To most people, if they talk to a couple and one of the pair looks decidedly unhappy about the topic of conversation, they would try and steer it to another subject or leave the couple alone altogether. But apparently James Bond puts out an air that he wants people to talk to them, and of course monopolizes attention so that people do not pay as much attention to the curly-haired brunette under his arm. And this is something that Q is learning annoys him quite a bit, especially since the person ignoring him is Bond's 'usual' type. And while he would be ok if Bond were out on a mission and had to seduce a mark, he is not ok with it when he is sitting right there. Flirting is not necessary for this mission, and since his input is not required, he sharply pulls his hand away from Bond and turns his head to look out the window, intent on ignoring the two.
The waitress just laughs a little at Q, as if he were some adorable, but dumb pet or kid. "He is adorable, I can see what you must have seen in him when you two met." She says toward Bond, finding him the more attentive and attractive of the two. She knows they're married, but flirting often gets her bigger tips, and it's obvious to her that Bond swings both ways as it were. "Wow, only a year and married, that's not much time.. I mean, I'm sorry, that sounds awful.. I just meant, it's great that you guys had such a connection, that you knew you wanted to spend the rest of your life together after so little time. What made you come here?" She asks curiously as she motions around curiously.
For a moment James looks over at Q, not exactly sure what happened to cause such a reaction from the younger man, but it's obvious even to the double-oh that the brunette is in a strop about something. But then the waitress is talking again and he smiles politely as he looks at her, considering her for a few moments and putting a few things together. "We wanted to get away from London, far enough away that we couldn't be called into work.. and I thought Quinton could use some sun." He says with a little smile, stroking his thumb along the brunette's neck for a moment, briefly frowning when the younger man pulls away from the touch and sits forward on the table a little. With a small sigh, James realizes he needs to get rid of the waitress. "I'm sorry, it was lovely to talk, but we are rather hungry, and Quinton has just gotten over a cold so I don't want to keep him out too long." He says as he glances toward the kitchen door, then back at the waitress.
"Oh, of course! I'm so sorry.." The waitress says with a little laugh, "I'll put this order right in." She reassures as she turns and heads back toward the office.
"If she's sorry, I'm a bloody walrus." Q grumbles, shifting away from James a little. And yeah, he's sulking, and blowing things out of proportion, but he's still feeling a little insecure about everything. And the realization that maybe he's been a little unfair has him looking down at the top of the table before he reaches out for the tea that he had ordered, taking a slow sip of it before staring down into it.
Once the waitress is out of ear shot, James turns more fully toward Q, watching him for a few moments. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do I have to guess?" He asks, voice sharper than he means it to be, and he regrets it when he sees the younger man's wince, shoulders drawing forward a little. Instead of retracting his question, he reaches out slowly, and rests his hand between Q's shoulder blades, relaxing a little when the boffin doesn't pull away from him, and instead he rubs a small circle on the man's back.
Sighing a little, Q puts both hands around his mug of tea, then he shakes his head, glancing over his shoulder at the agent for a moment. "It's nothing for you to worry about, James. My own issues. But I'm not terribly hungry anymore, perhaps you could get one of those takeaway boxes for my food." He is not regretting them sitting on the same side of the booth with him trapped between the window and Bond. "Please let me out, James." he says as he sits back, not looking at Bond, just waiting to be allowed out of the booth.
"Oh, no." James says with a shake of his head. "No, you're going to tell me what that was about, I'm not letting you run away. I need to know what happened, this is going to be bloody hard enough without you lying to me." He says, sliding his arm around Q's waist and pulling the younger man close to his side, turning himself in the booth so he's looking at the boffin more closely. He leans in slowly, kissing the side of his head, then tilting his head slowly and leaning in to kiss his neck softly and gently nuzzle against him.
A small sound comes from the young brunette, in the back of his throat, before he slumps a little against James. He closes his eyes and sighs, but doesn't object to the attention. "I'm just.. being insecure." He admits, making another frustrated noise. "I am not a bloody 15 year old girl. I shouldn't let something so simple affect me." He mutters, before he turns to looks over at James. "To clarify, I do not have a problem with what you'll have to do on missions." He says in a firm tone as he looks at the older man. "I suppose I am a little resentful and perhaps a little jealous when it is happening when I'm sitting directly beside you. And we are bloody married." He says in a soft tone so that they can't be overheard, looking down at his hands.
Bond sighs a little as he puts both arms around Q for a moment before he lifts one hand and lays it against the younger man's cheek, leaning in and giving his lips a soft, tender kiss. "Q.." he whispers softly afterwards. "You're going to have to explain to me why someone as gorgeous and sexy as you can be so insecure when it comes to how attractive you are, yet so confident in every other part of your life." He says quietly, thumb stroking over the pale skin of his 'husband'. "Not until we get someplace more private, though." he says softly, giving Q a little squeeze, before he leans in and gives him a few more soft, reassuring kisses, using his considerable experience with providing physical comfort of all kinds to help calm down his boffin.
For a few moments, Q allows himself to relax, forgetting where they are, he simply leans into James and responds in kind to the kisses, one hand resting in the middle of the agent's chest, bracing himself to keep him from falling over into the older man's lap. "Fine. I'll explain it later." He says quietly, refusing to believe he sounds at all mollified by the kisses or the attention in general. Of course, he remembers where they are, and he blinks a few times, slowly turning a startling shade of pink as he leans back away from James, looking away from him and folding his hands almost primly in his lap.
Disappointed when Q pulls away from him, James doesn't make to stop him, keeping one arm around him though. When the waitress returns, he looks apologetic. "I'm sorry.. could we get this boxed up to take back to our room? Quinton isn't feeling very well again, and I'd really like to get him back." he says as he strokes the younger man's side slowly.
The waitress blinks a few times, and even though she might be a little put out, she smiles sympathetically and nods. "Yeah, of course. I hope you feel better, Quinton." She says to the pink-faced man before she turns to head back to the kitchen.
After they get their food in a plastic bag, James slips out and takes Q's hand in his, giving it a little squeeze as they step out of the restaurant and head back toward their room, remaining silent on the way there. When they arrive, he takes the food out and puts it on the coffee table, getting them both bottles of water, while Q does a sweep of the room for bugs since it's the first time since the night of the mission that they have both been out of the room at the same time.
"Clear." Q says afterwards, taking one of the bottles of water from Bond before he sits down, only to be immediately pulled up against the double-ohs side. He only sighs and shifts a little so that he can lean more comfortably around the other man, toeing the sandals off beside the couch before he picks up his food and eats slowly.
Before eating, James turns on some quiet music, remaining silent throughout the meal. When he notices Q is done, he puts his box down and takes the one from the young boffin, putting them aside on the coffee table. "Alright, Q.. Time to tell me why you don't seem to realize how ridiculously attractive you are. I understand why you may be insecure about my feelings toward you. I get that." He says as he runs his hand through Q's hair slowly, then runs it down over the soft skin of his neck, manhandling him around a bit until they're facing each other a bit more comfortably. "Tell me the rest." He says softly, before he places a few more soft kisses on those tempting lips.
Q hums a little through the kisses, enjoying them and resting his hand along Bond's kiss as he lets them linger for a few moments, not wanting to explain but knowing that he has to. Finally, he leans back a little from James and sighs, removing his glasses to rub at his eyes. "As you've so often observed, James, I easily fit into the category of boffin, nerd, geek, whichever phrase that you wish to apply for it. I have always been like this. Even in school. You were relatively popular in school, into sport I imagine. I was not. I do hope you weren't too cruel to the less popular in your school, I would be most disappointed. Let us just say that being bisexual or gay in my school was also a black mark against you. I do not have the dating record that you do, James. I have had very few partners in my life, though I am not wholly inexperienced. However, I had more than one cruel experience during school and University which led to me being the man you see before you." he glosses over the worst of it, not wanting to go into the details but assuming that Bond will get the general gist of it. And because he's still feeling a little tired, he cuddles down against the strong chest of the agent, putting his glasses aside so he can nuzzle down into the man's neck, feeling a little clingy and cuddly at the moment.
Not seeming to mind, James listens and he nods quietly. "Yes, I was rather popular in school." he admits with a little chuckle as he remembers all the skirts he chased and got into, honing his charming skills even then. Sliding both arms around the younger man, James holds him close. "I see." He says slowly as he takes in the new information, incorporating that into what he already knows about Q. It does make him feel a bit good when the genius seems to seek comfort from Bond by cuddling in so close, so James just pulls him close, stroking his back slowly and then sliding one hand up under his shirt to stroke the soft skin of his back. "I wish I could explain to you how I see you, Q. How you've spoiled me. I've had dreams, God, such dreams about you, the kind I haven't had since I was a teenager. And some scenarios that I very much hope we can explore one day." he teases with a small grin, kissing the side of his head. "You've quite snuck up on me since that day at the National Gallery, Quartermaster." he says softly with a smile, shifting a little to pull Q's head up, looking into those gorgeous eyes before he places another lazy, slow kiss on his lips.
This whole conversation has left the young genius feeling rather vulnerable, which makes him cling to the affection a little bit, allowing the kiss to develop into a proper snogging session after he shifts to get slightly more comfortable. But soon the lazy kisses turn a little less lazy, and deepen. Bond taking the initiative and pressing Q back against the couch which the brunette doesn't object to at first, at least until the first brush of James' tongue against his lips, and then he realizes that he really ought to stop this before he leads James on, so he braces both his hands on the agent's chest, flexing his fingers and enjoying the feel of that for a moment before he applies pressure.
As soon as he feels Q starting to push him away, James pulls away from the kiss, breathing deeply as he looks down into the slightly unfocused green eyes of the man below him. "What is it, Q?" he asks softly, licking his lips as he uses his amazing self restraint to keep from just diving in for another kiss and ravishing his mouth.
For a few moments, Q just breathes, closing his eyes and arching his back briefly to get more comfortable before he settles down, licking his lips and finally looking up at James. "As much as I enjoy a good snog, and as much as you have proven your skill in that area, you are going to have to have to work a bit harder if you want more than a snog form me." He says in his best haughty tone, which isn't that great, but he is trying to keep himself from shagging James senseless. Slowly, he lifts his head and places another soft kiss on James' lips. "Lets go for a swim." he offers softly, then he grins a little. "And you can show me how good a Navy boy takes to water." He offers playfully, though is still trapped by James above him.
A small groan comes from James when he hears those words coming from lips that, at the moment, he wants nothing more than to return to and ravish thoroughly. "Bloody hell, Q, you're going to kill me.." he groans as he drops his head down against the younger man's shoulder for a moment. At the challenge however, James grins slowly. "Oh, just you wait.." he says with a little laugh, kissing him firmly for a moment before he pulls away and gets up, stretching a little. "We should change, then.." he says as he pulls his shirt off over his head, looking down at Q with a small smirk before he saunters off to the bedroom, already undoing his pants, not caring if Q watches or not.
Putting his glasses back on so he can enjoy the view, Q turns to watch Bond walk away, enjoying the play of the strong muscles under his skin, feeling his palms itch with the desire to touch and explore. 'And he says I'm trying to kill him', he thinks to himself as he slowly gets up to follow.
Vulnerable Q. Will he ever be confident with Bond in public? I think James needs to work on his confidence in private first. ;) Don't worry, Q will get some of his confidence back and get revenge on James for embarrassing him in public. :D
Hope everyone is still enjoying this! There is something about Q and Bond I am still loving writing. So much so that I am going to be posting the start to yet Another OOQ fic soonish, called When the Dust Settles, please check it out!
Reviews/comments encouraged, and very, very welcome! Thank you!