Work Text:
One
Q sighed heavily as he finally entered the flat, hand immediately going to tug at the knot of his tie; despite having grown accustomed to wearing clothes, he didn’t think he would ever really get used to wearing them all the time and when he was particularly tired like that evening, the first thing he wanted to do upon walking into the safe haven that was his home, it was to take his clothes off and let his tentacles out - to get as close as possible to what had been his natural state back on his home planet.
He really didn’t think about it that often anymore, his life now was on Earth: he had a home, a partner, a job and soon enough, two cats - that had taken some convincing on his part but, in the end, James had relented and they had gone to the shelter a few days prior; Q had hoped he would be able to bring them home immediately but even if they had picked two adult cats that had been there the longest, the paperwork for the adoption still would take a couple of day to get through.
Q could wait, he was good at it, and in the meanwhile, he would comfort himself with buying cat food and any and all toys and various accessories he happened to see on the internet - before James took away his Amazon privileges. It wasn’t that Q didn’t have down the concept of money, even if it had been rather foreign to him at the beginning: more meetings with Finance than Q had ever wanted to have in his life had engrained quite thoroughly in his brain how money worked, shouting and screaming in frustration about how his branch was an ever expanding black hole that ate away at MI6 yearly budget without a care in the world - so, he did understand money.
He just didn’t really have a good impulse control when it came to shopping for the silliest, most curious things sometimes.
The lights were all off and that only made Q’s shoulders droop even more: James was still in London and probably just running late from whatever errand he was out on but the emptiness of the flat just was a stark reminder of just how lonely coming back home would be once the other left again for a mission.
Well, not completely lonely now that they were going to have cats around but still…
He didn’t know why the idea of James leaving on a mission was hitting him particularly hard, it certainly wasn’t the first time that the man left for work ever since they had gotten together and it wasn’t even the first time ever since the last time the agent had gotten injured… Maybe it was to blame on the fact that the downtime had been unusually longer and that had allowed some part of Q’s brain to delude itself into thinking that maybe this time James wouldn’t leave - that maybe the time for retirement had come. A fanciful thought that had burned out as easily as paper when the order had come and James had answered yes with an excited smile, body almost vibrating with excitement.
He turned on the light and immediately made a beeline for the electric kettle as he lost one garment after the other. He had had his last cuppa before leaving the office - a delicious white tea blend that 008 had brought back from Thailand as a souvenir - but the crowded underground, the damp weather and his cranky mood made him crave another mug of tea; Q didn’t have any particularly fancy ones at home but the dear old Earl Grey would do - he didn’t think that, besides James’ cologne, there was a more comforting smell in the world for him.
As he waited for the water to come to boil, Q took his phone out of his messenger bag and scrolled through the various conversation threads until he found the one with James’; the man’s last access had been hours before but that didn’t mean the other man wouldn’t answer quickly: it just was a testament to James’ preference for calling rather than texting which Q didn’t really get but his understanding was that older people were more comfortable in general with phone calls - not that Q would ever call James old to his face.
I’m home. Where are you? -Q
Patisserie. -JB
Sounds fancy. -Q
It is. -JB
What are you getting? -Q
It’s a surprise ;). -JB
Q rolled his eyes at the winky face, his mind not taking much effort at all to imagine the exact same expression on the other man's face. He didn't need any more proof about the fact that he was absolutely smitten with his partner but the fact that even such a silly expression on James' face was enough to make his three hearts beat and his skin assume a pinkish hue, it was quite the testament to just how much he was taken with the other man.
Hopelessly in love.
Except that his love wasn't really hopeless because, thanks to some lucky stars that hadn't forgotten about him completely, James loved him back.
Desired him back.
Q blushed at the memory of that very morning, at the way their limbs had entwined together in the pearly light of dawn. After their conversation, Q had almost started to lose hope about James actually approaching him in a more sensual manner, trying to make peace with the fact that, despite the other's reassurances that James did find him attractive, maybe sex between them would never happen - he should have had more faith in his lover.
The real thing had defeated all of his expectations - the feeling of their bodies rubbing together had been more intense then he could have ever imagined and even if his quick orgasm had betrayed his inexperince, James had held him close anyway, kissing and caressing him with a devotion that had stoked the desire languishing in his belly until he was hard again - needy again for James' body, eager to see orgasm over take the other's face.
And then, in the sticky and warm aftermath of their lovemaking, James had reverently caressed the falling stars that were streaking his skin - brighter than they had ever been with the absolute contentment and love he was feeling in that moment for his partner; some of them had left a permanent, light brown mark on his skin - like a cluster of freckles. Q didn't mind them and he found caressing them from time to time while he waited for a program to load or for the tea to steep; maybe with time the marks would lose their novelty but for the time being, Q was completely in love with them and he couldn't imagine a day he wouldn't fondly think of them.
They were a reminder of happy times and he knew he would inevitably need it, considering his line of work and just how often James got into life-threatening trouble.
Q shook away the thought and dunked a tea bag in the freshly poured water: he wasn't in the mood for dark and gloomy thoughts, he just wanted to fucia on the wonderful morning they had had and on the pastries James was going to bring home, his tongue and tentacles already curling at the thought of the sweetness that would blanket his taste buds.
When he heard the key turn in the lock, Q couldn't help the face-splitting smile that blossomed on his lips, facial muscles flexing out of their own volition without Q giving them any kind of conscious command "James"
"Hello, darling" the agent grinned, quickly making his way in the kitchen with an immaculate white box held aloft "Guess what did I get?"
"Pastries?"
"Obviously" James rolled his eyes as he pulled at the string with a flourish, excited at the mere idea of something so small making Q happy "Macaroons!"
"Oh, you ridiculous man"
"It's your love for them that is ridiculous" and adorable and so utterly Q - James leaned in and kissed those smiling lips, his own grin brightening as he felt the other's tentacles caress his face, trying to draw him deeper in the kiss.
He loved his Q so fucking much.