Sitting down on the sofa, Q looked to the clock on his phone he was holding. It was gone nine in the morning. He suspected he could expect her back in the next hour. She had been gone for an hour already. Q closed his eyes for a moment and wondered how he could possibly be tired. He had laid in that morning, enjoying the peace and quiet for once in his life. He had been busy at work in the past week and had been grateful when Friday night had rolled around.
Q moved into the kitchen after a moment, tossing his phone onto the sofa as he went. He pushed a hand through his hair, his pyjama bottoms hanging low on his hips and his baggy top coming down to the top of his thighs. He pushed his glasses further onto his nose once they had begun to fall down. As he was about to flick the switch on the kettle, he heard the door open.
Her panting breath entered his ears before he saw her and his lips quirked upwards. He looked over to her as she closed the door and tugged out her earphones, letting them dangle over her shoulders as she turned her music off on her phone and rested it on the worktop of the kitchen.
"How was your run?" Q asked his girlfriend as she nodded, gathering her breath.
Alison had taken up running almost six months ago and Q would often find that she went out early in the morning. She would take the tube to Regent's Park and do laps on a weekend. On a weekday she would run around the streets before work, but on the weekend she enjoyed the fresh air in the park.
"Good," she said, managing to gather her breath as she held up a white paper bag. "I picked breakfast up on my way back."
"Did you go to Regent's Park?" Q asked from her as she handed him the bag.
"Yeah," she said, heading into the kitchen and pulling a glass out, filling it with water. "I got the tube back and picked those up from the bakery before sprinting home."
"I remember a time when you complained about exercise," Q said to her, placing the croissants onto a plate.
Alison snorted at that and downed her water. "Well, I'm different to when I was in uni."
"Quite," Q said and handed her a plate.
She wandered into the living room of her father's apartment, pushing her trainers from her feet before plopping down onto the sofa. Q followed her, sitting down next to her. She folded her legs underneath herself, letting the plate sit down on top of her knees. She picked a part of the croissant off as Q did the same.
"Anyway," Alison said, "how did you sleep?"
"Very well," Q said. It had taken him a while to get used to sleeping in Alison's bed. He much preferred the comfort of his own bed, but ever since Bond had gone off with Madeleine the apartment had been empty and Alison had it all to herself. One benefit was that it was also closer to Q's work than his own apartment. A part of him had wondered if the two of them would move in together soon.
"Good," Alison said once she had finished chewing on a bit of the croissant. "You were falling asleep on the sofa at nine last night. Ever think you're working too hard?"
"All the time," Q said and looked to her. "But it is just a busy time at work. I have asked M if it is possible to recruit more people."
"And what did he say?"
"He was going to look into it," Q said to her. "We have the resources, I suspect, but it is a case of finding the right person. You know, working in our department requires a certain type of person."
"I know," she said to him. "So do you want to go and do something today or would you prefer to stay in?"
"What do you want to do?"
"No, no, no," Alison said, chewing down on the pastry again. "You always do this. You always ask me what I want to do, but not today. Today we do what you want to do and that is it."
"But I hate making decisions."
"You are the head of Q Branch. You always make decisions."
"And that is why I hate doing it at home." Q said to her. "Besides, whatever makes you happy makes me happy."
"Smooth," she commented and his lips quirked upwards. "Honestly, you're such a charmer, Q."
"I try," he said to her. "Regardless, I have a quick meeting today at six this evening. I have to pop out for about an hour, but I will be back before you know it."
"Where are you going?" she asked him, running a hand through her hair and tugging it free from the bobble it was held in.
"Just a work thing," he lied to her.
"Q," she complained to him and he placed his plate on the coffee table as he reached for her and took her plate from her. He held her hands inside of his, dragging her closer to him until he had managed to bundle her to straddle his lap. "It is the weekend. Why do you have to go to work?"
"Because I just need to do a quick handover of a case," he said to her. "I promise I will not be long."
He watched her as she rolled her eyes and he wrapped his arms around her waist as she held onto his shoulders.
"Don't pout," Q urged from her and leaned forwards to kiss her chastely. "I'm all yours except for an hour."
"Hmm," she hummed and kissed him once more.
Q was about to reach for the hem of her shirt when she pulled back and grabbed hold of his hands. "I'm sweaty, Q," she said to him. "Like, disgustingly sweaty."
"Well then," Q said and stood up, managing to pick Alison up too. Holding her under her thighs as she wrapped them around his waist, she let out a low laugh as he carried her. "We had best have a shower then. I need to shower anyway…conserve water."
"Very environmentally conscious of you," Alison said sarcastically.
"Oh, I do try," Q said and kissed her again.
…
Sitting in the pub, Bond held the small glass of whiskey in front of him. He was back in London for the next few days, but he had informed his daughter that he would stay with Madeleine in a hotel. He liked his own space when he was with her. Besides, he knew all to well that the walls in his apartment were slightly too thin. He had threatened to kill Q numerous times because of them.
Speaking of the quartermaster, Bond had wondered what he could possibly want. He had called him on Wednesday and asked to meet with him alone. To begin with, Bond had been concerned about his daughter when Q had called. He was always concerned about Alison and a part of him had thought about settling down in London with Madeleine, but he enjoyed exploring. He enjoyed being in love and spending time with the woman who made him feel that. But he missed Alison.
Then again, his daughter was slowly having her own life. Things with Q were serious and she had begun teaching maths at a secondary school in London. It had been a year since Oberhauser had been apprehended and since then things had been peaceful. Bond wasn't used to it, but he was growing to enjoy it. It was what he felt he needed for the time being.
Bond was snapped from his thoughts as he looked to the man who had sat down next to him. If anyone looked at the two of them then they would probably think how out of place they looked next to each other. They were too different to be friends. Q was tall and lanky, dressed in his raincoat and dark trousers with white shirt. His hair was floppy on top of his head and he had slight stubble on his chin. Bond, on the other hand, looked slightly more weathered. His blond hair was cut neat on top of his head and he wore well tailored jeans and a blue shirt.
"Q," Bond greeted the man.
It still felt strange to Bond that the man next to him was the man he had worked with and now found at his apartment whenever he went back there.
"Bond," Q greeted him.
The bartender looked to Q as the young man folded his arms on the bar. "Can I have an orange juice, please?"
"Got it," the bartender grunted and shuffled off to pour Q a glass.
"So what is it that you want, Q?" Bond had enquired. "If it is something to do with work then you know I am retired and I don't want to come back anytime soon."
Q shook his head. "It is nothing to do with that," he assured him. "Although M does keep asking after you."
"Again, I have no intention of coming back," Bond said to the man. "So what is it that I can do for you, Q?"
"Well, you see, I have thought long and hard about this," Q said and he suddenly felt his palms begin to sweat as his orange juice was placed in front of him and he gave a nod of thanks. "I suspected that this would be the right thing to do and I thought that it would make Alison happy. Plus, I feared you might kill me if you found out from her…it is rather sensitive, after all. A part of her might be worried to tell you…because she can imagine how you might react."
Bond's brows furrowed then as he wondered what Q was blabbering on about. Eyes widening, Bond's grip on his small glass increased. "Q…you're…you best not be saying what my mind is thinking."
"What?"
"You've got my daughter pregnant?"
"What? No!" Q said quickly, voice hurried and tense as he shook his head. "No, gosh, no…well…I don't think so. She hasn't said that and we are very careful-"
"-Enough," Bond interrupted, not wanting that image in his mind as Q's cheeks reddened. "Okay, so I jumped to conclusions. Perhaps you could just tell me what you want instead of letting me guess?"
"Yes, I see," Q said, feeling slightly thrown. He took a moment to regain his composure as he sipped on his orange juice. "Well, you know that I love Alison very much. We have been together for over four years now and I can confidently say that she will always be the one for me and that is why…I wanted your permission before I asked her…"
"My permission?" Bond checked, knowing now what Q was talking about, but enjoying watching him squirm.
"Yes…to marry her…I want your permission to marry Alison."
"I see," Bond said, sipping on his drink as he took in the request from Q. He said nothing for a few moments as Q took it upon himself to fill the silence, nerves clearly taking hold of him.
"I know it is an old tradition and really Alison can make her own mind up, but it is a tradition nonetheless and I know she is your only daughter…and she…well…I hope she will say yes."
"It would be quite embarrassing for her to say no," Bond responded. "But, somehow I cannot see that happening. She loves you, much to my dismay, but she could have done worse. She could have done ten times worse than you and, despite your faults, you love her and I know that. You would do anything for her…Christ, you have done anything for her…and as much as I want to keep her cocooned or send her to a nunnery for my own sanity, I love her and I want her to be happy. You make her happy."
Q let out a shaky breath. "Is that a yes, then?"
"I suppose it is," he said with a nod of his head.
"Thank you," Q said with a genuine smile and Bond looked at the young man.
"Look after her."
"I suppose all previous warnings about breaking her heart still apply?"
"They always will," Bond said.
….
A/N: Do let me know what you think!
