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Q was ageless. As old as the universe itself probably though really it’s terribly rude to ask an omnipotent entity their age as if that matters. Being technically ageless though meant he’d seen a lot. The birth of the universe, millions of supernovas, wonders so great no mortal mind could ever hope to comprehend them.
So it was incredibly rare that anything could surprise a Q. They knew everything, saw everything and everything was usually very predictable. It was beyond boring. Super-boring. Cosmically, super-boring.
That was until Q crossed paths with one Captain Jean-Luc Picard. A human he could never predict. The first time he’d appeared on the bridge of the Enterprise he’d been fully expecting the old man to cower and kneel before him as all creatures like him did.
But he hadn’t. Picard had never once been afraid of Q and what he could do to him with just a click of his fingers. The arrogance had infuriated him at first, but the more he followed the thread of Jean-Luc’s life, the more he grew to enjoy him. He was a challenge where Q had never been challenged before and while his sour attitude could be a thorough turn off, that deep, scolding voice had made him feel things he wasn’t aware he could feel.
Enjoyment and admiration turned to infatuation so quickly it caught him off-guard ( him! A Q! ). He longed to spend time with him. Being lectured on his lack of morality had never been so attractive and Q found himself spending more and more time in his squishy, uncomfortable human form just to spend time with him.
He’d expected Picard to be resistant, unwaveringly so, but he was slowly becoming more tolerant of him. Each time he popped up now he would get an almost fond glare and a “ Hello, Q, what can I help you with this time? ” Jean-Luc had actually gone as far as to make him a cup of tea the last time he visited. It was silly, he didn’t need to eat or drink and had no real desire to try. But Picard had made it, so he drank it. It was very...wet. But the fact he’d bothered meant he wanted Q to feel welcome, right? That was friendly human behaviour and the idea that Picard felt anything warmer than distaste for him had made him ecstatic.
Now he was watching Picard from his own separate plane of reality. Here, he could comfortably study the object of his affection without him ever knowing. Creepy by human standards he was sure, but Q was not a human. He would know everything regardless of whether he was currently and deliberately watching, so why not enjoy seeing the workings of Jean-Luc Picard up close?
Right now the Captain of the Enterprise was deep in discussions with the leader of the Peguine race whose name he didn’t care to remember. They were talking about a possible peace treaty between the Peguine and their neighbours, the Losnes. Picard was in his element. He was confident, calm and utterly, unfairly handsome. How any being, even a Q, was supposed to be able to resist this man was beyond even his knowledge.
He was so distracted with his ogling he didn’t feel the disturbance until too late. Something like sharp needles splintered up the thread of time they were in, destroying his good mood in an instant. Everything felt slow and yet fast as he looked around for the threat. He could only manage one thought and it consumed his entire being... Jean-Luc is in danger .
A bang drowned out every mortal voice in the room. Even from his plane of reality, the sound was deafening. He’d heard the sound of different munitions from species so many times but this time it was turned on the one being Q held most dear. Knowing that bullet was for him and watching as it tore through delicate tissue somehow made it all far, far to real.
For an instant he saw a universe without Jean-Luc Picard. The existence that stretched before him was so dull it was as though someone had sucked all the colour from reality. It was an existence where nothing would truly excite or intrigue him again. He’d never find someone like Picard for the rest of his immortal life. It would be a prison of knowing what could have been while being forced to live eternally in what was.
He would live knowing he, a Q, was never brave enough to tell a mere mortal how he felt. Picard would die without knowing how passionately and deeply loved he was. Every particle of him rebelled furiously against the very notion. It couldn’t be allowed to happen, not ever, not under any circumstances.
Every being, every proton and electron froze in place as Q snapped into action. He wanted to rewind time, ensuring Picard was never harmed by stopping the bullet ever leaving the gun. Hell, he could go far enough back to remove the very notion of harming his precious starship captain from the would-be assassin’s brain and it still wouldn’t be enough.
Instead, showing more restraint than he’d ever managed before in his long life, he clicked his fingers and the gun crumbled to dust in the human’s hand. He could see how this would play out already. Jean-Luc would be injured, but he would survive. The threat would be neutralized by the security already running towards them and no one would suspect Q’s involvement. It wasn’t enough to satisfy him. Not in the slightest. But it would have to do. Any more interference could attract attention from the continuum and he’d never bring that kind of scrutiny down on Picard.
He made sure to burn every detail of Picard’s attempted murder’s face into his memory. When this was all said and done he very much looked forward to showing this slimy little worm just how pathetically fragile he was. For now though, he simply stepped out of the space, allowing time to resume.
It played out exactly as he’d foreseen. But somehow watching in real time as Jean-Luc was carried, bleeding and badly injured, back to his ship without offering to help was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He was a Q, he could unmake and remake anything he wanted and yet he didn’t dare. Not just because he didn’t want the continuum getting involved, though that was a rather large part of it, but Jean-Luc was likely to take exception to him trying to help. He could be incredibly stubborn when it came to his ridiculously linear beliefs about consequences and risks. Why wouldn’t he want him to swoop in and protect him? Why did this human in particular have to be so suicidally stubborn.
It was nearly twelve hours before Picard was back in his ready room and on duty. Extremely fast for any ordinary human but for Picard that could almost be considered dragging his feet. More than once he’d watched his precious human get hurt, be treated and return to work without a pause in between. With a thought he appeared by Jean-Luc’s fish tank, looking him over with far more concern than he should allow himself.
Picard looked up from his reports with less surprise than Q had been expecting. “You look better than the last time I saw you,” Q tried to comment casually, gesturing to the bandages around Picard’s left shoulder.
“Hm, I can’t tell if that’s sarcasm or something I need to be concerned about,” Picard’s expression lifted into a smirk, his eyes flashing with warning, “Do I need to be concerned, Q?”
“Why would you need to be concerned, mon capitaine?” Q settled himself into the seat opposite Jean-Luc, doing his utmost to give off an air of indifference.
“It was the strangest thing. The man who shot me, his gun dissolved before he could actually kill me,” Picard raised an eyebrow, “Do you have any idea how that could have happened?”
Damn this human for being so perceptive. “You were still injured,” Q’s voice turned hard. The pain he’d felt at seeing Picard injured hadn’t faded and he really wasn’t in the mood to listen to his beloved human argue with him for trying to help, “I didn’t help you at all so I don’t see what your problem is, Picard.”
Any other human might have quavered under his tone, fearing his omnipotent wrath. But as usual Picard did the exact opposite of what could be considered safe and normal. He stood, brushing his uniform down as he walked around his desk stand next to Q.
“I was actually going to say thank you,” his voice was softer than Q had ever heard it and when he lifted his head to meet his gaze the look in his eyes made his entire essence throb, “Vulpes has made it clear he would’ve gone on and hurt quite a few more people after he killed me. If you hadn’t interfered a lot more good people would have died. Thank you, Q.”
“You’re not angry?” Q licked his lips, working hard to keep his composure.
“No,” Picard tilted his head slightly, an almost playful expression crossing his face, “Would you rather I be?”
“Oh heavens no,” Q raised his hands, alarmed, “Seeing you injured was quite enough, Jean-Luc. If we could save the lectures and bickering for another day that would be wonderful.”
“Were you worried about me, Q?” Picard’s voice almost sounded amused.
Q growled, flustered. “I simply realized how fragile and pathetic your little mortal life is,” he snapped, “You don’t get any second chances, Picard, sometimes I think you forget that.”
“Things must be very different for a being who has no need to fear injury or death,” Picard blinked thoughtfully, “But I make a point to not fear what could happen to me, you know that. Fear is useful, but allowing fear of death to rule us holds us back.” He paused, studying Q for a moment. “I’m sorry if I worried you,” he added, sounding surprisingly non judgemental.
“You didn’t, but I humbly accept your apology,” he sniffed, turning to look at something on the wall so he wouldn’t have to look into those sharp, all seeing eyes.
“Hm, well I’m afraid I’m not up to our usual exploits today as you can see,” Picard leaned against the desk, “If I recall correctly you said you once visited Galarus-5 before it was plunged into eternal winter. Would you indulge a ‘ fragile and pathetic mortal ’ and tell me a little of what it was like?”
“You’re not too busy?” He wasn’t going to be immediately thrown out? Now wasn’t that a pleasant change of pace!
“For once, no. Considering I’ve already faced death once today I don’t believe skipping one night of reports will kill me.”
“ That’s not funny ,” Q scowled, crossing his arms petulantly, “I don’t particularly enjoy being mocked, Picard.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Picard’s smirk returned as he moved over to his personal replicator to order his tea. “Tea?”
“Oh why not.” Q disappeared in a diamond of light, reappearing stretched out on the couch in his usual position. “Now Galarus-5, let me see. The Galari were nothing special so far as I remember but boy did they know how to build. They had multi-tiered buildings before they worked out how to store food! Ridiculous creatures .”
Contentment spread through his essence as Picard listened to him, nodding and offering his own thoughts at just the right moments. This was so much easier than any relationship he’d had with any other being. Even when they argued being with Jean-Luc was the easiest thing in the universe. He drained his cup of scalding liquid without checking if a human should be able to withstand the temperature. Picard nearly choked on his own tea in surprise and Q grinned. Humans were fragile and pathetic and frankly annoying most of the time.
But this one was his and he loved him for every ridiculous, mortal flaw.