Archive of Our Own

picard’s mouth was on his, it was on his and it was warm; soft, rough at the same time? oh, now it’s wet. that's more than displeasing. why do humans have to secrete so much?

“jean-luc,” Q managed to mumble out best he could, even though picard’s hands were gripping his waist and he was now biting Q’s bottom lip. Q let out a shuddered breath against picard’s mouth and felt strange all over- like his head was spinning.

picard pulled away from him. “yes, Q?” he voiced in a low purr. 

Q was overwhelmed by.. everything that was happening. he had never experienced a kiss like this before, he had never had somebody else’s hands tracing up and down his body, leaving scratch marks in rather delicate areas. it was fascinating to feel. it was unsettling. it was magical. it was terrifying. it was-

“oh, mon capitaine,” Q threw his arms around the captain’s neck, burying his face there. “you make me feel so.. so human , so alive. ”

human. it was human.  

Q sharply inhaled as picard’s hands touched him. oh, god. oh my. he was on fire. the immortal, having the overpowering grace of a mortal, handle him this way. he had half the mind to laugh, if only he wasn’t biting his bottom lip and hiding his face in picard’s neck. 

“do i now?” picard responded, tracing his fingers across Q’s inner thighs and.. woah. “i make you feel human, Q? is that not what you hate?” 

Q’s body trembled as he did his best to hold himself up on picard. thank the entire Q continuum for having a wall to lean against right now. he might as well have collapsed on the floor minutes ago.

“i- i want,” Q’s voice was shaken and also.. very hard to hear properly. “i want to- to-”

Q arched his back and dug his nails into his own arms, wrapped ever so tightly around him- which would surely be enough to choke picard if he were in a different position. 

“oh! oh, i-!” he felt picard’s free hand stabilise Q by being placed onto his back, softly trailing from the lower to the top. oh, it felt fantastic. billions of years he had wasted by not feeling this, ever. 

“tell me what you want,” picard’s voice was.. it was doing unexplainable things to him. he didn’t ever want him to be quiet; he didn’t want him to stop talking. he would do anything and everything for him to tell him whatever he desired to hear. 

“ show me what you want.” 

Q let out a shaky breath, mixed with a growl and.. well, more of a whine. 

galaxies. infinite universes. life, and death. up, down. the feeling of power, the imbalance, overpowering. the edge of the universe. the continuation of it, forever. rain, snow, sun. stars, so many stars. fractions of a second. the feeling of cold- the feeling of heat. the big bang, the start of everything, the end of nothing. 

Q bucked his hips up, unravelling himself from around picard, and grabbed him on the shoulders.

“jean-luc-!” he cried out, screwing his eyes shut and letting out indecent sounds, obscene words. oh, oh! he feels very alive. 

“ mon capitaine! oh, i-” Q laughed. not from giddiness, not at all; but because if he didn’t make a sound, he would’ve exploded. or, at least, it felt like it. 

his head was spinning, his body trembled, his knuckles went white from the grip he held on the captain, his vision was blurry, he heard a ringing in his ears. 

picard watched as he had just made Q feel like this; made him feel.. human, mortal, alive. everything, nothing. a true sense of power. 

“ i love you, i love you, i love you, jean-luc, i do, i truly do,” Q spoke a mile a minute, still transcending the essence of his being deep inside of picard’s mind. “you are everything to me, i’m- i want to be yours forever, i want to- to feel like this, always, with you! i need-” he was cut off by a quick, shaken gasp, as if he couldn’t quite catch his breath just yet.

picard let out a rather content sound as he slowly released his grasp on Q; steadying him as his knees were weak beneath him.

the captain placed a hand on the back of Q’s head and quickly pulled him in to kiss him. time almost stood still. for a moment, albeit fleeting, it was as if the universe ceased to exist around them, leaving nothing but the both of them and their minds merged, intertwined souls. 

“Q, mon cher,” Q hadn’t even noticed the absence of picard’s mouth on his. “i love you.” 

as everything came down; everything returning to how it was, Q (barely) processed all of it. 

“i- i am profoundly in love with you, mon capitaine,” Q spoke. “with all that i am, with all i can ever be.” 

picard took Q’s hand in his, and let him rest up against him. he chuckled breathlessly as he basically cradled him in his arms while standing. gently, picard pressed a kiss to Q's forehead, conveying a sense of.. acceptance, love, comfort, humanity. 

"profoundly in love, you say?” picard murmured. 

“well, my dear, i am.. profoundly in love with you as well. with every fibre of my being, with every breath i take.” 

Q couldn't help but let out a soft, genuine laugh, a sound that held a hint of disbelief and joy.

as the laughter subsided, Q looked up into picard's eyes, searching for any hint of doubt or hesitation. Instead, what he found was a reflection of his own affection mirrored back at him. there was no mistaking the sincerity in picard's gaze, the warmth that radiated from his touch. with a renewed sense of security, Q nuzzled closer to picard.

the universe continued to spin, but they would remain constant.