Work Text:
True Love Is In The Details
“James”
“Hmm”
Q stretched his leg beneath the covers, nudging the other’s leg with his foot “James” he called again, voice slightly higher than a whisper.
“Wha’?”
He didn’t really sound as awake as Q would have liked him to be but maybe he would jolt properly awake once he heard what he had to say “I think there is someone jiggling the door handle” he whispered, unable to hide the slight anxiety in his voice which was completely stupid, considering that even if the suspicious noises weren’t a byproduct of his paranoid and overworked mind, the chances of them surviving an ambush in their own home were quite high: their flat wasn’t exactly booby-trapped but Q had hidden here and there various weapons and panic buttons - and James never slept with his Walter too far from his person.
“Hm”
Q blinked in the dark, ears straining to hear more but any and all telltale noises that might have indicated whether someone truly was trying to break into their home were drowned out by James’ soft snoring “James!”
The agent jumped a little at the hiss and the sterner kick that came with it “Okay, okay. What?”
“The noises”
“Are you sure it’s not the cats?”
Q rolled his eyes so hard that he was afraid they would fall out of his sockets and that would definitely be a problem, if there really was someone trying to sneak inside to kill them - or worse: to abduct and torture them for information. Yes, death was a much more favourable outcome, at least it would be quick and relatively painless compared to what enemy agents could do to them “I have had cats for years , I think I can distinguish the noise of a cat rattling around in the litter from that of someone at the door”
Right.
That made sense.
James cursed the heavy dinner and wine Q had plied him with a few hours earlier for the slugginesh of his reactions “Stay here” he ordered, rubbing at his eyes with one hand while he confidently grabbed his gun with the other, his grip secure and strong despite the fact that he was literally rolling out of bed still half-asleep.
Q most definitely want going to stay there: he just needed the other man to go first, well aware that even half asleep, James could be a better first line defence than him.
He rolled out of the bed after his partner, hand rattling around in the first drawer of his bedside table, looking for the modified taser he kept around just in case - he had never been so glad about the inevitable paranoia that came with working in the espionage business, since it meant that he had a weapon he could defend himself with. Q smashed the glasses against his face as he followed James, heart hammering away in his chest as the noises became clearer and unmistakable: there was someone doing a shitty job of trying to pick their lock.
Q wanted to make some noise, to ensure that the cats got out of the way but in the darkness he could barely see James' back in front of him, let alone his cats that probably already had hidden away somewhere safe: they were smart like that, they would know that whoever was on the other side wasn't safe - that their owners were in the bedroom, sleeping away while someone with bad intentions tried to break in.
A hand reached back, making Q almost jump - it was just james', steadying him in a way that clearly ordered him to stop where he was. He nodded even if his partner hadn't turned even for a second to look back at him, the line of his shoulders was hard and tense, any and all traces of sleepiness had bled away and left in their wake Double-Oh Seven; Q was familiar enough with the switch that witnessing it didn't distract him with amazement - it only made him feel safer, more focused as he turned on the taser and made sure that it was charged and ready to shock whoever was on the other side of the door.
It turned out, there really was no need for him to do anything: as soon as the door creaked open, James smashed his gun in the guy's face and Q watched him fall to the floor like a log of wood.
"Turn the lights on and call Six"
He didn't need to be told twice "Do you think it's..?"
James shook his head "Too amateurish" he observed as he dragged the man to the kitchen so that he could tie him down to a chair and pat him down "I think he is just a burglar" the man was too thin and too scrawny to be an enemy agent and the only weapon on him seemed to be a crowbar tucked in the back pocket of his jeans. James carefully shooed the cats away when they came sniffing curiously, evidently feeling safe enough that they had crawled out of whatever hiding spot they had found during the brief and clean commotion.
Q nodded as he relayed his identification number to the front desk operator, acting like the receptionist of the import&export agency that MI6 used as a front; he wouldn't have any other contact with anyone else, not through an official channel that could be easily tracked: if Q had wanted to talk with Moneypenny, Tanner or even M himself, he should have called their personal numbers but late at night as it was - he wasn't really sure if any of them were at work - and the situation being as harmless as it seemed, Q hadn't seen any reason to bother them "Someone should be here in five"
"Good"
Despite the fact that the man was incapacitated and restrained and that James was sitting in front of him with his gun in hand, Q didn't let go of his taser even as he moved around the kitchen to make tea - what a quintessentially British thing to do in the middle of a crisis.
Q sipped on his tea as they waited, tired and alert at the same time: it wasn't exactly a foreign state of being for him, he had been in such a spot plenty of times in the middle of Q-Branch, whenever a mission dragged on for too long, growing more and more complicated by the second.
When the doorbell rang, he was the one to go and open it, preferring James to stay with the burglar even if the man hadn't even regained consciousness yet "Bill"
"Q" Bill greeted with a small and tired smile as he nodded to the two agents with him "Exciting night, I hear"
"Much to my chagrin. Come on in, I have tea"
"Ta" Bill followed the younger man in, letting the agents he had brought with him to deal with the burglar - if he was a mere thief, that would have to be confirmed after a thorough investigation "Bond"
"Tanner"
Bill glanced from the agent to the Quartermaster, confusion quickly replaced by a bright grin as his brain caught up "Are those… matching cat pyjamas?"
James arched an eyebrow "Do you have anything to say about that?"
"No, no. It's just… sweet" oh, how fun it was to see what true love did to men like Bond - how it sneaked up on them and showed up in the tiny little details.