#her favourite treats are trout snacks

[ppth-forensic-technician]

As I promised, an image of Spots.

I'm sorry, she got very excited about the picture and my hands were shaky.

Spots is a 5 year old Border Collie I got as an emotional support dog.

She loves to run around in the open :) Barely needs a leash.

[sunaddicted]

Bliss (00q)

This is my fill for Prompt 78 for the (technically) Anonymous Prompt Exchange: @a-forger-and-a-point-man I loved writing this for you!

Bliss

Q walked quietly out on the balcony, squinting at the sunlight from behind his glasses - his prescription, with the passing of the years, had only made the lenses thicker - to put into proper focus the figure bathing in it: James was sitting at the small breakfast table, a pot of tea and a plate with a couple of slices of toasted bread sitting next to the newspaper the older man was frowning down at “You shouldn���t read that before midday, you know it will only upset you” Q pointed out with a smile, making his presence well-known before walking up to his husband and dropping a kiss to his hair.

“You’re right” James let out a sigh and flicked the newspaper closed before taking off his reading glasses; when he had started wearing them a decade or so ago, Q had taken revenge on all the teasing James had done in the past, calling him some truly cringeworthy pet names - four-eyed lover being on the top of the list - that in the end had managed to make James smile and had put him at ease about needing spectacles for reading.

Q nodded with a mischievous smile in place “Always am”

“Sure” James retorted, voice full of sarcasm and a big grin on his face as he turned around on the chair to look up at Q: his husband’s head was a riot of silver curls - he had gone grey early, everyone at MI6 had joked that it was the fault of all the scares he had given him during his career as a Double-Oh - and he still was wearing his fuzzy pyjamas that seemed to beg to be petted “My memory still works fine: I could list without a problem all the ways you definitely weren’t right just last week”

Q playfully swatted him on the shoulder, immediately prompting a loud mewl from Hades “Tart”

James chuckled “You’re just not used to not being the cat’s favourite” he teased, welcoming on his lap the black sphynx that Eve had gotten them from a rescue centre just a couple of years before.

When Pampuria and Turing had died, thankfully both of old age, Q hadn’t wanted another cat and James, despite finding himself missing the annoying balls of fluff, had complied to his husband’s wishes and hadn’t brought home any.

“True” Q hummed, bending down a little to caress the adorable wrinkles on Hades’ head; its skin, soft and slightly oily, felt like a balm on his dry hands “I’m not used to such friendly cats”

Both Pampuria and Turing had seeked out cuddles and attention, but not as much as Hades who followed them around the house and seemingly never wanted to spend a moment alone; after doing some reading, worried that such neediness stemmed from an abusive life with its past owner, Q had discovered that it was a completely normal character trait in the breed and slowly started to learn how to interact with such a different cat than the ones he had had in his life.

Hades waved its tail and sprawled all over James’ lap, exposing its pot belly much like a dog craving cuddles would do “You silly thing” the older man said fondly.

Q rolled his eyes but obliged and started petting the cat’s belly “We should give him a bath before going to the doctor”

James grimaced “Do we have to?”

Sometimes, Q thought that he had been dealing with a child all the time: after retirement, James hadn’t grown out of his dislike of doctors and he actively tried to avoid them even when age had made it necessary that he had frequent check ups “We need to get your prescription filled” Q reminded him gently, subtly spying the plate with his husband’s breakfast to check that his pill was there.

“Already took it” James reassured, both grateful for and exasperated by Q’s care. He nudged his plate closer to his husband in a silent invitation to take the last toast left “I’m full”

“You’ve been eating so little lately, are you sure you’re alright?”

James couldn’t help laughing at that, making Hades trill and purr in pure happiness “You’re adorable”

“What have I done know?”

“Remember when I was the one who used to worry about you not eating enough?”

“I was a strapping young man back then” Q pointed out, chuckling at the clearly sceptical expression on James’ face “Alright, maybe not strapping”

“Definitely not strapping” James concurred, teasingly “You were more like Hades, all soft”

“I didn’t have a pot belly!” Q protested, caressing said body part on their cat that, once it had heard its name being said, had excitedly pushed itself closer into his hands “Besides, not everyone can have abs their whole lives” he added with a sprinkle of envy: on the threshold of his seventies, while not as sharply defined as it had been when they had gotten together, James’ stomach was still hard and muscled.

“You love them”

“I really do” Q nodded, finally deciding to bite into the toast: if James said that he was full, then he wouldn’t force him to eat more but he promised himself to persuade his husband to get a little snack while they were out on their errands “We need to buy a bottle of something for dinner at Eve’s tonight”

James took over petting duty for Q, uncaring of the way Hades affectionately nipped at him from time to time “Do we know what she’s planning on cooking?”

Q shook his head “I don’t think she knows either”

***

“Mr. Bond, you’re 70” Doctor Granger sighed loudly, holding up in the air a cotton swab and a syringe with infinite patience; she was used to her patient being as cranky as a child, having had him in cure for almost fifteen years now, but she always was surprised about how quickly the man would start complaining: he had no shame at all.

“And the flu has never knocked me over so, I don’t see why I should start getting shots for it” James pointed out, resolutely crossing his arms so that the doctor couldn’t roll up the sleeve of his pullover and jab at him with the needle.

At the childish display of stubbornness, Doctor Granger arched an eyebrow “Do I need to call your husband in, Mr Bond?” She threatened; she had quickly learnt that if there was something the man disliked more than doctors, it was displeasing his husband and she unashamedly made use of that piece of knowledge to curb the other man’s attitude “You know I will”

James briefly glared at her, considering all his options before relenting and offering the evil woman an arm “You’re not going to tell him that I complained”

Doctor Granger mimicked sealing her mouth and tossing away the zip. When they finally emerged from the office a few minutes later and Mr. Gabriel Bond asked her whether his husband had behaved or not - he clearly knew the older man very well - she grinned widely “Like an angel”

***

“Here, sir. Sit down”

Q looked at the young boy standing up from his spot, clearly offering it to his husband, with dread: if there was something James loathed, it was youngsters treating him like an invalid - his words. Q had tried to make him see that they were just being nice, especially on the crowded tube.

James stiffened “No, thank you. I prefer to stand” he answered, repeating the words that a pissed Q had made him learn by heart after he had glared a young girl into sitting again into her damned seat.

At least he’d been polite, despite the murdering expression he had gotten on his face and Q rewarded him with a squeeze to his hand. Thankfully, the boy wasn’t one of those kids who endlessly insisted and sat back down after smiling at them.

Crisis averted.

***

Eve opened her arms and rushed to them on her heels - James thought that she would never give up on them, she would probably waltz to her grave in heels - only to promptly avoid their attempted hugs to bend down and free Hades from the carrier, so that she could hoist the cat in her arms and cuddle it against her chest “I missed you so much, you little thing!”

Q arched an eyebrow as he toed off his shoes and hang up his parka, doing the same with his husband’s coat as James followed suit and made himself comfortable “So glad to know that we are ranked below Hades in your affections”

“And to think that we even brought you wine” James sighed dramatically.

“Don’t be so grumpy, you two” Eve chided gently, walking into the kitchen while still holding Hades in her arms, cooing down at it when it excitedly chattered at her “I saw you not even two days ago”

While not officially retired, it had been in common accord between all the department heads and higher ups to let Q sensibly cut back on his hours, recognising that the once youngest Quartermaster in MI6 history had burnt himself out during the previous decades. Now, Q only went in three times a week to check on various projects and to personally tutor a couple of his minions who had been chosen for their brilliance and iron will as his possible successors; which meant that while James benefited from his husband’s company above anyone else, Q didn’t see Eve as often as he would have liked anymore - especially since she had become M.

James knew that Q missed her a lot; after years of seeing her on a daily basis, his husband still wasn’t used to spending considerably less time with his best friend. So, whenever he could, he schemed with Eve to get them together outside of work hours as much as possible

“We brought a white, is that alright?” Q asked, sitting down at the table at his usual seat while Eve worried about feeding Hades - the little wrinkly bugger ate more than all the three of them put together - while James peered into pots and pans.

“There’s ratatoille and steamed trout so, yes” Eve answered, playfully pushing James away with her hip “And red velvet for dessert for all the non diabetics” she added, teasingly.

“You bitch” James scowled fondly at her “We’ll see how you fare at my age”

*** When they slipped in bed, Hades had already claimed his usual spot between them, tail waving almost as if trying to tell them to hurry up for their snuggle.

James pulled his pyjamas on, long were past the days he could manage to sleep in the nude and not get cold, and slipped in bed while Q finished washing up; Hades burrowed deep in his side, purring at the feeling of soft flannel against its sensitive skin.

When Q finally reached them, James was almost asleep “Come here” he murmured.

The younger man eagerly followed his husband’s invitation, bending down to kiss his forehead “Good night, my love”

“Good night, Gabriel”