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]

Eventually Kevin, always regrettably practical, dies let go so they can make a start on gathering the important things - which also involves throwing a meal together out of things in the fridge to use up. He winds up back in the basement, though, leafing through his books and trying to work out what ritual today's kidnappers might have had in store.

It's relatively late when Lofthouse turns up to say they've secured somewhere.

[xie_er]

Xie spends most of the day sorting through and organising things into the things he wants to take right away and the stuff that can follow on later.

Once everything is packed up and Kevin is downstairs with his books, Xie makes them both a cup of tea and takes them downstairs. At first, after depositing the tea and stealing a kiss, he's happy to just sit and keep Kevin company, but after a while he pulls one of the books towards himself and starts flicking idly through it.

When Lofthouse shows up, he's glad - he wasn't looking forward to settling in to a new place too late, so he wouldn't have been happy to wait too much longer. It doesn't take much time to gather up the things they've packed and head to the new house.

[weird_cop]

As Xie keeps him company, Kevin starts chatting through the link - every time he reads something interesting or makes a connection, he shares it. At first this is just a way of repeating his own thoughts to solidify his ideas, but it soon becomes an exchange of ideas, the way his team so frequently brainstorm things out loud.

He comes to the conclusion fairly rapidly, that the ritual the kidnappers were trying - to resurrect a biddable Zhao through the sacrifice of his own familiar, wouldn't actually have worked. It was based on hearsay and legend that didn't seem to be based on anything that had ever been actually performed.

"And you thought I was bumbling around" he remarks.




The house itself is small and kind of drafty - two bedrooms sharing a single bathroom, a tiny kitchen that luckily adjoins a large combined living area, and a loft conversion which can house the portal boxes but no ops room.

"You'll have to report into work like the rest of us," Lofthouse tells Kevin, but not without including Xie in a way that implies he wouldn't be unwelcome.

The thing that grabs Kevin's attention, though, is that the master bedroom has a balcony - one that looks over the city from their hilltop vantage point, and as soon as Lofthouse is gone, he calls Xie outside to look at it.

[xie_er]

They were, Xie agrees, useless idiots. They'd always been that way, though, which is why Yifu cut them loose as soon as they'd fulfilled their purpose.

He's not particularly impressed by the house. It has some potential, but he doesn't understand why anyone who's met Kevin for more than five minutes would give him a house with a kitchen that small. He keeps his thoughts to himself - doesn't even complain to Kevin - but the sooner this is all over with and they can choose where to live, the better.

He puts his things in the second bedroom more for the look of it than any intention, and it's entirely possible the bed in there will never be slept in as long as they're here. He's already wondering if it would be worth moving the second set of drawers into the master bedroom.

He's just setting up his guitars when Kevin calls, and he sets down the half-erected stand to go through into the other room, stepping out onto the balcony automatically.

"Oh..." he says softly, out loud, and steps close to wrap an arm around Kevin's waist as he looks.

Okay, maybe the house isn't that bad.

[weird_cop]

Kevin wraps both arms around Xie, holding him close as if trying to keep him warm, and rests his head against his.

He lets Xie admire the view with his own eyes, and then:

"Look."

Kevin's view of the city is as much feeling as visual, and he's not sure how much of that comes through, even with empathy. A maelstrom of emotion and meaning and importance, swirling up from millions and millions of smaller meanings and emotions and fears. The city glows once with its own light, and again with this feeling of power.

He turns his head slightly, towards a specific sight in the sky. A faint image, which as Kevin focuses on it, gets more intense, of spinning spitfires and Sopwith Camels and Lockheed Martins; the rattle of gunfire and the soft fall of parachute silk.

He presses his lips to the side of Xie's head as he shares the view.

[xie_er]

Xie stills in amazement, eyes wide even though they're not quite what he's seeing with in this moment. The city through Kevin's eyes is incredible. It's almost overwhelming, too, and he decides immediately that wherever they end up it should be somewhere out of the way, quiet, somewhere Kevin can get a break from this constant assault on his senses.

In this moment, though, it's not so much an assault as a feast. There's so much to take in.

He leans into Kevin's embrace and just absorbs it all, feeling a kind of peace wash over him - standing here on the balcony of their little house (for however long it will be theirs), wrapped in Kevin's arms and sharing this sight... he doesn't want anything else. He can handle everything that's going on, everything that's coming, as long as he gets to have this.

[weird_cop]

Kevin would say no, but that would be a conversation they can have later.

Right now, he enjoys the sensation of Xie in his arms, looking out on the city that he's known for years, and thinking how significant it feels that he can share this.

"I've never been able to share this," he says softly. "The five of us... we can talk to other people but we can't show them. Until you."

[xie_er]

"I'm glad you can share it with me." Xie admits - more honesty than he's really used to, but it comes easier with Kevin, especially through the link.

"I've never felt this close to someone."

Not even Yifu, though that's hardly a surprise. He's close to Du Pusa but that's different, she's his best friend but even that bond is nothing like this.

[weird_cop]

Kevin can't quite say the same, though the closeness is unique in flavour. He just isn't ready to promote Xie above anyone.

He turns his head, kisses Xie on the temple.

"I'm so pleased you decided to stay."

[xie_er]

Xie's smart enough to know that Kevin can't necessarily say the same - he knows enough about his history for that. Kevin actually has people around him, too, which is something Xie has never quite managed to achieve, not in the same way. He knows his relationships - romantic or otherwise - have never been the most healthy.

It's part of the reason he has to second guess this one so much.

Xie twists, leaning up to catch his lips.

"So am I."

[weird_cop]

Kevin adjusts his grip, turning Xie around so his hands are around his back, holding him against him as he sinks into the kiss.

He closes the link when he closes his eyes.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

[xie_er]

He doesn't really want to go anywhere, but the evening air is cool and he isn't dressed for it, and he is tired.

It doesn't hurt that bed is a tempting alternative.

So he hums an agreement against Kevin's lips - though he doesn't intend to move until he's good and finished with the kiss.

[weird_cop]

Kevin doesn't quite move then. With no physical indication that Xie's ready to move yet, he holds him tight, hands against his back, and kisses him long and tenderly until they're both ready to move.

[xie_er]

Eventually the chill overrides his desire to kiss - or, at least, to keep kissing right this second - so he pulls away a little with a soft smile and backs towards the balcony door, grabbing Kevin's hand as he steps back to lead him inside.

He knows it isn't necessary, but he likes the contact.

[weird_cop]

Kevin will absolutely pretend it's necessary, squeezing Xie's hand fondly as he follows. He uses his other hand to shut the door and then leaves it on Xie's hips as he backs him towards the bed.

He stops before Xie can be backed into the frame, moving around to sit on the bed and bring Xie to sit down next to him, kissing all the time.

[xie_er]

Xie honestly wouldn't mind being backed into the bed, he thinks, but he doesn't mind that he stops and sits, as long as the kissing continues.

He sits almost sideways, folding one of his legs on the bed so it's easier to face Kevin, to keep kissing comfortably. He wraps his arms around him, pulling him closer.

[weird_cop]

Kevin turns himself into Xie's arms, letting himself be held as his own hands play lightly with his braids, smoothing them out over his shoulders and down his back. He stops short of unbraiding them, however, and ends up with his fingers tracing small patterns in the soft hair at the top of Xie's neck.

"Such beautiful hair"

Yes he says it a lot. He doesn't think he can say it too many times.

[xie_er]

"I've never known anyone to like my hair as much as you do"

There's laughter in his tone, faint teasing, but he's not mad about it - far from it, actually, he loves that Kevin is so enamoured with his hair. He takes such good care of it and he's proud of that fact, it's nice to have that appreciated.

[weird_cop]

Well, they're wrong. Everyone who doesn't like Xie's hair is probably wrong.

"It's not just your hair."

He stops kissing long enough to pull back and look at Xie's face, running his thumb lightly along his cheek from the corner of his eye to his mouth.

"You have beautiful eyes. And cheekbones, and mouth"

He replaces his thumb with his own lips even while thinking the last word.

[xie_er]

"Trying to make me blush?" He asks, amused.

Except, if he is, it's working, because there is a dusting of pink across his cheeks.

"You're the one with beautiful eyes, anyway." He adds

[weird_cop]

"Yes," Kevin replies simply, moving his mouth only slightly to start kissing Xie's cheeks.

"Because you also have a really attractive blush."

[xie_er]

Kevin, Xie thinks faintly, is going to be the death of him. He knows he's pretty, but he's really not used to being told it.

And being told he has an attractive blush only makes it worse.

So he deals with it by shoving Kevin backwards onto the bed and leaning over him to kiss him thoroughly.

[weird_cop]

Kevin laughs through the link, falling back happily and grabbing Xie's shoulders to make sure he comes with him.

"Nice try, but you can't shut me up by kissing me."

He lays on the bed, bringing his legs up so he can lie flat, feet flat on the covers and bent knees framing Xie's hips, and for a few seconds he just enjoys lying there with Xie on top of him.

Soon though, he starts running his hands down Xie's sides, fingertips tracing over the fabric of his shirt.

[xie_er]

"I'll have to try harder then" Xie replies, smirking against his lips.

It's nice, though, not having to stop kissing to talk.

Kevin's fingertips tracing his sides send pleasant shivers through him, and he shifts slightly on top of him, rolling his hips a little. His own hands are between them, gripping the fabric of Kevin's shirt.

[weird_cop]

Kevin pauses at the bottom of Xie's shirt, before gently pulling on it, easing it out of his trousers just so Kevin can move his fingers beneath the fabric, touching the skin beneath it.

"You don't want me telling you how gorgeous you are?"