This was a prompt given to me by an anon on Tumblr. This is also my first 00Q fic!
The first time Bond went to see Q to return his equipment after another 00 agent left the Q branch, the Quartermaster looked frazzled.
"It's nothing." Q had told him. The trained eyes of 007 could see the shattered remains of the younger man's beloved mug in the trash bin under his desk.
The second time Bond had an appointment with Q after a fellow 00 agent; the young man was red in the face.
"It's technical difficulties. Nothing I would expect you to understand." Q responded. But Bond could hear the strained tightness in his voice, and allowed Q to pick his favorite restaurant for their date that night (even if Bond had never developed a taste for Thai food).
By the third time, Bond noticed that the "minions" (as Q affectionately referred to them) of Q branch wouldn't look up from their desks, even the ones who didn't have anything currently on said desks. But when the 00 agent tried to open the door to Q's office, he found it locked. It had taken 20 minutes of the minions trying to bypass the lock, and finally for Bond shooting the door for it to finally open.
Q didn't seem alarmed, "The door malfunctioned. I was trying to open it when you came in." He muttered, keeping his head down. If Bond noticed the small bruises on Q's hand from where he pounded on the door, he didn't say anything.
"Perhaps you should add a bypass code, in case it should happen again." Bond nodded, making sure they were alone before running a hand through Q's hair.
The Quartermaster looked incredulously at the older man, "Do you even know what you're talking about?"
Bond smiled, a small, private gesture, "Perhaps not, but you're smart enough to figure it out."
That got a smile from Q, "You're an idiot…" he mumbled before kissing Bond.
It was the taste of salt, of tears, on Q's lips that prompted Bond to act.
The next time he went to Q branch, Q was not aware he was there. And Bond wasn't there to see Q, for once. Instead, he went to the first minion who made eye contact with him.
"What is going on with Q?" He asked, not wasting time with greeting or introductions. "Is something upsetting him?"
The poor minion tried to keep his head down, mumbling something about not knowing what Bond was talking about.
Bond rolled his eyes, "You're a terrible liar. Now," he placed his hands on the desk, leaning into the minion's personal space, "I'm sure you know who I am and what I can do in an interrogation. Now, I'd really like to not have to interrogate someone who works for Q, so why don't you just tell me what's going on while I'm asking nicely?"
"Y-yes sir." The minion gulped, shaky, "The other 00 agents…they don't take kindly to taking orders from someone as young as Q…"
That got Bond's attention. Sure, he himself had commented on Q's age when they first met, but a Quartermaster was a Quartermaster, no matter how old. Especially when he did the job as well as Q did.
"Have they been harassing him?" Bond asked, keeping his voice calm.
The minion nodded, "I believe it was 009 who broke Q's mug, and 006 who locked him in his office. Other than that…we just assumed every 00 agent was bullying him."
It took Bond a moment to realize that he had been lumped into that group, "Not every agent." He growled, gripping the desk, "So you all knew, and did nothing?"
"You're 00 agents!" The man hissed, "If they're giving the Quartermaster a hard time, just think what they'll do to nobodies like us!"
Bond took a deep breath, "Very well, you've been…informative."
With that, Bond quickly made his way out of Q branch.
He had some agents to sort out.
The next time Bond went to meet Q, he passed 006 on his way out. The other agent didn't say anything, didn't even look at Bond as he left Q branch.
But as he entered Q's office, he could see eight small cards piled on Q's desk, with Q reading the last one to himself.
"You didn't have to do that." Q told him, looking at Bond over his glasses.
Bond smiled, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
There it is! Sorry if it seemed short, it was just supposed to be a drabble. Let me know what you think!