"Why not?" Q asks, pouting just a little. "Don't your mission women know what they're in for? Do any of them honestly think that they can chain you down with one night of sex?" He asks, then he sighs a little. "And while we're on the subject, I am not going to ask you not to do your job, Bond. I'm just not sure I'll be able to be in your ear when you take your marks back to your hotel room." He says in a slightly apologetic look, coughing again before he turns his attention back to the table and the food spread out there.
James continues to run his hand through Q's hair, petting it at some points, burying his fingers in it at others. "Some of the girls know what it is I'm offering. Others I have to fool into thinking it's something more, or it could be something more." He says seriously as he watches Q. "But.. I am supposed to have seven days of leave for every three I spend in the field. Not that it ever works out that way for me. When I get back from a mission, you can mark me up as much as you like, as long as I'm physically up for it." he says quietly, though his tone implies there are very few situations in which he wouldn't be up for it. "And I was under the impression you never listened to me seduce anyone." He sounds amused, even chuckling a little. "I used to think it was to keep your virgin ears pure, but I'm starting to think nothing about you is virgin." He says playfully.
Nearly choking on his juice which sends him into another coughing fit, Q thumps himself on the chest a few times, before he clears his throat. "No, James, I am hardly a virgin." he scolds, looking at James disapprovingly. "No, I do try and give you double-ohs what little privacy I can, so I tend to log off during your more intimate moments, until I'm needed again." He notes as he fairly purrs at the attention he's receiving, pulling one foot up onto the chair with him, holding his leg to his chest.
"Thank you for that, Q. It's.. surprisingly good of you." James says quietly, grinning a little as he watches the young man, who looks especially young now, even if he's fairly devouring the food he put out, not seeming to realize how much he's eating. Which the agent is going to say absolutely nothing about because he doesn't want to discourage Q from eating. "As long as you understand that I have to do what I have to do out there, you don't turn into a jealous prick if I have to seduce someone to gain information or finish a mission, and you know that anything in the field, is just that. Field work. You are the one who I will come home to, Q. The one I'll always be thinking about. As long as you understand that, we can make the rest work." He says quietly as he massages the back of Q's neck.
A little uncomfortable with where this conversation is going, Q shifts in his seat and sighs a little. "I believe I can agree to those terms. But if you recall, I did not exactly agree to a full relationship with you yet, Bond. I agreed to give you a chance, and it seems you have a bit longer to prove yourself, if you arranged for us to have extra vacation time." Yes, he knows that most of that is just him lying to himself, because there is no way he's going to go back to how they were before, but because of the heavy emotional tone to the conversation, he feels the need to distance himself slightly from it. Mostly it's a defense mechanism.
It's going to be a miracle if this relationship can work given that they're both emotional cripples in a way. But Bond recognizes what Q is doing and so doesn't take the younger man's words to heart, or let it cripple his confidence in any way. "Yes, we do have quite a bit longer for me to convince you.." A low chuckle comes from him as James watches the profile of the genius next to him. "Well, just so you know what you might be getting into, then. I know how you like to be fully informed." His hand continues to stroke through Q's hair until he can't help himself anymore, scooting his chair a little closer until he can lean in and place a few soft kisses along the beautiful, long column of pale flesh along Q's throat.
"I think you have an obsession with my neck, Bond." Q says casually, having gotten used to the soft kisses and other things that he might have found extremely distracting and disconcerting before all of this happened. He doesn't let it stop him from eating, either, finally feeling full, he instead just sits back. "You could have at least made me a cup of tea." he grumbles as he licks his fingers clean of fruit juice.
"Forgive me, dear Quartermaster. How could I have overlooked that?" Bond murmurs against Q's skin for a moment, before he places another soft kiss before he pulls back, hand sliding down the back of the genius' neck before he gets up and heads inside to make some coffee and a cup of tea for the sick man on the deck.
Letting his head tilt over the back of the chair, Q sighs a little with a small smile. "Clearly, you had better learn fast, James. If you wish to stay with me after this, then you need to learn to keep me supplied with Earl Grey. Even my minions learned that in short order, so you should be able to learn as well. I understand that agents can be a little thick-headed, but it is a rather simple task." He calls back to the older man with a little smile on his face.
James can't help but grin, glad to have his Q back, the one with wit and banter, two of the things he loves about the young genius. The tea is made in short order, and he brings it out to the deck. "I am a rather fast learner." He reassures, then he runs his fingers along the skin of Q's neck, feeling how cool it is. "You shouldn't be sitting out here with it being so damp. Let me at least get you a blanket." he says as he turns and heads inside, snatching up one of the terry cloth robes that are provided instead and he brings it out, holding it up. "Come on. Stand up, get into this."
Q can't help but give James a soft smile, sipping his tea carefully before he slowly gets up, turning his back to Bond and slipping his arms into the robe, tying it in front of him before he sits back down. "You are such a mother hen, James." He says with a affection in his tone, relaxing as he picks up his tea, the coldness in his tone warming up a little, making his voice sound more like warm honey. "Now, come back and sit down, James." he says as he motions to the seat beside him. "Hard to enjoy the view without my husband by my side." He says playfully as he turns his head slightly to look at him.
Bond looks down at the ring on his hand and he laughs softly. "Well, you should definitely enjoy the view, darling." he says as he pulls the chair over to sit beside Q, putting his arm along the back of Q's chair to look out over the water. "Not very much of a view with the clouds. It's disappointing, actually." He laments as he looks around, before he looks back at Q. "And here, I was hoping you would have a nice tan line by the time we got back to headquarters." he says as he takes Q's left hand in his, looking down at the ring, twisting it a little, stretching out the younger man's fingers, thinking about how capable they are on a keyboard or working on small electronics, wondering how capable they will be in other situations.
And yes, he thinks that it will be inevitable that they will be in that situation, though he knows that he's going to have to work for it. He loves that about Q though. The fact that the young man won't just give in to his charms, the challenge of having to seduce, to convince his quartermaster to give himself over to James' capable hands. Gently, he strokes his thumb down the brunette's fingers for a few moments, finishing his examination of the man's hand and lifting it slowly to press his lips to the center of his palm in a gentle kiss.
Curious, Q just watches what Bond is doing to his hand, enjoying the gentle sensations actually as he tries to figure out what is going on in the man's mind. After the kiss, he smiles softly as he watches Bond. "You seem to have a bit of a fascination with my hands.. Do you have a hand fetish, Mr. Bond?" He asks playfully as he watches the older man.
"Hmmm.. no. Not in general. Though I may have developed a fetish for your hands, after watching you work your magic on keyboards and when I've seen you working on your gadgets." James admits quietly as he lifts Q's hand again to kiss the back of it softly. "They elegant, capable, and deceptively strong." He says quietly as he continues to look at his hand for a few moments, then looks up into those green eyes. "I can't wait to see if they can push my buttons as well as they work a keyboard." He says in a slightly more sultry tone.
Q can't help but just laugh a little, "You can't get your mind out of the gutter for a moment, can you?" He asks, but he sounds amused, and maybe a little pleased as he sips his tea, letting James fondle his other hand. "I'm afraid it will be quite some time before you find out for yourself. But I've been assured that I am an excellent lover. Very.. attentive." he says as he wiggles his fingers against Bond's hand lightly in a surprisingly graceful movement. He knows that he's teasing Bond a bit with this information, but he really can't help it.
An interested sound comes from James as he looks over at Q. "Oh, I know nothing good comes easy, Q. I know you're going to make me work for it. But one day, I am going to find out just what these hands can do, you can be assured of that.." he says with a little smile as he looks down at the hand in his, kissing it again softly. "You should know, I enjoy a challenge." he says with a small chuckle, sitting back and sliding his calloused fingers between the softer ones of the younger man.
"Oh, I assure you. It will be well worth the wait, James." Q says softly, keeping his voice soft and warm, before he coughs a little again, fingers closing around the agent's. "I hope you don't blame me for wanting to make sure this is about more than merely getting into my pants." he says quietly as he looks at James, slouching down a bit in his chair, tilting his head back against the chair, looking out over the water. "It's still beautiful, in a more melancholic way, you know. The view, that is." He vaguely motions with his free hand before it falls limply to his lap. "I hate being sick." He whines in a slightly pouty tone, rolling his head onto Bond's shoulder, curling up a little against his side, as much as he can while still staying in his chair.
Looking at his sick, somewhat pathetic Quartermaster, Bond smiles and releases Q's hand to put that arm around the slim shoulders of the brunette, his free hand taking the other man's again to gently press it against the center of his chest, letting the younger man feel James' strong, steady heartbeat.
"Just rest, Q. That is your job. Get better."
I am so glad the banter is back! I had worried that I had strayed too far one way and I wouldn't be able to get them back to this point. But suddenly Q wants to get all snooty again. And seriously, he needs to get a bit better, because I have a really super cute scene planned, but it can't happen with him as he is. I may need to skip a few days, as much as I don't want to.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this super cute chapter. I had fun writing it. And as always, reviews and comments are most welcome!