I am so sorry for not updating yesterday! I was so exhausted after I finished the update for my other story that I went straight to bed. So here is one for you, with more Mycroft! I may have to update every-other day now, until Sunday and then get caught up. This Christmas week is going to be kind of hectic.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter! If you have any suggestions/comments, please leave a review! I love seeing reviews in my inbox. :)
Q's statement proves true enough, dinner passing with relative ease shortly after. At least relative ease for James. Q seems to be more tense, and James does what he can to distract the conversation from him. the food is as good as he's ever had at the fancy hotels he's been to, and he move easily through the conversations. After the dinner, everyone starts moving toward the parlor, and he stays with Q, until they get in the hallway and then he parts from him after getting direction from Q to find the bathroom
By the time he returns to the right room and locates Q again, it seems he's been cornered by Mycroft though the middle Holmes brother and his date are nowhere to be seen. Q looks furious, so Bond moves over quickly, touching his back lightly. "Is everything alright here?" He asks, going a bit alpha-male maybe, feeling protective of Q.
This is not the time to try and coddle Q however, he's nearly vibrating in anger as he glares at his older brother. "Everything is find now, James, thank you. Why don't you stay, have a drink and a chat. I'm going back to the room." Stiffly, he turns toward the closest door, wanting to be away from Mycroft.
Confused and not wanting to let Q go before he gets some answers, Bond reaches out and grabs his arm. "Wait, what's going on, are you alright?" He asks in a quiet tone. He actually is a little hurt when Q jerks his arm out of Bond's grip and gives him a glare, shocked at the younger man's behavior.
Q's look softens a little as he sees the expression on Bond's face and he takes a deep breath. "I just... need to be alone for a little while. I'll be fine." He says, putting his hand in Bond's for a moment, giving it a little squeeze before he stalks off.
Once he's gone, Bond slowly turns around, looking at Mycroft steadily, who was still standing there, though glancing at his watch curiously. "You just never stop, do you? Is it your mission to make your youngest brother's life a living hell?" he demands, trying very hard to use his words and not his fists.
Looking rather unimpressed at this little display, Mycroft examines his nails for a moment before he shifts his stance, missing his umbrella apparently, finally deigning to speak. "What I choose to talk to my brother about is none of your business, Mr. Bond. I was merely having a conversation about his very dangerous job. Mummy would never forgive me if I did not attempt to get him into a safer line of work. With his skills he could work for any corporate company he wished." He says matter-of-factly as he looks at Bond.
James sighs a little. "No wonder.. he doesn't talk about his family. Did you ever think that perhaps he is exactly where he wants to be? You have never seen him at work. His skills, his very presence has saved my life, personally, more times than I can count." he says as he looks at Mycroft. "I have seen him talking to one of his minions, managing 5 screens of information as he takes in things to help two agents." he says, keeping his voice low. "The things he thinks of, the equipment he gives us, saves lives. And you want him to sit in some cushy job somewhere what, designing security programs and whining that their computers are slow?" he asks, staring at Mycroft for a few moments before he shakes his head. "You're a bloody idiot. You don't know anything about how we work or how important your brother is to us. Do yourself a favor. Stop interfering and try and actually be happy for Ford." he says as he looks at Mycroft with disgust.
Mycroft's eyebrows go up for a few moments as he regards James. "Interesting. I wonder if the military training inspires such loyalty or if it's merely my brothers who are able to attract such people." He says thoughtfully, seemingly unaffected by James' attack. "Interesting that both my younger brothers were able to attract such loyal men." he says as he watches James curiously. "Let us hope that you can satisfy him." He says before he turns to walk away, back over to his assistant and, if the rumors are to be believed, lover.
It's a narrow thing, but James manages no to hit Mycroft, instead he walks over to where there's alcohol, downing one drink before he gets approached by Ellie again.
"Is everything alright? I saw Ford leave.. it looked pretty intense..." Ellie says as she looks at the older man who is now drinking. "You know.. getting drunk is not going to make the morning any easier.." She says as she puts her hand on his arm.
Not able to help himself, James chuckles a little, patting her hand gently. "I'm not going to get drunk. But I definitely need a drink right now. Mycroft Holmes is the most egotistical bastard I think I have ever met, and that's saying something. As far as I can tell, he doesn't care about his brothers, only making his mother happy, or making himself look better in her eyes. It's no wonder Ford didn't want to come, and I notice Sherlock slipped out as soon as he could." he says as he looks around for a few moments. "Ford wanted some time alone, otherwise I wouldn't be here at all." There's an almost sad look on his face as he twists his glass slowly as he looks down into the amber liquid of the scotch.
Ellie smiles a little and she nods quietly. "Hey.. take it from me, don't leave him alone for too long, ok? Give him an hour or so to cool off and then go track him down. Don't let him stew in his own juices too long. Hell, if you don't mind dealing with his anger you could go find him now and find a way to cool him down." She offers with a wink. "I'm sure a strapping man like yourself could figure something out." She says with a little laugh.
A small smirk is given at the girl next to him and he laughs softly. "You are a mischievous one.. but that's not a bad idea." He says, finishing his drink on one swallow, lifting her hand from his arm and kissing the back. "Thank you, Ellie." he says quietly before he turns and walks out. Thankfully he has a good sense of direction and he quickly makes his way back to their room, taking a moment outside the door before he steps inside. Everything seems to be in order, the lights are down low and Ford is easy to spot, having changed into his t-shirt and pajama pants, sitting on the bed with a tablet propped up against his knees, glasses back on his face and contacts gone. It was his Q again and it made him smile. "Oh, no." He says with a shake of his head. "You are not going to hide in your work tonight." he says as he starts to undress, not shy and hoping that he might be able to distract Q from his tablet.
"I thought you might enjoy the party a little longer." Q says in his usual cool, detached tones, continuing to work on his tablet, which probably bears little resemblance to what he purchased. He only glances up when some part of his brain registers what James is doing, in time to see him bend over to remove his trousers. He takes a moment to admire that truly spectacular arse before he sighs and looks back at his tablet.
James smirks as he hears the sigh, pulling on some pajama pants but leaving his shirt off as he walks over to the bed. "Why would I want to stay down there with strangers, when I have you waiting for me up here?" he asks with a slight smirk, before he reaches out and plucks the tablet from him, glancing down at it. "You are off of work for another.." he glances at the clock. "18 hours, at least." he says before he puts the tablet aside and slides into bed next to Q. "I know a little of what happened.. I think you need to stay away from Mycroft. He's a genuine prick." Sliding his arms around Q, Bond keeps his voice low as he speaks to the younger man, soft and soothing as he slowly starts to pull him close. He finds the genius surprisingly pliant as he tugs him to lay on the bed, pushing his knees down and nudging his legs apart so Bond can slide between them, resting his body above Q's. He's not trying to seduce the green eyed man, just focus him and keep his attention.
Normally he might not allow this behavior, but Q is too tired to fight Bond about this physical manipulation, so he just goes where he's told. While trying to put his thoughts into order, he shifts and gets more comfortable, hands resting against Bond's bare arms, and he slides them up slowly. "I hate this house." he finally says quietly. "I try to avoid my family. Why do you think I took a job with bloody MI6, gave up my name. I would rather be Q than Sherrinford Holmes for a reason." He says quietly, avoiding Bond's eyes as he talks quietly. "And this.. this year.. it's worse than ever. I brought you. I thought they would approve, because of the kind of man you are." He says before he sighs, closing his eyes, and just letting his hands slide up to James's shoulders, resting there for a moment before sliding back down, eyes finally opening to look at the older man in front of him worriedly.
A small chuckle comes from Bond's throat. "You wanted to pretend.. Before you would even let me hope to have a chance with you, you wanted to show me off. Very devious.." He says quietly as he looks at the man below him, leaning over and kissing softly for a moment, but keeping it soft and chaste. "Next year, we'll have our own little party.." he murmurs in Q's ear before giving it a soft kiss, nuzzling against him a little.
"Next.. next year?" Q asks, shocked that James is thinking ahead or planning that far ahead for that matter. He takes a sharp breath as he considers that, blinking a few times, hands grasping tighter on his arms.
James chuckles a little, deep in his throat, and he nuzzles against Q's neck, not looking at him to give him time to school his features. "I told you, if you only gave me a chance, Q, I'm more than the man you see at the office." he says quietly, kissing his neck slowly, having wanted to ravish that neck since that first day at the national gallery when Q was wearing that ridiculous parka "But yes.. next year. I hope that you'll agree to spend this New Year's with me as well." His words are spoken in between soft kisses, finally pulling himself up to look down into the other man's eyes.
Still feeling a little overwhelmed, Q looks up at James, lifting his hand to place it against his cheek softly. "Well. I was not expecting that." he says honestly, letting his hand fall down again, one leg bending a little, causing his foot to rub along the side of James' leg. "I am fairly sure we will both have to return to work by then, James. You may not even be in the country. Best not to make promises you can't keep." he says as he looks at the older man, relaxing fully now as he realizes how serious James is about their potential relationship. Oh. Maybe he should stop putting 'potential' in front of it. It sounds so very juvenile to call them boyfriends, and the very thought of it makes him start to snicker a little.
Sighing a little, James rests his forehead down on Q's shoulder for a few moments, lifting it to place a soft kiss along Q's jaw softly, his mouth open to say something, an idea he had of how they could still be together without necessarily being in the same country, when the younger man below him starts laughing and he looks rather amused. "Something funny, Q?" he asks curiously.
Q just smirks a little as he looks at the man above him, lifting his head to kiss him slowly for a moment. "Boyfriends." he says, giggling a little. "I think maybe the alcohol is affecting me a little. I don't usually drink." he says, then adds, "I was just thinking of how to refer to you, being in a relationship with you. And the thought of calling you my boyfriend was so ridiculous..." He can't keep talking as he starts giggling a little again, tilting his head back against his pillow.
Still looking highly amused for a few moments, James starts to chuckle softly. "I don't think we need to label ourselves." He says before he adds, "Knowing that you think of us as together is good, though.." he notes with a slight grin, leaning down to capture Q's lips again, letting the kiss linger and build, flicking his tongue across Q's lower lip gently, making a pleased sound when he feels the other's lips part, and he deepens the kiss.
The fact that this is the first time James has really pushed anything makes Q feel quite pleased, and amenable to whatever he might want. Afterall, James Bond is not known for his restraint, but is well known for his seduction techniques and Q has a feeling that even he wouldn't be able to stand up against those techniques. Slowly, he squirms to a more comfortable spot and slides his arms around Bond's back, stroking the bare skin, drawing meaningless designs. The kiss is deepened slightly, pressing more up into the older man as Q slides one hand into the cropped, blonde hair, his tongue coming out to brush back against Bond's for a few moments before he starts to pull back, breathing a little heavier when their lips finally part.
"I am not shagging in my parent's house."