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

[xie_er]

Xie's eyes widen a little bit, though he (mostly) plays it cool.

Until he gets back in the ops room and spots the guitar case and his smile is wide and genuine and so grateful.

The thing is, in some ways the guitar he has at the safe house means more to him - it was a gift that Kevin didn't need to get, back when he was being nothing but uncooperative and surly, apropos of absolutely nothing, and his old guitar was, well, like any gift from Yifu. It came with strings attached - pun not intended.

But a custom strat is a custom strat, regardless of sentimentality.

(And, well... Kevin didn't need to get this back for him, either)

He opens the case immediately, running his fingers over it and inspecting it for any damage. He pulls it out, cradles it in his arms just to enjoy the feel of it again.

Eventually, he puts it back into the case and turns to the box, making a pleased noise when he realises it's all his products - his hair feels good with the alternatives he's been using, sure, but not as good as it does when he has his proper stuff, and his skin! His skin is practically crying with relief.

(Neither hair nor skin are really that bad at all, but this still makes him feel better)

The item wrapped in paper catches his attention last and he reaches for it curiously.

[weird_cop]

Kevin hangs back, hands in his pockets, wanting to bathe in the glow of the nice thing he's doing, but also a little self conscious, like it's too much, even if it's Xie's own stuff.

The wrapped package almost comes with a warning to not make Kevin regret it, but he bites that back, along with any explanation about the trust that is being put on the line here, and he hopes he made the right call.

The paper peels back to reveal the switchblade; the old battered thing that Kevin had barely seen until it came out that first night. So battered compared to the fancy throwing knives that there was no way it was purely functional.

It's been on Kevin's mind since the warehouse; he would rather have Xie able to protect himself than anything else: even the actual legality of carrying it.

So he pulled strings and had that one knife released.

[xie_er]

Xie definitely doesn't seem like it's too much, in fact it's exactly what he needs after the stress of everything that's going on.

He almost knows what's in the package as soon as he picks it up, the weight of it in his hand is just so achingly familiar that he has to take a moment after picking it up to keep his face from doing something unbearably telling.

He unwraps the paper slowly, dropping it aside and wrapping his fingers around the knife with a flood of something like relief. He'd been genuinely uncertain if he'd ever see it again.

"Yifu never wanted me to carry it. He thought it made me look like a thug." He says, the blade disappearing somewhere about his person with a little flick of his hand - it's not even one of the knives designed for that kind of move, he isn't wearing the special holster, he's just so used to that knife that it's like an extension of himself.

"It kept me safe, before." Before Yifu took him in, when he was just a kid on the streets of Hong Kong. It had been, for the longest time, the only thing he owned that wasn't from Yifu.

[weird_cop]

The less said about what Zhao did and didn't want from Xie the better, really. Kevin doesn't say that Zhao not liking it is a point in its favour, nor does he say anything about what he, Kevin, thinks about the term 'thug.'

"I want you to be safe," he replies simply. "You're too good to have to be protected all the time."

[xie_er]

"Thank you." Xie says, it doesn't feel like enough - for the sentiment, for the stuff, for everything, really.

He doesn't know how else to express it, though. Wishes he could do something for Kevin in turn but he has no idea what he can do - other than keeping his stupid lawyers from making trouble for him, anyway. It pales in comparison to everything Kevin has done for him.

[weird_cop]

Not sure how to make it less awkward, Kevin smirks.

"If you get lawyer on it I'm going to be disappointed."

He pops his head out to take his leave from Lofthouse and nods towards the portal.

"Ready to go?"

[xie_er]

Xie laughs, flicking the knife out again and twirling it between his fingers before tucking it away again.

"Fine, no lawyer." He agrees.

He nods, grabbing the box and the guitar case.

"Ready."

[weird_cop]

Kevin was hoping no anyone, bit he hadn't retrieved it if he didn't think there was a risk.

His eyes don't track the knife, but he watches it anyway, out of habit. Except rather than making him cautious, he feels better than there's a knife at his side.

Back home, he retreats to the kitchen, thinking about enchiladas and mole, but not without a new folder of documents - general specialism things that have been waiting for his eye.

The possibility of his name being dragged into the paper is thrown right to the back of his mind.

[xie_er]

Xie disappears up to his room - when Kevin next goes to the bathroom he'll find it has been slightly taken over by all of Xie's products, but for now he'll find the door locked and the shower running.

It's time for a very lengthy reunion with his skincare routine. And his haircare routine.

He's going to be a while.

[weird_cop]

The next few days are blissfully quiet. The press run with a few stories about the extent of Zhao's crimes, which keep public interest up but are nothing the team didn't already know. The lawyers... seem to behave themselves. Kevin gets to apply his specialism to minor cases that make him feel useful.

Things get a bit more relaxed in the semi - they get a car of their own (a little e-Golf) that gives them the freedom of the suburb - local supermarket, public library and all - and Kevin even drops in to his lockup to get some pans and cook books.

And a locket with Joe's portrait, that quietly goes around his neck.

And when his wounds are entirely healed, and no big drama has happened for days, he spends an afternoon dedicated to making wontons.

[xie_er]

Xie swaps to playing his old guitar, revelling in the sound quality and the familiar feel of it. He still wants to keep the newer guitar, though, and keeps the two of them on stands side by side in his room.

He lets Kevin do the driving because it's another thing he's never had reason to learn (sometimes he wonders if Yifu deliberately kept him from learning the kind of skills that would make him more independant) but he has gotten comfortable enough to actually ask to be driven places when he wants to go to them. He's comfortable enough, in fact, to occasionally be a little bit demanding about it.

(He's not a complete brat... just a bit, sometimes)

He's delighted to have his products back, and delighted to have his switchblade too - occasionally he twirls it around his fingers while they're watching TV, barely even aware he's doing it. He keeps it hidden away in public, of course, but he always carries it with him.

He's doing it again, now, just rolling it around his fingers as he sits in the kitchen watching Kevin cook.

[weird_cop]

Oh yeah, Xie's a brat, and Kevin is now beginning to get more comfortable teasing him about it. He just never uses the word 'spoiled,' because. because. Zhao didn't spoil him.

He glances over at the switchblade occasionally, but usually with a smile when he does so. He likes that it's out, likes what its presence does for Xie.

(He wasn't nothing, before Zhao. This knife proves that.)

He's also interested to see if it will ever gain something like power, in the fingers of someone who has meaning with it.

"Taste this," he says, idly tossing one of the dumplings over.

[xie_er]

Xie finds he doesn't mind so much being called a brat when it's Kevin doing it - it's never vicious, the way those kinds of words were from Yifu, it never sounds like he means it, it's just part of their banter and Xie knows he can snipe back without it being a problem.

The first couple of times Kevin glanced over when he was playing with the blade, his fingers would falter, it would almost look as though he was going to put it away - until he catches the smile, and relaxes, and realises he isn't being judged.

Xie snags the dumpling out of the air with casual ease and takes a bite. He considers it for a moment and then nods.

"It's good" He says, the rest of it already halfway to his mouth

[weird_cop]

Kevin glows under the praise, always loving it when something he's good at makes someone happy.

"I'll freeze most of them," he says, referring to the feast sized array he's prepared. "But I'll get the soup on now so we can have them fresh."

[xie_er]

Xie is still trying to find ways to repay Kevin, and this one is easy - he's seen how much Kevin enjoys it when his food is appreciated, and his food is not difficult to appreciate, so Xie always makes sure to mention it.

(Kevin's food is so easy to appreciate that Xie has had to start going for jogs around the neighbourhood so he doesn't put on too much weight. It's also because he just likes the chance to stretch his legs and get out the house, even if only for half an hour. It means he has to get Kevin to let him out the wards every time, but that doesn't stop him)

"What's your favourite food?" He asks suddenly, realising he doesn't know.

[weird_cop]

"I don't..." Kevin starts, prepared to say he has no particular preference as long as it's good food, but stops himself in order to think and give the fair answer the question deserves.

"I'm really fond of a barbeque," he says.

They have a back garden here. It's covered in concrete and dead pot plants, but it exists.

[xie_er]

Xie frowns thoughtfully, gaze straying to the kitchen window. He's been trying to think of something to do with his time other than watching TV and playing his guitar, what about some gardening? It would take some effort but it would be good, productive work, and at the end of it they could have a space where Kevin could invite the others for a barbecue...

(He's starting to think about this place long term, he's vaguely aware of that in the back of his mind, and he maybe shouldn't, but it won't take that long to clear out the pots and get some fresh plants in there)

"Good to know." He says, a little distractedly as he starts running through possibilities.

[weird_cop]

"You're plotting," Kevin says accusingly, watching Xie's eyes stray.

He doesn't mind, as long as Xie isn't plotting to kill Tony, that's okay. But he does find the fact amusing - and the thoughtful expression on Xie's face is intelligent and attractive, an he likes that too.

"What are you plotting?"

[xie_er]

Xie immediately gives him an innocent expression as if to say plotting? Me?

It doesn't last very long before he smiles slightly and nods.

"I was thinking if I tidied up the garden you could invite the others round for a barbecue." He admits. He's still a little hesitant about sharing when he has plans like that, since it's the kind of thing that Yifu was always so dismissive of, but he's trying to push past that, knowing he can trust Kevin.

(The day he'll truly have gotten over it is the day he admits that he's been dying to tear off the wallpaper in the living room and redecorate)

[weird_cop]

Kevin's eyebrows shoot up, and he glances outside again.

"It'd take some work," he admits. They probably can't break the concrete, anyway, but - actually, having the team over for a barbecue, maybe even Peter and Sarah or even little Jessica Quill - when the weather brightens up, that sounds amazing.

"Yeah, that'd be lovely."

[xie_er]

"I don't mind work." Xie says immediately, like he's worried the objection is a precursor to saying no. He relaxes, though, when Kevin agrees to it, and smiles.

"I'll start on it tomorrow, then." He says decisively. Even if it's just making a start on clearing things and deciding what he's going to need.

[weird_cop]

"And I'll prep the car for the inevitable trip to the garden centre."

It's going to feel so fucking domestic, Kevin thinks. Walking the plant aisles, making fun of gnomes, maybe stopping at the café for fresh baked buns.

He doles out two bowls of soup and brings them to the table, sitting next to Xie, marvelling in the back of his mind how much difference the new conditioner has made.

(Kevin himself is still just happy to have decent cocoa butter in the bathroom.)

At some point he's going to have to think about after the safe house, but while Xie's future is still in the air he's been trying to avoid it.

"Also some herbs are just better fresh, if you want my input."

[xie_er]

It is going to be unbearably domestic, but Xie is honestly looking forward to it. He never got to do anything like that with Yifu, wouldn't even have dreamt of asking, and maybe he's just being foolish indulging in these desires with Kevin when there's nothing there... but Kevin lets him, so he will.

"A herb garden is a good idea." He agrees - it would make him feel useful, as well, to cultivate herbs for Kevin to use. Maybe even some vegetables.

He tucks into the soup with a small, pleased noise. Planning gardens and eating home made soup... he's starting to realise, himself, that he's really not as spoiled as Yifu liked to pretend. He enjoys simple pleasures, it was Yifu who had all those impossible standards and fancy tastes.

[weird_cop]

Kevin is quiet for the first few mouthfuls of soup, enjoying his handiwork and watching Xie enjoy it, and mulling over a few things in his mind.

And then thinking about some of the things he's been trying not to think about because that's fucking unprofessional and also incredibly inappropriate but also - this connection is empathic, right? And the Sight is usually reliable at that.

So eventually he brings it up.

"Hey," he says, trying not to make this sound like a big deal. "I've been thinking about.. this whole thing."

The bond, and the living situation, and the court case and his job and... everything.

"About what we said about figuring out how it would work."

[xie_er]

Just when Xie thought he could trust the soup...

He swallows his mouthful, tries to speak and fails so he just takes a bite from another dumpling.

"And...?" He prompts cautiously, warily. He doesn't want to be pessimistic, not when Kevin just agreed to the garden idea, but he can't shake the fear that he's about to take it all back and decide Xie is more effort than he's worth after all.

The lawyers probably didn't help. The papers even less.