Who Waits Forever – Chapter two

Who Waits Forever – Chapter two

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Chapter two

That first week following their bonding was the best week Arthur had spent with Eames in any of the lifetimes they’d shared together.

There was a sense of isolation, of it being just the two of them, even though they were in the centre of London.

That first day, when they finally crawled out of bed, Arthur had made an online shopping order to be delivered urgently. Now the kitchen was fully stocked with everything they would need, aside from the fruit and vegetables that Eames’ lovely neighbour arranged.

As Eames said she would, every day Maria Pendleton dropped off something sweet and made with apples for them to eat. Arthur made sure to always have something to give back, generally something that he had put aside when he’d made them dinner. She was delighted by the attention, and began calling Arthur her ‘dear boy’ to Eames’ obvious delight.

Eames was appreciative of Arthur’s culinary efforts too, although he showed his appreciation in vastly different ways.

“It’s a good thing we’re having so much sex,” he said to Arthur one evening, after savouring his last mouthful of vegetarian lasagne. “If I weren’t getting some sort of exercise, I’d soon be no use to Six whether I was bonded or not. How on earth do you manage to eat so much and still stay so lean?”

“Just lucky, I suppose,” Arthur answered with a shrug. He eyed Eames over the table as his guide carefully licked every last trace of sauce from his fork. A sly glance from mischievous blue eyes was enough to confirm that he was doing it on purpose. Oh well, they did need to work off that dinner.

Arthur had met Eames spirit animal, a raccoon that he’d named Wiggins. A slightly embarrassed Eames had explained that as a boy he’d loved Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, and that at school he’d formed a group called ‘The Irregulars’ in order to role play.

Mufasa, Arthur’s African Bush elephant spirit guide, was a little big to be visiting frequently. Nevertheless, he had ways of making himself known. He’d perfected the ability of projecting an insubstantial image of himself rather than the more solid form that a spirit guide usually took when they manifested on the tangible plane.

So far MI6 had left them alone, although Arthur wasn’t fooling himself into thinking M didn’t know exactly where they were. There were any number of ways to track them after all, even if Arthur had vehemently refused to be chipped. He had advocated so strongly for the removal of all currently deployed chips that Six was now chip-free.

The problem with implanted tracking devices was that it only took a mind slightly more advanced than the one which created them to hack the signal, and then any agent tagged with one was a sitting duck. Q had arranged a presentation which had involved him hacking into the CIA who were still chipping their agents and displaying the results to the Foreign Secretary. The removal process had started the next day.

The part of Arthur that was Q and still caught up in MI6’s concerns wondered about how the mission Bond had been assigned was going considering that another agent would have been sent at the last minute.

The larger part didn’t care.

What did it matter in the long run? Arthur would do his best for this world. He was honestly incapable of anything else. But if it all turned to shit and the world went up in smoke? It wouldn’t be the first time. He and Eames would still go on, and maybe next time they’d put in fail safes against the several ways humans had found to create large-scale damage to others with minimal risk to themselves.

Well into the first day of their second week in seclusion, Arthur finally decided to confront the elephant in the room.

“Have you had any thoughts?” he asked Eames as they lay together in bed, facing each other in the dim light of pre-dawn.

Eames’ expression was grim. “None that stand much chance of working.”

“Maybe we should put even the bad ideas on the table,” Arthur suggested. “Something might spark a more feasible idea.”

“Well, what ideas have you had?” Eames said, sounding slightly defensive.

“Nothing,” Arthur rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “Not a one. If we had any idea what or who we were looking for, I’d be your man. But we know nothing, except that there’s something. I can’t work with nothing Eames. I don’t have the imagination.”

“Well, the only thing I’ve come up with is pretty basic, and probably stupid,” Eames said unhappily.

“Let’s hear it then.” Arthur said, rolling back to face his guide.

“Whoever or whatever it is seems to like playing with us,” Eames said cautiously. “What if we took ourselves off the playing board?”

Arthur blinked. “You mean kill ourselves?”

“No!” Eames replied, his face reflecting his horror. “The very thought… it might be because we’re bonded, but the very idea of that turns my stomach. No, I was thinking that we should retire to some snowy mountain top, and just… not take part in the world.”

Arthur’s knee-jerk reaction was to say no. They had responsibilities. They were needed. But hadn’t he been thinking something along those lines for a while now? Not the deliberate bowing out, but the fact that their presence didn’t really matter?

The only problem with the plan that he could see was that both of them would be bored out of their brains in rather short order.

But… maybe their hidden watcher/meddler wouldn’t know that. Maybe they could fool it just long enough to get it to make a mistake.

In the end, what did they really have to lose?

He tried sending an emotion burst along the channel between them, going for a mix of approval, concern, and trepidation.

“I suppose that’s all we can really do,” he said out loud, making his voice as sad as he could. “What’s the point in continuing this charade of lives if we can’t enjoy them? You’re right. We should live out the rest of these lives in seclusion, and then give up on the world building thing.”

There were warm happy feelings coming back towards him, and Arthur got a mental picture of Eames rubbing his hands together in glee.

“And it will probably mean the end of our partnership,” Eames agreed out loud. “After all, if we don’t have our joint projects anymore, we would have no reason to gravitate towards each other. No, we should probably make it a clean break. It would be better for both of us in the long run.”

Even as Arthur was nodding his sad agreement, an unexpected figure appeared in the corner of the bedroom.

It wore the body of an adult woman, but there was something about it that screamed ‘child’ to Arthur’s mind. He received immediate reinforcement of this belief via channel from Eames, even before she opened her mouth.

“No!” She cried, stomping her foot. “That’s not the way it’s supposed to go!”

Arthur had never been more aware of being naked.

Eames didn’t seem fussed. He slid out of bed and over to the bathroom door where two fluffy bathrobes were hanging. The mental age of their Visitor was somewhat confirmed for Arthur when she didn’t turn her head to watch him go.

“How is it ‘supposed’ to go then?” Eames asked when he was robed, handing Arthur’s robe over to him.

“There’s going to be an exciting showdown in Scotland!” their Visitor said petulantly. “But not if neither of you are there to make it happen! Why doesn’t anyone want to play with me?”

“These… changes to what we had planned,” Arthur said carefully. “That was you?”

“You looked like fun,” she said, collapsing on a chair that appeared out of nowhere. “No one will play with me anymore, so I thought I could join in on your game. But you’re so boring! All you want to do is play at being people, when you could be playing with them.”

“That’s what we enjoy,” Arthur said gently. “We don’t like playing with people.”

“I just thought if I could show you how much fun it is-” she said, her lower lip protruding in a pout. “But now you want to give up entirely! It’s not fair!”

Arthur looked to Eames to see if he had anything helpful to offer. To his surprise, Eames was stony faced with no hint of conciliation on his face anywhere.

“Who are you? What are you?” Eames asked, his guide power backing up his questions.

Who or whatever she was, the Visitor seemed affected by it. She shrank back slightly and her eyes went wide.

“Mummy calls me Z, but Daddy calls me Querida.” Her lower lip began to wobble dangerously. “Mummy said I mustn’t meddle, that you were both far too dangerous, but Daddy said that so long as I didn’t let you see me I would get away with it. Are you going to tell on me? Am I going to be bound?”

What are you?” Eames ground out, not appearing affected by Z’s distress at all.

“We’re the Q Continuum,” she blinked, and looked at him as if he was an idiot.

Arthur felt a surge of fierce joy. They had a name. Now that they knew what they were looking for, they would be able to make some progress. And regardless of how powerful this Q Continuum was, they would still be subject to the forces of Order and Chaos. One of them, if not both. They had won, even if the battle had yet to be fought.

“Tell you what,” Arthur said soothingly, wishing he could play bad-cop for once. “You leave us alone from now on, and we won’t tell on you. Deal?”

Z didn’t look happy with that option either. She nibbled on her lip, looking conflicted.

“Personally, I think you deserve every bit of whatever punishment you get.” Eames said, eyes like polished stones. “The hell you’ve put Arthur through for your ‘game’, you’re lucky we don’t call for your existence to be terminated. Do you have any idea of the rules you’ve broken? We are not mortals, foolish child. We are the embodiments of Chaos and Order. Our rule reaches everywhere.”

Arthur could feel Eames’ conviction through their bond, and it made that part of him that had been falling in love with his natural opposite all warm and fuzzy. Eames might not love him the same way, but he did care. He cared enough to be getting up in the face of a being who had been running rings around them for a long time, even if she was young for her kind.

For the first time since she appeared, Z looked truly frightened. Arthur didn’t blame her. Eames had never been so scary.

“Because Arthur has offered you a deal, I won’t press the issue,” Eames stated. “This time. I’ve got your signature now, and if I ever have the slightest inkling that you’ve come back, if even one thing doesn’t add up, I’ll be coming after you. And it won’t just be you either. That father that encouraged you? He’s on the chopping block too.”

Z’s eyes filled with tears.

“You have one chance. To be honest, I hope you blow it so I can have my justice. Now run away, little girl, and hope I don’t change my mind.”

Z fled.

Arthur couldn’t remember being this turned on.

“You, bed, now!” he ordered, throwing off his robe as soon as he was sure they were both alone. “You were so incredibly hot just then, I don’t know how you haven’t combusted. Come on Eames, hurry!”

Eames was barely close enough when Arthur pounced, bringing Bond’s larger, heavier body to the bed. It was gratifying for Arthur to discover that he wasn’t the only one hard, and he lost no time in taking that long, thick cock deep into his throat.

Arthur didn’t know how long he spent working Eames’ cock, only that the hand in his hair tugged him away before he was ready.

“My hair is not a handle for you to use!” he managed to say before his lips were taken in a fierce kiss.

“Your hair is like a separate entity,” Eames murmured back, releasing his mouth and going for his earlobe. “Tomorrow I’m going to fuck you in the shower against the wall, your hair slicked back so I can see your eyes at all times. So you can’t hide.”

Arthur’s whole body shuddered at the image Eames was evoking. He shoved his guide back for a moment, doing his best to glare when all he wanted to do was melt into a puddle.

“I’m on a mission, Mr Bond, and I would appreciate your assistance. If it helps, I suggest you lie back and think of England.”

Eames groaned. “If you think for one moment I’m going to let you get away with a line that corny, you have another thing coming.”

“I certainly hope so,” Arthur said with a sly grin, enjoying the shout of laughter his stupid joke evoked.

“Well, let’s get on with that then,” Eames chortled.

“I’m driving this time, Mr Bond,” Arthur said, reaching for Eames’ cock and giving it a rough stroke. “You can take the wheel next time. In the mean time, sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“If you insist, Quartermaster,” Eames conceded. He wiggled a bit when Arthur reached for the lube, waiting until the first finger was inside before continuing. “I’ve always preferred stick, you know.”

Arthur gave his lover a chiding look and scraped a fingernail gently over his prostate.

Eames jerked in reaction and Arthur allowed himself a smug smile.

“Good to know,” he said. It was the last coherent thing either of them said for a while.

It was early afternoon before Arthur felt himself drifting back into consciousness.

Waking up still curled around Eames’ toasty warmth, Arthur felt his whole body echo his contentment.

He could feel his guide’s echoing contentment, along with a complicated mix of soft and hard emotions that as a sentinel he had no name for. Underlying all of that was a deep well of sadness, a misery that had been somehow partitioned off from the rest. Arthur was curious as hell as to what that could be, but he had known Eames for long enough to realise that if his guide wanted him to know, he’d tell him. If he didn’t, there was no way that anything Arthur could say would budge the stubborn bastard.

Eames turned over and smiled sleepily. His face was open and unguarded in a way that few had probably ever seen.

“What say we have a shower, darling?” he rumbled, his lips curving further. “I have a promise to keep, after all.”

That was enough to get Arthur moving, despite his prior stance on sex in the shower, i.e. that it was an accident waiting to happen and not something that intelligent people indulged in.

They were nearly at the bathroom door when Arthur heard a sound that made his libido cool remarkably.

Bond’s phone was powering up. That could only mean that something had happened at Six. Something concerning enough for the Q-branch minions to risk his wrath and utilise the remote override.

Eames must have recognised the severity of the situation as well, he went from playful lover to focused double-oh agent in the blink of an eye.

“Bond!” he barked, answering the phone as soon as it rang, putting it on speaker so that Arthur could hear and take part in the conversation.

“And Q,” Arthur said, letting the mantle of Q-branch head settle over him. It was time to be Q again, even if he had significantly more experience as Arthur.

“We’ve got an issue, sirs,” came the nervous voice of R, Q’s second in command. “There’s no time for details, but we have a target that has escaped custody, and we think he may be going after M.”

“Send his file,” Q instructed, pulling on his clothes as his mind raced. “Where is M currently?”

“She’s attending the enquiry into the stolen hard drive.” R sounded relieved. “Double-oh Six is following de Silva’s trail, but I’d be much happier if M had a bit more backup.”

“Who does she have?” Bond asked, picking up the phone and leading his Quartermaster up the stairs and to a cupboard where he opened a concealed compartment in the base of the hot water cylinder to retrieve a veritable armoury of weapons, all packed neatly in the space available.

Q gave Bond the stink eye, but decided that now wasn’t the time to talk about it.

“Moneypenny, Tanner, and Mallory,” came R’s miserable answer.

Bond and Q cursed simultaneously.

“Give me that,” Q demanded, gesturing to one of the hand guns in Bond’s collection. “R, I want you to ensure we get a clean run to Whitehall.”

“Yes sir!” R answered, sounding happier now she had instructions to follow.

Q swore quietly. What had M been thinking, leaving such a green agent in charge of Operations? R was brilliant and would one day be more than capable of taking charge of Six in an emergency situation. At present she was too young, and too new. Giving her this kind of responsibility before she was ready could break her. If it did, Q and M would be having words.

“We should be there in under ten minutes,” Q said, committing de Silva’s file to memory, taking especial care to observe his face and profile.

“Double-oh Six said de Silva’s been tagged with ST14,” R reported.

“Good,” Q breathed, a smile twisting his mouth as he got in the BMW that Bond had picked from the cars available on the street, barely managing to get the door closed before they were off down the road in a screech of tyres. “If he’s got any brains he’ll try to cover that up, but ST14 is pervasive, and only two known compounds can cover it up.”

“We’ve just confirmed a visual,” R said, sounding outraged. “He’s disguised as a policeman and he’s still heading in M’s direction. Double-oh Six has been held up. He won’t get there in time!”

We will.” Q promised grimly. With that he let his sense of smell start to range ahead of them, keeping one hand on Bond’s shoulder to ground himself.

Q had never used his senses like this. He’d never had the freedom to do exactly as he wished with them, secure in the knowledge that his guide would be able to keep him from zoning. It was liberating. He felt like he was flying ahead of his body in world described in sound and smell.

“Hurry!” Q said urgently as he connected to a distinctive smell making its way purposefully towards their destination. “He’s nearly there.”

But so were they. Bond abandoned any pretence of safe driving and used the BMW in a way that domestic vehicles were never intended for.

By now Q could see the figure dressed as policeman up ahead. Making a snap decision based on the traffic he opened the door and threw himself from the car, barely hearing Bond curse and the squeal of overworked brakes.

Q was locked onto his target. The world was narrowing. Time seemed to slow down as he put on an extra burst of speed to get within range. As soon as he knew he had a viable shot he took it, just as the target opened the door into the building that would lead to M.

With his eyesight dialled up, Q had a top-notch view of what a bullet to the head from sixty-five metres away looked like.

v^v^v^v

Arthur had never been more grateful for James Bond’s reputation as an uncooperative arsehole.

When MI5 wanted to separate them for questioning, Bond was having none of it. A full minute after the argument started, Alec Trevelyan took over the scene, flashing his smile and his credentials at the same time.

As Alec was carrying all the proper authorisations with him, things went a lot more smoothly from there.

Q spoke briefly with R, giving several orders and assuring her that he would be back at work in a day or two. She sounded so relieved that Arthur started making plans on the spot. She needed to be tougher.

He put his planning to one side when they got back to the house in Queen Anne Street. As Eames locked the door behind them, Arthur felt himself relax, losing the tension that he had held since he had heard Bond’s phone power up.

“Fucking hell,” Eames said roughly, pulling Arthur into an embrace. “I’m even more ready for that shower now. Come on, let’s get dirty while we get clean.”

“And then you can tell me about that armoury you’ve got going on upstairs,” Arthur said, following his guide without protest.

Sex in the shower with Bond was just as amazing as Arthur had thought it would be. Two hours after they had risen from their bed they were back in it, curled around each other in a bid to get as close as possible.

“I’m so glad I have an excuse to be away from Six for the moment,” Arthur said drowsily. “Can you imagine the hornets’ nest it must be at the moment? I’d much prefer to be here with you.”

Eames chuckled deep in his chest, the sound reverberating through Arthur in a most pleasant manner.

“You’re too nice,” he said, his hand stroking it’s now familiar path up and down Arthur’s back. “If you’re enough of an arsehole, no one will want you there.”

Eames probably had a point, Arthur thought muzzily just as dropped off to sleep. The annoying bastard often did.

v^v^v^v

“Well then?” M asked, the minute they walked into her office on their first day back. “Out with it. I haven’t got all day.”

“Here are my release forms, fully filled in and awaiting your signature,” Bond said, his mouth quirked in a slightly wry smile. “I’ve given some thought as to where I can be of use, and Q suggested training and development.”

“I was thinking that with Bond’s expertise, coupled with my skills, we would be able to do a complete overhaul of the training regime,” Q added, leaning forward in his eagerness. “I’ve had some ideas along those lines already, I’ve only lacked the time and the access to specialised knowledge. As a result of the de Silva débâcle, I’ve decided I need to give my top minions more experience leading Q-branch. Since I’ll still be available in case of a true emergency, this will provide a safe training environment for them as well.”

“Of course you’ll still be overseeing all their work,” M stated.

It wasn’t a question, but Q nodded anyway. “Of course. But I can do that from anywhere in Six.”

“Our shielding doesn’t hinder you?” M said, closing her eyes and tightening her fingers slightly.

“Not really.” Q shrugged. “But it works out alright, and since we’ll be building new headquarters, we can incorporate proper shielding there from the start. Go for overkill.”

“Very well,” said M with a sigh. “I need you both to go through some files and make recommendations for at least two more double-oh agents. Let me know your thoughts within the next two days.”

Q nodded, and Bond took the flash drive M held out towards them.

M rose to her feet and looked out through the window at the bustle of MI6 around her. “I suppose I should tell you now,” she began, her back to both of them. “I have been advised that it’s time for me to retire. I’ve given it some thought over the last few days, and I’ve decided that maybe it’s time. There will be a handover period of six months or so, but before the New Year Mallory will be officially instated as ‘M’.”

Arthur could feel Eames’ shock and sudden grief, but he could also tell that these feelings were kept behind those impressive shields. It was only their bond that allowed him any insight at all as to how this news affected his guide. He did his best to send comfort through the link, but was unsure as to how successful he was.

M turned back around, and despite Bond’s shields, she must have seen something because she smiled. It was a small and wintery smile, but genuine as far as Q could tell.

“The end of an era,” she murmured. Then her face returned to its usual passivity and her eyes hardened. “I’ll accept your transfer, Bond, but you should probably liaise with Mallory as far as your ideas for training go.”

“Of course, M,” Bond inclined his head.

Arthur briefly wondered if Bond’s impending resignation had anything to do with M’s decision to step down. Two weeks ago, if anyone had told him that she would willingly give her chair to another, he would have dismissed it as an impossibility.

As they left her office he considered what the future might look like.

Things would change, but they would also stay the same. He and Eames were bonded as sentinel and guide, and that was something neither of them had experienced before.

Arthur was in love with Eames and had an eternity of heartache to look forward to. Oh, but there were sure to be many wonderful times, and Arthur would prefer his unrequited love than to not have Eames with him at all.

v^v^v^v

“What do you think we should do next time?” Arthur asked that night as they lay together in bed. “Now that we don’t have to worry about interference, I mean.”

“Don’t worry darling,” Eames replied. “I’m going to make it so that we can be Arthur and Eames, nothing out of the ordinary about us. Just a nice placid life to make up for all this excitement. I know just the thing.”

And Eames carefully hid his glee as he thought about the blueprints he’d been keeping in reserve for some time. Hopefully nineteenth century Earth was ready for Lord Eames. Oh well, ready or not, Lord Eames was ready for nineteenth century Earth.

Of course, they couldn’t both be Lords… it was going to be fun.

The End

Title Page / Chapter one

One comment

  1. AlexiCyn

    ZOMG!!! That just did my head in! But in the best ways possible! 😀 I’m floored that you could keep that all straight, and have it flow so wonderfully, and not to mention being sexy and sweet at the same time. You wins the internet for the weekend! 😀 Or you know, as long as you want. Just share a little… 😀

    Thank you for this. It was a wonderful read AND gave me twice as much mental eye candy! WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN! 😀

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