To clarify, this has nothing to do with the song 'Edelweiss' from the Sound of Music, but just the flower, in general.

"Fucking shit. Shit." Vash muttered. This was not good. Especially when this was the first workday of the year. He was never late. If you told him that then he'd definitely deny it. Always right on time, never missing a single second. But this time was different. Stuffing his papers and lunch into his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and ran outside, not bothering to lock the door. It's a closed neighbourhood. It doesn't matter. He mused.

Vash lived in a small condo near his workplace, the Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich. He enjoyed his work there, he had been working there for a few years, even volunteering since he was a student there. Oh god, it was his love, his life, he didn't think he could ever separate from it. Oh yeah. He was a botanist. He studied flowers, in particular, he knew almost each single species scientific name, if they were nocturnal, every single part to it.

He slammed his car door. Rushing to put the keys in the ignition. He fumbled with them as he finally put them in, pushing his foot on the pedal as fast as he could. A few minutes later, he arrived, getting his bag and running towards the entrance. His past professor was waiting there, she stared at her clipboard, then looked up.

"Aha! подібність." She had said, of course her Ukrainian was not hidden. You could tell by her accent. Her name was Irina. Irina Chernenko. He always loved her name. It has a nice ring, and when she said it in her native tongue, it sounded absolutely gorgeous. Even if she was his past professor, they were still quite close in age, she was 27 years old, and he, 24 years. She often looked at him as the younger brother she wanted.

"I told you not to call me that." He grumbled, putting his bag onto one of the racks inside the small office. "So, am I late?" He asked, tapping his foot a bit too impatiently. This didn't bother Irina. He was always like this. It was cute.

"Right on time, as always." She smiled, hugging the clipboard to her chest, after ticking off what seemed to be the attendance record for him. "Thank god." Vash muttered, wiping his forehead. He sat down on the small couch near the racks. Sighing. "And what am I being assigned today? Please not with that man, what's the name… Feliciano, Vargas? Was it. Oh god, he would not stop rambling on about the beauty of the red poppy. I mean, there are other types, you know." He pointed out, while Irina just giggled.

"Oh no, подібність. You get your own greenhouse to work in today. Actually, all by yourself! I mean, your sister called talking about how much you needed personal space… And I think we already figured out." She laughed again.

Vash was quite surprised. "Really." He stated. Just a simple word. This was the day he was waiting for, the day he could finally get some peace in quiet, and do what he loved the most. He stood up, awkwardly waddling over to Irina, hugging her. "Thank you." He muttered, and teetered back to the rack, taking his bag, as Irina handed him a piece of paper.

"You'll be working on this. The Edelweiss. We just got a batch straight from Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, and I heard very good things about them!" Ah yes. He had visited once. It was calm, peaceful, quiet. The environment was nice, there weren't that many people there, and it was like his solitude. Of course he couldn't dwell on that, he had only been there once. "I heard they were hosting a concert there." He said to himself.

Vash pushed open the door, fresh air hitting his face again, bag in his hands, he walked a few minutes. He arrived at the small dome like greenhouse. His own, for about 2 months, the paper said. It's enough. He thought.

Edelweiss, hm? He had never really been interested in it. Yes. He was from Switzerland, and yes, the Edelweiss was what they were known for. But sadly Vash didn't really care. He loved the uncommon species, one from far away mountains, fields, valleys, it was his passion. Edelweiss? Never.

Opening the door, it seemed to have doubled in size. This certain greenhouse was big, but not nearly as big as the others. He set his bag down on the floor, putting on his lab coat and gloves. Desanitizing was the hardest part, but he had been there for 5 years. No biggie.

Inside, there were many specimens. New arrivals, which were all listed on the slip, old ones which he remembered taking care of, and of course, the dreaded Edelweiss. It was just a small patch, of the dainty white flower. He almost wanted to pity it. Alas! It was a flower, but Vash thought of them as humans, took care of them like his children, and knew that if people would see him like this, they'd label him insane.

He bent down to stare at it. It was like childhood memories flooding his head again. He didn't want that. Those memories were already thrown into the trash with the rest of the unwanted thoughts. Sadly, he couldn't stop it. Memories of him and Ludmila picking flowers, them, laughing as she put a flower crown on his head. Quickly, snapping out of it, he stood up, straightening his coat and walking away.

...

Delicately holding the woman's wrist between his hands, Roderich head was close to the woman's neck, those lewd noises coming from her. Of course he didn't love this woman. But without his charm or charisma he feared he would never have become this successful.

"Monsieur Edelstein." A voice called out in the distance. Roderich let go, a smirk on his lips as he slipped away from the woman, leaving her to her dismay. You could call him a playboy, of course. He liked to call it 'strategic planning'.

"Why of course, Matthew." He called out, flinging the curtain and ducking his head to greet the way taller Canadian. His close friend and a conductor, they had similar tastes in everything. Even though he was way younger, the Canadian seemed much maturer than his idiotic brother.

Matthew grinned. They were to be working on an opera, Madame Butterfly. You could hear the chatter of the crowd, the tuning of instruments in the pit.

Kyoto. Her name, the actress. She was to be performing in a few minutes, of course, he knew exactly where she was. "I wouldn't do that her brother is a wealthy business man who is friends with the well known army general."

"What are you talking about." The Austrian said cooly. He straightened his coat, and walked out from the curtains and into the pit. They were both onto his secret, of course, and Roderich knew that he could trust Matthew.

"Oh yes. We're going to Switzerland tomorrow. I need to visit a dear friend of mine." He called out before he walked down the steps, leaving a smile on the Canadians face. He sure is a mysterious man. Matthew mused to himself, putting a finger on his chin, but clapping his hands together and walking down towards the pit. Hopefully Ms. Honda could get ready before the opera started.

After the opera had ended, Roderich had went up on stage, bowing. Of course, there was a very large applause, as he was known throughout the world. He was like the next Yo Yo Ma, Beethoven, even Mozart. Yet still he craved more, in the brink of stardom, the only way to be on top, was to lie, steal, and cheat. And that was exactly what Roderich did. "Take these." He told an attendant, taking off his gloves and leaving in the man's hands.

On the plane to Switzerland now. He sighed, leaving towards the exit, his dear friend right behind.

It was going to be a long, long day, for sure. And yet, he was excited about this. Maybe the most he had been in years. For he hadn't seen this friend in a long time, and of course she was very dear to him. Just like his little sister, even.

подібність - Wellness in Ukranian

Kyoko Honda (Please correct if grammatically wrong) - Nyo!Japan

Yo Yo Ma - A very famous cello player

Please ask me if there are any other questions, thank you. I hope to update with longer chapters, this is just the introduction.