Chapter Text
The balcony was private, tucked away on the side of Wenlang's penthouse where the city noise faded to a distant hum. A balcony lounge sofa faced the skyline, an open bottle of wine on the low table in front them.
The lights of the city spread out below them, they had been sitting in a comfortable silence. Enjoying the view with Wenlang being proud of himself for getting Gao Tu to relax a little bit. There was something that had been nagging at him for some time, sitting uncomfortable in his chest. He set down his glass.
"Gao Tu."
The tone made him pay attention. When he turned, Wenlang wasn't watching the view. He was watching him, and there was something in his expression that Gao Tu was not used to seeing, uncertainty?
“I knew…”
“Knew what?”
“Your secret…”
“My secret..?”
"That day in the lift, that day I took you to the hospital," Wenlang said. His voice was low, careful. "You had collapsed Dr. Yang told me about your umm.. presentation. He said you were an Omega. That your body was shutting down because of inhibitor overusage and you could go into a coma, that you needed pheromones. An Alpha’s pheromones, " He paused. "He asked me if I could be your presenting Alpha."
Gao Tu started to say, "You—"
"He ran a compatibility test. Ninety-three percent, he said. The highest he'd ever seen outside of mated pairs."
A ghost of a smile tugged at Wenlang’s mouth. "Ninety-three percent. He was almost impressed."
Gao Tu stared at him, his mind a scrambled mess. ‘He knew. At the hospital. He's known this whole time.’ His chest was too tight.
"I wanted to tell you," Wenlang said. "That first morning, when you woke up, I wanted to tell you… " He shook his head. "But I looked at your face, and I saw how scared you were. So I waited."
"You waited." Gao Tu's voice came out thin.
"I waited. And I watched you keep hiding. And I hated myself for not saying anything a little more every day."
Gao Tu's hands were shaking. "You… You should have told me."
"Yes I know."
"You should have— I could have—" He couldn't finish. The air was too thin. He started to pull back, to put distance between them, but Wenlang's hand caught his wrist.
"Gao Tu, please don't run," Wenlang said quietly. "Just— talk to me, please talk to me."
Gao Tu froze. Wenlang's grip was firm, but not painful.
"You knew the whole time," Gao Tu whispered. "Every session. Every night. You knew."
"I knew."
"And you just— you let me keep lying to you."
"I let you keep your walls up until you were ready to let them down." Wenlang's thumb pressed against Gao Tu's racing pulse. A small, almost rueful smile crossed his face. "Besides, it was impossible not to know after we started sleeping together. You were always so wet for me, Tu. How could I not know?"
Gao Tu's face went crimson, flustered by that sudden admission. "You—" He couldn't finish. His pulse was hammering under Wenlang's thumb. "You can't just say things like that."
Wenlang's voice was tender and teasing. "I'm not wrong."
Gao Tu pressed his free hand to his burning cheek, looking anywhere but at Wenlang. "This is— you're—"
Wenlang's thumb stopped moving, "I knew. And it didn’t matter to me, you’re just still Gao Tu, that's all that matters."
Gao Tu's throat closed. "You said—" He stopped, swallowed. "All those things. About Omegas. About— you said we were—"
"I know." Wenlang's voice was rough. "I said those things. To our classmates, associates, in boardrooms, in meetings. With you standing right there."
He let go of Gao Tu's wrist. Slowly, he slid off the balcony sofa and knelt in front of him. It was so unexpected, so completely unlike anything the CEO Shen Wenlang would ever do, that Gao Tu couldn't move.
"I have been an idiot," Wenlang said, looking up at him. "A blind, arrogant fool. I said things that should have made you run, and you stayed anyway. You stayed, and you hid, and you let me be near you, and I didn't deserve any of it." He swallowed hard. "I don't deserve you now. But I'm asking anyway. I'm asking for a chance. I’ll spend every day trying to be the man you deserve. I’ll prove to you that I am not the person who said those things anymore. I’ll prove to you that you’re not something to be ashamed of. I’ll prove to you that I am worthy of being your Alpha. I’ll grovel if I have to. I’ll beg if that's what it takes. Just—" His voice cracked. "Just don't walk away, give me a chance to show you I can be better."
*My Alpha.*
The words landed somewhere deep. Somewhere Gao Tu had locked away years ago, when he first put on a patch and promised himself he would never want, never need, never let anyone close enough to see. Something stirred in his chest. Something that had been sleeping for a very long time.
*He wants to be mine. He keeps asking to be mine.*
Gao Tu's heart was hammering. "You can't just kneel on my floor and tell me you want to be my Alpha and expect me to just—"
"To just what?"
To not be terrified. Gao Tu thought to himself.
"I know I've been an asshole for years." Wenlang's hands tightened slightly on Gao Tu's knees. "But I'm asking you to let me prove myself."
*My Alpha. My Alpha. My Alpha.*
The words were a pulse in his blood, something his Omega side had been waiting to hear for longer than he could remember. And underneath it, rising up like a tide, the fear. The years of hiding. The voice in his head that said *No one wants what you are.*
"I don't know how to do this," he whispered. "I don't know how to stop hiding."
"Then don't stop, not all at once." Wenlang's hands slid up, just slightly, his thumbs pressing against the inside of Gao Tu's knees. "Just... let me in. A little. Let me see you. Let me try."
"And if you don't like what you see?"
"Then I'll spend the rest of my life learning to."
Gao Tu couldn't breathe.
"Let me prove it to you," Wenlang said. "Let me be the one who sees you. Let me be the one who stays. You don't have to hide from me. Not anymore. Not ever again, if you'll let me."
‘My Alpha. My Alpha. My Alpha.’
The words were a chorus now, drowning out the fear, drowning out the voice that said run! hide! protect yourself! Something was cracking open in his chest. Something warm, terrifying and desperate.
"I don't—" He paused. "I don't know if I can."
Wenlang's hands tightened. "Then we can figure it out. Together. Slowly. At whatever pace you need."
"And if I need a lot of time?"
"Then I'll keep waiting."
"And if I'm still scared?"
Wenlang's mouth curved slightly. "Then I'll be scared with you."
The laugh that escaped Gao Tu was thin and fragile. "I’m being serious."
"So am I."
Gao Tu looked down at him, this man who had spent years being one thing and was now kneeling on his floor, asking to be something else for him.
*He wants to be mine. He wants to be my Alpha.*
The terror was still there. The years of hiding, of waiting for the other shoe to drop, of believing that no one would ever want what he was. But underneath it, something else was taking root. Something that felt hopeful.
Gao Tu reached down, his fingers brushing Wenlang's where they rested on his knees.
"I'm not going anywh–," Gao Tu said quietly. "I just— I need time. To figure out how to... be this."
"Take all the time you need." Wenlang's voice was barely above a whisper.
He was still kneeling on the balcony floor. Gao Tu was still on the sofa. The city lights spread out below them.
Silence and then, Wenlang's throat moved as he swallowed. "Tu."
"Hmm?"
“Can you do me a favour?”
“Mmmm…?”
"Could you... call me by my name?"
Gao Tu blinked. "What?"
"Not Mr. Shen." Wenlang's voice was quieter now, he sounded almost hesitant. "I don't want to be Mr. Shen to you anymore. I haven't wanted that for a long time." He looked down at their hands, then back up. "It's just... call me Wenlang."
Gao Tu's face went warm. He looked down at his lap, then back up, then away again. His fingers fidgeted with the edge of his sleeve.
"Wenlang," he said quietly, barely above a whisper.
The effect was immediate. Wenlang's whole face transformed. A grin broke across his features, bright and unguarded. Before Gao Tu could react, Wenlang surged forward from his knees and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.
Gao Tu squeaked. "What are you—"
"Say it again," Wenlang said into his shoulder, voice muffled but happy.
"Wenlang..."
Wenlang's arms tightened. He let out a happy sound, something between a laugh and a sigh.
Gao Tu's face was burning. His hands hovered awkwardly in the air before finally, hesitantly, settling on Wenlang's back.
"You're hugging me," Gao Tu said, voice small.
"Yes."
"On the balcony."
"Yes."
"Anyone could see."
"I don't care."
Gao Tu's heart was pounding. His face was the colour of a ripe tomato. His fingers curled into the fabric of Wenlang's shirt, holding on.
"You're enjoying this too much," Gao Tu mumbled into his shoulder.
"I know." Wenlang pulled back just enough to look at him. His eyes were bright, his smile still there, softer now. He was still on his knees, still looking at Gao Tu like he'd won something. "Say it one more time."
Gao Tu looked at him, this powerful, ridiculous man kneeling on a balcony floor, asking to hear his own name. His cheeks burned from blushing. His chest was warm and fluttery.
"Wenlang," he said, and this time it came out easier.
Wenlang's smile widened. He cupped Gao Tu's face in his hands, thumbs brushing his burning cheeks. "There it is," he said quietly. "There's my name."
Gao Tu couldn't speak. He just sat there, face cupped in Wenlang's hands, heart pounding, feeling completely exposed and strangely, wonderfully wanted.
The city lights twinkled below them. The wine sat forgotten. And on the balcony, two men hugging each other, with one though on his knees looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.
“Now I just need to figure out how to get you back in my bed, where I can hear my name over and over again.” he whispered in Gao Tu’s ear.
PLAY ME▶🎵🎶