Chapter 13 - When The World Looks At Them
The first camera appeared at 9:03 a.m.
Santa noticed it because he had spent seven years learning how to notice danger before it arrived completely.
A man stood across the street pretending to scroll through his phone. The angle of the device tilted slightly upward.
Toward the café windows.
Santa's hand froze halfway through wiping the counter.
Outside, Bangkok moved normally.
Cars crawled through traffic.
Motorcycles slipped between lanes.
Rainwater from the previous night still glimmered faintly along the sidewalk.
But inside Santa's chest, something old and terrified began waking up.
Mark looked up immediately from the espresso machine. "What?"
Santa swallowed hard.
"Lock the back door."
Mark followed his gaze toward the street, and went pale instantly.
"...Oh no."
Santa nodded once slowly.
Fear settled cold beneath his ribs.
By ten o'clock, there were three people outside.
One woman pretending to photograph nearby buildings.
Another man seated on a motorcycle across the street with a camera resting carelessly on his lap.
Someone else lingering beside the newspaper stands for too long.
The atmosphere inside LUNARIA shifted subtly.
Customers noticed.
Conversations lowered.
People glanced nervously toward the windows before quickly looking away again.
Santa forced himself to keep moving.
Pretend he wasn't unraveling inside.
Luke sat on his usual stool near the pastry display, swinging his legs while drawing dinosaurs with alarming concentration.
Santa looked over immediately.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
Luke pointed toward the window.
"Why are people camping outside?"
A laugh almost escaped Santa.
Instead his throat tightened painfully.
Luke looked scandalized.
"Outside?"
Mark turned away quickly, shoulders shaking with restrained laughter.
Santa smiled faintly despite the panic clawing through him.
God.
Luke always managed to make the world softer for exactly one second.
Then...
?? FLASH.
A camera went off directly outside the window.
Santa flinched violently, and Luke startled too. Another flash followed immediately after.
?? FLASH.
?? FLASH.
The café doors remained closed but voices started rising outside.
Santa's stomach dropped so hard it hurt.
No no no...
His breathing turned shallow instantly. The room suddenly felt too bright, and too open. His hands began shaking uncontrollably.
Santa dropped to his knees immediately in front of him.
His smile trembled.
Luke frowned immediately.
"Did I do something wrong?"
The question nearly destroyed him.
Luke studied his face carefully.
"...Are those bad people?" he whispered.
Santa's chest tightened so painfully he could barely breathe. "They're just loud," he managed softly.
Luke nodded slowly.
Too obedient, too understanding, like a child already used to danger, and that hurt most of all.
Mark came around the counter immediately and crouched beside them. "Come help me organize cookies, buddy?"
Luke hesitated before nodding.
As Mark led him gently toward the back room, Luke looked over his shoulder. "Papa?"
Luke smiled carefully.
"You're shaking."
Santa forced a small smile.
"I know."
Santa nearly cried right there.
"Okay," he whispered.
The moment Luke disappeared behind the kitchen doors, Santa grabbed his phone.
His fingers shook so badly he almost dropped it twice.
Perth answered before the second ring. "Santa?"
The sound of his voice shattered the last fragile piece of control Santa had left. "They're here," he whispered.
Santa squeezed his eyes shut.
"I can't..." His voice cracked sharply. "I don't know what to do."
Outside, reporters grew bolder, suddenly one approached the window directly.
Santa's ears rang violently. His body remembered humiliation too well making his vision blurred.
He pressed both palms flat against the counter to steady himself, but all he could hear were echoes from years ago.
A child would ruin his future.
You'll be guided through options.
He cannot know.
Santa's chest constricted painfully.
The café that once protected him suddenly felt fragile as paper.
Suddenly the sound of screeching tires outside was heard. A black car stopped directly in front of LUNARIA.
Everything shifted instantly, the crowd surged forward. Cameras lifted and voices rose sharply.
Perth stepped out alone without any security.
Rain clouds gathered overhead again, darkening the street as he adjusted the cuffs of his rolled sleeves calmly.
The reporters swarmed immediately.
Perth ignored every single question.
He walked straight through them.
Straight toward the café, toward Santa.
The bell chimed softly when he entered, and suddenly the café could breathe again.
Santa didn't realize tears had already fallen until Perth reached him.
Warm hands cupped his face gently.
The panic inside Santa cracked apart instantly. His knees nearly gave out, but Perth steadied him immediately, thumb brushing softly beneath his eyes.
A blur raced out from the back room.
Perth caught him automatically.
Perth pressed a kiss against his forehead. "Always."
Santa turned away suddenly, covering his mouth as tears spilled harder.
He wasn't alone anymore.
That realization hurt almost as much as relief.
Perth turned toward the café entrance slowly.
The reporters immediately lifted cameras again, but Perth opened the door himself, and stepped directly into the storm.
The street fell quiet instantly.
Nobody moved, but when Perth's gaze hardened slightly, one by one, the cameras started lowered. Flashes still sparked occasionally but weaker now.
Gasps rippled across the sidewalk.
Inside the café, Santa stopped breathing entirely.
His voice never rose, that somehow made it stronger.
Perth then reached back without looking. Santa stared for one stunned second before placing his trembling hand into Perth's.
Perth pulled him gently beside him.
Then reached for Luke too.
One family standing together beneath flashing cameras.
Silence followed.
Then suddenly another voice spoke calmly behind the reporters.
Santa stiffened automatically.
The older man looked more exhausted than angry. His gaze settled first on Perth, then Santa, then finally Luke.
The child blinked curiously up at him.
Something shifted visibly in the old man's face. Slowly, carefully, he rested one hand against Luke's head.
Cameras froze.
Shock rippled visibly through the crowd.
The old man looked directly at the reporters.
Nobody spoke.
Then slowly, cameras lowered completely, reporters stepped back and the storm broke apart.
Inside the café, the atmosphere felt fragile afterward, like everyone had survived something sharp.
Luke peeked around Mark carefully.
"Daddy?" he called quietly.
Perth crouched immediately.
"Yes, love?"
Luke ran straight into his arms.
"I didn't like the loud people," he whispered.
Perth held him tighter.
"I know."
Luke looked up seriously.
"But you were louder."
Mark choked on laughter behind the counter.
Even Grandpa Tanapon's mouth twitched faintly.
Santa covered his face briefly, shoulders shaking from exhausted tears and weak laughter mixed together.
Perth looked up at him over Luke's shoulder. "We're not hiding anymore," he said softly.
A promise.
Santa stared at him, then nodded slowly.
For the first time in years, he believed it might actually be true.
Grandpa Tanapon cleared his throat awkwardly near the pastry display.
Everyone looked at him.
He avoided Santa's eyes entirely while muttering, "...You make good coffee."
Santa blinked once in surprise, then smiled softly. "Thank you, sir."
The older man grunted immediately like compliments physically injured him.
Luke leaned toward Santa dramatically. "I think Grandpa likes you."
Grandpa Tanapon sighed deeply toward the ceiling like patience was abandoning him.
Mark burst out laughing openly this time.
They closed the café early that evening.
The city outside glowed gold beneath wet streets and fading rainlight.
Inside LUNARIA, chairs rested upside down on tables while warm lights softened every corner.
Perth held Luke's hand.
Santa walked beside them quietly.
And one step behind...
Grandpa Tanapon followed too.
Not distant anymore, not entirely close either, but there.
Four shadows stretched across the sidewalk beneath the city lights.
Together.
And this time, none of them were walking alone anymore.