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]

"Sure," Kevin agrees out loud, but it's only to get her out of the kitchen so he can kiss Xie.

"Do you have any questions? It looks like there's a lot of work involved."

[xie_er]

Xie kisses him back happily.

"None that I can think of, should I?" He doesn't really know that much about buying a house, or anything really, he isn't sure if there's supposed to be questions.

"I don't mind the work. I wanted a place I could decorate the way I wanted." He stops, considers this for a second before amending "The way we want."

[weird_cop]

"Oh no, this is all you." Kevin laughs softly. "I'm going to drive you to B&Q and assemble the furniture, but you're in charge of the decoration. I'll just live here and think you're amazing."

But he can't think of any questions he hasn't already asked, so he squeezes Xie's hips excitedly.

"You wanna buy a house together?"

Well, buy a house and have Kevin live in it.

[xie_er]

Xie smiles fondly - as much as he's trying not to be selfish about the decor, that's exactly what he wanted to hear. He'll make sure Kevin has final say on everything about the kitchen (as long as his tastes aren't terrible) but the rest of the house? He has a vision.

The question makes him smile, bright and actually excited.

"I do" he says, leaning in for another kiss.

[weird_cop]

Kevin will know what he wants, but he'll leave it up to Xie to decide what colour everything is.

He laughs softly at the words, and leans up to return the kiss, taking Xie's face in his hands for a second.

One day he's going to broach that subject, the I don't actually want to get married but I'll civilly partner you if you want a big party subject, but not until Xie is completely independent of Zhao.

So he kisses him instead and eventually breaks away.

"You call her in, then."

[xie_er]

Xie smiles and nods, going to the door to call Louise back into the kitchen and tell her that they love it and want to put an offer in.

(He's read up enough about the house buying process to know the right things to say, at least - he doesn't mind admitting to Kevin that he doesn't know, but he wants to look competent in front of the estate agent)

She's obviously thrilled and talks him through what to do next, and asks if they have a mortgage broker yet, looking slightly surprised (but pleased) when Xie says they don't need a mortgage.

"That should speed things up for you a little." She says with a smile "And what about your current house, do you have a chain?"

"I have some property to be sold, but we don't need to wait for that before we buy." Xie says easily. Her eyes light up a little and she offers Xie her card, smoothly moving in to talking about their services for selling property as well. He takes the card and says he'll be in touch, mostly just to cut the conversation short. Buying a house comes first, dealing with all of Yifu's other properties and his old apartment comes later.

[weird_cop]

Kevin stands back to watch this, smiling happily and proudly, and feeling a thrill of excitement at the prospect of a new place, together.

He shakes her hand as they leave, and kisses Xie in the car before starting home.

"That makes this morning's failure a bit easier to swallow."

[xie_er]

Xie wraps up the conversation, shakes her hand as well and says goodbye with a smile - a smile that only gets more genuine once they're in the car.

He kisses Kevin back and then sits back with a pleased expression - it softens a little at the comment and he nods.

"It does" he agrees "I was thinking... maybe tomorrow I should stay home? Take a break and make a start on the house buying and everything..."

He doesn't want to leave Kevin on his own, but he also knows part of the reason this morning happened was because he'd been pushing himself too hard. Besides, it was Kevin's job anyway, he was just.. also there.

[weird_cop]

"Sounds like a good plan," Kevin agrees. "Do all the legal paperwork from the safety of a hot bath and I'll face the wrath of the teenager all on my own."

[xie_er]

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Xie asks, sneaking a glance over at him to try and judge from his expression - he tries so hard to take Kevin's words at face value, but sometimes the insecurities sneak in.

[weird_cop]

Kevin looks away from the road to smile quickly at Xie.

"Joking, I'm joking. I don't just not mind, I want you to have a break."

Sometimes he feels the strain of being constantly second guessed. He understands why, but this was just meant to be a joke.

[xie_er]

Xie relaxes, smiling slightly sheepishly back at him.

"I'm sorry" He replies softly - and then, because he doesn't want it to become too much of an issue and cause tension where there didn't need to be any, he adds, teasing "if he hurts your feelings I'll beat him up for you, I know what teenagers are like"

[weird_cop]

Kevin smiles back at him, accepting the apology and trying to express that he shouldn't need to apologise: Xie's insecurities aren't his fault. And then he smiles wider at the joke.

"I don't know, that kid's got the vibe of someone who could take your switchblade away from you."

After a second he thinks more seriously and says:

"It's easier than I thought it would be, being around teenagers. I've kind of avoided kids once I stopped being one. Too many bad experiences, you know?"

[xie_er]

"Maybe," He concedes - he doesn't mind so much when it's a joke, and also that kid does seem remarkably resourceful "but I think even he would struggle to get all my knives"

It had taken Kevin a solid ten minutes or so to get all his knives off him when he was cooperating. Mostly cooperating.

His smile softens when Kevin turns more serious and he reaches over to squeeze his thigh reassuringly, nodding slightly at the confession.

"I know what you mean," he says, remembering the story Kevin told him about what he'd gone through growing up "I'm glad it's been easier. You've been pretty great with those kids, I think."

Certainly better than Xie, but even from an objective view he's been handling them pretty well, in Xie's opinion.

[weird_cop]

Still teasing: "Well, he is still a kid"

And then he rests his hand on top of Xie's, squeezing back in thanks for the reassurance.

"Thanks, that means a lot. As long as we can keep them safe and out of trouble, That's all I need."

[xie_er]

"Probably easier said than done, with those two" Xie admits, since both of them seem like they might be good at getting into trouble, and he knows from experience that being an unbonded Familiar practically invites trouble no matter what you do "but if anybody can do it, you can."

Especially with Xie at his side to help him.

He almost says something about Kevin being good at keeping him safe and out of trouble, but he doesn't want to invite a dozen examples of that not being the case. He still thinks it is, it's just... more like he always got him out of trouble rather than keeping him out in the first place.

[weird_cop]

"Thank you," Kevin replies, "for your faith in me."

Back at the house, with a couple of pans simmering on the stove, he pulls Xie to him and wraps his arms around him.

"I know you've got my back, and I love you."

[xie_er]

Xie leans into the embrace, sliding his own arms around Kevin's waist with a soft smile. He responds with a kiss, first, though of course he doesn't even need to draw away before he can respond with words.

"I love you too. And always. I know you've got mine, too."

It's nice, he thinks, to actually have that kind of partnership with someone, to know that everything he gives to Kevin he'll get back in some other way. None of it, from either of them, is giving with any kind of expectation, but it's always returns all the same.

[weird_cop]

It takes a bit of wrangling to get permission from both Quill and Beth, but by lunchtime the next day Kevin has a rough teaching plan for how to go about teaching a fourteen year old boy how to do magic, that is entirely different from any of the ways Kevin learned.

He starts by explaining to Ezra that there are multiple ways of doing magic, but he was going to teach him the safest, and probably the most reliable way, albeit the way that was probably the slowest for results. He doesn't mention familiars, or the Sight, to start with; instead he starts the boy on simple meditation techniques and Tai Chi, learning to bring magic into himself and cultivate it there.

But as he talks through the theory, Kevin realises that this is just what he needs; the chance to articulate exactly how the magical techniques he learned with Zhao work and to contrast it to the magic of London and the sacrifices. He might not tell Ezra about familiars, or blood sacrifice, or the ghosts that haunt so much of London, but he delightedly tells Xie everything, talking his metaphorical ear off nearly constantly, day and night, as he pulls it all together.

"It's all the same," he realises, "cities like London have just cultivated their own flow through history and architecture and the people who live there. Familiars generate it yourselves, I think. Maybe. That's why your power is so... clean."

Like spring water, rather then the E. coli ridden mess of the Thames. It's the best metaphor he can come up with at the time.

And Ezra, he finds, is a natural. It's almost annoying, how quickly the boy picks up what Kevin had to work his arse off to acheive. He struggles with meditation at first, but Tai chi and movement proves more effective at getting him to apply himself. Then he pools a healthy source of power within himself and starts asking for spells.

So Kevin teaches him simple things - nightlights, water manipulation, and then basic healing. And Ezra applies himself eagerly, dutifully keeping the secret that he promised to keep.

Until a couple of months down the line, when Ezra takes a nasty fall in the skate park when messing one evening after school. After the initial shock as worn off and he realises that he can't stand up on his own, Ezra takes one scan around to make sure there isn't anyone watching, then places his hands on his torn open knee, and focuses on knitting it back together.

[xie_er]

Xie, meanwhile, has thrown himself into the admin of buying a house. He still comes along with Kevin most days, but he takes more breaks so he doesn't over-exert himself again. At first, the whole prospect had seemed a little daunting - the kind of thing that Yifu would tell him not to worry about, contracts and documents and finance, all things that Xie had no experience of and somebody else could take care of for him.

He quickly realises it was just another way Yifu kept him from being independant. It's not entirely untrue that somebody else takes care of most of it, but that somebody else is the lawyer and that's just how the process works. It's also a somebody else who actually shows him the documents he needs to sign, and gives him a chance to read through them and ask questions and actually understand.

Most of the process just seems to be waiting, though, so while all of that's going on Xie turns to the important part. Decor.

Some of his self-imposed days off are taken up making calls and reading contracts, most of them are taken up creating pinterest boards and researching local contractors. He has a vision.

It's a vision he shares with Kevin - in between listening with genuine interest at Kevin's various revelations about the nature of magic and sharing his own thoughts, he sends mental pictures of mood boards and colour schemes and asks his opinions, always taking them into account and making revisions where he needs to. Especially for the kitchen.

When he doesn't have his days off, his focus is on Spot. He keeps a close eye on the young familiar, watching for signs that he's getting too close to needing a bond, still trying to reach out to all the contacts he can to try and find some options for him. Since he's not sure how much they want to reveal to Spot about what's going on with Ezra (and vice versa) he starts having lessons of his own, whenever Kevin is busy with Ezra, Xie is busy with Spot. They talk about shifting, about learning different forms and what it feels like, about bonds and what to look out for and all the tricks that Xie has picked up over the years - some that he learned from his parents, but most that he had to learn for himself.

And Spot takes to the lessons surpisingly well - it takes a few weeks for Xie to draw him out of his sullen disinterest, but eventually he starts paying attention, starts embracing being a familiar as something kind of cool and not just a thing that's brought him no end of trouble.

(Xie gets it, he really does)

Unfortunately some of Xie's stories are perhaps not the best for an impressionable teenage audience, and Spot gets it into his head to start doing a few of his own patrols of the local area, just to make sure the cops are keeping up their end of the whole 'making sure he's safe' deal. It's probably something of a miracle that the first notable thing that happens on one of his little trips isn't him attracting unwanted attention.

Ezra might not see anyone watching, but crouched in a nearby bush is a certain scrawny bengal cat. Spot had been keeping half an eye on Ezra as he passed, knowing how the other boy liked animals and not wanting to catch his notice. He'd hesitated when he saw Ezra fall, caught sight of the mess he made of his knee, and wondered if he ought to go and get help or something. The hesitation is long enough to see Ezra start healing himself and think what the fuck...

He moves forward, sliding out from under the bush and trotting over to Ezra, sitting in front of him with a pointed look... or as pointed as a look can get while he's still a cat. He realises belatedly that he's in the wrong form for this kind of confrontation.

[weird_cop]

Ezra is just reaching the point where he reckons he can put his weight on it, at least to limp back to school and make it through the night. Tomorrow he'll have more power, and he can show Kevin, and show off how well he's done...

..and then he looks up and there's a cat sitting in front of him, with a very un-cat-like expression on its face.

Ezra knows what a cat looks like when it's not a cat.

He also knows that Kevin, apart from being a witch, is also an undercover magic cop, working at the school because the school needs magic protection. He doesn't know what from, but a cat that isn't a cat is definitely magical, and as this isn't Xie, the odds are it's one of the magic people Kevin's here to protect them from.

He stills where he's sitting, meeting its gaze steadily, and wonders what he should do, pooling a little bit of magic around his hands, just in case.

He wishes Kevin had taught him more magic self-defence.

"What do you want?"

[xie_er]

Spot is left with a decision then, because does he just turn tail and leave? Does he come back and confront Ezra? Except if he's going to do that there's no point leaving at all because it would be blatantly obvious the cat and the boy are one and the same, especially for a witch.

He can feel the way Ezra is gathering the magic in his hands and that makes his decision for him - he isn't about to turn his back on that, and he really needs a mouth that can actually form words right now, so after a moment longer of just staring he changes form.

He has a hundred questions as soon as he's himself again, but chief among them is the one that Ezra probably isn't expecting.

"Did my dad send you?"

He doesn't think that's the case, he's pretty sure they would have made a move before now if Ezra was working for his dad somehow, even with Kevin and Xie hanging around most of the time, but better safe than sorry right? He is a witch after all.

[weird_cop]

It's entirely possible that Spot's question is answered by the way his shifting causes Ezra to fall over backwards, from his half kneel over his wounded leg, hard back on his ass, in a way that twists the knee and reminds him that it's not nearly fully healed. He loses control of his magic when he does so, and it dissipates harmlessly into the air.

"Sp - ow, fuck - " his expression of surprise is cut short by the pain in his knee - "Spot?"

[xie_er]

That does sort of answer the question - nobody who is actually here looking for him would be so surprised by him shifting. Maybe. It's possible his dad still sent Ezra without telling him Spot was a familiar, but it feels even more unlikely than it did before. He's not entirely convinced, but it helps.

"uh, yea..." he admits, feeling the tiniest hint of guilt that he's caused Ezra further injury with the surprise.

"...are you okay?" He's confused and suspicious and has a lot of other questions, but he figures he should probably at least check.

[weird_cop]

"Yeah," Ezra says quickly, flustered enough to be easily led by direct questioning, "I'm fine. I fell off my skateboard, it's nothing."

Or it will be nothing when he's healed it, anyway. There are more important things going on here. More important questions to be answered. He tries to ask or answer them all at once, working out the order of importance has he goes."

"Have you always been a... no, wait. No one sent me, I swear... oh."

The realisation hits, and he blinks at Spot with sudden understanding, knowing what he does about what any one of the other kids here have been through.

"Is your Dad after you?"