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 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."

From:

xie_er

Well that brings that blush to his cheeks and for a second he's speechless.

Then he smiles, looking over at Kevin again with nothing but love in his expression.

"Well, it's only fair. I think this is the happiest I've been in... ever, actually."

From:

weird_cop

"It takes you by surprise, doesn't it?" She says, with something like understanding. "You think you know what you're getting out of life - and what you're not - and then..."

She waves vaguely at both Tony and Kevin.

From:

xie_er

"And then." Xie agrees softly.

Though, it almost feels like a bit of an understatement, really, given that the transference spell had seemed like the worst thing that had ever happened to him, only to turn out to be the best instead. Surprise feels like too small a word for it.

His smile turns a little sly, though, as he glances back at her.

"So Tony took you by surprise?"

From:

weird_cop

"Happiness did," she says.

"I had this plan, this mission for my life, and never really thought 'happy,' was part of the goal. And then this gorgeous man comes into my life, this ogre-parfait of layers..."

She shrugs awkwardly.

"...yeah, he surprised me."

From:

xie_er

The 'ogre-parfait' reference is completely lost on him, but he understands the gist of what she's saying so he doesn't question it.

Well, he doesn't question her.

"What does 'ogre-parfait' mean?" Is requested of Kevin without context.

To Lisa, he smiles and nods slightly.

"I'm glad you're happy."

He's spent so long looking after himself that caring about somebody else's happiness is quite rare - it's a very exclusive club that he's slightly surprised to find Lisa is now definitely a member of. In fact, he think all of them might be. Even Tony, a little bit.

From:

weird_cop

"Someone's got layers."

Kevin sounds amused, by the reference and the implication.

"Someone's outwardly a grouchy scary monster but inside is squishy and full of cream. Is it me or Tone?"

Kevin's remarkably good now at talking through the link without letting anyone he's talking to know what he's doing, and he doesn't break from chatting with the group.

"So am I," Lisa says, and doesn't qualify whether she means her or him.

After the meal, the Quills announce regretfully that someone's probably tired herself out, and after they've gone the Lofthouses call a cab, leaving Tony and Lisa to help pack up.

In front of them, Kevin is happy to pull Xie to him and give him a public kiss.

From:

xie_er

It still doesn't make any sense but at least he understands the meaning.

"Tony. You only pretend to be a grouchy scary monster when you're undercover. You're squishy and full of cream all the way through in real life."

It is said with tones of extreme fondness.

The food is good, the conversation is pleasant, Xie manages to avoid any more missteps and melts slightly, unexpectedly, when Jessica calls him 'Xie-gege' again later in the afternoon.

When the others are gone and it's just the four of them, he's still surprised by Kevin pulling him in for a kiss. That makes him melt, too, and he wraps his arms around Kevin with a smile.

"I think that went well."

From:

weird_cop

"It did. Thank you for a lovely afternoon."

"Do you want us to go or stay a bit to help clear?" Lisa calls from the kitchen, where Tony is already washing up. "We're good either way."

"Do you want alone time or to hang out a bit more?"

From:

xie_er

"Thank you, the food was wonderful"

He considers the options, then remembers what he said to Lisa about Kevin not getting a lot of time to just hang out with his friends and be normal, it seems a shame to cut that short.

"They're welcome to stay"

From:

weird_cop

"Stay if you want," Kevin relays back, grabbing the last empty glass from outside in one hand and putting the other around Xie's waist, before heading inside.

"I just found out Xie hasn't seen Shrek."

Lisa takes the glass off him and eyes Xie in amusement.

"Ogre-parfait," explains Kevin. "It was a movie reference."

"Oh," he adds aloud. "Jessica started talking about wicked witches. I guess we could explain some of our old cases."

From:

xie_er

The comfort of having an arm around his waist softens the blow a little bit of being put on the spot. Apparently it's not just relationship experiences he's missed out on... he's starting to realise that he's actually been quite sheltered, for all he's grown up in a criminal empire.

Still, at least he appreciates the clarification - it stops him from asking what a Shrek is.

"I haven't seen a lot of movies." He says, a little grumpily.

"I wouldn't mind hearing about some of them, if you don't mind sharing?" He adds, at the suggestion of sharing old cases.

Partially because he thinks that might help him avoid any awkward subjects the next time they do something like this.

From:

weird_cop

"Sorry."

Kevin apologises immediately on picking up the grumpiness, and kisses Xie on the forehead.

"Less Queer Eye more movies," he says out loud, like he's suggesting and also promising.

"Frigging Mora Losley, then," Tony decides, opening the fridge for more to drink. "Where do we start?"

Lisa had gently touched her nose, but now says:

"With the end. With Jessica."

From:

xie_er

"But I like Queer Eye." He protests, though this grump is more for show than anything genuine, because all hurt feelings have been soothed away by the apology, and the kiss.

(Honestly, it's almost laughable how much he thought he was the type to hold grudges, it turns out the issue was Yifu's apologies were never apologies, and that's all he needed them to be)

Xie snags the half-finished wine bottle from the fridge when Tony opens it so he can top up his and Lisa's glasses, and suggests they go get comfortable in the living room if they're going to tell stories.

From:

weird_cop

The suggestion is met with agreement, and they retire in that direction - Kevin lets Tony and Lisa sit together on the couch while he makes himself comfortable on one of the rarely used armchairs.

"Right," he says, immediately letting his tone become serious.

"So Mora Losley - our first real case as a magic specialist unit and a full on crazy serial killer. Remember how Lofthouse said that magic requires sacrifice?"

From:

xie_er

Xie contemplates the other armchair for all of three seconds before deciding he doesn't want to sit that far away from Kevin, and he'd like to enjoy the fact he doesn't have to, so instead he sits on the arm of the chair Kevin is in.

"Ah, so the sacrifices in this instance were the victims?"

Sacrificing in the old fashioned sense, then.

From:

weird_cop

Kevin puts his arm around Xie as he sits, curling it around his hips companionably.

"That's the kicker, that is," says Tony. "The two sets of vics. The usual serial killer fare of the footballers..."

"...and others," Lisa adds for accuracy.

"...and others, which she killed by magic means. And the sacrifices she made to perform those murders. The kids."