Chapter 23 - Too Much Love
Perth Tanapon became absolutely unbearable within forty eight hours of learning the truth.
Not cruel or controlling, just...
Terrified.
Santa blinked slowly from the kitchen island where he was already sitting while peeling oranges. "...I am sitting."
Perth narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he walked closer with two glasses of water in hand. "Then sit better."
Santa stared at him in disbelief.
"I don't know how to sit pregnant-er, Perth."
Luke snorted loudly into his cereal.
Perth ignored both of them completely. He placed one glass carefully beside Santa. "Your back isn't supported."
Santa slowly set the orange down.
"Because I'm a human being and not a decorative pillow."
Perth reached behind him anyway, adjusting the cushion at Santa's back with ridiculous care. "There."
Santa opened his mouth to argue.
Then closed it again because annoyingly... that actually felt better.
Luke watched the entire interaction with narrowed eyes. "Daddy," he said carefully, "you're hovering again."
Perth looked offended.
"I am being attentive."
Santa froze.
Luke gasped dramatically.
"Papa's making organs?!"
Santa covered his face.
"Please stop telling people that."
Perth looked genuinely confused.
"It's medically accurate."
The hovering only got worse.
Santa got escorted down the staircase twice despite being perfectly capable of walking.
Perth held his elbow the entire time like Santa might suddenly launch himself into danger for fun.
Santa's entire brain short-circuited for a second. His cheeks warmed instantly, and unfortunately...
pregnancy had made him hypersensitive to everything.
Especially Perth.
That was becoming a serious problem, because his body reacted to Perth constantly now.
A hand brushing his waist while passing through the kitchen made warmth spread low through his stomach.
Perth's deep sleepy morning voice made Santa's thighs tense embarrassingly fast, even watching him loosen his tie after work felt unfairly intimate.
It was exhausting, and worse...
Perth barely touched him anymore.
By the fourth day, Santa was officially irritated. "You're avoiding me."
Perth froze halfway through organizing vitamins at the kitchen counter. "...What?"
Perth turned slowly.
"I'm not avoiding you."
Santa crossed his arms.
"You won't even kiss me properly anymore."
Perth blinked.
"I kiss you every day."
Luke looked up immediately from the floor where he was building dinosaurs out of blocks. "...What's pecking?"
Perth rubbed a hand down his face.
"Santa," he said carefully, voice strained with patience, "you're pregnant."
Santa narrowed his eyes.
"I'm horny."
The silence afterward nearly killed Perth instantly.
Luke looked around nervously.
"...Should I go upstairs?"
Luke wisely grabbed his dinosaur and fled anyway.
Perth stared at the wall like it had personally betrayed him.
"I..." he started weakly.
Santa laughed once in disbelief.
"Yes, but Ignoring your pregnant partner is not."
Perth physically choked on air.
Meanwhile, the rest of the family reacted to the pregnancy announcement in wildly different ways.
Perth's mother cried first, then screamed, then cried harder.
Santa blinked helplessly.
Perth pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We're not rushing anything."
His mother stared at him in genuine offense. "Darling," she said carefully, "you are emotionally seven years late already."
Santa coughed into his tea.
Perth looked betrayed.
"That was unnecessary."
Perth glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh, that's Mom color coded the seating plans."
Santa looked genuinely frightened.
Grandpa Tanapon surprised everyone most of all. He listened quietly when Perth told him.
Silence stretched long enough to make Santa nervous. Then finally the older man sighed heavily.
Perth nodded once.
Another nod.
Santa unconsciously rested a hand over his stomach.
The older man noticed immediately.
Then his gaze shifted toward Perth.
"Marry him properly."
The room went completely still.
Santa's breath caught.
Perth straightened slightly.
"I was going to."
His father held his gaze for a long second before nodding once.
"Good."
That was it.
No grand speech or dramatic approval, but Perth knew. It was the closest thing to a blessing his father had ever given him.
Santa noticed the way Perth's shoulders relaxed afterward, although it was just slightly, but it was enough to matter.
The house descended into complete chaos after that.
Wedding planners invaded every room.
Fabric samples covered couches.
Cake catalogs appeared on tables.
Flower arrangements blocked hallways.
Luke treated the entire situation like a government position. "I'm getting promoted," he informed everyone seriously.
Force nodded solemnly.
"A powerful role."
Luke accepted this with great dignity.
Perth nearly had a heart attack thirty minutes later when Luke launched himself toward Santa on the couch.
Luke froze mid air.
"I weigh like a backpack!"
Santa burst into laughter.
"He's fine."
Perth still intercepted the jump with terrifying speed.
Luke sighed dramatically.
"Daddy acts like Papa is made of crackers."
Santa laughed so hard he started crying.
Pregnancy was humiliating.
At night, when the mansion finally quieted and wedding planners stopped calling, Santa became restless again.
His body buzzed beneath his skin constantly now, feeling warm, sensitive, and needy all at one.
Santa lay beneath the sheets staring at the ceiling while Perth read emails beside him. "You're doing it again," Santa murmured.
Perth looked up immediately.
"Doing what?"
Perth closed the laptop slowly.
"I'm trying to be careful."
Santa rolled onto his side to face him fully. "You've been trying so hard not to touch me that I'm starting to take it personally."
Perth's expression softened instantly.
"That's not what this is."
Perth hesitated. The vulnerability on his face hurt unexpectedly. "I don't want to hurt you."
Santa's frustration melted immediately into something gentler.
He shifted closer slowly. "You won't."
Perth swallowed hard.
"You say that very confidently for someone growing an entire person."
Santa smiled softly.
"And you say that like my body hasn't done this before."
The honesty in his voice settled warmly inside Santa's chest.
Perth reached out carefully then stopped halfway again.
Always stopping.
Santa caught his wrist gently before he could pull away. "You don't need to protect me from love," Santa whispered.
Perth's breathing stuttered slightly.
"I spent seven years without you," he admitted quietly. "Now everything feels breakable."
Santa's expression softened completely. "Then hold me," he whispered back. "Not the fear."
Perth finally did. Slowly and carefully at first. Then tighter when Santa melted against him immediately.
Santa sighed softly into his chest, finally warm enough to settle.
Perth buried his face into Santa's hair and inhaled deeply like grounding himself there.
Outside, Bangkok glittered endlessly beyond the windows.
Inside, wedding folders littered the floor. Luke's toy dinosaurs guarded the hallway. Voices echoed through rooms once too quiet to live in.
And somewhere between midnight cravings, protective arguments, wedding disasters, and sleepy family dinners...
Santa realized something.
His life wasn't peaceful anymore.
It was loud, messy and overcrowded.
Full of people constantly reaching for him now.
Checking on him, loving him, and needing him.
And for the first time in his life...
That didn't terrify him.
It thrilled him.