the steady hand

Indie Bill Tanner from Craig Era James Bond franchise. Crossover and OC friendly.

[chiefofstafftanner]

Independent Bill Tanner from the Craig Era James Bond Franchise.

Crossover and OC friendly. Selective.

Rules and Muse Information || Verses || Memes

image credit: @handgiven

[jamesbloodybond]

Bond stroked the back of Tanner's neck and pressed a small peck to his lover's forehead. He held him close and whispered gentle words of reassurance. "It's not your fault, love. The noise outside just got too overwhelming for you to handle. You did very well trying to talk to them despite all that."

Bond suddenly felt his legs give out - he unsteadily clung onto Tanner's waist trying to stabilise himself to no avail as he sunk to the ground, cussing from the burning pain coming from his infected wound, causing him to feel slightly nauseous. Damn that bastard, he thought to himself, recalling how he got slashed in the knee a few hours before he drove back to MI6.

The blood that blossomed out of his poorly stitched wound stained his navy blue trousers. "I'm... okay, don't worry, Tanner..." He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists on the ground before standing up momentarily and holding onto Tanner with a pained smile. "See, I'm f-"

The nausea that swirled around his stomach shot up his throat, forcing him to let go of Tanner's shoulder as he turned to the sink immediately and heaved audibly and painfully into the tiny sink, bits of pieces from his lunch earlier forming a puddle.

[chiefofstafftanner]

Tanner was just starting to pull out of everything, when he felt James start to crumble to the floor. He crouched down, a frantic look in his eyes as he put a hand on James' cheek. "What's going on? What's..."

He backed off letting James turn to the sink. The worry on his face only deepened, and he stepped forward putting a hand James' back.

"You're hurt, I'm taking you to medical. And I won't hear a no on the matter."

[jamesbloodybond]

Bond didn't resist when the extraction team took M's lifeless body away from him. He simply sat there and wrapped his arms around his knees, trembling violently from both the harsh cold and grief. It didn't help that he was fighting under sub-zero waters earlier.

Tanner's hand on Bond's shoulder made him jerk slightly, but he soon relaxed and whimpered softly. "...Why did it have to be her...?" Bond uttered, wishing Silva had ended him instead of her.

[chiefofstafftanner]

Tanner squeezed Bond's shoulder firmly when the other man jerked. There was nothing at the moment he could say to make any of this better and he knew it. Tanner knew he had to sort through his own pain later, right now he had to focus on getting Bond back.

"You have to get up James, we have to go back. You're freezing, and need to get medical attention."

He got to his feet, standing in front of Bond. At least from this angle he could try to hide how seeing him like this made him feel.

"Do you need help standing?" Tanner was doing a great job of keeping his voice firm and steady.

[dontcxckitup]

At the same time as he wanted to agree to Tanner's offer and thank him for helping him, he just wanted to tell him to get lost. Frankly, saying he was irritated about his own behaviour, would have been an understatement.

He sucked in another sharp breath and breathed out slowly before nodding his head. "No, it's...I'll be fine..." His brow rose. "I would rather have scotch, though."

[chiefofstafftanner]

Something close to a smile curled Tanner's lips then, and he seemed to be a little less stressed. If Mallory was asking about scotch, he might just be pulling out of this.

"Of course sir, just a moment."

He felt confident he could leave Mallory for the moment, returning quickly with a glass of scotch, crouching down to hand it to him.

"I think it might be best if you go home."

[agent-scotch]

Sora carefully pressed the blade against his bindings. They gave in with a sharp snap and she planted her foot back onto the ground. Carefully she looked around, there were guards at the doors of the bus.

"Well there are two guard at the entrance" she looked around to see if there were any emergency exits but they were all bolted shut. "You don't seem like much of a fighter so unless we can find something to pick these cuffs....."

[chiefofstafftanner]

Tanner let out a sigh of relief when he felt the bonds break, taking a moment to rub at his wrists. He didn't acknowledge her statement with words. But the surprised and rather bothered look that he gave her certainly did the job.

"Are they armed?" he said in a quiet tone. "Because we're going to need a gun if we want to make it out of here any further than this bus."

[awokerph]

reblog this if you're okay with pre-established relationships in threads with new partners and muses

[acupoffreshlybrewedmemes]

If My Muse was dying in Your Muse’s arms, what would your muse tell mine?

[chiefofstafftanner]

((Someone tell me no. I want to create an OC who is a polyglot and works as an interpreter for international government meetings. Like the UN and such. I think they could fit into the Bond verse nicely. Or other fandoms like it.))

[jamesbloodybond]

Bond had completely neglected the fact that they wanted to keep their relationship under wraps for a little longer before doing a big reveal – even more so after witnessing his lover have a panic attack at work. He couldn't imagine explaining to Q the number of times he had to run multiple traffic lights just so he could get to Tanner at the speed of light.

Okay, maybe the speed of light was an exaggeration. But Bond was thankful that he was driving a sports car and not a regular car. Otherwise, it would've taken much longer and Tanner might've felt far worse.

"I'm fine as well," Bond grunted softly and repositioned his arms to better support Tanner. "Let me... help you." Bond took small and gradual steps, guiding Tanner towards the vacant washroom so that they could have some peace and quiet from the commotion happening nearby.

[chiefofstafftanner]

Tanner let Bond move him away and towards the washroom. He clung tightly to the other man, trying to keep his breathing calm. Tanner kept his head down, focusing on their feet, and nothing else.

Once the door was closed behind them, Tanner seemed to relax a touch more and let out a sigh. "I've never been so embarrassed. I'm supposed to be the steady one." His voice sounded strained, with a touch of annoyance.

[jamesbloodybond]

Amid Bond's audible crying and the hail pattering onto the grass patch, thoughts that ruminated in the agent's head made him panic ever so slightly.

Let go? How could Bond possibly let go? M was the one who recruited him – made him go through several hurdles and many years of training before he was even promoted to be a mere agent. Then came his two kills which provided him with a double oh status.

Even then, the amount of care that M had expended onto him despite Vesper's betrayal made him sob even more, breaths coming in hitches.

"I... I can't... She... has to come... back..."

She has to. She can't just go like that. Why did M lie to Bond earlier told him she was fine? She clearly wasn't and he could've bandaged her up with the first aid kit lying around in the kitchen cupboards of his old home. Why?

[chiefofstafftanner]

"James, she's not coming back." He had to say the words louder, to be heard over the weather, and he strained to say them with no emotion. Cooler heads at this moment had to prevail, no matter what he was feeling inside.

Two members of the extraction team hovered nearby, looking nervously between Bond and Tanner. Tanner nodded grimly and the two of them moved forward to take M's body out of Bond's arms.

Tanner stepped closer, crouching down close to Bond, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry James."

[jamesbloodybond]

Bond pressed a gentle kiss to Tanner's forehead and subsequently his hands. "You're in safe hands," He uttered, still trying to keep his volume as low as possible to avoid startling Tanner, "I'm here now. I love you."

Bond didn't care if other people were watching, because if he had to assault someone to keep Tanner safe, he would gladly do that even if he were to get suspended for assaulting a colleague. A panic attack is never a laughing matter and he has had multiple that he had to deal with alone.

"Of course," Bond nodded. He strengthened his grip once more and tried to help Tanner stand up – only for Bond to yelp in pain when he pulled his back.

Bond still managed to help Tanner up nonetheless with steady arms wrapped around his waist. "Try your best... to hold onto me, okay?"

[chiefofstafftanner]

When Tanner heard Bond say those soft words, he ducked his head trying to hide the color that just blossomed on his face. Of course this fool would go talking like this right now. Things between them hadn't been public for that long, and he was still a little nervous about it.

"Careful" Tanner said in a soft tone as he heard Bond's struggle. The last thing he wanted was the man to get hurt on his account. Once he was on his feet, Tanner felt his head swim a touch. This caused him to lean more on James, and he clung tightly. "I'm fine, I've got this."

[chiefofstafftanner]

"Sir this is a standard de escalation technique. That's all I'm trying to do." Tanner couldn't shake the concern from his voice, or fix the way it sat in his gaze. He needed to try to get Mallory back to as close to normal as he could.

"Try and take a nice slow breath for me."

[dontcxckitup]

He let go of Tanner's arm and instead reached up to his collar, pulling on the tie to loosen it around his neck. Still his gaze was locked with the other man's the entire time. Perhaps if he focused on him, he could actually even his breathing.

He sucked in a deep shaky breath, then stopped, then another one. Slowly exhaled. After three or four more breaths, he felt as though it returned to normal. Somewhat.

[chiefofstafftanner]

"There we go, a few more now." Tanner's voice continued to sound even and firm. Inside he was more than a little concerned about what was happening to Mallory. There was no time to let that show right now, he needed to work on making sure the other man was well.

"I'm going to go and get you some water. Is that alright? Or do you need me to stay."

[jamesbloodybond]

(starter for @chiefofstafftanner)

It was pouring that night.

A few seconds after M died, it began to pour.

Bond could feel his clothes getting soaked as the rain got heavier. It even started to form hailstones. He didn't care.

Bond's cold body clung onto M's limp body as he sobbed into her chest, begging her to come back to life as he ruminated over and over, chanting her name despite him knowing that she would despise him forever if he had called her Olivia. Only her husband gets to do that.

It's the unfortunate thing about being in the British Secret Service. Even if it were meant for Bond to have a short life expectancy, he was expecting to go first before his boss.

He could hear footsteps approaching but he didn't look up. It was truly traumatising for him to lose his motherly figure, especially after having lost his actual mother at a very young age. How could life be so BLOODY UNFAIR to him?

[chiefofstafftanner]

"I'm going to be on the extraction team."

"Tanner..."

"I'm going to be on the extraction team."

That was it, that was the end of the argument. Short of physically holding him down, he was getting on one of the helicopters. He was going.

As they got closer to Skyfall the weather changed drastically, the rain seemed relentless, and it seemed to match Tanner's mood. The quick relay from Bond didn't give them too much information, and only one piece of it stood out to Tanner.

"She's gone."

That was the first time Tanner's heart stopped. The second time was seeing James, holding her in his arms. He had never seen the other man look vulnerable before. It struck something deep within him.

He stood still among the flurry of activity around them, looking at James with a slightly pained expression. His own emotions on the matter would have to wait. Had she always been that tiny?

"James...you have to let go."

[jamesbloodybond]

Bond's worry disappeared gradually and he heaved a sigh of relief. He loosened his grip slightly but left his hands in the same position for Tanner to hold onto in case he still needed warmth and comfort. "You... had a panic attack," Bond spoke softly, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. "I didn't know what happened before... but love, I... got here as fast as I can." He continued, blinking back tears, desperately wanting to hug Tanner and reassure him that everything was going to be okay and that he's here now and he wasn't going to go anywhere at all.

[chiefofstafftanner]

James' voice worked his way through the fog in his head. The pounding of his heart quieted to nothing by slight background. There was still a tremor in his hands that James could feel though.

Full recognition seeped into his features, and there was just a hint of a smile that curled his lips. "Of course you did James." His voice was soft, and he looked around to see how much of a crowd this situation had garnered. Everyone seemed to have wandered off, not really paying much attention any longer.

"Help me up would you?" he asked in a soft tone, clearly embarrassed by the situation.

[chiefofstafftanner]

What's Bill's favorite Christmas candy? Is it the same as it was when he was younger, or did it change when he got older?

Bill has fond memories of getting a Terry's Chocolate Orange every year. He still likes them, but knows better than to eat an entire one in one day.

[chiefofstafftanner]

What are three songs that never fail to make you think of your muse, and what's the specific lyrics in them that make you go "Oh shit that's my little guy?"

Three songs that I have on his playlist are

Everyone Who Casts A Shadow by Wolfsheim

"Everyone who casts a shadow seems to stand in the sun. and when your step leaves a track, you seem to be going on."

Cut Your Teeth by Kyla La Grange

"You cut your teeth on the lack of answers, singing come back home but it don't feel the same."

Don't Look Down by Jai Wolf

"Sometimes I overthink, compulsively get in my head.Wait for the truth to sink in, to feel my own skin."

[oceansprompts]

𝐒𝐎  𝐘𝐎𝐔  𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀  𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓?

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