Work Text:
Wenlang didn’t really enjoy work related banquets. They were filled with insufferable people hoping for just a crumb of his attention, not to mention all the competitors and shareholders needing his comments on trivial things. But as a CEO he was expected to be present for most of the night, so he always went. The banquets were significantly more tolerable when Gao Tu was with him, his competent and calm mate filling him with patience. At the banquets they usually didn’t flaunt their relationship, despite staying close to each other at all times. If someone asked they didn’t hide it, but as the setting was professional, so were they.
… Wenlang wouldn’t have minded holding Gao Tu’s hand or kissing his cheek, though.
His mate however had insisted for now they kept it professional, keeping public displays of affection to a minimum. No amount of pouting or whining from the alpha had been able to change Gao Tu’s mind.
Usually they attended such events with just the two of them, Lele dropped into the care of either Gao Qing or Sheng Shaoyou and Hua Yong. They preferred not hiring a strange nanny, mostly for their own sanity, and of course their close circle enjoyed looking after the five year old child as well. This time, however, their three trusted people were all occupied: Gao Qing was on a work trip outside of town, and their friends were in the trenches with their sick child. Little Peanut was having the worst stomach flu, and therefore giving Lele into their care was out of the question. There was of course the option of only Wenlang attending, or not attending at all, but neither of the options was pleasing for both of them. So they ended up with the last and least unfortunate option - bringing little Lele with them. It had been Wenlang who had suggested it, looking at their child calmly playing with his blocks on the living room carpet. His mate had been less than enthusiastic, pondering whether their child could truly be fit for a formal banquet, even if he was a generally calm and well behaved child. Wenlang had insisted he was, that there was no risk, that they would only make an appearance for an hour or two. The omega had known the look in his mate’s eyes, chuckling to himself and just agreeing. You couldn’t change the alpha’s mind.
The days before the banquet were spent buying suitable clothing for their son, as well as going through some base rules with the child. They of course didn’t expect him to stay completely quiet and just sit happily, he was a child after all - but for safety, there had to be some ground rules. The safety of their child was the most important thing for them in the rigid professional setting.
“Do you remember what daddy said about running?” Gao Tu asked, buttoning his son’s adorable little beige vest. “No running, because I could hurt myself”, their five year old answered obediently, making him smile. “Very good. What else did daddy say?”
“That I have to hold daddy or baba’s hand.”
“And?”
“And tell baba or daddy if I need to go potty”, Lele added, holding his plush toy frog in his hands. “Very good”, Gao Tu cooed, pressing a kiss on the top of Lele’s head. “Daddy or baba will be with you at all times. You can have some cake, too.”
The mention of a sweet treat brought a joyous smile on his son’s face, the child bouncing lightly on his feet. He was wearing an unusually formal outfit - beige vest, little light blue dress shirt and dressy shorts. The omega had pondered on a small tie, but decided against it in the end. He didn’t want their child to be any more uncomfortable than he already would be.
As he sat their child on their bed with his toys his mate stepped out from their shared walk in closet, wearing a dashing night blue suit. It was tailored to fit him perfectly, fabric accentuating his strong shoulders and broad back, bringing out the color of his skin beautifully. He was tying his black tie while he stepped forward, gaze falling on him and their child. “You clean up well”, he said with a smile, “my two beautiful loves.”
“Look who’s talking”, Gao Tu chuckled, walking up to his mate and grabbing the tie from his hands, finishing tying it. “You look so very handsome”, the omega murmured, “I almost don’t want to go to that banquet…”
Wenlang groaned, hands finding their place on Gao Tu’s hips. “We can still not go”, he said, “we can always blame it on the kiddo. Say he got sick.”
“And you would take the chance in a heartbeat if I let you”, his mate smiled, kissing him briefly. Gao Tu was wearing his own tailored suit in a complementary slate blue color, thin waist so beautifully displayed with the jacket. He was beautiful, like he always was to Wenlang, but somehow in professional settings his omega was almost ethereal. It did lead to his thoughts wrapping around wanting to peel all the layers off from Gao Tu and doing sinful things to him, so he couldn’t dwell on it too much.
Instead he kissed Gao Tu back, leaned close to smell his scent for a moment and then composed himself again. “And Lele”, he then said, kneeling in front of his child. “Are you ready for your first corporate event?”
“Yes, daddy!” Lele answered excitedly, animatedly fixing his suit like he had seen his father do many times before. It was clear their little baobao idolized his daddy, large eyes always looking adoringly up at his tall, strong father. Almost like Gao Tu always gazed longingly at Wenlang.
“Good”, the alpha smiled, “then let’s head out, the car should be waiting downstairs.”
The drive to the banquet space was a fairly quick one, both parents sitting in the backseat with their child between them. As the car stopped in front of a tall event hall Wenlang got out first, opening the door to his mate without question. Gao Tu himself helped their child off his carseat and out the car, Lele grabbing both their hands as they started the stroll inside the event hall. They collected curious and adoring looks from all around as they made their way in, the other guests whispering to each other not so subtly.
“Is that Shen Wenlang’s mate? And is that his child? I thought he was emotionless and cold!”
“Don’t be foolish, haven’t you seen in previous events how Shen Wenlang looks at him? Of course that has to be his mate!”
“And what a young child, and so well behaved…”
“As is to be expected of the heir of HS Group.”
Neither of them paid no mind to the whispers, instead thanking the organizers for the invite and politely engaging with the other guests. There was light music and black and white waiters walking around the grand hall, hands carrying trays full of different bites of food and drink. Gao Tu discreetly grabbed a few unassuming pieces of finger food, lifting Lele to sit in his arms and feeding it to him as a shareholder blabbered on about some merger he was proposing with Wenlang. Normally he would’ve paid close attention to be able to give his own opinion to his mate later, but now he was far more interested in the wellbeing of their child. He had returned to work a year ago when Lele was four and could handle staying at a reputable day care center, and though he enjoyed every day he could spend as Wenlang’s head secretary, he also missed their son every day. Still, working alongside his alpha made him feel more like himself, gave him a new sense of purpose and an identity as something else than an omega and a father of a small child. He was also Gao Tu, the most competent and efficient secretary in the whole city.
As expected their child was well behaved, sitting in his arms and looking at the other guests curiously. Occasionally Gao Tu or Wenlang murmured quiet praise to Lele, a loving coo here, a gentle pat on the head there. As promised Gao Tu also fed their son some cake, Lele now being held by his daddy as his baba fed him the sweet treat. Somehow the sight of Wenlang in a suit and holding a happy toddler made even more of an impression on everyone, adoring and almost jealous looks following the man wherever he went. And secretly - or maybe not so secretly - the omega was so proud, being the only one who could call the impressive man his mate. Nobody else got to see the tattoo on his back, the way he fell undone in their shared bed, the way he murmured quietly to their son while putting him to bed. It was only for his eyes, and he would never ever share.
“Daddy”, Lele whined at one point, tugging his father’s hand while standing next to him. “Potty.”
Immediately Wenlang turned his attention away from whoever he was chatting with, crouching in front of his son. “You need to go?” he asked, receiving a shy nod from the boy. “You’ll excuse me”, he said to the other guests, nodding to Gao Tu in confirmation that he would handle the matter. Gao Tu just smiled and nodded back, nursing his champagne and taking the place of his mate in the conversation. It was the owner of a company they partnered with, a gentle old alpha that had never caused them any trouble. He didn’t mind entertaining a conversation with him.
After some time the old man also excused himself to join the company of someone else, leaving him to stand by himself to the sidelines. He liked just observing the other guests, deducing who was with who and who wanted something from someone, paying attention to details most people overlooked. That was his job, and to him it was easy and fascinating.
Soon a presence announced himself next to him, greeting him with a smile and a lifted eyebrow. “Evening”, an unknown young alpha said, oppressive scent of cedarwood wafting from the man. Gao Tu recognised it being an effort to seduce, to bring him closer - apparently the young man had not seen him with his mate and his child. His bite was hidden under the collar of his shirt, muting his scent slightly, so maybe it wasn’t so apparent that he was very much spoken for. “Good evening”, he replied politely, eyes returning back to the other guests. “Great party, isn’t it? Shall I get you another glass of champagne?” he was asked, and for a moment he could smell the distinct smell of alcohol from the man’s breath. Inebriated, probably not thinking straight.
“No thank you”, he answered, still polite and giving the man the benefit of the doubt. “Still finishing my first glass.”
“Oh, come on - a pretty thing like you should be having more, enjoying himself”, the man laughed, bold eyes flowing over his body in clear lust. “Surely you could spend some time… Discussing with me?”
Gao Tu didn’t have the chance to reply, when an insolent, rude hand laid itself against his ass.
All his previous patience had run out, irritation coloring his face and eyes. “I ask that you keep your hands to yourself”, he hissed, “this is a professional event!”
“Oh, don’t be so coy”, the alpha said, smile telling a story of not taking him seriously. “I’m sure I could relax you a little, you seem like you need it”, he added, another wave of oppressive, pungent pheromones wafting out and over him. It was a wonder the other guests hadn’t noticed, though Gao Tu suspected they also just didn’t want to interfere. After all, he wasn’t a delicate, fragile omega - he was tall, strong and capable of taking care of himself. At least they thought so.
“I am perfectly relaxed, thank you”, the omega responded, trying his best not to cause a scene as he shoved the hand off his backside. The alpha didn’t like that, a twitch on his face betraying the supposed friendly smile. In his inebriated mind he was probably wondering why Gao Tu wasn’t on his knees already from his pheromones, brain not making the connection it should’ve.
“You’re a rude little thing, aren’t you”, the young man practically growled, stepping closer to him with little care and staring down at him. “A good omega like you should be kneeling already.”
Before he could spit out an equally rude answer, he felt the faint scent of iris. It almost made him smirk, knowing his mate would be far from happy when he witnessed the scene - but instead he kept his cool, looking at the alpha dead in the eye. He didn’t have to say anything, as shortly the scent of iris got stronger, oppressive even, only to him it was the odor of home, of family, of Wenlang.
“I must advise you to step away from my mate”, his alpha said in a low, restrained voice, still holding their child, who was also glaring at the intruder in his own adorable way. Clearly taking after his father.
The effect was immediate, the strange alpha cowering and glancing between them, now making the connection between all the details.
”O-oh”, the strange alpha stuttered, complexion paling in the presence of an S-class alpha. ”I wasn’t aware-”
”That you were harassing my mate? I figured”, Wenlang barked, composure barely holding. His eyes were blazing, and if Gao Tu hadn’t been so busy lifting their child back to his arms he probably would’ve swooned a little. Angry, protective Wenlang was so sexy.
”The only reason I am not throwing you out of here is the presence of my mate and our child”, his alpha growled, ”so you can thank both of them for getting to keep your head and whatever puny company you are here to represent. As long as you leave right now.”
The younger alpha sputtered, barely holding on to his glass as he rambled some sort of half-assed apology and snuck away, as if scared Wenlang would pounce on him any minute now.
His mate did stare after him for an extended moment, before he turned back to him and his face softened immediately. ”You okay?”
”A little irritated and just slightly violated, but yes”, Gao Tu replied, voice amused. ”I haven’t been groped in a while.”
”I would hope so”, Wenlang grumbled, embracing him and covering him in his scent. ”Only I can grope you.”
The omega smiled, foregoing his own rules and kissing his mate on his cheek. ”And thank you to my little protector as well”, he cooed to his son, nuzzling his cheek. ”Some day you’ll be a very good protector for someone.”
Lele beamed proudly, turning to his father for added recognition, which he got immediately. ”Perhaps this party has now gone on long enough for us three”, Wenland mused. ”Shall we take our leave?”
”Gladly. And I think our rule of remaining professional and not causing any scenes has now crumbled to the ground.”
”So be it. I wanted to hold your hand anyway”, Wenlang said, grabbing his free hand and pulling him after him.
Perhaps it was alright not being professional in every banquet.