Archive of Our Own

Everybody knew parenthood wasn’t easy. Even if all pamphlets and information for omegas laid heavy on the fact how natural and simple the act was, even the most motherly omega knew that in the end, kids were irrational and quite frankly dumb beings. They resisted nap time, cried just because and had little to no control of their tiny bodies. All of these things were things Gao Tu had gotten to experience with Lele, each day spent alone with their son a strain on his energy. Wenlang had tried to offer to buy a nanny service, for Gao Tu to return to work if he so desired - but he had turned all that down. He did want to return to work eventually, but the timing didn’t feel right. Despite all the hardship of raising a child he loved Lele, all of his little expressions and newly found vocabulary. Lele was a year and a half, using his voice very actively, walking without assistance and playing on his own when needed. For the most part he was an easy child, content just spending time with his fathers. 

The rest of the time though…

Gao Tu had insisted on Wenlang continuing his work like usual, not allowing him to take a leave of absence just because. The alpha had pouted, tried to say the company would run without him - Gao Tu had been flattered and quite frankly swooned a little, but he knew his partner. He would’ve chosen his family first every time, and because of that he couldn’t allow for him to put them first when there was no need. He managed their home and their child fine, Wenlang hurrying back home as soon as he could. It was fine.

At least he thought so, until Lele entered a phase he wasn’t that fond of. He wanted only Wenlang, only dada - begrudgingly accepting diaper changes, bath times and feedings from his baba for a while. Every internet article he read during nap time on the couch assured him it was normal, that sometimes children had phases of shying away from close relatives, even their parents. So he tried to tell himself it was alright, it was a phase, and soon he would have his smiley little boy back. 

”Come on, baobei”, he said with a sigh, holding a plastic green spoon and trying to feed his child. Lele was sitting in his highchair, face twisted in an unhappy frown aimed at him. The spoon filled with porridge wasn’t welcome to their child, who kept moving away and shaking his head. ”No! No no! Baba, no!” Lele said, voice too determined for someone so small. The highchair rattled as he struggled in his seat, determined to not take any of the offered food. 

Gao Tu worried his lip between his teeth, looking at his son for a few beats. The face so similar to Wenlang was turned away from him, small brows furrowed and little lips pursed in clear disappointment. Evidently disappointed in him not being his daddy. 

”You’re killing me, little one”, he sighed again, trying once more to get his child to have at least some of his lunch. He knew Lele wasn’t big enough to understand the situation, how if he didn’t eat he would be so hungry later, and how he was only trying to take care of him. No, instead Lele only understood one thing - he wanted dada, and Gao Tu wasn’t dada. 

The omega tried once more, making little airplane noises as he tried to entice the child to have a bite, only to have the spoon knocked out of his hand and onto the floor. He bit his lip as he stared at the green spoon against the light flooring, sighing deeply and getting up from his seat. ”No lunch today, it seems”, he spoke more to himself. ”Let’s get you some milk, and then a nice nap. That sound okay?”

”No baba! Want dada! Bad baba!” Lele answered, scrunching his whole face into an unhappy expression, as if he expected him to just turn into Wenlang. Gao Tu actually wished he could’ve done that.

”Sorry, kiddo”, he hummed, grabbing a light green straw cup from the cabinet and filling it with milk. ”Just baba for now.”

The answer did not please Lele at all, and the boy struggled even more in his high chair, evidently trying to escape as far away from him as possible. Gao Tu knew it was just a phase and nothing personal, but it hurt. He and Lele had spent the first months of his life together, just the two of them most of the time, and now he didn’t want him? It was betrayal, in the form of an upset toddler glaring at him.

”Maybe soon you’ll like me again”, he said gently, popping the bottle into the microwave to warm. ”Maybe you need a hug before your nap? Hmm?”

He walked back to his son and offered his open arms, Lele looking at him with his eyebrows furrowed again. ”No! No no no! No baba! Baba go!” He insisted, banging small fists on his high chair and inadvertently pushing the bowl of leftover porridge on the floor. It clattered and rolled on the floor, porridge splattered on the floor and the kitchen island next to them. ”Shen Lele! That’s enough”, Gao Tu yelped, voice coming out harsher than intended. He did mean to scold, of course, but the exhaustion and hurt sneaked into his voice on their own - making it just stern enough for little Lele to stop in his tracks. He stared at him quietly, and then those big sweet eyes started to well up with tears. ”Baba, go”, his child said with a thick, disappointed voice that stabbed daggers in his heart. 

 He didn’t even really register the ding of the microwave and the almost simultaneous sound of their front door opening, his mate’s gentle voice calling out a hello. Instead of replying Gao Tu moved quickly - took the warm bottle from the microwave, swiftly grabbed the struggling upset child and walked to the foyer, where Wenlang was removing his jacket and shoes. At his arrival his mate lifted an eyebrow, mouth opening to ask, before Gao Tu unceremoniously plopped their child and the cup in his hands. ”Your child needs a nap”, he mumbled quietly, turning around and returning to the kitchen without explaining further. The omega missed the puzzled look on Wenlang’s face, as well as the searching gaze following him until he disappeared to the kitchen. He did, however, hear the alpha’s gentle voice murmuring to their child as steps moved further from the kitchen, until they quietened into the safety of the nursery. At least now their child could be sated again.

Inside the nursery Wenlang fed Lele slowly, looking at his son with curiosity in his eyes. ”Have you terrorised your baba again?” He asked, voice light and gentle. Lele only cooed quietly while drinking, until he released the straw for a moment. ”Baba go. Want dada”, he said, blinking at his father with his huge eyes. ”Ah”, the alpha chuckled quietly. ”That’s not very nice to your baba. Do you remember who carried you for nine months, held you in his arms every day and night?” 

Wenlang spoke with a stern yet gentle voice, not to scold, but to remind his son. He knew of all the assurances of children picking favorites for limited times, but nothing would take away the fact that his mate had taken care of their child alone in the beginning. To him that was worth very much.

”Baba”, Lele answered quietly, making him smile softly. ”Baba held you in his tummy, protected you and made sure you were safe until I had you two again”, he murmured, pressing his lips against the child’s temple. ”Baba stay. Baba good.”

Lele blinked at him again, as if studying his face and the things he was told. ”Baba good”, he then repeated, previous frown and furrowed brows relaxed into a sleepy, content expression. ”Baba love.”

”Yes. Baba love”, Wenlang confirmed, letting Lele drink the last of his milk before laying him down in his crib. ”Baba will love you always, even when you don’t want him, baobao.”

His son yawned quietly, rubbing his eyes with his small fists and blinking blearily up at him. With a gentle smile on his face Wenlang patted his son's belly, coaxing the child to surrender to sleep. Perhaps he was tired and that was the reason for being so adamantly against his other father, who knew. ”I love you, but you cannot cause my mate heartbreak like this”, he murmured quietly, more to himself than his child. Of course he was protective of Lele, but maybe even more so of Gao Tu. His omega was a kind, gentle soul, and the thought of him enduring any heartbreak made his chest twist in agony. Gao Tu only deserved happiness. 

After confirming their son had fallen into a slumber Wenlang stood, padding out of the nursery and closing the door after him with care, baby monitor in hand. His heart and his instincts yearned for Gao Tu, carrying him without effort to the kitchen, where the omega was squatted on the floor. His partner was absentmindedly wiping at the floor with a paper towel, specks of pale beige porridge long gone from the surface. Silently Wenlang crouched next to him, grabbed the paper towel from his hands and raised both of them up to stand, wrapping his arms around his mate. Gao Tu’s sage scent was a little dulled, light notes of burnt in the mix - he was upset. “Baobei”, he said gently, pressing his lips against his omega’s forehead. The sage perked up a little, but the expression on his partner’s face still told a story of upset. 

“Your son can be very mean”, Gao Tu mumbled, prompting him to lift him on the kitchen island, setting himself between his legs. “Tell me, love”, Wenlang asked, grabbing his omega’s hands gently and looking him in the eye. 

His partner’s eyes had a slight haunted look in them, almost as if the horrors of his past tried to take hold. “He only wanted you”, he hummed, “I wasn’t what he wanted. Bad baba.”

Wenlang winced, leaning his forehead against his lover’s. He had wanted Lele to be more attached to him, but this was not exactly how he wanted it…

“It’s just-”

“A phase, I know”, Gao Tu interrupted. “I know it’s a phase, I know eventually he will be the same laughing little boy he was. I know. But right now it really hurts to be called bad, to be asked to go away.”

“Maybe it’s because I have been working too much”, the alpha pondered, “maybe if I was home more-”

“I’m not some housewife who can’t handle a toddler and managing the house”, his partner scoffed, looking away from him. “I don’t want you to skip work because you think I’m weak.” 

“My love, I don’t think you’re weak”, Wenlang said softly, “and I most certainly don’t think you’re a housewife incapable of managing a toddler and the house. That’s not at all what I’m saying.”

“Then what is it that you’re saying?” Gao Tu mumbled, turning his sweet eyes back to him. He remembered what his omega had looked like when he was still abusing suppressants, when he was stretched thin with exhaustion and stress - and he never wanted anything like that for his lover ever again. Sometimes he was haunted by pale skin and lifeless eyes in his dreams, usually ending up staring sleeplessly at his Gao Tu, his tan skin, light pink lips and gently rising and falling chest.

”What I’m saying is that I don’t want you to have to manage by yourself”, he sighed gently. ”This isn’t an arrangement where I come around when it’s convenient for me, and you carry the burdens of our family. You and I are equal, and I want you to have the same opportunities for rest, recovery and relaxation as me.”

”You don’t get to rest either”, Gao Tu pointed out, making him smile crookedly. ”It’s hardly the same to glare at insolent shareholders in a meeting room, than wrangle a tiny being into something they don’t want”, he responded, nosing at his mate’s neck. ”What you do at home every day is at least as important as what I do at the office, probably even more important.”

Gao Tu still didn’t seem very convinced, though the dullness of his scent had dissipated slightly. 

”It’s not even like I don’t know he’s just a child”, the omega said, ”I just… I don’t know, I didn’t expect him to want me to go away after all we’ve been through together.”

”If I’m correct, there’s a very needy toddler in your future”, Wenlang mused, releasing a wave of his own pheromones just to relax his partner a bit. ”I talked to him.”

”And you believe it stuck?” Gao Tu chuckled, shoulders slowly relaxing and posture opening up more. ”He’s my son. Of course it stuck”, he answered proudly, coaxing a quiet snort from his mate. It made his instincts very happy, and in the back of his mind he knew if he had a tail, it would’ve been wagging. 

Finally Gao Tu wrapped his arms around him, pressing his face against his neck and breathing in his scent. For a short while their scents mingled, swirling around each other like two dancers, flowing from side to side. 

”You’re Lele’s baba”, Wenlang said softly, ”and I’m his dada. He needs both of us.” 

”I suppose so…”

”I know so. You wouldn’t dare oppose your alpha?”

Gao Tu snickered quietly, other hand stroking his upper back idly. ”If you really, really want to work less, and it won’t cause any damage… I suppose it’d be nice to have you around more”, his mate murmured, still the most considerate little thing he had ever met. ”The least I can do is work from home more”, he promised, ”but I do believe I’m due for some days off. I just decided so.”

Finally a soft, content smile spread on Gao Tu’s face, giving into his suggestions with a nod. ”I wouldn’t dare oppose my alpha”, he whispered, leaning close and kissing him slowly. Wenlang believed the kiss was conveying some of the stress and hurt his mate had endured, and so he kissed back to make all that fly away. He wanted his mate content, happy and sated, and he would happily admit it to anyone. 

”I was supposed to ask why you’re home”, Gao Tu asked after they’d kissed for a while. ”It’s early.”

”There was an issue with all our telecommunications”, he replied, ”all systems down, no way to keep most of the staff working. Including me.”

”… Please tell me you didn’t cause it on purpose to be able to come home early.”

”Of course not. I’m the CEO, if I wanted to leave early I wouldn’t have to resort to dirty tricks like that.”

Gao Tu raised his eyebrow and looked at him like he suspected he was lying, but ended up just laying his head on his shoulder. ”I’m glad you’re home”, he said, ”I missed your scent…”

Wenlang immediately let out a stronger wave of iris, a shudder running over his back as his omega moaned quietly. ”Lele will probably sleep for another hour”, Gao Tu said, smiling. ”Maybe we should take a nap of our own?”

”A nap as in..?” The alpha wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, earning himself a swat on the shoulder. ”As in a nap, I’m tired and so are you”, his mate laughed, pushing him away and hopping off the counter. ”Come. Let’s lay on the couch.”

Feigning disappointment Wenland pouted, though soon he couldn’t help but smile, laying down on their couch with his lover in his arms.

Gao Tu woke from their nap as the baby monitor stood on their coffee table crackled to life, annoyed whining sounding out from the machine. With a slight tinge of worry he looked at his mate, who was still snoozing on the couch - no sign of waking up soon. Softly he brushed a runaway lock from Wenlang’s forehead, then slowly got up carefully to not wake him. He walked to the nursery door, grabbing the handle and peeking in, gaze immediately finding their child standing against the railing of his crib. They had moved him into a nursery just some months ago, walls painted with little ducks and decorated with gentle lighting and soft carpets and playmats. Lele looked at him, little hands raised up and making demanding gestures. ”Baba!” He exclaimed, previous unhappiness gone from his face. 

”Oh, so now I’m alright”, Gao Tu said gently, walking to the crib and offering his hands to Lele. ”Want uppies?”

A giggle sounded from their child’s mouth, wiping the remnants of his worries away from him. ”You strange little thing”, he murmured, nuzzling Lele’s cheek. Maybe he was dramatic earlier - at least it felt like he was, now that he had a smiley, cuddly toddler in his arms again.

”Baba”, Lele said, hands pressing against his cheeks. ”Baba love.”

The omega smiled wider, heart swelling a little. ”Yes, baobao. Baba love Lele.”