Author's Note: This is my first attempt at writing fic for the Bondpenny ship. I love them and there isn't much out there for this pairing, so I'm giving them the good old college try. After viewing Spectre, there were some great shipper moments between the two of them, but I was mostly disappointed with the movie overall. So this fic is me trying to make it right lol. Anyway, I hope this is enjoyable.
Restless. That's exactly how he felt after a three month holiday traveling around the world with Madeleine. Three months ago, he assumed it was what he needed. Time away from everything. Britain. MI6. His past.
Especially his past.
The time off had given him time to think and even more time to drink. But no amount of vodka martinis or sex with Madeleine could ever shake the unsettled feeling. He always felt the need to look over his shoulder and couldn't sleep easily without his firearm nearby. Most people would say it was PTSD. But for him, it was his "normal".
Swann had told him that she loved him. Had told him so after three tenuous days together. He knew he had his charms, but he never truly took her seriously. She'd been through a series of what would be traumatic experiences for anyone else who didn't live this life. Even with knowing how protect and defend herself, she was still very much sheltered. So while she may have truly been sincere, it was meaningless because she didn't know him. The real him.
He never returned the sentiment. He was sure she noticed that he would only provide physical affection, but never emotional intimacy. The only woman who'd brought that out of him was Vesper and she was long gone. Another lover lost because of his past and who he was.
With Madeleine, he longed to have the same sort of peace he had found with Vesper. But he knew he'd never find that with her. And she knew it too. Only she had been the one bold enough to address the elephant in the room. He would have rather continued the song and dance. At least for a little while longer.
They were in Sydney sunbathing on Wattamolla Beach watching the the waves. He had been incredibly bored–once you've been to one beach, you've been to them all–but they'd gone anyway on her insistence to avoid the crowds of the more popular beaches.
He'd just turned over on his stomach when she'd said, "I don't think we'll ever find what it is you're looking for, James."
He chose not to respond, as usual, but this time she wouldn't just let it go.
"Why are we here? Is it simply because you were at a lose end? I'm here. But you aren't."
"I am here," he shot back, his voice filled with irritation because her words had hit their intended target.
"I may have been a bit foolish, naive even. But I've never been a stupid woman nor am I blind. You have been here with me physically, but if we're both honest, you're still in London. Still on a mission."
"And here I thought we were having a fine time," he replied smartly. "If you were ready to return to your boring life as a shrink in the cold mountains of Austria, you could have just said so."
"Don't you dare turn this around on me, James," she shot back, standing from the beach towel and gathering her things.
I could really use a drink right about now, he thought as he too stood up to collect their things, but she motioned for him to stop.
"No. Don't worry about seeing me off. I'm fully able to see myself back home."
"Don't be ridiculous, Madeleine. Let's just go back to the hotel, freshen up, and have a nice evening out. Maybe by then you'll have gotten over whatever little snit you're having right now."
It was at that moment he was happy she wasn't armed for he would surely be dead.
"There isn't a woman on this earth that will gain anything from you other than wet bedsheets and a broken heart. You're incapable of loving someone, James." She looked away briefly, her expression pained. "I won't be the one you settle for."
She'd walked away without another word.
It was almost comical how quickly he was able to move on from Madeleine. While he hadn't loved her, he did care for her. But as much as he'd hated to admit, she was right. He *had* been at a lose end and needed to get away from it all. She'd simply been along for the ride.
James had planned on returning back to MI6 to report for duty, but dragged his feet for a couple more weeks after that. He traveled aimlessly from city to city in Central America with no true destination drinking enough alcohol to have caused quite a bit of liver damage and screwing any woman who was willing. It wasn't until he'd received a message on his hotel phone from Mallory that he was needed immediately that he decided to head back... And with Mallory, immediately may have been "get here in 24 hours", but for James, that simply meant another week.
When he finally touched down in London, he went straight to headquarters, but not without one slight detour. He stopped by a local sweet shop to pick up a toffee apple for Eve. It was a bit on the nose, bringing her an apple. But an apple dipped in the city's best toffee, wrapped in clear cellophane and decorated with a bright red ribbon might be just enough to get a smile from her instead of her usual eyebrow raise and slight smirk. She was easy, yet rather difficult to read all at the same time.
He knew she wanted him. He had no issue reading signals from a woman when she was attracted to him. He'd had to admit that he wanted her too. But she liked to play coy. She always toed the line between professional and personal. He remembered the first time he'd made a move on her when they worked on the mission in Istanbul. She'd turned him down, even laughed at his advances before calling M for further instructions.
Then after that of course... she'd "killed" him. Which should have been the biggest sign to leave well enough alone, except he took it as a challenge. She was a challenge. A mystery. Intriguing even. When she showed up in China, confidently striding in his room in a under the guise of "delivering information" his interest was once again piqued. She was a beautiful woman who knew it and carried herself with quiet confidence. Everything about her was subtle but then it wasn't.
Her dress, a stunning shade of red against her sienna skin toed the line between demure and sexy. It was very her and he wanted her very naked. He'd tried. Had quickly undone the top two buttons of her top to reveal her lacy bra underneath before she stopped him from going any further.
"Keep still," she had admonished, her voice lilting with mirth.
So he had; he'd barely managed to keep his hands to himself ever since, but was always sure to invade her personal space. Just to see if she would ever show how affected she was by him outwardly. There was always this connection between them, a push-pull, but it never went beyond playful flirting, heated looks, and innuendos. So he'd kept on with the game she so obviously liked to play.
Sometimes a slow seduction gained a bigger payoff in the end.
As he entered the reception area of Mallory's office bearing his confectionary gift, his easy smirk fell as he laid eyes on the woman at the desk who wasn't Eve.
"Hello, Mr. Bond. M has been expecting you," the young brunette had said in greeting.
He briefly remembered that Eve had said that her administrative duties were only temporary and that she looked forward to returning to the field. But he thought she had decided to stick with the safer desk job for good... Perhaps he'd been wrong.
It wasn't that he was expecting her to wait for him or any such nonsense like that; he would never ask her to. But her presence, which used to be a comfort before dealing with Mallory, was something he had grown accustomed to in the short time period.
With a polite smile, he gave the young woman the apple and walked into Mallory's office to face the music.
"It's good of you to finally show up," M said, more than annoyed with the antics of the agent seated across him. "When I said you were needed immediately, I meant that." He opened a file folder on his desk and pulled out pictures.
James only glanced at the pictures, not yet interested, but waiting to hear what his mission would be. He watched as M laid out one picture after another. "Her last known whereabouts were in Versailles. We've lost track of her and she has not checked in for three weeks now."
It wasn't until M began to speak that James finally focused on the pictures. They were of Eve working undercover.
Not one to panic, however he felt very much on edge at the moment, he countered with his own theory. "Perhaps she's gone deep cover and isn't able to check in–"
"We think she's been compromised, Bond." The stern look on M's face spoke volumes.
"And when you say compromised, you mean..."
"You know what it means. She was last seen with Devlin Pine, CEO of financial conglomerate Hildebrand Global. She was undercover, gathering intel on Pine due to his connections with SPECTRE. He's slippery, always sure to keep his hands very clean, but a deeper look uncovers ties to money laundering and funding many different terrorist organizations."
James sat in silence for a moment as he absorbed the news and couldn't shake the cold feeling of dread creeping up his spine. "Why did you call me, M? I'm sure one of the other agents could have done this and have found her by now. Why would you wait after she's been MIA for nearly a month? How do you know she's even alive if she's been compromised?" Anger, an emotion he hadn't felt in months after numbing everything with alcohol, washed over him as he glared at his superior.
M looked him straight in the eyes and replied, "My gut says she's very much alive. And you're right, I could have sent other agents. I have... But those attempts were less than successful. However things are looking dire and I need you to do what you do best. I need you to go to Versailles, see what you can find, track down our agent, and bring her back in. Simple as that."
M sat back in his chair and continued. "Q has been tracking everything he can, hoping that she's left some sort of breadcrumbs but hasn't come up with much. He'll provide you with what you need." With a wave, Bond was summarily dismissed.
Bond stood from his seat and left the office without a word, not realizing that the restless feeling he couldn't shake for months, had left him. It was time for a new mission.