Work Text:
POV: 3rd Person
Gao Tu only ever likes Omegas, and Wenlang doesn't like it one bit. There's nothing wrong with having a preference; everyone has a sexuality, just like how Hua Yong likes Alphas (more specifically, just one Alpha) and how Sheng Shaoyu likes all four genders. Betas can like both Alphas and Omegas, or just Betas, too. There's nothing wrong with that - but.. There's just something wrong in the way Gao Tu likes Omegas.
Gao Tu can, of course, have a preference - it's just.. Why? They're always whiny, they're so tiny, and Wenlang could do so much better than that!
He's strong; he can help Tu with his work and not bother him all the time with their heats because he's sensible enough to use suppressants and have less susceptible periods than they do. Wenlang owns a company; he can protect Tu and can be independent of him - even though he wants to stick by the man's side forever.
So just - why would Gao Tu choose to be with an Omega and not him?
He taps his pen restlessly on the wooden table, the same one Tu gifted him years back, which was reused with renewed ink every time it ran out, and he pouts. Wenlang cannot focus on his work, so he didn't even bother to do it half-assed.
The Alpha's pout deepened as he thought harder, and only the image of Tu wrapping his arms around a mysterious smaller Omega that would fit perfectly in his broad shoulders and toned arms. Snuggly rubbing his neck with their Sage gland like he would appreciate smelling like burnt grass and a little bit of a nice.. Undertone..
He shook his head and whined to himself, now dropping his chin onto his arms, which were crossed on the table. His Iris deepened into irritation, and he moped so hard that when the man he thinks about comes into the room, he immediately asks him: ".. Shen-Zong?" There's a slight hesitation in his voice, but it calms Wenlang momentarily before he fires up again, Iris burning through the Sage that Tu's Omega has left on him once more.
"Why is the Omega's scent on you again? Are they that possessive? Get it out of here!" He cannot control the whiny tone in his voice, tinging each character that leaves his mouth, and finds himself a little embarrassed at how he might come off to the man before him.
Wenlang is supposed to be an Alpha that is strong - not a puppy begging its owner!
There's a dimmer look in the Beta's face, and he feels ashamed for yelling in his face, but the younger man cannot bring himself, at all, to stop when he feels like the Omega is waving their claim all over his best friend! "Do you only like Omegas? Why do you like them? They're always your priority now."
He doesn't know why his mood swings are suddenly going from angry to upset, because there are tears welling in his eyes, glossing his vision and making Tu look watery, but he turns away and tells his secretary to go clean himself before giving the report.
"I'll be back in a few minutes then."
The second Tu goes, he feels the gust of wind grow cold, and despite telling him to go away, he now wants him back.
Shen Wenlang huffed, puffed, and stomped to his spot, listlessly tapping on his keyboard.
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There was truly no reason for him to hate Omegas and all of their existence - it was not that he sought out to hurt them, anyway. He just steered clear of them as much as possible.
Lying in bed, sometimes he thought back to his father.
"Papa, I want to be a cool Omega like you when I grow older." He smiled up at the man, and the man smiled back, his hair swaying in the light gust of wind that came from the whirling AC.
But as Ying Yi left him, the Omega he looked up to, the Omega he wanted to become, left him. He left him in a home where he was not wanted, beaten until he had to stop himself from letting out a noise lest he wanted to be worse. Wenlang couldn't bring himself to trust another Omega again, get close to them.
For many years as a teenager, as he started to present, Wenlang dreamed of wanting to be an Omega before shutting himself down for that thought. He didn't want to be an Omega that left others, no matter how much he missed his father, no matter how much he wanted to be like him when he was younger.
He just.. Wanted to be loved. That was all.
Shen Wenlang wanted to be wanted. The only person who somewhat had that semblance was Gao Tu. He hung around Wenlang like others did but didn't want him in a way that he would leave him after getting what he wanted; Tu hung around him like he actually mattered.
But as the attention went away, yet another Omega was now indirectly causing his own world to shift further; Wenlang just had to break. He wants to be the best thing Gao Tu has, even if he was an Alpha. Was it wrong to want to be the best Omega instead? If Hua Yong could do it, he could do it, too. With fewer complications, he could change. There were people who changed their genders anyway, and although it was a little looked down upon, the world was moving, changing, and they were having better outlooks. Wenlang never thought changing the secondary gender was wrong if that's what they felt comfortable with, in the same way that he didn't think marrying the same secondary gender was wrong either.
He was sure that Tu saw those who changed themselves into what they said they wanted to be, Wenlang wants to be an Omega if Tu prefers them over Alphas. He would be stronger than one, but that only means he could protect him. There were no norms for how an Omega should act like now - they were not traditional. Jianghu is progressive, and even - even Ying Yi was a military general.
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So the first doses were small, just a tester. Hua Yong had stared at him for a very long time when he called him in the middle of the night, stuck in the throes of work while the Enigma was enjoying his last few months of the three-year sabbatical before he finally helped Wenlang with his work, but he swallowed and allowed him to get his hands on the small pills.
Although the lunatic acted like he didn't care, he reminded Wenlang three times offhandedly not to take too many or he might suffer and maybe die (although jokingly, he can't die on such a small dosage), and each bottle had about four stickers telling him not to have more than one per day (under the cap, over the cap, under the bottle, and around the bottle).
He puts his new scent around the unassuming Beta who just stands there and blink when he circled him with a frown and arms crossed. It looks like - from the outside - that he might be interrogating the poor secretary, but really, he's just asking him about reports and lathering his new scent all over the man so that when he gets close to that damn Omega! - They would smell it and go away.
But the secretary knows - even if it's only a light scent, he knows. He knows it's Wenlang, even if it smelled off, it wraps around him warmly, yet a hint of possession laced beneath. It makes the Omega inside happier than ever, yet - this definitely isn't healthy, whatever is going on with his boss.
He can smell the softness of Iris that are given in small doses so the 'Beta' does not assume or catch a whiff. But Gao Tu is not an Omega, and he is aware. "Do you really like the Omega?" He circles another lap, and Tu forces a sigh from leaving him. He knows Wenlang can smell the Sage that refuses to go away no matter how much he puts onto Tu - testing his patience in wanting to just dump a whole bucket of his pheromones all over the secretary.
"Shen-Zong.." He lets out at last, "I really don't-"
"Why can't I be that Omega?" Wenlang is blurting, before he can think to stop himself, and the older man freezes in his spot. What? "... I meant.. I just-" Wenlang lets out a long groan of agony before he starts rambling - Gao Tu knows he's going to ramble, because everytime he did when they were younger, he'd start by groaning before blurting everything that's on his mind. It flowed like a waterfall, unable to stop because he's so upset it had to be let out.
"I modified my pheromones to get that stupid Omega away from you - but it always lingers, stupid Sage! It smells good too - I know you smell it, and I'm sick of it because I envy that scent, I want it gone from you because I know you also like it! Why do you like that Omega? They're always demanding your attention and it should be here - with me - why do you - I could be so much better. I am so much better - but I don't want to be a homewrecker but I probably already am-" He hiccups, tears welling in his eyes and his nose starts to turn red, a blush over his face where it is angry as it is embarrassed. "- I know they smell me, fuck- I don't want to ruin your life, I'm sorry, I'm sorry- I never should've asked that lunatic for anything at all!" He's becoming a mess.
A total mess.
His tears fall without him wanting it to, and no matter how many times he wipes it with the sleeve of his suit, they just keep falling. Like dominos that cascade with a single touch, he can smell his new pheromones and it's foreign to his nose. It doesn't smell as good as that Sage and the insecurity stabs through his heart. If he doesn't like it, Gao Tu probably won't either - because he probably prefers that perfect Sage-scented Omega. He knows they're perfect. If Gao Tu chose them, they must be perfect.
He's sobbing hysterically onto the poor secretary whose paygrade doesn't even cover an 'emotionally stupid boss'. But his friend wraps his arms around him like he always did when they were younger. When he would seek him out for comfort when he missed his dad and when his father was sending particularly mean texts. His shoulders are as broad as Wenlang remembered - it's been a while since they've hugged - and the Alpha sniffled against his neck.
He unfortunately had to breathe in the Sage, and while he hated it, it smelled soothing. "I hate this Omega. Are they good to you?.." Wenlang finds himself whispering against the Sage's claim over his Beta.
"A'Lang.. there is no Omega."
He laughs, it's humorless. "You can't hide this - if there is no Omega, then what is it?" The younger man brings his nose closer to the cheap grade inhibitor patch, and breathes in. He pauses, the fingers that grasped at Gao Tu's shoulders loosens.
Cheap-grade.. inhibitor patch?
He knows the feeling of an inhibitor patch, Hua Yong literally makes them - but-
The man pulls his face away, eyes blinking down at Tu's nape, adjusting to the light now that he had to open them. "I know it's overwhelming.. can I explain later? Just calm down for me, please?"
Wenlang swallows, and stares for a long, long second, before he nods. Tu brings him over to sit, and he doesn't waste a second before claiming the man's lap, wrapping his arms around him. He doesn't get pushed off, and rather, pulled closer even if hesitantly. "You don't have to modify anything for me, Wenlang -" He sucks in a breath, "It's been an eternity waiting to see if you ever.. and I- my suffering came from thinking you could ever feel anything for me. But you never have to change anything about yourself. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you."
Gao Tu knows more than anyone how it feels to force an unwanted change on one's body. "I.." It's hard to say it now that he's here, when he gets to say it without fear. Wenlang is listening to every word he says, he can even feel the man's heart over his suit with how it thrums against his own chest. He can smell the Iris that blooms with hope. "I love you. Since that paper airplane." The weight that has been lifted off him is welcomed by a squeeze that Wenlang gives him when he snuggles in further, hugging him harder.
"I love you too -" It might sound a little too fast after finding out everything (well, not everything, but everything, soon), but after so long, after everything, this really was the longest slowburn in any book Wenlang has ever touched in his entire life. "I don't even know since when but I know it's been- forever."
"So, yes. I'll choose you instead."
"You should choose yourself, too." He pulls off the inhibitor patch, and tosses it aside. "Besides, these aren't even.. good. What do you do with the money I pay you? I should raise it again, right?"
"No. Don't. With what you give me, I could probably buy a house."
"Then you should buy a new house! - Or live with me, yeah, live with me, please? Is it too fast?" He can't wait, he really can't anymore. "And maybe buy better patches - or don't, I like this."
"I thought you hated it.." There's a tinge of something, but Wenlang is able to explain in a flash.
"I hated it because it was always around you and it smelled good so you must've liked it better than mine."
"I think your usual scent is better, Shen-Zong." Tu lets the younger man breathe in his scent for a long time before their break is over and they had to rush to get to a meeting - though Wenlang had whined all the way that they should've just cancelled.
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Author's Note: This was way longer than I expected. My Wenlang canon is a yapper who blurts way too much