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

[xie_er]

Xie points him to the bathroom a little distractedly, concentrating on measuring out one of the ingredients. He's definitely absorbed enough to not really notice how long Kevin takes.

The bathroom has more signs of use than the kitchen, but it's still neat and tidy - largely thanks to the counter being bare of all the products that now live in the safe house. Across from the bathroom there's another open door that leads to the bedroom, which is much more obviously Xie. There's artwork on the walls, the duvet and curtains match, there's a vanity still scattered with hair ornaments and ties and a couple of different hairbrushes and combs, some odds and ends of makeup and cologne as well.

The wardrobe is full of expensive designer clothes and shoes - everything here is expensive, but at least it looks more lived in than the rest of the apartment. There would be knives stashed in various places, too, but those are among the confiscated items.

[weird_cop]

Kevin doesn't quite have the knowledge to realise what's missing, but he finds it interesting that he can tell when something seems missing - finds evidence something was taped on the side of a bedside table, sees a space in a drawer.

And of course there's the mark in the carpet where a guitar stand once stood.

But then he mostly takes his time in the wardrobe, thinking more about what the clothes tell him about Xie than anything else - he touches some of the fabrics, and thinks that these are some of the only things that look like Xie actually chose them.

He wonders what Xie looks like wearing them, and ignores the voice that asks what someone who cares about clothes this much is doing with Kevin, of all people.

Then he finally feels like he shouldn't be doing this and returns to the kitchen.

[xie_er]

Xie has the cauldron over the stove when he returns, and he's stirring the bubbling mixture slowly, watching it carefully and occasionally using a pipette to add small drops of an opalescent liquid that, he told Kevin earlier, is extracted from the venom of a particular type of snake.

He glances up with a soft smile when he appears, though only for a moment before he looks back to the mixture he's working on.

"It's nearly done, then I'll need to leave it to cool."

[weird_cop]

Kevin is surprised to find that he has a visceral reaction to the idea of snake venom. Not a big one, bit enough of a distaste when he sees the liquid being added.

"And then I what?" He asks. "Drink it? Rub it on my temples? I hope it's not a suppository."

He's joking, obviously. Mostly.

[xie_er]

Xie snorts, shaking his head slightly.

"It's a variation on something that I'd normally make into an incense," he explains "I think that's still going to be the best way."

It might end up a little more oily than the usual mix, so he'll need to use some kind of diffuser or even make a candle, but either way it will be something for Kevin to breathe in.

[weird_cop]

"Oh, okay."

That's a way he hadn't considered, but logically it must be a perfectly fine way of intaking a magic potion

He leans forward to peer at the cauldron, sniffing curiously to see if it's giving off any fumes yet.

"I hope it smells good at least."

[xie_er]

He doesn't mention that the concoction it's a variation of is deliberately designed to confuse and disorient people by getting them lost in their own memories, so it makes perfect sense to make it into an incense - it's difficult to get people to ingest a liquid, but breathing in incense? By the time they realise there's anything wrong it's too late.

In this instance, he's sticking with incense because it's a very gentle way of easing into it - there's a lot of memories to bring back, for one thing, and if there's any adverse effects it's very easy to take him out of the room and away from the smoke.

"It will smell good, yes." He confirms, nudging him away from the cauldron "when it's done."

[weird_cop]

Kevin allows himself to be nudged, with a fond smile for it, settling down in his seat again.

"Fine," he agrees. "I will breathe it in when it's ready."

He sits back and lets Xie continue, watching with interest. "You seem at home with this stuff. I bet you would be a good cook."

[xie_er]

Xie looks up with surprise, opening his mouth to protest and then closing it again.

"I never really thought of it like that..." he admits after a moment "it just seemed like I was working to a completely different purpose than cooking... besides. I know how to tell when a potion looks the way it's supposed to, I don't know how to tell if food is cooked properly..."

Still, maybe it isn't so different after all...

"Maybe if I had the right teacher."

[weird_cop]

"Maybe," Kevin agrees.

"Ask me again when I have my memory and can actually remember how to cook things, rather than just going on instinct."

He wonders if he'd enjoy teaching. Probably, if it involves spending time together. He likes the thought of that at least.

[xie_er]

Xie smiles slightly.

"Don't worry, I'm in no rush to stop eating your cooking." He says, slightly teasing.

He gives the contents of the cauldron one last stir and takes it off the heat, setting it onto the counter.

"Now we just have to wait. We could go and get some lunch, there's a nice restaurant around the corner?"

[weird_cop]

Kevin brightens, and only partly at the idea that he doesn't have to worry about being a good cook.

"Yeah, sounds good," he agrees.

"Wait... how nice?"

He's still in his jeans and hoodie, and this is a nice neighbourhood.

[xie_er]

"Nice as in good, this is fine." he clarifies, waving a hand at Kevin's jeans.

It's not the kind of place Yifu would have approved of him going to, but Yifu was never here and the kindly older couple who run the place are the only reason he hasn't completely forgotten all his Cantonese. He'd never admit it out loud - he barely admits it to himself - but they always made him feel at home. They never cared about money or reputation or where he came from or who his family was, he was always just the polite boy from around the corner.

If he was with anyone other than Kevin, he wouldn't take them there.

[weird_cop]

"Good," Kevin says, relaxing again.

He stands, shaking his hoodie straight, and grabs the rice cooker from the counter. "I'll bring this down so it's in the car, then you can show me this place."

Honestly he's curious again - he wants to see the kind of place Xie would think was good, the kind of food he likes. Maybe he knew all this a week ago, but he gets the impression he hasn't been here before and didn't know this part.

It's nice to learn new things and think that he's not being coloured by other context, as burning as his curiosity is to fill in that context.

[xie_er]

Xie nods, grabbing his keys to lock up behind them and leading him out. A brief pause to change shoes again, and another to drop the rice cooker off, and then he's leading him a couple of streets away to a cosy little Chinese restaurant. The menus posted in the window are in both English and Chinese, and the few tables inside are almost all occupied.

As Xie steps inside there's an exclamation from behind the counter and an older woman comes bustling forward.

"Xie-er!" She exclaims, equal parts welcoming and scolding. Xie flinches at the name, unable to stop himself - he hates, a little bit, that he does. She's always called him it, it's never bothered him before, but suddenly now it seems... loaded. A reminder.

She doesn't seem to notice, or at least doesn't react, and instead starts talking to him in rapid-fire Cantonese that even he struggles to keep up with - mostly about where he's been and how they've been worried about him.

When he gets a chance to get a word in edgeways he apologises politely and asks for her forgiveness - and for a table.

"This is my friend Kevin," he says, switching to English "I wanted him to experience your wonderful cooking."

[weird_cop]

Kevin feels rather than sees the flinch, and makes a note of it to ask about later, rather than push now. Now, he smiles warmly and nods his head in greeting.

"Nice to meet you," he says. "Xie says the food here is great."

As he didn't understand the Chinese, he figures either his grasp of the language isn't as good as he thought it might be or:

"Cantonese?"

[xie_er]

The woman glances between them and then says something pointed to Xie. He smiles, a little strained, and says something back. She purses her lips slightly, apparently unimpressed, but then she smiles at Kevin.

"Welcome, welcome. Come and sit." She motions for them both to come to one of the only free tables - tucked away in the back corner - and hands them both menus.

"Yes," Xie confirms as they make their way to the table "I don't speak it as well as I used to, but they kept me in practice here."

[weird_cop]

Kevin smiles his thanks at her and glances down the menu quickly, already making up his mind that he'll ask Xie or the proprietor to make recommendations.

"Am I in trouble?" he asks as she leaves. "Not meeting her standards for you?"

[xie_er]

"Ah, no" Xie admits, concentrating on the menu so he doesn't have to look at Kevin "She asked if you were my boyfriend, I told her it was complicated... I think she's disappointed the answer wasn't yes..."

He's disappointed the answer wasn't yes, but he didn't want Kevin to get put on the spot, and it is sort of complicated right now.

[weird_cop]

"Oh."

Kevin's disappointed as well. He wishes it would be less complicated and Xie could just say yes - because that is technically true. He also wants to apologise, but that feels wrong as well, so Xie will just have to believe that he is sorry and he wishes things were otherwise.

"I wouldn't have minded if you'd said yes. But I understand."

[xie_er]

"I didn't want her to start grilling you or anything" Xie admits.

It makes him feel better, though, that Kevin wouldn't have minded.

What little tension had crept in from the whole encounter starts to ease, though, and it's clear this is a place he's comfortable - the polite demeanour he showed the woman isn't exactly him being himself, but it's not a difficult mask to wear.

[weird_cop]

"Oh, good point," Kevin admits. "I might have started making things up to fill in the gaps. That would get awkward."

He grins, pleased to see how relaxed Xie looks here, and finally closes his menu.

"You order for me."

[xie_er]

Xie just laughs softly, and smiles at the request, nodding.

"Alright." He knows Kevin's tastes well enough to do that - he's pretty sure losing his memories won't have impacted his tastebuds. At least, he hopes not.

He waves the owner back over and has another rapid-fire conversation - partially ordering, partially answering her mini-interrogation. At one point he motions to Kevin and she looks over to give him a look that's somehow simultaneously suspicious and approving. She gives Xie a pat on the shoulder and takes the menus as she leaves.

"She was asking how I was staying well fed if I wasn't eating here, I told her you cooked for me" He explains.

[weird_cop]

Kevin smiles helplessly as she looks at him, completely lost and hoping that the approval is meaningful.

"Oh," he says to the explanation. "Great, now she's going to think I'm trying to steal you away from her."

He smirks, though. Hopefully he's right in thinking that it would actually score him brownie points.

[xie_er]

"I think she approves. She always used to tell me I was too skinny"

Not that he's even remotely fat now, but he's definitely put a little weight on since he started eating Kevin's cooking regularly. He also was too skinny when he first started coming here.