Q

[0_0_7]

[Continued form here for length]

"I will," he swore. They drove on a bit and Bond checked the GPS again. "How bloody far is this place? We've got to be almost there. Zoom that out and see..."

He hated the countryside in the dark. But thank god for technology. It wasn't all that long ago he would have been relatively blind.

Comments

[0_0_7]

"I'd be frightened. Maybe you're made of sterner stuff," Bond said. "Fear is nothing to be ashamed of, you know."

He sipped his tea and thought for a moment of fear, his mind rolling back to Severine and the tremble in her voice when she spoke of Silva. He'd told her he knew all there was to know about fear, but the week Q had been captive he had learned there was still plenty. His mind went to dark places as he imagined what horrors the man was going through.

[quartermaster_q]

Q said nothing. If he felt fear, he wasn't ready to admit to it. Instead he pushed it deep down, blocking it out as he drank his tea.

"There are no monsters here, Bond. Not tonight. Finish your tea and come back to bed with me. You can tuck your gun under your pillow if you need to, but we both need some rest."

[0_0_7]

"Alright," he replied, utterly agreeable, if only because he was mostly assured this place was safe.

He went to collect his gun and then took it and the cup to the bed where he sat on the edge. Bond looked to Q and a slight smile tugged at his lips.

"You're quite lovely, rumpled like this. I feel as though I'm special, allowed to see you disheveled."

[quartermaster_q]

"And here I was thinking you always found me under-dressed and rumpled," Q replied, offering a hint of a smile.

Finishing his tea, he was happy to crawl back into bed, settling in and getting comfortable.

"Thank you for this," he said after a moment. "Thank you for keeping me safe."

[0_0_7]

"Under dressed, yes. But you're quite tidy," Bond said, meaning it as a compliment. He took a few more sips but didn't finish, abandoning his cup on the bedside table as he slid between the sheets and pressed close to Q.

"There's no need to thank me," he said. "I'd do anything for you, Q. I hope you never test that, but the fact of the matter is just that. I'd do anything for you. You know I hardly stopped looking for you. I had to sleep a bit, but I'd snatch a few hours and then get right back to it. I'm sure more than one person at headquarters thought I'd gone mad."

[quartermaster_q]

"I'd scold you for that sort of thing usually- But in this case I'm grateful," Q said, tilting his chin and pressing a kiss to Bond's forehead.

"I promise not to make a habit of vanishing, double-o seven."

[0_0_7]

"I should hope not," Bond said softly. "But if it happens again...have faith. I will find you and bring you home."

[quartermaster_q]

Q said nothing, nipping at the line of Bond's jaw, then finding his lips and kissing him softly.

He knew. He knew Bond would.

His hand moved to stroke the older man's face, and Q smiled softly as his fingers splayed out slightly and his thumb brushed over Bond's lips.

[0_0_7]

Bond closed his eyes and let himself get lost in the way Q's fingers felt. He had the most graceful hands, long fingers that had such delicate strength.

"I love how you touch me," he said softly. "You're bewitching. I don't know how you've done it, capturing me the way you have."

[quartermaster_q]

"If I'm bewitching, then it's obviously witchcraft," Q teased lightly, leaning in and stealing another kiss. "Simple leap of logic."

[0_0_7]

"If there are vampires then surely somewhere there must be witches," Bond replied, teasing a bit in his own right. "Do you have robes? And a pointed hat? A magic wand?"

[quartermaster_q]

Q laughed softly, settling in on his pillow and studying the other man.

"I do like you like this- Relaxed. It's quite charming. I much prefer this double-o seven I think."

[0_0_7]

Bond was aware of how he behaved. How he was always on alert. It felt good to relax, to be unburdened. His smile came easier, his eyes shone with delight.

And he was aware, every single second, that it wouldn't last. Too soon the world would come crashing back in and he would become the weapon he'd been forged into. Smiles and jokes would be put aside.

"It's quite nice, being with you like this," he said. "If only it could be like this more often. If life allowed for it."

[quartermaster_q]

"It might, eventually. There could come a time where we aren't always on guard," Q soothed, reaching out and finding Bond's hand with his own.

[0_0_7]

He laced his fingers with Q's and pulled their hands higher so he could see the bond that they'd made.

"It's been some time since I was in love," he admitted softly. "I hope I don't cock it up..."

[quartermaster_q]

"I'm not sure I've ever been in love," Q confessed. "I thought I was, but- Well, that wasn't love. That was insanity. ...You wont cock it up though, double-o seven. I'm sure of it."

[0_0_7]

Bond pressed Q's hand to the bed and held him in place that way as he moved in and hovered over him for a moment. Then he kissed Q rather than answer that. It was remarkable, kissing Q, because while sex was fun it never really made his heart race. But kissing Q was exquisite. It took him over, his whole body alighting with love and desire.

[quartermaster_q]

Moaning into the kiss, Q lifted to meet him, savouring the taste of the double-o.

"James," he murmured, about to say something more, only to be interrupted by the sound of Bond's mobile.

Sighing, he flopped back onto the bed.

"That'll be Eve, I imagine."

[0_0_7]

"Sometimes I swear she knows," Bond grumbled. He was a slave to the phone and reached for it to answer it. He didn't even look at the screen, he simply swiped to answer and put it to his ear.

"Bond," he said, taking a glance at the clock. It was terribly early...

[quartermaster_q]

Q watched for a moment, then pushed Bond down and crawled atop him, sprawling across the double-o like a bony blanket. He rested his head on Bond's chest, getting comfortable and closing his eyes as the rumble of the agent's voice lulled him back to sleep.

[0_0_7]

"Yes, Moneypenny," he agreed, listening to her give the report of what they'd found while Bond and Q had been driving. She talked on and Bond found himself rubbing Q's back slowly, up and down.

"Are you paying attention, Bond?" she asked with a note of amusement.

"Yes, Moneypenny," Bond said again, only to hear her laugh softly.

"No, you're not. I'm sure you're not even out of bed yet...so I know where Q is. When the two of you get up for the day you should text me and I'll give you another briefing."

"Yes, Moneypenny," Bond said, grin evident in his tone.

"Enough of you. I'll talk to you later," she said warmly, then ended the call.

[quartermaster_q]

Practically purring under Bond's touch, Q wiggled a bit to find the blanket and pull it up over them both.

"All is well I assume?" he said, yawning softly and embracing Bond gently.

[0_0_7]

"There's no signs of trouble, no chatter, and so far we're off the map and utterly secure. She says we should enjoy it while it lasts," Bond said as he laid the mobile aside. As soon as his hands were free he was caressing Q with both.

"You're so warm," he said. "I could die happy, just like this, smothered beneath you," Bond added with a soft chuckle.

[quartermaster_q]

"No death, James. Not today," Q murmured. "This is life. It's what we fight for. ...What you fight for anyway."

[0_0_7]

Q simply took him apart when he called him James. Bond's ego was swollen enough that he took great pleasure in hearing his name on the lips of a lover but it was different with Q. It meant more.

"I imagine I have a right to life," he said quietly. "The life I lead doesn't lend itself to quiet moments like this, though. I forget. You'll have to keep me grounded, Q. If you're up to it."