Xisuma's Parrotsitting [HermitSteal AU]

Spoke's Deal - Part 1

TW/ Panicking over murder, mentions of murder, violence, children being menaces, Xisuma needing a good, long bath to forget because he doesn't drink. Just putting this here because this chapter is hectic and to state that Xisuma is panicking on the inside. 

================

The next day is relatively normal. As normal as a day in Xisuma's life can be nowadays. He takes the kids to school and tells Pangi to be careful during P.E and Parrot and Spoke don't pass through the gate until they get to give him a hug –it's more of a side-hug, honestly but just the concept makes Xisuma do a double-take. Comfort hugs occur often but goodbye hugs have never before made an appearance in their relationship and while it's strange, Xisuma welcomes it. He sees how the kids themselves second-guess it, so he makes the step for them and drags them in, followed by laughter and playful hands swatting at him.

Then, he goes to the cafe. He is taken aback by the sight that is waiting for him: Planet wearing an apron with the cafe's logo on it calling out a name and then a customer getting up to pick up their order. He is admittedly surprised; he only expected Planet to stick around for a day so he could get Pangi settled at the apartment but apparently, he has a bit of a more permanent spot in the cafe.

When he asks him about it, Planet tells him that the boss was very satisfied with his work and the feedback they received about the new heavy cream patterns on the lattes. From simple leaves and hearts, Planet designed fun little planets like those one would see on a spraypaint video with surprising detail. Now, the teen works part-time during the same hours as Xisum, which is weird because of his moth heritage; Planet tells him that he sleeps about an hour after his shift ends, so technically, it's a night-shift for him.

They work well as a team and they pull through the morning and the lunch rush without a hitch –who knew that having a helping hand would make work easier? Thanks to that, they get to have their break a little earlier and during that, Xisuma asks Planet to show him his latte drawings. The teen's eyes sparkled as he dragged Xisuma off to the front from the break room for a long lesson in latte decor. From this day forth, he has an extra pair of helping hands and a person to chat with other than the random chatty regular.

Predictably, Branzy shows his face around the time the kids get out of school and race to the cafe. This time, however, Xisuma knows that they'll have company. Before they left his home, he overheard the group of troublemakers make plans for something in the alley next to the small establishment and Xisuma might be a little innocent at times but he knows that alleys are never a good place for anything. You might get dragged into babysitting a wild Parrot, you never know.

The fancy man walks in, places his regular order with that casual smile of his and turns to sit at his usual table. Xisuma has the sudden urge to wipe that smile off of his face but violence has never been his cup of tea, so he burns his coffee instead. Planet catches on and looks through the fridge for the oldest carton of milk they had and poured the sour thing into the coffee out of pure compassion and camaraderie towards Pangi.

Branzy chokes on the first sip and the look of realisation that falls upon his face when he realises that this is revenge is one that quells the urge to strangle him instead of serving him awful coffee. The look they give him when he dares to speak up, though, is close to that of a predator who has finally caught its prey.

"Heh, Xisuma, I think you burnt the coffee–" he says, all sheepish and innocent and full of lies.

"Did I?" Xisuma answers, expression concealed behind the visor but his eyes are glowing. Glowing eyes and voidwalkers is a dangerous combination and Branzy knows because he swallows down the next sip without any complaint.