my wife ao3 being down unexpectedly for so many hours is like a loved one being in emergency surgery. i know she's probably gonna make it. but what if she doesn't
Wenlang and Gao Tu having a full blown lovers' quarrel
Meanwhile the random secretary just awkwardly witnessing this all silently: In today's episode of working in a corporate, we're going to pretend to be an ornamental plant
It's bcs Gaotu still doesn't know that Hua Yong is an enigma and not an omega that his baby daddy is after.
So when he sees SWL with Peanut - who looks awfully like Hua Yong - he absolutely believes that SWL had a kid with Hua Yong. That is why he has no expression on his face when SWL hugs him.
This makes the trash ending just so much more trash, my goodness.
i’d this hc that each time swl buys a new toy for peanut, he would buy a duplicate one for lele. like he has never given up hope that he would meet his own child someday. he has rooms filled with things he’d bought for lele—literally from age 0 to 4.
to anyone else, it might’ve looked like a shrine to grief. but for swl, it’s hope. the kind that doesn't die even when logic says it should. he never says it out loud, not even to himself. but deep down, he believes that one day, lele will come home. and when he does, swl wants to be ready.
he wants lele to know he was never forgotten. that in the space between loss and longing, there has always been a place for him. a whole room filled with love, and toys, and the quiet faith of a father who never gives up on the child he lost but never stops looking for.
In my part 46383627 of Gao Tu and Shen Wenlang headcannons, this is the day that Gao Tu realizes he has forgiven everything and that he truly does love Shen Wenlang.
This day, Shen Wenlang takes him and Lele out for a picnic. Just the three of them. And Gao Tu thinks it’s a bad idea because just yesterday at the posh hotel conference room where Shen Wenlang had a meeting with a top executive from S Country, his joint business venture with them did not push through as planned.
And it had surprised Gao Tu because he knew how hard Shen Wenlang worked on that proposal. There were many late night meetings with the team and several legal meetings to ensure all went according to plan. As his secretary, Gao Tu knew the ins and outs of these things. Shen Wenlang does not make him stay late into the night with him at HS Group (he doesn’t do that to his entire staff anymore) but Gao Tu knew the alpha would do the work himself, coming home at 2 in the morning all exhausted.
(He’s not sure if Shen Wenlang knew he too was staying up late at night on his laptop, finishing up the proposal and research as well so that they have one more stuff off their checklist the next morning and he’d put it away and feign sleep when he’d hear him come in so he doesn’t worry about him still being awake.)
So going to a picnic the day after that massive business failure was really a bad idea because Gao Tu knew the alpha had to do some damage control. He knew Shen Wenlang had to fly to S Country to do a counter proposal. He knew he had to get the rest of the research team together at once to work on possible revisions. But no. They were headed to a picnic.
Lele was over the moon about it. And Shen Wenlang packed snacks, to which Gao Tu had to take over and do the packing instead because they cannot possibly live on chips alone. So he made sandwiches and Shen Wenlang cut up some fruits and Lele packed the cookies that Peanut gave them (Uncle Hua Yong makes the best cookies!)
And they drive to the park, Lele in the car seat at the back singing to some song while Shen Wenlang drove. And it must be the puzzled look on his face about all this that Shen Wenlang reaches to hold his hand while he steered the car on the other, eyes never leaving the road of course.
They had the park all to themselves. Shen Wenlang brings out a kite and teaches Lele to fly one. It’s Gao Tu who ends up getting it in the air successfully to which Shen Wenlang thanks him with a hug from behind and Gao Tu inhales that earthy floral iris. It’s soft and smooth which means the alpha is in a good mood which is still all so puzzling because Gao Tu is still waiting for him to express disappointment over the failed venture.
They get a blanket out on the grass and open up their snacks. Lele takes out his camera and takes pictures of everything he can find: rocks, ants, trees. Shen Wenlang feeds Gao Tu an apple slice, shows him the perfect heart shaped fruit he cut out earlier to which Gao Tu just gives him an amused smile in thanks.
They all lay down on the blanket after, and Gao Tu listens as Lele points out the number of shapes and images he can spot on the clouds. He listens as Shen Wenlang agrees that that one is a rabbit and that one looks like poop.
“This is the best day ever!” Lele exclaims as he gets up to run around the wide park.
And Gao Tu had to sit up and look at Shen Wenlang, who is still laying there, hands behind his head, eyes closed with a small smile painted on his peaceful and serene face, as if the weight of that business venture failing did not even bother him one bit.
It’s rare for him to see him like this, Gao Tu realizes.
“It really is, don’t you think?” Shen Wenlang says.
Gao Tu snaps out of it. “What is?”
“Today. Best day ever.”
Gao Tu thinks twice about his next words.
“Well, it is. Compared to yesterday.”
Shen Wenlang only hums, still with his eyes closed.
“I still have the file on a drive right now. If you want to work on that proposal…” Gao Tu truly can’t help it. He wanted to blame it as something he was used to doing through years of being his secretary. But he also wanted to do something anything for Shen Wenlang to be able to win that business deal. He knew what it entailed. How important it was for HS Group. It was only just 4 in the afternoon. They can still make it back to the city and have Shen Wenlang fly out of Jiang Hu in no time.
“Did you know I haven’t seen Lele in a week?”
Shen Wenlang’s response has Gao Tu look at him puzzled. The alpha cracks an eye open before shifting to move his head on the omega’s lap where he snuggles and closes his eyes again.
“His room is right next to ours and I didn’t have time to see him.” He continues. “When I get home, the both of you are asleep. And in the morning when I get up, the both of you are off to work and school.”
That was true. That was just how it is in their household at the moment, Gao Tu thinks. Everyone was so busy, including himself.
“That business deal wanted more from HS Group, including overtime work not just from me but for everyone on the team as well. And considering the time difference between our country and theirs, it would seem that we might have to be working around the clock with them.” A crease forms on the alpha’s brow. “I didn’t want that.”
Shen Wenlang then takes Gao Tu’s hand and gently presses his wrist to his nose.
“I have a family now. You. Lele.” Shen Wenlang then opens his eyes to look at him. “I promised myself that if something gets in between that, then it wouldn’t be worth it.”
Shen Wenlang gives a soft kiss on the back of his hand.
“Let them keep their trillions. I just want to keep you two.”
And Gao Tu sits there, heart beating frantically at those words. He’s heard thousands of sweet words from Shen Wenlang since the day they were reunited. But this one was different. This instance was different. He knew how important this deal was. He heard Shen Wenlang and Hua Yong discuss it before. This partnership would have been a major breakthrough in a global scale. It would set HS Group right up there among the best of the best.
Shen Wenlang chose him over it.
Trillions.
His father would have handed him over for trillions in a heartbeat.
But not Shen Wenlang.
“Papa!”
Lele’s voice cuts through his revery.
“Look at my pictures! There’s a wolf on the cloud-“
“Really now!” Shen Wenlang grabs him and Lele squeals as the alpha wrestles the little one down on the ground.
Gao Tu picks up Lele’s camera that was tossed aside. He can’t help but turn it on and capture this moment of his son and his mate.
And that’s when Gao Tu realized it was the first time he referred to Shen Wenlang as one.
Mate. His mate.
It shook Gao Tu to his core. That he wanted this man, who chose him among all the riches the world could offer.
Maybe it was time he deserved someone who truly wanted and loved him back. Maybe it was time he stopped thinking so little of himself when there was someone who thought the world of him.
During the drive home, Gao Tu thinks that when someday Shen Wenlang asks him for the eighth time, he’ll say yes.
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