Disclaimer: I don't own "James Bond" or any of the 007 characters, wishful thinking aside.

Authors Note #1: I wanted to do a little OOQ wing fic and got carried away. Inspired by the following prompt: "Humans can not fix the problem because humans are the problem."

Warnings: angel!Q, mild language, canon appropriate violence, drama, angst, romance, pining, wing fic, religious themes and references, angels and demons.

Suspire

Chapter One

"I want to know where they're taking him. Now!"

The footage of Bond being dragged across an underground parking lot somewhere in Khartoum, limp and bleeding, played on a loop in the deepest reaches of MI6. Muting the room with worried horror as M breathed down Tanner's back. Trying to anticipate where they were taking him.

"Humans can not fix the problem because humans are the problem," he murmured raggedly, breathing hard as the condensed emotion of the room threatened to take him down with the conflicting high of a successful mission. All those hormones, pheromones and chemical receptors all mushed together. Everything humanity considered itself evolved from, but in truth couldn't be more chained to.

It was a tired mantra. And his first memory. A lesson that gave him comfort as much as it had turned into something to rail against. Hissing bitterly at an empty sky, now devoid of any guiding presence. Angry that such wise words now encouraged darkness and vice for all.

And yet, there were those who still fought. Those who believed all was not lost. Those who'd abandoned their grace to fall and fight on mortal shores.

Like many of his brothers and sisters, he'd plummeted to Earth for the final stand.

A strange mimicry of the Holy Son's sacrifice made new in angelic flesh.

And so, they waited and fought. Cultivating light where they could as humanity carried on. Oblivious that the battle for their souls had never been more real.

Because God was dead.

That was the reality they were left with.

God was dead, and darkness approached their father's favorite creation. Seeking to corrupt mankind from the inside, just as it always had. But now with more power than anyone had seen since the beginning. Long before he'd been born to serve the divine host.

"Humans can not fix the problem because humans are the problem," he repeated, fainter this time and far more ruined. Bracing himself against the desk as his shoulders itched. Wings aching to be free. Fingers draining color until they glowed bloodless-white. Until the pre-fab pulp of the desk whinged a warning and he jumped back. Startled and embarrassed. But no one spared him a glance. Too engrossed with finding Bond and getting the rest of the extraction team safely away with the Ambassador and his family.

He shook himself, hunching his shoulders like a bird of prey before letting them drop again. Pushing back the phantom itch as he looked around the room carefully. Making sure he wasn't noticed as he melted into the backdrop. Exiting seamlessly through the sliding panel hardly anyone knew of and even less used. Needing to get away.

It had been a long time since he'd lost control.

And even longer since-

He set his glasses to the side as he hurried into his private office and locked the door behind him. Nose twitching at the light skiff of dust. A reminder that the space was rarely used as he tended to favor the labs. He turned on the computer as he combed a hand through his hair. Restless and pacing as the systems booted up. He checked the cameras in the labs. Watching as R and E typed feverishly at their stations. Re-positioning the satellites to find Bond's tracer.

They wouldn't find it. Just like they wouldn't find the last part of the recording. Where the leader had looked up at the CTV camera with blood red eyes. Showing his real face for a fraction of an instant before the camera hissed to static.

To an angel, all demons looked much the same.

And now Bond was going to die at their hands.

Just another causality in a war humanity didn't understand.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. And for a smattering of moment, entertained the idea of leaving the matter there. Wondering what would happen if he aided things through purely human means. He could go back to the Command Center and do his best to find Bond. To get another extraction team to his location. To skirt the line he'd been walking since before 007's ancestors had made little more than a footprint on this planet. Strictly speaking, that was what he was supposed to do. To leave mankind to its own.

But he wouldn't.

Obviously.

Where Bond was concerned, he was irrevocably and wholly tainted.

Normally, he could trust the man to take care of himself.

But this was no normal kidnapping.

Against a demon, Bond would be little match.

No matter what he might claim.

His interference was essential if Bond was to survive.

There was no other option.

He grabbed his tablet and typed a quick message. Covering his tracks in case he was missed. Informing M and R he was looking into a new lead and would be in touch if he found anything. Ideally, he'd be in and out before they noticed he was gone. Before Bond knew there had been any outside interference and he could quietly gloat to himself when 007 trotted home like the entire thing had been under control from the start.

He huffed a strained laugh at the thought. Quickly grabbing the holstered Glock he kept under his desk before shrugging his shoulders and bowing his head.

It had been a long time since he'd done this.

He exhaled, preparing himself. Hands loose at his sides, palms supplicant and bare.

How long, he couldn't remember. Centuries at least.

His eyes eased closed, calling on the Heavenly Chords.

Trust Bond to be the reason why.

His lips twitched upwards in a thin, phantom smile as the air charged electric, prickling his skin like a welcome.

Then - between a fraction of a blink - he hushed out of sight with the wafting curl of burnt ozone, chamomile and feather-dust.

A/N: Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think. There will be more to come.

Reference:

- Suspire: to sigh, to breathe.