Essence of Quinn Parts 3 & 4 (MxM)

Sugar-Coated

The infirmary felt both too big and too small as Quinn woke, disoriented. The darkness around him felt endless. He reached out with his senses, searching for something—anything—to ground him. Air’s steady breaths beside him, the rustle of sheets as he moved, the faint murmur of voices outside. None of it was enough to fill the void where his sight used to be. 

“Air?” Quinn whispered, voice thready. He felt his mate stir beside him. “Are you awake?” 

Air groaned. 

“I fucking am now,” he mumbled. He kissed Quinn’s cheek and nuzzled his face against it. “What do you need?” 

Quinn swallowed, trying to anchor himself. He knew where he was—the infirmary—knew he’d been sleeping after another healing session with Omega. But beyond that? His grasp of time felt shaky at best. 

“What time is it?”  

He couldn’t get a feel for the time of day. There was activity out in the infirmary, suggesting it was daytime, but the perpetual darkness Quinn found himself trapped in made it frustratingly impossible to tell. 

Air shifted a little, most likely checking his watch. 

“Around eleven. A.M. Oh fuck. We slept through breakfast.” 

Quinn huffed and stretched out, limbs feeling cumbersome. He gave himself a brief run through of aches and pains, trying to establish how much time had passed since he’d woken up after being in the ether.  

His head ached badly, but it wasn’t currently debilitating. He sensed a healing spell and the lingering traces of Omega’s soothing magic. His eyes were still fucked and he blinked a few times just to confirm it. Yup. He swallowed and twitched his nose, feeling the tube in his nostril that ran down his throat and likely into his stomach, remembering it from the last time he’d been at Doc Michaels’ mercy. He shuddered. The needles and the tubes always felt like such a cold violation. Surely now he was properly awake he didn’t need them? 

His entire body ached, a cruel reminder of the seizures that had nearly killed him. If not for Seren’s magic, Omega’s healing, and the quints’ intervention, they probably would have. 

Instead, he was awake now, and pretty much fully compos mentis. Well, as much as he ever was, he supposed. 

Claws raked through his hair, and Quinn sighed. 

“Order something. You’re hungry,” he said, his voice sounding more ragged than usual.  

“How do you know that?” 

It was an educated guess. Air was usually hungry. Quinn chuckled wearily. 

“Lucky guess.” 

Air kissed his temple. 

“How’s your head? Seren used her strongest spell as she has to go somewhere today, so won’t be available until tomorrow.” 

“What about Helena?” 

He felt Air’s sharp anger at the mention of her name, and he frowned. 

“Seren assured me we wouldn’t need her if she cast this spell. I don’t want Helena near you for a while.” 

Quinn felt confused. Air and Helena were besties, he always said. They were as thick as thieves and always getting into mischief together. Why was he acting like this? 

“Why not?” 

Air growled. 

“She’s the reason you’re here, Quinn. She should never have asked you to do that for her. Of course, this was going to happen. I’ll never forgive her for asking you. I almost lost you because of it. I had to watch you getting weaker and weaker the more time went on, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.” He exhaled shakily. “I’m done with her.”