Sunlight filtered through the half-closed blinds, falling in stripes across the floor. Gao Tu sat at the small kitchen table, his Omega instincts still thrumming with the memory of Wen Lang's presence the night before. His hands wrapped around a cup of tea he hadn't drunk, knuckles white, heart pounding as the Alpha's gaze seemed to follow him even in silence.
Wen Lang leaned casually against the counter, posture relaxed yet undeniably commanding. Even in quiet domesticity, his Alpha presence pressed into the room, asserting dominance not with words, but with every deliberate movement. Gao Tu's scent shifted subtly—Omega tension, anticipation, and longing mingling in the air, betraying the restraint he tried to maintain.
"You're awake," Wen Lang said, voice calm, but there was an undertone that made Gao Tu's chest tighten. The faintest growl of dominance, tempered by a silent invitation.
"I—yes," Gao Tu murmured, his voice soft, almost breathless. "I… made tea." He dared not look up. The submissive pull of the Omega in him made every glance toward Wen Lang a risk, a silent surrender.
Wen Lang's sharp eyes swept over him, noting every tremor, every hesitant breath. "You always do things meticulously," he observed, tone neutral but laced with something deeper—an Alpha's quiet appraisal, reading the Omega like an open book.
Gao Tu's stomach knotted. "I… like things in order," he admitted, a small Omega confession, vulnerable yet sincere. Desire, restraint, fear—they twisted together in him, betraying every thought he tried to suppress.
A charged silence settled. Wen Lang stepped closer, just enough for Gao Tu to feel the heat radiating, the subtle assertion of dominance without touch. "Do you ever think about… what this means?" Wen Lang's words were deliberate, almost a low rumble of question and command combined.
Gao Tu swallowed, Omega instincts clashing with reason. "Every day," he whispered, voice trembling. "Even when I try not to."
Wen Lang's lips curved faintly, a shadow of a smile that hinted at both dominance and patience. "Then we're in the same predicament," he murmured. "But this isn't simple—not now, not ever."
Gao Tu nodded, a tremor running through him. The Alpha's presence was overwhelming, yet comforting; a force he could neither resist nor escape. "I know," he said softly. "I just… can't stop."
For a long moment, they simply existed in the charged space between them, Alpha and Omega, desire unspoken yet undeniable, the world outside forgotten. Some truths, once awakened, could never be hidden again.