Title: A Rare Breed
Summary: James has always known that the new Quartermaster was a unique individual. (An experiment in writing Alpha/Beta/Omegaverse without being explicit.)
Pairings: James Bond/Q
Warnings: Rated M for implied sex and Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics. Its most likely too high a rating but I prefer to error on the side of caution. (There is nothing graphic…I shut the door). Unbeta'd and not Brit picked. I apologize in advance for any anachronisms, grammar errors and/or typos.
Standard Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to their respective owners. I am merely playing with them for my own as well as your amusement. I own no rights. I make no profit.
A Rare Breed
James Bond had realized from their first meeting in the National Gallery that the new Quartermaster was an extraordinary individual but he had no idea quite how unusual until the mission in Belgium. It should have been a simple in and out. Infiltrate the research facility, hack the database for the weapons plans and get out. Unfortunately the head of the small biotech company target was seriously paranoid and a computer genius. This meant that hacking the database had to be done on site by someone with an equivalent level of skill. The only member of MI6 with the requisite skills was the Quartermaster himself which was why 007 had been playing a deadly version of hide-and-seek with a set of security guards to allow Q time to hack the database from a terminal in the complex's server room. After a good half an hour of intentionally triggering alarms, ambushing the security personnel who responded and dodging bullets James heard what he'd been waiting for.
"I'm in," said Q over the coms. "Five minutes."
James started to work his way back to the server room. He was just down the hall when a shot rang out followed almost immediately by the quieter thump of a silenced weapon. He broke into a run and skidded round the corner to find a dead security guard and a wounded Q. Q was creatively swearing in Russian while attempting to hold something to stop the bleeding wound in his leg. Despite all that he managed to bring up his weapon one handed to aim it at Bond.
"You are a bit late 007," Q's tone was mildly chiding as he put down his weapon. He then reached to remove the thumb drive that had apparently finished loading the files and replacing it with another that he removed from his pocket.
James didn't bother to reply immediately but went to one knee to take a look at Q's wound. His quick assessment reassured him that while it was bleeding and most likely hurt like the devil, it wasn't life threatening. It would however slow them down substantially. He called for an extraction and started to bandage the wound with a strip of the dead guard's shirt. By the time he was finished Q had run out of Russian expletives and had switched to French. Despite Bond's ministrations he also hadn't stopped doing whatever he was doing to the computer he was working on.
Bandaging done James asked, "Ready to go?" also in French.
Q rolled his eyes and used the table to lever himself up glancing at the computer screen. "I've set the computers to cause a catastrophic failure in about 10 minutes," he remarked calmly in English.
James merely offered Q his arm and said "shall we go then?"
Once they were out of the complex building and heading for the exfiltration site Q's leg finally collapsed completely. James, ever practical, didn't pause. He simply slung Q over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Once he had his balance he started walking quickly speeding up to a trot. Q kept up a litany of swears in a variety of languages until the complex exploded behind them. The shock wave sent Bond to his knees. Either the blast or the jolt as Bond stumbled knocked Q completely out. Luckily the helicopter that was to take them to safety was only moments away descending quickly. The pilot handled the pressure wave in an exemplary fashion and touched down with nary a bobble. James staggered to his feet, still carrying Q and headed toward the helicopter. It was just at that point he noticed the faint tang of the Quartermaster's scent. That is interesting, James thought to himself as he gently laid the Quartermaster down on the waiting stretcher in the helicopter. Q had a secondary sexual delimiter.
Most of the world's population was simply male or female but less than .001% had an additional trait, alpha or omega. Alphas were usually male, stronger, larger, and quicker healing than the norm. Omegas were most often female, more delicate, more intuitive and able to project calm in even the most stressful of situations. Statistically there should be only 60 some odd individuals in the entire UK with the trait, 40 of whom should be alphas. Odds were also good that 19 of the omegas would be female which, if his nose was accurate, meant that Q was the rarest of a rare breed, a male omega.
Q hated to fly in general and absolutely loathed helicopters. James was hoping that he would remain unconscious at least until they were safely back on the ground. Of course as soon as the helicopter took off Q regained consciousness. While he didn't say anything it was obvious that he was not pleased about their mode of transportation. Q grabbed onto Bond's arm with a surprisingly strong grip and refused to let go. The look on his face when he realized that the next leg of the journey would be by small jet, complete with the medical team James had requested in addition to expeditious exfiltration, was something to behold. The resultant invective was also quite impressive at least until the sedation took effect.
00Q/00Q/00Q
James didn't think much about his discovery of the Quartermaster's uniqueness until three days later when Mallory called him into his office.
"I have a task for you 007," M had started before the office door had even half shut.
"Sir?" M had sounded exasperated and that never boded well.
"We have a bit of a problem."
James raised an eyebrow.
"Q is attempting to work from Medical despite being injured. If he remains in the building I suspect it will only be a matter of time before he attempts to relocate himself to Q-branch," M paused for a moment. "I need him back at 100% in a reasonable amount of time. Dr. Misel has informed me that keeping him off that injured leg for a minimum of a week is mandatory to expedite his return."
James' other eyebrow joined the first.
M continued, "If I order him home he'll still try to work but it will keep him mostly off his feet. However, if he's in his flat a bodyguard will be necessary because he won't be able to move quickly on his own in case of an emergency."
"Won't assigning 00 agent be seen as a bit of over reaction?" James asked.
"Possibly, but at least you will have half a chance of keeping him from overworking." M sighed, "Moneypenny will put it about that your assignment is penance for getting Q shot in the first place." He hesitated then added, "Rest assured 007, it isn't. God only knows why but for some reason he seems to at least listen to you."
"I can't make any guarantees Sir."
"I know 007, just do your best."
James recognized the implied dismissal in M's tone. "I'll start immediately," was all he said as he left the office.
On the way down to medical James mused on his new task. This would be a difficult assignment due mostly to Q's delimiter. Injured omegas emitted pheromones to encourage the protective and helpful nature of anyone within olfactory range. A side effect of this would be that unless it was actively harmful people would be inclined to follow any seemingly reasonable request Q uttered. It would take quite a bit of willpower to keep from following such requests. James of course had plenty of willpower. That realization lead to another train of thought. He wondered if M was actively aware of the ramifications of Q's nature and had assigned him intentionally for just that reason. Whatever, James thought to himself, it was his assignment now and he planned to complete it.
00Q/00Q/00Q
The last two days of bodyguard duty had been relatively boring. Surprisingly he had not had too much trouble keeping Q mostly off his feet. It turned out to be a simple matter of keeping him fed, medicated, supplied with tea and his hands full of something to keep his mind occupied. As long as Q's laptop was within reach he would happily stay put puttering around electronically with whatever piqued his interest. James also learned that he only had to make mild half joking threats about equipment destruction to get him to stop what he was doing to eat and rest. Last night for example had only required a suggestion that the laptop might get dropped accidentally if Q nodded off to get him to stop. Just to be safe James had moved the laptop across the room an hour or so after Q had fallen asleep. Q would have to move about to get it. The resulting noise would be enough to wake a light sleeper and James always slept lightly when on a job.
Much to his surprise the remainder of the night had passed without interruption. It was 0800 when Bond heard Q get up and hobble to the en suite. James put on the kettle and started the coffee maker. While Q was serious about his tea James, if circumstances permitted, preferred coffee in the morning. Luckily Q had enough supplies to ensure that both their caffeine addictions could be satisfied. He timed things so that he emerged from the kitchen with two mugs just before Q would normally be finished with his morning ablutions. James placed the mugs on the coffee table and noted to himself that Q seemed to be taking longer in the shower this morning. It was only a minute or two later when he heard the shower turn off. Shortly thereafter he heard Q slowly making his way out of the bedroom. James looked up in time to see Q lean heavily on the door frame. He was tense and looked worried.
"Bond," he said in the voice he usually used to give orders during missions, "you need to get out of here."
"Why?"
"In 45 minutes you won't want to and in an hour you won't be able to."
James observed closely. Q was shaking slightly. He was sweating and his scent seemed much stronger today despite the fact that he'd just come out of the shower. Scent. Oh crap. Q was going into heat.
Alphas tended to have a naturally high sex drive. Omegas on the other hand seemed to have the same variations in sexual desires as the general population with one important exception, heat. Heat in an omega was a huge hormonal surge that lasted two or three days. During that time the afflicted omega would seek out sex to the exclusion of almost everything else including eating or drinking. Luckily such surges naturally happened only once or twice a year and there were drugs available which suppressed them entirely. Q must have been on suppressants otherwise James would have noticed the Quartermaster's scent much earlier in their association. Now that he thought about it the reason why Q was reacting this way was obvious. The medical team had taken Q off the suppressants to aid in healing. It was almost standard procedure when dealing with an omega. That sudden removal coupled with the injury had sent Q into a heat which James now had to deal with.
There were only two options. One was to clear out as Q had asked. James assumed that Q had a preset protocol in place for this eventuality. He could leave and let Q masturbate himself into oblivion for several days. Q's injured condition and the rate at which the heat seemed to be manifesting did not make this, in James' considered opinion, a viable alternative. There was a high probability that Q would injure himself further if left alone for the next few days. In addition, an omega in the throes of a strong heat could and would override any plans made for his or her protection. In such a situation Q could easily become compromised. That left the second option, stay and provide what relief he could. James considered. There really was no choice. Not that it would be a hardship. James' own sexuality was quite fluid despite his reputation as a womanizer. Q was downright attractive in an elfin way. No it would be no hardship at all for James to shag his quartermaster six ways from center over the next several days. James smiled inwardly.
"It's OK Q," James went for a soothing tone of voice, "I understand what's going on."
Q looked surprised, "Really?"
"Yes."
"Then you know why you should leave. It's not like I've not done this before," Q admitted wryly.
"I don't think it's a good idea for me to leave. You've been on suppressants for at least three years straight right?"
"More like five."
James put a bit of seduction into his voice, "Then this is going to be a bad one. Bad enough that you'll be tempted to override your protections. I can help."
Q was visibly wavering. He was swaying slightly in the doorway with most of his weight on his good leg. James decided to press the issue and crossed the room in three strides. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Q.
"Let me help. Let me keep you safe," he growled.
Q took a deep breath probably for the first time registering James' own scent. He went very still for a moment and James actually felt the moment when he made his decision.
"OK," he said quietly followed by "Hand me my phone will you?"
Rather than releasing Q to go get the phone James scooped him up and deposited him on the bed sitting down beside him. He then handed Q the mobile which was residing on the bedside table. Q grabbed it and dialed a familiar number putting it in speaker mode.
"Moneypenny," Eve answered after the first ring.
"Eve," Q's voice was still calm even though physically he was shaking. "I need to initiate lockdown on my flat for the next four days."
"Will do," she replied then asked, "Did you kick 007 out?"
"No," Q said shortly.
"Did you explain?" Eve sounded concerned.
"He didn't have to," James chimed in before Q could answer.
"Oh." Moneypenney sounded completely surprised then as she processed the information and said "Oh!" understanding the full ramifications of James' comment. After a short pause she continued, "Do you think M…?" Her question trailed off.
"Maybe," James acknowledged. "If he's read the entire file."
Q snorted, "I doubt M expected this but I wouldn't put it past him to have assigned James as a contingency plan. Anything to ensure the smooth operations, safety of agency personnel and all that."
Moneypenny chuckled in agreement, "I'll lock everything down for you. Call me in a few days when it's safe to open the door."
00Q/00Q/00Q
James woke up feeling sated and oddly content. Q was still asleep, nestled close up to his side. His head was resting on James' shoulder with that unruly mop of hair tickling his cheek. James had to admit that the last three days had been…well interesting was somewhat of an understatement. Despite his waiflike appearance the Quartermaster was rather strong. A wiry strength that had surprised the 00 agent a couple times during the course of their tryst. Once the first frenzy had subsided Q had also proved to be not only experienced but quite creative in obtaining satisfaction for both himself and his partner. Keeping up with that seemingly insatiable appetite had been a challenge that James rose to, pun fully intended. All in all it was a very good thing, James thought to himself, that he was also blessed or cursed with a secondary sexual delimiter.
Author's Note: After reading several alpha/beta/omega fictions over at AO3 I noted that most were rated E for obvious reasons. However, there were a few that actually had a lesser rating and I thought it might be interesting to see if I could use the trope without having the plot bunny turn into a full blown smut hare. This was the result.
Edit: I've updated this to fix a typo. Another Edit: Thanks much to Oleta over on AO3 who caught another couple typos. Hopefully that's the last of the typos in this!
As always (with apologies to the Bard):
If this writer has offended,
Think but this and all is mended.
That you have but tarried here,
While each chapter did appear,
And these words upon this theme,
Are of no import, only my dream.
It has been an honor to share my dream with you.
K2N2