Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mick knows he isn’t meant to be on the team.

You don’t build a crew entirely populated by omegas and one alpha. Not unless you’re an alpha that is trying to build himself a harem or you didn’t actually want the alpha there but couldn’t convince another member to join without them. Either way typically the alpha doesn’t last long.

Mick has a feeling that the Rip Hunter fellow is hoping that Mick won’t be around long. He wants Lenny and clearly knows he won’t convince him to go without Mick so has invited him too until he can get rid of him.

He doesn’t know if the plan is for Mick to end up dead on a mission or hope that he just pisses the omegas off on the team enough that they kill him or abandon him somewhere in time.

Mick isn’t worried.

He’s managed to survive for this long and spent most of the time in the company of Lenny – a particularly cold omega who has a hang up about alphas trying to lord their designation over him if Mick can say so. And he can, because Len will say it about himself as well.

He’s not going to try and order them all around on accounts of his designation. Nor try and turn them into his personal harem.

He wouldn’t even want either of those things.

Mick likes his relationship with Len and how it works. Partners always and mates when they need to be.

He’s not going to risk that to get some new variety in his bed partners. Especially not seeing that he an already get that during the moments the time ship stops for the rest of the team to go do something and Mick, unsurprisingly, left out of the plans.

“Haircut’s been watching me more lately,” Mick says as he and Len sit at the table of the bar Sara had convinced Rip to let them all go to after their first actually successful mission. The two of them still opting for a table a bit further away from the rest of the group, but Palmer keeps glancing over at them.

“He wants you to be his alpha,” Len says after a lazy swig of his beer.

“He can keep wanting then.” Mick has no interest in being anyone’s alpha past the odd moments where it works in his and Len’s favor on a heist or prisonbreak.

“I think you should.”

“Getting bored of me already?” Mick asks because that’s become their joke whenever Len suggests Mick go find another omega for the night and stop bugging him.

“Hardly,” Len says passing a glance back at the group before looking at Mick in the way that means he’s serious. “The team is becoming a pack.”

“I thought we didn’t do pack?” It was just them and Lisa. They could go off with whoever they wanted temporarily but they didn’t do packs and all that obligation and risk of them.

“I don’t think we have a choice here,” Len says, with another draw from his drink. Likely more to wash the bad taste from his mouth of admitting that. “We’re all stuck on that ship together and our instincts are hard-wired to think whoever is in the cave with us is our pack. And it’s better for us to establish the terms of it before Rip does.”

“I ain’t Pack Head material.” Mick ain’t Pack material but Len’s right that they don’t have a choice in that. Mick feels the pull to protect the omegas as much he’s sure they all feel the urge to find some room somewhere in the Waverider to turn it into one big nest for them all to sleep in.

Some are just better at ignoring their instincts than others. And it turns out, unsurprisingly, the Boy Scout is the worst of them all.

“No but you are the only alpha on board.”

“Omegas don’t need an alpha.” Sure, Mick knew a lot of alphas who thought that. But he also knew enough omegas that proved them wrong.

“We don’t but we do like them, sometimes.”

“And you think Haircut likes me?” A rich pretty-boy omega can do a lot better than Mick even if they are both stuck on a timeship together.

“Considering the puppy eyes he’s been throwing you the last week I think he’d do just about anything you ask just to get a passing scent.”

“And you think I should?” Mick trust Len’s judgement. If Len thinks it’s a good idea for Mick to start acting like alpha towards the rest of the team then he’ll do it.

“Sure,” Len says, with another drink, “might even make him actually chill out.”

Somehow Mick doubts it.

Palmer is in the kitchen with Mick.

Which is of course fine. It’s a free spaceship and if Mick wanted to be alone he has a perfectly good bunk to hole up in that provides a lot more privacy than any prison cell ever did.

The issue, if it can be called that, is the Palmer keeps glancing at Mick. Glancing like he wants something but doesn’t want to be the one to approach.

Mick’s seen that look a lot of times in omegas in bars. Even more so now that time travel is a thing and they keep going back in time where omegas being forward is even more unfortunately frowned upon.

He knows where it’d normally end up if this were a bar and not the kitchen of a time travelling spaceship and the omega in question a resident super-genius with the kind of social skills that’d get him shived in prison within five minutes.

Another glance, and this time Palmer realizes Mick’s watching him back so his eyes immediately dart away.

Maybe Len’s right about the situation and haircut wanting Mick to be his alpha.

Better to be certain considering Mick doesn’t want to give Rip any ammunition when he does put in place his plan to get the only alpha off the team and ship.

 “What you want haircut?”

“Huh? Oh nothing. I was just wondering if someone had switched the order the cereal goes in on the shelf behind you,” Palmer says.

Really he’s the worst liar Mick has ever met. And Mick had met some pretty shit liars in his time.

“Right,” Mick says because he isn’t going to just out and call the bluff. Not while the omega still has deniability.

No, he waits a couple of minutes and two more not subtle at all glances before making his move. Walking over and reaching like he’s going to grab something from the shelf behind Palmer’s head. Stopping with his wrist just by the omegas nose.

Palmer freezes like he’s been caught out. And his nose twitches like he’s trying to not make it obvious he’s trying to breathe in the scent right by his head.

“Mick,” Palmer says his voice suspiciously wobbly. “What are you doing?”

“Hm?” Mick says, blindly grabbing the first sauce his hand connects to and drawing back to show it. “I was just grabbing that.”

“Right,” Palmer says with a laugh, “of course. That was all.”

“Unless you wanted it to be something else?”

“I... uh,” Palmer’s eyes glance at Mick’s wrist, then his face, then to the bottle then to the wrist again. And, honestly, Mick’s patience at it is quickly failing.

When Palmer still doesn’t seem any closer to deciding one way or another Mick rolls his eyes and shoves his wrist back next to the omegas head, putting the stupid sauce bottle away while he’s at it.

Palmer looks at him with those stupid wide eyes of his. And he’s lucky his pretty and pretty damn smart because honestly Mick still isn’t sure he wants to play alpha to an omega so damn indecisive about shit like this. Len was good in that way – if he wanted it or didn’t there was no uming-and-ahing about it.

“Well?” Mick asks because he isn’t going to stand here all day with his arm out waiting for Palmer to make up his mind.

“I-” Palmer starts again and Mick is about to pull his arm back and go and tell Len he was wrong about the other omega when Palmer’s eyes settle into surety. His twists his head to rub his cheek against Mick’s wrist, glancing back at Mick after. “Is this okay?”

Huh. So he was worried Mick would be offended. That’s easy enough to deal with.”

“Sure it is – pretty omega wants to smell like mine. I ain’t going to say no to that.”

Palmer blushes at it. Mick doesn’t know if it’s the result of the ‘pretty omega’ or ‘smell like mine’ comment. He finds he doesn’t care.

Palmer doesn’t stop though. If anything he finally fucking relaxes as he gently rubs against Mick’s wrist. Finally quiet for more than five seconds for the first time since Mick met him.

If Mick had known this was the best way to shut him up he would have done it ages back.

And maybe he shouldn’t of said that last bit aloud seeing how Haircut’s eyes open and look at him again.

And, damn it, Mick was doing so well at not getting any of the omegas apart from Hunter, who seemed mad at them all, pissed off at him.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had an alpha, or really known more about one than their name,” Palmer says. And, that’s right, the whole damn ‘hero’ community is stupidly omega heavy, and somehow Mick doubts haircut would be building relationships outside the community.

“Omegas don’t need an alpha.” Not any more than an alpha needed an omega. Nice to have around and sometimes made the brain happy but not a necessity anymore than beer was.

Palmer laughs.

“What?” Mick’s not going to let himself be the butt of a joke for helping the ‘mega out.

“Nothing, just wouldn’t have taken you as an Omega Rights Activist when I first met you,” Palmer says. “But I suppose considering your relationship with Snart.”

Mick’s about to draw his wrist back and leave the room rather than let the conversation continue onto his relationship with his partner and the assumptions people love to make about it. But Palmer opens his eyes again and his pupils are blown in a way that normally means the seat of his pants is getting wet and Mick can’t help but take a deep breath and catch the scent of Content Omega covered in Mick’s own scent. And, yeah it’s doing things to him too.

“You done?” Mick asks because it is probably better they stop before their damn instincts make it too tempted to take it further. Palmer seems like the sort of omega who wants a couple dates before he puts out.

“Sure,” Palmer says but it’s followed by a pathetic sound when Mick does pull his wrist away again against his chest.

“Next time if you want something just ask for it,” Mick says, massaging his wrist with his other hand. Not at all to transfer the scent over.

“Oh,” Palmer says with a solid swallow like he’s caught that Mick doesn’t just mean scenting. “Duly noted.”

“Fucking boy scout,” Mick can’t help but grumble under his breath as he leaves the room.

He can’t believe he’s actually going along with this.

Chapter Text

“Hey Mick – give me your wrist,” Sara says as they stand outside the castle. She looks as hot as she always does and Hunter looks pretty good too. Mick doesn’t think he looks as good as they do in the suit they forced him into but they need an alpha to get into the party and he’s the only one available.

Mick gives his wrist as requested. Blondie reminds him of Len in a lot of ways and he’ll allow her some level of unexplained requests as a result.

He raises an eyebrow when she starts rubbing his bare wrist on her bare neck – taking his sent on over hers.

“What are you doing blondie?” Sara’s hot – Mick is not going to pretend otherwise. And, sure, sometimes he thinks about what it’d be like to convince her into bed with him – that's just his nature. But he knows blondie is a lot more likely to join Len in bed over Mick and Mick’s happy to give his partner the chance. Mick’ll just keep himself happy thinking about what the two of them will look like together.

Watching blondie rub his scent over herself is having an effect on him though. Those stupid hard-wired instincts that make him think about the word as pack and mates instead of crews and partners.

“Sara!” Hunter’s scandalized shout pulls Mick out of the dirty hole his mind was sinking in to. “What are you doing!?”

“Use your nose Rip,” Sara says with a roll of her eyes. Mick takes a deep breath of the world as well, and, huh, appears every omega in the vicinity smells like alpha-claimed.

Hunter’s realized it too going by how his face looks like he sucked a lemon.

“We’re going to stuck out like a sore thumb without it,” Sara says, bringing Mick’s wrists to her own to cover her scent there.

The only scent-spot left is the one high on her inner-thigh. Mick doesn’t think his luck is going to go that far tonight.

“I think I’d rather take my chances,” Hunter says with the look he gets about alphas generally. It’s not just defensiveness but personal hurt and Mick knows better than to push an omega with that look. They tend to be a stab first, ask questions later kind.

“Suit yourself,” Sara says with a twist so she’s standing in the crook of Mick’s arm. Cuddling in close like he really is her alpha and smelling fucking great covered in Mick’s fresh scent.

“Keep your hands to yourself Mr Rory,” Hunter says with a dirty look like he knows what Mick is thinking and doesn’t approve.

Whatever, it’s not his approval Mick needs.

“I know Len doesn’t dance but do you Mick?” Sara asks, still tucked under Mick’s arm as they survey the dancing crowd. They haven’t found Savage yet and Hunter had gotten impatient – abandoning them to search further into the castle.

“Not this kind.” Even when he was younger Mick hadn’t seen the point of the formal dances where you held your partner at arm’s length. The point of dancing was to see who might be interested in a back-alley quickie.

Sara laughs like she knows what he means.

“Too old for it anyway,” Mick adds. He’s found more effective ways of seeing who might be interested.

“And too happy with Snart?”

“We’re not like that,” Mick says and Sara immediately looks at him like he’s a liar. “Solo I mean. We’re... open.”

“Huh,” Sara says like she’s weighing the words up. And Len had better thank Mick for this.

“It goes both ways – Len's free to be with others as well.” There wasn’t any point to jealousy – either they would start partners or they wouldn’t. Possessiveness wasn’t going to change that.

“Good to know,” Sara says. And Mick hopes it means she’ll take Len up when he finally offers. She’s a damn hot omega and Len clearly is interested.

The fact he’s thinking how nice it would be if she stuck around after is probably just ‘cause right now she smells like Mick and that little bit of Len that tends to cling to Mick’s scent and it’s doing things to his instincts and brain.

They return to silently watching the people dancing and moving around the room. Still no signs of Savage and Mick is starting to get bored as a result.

Maybe setting the curtains on fire will get Savage to show his face.

Sara slips out from under his arm and Mick’s attention snaps back from the thought.

“You see him somewhere?” Mick scans the room again, but still sees no sign of Savage.

“No,” Sara says and Mick can’t help but deflate. The sooner they find the alpha bastard the sooner he can get out of the room and the tight clothes he’s stuck in. “But I’m hungry so I’m going to see if the canapes are as unfilling as the ones they used to serve at Oliver’s birthday parties.”

Mick laughs even if he doesn’t fully get it. He wasn’t ever invited to family birthday parties of the richest kid in town. But he does get how shit the food can be at them. Apparently the more money you make the shitter your taste becomes. He had made Len swear they’d never become like that no matter how big they scored.

He’s getting hungry as well so follows blondie over to the table with all the pointlessly tiny-portioned food is.

The food is about as shit as Mick expects – tiny portions that couldn’t fill even a kid up. Still he hands a couple down to the clearly child-sized hand blindly groping at the table for some. They must be hungry if they’re sneaking down to eat what’s currently on offer. He hopes Savage doesn’t own the castle because helping the bastard’s pups feels wrong.

Sara laughs having caught what he did. Not that Mick was bothering to try and hide it really.

“Knew you had a soft spot,” she says before turning her gaze back to the crowd just another alpha-omega pair walk over.

“My aren’t you a pretty thing,” the alpha of the pair says to Sara with an accent more pretention than Hunters.

Micks’ more than happy to leave this one to Sara.

“Not interested,” Sara says without even blinking before turning to the omega, “although we might be in your omega.”

The alpha looks at Mick like she’s hoping he’ll make a different call.

“She’s the boss,” Mick says with a shrug before shoving a tiny pie-looking thing into his mouth – the best thing he’s found at the table.

Before the alpha says whatever surely stupid comment she is about it, the sound of shouting coming from above draws the attention of everyone on the floor. And sure enough when they all look up there’s Hunter running across the top level of the massive room with guards chasing after him.

“Someone got busted,” Sara says, her arms crossed as she leans just slightly against Mick’s chest watching the English ’mega run.

“If you two would stop playing games and help me that would be much appreciated,” Hunter says through the comms.

“What do you want us to do Rip?” Sara asks.

“Create a distraction!” Hunter yells.

Looks like Mick will be setting those curtains on fire after all.

In the end they don’t even find Savage. But the castle had gone up in an impressive blaze so Mick doesn’t see it as a complete failure.

Hunter clearly disagrees by his angry muttering as they walk back to the Waverider and the rest of the team who look owl eyed at them. Except Len who is smirking.

“Don’t you both smell lovely,” Len says walking down from the ship to take Sara’s wrist and bring it to his nose like the alphas at the stupid party did. Sara grins at it though unlike with all the alphas where she seemed to be doing a better job at not rolling her eyes like Mick did but only just. To be fair Mick is also enjoying watching Len ‘politely’ take in her scent more than he did any of the assholes at the party.  

He would also enjoy watching Len take in her scent in the impolite way as well.

Of course his happiness can’t last long, because, despite agreeing to have him on board, it seems most of the crew of the Waverider exist to deny him the things he wants. And the Professor has to stutter when he figures out what Len is talking about.

“How did that happen?” Stein demands.. And normally Mick wouldn’t be even slightly afraid of an old man but the Professor has the ability to combine with the Kid and turn into a superhero with the ‘super’ being because of superpowers and not just being good at what he does.

“Blondie did it,” Mick says in his defense, pointing to the omega in question. Who is standing there with an unimpressed look that’s matched by Len.

“It was to maintain our cover,” Sara says. “Why don’t you ask Rip how his cover went without any alpha on his scent?”

“I’ll have you know it wasn’t my scent that blew my cover,” Rip snaps, storming past them and towards the Waverider. “We don’t have time for us all to bicker though. We have to get back to figure out where Savage is right now. And how we’re going to figure out what he’s up to with half our team’s cover blown.”

“And I’m sure Miss Lance would like a shower,” Stein says and Len’s hand is on Mick’s chest before he can even get offended at it.

“Leave it,” Len says quietly and Mick does. Because Len’s the boss.

Chapter Text

“I- Mr Rory!”

Mick wakes up from what had been a very nice post-sex nap to the offended tone of their resident pissy English omega.

Cracking an eye open he quickly establishes that it wasn’t Hunter walking in on Mick with one of the other omegas on the ship but rather the omega naked in Mick’s bed with Mick’s similar naked arm thrown over him. Being awake brings back the memories of what the closest to ’last night’ could be on a time ship currently not in any time and those memories don’t say that the two of them had just stripped off and passed out.

No he and Rip fucked.

“I can’t believe this happened,” Rip says scrambling from the bed and to that coat of his. Wrapping himself in it and making Mick wonder if the whole reason he has the thing is to hide his body.

“It happened,” Mick says rolling over and thinking over the previous night.

They hadn’t been drinking. And being stuck on a spaceship makes it unlikely to be drugs inducing either heat or crazy.

No, Rip had come to him with a bitchy comment about Mick having already picked which omega would warm his bed for the night that Mick brushed off because Hunter was just pissy that Mick had yet to do anything that would let Hunter vote him off the time ship. And then Hunter had asked why it was that Mick was able to convince half their team into bed with him and Mick had, instead of pointing out the only omega on the ship he was sleeping with so far was his partner of 30 years, jokingly, asked if Rip wanted to know Mick could show him. Somehow that had ended up with Rip on him in the good way and them both heading to Mick’s room and without their clothes and going at it like only an alpha and omega can.

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Rip says with a head bow that had always struck Mick as oddly submission for an omega that spent most of his time bossing them around. Mick didn’t think much about it when he first noticed it and still doesn’t now. “I just still can’t believe I let it happen.”

“More than just let,” Mick reminds because Rip started it not him. Mick just followed along.

Rip glares at him and Mick just shrugs. He really doesn’t get what the big deal is.

“Anyway,” Rip says as he hurriedly shoves his legs into his pants. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to the partner of yours. Or the others on the team.”

“Sure.” Even if the bragging rights might be nice Mick doesn’t care either way. Especially seeing he doubts anyone would be actually impressed by it. “They’ll smell it on us anyway.”

Rip freezes.

“Damn it,” he mutters and Mick just lets him work it out himself. He’s not here to work through whatever Rip’s problem is with alphas.

Mick gets out of the bed and grabs his own pants from the night before as well. He’s hungry and doesn’t feel like sticking around if Rip’s just going to keep being pissy.

“Well, I suppose you’re please with yourself about the situation then,” Rip practically spits at Mick but he’s skirting around the room to avoid Mick as he digs around the piles of dirty clothes for his pants.

Mick shrugs again before grabbing a clean shirt.

“Not the worst fuck of my life,” Mick says which earns him a bitter laugh.

“So I’m just a fuck to you then?”

“If you want to be,” Mick says because he isn’t going to play these games. If all Rip wants was one night that meant nothing he can have that. If he wants more than he can join whatever it is that Mick and half of the rest of the ship are heading towards. “I’m good either way.”

The words seem to catch Rip off guard and Mick takes the opportunity to leave the room before the omega can think of something else to snap at him about. He isn’t the best person to play shrink. And anyway, he’s hungry.

They had found Carter. Not their Carter but a past one. One that had outlived his Kendra.

He seems to despise Mick as much as their Carter did. But considering he and Kendra have an asshole alpha that even after actual thousands of years hasn’t realized that not interested means not fucking interested Mick isn’t going to hold it against him.

And then Savage finds them and past!Carter dies protecting their Kendra. And Mick’s the only one of the team there when it happens.

When the light fades out of past!Carter’s eyes fully Kendra turns and presses herself against Mick’s chest and starts sobbing.

Mick just freezes. Kendra’s hot but she was also apparently eternally taken by the soul-mate of hers and very not interested in alphas as a result. Mick respected that and gave her her space and now she was invading his and soaking his shirt with tears and her grief filled scent clogging up his nose. And his instincts are demanding he does something to fix it.

“There there,” Mick says patting her hair because that’s what you’re meant to do right? He sure doesn’t know – he didn’t hang around with the kinds of people who sobbed and looked for comfort when something terrible happened. No he was used to shutdowns and hiding away kind of grief-handling. This is how people seem to respond on tv when someone starts sobbing like this though and surely tv can’t be that wrong?

It doesn’t seem to work though because Kendra just keeps on sobbing.

“Come on,” Mick says as gently as he can. They can’t stay here – Savage will zero in on their position too easily, especially now that Carter’s dead and helping throw off whatever weird connection Savage has with the two hawks.

Kendra doesn’t really respond past sobbing some more. But she doesn’t fight him as he leads her away. Leads her away from Carter’s body – they'll come back for it and make sure it gets a proper burial and not turned into immortality-juice for Savage’s following of assholes. But they’ll need the rest of the team for that.

The rest of the team that isn’t far off. And it’s clear they know what happened.

Ray thankfully takes Kendra from Mick, letting her sob against his chest instead. He’s better at the soothing thing than Mick is. Petting her hair and talking softly with no-doubt comforting words, his scent doing the thing that’s apparently designed to calm.

Mick looks away to give them privacy. Instead meeting Len’s eyes.

“We going back for him right?” Len asks, his face set because there isn’t really another answer.

“Of course.” It might be a fool’s heist but after they found out what Savage does to the either birdies bodies when he has them there’s no way they’re leaving Carter’s behind.

“Hey Mick,” Kendra says, walking into the kitchen when Mick is enjoying his dinner. She looks like shit, probably only just stopped crying going by how red her eyes are.

Mick really doesn’t know why she’s in the kitchen considering that fact. Surely Ray would get her anything she needed, or Sara.

“Hey birdie.” It’s probably not the best thing to say but Mick also doesn’t want to encourage any kind of heart-to-heart conversation right now. Or ever.

“Can I sit?” Kendra asks, gesturing to the chair next to him.

“Sure.”

Kendra sits closer than she has to. And Mick can’t help but watch her out of the corner of his eye because he’d expect this kind of behavior from Haircut not any of the other omegas on the ship.

“I- thank you,” Kendra says after a moment. “For back there, I know it must have been awkward for you.”

“Its fine,” Mick says, taking another bite out of his stake but still watching Kendra from the corner of his eye.

“You’re not as bad as people like to make you out,” Kendra says. And, sure, Mick knows what reputation surrounds him – he built half of it on purpose. “You’re actually a pretty good alpha.”

“But you’re not interested,” Mick says for her, before taking a drink of the beer had got Gideon to make to join his food. He doesn’t have a problem with it – Kendra and Sara just both prefer omegas. According to Len, Sara just has exceptions. Kendra, as far as Mick’s aware doesn’t.

“I’ve been with alphas in past lives.” So apparently Kendra has exceptions as well. It was apparently becoming a trend on this ship. “But even without that, alphas and omegas can have relationships without having to be in a relationship.”

Mick really is starting to wonder where the team has this idea that he doesn’t understand how relationships work at all. They know he’s been with Len for a damn long time and even if they’re far from the normal alpha and omega those years still counted for something.

“I know – pack right.” It still feels like a dirty word. An impossible word. But Mick is more and more seeing what Len means by it seems an inevitability for them. And it’s also becoming pretty damn obvious they can’t let Rip be the head of it without ending with them all killed.

“I didn’t think I’d ever have one after finding out about Carter,” Kendra says. “Apparently we never joined one in all our past lives after we found each other.”

Mick snorts because, figures. Soul mates probably fucks with most packs – can’t be all equal when two are destined to be together above all else. And the immortal murderous alpha constantly chasing them probably didn’t help things either.

“Packs are supposed to be more even balanced,” Mick says. He never cared about them but even he knows the rules of them as well as anyone else – a pack should not have one designation completely out-numbered by another. Never ends well.

“I’m starting to think if anyone can handle not being normal it’s us,” Kendra says leaning over to rest her head against Mick’s chest.

He catches her scent and he can still smell her grief. But more importantly he can smell Ray on her and Ray’s scent that now has Mick’s in it which has always had Len’s in it, and now apparently Sara as well. All combining to make a new scent.

Mick realizes Kendra smells of pack. Of pack with him.

And despite Len having told him that was what was going to happen he still finds himself feeling uneasy about it.

Chapter Text

Mick snarls as the men dragging and shoving him into the cell. They work for Savage and fucking knocked him out and he’s damn pissed about the whole situation. The fact they had grabbed the Kid before him just making him even more pissed.

The kid who happens to be in the same cell they’ve just shoved Mick in. At least it means rescue is definitively coming – no way will the team leave Jax behind even if they might be tempted into leaving Mick.

Jax looks especially wide-eyed at Mick’s threats to the guards. Which is a bit odd because surely by now the kid would have gotten used to Mick’s temper? And it’s not like Mick was directing it at him.

It doesn’t stop Mick from giving a final shout at the guards before retreating back to further in the cell.

Jax eyes him cautiously and shifts as far away as he can without getting too close to the bars either.

Mick’s about to ask what the hell the kid’s problem is when the immortal dickhead walks into the room.

“The alpha,” Savage says looking Mick up and down as if he’s sizing him up. Which normally Mick wouldn’t give a shit about – he gets that he’s a physically intimidating presence and a lot of people feel the need to assess whether they think they could take him in a fight if they might need to when first meeting him. He’s done the same to a lot as well. But considering Savage is an immortal bastard alpha who still doesn’t seem to be accepting that Kendra and Carter don’t want him as their mate and killing them each life over isn’t making them any more keen Mick finds the sizing up distasteful.

“What’s it to you?” Mick asks. He knows he’s got Kendra’s scent on him. And that’s got to be pissing Savage off. And pissed off asshole alphas tend to do stupid things like open cell doors to go beat up the other alpha that’s ‘stolen their mega’. And maybe if the kid has his wits about him enough they can time this right to not need the others to even come save them.

Savage’s smiles in the way that they’ve all learned doesn’t mean anything good.

“So strong,” the bastard says, like he’s looking down at Mick. And Mick’s never liked alphas who looked down on him. He never really liked anyone who looked down on him. “But so driven by instinct.”

Mick’s used to people thinking that about him as well. But there’s something about Savage’s tone that makes it seem more ominous than when most say it.

“Let’s see what your omegas think of you when they see what those instincts will drive you to do,” Savage says with a glance at Jax.

“What did you do?”

“I’ll let you find that out yourself,” Savage says with a smile that Mick really would like to knock off his face. But it looks like he isn’t getting that chance until the rest of the team show up and get them out of this damn cell.

And of course Savage leaves the room without explaining any more of what he means but Mick has an idea. What with Savage’s rantings about alphas and omegas and Jax’s trying to avoid getting too close to Mick in the cell.

Still.

“What did he do?”

“Drugged me,” Jax says, with nervous eyes that more belongs on Haircut than him.

“Let me guess – fucks with your suppressants and sends you into heat?”

“Yes.”

“Right.” Mick just had to be sure it wasn’t something else, or some damn fuck-or-die shit. “We’ll be fine then.”

“What do you mean ‘we’ll be fine’?” Jax says, now actively pacing along the cell. Which, if he’s trying to slow down a heats progression, is not going to help. “I just told you I’m about to have a true, full, heat and you’re an alpha.”

“Yes.” Mick isn’t an idiot despite what most of the team seem to think. “It’ll be fine. Now sit your ass down getting excited will only make it worse.”

“You can’t know that. No offence man but you’re not exactly known for self-restraint,” Jax says. And even if Mick can start smelling the heat on him currently the scent of stressed omega more than overpowers it – probably won’t for much longer though.

Mick shrugs, because, sure, that is true about him. Most of the time at least.

“Trust me – it’ll be fine.” This isn’t the first time Mick’s been in a situation like this, not even the cell. He knows what to do. Just stay perfectly still while the omega huddles in the corner as far away from him as possible.

Last time after a couple hours of that, the omega tends to cautiously crawl out of the corner to huddle at Mick’s side letting them at least get scent relief. And after enough years the omega even started calling him partner.

Mick doesn’t feel like explaining all that though.

“Whatever man,” Jax says before grumbling under his breath about assholes alphas not realizing the consequences of their actions, sounding like the rantings Rip sometimes goes on that Mick chooses not to take personally as he settles his hands on his lap and closes his eyes to stop himself from even blinking because apparently even that can be seen as a threat to an on-edge in-heat omega.

It means he doesn’t see the kid getting up but he can smell the heat getting closer as Jax comes to sit next to him.

“This fine?” he kid asks, “or, uh, is it easier for you if I’m further away.”

“Its fine,” Mick says, opening one eye to peer at where Jax has tentatively curled up in a ball right next to him. Not touching but as close as possible otherwise.

“Okay. Just tell me if it becomes not fine.”

“Sure.” The rest of the team would find them long before that happened seeing it wouldn’t happen.

They apparently take their damn time to do so but the team does finally find them with the usual destruction that always follow them.

“Jefferson!” Of course the professor would come for the kid.

“I don’t suggest merging with him right now you’ll probably burn too hot,” Len’s voice says as Mick opens his eyes to see the whole team there. Just in time to see Hunter aiming his gun at the lock on the cell.

“Get Jax out of there,” Hunter orders, not that Mick doubts any of them need ordering. Instincts demanding getting the youngest of their pack away from a threat and back to the safety of their den.

It’s only after Sara and Kendra have come to gently take the kid out of the cell no doubt directly back to the Waverider and the medbay that Mick stands up.

“I think it’s best if we all get back to the ship,” Hunter says, not meeting Mick’s eyes. Not that Mick cares.

Len gives him a nod as he passes. More an acknowledgement that he’s going to be watching Mick’s back while they get out of here than anything else. An acknowledgement that while Mick isn’t dramatically affected he also isn’t going to be on his best game for a little.

Ray on the other hand matches his pace to Mick’s and Mick just waits for what the omega has to say about it.

“Are you okay?” Ray asks.

“I’m fine.” Why wouldn’t he be? Mick wasn’t the one drugged.

“I mean it must have had some effect on you,” Ray says, with a nod of his head like he’s trying to imply meaning to the words when in reality it’s verbal neon-lights.

“Sure, kid isn’t my type though.” Mick says, because he still doesn’t feel like explaining that this isn’t a novel experience to him – he knows what he should do and can do it just fine. Heats don’t actually send alphas out of control like some claim.

“The heat’s still got to affect you right?” Ray asks, with a glance through his eyelashes. And. Oh. He’s thinking Mick needs to work the scent of heat from his system on an omega. And doing the damn hero thing of offering himself up.

“You offering to help?” Mick says to make sure the offer is stated plain. Safer with these lot to make damn sure everything is out in the open.

“I mean, sure, if you want,” Ray says. And normally Mick would say yes. Hell, if it was Len or Sara or even Kendra offering he’d say yes. But Ray was the kind of hero that would throw himself into the firing line to help someone else even if they didn’t need it. Past the point of loyal into the point of a death wish. There just ain’t no way for Mick to be sure if he’s offering because he’s looking for an excuse to justify sleeping with a ‘villain’ or if he’s putting himself on offer out of a misguided want to help.

“Ask me again when I’m not high on heat-scent.” If all Ray is looking for is an excuse Mick’ll happily give him plenty. But he’s not letting him do the self-sacrificing hero thing especially when Mick can just rub it out himself, or see if Len’ll be willing to help, or, hell, go find a hooker.

“Oh, right,” Ray says not making it any clearer on whether he was looking for an excuse or just being a stupid hero.

The argument in the medbay is still going after Mick finishes his shower.

Mick gets it. There’s now another security system they need to be aware of when trying to grab what they want. And this one has all the danger of a rabid guard dog for most of the team.

They will figure out a way around it, but first they have to bicker about it and point fingers. Rip unable to get his crew to calm down and trust he has it under control like a good planner can because they all know he doesn’t fully know what he’s doing.

Mick lets himself in and he isn’t surprised to see the rest of the team there. He’s been kicked out of enough rooms because of omega business both during and before joining this team and on the ship that it doesn’t even sting.

Len looks bored of the conversation, spinning the ring around his thumb, but Mick knows he’s actually running the new information over to try and think of a way around it. A way to remove the risk for their teammates. Mick doesn’t know how he can think with how strong the scent of anxiety is in the room – it’s making Mick’s head throb where Savage’s goons hit him.

“What are you doing here?” the professor asks, coming to stand in front of Mick, looking truly pissed off.

It’s protective rage of the kid. Stein’s old enough that there’s no way he has to worry about heats anymore and therefore Savage’s newest toy shouldn’t be able to affect him like the others, not that Mick would like to test that belief out. But Steins feels responsible for the kid – probably because he dragged him onto the ship in the first place – and he’s worried about what might have happened.

Mick tries not to take it personally.

“Just came to check on Jax,” Mick says, not reacting to Stein’s attempted threatening stance.

“I’m fine,” Jax says, “Gideon gave me something to dampen it all down again. Just waiting for everyone else to decide I’m okay to leave and rest.”

“I can confirm that Mr Jefferson’s hormones have returned to normal pre-heat levels,” Gideon chimes in. And it actually means kid probably feels like shit considering his cycle’s now been fucked with twice in a day. His body not liking being forced from one part to another with no chance to work through any of it like it’s meant to. “Now he just needs to rest.”

“Which I think we should all let him do,” Len says coming out his corner. “We can pick up this conversation in the morning with cooler heads.”

“Snart’s right,” Sara says before Rip can get in whatever it is he wants to say. Probably that they all should just keep arguing until he feels guilty enough to go shut himself up in his study and drink away his misery.

Kendra and Ray both agree with Len and Sara’s play and they all know Mick’ll agree with whatever Len suggests so long as it’s reasonable.

“Fine,” Rip says, relenting to the majority rule. “We’ll pick this up again after we get some rest.”

Chapter Text

They had managed to find some intel that Savage had come to America before it became America. And Rip, of course, had to know why the alpha bastard had bothered to come to a shitty pioneer town. Which meant they all had to go to the shitty pioneer town.

When they arrived they were quickly informed that Savage had taken a band of alphas and then fucked off into the woods and nobody had heard from any them since.

So Len and Sara had been sent to see if they could find where Savage and the alphas had gone and what they are up to. Rip then declaring that he needed Kendra and Jax on the Waverrider with him – Jax for repairs and Kendra to help him research.

Which means Mick, Stein and Ray got to settle into life in the shitty pioneer town in case Savages comes back, with a cover story courtesy of Ray rambling off the first thing that came to his head – Mick and Ray are new mates and Stein Mick’s omega-in-law all coming to the world to start up a new life. Mick at least manages to get his arm around his new mate and cut him off before Ray started coming up with any more of their new backstories.

Nobody questions them about it so they settle into their temporary life-style without much more fuss.

Mick is glad to be back at their house as shit as it was. The work here was back-breaking with not much gained to show for it. He really didn’t get why the hell so many people decided to leave Europe to come here and the fact there was nothing worthwhile to steal only making him more annoyed.

“How was your day Mick?” Ray asks from the workbench he’d taken over their living room with. Some of it was his usual tinkering of his suit but others of it was shit like butter churners. Haircut having befriended most of the other omegas in town and deciding he was going to help them out and make their jobs easier. Stein had reminded him that they couldn’t change the past but the two came up with a compromise of they could modify already existing machines to make them more effective but wouldn’t introduce any modern things into the mix.

“Where’s the food?” Mick asks instead of responding because all he wants is something to eat, something to drink, and somewhere to pass out preferably with a warm body next to him.

“Oh,” Ray says and Mick already knows what he’s going to say next because this is the third night that week he’d say it. “Sorry Mick I got so caught up with what I was doing I forgot to put anything on.”

And he looks so damn guilty about it Mick feels like an asshole.

“It’s fine – I'll make something.” He is used to being the one to cook and he does enjoy it. He just is also used to having a normal kitchen to work out of.

“Just give me a minute and I’ll come help,” Ray says, hurriedly putting tools aside. And Mick remembers what the one meal Ray had remembered to make the week tasted like. Haircut apparently even more needing a modern kitchen to make something edible.

“Just keep doing what you are doing.”

“Oh, okay,” Ray says sitting back down again. “Just call if you need anything.”

Mick doesn’t.

Stein arrives around the same time Mick finishes cooking. He’s been off playing doctor in town, but seeing the point is for them to get up in everyone else’s businesses to find out what the Savage might be doing or when he might be back it’s probably good. Mick just wishes everyone else would stop getting all up in their business as well.

“The Whitlock’s asked if you could go around to theirs and move some rocks for them,” Stein says as they sit down to eat together, the domesticness of the time period annoyingly creeping into their habits.

“And, let me guess, you agreed for me? Can’t they do it themselves?” Mick doesn’t like how much Stein seems to have gleefully taken on the bossy omega-in-law role.

“Their pack-alpha is one of the ones that went with Savage, and the only other person who might is their pregnant omega,” Stein says. Which, fine, they’re fishing for information for how the hell Savage showed up in town and convinced a bunch of alphas to just walk off with him, leaving their mates, packs, and pups behind. “And everyone in town is wondering why they don’t see you much around.”

“Because I don’t want to see them.” Mick’s learned to live with Stein and Ray. He’d rather spend his time not working reading while the two tinker than out in a town full of people clinging to survival.

“They’re starting to wonder what you’re spending all your spare time doing.”

Right. And curious people are nosy people. And it’s better to say hi to the neighbors than have them find the bank plans and lock picks on the kitchen table. Or in this case, future tech that Ray is incapable of not needing to fiddle with.

“Fine. I’ll go move some rocks tomorrow.”

“What are you wearing?” Mick asks, having come home from his work for the day to the smell of food cooking and the sight of Ray in a dress. Which is mostly odd seeing despite being back in time omega men still didn’t wear skirts as far as Mick knows.

“Do you not like it?” Ray asks, looking immediately deflated.

“That’s not what I said.” Mick normally didn’t give a shit what the others were wearing. But Ray had clearly intentionally put the dress on and Mick had been wondering ever since they started going back to the times of long dresses and stupid pants whether it was true they didn’t wear underwear under the skirts. He hadn’t dared asked Sara or Kendra though.

It appeared he might be getting the answer to it soon.

“Some of the other omegas in town were worrying that you weren’t interested enough in me,” Ray rambles and it’s clear that isn’t the real reason.

“We not going to be here long enough for what they think to matter.” Mick moves closer because he has a feeling he knows what is actually happening and once he finally gets it out of Ray he doesn’t want to waste any more time.

“Okay so maybe I want you to pay more attention to me,” Ray says.

“I already scent you plenty,” Mick says because he’s kind of an asshole, and kind of wants to see if he can make the Boy Scout actually say it.

“Damn it Mick I want you to fuck me,” Ray says, “and I really didn’t think it would be this hard to convince you to do it.”

“That’s because you didn’t just ask,” Mick says because maybe this will be a lesson for Haircut to be blunt about his wants instead of just making puppy eyes at Mick and expecting him to figure out what the hell he wants from it.

He closes the distance between them to kiss Ray good and proper because the omega deserves some reward for finally just asking.

“Wha?” Ray says but Mick doesn’t let him finish the thought before picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder, causing the omega to yelp.

Mick’s arm not holding Ray in place reaches up under the stupid skirt. There’s too many damn layers of it if you ask him but he’s determined to find out the answer to his question before he gets them to the bedroom and Ray certainly doesn’t seem to be complaining.

And would you look at that – Ray at least isn’t wearing any underwear under the damn thing. Easy access Mick wonders if he’ll get to take advantage of again before this stupid mission is done.

Len and Sara are back.

They are sitting at the table with Stein and Ray when Mick comes down from his post-sex nap. Eating the food Mick had prepared that morning and set on to cook that had been forgotten about when the option of sex with Ray was right there for the having.

Mick isn’t even mad they started eating without him which is odd because normally he would be annoyed.

Ray doesn’t look nervous to Len probably already told him to knock off any fear he had about stealing Mick from him. Because he hadn’t - Mick is still Len’s partner first.

“So we found Savage,” Sara says, before shamelessly shoving another rib into her mouth. “Also these are really good.”

“Mick has gotten really good at cooking over a fire during our time here,” Ray says looking so chipper. Mick wonders if that means he did a shit job in bed or a really good one – Palmer’s can be frustratingly hard to know what he’s thinking. Which is how it took them so damn long to end up having a roll in the sack together.

“I look forward to seeing what other new flavors he’s discovered while stuck here,” Len says, with his smug grin. And Mick certainly is going to be telling his partner all about the things he’s discovered while stuck in the shithole town.  

“So we’re not leaving?” Mick had hoped the fact the two omegas had showed up meant they would be able to get out of the stupid town and stupid time and back on the Waverider and the ability to summon up beer on request.

“Not yet,” Len says, sounding about as happy about it as Mick feels.

“Savage has the alphas building something,” Sara says, “but they’re missing a piece of it.”

“What sort of piece?” Stein asks.

Mick grabs himself a new plate and starts filling it up. He’ll let the omegas figure out what they’re doing next. Len’ll make sure Mick won’t have to do anything too annoying in it.

“The pregnant ‘mega’s got it,” Mick says after they finally explain what the thing it is that Savage is looking for.

“What pregnant omega?” Sara asks.

“The one you had me move the rocks for,” Mick says nodding to Stein. He remembers the stone the ‘mega has kept worrying with his hand – it was the only thing possibly worth taking in the whole town.

“Great, now we just have to introduce ourselves to the neighbors,” Len says.

“Oh that’ll be easy,” Ray says, “I told them the rest of our pack was still coming over any day now.”

“What?” Stein says, sounding a little scandalized. “I thought we had agreed on our cover story.”

“Yeah, well, I started mentioning the rest of the team and it was just easier to go along with it instead of thinking of another explanation,” Ray says.

“And I am grateful for it Raymond,” Len say, because it made his job of grabbing the rock a little easier. “In the morning I go get us our missing piece and stop Savage’s plan for this town.”

The fucking rock wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Apparently Savages’ army of alphas had also figured out where their missing piece was and set the damn ‘mega’s mate to pick up the thing, and the ‘mega as well. Which had freaked out Haircut so their mission became a rescue mission as well with them all going into the woods to where Sara and Len had saw them building the thing.

And then it turned out the damn thing Savage was building was actually some weird genetic-mutation bomb. With its countdown now live.

“Do you know how to turn this thing off?” Sara asks the alpha that built the stupid bomb.

“No, we just built it,” one of the alphas says, eyeing off the ticking clock looking thing on the stupid bomb.

“You two?” Len asks, looking at Haircut and the professor.

“The technology will no-doubt be primitive so I’m sure we can figure it out,” Stein says with his usual up-himself confidence. Right now Mick didn’t care so long as the professor could live up to his inflated ego.

“Well then get too it!” Mick says. Len and Sara taking on the job of handling Savage’s more loyal lackeys and trying to track where the damn alpha bastard that caused this mess had vanished to as well.

“What makes you think they’ll even be able to figure it out,” one of the alphas sneers and Mick already knows what’s going to come out of his mouth next before he says it – jerkasses like that never change. “They’re just two omegas, maybe if it was a loom-”

“Because they’re smarter than the lot of you,” Mick says. Alphas aren’t inherently stupid. But anyone who blindly follows some new person in town with no background of who they are like all these ones did are a complete moron as far as he’s concerned.

“They’re going to ruin our hard work!” one of the other alphas say as Ray pulls off the guard to the internal workings of the machine. The alpha and another stepping forward.  

“Not another step,” Mick snarls aiming his heat-gun at them. He’s not about to let everyone get blown up just because some fool alphas didn’t realize they had been duped into making a fucking bomb.

The alphas stay at bay. Which – good. Now hopefully their two resident geniuses can figure out how the hell to defuse the thing.

“Damn it!” Stein says which is not promising to the ‘defuse it’ thing. “If only Jefferson were here.”

“What’s the problem?” Mick asks.

“We need to cause the liquid to flash-boil to prevent it from triggering the reaction required for the detonation while also defusing it. If Jefferson were here we could merge and be heat the liquid.”

“Mick’s heatgun should be able to get it to the right temperature,” Ray says.

“Yes but it needs to be heated at the exact right time or else it risks triggering the reaction,” Stein says, doubt thick in his voice.

“Do you know the timing?” Mick asks.

“Well yes.”

“Then okay.” Mick gives a snarl at the gathered alphas so they know they should stay away before switching his heat gun from pointing at them to pointing at the metal cylinder of the stupid bomb. “Tell me when.”

“Not before I say so,” Stein says with a wary look because apparently he thinks Mick’s stupid enough to cause a bomb to go off just to spite him.

“Yeah, yeah, just get on with it.”

“Okay,” Ray says after a bit more fiddling, “it should be good. And I mean if we’re wrong it’s not like we’ll be alive to know about it seeing how close to the blast radius we are. Or we’ll just be horribly mutated depending on what Savage has put in there.”

“Can I light it up now?” Mick asks Stein because he’s the one giving the cue.

“Just one more thing,” Stein says, doing something to the internal mechanisms. “And - now.”

Mick doesn’t need to be told twice, setting fire to the main cylinder of the bomb as the two omegas step back.

“Stop!” Stein yells and Mick immediately does.

“Did it work?” One of the alphas gathered, who actually looks regretful about her hand in building the stupid thing, asks.

Before anyone can respond the bomb blows up. But only enough to send those gather around on their asses. No weird mutations or deaths among them.

“I think we can call that a success!” Ray says, sitting up again. Because he’s a stupidly naïve fool. And somehow Mick still finds him fucking hot and is hoping their fuck wasn’t a one-time thing

“So how did the mission go?” Jax asks as they all walk back onto the Waverider, tired and dirty and Mick knows there’s going to be a fight over the bathroom that he’s going to lose as soon as they can excuse themselves to fight over it.

“We managed to save a town from the result of their own stupidity,” Len says.

“And taught them an important lesson about stranger danger,” Ray adds.

“But Savage escaped in the chaos,” Sara says.

“And we still don’t know what attracted Savage to this specific town,” Stein says. “Other than particularly gullible alphas.”

“So it was a complete waste then?” Rip asks coming out of his study with Kendra.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Mick says, with a glance at Ray. He learned that haircut was interested in him for more than just his alpha scent. And Mick was certainly looking forward to seeing how often Ray wanted that particular scratch itched.

Chapter Text

“You smell like Raymond,” Len says, nosing at Mick’s neck like he hadn’t just slunk back into their room on the Waverider where Mick had been reading alone.

“You smell like Sara,” Mick says, catching Len’s hips in his hands to hold the omega in place while he sniffs at his neck. It had taken Mick a lot of years to get Len willing to let him do something like that but it was well worth it.

“I know,” Len says, leaning closer.

When Mick catches his eyes he sees the sex-drunkenness in them. It means even futuristic suppressants still can’t completely bury away a heat and Len is right now at his most agreeable and horny and had managed to convince Sara to help him with it.

Mick isn’t even jealous.

“Should of at least invited me to watch,” Mick says as he encourages Len into his lap so he can get his hands on Len’s ass and get better access to sniff along the omega’s neck. They’ll probably move to the bed soon. No matter how good Sara is Len’ll be able to go again, willing too, seeing they don’t have anything better to do until Hunter finds where they can next have a crack at killing Savage.

Mick always loved when Len’s heats fell between the completion of one heist and start of planning for the next. When he had the time to actually listen to his biology and didn’t just wind Mick up only to push him away to go muse over blueprints for another hour.

“I could say the same of you and Raymond,” Len says, his hips bucking because he can become a damn tease when he’s like this.

“Didn’t think you’d be interested,” Mick says more to tease. Len might have a clear favorite in Sara but that didn’t make him any less blind to how hot some of the other omegas on the ship were.

“Bullshit.” Len’s up and off Mick’s lap with it and damn it that wasn’t what Mick wanted!

He’s heading to the bed though because Len always has good ideas and Mick is more than happy to follow.

“Was he as much a chatterbox in bed as he is out of it?” Len asks as Mick climbs into the bed to slot between Len’s perfectly spread, if unfortunately still clothed, legs.

“No, he shut up pretty quick.” Didn’t mean he wasn’t loud. Apparently, all that talking meant Ray could moan loud enough Mick was worried even with the soundproofing he’d have Hunter or Stein banging on the door. For now it’s a secret Mick’ll keep even from his Partner. “And what about Sara – she as fiery in bed as expected?”

“That’s for me to know,” Len says because he knows the game Mick is playing and is going to play it back. “You might be able to still taste her on me though, if you’d like some idea.”

And yeah. Mick really would.

Rip really needs to stop giving Ray the job of a crook in their missions. Their Boy Scout omega is terrible at it and the team contains two thieves and an assassin.

And, yes, Mick does understand that Len, Sara and himself have other roles in this job. Ones where the ability to lie convincingly, and in Mick’s case be an alpha while doing so, is even more important. But surely Jax or Kendra could take Ray’s place. Because it is frustrating sitting on the other side of the bar and having to watch as Ray completely fumbles even just introducing himself to the low-time beta-gang of thieves that had accidently beat Savage to a score.

Even Jax, sitting with Len in the corner of the bar waiting for their cue to distract Savage’s lackies when they come looking for their boss’s loot, looks pained.

Ray then fucks up the one line Len had given him to ensure his cred – and how the fuck does a card-carrying-superhero not know the names of the prisons they sent people to?

“Mick go help Raymond before they drag him out back and hurt his pretty face,” Len says into the comms, making it seem like he’s just whispering a joke to Jax who obligingly laughs.

“On it boss,” Mick says despite Rip’s grumble of protest. Plans have to change sometimes and Len’s on the ground watching Ray’s terrible attempts at acting. Unlike Rip who is currently half way across the city with Stein trying to keep the pigs distracted.

Mick crosses the bar easily – even in a seedy place like this he’s able to make a crowd part when he’s got his eyes on a goal. And Ray half-perched on one of the bar stools while overly eagerly leaning towards the low-rate pickpockets makes an easy goal. It gives Mick a plan of how he’s going to introduce himself.

The crack of his hand landing of Ray’s ass is louder than he intended it to be but it certainly works in making the gaggle of beta gathered around Ray shut up.

The shiver that goes through Ray doesn’t seem to be one of displeasure and Mick puts that away to be something worth exploring with the omega later.

“What was that?” Rip hisses down the comms.

“Don’t worry Rip, Mick has it all in hand,” Len says because Mick’s keeping his hand on Ray’s ass, a useful grip-hold if Ray tries to blow their cover again and Haircut certainly doesn’t seem bothered by it.

“Hey fellas,” Mick says, “I heard my ‘mega was telling you about my stint in Iron Heights before we met.”

The betas laugh, apparently satisfied that the mistake was a result of Ray telling a second-hand story and getting the details mixed up.

After that it’s easy to feed them a couple more stories to gain their trust and convince them that Mick and Ray are the real deal and looking for a crew to join. And after that it’s even easier to pinch their score off them once they discover that Ray is a tech genius and happily crowd around him as he shows off an electric lock-pick he just built from some scraps they had lying around.

“Time to leave,” Mick says once he’s pocketed what they’re looking for.

“Right, of course, the dinner reservation we have,” Ray says, with an over-the-top smile.

“Sure, dinner,” Mick says, setting his hand back onto Ray’s back pocket resting on his ass because it seems to work on shutting the omega up and right now he needs to shut up so they can leave before the beta gang figure out that they’re taking the group’s biggest score yet with them.

Once they get back to the Waverider Mick plans on exploring exactly how much Ray seems to enjoy having his ass played with. And also convince the omega to make another one of the electric lock-picks for Mick and Len.

 “I thought you had gone to bed,” Jax says when Mick finds him, the kid digging through the guts of the ship.

“No bed available.” Len was having Sara over. Normally Mick would just go to Ray’s room but when he had opened the door he discovered that Ray had Kendra over – Ray giving the louder shriek of the two despite Mick having previously seen him naked. And Mick had decided it better not to test his luck with Rip’s room.

“What?” Jax says before his face curls, guessing the reason why. “Actually don’t tell me.”

“What about you?” Mick asks. It’s late according to the clock Gideon created to tell them what time it should be even when they are not in time at all.

Jax shrugs.

“Rip has me going over this ship top to bottom and I think I’m starting to get it,” Jax says, “I couldn’t sleep because the wiring here’s been bugging me – someone's done a crummy patch job.”

That person is most likely Rip because it’s clear he’s making the plan up as he goes along without the necessary skills to complete it. A dangerous fact but the desperateness clear in Rip makes it hard to hold it against him.

“What if you do it wrong?” Mick asks. The kid has a good grasp of mechanics and has figured out the ship pretty well, Mick ain’t questioning that. But the ships weird future-tech and he’d prefer not to get blown up because of youthful curiosity and overconfidence.

“I am supervising to ensure nothing is done that may risk the safety of either myself or my crew,” Gideon says because she is ever-watching like some freaky voyeur. Mick wonders if she’s watching what’s happening in the bunks right now and if she keeps recordings of it.

Something worth looking into later.

For now Mick just sits down on the stairs next to where Jax is digging through the ship.

“You don’t have to stay here man,” Jax says.

“Nothing else better to do,” Mick says with a shrug. Until one of the pairs of omegas finish up he’s got nowhere to sleep and might as well watch the kid at his work. And, who knows, learning a bit about how the damn ship works might come in use in the future.

“Hey Mick,” Sara says, walking into the kitchen where Mick is sitting drinking. He honestly thought all the omegas on the ship were asleep now, Len having slipped away to bed only a little before. Apparently Mick had been wrong. “Can’t sleep?”

“Not tired.” The mission had actually gone smoothly for once which hadn’t left Mick much to do on it other than drink and laugh at some bar with the alpha guards.

“I would offer to help with that but I’m not in the mood,” Sara says.

“How about a drink?” Mick offers one of the beers that were still untouched from his and Len’s wind-down. 

“Now that I could do with.” Sara takes the beer and then sits right next to Mick, tugging his arm over her shoulder before flicking the top off the bottle and taking a swing.

“Thought you weren’t in the mood.”

“I’m not,” Sara says with a glint in her eyes that promises pain if Mick decides to get handsy. “But your scents starting to wear off.”

“Thought that was just for the mission.” Honestly if it hadn’t been for the fact Sara and Len had been fucking and Len’s scent carrying Mick’s as well it would have worn off her ages back. Mick had figured she had been letting it do so.

Sara shrugs.

“We seem to be going a lot of places where it’s more convenient to smell of an alpha.”

“You can look after yourself.” Sara doesn’t need the protection of a claimed-scent. She’s a damned badass who can kill most alphas were they stand.

“Sure, but I’m used to having an alpha scent around,” Sara says, slighting nuzzling into Mick’s wrist to transfer the scent, more like family then flirtation. “Both my dad and sister were alphas.”

“Huh.” The comparison to her family sits uncomfortably on Mick’s stomach. Too much an acknowledgement the team has probably crossed the line into pack.

“They’d both hate you,” Sara says. “But deep down you’re a good alpha Mick.”

Mick just grunts because he hates how the rest of the team keep telling him and Len how they’re actually good people. They’re crooks not heroes.

Sara smiles like it’s some joke and Mick choses to ignore it because he’d rather keep the omega who no doubt has a knife she could gut him with on her happy and pressed up against him with the pleasant omega scent of hers.

“You know,” Sara says after a minute, “next time you walk in on me and Len like that you could always join.”

And this is part of why Mick likes Sara so much – no pussy footing around it like Haircut. She’s decided she’s interested and makes it clear.

“Next time then,” Mick says because he isn’t interested in pretending he’s not keen to get to have a threesome with the two of them.

He’ll see if Ray’ll be interested in joining in – make it an orgy instead. He hopes he is because Len is clearly starting to start to warm up to Haircut as much as Len can warm up to anyone and what’s the point of being partners if you can’t both share your scores with the other?

Chapter Text

“You know I never intended for you to join this mission,” Rip says, half leaning over the bar he’s been drinking at ever since their latest mission fuck up. Len and Sara had sent Mick to make sure he made it back to the Waverider.

Going by how hard Rip is hitting the booze Mick plans on just waiting until he drinks himself to sleep then carrying the English ‘mega back.

“But now,” Rip continues, not caring that Mick hasn’t responded to his revelation that would have been damn obvious to anyone with eyes, “you’re probably more useful to the team than I am.”

Mick doesn’t say anything in response. Rip certainly has his uses but he’s also caused a fair share of problems for the rest of their team and been a bit too comfortable with the idea of stabbing them in the back if it’d help his goal. Going by how much Rip has already drunk it’s not like he’s going to remember the conversation in the morning either.

“You’re a surprisingly good alpha Mick Rory,” Rip slurs, starting to sway and Mick’s pretty sure he’s not going to last much longer. “Unlike me – what sort of omega can’t even save their pup?”

Rip punctuates that with a hand sway before collapsing forward onto the bar. Even if he’s not fully unconscious he’s close enough that he puts up no fight when Mick slings him over his shoulder and gives a nod to the barkeep who just nods back apparently satisfied that Mick’s this omega’s alpha and isn’t some creep looking to take advantage. The fact they all fucking smell of him now despite only some having consciously scented him coming into use once again.

Mick doesn’t give Rip’s drunken words much thought as he takes the omega back to the Waverider. They’ve known for a while now that this whole mission is just about the omega’s guilt at his kid’s death. And Mick had figured Rip had started to warm up to him at least slightly seeing the omega now only snapped at him sometimes instead of constantly and had ended up in bed with Mick a handful of times now.

Doesn’t change the fact that once they kill Savage him and Len are off to return to their old lives of being thieves and not world-savers.

Getting stab hurts.

It hurt the first time Mick had the unfortunate luck of being on the wrong end of a pissed off juvie punk and it hurts this time where Savage has plunged a dagger deep in his gut.

“You will die a thief’s death for touching what isn’t yours,” Savage snarls tugging the dagger free.

The pain is blinding but all Mick can think about is how his chances of living through this have dropped now there’s nothing stopping all his blood from pouring out of him.

Len’s going to be so fucking pissed at him.

Despite the fact they both know that Len would have just as much put himself between Savage’s blade and the rest of the crew as Mick had. Despite the fact that he encouraged Mick to act alpha to them despite them both knowing the instincts that would likely follow.

Mick hears Rip yelling and Savage’s smug comment about any alpha who comes near his omegas being marked for death because he’s a creepy fucker. Hands grab Mick as the pain overtakes his senses, they smell of the omegas so he doesn’t fight them, becoming dead weight.

Mick wakes in the medbay of the Waverider.

“Oh thank god,” Rip says, his hands hovering over one of Mick’s arms.

“Looks like I won’t have to make good on my threat,” Len says, on Mick’s other side, his hand actually holding onto Mick’s. Mick’s not surprised that Len has threatened Rip if Mick died just as he’s sure Len likely wouldn’t have gone through with it even if Mick hadn’t survived – more a coping mechanism than an actual threat.

The rest of the omegas crowded in the medbay watch on, but they all look relieved to see Mick awake.

“Did you get the bastard?” Mick asks rather than acknowledge the concern.

“No, we let Savage escape,” Sara says.

“You were losing a lot of blood and we had to get you back to Gideon fast,” Ray says, the front of his shirt showing the signs of just how much blood Mick had lost.

“Next time,” Len promises, his eyes swearing murder. There will be no more pulling of punches on Len’s side – any advantage he can take to make sure Savage dies and stays dead he will take no matter how underhanded it might be.

Good.

Mick’s getting tired of playing by heroes rules as well when it comes to getting rid of the alpha bastard that’s done everything in his power to cause them harm.

“While Mr Rory is no longer at risk of bleeding out I still need to heal the internal damage of the injury,” Gideon chimes in. It means she wants to put him under again.

With the pain starting to seep back into his side Mick isn’t going to argue it.

“Give me the good stuff Gideon,” he orders, because getting stabbed hurts but future painkillers make it somewhat worth it.

“Right away,” Gideon responds and Mick drifts back to sleep in a pain free blur.

Mick wakes up again, probably because Gideon has done her thing and his stab wound is all healed up.

Len is still at his side, asleep in the chair with a pillow tucked under him that Mick has a feeling was brought by one of the others on the ship. Sara and Rip are asleep on either side of the door to the Medbay, blankets wrapped around their forms that must have been the work of someone else. Mick has a feeling the source of the bedding is the Kendra-Ray-Jax bundle in the corner – Kendra and Ray cuddled up together on a blanket and pillow pile with Jax cuddled under it not far off.

The door opens and the final omega on the ship walks in, a blanket and pillow tucked under his arms.

“Mr Rory,” Stein says, apparently surprised Mick’s awake.

“Aren’t you too old for sleepovers?” Mick asks. He’s too old for sleepovers and the professor is older than him.

“Yes, well, I couldn’t sleep and I thought it might be a good idea to make sure your healing is progressing,” Stein says.

“With a pillow and blanket?”

Stein winces having been caught out in his lie.

“Perhaps I also felt the need to stay here while you recovered,” Stein admits. “But if my presence isn’t wanted-”

“Man just shut up and find someplace to settle,” Jax says, now awake, “we’re trying to sleep here.”

The other omegas are all awake now as well. Kendra and Ray looking amused at the conversation between the two halves of Firestorm, and Sara and Rip looking guilty having fallen asleep at their post – although Sara at least seems grateful for her blanket, pulling it up under her chin to nuzzle into it.

Len’s awake too, and the smile he gives Mick is cocky and smug.

The omegas have built a nest around Mick. Any denial about them recognizing him as their alpha only one a moron would make. As much as none of them might have wanted to they’re pack now – a double-edged sword really but not fighting it at least has given Mick some control of where his spot in it has ended up. And it isn’t one he’s going to bitch about.