Prologue

Bond is always the seductive charmer, isn't he, and he always gets his woman, maybe even his man. But maybe just once, it is not quite as easy as complete surrender at the first glance?

Warnings for themes of family bullying and mentions of very dark themes, later in the story, as in them literally being mentioned within the narrative. There is also a small reference to stalking. This is an AU where Q has left the position as Quartermaster behind and is replaced by another Q.

I do not claim to own the James Bond franchise.

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The new Quartermaster stood out. With a delicate build accentuating a rather startling young beauty, especially around the "30-something man"-ridden headquarters, with her eyes of a rich but light hazel shade which turned almost golden in the strong lights of Q-branch, framed by extremely long auburn hair of a gorgeous nuance which rarely even occured in its natural state, she really did turn quite a few heads.

At a mere 24, she was just the age of the last Quartermaster when he had begun his stint in the important charge as head of the branch; the legendary young Q who had brought the Q-branch into the digital age with a bang and who had moved on to a newly formed special unit specially built to handle cybercrime formed after the whole Skyfall and Spectre fiasco. Being one of only six in the world, nevermind Britain, who could encrypt like him, her appointment as his successor was not questioned very loudly, even in the parts of the service with the most oldfashion of company culture lingering, though of course, there were exceptions.

Either way, it went without saying that her presence was well noted, throughout the organisation, and it also went without saying that James Bond - always looking for a new challenge - was completely and utterly intrigued.

The first time 007 flirted with the new Q, she didn't even notice. The second, third, fourth and fifth times he tried it, she merely regarded him with her deep, hazel eyes and made no comment. The sixth and seventh time she started speaking to somebody else, ignoring his existence entirely with a calm and presence she was envied by just about all of Q-branch, not to say the secretary pool.

Time number eight, though, James Bond thought that he spotted some irritation - and was that possibly amusement - deep inside her unfanthomable eyes. Maybe, deep down, fed by all those instincts of his - no matter what his considerable, it must be admitted, vanity told him - he knew that he was wrong.