By the time the night of the party had rolled around, Hu Yetao was ready to tear his hair out with exasperation.
Oscar still wasn't sleeping and Hu Yetao still wasn't getting any.
Hu Yetao pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk, eyes on his mate as Oscar slid a silk tie around his collar while looking at his reflection in the mirror opposite him. Hu Yetao frowned concernedly at the dark circles under his mate's eyes and the worrisome pallor of his skin.
He vowed to talk to Chen about the problem; perhaps she could force Oscar to take some Dreamless Sleep to get through the night, at least a couple of times a week until he settled down again.
"Are you sure you want to go?" Hu Yetao asked as he straightened and let the lid of his wooden trunk fall closed with a loud thud.
"Of course," Oscar replied shortly, eyes still on his fingers as they deftly tied the deep blue tie.
Hu Yetao admired his Alpha, standing there in his perfectly tailored charcoal-grey Muggle suit with the blue tie that did beautiful things to his eyes, and instantly felt his cock stir in his trousers.
He walked over to stand next to Oscar as the blond began to smooth his hair into place.
"You look amazing," Hu Yetao observed, his eyes tracking over his Alpha's fit body before coming to rest on his face. He smiled coyly at Oscar with his best 'come-hither' look. "Can we be late?" he purred, reaching out to slide one hand under the back of Oscar's shirt to run over smooth warm skin. Even just that small touch was enough to cause his groin to absolutely throb.
"Hu Yetao." Oscar frowned in irritation and stepped away. "I just tucked that in. And no we cannot be late, we need to speak to my parents before the party, or have you forgotten?" he said tetchily, fixing his shirt with sharp, jerky movements.
Hu Yetao felt his temper flare hotly. Fuck he was at the end of his tether with his grumpy mate and this rollercoaster of arousal where he never got any relief.
"No, I haven't forgotten," he snapped back. "Fine, let's just go."
"Don't be like that," Oscar said with annoyance. "You can't honestly think I would be in the mood directly before having this conversation with my parents?"
"Is that your excuse for the past month of no fucking as well?" Hu Yetao countered peevishly, hands clenching in his cloak as he held it in front of him like a shield. This was the first time he'd brought up how frustrated he'd been feeling and it felt liberating to finally get it off his chest - even if it wasn't quite as rational and eloquent as he'd been hoping.
Oscar's eyes flared, but not with the guilt that Hu Yetao had been expecting. "Salazar, there are more important things than sex Taotao! I am fucking exhausted and I don't have the energy for your little mind games right now. Don't you think I've put up with enough lately? What with the pregnancy and your life is in danger? A modicum of understanding would be appreciated here."
Hu Yetao gaped as Oscar strode past him to the door and opened it; he was equal parts shocked and furious that Oscar would speak to him like that.
Hu Yetao glared at the side of his stupid blond head for a moment before snapping his mouth shut and marching past him into the corridor. If Oscar didn't want to listen then that was just fine. If he wanted to believe that Hu Yetao was just being utterly selfish and demanding for no good reason, then he wouldn't even bother to correct him or to explain about the build-up of pregnancy hormones that were driving him mad.
Hu Yetao ground his teeth as he continued to walk at a brisk pace down the empty corridor. He could hear Oscar behind him and, for some reason, his Alpha's silence was only serving to aggravate him further. He wished Oscar would just admit that he was being daft and that this 'not sleeping' thing just wasn't practical, and that it was negatively affecting their relationship in the meantime.
Why the fuck couldn't he see that?
Hu Yetao continued to seethe as he led the way to the Headmistress' Office. Mrs. Amber had given them the use of her private Floo connection to travel to Wang Manor. She was well aware of the Su Miake party as a few of the Slytherins were attending and she thought it best for Hu Yetao's safety to use the Floo instead of taking any chances with leaving the grounds to Apparate.
Hu Yetao uttered the password under his breath and walked up the spiral stone staircase and into the familiar office. Thankfully the room was empty.
He hadn't told Professor Mrs. Amber about his pregnancy yet, and a part of him worried that she would see right through him if they were alone in the same room together.
Hu Yetao walked past the wide oak desk and snatched a handful of Floo Powder from the bronze spot on the shelf.
He completely ignored his Alpha as Oscar watched him toss the silvery powder into the hearth and then enter the innocuous warm blaze which had sprung up in its place.
"Wang Manor!" he called out clearly before disappearing in a whirl of green flames.
Hu Yetao closed his eyes, unable to watch the spinning grates as they flew past in quick succession.
Minutes later, he was spat out of the ornate white fireplace of the Wang's front parlor. He stumbled over the hearth and onto the worn rug but remained upright, Invisibility Cloak still clutched in his hands.
He looked up and was immediately greeted by Shui Xian's gently smiling face as she moved forward to clasp his hand in greeting.
"Good evening Hu Yetao," she said in her customarily quiet manner. "I trust you are well?"
"Uh yes, I… I am." Hu Yetao forced a smile as he followed her to the seating area and was just sitting down in his usual spot on the pretty sofa when the whoosh of the fireplace announced the arrival of his mate.
"Oscar," she greeted with another soft smile, eyes sparkling dotingly as she looked upon her only child. "It's been too long my darling."
Oscar shifted uncomfortably, eyes flicking to Hu Yetao before resting on his mother. "Yes, I apologize for not contacting you earlier, we've been kept rather busy."
Shui Xian nodded and beckoned him over with a graceful sweep of her arm as she took a seat in one of the armchairs opposite the sofa. "Your father will be along shortly," she informed them, still smiling pleasantly.
Oscar stiffly took a seat on the other end of the sofa and Hu Yetao pretended to look around the room when Shui Xian eyed the obvious space between the two of them with an arched brow. Hu Yetao usually sat shoulder to shoulder with Oscar and held hands whenever they joined the Wangs in that room. At the moment they were sitting as far from the other as it was possible to be on the small sofa.
Shui Xian looked as though she was about to question them when Xiaocheng suddenly entered the room, fiddling with the cuff of his crisp white shirt.
"Good evening," he monarch intoned distractedly as he walked over to sit beside his wife in the matching armchair.
Shui Xian automatically reached over to assist her husband, deftly positioning the silver cufflink with the large letter 'M' etched into it into place.
"Tea?" she asked the room at large as she finished.
"Yes please," Hu Yetao replied swiftly, relieved at the prospect of having something to occupy his hands instead of clenching them nervously in his lap.
Shui Xian quietly requested some tea and biscuits from one of the house-elves while Xiaocheng openly eyed the gap between the two mates, much the same way as his wife had.
"What's wrong?" he asked bluntly, gaze narrowing accusingly as he looked at Hu Yetao.
Hu Yetao wanted to roll his eyes; of course, Xiaocheng would immediately blame him. A hot wave of irritation rolled through him at the clear insinuation and, unfortunately, forced the next words from his mouth before he could stop them.
"Your son got me pregnant."
He heard a soft sigh beside him and glanced over to see Oscar drop his forehead into his hand, eyes closed, as though he could block out the result of Hu Yetao's impulsive temper; the shock of which was now plainly written across both Xiaocheng and Shui Xian's stunned faces.
Shui Xian was the first to recover.
"How did… pregnant?" she responded, as close to incoherent as Hu Yetao had ever seen her. "Are you certain?" she asked, glancing between them.
"Yes," Oscar confirmed with quiet resignation, raising his head. "Madam Chen verified the pregnancy herself. No other Hogwarts professor is aware of the situation, except for Professor Mika."
Shui Xian put a hand to her chest, staring in disbelief.
"How could you let this happen?"
Hu Yetao blinked in surprise at the furious glare directed his way from Xiaocheng. It was a look he hadn't been subjected to from Mr. Wang in a very long time, and he couldn't help but feel rather hurt that the man could fall back on that distrust and hatred so easily.
"I… It was an accident-"
"Clearly," Xiaocheng hissed, eyes practically throwing sparks in his anger. "How could someone in your position be so incredibly stupid?"
Hu Yetao swallowed and knew it was a direct result of his current emotional state that, instead of righteous indignation, he suddenly felt the hot prickle of tears in the back of his eyes.
This wasn't how this was supposed to go; Oscar was supposed to suffer the brunt of his parent's anger - not him. The blame was fifty-fifty after all; there would be no baby without their son's implicit involvement.
For the first time since learning of his pregnancy, Hu Yetao felt the sharp stab of regret.
He was barely three weeks into it and already he was emotionally and physically drained. Oscar had been right; it just wasn't the right time…
He lifted his gaze to Xiaocheng's condemning glare and suddenly hated the man for making him think such thoughts.
It made him want to lash out.
"I'll just get rid of it then, shall I?" he snapped crossly.
"Hu Yetao," Oscar interjected warningly.
"I didn't fall pregnant all on my own, you know," Hu Yetao continued, ignoring his mate as glared at Xiaocheng.
"Hu Yetao," Oscar cut in sharply, and then sighed wearily before adding, "no one is asking you to terminate the pregnancy."
"No, he's just implying that I'm a bit of a slag who somehow tricked you into impregnating me," Hu Yetao exclaimed spitefully.
A house-elf in a patched green tea-cozy suddenly appeared holding a silver tray of tea along with a small selection of biscuits, the look in her eyes turning apprehensive as she took in the palpable tension in the room.
Shui Xian cleared her throat. "Yes, thank you Níao," she said delicately. "That will be all."
Trinket carefully placed the large tray down on the table between them before bobbing a hasty curtsy and disappearing.
There was a minute of very uncomfortable silence, in which no one knew quite where to look or what to say. The mounting antagonism had been somewhat deflated by the appearance of the house-elf.
"How are you feeling Hu Yetao?" Shui Xian eventually enquired, breaking the hostile silence.
Hu Yetao scratched uncomfortably at his scalp as he stared at the toes of his spotless black boots, unable to meet her gaze, not wanting to find that he'd lost her approval as well. "I'm… I'm fine."
Xiaocheng exhaled heavily, obviously trying to get ahold of his emotions. "What's done is done," he finally said stiffly, as though he were being quite magnanimous about it. "Moving forward, we need to discuss how we are to protect this new Wang."
Hu Yetao immediately bristled. "He's half Hu as well."
Xiaocheng's eyes narrowed. "Yes, and as you are unmarried and have no living parents, the child would then legally be the sole Wang heir after Oscar."
Hu Yetao frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means he's legally a Wang."
"So… the baby becomes your property? Is that it?"
"Hu Yetao, that's not what he's saying-" Oscar said tiredly.
"In legal terms, yes," Xiaocheng replied sharply, as though Oscar hadn't spoken.
"Father," Oscar said, turning to him with a look of warning.
"I don't believe we need to be discussing the legalities of the child right at this moment," Shui Xian inserted stridently, frowning at all three of them.
Hu Yetao abruptly stood. He'd had enough; he couldn't take one more minute of this conversation or the accusations flying around - especially because it felt as though his mate had abandoned him to the wolves without any hint of support. Oscar hadn't even bothered to tell to his parents that he wanted this baby.
Or perhaps he'd changed his mind. It certainly seemed that way judging by his near silence.
Hu Yetao blinked back the tears which accompanied that thought and stubbornly lifted his chin.
"I'd like to go to the party now," he announced roughly. "I won't sit here and be reprimanded for something that was an accident, especially because you don't even know the full story. I know it's poor timing but it can't be helped now. I am going to protect this baby - even if I'm the only one who wants it."
"You know that's not true Hu Yetao," Oscar said, frowning.
"Feels like it," Hu Yetao replied stonily.
Oscar sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "Perhaps we should just return to Hogwarts."
"No." Hu Yetao shook his head. "As much as there's nothing I want to do less right now than to attend a celebration for a new baby, there are too many people expecting us. It would be suspicious and people might ask questions - especially Keyu."
Shui Xian rose from her seat and looked at Hu Yetao, expression set. "I shall escort you to the Su's. You have not been there before and Oscar will remain with Xiaocheng for a minute." She then turned to her husband and son, pale gaze uncompromising. "You are not going anywhere until you're able to be the caring wizards I know you are. This pregnancy news has come as a bit of a shock but that is no excuse to treat a member of this family so appallingly."
For the third time that night, Hu Yetao had to fight to blink back tears. He blamed it on pregnancy hormones and did his best to thwart the impulse.
Oscar appeared somewhat chastised as he dropped his gaze to the floor, but Lucius looked as though he were about to protest vehemently - and then thought better of defying his strong-minded wife and closed his mouth again.
She fetched her pretty traveling cloak from where it had been carefully laid out over the back of her chair and clasped it around her thin shoulders. She waited while Hu Yetao carefully concealed himself beneath his Invisibility Cloak and then she held out an arm for him to take once he'd vanished from sight.
Without a word to his taciturn mate, Hu Yetao linked his elbow through hers, grateful for at least one ally.
He was so disappointed in how his Alpha had behaved that evening. He knew the lack of sleep and the stress was a definite part of it because up until then, Oscar had been nothing but caring and protective of him, but Hu Yetao still couldn't help but feel hurt by the blatant abandonment.
He closed his eyes as Shui Xian swiftly Disapparated the two of them away, leaving their recalcitrant Alphas behind.