Pico leaned against the brick wall of an alley, the neon lights from the nearby club casting a sickly glow on the pavement. He was lost in thought, the petals still fresh in his memory, in the moment when his phone buzzed.
It was a message from Nene.
Nene : Meet at the usual spot. Got a job.
Pico sighed and made his way to the abandoned warehouse that had become their unofficial headquarters. As he entered, he saw Nene and Darnell already there, deep in conversation that he felt interrupted. They looked up as he approached, giving attention to him since he had already come.
"What's the job?" Pico asked, his voice disinterested.
Nene handed him a piece of a picture and a name. "Daddy Dearest reached out to us. He wants us to take care of someone."
Pico's heart sank as he looked at the photo of a girl in a red dress and a blue-haired boy that covered most of the photo. Boyfriend.
His mind raced, and he felt a familiar tightness in his chest. Of course he didn't want to show weakness for his next victim to his friends.
"His reason?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Darnell shook his head. "Apparently, Boyfriend's gotten on Daddy Dearest's bad side. He's willing to pay big money to have him taken out."
Pico's fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles turning white despite he tried to stay calm. "Is that so?"
Nene shrugged. "Daddy Dearest thinks he's a bad influence on his daughter. He wants him gone."
So this confirmed that the omega had found someone else, Pico assumed.. some alpha who's better than him… for much.
Since this family was known for their presence in the musical industry and wealth.
Pico felt a wave of anger and despair crash over him.
Boyfriend's face flashed in his mind, the carefree smile that had once brought him so much joy now a source of unbearable pain. He could feel the petals stirring again, scratching at his throat.
Yes, his attempt to remain impartial did not last long.
"Woah, what the fuck?" Nene retorted as she saw the blue petals covered in blood coming from his friend's throat.
Darnell, however, reacted to help him, being abruptly pushed aside by Pico.
"Dude…"
They didn't know about the petals, the disease that was slowly killing him. Of course, both friends knew Boyfriend, but they didn't care about his existence. To them, this was just another job, but knowing that Pico could die for him, that changed what they never thought about the omega until now.
Pico struggled to regain his composure, wiping the blood and petals from his mouth. "It's nothing," he muttered, trying to sound convincing. "Just allergies or something."
This moment was embarrassing for Pico, but no, he would not admit even at this point that he has loved the omega all this time.
Nene's eyes narrowed, but she didn't press the issue since Pico looked pretty awful. "Allergies don't make you cough up petals, Pico."
Darnell glanced between them, his expression serious.
"If Boyfriend lives, I die," Pico thought bitterly. "But if he dies, I... I don't know if I can live with that either."
Pico took a deep breath, the pain in his chest intensifying.
If Boyfriend stayed alive, the disease would eventually kill him.
But the thought of killing Boyfriend, the one person who had ever truly mattered to him, was unbearable, because at least Pico would die knowing that Boyfriend ended belonging to anyone.
"Fine," Pico said finally, his voice cold and detached. "I'll do it. I'll kill him."
Pico stood in the shadows, watching Boyfriend and Girlfriend in the middle of the street. They were rapping together, their voices blending in what he perceived as a perfect harmony.
Boyfriend looked happier than Pico had ever seen him, his face glowing with excitement and passion. The omega looked more mature than he remembers, he had gotten snakebites, his hair was slightly shorter but his outfit was similar to what he remembered.
Girlfriend became aware of the other alpha's presence through his essence, casting her gaze in the direction where Pico was observing them. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything, keeping her focus on Boyfriend.
Pico's heart ached, the petals threatening to rise again. He clenched his jaw, trying to focus on the job, but his emotions were overwhelming.
He had come here to kill Boyfriend, to end the pain once and for all. But now, seeing him so alive, so full of energy,
he couldn't do it.
His hand trembled as he reached for his UZI in his pocket. He could feel the weight of it, the cold metal pressing against his skin.
All he had to do was pull the trigger, and it would be over. For both of them.
But he couldn't. He couldn't take away the one person who had brought light into his life, even if it meant he would continue to suffer.
Pico stepped back, the gun falling from his hand. He stumbled out of the street, gasping for air, petals spilling with dots of blood from his mouth.
He collapsed against a wall, tears streaming down his face.
"Why can't I do it?" he whispered to himself, his voice choking with emotion. "Why can't I just end this?"
The answer was clear, even if he didn't want to admit it. He loved Boyfriend, and no matter how much it hurt, he couldn't bring himself to take his life.
He was selfish. Boyfriend never rejected him, he wasn't even aware of his feelings because he never confessed. He was so selfish to take the life of someone who is already happy with someone else. Who's reaching his dreams? Boyfriend. He just couldn't cut off his career like that.
As the petals continued to fall, Pico made a silent vow.
Some slaps brought him out of his breakdown for a moment and when he turned defensively, he had to run into his two friends, looking at him with concern.
"It's okay, do you feel better, bud?" Darnell asked with genuine concern.
Nene and Darnell knew that he couldn't accomplish his goal by himself. Seeing him with such an advanced disease, they understood that he would need help. Being honest with them and himself for once.
Pico sat in the dimly lit room of their makeshift headquarters, his mind still reeling from the emotional turmoil of the past scene.
Nene and Darnell watched him closely, their expressions a mix of concern and curiosity.
They blamed themselves a bit for not having realized his condition all this time.
"You can't keep running from this, Pico," Nene said firmly, breaking the heavy silence. "You need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel."
Darnell nodded in agreement. "Yeah, man. It's eating you up inside. You owe him that much."
It was well known that there were few options to get rid of Hanahaki. Although Darnell and Nene thought that stealing for at least a week or two, from anyone they came across would save them enough money to pay him a surgery.
The alpha looked up at them, his eyes reflecting a mixture of gratitude? and uncertainty. "But what if he hates me? What if he never wants to see me again?"
Now that his secret was no longer a secret, his emotions overflowed with doubts.
Nene placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You won't know until you try. And even if things don't go the way you hope, at least you'll have tried. It's better than living or dying with regret…"
Darnell chimed in, "Besides, Boyfriend deserves to know why you left. He deserves closure too."
They always felt that the alpha's decision to move to another city was abrupt, but they never thought that his emotions were eating himself inside and that this was the real reason. To escape.
Pico sighed, running a hand through his hair.
The thought of facing Boyfriend again, of baring his soul and risking rejection, terrified him. But deep down, he knew they were right.
And there was no one to blame but himself for not having done something about it at the time.
"You're right," Pico finally admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I owe him that much. I owe myself that much."
And no matter how much he avoided it, why die without telling the person he loved the most… that he loved him?
Nene squeezed his shoulder gently. She was twisted most of the time, but now, she comprehends that she was almost losing a friend.
