Willy/Bond/Harry

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

Being held 'captive' was proving very, very, dull. Not that he was hoping for torture and cruelty, he was pleased to avoid all that, but he wouldn't have minded a little excitement. Just a smidge... That morning though everyone at the tavern was brimming with excitement, chatting away about some fight and the return of the queen.

Seemed he might be going home today.

They had breakfast as always, but Q played closer attention to Willy this morning, wondering how this would play out. Would he bring Bond here? Would he play up the whole captive thing? Would it be more the same?

He wondered if everyone was alright, from Hex to Harry, and all those in between he'd come to think of as friends or even family...

"Are they coming here, or are we going to them?" he asked after a moment.

Comments

[willysilver]

"We will be going to the palace shortly," Willy promised, enjoying a sweet bun with honey and cream and berries.

"I understand the king is dead, the queen newly crowned, and the land will know peace. And you shall go back to your love, no worse for wear. I trust you have no complaints?"

Willy hadn't been exciting, but he'd been much kinder than Bond. He kept Q close as a prized pet and he'd seen to it he was well kept.

And he was quite ready to let Bond's wizard go.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"Other than the boredom and the mediocre accommodations? It's been fine," Q replied. "You're not going to do anything crazy, are you?"

[willysilver]

"Crazy? Such as?" he asked as he lifted his next bite.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"I'm not going to offer you suggestions. Is there more tea? Today is going to be miserable, I'm sure," the boffin decided.

[willysilver]

Willy waved his hand and a fresh pot appeared for Q.

"You think it will be miserable? Do you not want to go home? I could keep you. We could force him to hunt us across the entire globe and prove his devotion," he offered.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"Any day where I'm not free to work on what I want to work on and do what I want to do is miserable," Q assured him. "The only good thing about this place has been the cats. ...I like cats. Always wanted a few for the ship," he admitted.

As if on cue, one hopped up on his lap. It was a thin black cat, one that had taken to sleeping in their rooms at night. Q had taken to calling it Ashes, simply because it had some gray fur around its paws.

[willysilver]

"I think you have been chosen," Willy smiled, watching the cat with Q.

"I was under the impression ships needed cats. Rats in every port, yes?" he smiled

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"Try telling Bond that," Q huffed, scratching the animal behind the ears as he spoke.

"He is alright, isn't he?" he asked after a moment, sounding nervous for the first time. "Bond, mean. You would tell me if something happened to him, wouldn't you? If you wanted to be cruel to me, you had plenty of chances after all."

[willysilver]

"And you think now, at the end, is when I will become a monster?" Willy asked lightly.

"As far as I know, your captain is fine," he assured him then.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"I just don't like being in the dark," Q said quietly. "I'm used to knowing everything."

[willysilver]

"I am used to knowing as little as possible," Willy replied with a warm smile.

"I know comfort. I know music. Sometimes pleasure. Always peace. Could have that life with me, if you would stay," he offered.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"Why on earth would you even offer that?" Q asked. "You've been eager to be rid of me since you took me."

[willysilver]

"Have I? Or have I neglected seduce you and steal your heart from Bond?" Willy asked, somehow both placid and threatening.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"You couldn't seduce me even if you actually wanted to," Q assured him. "Bond has more than just my heart."

[willysilver]

"Oh?" Willy asked, his brows rising.

"Blood magic?" he assumed.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"No," Q replied. "Loyalty, and an understanding. Bond knows me in a way no one else does."

[willysilver]

"I do not understand," Willy admitted, brows drawn in in confusion.

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

"I don't doubt that," Q said dryly. "And I'm not keen to spell out our love affair or sex life for you, so just trust me when I tell you, he's not easily replaced.

It wasn't just love. Bond understood his needs in a way no one ever had. James knew what he needed and when he needed it. Knew how to center him when he started to feel lost. Bond knew that even when he was being mouthy, it wasn't cheek, it was how Q expressed his love. Bond just understood.

[willysilver]

"Hmm."

Willy considered him a moment.

"But...are you?"

[bibbidi_bobbidi_boffin]

Q visiby reacted to that, angry at first, then upset.

He said nothing though, turning away and deciding not to speak again until he had to.

[provocateur_king]

Bond had been up since sunrise, ready to receive Q. There had been breakfast and he'd shaved. A lovely nymph had washed and braided his hair and his clothes were clean and fresh and bright.

It made him think he'd have a use for Nyx aboard the ship after all. Salt water was terrible for the laundry. A nymph's magic, though. Perfect.

"Harry," he called as he approached the man in the main hall. "They aren't here yet? Where is everyone? Do fae sleep the day away?" he grumbled nervously, looking more dashing and polished than he ever had before.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry started to say something else, but then blinked at Bond in surprise. He ignored the question and asked, “Why do you look so…” He couldn’t even think of the right word. Good? Civilized? Perhaps Bond had decided that he could be perfectly diplomatic on his own after all. Harry, who looked much the same, which was how he always looked, felt a bit frumpy in comparison.

[provocateur_king]

Bond waited for him to finish, then realized he'd simply stopped.

"So...what?" he asked, looking down at himself.

[lepidopterologist]

"Like a diplomat," Harry said, saying the term in much the same almost accusatory way that Bond had said it to him.

[provocateur_king]

"Are you suggesting I don't need you, after all?" Bond asked, taking it as a compliment whether Harry meant it that way or not.