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]

"I think I got it," Tony says. "I got the tour earlier."

By which he means he used the bathroom and Kevin showed him the rooms.

But Kevin is already trying to move, despite the weight on his lap.

" We oughta go to bed too," he says, forgetting to say it out loud.

[xie_er]

Xie deposits his empty glass on the ground and wraps his arms around Kevin's neck.

"Carry me?" He asks with an impish little smile.

He's not going to push it if Kevin brushes it off, but if he can get away with being carried upstairs, well, he's going to try.

[weird_cop]

Kevin sighs dramatically, and wraps his arms around Xie, attempts to stand, and doesn't quire make it gracefully, because he's drunk and Xie is a very tall man.

"Be smaller," he complains.

[xie_er]

"Mmkay" Xie responds, planting a kiss on his lips before shifting without even thinking about it.

He probably would have done it even without that instinct to obey his orders, but he's also way too drunk to have any kind of willpower to resist.

He's also too drunk to go to the effort of the cat form, so within a few moments there's a scorpion sitting on Kevin's lap.

[weird_cop]

Kevin laughs, having completely forgotten this was an option, and just having been joking. So he scoops the scorpion into one hand, kisses it on the head, and holds it gently as he heads upstairs.

"I didn't mean literally"

Tony looks puzzled at the lack of Xie as Kevin and then his eyes widen in surprise when he sees the tail coming out of Kevin's hand.

"I'm not going to ask how you sleep," he says. Lisa smiles sweetly at both of them before tugging on Tony's hand to get him in the spare room.

Kevin eventually falls onto the bed, still cradling Xie lightly and then setting him down on his chest.

[xie_er]

"Well you should have thought about that before you said it" Xie retorts primly - though he isn't really mad, not when he's still getting carried.

"Tell them goodnight" he adds before they go into the bedroom.

Once he's settled on Kevin's chest on the bed he shifts back so he's draped on top of him, leaning down for another kiss.

[weird_cop]

Kevin does obediently say good night on his way in, and then settles back, wrapping his arms around Xie's human body to enjoy the kiss.

"I didn't think about it," he admits. And even though he knows Xie isn't mad, he adds a light "sorry. I try to be better."

[xie_er]

Xie kisses him again in response, though after a moment he does actually follow it up with words.

"You're always better. Better than anyone or anything in my life before you."

Apparently he's a very affectionate drunk.

[weird_cop]

"No reason to stop trying."

Kevin sighs happily, drawing patterns on Xie's back and shoulders as he tries to gather the effort to get undressed.

"I love you, gege."

[xie_er]

Xie laughs softly, wriggling slightly in delight on top of him.

"I love you too" He says, his kiss turning lazy and loving.

He is also lacking the effort to get undressed, but right now he also doesn't have any particular desire to, he's quite happy where he is.

[weird_cop]

Xie wriggling sends a shiver of contentment through Kevin, despite being aware that he's probably bordering on too drunk to do anything about it, but he closes his eyes and lies back, thinking about how good this feels.

"We were great hosts today. Everyone loved the garden."

[xie_er]

"They did, didn't they?" Xie agrees, smug and pleased "The food was great as well. As always."

He never really thought he'd do anything so painfully normal, let alone enjoy it as much as he had, and yet.

[weird_cop]

As always, Kevin smiles, glowing under the praise of his cooking.

"Thank you for suggesting it, and for getting on with my friends so well."

[xie_er]

He did just want to do something nice for Kevin, even though making him host pales in comparison to everything Kevin has done for him, so he's glad it worked out and that he enjoyed it.

And that he did get on with his friends - he hadn't been too worried, because he already knew he could at least play nice with Lisa and the others, but the other family had been an unknown quantity that he hadn't been sure about.

"You're welcome." He says jokingly (and in Mandarin), punctuating it with another kiss before finally pushing himself up a little. He's not nearly as graceful as usual, but he manages to get something approaching upright - or sitting on Kevin's legs, anyway.

"Clothes" He says, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt.

[weird_cop]

"Yes, clothes."

Not needing to translate for the others, Kevin switches to Mandarin on instinct, grabbing Xie's hips so he can sit up without dislodging him from his thighs, and pulling off his T shirt before helping Xie with his buttons.

They're both a bit drunk, it needs two pairs of hands.

[xie_er]

As soon as his shirt is off he gets distracted running his hands over Kevin's chest and murmuring compliments - there's nothing particularly urgent about it, he's drunk and sleepy and not actually pushing for anything, it's just that part of being drunk and sleepy is thinking about how much he loves and wants Kevin, and how he's spent most of the day sticking to publicly appropriate forms of affection.

[weird_cop]

Kevin counters, his usual string of compliments now being drawn from his not quite complete Mandarin vocab list, bit he manages to be creative with it.

Xie's shirt eventually comes off, and he starts picking at the more bulky jewellery from his braids, leaning in to kiss him as he does so.

[xie_er]

All getting undressed should be slow and lazy and interspersed with kisses and compliments, he thinks.

While Kevin is working on his hair, he manages to get both of their jeans undone (eventually), but that's as far as he gets when he's still perched on Kevin's thighs.

[weird_cop]

Eventually - very eventually - Kevin eases his hands through hair that's not completely unbraided but should be enough to sleep in. He runs his hands down the hair, sliding casually on to his sides and hips, and then tucks his hands into Xie's jeans, reaching in towards his butt while bending one of the legs he's sitting on in a way that says hey, get up without actually saying it.

"I want to see all of your beautiful body."

Like so much, this is the first time he's strung these words together in Mandarin, or heard bed talk at all in the language. He hopes he's not fucking it up.

[xie_er]

He's very much not fucking it up at all, although that might be because Xie is barely even paying attention to the language they're speaking and is taking any slips or poor pronunciation as a side-effect of being drunk.

"I do like to give you what you want" He replies, fondly amused as he climbs off the bed - swaying only slightly - so he can strip off his jeans. There's a couple of moments where it looks as though he might fall, but while he lacks his usual poise he does at least manage to stay upright.

[weird_cop]

Kevin wastes no time - as soon as the weight from his legs is gone he moves to get his own jeans off and to the edge of the bed so he can watch Xie- and be there with a hand to his hip when it looks like he might fall.

"I know you do."

He doesn't have the Mandarin for I'm glad that you're happy and I no longer feel like you're being forced into this. I know that, although you didn't choose this, you continue to choose me. I'm happy that you like me.

[xie_er]

Once he manages to get his jeans off, Xie steadies himself with hands on Kevin's shoulders - and then just gives up and leans into him so he can push him back onto the bed again, falling forward himself.

He muffles his own laughter with a kiss.

"I love you." He says, just because it felt like it needed to be said. Sometimes it feels like it's constantly waiting to spill out - this is one of those times, and he doesn't feel the need to stop it.

[weird_cop]

"I love you too."

Kevin kisses Xie's mouth and his cheek and his forehead, pulling him back on the bed so they can settle into each other's arms. His hand snakes around the back of Xie's head and he twists their legs together.

He doesn't add anything else though. There's not much more to say.

[xie_er]

Smiling, Xie shifts around with Kevin to get them both comfortable and then relaxes with a contented sigh.

The room is spinning a little but mostly he just feels a happy buzz. He traces fingertips over Kevin's back, eyes already drifting closed.

"Good night, handsome"

[weird_cop]

"Good night."

Kevin kisses his forehead again and curls his hand around him, drinking in the sensation of him for a few minutes before he too drifts off happily.

The morning light wakes him rudely through the balcony doors, and he scowls at it for as long as possible until he relents, kissing Xie on the shoulder as he struggles out of bed.

Xie can stay, but Kevin needs to make breakfast.