Q

[0_0_7]

James woke up to a message to meet at Harry's office at noon. He assumed, naturally, it was about the brilliant young filmmaker they'd been discussing. Because money was involved, James cleaned up, shaved, and even wore a suit so he'd be taken seriously by the attorneys.

He stepped into the elevator, eyes on his phone and ignoring the others. It rose, let a few out, then shuddered to a stop. James looked up from his screen, signal lost, and finally noticed Q.

"Lunch may be delayed," he sighed, assuming Q was going to visit Harry independently.

Comments

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Yes, but how long would it take?

He pushed another button, then sighed in surrender as he sat down as well. His pulse was racing a little, and he took a few calming breaths.

"I don't like small spaces," he admitted quietly.

[0_0_7]

"Ah, understandable," he said, quiet and calm, and far kinder than ever before.

"More common than you think. Would you rather have quiet or conversation?" he asked then.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"That depends on how unkind you're going to be this time," Q replied simply, taking his glasses off and using the hem of his shirt to clean them- A nervous tick, something he did when he was uncomfortable or uneasy.

[0_0_7]

"Ah. Quiet, then," he said, certain anything he might say was going to be taken as unkind regardless.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"Right, how could I possibly think you might be civil?" Q said quietly. "You know, I don't know what I ever did to you, but it must have been quite the sin to be rewarded with such cruelty," he said, pulling out his phone and trying to send Harry a text.

[0_0_7]

James looked at him, simply watching him for a long moment.

"If silence is cruelty, what are you looking for?" he asked. "Why do you need me to like you, Q?

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"I don't need you to like me, I just need you to be- I dunno, civil. To treat me like a human being," Q said, perhaps a bit sharply. "You'll be so kind, then so unpleasant- And I don't know what I've done to deserve it. One moment you're friendly, the next cold. Then you're offering guidance like you're some wise old sage, then you're talking to me like I'm some child. All while living under the delusion that you know so much more than me- But how would you even know what I know without just making blind assumptions? You're dismissive, unpleasant, and honestly, sort of a twat."

He exhaled through his nose. "I have to assume you have some redeeming qualities, or Harry wouldn't bother with you- But for whatever it's worth, I did like you. Not just because you're handsome, not because of who you played, but because you seemed interesting. I thought, mistakenly it seems, that perhaps you liked me as well, since you kept coming back. I can't help but wonder now if you were just a bully looking for a target."

[0_0_7]

James listened as the words poured out of him, waiting until it seemed no more was coming.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, clearly unbothered by the assessment.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"See, that? That isn't the kindness you think it is. It's condescending," Q replied. "I don't want a pat on the head, I want an explanation."

[0_0_7]

"An explanation? Alright? You annoy me. I treat you like a child because you act childish. You hear what you like, react with unwarranted offense, and I don't like brats beyond bed. I never have. I have no patience for subs like you," he admitted. "Harry, though, I have every confidence he has the patience that I strive for."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"God you're an arrogant prick. I'm childish? You can parrot back as much nonsense as you like from your shrinks and whatever self help books you've read this month, but that doesn't make you mature," Q assured him. "I wasn't the only one who thought you were rude to me, Harry felt it as well. Perhaps I'm not misinterpreting, James. Maybe you should listen to the way you speak to others."

He shook his head and returned his attention to his phone, as though willing it to give him a signal.

"I may not always be an agreeable man, but it feels as if you've gone out of your way to make an enemy of me."

[0_0_7]

"You're not an enemy, Q. You're not important in my life in any way. You didn't even have the curiosity to find out how I knew Harry, so I'm clearly not important to you either. Do you need an apology? I'm sorry I, someone of no consequence to your life, hurt your feelings," he told him.

"But you're in luck, because once we're out of here and my meeting is over, you never have to see me again," James added. "I'll be out of the country by summer."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

It felt like such an unnecessarily mean thing to say, and Q looked hurt. It didn't matter that they didn't know one another, Q didn't understand Bond's need to just be so... Unpleasant.

"Well, best of luck to you then," Q said quietly.

The elevator jerked, but didn't start moving, and Q looked a bit pale as he held the wall with one hand.

[0_0_7]

James wasn't steady and when the carriage lurched, he stumbled and crashed into the wall in front of Q. To steady himself, he reached for the other man's shoulder before taking note of his complexion.

Another lurch, and a tremendous sound from above of stressed metal.

His fingers dug into Q's shoulder.

"We'll be okay," he said with a confidence he absolutely didn't feel. "There are...brakes."

Something clanged in the shaft above them and thudded on the roof of the carriage. James looked up.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q was doing his best to stay calm, but it was getting harder by the moment. He was trembling, but he managed to sound calm.

"We're not that high up, if it falls, it's survivable, broken legs, maybe a broken pelvis," Q said, reassuring himself as much as he was Bond. "Brace yourself against the wall, legs apart slightly."

As he said it, he did it, trying to ignore the way his heart was pounding. He could hear people outside the lift, panic and some shouting. In his head he did the math, feeling the slight tilt to the floor. They were wedged- that was good. If they stayed wedged, they couldn't fall.

"Come stand on this side, beside me, we want the weight over here to keep it wedged in place until they come get us," he explained.

[0_0_7]

James heard him, but as if through water. His body obeyed, moving to the proper place, but he'd grown almost as pale as Q. He was cold and clammy, his stomach tight and sick.

Broken legs. Broken pelvis.. The back of an ambulance. ICU. Therapy.

Vesper.

Bond squeezed his eyes closed and forced himself to breathe slowly as memories of the wreck rushed back with every sound. He struggled to stay present, tried to find faith in emergency services. They'd saved him once before, after all.

As his mind and heart raced, outwardly he looked like he may faint at any moment.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q hesitated, then took Bond's hand and gave it a light squeeze. A silent gesture that the other man wasn't alone.

"One hundred and seventy two hours, that's how long it took to create the CGI elements in the big chase scene of your last spy thriller. I worked nearly all of them myself," he admitted, offering a distraction in the form of a little story. "I didn't have to, but I wanted to. It was a good scene, you were good in it. I know a large amount of it was a stunt driver, but the in car shots were you- And they were excellent. You're very good at showing rather than telling, those little flickers of emotion- From anger, to fear. I know those films can be a bit shallow, but I always felt you gave them an edge. You elevated them. Not a lot of art films looking for CGI, so a lot of what I worked on was... Fluff. It was nice to have a project that had some weight to it. I enjoyed it, even if the director was making my life hell the whole time."

[0_0_7]

"I didn't watch it," he replied, tight and quiet. "I don't. I can't."

He took another slow breath as the voices beyond the carriage clamored on.

"Not myself. Any film. Any race. Chase. Crash..."

He swallowed hard, listening to the outer door grind open.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"You don't film them for you to watch though, you make them for others. Art is just how we express ourselves, but once it's out there- It isn't for us to consume anymore, I don't think. It's a gift- A part of yourself put out for others to feel and experience. The good and the bad."

Q squeezed his hand, then let go as the doors were pried open. They were between floors, but there was enough space to climb out one by one.

[0_0_7]

He pulled himself together and crawled out after Q. The cooler air and open hall helped him center and settle. The firefighters checked them both out and then maintenance showed up to put up caution tape and an out of order sign. The excitement done, everyone who'd come to see went back to their desks.

James looked at his watch.

"I'm terribly late," he said. "Shall we go in together?"

He looked at Q, still a bit green. He wanted to leave, but James had learned through life that some things you simply couldn't shake. They always caught up to him.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Another minute won't hurt. You should sit, clear your head," Q suggested, sitting down and gesturing for Bond to do the same. "We can walk up together though, if you like."

[0_0_7]

Sitting did seem like the best idea. He knew he could carry on, but years of therapy had taught him he shouldn't.

He sank down next to Q and began the slow, deep breathing to center himself.

"I'm not certain I have any head for finance right now," he said quietly. "At least the money is given grace when it has to reschedule."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"Then that's what you tell Harry," Q said simply. "He'll take care of it, he's remarkable like that. He'll find a way for it to all work out."

[0_0_7]

James nodded and took another slow breath.

"She is truly talented. Did you see the film?" he asked, his gaze locked onto a spot on the carpet, though he wasn't really seeing it.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"I'm not sure which film you mean," Q admitted. "I don't know if you genuinely found me rude before when I wasn't aware of your history with Harry, but truthfully we don't discuss his work. Mostly because it's meant to be confidential, but also because he tends to leave it at work. He hasn't mentioned your meeting or what you're working on- Or who you're working with."

He said this fully expecting Bond to be condescending or dismissive again, silently bracing himself for some sort of verbal shove. He'd decided he wouldn't allow Bond to push his buttons this time though. He was being civil- Kind, even. Q liked to believe that was the sort of man he was.