Chapter Text
Q branch was quiet. It was very early in the morning and only a few boffins were present. They were just finishing their night shift and they couldn’t wait to go home. It was an easy thing to guess. With no missions to overwatch or agents to babysit, Q branch was left to run system updates and firewall's checks during the night. Utterly boring stuff once you had experienced the adrenaline rush caused by the need to provide quick information to help save an agent’s life or complete a mission successfully. The boffins, seated at their respective stations, were staring blankly at their computer screens. Hours of checking over lines of code left them with tired eyes, their shoulders were hunched over and loud yawning could be heard from one or two. Despite their tiredness, they immediately sensed the arrival of someone in their territory and they quickly shifted their attention to the newcomer. The scene that presented in front of their eyes would have been hilarious if it wasn’t their boss the one who had entered Q branch.
Q stood just past the sliding doors that separated his division from the rest of MI6. He was wearing his trademark anorak buttoned up to his chin, chequered trousers covered a pair of old brown shoes and a messenger bag rested on his side. The thing that caught his underlings’ attention though, was the fact that Q was drenched. His chocolate hair was plastered to his face, some bangs obscuring his glasses. Rivulets of water run down his neck and his wet clothes hung heavily on his lithe figure. A small puddle was forming under him; drops of water fell from the hems of his anorak to the ground. The only thing that seemed dry was his bag, but that was only for the fact that it was built with a high water proof material that Q himself had designed. All in all, the head of Q branch looked like a drowned rat, an adorable one at that, but still pitiful enough to make his minions jump up worriedly from their workstations and start walking toward him.
“Morning everyone! How was the night shift? Had any problems?”
Q was being his usual professional self. Despite being chilled to the bone and wishing nothing else than to change from his wet clothes, work came first.
“Nothing to report, sir” the minions immediately assured him “but if we may ask, what happened to you?”
Q looked at the worried faces of his minions and sighed. “I just god caught in the rain during my way here. Let me tell you that it’s pouring out there. You better find an umbrella before venturing home or you’ll end up like me. Now if you will excuse me, I’d like to change.”
He started towards his office but before he could take two steps, David, the young boffin he left in charge before going home the night before, stopped him.
“How about I make you a cup of tea, sir? It will help you warm up faster.”
Q regarded David pensively. Usually he didn’t like using his boffins in such a way, even though they assured him that they liked bringing him tea, but he really craved a hot cup of earl grey and the idea of not having to make it himself was appealing.
“Thank you David, I’ll take up your offer. Could you bring it to my office please? Ta.”
He watched David sprint to the kitchenette in Q branch before turning to the other minions.
“You should get back to your workstation and complete your tasks. Your shift ends in a half a hour and I’m sure you’re eager to go home.”
The minions scampered back to finish their work, while Q finally reached his office. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he leaned on it with a sigh. The day had just started and he was already so tired. Steeling himself he crossed the room and went straight to the locker where he kept a change of clothes in case he needed it. He couldn’t wait to peel off the wet clothes he wore and wear something definitely warmer. He took off the anorak and hung it up to let it dry. He then proceeded to take off his cardigan and the shirt he wore underneath it. He used the shirt like a towel to try and dry his hair a bit as not to have any more water dripping off. He then let the garment fall to the floor and with a shiver he reached inside the locker. He grabbed the t-shirt and the sweater folded inside and quickly put them on, before working on the lower part of his body. The trousers were soon replaced with a dry pair and the socks too. Unfortunately, he had to keep the shoes since he didn’t have a change of those, but at least he was warmer than before. Just as he finished putting away the wet clothing he heard a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
David entered the office balancing a tray with a cup of tea and a plate with a pastry on it.
“Here’s your tea and I thought you could use something sweet so I heated up one of the mini apple strudels Mary brought yesterday.”
David put the tray on Q’s desk, turned to face his boss and chuckled.
“What?” asked Q, clearly puzzled at what could be so amusing.
“Is that a new sweater sir?”
Q looked down and immediately saw what made his minion laugh. The blue sweater he had on was way too big to be his. The sleeves were too long for his arms so that only the tips of his fingers peered out at the end. Clearly it was designed for someone with a broader chest and shoulders than him. The Royal Navy insignia embroidered on the upper left side left no doubt to whom the garment belonged to. James Bond. A thought passed Q’s mind and made him check something. He lifted up the hem of the sweater and inspected the t-shirt underneath. Sure enough it wasn’t one of his either. The olive green shirt with a knife printed on it, a symbol of the Royal Marine Commando, clearly belonged to Alec Trevelyan. Q blushed. Those two just loved seeing him wearing their clothes at home, but Q didn’t think they could actually get to this point at work. Surely the two of them had sneaked into his office and switched his spare clothes with the ones he was currently wearing. Possessive bastards.
“It seems that our security was breached. I’ll need to upgrade it to prevent that something like this doesn’t repeat itself.”
David arched an eyebrow and studied his superior. It wasn’t a secret that Q was in a relationship with the two most deadly 00 agents in MI6’s history. 006 and 007 weren’t shy about showing their affection to their younger lover. The two could often be seen trailing behind the young genius carrying things for him or dropping in Q branch just to steal a quick kiss. It wasn’t uncommon to see the two agents lounging on the sofa in Q’s office while the boffin was working. They were content just being in the presence of their lover and they would behave themselves as not to disturb the younger man from one of his projects, moving only to replenish the boffin with tea when he'd run out, an occurrence that bewildered everyone at MI6. The two agents were also very protective of Q, a fact known even before they officially got together. If anyone dared to insult, question or cause trouble for the Quartermaster they would be faced with the deadly 006 and 007. No one continued with their disrespect after having confronted with those two.
One particular time, the two agents nearly killed one of the new 00s for having hurt Q. Brighton Cooper was an arrogant man who got promoted to the 00 division after the death of the former 003. During his first mission he got in trouble as a consequence of his inexperience and Q had to guide him to safety, not without effort. The agent then accused Q of having interfered in his mission and that he would have completed it successfully regardless of Q’s intervention. When Q berated the agent pointing out his rookie mistakes and telling him that he would have been killed if not for his help, Cooper lost it. He threw a punch at the smaller man, hitting him in the face. The impact made Q’s glasses fly across the room as the boffin crumbled to the ground in pain. Fortunately Cooper was satisfied with the damage he caused and went on his way, not knowing what he had brought upon himself.
006 and 007 had been away on two relatively easy missions. They returned the day after the altercation, late at night. They went straight home instead of dropping at Headquarters to give their reports. They couldn’t wait to get to Q, they had missed the boffin during their missions, James in Manila and Alec in New Delhi. When they entered their apartment the shower was on. Grinning mischievously they made their way to the bathroom, discarding clothes along the way. Alec was the first to reach their destination, James just a step behind him; stealthily he opened the door to the spacious shower box and stepped silently inside. Q was facing the opposite direction, intent of washing his hair, the smell of his chocolaty shampoo filled the air and the two agents couldn’t help but smile. Alec was just stepping forward to close the distance with Q when he froze; the smile vanished from his face. Behind him James saw the Russian’s rigid posture and looked over his partner’s shoulder to see what caused that particular reaction and his blood started to boil. Q had just turned his head slightly to the side to rinse the shampoo from his hair, thus exposing his bruised cheekbone to the agents behind him.
“What the fuck happened?” Alec exploded, incapable of reigning in his temper. Q startled violently at the angry voice behind him. Turning around abruptly he lost his footing on the slippery shower floor and he would have crushed down pretty hard if not for a pair of strong arm encircling his waist. He recognized Alec’s touch immediately and relaxed a little. His Russian lover righted him and then helped him out of the shower apologizing for having startled him. James waited outside with a big fluffy towel that was wrapped around the boffin’s body as soon as he exited the shower.
James gently grabbed Q’s chin and tilted his head to the left to get a better look at the damage. As he scanned the bruised flesh his eyes paled to a colder shade of blue, just like ice, and his jaw locked tightly.
Q’s cheekbone was slightly swollen, the skin was red and tender and at the centre presented a small laceration held together by a butterfly closure. The edges of the bruise were starting to turn a blue/blackish colour meaning that the injury couldn’t have been older than a couple of days.
Alec came to stand beside James, his attention too was focused on Q’s cheekbone. Carefully he raised a hand to touch the injured area but as soon as his fingers ghosted over the abused flesh Q flinched in pain and a small whimper escaped his closed lips. Reigning his rage Alec stepped away to retrieve Q’s glasses from where the boffin had left them before entering the shower while
James started to guide Q to the bedroom.
“C’mon, love. Let’s get dressed and then you can tell us the fucking bastard who dared to lay a finger on you!”
“I’ll pull out all of his teeth, one by one! Etot ublyudok ranial Q!!” added Alec sliding Q’s glasses gently on his face.
Q was a bit reluctant to tell his lovers what happened because he knew they would go overboard with their personal revenge. Not that he cared about what happened to Brighton Cooper. The asshole deserved a severe punishment for how he acted toward a superior, but Q didn’t want his lovers to be reprimanded for having acted on his behalf. Fortunately the two 00 agents didn’t get in any trouble even though they carried out their plan for revenge.
The next day, in fact, both Alec and James got called in M’s office. Mallory had been sent the video footage of the altercation between Q and 003 thanks to the minions of Q Branch that had been outraged by the accident involving their beloved Overlord.
M showed both agents what took place and wasn’t surprised when the two 00s shared a deadly look that promised a slow and painful lesson for 003. While M agreed with them, he couldn’t denying to having a soft spot for the boffin, he couldn’t outright allow them to hurt Cooper. The agent would be demoted with no chance to rise in the ranks again and he would be put on suspension immediately. Such disrespect of authority could not be accepted at MI6. M was satisfied having ruined the agent’s career for good, but he got the feeling that the two men seated in front of him weren’t pacified. Mallory was sure they would do something more drastic than what he did but couldn’t bring himself to care. He would look in the other direction if something was to happen to Brighton Cooper, he had his hands tied, but Bond and Trevelyan didn’t have the same problem. It didn’t come as a surprise when pictures of a beaten Cooper, casted right arm bound to his chest, was forwarded to him by the minions. M smirked satisfied.
So, yeah, 006 and 007 were very protective of their young lover and they never failed to show others that Q belonged to them. David wasn’t surprised that the two sneaked in Q’s office and switched his spare set of clothes to something that would scream to everyone that the Quartermaster was taken. Really, it was a wonder they took all this time to do this.
The knowledge about the over protectiveness of the two 00s, though, conflicted with the state Q was currently in. The two agents weren’t away on mission so they would have accompanied the Quartermaster to work if the weather was that bad.
“Speaking of 006 and 007...may I inquire as to their whereabouts? Why didn’t they give you a lift here?” David voiced his inner thoughts.
Q, who in the meantime had made a beeline for his desk and was now cradling the cup of tea in his hands to warm them, lifted his head to regard him.
“Oh I insisted they stayed home. I had to be here this early because I have some urgent projects I have to finish before the end of the day and I didn’t want to bother them. Alec returned home from his last mission only 4 hours ago and James is still on medical leave for the bullet wound he got in his arm two weeks ago. I didn’t think it would start raining that bad.” He explained while he took a seat at his desk and started to boot up his computers.
“Now, I have to start working and you should finish up before heading home. The day shift will relieve you soon. Oh and David, thank you for the tea.”
JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ.
As the hours passed by, Q started to lose focus on what he working on. Despite the numerous and continuous cups of tea, he was freezing. He couldn’t seem to stay warm. Tiny tremors wracked his thin frame and an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. He knew he was getting sick, but he couldn’t go home despite wanting nothing more than to crawl back into the warm of his bed and the arms of his lovers.
Alec and James would surely get angry with him for not taking better care of his health. He should have gone home at the first sign of sickness, but his stubborn professionalism wouldn’t allow it. He had projects to finish and he would complete his work on time. Being sick would not distract him from the task at hand. He was the bloody Quartermaster of MI6, he had serious responsibilities and a cold wasn’t going to stop him from his goal. Resolution settled on his mind and he focused all his willpower on the screens in front of him. He refused one of his minions when he offered to go fetch him some lunch. He told him that he wasn’t hungry. Skipping the meal would give him more time he could use to work. It came as a surprise when the boffin (Gareth, his tired mind supplied) came back an hour later with Chinese takeaway. Sheepishly, Gareth laid the container on Q’s desk.
“006 instructed us to bring you some food at meals’ time when neither he nor 007 were present at Headquarters; even if you refuse it.” He said seeing his boss’ raised eyebrow. “He was adamant on the matter.” He further explained. “We considered wise to follow his orders on the matter”
Gareth quickly excused himself and went back to eat his own meal. Q stared at the container sitting innocently on his desk and fished out his phone.
“Really, Alec? Did you have my technicians babysit me?” he asked as soon as the call was answered.
“Oh krasavets, you know we do this for you. You skip meals too often when we aren’t there to remind you to eat, so we delegated your minions to provide you food in such occasions. You-
“Alec and I just worry about you, darling.” James’ voice came from the other end. He must have stolen Alec’s phone from his end. Q could hear his other lover grumbling in the background, clearly not happy with the blue eyed agent.
“Damn it Alec, stop kicking me! Alright, alright I’ll put him on speaker. Sorry Q, Alec’s being a pain in the ass. I liked him better when he was still sleeping…” James started, before he was abruptly interrupted by an agitated Q.
“Oh my God, Alec, did I wake you? I’m so sorry. You must be still tired from the mission. I’ll let you get some more sleep…”
“Relax liubov, you didn’t wake me up. I’ve slept more than enough. James and I just finished our lunch.” The Russian assured.
“So when are you getting home? We are considering coming there and kidnapping you. We’re kind of bored without you…”
Before James had time to add more, Q interrupted him once more.
“Absolutely NOT, James. You know I have lots of work to do and if I want to be finished soon I need to concentrate! I can’t have you two coming here to make havoc in my lab. Stay put and I’ll see you tonight.”
A series of “buts” were coming from his phone but Q steeled himself. “No buts. James, Alec, please, I have work to do! Just let me finish it.” Something in his tone of voice must have reached his lovers because they finally gave in. They said their goodbyes and told him they would wait for him.
Q disconnected the call and sighed heavily. He was exhausted. His muscles ached and his head was starting to pound. He shifted his gaze to the Chinese take away currently sitting on his desk and felt his stomach lurch unpleasantly. He just knew that if he ate even a morsel of it, he would get sick. He grimaced remembering how his lovers worried about his health. They would not be happy with him skipping this meal, but Q told himself that he could endure the situation for a little bit longer.
Once the project was finished, he would go straight home and admit defeat. He would let James and Alec scold him all they wanted if that meant he could get some rest.
Ignoring the food, the young Quartermaster stating typing furiously on his keyboard.
JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ.
It was 7 P. M. When Q finally logged off and powered down his computers. He leaned back in his chair and exhaled softly. Thank goodness, the day had been a quite one. He didn’t think he would have been able to deal with an emergency today. He felt knackered; he ran a hand through his hair and then he took off his glasses to rub his eyes. He had worked for more than 12 hours, pausing only to answer his minion’s questions or to send a reply to one of his lovers’ messages. James and Alec had kept their promise and had stayed home letting Q work in peace, but they still wrote to him during the afternoon, just to tell him they missed him or that they loved him. Steeling himself, he stood up but he regretted it immediately when the room started spinning furiously around him; he had to grab onto his desk to stay upright. He stood still till he could start walking without fear of falling on his arse. He definitely had gotten the flu. It was in full season and people started to get sick more and more, even at MI6. That fact that he still took the tube to and from work hadn’t obviously helped the matter. People had coughed and sneezed all around him not to mention that he was sure that the rain that morning hadn’t helped. He throat had started to bother him in the last couple of hours and he was sure that his temperature has risen as well. He still had chills and his sore muscle protested at any movement. The dizziness he just experienced was only an added symptom to the list. Despite wanting nothing more that call Alec to come and get him, he couldn’t bring himself to bother his lover, so he set to go home the way he got into work. His anorak was still damp, but he got no choice but to wear it since he didn’t have a spare coat at his office. He put it on, gathered his things and he called a goodbye to his minions before leaving Q Branch.
By the time he reached home he wished nothing more than to change into something warm and go to sleep. It finally stopped raining sometime in the afternoon, so at least he stayed dry this time around, but the ride in the tube hadn’t been the best idea, the continue movements only increased his dizziness which resulted in a near fall. Thankfully he managed not to fall down but he ended up twisting his ankle for his efforts. The walk from the station to his apartment ended up being more difficult than he anticipated, but finally there he was, just outside his safe heaven.
JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ.
Alec was sitting on the sofa, feet resting on the coffee table in front of him. The telly was on, but his attention was elsewhere. He looked at his watch. 7.20 P.M. Q should be nearly home. The boffin had texted them when he finished working and the journey from Vauxhall to their apartment took around 30 minutes. Any other day he would have been ecstatic to know that in just a few minutes he could have his younger lover in his arms, but he had the nagging feeling that something was wrong. Feeling a bit ridiculous, he tried to focus his attention back on the program he was watching.
James stood in the kitchen, cooking dinner and ignoring that his partner was sharing his same preoccupations. He too felt something off and he couldn’t pinpoint the origin of such a feeling. Alec was back home unscathed from his latest mission. No bullet or knife wounds, not even a bruise or a scratch marked his skin. He was safe.
James stirred his tomato sauce and tested it. It needed a bit more salt and a splash of sugar. He added a few leaves of basil too. The water for the pasta was nearly at boiling point, as soon as Q got home he would put it in. James rubbed his left bicep. The bullet wound he got on his last mission was practically healed. He could have gone back to work already if Q hadn’t insisted on him staying home for the rest of his medical leave. The prospect of spending more time with his lover had won over his need for action and the blond agent agreed to finish off the remaining five days of his leave. He looked at the time. 7.30 P.M. Any moment now Q would step into their apartment. The agent forced back the sense of uneasiness that still lurked in his subconscious as he reached for a package of pasta.
The sound of the alarm’s deactivation and the following turn of a key into the door lock announced the arrival of their third party.
Both agents relaxed subconsciously as if it took only the young Quartermaster’s presence to make them forget their worries. James smile softly as he stirred the sauce in the pan.
“Welcome home, love. I’m about to toss the pasta into the water so you have time to change” he called, not looking away from what he was doing. He was sure Q would be in the kitchen in just a few moments to hug him from behind, face pressed gently on his back before planting a small kiss on the blonde’s shoulder. Alec would soon join them trying to get his lovers’ attention like a dog demanding to be petted.
Alec, not as patient as his fellow agent, sprang up from the sofa as soon as he heard the door closing. He quickly closed the distance to the entrance and saw Q trying to take off the bag strapped diagonally across his back. A mischievous smile crept on the Russian’s face as he silently stepped to the turned man. When he was at touching distance, he leaned forward till his face was close to Q’s ear and whispered to him.
“Welcome home, moj dorogoj. Why don’t I help you taking your clothes off?”
Q’s startled at the voice in his hear and spun around. The abrupt movement caused his dizziness to flare up and he swayed dangerously until he felt a pair of strong hands steadying him. Alec was watching him, green eyes suddenly alight with worry. He must have noticed his flushed cheeks, pale skin and glazed eyes, because not a second later the agent brought a hand to the younger man’s forehead to check his temperature and swore.
“Shit. Q, you’re burning up!”
“I just need to lie down for a while. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Assure Q, even though he felt like crap. Alec was not convinced by these words, but decided not to comment focusing instead on helping his sick lover. He reached to pull off the anorak and he felt the dampness on the material. It stopped raining by the time Q walked off MI6 so this wasn’t fresh. Narrowing his eyes he looked at Q.
“It started to rain heavily early this morning just after you left. Please tell me you didn’t get soaked and stayed that way at work.”
Sensing the tension in Alec’s body, Q looked guiltily at his lover.
“I did get caught in the rain...but I changed when I arrived at Vauxhall.” Seeing Alec’s expression he continued “The rain started just a block from the tube station, I couldn’t come back to get an umbrella or I would be late so I ran in the rain. When I arrived at the office I was drenched, but I changed immediately...I didn’t have a change of shoes though so I had to deal with these all day long.”
Alec swore again. Q was prone to colds and chest infections. When he was little he had been a sickly child and he nearly died of pneumonia. That experience left him with weakened lungs and riding the tube in that season in addition to getting caught in the rain sure lead him to his current conditions.
The Russian hung up the anorak and proceeded to help Q with his shoes. When he wrapped his hand around Q’s right foot the boffin left out a moan of pain. Looking up, the 00 caught the grimaced set on his lover’s face.
“Dare I ask what happened?” He inquired as he gently took off the shoe to inspect the swollen ankle.
“Twisted it when trying not to fall down...Alec, I...I don’t feel so well...“
Q’s voice became just a whisper at the end and Alec had just the time to raise his head to look back at Q before the boffin began crumbling down.