Xisuma's Parrotsitting [HermitSteal AU]

And things go well...

One chapter before the end.
Enjoy the chap :)

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The kids show up in the middle of Xisuma's shift, as per usual. Planet is already there, of course, taking orders alongside the man. Short and tall boys trickle in whilst his back is turned and he only notices when the teenager beside him greets his friends by name. Finishing a coffee, Xisuma sets the drink on the bar, thanks the customer who takes it and lastly wipes his hands on a towel. He regards his kids and their friends with a wave of his hand before looking at the clock.

"Did the principal hold you up again, Zam?" he asks with a knowing lilt to his voice.

"Oh, right!" Zam's brows shoot up as he remembers something. He quickly riffles through the mess of books, notebooks and papers in his bag. He recovers a paper from between the pages of a random book and sets it flat on the counter. "The principal wants you to sign that."

"What was it this time?" Xisuma asks as he grabs a pen from an invisible drawer. Zam's giggle reached a high tone, which the man has learnt to relate to embarrassment or nervousness. He uncaps the pen and signs the piece of paper.

"He broke a window!" Jaron pipes up from the group table. Zam shoots him a deadly look with fiery cheeks.

"Snitch!" he throws back. The other just laughs.

Zam groans in faux agony before readdressing Xisuma. "It was an accident, I promise."

"I'm sure it was." Xisuma responds, not at all believing him.

"It was!" the teen insists.

"You kicked the ball at Red!" Jaron, once again, cuts in. "He's lucky he dodged in time!"

Xisuma looks at Zam with a raised eyebrow, awaiting an explanation. The signed paper is held between his fingers and when Zam tries to grab it, he holds it farther away. With another groan that sounded way more dramatic than needed, the boy walks towards the table and promptly apologises to Red, who dismisses him with a wave. Planet snickers, while the rest of the kids are too busy opening their books and spilling stationary on the table. When Zam returns to the counter he looks unimpressed.

"Happy now, old man?"

Xisuma is too proud of Zam's improving manners to pay attention to the petty insult. "Very much so, Zam. Here you go."

Zam grabs the paper out of his hands and goes to sit down with his classmates. Xisuma looks at Planet and nods towards the group table. The boy hurries to untie the apron and throws it at Xisuma in order to grab his bag from the back room and join his friends. Not much happens after that. Customers come and go, some stay and some leave right after they receive their orders, some (parents, Xisuma assumes) even ask the kids if they need help or simply watch them with fondness and awe. He serves them a couple of snacks when there is no one waiting for coffee at the bar and asks if they need his wisdom on Mathematics and Physics (they could handle it, they told him, too stubborn to stop at the first hurdle of a Maths problem).

The repetitive pattern breaks an hour later, though. The bell rings and Xisuma's mouth almost hits the floor when he sees Xanthus walking into the establishment. It's a complete surprise; after the amount of chiding he threw at him, he believed that Xanthus would take at least a month till he stepped foot near any of them again. His brother looks towards the table full of souls who could have perished in the danger he wrapped each of them in, Spoke especially. Xisuma doesn't allow him to disturb their peace, not again –never again–, quickly moving and dragging Xanthus towards the bar by the upper arm.