Work Text:
Octopus
Q couldn't stop laughing and stumbling around the yacht, unused to the feeling of the floor swaying under his feet, roiling together with the waves. He spread his arms open and let out an excited shout, enjoying the salty water spraying his face "This is the most amazing feeling in the world!" He raised his voice over the wind and the roaring of the ocean, so blue and glittering under the sun; Q wished that his skin could replicate those swirling colours, like some animals on Earth could - he'd feel so beautiful, clad in royal blue and frothy white.
James shook his head at the alien's excitement "Try to not fall into the ocean!" He warned. They didn't know whether Q was able to swim and, thinking about it, maybe it hadn't been his greatest idea taking him out on a boat - especially without making him wear a lifejacket. But he could put to rights that little oversight. After checking that the autopilot was on, James went to retrieve a lifejacket and then went to Q, still spinning around the deck and looking at everything with bright green eyes; he was surprised that the alien's control hadn't slipped yet and that his human form still held, despite the exhilarated joy clearly pervading him "Put this on, Q"
Q looked curiously at the bright orange vest, wrinkling his nose at the colour "What is it?" He inquired. The sleeveless jacket looked pretty much like some Kevlar vests he had worked on for the agents entrusted in his care - but why would James give him a Kevlar vest in the middle of the ocean?
"It's a lifejacket: it will keep you afloat in case you fall overboard"
"Does it come in another colour?"
James rolled his eyes as he tugged Q close to his chest and gently wrestled him into the jacket "Not on this yacht" he answered, strapping the best into place "You look wonderful"
Q glanced down at himself, frowning "I look ridiculous"
"You look safe, therefore gorgerous" James reassured and kissed Q's unruly curls, even messier than usual because of the salty breeze "So, I take it that you're enjoying your day off?"
Q beamed and hugged James tightly, splaying his hands over the other's broad and muscly back "Immensely, thank you so much!"
James smiled and embraced Q back, hands holding him by the hips "I'm glad. I'll teach you how to swim, so that next time you can take a dive in the ocean" he promised, thinking about how he could fit swimming lessons in Q's already packed agenda.
"That would be amazing" the alien smiled, standing on his tiptoes to kiss the agent's cheek before breaking their embrace to start jumping around again, shielding his eyes from the harsh sunlight with his hand as he looked up, studying the flight of a couple of seagulls.
After a last glance, James went back to steering the boat, disengaging the autopilot as they neared the coast; James liked to spend a couple of hours in a usually deserted bay, sunbathing and diving amidst the rocks. The water was warm enough too, in his opinion.
When he stopped the boat and lowered the anchor, James heard Q blabber excitedly about fish and corals.
"How I wish the water was shallow enough for me to go down" he sighed, bent over the railing in an attempt to get as close as possible to the water, way calmer in the bay than how it had been out in the ocean.
James pondered the situation: the water was reasonably still and clear, not particularly dangerous, and Q had the lifejacket. And James would hold the alien the whole time, make sure that nothing happened "Do you think you can trust me to not let you drown?" He inquired.
"You're letting me swim?!"
"On two conditions: you're never letting go of me and you're keeping the lifejacket on" James said sternly.
"Yes! I promise!" Q made a little jump and, finally, he lost control and his tentacles slithered out as his skin turned into the brightest shade of yellow James had seen up to that moment "Can I take my clothes off?"
"You have to" James answered, already undoing the straps of Q's vest before taking care of his own clothes; he briefly debated with himself about taking off his boxer briefs too: Q wasn't bothered by nudity and James certainly wasn't shy, but he was afraid of a particular unavoidable reaction - especially with Q's naked body next to his own. In the end, though, when he raised his eyes to see Q completely stripped down already, James decided to do the same to avoid making the other feel self-conscious.
"Can I jump down?" Q asked as he slipped his arms in the vest and got closer to the agent, silently prompting him to do the clasps again.
"Absolutely not" James forbade "You're using the stairs"
Q pouted but, as soon as the lifejacket was strapped in place, he ran to the stern of the yacht.
James rolled his eyes and gracefully dived into the ocean, swimming towards the short staircase of the boat in order to catch Q.
"The way you did it looks funnier" the alien pointed out.
"Only for experts too, though" James teased as he opened his arms in encouragement, ready to welcome Q and hold him close "The water is a bit cold, but I promise that you'll warm up quickly when we start swimming" he warned.
Q nodded as he tentatively climbed down the stairs: he was happy, but also apprehensive - on his planet, he had never swum in such deep waters and he didn't know how to move his body to keep himself afloat. When his toes touched the water, Q gasped "It's cold!"
"Told you" James grinned, circling Q's ankle with wet fingers "Come on: the longer it takes, the colder the water will seem to you" he tried to coax him down gently "The pretty fishes won't wait for you for forever"
The mention of not being able to see closer the sea life for himself, it seemed to be enough to give Q some courage to get over his reluctance. He slipped down slowly, ribcage heaving when water covered his chest and lapped up at his collarbone "Hold me" he pleaded.
James tightened his grip around Q's waist "I'm not letting you go, I promise" he murmured "Your body naturally floats and the lifejacket is there to support you, no matter what"
"Then why do people drown?" The alien inquired, spots of blue to dot his skin in an open display of fear.
"Because they drink the sea water and choke on it" James explained "Or because the waves are too high and too strong and they get dunked underwater for too long and suffocate"
"There's no waves" Q observed, relaxing a little.
"Exactly and I don't think you want to purposefully drink salty water" James said in a lightly teasing voice.
Q shook his head no in answer and took a deep breath before throwing himself at James, squeezing his eyes shut as he let go of the steel bars of the stairs.
James caught Q surely, propping him against his side "Open your eyes, you silly thing"
Q did so tentatively but, as soon as he realised that he was in the ocean with his head above water, he let out a startled laugh "Are you okay?" He asked, feeling James rhythmically kick at the water.
"Yes" the agent nodded "You seem to be even lighter in water"
"Archimedes' principle: any body fully or partially submerged in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced" Q dutifully quoted "The water is doing the job for you" he added cheekily.
"See? Science is on your side"
And that knowledge got rid of the last tendrils of anxiety in Q's body, finally letting him fully enjoy the experience "Should I kick my legs too?"
"If you want to: short and not too strong kicks do it to keep you floating in the same spot - if you want to move, some strength won't hurt"
Q nodded and pursed his lips in concentration as he started to move, careful of not accidentally hitting James in the shin.
"Good job" the other praised, slacking his grip a little to give the alien some freedom.
Q smiled, then peered down at the water, past their legs in order to watch the fishes lazily swimming close to the sand, seemingly unbothered by their presence in their natural habitat. The nature had him so enthralled, that he hadn't realised just how close he had brought his face to the surface and, when a small wave swelled, it wetted Q's nose.
"Keeping your chin up might be helpful" James suggested, a cheeky grin on his lips "You can watch from a rock" James established, swimming them both towards the rocky coast, checking that there weren't any sea urchins on which Q, unaware of their existence, could step.
"But I want to swim some more" Q complained, even as he climbed on a rock.
"Baby steps" James winked before diving in the water. He carefully retrieved a sea urchin from where it was nestled, spiky and as black as ink. Of course, he should have imagined that Q would have tried to touch it as soon as he laid it down in front of him; gently, James slapped his hand away "It stings and it actually is a little poisonous - not much, but still enough to cause some damage if you're allergic"
"What is it?" Q inquired, eyes wide in child-like glee.
"A sea urchin"
"Won't it die out of water?"
James shook his head "Not so soon, but we'll have to put it back in water"
"It's cute"
"Most people hate them" James pointed out.
"It's not their fault if they're all spiky" Q murmured "Put it back in its home"
There probably wasn't a creature on Earth upon which Q wished harm - not even on spiders and grasshoppers, whose mere sight on television was enough to make the alien shiver in disgust. It was an endearing quality; for someone as surrounded by death as James was, having Q in his life was a breath of fresh and balsamic air.
So, James scooped up the sea urchin and obeyed to Q's request; as he let it float down for the last metres, James spotted a creature that he was pretty sure Q would be interested to get to know. Grinning, he started to try and coax the shy animal out of its crevice.
Chin propped on his palms, Q curiously studied the pattern with which James came up for a breather of fresh air before diving again.
The last time he came up, the agent's smile was as bright as the sun harshly shining down upon them "Can you sit by that rock half-submerged in water?" He nodded his head towards the natural seat he had spotted.
"What is it?" Q asked as he slid to sit on the rock James had singled out, squinting his eyes to better put into focus the squirmy orange thing in James' arms.
"You'll like it" James promised as he steadily swam nearer "It's completely harmless so, whatever it does, don't get scared" he warned as he took Q's hand and brought it closer to close to the squirmy thing - which immediately attached onto the alien with a couple of tentacles.
Q gasped "It's so precious!"
"Adorable little fellow, isn't it?" James coaxed the rest of the octopus body in Q's trembling hands "One of the smartest animals on Earth"
"Why didn't you show me earlier this beauty?" Q asked, completely in awe as he gently started to prod and caress the soft and squishy creature in his hold with his tentacles.
"I don't think you would have appreciated finding one of these all cut up in your plate at the restaurant" James defended himself; as predicted, Q made an outraged noise and James mentally said goodbye forever to one of his favourite dishes.
"Can we bring it at home?" Q asked, his tentacles affectionately entwined with those of the octopus.
James shook his head "I'm sorry, Q: it would get lonely and sad, all cooped up on his own in a tank, don't you think?"
"Oh" a sad little smile took place on Q's mouth "You're right" he murmured, gently disentangling himself from the octopus: knowing that something even remotely similar to him existed on Earth, it was enough - it didn't need to live exiled as he did.