Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He was out with his friends from school when he first smelled it. He didn’t have a name for the scent then, didn’t realize where it was coming from at first, the earthy, herbal smell reminiscent of his mother’s old family recipes. He thought it smelled kind of nice. He didn’t even think to conceal it.

His father was thrilled. He gave Gao Tu the finest cut of meat that night at dinner. He smiled broadly and proudly introduced him as his “omega son” to strangers in public. He didn’t beat Gao Tu’s mother for two whole weeks.

That was while he was winning. He was always nice when he was winning. That’s what made it so easy to forget.

One night, a few weeks after he presented, his father had a few friends over. They pulled out their cards, cigar smoke filling the air and bare feet propped up on Gao Tu’s mother’s grandmother’s mahogany dining table.

His father pulled him aside. “Gao Tu, I have a special task for you tonight. You’ll be serving my friends during our game.”

Gao Tu nodded solemnly. This was nothing out of the ordinary; his father had asked him to pour him whiskey hundreds of times before. He put on his best outfit, a plain white button-down and a pair of slacks, and obediently stood in the corner until he was called upon. He bustled around the kitchen, serving food and keeping the drinks flowing to avoid anyone getting upset.

He tried his best to ignore the lingering gazes of his father’s friends, the way their eyes drifted to the back of his slacks that were just a little too tight and too short since they hadn’t had the funds to buy new ones this year.

As he leaned over to refill one man’s glass, he felt a hand skirt up his leg.

“Wanna make things a little more interesting?” the man drawled out. His grin was casual. Slowly, deliberately, he squeezed the back of Gao Tu’s thigh.

Gao Tu froze. His eyes flitted over to his father, gauging his reaction, silently pleading. He should have known better. His father’s eyes had a glint, something shrewd and appraising that cut through his drunken haze.

“Hah,” his father barked out after a long few seconds. “As if you could afford him.”

As if you could afford him. Not “not for sale”. Not “get your hands off him”. In that moment, Gao Tu knew it was a matter of when, not if, someone would be able to afford him.

It was only a few weeks later that it all came to a head. A long heatwave struck that summer, the air thick and stagnant. It seemed his father’s luck had turned with the weather. He had been losing, badly. His father’s mood had darkened, his sister’s rare pheromone condition had worsened, and his mother’s skin had turned black and blue beneath the long sleeves she still wore in the unbearable heat.

The creditors came knocking, as they always did, roughing up his father and threatening to do worse if he couldn’t pay up. But this time, he had something of value to give them.

Gao Tu didn’t fight back. What would have been the point? He had nowhere else to go. He didn’t say a word as his mother wailed while the pack of leering alphasroughly shoved him into the back of a car.

He didn’t say a word when they stripped him bare in a cold, dank warehouse, when they inspected him with thick, grubby fingers to see if he really was an omega.

He still didn’t say a word when they told him they’d found a buyer who would pay handsomely to “break him in” through his first heat. He didn’t so much as shed a tear when he “lost his virginity” to five more buyers before his body stopped going into heats entirely and they couldn’t get away with that one anymore.

The scent of sage had soured until it had faded almost completely. Most alphas didn’t like an omega who smelled like hardly anything, but some preferred it. It made it easier to wipe the scent off before going back to their spouses.

He didn’t mind that it was gone. It no longer brought him any comfort. After all, he finally understood what the sweet scent truly meant: that he was something less. Something to be owned, to be taken out like a doll and played with before being put away on the shelf. Something that was never going to be able to play with his school friends, or see his sister get better, or taste his mother’s home cooking again.

Still, for some reason, the night he realized he could no longer catch the faintest whiff of sage on his skin, he cried himself to sleep.

Chapter Text

Ten years later…

HS Group has quickly become one of the most successful biotech companies in the nation, making extraordinary breakthroughs in pheromone gland research and developing widespread technologies. The man at the forefront of their innovation? None other than CEO Shen Wenlang, an S-class alpha whose sharpness of tongue is only matched by his cheekbones. Named one of Jianghu’s top bachelors, learn why this ruthless(ly handsome) businessman has never settled down on page 4...

Shen Wenlang scoffed. Was this what passed for journalism these days? Who left this trash here anyways? He leaned back and took a sip of his usual morning tea only to promptly spit it out.

If HS Group was so successful, why couldn’t a single one of his goddamned secretaries make a decent cup of tea? What was he even paying them for?

Disgusted, Shen Wenlang threw the entire cup and saucer in the trash.

“Hey, you! Get in here,” he barked.

Meekly, his latest assistant stepped into his office.

“Yes, Mr. Shen?” the man squeaked out. Wang, was it? No, maybe Lang? No matter.

“You’re fired. Pack your things.”

The secretary nodded, scuttling away as fast as he could.

Shen Wenlang scoffed again. Spineless. Against his better judgment, he reopened the magazine. As he suspected, it was filled with more drivel about how he just hadn’t met the right omega yet.

From the moment he presented, Shen Wenlang had known his sharp iris scent set him apart from others. His classmates, his family members, even strangers on the street began treating him differently. He knew what their actions meant—that he was at the top of the food chain. As an S-Class Alpha, there were few who could match the strength of his pheromones, much less his shrewdness in the boardroom. Unfortunately, his designation and his success also meant that everyone and their mother wanted to know which omega he would eventually settle down with. He’d lost track of the number who had tastelessly thrown themselves at him over the years.

He would have been happy to pretend they didn’t exist entirely, if not for another side effect of his S-Class pheromones. His ruts were unusually strong, and they had only been getting worse recently. His doctors had warned him his condition would only continue to get worse if his ruts continued to go unfulfilled. He had called in specialists from all over the world only for them to tell him different versions of the same thing. One had even gone so far as to suggest he was suffering from a rare variation of Mate-Seeking Syndrome.

Their only recommended treatment? Mating with a compatible omega.

An omega. Sheesh, what a nightmare. He refused to believe it was his genetic destiny to be shackled to a such a simpering, manipulative creature. He preferred the company of betas when he gave into his baser instincts, although a beta would likely not be able to withstand the force of one of his ruts, so he always underwent those alone. He would chain himself to his bed every rut period, thrashing and gnawing at the air. He’d learned the hard way that he could rub his dick raw trying to find release, but it would only make the burning need to mate worse. Better to tough it out.

A new secretary appeared in his doorway, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Mr. Shen?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Your first appointment is here.”

Shen Wenlang sighed, already mentally deducting points from this unnamed hire. “Show them in.”

This was what he did best. Making deals, spotting great ideas, cutting through bullshit. He shook his head, clearing it of unwanted thoughts of omegas and refocusing on the task at hand. HS Group was preparing for a merger with a smaller biotech company, one that had made truly exciting progress in treatments for pheromone gland cancer. Hopefully, within the next year they would be able to roll out their new developments and begin clinical trials, making a real difference in the lives of those affected by the disease.

They should write their article about that! Ha! He slapped his desk for emphasis.

“Sir?” His 9am appointment hesitated by the door to his office, struck by the sight of the alpha seemingly having an argument with himself. Iris hung potently in the air, warding off intruders.

“Come in, come in,” Shen Wenlang beckoned. “Let’s get down to it, shall we?” He straightened out his suit jacket and sat back down in his chair.

The scent of iris settled back against his skin, still stronger than it should have been for polite company, but try as he might Shen Wenlang couldn’t rein it in completely. It was like it was reaching out for something. Searching.

* * *

Gao Tu stared at a spot on the ceiling of his room. It looked kind of like a dog, he thought, absentmindedly. There was a mutt he liked to feed on the street corner sometimes, a scruffy thing with lopsided ears that had clearly seen a few fights. He’d always wanted a dog when he was younger, but his mom had said no for reasons he didn’t quite understand at the time. Then he saw his father kick her in the stomach and call her a useless bitch and he’d stopped asking.

He wondered if anyone else fed the dog while he was otherwise occupied.

The alpha thrusting into him stopped to flip him over. Gao Tu sighed internally. His face was smashed against the bed this way, but at least he didn’t have to watch the alpha’s sweaty, scrunched up face as he pounded away. This one was a mouth breather, and noisy too—he just wouldn’t shut up.

“Yeah, baby, that’s it, take my knot,” the alpha grunted out. He continued huff and puff away and narrate his own prowess.

Only years of experience prevented Gao Tu from physically rolling his eyes.

He let his mind drift. He had perfected the art over time. First, he focused on a fixed point, letting his vision go hazy around the edges. Then, after only a few moments, a familiar blanket of numbness embraced him like an old friend. He could still see what was going on, but he found he no longer cared. He watched detachedly as the alpha thrust into him. The sound of the other man’s heavy breathing was no longer irritating or even amusing.

He simply felt nothing at all.

Gao Tu blinked and snapped back to himself. Some time had passed, but he wasn’t sure exactly how much. The alpha had clearly finished, remnants of his release clinging stickily to Gao Tu’s back as the man pulled his pants on.

“Thanks, babe. You were great,” the alpha said as he headed out the door, delivering a final smack to Gao Tu’s backside. Gao Tu winced slightly.

Alphas were all the same. Useless thugs, just looking for a warm body to shove their knot into.

His original purchasers had grown tired of an omega with no scent and no heats after a few years. He had bounced around from buyer to buyer for some time, finally landing himself here, in an “agency” that skirted just this side of reputable. Technically, he was merely indentured to them. For the low, low price of 3 million yuan, he could walk right out the door tomorrow and never come back. At that rate, however, he’d be here for the next 10 years, assuming they didn’t charge interest. And then what? He had no identification papers, no job history, no savings to speak of.

It was pointless to dwell on for too long.

“You’ve got another one in half an hour, get yourself cleaned up.” One of Gao Tu’s least favorite agency “enforcers”, a perpetually angry-looking beta, popped his head in the door, sneering at the sight of the omega still lying on the bed, a mess.

Two clients back-to-back? He ought to complain to HR. Gao Tu almost cracked a smile at his own joke.

Instead, he limped over to the shower. Maybe it was because he was “broken”, but he truly didn’t understand the appeal when it came to alphas, fated mates, any of that. If he ever met an alpha interested in more than just getting his knot wet… well, let’s just say it seemed about as likely as an S-Class alpha giving birth.

He closed his eyes, letting the warm water carry away both the grime and his idle reflections.

Chapter Text

At promptly 3pm every Friday, Shen Wenlang held a company-wide meeting. Employees had tried to get out of these before, scheduling doctor’s appointments or feigning work emergencies. Once, a woman had pretended to faint dead away in the middle of the lobby, only to be roused with smelling salts and unceremoniously dumped in a chair in the auditorium.

For the majority of the meeting, Shen Wenlang would sit off to the side of the stage, glowering. His gaze was usually sharp enough to silence any idle side conversations. However, at the end of the presentation, he would always give a short address that was nothing short of scathing. Despite his critiques, no one could say that he wasn’t fair. The points he brought up only cut so deep because they were accurate, and his own department was not exempt from his remarks.

Employees speculated that the weekly verbally lashing was some sort of bizarre catharsis for their boss, but no one could deny his method produced results. So, every Friday when other offices were already planning their weekends off or heading home early, HS group was preparing to have their week’s work thoroughly torn apart.

This week was no exception. The meeting began with the usual presentation of the latest data from the financial analysis team. “For our Q3 numbers…”

Shen Wenlang dabbed at this brow. Who the hell had turned the heat on this time of year? He made a mental note to complain to the maintenance workers later.

After what felt like an eternity, it was Shen Wenlang’s turn to speak. He found himself sweating already, patting at his forehead again with his handkerchief and squinting up at the bright lights. He approached the podium and opened his mouth. He stopped, gripping the ledge of the podium tightly. His mouth was dry as a bone and it was so very warm in here. The room started to sway. That’s strange… he thought.

He tugged at his collar to get some air.

Suddenly, he released a wave of powerful pheromones in the air. The board members in the front row shrank back as the acrid scent of irises hit them.

Shen Wenlang staggered back, clutching the nape of his neck, but he could not stop the pheromones pouring off him, choking the audience with their oppressive weight. Shrieks split the air, and a wave of hushed whispers broke out among the crowd.

“What do we—”

“Get him out of here—”

“Does this mean we can go home—”

“Rut specialist, I’ll call someone—”

“Needs an omega—”

Shen Wenlang let out a growl of displeasure, but his vision began to swim with black dots before everything turned black.

* * *

“You’ve got a client, come on. He’s in rut already, no time to laze around.” The enforcer stood in the doorway and smirked.

Gao Tu’s stomach sank. It wasn’t uncommon for him to service an alpha in rut, but usually they hired him before their rut began. Every once in a while, though, they brought one of the omegas in as emergency rut relief. By then, the alphas were already out of their minds, any consideration for the comfort of the omegas long gone (if they had any to begin with).

Ruts were never his favorite, the oppressive stench of alpha pheromones stronger than normal. Besides, with his practically nonexistent scent, he really wasn’t much help during ruts. As a client or two had told him, he was basically a beta with a nice hole.

However, it wasn’t as though he had a choice.

Gao Tu gathered up a few essentials. He didn’t have much, but he grabbed a water bottle and a first aid kit and got in the unmarked black sedan that was waiting for him out front.

He watched out the window as they headed into the heart of the city. They pulled up to a towering skyscraper, sunlight bouncing off the sleek, reflective glass walls. Not just any alpha then, but a VIP. That explained the rush. Probably a rich old geezer too feeble to find an omega himself.

Roughly, his driver grabbed his arm and led him past the doorman who silently nodded at them. He punched the button for the top floor of the hotel. The ride to the top felt interminably long as they stood in tense silence, anticipation coiling in his gut. The doors opened with a ding and Gao Tu was shoved inside before the elevator doors closed once more, leaving him alone with an alpha in rut.

The lighting was dim, but he quickly scanned his surroundings.

The penthouse was a mess. Pillows were torn, with pieces of cotton littering the furniture, and a table had been overturned and splintered from the impact. Gao Tu gingerly stepped over the pieces of crystal, soaked in whiskey and blood, that lay on the ground.

This was bad.

Maybe feral levels of bad. He’d never encountered a feral alpha before, but he’d heard rumors. The level of destruction he was seeing definitely didn’t seem to be the work of a feeble little old man. His eyes followed the path of destruction to the back of the apartment, where presumably the main bedroom lay.

As he made his way closer to the back, the bitter scent of irises hung heavily in the air.

Gao Tu sneezed. He felt his body begin to warm, and wiped at his brow. He hoped he wasn’t getting sick on top of having to deal with this alpha today.

Carefully, he eased the bedroom door open.

He could tell the instant the alpha spotted him.

Chapter Text

Omega. The faint scent of sage drifted over to the alpha, warm nights in the forest and herbal sweetness. His pupils dilated and he sniffed the air frantically, searching for more than a hint of that delicious aroma.

He thrashed against the bed. Some unlucky assistants from HS Group had been enlisted to tie him up earlier while he was unconscious. His wrists chafed at the fabric ties as he strained to catch a better glimpse of the source of that scent.

“Mine,” he growled out.

Gao Tu, still standing in the doorway, doubled over suddenly in agony. He clutched his stomach. What was happening to him? He touched his hand to his forehead, face flushed and sweaty. His abdomen gave another violent cramp and he curled into himself.

The alpha thrashed harder at the sight. He began chewing at the reinforced fabric around his wrists, ripping through threads until his cuffs slid off like butter. From there, it was child’s play to tear off the rest of the bonds, the barriers keeping him from his omega who needed him.

He prowled across the room and scooped the omega up in one smooth movement. The omega whimpered, and in response the alpha let out a soft chuffing sound.

Safe. Help. Mine.

The omega relaxed involuntarily at the sound, curling into the alpha’s body instead of his own and burying his face in the alpha’s neck. The alpha let out a wave of pheromones, the previously bitter iris transformed into a warmer floral aroma with a hint of spice. The omega relaxed even further, nuzzling into his scent gland and going boneless in his arms.

He laid the omega out on his bed. He only had a moment to admire the rightness of the sight before the omega gave a pained cry, clutching at his abdomen again. The alpha frantically nosed at his midsection, searching for the source of the problem, strong hands gently rubbing the omega’s stomach in a soothing motion. A fresh wave of sage hit his nose, stronger, muskier, yet sweeter than before.

Whatever mating instincts had abated at the sight of his omega in pain flared to life once more.

He ripped the omega’s loose pants off in one movement, desperate for more of that scent. His mouth watered at the expanse of bare skin, and he wasted no time diving in. He wrapped his mouth around the cute little hard cock, suckling it steadily and growling in satisfaction when it gave a small spurt. The omega moaned in response. The alpha’s steady pressure just above his pelvis and the warmth surrounding his cock unleashed a wave of slick from his hole.

The alpha nosed his way further down, pushing the omega’s soft thighs apart and searching for the source of that delectable sweetness. There. He lapped at the folds, drinking up as much as he could and nosing at the core of him. The omega gave another cry, his hands tangling in the alpha’s hair, but he only pushed the alpha towards his personal nirvana more insistently, and the alpha went along eagerly.

He worked his tongue into that tight hole. A bit of slick gushed out, and he thrust his tongue deeper, hunting for more. He set a steady pace, in and out, trying to coax more of that sweet scent out.

After only a few more thrusts, his wish was granted. Musky sage flooded his senses, the rightness of it striking the alpha to the center of his very being. That beautiful hole clenched down even tighter around his tongue.

He continued to devour his omega like a man possessed, pushing him past the point of oversensitivity. The omega's legs began to shake, and he writhed against the sheets even as he clutched his fingers in the alpha’s hair, legs clamping tighter around his head. The alpha heeded the unspoken command, continuing to work his tongue and mouth until he sent the omega hurtling into another orgasm. He groaned against the omega’s hole at the taste of his release, the vibrations traveling through the omega’s core and causing him to spasm with an aftershock even as the alpha continued to lap at his sweetness.

The alpha had found his new favorite place to be, and it didn’t seem like he’d be leaving anytime soon.

“Alpha. More,” his omega whined.

The alpha jerked his head up in confusion, mouth and chin coated in slick, eyes searching the other’s face, desperate to figure out what his omega needed. Only then did he become aware of his own hips rutting against the bed steadily, his thick cock red and glistening, threatening to pop a knot at any minute. He finally remembered what the thing was good for—for pleasing the beautiful omega before him, for filling him up with pups and making him his in every way.

“Yes. Yes,” he muttered.

He kissed his way back up the omega’s torso, lingering on those pert, pale-pink nipples and the slender curve of his sweat-dampened neck. His omega whined again, impatient. If Shen Wenlang had been more aware of himself, he would have chuckled. Instead, he blindly lined his cock up with that soft wetness and began to thrust in.

It was tight, still so tight, somehow. The omega cried out as the thick head of the cock breached his opening, throwing his head back against the pillow.

“Omega. Perfect. So good," the alpha gasped out.

He gently brushed the sweat-slicked hair off of the omega’s forehead. He rocked back and forth, instincts battling between pulling out to avoid hurting him and thrusting all the way in.

His omega made the decision for him, bucking his hips up and causing him to slid in another inch. No longer able to hold back, he thrust home.

His vision blacked out at the sensation of his cock fully enveloped in that tight, wet heat. When he came to, his hips were rocking into the omega in short, aborted motions.

Although it pained him to withdraw for even a moment, he drew back, pulling out to the tip before thrusting back in. The omega moaned at the sensation, nails raking over the alpha’s back. Something deep was building within his core, something frightening in its intensity. He thrashed his head against sheets as the alpha continued to fuck into him like a man possessed.

Every thrust hammered right at the sweet spot inside of him. Sensations built with nowhere to go, nothing he could do but take it.

The alpha could feel his knot threatening to pop at the base of his cock. He gritted his teeth, mind hazy with pleasure, gaze singularly focused on the omega gasping beneath him.

“Alpha, please.” The omega turned his head to the side, baring his scent gland. Shen Wenlang growled at the sight, instincts screaming to claim him. The omega begged so prettily for his bite. He had just enough sense left to bite the pillow next to him instead of that smooth patch of skin as he thrust deeply and his knot swelled, locking them together.

The omega came as the alpha's knot locked into place. A rush of iris and sage filled the room, scents weaving together as they danced in the air. Slick gushed out from around the knot as the omega’s cock gave a weak burst, the thickness inside him overwhelming but perfect. He sighed in relief as the alpha’s release filled his womb, temporarily cooling the heat in his blood. 

Before long though, he gave a tentative wiggle. The alpha’s chest rumbled and he flipped his omega over, knot having deflated enough to begin round two.

Both were insatiable. Every time his knot began to soften, the omega would whine and lock his ankles behind the alpha’s back, tugging him deeper. Heeding its master’s unspoken command, his cock would harden once more, rutting into the omega relentlessly until his knot popped again, causing his hole to clench up and another gush of slick to pour out. Once, he denied the omega his knot, coating him in his cum to mark his territory thoroughly and give that pink, puffy hole a break. He rumbled in satisfaction at the sight, rubbing his cum into the other man’s skin to scent him inside and out. His omega, however, let out a growl of dissatisfaction, pinning him down and riding him until he filled him up again with seed inside where it belonged.

All night they continued. The alpha left love bites all over his omega’s neck, chest, and thighs, and the omega gave him little nips in return, the alpha biting everywhere but where the omega wanted it most.

Finally, as the first light of daybreak began to glow over the horizon, the pair passed out, limbs entwined as they cradled one another close.

* * *

Gao Tu slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight filtered in through the large white curtains. His senses came back to him slowly. Dried cum and sweat coated every inch of his skin. Feathers (feathers?) littered the pillow beside him. His whole body ached.

Flashes of the night came back to him. How could he have—?

Heat. He had gone into heat.

Honestly, he hadn’t even thought it was possible anymore. He must have had insanely high compatibility with this alpha. His body had been forced into heat after heat after he’d first been bought, until they stopped altogether. The doctor at the clinic his previous owners took him to had diagnosed him with an unexplained pheromone disorder and left it at that, warning him that he was likely infertile and wouldn’t ever experience another heat. His owners had been mad—heat sex sold better—but secretly Gao Tu had been glad. Heats made him mindless, desperate, a creature he didn’t recognize. Things were safer this way.

Silently, he crept around the room and gathered up what remained of his clothes from yesterday. He winced at the sight of his torn pants, tying them around his waist the best he could.

He gave one last glance to the alpha, sleeping peacefully now in bed, dark hair splayed across the ruined pillows. From what he could recall, he had been more considerate than most, especially considering how far gone he had been in his rut. He cringed at the hazy memory of himself in heat, how he had begged the alpha for his cock.

He quietly shut the door to the suite behind him. No point in dwelling on what had already happened. He had learned that lesson earlier than most.

“Rough one, eh?” the enforcer asked, standing by the agency car in front of the building as Gao Tu exited the lobby. He stamped out his cigarette beneath his filthy boot. “I was ‘bout to come drag you out of there myself.” He gripped Gao Tu’s arm tightly. Gao Tu didn’t respond, simply slid into the back of the car and clutched the torn hem of his shirt.

He gazed out the window as they pulled away from the hotel. For the sake of his own sanity, he hoped he’d never see that strange, iris-scented alpha again.

* * *

Shen Wenlang woke up with a smile on his face. He reached his arm over to the other side of the bed, wanting that sage scent closer, tucked against his skin where it belonged, only to be met with empty bedsheets.

He jolted awake.

The board meeting. The presentation. And then…warm brown eyes. Glistening pale skin. Head thrown back in pleasure time and time again as the sweet smell of sage filled the air and became the only thing he could think about. Mine, a part of him whispered, an echo of his primal instincts left over from his rut. 

He shook his head, frustrated. He couldn’t remember anything more than that. He couldn’t remember his name, couldn’t even picture his face clearly.

Shen Wenlang had never met anyone who so perfectly matched his appetites during his rut. Nor anyone, omega or otherwise, whose smell was quite so tolerable. Liar. His smell had been nothing short of divine. His chest felt tight. He didn’t know what to do this information, but he knew he had to do something.

He picked up his phone from where he had flung it across the room at some point during the night and dialed his latest secretary.

“Find me that omega.”

Chapter Text

Gao Tu hunched over the toilet bowl for the third time that week. Having already heaved up the meager contents of his breakfast, he wiped his mouth with a sigh.

This must be a new development to his pheromone disorder. It had been just over a month since his sudden onset heat, a detail he’d purposefully omitted when he’d returned to the agency. Something about it must have upset his system. He'd felt off ever since, and now, all week, he had gagged at the scents of the alphas he serviced, nearly losing his lunch on one alpha’s cock thrusting down his throat before he managed to excuse himself and run to the bathroom.

He would have to go to a clinic. Nauseous omegas didn’t exactly make for good business.

A few days and a few displeased clients later, the agency finally deigned to take him to a clinic. He filled out the basic paperwork quickly under the watchful eyes of the enforcer who escorted him here, jotting down the name that he went by at the agency, Zhao Wei, his age, and his designation. The doctor walked in, a well put-together younger woman who looked far different from the balding older man who had treated him last time. The doctor’s eyes were soft as she took in Gao Tu, although they narrowed at the sight of the man behind him. There was something almost familiar about her, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Get out!” she shooed, all but pushing the other man out of the room. “I can’t possibly be expected to look at my patient with you lurking around like that.” The man’s eyes narrowed at Gao Tu, silently telling him to not try anything as he went to stand outside the door to avoid making a bigger fuss in public.

The doctor closed the door firmly and turned to him, her gentle gaze seeing him in a way that made him feel more uncomfortably exposed than with any client.

“Now that it’s just us, why don’t you tell me what’s been going on.”

Gao Tu explained his symptoms as plainly as possibly, blinking away a touch of unfamiliar wetness around his eyes at her soft tone.

The doctor hummed at his explanation, a small wrinkle furrowing her brow. “Let’s run a few tests, just to rule a few things out.” Her hands were cold and dry, reassuring in their clinical efficiency. She drew a small vial of blood and sent it over to the lab. Gao Tu stared at the wall of the exam room, where a poster of a talking cat explained the importance of early detection of pheromone gland cancer. He hoped it was nothing too serious. Maybe she could prescribe him some inhibitors that would do the trick and he could be on his way. 

She returned a short while later, an apprehensive look in her eyes. “I’m going to put this bluntly," she said, her voice carefully neutral.

"You’re pregnant.” 

Gao Tu blinked. Pregnant? No, surely not. Her words didn’t even compute at first. He explained the impossibility to the doctor, waiting for her to come up with another diagnosis.

“That’s good to know,” she said plainly. “If you have a history of pheromone imbalance, this will be a higher-risk pregnancy than normal.”

His mind began racing. It was laughable, really. He hadn’t been on birth control in years. The previous doctors had told him his lack of pheromones meant that he was infertile. Then again, he thought wryly, they’d also told him he’d never experience another heat. The compatibility with that strange alpha must have truly been off the charts. The heady memory of irises filled his lungs until it felt like there was no room left to breathe.

The doctor handed him a paper bag. He hadn’t even noticed he’d begun to hyperventilate. He forced himself to focus on his breathing, in and out, in and out. The doctor waited patiently for his breath to even out once more.

“Forgive me if I’m overstepping here. That man out there—is he the father?” she finally asked.

Gao Tu shook his head. Thank God for that at least.

“Is he, or anyone else, forcing you to do anything that you do not want to do?” she asked, more insistently this time. Those kind, dark eyes seemed to see right through him, memories he'd long since shoved down flashing through his mind.

Gao Tu hesitated.

“Are you safe with him?” she pressed on.

Gao Tu hesitated again. Then, he slowly shook his head. No.

She crouched down in front of him, suddenly deadly serious.

“Listen, we don’t have much time,” she said in a low voice. “I volunteer with an omega rights foundation. They have services there for folks like you—apartments, jobs, healthcare—you name it. They can get you away from a bad situation, get you a new identity even. Whatever you decide you want to do about the pregnancy, they can help.” The doctor slipped a piece of paper with an address and a phone number into his hand.

She searched his eyes, sensing his hesitancy. “Just think about it,” she said.

With that, she straightened up, her body language shifting abruptly.

“All right!” she said in a loud and cheerful tone. “Looks like we’re finished up for today.”

The man from the agency who had been standing outside shoved his way back in the door as she walked out.

“What’d that bitch say?” he grumbled.

“Stomach bug. Should be better soon.” Gao Tu replied flatly. The enforcer mumbled something about useless omegas and wasted trips as he led them out of the clinic. Gao Tu put his hands in his pockets slowly, casually, rubbing his thumb over the small piece of paper.

Pregnant. He’d never wanted such a thing, never even imagined bringing a child into this living hell. He’d seen it happen to too many of his fellow omegas. The omega was usually punished for their slip up and forced to continue working, fulfilling some impotent alphas' kinks, until they gave birth and the child was sold off somewhere else. He knew what the logical answer was here. If he turned around and asked the doctor right now, he was pretty sure she would slip him a pill that would take care of things. Hell, he’d heard of a few home remedies over the years himself.

Just for a moment though, he allowed himself to dream. Of someone to love, someone to call his own, someone he’d never let be hurt as others had hurt him, as unrealistic as such a dream was. He rubbed his thumb over that piece of paper once more.

* * *

Shen Wenlang was officially losing his mind. Forget making tea, how hard could it be for anyone at his company to find one goddamned omega?

All anyone had been able to tell him was that he’d been hired from an agency. His staff had proved useless; he’d ended up calling every rut agency in Jianghu himself, but none of them had a sage-scented omega on file, nor had they sent anyone matching that description to that address. Wenlang himself barely remembered any of the details from his rut, he had been so out of it. Just flashes that still haunted his dreams weeks later: pert, pink nipples, the most decadent slick he had ever tasted, incredible tightness enveloping him time and time again, and a sweet, lingering scent of sage on his pillow in the morning.

But not a face. Or a name. And no one else seemed to have a name either—it was as though he had been visited by a sage-scented succubus ghost. The more time that passed the more he started to think it really was just all a dream.

He paced back and forth in his office. He knew someone who would be able to get the information, but he didn’t want to be in his debt even more than he already was. He glared at his phone for a solid minute before dialing the familiar number.

The phone answered on the first ring, like the person on the other end of the line had just been waiting for him to finally call.

“Mr. Shen, glad to hear you are doing better. We were all so worried about you over here at X Holdings."

Shen Wenlang gritted his teeth at the condescension in the other man’s tone.

“I mean, going into rut during a company-wide meeting?” the voice continued. “How gauche. Even I haven’t gone that far.”

“Thank you for your concern,” he bit out.

“And you’ve managed to learn some manners? My, my,” the voice on the other end laughed, the sound hollow and devoid of any true amusement. “Very well, what can I do for you this fine morning.”

Shen Wenlang paused, knowing the other man was going to take the opportunity to hold this request over his head as long as he lived, but he had to know.

“The omega,” he blurted out.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” the other man replied, milking the moment for all it was worth.

“The one from that night. Can you find him?” Shen Wenlang asked, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt.

“From your little rut rendezvous? I can. But, didn’t you say you disliked omegas? That they’re all, and I quote, ‘filthy, power-hungry whores’? Oh, and that they reek of cloying desperation.”

Sounds more like a description of you, Shen Wenlang thought, barely restraining himself from saying it aloud. He was trying to stay in his good graces for this request, after all. “Hmm…I don’t recall.”

“Convenient. Well, what do you want with him when you find him? Is the great Shen Wenlang finally ready to settle down?”

“No,” he replied swiftly. He didn’t want to admit that he hadn’t exactly thought that far ahead. There was just something about this particular omega that made him throw logic out the window.

“Too bad. The eligible young omegas and their meddling mothers will be happy to hear it, I suppose. I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you at this time.”

With that, Hua Yong hung up the phone, cutting off Shen Wenlang’s indignant, half-formed comeback. He leaned back in his chair and flipped through the file he had compiled last week: stills from the security camera footage at the hotel, an unmarked car traced back to a rather disreputable agency, and an extensive background check on the omega in question that told a truly tragic tale, made all the more interesting for the information that it lacked.

His friend was not ready for the truth yet. He knew if he played his hand too soon, it would lead to nothing but heartbreak. But when Shen Wenlang was ready, Hua Yong, and hopefully the mysterious omega as well, would be waiting.

Chapter Text

After all these years, something was bound to give.

Gao Tu went through the motions, acting as though nothing had changed, but inside, a small spark had lit. As the years had gone by, he’d long given up on any hope of freedom, resigning himself to his fate. If he didn’t care, didn’t hope, then they couldn’t take that away from him, couldn’t hurt him where it really mattered, no matter what else they did. But now, he had someone else to protect. A tiny life growing inside him against all odds. He didn’t think he would have been able to do it if it had just been for himself, but he knew he had to do for this little one what his own mother had never been able to do for him.

He waited. He had to time this right.

He had escaped before, years ago. It wasn’t impossible; it wasn’t as though a single omega was irreplaceable to the agency, and they weren’t monitored 24/7, but he’d discovered once he escaped that he had nowhere to go. It was bad on the streets for a young omega all alone. At least with the clients, there was a routine to things. There were rules against hurting the merchandise too badly, and they fed him twice a day. Out on the streets, things were the same, only more unpredictable. He didn’t put up a fight when they found him last time, and he hadn’t tried to escape again since.

He watched as the guard posted out front went to take a smoke break in the alleyway. He cracked open his window, slinging a backpack filled with his meager belongings over his shoulder. He had one foot out the window when he noticed a figure in the window opposite his room. He froze. Someone had spotted him. It seemed his plan might be over before it had even really begun.

It was one of the other omegas, he realized belatedly, and she was making some sort of motion. She waved goodbye, then gestured for him to hurry up. Cautiously, he made his way down the trellis. Lily was what they had called her in the agency. He hadn’t ever bothered to learn her real name.

Finally, he hopped to the ground with a thud. He winced at the loud sound, but the night sounds filled the air, cars rumbling in the distance and crickets chirping. No one seemed to have heard. He took off, walking swiftly into the night. He breathed in the cool night air, taking deep gulps of it. He tilted his head back to look at the sky. Of course, at that moment, the sky opened up, rain pouring down onto him and soaking his skin. It felt good, though, like he was being washed clean. He wasn’t sure how long he walked before he found the street he was looking for, but it felt like hours. It had been quite a while since he’d had this much open road before him.

He knocked on the door of the address the doctor had given him. The slip of paper was well worn now, ink nearly illegible from how many times Gao Tu had rubbed his fingers over it, but that didn't matter. Gao Tu had long since memorized its contents.

A stern-looking older woman opened the door a crack, a sliver of her face peering out.

“Who’s there?” she asked.

Gao Tu stood there, frozen, unsure of what to say. It was the middle of the night. He stared at his wet socked feet poking through his shoes. He didn’t even know the full name of the doctor who had given him the address.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Come in.” The woman tsked. “You poor thing. How long have you been out there in the rain? We’ll get you dried off, can’t have you catching cold.”

Gao Tu blinked in amazement as he was led through the door, bundled up in a homemade quilt, handed a bowl of noodles, and sat in a cozy armchair in front of a fire before he could think of a response. He realized the old woman was still talking, had been narrating to herself as she fussed over him. She paused, and he realized she had asked him another question.

“Your name, child,” she repeated gently.

“Gao Tu.” He startled at the sound of it, his voice soft, but firm. He had not spoken that name out loud in many years.

“Oho! It speaks after all. Don’t you worry dear, you’ll be prattling away like me in no time.”

Gao Tu cradled his bowl of noodles to his chest. It was a simple dish, like what his mother used to make. Nothing fancy, just noodles, broth, and onion. He wasn’t sure why his eyes were watering. There must have been some chili oil in there.

It may have been too early to tell, but this seemed like a good place. Gao Tu liked to think he had gotten pretty good at reading people over the years. As foreign as her behavior was to him, he sensed no ill will from this elderly woman. He sat by the fire, blanket clutched to his chest, watching the flames dance as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

The old woman watched as the young man’s body language finally relaxed in sleep. His eyes were lined with dark circles, cheeks gaunt, and he held himself unnaturally still, like a prey animal trying to avoid detection. She found her own eyes watering a bit, and she hadn’t even had any noodles. She had seen enough lost souls come through these doors to know when one needed help, and this one looked like he had been through more than most. She quietly took the bowl from his hands before he dropped it in his sleep and tucked the blanket tighter around him.

* * *

Gao Tu slept. The first few days after he arrived at the foundation, he slept nearly the entire time, waking only for a few minutes at a time to eat or use the bathroom. He had never slept so much in his life. When he eventually emerged from his slumber, he quickly learned there was a small but mighty pack of older omega and beta women who ran the place. Each had their own way of fussing over their newest arrival.

One fed him soups, stews, and rice until his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. He still threw up almost every morning, but whenever he did, he found her gently rubbing circles on his back, pushing his hair out of his face, and fixing him some plain congee to settle his stomach afterwards. Anytime he tried to help with the dishes, needing to feel useful, he was subtly but effectively maneuvered into sitting back down by the fireplace with a warm cup of tea in hand.

Another plied him with layers of clothing and homemade blankets until he thought he would suffocate. She had begun to teach him how to knit. Although his stitches were uneven, he had successfully managed to create one lopsided wool scarf. Whenever he got frustrated with himself, yarn pulled tight with tension, she gently guided him until his stitches were even once more. His next project was going to be a small blanket.

The one who first opened the door for him would sit and talk with him for hours. At first, he sat silently, overwhelmed by the attention, but she never let his lack of response dissuade her from carrying on a conversation. Bit by bit, as her words washed over him, he started to find his own voice.

One night, as she and Gao Tu sat by the fire, he asked her why it was so much harder now. He didn’t understand why now, when he no longer needed to be afraid, he woke up in a cold sweat at night and flinched whenever someone reached towards him too quickly. It was so much easier before, when he felt nothing at all. She simply looked at him sadly. 

“You didn’t feel nothing,” she said. “Your body was just waiting until it was safe to feel it.” 

He went to the doctor for a follow-up appointment, at a different clinic than before. They confirmed the baby was okay, although not growing as quickly as they would have liked. It was still hard to believe that in just under seven months he would be responsible for someone else, someone tiny who would be completely dependent on him. He had never considered himself a real omega. His shoulders were too broad, features too plain, temperament too unaccommodating and scent so faint as to be nonexistent, although since that fateful night sometimes he swore he caught a hint of sage. But the proof was there, in the ever-so-slightly-rounded swell of his waist.

When the doctor tried to refer him to a therapist to deal with the more underlying issues, he refused. It was good to know that his physical body was healing nicely, but the thought of baring himself completely to some stranger about everything that had happened was unthinkable. The doctor gave him a pamphlet anyways and continued on with the rest of the examination. They checked him out from head to toe, noting that he was vitamin deficient but clean of any diseases. They prescribed him some obstetrician-approved medication for his nausea, diagnosed him with mild scoliosis, and filled a cavity in his back molar. He was startled by the absence of the dull ache he had grown used to.

The part that surprised him the most, however, was the eye exam. Apparently, he was supposed to be able to see more than just the largest character on the chart. His new glasses arrived a few days later. As he placed the rectangular silver-rimmed frames on the bridge of his nose, the world snapped into high-definition. Every leaf on the tree stood out, gently swaying in the wind. Was this what everyone else saw all the time? He turned to look at himself in the mirror. The corner of his lips tilted up slightly. The women from the foundation who had gathered around began to tear up, and there was no chili oil to be found this time. It was the first time any of them had seen him smile.

Things were certainly starting to look better for Gao Tu.

Chapter Text

Gao Tu had been at the foundation for three weeks now.

After three weeks of nonstop coddling, he decided he was ready. He wasn’t used to all this sitting around. The women at the foundation had all assured him that there was no rush, that he could take his time to recover, but he was determined to be able to stand on his own two feet.

The first step was a place to live. The foundation had connections with a local housing group that set him up with an apartment.

“I know it’s not much to look at,” the real estate agent said nervously when they went to look at the place. Gao Tu took in the narrow space, the bare concrete walls, the light out front flickering, the spider skittering across the floor.

“I’ll take it.”

She looked as though she wanted to question his decision, but shrugged.

“Here you go.” She deposited the keys in his hand. His fingers curled around the warm metal.

It was a simple place, true, and it wasn’t exactly in the best part of town, but it was clean and warm and his. A few of the ladies from the foundation had helped him assemble a small bassinet that sat in the corner of the bedroom and squeeze a lumpy but cozy second-hand couch through the front door. It felt surreal to sit in his own home in the evenings, working on his knitting project or reading. The place was still sparsely decorated but he could already imagining the bare walls filled with fingerpaint and crayon drawings, the pitter-patter of little feet on the floor.

The second step of his newfound independence was a little trickier: a job. He expected to take whatever he could get, even if that meant working in a convenience store or a seedy bar. He didn’t know what kind of strings the foundation pulled, but one day he mentioned wanting to apply to a few places and the next day he found himself with several interviews lined up. The jobs involved some simple secretarial work. Despite never having formally finished school, he had always been good with numbers and organization.

Jobs. Real jobs. Boring jobs, with suits and office buildings and break room coffee. Nothing had ever sounded better to Gao Tu.

The first interview on his list was with a major textiles company. He had stayed up far too late researching the industries of each of the companies, mentally rehearsing questions and answers. His heart pounded in anticipation. He straightened out his secondhand suit jacket he had picked out from the donation bin at the foundation and took a deep breath before he walked in.

The interview was a disaster. The interviewer looked him up and down, silently picking out his every flaw: the threadbare cuffs of his jacket, the obvious gaps in his cobbled-together resume, and the stammering responses to her rapid-fire questions. She said she would let him know the company’s decision soon, but he could see in her eyes that she had already dismissed him. Gao Tu tried not to let it get to him.

He took three buses to get to the next interview. By the time he arrived, he had sweat through his undershirt on the crowded buses and accidentally stepped in a mysterious puddle that he was telling himself was water. At least, he figured, this interview couldn’t get much worse. He approached the towering glass skyscraper. Revolving doors opened up into an enormous marble lobby. He double-checked the address the foundation had given him, furrowing his brow. Sure enough, the name HS Group was engraved in large letters by the doors. A woman bumped into him as he stood outside, mumbling a sorry but continuing her gossip with her coworker, clearly enraptured.

“Did you hear? Apparently Mr. Shen fired another secretary,” the woman faux-whispered.

“How long did this one last? Three days?” her friend raised an eyebrow.

“Two and a half,” she shot back.

“Ugh. He’s going to be in a mood again today, I can already tell,” her friend groaned.

“When isn’t he in a mood? I swear, that face of his is handsome, if he could just keep his mouth closed maybe he wouldn’t be single and miserable and take it out on the rest of us!”

Gao Tu snapped out of the daze of this overheard conversation, realizing he had already walked halfway to the front desk.

“Hello, I am here to interview for the secretary position,” Gao Tu said with a slight bow in a clear but quiet voice. He handed over the business card the foundation had given him.

“Secretary? We’ve been expecting you,” the receptionist responded without looking up, clicking away furiously at her computer. “Head up to the 12th floor and get started right away, HR will get the rest of the paperwork for you to fill out soon.”

“I apologize, I believe you may be mistaken. I am only here for a preliminary interview.”

The woman had already moved on to someone else, his protests falling on deaf ears. Well, he hadn’t come all this way for nothing. With a shrug, he headed towards the elevators and made his way up to the 12th floor.

The 12th floor was chaos. Employees bustled around, making calls, frantically typing, and arguing over one another. He heard the word “crisis” tossed around a few times. Hesitantly, he stopped one of the employees hurrying past.

“Excuse me, I am here to interview for the secretary position…”

“Hey, Eric,” the guy called out, giving him a quick once-over. “We’ve got a fresh one.”

The other man, Eric presumably, bounded right over.

“Hello there, you’re the new secretary, right? Let me show you to your desk,” he said with a smile. He was an omega, likely a few years younger than himself, with a friendly face and a pleasantly fruity scent. He didn't wait for a response and left Gao Tu with no choice but to follow as he wove through the maze of cubicles and employees, finally arriving at a shiny wooden desk outside a large corner office.

Gao Tu couldn't let this go on any further. “I believe there has been a mistake. I have not actually interviewed with anyone yet.” He was polite but firm this time. He didn’t know how he had gotten this far, but he was fairly certain someone had messed up.

Eric turned to him, his smiling face abruptly serious. “The job is yours if you want it,” he stated plainly. “You come recommended and we need to fill this position as soon as possible.”

Gao Tu considered this for a moment. He was pretty sure this was not how these things were usually done. However, this was a well-paying, respectable job. There was no guarantee that the other interviews on his list would pan out any better than the first. Whatever issue the previous secretaries had had with their boss, he doubted it was anything he couldn’t handle.

He nodded in understanding. Immediately, he was handed a stack of boxes that the other man seemed to have materialized from thin air.

“Great! Everything you need to know is in here. You’ll be working under the boss directly, handling every aspect of his personal and professional life.” Eric continued to list his new job duties. Gao Tu pulled out a small journal from his jacket pocket and began quickly jotting down notes. Sitting in meetings, answering calls, managing the boss's schedule, taking notes, reviewing the latest research, anticipating the boss's needs, sending communications to the other executives... The list went on.

An irritated-sounding voice came from the office they stood outside and immediately the commotion on the floor paused.

“For the love of God, can someone get me a cup of tea around here? And where is my 11am meeting?” the voice demanded.

“Hey, new guy,” Eric said, slapping him on the back. “You’re up.” Gao Tu was sure that the other man hadn't intended for it to sound quite so much like he was a sacrificial offering to the big bad wolf.

* * *

Shen Wenlang scowled at the latest stack of reports on his desk. Nothing but more fires for him to put out. What did he even pay all his employees for? At this rate, he was going to go gray before he hit 30. He huffed out an angry breath but got to work. It looked like it was going to be another late night.

He reached over to take a sip of his tea. Surprisingly, it was better than the usual swill his secretaries brought him. It was a floral white tea with a slight herbal note, brewed, not steeped, of course. Something about it tickled a memory in the back of his mind.

Hmm. Acceptable. Maybe this one would last a little longer than the last.

Chapter Text

Shen Wenlang was fucked.

Who knew having a competent secretary could be more detrimental to his sanity than an incompetent one?

It had been two months since his latest secretary had started. Two months, during which, every morning without fail, his tea was waiting for him at his desk, still hot. His schedule for the day was printed out and color-coded. Meticulous notes on each project and each client he was meeting with were compiled and waiting for him as well. All it took was a small frown or comment, and his workflow was quickly adjusted. Anytime he heard about a problem at the company, he was reassured that his secretary had already taken care of it. The only requests that came across his desk were those that could truly only be handled by the CEO. He had nothing to even do around here anymore.

And the man responsible? Currently standing in the corner of his office, awaiting his command. Soft-spoken in a way some might mistake for meek, but always perfectly calm and collected.

Shen Wenlang wanted to rip those little silver-framed glasses right off his nose to see if his eyes really were as deep of a shade of brown as they seemed.

“Mr. Shen? Is something wrong with the documents?” Gao Tu asked. Shen Wenlang realized he’d been clutching the daily notes tightly in his fist as he ruminated.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” he replied brusquely.

“If you will excuse me, then,” Gao Tu said with a bow. He tried not to let his pace visibly quicken as he exited the room. He blindly shoved open the door to the bathroom and hunched over the sink, attempting to regain his composure. Damn hormones. He placed his hand on his abdomen where little Lele was just barely beginning to show, even though he was almost four months along.

The company was a good place to work. Omegas were respected, even if Gao Tu had begun applying scent blockers every morning to cover up the fact that he was one. No one beat anyone, even when they messed up. Truly, for all the rumors he’d heard, he’d thought the job would be harder. It was an adjustment at first, but his tasks were fairly straightforward. Ultimately, he found a great deal of satisfaction in his work. No, Gao Tu’s current issue had nothing to do with the company itself.

He recalled the day he first met Shen Wenlang. Although, “met”, perhaps, was not quite the right word for it.

Fate had never been on his side. Gao Tu had long since made his peace with this. If he were a more superstitious person, he would have believed he was cursed. As it was, he had learned to accept things just didn’t go his way. Of course, it was only after he had finalized the paperwork with HR on his first day and settled into his new desk that he spotted the man who was his new boss.

The man exited his office, sharp eyes glancing in Gao Tu's direction. He cut an imposing figure. That jawline, that dark hair, that chiseled chest now covered in a light green suit. That scent, weaker now, but unmistakably etched in his memory.

No. It couldn’t be.

The CEO’s eyes narrowed as they appraised him. Gao Tu held his breath, certain that he had been found out, that his new job was over before he even had a chance to prove himself. There was no mistaking it. He may have been delirious while in heat, but he wasn’t blind. This was the alpha he had serviced who had been in rut all those weeks ago. If you wanted to get technical about it, this was the father of his unborn child. Surely, he would be sent home immediately. No one wanted a whore for a secretary at a respectable company like this one.

The alpha simply glared at him and moved on.

Was it possible he didn’t recognize him? What a strange reaction. Gao Tu certainly looked rather different today than he had that night. He was fully clothed, for one. His scent, too, was very faint, nothing compared to the sickly sweet sage of his heat. Still, he’d thought he would have been slightly more memorable. He supposed for all he knew, it had been just another night with another hired omega for the powerful alpha. Whatever the reason for his boss’s lack of recognition, he’d been relieved at the time.

Unfortunately, the fact that Shen Wenlang didn't seem to recognize him did nothing to help Gao Tu’s current predicament. Now that he was past the first trimester, he no longer was vomiting his guts out every morning, but the latest side effect was not much better, in his opinion. His omega seemed to have decided that he was horny, and not just for anyone, no. For Gao Tu’s new boss and CEO.

Anything and everything set him off.

Shen Wenlang flipping through important documents, his face set with concentration—check. Shen Wenlang glaring at shareholders who were trying to cut funding to important life-saving research—check. Shen Wenlang gulping down a glass of water, a droplet escaping down his chin that he wiped off with one smooth move. Shen Wenlang looking up at him intently from his desk as they talked business, the memory of the same expression as he looked up from between Gao Tu’s thighs and—

Arrgh.

He blamed the kid. He was going to have some strong words with him once he was born. If it were up to him, the rational part of him, he’d have nothing to do with an alpha again. Maybe it was some primeval instinct to lock down the father of his child, secure a strong mate before winter struck. Whatever the cause was, the effect was undeniable. The man was just too good-looking; it wasn’t fair.

The worst part was, his personality wasn’t as terrible as it was made out to be either. Yes, he was callous, thoughtless at times, but he was all bark and no bite. They made a good team, at least in the boardroom. Shen Wenlang could be intimidating when he needed to. Gao Tu, on the other hand, appeared unassuming but worked diligently behind the scenes.

Gao Tu splashed some cold water on his face. Snap out of it. He’s your boss. This isn’t some Cinderella story. Not that you would even want it to be. If his boss ever caught a good whiff of his scent without the blockers, he feared he'd make the connection to the omega from that night. He'd probably accuse him of being a gold digger at the very least, having expressed his aversion to infatuated omegas on more than one occasion. He had no idea how he'd react to the news that he was carrying his child.

Best that he never finds out, he thought.

* * *

Shen Wenlang was not faring much better.

Gao Tu stood by the copier, talking to one of the laboratory technicians, some overeager lanky kid who had wandered up to their floor. Gao Tu’s mouth curved in a soft, half-smile at something the other man said. Shen Wenlang thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He called the lab and had the youth assigned to two more projects. Clearly, this employee had an excess of time on his hands if he was sitting around chatting up other people’s secretaries.

Gao Tu took a lunch break at Shen Wenlang’s prompting. From his office window, he could see his secretary sitting on the bench outside, feeding the last bites of his sandwich to a stray dog. His hands gently petted the dog’s fur when it got close enough. The dog wagged its tail happily, belly full and soft hands stroking him. Lucky bastard. Shen Wenlang started leaving dog food out for it in the evenings when he left so the ugly mutt wouldn’t run off somewhere and get itself into trouble. The dumb dog just stood there wagging its tail every time.

Gao Tu always wore the same plain suits to work. However, on one particular occasion, the office heating system was on the fritz. Everyone shed their outer layers and fanned themself to stay cool, complaining of the heat. At some point in the afternoon, the secretary loosened his tie and undid one button, a pale sliver of his neck showing. On the phone making an important deal, Shen Wenlang squeezed his hand so hard he accidentally crushed the handset of the landline in his office.

Shen Wenlang dialed his secretary on his cell phone. Gao Tu picked up on the first ring. “I will be needing a new office phone.”

Gao Tu placed the order. “Anything else?” he asked. Through the window separating his office from Gao Tu's desk, Shen Wenlang saw him gently brush his bangs back, brow cutely wrinkled in concentration.

Shen Wenlang, who had ostensibly been focusing and taking notes during this phone call, snapped the fountain pen he was holding in two.

“And a new pen.”

It was not just Shen Wenlang who found the beta impressive. Otherwise, he could have more easily dismissed the constant thoughts about his secretary that had pervaded his brain. All the employees at HS Group seemed to love him. They clamored for his attention, desperate to know how he had tamed their boss. Gao Tu seemed surprised by the attention but always took the time to greet them each by name when he ran into them. Shen Wenlang could hardly get a moment alone with his own secretary.

He could hardly find fault in his work either. At the shareholder’s meeting, Gao Tu calmly and authoritatively presented the facts and figures of their latest research. When a cocky older alpha tried to talk down to him, he made a concise argument that effectively tore the other man’s point to shreds. Was it crazy to call the man’s voice elegant? Melodic, even? Shen Wenlang was lost in thought when the alpha Gao Tu had so neatly verbally eviscerated approached him after the meeting.

“Looks like you found a good one. Better hold onto him.” The older alpha's tone was condescending.

“I intend to,” he replied coldly.

“Ahh, I remember the good old days when I had a cute young thing for a secretary.” Shen Wenlang tightened his lips and said nothing, hoping the other man would get the memo and stop talking. 

The alpha evidently had more balls than common sense. “A bit on the plain side, but not bad. How about it then? Is that hole as tight as I'm imagining?” he crowed.

Shen Wenlang punched him in the face.

Gao Tu rushed to his side when he heard about the incident. “Mr. Shen, what happened?” He lifted the other man’s hand gingerly, inspecting the bruising that had started to form.

“Difference of opinion.” Shen Wenlang smirked, feeling smug. The other alpha had left in a hurry, clutching his bloodied nose. He didn't think he'd be coming back anytime soon.

“Next time, use your words, not your fists,” he chided, pressing an ice pack to his boss’s knuckles to reduce the swelling. He didn't know what exactly had gone down, but he'd heard from the omegas in the office that that shareholder was one to avoid, and his own instincts had told him the same thing. He didn’t feel too bad that the man had gotten what was coming for him, but he felt as though he ought to discourage violence in the workplace.

Shen Wenlang hummed noncommittally. He made no guarantees, but as long as Gao Tu was continuing to fuss over him he would agree with whatever he said.

Gao Tu shook his head. He was quickly learning that for all his bravado, his boss could be utterly ridiculous. He wished he didn’t find it endearing.

“Come on,” he said with a sigh. He wasn’t sure if he was talking to himself or Shen Wenlang. “Let’s get back to work.”

Chapter Text

Shen Wenlang knew his day was going to be off to a bad start when Hua Yong strolled into his office first thing in the morning like he owned the place. Never mind the fact that he sort of did.

“I see you have a new secretary,” Hua Yong purred, a finger trailing over Shen Wenlang’s desk. He was in his charade of an omega outfit again, all white and flowy sleeves with calculatedly bared collarbones.

Shen Wenlang clenched his jaw. “So what?”

Hua Yong turned to study his reflection in the window, pinching his cheeks and tucking a pen behind his ear. He adopted a look of wide-eyed innocence and folded his hands behind his back, the very picture of subservience. “I think I would make a pretty cute secretary myself.”

Shen Wenlang snorted. “As if.”

“Isn’t that what the big bad alphas go for these days?” he drawled, glancing over his shoulder coyly at Shen Wenlang.

“What’s it to you, you crazy bastard?” Shen Wenlang snapped, not ready for more of his longstanding acquaintance’s bullshit.

“Possessive, are we?” Hua Yong raised a single manicured brow.

“He’s my employee, that’s all. Keep your little grubby paws off him, you have your own alpha to worry about,” Wenlang replied gruffly.

Hua Yong studied him carefully. Shen Wenlang prayed the warmth he felt on his face was due to the poor air conditioning system in the building. Hua Yong sighed and abandoned his act, his face snapping back in an instant to its usual apathetic expression. Just when he thought the enigma was going to drop the topic, he struck.

“Do you find him attractive?”

Shen Wenlang spluttered wordlessly.

“I’ll take that as a yes. He’s a bit shy for my taste, but I can understand the appeal. He sure looks tasty in those little glasses. And you know I love a man in a suit.” Hua Yong worried he was laying it on a bit thick, but sure enough, it seemed to be doing the trick.

“Y-you-you can’t have him!” Shen Wenlang burst out.

“Why not?” Hua Yong shot back.

“Because he’s mine!”

Finally, Hua Yong thought.

“My employee, that is.” Shen Wenlang cleared his throat and straightened his tie, suddenly finding the wall art in his office very interesting.

Hua Yong rolled his eyes.

“Ah, yes. Your employee. What are you going to do about it then?” Hua Yong left Shen Wenlang to stew over that one and went to make his exit. He stopped just before the door, turning back to tease his old friend once more.

“Aren’t you going to ask about what we discussed before? Your mysterious omega?”

“Oh. That.” Shen Wenlang sounded remarkably disinterested for someone who had been desperate for answers a few short months ago. “What about it?”

“Nothing, really. I trust you can figure it out on your own. Eventually.” He turned toward the door. “Besides, it’s too juicy, and I don’t want to ruin all the fun,” he said under his breath. With that, he took his leave, flourish of faux-sweet orchid trailing behind him. He brushed against Gao Tu’s desk on his way out. Gao Tu, too absorbed in his notes to notice, swatted idly at the cloying scent in the air.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Shen Wenlang muttered to himself. He brushed aside Hua Yong’s taunts. There were more pressing matters at hand. Against his will, he found himself considering the enigma’s earlier words. What am I going to do about it indeed.

* * *

“8pm tonight. Hongxian restaurant.” Shen Wenlang kept walking, having only briefly paused at Gao Tu’s desk to inform him of his plans.

Gao Tu blinked up at him. “Does Mr. Shen need me to place a reservation?”

“No need, it’s already taken care of. Just be there. And wear something nice.”

Gao Tu was confused. He checked his calendar, and sure enough, there was no business dinner scheduled for this evening. He shrugged. He wasn’t sure why Mr. Shen was suddenly requesting his presence at this last-minute meeting, but it was nothing he hadn’t handled before. It must be an important client if he was needed to take notes.

He went home to his small apartment and changed, opting for the nicest of the three secondhand suits the foundation had supplied him with for work, not that there was much difference between them. He reapplied a fresh scent blocker, tucking it under his collar. He frowned at the sight of himself in the mirror. He was sure to look shabby at the type of place his boss liked to frequent. Fortunately, his suit still fit over his belly without a noticeable strain, but he would likely need to purchase a new one soon. Oh well. It wasn’t like he was there to impress anyone.

He arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes early. He instantly felt out of place. It was a very nice establishment, the type with at least three different types of forks on every table. Dark fabric hanging from the walls, and warm lighting glowed from ornate chandeliers. Large glass windows overlooked the city at night, lights twinkling as far as the eye could see. When he gave the hostess his name, he was quickly ushered to a back table. He was surprised to see that Shen Wenlang had already arrived. By the looks of it, he had also already downed half a bottle of wine.

“Mr. Shen,” Gao Tu nodded respectfully. “Has the client arrived yet?”

Shen Wenlang frowned into his wine glass. “No. No client.”

“Did they cancel, or are they running late?”

Shen Wenlang hesitated. “Not coming,” he settled on.

“I see. I’ll take my leave then.” Gao Tu mentally readjusted his plans for the night. He would call the client tomorrow and try to reschedule. He bowed and turned to leave.

“Stay?” It came out desperate, needy. Shen Wenlang cleared his throat. “I mean, I already ordered. I don’t want the food to go to waste.”

Gao Tu inclined his head again and sat back down. The two sat in silence. Gao Tu tried not to notice how broad his boss’s shoulders looked in the dark, asymmetrical suit he wore.

“So…” Shen Wenlang began. What did people usually even talk about on these things? “Favorite color?”

Gao Tu stared at him. After a beat, he realized his boss was not joking. “Purple, I guess,” he replied.

“Hmm.”

The two sat in silence again. Gao Tu shifted in his seat. His boss seemed nervous. He must have been pretty upset that this meeting fell through.

Shen Wenlang poured himself another glass of wine. He glanced around the room, looking at anything but the man in front of him. He mentally fished around for topics. “Thoughts on the Jianghu Pharmaceuticals deal?” he finally landed on.

Gao Tu’s eyes lit up. “It’s an interesting option, for certain. Although I’m not sure the profits will be as significant as the projections they’ve sent over.”

Before long, the two were avidly discussing HS Group’s latest potential acquisition. It was nice to be able to discuss these things with someone who instantly understood him. The food arrived and the conversation kept flowing. Gao Tu subtly nudged his own wine glass in Shen Wenlang’s direction.

“There’s simply no precedent for a move like this. But that’s what makes it so invaluable,” Gao Tu said passionately.

“Exactly! You get it!” Shen Wenlang thumped the table in his enthusiasm.

Gao Tu flinched. Shen Wenlang didn’t say anything about it, but he lowered his arm back down to his side. He avoided making any sudden or loud movements the rest of the evening.

They picked their conversation back up right where they had left off. Shen Wenlang found himself discussing topics he rarely brought up, his vision for the future of the company, his motivations, the early days of HS Group. He even got Gao Tu to talk about himself a little, although he was sparse on the details. He placed more meat on Gao Tu’s plate, noting with satisfaction when the other man ate it and hummed to himself contentedly.

Soon, they moved on to petty drama about their coworkers. “I heard Li Mei has been sleeping with one of the new guys over in accounting. Apparently it’s not the first time she’s gotten cozy with someone in that department, either,” Shen Wenlang gossiped with the proficiency of a middle-aged housewife in a small town.

“Really? I don’t buy it. She seems so straight-laced.”

“It’s true! Her office-mate was talking about it in the break room!” Gao Tu shook his head in disbelief, smiling.

“Anything for dessert?” the waiter asked, pointedly. Gao Tu checked his watch, shocked at how late it had gotten. He looked around, realizing that they were the some of the last patrons still there.

“No, thank you. And we’ll take the check,” Gao Tu replied apologetically. The waiter bowed, clearly relieved to not have to kick them out of this high-end establishment.

“No dessert?” Shen Wenlang sulked. He was clearly drunk at this point, cheeks flushed bright red as he looked over at Gao Tu. Gao Tu’s heart gave a flutter. Was this a common side effect of pregnancy? Heart palpitations?

“No, Mr. Shen. C’mon, let’s get you home.”

Shen Wenlang tripped getting up out of his chair. Gao Tu caught him. He wrapped the other man’s arm around his shoulder to support his weight. Shen Wenlang leaned into him, his side brushing against Gao Tu’s slightly protruding belly as he did so. Gao Tu froze. Shen Wenlang merely hummed to himself. Good. Fed him enough tonight. Still too thin though… he frowned.

Gao Tu managed to get them both into a taxi and gave the driver Shen Wenlang’s address. He dozed off on Gao Tu’s shoulder the whole ride there. A bit of drool dripped down Gao Tu's jacket. He shook him awake when they arrived.

Gao Tu helped him out of the cab. As soon as he let go, turning to close the door, Shen Wenlang stumbled to the ground. He seemed content to stay there, studying the stone walkway like it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.

“Come on, up you go. We’ve got to get you to bed,” Gao Tu bent down and hoisted Shen Wenlang’s arm over his shoulder once more.

“Mmmm… no,” Shen Wenlang replied after a pause, as though he had given the matter great thought.

“What, are you an infant?” Gao Tu teased, playing along.

“No. Just your baby,” Shen Wenlang pouted. It was corny as hell, and it should have been a bad look on a grown man. Gao Tu’s heart gave another little flutter. He really ought to ask his doctor about that.

Gao Tu studiously tried to ignore the last time he had been in such close quarters with this man. The sturdy warmth of him pressed against his side, his breath on his ear sending a shiver down his spine. He felt his underwear dampen with slick. Damned high compatibility.

Ignoring his boss’s mumbled protests, Gao Tu dragged him to the front door of his house. As Gao Tu fumbled to fit the key in the lock, Shen Wenlang leaned over and sniffed his neck.

“Smells good.”

Gao Tu stiffened. Had the scent patch he applied earlier already worn off? Fortunately, it seemed Shen Wenlang was easily distracted. Gao Tu got the door open and they both stumbled into the dark apartment. Shen Wenlang immediately crashed into a table. Gao Tu flicked the lights on with a sigh.

“Gao Tu!” His boss looked over at him, frankly delighted. “You’re here!”

“Yes, Mr. Shen,” he replied, trying not to laugh. His boss was truly a different creature with a bit of wine in him.

“How did you get here?” he asked in amazement.

“We had a business meeting, remember? The client never showed, and then I took you home.”

Shen Wenlang had already lost interest in the business-whatever that the pretty man was talking about. His clothes suddenly felt much too tight. He began stripping off his tie and jacket, tossing them to the ground. Gao Tu averted his eyes. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen his share of naked alphas over the years, but he didn’t think his boss even realized what he was doing. Thankfully, the other man stopped at his undershirt and boxers.

Gao Tu went to leave, thinking his boss could take it from here.

He felt a light brush on his hand. “Stay?” Shen Wenlang asked petulantly for the second time that night.

Against his better judgment, Gao Tu found himself nodding. He followed the other man into the bedroom and perched himself on the edge of the bed. The alpha flopped down with a yawn and kicked his absurdly expensive black silk sheets out of the way. He rolled around, trying to get comfortable. Before long, his face relaxed in sleep, brow free of its perpetual scowl.

Gao Tu ghosted his fingers over Shen Wenlang's forehead. He looks so soft like this, he thought. He eyed the empty half of the enormous king-sized bed. He hesitated for a moment.

Then, he gently rolled his boss to his side, propping a pillow up beneath him. He placed a wastebasket, a bottle of water, and some painkillers by his bedside. He had a feeling Shen Wenlang was going to need all of the above in the morning. He took one last glance at the man’s sleeping form, so vulnerable in this state, curled up and clutching his pillow tightly to his chest.

He shut the door quietly on his way out.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Shen Wenlang massaged his temples and squinted at the report in front of him. The numbers swam before his eyes. He thudded his head against the desk and groaned. Gao Tu had been already been here when finally he dragged himself into the office, looking as perfectly unruffled as ever. He could have sworn he recalled Gao Tu in his house last night, sitting on his bed, looking at him gently, stroking his forehead, but that part of the night must have been a dream.

Sheng Shaoyou barged into his office, guns blazing. “Where is he? Where do you have Hua Yong?”

Shen Wenlang rolled his eyes. Did we really have to do this little song and dance right now? Hua Yong had informed him of his scheme to force the S-class alpha into action a few days ago, and Shen Wenlang had laughed in his face. Evidently, the crazy enigma had decided to go through with it anyways, leaving him no choice but to play the villain. 

“What do you want, Sheng Shaoyou?” he sighed.

“I know you have him,” Sheng Shaoyou snapped back, looking around as if he expected Shen Wenlang to have Hua Yong tied up in the corner of his office in the middle of the workday.

“I never said I didn’t,” Shen Wenlang replied. “What does it matter to you? It’s not like you can sleep with him, not without permanently marking him.”

“What about you? Isn’t that true for you as well?” Seeing Shen Wenlang’s unmoving face, Sheng Shaoyou tried a different approach. “You’ll never win his heart this way.”

At the door, Gao Tu entered to deliver the latest report to his boss.

Shen Wenlang scoffed. “Why should I want his heart? It matters nothing to me, so long as I can enjoy his body.”

At this statement, Gao Tu physically recoiled. He couldn’t equate the man sitting behind his desk so coldly with the man at dinner the night before, the boss he had grown to respect over the last few months. But perhaps this was the true side of the Shen Wenlang. Of all alphas, when it came to omegas. The alpha didn’t notice his reaction, too absorbed in his role in this charade. Gao Tu was not the only one who reacted to his words. A burst of bitter orange blossom exploded in the air. Shen Wenlang pretended to be unbothered by the overwhelming aroma, casually crossing his legs.

“Besides, it’s of little concern to me. He cries so prettily regardless. Most omegas I find unpleasant, but that orchid scent only sweetens under pressure.”

The powerful scent of orange blossoms intensified, but Sheng Shaoyou held back, not yet rising to the bait. Shen Wenlang would have to push harder.

“Whose name do you think he cried out all night? He was rather noisy, really, but every time it was the same thing: Sheng. Shao. You.”

With a roar, Sheng Shaoyou pulled his fist back.

Gao Tu took a stumbling step back as the two S-Class alphas unleashed their pheromones in full force. He tried to cover his nose and mouth, but his breathing was coming rapidly now, causing him to involuntarily inhale another lungful. The acrid pheromones burned his lungs with every breath. He broke into a cold sweat, and the report slipped from his hands.

Please no, not again. I’ll be better. Please, no, no. He didn’t realize he was saying the words out loud. He dropped to the ground, hands on his head, making himself as small as possible.

Shen Wenlang crouched in front of his field of view, eyes dark with concern.

“Gao Tu? Gao Tu, are you alright?” Shen Wenlang reached out to try to calm him down.

At the touch of the alpha’s hand on his shoulder, his mind went blank, drifting away to that other place. It had been a while since he’d entered the numb, but it greeted him like an old friend. It pleasantly dulled his senses, but somehow, it wasn’t as comforting as he’d remembered. He hovered outside of himself, unseeing, uncaring. His body moved on its own, turning over to present itself to the alpha in hopes the alpha wouldn’t continue to hurt him.

“Gao Tu? Gao Tu?” The alpha’s voice echoed faintly. A part of him heard the man in front of him, arguing with the other alpha, but he paid it no mind. The scent of irises and orange blossoms clashed again. Then everything went black.

* * *

Gao Tu woke up in the nicest hospital room he’d ever seen. Fresh purple flowers were arranged in a vase by his bed. To his surprise, his boss sat hunched in the corner on the far side of the room. Gao Tu shifted around on the bed, trying to get comfortable, and Shen Wenlang’s head shot up.

“You’re awake! Ah, sorry, let me get a doctor.” Shen Wenlang quickly exited, leaving Gao Tu blinking at the empty room.

The doctor came in a moment later. He was a much older man, a low-level alpha by the smell of it, and he looked down at Gao Tu from the eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose.

“Was that the alpha father? You really ought to take better care of yourself. You’re putting his child in danger.”

“W-what?” Gao Tu asked, in confusion.

“Continuing to work? Using scent blockers? Not to mention, causing your alpha such concern with your psychological imbalance. Or maybe that was just dramatics.”

“It wasn’t—I’m not sure what exactly happened.” Dramatics? A faint beeping accelerated as his heart rate increased on the monitor.

The doctor ignored him. “It looks like your pheromone levels are quite low,” he said, frowning at Gao Tu’s chart.

“I have a pheromone disorder,” Gao Tu said quietly.

“Hmmph. All the more reason not to keep denying your alpha intimacy. You need regular pheromones from a compatible alpha, ideally the father. It’s no wonder you passed out.”

Clearly, this doctor had some deeply traditional (misogynistic) beliefs about omegas, but there seemed to be truth to his diagnosis. Fortunately, physically, he and the baby were both fine, although the doctor once again emphasized the need for an alpha to stabilize his condition and promote the fetus’s development.

Gao Tu was discharged within the hour. The doctor’s words rattled around his head.

Shen Wenlang bolted up from his seat in the waiting room when he spotted Gao Tu.

“What did the doctor say?” he asked, eyes wide with concern.

“I’m fine.” Gao Tu brushed him off.

“Clearly you’re not fine. You just passed out in the middle of the office.”

“At least let me take you home. I insist.” Shen Wenlang reached out as if to grab his arm, but stopped himself just short. Gao Tu was too drained to fight him. He nodded, knowing any protests would fall on deaf ears. Shen Wenlang was possibly the most stubborn man he had ever met.

They rode in silence in Shen Wenlang’s overly fancy car. It looked woefully out of place in Gao Tu's neighborhood. Shen Wenlang frowned as they pulled up to the building, side-eying the grimy, uneven streets and the people loitering outside.

“I didn’t mean any of what I said back there. At the office.” Shen Wenlang tried to explain himself. Gao Tu said nothing. When he thought about it rationally, he knew it had all been a lie. He would have noticed if Shen Wenlang had Hua Yong locked up somewhere, and he certainly hadn’t been fucking him all night last night as he’d claimed. However, that hadn’t stopped his omega from reacting in an utterly humiliating way.

Gao Tu turned toward Shen Wenlang, not looking him fully in the eyes. He didn’t know where to start. “Mr. Shen…I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Shen Wenlang waved his hand. “It was nothing really.” It was the smallest drop of atonement for what he had inadvertently done.

Now for the hard part. “I don’t know if you recall, but when I was hired I spoke to someone about taking a planned leave of absence in a few months.”

Shen Wenlang frowned. “Sick leave? How bad is it? You said the doctor told you it was nothing serious.” Was it terminal? His mind spun wildly with possibilities. Whatever his secretary's condition was, surely he could find someone who was willing to treat it for the right price.

“No, no, I’m fine, really. I only passed out due to…stress.” Gao Tu took a deep breath. He needed to just spit it out. “The request was for paternity leave.”

“Hah! Did you knock up some beta then?” Shen Wenlang felt relieved, but he heard bitterness creep into his voice. Gao Tu was taken? Since when?

“Omega, actually.”

Omega? Of course some bitch omega had ensnared his best secretary. They’d probably seen his big brown eyes and floppy hair and couldn’t wait to get their claws into him. No wonder this place was so shabby despite his salary, the omega was probably milking him for all he was worth. And they had him so stressed he was passing out in the middle of the workday.

Why should he care? It’s not like he was in love with him or anything.

Shit.

Shen Wenlang fell quiet as he walked Gao Tu up to his apartment, lost in thought. “Does your omega live here with you?” he couldn’t help from blurting out.

Gao Tu looked at his feet. “No, Mr. Shen, I live alone.”

“Good-for-nothing…”

Gao Tu couldn’t take it anymore. Apparently he was going to have to spell it out for his boss. It was getting to the point where he wouldn’t be able to hide the pregnancy much longer anyways.

“Mr. Shen—I’m the one having the baby,” He placed a hand over his belly protectively, instinctively.

Shen Wenlang stood stock still, dumbfounded. Surely he had misheard. But, sure enough, there was a slight but unmistakable curve to his secretary’s stomach where the material of the suit pulled tighter around it.

“Just…go. Please.” Gao Tu interpreted his silence for anger. Shen Wenlang still stood there, unmoving as Gao Tu firmly shut the door.

Shen Wenlang walked back to his car in a daze. Gao Tu? Pregnant? But how? A flashback of sexual education classes played in his mind, the differences between alphas, betas, and omegas. The birds and the bees. He scowled. Well, he knew how. But he didn’t have to like it. Come to think of it, he supposed his secretary had never said he was a beta, he’d just assumed. He mentally kicked himself.

Gao Tu pressed his forehead to the cool wood of his door. At least it was out in the open now. It wasn’t legal to discriminate on the basis of secondary gender, but that didn’t mean things would be exactly comfortable at work with Shen Wenlang. He just hoped his boss wouldn’t put together the pieces and realize whose baby he was carrying. He didn’t want him to think he was some useless omega just trying to baby trap him. Part of him wanted to hope that he’d understand, but if Shen Wenlang had said such callous things about a decent omega like Hua Yong, he shuddered to think what he would say about him if the truth of his past came to light.

He slid down the door until he hit the ground. He hated being an omega. It wasn’t as though he’d asked for any of this. The soft scent of sage suddenly chose to appear, enveloping him as though trying to comfort him. He covered his nose with his sleeve and waited for it to fade away once more.

Chapter Text

If Shen Wenlang thought he was going insane at the office before, it was nothing compared to now. Knowing that beneath his secretary’s perfectly ironed suit was a tiny waist gently swelling with the curve of some other alpha’s offspring.

Mine.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the possessiveness running through his blood.

Gao Tu was not his. Well, he was his secretary, but that was all. He could be yours, the voice in his head whispered.

Clearly the alpha who had knocked him up was a useless piece of shit. Where was he when Gao Tu had passed out? Who was with his lover day in and day out, making sure he rested and took care of himself? I’ll tell you who. Shen Wenlang.

While Gao Tu was typing away at his desk, he shoved a croissant and a cup of tea under his nose.

Gao Tu looked up in surprise. Fuck. He looks like a baby deer caught in the headlights. “Thank you, Mr. Shen.”

“No need. Clearly you haven’t been taking care of yourself at all. I can’t have my best secretary passing out on me willy-nilly, so I guess I have to do everything around here.”

Gao Tu nodded solemnly and accepted the warm mug. He’d never known anyone else with the unique skill to make an act of kindness and a compliment sound backhanded.

Gao Tu had mostly recovered from the events of the other day. He feared having another episode, but he returned to work, choosing to pretend as though nothing had happened. Thankfully, it seemed as though for the most part, his boss was happy to do the same, besides his newfound tendency to hover like a mother hen.

“You don’t need to treat me any differently now that you know I’m pregnant. I’m not an invalid. I’m not incapable because of my designation either,” Gao Tu said.

“It’s not that. The other day…” Shen Wenlang trailed off. He didn’t know how to say he’d been more scared than he’d ever been in his life to see the blank look in his eyes, the way he’d dropped to the ground like a dead weight. “I don’t want your work to suffer, that’s all,” he blustered.

“Okay, Mr. Shen,” he replied. It was good to see some things never changed around here. He smiled into his mug.

Shen Wenlang blushed and his his face behind a report.

* * *

“Why don’t you smell like anything anyways?” Shen Wenlang asked the next morning. It seemed he had not moved on from Gao Tu’s admission of his secondary gender after all. It was an incredibly rude question to ask an employee, but Gao Tu was accustomed to Shen Wenlang’s bluntness.

“I’ve always had a very faint scent. Some sort of pheromone condition.” Technically, this was true. He was omitting the fact that recently his pheromones had been on the fritz and he’d still been wearing scent blockers religiously against the doctor's advice.

“The father? Shouldn’t you smell like your mate at least?” Shen Wenlang tried not to make it obvious how curious he was about Gao Tu’s relationship status and failed.

“We’re… not together,” Gao Tu replied after a moment.

“Hmmph.”

The next day at work he had a new question.

“You need pheromones, right?”

Gao Tu startled. He had been in the middle of working on the presentation for their meeting tomorrow. It took him a minute to register what Shen Wenlang had said.

“Alpha pheromones? I know it’s important for the pregnancy.” This was a lie. Shen Wenlang had not known that alpha pheromones were essential for pregnant omegas at all until he extensively researched the topic last night. His search history probably thought he was the pregnant one at this point.

“It’s recommended,” Gao Tu replied hesitantly. He wasn’t sure where this was going.

Shen Wenlang scoffed. “I don’t exactly see any other alphas lining up around here.”

“And?”

“Here.” Shen Wenlang shoved a crumpled up t-shirt at him. Gao Tu involuntarily inhaled, senses flooded by a rich, floral iris. He straightened out his expression, trying to appear unbothered.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked, sure that he had misunderstood.

“Whatever, I guess.” His inner alpha preened when Gao Tu accepted the offering, tucking it into his bag without another word about it.

“Whatever” turned out to entail Gao Tu rutting against a pillow that night with the t-shirt pressed to his face. Turned out, his omega didn’t care about maintaining a professional distance. He panted, already shockingly close to the edge from a few solid whiffs. The friction against his cock felt nice, but it wasn’t enough.

He hesitated, warring with himself, before he reached down and brushed a finger against his hole. He moaned at the sensation, shocked at the amount of wetness there and the lightning that shot through his nerve endings. He hadn’t been touched there since he left the agency. He hadn’t touched himself there—for the sake of pure pleasure—ever, maybe. He dipped his finger inside and curled it until he found the perfect spot. He moaned in relief, his body finally satisfied to be filled. The friction on his cock and the pressure rubbing against inner walls proved to be overwhelming. He came in a matter of seconds, slick gushing out between his thighs. He panted through the aftershocks of his release, unsurprised but somewhat satisfied to see some of his slick had gotten on the t-shirt.

Shen Wenlang brought a duffel bag full of fresh sweaty gym clothes to work the next day and deposited it on Gao Tu's desk. If the next batch of clothes quickly met the same fate, well, that was between Gao Tu and his bedroom walls.

* * *

Shen Wenlang decided to try a new tactic a few days later.

“Move in with me,” he demanded.

“No,” Gao Tu replied calmly. He had no idea how his boss had gotten this idea into his head, but he knew he had to put his foot down before it got out of hand.

“What? Your place is a dump.” Gee, thanks.

“I appreciate the offer Mr. Shen, but my answer is no.”

“Why not?”

Gao Tu thought of a million different reasons. His apartment was the first place he had ever lived that had truly felt like his. Shen Wenlang, who had once mentioned he’d been gifted his first condo at age 12, would never be able to understand how that felt. He wasn’t about to give up his hard-won independence to become some kept thing for an alpha to play house.

Shen Wenlang considered him for a moment, sensing that the other man was not going to budge.

“Then I’ll move in with you,” he announced.

“No.” How ridiculous could this man be? His boss, used to wearing designer brands and swimming in his own heated pool was not going to slum it with him in his tiny apartment.

“Why not?”

“Because!” Gao Tu’s normally calm and even tone neared a shout.

“Fine,” Shen Wenlang grumbled.

Gao Tu assumed that was the end of it. He should have known better.

At 6am the next morning, he heard a rap on his front door. Assuming it was a neighbor, or maybe the police, he opened the door. There stood Shen Wenlang, in a three-piece bespoke suit, arms laden with plastic bags. The neighbors gave him suspicious looks.

Shen Wenlang was greeted by the sight of Gao Tu’s hair slightly mussed, his glasses askew, and a pair of ratty sweatpants and an old shirt that he thought he recognized clinging to the other man's midsection. Beautiful.

“Mr. Shen? What are you doing here?” His voice was thick from sleep.

Shen Wenlang wordlessly held up the bags of groceries.

Gao Tu grabbed his arm and pulled him in the door. He told himself he was just trying to prevent his boss from being mugged.

Once inside, Shen Wenlang poked his head around, curious to see how the other man lived. Gao Tu refused to let him in his bedroom, citing some nonsense about impropriety, even though they had long crossed the line between mere boss and employee. They had crossed that line, right? It wasn’t just in his head?

Meanwhile Gao Tu thought of the setup in his bedroom that he had been sleeping in every night and cringed. The other night, he had found himself arranging and rearranging his bed, lining the base with homemade blankets that carried the comforting faint scents of the omegas from the foundation and fluffing up pillows to line the outside. But something still hadn’t been right. He’d grown increasingly frustrated with himself, digging through the laundry until he found the shirts perfumed in iris and intermingled them amongst the rest. Better. Still not perfect, but acceptable.

He adamantly avoided calling it a nest. He also adamantly ignored the condemning sage smell that sporadically appeared and hung in the air of that room, particularly after a fresh bag of Shen Wenlang’s clothes showed up.

Shen Wenlang laid all the groceries he’d brought in the small kitchen. He frowned at sparseness of Gao Tu’s fridge. He had reluctantly accepted Gao Tu's refusal and slept at his own place without further complaint, but it wasn’t as though he had gotten much rest, so he had decided to get up and fix breakfast for Gao Tu. Usually his chef handled things like this, but he hadn’t remembered to ask him in advance. Oh well. It couldn’t be that difficult.

He struggled to even turn the burner on of the old stove. Gao Tu had to show him the trick to it. The eggs ended up crispy around the edges, the yolks broken. Shen Wenlang insisted he preferred them that way. The rice too, had a bit of a crunch to it, although somehow it was also mushy. Shen Wenlang finished off the dish with an entire bulb of green onion on top.

They sat at the kitchen counter, Shen Wenlang insisting that Gao Tu take the one kitchen chair and leaning against the counter himself. Gao Tu’s stomach wasn't able to handle much food early in the morning, but he made an effort to take a few bites.

They rode in to work together in the back of Shen Wenlang’s black sedan, the most unassuming car he owned. Still, Gao Tu tried to hop out two blocks away from the office and walk the rest of the way there.

“What will people think if they see us arriving together?” he asked when Shen Wenlang protested. He knew just how fast gossip spread at the company, having heard plenty of rumors about other employees himself.

“Fine.” Shen Wenlang opened his door.

“What are you doing?” Gao Tu hissed out.

“Making sure we don’t arrive together,” Shen Wenlang replied, matter-of-factly. He tried not to think about how cute Gao Tu looked scolding him. He gave his driver instructions to see Gao Tu safely the rest of the way to the office and hopped out of the car.

The front desk receptionist gaped at the sight of the company’s CEO strolling through the front door, mud splattered on his boots and hair ruffled by the wind. Shen Wenlang smiled, a terrifying sight for some to behold.

“Nice day we’re having, isn’t it?” he said, still grinning. An unsuspecting new employee tentatively nodded. The rest of the employees held their breath, curious to see their boss’s reaction, but he simply nodded back and headed for the stairwell.

He took the stairs up to his office. All twelve flights. He had some energy he needed to work out.

From then on, every day it was pretty much the same thing. In the evenings, he waited until Gao Tu had finished the last of his tasks and drove them both back, walking him up to his door every time. Gao Tu's neighbors gradually became accustomed to the crazy man in his suits, hardly sparing him a second glance. Gradually, Shen Wenlang’s breakfasts improved, and Gao Tu eased up on his insistence that they arrive at the office separately. It was easy to fall into this new routine, spending nearly every moment of the day together. It felt like a natural extension of their synergy at work.

A small voice in the back of Shen Wenlang's head asked him what he was doing. Was he suddenly ready to settle down with the first omega he found appealing? One that came with a ready-made family? He told the voice to quiet down. He didn't know what the future held, but if it was anything like these past few weeks, he would be content with whatever Gao Tu was willing to give him.

Despite Gao Tu’s fears about his boss’s reaction to confessing he was an omega, things seemed to be going more smoothly than ever.

Of course, that was when Gao Tu blacked out again.

Chapter Text

When Gao Tu came to, he was staring up at the face of the kindly doctor who had first seen him on that fateful visit to the clinic all those months ago.

“Hello there, it looks like someone’s back with us. How are you feeling?” Her voice was as gentle as he’d remembered.

“What happened?” he croaked out.

“You passed out. There was a little spotting, but nothing to worry about. Fortunately, this young man rushed you to the hospital. Your blood pressure is still a little high, so we’re going to continue to monitor your condition.” 

“This can’t be normal,” Shen Wenlang said. He paced by the hospital bed, wringing his hands. “This is the second time you’ve passed out in as many months. This time there wasn’t even any warning. I just found you slumped over in the bathroom.”

“I’m fine,” Gao Tu insisted. His voice came out shaky, not exactly strengthening his argument.

“You’re clearly not,” he snapped back, distraught.

Shen Wenlang moved to kneel by the bed and grabbed his hand. “Gao Tu, let me be there for you. Move in with me, for real this time. I’ll take care of you,” he pleaded.

The doctor, halfway out the door to give them some privacy, froze.

“Sorry, what was that?” she asked.

“Move in with me,” he repeated, gazing into Gao Tu’s eyes.

“No, not that, sorry. It’s just—the name I have down for you from your visit to the clinic is Zhao. Zhao Wei.” Her voice sounded casual but her smile seemed forced.

Gao Tu struggled to sit up. “No, that was just what I went by in the agency. I put that on the forms when they brought me here the first time, but you can update it. It's Gao Tu.”

“And what was the date of birth of the patient again?” the doctor asked, her voice strained.

Gao Tu told her, his brow wrinkling in confusion. By this point she was pale as a sheet. It was as though she had seen a ghost.

“Excuse me for one moment,” she muttered, practically running out of the room. Shen Wenlang looked over at Gao Tu for an explanation, but he shrugged, equally at a loss.

She returned only a few minutes later, her expression difficult to read. Her eyes roved over him, drinking in the sight of him, as if seeing him for the first time. She took a deep breath.

“I go by a different name these days. I changed it when I graduated from medical school because I decided I didn’t want anything to do with my father anymore. But my given name is Gao. Gao Qing.”

Gao Tu made a choked noise. She reached out towards him but stopped herself.

“He told me you had died. I don’t remember much from that time, I was in and out of the hospital so often back then, but part of me never believed him. I never stopped looking for you.” Her voice broke on the last sentence.

This time, Gao Tu was the one to reach out, and she didn’t hesitate. She clutched his hands in hers, tears streaming down her face.

“I decided to volunteer with the omega foundation in your memory. I wanted to help those who were in bad situations before it was too late. I just… I’m sorry,” she sobbed.

“You were gone for so long, God, how did you even survive it?" Her eyes widened in horror. He could tell she was thinking about his first visit, the omega who had shown up underweight and bruised beneath his clothes, unexpectedly pregnant, dragged there by someone he obviously wasn't safe with. It wasn't too difficult to make the connection between the pieces of his medical record and his sudden disappearance all those years ago.

"I should have done something to stop him, I should’ve been stronger, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Her words became increasingly unintelligible as she cried harder.

Gao Tu vowed to himself right then and there that he would never tell her the full extent of what had happened to him over the past ten years. Let her believe whatever she needed to. Some things were better left unsaid.

“Shhh,” he soothed, shifting to hold her in his arms, cradled against his chest, tears slipping down his own face. “You did good, so good, I’m so proud of you.” He rocked them both back and forth.

“When I let myself think about you, I hoped you had a good life, but part of me feared that you had died all those years ago. You were so sick back then, and I knew we couldn’t afford the surgeries you needed. But here you are—a doctor." He smiled, incredulous. He never would have believed it of the little girl who lied about eating the last of the sweets, chocolate still smeared across her mouth.

Gao Tu stroked his hand over his sister’s hair. "You’ve done so well for yourself.” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t look for you harder,” she sobbed out.

“But you did," Gao Tu said softly, tilting her chin up to look at him. "You clearly looked for me in every omega that came across your door. The truth of it is, you saved me. You gave me hope when I had long since given up, and you gave me a way out. I should have known that if there was anyone strong enough to do that, it was you, little sister.”

She let out another cry. The two of them held each other, no need for more words. There would be plenty of time for that later. Gao Tu held his sister tighter than was probably comfortable, not wanting to let go, part of him afraid it was all just a dream his passed-out brain had concocted. But the person in his arms was real, solid. Her face was screwed up and red from crying so much, and her snot dripped onto his shirt. Never had his dreams included those details.

Shen Wenlang stood off to the side. He had stepped back to give the two of them a moment. He was trying to piece together the information he had overheard. This doctor was his long-lost sister? What were the odds of that? And how had that even happened?

It seemed his proposal to live together had gotten completely one-upped, but he couldn’t find it within himself to be mad. Not when Gao Tu was smiling, tears in his eyes, his expression more raw and beautiful than anything Shen Wenlang had ever seen.

* * *

Now that the siblings had been reunited, Gao Qing regularly checked up on Gao Tu. It was as though she was determined to make up for ten years of fussing over him.

She took a personal leave of absence from the hospital to spend more time with him. She regularly scented him, seemingly more for her own reassurance than his. Her alpha pheromones were a warm and herbal rosemary, pairing nicely with his sage and providing a familial comfort, a sense of pack that he hadn't realized he'd been missing. She insisted on looking over all his medical paperwork herself and taking him to his prenatal checkups, nagging him when he didn't take his vitamins or eat enough. She was worse than Shen Wenlang in that regard.

The two of them had been butting heads since the hospital visit. Gao Qing was unimpressed by his sharp tongue and alpha posturing, and Shen Wenlang bristled at her implicit claim to be able to care for Gao Tu better than he could. In her professional opinion, Gao Tu had passed out the second time because he had still been overdoing it, and she wasn’t about to let that happen again on her watch.

Eventually, Gao Tu asked about their mother. He had held off on doing so, fearing he already knew the answer. Gao Qing had looked at him sadly, and she hadn’t needed to say anything more. She was gone. Hopefully to a better place. 

“Wow,” Gao Qing said, flipping through the lab results from his latest checkup, “your pheromone levels have been looking a lot better lately. We usually only see this kind of increase when the patient has been in near constant contact with the alpha father’s pheromones. But that wouldn’t be...”

Gao Tu braced himself. He watched Gao Qing’s eyes widen as she connected the dots.

“You...he...I’ll kill that bastard!” She gritted her teeth and moved as if to storm out the door and finish the job right now.

“No! Gao Qing, don’t!” he exclaimed, blocking her path. “It’s not his fault. He doesn’t even know.”

“How could he not know? He was there, wasn’t he?” She eyed Gao Tu’s rounded belly as if contemplating the statistical likelihood of immaculate conception.

“It was before I ever started working for him. He was in rut. I went into heat, everything else happened, and I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. And then…I didn’t tell him. I couldn’t.” Gao Tu winced.

Gao Qing's expression softened. “Oh. C’mere, you.” She pulled him into a tight hug. He breathed in her comforting pheromones. He could still hardly believe she was taller than him now.

“You love him, don’t you? I can’t say I understand it, but I see the way he looks at you too. That man is stupidly gone for you.” Or maybe just stupid, she thought to herself. Either way, she wanted to see her brother happy.

She pushed him back slightly to look him in the eyes. “You need to tell him. Everything.”

Gao Tu knew his sister was right. He had put off the truth for far too long. A pit twisted in his gut, something dark and festering. His breath started to come more quickly. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed it to even out. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and forced himself to type out a message with shaky fingers.

Gao Tu: I need to talk to you. Can we meet?

Shen Wenlang: Obviously. Where?

Chapter Text

Shen Wenlang had been doing his best not to interfere with sibling bonding time. A part of him whispered that another alpha was stealing his Gao Tu, even if she was his long-lost sister. He probably could stand to be nicer to her. Gao Tu did seem happier with her around.

He shook off his thoughts to refocus at the task at hand. He didn’t want to get his hopes up too high, but he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

It was a classic love confession setup. He would accept gracefully, of course. Hopefully, this meant that Gao Tu had also reconsidered his offer and would be willing to move in with him once they were officially together.

He made reservations at a restaurant for their meet-up, this one more laid-back and homey than their slightly disastrous first date. He didn’t order any wine tonight either. He had learned his lesson. Was five dishes too many to share? No matter, he would send Gao Tu home with the extras if there were any leftovers. He still was looking too thin for someone nearly six months pregnant.

He noticed the instant Gao Tu walked in the door. His eyes were drawn to him as if by some invisible magnetic force. Gao Tu’s long wool coat was damp from the snow, a thick scarf wrapped around his neck. A few errant snowflakes were caught in his dark hair. Shen Wenlang had never wanted to be a snowflake so badly before in his life. Gao Tu looked around for a few seconds, adorably nervous, before his gaze finally settled on where Shen Wenlang was seated. His expression turned curiously blank as he walked over to the table and sat down.

“How have you been? How is your sister?” Shen Wenlang made an effort to make small talk, something he had been told he was not great at. For Gao Tu though, he wanted to be better.

Gao Tu didn’t answer his questions. It didn’t seem like his words had even registered. He didn’t take off his coat or sip his water. He held himself still except for one finger tapping out a frantic rhythm against his thigh. He had thought it would be better to do this in public, but watching the happy couples and families sitting all around them, he was beginning to regret that decision.

“There’s something I need to tell you Mr. Shen.”

Shen Wenlang’s stomach dropped. While those words on their own could have been a love confession, the tone they were delivered with sounded like anything but. Whatever this “something” was, he had a feeling it wasn’t good.

Gao Tu clenched and unclenched his hands under the table. He supposed there was nothing left to do but begin.

“Before I came to work at HS Group, I was… not in a good place. The buyers… Well before that, my father…”

For all Gao Tu’s careful rehearsal, his confession came out in a jumble. “You know with Gao Qing, I was separated from her for a while, long story, I ended up at an agency and then I guess you went into rut and somebody called them and they sent me—”

“Slow down, slow down. What are you trying to say?” Rut? Agency? What did this possibly have to do with...

Gao Tu took a shuddering breath. The words weren’t coming out right. Maybe it would be easier to just show him.

He unwound his scarf. The sweet and woody scent of sage filled the air as his uncovered scent gland was exposed.

“It was me.”

Shen Wenlang didn’t consciously recognize the scent at first. He only half-remembered it from his rut, like something out of a dream. His alpha growled at him, confused. Mate, his instincts screamed.

Shen Wenlang visibly recoiled, unable to understand his own reaction, his mind at war with himself.

Gao Tu flinched.

“I’m sorry,” Gao Tu said. He was sorry for having such high compatibility with him, for taking advantage of him while in a rut he’d never wanted to spend with an omega, but most of all he was sorry for having hid the truth of it all for so long.

Gao Tu’s earlier rambling began to register with the alpha. “What do you mean an agency?” Shen Wenlang asked, eyes narrowed. He had called every reputable rut agency in the city himself, back when he’d still been looking for the sage omega.

“I worked for them, to pay off my father’s debts. I would… service the clients.”

“What type of agency is set up like that? That’s not a fucking agency, it’s a brothel.” He spat the words out, disgusted at the thought of Gao Tu being forced to work in a place like that.

Gao Tu shrank in on himself further.

“Yes. You’re right. It was—is.”

“That’s not fucking okay!” Shen Wenlang couldn’t believe Gao Tu was talking about this all like it was normal.

“Of course not,” he said quietly. He curled his hand over his belly. He had been desperate to believe that Shen Wenlang wouldn’t hate him for his past. But now the truth was out. Now, the other man knew that he was little more than damaged goods.

“That’s who fathered the child I suppose? One of your customers?”

Gao Tu avoided meeting his eyes.

“Or—get this—are you trying to say its mine? That’s rich.” It was everything he’d ever wanted, and completely the opposite of how he’d wanted it. It was too good to be true. He couldn’t let himself believe it.

Gao Tu opened his mouth to speak and shut it again. He wanted to say he hadn't mean to hide it from him, but that wasn’t the truth. He had done everything in his power to keep it a secret. So instead, he said nothing at all.

Gao Tu’s nonadmission only confirmed his fears. Shen Wenlang laughed. It was a cold, hollow sound. “Was this your plan all along? To get close to me, make me care, and then ask me for money?”

Even as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. If anything, he had been the one to pursue Gao Tu, constantly pushing his boundaries. Gao Tu had never asked him for anything. But then again, he had always been waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to show that he was no better than all the rest.

“What? No, I’m not asking you for anything…”

Shen Wenlang barely heard the omega’s words, too lost in his own thoughts. His brain started to catch up to his mouth, his mind reeling as he slowly began to understand the implications of Gao Tu’s words. He tried to reconcile his Gao Tu with the sage-scented omega, this “agency” he'd mentioned, the useless alpha who had knocked him up.

Had Shen Wenlang forced him during his rut? He must have. He’d been delirious, out of control, and Gao Tu had been sent to service him like a rabbit thrown to a wolf with no say in the matter. His fleeting memories from that time, once cherished, now seemed tainted. The omega from that night trembling with pleasure—or had it been fear? Had he cried out in ecstasy or pain? He couldn’t be sure anymore. The scent of irises turned bitter as he agonized over his actions. He was too wrapped up in his own anger with himself to notice Gao Tu's reaction.

Gao Tu flinched at the change in the alpha’s scent. The people at the tables around them began to react as well, coughing and cowering back as harsh and oppressive S-class pheromones filled the air. His breath came out shallow and tight. His hand shook under the table. He should have known better than to hope Shen Wenlang would understand, would care for him even, despite everything.

Although they sat at the same table, the space between them had never been wider.

“I understand. I’ll take my leave.” He held his head high as he got up, breathing through his mouth as the pheromones threatened to overpower him. Shen Wenlang stood up and moved as if to follow him.

Gao Tu instinctively took two steps back.

Shen Wenlang stopped in his tracks, paralyzed with fear of harming Gao Tu further, and Gao Tu took the opportunity to swiftly make his exit.

He waited until he was out of sight to furiously wipe at his cheeks with his sleeve. He curled in on himself in the alleyway behind the restaurant, resting his head on his knees and willing himself to calm down.

Not exactly the reaction he’s been hoping for. But what had he expected, that Shen Wenlang would instantly take him into his arms? He was clearly disgusted by what had happened. More than that, he was clearly disgusted with Gao Tu himself. He’d never been one to place all his value in what someone else thought of him. But Shen Wenlang’s reaction had confirmed all his own worst fears about himself.

A drunk beta stumbled into him in the alleyway.

“Hey, I know you!” the man slurred out.

“No you don’t,” he replied, eyes downcast.

“Yeah, yeah, I do! You used to belong to a buddy of mine.” He grabbed Gao Tu by the shoulder, hot breath reeking of whiskey in his face. “How about it, sweetheart? For old times’ sake?”

Gao Tu elbowed him, hard, and wrenched himself away. “No, no, no, no,” he kept repeating as he backed away, before turning and breaking into a full-out run.

“Crazy bitch,” the beta muttered, continuing to shuffle down the alley.

Somehow, Gao Tu made his way back home. Gao Qing was waiting for him when he got there. She took in the sight of him, still shaking, from the cold, or anger, or fear, she couldn't tell. She drew a bath for him, undressing him like a paper marionette as he stood, unmoving, uncaring of his own nakedness. She gently closed the bathroom door, giving him some privacy. The water was too hot, scalding his skin, but he didn’t care. He sat there until it turned cold.

Then, he began scrubbing. He scrubbed every inch of himself, but he still felt filthy. Filthy omega. All this time, he had been trying to make something of himself, trying to prove to himself that he was more than just a whore. But at the end of the day, that was what he boiled down to.

He’d never be able to move on from his past. He had been foolish to ever aspire to be something more. He could put on his ill-fitting suits, type on his little computer, eat his fancy foods, and imagine that someone could love him, that he could have a fresh start, that things could be different. But in the end, it would still be the same. All the faith and effort that everyone had put into him had clearly been a waste.

He scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to scrub away everywhere they had touched him, scratching at where the nameless beta’s hand had grabbed him until the skin scraped off. He watched in detached fascination as bright red droplets bubbled to the surface of his arm. The pain registered distantly, but it wasn’t enough to cut through the numbness he felt.

Gao Qing had been pounding on the bathroom door for the past several minutes. Getting no response, she finally busted in.

She found Gao Tu sitting absolutely still. She saw the blood staining the stagnant bathwater. She frantically reached for his wrist, letting out a sigh of relief when she felt his pulse strong beneath her fingers. He turned in her direction, eyes blank and unseeing.

“Oh. Baby.”

Suddenly, it was all too much. He sobbed then, ugly wails. He collapsed into her hold. He didn’t know when the last time was he had cried like that. Certainly not in the past ten years. He’d never shed a tear for any of the clients who touched him. It probably hadn’t been since he was a child and his father had beat him for being too noisy.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” she murmured against his skin.

It wasn’t okay. Couldn’t she see how filthy he still was? But he let her hold him anyways, sobbing until he had no tears left to cry.

* * *

Alone in his house, Shen Wenlang played back every moment of his interactions with Gao Tu over the past few months.

“Fuck!” he yelled, his sparse walls echoing the word back to him.

From Gao Tu’s first days at HS Group, he had met every one of Shen Wenlang’s unreasonable demands, worked long hours, never told him “no”. He’d overworked himself to the point of passing out, twice. He’d regularly flinched back from any sudden movements, and he’d jumped out of his skin at loud noises. His reactions must have been a mere shadow of what he had gone through.

A conversation they'd had one day ages ago about Gao Tu’s past jobs replayed in his mind. His secretary had shied away from the topic, but he'd said this: “Before I came to work for you, I was not at a good place.” That could mean anything, right? But he knew Gao Tu. He knew his tendency to downplay everything. For Gao Tu to admit something like that meant whatever he had experienced at the agency, and before that even, had been horrendous. From what he’d said very briefly about the situation, it sounded like he had basically been sold into sexual slavery by his father.

He vividly remembered that day in the office, when he’d fought with Sheng Shaoyou. The way his eyes had gone completely blank when he’d touched him. Later on, when he’d found out he was an omega, he’d dismissed his reaction as one typical of a sensitive, pregnant omega to dueling S-Class pheromones. Only now did he view Gao Tu’s words from that day in a new light. Please, no, not again.

He thought of what Gao Qing had said in the hospital room. All those years, how did you survive it? He knew it had been ten years since Gao Tu had last seen his sister. Ten. Years.

He must have been so young when it first started. His heart broke again thinking of a teenage Gao Tu, wide-eyed and innocent. While Shen Wenlang had been gallivanting around in his youth, Gao Tu had been forced to sell his body, violated over and over again. And to think, Gao Tu had acted like it was no big deal.

During Shen Wenlang's rut, he was sure he’d been no better than any of the rest of Gao Tu’s clients. Since then, he’d been domineering, uncaring of the other man’s feelings, bulldozing his way into his life. He’d made countless callous comments. All along, he had been the one who held the power over him as his superior, and he’d abused that power for his own selfish whims. His actions sickened himself.

He kicked his coffee table. The hard oak was ungiving, unsatisfying. He picked up the stupidly expensive vase the interior designer had picked out and shattered it on the ground. He flipped over the sofa too, ripping apart the cushions for good measure. He punched the wall until his knuckles cracked and bled, but it still wasn’t enough.

Eventually, he managed to exhaust himself. He looked at the destruction all around him. The plaster of the wall had caved in, pieces of ceramic lay fractured all over the ground, and the fabric of the couch was in tatters. This was exactly the kind of thing Gao Tu must have been afraid of. He had been right to not let him get any closer to him and the baby.

The baby. His child. He had been foolish to think that Gao Tu could ever be his, that they could be a family.

The anger had drained out of him by that point, replaced with a bone-deep melancholy.

Shen Wenlang couldn’t sleep that night. Whenever he closed his eyes, the image of Gao Tu taking two steps back from him replayed in his mind.

Chapter Text

Somehow, it was Monday again. The weekend had passed in a haze, Shen Wenlang hardly getting a wink of sleep. He’d picked up the broken pieces of furniture in his apartment, the housekeeper cleaning the rest until no trace remained of the mess he’d made. If only his other messes were as easy to clean. He dragged himself into the office, trying (and failing) to project an icy, untouchable persona. It worked well enough that none of his employees tried to talk to him, at least, though they wondered about the dark circles under his eyes.

As he stepped off the elevator, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure standing by the desk outside his office. Gao Tu. He felt his body instantly relax from a tension he hadn't realized he'd been carrying. His heart beat faster as he quickly strolled across the floor. He could talk to him, explain that he had never meant to hurt him, maybe even make reparations for his actions.

His optimism didn’t last long.

As he got closer, he realized Gao Tu was holding a letter.

“What's this?” he asked, already dreading the answer.

Gao Tu turned to him respectfully and bowed his head, not meeting his eyes. “My letter of resignation.”

“What? No,” Shen Wenlang blurted out.

“I’ve left everything here for my replacement. I was planning to take my paternity leave in a few months anyways, so it shouldn’t be too much of an adjustment for the company.” Gao Tu's tone was perfectly even, impossible to read.

“What replacement? Gao Tu, you don’t need to do this.” Shen Wenlang would beg if he had to. He knew he had mistreated him in the past, but he'd thought there was a chance Gao Tu had already forgiven him for that. He hadn't always been the most considerate, but he was capable of change. He fought with himself not to get upset again and unleash his pheromones, making the situation worse. Somehow, despite everything that had gone down this past weekend, he hadn’t imagined losing Gao Tu this way too.

Shen Wenlang wracked his mind for what else he could say. “I-I’ll keep my distance. I won’t bother you. We can go back to the way things were, before any of this.” He had been selfish to hope for something more, but if it could be just the two of them, working hand in hand, he would be content. More than content. He didn’t know if he believed that they truly could act as though nothing had happened, but he was desperate. He would say whatever it took to try to keep this man by his side.

“I can’t keep pretending,” Gao Tu replied quietly. He didn’t understand why Shen Wenlang was putting up such a fuss. His boss might have been willing to go back to the way things were before for the sake of not having to find a new secretary, but Gao Tu he couldn’t keep lying to himself. He couldn’t keep pretending that he actually deserved this job, that he wasn’t a whore who was pregnant with the bastard child of the CEO, that he would be fine with seeing Shen Wenlang every day and knowing that he would never be his.

What Shen Wenlang heard was, I can’t keep pretending to care. He couldn’t blame Gao Tu for not wanting to constantly be around a reminder of what had happened to him.

They were beginning to cause a scene, curious employees gathering around, not even making a pretense of working as they whispered to themselves. Everyone wanted to know what was going on between their boss and his typically unflappable secretary. Gao Tu glanced around at the small crowd.

“I’m sorry Mr. Shen. I hope it’s not too much of an inconvenience,” he said politely. He was proud that his voice only broke slightly on word “inconvenience”. He picked up the small box of his belongings from his desk and walked out quickly, past the gathered employees, vision beginning to blur around the edges.

Shen Wenlang watched, helpless, as Gao Tu slipped through his fingers for the third time.

* * *

Without a job, Gao Tu found that he no longer had a reason to get up in the mornings. So he didn’t. He stayed in bed, cocooning himself in his nest. Gao Qing brought him food a few times a day. Sometimes he ate it. Mostly, he stared into space, clutching a raggedy t-shirt in his arms until it no longer smelled like much of anything anymore.

After a few days of this, Gao Qing had had enough. She dragged him out of bed, showered him, and dressed him. She gave him a stern talking-to about caring for himself better, at least for the sake of the baby’s health. He nodded. He seemed willing to go through the motions whenever she reminded him to think about the baby. She hated that he wasn’t willing to do any of it for the sake of his own well-being.

Gao Qing also booked him an appointment through a colleague of hers. She made it clear that attendance was no longer up for discussion.

Thus, Gao Tu found himself in the suspiciously comfortable armchair of a therapist’s office.

“What brings you to therapy today, Gao Tu?” The therapist was a kindly-looking older man in a sweater vest and glasses who had introduced himself by his first name, James, when he walked in, like they were old pals. Surprisingly, he smelled like an omega.

Gao Tu shrugged.

“I didn’t want to come. I agreed to show up once and meet you, that’s all.” He still felt uncomfortable with the idea of rehashing the past with an overly-friendly stranger who wanted to pick through his brain.

“That’s perfectly fine,” the therapist replied. He set his notebook and pen aside.

Gao Tu stared at him. James looked back, his expression neutral but friendly. The two of them sat in the curated, cozy office in silence, the seconds on the clock ticking by. Gao Tu shifted in his seat. The therapist's gaze made him feel exposed, but not in the way he was used to. He was pretty sure one of them was supposed to say something.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask me questions?” he finally asked.

“Sure, if you’d like,” James replied casually. “What do you do for work, Gao Tu?”

“Nothing, anymore.” The tone of Gao Tu’s voice put an end to that line of inquiry.

“What about your family?” the therapist asked, undeterred. “Your sister is the one who brought you here today.”

“Yeah,” he muttered.

“What’s your relationship like?”

“I love her. Of course I do,” Gao Tu said quickly, defensively.

The therapist didn’t respond immediately, letting the silence stretch between them. “I wonder if you feel angry with her,” he offered, after a moment.

“No. Not really.” Gao Tu hesitated. He supposed if he was going to be able to say he gave therapy a fair shot and it didn’t work, he had to open up a little.

“I think maybe a part of me resents her,” he said in a rush.

“Why do you think that is?” James asked gently.

“She had it rough too. I know she did, she was so sickly as a child. But it was different. She wasn’t… she still got to live her life. She got to go to school, come home, play with her friends. I… I didn’t. I got sold off, and she got the money she needed to get treatment. It’s stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid, Gao Tu. Let’s try to avoid passing judgment on our feelings. It’s okay to express them, even if they’re negative.”

Gao Tu shrugged in response.

“What were you feeling back then?” James prompted.

“I don’t know.” He took a deep breath. That wasn’t entirely true. “Not much, I guess. I tried not to feel anything. It was better just to make things go blank.”

James hummed. “How often does that usually happen? That everything goes blank?”

“Not often. At least, not lately. It used to be almost every day, whenever I could during a session with a client. I got good at it. I haven’t had to do it lately, but it still happens sometimes.”

“Back then… things were easier, in some ways. It was always the same. People treated me accordingly. Out here, people helped me, trusted me. And then I fucked things up anyways. I didn’t deserve the chances they gave me. I was faking it, pretending that everything was fine. I was such a coward. All this time, I kept a secret, knowing it was only a matter of time before it would all implode. And it did. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. But really, I have no one to blame but the omega and myself." Gao Tu finished his short rant, his hands shaking slightly. He was embarrassed to have worked himself up so much, his vulnerabilities painfully on display.

“Can you talk a bit more about “the omega”? What do you mean by that?”

“The omega… it's what got me into all this in the first place. If I’d never presented, none of this would have happened and I wouldn’t need to be in this stupid chair.” Gao Tu picked at the velvety fabric of the armrest. “It keeps popping up lately, always choosing the worst times to appear. It’s not even a proper omega—my scent doesn't work right, and I didn't have any heats for years. I have a pheromone disorder.”

James jotted something down. Gao Tu hadn’t noticed when he’d picked his notebook and pen back up.

He turned those eyes that seemed to see right through everything back onto Gao Tu. “It sounds like lately you’ve been feeling things you haven’t allowed yourself to feel in a long time. Does that sound correct?”

Gao Tu nodded, his throat feeling tight.

“I’m not a pheromone specialist, but I don’t think that what you’re describing is a pheromone disorder, Gao Tu, at least not in the traditional sense. It's likely your body stopped giving off a scent or going into heats to protect itself. The same thing is true of your mind, going blank to try to shield you from what was happening. Once you finally felt safe, all of those long-suppressed instincts started coming back. "The omega" as you call it has never been separate from you. It was just a part of you that was silenced for so long because it was trying to protect you.”

“I… I told myself it wasn’t so bad,” Gao Tu said, only slightly above a whisper. “But now… I don’t want to have to go back. Can’t I just be better already? I want to be better. I thought that it was over.”

“When people are in unsafe situations for a long time, it can cause symptoms like what you’ve described to me. Later, even when they are safe, unexpected events can trigger memories of their past experiences. It’s not uncommon to want to feel numb or want to avoid dealing with the problem.”

“It’s like a wound,” James explained. “You tried to put a bandage on it, to forget about it, but you never cleaned it properly. And now, it’s infected. It hasn’t had the chance to scab over. Every time you accidentally brush against it, you reopen it, and it hurts again.” Gao Tu rubbed his fingers over his arm, the scab that had just begun to form where he had scrubbed his skin raw the other night.

James looked him in the eyes. “What we want to do is disinfect the wound. We’re going to have to open it back up, and look at it again. It’s going to hurt, and it’s going to be hard work. It’s going to leave a scar, too. There will always be a reminder of the hurt you went through. It might be a big, crooked, ugly scar, but eventually, it will heal. You’ll be able to live your life without worrying if it will cause you more pain at any moment.”

Gao Tu sat there, taking in everything the therapist had said.

“And that’s our time for today. I’ll see you next week, okay Gao Tu?”

Gao Tu nodded.

Chapter Text

Shen Wenlang had been keeping his distance. Really. If he thought about Gao Tu every second of every day, well, that was a different thing entirely.

Weeks had gone by since Gao Tu had given his resignation. Shen Wenlang had been more miserable to be around at work than ever. Before Gao Tu, the employees of HS Group had feared messing up some small detail would cause them to incur Shen Wenlang’s legendary wrath. Now, they feared something far worse: his disappointment. If he reacted at all to a mistake or a tardiness, it was only to sigh and look so sad that the employee in question would rush to remedy their error as soon as possible.

The employees whispered about Gao Tu’s sudden absence. Some speculated that he'd fallen ill, while others swore they'd heard he'd run off with some omega. The widely accepted consensus, however, seemed to be that he had finally gotten fed up with their boss and quit. No one had been brave enough to attempt to fill the position yet. More than one employee had been tempted to find Gao Tu and beg him to come back, but it seemed the former secretary had made a clean break. No sign of his presence remained besides the empty desk that still stood in front of the boss's office and the sense of melancholy that hung over the 12th floor.

A few weeks after Gao Tu submitted his resignation, Shen Wenlang had an unexpected visitor.

“You’re worse than he is. I’d hardly believe it if I wasn’t seeing it myself.”

“Excuse me?” Shen Wenlang was sitting at his desk, working on some important documents and definitely not thinking about anything or anyone else. He was not in the mood, not today.

“Well? Out with it. Why the hell are you still moping around?” He swiveled his chair around to see none other than Sheng Shaoyou. Chen Pinming hovered behind him, as always. He scowled. Sheng Shaoyou crossed his arms, awaiting the other man’s response.

Shen Wenlang stared at his hands. “I hurt him,” he said quietly, eventually.

Sheng Shaoyou fought the urge to roll his eyes. “And then what?” he asked.

Shen Wenlang looked up at him in confusion.

“And then what? Did you apologize? Talk to him like an adult? Explain yourself? Tell him you love him and beg for his forgiveness?”

“No.” Gao Tu probably wouldn’t even want him to.

Sheng Shaoyou shook his head in disbelief. “You’ll never know unless you try.” He walked around Shen Wenlang’s desk, raising an eyebrow at the notes Shen Wenlang had made in the margin of the documents. It seemed he had written Gao Tu’s name several times and doodled aimlessly instead of annotating the financial report.

He didn't know exactly why he had even bothered coming here today, except that the other man was clearly not doing himself any favors. Maybe he'd softened towards his business rival when Hua Yong had confessed that Shen Wenlang had merely been another pawn in his plan. Maybe he wished he'd had someone to talk to in aftermath of his mate's deceptions.

The door to Shen Wenlang's office opened again. Apparently it was a revolving door these days without a proper secretary. Hua Yong strolled in. Shen Wenlang should have known that where the mouse went, the cat would follow. Hua Yong had been lurking outside, giving his mate a minute to speak to his fellow alpha one-on-one, but he'd quickly grown impatient. He'd tagged along to this little intervention, allegedly to help cheer Shen Wenlang up, but realistically so he could watch the other man wallow.

Sheng Shaoyou continued. “Listen, Hua Yong is not a great example of how to woo your partner. He lied to me countless times, with far less of a good reason than Gao Tu had.” Hua Yong nodded, not even bothering to pretend be offended at this statement.

Shen Wenlang winced. He got it, okay? He’d fucked up.

“But he was persistent. Even when I didn’t trust him, I never doubted that he cared about me. Can your Gao Tu say the same?”

“Don’t be so pathetic,” Sheng Shaoyou concluded. “That’s all, really.”

Hua Yong piped up. “I’d suggest groveling.”

“Nobody asked you,” Shen Wenlang snapped. It seemed he was starting to feel like his old self already. Hua Yong smiled. Finally, things were starting to get entertaining.

“We talked to Gao Qing. She doesn’t like you much, by the way. Doesn’t think you’re good enough for him," Sheng Shaoyou said bluntly.

She was right, Shen Wenlang thought, feeling miserable once again.

“She says Gao Tu’s been doing better lately. A lot better.” Was this supposed to be a pep talk?

“But he still asks about you.” Shen Wenlang perked up slightly at that, but then his face fell. Gao Tu had probably only asked about him out of a misplaced sense of duty. That, or to make sure he was keeping his distance as he’d promised.

“He doesn’t want to see me. He made that clear,” he replied sullenly.

“If I may, sir?” Chen Pinming asked from the corner. Sheng Shaoyou nodded for him to go ahead. “Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but I have a lot of respect for Secretary Gao. I think you owe it to the both of you to be honest about how you feel.”

“After all, I didn’t go to all that trouble to find him for you only for you to fumble it like this, old friend,” Hua Yong added with a smirk.

Shen Wenlang whipped his head over to Hua Yong so fast he nearly got whiplash. “You. You knew?”

“Of course. How do you think he got the job in the first place?” Shen Wenlang had honestly never considered it. One day, a competent and beautiful secretary had shown up, and he’d taken it as his due from the universe. To think, this meddling enigma had known all along and kept him from his mate…

A low growl rumbled in his throat. Hua Yong paid him no mind.

The enigma let out a dramatic sigh. “Well, I’m out of here. I just wanted to see what kind of sorry state you were in and if you were actually going to do anything about it. Not that it would make much of a difference.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shen Wenlang demanded, glaring at Hua Yong.

“Oh?" he asked in mock surprise. "No one has told you?"

"Spit it out."

"Gao Tu is leaving the country. He and some alpha friend of his sister’s are going to settle down somewhere quiet, away from all the bad memories he has here.”

“What?!” Shen Wenlang slapped his hands on his desk and stood up abruptly.

“Just be honest with him,” Chen Pinming pleaded.

“Show him that you care,” Sheng Shaoyou said.

“Ah! I have a great idea. You should use the X Holdings billboard—a big public apology would be just the thing,” Hua Yong chimed in.

Shen Wenlang didn’t register any of the nonsense they said beyond the fact that Gao Tu was leaving. “No. I have to go.”

“Wait! At least…” Shen Wenlang was already out the door. “Take an umbrella,” Sheng Shaoyou finished.

“The kids these days,” Hua Yong said, wrapping his arms around his exclusive omega. “Well, what do you say, Mr. Sheng? We’ve got the office to ourselves now…” Chen Pinming took the hint and got out of there quickly.

“Filthy,” Sheng Shaoyou muttered, but he leaned into the kiss, already reaching for the hem of Hua Yong’s shirt. What Shen Wenlang didn’t know had happened on his desk wouldn’t hurt him.

* * *

Shen Wenlang instructed his driver to take him to Gao Tu’s apartment. The rain started pouring, water rising on the streets in a flash flood. The closer they got, the more poorly maintained the roads were, muddy, uneven, and quickly becoming dangerous. The driver stopped a few blocks away from the address, refusing to drive any further.

Shen Wenlang jumped out of the car and ran the rest of the way to Gao Tu’s apartment. The heavens poured down on him, water sloshing in his Italian leather shoes with every step, but he didn’t let that stop him. By the time he showed up at his door, he was soaked to the bone, out of breath, and dripping all over the entryway. He knocked sharply on the door.

After a long moment, the door opened. Gao Tu stood there silently. He looked so soft in his casual clothes with those little glasses. He didn’t ask him to come in, but he didn’t slam the door on his face either, which Shen Wenlang decided to take as an encouraging sign.

"I have something to say. Please, just let me finish before you tell me to leave."

Gao Tu looked wary, but he didn’t budge. Face-to-face with the object of his affections after all these weeks, Shen Wenlang suddenly felt incredibly nervous. He tried to recall the speech he’d mentally rehearsed on the way over here.

"I never wanted to be with an omega,” he began.

Gao Tu grimaced. Not off to the best start.

“My parents didn't have a good relationship when I was younger. It’s a long story, but I saw my omega father fall apart and beg my alpha father, shoot another omega in a fit of jealousy and then disappear from my life. My experiences later on only confirmed my biases. I’ll admit, I thought all the omegas I met were just trying to use me for my money and power.”

Gao Tu’s eyes narrowed and his grip on the door tightened. Just keep going, Shen Wenlang thought.

“But then you came along. Before I even knew you were an omega, I was obsessed. I tried to show you how I felt, as clumsy as I may have been with it. I had been trying to find the omega from the other night, for reasons I didn't understand yet, but with you by my side I found I didn't care. I was so jealous of some imagined alpha who I thought had a claim on you."

“It was stupid to say the things I said to you. You would be a terrible gold digger. Not to say… well, I’m sure you would be good at it if you set your mind to it. You’re pretty much good at everything.”

He raked his hands through his wet hair. Jealousy, obsession, his own ineptitude. None of that was the point.

“What I’m trying to say is, I never wanted an omega—unless that omega is you. I never pictured myself with a family, but with you I wanted one long before I found out we were already halfway there.” His voice came out increasingly desperate.

“I know I hurt you in the past. I don’t expect anything from you. I won’t touch you. I won’t pursue you if it makes you uncomfortable. I don’t deserve a second chance. I don’t have any right to to lay a claim to you or the child if you don’t want me to.” He would take whatever Gao Tu would give him, even if that was nothing at all.

“I know it's probably too little too late. But please, don't leave. If you give me the chance, I’ll do anything to try to make it up to you.”

Shen Wenlang fell to his knees, still dripping water all over the floor, head bowed in supplication.

“Just… don't go. Please."

Gao Tu crouched down. He studied Shen Wenlang for a moment, the other man lower than he had ever seen him. He looked half-drowned, his suit pants getting dirtier by the second from the concrete floor. He gently wrapped his hand around Shen Wenlang’s elbow and pulled him up off the ground. Shen Wenlang kept his head bowed, afraid to see rejection in the other man’s eyes. 

"Let me, now?" Gao Tu’s voice was gentle but firm. Shen Wenlang’s memory hadn’t done it justice.

"I never liked alphas. They were all the same—loud, nasty, and only interested in one thing. I thought you were the same too, at first." Shen Wenlang looked up. It sounded almost like… He didn’t want to get his hopes up too high.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you. I recognized you from that night, but I couldn't—I just couldn't. I didn’t trust that you were any different. I didn’t know how to stop hiding, like I’d done all my life. I was ashamed. I reacted badly to the situation. It’s something I’m working on.” He thought of his regular sessions with James, the scars from his past he would likely carry for the rest of his life. He thought of the late-night talks he’d begun having with Gao Qing over these past weeks, gradually learning to open himself up and lean on her if needed. Bit by bit, he was finding himself again.

“But you… you’re an idiot, do you know that?” Gao Tu laughed hoarsely. “I didn’t even realize that you were pursuing me until after the fact. The night of your rut, you didn't hurt me. No matter how sharp your tongue was, I never truly thought you would hurt me. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me. I thought that I was the one who didn’t deserve another chance.” Shen Wenlang shook his head, frantically denying Gao Tu’s statement. The corner of Gao Tu’s lips tilted up at his earnest reaction.

“I don’t want to leave. I never wanted to leave,” Gao Tu finished softly.

The two of them gazed at each other. The space between them felt taut, charged with possibilities. Shen Wenlang searched Gao Tu's dark eyes, unmoving, afraid to blink and break the moment.

Gao Tu was the first to move. He took a small step towards Shen Wenlang. Shen Wenlang reached out, hesitantly.

“Can I?" he asked, arms outstretched.

In one swift motion, Gao Tu closed the distance between them, burying his face in his shoulder and squeezing him in a tight embrace. Shen Wenlang let out a breath he hadn’t realized been holding. He clutched his fingers tightly in Gao Tu's shirt, silently begging him never to leave again.

They held each other. It might not have seemed like much, but it felt like the whole world.

* * *

They talked for hours that night, about everything and nothing at all. Gao Tu broached the topic of his past, sharing a little more about his experiences in the agency and even earlier, about his father. His therapist would be proud of him. To his surprise, Shen Wenlang also opened up more about his past and his family. Gao Tu explained that he had never been planning to leave the country. Gao Qing had offered, but he hadn’t taken her up on it, not ready to move on yet. Silently, he thanked Sheng Shaoyou and Hua Yong for their meddling. He wasn’t sure if he would have been brave enough to be the one to reach out if they hadn't spurred Shen Wenlang into action.

Eventually, Shen Wenlang showered and changed out of his wet suit. Gao Tu hungrily drank in the sight of his former boss fresh from the shower, the borrowed shirt clinging just a little too tightly to his chest, the sweatpants just a bit too short. His skin was still damp, smelling faintly of Gao Tu’s soap and fresh blooming irises. He hurried to change into new clothes too, his own damp from having held a certain clingy wet alpha for so long.

Gao Tu returned with a hair dryer in tow and plopped down on the lumpy secondhand sofa. He patted the spot next to him. Shen Wenlang sat down gingerly, but it didn’t take long at all for him to relax into Gao Tu’s touch, shifting to lay his head in Gao Tu’s lap as the warm air blew on his scalp and Gao Tu gently carded his fingers through his hair. If it had been physically possible for the alpha, he would have purred. He laid there, gazing up at his love, fighting the sensation of his eyelids growing heavier and heavier like a little kid.

Suddenly, Shen Wenlang sat up with a start.

“What? What is it?” Gao Tu looked around.

“The thing! It moved!” Shen Wenlang exclaimed.

What was he on about? A cockroach? A rat? Admittedly, Gao Tu could probably afford to move somewhere nicer at this point.

Shen Wenlang’s hand tentatively reached out to cup Gao Tu’s lower belly. Sure enough, he felt a slight kick.

“You mean the baby?” Shen Wenlang nodded rapidly, eyes wide. Gao Tu rubbed his belly. “He’s been active lately. Your son has been trying to wear me out.”

Shen Wenlang looked awestruck.

“What?” Gao Tu said, defensively.

“Do you mean—” he stopped himself, eyes darting to Gao Tu’s belly again.

“We can do a paternity test if you want,” Gao Tu offered. It was only fair, he supposed, given everything he had disclosed about his past.

“No. There’s no need. Besides, it would be my kid either way," Shen Wenlang declared, leaving no room for insecurity. "It’s just—it hadn’t really sunk in. It’s going to be a boy?” he asked quietly.

Gao Tu’s expression softened. He nodded, placing Shen Wenlang’s hand back on his stomach to feel another kick, firmer this time, like he knew his father was talking about him.

“My son. My mate.” Gao Tu felt his cheeks warm. He wasn’t expecting this casual possessiveness, but he didn't hate it. With enough time, he thought he could get used to it.

Shen Wenlang placed a soft kiss on Gao Tu’s forehead. He wrapped his arm around him, encouraging Gao Tu to lean against his chest. He held him close, tucked against his steadily thumping heart, right where he belonged.