Whenever Bond is in Paris he climbs on the Eiffel Tower. For him the stark grey is a refreshing abomination compared to the rest of the city which is basically an ocean of light sandstone. He is almost thankful for any kind of modern glass architecture even if it is only built in the outskirts of the town, anything that breaks up the monotony of landscape. Of course, the Eiffel tower is also a good place to meet someone with its masses of tourists and the mixture of languages.
He watches the crowd beneath him, having navigated himself to a spot with a not so stellar view where not as many people more or less subtly try to make him go away. He sends a glare to those who still dare and is more than satisfied when they move away hastily. So he can still be menacing if he chooses even if MI6 doesn't seem to agree. Mallory has sent him on a mission that is only marginally better than babysitting a harmless arms dealer.
"If you are such a fan of crowds we could've met in the Louvre."
"Quartermaster." Bond's voice doesn't hide his surprise; he certainly hasn't expected the other man.
"Bond," comes the amused reply from the younger man next to him. They smile for a moment at each other before the agent asks, "What are you doing here? I thought you are afraid of flying?"
"There is more than one way to reach Paris. I took the Eurostar." Maybe one day Bond won't find Q's slight arrogance sexy, but this day is definitely far away.
"So you are afraid to sit in a tiny metal tube rushing through the air, but not afraid to sit in another tiny metal tube and rush underneath tons of stone and the North Sea?"
Q frowns but doesn't say anything.
Suddenly worried, Bond continues, "Or is it the height? We can go somewhere else, somewhere on ground level. I know a good bistro near Montmartre."
At this Q smirks. "A second date?"
"I haven't thought about it, but I'm game if you want."
Q simply turns and doesn't even look if Bond follows him. Bond watches him leave. Yes, definitely sexy.
The food is surprisingly good for a place in close proximity to one of Paris' major tourist attractions. It is also surprisingly empty, but Bond decides to simply enjoy his time with Q. By mutual agreement they don't talk about the mission. Instead Bond finds himself talking about his childhood and how he had found the doll as a boy. He listens intently as Q's describes his hacking into Cambridge's network which leads into an explanation how he ended up in MI6 by accidently hacking the former M's laptop via her husband's pc. Bond laughs several times at Q's dry description of his initial meeting with a furious M. And he realises that talking about her that he merely feels sadness and regret about the circumstances surrounding her death but not that all-consuming guilt.
Unfortunately talking about M reminds them both of the real reason for their being in Paris. Bond doesn't need his training to read the disappointment in Q's face as the quartermaster hands over the additional equipment and explains some changed parameters for the mission. Afterwards they both linger in front of the bistro until Q has to catch a cab to get to his train in time. Bond watches the cab slowly entering the traffic, wishing he could go with Q. The sound of a text message sets him back into motion. As he turns to get back to his hotel, he smiles at the message from Q: 'Post-mission date. Thai take-out at my place.'
Their post-mission plans are thwarted when Bond has to leave Paris for a joint mission with the CIA in Bangkok and ends up in Thailand for three weeks. Unfortunately the CIA is in control which means communication is run via Langley and Bond's only contact to London is M. He misses the chance to speak with Q but doesn't have any idea how to get into contact with the quartermaster without getting into some personal details with M.
It doesn't take him long to realise that he is the senior agent on this mission and the CIA has only sent rookies. Bond is quite proud on his patience but with every day he is stuck thousands of miles away from London, his mood gets darker and darker until he finally decides to move things along a bit faster. It has at least the effect that he can return to London and when he lands in the middle of the night in London rain, he directs the cab to Q's flat only stopping one time along the way for two portions of fish & chips.
Q opens the door almost immediately, clearly still awake as he waits in the open door. Bond holds out the two greasy bags and explains, "I'm tired of Thai food. Still a date?"
"Ah, the glamorous life of dating a double-0-agent," Q mocks but still waves Bond in.
Later, when nothing is left of the food and two beer bottles are emptied Bond stands near the window, watching some lonely pedestrians eight storeys below. He accepts one tumbler with Bourbon from Q, takes a sip.
"So, it's not the height?"
"No, it's not the height. But thank you for making me nervous on trains."
Bond smiles shortly at this, but then braces himself for his next question.
"What are we doing?"
"Dating," is Q's simple answer before he elaborates. "You know the process where you meet people and try to find out if you want to spend more time with them. Quite old-school, so it should appeal to you."
Bond doesn't acknowledge the joke, just looks at Q. "Do we want to spend time together?"
"We made it to the third date!" With this Q puts a hand on Bond's neck and pulls the agent closer. Bond feels Q's lips sliding tentatively over his own followed by an exploring lick with his tongue. He waits until Q looks him in the eyes before he closes the distance between them. The kiss starts out as a slow and sensual exploring but soon it is not enough. Their movements become heated, their hands start exploring and when Q pulls him into his bedroom Bond doesn't resist.