[Fic] all the things you are -- part v + vi (a series of Mallory/Q drabbles)
Fandom: James Bond
Characters: Gareth Mallory, Q, James Bond
Pairing: Mallory/Q
Rating: PG
Word count: c.1600 (these parts)
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.
A/N: From this promptcentral able. Ten drabbles in this post, one per prompt.
***
042: report
M is ready to throw the stacks of reports and files on his desk right out the window when there's a knock on the door, and Q sticks his head into the room.
"Thought you might need this," he says, holding up the cup of tea and closing the door behind him.
"Maybe I should have made you my secretary," M teases, taking the cup and closing his eyes when he takes a sip, savouring the wonderful flavour that Q always manages to get just right. "Thank you, Q."
"You're welcome," Q replies, sitting on the edge of his desk, his own mug in his hand. "Eve sent word, said you might be needing this."
"She is far too useful to just be a secretary," M agrees.
Q gestures to all the papers. "What is all this?"
"Mission reports, performance assessments, and letters of apology to all the important people who sent complaints that Bond upset on his last mission. Mostly the latter. You would not believe the hassle he causes."
"Oh, I don't know," Q says darkly, "He's still insistent that every prototype I give him that ends up destroyed is a complete coincidence."
"Collateral damage." M points to one of the thick files. "That's what he said in his report. He has an uncanny talent for bullshit, I've discovered."
"Damn right he does. He's an actual menace."
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091: recruit
He's read the files, so even though Q never talks about how the old M recruited him into MI6, M still knows. There are gaps in the information, missing points that M is sure aren't simply accidents, but he doesn't question it.
Their trust in each other builds over time, though it's difficult for both of them to talk about their pasts. They never overstep the unspoken boundaries that they've set, but there are some nights when they let little things slip.
"I don't remember much of it," Q says once, when they're curled up on the couch together. Jilly's there too, lying content against M's side. He'd not had the heart to shoo her off the furniture when she was just a puppy, and he still doesn't now.
"Neither do I," M murmurs, one hand pressed into Q's, and the other idly petting Jilly. "Though it's not something I particularly wanted to retain, either."
"Mm." Q leans into M even more and hooks his ankle around M's, their fingers still tangled together. "She saved me, you know. The old M. Tanner found me and she saved me, and I'll never forget that."
M presses a kiss to Q's temple and says, "She was a good woman."
"One of the best," Q agrees.
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027: market
"Is this your way of making up for not actually being able to look after a real cat?" M asks, eyeing the newest cat figurine that Q's brought home from the weekend market.
Q places the figurine on the shelf with the others carefully. It has huge yellow eyes and is, in M's opinion, extremely disturbing.
"I've no idea what you're talking about," Q says, although they both know that a living cat wouldn't last two weeks in Q's apartment.
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090: bar
Q's never really liked bars much, but M's working late tonight -- and not the I'm-working-late-in-my-office-with-a-conveniently-huge-desk kind of late, but actual-paperwork-that-needs-to-be-done late -- and M had encouraged him to go.
"Bond's trying to be nice," he'd said when Q had told him that Bond had asked him if he wanted to go out for a drink. "Perhaps he's trying to make up for all the equipment he's destroyed."
Q had been doubtful about the whole thing, but the bar that Bond's picked is actually quite nice. A small place, and surprisingly quiet, and at the end of the night, Q has to admit that Bond's not as bad company as he thought he might be.
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061: bomb
"Bond," Q says, calmer than he has any right to be. Maybe it's the shock that's keeping him so numb as he watches the numbers flicker down. "There's a bomb here."
There's a pause on the other end of the line before Bond replies. "Do you know how to defuse it?"
"Yes, I think I can stop this one." Q starts working on it, examining it carefully. "But do keep talking, I don't work very well with silence."
"I haven't been able to get a hold of M yet," Bond says carefully. "He's probably held up with all the official nonsense."
"Probably best this way. We wouldn't want to worry him for no reason, would we?"
"Right," Bond replies, and Q can hear the tension in Bond's voice, but he tries to ignore it. "I have to ask this of you, Q. Please don't blow yourself up, I think he'd fire me."
"Good. I've spent rather a lot of effort tricking him into falling for me, I wouldn't want that to go to waste." The way that Q is so flippant about it tells Bond just how much M means to him, how serious he is.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that he'd be extremely upset," Bond assures him.
"You know, with the train incident, with Silva? I was terrified that I'd gotten you hit by a train and I'd be fired for killing you."
"Well, Moneypenny got away with it, and she actually shot me. So I'm sure you'd have been fine."
Q takes a deep breath and says, "Here we go," and Bond tenses, but he hears Q's sigh of relief over the line and relaxes.
"There," Q says. "No explosion, no horrible, fiery death, and no getting fired today."
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034: error
"Argh," Q says, eloquently, pushing at the keys on his laptop uselessly.
"Just come to bed," M calls from the bedroom, half amused and half exasperated. He'd given up a while ago and gone to read in bed, but it's really getting late, and Q does this far too often. Q is still sitting at the table, hunched over his computer.
Q just crosses his arms and continues to scowl at the message on his screen pronouncing ERROR, taunting him until M comes up behind him and kisses his neck.
"Time for bed," M says, pulling Q's hands away from the keyboard and shutting the lid. Q is disgruntled, but goes willingly enough, and doesn't stop shooting his computer dirty looks.
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048: reject
M brings Q the rose after the first time they really fight, after the first time that M really tries to push him away and almost succeeds.
Q is simmering in his apartment, his anger fading slowly and gradually giving into an awful empty feeling, the beginnings of doubt. The thought that despite the quiet but furious speech that he just gave M, perhaps M really was sincere in his attempts to reject him. Q had said that M doesn't know what he wants, and maybe what he wants isn't Q.
The doorbell rings, and when Q answers it, M is standing there holding a rose out awkwardly.
"You were right," M says and hands the rose to Q, shifting on the doorstep uncomfortably. "I'm not very good at...Q, it's been a long time, and."
It registers with Q that what M is trying to say is that he's made his choice, and as he stares at the rose in his hand, a grin spreads over his face, and he says gleefully, "You're secretly a romantic!"
M stops fumbling with his word and looks embarrassed, but Q's caught him out now, and he's not letting this go. "Who knew that underneath that suit you were such a sap," Q teases.
"I'm old fashioned," M says, and adds hopefully, "Did it work?"
Q lets him in.
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069: rose
After that first time, M brings home a rose when he's feeling insecure but doesn't want to say it, when all those doubts start to resurface. The rose is an apology and a plea, for Q to make sure that M knows he's not going to leave, that he loves him despite everything, and he does.
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016: chairman
"Chairman," Q says, slurring, smiling up at M as he's gently manhandled inside. Joining Bond and Eve and Tanner for their weekly after work poker game was an enlightening experience, especially considering the abundance of scotch and the discovery that while Q could hold his liquor well enough, he wasn't nearly as skilled in that area as the others.
"Yes, I was a chairman," M replies, amused, supporting an uncoordinated Q on their way to the bedroom. "For a rather short amount of time."
"Good. Chairman sounds pretentious," Q decides, then collapses onto the bed and M laughs.
M lies down next to Q, still dressed. "You prefer me being your boss directly, hmm?"
"Of course, it's the ultimate fantasy."
"Well, I hope it lived up to your expectations."
Q makes a happy sound. "It did, most definitely."
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009: rode
Q's feeling possessive, and there's hardly any reason to be -- it's not as if M shows interest in other people, or doesn't spend as much time with him as possible when they're not working -- but he can't help it.
He's waiting for M when he comes home, and as soon as M finds him sitting on the couch and leans down for a kiss hello, Q drags him down on top of him. M laughs a little at his enthusiasm, but Q keeps his mouth too occupied to comment on it.
Q rides him right there on the couch, limbs wrapped around him and pressed as close as he can get, M mouthing at his collarbone while Q gasps and pants above him, relishing M inside him, his hands on him.
Characters: Gareth Mallory, Q, James Bond
Pairing: Mallory/Q
Rating: PG
Word count: c.1600 (these parts)
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.
A/N: From this promptcentral able. Ten drabbles in this post, one per prompt.
***
042: report
M is ready to throw the stacks of reports and files on his desk right out the window when there's a knock on the door, and Q sticks his head into the room.
"Thought you might need this," he says, holding up the cup of tea and closing the door behind him.
"Maybe I should have made you my secretary," M teases, taking the cup and closing his eyes when he takes a sip, savouring the wonderful flavour that Q always manages to get just right. "Thank you, Q."
"You're welcome," Q replies, sitting on the edge of his desk, his own mug in his hand. "Eve sent word, said you might be needing this."
"She is far too useful to just be a secretary," M agrees.
Q gestures to all the papers. "What is all this?"
"Mission reports, performance assessments, and letters of apology to all the important people who sent complaints that Bond upset on his last mission. Mostly the latter. You would not believe the hassle he causes."
"Oh, I don't know," Q says darkly, "He's still insistent that every prototype I give him that ends up destroyed is a complete coincidence."
"Collateral damage." M points to one of the thick files. "That's what he said in his report. He has an uncanny talent for bullshit, I've discovered."
"Damn right he does. He's an actual menace."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
091: recruit
He's read the files, so even though Q never talks about how the old M recruited him into MI6, M still knows. There are gaps in the information, missing points that M is sure aren't simply accidents, but he doesn't question it.
Their trust in each other builds over time, though it's difficult for both of them to talk about their pasts. They never overstep the unspoken boundaries that they've set, but there are some nights when they let little things slip.
"I don't remember much of it," Q says once, when they're curled up on the couch together. Jilly's there too, lying content against M's side. He'd not had the heart to shoo her off the furniture when she was just a puppy, and he still doesn't now.
"Neither do I," M murmurs, one hand pressed into Q's, and the other idly petting Jilly. "Though it's not something I particularly wanted to retain, either."
"Mm." Q leans into M even more and hooks his ankle around M's, their fingers still tangled together. "She saved me, you know. The old M. Tanner found me and she saved me, and I'll never forget that."
M presses a kiss to Q's temple and says, "She was a good woman."
"One of the best," Q agrees.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
027: market
"Is this your way of making up for not actually being able to look after a real cat?" M asks, eyeing the newest cat figurine that Q's brought home from the weekend market.
Q places the figurine on the shelf with the others carefully. It has huge yellow eyes and is, in M's opinion, extremely disturbing.
"I've no idea what you're talking about," Q says, although they both know that a living cat wouldn't last two weeks in Q's apartment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
090: bar
Q's never really liked bars much, but M's working late tonight -- and not the I'm-working-late-in-my-office-with-a-conveniently-huge-desk kind of late, but actual-paperwork-that-needs-to-be-done late -- and M had encouraged him to go.
"Bond's trying to be nice," he'd said when Q had told him that Bond had asked him if he wanted to go out for a drink. "Perhaps he's trying to make up for all the equipment he's destroyed."
Q had been doubtful about the whole thing, but the bar that Bond's picked is actually quite nice. A small place, and surprisingly quiet, and at the end of the night, Q has to admit that Bond's not as bad company as he thought he might be.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
061: bomb
"Bond," Q says, calmer than he has any right to be. Maybe it's the shock that's keeping him so numb as he watches the numbers flicker down. "There's a bomb here."
There's a pause on the other end of the line before Bond replies. "Do you know how to defuse it?"
"Yes, I think I can stop this one." Q starts working on it, examining it carefully. "But do keep talking, I don't work very well with silence."
"I haven't been able to get a hold of M yet," Bond says carefully. "He's probably held up with all the official nonsense."
"Probably best this way. We wouldn't want to worry him for no reason, would we?"
"Right," Bond replies, and Q can hear the tension in Bond's voice, but he tries to ignore it. "I have to ask this of you, Q. Please don't blow yourself up, I think he'd fire me."
"Good. I've spent rather a lot of effort tricking him into falling for me, I wouldn't want that to go to waste." The way that Q is so flippant about it tells Bond just how much M means to him, how serious he is.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that he'd be extremely upset," Bond assures him.
"You know, with the train incident, with Silva? I was terrified that I'd gotten you hit by a train and I'd be fired for killing you."
"Well, Moneypenny got away with it, and she actually shot me. So I'm sure you'd have been fine."
Q takes a deep breath and says, "Here we go," and Bond tenses, but he hears Q's sigh of relief over the line and relaxes.
"There," Q says. "No explosion, no horrible, fiery death, and no getting fired today."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
034: error
"Argh," Q says, eloquently, pushing at the keys on his laptop uselessly.
"Just come to bed," M calls from the bedroom, half amused and half exasperated. He'd given up a while ago and gone to read in bed, but it's really getting late, and Q does this far too often. Q is still sitting at the table, hunched over his computer.
Q just crosses his arms and continues to scowl at the message on his screen pronouncing ERROR, taunting him until M comes up behind him and kisses his neck.
"Time for bed," M says, pulling Q's hands away from the keyboard and shutting the lid. Q is disgruntled, but goes willingly enough, and doesn't stop shooting his computer dirty looks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
048: reject
M brings Q the rose after the first time they really fight, after the first time that M really tries to push him away and almost succeeds.
Q is simmering in his apartment, his anger fading slowly and gradually giving into an awful empty feeling, the beginnings of doubt. The thought that despite the quiet but furious speech that he just gave M, perhaps M really was sincere in his attempts to reject him. Q had said that M doesn't know what he wants, and maybe what he wants isn't Q.
The doorbell rings, and when Q answers it, M is standing there holding a rose out awkwardly.
"You were right," M says and hands the rose to Q, shifting on the doorstep uncomfortably. "I'm not very good at...Q, it's been a long time, and."
It registers with Q that what M is trying to say is that he's made his choice, and as he stares at the rose in his hand, a grin spreads over his face, and he says gleefully, "You're secretly a romantic!"
M stops fumbling with his word and looks embarrassed, but Q's caught him out now, and he's not letting this go. "Who knew that underneath that suit you were such a sap," Q teases.
"I'm old fashioned," M says, and adds hopefully, "Did it work?"
Q lets him in.
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069: rose
After that first time, M brings home a rose when he's feeling insecure but doesn't want to say it, when all those doubts start to resurface. The rose is an apology and a plea, for Q to make sure that M knows he's not going to leave, that he loves him despite everything, and he does.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
016: chairman
"Chairman," Q says, slurring, smiling up at M as he's gently manhandled inside. Joining Bond and Eve and Tanner for their weekly after work poker game was an enlightening experience, especially considering the abundance of scotch and the discovery that while Q could hold his liquor well enough, he wasn't nearly as skilled in that area as the others.
"Yes, I was a chairman," M replies, amused, supporting an uncoordinated Q on their way to the bedroom. "For a rather short amount of time."
"Good. Chairman sounds pretentious," Q decides, then collapses onto the bed and M laughs.
M lies down next to Q, still dressed. "You prefer me being your boss directly, hmm?"
"Of course, it's the ultimate fantasy."
"Well, I hope it lived up to your expectations."
Q makes a happy sound. "It did, most definitely."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
009: rode
Q's feeling possessive, and there's hardly any reason to be -- it's not as if M shows interest in other people, or doesn't spend as much time with him as possible when they're not working -- but he can't help it.
He's waiting for M when he comes home, and as soon as M finds him sitting on the couch and leans down for a kiss hello, Q drags him down on top of him. M laughs a little at his enthusiasm, but Q keeps his mouth too occupied to comment on it.
Q rides him right there on the couch, limbs wrapped around him and pressed as close as he can get, M mouthing at his collarbone while Q gasps and pants above him, relishing M inside him, his hands on him.