Chapter Text
It was just any other day in Ken’s book.
That morning was remotely sunny, but not humid. In fact, the breeze was rather cool and pleasant to the skin, and it was that particular weather when the sky was a picturesque blue, and when one’s taste buds would typically yearn for something warm and sweet; such as a slice of cheesecake and a mug of hot chocolate, perhaps? Fiddle around their humble café’s homely couch al fresco, while listening to some refreshing acoustic beats and where maple leaves began to bloom into reddish yellow hues; or just take a sip of your warm beverage while small birds perch on their handmade nesting boxes, hanging by the huge acacia tree that provided ample shade on the shop’s rustic porch.
And Ken was right because it didn’t take long before people started lining up at their shop to get a few bites and shots of caffeine.
Ken became busy, so to speak, but he didn’t complain. He had always loved his job, especially fixing his customers’ diverse preferences of sweets and drinks. But his favorite would be serving them the classic holiday hot chocolate; the one with mocha and peppermint, topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate bits. It was his personal choice because he thought it was the drink that was closest to his own Alpha scent; bittersweet rich dark chocolate with subtle hints of spicy mint. Or at least that was what his employees, and even some friendly customers, often told him so.
The day rolled by rather swiftly and probably just a few minutes away from closing the shop that afternoon when the bell chimed, and the glass door swung open; a gentle gust of air carried a sweet, freshly-picked peach scent over to Ken’s post at the register. He took several deep breaths, instantly feeling tipsy and weak in the knees. Once he opened his eyes, he was welcomed by the gaze of the most beautiful Omega he had ever seen.
At the door stood a petite, raven-haired boy with impossibly soft features, full scarlet lips and sultry, purple irises. He looked around for a bit before walking elegantly to the counter while toying with the folds of his cream-colored sweater that looked about twice the size of his body frame; his tiny fingers peeking adorably through the sleeves. The subtle beam of sunlight from the doorway seemed to follow the Omega’s every step, he looked as though he was glowing, especially when he swept a stray clump of hair and tucked it behind his ear. Oh, gods, his lilac orbs looked even more luminous when he was that close to Ken.
He didn’t know if he could ever admit it, but Ken just had to breathe in deeper and once he had gotten a nose-full of his scent, he might probably have dropped onto the tiled floor if he wasn’t gripping enough against his counter.
The young alpha must have been wandering out of his headspace because the Omega’s lips were moving and knew he was speaking to him, but then again, Ken couldn’t make anything out of it other than dead air.
“Hey, mister?” the lovely Omega had called, waving his tiny palm over Ken’s face, and damn, even his voice was pretty. “Are you alright?”
Ken blinked. “I — Huh?”
“Your eyes,” the Omega pointed a finger to Ken’s eyes, perplexed. “Your eyes just, wow—they changed color, huh.”
It took Ken a moment to process the situation and when he did, a surge of panic ripped through him. His eye color changed? In front of this lovely Omega?
“Oh, snap! I—“, Ken ran his fingers through the white silver strands of his hair. “I’m so sorry about that. Uhh, w-what color are they now?”
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he roughly gripped on the hem of his shirt in unease, almost tearing the stitching. It could be bad, it could be NOT SO bad; but either way, exposing his vulnerability as carelessly as that was never good to begin with. His eye color could involuntarily transcend from silver to some very specific tones, all of which entirely depend on the gravity of the emotional conditions he was in. That was one attribute unique to purebred bloodlines alone, such as the pack he was born into.
“Oh, uhm. Gold?” answered the smaller man. “Looks golden to me.”
Ken sighed and chuckled in relief. For a second there, he was afraid his eyes might have turned sangria red, the shade of desire, although it had never happened to him before and he quite never understood how it would’ve felt. But the thought of his eyes turning gold made him blush instead. That only meant his Alpha was exceedingly attracted to this beautiful Omega. But then again, he wouldn’t even dare question that for this sure was the most stunning human in his lifetime. His taut muscles began to relax.
“T-thanks. Sorry about that again,” smiled Ken timidly. “So uhm, what can I get you?”
“Ah, yeah, I’ll have some—“
The Omega paused mid-sentence when Ken stopped him, the younger’s eyes wide and hands flailing in front of him. Ken wanted to coo when the pretty little thing tilted his head to one side, looking like a lost puppy. The alpha was fairly aware of how stupid he must have looked now, obviously not a delightful first impression. He mentally groaned.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t said my spiel. Let me start over.” Ken cleared his throat and adjusted the collar of his shirt, head held high and a confident grin splitting on his face. “Welcome to Choco Chikin! May I get your order?”
The Omega stood silent for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles. And oh my gods, it sounded like a lullaby to Ken’s ears. His chest wanted to explode even more so when the smaller boy displayed what very likely was the most adorable bunny smile in the world. Ken’s cheeks turned pink.
“Okay, Okay, that was cute and funny,” the purple-eyed boy beamed at him, wiping his eyes with a delicate finger. “Anyway, so I’d like some large Classic Hot Chocolate please, and a slice of carrot walnut cake, to-go.”
That was a fairly nice combination and an unusual one too, because if anything, his carrot walnut cake just might be the least selling product among everything else, Ken thought. He smiled with that in mind as he punched in the orders at his register with proficient speed.
“Anything else?” Ken chirped brightly and the boy shook his head, smiling. “That would be 300 bucks. Thank you.”
As the shorter boy handed the bill over to Ken, he busied himself looking through the catalog of meals and drinks hanging above Ken’s head. “Do you offer any chicken meals, by any chance?” he asked politely. “Because I can’t seem to find them in your menu.”
Ken quickly glimpsed at the menu board above and smiled.
“Ah, nope,” he answered, shelling out a wad of smaller bills for change. “We don’t, sorry.”
“Oh, okay. I just—” the Omega shrugged. “Why would you name a shop Choco Chikin if you don’t offer chikin?”
The corner of Ken’s lips twitched as he tried to stifle a smile, somehow expecting the question because he might just have been thrown similar questions every other day by every new client that discovered his shop. But as unnecessary (or inappropriately) as the idea that suddenly popped in his head seemed, Ken figured he could use the subject to prolong the conversation with this pretty Omega. Forget about closing the shop, he owned it anyways.
He cleared his throat and thought about how his other Alpha friends would act around the Omegas they flirt with and perhaps, he could pull off such tricks. He leaned over the counter, propping his elbow against the cold surface, and almost choked at how close he was to the beautiful Omega’s face.
“Because I can,” said Ken humourlessly as he bored his gaze into the Omega’s own, unwittingly using a voice so dark and commanding that it was almost bordering on his Alpha voice. Ken’s golden irises swirled a little, not knowing it was transcending into a duskier shade, barely halting at a dark orange hue.
The Omega fell quiet for a second, tiny whimpers brushing past his lips, appearing to resist potential submission to an unknown alpha.
Suddenly, the air smelled even sweeter.
The potent scent of seasoned peaches reached past Ken’s nostrils that thankfully knocked him out of his half-conscious state, realizing what he had just done, and his eyes widened in horror. He was definitely screwed and the Omega would certainly despise him for this. So much for amateur flirting, Ken scolded himself mentally.
“Gods, I—, I’m very sorry,” Ken stammered, pressing his palms together in front of his chest to plead. “I am, so, so, sorry. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I’m terribly sorry. You were just so pretty and you smelled so sweet, I can taste the peaches in my mouth, oh my gods. And your eyes are so purple and your skin is glowing and—”
The Omega waved a hand to dismiss his blabbering and Ken did stop rambling despite the frantic howling of his wolf against his chest; but then the Omega chuckled, his eyes turning into adorable half-moons as they squished into the rise of his cheekbones. Ken did expect some sort of reaction from the beautiful boy, but not this kind, by all means.
“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it,” the Omega assured Ken with a smile, but the tinge of pink in his cheeks certainly didn’t go unnoticed.
“No, it was discourteous and inappropriate of me. Please accept my apologies.”
“Well, it’s not like the first time I was randomly hit on by a stranger,” the smaller shrugged as he explained. “But okay. Apology accepted.”
The pink in the Omega’s soft-looking skin only deepened, and it only made the attraction pooling in Ken’s stomach impossibly strong. Although he must admit, the thought of having the Omega walking in the streets alone on an ordinary day, unprotected, had Ken’s wolf on edge. He was convinced that the Omega did not have an Alpha for there were no traces of an Alpha scent lingering around him whatsoever; thus the possibilities of strangers lurking around such an immaculate creature wasn’t unlikely, and that idea didn’t sit well with the young Alpha. It made him want to be there and make him feel safe at all costs.
Only when the Omega stepped away from the counter and moved to the opposite end, where the orders were being served, did Ken realize how he fell, yet again, on another daze. Ah, this Omega was certainly doing strange things to him.
The young Alpha swiftly worked on his orders and shyly handed the paper cup and another paper bag to the raven-haired male, attentively observing the Omega as he curled his lips around the straw of his beverage and took a sip, letting a particularly attractive moan of satisfaction as the warm drink slid down his throat.
The Omega smiled and Ken turned horribly red. But it didn’t stop there, because Ken inadvertently hitched a breath when the smaller male leaned closer to him and breathed him in.
Ken’s scent spiked so hard that a wave of heady dark chocolate filled the space.
“Uhm hmm. You smell so much like this drink, I see,” the Omega teased, slowly turning on his heels to make his way to the door. “By the way, it’s Josh.”
Ken blinked.
“My name’s Josh”, he repeated, wriggling the paper cup on his hand. “You were too dazed that you forgot to ask the name for my cup,” he paused to look at the taller boy’s nameplate. “Ken.”
And Ken blushed another time, wondering if he could be any redder. His gaze followed Josh as he marched to the glass door, his delicate hands gripping on the steel handle and yanking it open, the immediate flow of breeze whisking one final rush of the Omega’s sweet peach scent.
Josh stopped, turning to Ken one last time, and the young Alpha felt the surge of heat in his body as he watched Josh’s eyes turn dark gold for a fleeting moment. Then he disappeared outside, leaving Ken frozen in his spot.
Ken knew he was done for.