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]

"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.

[weird_cop]

Kevin chuckles aloud.

"You sure I don't know her? Feels like I do."

Mind, he knows he had a grandmother who was important to him. Maybe it's just familiar vibes.

"I'm glad I could help, anyway. I dont want her to think I dont take care of you."

She's obviously important to Xie, and he to her, even in a small way.

[xie_er]

"Mmm, she probably just reminds you of Kexing, he's a meddling grandma as well" Xie says dryly, smirking faintly.

"She couldn't, nobody could, you take very good care of me" He adds without even really thinking about it. He's unsure as soon as he says it, whether it's too much or not, but it's out there now and he isn't going to take it back.

[weird_cop]

Kevin laughs again. Yeah, she probably does remind him.of Kexing, at that.

His smile doesn't go away when Xie continues - if anything, he smiles a bit more. Reassured, mostly. He's glad Xie has someone taking care of him. Kevin doesn't feel like he can take credit for that to be him - so far, but that doesn't matter.

"Good," he says. "I'm glad I do. I want to. Take care of you, I mean."

It's the closest he can get right now to saying he wants to be Xie's boyfriend, he's not just here because he's been told that's who he is.

[xie_er]

Xie stares at him for a moment, a very faint hint of pink touching his cheeks as he tries to process that particular statement. He's saved from having to come up with a response in the moment by the owner coming back with drinks for them, although he isn't saved from her knowing smile when she sees the look on his face.

"I want to take care of you, too, you know" He says when she walks away again, having regained some of his composure.

[weird_cop]

The part of Kevin that lacks his usual confidence, is still unsure of himself, bites against the inside of his lip as he sees that reaction.

Did he overstep? Should he had kept that distance, waited for his memories to return?

He has a crush, but that's obviously not enough to fill the gap that's between them, left by whatever history and connection Xie had with the old Kevin.

"You do, he assures him. "You've been taking care of me from the start."

[xie_er]

"I'm glad" Xie smiles softly. It's good to know that he's been successful in that - it still feels like it's nothing compared to everything Kevin has done for him, is still doing for him even now, but it's good to redress the balance even a little, to feel as though he isn't just taking.

He pauses for a moment to take a sip of his drink before he speaks again, changing the subject.

"I'll keep you in the loop, tomorrow." he says "I know you can't be there, but I'll share as much as I can with you"

[weird_cop]

"Thank you," Kevin's genuine with the thanks. It's a twin source of frustration for him; firstly that this is something else in a operation that revolves around him that he can't actually help in, leaving him useless and on the sidelines where the rest of the team imply he would be taking the lead.

The other is genuine curiosity about what these thjings involve. He wants to go because he wants to go.

"I haven't decided if I'd be better off just sitting at home watching movies or something and trying not to think about it."

[xie_er]

Xie considers this for a moment and then nods slightly.

"If that's what you want to do, I'm sure the others can suggest some good things to watch" He says first, wanting to support whatever he chooses, but also knowing he can't really make any suggestions himself "but if you find it isn't working, just tell me and I'll start sharing"

He doesn't think Kevin would be able to not think about it, but he also doesn't know if this Kevin would be different.

[weird_cop]

Kevin grins a bit wider.

"Oh I will. Sorry if the voice in your head gets a bit distracting while you're trying to work."

Though, he doesn't believe ot will. Xie is obviously an expert at telepathy while doing other things, and it seems to come naturally to Kevin.

Though they're not being subtle about it now. He vaguely wonders what it looks like - two men making eyes at each other on a corner table without saying a single thing out loud.

[xie_er]

"I don't mind being distracted by you"

He realises, belatedly, that it might be a bit of a loaded thing to say, but he also doesn't want to take it back because it's true.

"I can usually focus on both things at once, anyway" He adds, trying to soothe over any awkwardness before it starts.

[weird_cop]

Kevin smiles quickly, eyes dropping as he feels himself flushing slightly, feeling the warmth of being flirted with more than the awkwardness of unrequited attachment.

"It's a useful skill," he agrees. "I bet when I know what I'm doing, we're pretty good at it - carrying on two conversations at once."

[xie_er]

"Honestly I think you're better at it than I am" Xie admits - he can do that, inside their head, admit that somebody else is better at something than he is. It doesn't cost him anything, when it's Kevin, but there was a time he never would have even contemplated it.

"I got most of my practice using the link in animal form, so I didn't need to worry about what my face was doing, or saying something out loud."