The first time that James Bond met Q, he dismissed him as just another tecchie. He was clearly intelligent and rather beautiful, though he seemed quite unaware of that fact. And perhaps he was not as young as he looked, but he was definitely too young to be the Quartermaster and he wondered what M had been thinking, giving him that job.

Then he started working with Q and he found himself revising that assessment rather quickly. Q was an excellent Quartermaster. He could hack into pretty much any network in the world and he could do it at the sort of speed that should not have been humanly possible. He could build the sort of guns and cars that were the envy of secret agents everywhere. And despite his age, he was an excellent leader. What James appreciated the most though, was that Q was a strategist, always thinking three or four steps ahead and giving the best advice and direction that he could when he was running the comms.

James had never got through his missions as easily as he did with Q in his ear. All he had to do was listen, which was saying quite a bit coming from a maverick like him. James found his respect for the man growing, though that did not stop him from making age jokes and bantering with Q whenever the opportunity presented itself. Q seemed to enjoy the banter as well and he always gave as good as he got. James found himself growing rather fond of his Quartermaster and he realised that he wanted to get to know him better.

He was on a flight back home from Japan, after being away for nearly a month. It had been a gruelling mission, but he'd brought it to a successful conclusion and he was going home to get some well-earned rest. Mallory had promised him at least two weeks of down-time, so he finally had a chance to consider his position with Q and to decide what to do about it.

This was an unusual situation for him. It had been years since James had been interested in someone for something other than sex. Not that he didn't want that with Q...he'd noticed in their very first meeting that Q was beautiful. And the more time he spent around the man, the more alluring he found him, everything from that mop of curly hair to those green eyes which seemed to draw him in every time he looked at them, that mouth and those lips that James couldn't seem to stop thinking about, the curve of that jaw, that long pale neck and that slender frame which he found himself tracking much too often…

James was falling for Q and he most definitely wanted him, but this time he wanted more than just sex, something more than a casual hook-up. He wanted to know everything about Q, he wanted to know who he had been before he became Q, he wanted to know his name, he wondered if Q had a family, what sort of music he liked, what his favourite books were, what his apartment looked like, what Q looked like first thing in the morning...

James had had a string of lovers in his life and he'd got involved with each of them knowing full well that it was temporary. They'd go on a couple of dates, shag for a while and go their separate ways. That was his MO, that was what James was comfortable with. But somehow the idea of doing that with Q was distinctly unappealing. Q was different, he was interesting, he was witty and clever...and James had always found intelligence very attractive.

So no, he wasn't just looking for a fling, he wanted a relationship, a commitment...he wanted Q all to himself. The very idea of Q moving on or being with someone else made his stomach turn. That should've scared him. It did scare him, but he wanted Q anyway. But would Q want him in the same way? He had no idea. He knew that Q liked him, probably a little more than he liked the other agents. He laughed and joked with him the way he did not with any of the other agents and through all their banter there was an unmistakable ring of fondness that he could hear in Q's voice.

He also knew that Q found him attractive. The Quartermaster was subtle, but James had caught him staring on more than one occasion. There was definitely a bit of interest there...He sat back in his seat and stared out of the aeroplane window. He was honestly surprised at himself. He, James Bond wanted a committed relationship instead of casual sex that kept him free of entanglements, feelings and responsibilities…things that he had sworn that he would avoid forever. What was wrong with him? Why was he even thinking about this?

He couldn't put a label on it yet, but what he knew and couldn't deny was the tug he felt in his heart when he heard Q's voice in his ear at the start of every mission, the warmth in his chest when he walked into Q branch and saw Q in front of that bank of monitors, tapping furiously at this key-board, doing ten things at once and somehow being on top of everything, that way Q had of looking up suddenly and flashing a smile at him...

These feelings were by no means sudden. They had been building steadily for months now, but James had so far refused to do anything about them. What if it was just a passing fancy? He couldn't do that to Q. Also it was easier to ignore the feelings than to act on them because actions brought consequences. What if Q rejected him? What if Q accepted him and they started dating and things went wrong? He knew very well how much that would hurt if it happened. After all, wasn't that why he avoided relationships in the first place?

But he was sick of burying his feelings and tired of his loneliness. Both sex and drink had lost their appeal in the last few months and James was starting to feel like he was losing his mind. He was done fighting with himself. He wanted Q, so he was going to ask him out and damn the consequences. James Bond had never been a coward and now he was tired of acting like one. So he got off the flight, grabbed his bags and went straight to MI6.

...

It was 11:00 in the morning when he got there. He had a de-briefing with Mallory at 12:00, so he made his way to the gym, took a leisurely shower and changed into the spare suit that he kept in his locker. It was unlike him to actually make it to a debriefing on schedule. He usually tended to hide out in his flat for at least a couple of days after a long mission before showing up at the office.

This time though, he wanted to get work out of the way as soon as possible. His two-week break was due to start tomorrow and he wanted to be free of obligations when it did, even if it meant going to medical on schedule. Not that he really needed it this time. He'd been in a few fights and he had a collection of bruises, but he hadn't been stabbed or shot at, so he was okay.

Mallory was surprised to see him, but he tried not to show it. The de-brief took an hour, it was just procedure and since James hadn't blown up any buildings or gone off radio, there wasn't anything to lecture him about.

"Good job, 007. It was a clean mission."

"It was difficult but clean, yes."

"I must say I'm surprised. It's been a while since you blew anything up. I wonder why."

"Q won't let me," James said, surprising a chuckle from his boss. .

"Good for him then. It's nice to see that you are no longer suicidal. Do I have to thank Q for that as well?"

It was a loaded question and James didn't really want to answer, so he shrugged and left it at that.

M looked intently at him for a minute. James kept his face impassive as always.

Mallory must have realised that he wasn't going to get anything else out of James, so he decided to let him go. "Well, go on then. Enjoy your break. And make sure you return your equipment and file your after action reports before you leave."

James nodded and then he left.

…

He walked into Q-branch a found the usual hive of activity. The place was full of sights and sounds that he found oddly comforting. Q was not at his usual position in front of the bank of monitors. So James made his way to his office. He stood at the door for a minute, watching while Q argued with someone on the phone, Tanner by the sound of it. Q was facing away from him, looking thorough a bunch of files.

"Why do we need bloody paper records for everything? It's ridiculous!" Q said.

…

"I know it is policy, Bill. But it's a stupid policy. It's time-consuming and idiotic."

…

"Fine. I'll do it, now stop badgering me"

…

"In triplicate? Of course you need it in bloody triplicate. I'll get it done. Just don't expect it anytime soon, alright. I'm neck deep in cleaning up the mess that 006 left behind him in Syria."

Q turned around then. He saw James and he smiled…Q always smiled at him like that, like he was just plain happy to see him. James smiled back and walked into the office. He sat in one of the chairs facing Q and he waited for him to finish his call.

"Yes I will be at the budget committee meeting at 4:00. You've only reminded me fourteen times now. Gosh, you're worse than my brother," Q complained as he hung up.

"You have a brother?" James said before he could stop himself.

Q looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment. He clearly hadn't intended to make that slip. They were MI6 after all. Everyone here was discreet about their families. James was one of the few who had nothing and no one to lose.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry," he said.

"It's okay. I have two brothers actually. Both older than me. The eldest is a bit too protective for my taste…"

"So Bill knows about your family," James said feeling an unexpected stab of jealousy.

"Yes. Both Bill and Mallory know. I'll tell you about them someday. Now though, I need you to return your equipment and fill up some forms," Q said, smoothly changing the topic. James reined in his curiosity. He could see that any further questions would only irritate Q and he didn't want to do that. After all, he was trying to get on Q's good side here.

It was difficult though. He knew nothing whatever about Q and the Quartermaster for all his charm and friendliness, gave nothing away. And if there was one thing that had made James such a good agent, it was the inability to let anything go. But he didn't want Q to hit him or to mess with his credit cards (002 still shuddered at the memory of a whole week when Q punished him for insubordination by ensuring that none of his cards worked anywhere…), so he nodded and handed his equipment over…gun, radio and earwig. They were all a bit battered and scratched, but they were in perfect working condition

Q's face lit up at that. "Why thank you, Bond. I didn't expect this, certainly not after such a gruelling mission."

James tried to smother the stupid smile that was trying to take over his face. What was it about Q and his smile that made him want to grin like a loon?

"And now your after action reports," Q said as he reached under his desk for the forms. "I'm assuming you want to get all of this done today seeing as you'll be on vacation from tomorrow."

"Maybe after lunch," James suggested.

Q glanced at his watch. "Oh right. Of course. See you after lunch then," he said and he quietly went back to his work.

It was a clear dismissal. James got up feeling a bit at sea. This was the problem with Q. He was friendly, open and witty over the comms during a mission, but in person he was all business. If only he could get Q to open up and talk to him in person, he might get somewhere with him. James turned to go, deciding that this was a problem for another day. He was at the door when on impulse, he turned around and said,

"Why don't you join me?"

"Join you?" Q looked confused.

"For lunch…"

"You want me to have lunch with you?" Now he just looked perplexed.

"Yes. Most people stop working for a while at this time of the day and have lunch…unless you don't."

"I usually just forget," Q said sheepishly. "Then R yells at me and Eve brings me something to eat…"

"While you just drink tea."

"Something like that."

"So why don't you avoid R and Eve and come grab a bite with me? I'm sure whatever you're doing can wait for a while."

Q looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay," he said. Then he closed his lap-top, told one of his minions that he going out for a bit and then he followed James as he made his way out of MI6.

Right. So that was step one. Getting Q out of the office. Maybe he would be less formal and more like himself in a different setting. James certainly hoped so.