Oh, oh, oh it's magic (Xie and Kevin)

[xie_er]

Zhao Jing used to be a nobody, born into influence and wealth but always in the shadow of those around him. In magical circles he was even worse, a barely-remembered witch that didn't have enough power for any familiar to even consider looking twice at him.

Somehow, though, after many years (and a few suspicious deaths), he's managed to climb his way to the CEO of Five Lakes, his power - of both kinds - growing exponentially.

The previous CEO was surrounded by some unfortunate rumorus before his death, so Zhao Jing has been focused on repairing the reputation of he company and solidifying his support, mundane and magical, which means it is far too delicate a moment for Xie to be in the spotlight, even if he was promised he'd be allowed to stop hiding when the position was in Zhao Jing's hands.

He just has to wait a little longer, that's all, and it's not like it's difficult to only appear in his animal form whenever Zhao Jing is in public, just uncomfortable, and the last thing they need is for somebody to recognise Xie for any of the things he's done to help his witch get where he is today, when his position is still so precarious...

He tells himself all the excuses he's heard from Yifu, repeats them in his head like a mantra as he sits through all the meetings and negotiations, a little black cat and Zhao Jing's feet, watching the men and women he's speaking to for anything Yifu can use. He hangs around when Zhao Jing steps out the room, listens to what they say behind his back - that's his job with normal people, to be a pair of ears they don't realise are there. Even paranoid types who scan for bugs would miss him, which he finds funny, privately, because he is a bug of a sort.

Not that he's allowed to take his original animal form - a scorpion would be out of place if anybody caught sight of him, and Yifu doesn't like the idea of him hiding in pockets or anything like that. He says it's dangerous, that something could happen to him, but Xie privately thinks he just finds the form creepy. Even around other magical people, the cat is preferred - his job with them is to be a reminder that Zhao Jing has a familiar, and a relatively powerful one at that.

It's hard for familiars to change the form they can take, but he did it, for Yifu.

He tells people the cat is called Scorpion, and that somebody else named him - which is technically true, Xie does mean scorpion, and his parents named him - and that he's vaguely embarrassed to have such a fiercely named cat.

(He doesn't tell magical people anything at all, they know Xie isn't a pet so they're less likely to ask, at most they will wonder why his familiar always stays in animal form. Zhao Jing just tells them he's shy. He isn't, he doesn't care about people seeing him, but it's easier to do the things Yifu wants him to do when nobody knows what he looks like)

Xie hadn't always known he was powerful - when Yifu had taken him in he'd been told he wasn't much, but that maybe he could be useful. Later, when some witch had made an offhand comment about it, the story had become that Yifu recognised his power and took him in before anybody else could steal him away, that he just wanted to protect Xie from the people who would use him for his power. Xie was already so far gone by that point that he accepted it, that he told himself he was lucky he had Yifu to protect him, to guide him.

It's funny how easy it is to lie to yourself.

When the meetings are over for the day he finally shifts back to human form, spending a few minutes stretching out the kinks that come from forcing himself into a form that isn't quite his, especially with how much he's had to do it over the last few weeks, and then going in search of something to eat. He could probably just head back to his own apartment since he doesn't think Yifu needs anything else from him, not today, but the outsiders have all left and everybody in Yifu's manor at least knows Xie, even if they don't know that Xie and Scorpion are one and the same, so it's safe to be around them.

He likes to spend as much time here as he can get away with, likes to remind Yifu he can be useful in other ways... and maybe he likes to keep an eye on this new apprentice Yifu has taken on. He doesn't understand why he needs anybody else when he has Xie, but the last time he'd questioned somebody new in the house Yifu hadn't spoken to him for a week, so he doesn't voice that thought out loud - he just watches the guy suspiciously every chance he gets, and wonders how easy he would be to get rid of.

He's halfway to the kitchen when something makes him stop. A tug of power, the vague echo of chanting, there's a ritual happening and something about it is drawing him close. He frowns, confused, and follows the pull...

Comments

[weird_cop]

It takes a long time, but it still feels like not long enough, that by time the final braid falls free Kevin could keep going.

He realises slowly that he's been meditating, that his core has swelled up some through the repetitive motion, and his hand doesn't feel too bad.

Now he reluctantly breaks that in order to stand, his hand brushing Xie's good shoulder.

"Shirt off."

Trousers can stay on, at least.

[xie_er]

Xie doesn't really get the same benefits of meditation that witches do, though he still knows how to do it and can use it to replenish his power when Yifu has used a lot of it, but the less magical benefits? Those he can manage, and the gentle, repetitive stroking of Kevin's fingers through his hair definitely had that effect.

So much so that he seems a little dazed again, but this time in a relaxed, soporific sort of way, and he turns his head to blink lazily at Kevin for a second before the words actually process.

He nods slowly, coming out of it a little as he unbuttons his shirt and slides it carefully off his shoulders, trying not to catch the dressing or move in a way that's going to cause any more pain. He drops it onto the bed and stands up, waiting until Kevin starts moving before he heads into the bathroom.

[weird_cop]

Kevin has to resist the urge to reach for that dressing. With the power rising up in him it would be so easy to top up, make a bigger difference for quickly than with his magical burn. But he knows how frustrated it would make Xie and doesn't want to ruin this.

This. What the fuck is this?

He indicates the bath, which thankfully has a shower head on a hose that he can use without them having to get in the shower together.

"You want to lean forward? It'll make it easier to keep the dressing dry."

[xie_er]

Xie nods, considering the most comfortable option for a moment before kneeling next to the bath and leaning over, using his good arm to sweep his hair forward.

"Are we going to have to do this together, like the cooking?" He asks, faintly amused. He's not sure how much use Kevin's injured hand will be, if one of them will need to hold the shower head while the other does the actual washing.

"Wait." He tips his head up "Is the conditioner here?" He knows they already brought some things, but did they bring his shampoo and conditioner or was somebody getting stabbed?

(He probably wouldn't actually stab someone for that)

(Probably)

[weird_cop]

"No, just something called Head and Shoulders two in one, that's fine, right?"

He says this deadpan but waves the bottle of expensive conditioner so Xie can see it.

He runs the bathtap for a while, testing it with his good hand for temperature before switching to the shower head.

"Let's see how it goes, you can help if I start messing up."

[xie_er]

"Don't even joke." Xie says with a vaguely appalled expression, but with the proof of his actual hair product he looks mollified, leaning over the tub again and letting his hair fall forward.

He murmurs a quiet assent, getting himself comfortable. It probably won't be as easy to zone out here as it was sitting on the bed getting his braids undone, but he's still expecting it to be pleasant... which is probably weird, given that he's leaning semi-awkwardly over a bath while his arresting officer and unwillingly bonded witch washes blood out of his hair, but apparently this is the life he lives.

[weird_cop]

"Tell me if it's too hot or cold."

Kevin finds it just easier to use the link over the sound of the water, and gets to work soaking the full length of Xie's hair, marvelling at the silliness of it.

"I guess the conditioner is worth it if this is the result.."

[xie_er]

"It's fine" He confirms, relaxing into the feel of it.

"It used to be awful. When I started using proper products I couldn't believe the difference it made, so I never wanted to stop"

It wasn't until the words were already thought that he realised he didn't even really mean to share something like that. It's barely anything, but it's still more than he ever really shared with anybody - he just didn't talk about his past, barely even alluded to it if he could help it. Yifu would bring it up a lot, though almost never when anybody could hear, and usually only when he wanted to be insulting. Maybe that's why Xie's so ashamed of it...

Maybe he should stop thinking about Yifu.

Probably why his thoughts drifted to his childhood, on reflection; it's the only period of his life Yifu had no impact on, other than ending it.

[weird_cop]

"No wonder you take such good care of it now."

Intel on Zhao hadn't really revealed much about where his adopted son had come from. When Kevin moved in and realised part of the actual nature of their relationship he wondered about it, but hadn't joined the dots.

"And the braiding doesn't hurt it?"

[xie_er]

"Not really. It keeps me from having to mess with it too much, I suppose, but even if they did I'd still do them."

This time he actually thinks about it before he says it, makes the conscious choice to reveal more. It's a little bit to spite Yifu, he thinks, and a little bit a test, just to see how it feels, how Kevin reacts.

"They're kind of a traditional thing, in Nanjiang."

[weird_cop]

"That's where you're from?"

Obviously, he thinks. But he asks to let Xie know he doesn't already know this. That anything Xie shares is up to him.

He hands Xie the shampoo bottle, holds his good hand out to receive the right amount, and then starts applying, just about able to use his burned hand to help massage it into his hair and scalp.

[xie_er]

"It's where my parents were from" And god, he hasn't thought about them in forever. That's probably terrible. Or maybe it's for the best, he can't imagine they ever hoped he'd end up the way he did.

He tilts his head so he can see and pour out the shampoo, but doesn't quite look at Kevin - he's talking about things that are too personal to risk actually making eye contact.

"I was born there, I think, but I don't remember it. I lived in Hong Kong before I came here"

Before Yifu brought him here, but he phrases it deliberately to cut him out, more spite, and petty, but weirdly satisfying.

[weird_cop]

Kevin turns it into a head massage, because that at least he knows how to do.

Hong Kong - yeah that makes sense, Zhao did come to the UK from Hong Kong.

"Were your parents familiars?"

Such a stupid question, he thinks. But he never considered this until he had one of his own.

"Sorry, I'm being ignorant again."

[xie_er]

He can be as ignorant as he likes if he keeps massaging Xie's scalp like that.

"Mama was a Familiar, baba was a witch" Xie admits, he hasn't thought about them in so long he still hasn't grown out of referring to them in those terms in his head, it seems. He'd be embarrassed, but he doesn't think Kevin is going to say anything about it, not right now.

He doesn't remember his parents very well, but he thinks... he thinks maybe they were one of the exceptions. Like Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu. He blames them for that, a little bit, if they'd been like the other bonds he'd seen, he might not have been taken in by Yifu so easily...

[weird_cop]

"Huh."

He thinks the word, just the word, thinking about all the familar-witch pairs he knows, what they all have in common.

"Is that common?"

[xie_er]

"Is what common?" Xie asks, confused what he means for a second until understanding suddenly dawns.

"Oh. You mean them being a couple? It happens sometimes. You've met Kexing and Zishu. I've met plenty that aren't like that, though"

He can understand how it happens though, when you work so closely with someone.

[weird_cop]

And... Xie and Zhao, Kevin thinks. A fucked up shadow of what those two couples have.

"Xie," He asks, pausing in his massage in order to grab the shower head again, "how old were you, when you bonded with Zhao?"

[xie_er]

He didn't want to think about him... but he supposes it was inevitable, really. He just knows Kevin isn't going to like the answer. He already wants to explain it, already wants to add qualifiers about how he was older the first time anything happened, wants to...

He wants to defend him. Still. Even now.

He shoves aside the impulse and just takes a breath, decides to just answer the question.

"Fourteen."

[weird_cop]

Kevin doesn't say anything as he starts to rinse Xie's hair, watch the soapy water drain into the bathtub and down the drain, presumably taking his blood with it, the last injury Zhao will inflict.

"I know you're sick of people expressing pity. So I won't."

He has to use his bad hand to run down Xie's hair, make sure the soap is out.

"When I was fourteen, I was living in a nice neighbourhood, went to a nice school."

He's not sure why he's sharing it. Maybe it's some sort of exchange of stories, maybe he wants to show what a normal fourteen year old childhood should look like.

Maybe, he wants to share some of his own pain.

"But I had to take the bus with a lot of local kids who didn't like that I was posh, soft-spoken, and Black. And really wanted me to know it."

[xie_er]

Had he been that obvious? Apparently. He's still grateful.

He listens quietly to the story - he's gotten to know Kevin well enough to know that there's a reason he's telling it, that he's not just... bragging about how much better his life was when he was 14.

"What did they do?" He asks softly.

It's funny, really, when he was younger he wouldn't have believed anybody who told him being rich and comfortable didn't always mean you were happy - now he knows first hand how true it can be.

[weird_cop]

"Names, obviously. Batty boy, like they knew. Posh boy, homo. White kids had their own words for me of course."

It feels easier for him to describe than he thought it would - he hasn't talked about it with many people, but he has faced it.

"Spat on me, made me eat cigarette butts - fag ends, get it? - and wet toilet paper. Punching, kicking. Pissed on me a few times."

He stops his list in order to hand Xie the conditioner bottle for the next round.

"Too Black for the white kids, too everything else for the Black ones. That's how I learned to live between worlds."

[xie_er]

Xie can absolutely understand not really fitting in, the way people reject anything that's other. He hasn't really experienced that kind of abuse, everything Yifu did was a lot more subtle, but they've both been hurt, both bear the scars the world has left on them. Literally, in some cases.

There's no way to compare what they've been through, but that doesn't mean they can't give each other understanding.

He pours out the conditioner and thinks what the best response to give is. Not pity, or platitudes, Kevin is probably as tired of those as he is.

"Do you remember any of their names?" He says eventually "Not that I'd plan to escape police custody and stab anybody for you, of course."

He is joking (...mostly) but it feels... right. Banter, a way to lift the heavy mood, but a sort of solidarity at the same time.

[weird_cop]

Kevin snorts out loud, so it was probably the right direction to take.

"It doesn't matter who the individuals were. I got on that bus again as an adult and rode it straight into Hell."

If he's a bit smug about that, Xie will have to excuse him.

[xie_er]

Xie considers this for a moment, vaguely impressed and wildly curious.

"You'll have to tell me that story sometime." He says eventually, because it sounds like it would be an interesting one.

He's tempted to ask how bad it is, so he knows what to expect, but he feels like that might not go over very well, it's a little too true to be funny. "Diminished responsibility" probably doesn't get you out of eternal damnation.

He drags his mind away from that cheery thought.

"How many times have you replied 'been there' to people telling you to go to hell?"

[weird_cop]

"Not as often as Jimmy, whose experience was a bit more literal."

Kevin's bus journey took him to a metaphorical Hell, an Outer Borough. Quill's... well.

He continues to comb the conditioner gently through Xie's hair, marveling at the texture and the way it feels on his fingers.

"I think... what I'm trying to say is that facing up to these things is really powerful. And it puts the power back into our hands. And... I'm going to be there for you."