Chapter Text
The cold, humid night of the port seeped into his aching muscles. Despite all the distance he ran, his body had not warmed at all.
He could feel his fingers tingling and the dull ache in his stomach made him collapse; unable to stay on his feet any longer. Breathing was getting more and more painful, the blurred edges of his vision didn't help. Despite the hot blood that escaped from his lips when coughing, he felt his body freeze up more and more.
With a choked sob, he clutched the gaping wound in his side with both hands and lay down next to some boxes with who knows what contents inside of it. The screams and the shots could be heard distorted in the distance. The smell of gunpowder, metal and burning mixed with the smell of sea and wood from the port. Everyone was being massacred in that warehouse.
How had he been so foolish as to get himself into this?
Dorian looked up at the night sky, a full moon overhead creating the dark silhouettes of the large cargo ships and black cars parked in disarray among the high-rise warehouses. At least he would die with a nice view, but his mind could only think of his poor brother. His bright and carefree smile. How angry and disappointed he would be with him for leaving him alone. Losing his twin brother would destroy him. And without even saying goodbye, just a chaste kiss on the forehead while the other was still asleep.
In his defense, he didn't think things would go so wrong. He did all this for one reason. Their freedom, and to ensure a happy life for his brother.
"Venti... Forgive me." He whispered smiling sadly at the starry sky, tears running down his cheeks, stained with dirt and blood.
With a final sigh, he prayed to all the gods that his brother would stay safe, away from all this, that he might live a peaceful and happy life, for him.
The shots were silenced as a large explosion from a fire blew out part of a wall of the nearby building. The fire was set in the warehouse to destroy all the evidence, bodies and illegal content that was there. The clear and beautiful night turned black with clouds of smoke.
The firefighters and the police did not take long to reach the affected area, finding the inert young man with dark hair and half-undone braids. His face smiled softly towards the sky, surrounded by his own blood.
---
"An ordinary day. It was just an ordinary day."
The young man who walked at a fast pace through the still quiet street repeated himself until he stopped at the door of a small flower shop with a cheerful green awning and several hanging pots. The boy's breathing came out in puffs for having come running.
He quickly took out his keys and opened the door and stepped inside a room filled almost to the ceiling with all kinds of flowers, plants and decorative pots. He approached the small office that contained little more than a table full of remains of flowers, stems and bows and an old wooden chair, some bouquet orders still in their boxes without being placed. He walked over to the chair to pick up the green apron and pulled it over his head, tying it firmly at his lower back.
Venti went to leave the office, but not before taking a look at the photo that was on the table. With trembling hands he separated a petal from Cecilia and held the photo, gently running his fingers over the printed cheek, his heart ached seeing that sweet smile.
No, today was not just a ordinary day.
Today was the anniversary of the death of his brother, his twin, who had left him alone for a whole year.
Venti sobbed hugging the photo to his chest. This morning he had told himself he would be strong, but he couldn't help it. It was a painful day.
He still wasn't sure what had happened. His brother was the original owner of this beautiful flower shop, while Venti was studying for a music career. His brother was a sweet beta who loved flowers, he was a good boy who didn't look for trouble. So why? What was he doing that night in the port?
Venti felt a chill remembering the call that woke him up in the middle of the night. When he answered the phone he only received the bad news. Dorian's body had been found in what seemed to be a shootout between two big gangs. There was a big fire and the bodies were unrecognizable except that of his brother who for some reason was much further away, but clearly involved in the incident.
Venti hadn't even realized that his brother had left the apartment at some point during the night.
Yes, it is true that this neighborhood was not very good, and according to Dorian there had been some incidents in the flower shop, such as some acts of vandalism. Venti still remembers how upset his brother was when some idiot decided to throw a brick thought the window. And they both knew that some nearby stores had been threatened by the mafia, creepy men, many of them alphas who demanded their merchandise, money or associates to cover up their dirty laundry and not-so-legal businesses. But Dorian would never have gotten involved in something like that! …Or maybe? Venti no longer knew what to believe. The only thing he knew was that his only family, his dearest brother, was no longer alive.
After the sudden death of his brother, Venti suffered intense depression that he had to give up on his studies, not being able to concentrate. He didn't even feel like singing and spent his days and nights crying in his nest. As an omega, the smell thing affected his senses more and he ended up making a sad bundle with his brother's clothes in an attempt to calm down with his smell, but it only seemed to make it worse.
They were terrible and lonely months. He began to drink more than necessary and stopped eating, but when the bills began to accumulate he had no choice but to reopen the flower shop. He had no idea how to run a store, sometimes he helped his brother to serve customers after his classes, and he knew a lot about flowers thanks to him, but this was not his place, it was not his dream.
But if he didn't go through with this, who else would? Dorian had worked so hard to open this flower shop, he was so happy and proud of it all. Venti didn't have the heart to sell it, so he managed as best he could to this day.
Dorian was gone, but he would move on and carry on his brother's dream.
With a shaky sigh he wiped away his tears and smiled ruefully at the photo, setting it down on his spot.
"Time to work." He said walking out the door to the store area, turning the small sign to indicate that the flower shop was open for another day.
The morning passed calmly, some people came in to buy flowers or browse, most of them were elderly and housewives omegas. He had only been in charge of the store for a few months but Venti already knew all his regular customers.
Although the first days were undoubtedly somewhat awkward, due to their enormous resemblance, the clients thought that Dorian was serving them.
"Wow! Have you dyed your hair? It looks good on you." A young man smiled picking up his bouquet of Sumeru Roses. Without a doubt, what they differed from the most was that Venti wore the ends of his braids dyed in a bluish gradient and Dorian kept his natural black hair.
"You have something different, but I don't know..." An old lady said getting too close to his face. Perhaps the color of his eyes, his brother's eyes were a beautiful almost silvery blue, while Venti's were a mixture of blue and turquoise.
"Are you wearing a new perfume?"
A woman looked at him with interest. Oh, the smell, of course. His brother being a beta had a faint scent of Windwheel Asters, but his omega scent was a strong Cecilia scent with a hint of apple.
In the end, Venti opted to make a small plaque with his name on it so as not to be confused, always wearing it on his apron. He received condolences from many of his brother's favorite clients, and found support in the good people who sometimes just stopped by to say hello.
"Alright, all set!" He smiled as he finished putting up the new planters overflowing with Silk Flowers. The flower shop was empty at this time of the afternoon, the sun was just beginning to set and everything was illuminated with a soft golden light.
Venti hummed as he reloaded the sprayer and began to water the new flowers, listening to the tinkle of the small wind chime hanging in front of the door, announcing a new customer.
"Welcome!" Venti turned to the entrance with a huge smile. Working with the flowers lifted his spirit during the day, and his brother had taught him how to always greet customers in a pleasant way.
"Good afternoon."
Venti blinked disoriented at the man in front of him. He was tall, surprisingly tall, and despite being dressed in a suit and tie that were too elegant for a place like this, he looked in very good shape. The suit perfectly defined his strengths arms as well as his broad chest and narrow waist.
The little omega froze in place as he looked up at that beautiful chiseled face with clear Asian features, golden eyes and brown hair finished in an orange gradient and pulled back in a low ponytail that swayed gently as the man approached at a pot of Glaze Lilies, gently rubbing his chin with leather-gloved fingers.
"My goodness, this man must be a god or something." Venti thought without having moved from the spot. Without a doubt, he had never seen this man before. He was most definitely an alpha, given what he imposed and the strong smell of earth and something else that Venti could not identify.
"U-Uhmm...can I help you?" Venti abandoned the sprayer between two flower pots and quickly approached the other man, leaving his arms behind his back and swaying gently in his feet like a nervous schoolboy. God, what was he doing?
"Oh don't worry, I'd like to look first I don't want to bother you." He said in a deep, calm voice, looking Venti squarely in the eye and then back at the abandoned pulverizer, knowing the omega would be busy.
"It's no bother! You're not from here, are you? I want to help." He laughed too loudly, clearly nervous when those bright golden eyes framed with red eyeliner bored into him. "And no such formality is needed, I'm Venti!" He held out his hand to him, feeling a bit foolish.
The omega inside of him was going crazy, he just wanted to get close to this handsome man. Why did he have to feel so wibbly?
The man looked at him without having changed his serious expression, looking at the hand and then at the other's eyes. Smiling slightly at such a friendly attitude, knowing if this young man knew who he was talking to he would really be scared to death in the farthest corner of the room.
"Zhongli." He introduced himself, wrapping the smaller hand in the warm leather.
Venti felt he could have died at that very moment.
"It's... It's my pleasure, Zhongli." He smiled looking into his eyes again, trying to say his name. "So, how can I help you? Are you looking for something to give away? Or do you want a plant for yourself? I can give you some recommendations according to your...Lifestyle." He said the latter slowly as he analyzed the expensive dark-tone suit. This man looked like an important businessman, perhaps he didn't spend much time at home so he could recommend easy-care plants.
"Oh, don't worry, I already know what I want." He said looking attentively at the new Silk Flowers that were in maroon pots placed under the last rays of sunlight that entered through the window.
Venti turned to see what this man had been interested in. Of course! this was his newest product, thanks to his supplier of exotic plants he had gotten these beautiful flowers exported from Liyue, a beautiful port city in China, just like Glaze Lilies, so his price was higher than any other plant.
"I'll take all you have, and also the lilies and… All this." Zhongli walked calmly with his hands behind his back, examining each flower and its label, for some reason he seemed to be looking for the most expensive prices.
"U-Uhm...It's...I-It's a really big order, huh! Wait!" Venti had to pull the little notepad with the florist's logo and pen out of his apron pocket to write down the ridiculous amounts this man was asking for as he chased Zhongli around the store until he finished his run at the counter.
"I'll also take the best compost you have." He nodded as he took a shiny gold card out of his jacket pocket. For some reason he sighed in relief when he saw that he still had it on him. "Don't worry about shipping, in a couple of days in the morning I'll send someone to come pick up the order." He said calm as if he wasn't going to take half a store.
"My goodness, this guy must be filthy rich." Venti thought as he finished doing the calculations at the register, his hands trembled with emotion when he saw that the amount to pay was four digits. He had never seen that amount in a single sale. "Out of curiosity, what do you intend to do with so many flowers? Are you going to open your own flower shop and compete with me?" He teased letting out a giggle.
Zhongli let out a light snort along with a smile, this omega's laugh sounded like soft wind chimes. It was cute.
"No, don't worry. I had the intention of redecorating my garden. Maybe I should stop by another time if I run out of flowers."
Venti thought that would be impossible, unless his garden was the size of a football field. "It will be a pleasure to serve you again." He smiled totally delighted to see this handsome alpha again.
After a brief talk about the fertilizer and care of different types of plants, and the agreed time for the collection of the order, Zhongli said goodbye wishing the little omega a good night.
"Well, after this I think I'll treat myself." Venti smiled happily wanting to close and go have a drink at the nearest bar. In the end, the day hadn't gone so bad. In fact he hadn’t felt this good in a while!
In the meantime, outside the flower shop.
"Well! Are we done yet? Any other small businesses you want to visit sir?" asked a well-built young man with red hair, sitting behind the wheel of a black car with tinted windows.
"No, that's all." Zhongli said checking the data on his tablet. "These were all the stores affected by Decarabian's men, from what I have seen. After a year, many of them seem to have returned to normal, the owners and employees do not seem to be aware of the event or have changed hands, but they have had an increase in sales and now that they are under my protection it is fair to help them financially, at least once a year after the death of that tyrant."
"Hmmm, yeah. So we're going to do this every year?" He asked raising an eyebrow as he drove back to the mansion. "Buy everything from them so we don't look suspicious with their monetary help?" He laugh thinking that the other could write an anonymous check and forget about so many trips and orders.
"It's possible, yes", He said calmly looking out the window at the quiet city that was beginning to light up with the lights of the street lamps. "It's a good way to do an annual follow-up of the stores that belong to my territory."
"Aww~ So you don't want to seeing that cute boy again until next year?"
Zhongli blinked in bewilderment, now looking at his driver.
"I beg your pardon… Who are you talking about?"
"The flower boy! I saw you two from outside."
"Venti?" Zhongli asked curiously, still not understanding the subject.
Childe pretends to choke in surprise. "You even knows his name!"
"...He had it written on his badge. And he introduced himself" For some reason, that omega's sweet smile suddenly returned to his mind, making him smile slightly as he remembered the pleasant talk they had had, no doubt he had been the best experience compared to other stores.
"Come on boss! He was so cute, and he wouldn't stop following you around like a puppy. I don't know what you guys were talking about but you've been in there a lot longer than in the other stores."
Zhongli cleared his throat and looked seriously at the rearview mirror where he met the other's blue gaze.
"I don't understand what you mean by all this." He said seriously as Childe rolled his eyes.
"Forget it, I just thought you guys had a nice talk and maybe you could see each other again... Within a year." He snorted with a chuckle, parking in front of the luxurious mansion, surrounded by large trees.
"Mmh...We'll see." Were Zhongli's words as his faithful chauffeur opened the door for him and stepped out onto the wide white stone path.
Without realizing it, Zhongli, or better known as Morax, owner of the most important bank in the city, The Golden House, and head of the most dangerous mafia ring and currently with the most territory under his command... found himself thinking of a certain turquoise-eyed omega with blue braids.
Even when he climbed into his luxurious bed that night, that sweet smile and soft laughter like chimes didn't leave his mind.
Maybe he could go pick those flowers himself.