The Shadower
The first day Q returned to work after the red alert was officially lifted was also the first day he didn't wear his scent blockers.
He got a surprised but accepting look from Eve, a knowing smirk from Bill, and a dismissive wave from R who'd been in on the secret for more than a few days now. M merely shook his head in exasperation as they briefly passed each in the hall, but the man was more annoyed that he hadn't been given a heads-up than anything else. Q later found out that he'd been warning HR for the last month to schedule a "Sexual Harassment and Dynamics in the Workplace" seminar, and apparently, he'd wanted to make everyone attend before Q stopped wearing his scent blockers.
It seemed almost laughable that there was ever a time Q had doubted the man.
A lot of employees that he'd been friendly-ish with, however, now balked at his revealed dynamic. Some quickly adjusted, some just ignored him, but a select few went out of their way to cause trouble. He heard the rumors that they spread and actively blocked it out, knowing that he should have expected it and did expect it but a little part of him had still hoped that after Skyfall and Spectre and Nine Eyes and him, basically, you know, saving the entire fucking planet, that they'd look past his omegian status.
No such luck.
At least his own department was behind him every step of the way, although considering that the majority of them had known he was an omega before they were even hired, he wasn't surprised. In a show of solidarity, they had started calling TSS branch "Q branch", and no matter what he said - or threatened them with - they refused to call it by any other name. Apparently, saying "Technical Support Specialists" was too difficult for them, so despite the fact that it already had an abbreviation, they'd decided that "Q branch" was just a hell of a lot easier to say.
Q wanted to be mad at them, he really did, but whenever he heard the new name used in everyday conversation it made his very soul warm.
So, he blocked out the mutters and curses and whispers in dark corners. The only dynamicist bastards that Q didn't ignore were the ones with wandering hands. Those, he quickly put in their place and after a few broken fingers and emptied bank accounts, they were quick to stop their "harmless attentions". And if a few of those names ended up in a private email sent directly to M, well, it wasn't as if Q hadn't given them plenty of warning, now, was it?
The other executives were on board, Eve was on board, his second-in-command was on board, and his own department was on board. The majority of the accounting department, approximately half of medical, but only a very small amount of HR were against him completely. The regular agents weren't people he usually interacted with, but the few times he had, they'd remained professional and kept their personal opinions to themselves.
Which just left the double-0s.
Stepping into the main area of TSS - Q - branch, the Quartermaster paused as he saw a familiar dark-haired figure leaning against his workbench. His minions were all giving the man a wide berth, although thankfully they were, actually, able to work around the double-0s now, rather than freezing up like startled deer and remaining huddled in a corner like before. To be fair, out of all the agents that Q had met so far, Saif was by far the most laid back and easygoing, as well as the only double-0 who had accepted him outright as his new Quartermaster.
Having spent the winter in Greece - for no discernable reason - the man was bronze skinned and leaned back against the desk with a relaxed fluidity that Q wasn't entirely convinced wasn't inherent. Dark eyes tracked him as he walked across the room, although Q felt more than saw the rest of his workers slow to a stop. He wasn't surprised. None of them knew that 003 was back yet, which meant that as far as they were concerned, 005 was going to be the first double-0 to find out that he was an omega.
Keeping his expression blank, Q refused to show fear, deliberately stepping ever-so-slightly closer than necessary once he reached the man.
As predicted, Saif froze, entire body tensing up like a tiger about to pounce. He took a slow deep breath, and his eyes widened in realisation. Q carefully reached around the alpha to put his new design blueprints on the desk behind him, before straightening back up and raising a solitary eyebrow.
"Is there a problem, Mr Fitzroy?"
Q branch was deathly silent. Saif breathed in again, blinked, and then a wide grin slowly spread across his face.
"Not at all, Quartermaster" he replied easily, "But I thought I told you to me Saif".
The entire room relaxed.
"That, you did" Q agreed, "Forgive me if I don't offer my own name in return".
"Why? Scared I'll look you up?"
The omega gave him an unimpressed look.
"The day that you find information in any database about me, Saif, is the day that M will become the Queen of England".
"That sounded suspiciously like a challenge".
Life is a game and each mission is just another level to them.
Q sighed. "Do with it as you will, 005. Now, is there an actual reason that you are here, or did you just come to scare my boffins?"
"Do I need a reason to see my favourite Quartermaster?"
Which really shouldn't have made his heart flutter as much as it did.
"No, you don't" Q replied evenly, "But I know that you have one".
Saif grinned, hands in his pockets like he hadn't a care in the world.
"I can see what Edie meant when she said you were sharp".
"Yes, well, contrary to popular belief lately, I did not, in fact, sleep my way to the top" he snapped.
005 growled.
TSS branch froze.
Q, beyond exasperated, rolled his eyes at the lot of them.
"Oh grow up! It's not the worst thing anyone's ever said about me and it sure as hell won't be the last! And it's hardly surprising, is it, what with the bloody accounts department that we have!"
"Names" Saif snapped, "Now".
"Stand down, 005!
"Give me their names, and maybe I'll think about it!"
Q stared. He was… He was actually serious. Saif bloody Fitzroy genuinely wanted to seriously maim if not outright kill the bastards who kept spreading rumours about his omegian Quartermaster. He actually… cared?
As if sensing his confusion - or, far more likely, scenting it - 005 forced himself to appear more relaxed even as his shoulders remained tense. Stepping closer until they were only a few inches apart, the man kept his voice low so that the rest of TSS couldn't overhear him.
"No one deserves to be treated like that, Q, regardless of their position in MI6. You've more than proved yourself over these last few weeks, and those- those fucking assholes are just too stupid and jealous to realise that! I know that you've made it this far without help, but that doesn't have to be your only option anymore… And besides. It's been a while since I had a good fight. I think it'd be therapeutic".
That startled a laugh out of Q, and he couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation. Saif smiled, the corner of his eyes crinkling and white teeth gleaming.
"So let me know if you ever need a few fingers broken, alright?"
Q raised an eyebrow at him.
"How do you know that I haven't already broken a few myself?"
Saif's grin widened and he reached up to ruffle his hair, which caused the omega's cheeks to flush bright red even as he tried to swat the offending hand away. Part of him ached for the physical touch but another, far more cynical part, wanted to shove it all away because touch meant pain and and hurt and-
"You really are something, Quartermaster, you know that?"
"I do" he replied dryly, willing his blush to go down as he tried to fix his curls, "I also know that the exact same thing can be said about you and the rest of your pack".
"Pack, huh? That's a new one. And, speaking of, I heard you met Fortier".
Q awkwardly stepped around the man to sit at the other side of the desk. "I did".
Saif wasn't remotely dissuaded and spun around on the spot to continue facing him, a move fluid and graceful and far too easy for it to have come from anyone but a double-0.
"I also hear that he actually likes you" he continued, "What the hell did you do to tame our resident psychopath?"
"Well, quite frankly, 005, I'm still not convinced that you're all not psychopaths" he shot back, "Although based on my limited interactions with 007 and 009, I'd argue that they're sociopaths instead, and considering all that I've heard about the 004 and 008, I'd speculate that their particular horses are hitched at a post closer to autism and aspergers than anything else... But who knows? I'll just have to refrain from making any serious deductions until I actually meet the pair".
Saif stared at him. Blinked. And then continued to stare.
"... You're bloody terrifying".
Which, coming from one of the most dangerous men in the world, and an alpha to boot, was quite the compliment.
"Thank you". Q smiled and reached up to adjust his glasses. "Now get the hell out of my lab. Some of us have actual work to do".
Since MI6 was finally starting to recover from its numerous attacks over the last few months, M had lifted the ban keeping their agents in-country. Not that it would have stopped the double-0s, anyway, but at least this way, there was less paperwork.
009 was the first to leave, for a quick recon mission in the south of France, and Q had to admit that he'd been more than slightly nervous about the whole affair considering that she'd left before he'd seen her reaction about him being an omega. It was a simple mission, taking no longer than a handful of days, such a low priority, in fact, that Q didn't even have to run comms. Edie would check it if she needed to - as unlikely as that was - but otherwise, they'd simply see her in a week's time, preferably holding some form of file or dossier about her observations.
Which was why Q was pleasantly surprised to find a small box on his desk one morning, postmarked colissimo and stamped prioritaire. Inside, was a rather expensive box of Mariage Frères Christmas Earl Grey tea that had Q's mouth watering just at the sight of it.
He hoped that meant he was forgiven for not telling her sooner.
Either that, or she was trying to poison him from afar.
Q tried the tea anyway.
It was delicious.
Asides from 009, 005 was still lurking about, somehow never in sight but always there whenever Q was walking to the garage or to M's office to drop off some new reports. The first few times it'd happened, most of the previously very vocal betas and alphas hadn't dared to say a word to Q, but once they realised Saif wasn't saying a word to them as they passed, they started getting… rude.
The first derogatory remark, Q brushed off. The second, he also ignored, although he had to rather firmly lead 005 away from the beta. The third comment, however, this one accompanied by a salacious smirk and far too grabby hands, had Q showing the double-0 just how easily he could break an alpha's fingers.
Saif relaxed a little in his bodyguard duty after that, and neither Bill nor M ever brought up an incident report with Q, although medical had surely contacted them about it.
003 was still on British soil too, although he was far calmer than everyone else about Q's newly outed status, and mostly hung around the gym, dropping into Q's personal office from time to time to say hello without inflicting too much scarring on his minions.
And finally, 007 was still lost in the wind, doing god knows what to god knows who, although Q would bet quite a lot of money on his Aston Martin DB5 being at the heart of all the ruckus that the alpha was undoubtedly causing.
Maybe if he was lucky, Bond would bring back more than a steering wheel this time.
All of his current double-0s were accounted for, four others were still wrapping up undercover missions, and the final agent - Charles Blair aka. 002 - was last seen in Berlin making his way back to England.
And although Q had yet to gather any evidence to prove it, he was rather convinced that the man was stalking him.
According to Saif, Charles was one of the very few agents actually capable of blending in. A quiet, unassuming man, his specialty was undercover ops and good ole' fashioned tailing. Which only made Q's assumption that it was 002 following him around all the more likely. The alpha was famed for his ability to simply exist, unnoticeable, a background character in every sense of the word. He was the type to research, to plan, to find out everything he could about a target first, before engaging them.
You know. Like the rest of the double-0s were supposed to.
For the most part, Q wasn't too bothered being Blair's current fixation. All of the double-0s had their own, unique, quirks after all, and it was only natural that he'd want to try and figure out this strange new omegian Quartermaster before he actually had to work with him.
So Q pretended he didn't notice, didn't realise he was being trailed, didn't feel the weight of a gaze burning into the back of his head with every movement he made, a skill honed from necessity after spending half a lifetime with the most paranoid alpha on the planet and-
And besides.
The last thing he wanted to do was bruise the man's ego.
It was slightly odd, being followed all the time, but at least the man only did so when he was within the walls of MI6, and Q could return to his cats every evening without worrying about bringing home yet another stray. 002 was harmless, after all - at least in this regard - and so, there was nothing for him to worry about.
Until Q got a phone call directly from M telling him to pull up the security cameras from the storage vault, that was.