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 fucking loves it. Cooking, chatting, playing house. It's even different from Joe who just... moved in and then they lived together like roommates with sex. While technically this happened with Xie, they were young men, it wasn't quite like this.

They do the washing up together, they watch Match of the Day and some home deco shows on Netflix, and head to bed.

And at the weekend, Kevin barely put of bed before he's gathering everything together for the barbecue.

[xie_er]

Xie takes a little longer to get up, as usual, but once he is awake he's ready to help with anything he can. He's looking forward to this more than he cares to admit - hosting people together, as a couple, showing off the work he's done on the garden. There's no caterers or professional party planners brought in, no list of instructions for how to behave, no being kicked out to go and kick his heels in his own apartment so nobody sees him. Just the two of them, actually enjoying themselves with people they like.

(It is only Kevin's friends, really, but they're Kevin's friends that Xie knows and gets on with and that's still a step up, and he knows if he had any friends he would have wanted to invite, Kevin would probably have agreed)

He spends most of the morning making sure the garden is in perfect condition, since he knows he'll be little to no help in the kitchen, and setting up chairs and string lights and making the place look appropriately festive.

[weird_cop]

The absolute best thing about their unique relationship is that Kevin can chat to Xie while they're in different rooms, as he prepares the meat and whips up a sauce and while Xie is outside.

It's honestly the first time he's really had a garden to host in himself, so he's buzzing.

He does have time to catch Xie outside, tell him the garden looks amazing, and give him a proper kiss before the doorbell goes.

It's Rebecca Lofthouse, now looking slightly embarrassed at being the first, but with a bottle of wine to make up for her earlyness, and a store bought lemon tart.

Her husband, Peter, looks even more nervous, but he's polite enough, and offers a hand firmly to both Kevin and Xie.

"I love what you've done out here," is the first thing Rebecca says. "I haven't seen a Met safe house look this homely before."

[xie_er]

Xie glows a little under the praise - he tries to hide it like he usually does but it's difficult, partly because he doesn't entirely want to anymore, and partly because even now he still gets so pleased whenever Kevin compliments something that he's put work into.

He follows Kevin to the door to greet their first guests, a little uncertain if he's supposed to or not and suddenly hyper-aware of all the things he doesn't know about hosting. He reminds himself that it isn't a big deal, that nobody's going to mind any mistakes, and that Kevin's love and affection is not in any way conditional on this going well.

He has a feeling he's going to be reminding himself of all that a lot.

"Thank you." Xie tells Rebecca, even though he thinks she's probably just being polite, he still feels that same little spark of pleasure at his efforts being recognised "It's been nice having something to work on."

[weird_cop]

Kevin lets Xie handle that initial awkward conversation as he puts uncorks the wine, puts dessert in the fridge and emerges into the garden with a glass for Lofthouse and for Xie.

"Tony said he'd bring beer," he explains to Peter, but immediately chooses to show off just how great the garden is. "Honestly I thought that tree had had it, but I think Xie may have saved its life. Shame the fence blocks the view - well," he adds, addressing Lofthouse, "maybe not a shame for us."

She laughs. "I don't know, I quite like our unique perspective, sometimes."

[xie_er]

Xie takes the glass with a quiet thank you and immediately wishes he had something to do. Kevin complimenting him was one thing, Kevin complimenting him to other people is apparently something else entirely. He can feel that blush beginning to rise and he takes a quick sip of wine.

"It must get distracting, though, sometimes." He offers, trying to keep the focus on them instead of himself.

[weird_cop]

Peter Lofthouse is interested in this line of conversation, but does give his wife a worried look, like he's aware she carries a burden he wishes she could share.

"'Distracting' is one word for it," she agrees. "I think it was probably easier for me because I knew what I was getting into, having watched Kevin and his team work with it for a few months."

"You at least had some warning," Kevin agrees. He's interrupted before he can say anything else though, but Tony and Lisa letting themselves in through the side gate.

"Brought beer," Tony announces, sweeping in like the main character as he always does. Lisa lets him take the lead, but she does seek Xie out to smile at him.

"This place looks great."

[xie_er]

Xie nods along, actually showing some interest in the conversation - he wants to ask more, interested in how they got the Sight - how they got into all of this, really, which isn't something he's actually asked a lot about beyond hearing the bits and pieces Kevin has told him.

Before he gets the chance, though, he's distracted by the arrival of Lisa and Tony. He gives them both a nod of greeting and smiles at Lisa, and at the compliment.

"Thank you."

It's nice, it makes him feel as though he's contributed by making the space one they can gather in.

[weird_cop]

Kevin offers Lisa a drink - she opts for the wine - and Tony distributes beers to everyone who doesn't have one.

"The Superintendant was about to tell the story of her caving expedition to get the Sight," he explains as they join them.

"Should have come with us to touch the soil in the serial killer house," Tony says, grinning at Lofthouse. "Quick, easy, and deeply horrible."

[xie_er]

Xie raises an eyebrow at both stories, not sure what he wants to ask about first.

"I realise I'm probably the only person who hasn't heard the story, but if it's not going to bore everybody else I'd like to hear it." He says to Rebecca - he is genuinely interested, but he is also trying to be a good host.

"Then I want to hear the serial killer story" He adds to Kevin

[weird_cop]

Lofthouse, perhaps surprisingly looks at her husband before beckoning Xie over to the garden table to explain.

"I put the team togther," she explains, "but not for any logiccal reason, but because - what I now know to be 'mystical forces' working through our predecessors, wanted us to. I'm a little too senior to have been on the ground when they activated the spell that gave them all the Sight, so after they'd worked their first two major operations, I realised I needed to see what they did in order to work best for them.

"Has Kevin explained the concept of sacrifice to you?"

Peter, meanwhile, has drawn away, not a fan of this story. He and Tony start setting up the new barbecue, while Kevin stands where he can keep an eye on both.

"I've got more than one serial killer story," Kevin says helpfully.

[xie_er]

Xie notices the look and wonders if maybe he shouldn't have asked, but Rebecca seems happy enough to share and Peter seems content to focus on the barbecue instead, so he follows her over to the table to listen.

"I can understand that," he agrees "I know it's easier for Kevin to just show me what he's looking at rather than trying to explain it."

The question, though, has him shaking his head.

"I know what the word means but he hasn't really mentioned anything about it...?"

[weird_cop]

She looks at Kevin, with a faintly scolding look and Kevin shrugs. "I was too busy trying to learn a whole different magic system, we didn't get into the details of city magic."

Lofthouse is wearing a charm bracelet - it's a staple in her wardrobe and Xie has seen it before - and now, like she sometimes does with hard topics, she fiddles with it, like a fidget toy.

"London doesn't just give its secrets up to everyone," she explains. "You need to do something to earn the 'privilege' of working with the power. Sometimes it's literal sacrifice, sometimes more spiritual."

"Like the ghost bus," Kevin adds. "Remember I mentioned that? Or..." he opens out his hand, the one he cut open that time in the warehouse. There shouldn't be a scar - Xie's power is too much for that, but somehow there's still a pale line across his hand.

"...or a circle drawn in blood."

[xie_er]

Xie nods his understanding as they explain. His eyes are drawn to the charm bracelet but he doesn't comment on it, focusing instead on the conversation.

"So you have to sacrifice something every time you use that power?" He asks, glancing between them - his gaze lingers a little longer on Kevin, though, wondering what he might have sacrificed for the power to steal him, how much he put himself through in order to do it.

Thinking about how much he might have given in the time between taking Xie and actually using his power. It makes him annoyed, again, in the same way it did before, but it makes him impressed too - that Kevin would stand so firmly by his morals even when compromising them a little would save him from potential pain or loss every time he needed to use his magic.

[weird_cop]

"Not every time," Lofthouse says. "But in order to gain power to spend, yes. There're other ways of gaining power, but it's less reliable.. Kevin?"

She looks to Kevin, as the expert, and he adds:

"'Remembering,'" he says helpfully. "You know like - urban myths? Stories, legends. They have power here. But it's not something the likes of us can really get hold of."

"No," Tony mutters, "you have to be bloody Sherlock Holmes for that."

[xie_er]

That's a little reassuring, though not by much - he must have had to do something for the power to do the transference spell. He wonders how bad it was, if it was something he couldn't get back.

He's not sure he dares to ask.

He knows about some other ways of gaining power - Yifu had looked into a lot of them. It's possible, probable even, that he knew about this as well, but he would have dismissed it as an option - he wasn't the type to enjoy sacrifice.

"So, the Sight, that's something you have to sacrifice for?"

[weird_cop]

"I did," Lofthouse says. "I found details of a place - one of the biggest sources of magical power."

Kevin lets them get on with it, to go and take over the barbecue, whle Lofthouse talks bout her adventure into the damp depths, looking for the source of the power: the ghosts, the effort, nearly dying of starvation, everything Xie might want to know about her personal quest to gain the ability her Team had had thrust on them.

The others keep their distance - Peter deliberately avoiding the conversation, Tony and Kevin working the barbecue, but Lisa does come and sit and listen.

At least until the bell rings again, and Lofthouse looks up.

"That'll be Jimmy and Sarah?"

"And Jessica," Kevin says. "I was promised Jessica."

Sure enough, when he answers the door, a girl of around four or five is hiding behind Quill's legs, right up until she sees Lisa and runs in for a hug.

[xie_er]

Xie listens with genuine interest, nodding along with the story and responding appropriately - he can understand why her husband decided to keep his distance, why he wouldn't want to be reminded of her going through that kind of experience alone. He wonders if they were together at the time, if it's because she went through it while he was at home, unable to help. It's bad enough hearing stories about things Kevin has gone through before, though he still values Kevin sharing them, but he'd hate to think about Kevin suffering now.

He thanks her for sharing before the others arrive, then moves to give her a moment in case she needs it after telling a story like that, and go and greet the last guests.

He didn't actually know who Jessica was when Kevin mentioned her before, and though he could make an educated guess he wasn't really sure what to expect. He's not surprised by the little girl, but he is a little bit concerned.

She's probably not going to ruin any of his decor or get accidentally injured because he has not accounted for children... right...?

[weird_cop]

Later, if Xie asks, Kevin will tel him the truth - that Peter was there, but not there. That Rebecca was going through the additional torture of having to run the Team while her husband was literally possessed.

But he'll shut down any of that talk during the afternoon.

Lisa crouches down to give the required hug, slightly awkwardly, but smiling genuinely when Jessica calls her 'Auntie Lisa.' Tony descends on her a few seconds later, picks up the child and holds her up to make her squeal in delight.

"She got big," Kevin is saying, knowing it's a cliche, but still in disbelief. She was only a toddler a second ago, it seems. He hadn't realised how long it had been.

"You were gone a long time," Sarah Quill says, presenting her homemade salad to him, "she'll remember Uncle Kevin when she's bee reminded.

"And you must be Xie," she adds. "My commiserations for having to put up with this lot."

[xie_er]

The others seem to have the child situation dealt with, and he's sure Kevin would probably have told him if anything he'd done wasn't suitable... probably.

So he turns his attention to Sarah with a smile.

"Mmhmm, it's nice to meet you," he greets, then laughs softly "Unfortunately it's court ordered so there's no escaping it."

Is that an appropriate joke to make outside of the main group? Who knows, but at least he didn't make a joke about killing anybody - and it's not like Sarah and Peter don't know, they'll have read the papers same as everybody else.

[weird_cop]

Sarah laughs, so clearly it wasn't the wrong thing.

"I guess at least you have a headstart on all their bullshit. And if I had to pick from any of them, I'd probably pick Kevin, to be honest."

"I heard that," Quill calls over.

"I love you too, Quill!" she shouts back cheerfully. And because Kevin and Quill have both gone through to the garden, she glances at the glass in Xie's hand and says:

"Can I bother you for a soft drink or something? My beloved husband has abandoned me already."

[xie_er]

"Something like that," He agrees with a slight smile - it's a headstart on a different kind of bullshit, but at least it's similar enough that their brand isn't that strange.

"I'd pick Kevin too." He agrees, enjoying being able to say thngs like that.

He nods, placing the glass on the counter so he can turn to the fridge.

"Of course, what would you like?"

[weird_cop]

Sarah's easy - she's happy with the first thing offered from the fridge, and makes perfectly pleasant small talk - she's driving so can't indulge but she's glad to be invited, and then asks him ti talk through what he's done with the garden.

"Quill redid our garden entirely a few years ago. It still doesn't look this good."

Kevin and Tony are chatting at the barbecue, and touching on dates and possibly dressing up. But eventually, without even looking up, Kevin checks in.

"You doing okay?"

[xie_er]

Xie is delighted to talk through what he's done in the garden, talking through his choices and why - though he does keep checking in to make sure she still seems genuinely interested, not wanting to get too carried away and bore her.

When Kevin checks in his attention doesn't stray from her, but something about his smile gets that little bit warmer.

"Perfect. You? You need anything?"

[weird_cop]

That was just what Kevin wanted to hear, and he grins down at his burgers.

"No, I have everything I could ever need. Feel free to make up an emergency if you get sick of anyone."

Tony spots the smile, looks over at Xie and grins, used to this method of talking by now.

"You look happy," he remarks quietly to Kevin.

"I'm so freaking happy, Tone. This took me completely by surprise."