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”Daddy. Daddy. Daddy!”
Wenlang furrowed his brows, refusing to awaken from his slumber or open his eyes. Instead he turned away from the opposing noise, pulling the covers higher over him.
”Daddyyyyy”, the noise continued, a small body now clambering over him and plopping unceremoniously in front of him. Wenlang chanced a look, immediately finding his darling son almost glued to his face. ”Daddy! Good morning!” He exclaimed, little five year old face glowing with joy now that he finally had his attention. ”Good morning, Lele”, he replied groggily, reaching out his arms and pulling the child against his chest under the covers. ”Daddy wants to sleep a little more.”
”No! It’s morning, wake up time”, Lele said, struggling against his loose hold and giggling joyously. ”Baba made breakfast before he left.”
”Is that so? Did you eat well?”
”I did! I finished my eggs too”, his son said proudly, and Wenlang couldn’t help but smile. ”Good boy”, he praised, kissing his forehead and snuggling his child gently.
It was his day alone with their son, as he had arranged for Gao Tu to have a day for himself - he planned to meet his sister, have dinner out in peace and other activities that Wenlang fully endorsed. It had now been a little under two months since the discovery of the pregnancy, and the alpha had been adamant on taking more of their household work on his shoulders. He no longer let Gao Tu insist on taking care of the cleaning and cooking duties by himself, instead inserting himself between his mate and the stove or the vacuum cleaner. More often than not he barked at his omega to sit down, relax and take it easy, despite the pregnancy barely showing by now.
He also gladly accepted the responsibility of their son, spending more time with just the two of them. Nausea and exhaustion had been present in his mate’s daily life for some time now, and he felt even more protective of Gao Tu now. Which was why he found himself naturally waking up before him, studying his sleeping face and the slight expression of discomfort before rising, preparing to spend the morning wrangling their five year old by himself.
Even if he was a little sad his mate had already left, he was happy to know he had felt well enough to leave early. That meant that hopefully later in the evening he would get an armful of happy omega, smelling of sweet and milky sage.
”Daddyyyyy”, his son whined again, prompting him to laugh and release him from his hold. ”Alright, alright, let’s get up”, he said, grunting quietly as he left the warmth of their bed. It was saturday and the sun was already high up in the sky, peeking in through the curtains. Their apartment was quiet as he walked out their bedroom while holding his son’s hand, the smell of fresh coffee emanating from the kitchen. “Daddy will take a cup of coffee, why don’t you pick a game for us to play after that?” He suggested, Lele squealing happily and running excitedly into the living room.
Yawning and stretching Wenlang grabbed his cup from the cabinet - a black cup with the writing ’daddy number one’ on it - and poured himself a steaming cup of coffee. It was hard to not miss the familiar scent of his mate in the kitchen, only getting whiffs of the man at times. He’d gladly admit to anyone he was whipped for Gao Tu, for him it wasn’t a shame but a privilege.
”So, what are we playing?” He asked his son, strolling leisurely in the living room and plopping himself next to Lele.
The boy had a couple of board games around him, pondering determinedly between them. ”I want to play Hungry Hungry Hippos”, he then decided, setting the other games politely back in a pile to the side. ”Then we shall do that”, Wenlang chuckled, sipping his coffee and watching his son dutifully set up the game.
Gao Tu always said Lele looked just like him, but when the alpha looked at his son, all he could see was Gao Tu. Maybe not in his looks, but in the care and focus he had when doing something. Lele was also smart and friendly, considerate even, which made him think of his mate even more. Sometimes he wondered whether Lele would later present some characteristics of him, too - and to be honest, it frightened him a little. Arrogance, a cold heart and stubbornness were hardly traits that you wanted a child to have.
Then again, Gao Tu had already pointed out some other traits: the way Lele was protective of his baba, oftentimes wanting to help as much as he could. He was also smart and noticed details other children maybe didn’t, and his mate said it was due to the alpha’s influence. He still had a hard time believing anything good came from his genes, but especially when his omega was pregnant he had no chance of saying no to him.
”Daddy”, Lele said after a while of playing, ”are the wolves on daddy’s back you and baba?”
Wenlang smiled. ”They can be, if you’d like”, he promised, remembering the first times his son had touched his tattoo softly. Their son was gentle and considerate - he remembered clearly the day Lele had tugged on his hand, motioned for him to lean down and whispered his question. His son had asked if someone had hurt him, for he had seen the scars on his back, and for a moment Wenlang had frozen. It wasn’t prying or filled with malice, just a question from a worried five year old that loved his daddy.
Back then he had smiled and told his son quietly that in the past someone had been mean and hurt him, but that he was better now. Now that he had his son and his mate. Lele had looked a little suspicious of that, but had then hugged him with all his five year old might. It had made Wenlang’s heart swell so much he had to fight to keep his cool. His son was just so… Pure, sweet and loving, just like his Gao Tu.
”Daddy”, Lele asked again later, when they were walking hand in hand towards the playground near their apartment. ”Yes, baobao?”
”Will baba be okay with the baby?”
Wenlang stopped for a bit, crouching in front of his child. ”Of course. Why do you ask?”
Lele looked hesitant, holding his toy dinosaur close to his chest. ”Baba looks tired”, he then said, voice soft and so concerned for a child his age. ”I heard uncles talk about it and they said it’s hard to make a baby and that baba should rest more and…”
The alpha smiled and embraced his son gently, patting his head and making a mental note of reminding Hua Yong and Sheng Shaoyou to keep their mouths shut when babysitting. ”You don’t need to worry about that”, he promised, ”it is hard to make a baby. But baba has daddy, and daddy won’t let anything bad happen to baba or the baby. Do you believe me?”
The child nodded immediately, no reason to doubt his father. ”But what if baba gets sick and then the baby won’t come?”
”Lele”, Wenlang said softly, ”do not worry. Daddy will do everything to make sure you get to meet your little brother or sister. I will protect both of them, and you.”
Lele still looked hesitant, but eventually nodded and hugged his father tightly. It was heartwarming how responsible and adultlike the child could be, worried about his baba and future sibling. It almost made him a little wistful, to think that his son at his young age was already taking responsibility that he didn’t need to take. He would have to tell Gao Tu about it later.
All remnants of worry were discarded from the boy with time spent at the playground, Wenlang sitting on a bench to the side and looking at his son with a smile. Some of the other parents at the playground looked at him with curiosity, even whispered to themselves - but he paid no mind. He only enjoyed his time with his firstborn, pushing him in the swings and making sand cakes with him on the sand box. He didn’t care about his expensive shoes and pants becoming stained with sand, those were trivial things to him. The laughs and joyous shrieks from his son weren’t.
”What a handsome alpha father.”
”It’s unusual to see someone like him so attentive to a child.”
”Isn’t he an S-class? Shouldn’t the omega be with the child?”
”The boy is a spitting image of his father.”
Such whispers didn’t have space in their world, instead focusing on just their shared day.
It was pretty late when Gao Tu returned home, Lele’s bedtime had already passed. He didn’t plan on staying out for so long, but in the end having time for himself and his sister was healing - he didn’t think about schedules or anything else, only the things he had wanted to do.
The apartment was quiet as he stepped in, deciding against calling out a hello just in case. The lights were on in the kitchen and he could see the faint glow of the reading light from the living room, so after setting his bags down he strolled leisurely further into their apartment.
He stopped at the living room doorway, smiling to himself at the scene in front of him. In the corner of the sofa, under the warm reading light, were his mate and child - father and son both sleeping soundly. Wenlang was holding a book that he clearly had been reading to their pajama-clad son, who was hugging the usual plush dinosaur close to him. Both of them had their mouths ajar, mirroring each other adorably.
Quietly Gao Tu grabbed his phone and took a picture or two, deciding to make the moment his phone background later. Gently he picked up the book from his mate’s hands, set it down and moved to loosen his son’s grip from Wenlang’s shirt. It was easier said than done, but eventually he was able to lift the boy in his arms, ready to be put to his own bed for the rest of the night. The alpha stirred as the extra weight lifted from him, eyes cracking open and greeting Gao Tu with a sleepy smile. Gao Tu smiled back, motioned silently for him to stay where he was, as he walked to the nursery. There he laid their sleepy son on his back, pulled up the covers and made sure to tuck his dinosaur under the covers with him too.
When he returned to the living room Wenlang was more awake, hair still mussed up and looking like the most adorable father there was. Gao Tu much preferred this version of Wenlang to the cutthroat businessman one.
”I take it bedtime was for both of you”, he chuckled, sitting down next to his mate, the alpha wrapping his arms immediately around him. ”I don’t even remember when I fell asleep”, he yawned, looking at him with soft eyes. ”Did you have fun?”
”I did. Gao Qing is hoping for the baby to be a girl, and she offered her babysitting services if we need more time as a couple.”
Wenlang laughed, gaze finding the soft, almost invisible swell of his mate’s stomach. Far from an actual baby bump, but even the softest little growth was the apple of his eye. ”Your son was very worried about you today”, he murmured, making the omega raise his eyebrow. ”Apparently he had heard from the lunatic and Sheng Shaoyou that making a baby was hard, and that you should be resting more.”
”He actually said he was worried?”
”Uh-huh.”
”Oh sweet thing… What did you say?”
The alpha smiled, holding him closer. ”I promised that daddy will protect all three of you. And that I will do everything I can so that he gets to meet his baby brother or sister.”
Gao Tu looked at him for a few beats, then leaning in to share a soft kiss with his alpha. ”I trust you”, he murmured, ”and I know you’ll protect us. But will you let me protect you too?”
Wenlang leaned his forehead against the omega’s, nodding lightly. ”I would never deny that from you.”
”Good”, he responded, ”because I would be very, very upset if you did.”
Both of them laughed quietly, just embracing each other and enjoying the quiet for a moment or two. ”I was impulsive and bought some baby things”, Gao Tu then admitted, Wenlang perking up immediately with curiosity in his eyes. ”Show me”, he demanded, reluctantly letting his mate get up from his arms, smiling to himself. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect what he had - this beautiful, soft family that he had the honor of having. He would let nothing endanger that.