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]

Spot glances between them, hesitating, until eventually he sighs.

"Don't really need to even talk about any of that stuff," he admits in a low voice "my dad's a piece of work..."

He's matter of fact about it, but the bitterness creeps in all the same.

"He's also a witch. A witch without a familiar since my mum died."

After some of Spot's questions last time, it doesn't take a genius to connect the dots.

"I'm doing fine on my own and he don't know where I am, but I figure if I go into the system... well they're at least going to check aren't they? Might even send me back to him."

[weird_cop]

"No."

Kevin says it absolutely firmly. "No they're not going to send you back to him. I'm not going to let them.

"Look, we can get people in 'the system' in a way that they can't be found, by normal means. And the other stuff, that's what I specialise in.

"Will you let me see what I can do?"

[xie_er]

Spot huffs a sigh, staring up at the ceiling as he thinks about it.

Xie is quiet for a moment, his expression is calm but it'll probably be pretty obvious to Kevin that he's having a little bit of trouble with this whole situation - a young Familiar on the street, a witch who wants to take advantage... it's a little too close to home for him to be dealing with entirely well.

Eventually, though, it's Xie who speaks first.

"I've been where you are," he says quietly "I was on the streets and I figured that was better than going into care, figured I could look after myself. Then the lack of bond started to kick in and it left me... open. Too open. You read the papers, you know what kind of situation I ended up in because I needed that bond."

Spot looks over at him, apparently ready to protest but Xie cuts him off.

"I'm not saying it will happen to you, I'm just saying there are worse things than ending up in care. We will keep your dad away from you, so why not let yourself have three meals a day and a roof over your head for a bit? Let yourself be in a place where the right people can find you."

"The right people?" Spot asks

"People who can help you find a bond that's right for you."

"...you really think you can keep my dad away and help me find a decent bond?" Spot asks, disbelieving

[weird_cop]

"Love you."

The words will have to do instead of holding his hand, telling him he's proud of him for being so strong, for surviving all of it.

"I know I can keep your dad away from you," Kevin says. He glances at Xie again and offers a faint smile. "You remember the papers said that guy died while resisting arrest? Guess who he was resisting."

He's not usually one for talking himself up, but he tries it, acts like Costain, the protagonist of the story.

"We'll have to work on the second bit, but I bet you're not going to find it on the streets. I know there are bad people out there looking for familiars."

[xie_er]

"Love you too" Xie glances over at him with a soft smile before returning his attention to Spot and nodding along in confirmation of Kevin's words.

"Seriously?" Spot asks, and Xie smirks a little.

"He was coming for me and Kevin wasn't going to let that happen."

"Yea but you're-" Spot starts, and Xie shakes his head.

"We weren't together, not at that point." They'd just had a massive argument at that point, but Xie isn't going to get in to all of that.

"We've got contacts, people who might be able to help you find a witch. We can promise we'll help, and that's going to be a lot easier than trying to find someone yourself."

Spot respects that they don't promise they can do everything, although what they are offering still sounds too good to be true. After a long moment, though, he sighs. At least they're giving him the illusion of choice.

"Alright, fine."

[weird_cop]

"I would have protected him even if I didn't want to win him over with the big heroic rescue," Kevin adds smugly.

When Spot agrees, he smiles, and gently pats him on the shoulder, a gesture of fraternal support as he stands.

"I'm going to see if my guv is here, find out what she can arrange, and I'll come back in a bit. You want something to eat while I'm doing that?"

[xie_er]

Xie just rolls his eyes fondly, Spot rolls his eyes a little less fondly but it's mostly because he doesn't want to admit he's kind of jealous of their relationship.

"...Yea, I could eat." Spot says, oh-so-casual like he isn't blatantly malnourished.

"I'll wait here with him." Xie tells Kevin - figuring it's another chance for a Familiar-to-Familiar chat if the kid had any more questions.

[weird_cop]

Kevin tells the uniform outside to run out to the local burger place, and meets Lofthouse in the lobby. They have an in-depth discussion about options, and the best way of keeping Spot safe. Ideally, in situations like this, they'd be sending the kid up as far away from London as possible, but in order to give him Kevin's protection, that's not going to work.

Eventually he returns to the interview room with a large meal for Spot and a milkshake for Xie, and more importantly with a plan.

"Right," he says, "congratulations, Spot. You are now Theodore Barnes. But Spot's a good nickname, you can stick with it. In about an hour, someone from the council's going to come round and give you a lift to a perfectly ordinary residential care facility, with a bunch of perfectly ordinary kids, with problems of their own and no interest in what you've got going on.

"And as soon as we can get the paperwork through, there's going to be a familiar face among the staff there. Don't worry, you don't have to admit you know me."

[xie_er]

Spot does have a few questions, mostly about what it was like for Xie on the streets - it's not exactly a happy time of his life he wants to recount, but he manages to find a few good stories to tell the kid and keep him occupied. Spot trades with a few of his own, clearly emboldened by the fact Xie isn't actually a cop.

Xie, of course, is not going to betray that trust, so he's not going to share any of those stories with anyone else.

When Kevin returns, Spot falls on the burger hungrily and Xie accepts the milkshake with a thank you, he would give Kevin a kiss but he's behaving.

"Theodore Barnes?" Spot repeats with a raised eyebrow, but hey, it's definitely not Sean Conlon, and that alone is going to make him harder to find.

Unless his dad tries something magical, but that was always a risk even on the streets.

Then Kevin continues and his eyes widen a bit.

"Wait, you're going undercover?"

"That's what he does." Xie nods

[weird_cop]

"Teddy, if you annoy me too much," Kevin says with a sly smirk. He nods to the last bit, though, confirming it's what he does.

"I was doing undercover work before I was a witch. It's not going to be serious deep cover or anything - you can still talk to me if you need. I'll just be at hand, at least as long as you need me."

For however long that is. Still, a stint doing a low profile job at a children's home might be just what he needs.

[xie_er]

Spot narrows his eyes at the threat to call him Teddy.

(Privately, Xie thinks it's no more or less stupid than Spot, but he isn't going to say that out loud)

"...Okay." He says eventually, because actually it's going to make him feel a lot safer having Kevin around, and a lot more likely to trust they can actually keep him safe, especially if it's a normal home.

[weird_cop]

Kevin gives Spot an approving smile when he makes the right choice, and offers to send for a book or a game or something to pass the time.

When the woman from social services arrives, Kevin suggests Xie stay out of sight so she doesn't make any connections. Still, he watches her carefully, standing at Spot's shoulder until they're safely off, before he heads back to the car for the drive home.

"Okay, guess I've got a new job."

[xie_er]

Xie shifts into a scorpion and tucks himself into Kevin's pocket - technically he could just go back to the portakabin but this is quicker - and he watches proceedings through Kevin's eyes. He doesn't say it's because he's so protective of the kid that reminds him of himself, but he's pretty sure Kevin knows anyway.

When they're on their way home, he's quiet for a moment, just nodding along with the comment. He's about to say something about it being a break from paperwork or research, but then he decides to skip the small talk and go straight to what he's really thinking.

"I want to come with you"

[weird_cop]

Kevin nods. He's not surprised, really. Of course Xie wants to keep an eye on Spot.

"I want you there too."

He could do with the insight, with someone who can connect with the kid in a way he can't quite.

"But you're a bit too well known. And then there's the DBS check."

It's also very much Kevin's job, and part of him is telling him it's not necessary to be there all the time.

[xie_er]

The but is a little annoying, because for a moment Xie thought it was going to be simple. He realises that his recently publicised history and very criminal background are going to make anybody in their right mind unlikely to want him around vulnerable kids, he just hadn't thought about it beyond the initial desire to also help watch out for Spot.

He wishes there was a way he could be there without...

When it comes to him, he thinks he's an idiot for not suggesting it right away.

"I can't join you undercover," he agrees "but can you take a pet?"

[weird_cop]

It's a great idea, and Kevin loves Xie for having it, for wanting to help. He turns his head to smile at Xie, despite the flaws he can see in the plan.

"I could put a scorpion tank in an office, I guess."

It's just that pet scorpions aren't common in residential child care facilities, as far as he knows.

[xie_er]

"Doesn't have to be a scorpion" Xie reminds him, though he feels a little swell of love for Kevin for immediately going to his natural form - it's a silly thing to love him for, and yet.

Being a cat is a discomfort, yes, but as long as he gets his rest and maybe pleads a massage or two out of his loving boyfriend in the evenings, he'll be fine doing it regularly for a little while. He used to do it all the time, and at least this time it's his choice.

[weird_cop]

Kevin hadn't quite forgotten, but it honestly hadn't occurred to him. Despite all the jokes at the time, and thinking of him as just a cat for so long, when he thinks of Xie in an animal form, he thinks scorpion.

Now he hums in thoughtful surprise.

"Are you sure? I know it's uncomfortable."

His first thought was of Xie passing out after a shower, too tired to watch Queer Eye because he'd pushed himself to burn out. Just because he thought Kevin wanted it.

[xie_er]

Xie just glances over at him with a fond smile.

"I'm sure, as long as I take breaks and stretch when I can, or get plenty of rest when I can't, it's manageable." he reassures "And it'll be easier to keep an eye out if I can roam a bit more"

He'll be careful about it, and they'll have to talk about how it works, but he can do some fairly easy patrols of the area and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary if he can do it on paws.

[weird_cop]

"Actually that's a great idea," Kevin decides finally. A cat could be really useful for surveillance.

"I'll run it past Quill. And make sure you're well looked after."

[xie_er]

Xie nods, pleased that Kevin is on board with the idea. He knows it might still get shot down by Quill, but he hopes that the other man will recognise the usefulness - and the fact that it's a much better use of Xie's time than pouring through a bunch of case files that probably don't even need him to identify potions anyway.

"We never did reach out to Kexing and Zishu to see if they had any contacts or information that might be useful for finding the kid a witch, we should do that as well."

[weird_cop]

"Yeah," Kevin agrees. That would be a good idea. "Be nice to meet with them when we're not in urgent need for help. I'll bring them food or something."

Okay so maybe they're not 'double date' friends, but they are the only couple Kevin knows who are also a witch and familiar, so it could be nice to maintain that acquaintance.

But the topic makes him think.

"I can't stop thinking about how many people like Westcott might be out there."

[xie_er]

Xie is definitely resistant to them being double date friends, he's slightly resistant to them being people they turn to for questions like this, but he can put his own feelings aside for the sake of results.

And they probably deserve food for all the help they've given. Just.

"Witches who want power? A lot."

[weird_cop]

"If she'd found Spot... Or got hold of those chains, Or any familiar who wasn't you..."

He's used to the world, or he thought he was. As a policeman you kin of have to get used to the idea that you can't stop all the bad guys, there are always going to be people out there doing bad things. You just do what you can.

But he's the only witch in the Met. The only person in authority that kids like Spot can turn to. It's the whole point of their unit, he knows. It's just... a lot.

Kevin turns into the driveway of the safehouse and stops, but doesn't get out of the car just yet, turning to Xie instead.

"I think about what it must have been like for you, and I hate that you went through all of that."

[xie_er]

Xie doesn't think she would have bonded to a kid, but that doesn't mean there aren't witches who won't. Those chains still exist, things like those chains still exist, and there's other Familiars out there... it's a lot, Xie gets it, and it's the kind of thing that can drown you to think about if you aren't careful.

He looks over, reaches out to take hold of Kevin's hand and squeezes it.

"You can't help everyone," he says softly, and it's not as cynical or bitter as it might sound, especially when he continues "but the people you can help? The lives you do save? That means everything, especially to them. Especially to me."