A Tale of Two Omegas

Chapter 1: Turbulent Reunion

It was nearly closing time at the ever-controversial Kana's Java. The usual bustle of a busy day in Bangkok had calmed to a softer lull for the night, and there were only a couple customers still remaining inside the coffee shop, both of which, Gulf could guess, were young Omega university students. They were working diligently on their laptops, and Gulf smiled, reminiscing his own university days. Those years had been some of the toughest in his life, but the most rewarding, and he'd gone at a time in which only a measly twenty-three percent of Omegas ever even dared to set foot in a university. He was glad to see more and more Omega university students every day in his shop. It felt like he was seeing slow and steady but evidently real progress in the world and its outdated hierarchy.

"Hey, you two," he called out to the students, and they looked to him with attentive eyes, "it's almost closing time. I'm going to go ahead and call an OSO taxi so you both can get home safely tonight, okay?"

The two Omegas beamed gratefully at him.

"Thanks, P'Gulf!" one of them said.

"You're the best, Phi," said the other.

"No problem. Happy to help," Gulf replied.

This was what his coffee shop was all about. It didn't seem like much on the surface, but he'd opened his shop to serve his community. Two years ago, he'd used all the money he had in the bank and taken a leap of faith--invested it all into opening his small business with one major goal in mind: provide a safe haven for any and all Omegas in the city. He'd partnered his business with various, meticulously-vetted non-profit organizations dedicated to Omega health, wellness and safety so he could give all the opportunities he could to Omegas in need. One of those organizations, and one he himself made use of all the time: the Omega Safety Office(OSO). They provided anything ranging from taxi services to self-defense classes. One of Gulf's personal favorites. Run by one of his Beta friends from university, Mild.

As an Omega himself, he was no stranger to hardships and harassment imposed by the ludicrous hierarchy of society. He'd fought, tooth and nail, for every single accomplishment in his life to get as far as he had, all so he could make sure other Omegas wouldn't have to suffer like he'd had to in the past.

Of course, he didn't discriminate who he'd allow into his coffee shop simply based on secondary gender. While his business was meant to serve the Omegas in the city, he certainly wasn't opposed to Alpha and Beta clientele, so long as they observed and followed the rules of his shop. If they were willing to be respectful, there was no reason to refuse them service.

Unfortunately... His shop was quite the target, mostly in the eyes of conservative Alphas. Omega-owned, Omega-run and primarily Omega-serving, his poor coffee shop had gone through many acts of vandalism, robbery and threats of violence--far too many for it only having been open for a mere two years. It was certainly a hassle to deal with, and every time he had to make repairs to his shop from violent attacks, he lost quite a bit of money, both from the repairs themselves, and a sharp drop in customers' willingness to come back to the shop. Gulf didn't blame them. Once a business is proven to be a target of hate violence, why would any Omega want to be seen there?

City police were hardly any help either. Much like every other system in society, policing was run by Alphas. And most Alpha cops didn't want to be seen as 'sympathizers with the weak,' even if they didn't necessarily believe Omegas were lowly or weak. Alphas that openly advocated for Omega equality were most often shunned from society.

That was... Unless an Alpha was insanely attractive, and therefore, the general public was willing to completely overlook their progressive views. Simply on the basis that they were 'hot.'