowing her to have as much as she wanted. Her head felt fuzzy and she realized that she was buzzed if not drunk already. Talon had acquired another bottle and Sid had moved to throw out the drunk that had begun to snore rather loudly.
"You alright?"
Talon's voice startled her and she jumped slightly, blaming the alcohol for her dulled senses.
"You look…"
He trailed off, leaning in closer to her. Quinn couldn't help but hold her breath as his face hovered dangerously close to hers. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and noticed his lip twitch. She licked hers absentmindedly.
"Scared?" he finally said, more of a question than a statement.
Quinn laughed nervously, having no idea how to respond. Truth be told, she was kind of scared. She was alone in a bar with a man she considered her rival, a man she was supposed to be investigating and possibly killing. And she knew that he could kill her easily, especially while she was inebriated. Her hand wandered toward her hip where she kept her hunting knife, finger brushing the hilt.
"So you are scared," he murmured, "Don't worry, birdie. I promise I won't kill you. Not yet."
Quinn opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by his lips crashing into hers. She made a very undignified squeaking noise in surprise, raising her arms as if in surrender. What was she supposed to do? If she was scared before then she was terrified now.
His lips were rough and chapped and he tasted like that awful alcohol from before but something stopped her from pulling away. She knew that she should, that she should shove him off her and run out the door. But how could she when those stupid lips of his fit so well against her own?
She found herself leaning back into the kiss, her hands shaky as they came down to rest on his shoulders. As suddenly as he had kissed her, he pulled away and the expression he gave her sent chills down her spine.
The cloudiness that had been in his eyes not too long ago was replaced with a blazing desire that she'd never seen someone look at her with.
"Bed," he practically growled, "Now."
No. No she knew this was where she should draw the line. The kiss itself had been too much, something she should've put a stop to immediately. There was absolutely no way she could prolong this any further. This was ending now.
"Yes."
Wait what? Why was she saying yes? She had to say no, she couldn't go any further. Jarvan would kill her. He'd tell her what an idiot she was for even letting Talon live and then he'd kill her.
She was in his arms now, legs wrapped around his waist as he stumbled towards the stairs, whispering something as he nipped at her neck. She could hear herself moaning and begged herself to stop. God, she sounded like a prostitute. Why wasn't her body listening to anything her brain told her?
It was a struggle to get up the stairs, but they managed somehow. Talon carried her to the end of the hall and pressed her back against the last door with more force than expected, making Quinn grunt. She started to complain, when he pulled her away from the door.
Confused, Quinn tried to speak again only for Talon to violently kick in the wooden door, nearly knocking it off its hinges. He quickly carried her in, slamming the door closed behind them with his foot.
It was so dark that Quinn couldn't see a thing aside from Talon's face, his eyes still bright and full of a primal lust that made her shiver again.
He threw her onto the bed, none too gently, and tore off what remained of his shirt, the cape quickly following. His breathing was ragged as he climbed on top of her, hovering above her on all fours, faces so close that their noses were touching.
"Tell me to stop," he breathed.
Quinn stared into his eyes, mesmerized at how they glowed, as if there was a raging fire behind them. She reached up to touch the side of his face, finding some loose hair and twirling her fingers through it. Those eyes were so intense. She couldn't look away.
"If you want me to stop," he whispered, "I will. Just tell me."
Now! Now was the time for her to put an end to this madness. Her brain was screaming at her, begging her to just stick her knife in this man's neck and run. She couldn't do this. But every inch of her skin pleaded to stay, to ignore her brain and give in to her senses. She'd never done something like this, never done anything so stupid.
"I should absolutely tell you to stop," she admitted.
Talon bit his lip and sighed, beginning to push himself off. Quinn tugged at his hair she still held, pulling him back down.
"But I don't want to."
He looked confused for a moment, but once he saw her lips curve upwards he understood. A wicked grin formed on his face that almost scared her, but then everything went black when her eyes fluttered shut as Talon began to ravish her.
Author's Note: I wasn't planning on putting these first few chapters out so quickly, but I'm kind of on a roll with writing and the response to the fic has been so I wanted to see what you all think of the direction it's heading. I've never written smut before so bear with me on that front. Reviews are deeply appreciated so if you could leave a quick one that'd be awesome! I just wanna know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions, something you'd like to see or critiques. That's all for now, see you next time!