Q and Harry

[0_0_7]

Bond had done his best to soothe Q and, true to his word, Q lay in sleep mode between Bond and Harry.

Every night from then on.

This morning Bond had awoken feeling his age. They'd been here long enough that he'd run out of his stash of pills and potions, and there wasn't nearly enough to drink. Bond liked to think he was a young man, but the daily work of survival was taking its toll.

Swallowing his pride, he'd sought out medical and Hex had hit him with a hypospray and sent him back to bed for the rest of the day.

He was dozing in the cool pod, the computer streaming some music from Earth, long ago.

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[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q had spent most of the day finishing up work on the greenhouse. The team had finally assembled it near the center of the settlement, and Max, of all people, had volunteered to take care of it. Q had lingered a bit, watching the man plant everything from vegetables to tea and coffee, and eventually had left him to it. Max seemed to know what he was doing after all, and others had already begun to step in to help.

Home, he smiled a little at the sight of James in bed, being quiet as a mouse as he set about brewing a pot of tea. He didn't know the music, but it was pleasant, and he let himself enjoy it as he tidied up a bit.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry was certainly feeling his age as well. Maybe he'd been trying to prove himself, or just trying to assuage his own (yes, he realized, unjustified) guilt over the fate of the station, but he'd been toiling in manual labor. Building, mostly. And then when he wasn't doing that, the emotional labor of hearing from citizens who were panicking, grieving, losing their minds, to be frank.

It was all very taxing.

When he came home, he glanced at Bond in the bed, and then came up behind Q, putting a hand on his waist and dropping his head to kiss his shoulder. He had no words, he was just exhausted as usual.

[0_0_7]

Bond was motionless until the kettle whistled. Only then did he open his eyes and roll to see them. The sheet draped over his hip, offering only a bit of modesty.

"Gubdmrn..." he mumbled, moving slowly.

A little...too slowly.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q smiled at the kiss on his shoulder, but quirked a concerned brow at Bond's gibberish.

"Tea?" He offered, addressing them both.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry's gaze traveled to the bed, where he realized that Bond was... quite naked, actually. He still hadn't gotten used to this.

"Thank you," Harry said gently to Q, and then added quietly, "Had a nap, did he?"

[0_0_7]

Bond mumbled a little more as he sat up and covered his lap.

The only thing he said that made any sense was hypospray before he scrubbed his face to rouse himself.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"Ah, a drug induced one, it seems. You're both putting far too much strain on your bodies," he scolded mildly, pouring them all a cuppa.

[lepidopterologist]

"Ah," Harry said, and took the tea from Q. "Well I suppose... I can see the need to relax. You're right, perhaps we've been working too hard."

[0_0_7]

"Muscle strain," finally made sense as Bond had a good stretch. "One conduit too many."

He blinked and looked at them both.

"And the heat."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"It is steadily growing warmer, as predicted. I suppose it's best we get as much done as we can now, before conditions become too harsh and heatstroke becomes a threat," Q admitted, passing James a cup as well. "Still, I'd appreciate you both taking better care of yourselves."

[lepidopterologist]

Harry hesitated, and then sat down on the edge of the bed, next to James. "Well I know why I'm overworking myself. What about you?"

[0_0_7]

Bond turned his head slowly to look at him, paused for a bit too long, then said softly-

"You feel the same urgency."

And for the same reason...except Bond was guilty.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q watched the pair, again seeing himself on the outside.

He couldn't over work, it was what he was built to do. He might run out of power, but he'd never be tired. He was capable of continuing on forever in the right conditions. Even if he shared that feeling of urgency or guilt, which he did not, he'd never be able to share that feeling of exhaustion.

Forever something else, an outsider to the human experience.

He said nothing, looking down at his tea and feeling a bit as though he was eavesdropping on something he wasn't meant to be privy to.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry didn't see any reason to tiptoe around it. "Yes, well, guilt is a strong motivator. Rational or not."

He glanced over at Q and then added, "You're right though, Q. It's only going to get worse from here, might as well work while we can." He held his hand up to the light. "I don't know the last time I was this tan."

[0_0_7]

Bond rolled his head around to loosen his neck.

"I don't remember the last time I've had to think this much," he chuckled. "Thank goodness for Q. At least I take orders well..."

He stretched again and something crunched and he groaned.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q nodded to them both, looking at his tea again, then sipping it.

"Yes, well..."

He didn't know what to say though, for him this was all just a new list of tasks to complete. It felt no different than being on the station. He was designed to adapt, after all. Clearly he was missing something, his supposedly superior programming still shy of truly being human.

[lepidopterologist]

"I could give you orders," Harry said to Bond, though then realized that was a rather odd thing to say out of context, and cleared his throat. "I just mean, I've been organizing people, of course. Tasks to be done. If you prefer to think less."

[0_0_7]

For the briefest moment there was a glint in Bond's eyes, eager for Harry to do just that...and then it faded when the man continued.

"Give me a list," he said. "But Hex also said to rest up. A small list."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

A fragment of a memory hit Q then, glitchy and out of context. Bond, on a street... London? Maybe. Wherever they were, the man was telling him to get on his knees, out where anyone might see. Some of the image wasn't loading correctly, but the sound was clear as day, though very brief.

It hit hard and fast, and then was gone again. It was a bit of a shock to the system, and Q did his best to not react- But the glitching fragment of a memory was enough to trigger his antivirus, and he dropped his mug as it quickly scanned and came back with an all clear.

"Shit, sorry," he said, quickly moving to clean up.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry caught that glint in Bond's eyes, which rather made him want to say something more about giving orders to see if he'd been imagining it, but then he heard the crash of Q's mug, and got to his feet. "Everything all right?" That was rather unusual.

[0_0_7]

"Q?" Bond asked, a beat behind Harry, and with as much concern.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"Fine, just a minor glitch. Systems check says it's nothing," Q assured them, looking embarrassed. "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."

[lepidopterologist]

"All right..." Harry said, studying his face. But he did seem fine. "Well, perhaps you're a bit stressed as well, Q."

[0_0_7]

"That isn't the first one, is it?" Bond asked.

His concern prompted him out of bed and into pants to move closer to Q.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q sighed, wishing he'd said nothing.

"I recovered a fraction of an erased memory," he explained. "It wasn't a glitch so much as unreadable data. I'm fine, it's less an error, more an ongoing process I've been attempting. It's running in the background, but when I'm not doing anything important I allow it to be my system's main function. I didn't consider the fact that it would attempt to play things as it recovered them."