Chapter 14 - A Place To Stay
The city did not sleep that night.
News traveled faster than truth ever could, faster than apologies, faster than understanding.
By morning, Luke Tanapon's name was everywhere.
Softened headlines with blurry photos taken from too far away. Carefully worded statements trying to sound neutral while saying nothing at all.
But inside the Tanapon residence, the world had slowed to something almost unfamiliar.
Peace.
Santa woke before dawn out of habit.
For a second, panic rose instantly, until he felt warmth pressed against his side.
Luke, curled up like he belonged there without permission from fear or memory.
Santa exhaled shakily, fingers trembling as he brushed messy hair from Luke's forehead.
Luke only shifted closer in his sleep, one small hand tightening around Santa's shirt like an answer.
Santa stayed still for a long moment.
The door opened softly, Perth stood there.
No suit, no expensive watch, no sharp edges of CEO armor, just a loose sweater, dark lounge pants, while his hair slightly unstyled like he hadn't cared enough to fix it, or maybe like he finally had nothing to prove.
Santa nodded. "Luke... he..."
Santa let out a small, relieved breath.
"That sounds like her," he said softly.
Perth's lips curved faintly. "She didn't sleep much. Kept checking his breathing."
Santa blinked at that.
The idea of someone worrying about Luke like that without conditions, without fear, still didn't feel real sometimes.
Breakfast downstairs was not quiet.
It was... alive.
Perth's mother moved around the dining table like she had been waiting years for noise like this to return.
Luke sat between her and Santa, legs swinging.
Luke thought very seriously.
"Sharks," he declared. "But only the nice ones."
Perth's mother gasped dramatically. "There are nice sharks?"
Luke nodded with full confidence. "They don't bite families."
Santa choked slightly on his tea.
Perth leaned closer, whispering, "He's already running the household."
Santa smiled faintly. "He's been doing that since he was four."
At the head of the table, Grandpa Tanapon watched silently, just observing like he always did.
Luke noticed him.
Luke tilted his head.
"You look like you don't smile a lot."
Perth nearly dropped his spoon.
Perth's mother covered her mouth instantly.
Silence stretched.
Then the old man exhaled through his nose. "...Your father says many things," he muttered.
Luke climbed off his chair without hesitation and walked over. "Can I sit here?" he asked, already climbing before waiting for permission.
Grandpa stiffened.
Perth tensed slightly, but the man didn't stop him.
Luke settled comfortably on his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Luke nodded thoughtfully. "You should try cookies."
A pause.
Perth coughed into his hand to hide a laugh, and then something happened that no one expected.
Grandpa Tanapon laughed. It wasn't loud or dramatic, but it was real.
Santa stared.
Perth did too.
Perth's mother looked like she might cry again.
Luke nodded as if he had solved a global problem. "Good," he said. "I'll help you."
Later that morning, the study felt heavier again.
Lawyers stood neatly arranged.
Folders lined the table.
Plans. Statements. Protection strategies. Reputation control.
Santa stood near the window.
He didn't realize he was holding his breath until it hurt.
This was the part he knew.
Where decisions were made without him. Where people like him became "considerations."
Perth noticed immediately. He closed the folder. "Everyone out," he said.
Force blinked. "Perth, the meeting..."
One by one, they left.
The room emptied until only sunlight remained between them.
Perth turned to Santa.
"I'm not asking you to decide anything today," he said gently.
Santa nodded, but his hands were tight at his sides.
Perth stepped closer.
"But I need you to hear this."
Santa looked up.
Perth's voice softened.
"When you left," he said, "I thought you chose to abandon me."
Santa flinched slightly.
Perth shook his head once. "I understand now that you didn't."
A pause.
Santa's breath trembled.
Perth's jaw tightened.
"That was not love," he said. "That was cruelty disguised as logic."
Santa whispered, "They said your future couldn't survive me."
Perth's eyes darkened, not with anger at him, but at the memory. "My future," he said slowly, "was empty without you."
Santa's eyes filled instantly.
Perth reached for his hands. "I don't want you hiding anymore," he said.
Santa's breath shook harder.
Perth didn't let go. Instead, he stepped back slightly, and then he knelt.
Not for spectacle or power, just... choosing the ground instead of distance.
Santa froze completely.
"Perth..." he whispered, voice breaking.
Perth opened a small velvet box.
Inside, two silver bands intertwined.
His voice wavered just slightly at the edges. "I want a home," he said. "With you. With Luke."
He swallowed.
"Marry me."
Santa's tears fell before he could stop them.
Perth continued, voice softer now.
"Not because of what we went through."
A beat.
From the doorway, Luke's voice cut through the tension like sunlight.
"Daddy is kneeling."
Perth turned slightly. "Hi, love."
Luke nodded seriously. "Is this important?"
Luke considered this, then nodded. "Okay."
Santa let out something between a laugh and a sob. "Perth..." he whispered again.
Perth's eyes didn't leave his.
"Say it," he said gently. "Whatever it is... say it."
Santa inhaled shakily.
"Yes," he said.
A broken whisper.
"Yes."
Perth exhaled like he had been holding his breath for seven years.
He stood and pulled Santa into his arms immediately. Not tight enough to trap, but just enough to hold.
Luke ran in instantly, wrapping his arms around both of them.
"Group hug?" he asked proudly.
Perth smiled into Santa's hair.
"Yes," he murmured. "Forever."
Outside the study, Perth's mother covered her mouth, crying softly.
Grandpa Tanapon stood quietly for a long moment.
Then nodded once.
That evening, Lunaria Café lights turned on again.
Warm glow spilling into the street.
Not as a hiding place anymore, but as something new.
A new beginning that did not ask anyone to disappear.
Santa stood behind the counter, hands resting lightly on it.
Perth came up behind him.
Luke was laughing somewhere near the tables, and for the first time in a long time...
Santa didn't feel like he was surviving.
He felt like he was staying.
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Tbc.....
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?? Author Note
Okay... this one is officially the "soft ending energy but not really the end" chapter ????
Santa finally stopped surviving alone, and Perth finally stopped choosing everything except love.
Thank you for staying ?
See you in the next chapter ????
- Qis ??