Bond is feeling more than a little smug as he does as ordered and makes his way down to Medical, chuckling a little as he thinks about how he finally got to fluster the cool and collected Quartermaster. He's never seen Q so unsettled, and the double-oh managed to do it twice in one day. He's just about to Medical when he hears a soft, female voice behind him.
"007? I think I must need glasses, because there is no way that James Bond is voluntarily going to Medical when he's not actually bleeding to death." Eve Moneypenny walks gracefully up to James' side, looking him over for a few moments. "Or am I missing something?" She tacks on just to be cheeky, giving her secretive, mischievous smile at Bond.
Turning to regard the woman next to him, Bond smiles a little. "And a pleasure it is to see you, Miss MOneypenny. I'm not going to Medical for myself." He explains as he looks at her. "I'm going for our esteemed Quartermaster. It seems M has had the brilliant idea to send Q to the South Pacific with me on a mission." As he talks, his previous ire over that decision comes back with full force. "You don't send a bloody department head out into the field." he grumbles, shaking his head. Part of his annoyance is because it doesn't make any sense, and partially it's concern for his Quartermaster.
Eve just smiles and nods, looping her arm through James' in a casual way to complete the journey to Medical. "Mmm. I know, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but I've seen the file, Q really is the only one who can pull it off, if things do not go according to plan. You and I both know the likelihood of that is high. Especially with you involved." She points out with a little smirk. "I can't wait to hear how you deal with Q on a plane. I told you he was afraid of flying."
"Which is why I am going to Medical to see what they can give him. They can't knock him out completely, because we need to change flights at least once, and I am not going to cart his skinny arse across the airport." James grumbles, shaking his head at the very thought of carrying Q around anywhere.
Tilting her head back, Eve laughs loudly at that mental image. "Oh, I would love to have a picture of you carrying Q, though." She says with a bright grin. "You know... I heard you'll have to pose as a married couple. How are you an Q coping with that?" She asks, that same mischievous look on her face.
Becoming a little wary at Eve's interest, Bond watches her closely for a few moments as he tries to figure out her intentions. "Yes, we're going to have to pose as newlyweds. And I, for one, am doing just fine, it won't be the first time I've had to use this sort of cover. And I'm going to enjoy pushing Q's buttons." He admits with a sly grin, bordering on predatory. "Q, on the other hand, isn't dealing as well. He's going to have to get used to it fast if we're going to pull it off. He's not the best liar or actor in the best of times, and if he jumps every time I reach out to touch him, people are going to start thinking I'm abusive." He points out with a shake of his head. "I guess I'll have to start acclimatizing him between now and when we arrive at the resort." he says with another low, amused chuckle.
"Oh, you are a wicked, wicked man, Bond. You shouldn't tease that poor boy, you're likely to end up with him half in love with you at the end of your trip." Eve warns, shaking her head as she steps into the main area of Medical, just then bringing up her free hand which has some folders in it.
For a few moments Bond allows himself to consider that possibility, having the calm, collected head of Q-branch in love with him, allowing him to find out if there's any sparks beneath the icy exterior that he can fan into flames. Oh, no, that would not be such a bad thing at all. "I highly doubt that will be the case, Miss Moneypenny. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find a way to medically calm my new husband." He jokes with a broad grin, letting her go before he heads toward one of the doctors.
Laughing a little to herself, Eve shakes her head, spotting who she needs to talk to, but she can't help but call after Bond. "Make sure no one else hears you say that, the rumor mill will start going crazy!"
Bond gets a few things for Q and then turns to head out of Medical as quickly as he can, never liking the place or the smell of disinfectant that always lingered there. To him it smelled of sickness and imminent death, something he's tried to avoid as long as he can remember. And while he may get shot at or blown up, he very, very rarely gets actually sick. When he returns to Q-branch, the minions suddenly try to look very busy. The young genius is where Bond left him, sitting at his desk. So he decides to start his acclimatization, and walks around, putting his hand gently on Q's back, thumb and forefinger curled around the base of his neck lightly. "Will we have any interesting trinkets for our trip?" he asks conversationally, dropping a plain white paper bag on the desk next to Q's hand.
Startled out of what he was doing by the hand on him, Q stiffens instantly and blinks a few times, looking up at the double-oh with a curious expression. "I intend to make trackers built into our wedding bands in case we get separated. There's the usual gun and radio of course. Though I'll be selecting a gun for me as well." he explains, before he turns back to his computer, trying to go through some of the intel.
"Do you even know how to fire a gun?" Bond asks skeptically as he watches Q, noticing the younger man quickly gets used to the hand on his back, or is at least ignoring it, so he starts to rub lightly at the muscles. "Bloody hell, you're tense, Q." he says in surprise as he notices the stiffness of his muscles, and instead he moves around to the back of Q's chair, resting both his hands on Q's shoulders before he starts a gentle shoulder massage through the cardigan and button-up that the younger man insists on wearing.
"Well, that is a hazard of working hunched over a workbench or at a computer." Q says quietly, letting out a little sigh as his neck starts getting rubbed, then he stiffness when he feels Bond behind his chair. "What the bloody hell are you doing?" He asks in alarm. Normally he wouldn't allow anyone to touch him like this, but he does realize what 007 is doing. He is a genius afterall. He knows that he'll have to get used to some touching and closeness with the man if they're going to be a couple. Of course, the fact that the agent apparently has magic fingers doesn't hurt either, and before he can say anything more, Q groans and drops his head forward, hands stopping on the keyboard, sliding off the desk into his lap.
Looking and feeling rather smug, Bond continues the firm massage. "You need to stretch once in a while." He mumbles, but he continues to work out the knots of Q's shoulder and neck. "Or you could just let me keep doing this for you." He decides to up the ante a little, lowering his head to speak much closer to the younger man's ear to judge his reaction.
"007, we are not on the mission yet. While I appreciate what you're trying to do, please try and keep it professional." Q says, reverting to his cold self as he pulls away from Bond a little, turning his head suddenly to sneeze several times into his elbow. "Well. That was certainly interesting." He says before shaking his head a little.
The sneezing makes James stop his massage, and he looks at the man with concern for a few moments. "Are you alright?" He asks with a slightly amused arch of an eyebrow.
"Yes, yes. It's just a sneeze, Bond." Q says with a little shake of his head, confused as to why the agent is reacting like that. "I think you had better go. I do have work to do, unlike certain double-ohs." He says as he removes his glasses to clean the lenses, before he slips them back on, glancing up at Bond. "I will see you tomorrow, 007." He says as a clear dismissal.
Bond smirks a little. "I think you had better get used to calling me James. Oh.. I got you that medication for the plane." He says as he taps the white bag, narrowing resisting reaching out to ruffle the younger man's hair. "Good evening, Q." He says as he turns and heads out of the office, thinking about the handsome young man who he's going to have a few days to charm, see if he can't get beneath that armor.
Q sighs a little, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment, feeling fatigued suddenly. But he has too much work to do, too much intel to go through and also too many things to organize. He glances over at the couch he has in his office, checking the time.
"Just a quick kip, then back to work."
I hoped this chapter would be longer, but I'm still trying to work out a few things in my head. How long will Q be able to hold out against Bond's flirting? And exactly how WILL Q deal with the flight? Look forward to it!
I hope you all enjoy it so far, I know it's a bit slow and a little rough around the edges, but I hope you'll continue to follow Q and Bond's journey and mission!
Reviews/comments welcome, thank you!