Chapter 5 - Collision
Rain fell hardest after midnight.
Not loud enough to drown Bangkok,
but enough to blur the city into streaks of silver and gold beyond the café windows.
LUNARIA was closing.
The warm lights above the counter had dimmed to a softer glow, shadows stretching long across polished floors while the espresso machine hissed one final tired breath.
Chairs rested upside down on tables.
The pastry display stood nearly empty except for two untouched croissants and a slice of strawberry cake no one bought.
Soft jazz played low through the speakers. Santa quietly counted cash behind the register carefully, fingers moving slower than usual while exhaustion settled deep in his bones.
Upstairs, Luke had already fallen asleep after insisting on staying awake for his Papa.
Then passed out ten minutes later clutching his stuffed rabbit.
Santa smiled faintly at the memory.
That smile vanished when the bell above the café door rang. The sound sliced through the silence cleanly. Santa froze for a moment when Perth stepped inside.
The door shut behind Perth Tanapon with a soft click.
Rainwater darkened the shoulders of his black coat. His hair was damp from the storm outside, a few strands falling across his forehead, making him look younger somehow.
Or maybe more dangerous, because this version of Perth wasn't hidden behind boardrooms or polished interviews.
This was the boy from Silverpine beneath the man he became, and Santa's heart reacted before his mind could stop it.
One violent beat, then another.
Perth stood near the entrance for a moment, breathing slowly like he was steadying himself before stepping into something fragile.
Santa swallowed hard and looked back at the register instead of him.
"The café is closed."
Rain tapped softly against the windows.
The silence between them expanded too quickly, filled with years neither of them knew how to hold properly.
Santa forced himself to continue counting bills even though the numbers blurred together.
"You shouldn't be here."
Perth stepped forward slowly, dress shoes quiet against the wooden floor.
"Then stop looking like you're about to disappear every time you see me."
Santa's hands tightened around the cash drawer. "That's not fair."
Perth laughed once without humor.
A sharp exhale more than a laugh.
"Neither was leaving."
The words landed like a blade sliding between ribs.
Santa closed the register too hard.
The sound echoed, and for a second, neither spoke.
Perth looked exhausted.
Not physically but emotionally, like he had spent years carrying questions too heavy to put down.
Santa looked away immediately, because that wasn't the point.
It had never been the point.
That hurt more than shouting ever could.
Santa inhaled shakily. "You don't understand," he whispered. "Everything around you was bright. You had this whole life ahead of you and I..."
Santa stopped breathing for a second.
Rain hammered harder outside.
Perth's jaw tightened instantly.
"You don't get to decide that for me."
The silence after that felt catastrophic.
Perth moved closer again. Not aggressive or angry, just desperate.
Santa finally looked at him, and there it was. The truth Perth had hidden beneath tailored suits and calm expressions.
Pain.
Real pain.
It sat behind his eyes like something that never healed properly.
Santa's chest caved inward.
Santa's breath trembled.
Perth froze.
Santa shut his eyes immediately.
Too late, because Perth had heard it.
Felt it.
The confession slipped out weakly,
like something starving finally allowed to breathe.
Perth stared at him, then slowly he stepped closer until only the counter separated them. "Then why did you leave?"
Because I was pregnant.
The truth rose violently into Santa's throat.
He nearly said it, but then Luke's sleeping face flashed through his mind, and Santa broke eye contact first. "I was trying to protect you."
Santa's lips parted slightly.
No answer came, because yes.
Exactly that.
Perth exhaled shakily and dragged a hand through damp hair. "You know what the worst part was?" he asked quietly.
Santa looked at him cautiously.
Santa's vision blurred instantly.
He couldn't survive hearing this.
Perth stared at him like the world had tilted sideways. "...Loved?"
Santa stepped backward immediately, panic flashing across his face.
"Please go."
Perth moved around the counter instinctively and caught his wrist.
The contact lasted barely a second before Perth released him like he'd been burned.
Santa rubbed at his wrist automatically even though Perth hadn't held him tightly.
The gesture shattered something inside Perth's chest, because Santa still reacted like someone prepared to run.
Santa looked down, blinking rapidly.
The room felt too warm suddenly.
Rain streaked the windows in silver rivers while thunder rumbled somewhere far away.
Then a soft footsteps echoed from the hallway behind the café.
Everything stopped.
Santa's blood turned cold instantly.
"No..."
Luke shuffled sleepily into the café wearing dinosaur pajamas and clutching his stuffed rabbit beneath one arm.
His hair stuck up in every direction.
Eyes still heavy with sleep.
Completely unaware that he had just walked into a storm seven years in the making.
Perth turned slowly.
The boy blinked at him curiously.
"You're loud," Luke mumbled.
Santa rushed forward immediately.
"Luke, sweetheart, you should be upstairs."
Luke frowned sleepily.
"But you weren't there."
Luke rubbed his eyes again before looking back at Perth.
The resemblance wasn't obvious immediately. Not enough for strangers, but up close, the eyes, the shape of his mouth, and the way he tilted his head while studying someone made Perth felt something strange move through his chest.
Luke pointed slightly.
"Is he your friend?"
The question shattered the room open. Santa's breath caught painfully.
Perth looked at him, waiting and watching. Terrified of the answer for reasons he didn't understand yet.
Santa forced his voice steady.
"Yes."
One word, but somehow feel devastating, because friend sounded like distance, like strangers.
Like seven years meant nothing.
Perth nodded once slowly.
The hurt in his expression nearly destroyed Santa. "I see."
Luke yawned dramatically.
"You look sad," he told Perth honestly.
Santa almost died on the spot.
"Luke..."
Perth stared at the child for a long moment, then something unexpected happened. His expression softened completely, like the boy's existence alone had reached somewhere untouched inside him.
Luke considered this seriously.
"I think maybe you're lying."
Santa covered his face briefly.
"Oh my god."
Perth laughed, he actually laughed, and hearing that sound again after seven years felt cruel, because Santa remembered instantly how much he used to love making Perth laugh.
Luke brightened proudly at the reaction. "There," he announced. "Better."
Perth looked at him strangely after that, like something inside him recognized warmth before logic could interfere.
Santa noticed immediately.
Fear curled cold beneath his ribs.
"Luke," he said gently, "go upstairs for me, okay?"
Luke frowned.
"But..."
The seriousness in Santa's voice made him nod.
He shuffled back toward the stairs before pausing halfway.
Perth blinked.
"...Goodnight."
The stairs creaked softly until silence returned.
Perth looked toward the staircase long after Luke disappeared.
Then slowly back at Santa. Neither spoke. Rain continued falling outside.
Finally Perth moved toward the door.
"I'll leave."
Relief and disappointment crashed through Santa simultaneously, made him feel sick.
At the entrance, Perth paused with one hand resting against the door handle.
Without turning around, he spoke quietly. "I don't think fate brought me here by accident."
Santa's chest tightened.
The words weren't possessive but they were a promise.
The bell chimed softly as Perth stepped back into the rain.
The door closed, and Santa finally collapsed against the counter, breathing hard like he'd survived something catastrophic, because maybe he had.
Love had returned to him tonight.
Not soft and forgiving, but relentless.
Like a storm circling back for everything it was once denied, and deep down, beneath fear and guilt and seven years of silence...
Santa knew the truth.
This time...
Perth Tanapon was not going to let him go easily.
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Tbc.....
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?? Author's Note
some reunions heal...???
others reopen every wound at once.
thank you for reading ??
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see you in the next chapter ?
- Qis ??