I was legit crying while writing this
We have an emotional breakdown in this chapter, which happens in the second segment. If you're sensitive to such emotional scenes, feel free to skip it. Take care of yourselves :)

Consider voting and following, comment to your heart's content! :D

---

Grian doesn't turn up for the remainder of the afternoon. He visits during the night, when the kids have been put to bed and Xisuma is doing his routine check on the door and balcony locks and shutting windows and curtains. The avian knocks on the balcony door, pressing his face against the glass in an attempt to get the man's attention. Xisuma backtracks from the kitchen, where he was sitting and contemplating his life choices, and lets the other man in, signalling him to be quiet so the boys don't wake up.

"Sooooo," Grian starts as he saunters to the couch and plops down resting his head in his hands. "What happened?"

Xisuma sighs and takes a seat next to his friend. His back feels heavy and his head is still swirling with thoughts of what he should do. He tells Grian that and more and the avian listens closely to the whispers of anxiety and despair.

"Ah, so your brother got in trouble again and the littles decided to get involved?" he observes once Xisuma is done with his rant.

The voidwalker shrugs, feeling that the load that was weighing him down has been lifted off of his back.

"Exactly," he sighs, putting his head in his hands. "And now I don't know what to do... It's either risking everyone's safety and well-being or sending Spoke to work for a criminal."

Black eyes search through Xisuma's soul. Grian leans forward, elbows digging into his knees as he holds his chin atop his fists. There is silence for a few moments; just enough for the well of emotions to settle on a stable level.

"I work in that area," he murmurs. Violet plasma gazes with intensity into the void of darkness, alight with impatience. "So, whatever you decide to do, know that I'll keep an eye on Spoke if I see him around."

"Really?" Xisuma questions, gasping as if he had been suffocating in the time it took Grian to speak. The avian nods, lips drawing a sombre line across his face.

"Yeah, why not? I'll be stealing your other kid, by the way."

"Huh?"

"Parrots have to fly!"

"Grian, I swear, if you shove Parrot off a roof, I will–"

"Of course not!"

A mischievous grin spreads where there once was seriousness on Grian's face, prompted by Xisuma's suspicious gaze.

"I'll shove him off of multiple roofs –if he even wants to fly with me, that is."

Well, Xisuma thinks, considerably calmer than he was a few minutes ago, if Grian wants to babysit, let him babysit. He thinks it over again because he doesn't want to scare his friend away from his apartment for five years through Parrot's own mischief. Then again, Grian is more a child than an adult at heart. They'll hit it off just fine.

The first thing Xisuma does in the morning is to call his brother and chew him out for his irresponsibility. It's one thing to get involved in illegal activities but it's a whole other one to involve little, innocent kids in them. Well, maybe they aren't as innocent as they should be at their age but they are still kids. Therefore, his brother needs a stern talking-to –even though it's the second or third he's had, he still refuses to learn, so Xisuma adds a fourth one.

That takes about half an hour. The boys eavesdrop from their shared bedroom with a satisfied smile that grows every time Xisuma serves them justice by insulting his brother's intelligence. The last time they saw him get angry at his brother was when it was revealed that Xanthus had issues with Clownpierce. This time, Xisuma is clearly angrier, so they don't leave their room until the phone call is over, lest they get caught in the storm of words outside. Weirdly enough, the worst thing Xisuma has said so far is "stupid" and "arrogant".

Parrot believes that he has earned the right to say "fuck" at least once at this point. Seriously, how much stress does this guy need to curse?! He'll lose his bet to Spoke at this rate!

When the phone call ends, Xisuma calls for them to come out of their room.

"Ha! I won!" Spoke silently cheers behind the door. "You owe me five bucks now."

Parrot begrudgingly hands over the money and dramatically crosses his arms. He quickly schools his features, though, as Xisuma calls their names one more time.

"Xanthus has just informed me that Clownpierce gave him two days to decide whether he'll accept or decline his proposal..." the man sighs, tapping his phone against the palm of his hand restlessly. He looks at the two boys and steadily decreases the stressful movements until his hands are stiff; both of them have been through enough stress already, Xisuma doesn't want to add to it (while he isn't sure that they've learnt their lesson, he doesn't want to shout at them more than he did). He herds them to the kitchen table hastily.

"Spoke, I need you to be completely honest with me," Xisuma begins, looking Spoke in the eye. Parrot awkwardly shifts in his seat. "Do you want to work for Clown? It's fine if you don't– actually, I'd prefer if you didn't, so I won't get mad if you don't want to do this."

Spoke quietly looks at the table, tapping a finger on the wood. He doesn't speak; he looks like he's deep in thought. Xisuma doesn't push him, knowing that this is a very meaningful decision, even though the result will greatly affect his brother if it's negative. Using a child to save his own skin doesn't feel right; it irks him that he's even considering this path but turning his back on his brother doesn't feel right either. The only thing he can do is minimise the damage of the outcome as best as he can to salvage as much of these children's childhoods as they have left.

Ultimately, the decision is Spoke's to make. Xisuma doesn't say anything else. He doesn't try to lighten the load more than he already has, afraid that he will influence the kid into doing something he'll later regret. He doesn't try to plead with him to spare his brother, even though guilt is eating away at him. To shove his problems on a child... How shameful.

"If I don't, Xanthus said things would get worse." Sporke says in such a small voice, Xisuma barely hears him. Parrot hears his words clearly and, feeling where his friend is going with this, he wraps a wing around him in an attempt to comfort him. "When Clownpierce came to our house, he tried to murder you." he continues, eyes stealing shy glances at Xisuma, trying to see through the purple visor, trying to decipher his expression. "I was really scared. Parrot was scared. You were scared too."

Xisuma's hand twitches at the accusation. Shame and fear befalls him when the memory resurfaces, yet he stays quiet, eyes unfocused and gazing at the surface of the table. He feels a foot nudge his knee and when he looks back up, he finds Parrot eyeing him with concern. Putting on a brave face, he musters a smile that barely wrinkles his eyes to reassure the boy. Parrot doesn't look convinced but he understands that Spoke's wellbeing is their priority now.

"Hels said that the police can't help us, so that means that we can only help ourselves, right?" Though phrased like a question, it sounds like a fact. It would be a lie to say that the reality is anything but that. "If I don't go along with it, we'll live in a constant state of fear and, honestly, I've had enough of that. I have to admit that I was excited about working in the underground, dealing with people like in the movies. So, my answer is yes."

Unable to hold himself back, Xisuma reaches out and grasps Spoke's hands gently with his own. The boy's head snaps up, glowing, white eyes staring at him with alarm. There are tears brimming on his lashes, both thankful and sorrowful and they drip onto the tinted glass of the visor when he bows his head.

"Thank you." never has he ever meant those words more in his life. The emotion in his voice is raw, rough, and choked by sobs. Perhaps the events have finally caught up to him; maybe he's relieved. Regardless of what it is, he can't help the way his shoulders shake and the way his breath catches in the back of his throat. He can't help the tears that gather and spill on his reddened cheeks nor the hot breaths that cloud his sight.

"Suma?" Parrot pushes himself to his feet confused. Not knowing what to do, he hauls himself out of the chair and hastens to Xisuma's side. Spoke pries his hands from the man's grasp and hesitantly follows his friend's path."Are you okay?"

They don't need more than the sight of trembling hands and the sound of sobs to know that he is not okay. Parrot bravely pushes Xisuma against the back of the chair and climbs onto his lap. From this close up, he can hear mumbles, disjointed words and foreign warbles. Spoke takes up the rest of the space, seating himself on Xisuma's leg, and they allow themselves to be hugged like toys to their father's chest.

Parrot shifts his wings, trying to awkwardly settle into a more comfortable position. He hears the sobs clearly as his feathered ear is right next to Xisuma's face. His eyes widen when he comprehends the unintelligible words he is saying.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

A never ending string of gratefulness spills and tumbles its way to Spoke's ears, who remains silent, cradled in a strong arm and pressed against a thundering heart. Parrot doesn't know what to do –neither of them know– but seeing the man that stuck to their sides like an immovable rock break under an immeasurable amount of pressure reminds him of a little kid. It reminds him of himself when he was still living in the backstreets with the others, when he had to put on a brave face because one of them had to keep a level head no matter how dire their situation was.

He remembers that all he needed back then was a shoulder to cry on and maybe someone to hold him. Therefore, he doesn't say anything and opts to wrap his own arms around the trembling figure before him and ignores how cold the armour is against his own skin. Spoke mimics him: he presses himself closer with such fervour that he might literally melt into the man's side.

And that is how they settle on the chair, watching as an incredible protector breaks down. They stay strong in his stead. Parrot bumps his head against the side of Xisuma's helmet and chirps when gloved fingers. The noise that escaped his throat surprises even himself, though the man doesn't appear to have noticed. He doesn't draw attention to it, however.

So they sit and wait. They wait until the words have wavered into sobs and the hands holding them soften their hold. They wait until there are only a few trembles wracking Xisuma's body and the tears have dried; they wait until the man can collect himself enough to form coherent thoughts.

When the fog clears on the helmet's visor, a purple glow shines from the man's eyes. Parrot has seen that glow only once: a moment before the Void swallowed them and their assailant whole not so long ago. The colour is so rich, the glow so vivid; nothing like the straining light it had been back then. He can't help but stare in awe as the glow starts to dim and the hold on them slackens.

"Suma?" Parrot starts slow and gentle. "You okay now?"

The pat he receives on his back is indication enough that yes, he is okay. Maybe he is not feeling quite okay but he still feels better. Parrot doesn't cry a lot but he feels like crying a little himself; he doesn't know why. Spoke's eyes have already brimmed with tears, though his cheeks are puffed and his nose is scrunched in a way that means he's been holding them back.

"Spoke..." is the first thing Xisuma utters, his voice hoarse from crying. The boy in question fiercely wipes at his face before looking the man eye-to-eye. Parrot settles more comfortably in his little nook. "About what you said earlier," –he takes in a steadying breath and he sounds determined– "I was scared when he broke into our home and threatened us, that's true. But that fear is nothing compared to this... I swear, Spoke..."

There is another pause, one for Xisuma to calm the last of the involuntary sobs.

"I'll rip his head off his shoulders if he hurts you."

In the afternoon, it's been decided that Spoke is going to work for Clownpierce. Xanthus has been informed of this in the form of a very strongly worded text from all three of them (In all honesty, Xisuma wrote the introduction and left the rest to the hands of Parrot and Spoke, whom he allowed to use swears just for that instance). Despite the very rude text, Xanthus still offered to ask Helsknight to escort them to the casino.

After the details of that are discussed, Xisuma calls Grian to babysit Parrot. The boy really wants to come along but with some reassurance from Spoke (he said it was a trial he had to go through alone, and that was weirdly wise of him), so they parted ways with a pouty, little avian and an excited, avian adult who came bursting through the open window of Xisuma's bedroom. The scare they got when Grian threw open the bedroom door and waved at them from behind the wall was greeted by three distinctive screams.

Then, Grian comes into the living room like he has done nothing wrong and without question walks up to Parrot, towering over him with a madman grin on his face.

"Hey, Parrot! Are you ready to fly?" –Parrot jumped back with a surprised squawk.

"Huh?!"

Grian turns to Xisuma, who has already grabbed Spoke thinking that they could leave before any of the "flying lessons" could commence (mostly because Xisuma's heart wouldn't be able to handle Grian shoving his adoptive son off of the roof into freefall –he has no doubt Spoke would be applauding and screaming at the top of his lungs).

"Ex, you didn't tell him?" the man asks with a sad, obviously fake, pout. His grin swiftly returns when he next faces the kid. "You and I, Parrot, are going to do some very fun stuff."

"Xisuma, can we stay?" Spoke whispers, fully in awe at the prospect of doing something fun instead of going to the casino.

Shaking his head, Xisuma denies him and quickly herds him outside, not before saying a few parting words to Grian (specifically "Be careful", "Don't make a mess of the apartment" and his favourite, which he repeated numerous times: "Don't throw Parrot out of any windows" –in the end Spoke was the one herding Xisuma out of the apartment).

They meet Xanthus and Hels outside of the casino. Xisuma doesn't grace his brother with more than a glare before he asks Hels to follow him inside. Spoke quickly follows him, taking his hand so that he doesn't get lost with so many people around. Why is the place flooded in the middle of the day anyway? Spoke will never know. A man dressed in a suit and a blank mask comes to collect them and they follow him into the "Employees Only" area: a maze of corridors and doors, which feels awfully like a trap to Spoke but he doesn't voice his concerns just yet. He's with Xisuma, he doesn't need to worry.

So he doesn't. He doesn't worry as much as he normally would. Some of the nerves and anxiety stick to his throat like sticky, little parasites. It kind of reminds him of the warehouse auction infiltration mission, although now the tables have been reversed: now it's Xisuma getting Spoke out of trouble. The boy can't help but chuckle when he thinks that this is how that favour is being returned.

Xisuma doesn't wait for the employee to notify Clown of their presence; he gently pushes them aside and opens the door himself. Clown, who is sitting at his desk seemingly looking through paperwork, doesn't even flinch at the sudden disturbance. Branzy, who was pointing at spots on the paper over the casino owner's shoulder, is the one to flinch and take a few steps back into a wall of weapons (he almost knocks the whole exhibit down but no one pays attention to him trying to stabilise a mace that was, weirdly enough, balanced on its head).

"Good afternoon, Mr. Void. and Spoke." Clown greets them, his smooth voice easily matching his villainous personna. "It is good to see you in..." –he looks the voidwalker over as if to evaluate a threat– "...Good shape."

Xisuma motions for Spoke to stand by his side when he moves to sit at one of the chairs. Spoke looks at Xisuma in surprise. This meeting might be a trap. Was that why he didn't wait for the employee to open the door? Seeing the slight glow of violet that comes from his eyes, he suspects that maybe he just wanted to get his hands on Clown. Or speak to Clown. Maybe he's finally going to say a bad word; like Parrot says, he's earned it.

Yet, no swear comes. The poison dripping from his voice when he speaks may as well have been an insult though.

"It's good to see you in good shape as well. I see you've healed well, Branzy."

An insult to Branzy's pride, that is. The man looks faint, like he's been stabbed in the heart.

"Yeah, uhm, it's good to see you too." he responds, words wobbling on his tongue. Spoke thinks that Branzy looks like a wet cat, cowering behind Clownpierce and still being on edge. Xisuma is harmless; it's their group of mischiefs he should be scared of, really.

"Now that we're done with the greetings, I'd like to discuss what this is about. Xanthus has told me that you've asked for Spoke to work under you. Is this correct?" the voidwalker questions and Spoke can't decipher his tone: it's both angry and careful, like he's daring Clown to say the wrong thing, just so he can slap him or something. The man in question nods his masked face.

"It is. Please, have a se–"

"No." Spoke cuts him off. "No, we're fine right here."

The way Clown's head is turned towards him gives Spoke the impression that he's blinking behind those black crosses.

"Alright." he clears his throat. "I am aware that Spoke is a minor but that isn't much of a problem. If you are concerned for his safety, I assure you that he will be working behind the scenes. He'll be my little errand boy."

"Your little errand boy?" Xisuma sounds offended as if he'd been lied to his face. "No, I don't think you'll keep him around just to do trivial errands. You've explicitly asked for Spoke because of his duplication power, I know that, so don't beat around the bush."

Clown doesn't say anything. Branzy nervously looks between his boss and the angry parent at the other side of the desk. Spoke simply observes, crossing his arms and grows ever prouder the more Xisuma speaks, because the man is finally adding a bite to his bark.

"This may be between you and Xanthus but Spoke and I have our own terms."

"I fear that is not quite–" Branzy is cut off by the violet glow becoming brighter, a glare directed at him, and he flinches back with his hands raised to his chest.

From there, they discuss terms and conditions and Spoke compares this to the TOS wall of social media. A time frame is set: Clown announces that the money Xanthus owes him amounts to two to three years of unpaid service, which Spoke agrees to with the condition that he gets to set his own hours on weekends and Xisuma adds that there will be no mornings and no late nights because the boy has to attend school. Also, Clown will have to give a daily report to Xisuma about what Spoke did during his shift, which the man agreed to without any fuss. Branzy stays silent by Clown's side, nervously looking back and forth between everyone in the room.

Spoke thinks he'll have one heck of a resume when he turns 15. With the cards he's been dealt, he knows that he should make the most of working under someone as powerful as Clown.

Xisuma is the last one to speak.

"If you harm Spoke or any of the other kids in any way, I won't have any qualms about feeding you to the Void instead of throwing you out in a cornfield." he cautions Clown, who simply stares, giving away none of his thoughts. Unlike his boss, Branzy stiffens like a log.

Finally, Clown responds.

"I assure you I have no intention of harming anyone. Spoke will make some pocket money for his work, I have nothing against him." he says with a slight nod. "Tell your brother that he's been blacklisted. I don't want to ever see his face again."

When they return home, it is with Spoke's utmost excitement about his new workplace. Xisuma has never seen the boy this enthused about work. Then again, no child is ever enthused with homework when they have a bunch of other fun stuff to do. He just... Looking back at how serious Spoke was in the morning about agreeing to the deal between Xanthus and Clown, Xisuma thought he would be more frustrated about it. Perhaps Spoke thought it over on the way home and decided to face his situation with hilarity.

Opening the door, they find Grian and Parrot on the couch huddled under a shared blanket and watching an action movie on TV with their hands in a bowl of popcorn. Xisuma greets them, yet he's just shushed and told to keep quiet as Spoke runs and inserts himself like a rocket in between the avian duo. Then the man takes in the mess that has become of the living room.

"Did a bomb explode in here?" he asks incredulously. "The apartment is a mess!"

Grian personally hushes him with a stern finger to his own lips.

"We're watching a movie, Ex! Quiet down."

Xisuma deadpans. "Are you kidding me?"

Another familiar voice comes from the inner rooms.

"Is Xisuma back?" and with it comes a head peeking into the living room. Xisuma blinks, both concerned and confused to see Pearl in his home. "Oh, hey Xisuma! We thought you'd be gone for a bit longer, I haven't managed to clean all of this yet."

Xisuma raises a perplexed eyebrow, closing the door behind him and setting the keys on the kitchen counter. "You're cleaning? What happened here?"

"They were playing–"

"Can you quiet down?" Parrot demands without turning his head to directly regard them. "We're trying to watch a movie here!"

Neither pays him any mind.

"Grian called me and asked if I could come and clean up the mess they made while playing." Pearl continues with a small smile and a shake of the head. "I don't know how they managed to do what they have done–"

"SHHHHH!"

"–but they've done it and now I'm doomed to clean it."

Needing to see the extent of the 'damage', Xisuma sighs and heads to the kids' bedroom. Every toy is on the floor, every pen that used to be on the desk is not in its place, the bedsheets are disturbed and a bunch of little, plastic bags full of trinkets (glass marbles, markers, pencils, erasers –all of the stock for Parrot and Spoke's illegal pop-up shop in the school yard, which they'd shoved out of Xisuma's view under the bed) opened and their contents scattered on the desk.

Xisuma takes a slow, steadying breath in and turns away from the room. Reentering the living room, he recovers the remote from the arm of the couch.

"Alright, that's enough," he says, turning off the TV. He receives a bunch of condemnation for it (such as Grian pouting like a child saying that they were just getting to the good part, Parrot complaining about this being the only good movie they've ever watched and Spoke glaring daggers at him). "It's time to clean up after yourselves, you rascals, and apologise to Pearl."

In the end, Spoke and Xisuma make an early dinner while the two mischievous avians compete against each other in a game of "who can clean faster". The aforementioned game was started by Pearl in an attempt to lessen the amount of complaints. When they're done and the only chore left to do is to mop the floor (Xisuma elects to do it later, after Grian and Pearl are gone), they all huddle under the previously-abandoned blanket and turn on the TV. The movie they were watching isn't playing anymore but the comedy they find on one of the other channels causes a ton of laughter from all of them.

Xisuma looks at all of them, close together, enjoying a nice moment of peace and happiness. He sees Parrot leaning against Grian more and more, having finally found someone of his kin and sharing a personal bond (a bond that formed over Grian throwing Parrot off of multiple roofs in Xisuma's absence). He sees Spoke's jealous pout as he glares at them and he sees Pearl easily taking his attention off of his friend.

At the end of the day, when Grian and Pearl bid their goodbyes, he privately tells Spoke to ask Parrot about Grian and watches him strut to their shared bedroom. Leaning on the wall next to the door, Xisuma listens to the two talk in failed whispers about the new winged person that has entered their lives. Spoke asks and Parrot explains these odd feelings that he gets when he's around the man, that he can't help but call him his flock. They don't argue, nor do they fight, and eventually Spoke is speaking with audible awe.

Xisuma smiles to himself, nerves melting away into something warm in his chest. He pushes himself off of the wall and goes to his own room.

What a good note, he thinks, to end such a terrific day.

======
Another hurdle done and dealt with in the Void household :D 
How will the kids react to seeing Xanthus after this, I wonder, hmmmm
Spoke is now a paid worker, totally illegal but also inevitable due to everything that's gone down