In collaboration with @Boffin1710 and @notwhatyouthoughtiwas (AsheTarasovich)
James Bond, Q, and Alec Trevelyan are in a polyamorous relationship.
The Quartermaster has no interest in sleeping with anyone who is not one of his partners. Oh, he still appreciates a strong jawline, defined veins on a muscular forearm, or a lush arse in a well-fitting pair of trousers -- the one on the barista at the shop on the corner from the flat is delicious; Moneypenny agrees -- but that doesn’t mean he has any desire to bed them. James captured Q’s heart with his snark and his skill and their shared dedication to Queen and Country. Alec … well, Q can’t quite pinpoint when he actually fell for Alec and his unsophisticated, awkward charm, just one day he realised he had. He neither needs nor desires anyone other than the two men he already has.
James Bond is monogamous.
James struggles to remember a time when Alec Trevelyan wasn’t a part of his life. First as comrades in arms and friends, though lovers followed in short order. Whilst their duties for the SIS mean they can go months without seeing one another, Alec is a fundamental part of James’ life. Their reunions are sexually explosive but once that energy is spent, they settle into the familiarity of their long-standing connection and the unique stability that “someone who understands” provides. Then came Q. A bit sass, a lot of brains, even more competency, and James fell before he could insist Q come down and “put his back into it.”
007 often sleeps with other people as part of a mission. It’s a tool in his kit like any other. Oftentimes an essential one. Alec understands this. Q, too, accepts the nature of honey pot missions and has never felt an ounce of betrayal nor a moment of concern regarding James’ fidelity. It’s part of the job. No more, no less.
Alec Trevelyan is monogamous.
His relationship with James is a cornerstone of Alec’s life. The bloody bastard’s been in it so long, after all. They serve, and they fight, they fuck, and deep down in that place they don’t look too closely at, worry when the other is overdue. But whilst James and he fit together like two pieces of a very twisted puzzle, Q … Q fills a space in Alec he hadn’t known was empty until it no longer was. Q validates Alec’s actions without ever saying a word, and bit by bit, makes whole that which is so terribly broken. Q is essential.
006 no longer sleeps with other people as part of a mission. Though still a vital tool, it is one Alec has largely removed from his kit. Alec fell for Q so hard that the little shite is always at the forefront of his mind in such scenarios and has made things unexpectedly uncomfortable for Alec in ways he never felt when it was just him and James. He now uses honey pots only when all other methods and options have been exhausted -- he’s become quite creative in that regard; it hasn’t hampered his mission success in the least -- but when he returns home in those times when he hasn’t been able to avoid it, he explains all to Q. Like with James, Q has never once felt betrayed or concerned about Alec’s fidelity when 006 uses sex as a weapon, but the confession is a cleansing for Alec. Q already knows about and accepts the necessity of it -- honey pots are merely bodies, a means to an end -- but humours Alec’s need to confess and wipe the slate clean because it’s what Alec needs.
All three are in a polyamorous relationship, and sometimes James and Alec have sex with other people for work.
It’s a complicated set of emotional dynamics.