This is for the handful (are there even a handful) of people who enjoy Max/Dani and omegaverse. Just a random thought that popped into my head, so not overly developed but...
Omega Max/Alpha Dani | Protective Dani | 1706 words | hidden omega/ being outed as an omega
Max’s chest tightens and he tries his best to choke back his sobs. Crying isn’t going to help him now. He needs to think, needs to try and come up with a plan. Except everything feels hopeless. He is in heat. Not the soft simmering type of pre-heat he normally receives as a warning sign but a full blown inferno has ripped through his body. There is no time to get home and lock himself away, by now his syrupy scent has most likely spilt out of the hotel room and made its way down the corridor. Everyone will know he is in heat. More devastatingly, everyone will know he is an omega.
Max can already picture the headlines. His omega status out there for the world to read about, to jeer about, to laugh about. He hopes they are kind in their reporting. Hopes that for once the press show him a little bit of mercy.
If he had chosen almost any other career then it wouldn’t be such a huge issue. But motorsport is not at the forefront of equality and Formula one is the worst of the worst. Omegas are prohibited. Too temperamental. Too emotional. Max laughs at the absurdity of it all. Once it’s officially out there that he is an omega he will lose his seat for sure, in all likelihood he will lose his previous victories, his previous championships, his name will be struck from the record books. A whole career wiped out in an instant. He knew that was always a possibility. The rules around omega status are not forgiving and neither will the FIA be.
He has always been so careful. All these years he has made sure his heats line up with non-race weekends, made sure he is shut away, made sure nobody even suspects that he’s not an alpha. There have never been rumblings or rumours. To the world Max is an alpha. Or at least he was. This time he messed up. In his defence he’s not due a heat and he’s taken all his heat suppressants on time but despite all that he is burning up and dripping slick and his scent is so overwhelmingly sweet that there is no way he is going to be able to sneak out of the hotel without people noticing. He has no idea what has caused his flash heat but its here now and it’s going to tear his life apart.
Max startles at the knock on the door. An unmated and unattended omega in heat is not strictly allowed in public spaces but Max isn’t sure if a hotel counts as public, in any case most hotels tend to let these things slide. He doubts they are going to forcibly remove him.
“Max.”
Max keens at the familiar sound of Dani’s voice. Any other circumstance and he’d been rushing to the door but not know, not like this.
“Max please - , I’m here to help.”
Max swallows around the lump in his throat. Dani doesn’t sound angry. Which is good. Max has been carrying the guilt of lying about his secondary gender for quite some time. He’s not entirely sure how Dani wants to help him. If its physically - , Max just can’t even think of that right now. Even if he is cramping and burning up, his heat is his secondary concern.
“I’m fine,” Max lies.
“People are talking,” comes the response from the other side of the door and Max’s heart sinks, “I need you to trust me.”
Max tentatively gets up from the bed and inches closer to the door. Through the peephole he can see that Dani looks a little agitated, the alpha is glancing from side to side, bouncing about a little on his feet. Max isn’t sure what to do. In all honesty he probably shouldn’t even be considering inviting an alpha into his room when he is so obviously in heat. Except its Dani and Max doesn’t want to be alone right now so he follows his instincts and opens the door so the alpha can slip inside the room.
“I am so sorry,” Max sniffs.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” Dani coos as he places a hand against Max’s jaw. And for the briefest of moments Max thinks Dani is going to kiss him but the alpha instead guides him back towards the nest on the bed and settles him down. Or settles him as much as possible, Max is still vibrating with nervous energy and its seeping out of him in any way it can, his feet tapping, legs bouncing.
“I should have told you all,” Max whimpers. And he really would have loved to. GT racing is not exactly welcoming to omegas but it does tolerate them. In theory that is, there is no confirmed omega on the grid. They are allowed to race though so Max could have told his teammates, he trusts them all so much and can’t for a second imagine they would have treated him with any less respect. Except word spreads and if the information ever made it back to the world of F1, which it inevitably would have done, then he would have lost everything. It doesn’t much matter anymore though.
“How far is my scent spreading?” Max asks hesitantly. Dani doesn’t need to answer, the expression on his face tells Max everything he needs to know.
“The hotel knows,” Dani smiles almost apologetically, “And someone already leaked the news online.”
Max closes his eyes and tries not to cry again. Devastated is an understatement. He only had a few more years to go in F1. Then he could have retired on his own terms with all his records in tact. He could have worked on getting the regulations changed so other omegas wouldn't have to hide, he could have eventually come out as omega without being wiped from the history books.
“I promise it's all going to be okay,” Dani soothes, as he once again presses a gently hand to Max’s jawline and this time Max takes the opportunity to nuzzle against the touch.
“What are they saying?” Max asks, although he’s not entirely sure he wants the answer right now. His brain is fuzzy, his muscles ache and he’s so tired, if people are already being cruel then he’s not sure he could handle it.
“They know there’s an omega in heat here, and that you are staying on this floor,” Dani takes Max’s hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze, “Jules it out there making sure nobody comes close. He almost ripped someone’s head off when they tried to sneak down the corridor.”
Max feels sick at the thought of a baying mob outside waiting for a glance at the shamed omega.
“And I’ve released statement,” Dani says. Which is - , its unexpected. Max tenses, unsure. Dani does love being online and god knows he defends Max with his life but Max can’t imagine what he has said in his defence this time.
“I’ve told them the omega me,” Dani says, “Nobody needs to know its you.”
Max freezes. Blinks rapidly. Tries to work out if he has misheard or misunderstood. Dani is looking back at him, a soft expression on his face. It’s not at all what Max was expecting. His heart is racing, sweat dripping uncomfortably down his body. In his heat addled brain he wonders if he has got Dani wrong. Maybe he is an omega. Except the smallest inhale of his scent dispels that thought entirely. Dani is clearly an alpha.
“All you have to do right now is relax,” Dani’s still got Max’s hand in his so he can most likely feel the way Max is trembling.
“Why?” Is all Max can get out.
“I said I would look out for you, we’re a team.” Dani says like its the simplest thing in the world, “I know what it would mean for you … in F1… ”
“But …it is .. I .. ” Max trips over his words, unable to gather his thoughts properly. Dani would still be allowed to race but it’s an unknown world. It’s not some inconsequential favour. Max isn’t sure he can accept.
“I’m not going to let them take everything from you,” Dani says, “We can keep this between us for as long as you need.. and Jules but you know you can trust him.”
“What does he think?” Max mumbles, “About this idea.”
Dani laughs. It sounds almost carefree. But Dani isn’t stupid and he will have thought this through. People will react differently to him if they think he is an omega, it's inevitable. Max is sure Jules must have tried to talk some sense into him, “He thinks I am crazy. He thinks it could go terribly wrong but most importantly he said that if I didn’t want do it then he would do it instead.”
Max feels like he is going to cry all over again. For different reasons now. The idea that Dani was willing to cover for him was overwhelming enough, the knowledge that Jules was also willing to do this. It's just - Max isn't sure how to handle it.
“I don’t know if I can let you do this,” Max mumbles.
“Just promise me one thing,” Dani hums softly, “Don’t think about it right now, just relax and we can talk again when your heat is over.”
Max nods. He can do that. For Dani. And for Jules who is pretty sure he can hear wandering up and down the corridors like a guard dog.
“You will stay with me?” Max whimpers, a little hopeless. He’s too anxious and burnt out to be on his own right now. And he shouldn’t really ask for more favours but Dani’s scent is making him feel nice and floaty the longer he spends in the alpha’s presence.
“I can stay,” Dani hums as he shuffles a little closer. Just a few inches. Enough for Max to respond enthusiastically, practically throwing himself against the alpha so he can take in even more of his scent and feel the warm press of his body.
“Just relax,” Dani coos, hand stroking through Max’s hair, “You’re not alone now. We’ve got you.”
Max closes his eyes. He’s still not convinced he can let Dani take whatever fall out comes from this. The consequences of being outed as an omega might be less severe outside the world of F1 bAut there will be repercussions. Dani’s bought him time though and Max feels a little less panicked, like maybe he can work something out, especially now he has his a little pack forming around him.
one thing i have found with the f1 grid is that the further down the timeline the higher the average sexual insanity level of the drivers. like, i mean it's reasonable they got this bad - they're either raised by the insane or fucked by the insane to some extent (and with some rare cases of having both done to them) - but do they like. every time they receive the insanity they double it and give it to the next person or something. because how did we get from very straight guys who may or may not have a death wish to straight up polyamourous homoeroticism that's happening right now. especially with the younger drivers. why do they all look at the older ones like they want to undress them
next thing you know leonard alonso is now on the grid and the first thing he says to the media as an f1 driver is that "i too want to Fuck max verstappen" (explicitly). and then we turn to the nuerburgring and max is sitting there all flush faced as he listens to those words in his team's garage and literally sputtering and all as he tries to process all of that. what now
"i mean he's correct you know, look at you, you're just so irresistible," dani juncadella chuckles at max's expression as he does another balls-deep thrust into his team principal's tight hole.
“Maxy, you will be going on a currently undecided number of dates, and I suspect that number will be somewhere around 14 dates,” Daniel begins. “You will go on a proper date, not just a little out and about. You will tell me how each date went, you will write a proper review, and at the end of this project, you will emerge with one or more boyfriends with whom you will go out with once more. Objections?”
Max replies drily, “Many.”
Daniel’s eyes light up as he pulls out his own phone and opens a note. “Great! We begin tomorrow!”
__
Fifteen minutes after Max's girlfriend broke up with him, Daniel Ricciardo made him a Grindr account. Max is supposed to find a boyfriend in all this, somehow?
________
hopefully this is gonna be a big collab fic with a bunch of different authors writing the dates for their favourite ships but anyways come check it out if this appeals to you heh
