Q

[0_0_7]

Bond had been working on the cottage when he saw Q disappear into his temporary home with that fit nurse. Hector, called Hex. Nurse, Army medic, chatty bloke who was smart enough, but guileless. He was certain Q would eat him alive.

But then time stretched out and the man hadn't left. And still more time. Bond worked slower and slower until he finally saw Hex emerge with a stack of magazines. He rushed to his own place and Bond wiped his rough hands on his jeans, wiped the sweat from his brow, and made straight for Q's door.

He did have the manners to knock, though he feared what state he might find the boffin in. Hex had been in there for quite some time...

Comments

[cuppa_q]

Q didn't have to ask who it was, even if he hadn't recognized the knock, he'd expected Bond would come around to see why Hex had stopped by. Q knew full well James kept an eye on everything and everyone.

"Kettle's still hot if you'd like tea," he said rather then hello, opening the door and scooping up one of the cats as he invited James inside.

[0_0_7]

Bond stepped in, mouth set hard and eyes cool with what he refused to recognize as jealousy.

"Is that what you've been doing? Having tea?" he asked.

[cuppa_q]

"Chatting, mostly," Q replied. "I'm glad you came over though, I actually need to talk to you about what Hex and I discussed tonight. Well- I suppose I don't need to, but it seems prudent, given our... partnership."

[0_0_7]

There was a minuscule lifting of his brow, and curious glance, then Bond took a mug to prepare his tea.

"Oh?" he asked, figuring he must want to shag the handsome nurse.

[cuppa_q]

"We discovered we have a shared interest in bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism, and were discussing the possibility of indulging in some of those things together. I told him I'd need to speak with you first," Q replied bluntly, filling a mug and holding it out in offering, as though they were discussing the weather.

[0_0_7]

That was so much worse than just shagging. A little tumble, Bond could understand. He'd, however, been in enough situations that bondage and pain didn't pique his interest in the bedroom.

"I see," he said, taking the cup. His grip was just a bit too tight and he relished the sting of the heat. "Do what you like, Q. You don't need my permission," he said tightly.

[cuppa_q]

"I'm not seeking it," Q assured him, because he wasn't and he wouldn't. They weren't lovers yet, it was not up to Bond to decide what he did and who he did it with. "I do, however, want to be open with you. We're treading strange waters. I've opened up about my interest, and you've begun to take an interest. I don't want to shatter the fragile glass we're both currently treading on. I don't want to hurt you or set us both back. ...So I'm talking to you about it."

[0_0_7]

Bond took a sip of tea and carefully thought through what Q was saying. Yes, this was all rather fragile. He was hardly in a state to vow committment of any kind, and he couldn't expect such a thing from Q. As much as he'd like to lay claim to the younger man, all in all it wasn't fair to make such a demand.

"But you would like it," he said after a long moment. "I must admit, I don't think I could do anything of that stripe. Not for pleasure."

[cuppa_q]

"It's not something I always want, but it is part of who I am. ...It seems fair you know that. I enjoy being bound, I enjoy a little pain- Not too much, but- I have been known to invite a strong hand now and then," Q said, not shy about laying it out. "We all have some sort of fetish, that's just mine."

[0_0_7]

"Fair enough," he replied. But his mind wandered to his encounter with Le Chiffre and the thought of bondage and pain made him just a touch queasy.

"And where is it, exactly, do you think we stand?" he asked. He surely didn't know. Especially now with Q out of the house he felt as if there may be no hope at all to prove himself- if he was even capable of proving anything.

[cuppa_q]

"We're getting to know one another, lingering on the fringe of intimacy," Q shrugged. "We're getting to know one another still. ...Really know one another, not files or work, but something raw. Honest."

[0_0_7]

"You're such an enigma, Q. I'm not sure I'll ever know you," Bond confessed. "But if that's where we stand, then I think a bit of leeway should be granted for intimate needs. There's no reason to be celibate."

[cuppa_q]

"I'm not certain I'll have sex with him, James. That sort of play doesn't have to end in intercourse," Q replied, shaking his head. "I'm not like you, I don't... My list of lovers is quite short. I'm not casting judgement here, I just- I'm being honest."

[0_0_7]

"If we're being honest, I've slept with so many women I don't bother to learn their names," he said dryly. He used women, that was no secret. They felt terribly special for the moments they were together, and when he left he never thought of them again.

"I don't think I've ever had a lover who wasn't disposable."

[cuppa_q]

That wasn't reassuring, and Q tensed slightly.

"Yes, right, well- If that's what you're like, what you want, let's just get on with it. Right here, right now. Right on the table, if you'd like. You can get me off your list and we can both move on."

[0_0_7]

"But I don't want that, Q. Not with you," he admitted softly. "I find myself wanting something more."

[cuppa_q]

"How can you be sure?" Q asked, meeting Bond's gaze with his own. "What's different this time?"

[0_0_7]

Bond looked deeply into Q's eyes as he set his tea down.

"You mean the world. No one ever has. Not even a fraction."

[cuppa_q]

"You hardly know me," Q pointed out. "We hardly know one another, if we're honest. The Bond I know is a fantasy, woven from files I read and the work I watched you do. Your image of me is no different-Though I imagine far less sexy."

[0_0_7]

"And still..." he said, moving closer. He lifted a hand and stroked Q's jaw with a knuckle. "You mean the world. Imagine how much more you'll mean when we actually know one another."

[cuppa_q]

Q still had his doubts, but he kept them silent for now. Bond's interest in him still felt very sudden.

[0_0_7]

"And so, I think if what you're asking is if we can continue getting to know each other and still carry on as usual with...other interests...I think the answer is yes," he said.

[cuppa_q]

Meaning Bond intended to keep sleeping with other people, Q assumed.

"Right," he sighed. "...Right."

Maybe he should sleep with Hex. Maybe he needed that to help him not get too hung up on James.

[0_0_7]

"Are you sure?" Bond asked softly.

[cuppa_q]

"No, but it's only fair," Q shrugged.