Chapter Text
It hadn’t been easy, being an omega in a special unit of the FBI, but Ressler had managed. The only people in his life who knew were his immediate boss and his late girlfriend, may she rest in peace. Every day he thanked whatever powers were out there that he agreed to let Cooper provide him with heat suppressors and scent blockers. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of being an omega, not in the slightest. He was ashamed of how weak it made him appear to others around him. The stigma around omegas, especially in a job like Don’s, had lessened a bit since he had joined, but not enough for him to feel fully safe around the absolute alpha-fest that was the Post Office. Sure, he’d gotten used to it and his natural demeanor gave the impression of him being an alpha or at least a beta.
Ever since Raymond Reddington had joined (for lack of a better term) their little crew, Ressler had been struggling. Red was the most textbook, stereotypical rich alpha; he was well groomed, never a hair out of place (what hair he had left, that is), his scent was damn near intoxicating and Ressler, forgetting that he was an omega, was sometimes confused as to why it didn’t affect those around him like it did to him. Red’s scent was heavy, smelling of whiskey and some kind of flower, but not overwhelming, he reeked of confidence and composure, even in the worst situations. Hell, the only time Don had noticed a change in the older man’s scent was when Liz was in danger or that one time he tried to stop Don from chasing Mako Tenida. It never changed much, just a slight sour undertone that would make an appearance in those rare moments. No one ever brought it up, so Ressler didn’t see the point in asking.
One day, he found himself called into Cooper’s office where he knew he was getting assigned to a new mission.
“Alright, Ressler, I have a job for you.” Cooper began, “This is sort of on the low, not many people outside of myself and, unfortunately, Reddington, know about this. As a matter of fact, Reddington asked for you specifically for this job.”
“You’re kidding me. He didn’t want Liz for this? Or am I just expendable to him?”
“Donald, I wouldn’t let you do this if Reddington was knowingly sending you to your death. He has insisted on going with you so I’m more inclined to see this through.” Cooper shrugged and handed Don a file. “Here’s what we have. It’s a stakeout mission, no extractions, no blood, hopefully. Just tail this woman and take photos or notes of her movements. According to Reddington, she is on the Blacklist, but he doesn’t want to strike her just yet.”
“So he’s putting her on our radar for later and he wants me to lead this, right?”
“Not lead. You’re it. You’re all he wants for this.” Cooper chuckled. “Good luck, agent. Reddington said he’ll call you later today with more information, so keep your phone on.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll call back with updates as they appear.” Ressler bid goodbye to his boss and left the room. The rest of the morning was fairly standard, he listened to Amar rattle off suspects to Liz and Cooper who went off to do their own thing after a while. Once Ressler had finished his busy work, he sat down at his desk across from Liz.
“I’m getting sent out on a stakeout mission, so I’ll be gone for a few days. My phone won’t be turned off, but I won't be available to talk at the drop of a hat.”
Liz looked up from her computer and nodded.
“Who are you tailing?” She shut her laptop. Liz was good at listening even though she was dealing with her own shit at the moment.
“Some woman that Red wants to put on our radar. Can’t tell you anything outside of that though, sorry.”
Liz started to look interested.
“Red asked you to? How come I haven’t heard about it?”
“I couldn’t tell you.” Ressler laughed. “He’s your handler, not mine.”
“He is NOT my handler, and you know it.” Liz giggled, the darkness behind her eyes seemed to let up a bit. “C’mon Ress, you can tell me.”
“You know damn well I can’t.” Ressler quipped with a smile.
“Worth a try.” she shrugged, “Tell me how it goes when you get back.” Ressler rolled his eyes playfully at her and finished his work. They went about the rest of their work in a comfortable silence until Ressler’s phone rang.
“Agent Ressler.” He started,
“Hello, Don.” Red’s voice was almost a purr. Don didn’t know if he hated it or not.
“Reddington, I was told you needed me for something?”
“Yes, I do. Your things are packed, you are to meet me at the address that I’ll message to you here in a moment. You and I will depart for Kazakhstan once we meet up. Understood?”
“Got it. I’ll head your way now. See you in a bit.” He hung up and gave Liz a quick hug before letting Cooper know that he was leaving and taking the elevator up to the first floor and leaving the Post Office. Whenhe stepped out of the elevator, he noticed a familiar car with a familiar man standing outside of it.
“Mr. Reddington asked me to drive you to the runway.” Dembe called to him. Ressler nodded and got into the back seat. The ride was quiet, but Ressler didn’t mind. Silence had never really bothered him so he took the time to relax a bit.
Reddington was waiting outside of his private plane, a glass of whiskey in his hand and a bright grin on his face.
“Don! I’m glad you were able to make it! Let’s get ourselves comfortable, anything you may need is already packed and on board.” He guided Don onto the plane and handed him a different glass of whiskey. They sat across from each other and for the first time in all of his years of chasing Red, Don finally had him alone and somewhat vulnerable.
“Tell me about yourself, Donny.” Red said, not breaking eye contact.
“Don’t you already know everything about me? Isn’t that your whole thing?”
“Well, yes, but I’d like to hear it from you directly. Words on a page don’t have the same charm as hearing you say it yourself.”
Don shrugged and tried to think about a fun fact about himself.
“Ummmm, I don’t know, I like mixing pineapple juice and cranberry juice because it tastes really good.”
Red laughed, a hearty sound that made Don blush a bit.
“Well, that’s certainly something that I didn’t know about you, but there was a conversation that I was hoping to have with you, if you don’t mind.”
“Don’t see why not. Hit me.”
“I know that you’re an omega.”
Ressler unconsciously sat a little taller in his seat.
“I figured.” He growled. If he had hackles like a cat, they would be raised. “Why haven’t you brought it up to anyone else?”
“Because I know that you value your privacy and although I may be a criminal, I’m not that mean to hold a secret over your head. I just want to know how you ended up at the Post Office and why you hide the fact that you’re an omega from the rest of the force.”
“People think omegas are weak and as much as I want to, I won’t be the person to break that stereotype. I hide it because it's easier than trying to explain myself at every turn. You know that male omegas aren’t terribly rare, but we get lumped in with female omegas and although neither of us are weak, being that omegas are supposedly naturally submissive means that we get seen as secondary to alphas.” He turned his gaze away from Red and grumbled, “It’s stupid.”
“I agree with you there. May I ask another question of you? Feel free to decline to answer, but may I ask what your scent is? You do very well at presenting yourself as an alpha, but the lack of a scent sort of gives you away.”
“The most basic omega scent.” Ressler mumbled, “Fucking oranges and spices.”
“May I have the honor of smelling it?”
“Don’t make it weird… Fine.” Donald removed the scent patch from his neck and relaxed a bit as his scent, having been covered up for years, finally got a chance to shine. Red hummed happily as he took another sip of his whiskey.
“It goes well with my drink.” He said with a smile. “I appreciate you trusting me enough to show me this side of you.”
The rest of the flight was fairly comfortable, Don kept his scent blockers off and enjoyed how his scent mixed with Red’s. About halfway through the flight, he decided to take a bit of a nap. Red's scent was so calm that it went straight to his head and made him so tired that he couldn’t have kept his eyes open if he tried.
He woke up a few hours later with a strange, heavy feeling in his gut. He felt hot and Red’s still calm scent felt even heavier on his senses. He sat up and rubbed his head.
“God, how long have I been asleep? I feel weird.” Red looked up from the book he was reading, his scent taking on the rare sour tinge as he fixed Don with a concerned gaze.
“What kind of weird? Manageable weird or will we have to take a pause on this endeavor for now?” Red handed him a bottle of water which Don happily drank.
“I’m not sure.” he said between gulps of water, “It’s strange, but not bad, and can you stop scenting up the place, it’s way too strong in here.”
“I’d love to, but I’ve not been scenting anything since you fell asleep four hours ago. Are you sure you’re alri… oh~”