InsaneJournal

Dec14, James Bond, pre-James/Q, Come To My Church
Title: Come To My Church
Fandom: James Bond
Pairing: pre-James/Q
Rating: G



Q walks down the center aisle, hands in his pocket and being rather careful to not make any noise. The church echoes with the silence of a void; there is little light deepening the feeling of walking into a black hole.

One that seems to have swallowed an agent of his.

He nods his head a priest who asks him if he has come to take home the man who's been there for two days. They would have kicked him out, but current politics have left the church defending anyone in need of their help and sanctuary. And he isn't dirty or disturbing anyone or anything. But they worry for him. Q assures the priest that he'll have the man out of the church in time for the Christmas Midnight Mass.

He continues up the aisle to the front as the bells chime ten. Two hours and then Q will know if he's succeeded.

The man the priest worried about finished a mission a week ago. He'd disappeared thereafter until three days ago when Q caught him on CCTV from the cafe across the street. He'd watched until two days ago when the man had entered the church.

A man like Bond -- when he went to church, Q knew it was a warning. Of what he could not say, but he'd rushed over when Bond had not emerged.

He sits next to Bond with a sigh. "Bond."

"Quartermaster," Bond replies. "Come to take me back?"

Q wonders how best to answer; any lie and Bond will see through it, but may accept it. Or Q can tell the truth to see what Bond will do with it -- see where Bond's mind is.

"How did you find me?" Bond continues instead.

"CCTV," Q admits. Truth, he thinks, will get him further. "No one knows. I told no one."

"We'll both be in trouble then," Bond teases.

"Let them," Q says, waving away the concern. "Sometimes the agents are better served by the shadows they live in rather than the full light of the agency's eyes."

"You think I'm hiding here?" Bond asks.

"I'm not sure," Q says. "Are you?"

Bond is silent for a long moment. "I don't know. After the mission, after the kill, there was this ringing in my ears. Psychological."

"Because you're running on fumes," Q tells him. "This is your fifth mission in as many months. With no down time between them."

Bond looks at his hands. "Seven kills in five months. This is who I am, Q. But the ringing... I couldn't seem to escape it."

"You're looking for a clean up," Q realizes.

Bond half smiles. "Is that what it is?"

"You're lighting candles for a faith you do not have," Q points out. "But you know that these are rituals meant for purification and hope."

"It's almost midnight," Bond says. "Midnight of the birth a savior meant to save us all from sin." He turns to face Q. "Can he save a man like me?"

Q tilts his head. "If you believed in him, yes. But this isn't your faith."

Bond closes his eyes and sighs. "Q."

Q puts his hand on Bond's shoulder. "Come to my church -- the garage at the agency. Sit with me and meditate while I do some minor repairs. And then we'll go to my bedroom, not for sex, but for sleeping; that's your church, James. A stranger's home opened to let you rest instead of expecting you to hunt."

Bond's eyes open slowly. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"I meant about where I find peace."

"You go to strangers homes to rest because you need to know that people are still good and welcoming."

Bond nods. Q takes his hand and leads him away from this void that was eating Bond's soul up with it's own destructive thoughts. There were better places to worship.