Q

[0_0_7]

Bond was sitting on a train, watching the target talking on the phone. He had his keffiyeh slung around his throat and sunglasses on to disguise himself a bit. No one paid him any attention, all talking amongst themselves, business men heading into Damascus, mostly, but others as well. He knew that he had to be discreet, he couldn't just execute the man in a crowd.

The train slowed and then stopped and the target rose. Bond followed, pushing his way through the crowd.He made it up next to the target and slipped a tracker into his pocket, then peeled away from him.

"Alright, Q, he's yours to follow now. I'm going to go find transportation while he hails a cab. And keep an eye on the satellites," he said, telling Q how to do his job a bit. But as he exited the station and he saw the target slip into a black Audi, he realized this wasn't what they'd had planned.

"He's not taking a cab. I'm improvising," he said, stalking through the crowd and slipping into a waiting Range Rover, its owner standing mere feet away as Bond outright stole the vehicle.

Comments

[quartermaster_q]

"I can go days without sleep," Q said, but he didn't argue any more than that.

"Alright, we'll both rest. You can take me out tomorrow," he smiled, sitting up just enough to steal a kiss.

[0_0_7]

Bond wrapped his arms around and forced him to o slowly, to linger. His tonue flicked and his lips tugged at the other man's, but as he relaxed against him his eyes grew hot and heavy.

"I love you," he aid quietly, the word painfully honest in that moment. The raw power of thm wasn't held back at all. He was too tired for restraint.

[quartermaster_q]

"I love you too," Q said quietly, pressing a little closer and holding on. "I love you," he repeated quietly, struck by how true that was.

He loved double-o seven. For so long he'd been sure he'd never love again- But he loved Bond. Deeply and completely.

[0_0_7]

With Q holding him, Bond slipped into sleep. Not deep, he had slept on the plane so his sleep was shallow and he was constantly aware of Q's presence.

He woke when the sun brightened the room even through the blinds.

He laid there for a long moment thinking that he desperately needed a cup of coffee...but he wasn't willing to disturb Q's sleep.

[quartermaster_q]

Q slept hard, holding Bond tightly even in his sleep- but eventually he woke.

Groggy and exhausted, he sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes.

"Morning already? What a tragedy," he sighed.

[0_0_7]

"It really is," Bond agreed. "I'm going to be anxious all day for it to end so I can have you all to myself. But for now...coffee. And I need to shave."

[quartermaster_q]

"I'm not in today," Q admitted, stretching lazily. "I might go back to Eve's to visit Oberon."

[0_0_7]

"That cat," Bond huffed, but fondly. "Alright, I'm sure you've more than earned your time off. I'll get through the debriefing and all, check in with Tel Aviv, and then find you at Eve's. I want you to promise you'll stay safe today. I was worried in Damascus that Terrance...that something might happen."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I've not heard a peep from him," Q said honestly, slipping out of bed as he spoke. "Perhaps he's moved on at last."

[0_0_7]

"I very much doubt that," Bond said flatly, then padded off to the kitchen to sort out a coffee. That and a shot of whiskey would steady his hand enough to shave.

[quartermaster_q]

Q followed him out, catching hold of Bond's arm and pulling him to a stop.

"Right now, today, we're alright. Enjoy that. Please, just- Enjoy it. Don't let him loom over you," he begged softly.

[0_0_7]

"He's not looming. He's bloody well making me angry, though," Bond snapped, then immediately softened. "I'm sorry...I'm just not going to be at ease until he's stopped. I can't. Not with your safety at risk."

[quartermaster_q]

Q sighed, but he didn't argue. He simply let Bond go about his business.

Perhaps today he would dedicate himself to trying to find Terrance.

[0_0_7]

Bond made his coffee and spiked it with liquor before drinking it down. He hadn't had a drink in...to long. It settled him in a way he didn't like that he needed.

"Shall I start a cup for you, too?" he asked.

[quartermaster_q]

"No. No, I'll stop off on my way to Eve's," he replied, frowning slightly to himself as he pondered the best way to locate Terrance.

Drawing him out seemed like the best idea.

[0_0_7]

Bond swallowed his coffee as fast as the hot brew would allow. Then with whiskey on his breath he leaned in and kissed Q lightly. His stubble was rough.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" he asked. "You have that little crease over your brow. Just there. You get it when you're thinking..."

[quartermaster_q]

"I'm just wondering if I should buy Oberon some toys and treats," he lied easily. "I've never bought him toys before. I always make them."

[0_0_7]

"Making them would keep you busy for the day," Bond said as he turned to head off to shave. "If you go shopping I want you to take an agent with you...unless you want to wait for me."

He trusted Q implicitly. It didn't even occur to him the man might be lying.

[quartermaster_q]

Q only hummed, careful not to make any promises. He didn't like lying to Bond at all.

"Anyway, I'm going to shower and be off. I'll see you tonight?" he asked.

[0_0_7]

"Yes. You should make reservations. Wherever you like," Bond replied.

They parted ways soon enough and Bond sat through a day of hell. He hated being debriefed, it was the worst part of the job. Explaining missions, explaining choices, explaining deaths...it was so tedious.

By the time he was done and he called Q he had had it.

"Where shall I pick you up?" he asked. "Eve's?"

[quartermaster_q]

Q wasn't at Eve's though. He was at the hotel where he believed he'd find Terrance, sitting in the lobby.

"Actually- I'm at Hotel 41," Q said quietly. "I believe I may have found Terrance."

[0_0_7]

"What!?" he exclaimed, loudly enough to draw looks from those nearby. He immediately lowered his voice. "You went after Terrance on your own? Have you lost your bloody mind? You need the psych eval, not me."

He stalked to his car and jerked open the door so he could go to Hotel 41. When he got in he popped the dash and pulled out a gun and extra ammunition. When he sat upright again he noticed something on his windshield under his wiper and he got out to strip the solicitation off.

But then he noticed it was a photo of him at Heathrow last night.

Did you have a nice trip? was scrawled on it in marker.

"Is he there? I'll kill him," he said into the phone.

[quartermaster_q]

"I've no idea. I'm in the lobby. I thought, perhaps, it would be unwise to go to his room on my own," Q confessed. "The security feeds show no sign of him, but as we both know, that means nothing."

[0_0_7]

"I want you to stay in the lobby. Where everyone can see you. Where you're on camera," Bond said, though he knew that wouldn't matter. Q had been stabbed on a busy train platform and nothing about that had gotten them any closer to finding Terrrance.

"He knows I was gone. He's taunting me, Q. This needs to end."

[quartermaster_q]

"Yes, understood," Q said, ending the call.

The moment he hung up, the fire alarms began to ring. There was a panic, and Q knew if he didn't move, he'd be chased out of the building along with all the civilians and guests.

He did the only thing he could think to do, ducking into a stairwell and beginning to make his way up to the fourth floor as he sent Bond a text.

Fire alarm triggered, heading to room 118.

He raced up the stairs, carefully avoiding security as they did their best to get everyone out as quickly as possible, then making his way to room 118. It was a standard card key lock, and he bypassed it easily before slipping inside.

His heart pounded, fully expecting to walk right into Terrance...

He did not.

What he did walk into, however, was a quite disturbing shrine. Every wall was covered in photographs. Photographs of Q and everyone he knew. Bond, Moneypenny, Rob, Dr. Lecter... If Q had spoken to them recently they were there. Some had check marks next to them, some x's, others had a question mark. It didn't take long to deduce what each mark meant. Checks were given to those Q seemed fond of, x's to those Q brushed off. Those he'd been intimate with had a question mark beside them- For whatever reason, that troubled him most of all.