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[0_0_7]

There was a sharp crack of gunfire that made the comm squeal in Q branch. The Double-0 in the field grunted, then began to pant, and continued making familiar sounds of effort as he ran full bore.

"Report," M barked in his ear.

"He ran," Bond replied, as if that should be obvious.

"Can you catch him?"

There was no answer. For a few tense moments there was only measured breathing, Bond's rhythm driving him on. On Q's screen, the small dot that indicated the agent moved north, then northwest, then vanished entirely in the middle of an intersection.

"I'm in the sewer," he said simply.

The announcement gave Q time to find him.

A moment later, there was an explosion and the comm cut out entirely.

M looked at Tanner and Q, Moneypenny...only looked at Q.

"Get me satellite," Tanner barked at Q's underling and a moment later there was an image of a smoking crater where Bond's signal had been. The smartblood monitor blinked OFFLINE. That didn't mean dead, but it certainly wasn't good.

"Bond?" M said. "Report."

Silence.

"Double-0-Seven, report," M repeated.

Silence.

"Keep the comm open," M finally said, then stalked out of the room.

Comments

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q nodded slightly, taking James' hand and leading the way to his bedroom.

It wasn't big, a standard double bed in a modest bedroom, but there was something very Q about it. From the modest wooden bedframe, to the somehow expensive looking but dowdy bedsheets and blankets.

[0_0_7]

Bond looked around, taking comfort in the fact that Q's room looked...exactly Q.

It made him smile softly.

And then the room lost interest as he moved to Q to hold him again and kiss him hungrily.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q protested a little, eventually pulling away. "You haven't even been to medical, have you? Let me see. Let me have a look. I'm no doctor, but I know the basics."

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"You're going to fuss, even if I say I'm fine, aren't you?" he asked.

He did as Q asked, though.

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"I'm not fussing, it's part of my job. Unlike you, I do tend to bring the equipment back in one piece," Q replied tartly.

[0_0_7]

Bond took a slow breath, then huffed it out.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But I can assure you...I'm all here."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"You're serious about this?" Q asked quietly as he checked him over. "About us?"

[0_0_7]

"I am," he said with a nod. "Quite serious. And...I understand your fears, Q. I will not put your position of Quartermaster in jeopardy. We will find a balance."

There wasn't much to see. Bruises, scrapes, a concerning cut that probably should have had a stitch, but he'd done his best with tape.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q looked a little longer, then decided Bond was fine.

"I'll get you a medical inhalant. It'll speed up the healing," he decided, though he had to make himself leave James' side.

[0_0_7]

"Q...it's alright," Bond insisted once more, softer as he took hold of his cheek and looked into his eyes.

"I'm here. I'm alive. And...I'm yours," he promised, then kissed him softly.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q melted slowly into the kiss, exhaling with a shudder as it broke.

"Yes, well... You still need rest," he said softly, tugging Bond towards the bed. "Mallory will be furious if he finds you came here first, rather than check in," he added.

[0_0_7]

Bond followed him to bed, hands on him relentlessly, touching his shoulders and arms, back and hip.

"M will never know," he said. "Who we need to worry about i Eve."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"Oh god, Eve. ...She might actually do you physical harm, do you know that? I think in the past month she's doubled her efforts to convince me to see Henry again, just in case I've even been so much as thinking about you," Q noted, returning the touches with soft and gentle fingers, exploring Bond's skin as though reminding himself of every inch. It had been some time since they'd wound up in bed together, after all.

"A while back I made the mistake of telling her I'd been seeing Harry Hart of all people," he admitted. "That name still gets brought up a lot, and I haven't even seen him in months now."

[0_0_7]

"Harry Hart. Hart Industries?" he asked.

A name he tried to avoid thinking of. Because hearing it, and hearing it on Q's lips, made something inside him that he'd chained up and boxed away rattle and shake. Something that still wanted Harry, despite everything that had come undone between them all those years ago.

Something he hoped Q knew nothing of.

Something he wished he could forget entirely.

"I didn't know you were involved..."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"It was unexpected, but yes, we were involved for a while," Q admitted, oblivious to James' past with the other man. "Schedules got in the way though. He still reaches out occasionally, but I haven't had time to see him in person lately."

[0_0_7]

Why did it have to be Harry? Bond could have handled almost anyone else. Anyone not so personal.

Feelings Bond tucked away in the place where there was no tell. His bluff was perfect.

"Do you intend to see him?" he asked. Paused. "Because he'd be an excellent decoy to keep eyes off us."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"I... I don't know," Q replied. "I would have thought, maybe, you wouldn't want me seeing other people. ...And I don't like the idea of using him, Bond. Harry's nice, he's very sweet, really. Above all, he's become a good friend."

He'd also been feeding Harry information. Harry seemed certain that someone in the British government might be attempting to start a war. Something Q had pointedly not brought up with anyone- Least of all James, who'd no doubt fixate until the mystery was solved. ...And Q still wasn't convinced there even was one. He let Harry know when he saw unusual orders go out, but so far he hadn't found any solid proof that a war was coming.

[0_0_7]

Bond chuckled softly.

"I would rather you didn't see anyone else, Q. But the nature of what I do, I can't promise to be faithful, and I wouldn't expect the same. I understand if you'd rather not use your friendship that way...but consider it. Give someone for Moneypenny to look to, other than me."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"Alright," Q said softly. "I'll think about it."

He didn't like the idea much though, didn't want to be dishonest with Harry, and... Well, he already hated the idea of Bond with other people. Q was nearly always the first to turn of the coms when Bond was seducing someone.

[0_0_7]

"Think about it in the morning," he said. "Come to bed."

He didn't give Q much of a choice as he climbed in and dragged the boffin with him.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q settled in beside him, slipping an arm around him to keep him near.

He wondered if he said what he was thinking- If it would scare Bond off. It was right there though, on the tip of his tongue, and he couldn't bite it back...

"I love you," he said suddenly, feeling ill the moment he said it, certain he'd just spoiled everything.

[0_0_7]

Upon hearing it, Bond gathered him closer. Hugged him to his chest and pressed a slow kiss to his brow.

"I love you, too," he said quietly.

They weren't words he said often. He'd told three other people. One had died, one had left, and one had utterly betrayed him.

And yet, for Q, he was ready to risk it all again.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Relief flooded through him, and Q curled up closer, a hand settling on Bond's hip.

He almost couldn't believe it, but- It felt real. Bond might vanish, might make a mess, might feed his gadgets to lizards- But in Q's experience, he wasn't a liar. Not unless the work called for it.

[0_0_7]

Bond held him close, content to dose. But he didn't rest long. Q was asleep when he woke and he laid there a moment, watching him.

Part of him felt like now that he'd said it, Q had a ticking clock counting down the last hours of his life now.

He knew this was a mistake. That wasn't going to stop him.

When Q rolled over, Bond took the opportunity to slip out of bed and leave without a word.

---

"Bond turned up in medical this morning," Moneypenny said, bringing Q a new report in his office. "No worse for wear."

She smiled at him and offered him the green file folder.

"I brought you specs from the thing that we brought down over the North Sea. The Navy recovered it, and now it seems they'd like your opinion."

Bond appeared in the doorway of Q branch as she spoke.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Bond appeared, and Q was immediately distracted.

"Erm- Yes, right, of course. Thank you, Moneypenny," he said, gaze still on James.

Eve rolled her eyes.