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

xie_er posting in

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...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

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?"

From:

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."

From:

xie_er

Xie laughs slightly despite himself, then apologises to Sarah and confirms he was not laughing at her, but at something Kevin said.

(He doesn't actually explain he said it inside his head, he hasn't thought to check if Quill has explained that part)

"No emergencies necessary." He replies fondly.

The question does make him think about his hosting duties, though, so he takes the opportunity to check that everyone else has everything they need.

From:

weird_cop

They all seem content at the moment- though Jessica does tell him, through the medium of her mother, that she wants some water and a biscuit.

"How long until food, Kevin?" Sarah asks.

"Still a while, I think. There's chocolate biscuits inside, Xie knows where they are."

From:

xie_er

He's kind of glad she chooses to talk via her mother rather than directly, he has no idea how to talk to children. He does know where the biscuits are, though, as Kevin says, so he heads into the kitchen to fetch a couple and pour a glass of water.

"Is a glass or a mug better, do you think?" He asks Kevin as he peers into the cupboards "Wait, weren't there some plastic beakers somewhere when we arrived? Do you know where they are?"

From:

weird_cop

"Back of the glasses cupboard," Kevin fills in helpfully.

Unhelpfully, Sarah forces Jessica to thank him directly when offered biscuits and water.

"'Nk you," she says. And then she asks abruptly: "Are you an uncle like uncle Kevin?"

From:

xie_er

Xie finds the beakers and washes out one, returning with two biscuits and the cup of water. He freezes a little when the kid addresses him directly.

"Well I- I don't know." It's not that it's weird to him, as such, but he doesn't really feel old enough for any kid - even one this small - to be calling him uncle (gege yes, uncle no) and he also knows that England isn't really like that culturally. He doesn't really want to overstep and say yes, or be rude and say no, so he gives Sarah a slightly helpless look - and Kevin a more helpless appeal.

"What am I supposed to say?"

From:

weird_cop

"Xie is Uncle Kevin's friend," Sarah cuts in immediately, looking up at him to check that's the right answer.

At the same time, Kevin looks over his shoulder and waves his tongs at Jessica to say hi.

"Is this a cultural thing or a 'where do I fit in this weird team' thing? Because 'Uncle Kevin's friend Xie' is fine but if you want to be called something else you can."

Thank god he actually understands enough Chinese culture to guess it might be the former.

From:

xie_er

It's a little bit all of the above, if he's honest. The cultural question is definitely at the top, but wondering where he fits in is definitely part of it.

He also doesn't know if he ought to correct friend to boyfriend...

"Cultural." He answers slightly less than honestly, but he'd rather give a half-true response than not answer at all "Thank you"

"You can call me Xie-gege if you like," he offers to Jessica "or just Xie."

From:

weird_cop

"Xie-gege," Jessica repeats diligently. "Okay."

Kevin leaves Tony at the grill for a second to grab himself a beer and rub Jessica's hair.

"Xie-gege is working with us now," he tells her, which prompts an impressed, wide eyed stare.

"Fighting wicked witches?"

From:

xie_er

It's... kind of cute, actually, to get called that, and it feels like an appropriate compromise between sidelining himself as 'Uncle Kevin's friend' and being overly familiar.

(Hearing Kevin call him that gives him entirely different emotions that he will keep a lid on here and now)

Luckily the child is distracting enough and he flounders, again, for a moment before nodding.

"That's right."

From:

weird_cop

Jessica nods, understanding.

"Daddy and Auntie Lisa saved me from a wicked witch once," she says, imparting the most exciting thing that ever happened to her that she doesn't remember.

Sarah's smile becomes a bit fixed, and she makes quick eye contact with Jimmy but they let the conversation stand.

"Uncles Kevin and Tony helped," Sarah adds.

From:

xie_er

Xie catches, out the corner of his eye, that look on Sarah's face and he wonders if this is another story that's going to make people uncomfortable, so he thinks perhaps he should try and steer the conversation away slightly.

"They're very good at that," he says, as he scrambles to think of an appropriate distraction. Eventually, he settles on "your Uncle Kevin saved me from a wicked witch, too."

Edited Date: 2023-11-13 08:39 pm (UTC)

From:

weird_cop

"I'll tell you the story later," Kevin promises, as Jessica looks between them, impressed and unsurprised, but also a bit sad that Xie needed to be saved.

"He went away for a long time," Jessica says, repeating what her parents told her. "Was that when he saved you?"

"Yep," says Kevin, leaning over to rub her hair. "Do you want to come and pick out your burger?"

As Kevin leads the child away, Sarah gives Xie a quick smile.

"You're okay," she says to Xie.

Rebecca chimes in helpfully with: "Sometimes this lot are a bit of a minefield, conversation-wise, sorry."

From:

xie_er

Xie nods as Kevin confirms it as well, and smiles a little awkwardly, but gratefully, at Sarah when she confirms he handled the situation well enough.

"You don't need to apologise," he says softly to Rebecca "you've all been very gracious."

He's used to far worse reactions when he says the wrong thing - if anything, this entire encounter has shown how much he's grown, because he's managed to handle it surprisingly well.

He forgets, sometimes, how many minefields he has of his own.

From:

weird_cop

James Quill meanwhile, has watched this conversation quietly, impressed. He feels that Xie has grown, especially comparing him to how he first met him.

"Right," he says, bluntly. "Enough awkwardness and no more work talk. What've you been watching on TV."

Sarah rolls her eyes, but they let the conversation be moved away from wicked witches for a while.

As Kevin calls people over for their food, Lisa finds herself standing next to Xie.

"Hey," she says, "we never had that chess game, I just remembered. Do you still play Kev?"

From:

xie_er

Xie relaxes a little when Quill moves the conversation on - he really doesn't know how to do small talk, so letting them take the reins is much easier.

Food helps, too, since it gives him something to do.

"Sometimes," he smiles at Lisa's question "he still hasn't managed to beat me, but he came close once or twice."

From:

weird_cop

"Well, if you do want a challenge, the offer's still open," she says. "But I understand if you've got other things on, now you're not stuck in one house."

Or still in the house, doing other things.

From:

xie_er

He does have other things to do, it's not like he gets bored as much now, but still - he appreciates the offer, and maybe it would be nice to spend more time getting to know her. They're all still very much Kevin's friends at the moment, he wouldn't mind so much having a friend himself.

"I'd like that. We definitely should."

From:

weird_cop

"Maybe when he's out with Tony shopping for clothes," she says, watching the two of them joking with Jessica.

"Tony's excited at the chance to dress him up, it's kind of cute."

From:

xie_er

"Oh, that's a good idea." Xie agrees, laughing slightly at the comment about Tony.

"It'll be good for them to hang out together, I think. They haven't had a chance for so long, have they?"

From:

weird_cop

"No," Lisa agrees.

She watches them for a second, weighing up how much she should share against how much she wants to share. Her own concerns as well as his. Sharing isn't something that comes easily to her, but she's trying.

"Tony's supposed to be first UC," she says finally. "They should have been in it together. When he was made, he wanted to pull Kevin as well, but Kev was already making progress, so he had to leave him. He was beside himself about it, he's used to being in the thick of it."

From:

xie_er

Xie follows her gaze over to the two of them, thoughtful for a moment.

"I can imagine that was difficult for him." Difficult for both of them, probably.

He hopes Kevin knows he can entertain himself if he wants to go and spend time with his friend...

"Hopefully things can start to be more normal, now."

From:

weird_cop

"As normal as they ever get, with us lot," she agrees. She smiles briefly at the two of them before adding:

"He looks the happiest I've seen him in years, by the way. You did that, thank you."