Hmm, an idea, stay with me here: AU where instead of James’s ability to form lasting attachments being scarred for life because of his evil brother who secretly hated him, James was adopted by Kincade, so instead of being an international man of mystery, he’s just that one guy in the Scottish highlands who gets stuck with Q one winter when MI6 needed to position Q there and he has to listen to this dumb boffin complain about the internet connection all winter which is wild af cause normally people complain about the cold but no, this kid’s complaining about the internet and also he brought two cats with him and oh no he’s cute when it’s 6am and he wakes up with fluffy hair and no glasses and comes down with a blanket around his shoulder, oh no, James didn’t plan for this when he told MI6 they could use Skyfall as an outpost for a mission oh no
Alright, I want a multichapter slow burn 00Q Spectre fix-it fic where Bond leaves with Madeleine, but later he returns again. Maybe he has just taken her somewhere safe, or actually spent some time with her, but the thing is that he does not love her and she does not love the real him either, however much she has imagined herself in love with him, and Bond is truly not someone to just quietly settle down somewhere for the rest of his life. So, he comes back because that’s what he does.
However, not all things are the way he left them. Take Q, for example. The young man is downright chilly with him, all professionalism and none of the playful banter they both so enjoyed and that, Bond had hoped, was actually leading somewhere. But now Q is making up excuses to not see him and even choosing other Double-O agents over him, and that just won’t do.
Q is keeping his distance from Bond for the sole reason of saving himself from further heartache. Like Bond, he had also hoped that eventually their flirting would lead somewhere, but then Bond had left and Q had realised just how silly he had been. And even if Bond had returned, there is no telling how soon he would leave again, so there is no point in holding out hope for anything but purely professional interactions between them. So that is what Q is going to do, remain professional and, when possible, delegate his duties in the name of training his minions. The less time he spends with Bond the better for all involved, that he knows.
Besides, he has other agents to deal with, some of who have been starting to show up in Q Branch worryingly often and who seem to zero in on him and him alone. It’s as if Bond’s absence had opened up the floodgates and now he has to deal with several flirty and touchy-feely Double-Os who seem intent in dragging him into their beds. Bond’s return really isn’t that big of a deal compared to that.
That is, of course, before Bond starts to really make his presence known in his life again, flirting with him and touching him and being an all-around nuisance in Q Branch. The only good thing about it is that he helps to keep the other agents in line, even if Q does not appreciate the possessiveness. He does not belong to Bond or anyone else for that matter, and they all would do well to remember that.
Then comes the mission where Q not only needs to actually join Bond in the field, but he also needs to pretend to be in a relationship with the agent. He is certain that Bond is behind that delightful idea, and he knows that there is no way that this will end well.
I scrolled down to 97 and saw Time Travel and damn near cackled because I’m writing that as we speak and I was so sure this was going to be easy but then I got to 50 and saw Arranged Marriage and every idea in my head just went right out the window.
This was so hard to come up with but I can easily see Q being forced into an arranged marriage with some entitled Nobleman and willing to do just about anything to get out of it. When he meets a warlock who promises he can get him away Q jumps at the opportunity. Of course, waking up nearly 200 years into the future isn’t what he expected but the warlock did keep his word he supposes. Q spends years trying to learn the way this new world works and trying to blend into society. It takes time but he was always smart and he always did love a challenge so it’s no wonder he takes to the 21st century like a duck to water.
All is well for a while, especially when he finds he has a knack for technology and gets himself recruited by MI6. Time flies without him even noticing and suddenly it’s 2012 and he’s Quartermaster and he’s walking into the National Gallery to address the infamous 007 who can’t seem to stay dead despite everything that’s thrown at him. And who does Q see, dressed in a crisp suit and looking worse for wear sitting right in front of the Fighting Temeraire, but the entitled Nobleman.
Shadow In The Light 