General consensus seems to be that Anna should stick around for a bit, hence this little prompt.

As for your other prompts, they are coming I swear! I just have to work out how to do them justice, and then we'll be in business. In the meantime, enjoy!

Assignment

Kip dexterously jiggled the doorknob to slide in sideways through the door, then closed it with his foot behind him. Walking very carefully, he wove his way through a set of mismatched chair to drop his burden onto the coffee table. The stack of textbooks made a startling bang, but he was so tired that he just blinked in surprise.

"Kip! Did you get Dr. Flescherman's thesis on geo-thermal nuclear physics?" Anna asked from the kitchen. Kip rolled his eyes. Who did she think he was?

"Of course."

"Great." She burst into the living room and tipped over the pile of textbooks, searching for the manuscript. She muttered to herself as she scattered the books into every available space. She'd already set up two whiteboards, one propped on the mantle and the other on the back of the couch. The markers seemed to have disappeared, though they might be under the pile of notebooks on the entertainment center. Dirty dishes and water bottles had sprouted up out of the mess, and Kip wasn't even sure whose socks were whose anymore.

Kip absently straightened a stack of DVD cases.

"Kip, focus! We've got to get this assignment done tonight. You can clean tomorrow."

Kip sighed. He resisted the urge to clean off a corner of the coffee table, and instead used one arm to sweep everything off. On the tiny resulting space, he laid out his notebook, his laptop, and a pen. It was going to be a long night.

Q had tried setting ground rules, but they had been pushed back and back until all he had left was his desk, a single island of clarity in an ocean of chaos. Walls that he kept clean had been posted with blueprints and sketches and photographic inspiration. His workbench was piled high with bits of electric wiring and tools, and Anna had managed to spread most of his floor with papers and notebooks.

"What do you think of this?" Anna asked, rolling a new blueprint out across his desk.

Q took a deep breath, picked up the blueprint, and moved the discussion over to a relatively clean patch of floor. Anna followed him curiously. Without missing a beat, he set in on the blueprints, discussing relative benefits of electromagnetic heat waves, and tried not to look at the rest of his office.

"It's almost midnight."

Kip didn't reply, just tried to work faster. If he wanted Anna's help finishing up this assignment, it would need to be done in the next ten minutes. Anna seemed to catch his energy, and put on a last-mile spurt of speed. When she looked up again, it was 12:03 A.M.

"Okay, that's quitting time."

Kip gripped his pencil more tightly.

"We're not done yet, Anna."

She shook her head, the messy pile of red hair clipped to the back of her head wobbling precariously.

"We can pick it up in the morning."

"You can pick it up in the morning," he corrected, still working furiously.

"You know the rules, Kip. Midnight, I'm done."

Kip swallowed his retort and just shrugged. "Alright, then. Goodnight."

"You should go to bed, too. You won't get yourself anywhere if you burn yourself out."

"I'm almost done." It was a lie. He had at least an hour of work left, if Anna went to bed. But he would be damned if he was going to leave a project unfinished. Anna chewed her lip, then sighed.

"Alright, fine. Just this once, Kip."

His mouth nearly quirked up in a smile.

"Thank you, Anna."

Q's employees started trickling to report near the end of the day. Abbey updated him on her progress with 003's new tracker; Everett had spent the whole day on paperwork that now needed his signature. He spoke with each momentarily before sending them home, and by the time Kade popped in to say he was leaving, it was nearly midnight. He eyed Anna silently.

Finally, she noticed his attention.

"It's three these days," she informed him dryly. Q's mouth dropped into a tiny O of understanding. It made sense. Being Quartermaster had pushed him harder than being a university student ever had; it stood to reason that Anna had been pushed the same way.

They worked in companionable silence until 2:45 AM. Then Anna started packing her things up.

"You coming, Q?"

"Ten more minutes," he asked absently. Anna dropped her purse back onto the chair and came to stand behind him.

"Alright," she agreed. "Ten more minutes. What've you got?"

Leslie came home shortly after midnight, more than a little drunk. She did remember to lock the door behind her, though, before dropping gracelessly into an armchair.

"Watcha doing?" she slurred.

"Working," Kip replied tersely.

"What on?"

"Homework."

Anna paused in her work to watch them, back and forth, ready to jump in if necessary.

"You think you're so smart," she accused cheerfully. Leslie was always her most cheerful when she was drunk.

"So does everyone else," he replied blandly.

Leslie raised her eyebrows, affronted. "Well, I don't! I don't think you're smart! I don't, do I, Anna?" She tried to enlist her best friend's help.

Anna made the best of her opening. "We're trying to get this done, Leslie. Why don't you go to bed, and I'll bring you in some water, okay?"

Leslie scowled. "Fine, take his side!" She staggered to her feet, sabotaged by her heels. She left, though, and as soon as she did, Kip's breath came more easily. He didn't stop to give her a real 'thank you,' but he did shoot Anna a look. She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.

Q seriously considered getting another lock on his door.

"What do you need, Bond?"

Bond ignored him. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered over to where Anna was working, watching her solder a complicated framework of thin metal. She didn't pay him any attention, but Q could see her shoulders get tense.

Q cleared his throat. He'd been politely ignoring the fact that Anna and Bond had been sleeping together for nearly a week now, but Anna was infamous for not mixing business with pleasure. She said it made her feel unprofessional at best. Normally, Q tolerated the belligerent agent wandering in and out at all hours, but not if it was going to affect Anna's work. He cleared his throat. Bond shot him a surprised glanced, as if checking to see if he was alright. Then he turned back to watching Anna.

There was a time for subtlety, and this was not it. Q laced his hands on top of his desk and turned his full attention towards Bond's back.

"007, we're working. If you need something, please tell me. If not, please remove yourself from my office."

Both Bond and Anna turned to face him, surprised.

Q could see Bond struggle momentarily, trying to decide whether to continue annoying his Quartermaster, or leave well enough alone. Finally, his dubious sense of self-preservation won out.

"Very well, then. I can tell where I'm not welcome." He said it so sarcastically that Q wasn't even vaguely worried that he was actually offended.

Anna watched him go, then caught Q's eye.

"I get the feeling I'm going to pay for that later," she quipped.

Q tried to look sympathetic, but couldn't quite manage it, and Anna laughed.

"Thanks anyway, though."

Q rolled his eyes, then smiled.

Some things never changed.

As always, I hope you enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.