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Shen Tian Xi was not an easy baby.
She cried, refused to sleep and demanded attention, and Wenlang still ate it all up. She was temperamental, demanding and seemed to be hungry all the time - yet a single smile or babble from her was enough to bring her alpha father to his knees. Even when he was tired from late night feedings or diaper changes he could only smile, fingertips softly grazing on Tian Xi’s soft cheek. ”You are indulging her far too much”, Gao Tu’s soft, sleepy voice mumbled from beside him, arms wrapping around his middle. ”She won’t break if she cries for a while without being held. She’ll learn to put herself back to sleep.”
”That just sounds cruel”, Wenlang scoffed, earning himself a quiet laugh from behind him. ”It’s not cruel. It’s necessary for your daughter”, the omega mused, turning him around and looking at him with those soft brown eyes. ”Besides, if you only pay attention to her, you leave your omega feeling forlorn.”
Wenlang snickered quietly, leaning in to give Gao Tu an apologetic kiss. ”You make very good babies”, he then muttered, making his omega’s eyes crinkle with happiness.
It was early in the morning, and both of them knew their excited firstborn would soon be joining them to look at his sister. Lele had been infatuated from the start, even if a little suspicious of the small size and wrinkliness of her. He was still proving to be fiercely protective of her, insisting on watching her while their parents cooked, did the laundry or anything else, even if Tian Xi was sleeping soundly for once. It warmed their parents’ hearts, and it proved increasingly difficult for Wenlang to return to work after their life had normalized after childbirth. He tried to tell Gao Tu the company kept going even if he wasn’t present, that it was necessary for him to be around more to help, but he was shut down every time. ”We’ll be fine”, his omega assured him, ”you can’t be around all the time. Your staff needs you to be present at least sometimes.”
He couldn’t help but pout, his briefcase put into his hands. ”Don’t worry, Wenlang”, his mate cooed, ”we’ll be waiting for you at home. You can bathe her later. Okay?”
He really, really wanted to argue, but looking at his mate he knew it would end with him losing. ”Okay”, he sighed deeply, ”she better not have forgotten me when I come back.”
At that Gao Tu only laughed, pushing him towards the door and smiling at him cheekily. If Wenlang was perfectly honest, it wasn’t even the baby he was most infatuated with - it was Gao Tu, the softness of his body slowly returning back to as it was. His chest was rounder though, as was normal for someone who had to feed a very, very hungry baby, and it wasn’t one or two times that Wenlang forgot himself staring at the omega. His stomach was almost back to its normal state, but still he held a sort of softness that made the alpha go just a little bit crazy. He found himself losing his focus when bottlefeeding the baby, gaze slowly drifting to Gao Tu in the kitchen, form lit by gentle sunlight highlighting every curve and detail. He was ethereal, like a god sent from heaven - one that Wenlang gladly worshipped. He tried not to gawk openly at his lover, but so far it had not been a very successful attempt. ”Close your mouth, Wenlang, and pay attention to your daughter”, Gao Tu mused without even looking at him, only a telling smirk on his face as he continued with whatever he was doing. The alpha was hardly ashamed of being caught, but he did as he was told. Tian Xi was almost finished with her bottle, tiny hands grabbing at him and large eyes staring up at him. ”What a perfect baby you are”, he murmured more to himself than to anyone else, memorising each detail of her face.
He did, of course, remember to pay plenty of attention to his son as well. They had outings with just the two of them, bed time stories without a screaming baby and play time without a baby pawing at all of Lele’s toys. He had almost forgotten how easy it was spending time with Lele, who didn’t need to be fed from a bottle or held all the time, not to mention that his son could communicate his needs and wants quite well. There were still instances where Lele was upset about something and struggled to speak his mind, but he embraced those times too. His sensitive son was as perfect as the little princess, and he made sure to remind Lele of it.
”Daddy”, his son said as he was tucking him in one night, nightlight turned on and all of his loyal plush friends sat next to him in bed. ”Do Tian Xi and me have grandparents?”
It was a new question, the absence of grandparents never really coming up before. He presumed grandpas and grandmas would come up at day care at least in some point, and he had been pretty much expecting for Lele to ask, but still it made him freeze for a small moment. ”Well”, he sighed, sitting down next to the bed to be level with his son. ”You used to have.”
His son’s eyes went sad quicker than he would’ve liked. ”Why don’t we anymore?”
”It’s a long story, my love”, he murmured, laying his hand on Lele’s head and stroking gently. ”Daddy’s parents went to heaven. But they would have loved you, I promise.”
Wenlang knew that lying wasn’t a wise choice, of course he did. Still, he didn’t see the point in making a five year old cry by telling him a harrowing story of his abusive grandparents, one of whom passed years ago without even knowing him and the other one ending up dead out of his own father’s decision. That was something they’d tackle when Lele was older, if needed.
”What about baba?” Lele sniffled, blinking at him with wet eyes. He didn’t enjoy speaking for Gao Tu, telling his story without him, but he knew his mate was probably currently knee deep in feeding their daughter, thus not available to tell himself. ”Well… Baba’s mommy went to heaven years ago, too”, he said delicately, ”but I know she would have been proud to have a grandson like you, Lele.”
He made sure to keep stroking his son’s head as he spoke, slowly soothing him and reminding him that he wasn’t going anywhere. ”And baba’s daddy… Baba’s daddy was sick, and he couldn’t be a good daddy for baba. That’s why he went away.” Wenlang tried his best to be understanding and kind with the words he chose, even if in reality there was nothing good in Gao Ming in his mind. Lele didn’t need to know that.
”If I get sick do I need to go away too?” His son cried out, prompting him to hug him close. ”No, baobao”, he swore, ”kids cannot get sick like that. You don’t have to worry about it at all. Daddy and baba would never make you go away.”
Lele sniffled again, wet eyes staring at him for a while before nodding. ”It’s not weird or wrong to not have grandparents”, Wenlang then assured. ”There’s no one correct way to be a family. You don’t need to feel embarrassed at all.”
His son looked a bit unsure, but still nodded again. ”I want to be a good brother to Tian Xi”, he said softly. ”And you already are”, Wenlang smiled, leaning to kiss his forehead. ”Sleep now, love.”
As if ordered Lele yawned sweetly, closing his eyes and slowly falling asleep under his father’s watchful eye. The alpha stayed, until the room was filled only with soft, stable and sleepy breathing from his son. Slowly he stood up, sneaked out and left the door ajar and returned to their bedroom. The room was bathed in the warm yellow light of the bedside lamp, Gao Tu sat against the headboard with their daughter feeding quietly on his chest. It still never seemed to not amaze Wenlang, eyes looking on in wonder as he sat on the bed next to his mate. He didn’t say anything, just softly touched the omega’s cheek and motioned for him to lay his head on his shoulder. Gao Tu gladly did as asked, sighing quietly, the only sound in the room the gentle suckling of their baby.
”Lele asked me why he and Tian Xi don’t have grandparents”, Wenlang eventually murmured, eyes laid on his daughter. ”I lied to him a little.”
Gao Tu turned his sleepy eyes to him. ”Probably for the best”, he muttered. ”He’s too young to know.”
”Yeah. I said that your father was sick and had to go away for that, and he was worried he’d have to go away too if he got sick. I told him that wasn’t going to happen.”
Gao Tu sighed quietly, nodding at him with his eyes turned towards their daughter. ”We’ll do all we can to give them a better childhood than we did”, he said softly. ”They already have two doting fathers who are a little bit crazy about them.”
”A little?” Wenlang chuckled, leaning his head against his mate’s head. ”This whole family is absolutely crazy.”
His mate only smiled, wincing lightly as their daughter loosened her lips from her, now done with feeding. ”Your daughter bites like a piranha.”
”Want me to kiss it better?”
A glare from Gao Tu. ”Watch it, or we’ll end up having another child before she’s even a year old”, he muttered, and Wenlang could only grin sheepishly. He gladly took Tian Xi from his mate’s arms, bringing her to the crib and laying her down with gentle hands. This time she fussed only for a short while, before resorting to sucking on her pacifier and surrendering to sleep, much to Wenlang’s relief. ”She will probably be a handful when she learns to walk and talk”, he pondered, laying back on their bed and collecting Gao Tu into his arms. ”She will be the death of me.”
”Most likely”, the omega hummed, ”she already knows how to pull your strings, and it will only get worse.”
”Are you saying I’m weak?”
”Against your children? Absolutely.”
The alpha scoffed, deciding to nuzzle Gao Tu’s neck instead of arguing. ”I have to say it again”, he mumbled against his skin, ”you make really good babies.”
It made his mate laugh, and he turned his head gently to nose at his cheek, and then gave him a soft kiss. ”I didn’t do it by myself, so give yourself some of the credit”, Gao Tu murmured, claiming his lips again. They would probably be awakened by a screaming baby again later that night, but Wenlang didn’t care. He was right where he wanted to be.