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]

Kevin rocks on his feet as he stands by the counter, actually making himself look bigger and a bit more noticeable as he does. It's counter to his usual instincts, making himself more interesting to look at than Xie, but for the most part it works and the two of them get privacy. He listens to Xie's conversation through the link, then comes over with the loaded tray, shifting his stance a bit to stop drawing attention, and sitting next to Xie in a way that shields him from the rest of the restaurant.

He apportions out the food and makes sure the boy gets to have a mouthful before he joins in the conversation.

He'll let them get the witch/Familiar stuff out of the way before he raises the more pressing questions of where is this kid sleeping?

[xie_er]

Xie gives Kevin a quick, brief smile before he turns his attention back to Spot, who's already started shoving food in his mouth.

He isn't sure what to say - he doesn't want to put any pressure on the kid to find someone when he's already going to be feeling it, and he doesn't want to lecture him about not bonding with the wrong person just because he's desperate, because he knows it'll fall on deaf ears. He also knows it won't help - Xie didn't think he'd made the wrong choice for a long, long time.

"Do you have any questions?" he goes for eventually.

"'bout what?" Spot asks through a mouthful of burger.

"About being a Familiar, about the bond. Anything you might not know..."

"I know plenty of stuff." Comes the defensive retort, and Xie sighs slightly, glancing over at Kevin. He might have been a lot like this kid, once upon a time, but that doesn't mean he has any idea how he's supposed to talk to him.

[weird_cop]

"Course you do," Kevin assures him.

"I bet you know more than me, even. I didn't know shit when I bonded with Xie."

He's got his notebook out already and ripped out a page, but it's already obvious what he's writing on it is just a list of numbers from his phone.

[xie_er]

Spot narrows his eyes, like he's trying to work out if he's being patronised or not.

"He didn't even know I had a human form when he bonded with me." Xie adds, partially to tease Kevin but also to confirm that he's telling the truth.

Spot snorts derisively and shoves some fries in his mouth.

After a moment, though, he decides to take them up on their offer, his tone a little too casual.

"Can a witch bond with you if you don't want them to?"

Xie has to force himself to remain casual in turn.

"There are ways," he admits, because he doesn't want to sugar coat it "they're difficult, and they involve a lot of power, the average witch would struggle to pull it off. They'd need to be something special. The more powerful a Familiar, the harder it is, too."

Yes, he did just call Kevin something special.

[weird_cop]

"Special compliment or special needs?" Kevin asks with a straight face, while he slurps from his drink.

"It's harder if you're already bonded, too," he adds. "The witch as to fight with your existing witch as well as your own power. But he's right - most witches probably couldn't do it unless you let them."

[xie_er]

"Special compliment." Xie replies, because as fun as it is to tease him, sometimes it's nice to be clear, as well, when Xie is being genuine. Kevin is something special as far as he's concerned.

"That's good." Spot mumbles, still feigning being casual about it, but Xie can't help but recognise the genuine relief hidden behind the words.

"Is there a witch who wants to bond with you that you don't want?" He asks. Spot shakes his head.

"There was, that's all. I got away from him." Xie studies him for a moment, but eventually nods, deciding he's telling the truth.

[weird_cop]

"Alright," Kevin says, accepting that answer as the only one he's going to get.

He folds up the bottom of the page he's writing on and tears it away neatly along the crease. On the resultant strip is his number, and his name in block capitals - KEV. He hands it over.

"If you've got a phone, put that in your contacts. If you don't have a phone, keep it safe. It's my personal number - not connected to the police or anything. You get any problems: with magic, or with witches, or even with the filth, you call me. I don't give a damn about any petty crap you might get involved with, I'm the Magic Police, got it?

"Now, you got somewhere to sleep?"

[xie_er]

Spot takes the offered paper with a look of surprise, tucking it into his pocket after a moment.

He glances between the two of them, then down at the food, then back up at Kevin. Whatever he's thinking about he clearly comes to some kind of positive conclusion because he nods.

"Got it." It'll be a pretty dire situation before he uses it, but it doesn't hurt to take it.

"Yea I got a place."

[weird_cop]

"Good."

The rest of the page is a list of shelters, soup kitchens, food banks, the local authority. He hands that over separately.

"So you don't need this, but you can have it anyway. You still hungry?"

[xie_er]

Spot skims over the list and then tucks it into his pocket as well. Some of them he already knows about, others are useful information - not that he's going to let on.

"Nah, I'm good." He is, right now, because he's devoured the meal while they spoke - it won't be long before he's hungry again, of course, but as helpful as they're being he doesn't want to push his luck - or take so much he feels like they're going to want something in return.

Xie can guess as much, but he also doesn't know if there really is much more they can do for the kid right now, short of hauling him in to the authorities, which he won't thank them for.

[weird_cop]

Kevin nods, and glances at Xie to check whether he's still eating.

"We'll leave you to it, I guess. Don't lose that number, Spot, okay?"

It would probably cause more looks at this point if they both went into the bathroom and only Kevin returned, so he figures they'll just have to walk to the car together.

"Thank you, for spotting that."

[xie_er]

"Sure." Spot says, it's a little dismissive in tone, but he does actually mean it - he'll hold on to the number, just in case.

Xie gives him a nod and follows Kevin out - he's thought much the same thing, and honestly it's probably worth going for a bit of a walk just to get an idea of how bad the attention might be at this point.

"It was mostly luck" he admits - the fact he'd been facing in the right direction at just the right moment. It's also the fact that he's used to being on the look-out when he's in animal form, but it's so natural to him now he doesn't even think about it.

"Do you think he'll call? If he needs to?"

[weird_cop]

"Honest to god I don't know. I hope so."

The nearest thing Kevin has to this is the cultivation of CHISes. Somesitmes they call, sometimes they don't.

"It depends on whether he decides I'm just another pig, of if I'm not like the other cops. That's up to him. But whoever that witch is that's after him, I bet he won't stop at letting him run away.

"His parents. Can you be a Familiar with human parents? Is there a reason he's not with them?"

[xie_er]

Xie knows well enough that there are plenty of witches out there who'll stop at nothing to get a Familiar, he knows that Yifu wasn't exaggerating or making up boogiemen to scare him, it's a genuine risk for a Familiar kid on their own. Whoever is after Spot, he's willing to bet Kevin's right and he's still looking.

He shrugs at the question.

"I don't know, a lot of the Familiars I've met haven't really talked about their families," most of them were adults, though, so it makes a bit of sense. There's nobody he's been close enough to for that to come up in conversation "I think it's probably genetic, so at least one of his parents is or was a Familiar, but whether the other is human or witch or even another Familiar... impossible to say."

He pauses for a moment, like he's steeling himself - which he is, because he really doesn't like to talk about his life before Yifu. Even with Kevin, he's only admitted bits and pieces in passing, he's never really properly talked about it.

"Kids I used to know... sometimes their parents were dead, too, sometimes they were abused or neglected... I'd guess it's something mundane like that"

[weird_cop]

Kevin looks sideways at Xie, debating whether to touch him, and opts not to.

"I know," he says gently. "I've done all the training, worked beats. There's no non-traumatic way for a kid to end up on the streets. But he's got that, and some witch after him. It's a lot."




Something is wrong the minute they walk into the carpark. the atmosphere changes. It might just be coincidence that there's also no pedestrians among the cars apart from Kevin and Xie, but the noise of the city beyond the gates suddenly sounds muffled, slightly blurred, and the air suddenly feels unseasonably mild, like they just stepped indoors. And the cars themselves - it looks like a Classic car show no one advertised, if Classic Car shows also included hackney carriages and Roman chariots, and if neon graffiti was considered acceptable customisations for such events.

Kevin sighs, more resigned than anything. He reaches out to say something to Xie and discovers - not unsurpisingly, on reflection - that he can't feel the link.

"It's nothing to worry about," he says aloud. "I know what this is."

[xie_er]

Xie nods slightly - it is a lot, he knows that. He wishes there was more they could do to help, but he knows Kevin probably feels the same.

His focus shifts abruptly when everything changes, though, and in a blink of an eye one of his new throwing knives is in his hand, ready to go. His gaze flicks sideways to Kevin and sees that he doesn't seem surprised or even concerned by this turn of events, which should be reassuring... until he, too, reaches for the link and can't find it.

"If you say so." he replies, his voice even and steady despite just how fucking unsettling it is to not have the link between them. It's not that he doesn't believe Kevin, he just really, really doesn't like not having that.

[weird_cop]

Kevin's hand reaches out, his fingers grazing the back of Xie's where he holds the knife. A staying gesture, as stabbing anyone they encounter here would probably not end well.

He's still unconcerned though, and walks through the cars to where he's parked - and sure enough, there he is.

A tall, golden skinned adonis of a man, dressed in a Roman toga that just emphasises the curve of his muscles, and cleaning casually against their car. When he sees them approach, he stands and spreads his arms - inviting Kevin for an embrace, maybe, or a king welcoming someone into his presence.

"Kevin!" He says warmly. "You don't call, you don't write..."

"Hello, Brutus." Kevin stops a couple of metres away, which makes Brutus have to drop his arms, unfulfilled. "Technically I did call. And I think you answered."

"So you did," Brutus replies, turning his gaze to Xie. "And now you have a new companion."

[xie_er]

Xie nods slightly, an acknowledgement, the knife sliding back out of sight - but not out of reach.

He follows Kevin through towards their car, his eyebrow raising slightly at the sight of the man. His expression stays otherwise impassive, though, and when the attention is shifted to him he lifts his chin to meet that gaze.

"He does." He agrees mildly. He can put the pieces together to make a vaguely educated guess about who - or, more accurately, what - this man is, so he's careful to stay as neutral as possible.

Even if his hands each to reach for Kevin, to stake some kind of claim.

[weird_cop]

Brutus smiles magnanimously at the way Xie lifts his chin, amused at the slightest showing of defiance.

"Welcome to my city, King of Scorpions. I hope the metropolis treats you well. I know Kevin will."

Now he crosses the gap between himself and them, takes Kevin's face in both hands and presses a tender kiss to his forehead.

"I missed you, my acolyte."

Kevin shuts his eyes for a second, enjoying the benediction, before moving his hands to remove those of Brutus.

"We didn't come looking for you, Brutus. We don't have any questions for you."

[xie_er]

He will, and Xie knows he will too, so he inclines his head to accept both the welcome and the statement.

It's much, much harder to keep impassive when he steps forward and takes hold of Kevin's face. When he presses a kiss to his forehead. He tries to tell himself it's different, it's a religious thing (for lack of a better word), but it doesn't keep him from having to expend effort to bite his tongue.

He does allow the tiniest hint of smugness when Kevin removes his hands, though.

[weird_cop]

It's so hard - it always was, with Brutus - not to give in to the warmth of him, sink into the kiss. But Xie's presence helps, and at least Brutus didn't go for mouth and tongue this time. Kevin glances at Xie, and feels almost apologetic, but can't prevent a small smile that he gets to share even this.

The being steps back now, head slanted slightly in acknowledgement.

"No," he corrects. "You have plenty of questions. You just haven't made the effort to earn the answer. At least not by asking me."

He glances quickly at Xie. "You went elsewhere with your sacrifice, and I think it was the right choice. No, I'm not here to grant you a boon or send you on a quest. I'm here because I wanted to see you. To give my blessing - with a lower case b - and welcome you back."

[xie_er]

Xie tilts his head slightly, curiously, intrigued by what's happening now.

He's being very magnanimous about it, but it feels like somebody stepping back because somebody else has won. Xie has won, even if he never realised this is what he was competing with. Even if they weren't really competing.

It is, he knows, far, far more complicated than that, but Xie is going to allow himself to bask in this interpretation of it, because how often do you get to say that your boyfriend chose you over a god?

[weird_cop]

"Thank you," says Kevin now. "For this and for..."

He glances quickly at Xie and back to Brutus.

"I wasn't sure if you could hear me, but I had to try. And you did, didn't you? I couldn't have done the ritual without you."

Thank you for saving him.

He comes just shy of saying it out loud - it's almost embarrassing how grateful he is that he was able to do what he did. Special, Xie had said. Blessed, Lisa had said. Maybe they're both true, but all Kevin knows is that it feels like he did something extraordinary, gained something extraordinary. And he's not sure if he deserved it. But he does know that he's pathetically grateful that it worked.

Brutus places a hand on his shoulder.

"You did the work, Kevin. I just gave you a bit of a boost."

[xie_er]

The way Kevin glances at him helps him understand, revises his interpretation slightly - clearly, Brutes stepped aside from the very beginning, whether he knew or not that this is how it would turn out.

He realises, mostly, that he should be grateful as well, that this is the source of the power that allowed Kevin to rescue him.

He agrees with Brutus, Kevin did the work, but he's still thankful that the god made it possible.

[weird_cop]

Kevin places his own hand over that of the god on his shoulder, and nods, acknowledging that.

"And now I'm back," he says.

Brutus nods. "And already back on your path, I think. Welcome back, Kevin. As our friend Mr Flamstead would say: we were all very worried about you, weren't sure you were going to make it."

Kevin removes the hand form his shoulder, but doesn't quite let go. It's Brutus who removes his hand, kisses Kevin on the cheek and turns to offer a hand to Xie.

"Look after him, Scorpion King. I'll know if you don't."