"Before you go to that funeral, James, you need to know something," Q said quietly.
James looked up from where he was checking his gun and packing his bag for Italy. "Yes?"
Q slowly moved over to James and crouched between his knees, looking up into ice blue eyes. "I don't know that there's magical involvement here, but I do know that this mission is likely to take all of your particular skills." Q hesitated, and cleared his throat. "All of them."
James leaned forward and kissed Q's forehead. "We already discussed this, Q. No unnecessary honeypots."
"I'm very much afraid that this one will require some very necessary honeypots to be successful," Q admitted. "Sciarra's widow, for example, is highly unlikely to be cooperative-unless you factor in that she's not shared a bed with her husband for years."
James leaned his head against Q's. "Harry, darling, you're my bonded. My mate. My partner in life."
"And as your partner, knowing what you're potentially facing here," Q trailed off, then firmed his lips. "You have my permission to do whatever it takes to come home safely to me. Whatever is necessary to reinforce your position. Lie, cheat, steal, seduce. And come home."
James sealed the bargain with a kiss.
IMBM
Q opened the door to his hotel room to see James with Madeline Swann. "007?" he asked softly.
James subtly wiggled fingers, and Q wandlessly stunned Madeline.
"She knows how to get the information we need to get to Oberholzer," James said rapidly.
"You'll need to play along, then," Q said, pained.
"I don't think she'll go for seduction, but …"
"If she's on the wrong side, James, you might have to allow her to seduce you."
IMBM
"You'll never recognize faces again," Oberholzer cackled.
James kept working on the Omega watch Q had slipped him, trying not to panic at the thought of not recognizing his own bonded when the torture was over, when he felt a pulse of Q's magic flood him. He grimaced for effect, even as his heart sang with the reinforcement of Q's love and strength. Channeling his anger, he addressed Madeline with words meant for Q: "I'll always recognize you."
IMBM
James walked away from Madeline's half-hearted break-up speech to quietly whisper in Q's ear. "She's not on our side, is she?"
Q gave a subtle shake of his head. "You might need to prolong this mission to see what her real goals are. But they're not magical. She doesn't have a magical signature, so I can't do anything."
"The old-fashioned way, it is. Let's take care of this threat first, shall we?"
IMBM
Q watched his bonded enter the garage, looking for the vehicle with which he was meant to drive off into the sunset with the woman he now could only think of as the Mark. To think otherwise disturbed his magic.
"Q," James said quietly as he approached.
"Driving off into the sunset, then?" Q asked rudely, then paused. When James said nothing, Q blew out a breath. "I suppose that was unfair."
"Say the word, darling, and this entire mission is scrapped." James feathered a hand across Q's face before running his hand through the messy dark locks of hair. "Nothing is worth risking our bond over."
"She knows more about SPECTRE," Q said. "And she's right-she can disappear so that we'd have a terrible time finding her again. You need to follow through. That doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Definitely not. And I don't." James leaned in and touched his lips to Q's. "You're my everything."
Q sank into the kiss, deepening it. They kissed long minutes, reaffirming their love and bond, before Q drew back. "She'll be expecting you."
"Put a tracking charm on me," James asked huskily. "I want you to find me wherever I go."
Q channeled a bit of magic right to James' chest. "Wherever you are. And don't forget your communication bracelet. Wrap this up, James. Find out what she knows. And come home."