Violet-Scented Breath
As promised, all six double-0s were waiting for him outside M's office. Bill had long since scarpered away to safety, whereas Eve, who didn't have that luxury, was looking distinctly uncomfortable even as Edie tried to distract her from the room full of killers with playful flirtations.
As soon as the door shut behind him, Q was immediately pulled into a bear hug by Alec and he gladly buried his head against his soft grey t-shirt, breathing in the scents of warm, safe, and home.
"What did Mallory say?" the blond rumbled against his curls.
"He just wanted to make sure that you lot weren't "taking advantage" of me, or some other such rot" he mumbled back, briefly feeling the man tense against him before relaxing once more.
"... I can't say that I like how he doesn't trust us with you" Alec finally said, "But I am glad that he thought to ask".
"Our mighty and benevolent leader occasionally has some good ideas, you mean?"
"Well… even a stopped clock is right twice a day, cub".
"Ouch". Q pulled back just enough to give the man a look. "He is your boss, you know".
"Sure". Alec shrugged, "Doesn't mean I have to like him though".
"You double-0s and your issues with authority".
"As if you're any better!" the blond scolded, although his roguish grin belied his true feelings on the matter.
The omega sighed and took a step back.
"Come on; I've got a ton of work to do".
Unsurprisingly, all six double-0s also escorted him to his office - Duncan and Alec in the front, Edie and Saif on either side of him, and Charlie and Milli behind - and Q briefly worried for their continued safety given how predictable they had become.
Around him, at least.
Still, he couldn't deny that it was somewhat relieving to travel from the top floor down to his branch without being winked at, accosted, or sneered at along the way. Even for all the softness that the double-0s showed him, they still maintained that intimidation factor that let everyone in the vicinity know that they were not to be fucked with.
Although it would have been nice if they'd dialled down that murder vibe once they reached TSS, as his minions were starting to look rather nervous with the six prowling predators surrounding him.
"Could you lot at least try to look a little less barbaric?" he muttered, being flashed three blinding grins, two blank expressions, and one grumpy scowl for his troubles.
"But where would be the fun in that, sweetheart?" Edie chirped, just as Milli replied, "That would be unwise at this time" and Duncan snapped, "Not until the fucking threat is dealt with, brat!"
Clearly, they were trusting no one but the pack right now - and although part of him felt that they were being ridiculous, growling at M and Eve and anyone who stepped too close, another part of him felt strangely honoured by their overprotective knotheadedness.
Which reminded him…
Pulling open the middle drawer of his desk as his agents took up different positions in his office, he reached behind the stapler and underneath the pile of sticky notes to find-
A key.
Q stared at the innocent piece of shiny silver metal in his hand.
It wasn't that he'd doubted R when she'd told him that it was still there - he'd happily trust that woman with his life any day - but there was still something… more reassuring about seeing it exactly where he'd left it with his own two eyes.
"Are you sure no one could have made a copy?" Charlie asked quietly, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"I'm not… one-hundred-percent sure" he admitted, "Only… ninety-seven-percent, perhaps, or ninety-six. For someone to have made a copy, they would have needed to be in my office without me being there, which is weird enough on its own - and one of my minions would have most certainly told me about it afterwards".
"Unless it was someone that both they and you trust" Saif pointed out, from his place on the couch, "A higher-up, for example. Someone that they wouldn't think twice to question".
Q racked his brain for any instance when someone was left in his office, unattended, long enough for them to have swiped the key and made a mould, but aside from the double-0s themselves, Eve, and R, he could think of no one - and he very very very very very much did not want to even consider for a microsecond that any of them had betrayed him like this.
He sighed and shook his head, putting the spare key to his flat back when he'd found it.
No, it couldn't have been one of his colleagues, friends, family-
He refused to believe it.
He just-
Couldn't.
"We'll find them, cub" Alec said quietly, walking over to lean back against his desk right next to him, "It might take some time, but we've got plenty, and nothing is going to happen to you, I promise".
At Q's rather sceptical look, he gave him an unfairly white smile, with just a hint of sharp canines pointing through.
"Now come on, tell me, what are you working on?"
A few hours later, after a chicken sandwich that Alec cut up into triangles for lunch, Q was starting to feel a little bit angsty.
He'd finally managed to convince Alec to go question Janssen again, even though his partner in crime was still strangely missing, Saif was stretched out across the couch with an arm thrown over his eyes as he took a midday nap, Edie had disappeared to go bother Eve again, and Charlie and Milli were sitting on the floor with their heads bowed low over a stack of pens and paper that they had pulled out from god knows where, trying to come up with a "defensive perimeter" for Q's new protection detail, as ordered by M.
Which just left Duncan, who was taking his new guard dog role far too seriously, and pinning Q in place with his stormy grey stare.
He needed a break.
They all needed a break.
Jake's flight was expected to take around fifteen hours with more than one stop along the way, so Q wasn't expecting to hear from him until seven o'clock this evening at the absolute earliest - and even then, seven London time was nine Pemba time, and his agent would still have to get off the plane, get his bags, check in at the cheap motel, and find someplace to eat - so he wasn't really expecting a check-in until tomorrow morning at least.
Which did, technically, mean that he wasn't actually required to stay by his computer for any longer today - and his fingers were just itching to destroy something and then put it back together again.
"Come on" Q said, suddenly standing up, "Let's head down to the workshop for a while".
"Why?" Duncan grumbled, even as he obediently followed him to the door.
"Because I want to take my frustrations out on something with a blowtorch and you look like you could do with a distraction".
He flashed R a smile as they passed her desk, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously at his grumpy-looking shadow.
"The whole point of tailing you, brat, is so we don't fall for any fucking distractions" he shot back, "We wouldn't be much good at protecting you if we got derailed by every single shiny fucking thing".
"Not even if the shiny thing is a blowtorch?" he asked innocently, "Or I could give you a hammer and a bent piece of metal if you prefer. They're plenty shiny".
"Q".
"003".
Duncan let out a long, heavy, aggravated sigh - sounding far too put out than what was strictly necessary.
Q wondered if he was missing Jake.
"Alright, fine" he said, pulling up a second chair in front of his own personal workbench, "How about I just sit here like a good little protectee and you can sit across from me, facing the door, like the picture perfect definition of a protector. Agreed? Agreed".
Perhaps he should go a little easier on the man.
And he did still have his taser to fix, after all.
Pulling up the original schematics that he'd drawn all those years before when he'd first decided to overpower the little device, he picked up a screwdriver and started to carefully prise off the outer hard plastic shell.
It had only been the day before the nightclub incident that he'd finally figured out why it had stopped working two weeks ago - the nitrogen gas stored in its small cylinder, the thing that was responsible for actually firing the prongs that delivered the electric shock, had leaked.
Q wasn't too bothered; he'd had this taser almost as long as he'd worked at MI6, so it only made sense that it would have started to deteriorate over the years, and it had been a rather rough and ready job first day, so it wouldn't surprise him to find that, in his haste to supercharge the taser, he'd accidentally nicked the nitrogen tank or pushed it too far out of the way, causing the gas to leak.
Thankfully, now that he'd figured out what the problem was, it was an easy fix - he just had to replace that cylinder, reconnect the wires, and it'd be good to go.
Which meant that now was the perfect time to enact stage one of his seven-day plan.
Unfortunately, however, he had no dark night and a safe bed to put this particular double-0 idiot at ease - and on top of that, whereas Jake was actually ever so slightly emotionally competent, Duncan was… well… Duncan.
"So" Q said, suddenly, before falling silent once more.
In front of him, on the other side of the desk, the man raised a solitary eyebrow in response. He really wasn't going to make this easy for him, was he?
"So" he repeated, trying - and failing - to sound casual, "Marriage… Thoughts?"
Duncan stared at him
"... My thoughts are if that's the fucking proposal I'm getting, then our marriage won't be starting off on a good note".
"What? No!" he exclaimed, horrified, dropping his taser gun with a clatter, "No! Not with- Not with me! I'm not proposing, I'm just- I mean, I was- I was just- just, uh… Wait. Hang on. Back up a second... You would've said yes?!"
He shrugged, completely unfazed.
"Maybe. I don't know. I've never been asked before".
"... 003, you do not, under any circumstances, say yes to marriage just because someone is the first person to ask!"
"But you weren't asking".
"I- Well, no, I wasn't, but-"
"Then it doesn't fucking matter, does it?" he interrupted, "If you hypothetically did ask then maybe I'd hypothetically say yes but since you're not asking… why the fuck did you even bring it up?"
Okay.
There were far too many things to unpack in that sentence.
Q decided to simply ignore all of them for now.
"I wanted to know how you… felt about the matter" he said instead, picking back up his screwdriver, "How you feel about marriage and mates and children and families and- and all the rest of that normal people stuff".
"The key fucking words being 'normal people stuff'".
"Oh come off it!" he shot back, "You can't tell me that you've never thought about it! Not even once?!"
"... Once, yeah" Duncan finally admitted, "Or- Or twice or- or even fucking three times, but- the fact remains, brat, that those are normal people shit. And the life of a double-0 is anything but normal".
"So it's your job that's holding you back?"
"Yes. No. I mean- I don't fucking know, alright?" He ran a hand through his short brown hair. "The second I got my number I knew I was giving all of that up, giving the- the fucking possibility of it up. Double-0s don't get to have families".
"Jake does" Q countered, "He has his parents - and Charlie and Saif have theirs too. Saif even has a brother, by all accounts, although just how deranged he is still remains to be seen-"
"That's different and you know it!" he snapped, "Parents are one thing - siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, whatever! But a partner? A mate? Fucking children?! That's something else entirely".
The omega carefully pulled out the empty nitrogen cylinder and began to fit in the spare.
"James and Alec are together. And Edie has that… whatever friends-with-benefits type of situationship going on with Eve. So why can't you have that too?"
"I might be bi, Q, but Moneypenny is mostly definitely not my type-"
"She's everyone's type! And don't get smart with me, mister; you know exactly what I meant!"
Dunan let out a heavy breath and finally lowered his challenging gaze.
"... What do you want me to fucking say?"
"I want you to say that you'd leap at the chance to have a partner if you were given one".
"Fine. I would. In an ideal world, where everything comes up fucking roses, I would. Happy?"
"Not yet". Q ignored the man's cut-off snarl and instead studied him closely, looking for any sort of reaction. "... I spoke to Jake about this too, you know".
He stilled, his entire frame freezing like a coiled-up spring that was about to jump... Or like an aggravated predator who was about to pounce.
"He more or less told me the same thing" Q continued carefully, "That he did want a mate, a family, but that being a double-0 didn't allow much room for that… We eventually came to the conclusion that, as long as both agents involved were never sent on a joint mission together, then things could work out pretty well".
"... Both agents?"
Q wasn't used to seeing Duncan emote, and so, he wasn't sure if what he was currently seeing on the alpha's face was hopefulness or jealousy - but he decided that the fact the usually reserved man was emoting at all could only be a good sign.
"Well, I mean, you know, he's had his eye on Charlie for a while now so-"
"Q".
The omega sighed, but then smiled, small but genuine at the look that he was being given.
"You have a chance, Duncan, for all of that normal people shit - but if you don't take it, then it'll disappear… And so will he".
"... Jake told you this?"
His voice was low, gruff, and tinged with something… vulnerable.
"I'm paraphrasing, of course" he replied, "It was quite a long conservation".
"So... So, should I… fucking… text him?"
"Text him?" Q baulked. "Text him?! No! No! You absolutely do not confess your undying love for someone over a text, 003! You wait until they're back in country and standing right in front of you, you absolute coward!"
"Confess my what?! That's not- We're not- I don't fucking-"
"Yeah, you do" he interrupted, "But fine! Whatever! Don't confess your undying love then, just… just talk to him! About what you want, about what he wants, about how you both feel. Communicate like adults, for Merlin's sake!"
Duncan's scowl deepened, but he couldn't deny the logic in Q's words. Instead, he pointed an accusatory finger in his direction.
"Alright, fine, I'll fucking talk to him or whatever! But if this blows up in my face, then I'm blaming you!"
"Blame whoever the hell you want, 003, because this is most assuredly not going to blow up in any sense of the word".
Later that evening, as he made his way back upstairs with a newly fixed taser in his pocket and a smile on his face, Q couldn't help but feel that stage one had gone rather well.
Duncan, predictably, had tapped out immediately after their little heart-to-heart and had been replaced by Charlie for the remainder of the afternoon. He wondered, briefly, what excuse Duncan had given the man to escape feeling, but in the end decided that it didn't matter; especially since Charlier - quiet, shy, lovely Charlie - had brought a truly wonderful cup of vanilla tea with him.
Either way, Duncan had hightailed it out of there, and Q and Charlie had spent the rest of the afternoon with a blowtorch, hammer, and metal.
Stepping into his office, he abruptly stopped as a familiar blond alpha turned to face him, and he couldn't prevent the wide grin that came over his face.
"James!"
From her place draped across his couch, Alexis sighed. "I'm here too, you know".
It was almost mortifying how much his face lit up as he automatically reached out for his favourite agent to hug him, but given that James readily stepped forward with that small, soft smile reserved only for him and immediately swept him up into his arms, Q didn't feel too embarrassed.
"Hello, pup" he said quietly, and the omega felt the vibrations tingle all the way down to his toes, "Did you have a good day?"
He wanted to say, well it would have been much better had you been there, but thankfully he hadn't lost all his senses just yet, and so he was able to bite down on his tongue in time.
"I finally fixed my taser" he said instead, "And I got through the rest of those bloody requisition forms too. And a meeting with M".
"Congratulations" he replied dryly, "I trust that you aren't too traumatised?"
Q leaned back only just far enough to scowl up at the man, but not enough to the point where he'd let him go.
"More importantly" he bit out, "Where were you today, 007?"
"Oh, you know" James said airly, "Here and there".
"Uh-huh. And just how many international incidents and/or explosions did you cause here and there?"
"Why Q, anyone would believe that you think I purposefully go out looking for trouble".
"Don't you?"
"Not at all" he replied seriously, despite the telltale glint of amusement in his impossibly sky-blue eyes, "In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that trouble always finds me".
"Well, at least that explains your mission files".
"Doesn't it just?"
Groaning, he half-heartedly swatted at the man before finally stepping back and turning to face Alexis.
"And how was your day, 001? Babysitting gig go alright?"
"Oh just peachy, Quartermaster" she replied smirking, even as James mock gasped in indignation, "And don't worry - there really were no international incidents or explosions caused today… Unfortunately".
"You're not going to tell me where you were, are you?"
"Nope". She popped the 'p' before gracefully jumping to her feet, "You'll find out soon enough anyway".
Alexis tugged him forward into a brief hug before heading for the door.
"See you later, hun. Oh! And, by the way, if they bite? Bite back".
Q frowned, confused, and turned to James for an explanation, but the man simply sighed, looking equal parts amused, exasperated, and annoyed.
"Come on, pup" he finally said, throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close, "Let's go home".
Home, it turned out, was very clearly not in reference to his own flat, as Q watched the turn-off for that fly past him as James drove on well above the legal speed limit.
"Where are we going?" he asked immediately.
"Home" Bond replied, before adding, "My home".
"Why?"
"Because none of us particularly like the idea of sending you back to your flat right now" he explained, "We voted".
"So I heard" Q said dryly, "And, what, you and Alec drew the short straw?"
"The short straw?" James glanced over at him with a troubled gaze, narrowly missing crashing headfirst into a businessman on a bicycle in front of them, "What makes you think we didn't draw the long straw?"
The omega studiously avoided his gaze, instead focusing on the blur of passing buildings and cars outside.
"Well… I mean… I already inconvenienced you and Alec once, only a few days ago, and- and then I spent last night at Jake's even though he had to leave super early for a mission and- and because of that Duncan had to collect me this morning and lock up and-"
"-and did it ever possibly occur to you that we like having you stay with us?"
Yes, Q thought bitterly, but I also don't want to set myself up for heartbreak.
"It's not that I thought I was putting you out or anything" he said instead, shifting awkwardly in his seat, "Or- Well, I mean, I was, but… but I know that's what… you know… that's what friends do. And that's absolutely fine - provided that it doesn't happen too often".
"Oh, and you get to decide what Alec and I consider too often, do you?"
"What? No! I didn't mean- That's not- I just-" He cut himself off and took a steadying breath. "I just mean that… I don't want to inconvenience you too much, or else you might start regretting it… I don't want to take advantage of you".
"Q" James said, and then said it again and again until the omega finally turned to him, "Q, you are most definitely without a doubt not taking advantage of us. You didn't ask to stay with us, we offered. Just as everyone else has offered every time before this… And besides, no offence pup, but you're about a hundred pounds wet - do you seriously think that you could take advantage of me or Alec even if you wanted to?"
Well.
He did have a point there.
"It's only for a few days" James said quietly, making a sharp right into an underground garage, "Just until we get your flat sorted out. Alexis and I packed you a few bags so you don't have to risk going back there tonight, and we corralled those two hairless beasts of yours too".
"Yana and Paco?" he asked, surprise taking over his temporary reluctance, "My cats? You packed my cats?!"
"Give me some credit, pup - I didn't exactly throw them in a duffle bag! I found their carrier and lured them into it with treats. They're upstairs right now with Alec, and he's probably doing something absolutely ridiculous like a cat photoshoot or knitting them both bloody sweaters!"
"... Alec can knit?"
"It's a good form of stress release" James said, shrugging, as he pulled into their designated parking spot, "And he always was handy with a needle".
Turning off the engine, the blond turned to face him more fully, and Q immediately felt pinned in place by his blue blue gaze.
"If you don't want to stay with us, if you would rather stay with one of the others, or with Moneypenny or Bill or- or even someone outside of the agency, although I wouldn't recommend it… just say so, pup, and I'll take you there right now, no questions asked" he said evenly, "But if your only reason of saying no is because you don't want to inconvenience us or because you feel like you're being a bother, then shut up, and come inside… Now. What's it to be?"
Q felt his heart race and his palms start to sweat at the pure and utter sincerity in the man's voice - and a small, distant part of his mind wondered if he was, perhaps, one of the incredibly few people that James bloody Bond didn't lie to.
"Well then" he said, "I mean, you already have my cats… And I'd hate to deprive Alec of a new knitting challenge".
James smiled, small and soft and sweet, in a way that caused the corners of his eyes to crinkle and the omega's pulse to jump.
"Well then" he echoed, "You best come inside".