Xisuma's Parrotsitting [HermitSteal AU]

Spoke's Deal - Part 2

TW//Mention of child slavery/trafficking (just one line in the second segment) and a bit of overwhelmed Parrot, just a bit and also a surprise guest at the end ;)

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By the time Red and Zam arrive, Spoke is already done with his deal speech. Xanthus has accepted and he said that the deadline is in two weeks. They should have the money by then, though the fridge is going to empty quicker than it fills. With that victory raising their spirits, he and Parrot return to their home. They find Pangi awake in the kitchen and Xisuma asleep on the couch.

"It's over, Pangi!" Spoke tells their pangolin friend.

"So, no more staying up till midnight?"

Parrot shakes his head, smiling so hard his cheeks are hurting. "Now we can sleep again!"

They hear a groan from the couch and collectively shush. Wordlessly, they return to their rooms, careful not to make more noise. The last thing they need is Xisuma to see them awake and not in their pyjamas. They part ways in the hallway and Parrot closes the door behind them. Spoke immediately dives into their shared wardrobe and throws clothes out, whilst Parrot puts his ear on the door.

Surely enough, there is noise coming from the living room. With one look, they both rush to change out of their dirty clothes, hiding them under their shared bed. They crawl beneath the covers and quite literally fall onto the mattress, trying to make themselves look like they're sleeping.

A few minutes pass and all they hear is silence.

"See? He isn't awa–"

Spoke's hand finds Parrot's talking mouth, efficiently quieting him as he gestures him to hush. A moment later, he hears footsteps outside of the door, somewhere in the hall. It's a familiar sound, so it doesn't scare them but it does make them feel like they're doing something that they shouldn't be doing and they both want to giggle but they hold back. Apparently, Xisuma woke up from all the noise they made when they returned.

The door of their room opens quietly and Parrot can feel eyes on his back for a few seconds. Kind, caring eyes whose owner probably wouldn't be all that mad if he had found the bed empty but anxious and terribly worried. Parrot found that he dislikes lying to Xisuma when the search for Xanthus began but now, he doesn't have to lie anymore. His last major lie will be pretending to be asleep. If all goes well, he won't even need to learn the full story.

"You owe me 5 bucks."

"Shut up and sleep."

Pangi leaves the next day. There is no reason for him to stick around any longer: his claw has grown back significantly during his stay, a little dented at the base but that's temporary, as once it grows out enough, it could be trimmed and filed into shape. Xisuma is still worried about him, though, so he tells the kid that if he doesn't feel comfortable outside, he can return for another night. As for where he is going to go now is a big mystery. Xisuma suspects that he is going to seek shelter from the teens.

The day after that, he enrols all of them to different schools. The teenagers were old enough to go to secondary school and high school, while the younger ones were stuck in Primary for a year alongside their friends. Thankfully, Mr. Marriott holds up quite well considering that he is locked in a classroom with a bunch of troublemakers who came in mid-term and have a lot of knowledge gaps. The boys have turned the cafe into their hangout spot now and Planet works the afternoon shift, so that he can attend class in the mornings alongside his friends. Whenever they gather, it's to either study or tutor each other, which is honestly a very wholesome scene to watch from behind the counter. Xisuma is proud of his kids and their friends, who he has slowly but surely pulled away from the dangerous underground; not completely but less interaction with criminals is a welcome outcome.