Q

[0_0_7]

His first leg of China had been warm. He'd landed in Hong Kong and had enjoyed the warm air, but soon enough he got to work and the weather wa the last thing on his mind. He'd broken into the facility without incident but before he could complete the mission half the Chinese army, it seemed, came down on him. Caught red-handed all Britain could do was disavow knowledge and leave Bond to his fate.

Bu M was a better man than that and three days later Bond was being covertly traded. The double o was in much worse shape than the man he was traded for. They did try to clean the blood off on the plane and by the time he landed in medical Bond had been triaged and was being examined.

M made the call to not tell Q right away even though he knew the boffin was going out of his mind waiting. Bond needed to be examined and debriefed and when they had some answers it was Moneypenny who came to Q to break the news.

"You've got to understand, Q...this may be the end of him. He may not come back from this. It's his mind, you see..."

Comments

[0_0_7]

"I'm relaxed. I'm so bloody relaxed," he sighed. Bond set about making tea and then reached back to rub his back. He'd stopped pissing blood but his kidneys were still sore, still bruised. He was so impatient- he hated being gentle with himself.

[quartermaster_q]

"Oh, I can tell, double-o seven," Q said flatly, moving to help Bond with the tea. "So very relaxed, clearly."

[0_0_7]

"I want to do something, Q. I want to do something and my body isn't ready. And there's no telly or scotch so my usual avenues aren't around, either. And I'm sure I'm driving you mad," he said apologetically.

[quartermaster_q]

Q moved to stand behind Bond, gently rubbing the other man's shoulders, then pressing a kiss to the back of the other man's neck

"You're not," he promised. "If you want telly, I'll get you telly, alright? But you're right, you're in no fit state to be doing much of anything. If you were, you'd have shagged me up against the wall by now," he teased gently.

"Finish making your tea, I'll set up a monitor with a news feed for you, alright?"

[0_0_7]

Bond turned and caught Q before he could get away and he pulled the man close. He didn't really care about tea or telly. His fingers moved lightly over Q's wrist, the thin skin over the delicate bones was so alluring.

"Maybe the wall is a bit ambitious," he said. "Maybe we should take the tea to bed, hmm?"

Not as smooth as usual but the painkillers were kicking in so he wasn't completely himself.

[quartermaster_q]

"I was joking," Q said gently. "You're not strong enough for that- At least, I don't believe you are, and the medication makes you a little- Well, you know."

He pulled away then, looking away, not wanting Bond to see how much it hurt- Not just to turn him down, but to deny himself what he wanted. He craved Bond- But not like this. Not so broken and lost. It was selfish, Q knew it was, but he didn't want it to be like this, drugged and weak. What he craved was their passion- Their fire.

"I'll sort that telly out."

[0_0_7]

Bond was crestfallen but he was in no shape to push anything on Q. He sorted out the tea and by the time Q had the telly figured out Bond was well under the influence of the painkillers. No passion, no fire, only the softly blurred edges of the world and no pain. He sat down on the sofa and settled into the corner.

It wasn't a full ten minutes before he was asleep.