Genshin Impact BL DISCONTINUED

Freedom may be expensive, love isn't Part 1(Zhongli/Diluc)

ABO and AU, not modern but changed

Hello, here I am again, returning with 7k words (of plot and no love, I'm a bad person I know) after being dead for more than three weeks. I didn't plan to have a break but just couldn't get myself to write anything. I felt a little off, being overworked and stuff. Sorry for that!

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"Father... there is no need for this. I am very well able to lead the winery alone. Haven't I already sufficiently proven this in the past?", looking into his father's red eyes, eighteen-year-old Diluc seemed to be very dissatisfied. He didn't want anyone to be his mate. As a child he too had thought about a happy future with his own family, but at this time he had expected to be an alpha just like his father. Since his first heat and the realization that he was not an alpha, he had suddenly given up on these dreams. Instead he got the feeling that he had to prove himself more and more and he hated it. He hated to be what he was, an omega.
"You did and you should know that there are no ill intentions behind my actions, don't you know that Diluc? It is not about distrust in your abilities, it's just about your own safety. As the owner of such a successful business, you will encounter envious people, some will want to ruin your success, not everyone will have honest and good intentions towards you. An unmarried omega in such a position is at great risk, you should know that yourself. When you turned sixteen I gave you the option to find an alpha yourself and you rejected everyone who was introduced to you, I am not saying that I will force anyone on you-"
"But that's exactly what you intend to do."
"...yes, yes it is. There are already a few files waiting in your room with information on the possible candidates, you are still free to choose one of them yourself. A few of the candidates are not interested in living a classic life themselves, I am sure you will be able to keep your freedom. ...Diluc, it's just for your safety.", Crepus' intentions weren't ill, it were just the ones of a worried father that tried to do everything he could to keep his stubborn son safe. He knew how skilled Diluc was, but also how difficult it would be for him if he would be left alone. Diluc was an omega, that couldn't be changed, whether they both liked it or not.
"Safety... tsk..ridiculous... since my early childhood I have had lessons in defending myself. I got my sword and vision, I was a part of the knights before I left to support you, I don't need anyone else to protect me."
"...I will not discuss this with you any further, Diluc. The decision is already made. Now go to your room and choose who you want to go on a date with."

-

For a few days Diluc had ignored the files that were waiting on his desk, but the red folders began to haunt him in his dreams. He knew he would have to look at them and choose someone but every fiber of his body had been against looking at the files even for a moment. The redhead sighed when he finally took the folders into his hands and spread them on his bed around himself. He would have to look at them carefully, after all, it was about his future. Why couldn't the present be like the future he once imagined? Even marrying Kaeya like they had played it as children sounded better now.

"...lawyer, 36, divorced .. tsk..certainly not. ..Who actually selected these files? I will have to have a serious word with them if this continues to be so ridiculous.... 21, merchant, wants to get married and three children... Really? How are you supposed to feed three children with this salary? ... no. Just...no.", talking to himself while looking at the files, Diluc became more and more frustrated. The whole thing had been stupid from the start but seemed to be getting more and more stupid.
"...at least this one's...pretty ... 23, apprentice from Sumeru ........regards marriage as an option, doesn't want children....hmm...maybe.", Diluc sorted the folders into 'no' and 'maybe', the possibility for a direct 'yes' didn't exist in his head anyway.
"37, teach- .. no. ... 19, is training as a blacksmith, no marriage, no children, would like to go on a trip around the world after completing his training ... no. No, that's just stupid. How could you go on a trip around the world without money? ...tsk... there's one left... hmmm...there's no information regarding marriage and children... and no picture ...", looking at the piles, Diluc sighed again. There was only one folder for 'maybe' but eight for 'no', his father would certainly not be satisfied with this selection. Sorting the last one to 'maybe' since he had no other choice anyway, Diluc was glad that he had finally finished this hell of a task. Maybe now he would be able to deal with more important things again.