Work Text:
Javid will lie on top of JQ’s chest any chance he can to relax. Usually, during lazy weekend mornings, as the tiger reads his crime novels on the couch. JQ often has to hold his breath to make sure he doesn’t laugh at Javid's' snoring.
JQ loves the beach, an excellent swimmer with strong strokes. He used to be on the rowing team in high school. On the contrary, Javid does not know how to swim and refuses to get into water above his chest. Let alone water, he can’t see the bottom of it. JQ teases him relentlessly for it, often ending in him getting water splashed up his nose. Javid has to remind him frequently that he grew up in a literal desert and didn’t have the money to go to “fancy oasis pool resort”.
Javid is disgustingly domestic when he’s comfortable. He’s settling into their shared apartment nicely. He’s always making home-cooked meals, JQ’s lunch in the morning, and keeping the fridge stocked with barbecued meats. Making their stale union housing warm and livable. JQ doesn’t mind but tries to pick up the slack by cleaning the house.
They have respective shrines in small corners of the house for those they’ve lost in the past. JQ with Gaun Shaun and Javid with his comrades and parents. After long days, if they see each other at the shrine, they’ll just sit with them quietly.
JQ tries to spar with Javid all the time, but it just ends up with them wrestling on the floor, laughing at each other. Javid will always pinch his love handles and touch his sides, making the laughter worse. JQ says it's cheating but Javid won’t apologize. On the other hand, Javid is an amazing spotter when it comes to JQ’s weightlifting. Always has the electrolytes on deck and ready to catch the bar. JQ just enjoys the view.
JQ will try to tell him work drama, but Javid will always refuse, saying it isn’t right. Instead, JQ will talk loudly to Amber on the phone knowing Javid’s habit of eavesdropping. Javid loves it even if he denies it.
They both have triggers. Little things that set them off for (to them at least) seemingly no reason. Javid’s is his boots, issued to him by his commander, he’s taken care of them for years, and he’s managed to keep them after his sentence to hold back the miracle. He bristles at anyone touching them or if he misplaces them. JQ is anything that has to do with the shadow decree (he’ll brush it off, saying he sees enough of them at work) or the concept of promises. He doesn’t trust it and doesn’t put his faith in it. (which causes issues down the line)
Because of their different work schedules, JQ at the Larkspur Detective Agency and Javid at the Union (bounty and miramon hunter after Tang Xuan pestered him enough) JQ will have to wake up at an ungodly hour, trying to not wake Javid in his morning routine. Javid rises with the sun; on occasion, he’ll see JQ in the morning. If they do manage to match up, it leads to snuggling on the couch with coffee before work.
JQ is a light sleeper; his sentence in the Nether Gaol only made it worse, often tossing and turning in bed because he heard the fridge dispense ice or the laundry machine thumping. Javid sleeps like a rock, still and unmoving. But if he’s disturbed by JQ’s restlessness, he will crush him in a bear hug and press him onto his chest. It works every time, from his soft snoring and rhythmic heartbeat knocking JQ out. When JQ wakes up sometimes, Javid's hair will just be completely all over his face.
JQ has such bad eyesight it’s not even funny. The scar on his eye, mixed with constantly being in the dark, and his light eye color, creates a cocktail of him wincing at snow blindness during the winter. Which is why he gets grumpy if he loses his sunglasses (which are prescription) it’s a miracle the state still lets him drive. Javid has decent eyesight, being able to see in the dark well, but struggles with farsightedness and astigmatism.
The pair is littered with scars, both big and small. JQs are mostly hidden because they blend into stripes, while Javid’s are more prominent as his fur is relatively shorter than JQ's. They both have indents in their skin from the Anti-Esper collars.
JQ was very intimidated when he first met the lion, not used to seeing anyone bigger than himself. When he introduced him to Amber, she later told him that she’s concerned for his health. Now it’s a passing thought since he somehow has bigger clothes than Javid.
JQ is a big guy, “letting himself go” after the whole shooting his best friend fiasco. He lost all the weight during his sentence after the Toland incident, replacing it with muscle weight. He doesn’t mind it so much anymore, wincing at old photos since he overworked himself so much, frequently forgetting to eat. Javid, is actually skinny. Mainly from how fast he burns calories and using his powers so much to prevent New Mylo from getting rampaged makes it difficult for the lion to hold weight.
Javid is tall. Often having to duck down in eastern styled buildings or return clothes because they’re too small. He’s not self conscious but more self aware, making himself smaller when he’s around young kids. He’ll play up the “big kitty” routine to help in evacuations for the medical bay. JQ will come home to seeing him have micro braids with butterfly clips.
Javid constantly plays with JQ’s hair, ruffling it and running his hands through it. He thinks it’s pretty how the black stripes look along The response it usually batting his hands away or quickly tying it back into a tension headache inducing pony tail.
After he gets settled and being influenced by the divas in the Union, Javid has a multi-step hair and body routine. JQ has a bar of soap, a bottle of 3-in-1, and dog shampoo. The lion makes fun of him for it. “It’s more efficient” “it’s more degrading”
Morals and judgement is the foundation of this relationship. Often debating and discussing various situations at any given moment. Devils advocate is thrown around and they prod each other to get a reaction or response. It’s almost a game to them at this point. Surprisingly it hasn’t led to many fights, just a common understanding.
JQ flirts constantly. So many crass pickup lines, smug provocations, and cheesy jokes. It makes Javid roll his eyes and just give him a look. On the other hand, Javid is very blunt with what he wants and when he wants it. JQ gets so flustered every time, often yelling at him to chill.
Javid is very conscious of his appearance, especially his smell. Despite being blessed by the gods, the fact that male lions STINK is still very prevalent. JQ is however, a little freak and enjoys his partners... presentation
Javid has the most luscious eyelashes. Despite having a mane and being visibly masculine he does get misgendered every once in a blue moon, until he turns around and speaks. JQ has witnessed it once and almost choked on his food.
JQ has horrible posture. It’s gotten to the point where Javid will massage his shoulders he groans in pain. He’s been debating whether to go to a chiropractor or an acupuncturist. When he’s slouching Javid will just place his hand on the small of the tigers back, instant correction.
JQ isn’t scared of much, except heights. From bad childhood associations to Guan falling off the cliff, he does not fare well with heights. Unfortunately for him, he is dating someone who is unreasonably strong and loves to pick him up or throw him over his shoulder. It doesn’t help during miramon encounters since Javid can JUMP. Usually ends in a couple of bruises and kisses.
Javid is not a fan of PDA. Old Kush City was fairly traditional, meaning he didn’t get much of the same experiences as his straight peers. Add the don’t-ask-don’t-tell mentality of the military, and you get someone who is very private and flighty when it comes to holding hands in public. JQ doesn’t mind it as much since casual touch can be seen as platonic in Tangton. JQ doesn’t care about PDA, knowing he has a majority of his coworkers blocked on his socials for work-life balance. JQ has been slowly bringing him out of his shell, having public dates and going slow in that aspect.
Javid is physically incapable of relaxing to save his life. Always has to be doing something: cleaning, training, sparring, chores, cooking, literally anything to keep himself moving. It’s worse when he’s stressed out since he’ll abuse the bounty board at Union HQ and take other peoples bounty tickets to just keep himself busy. JQ will grab him by the scruff on his worst days and take him to the gym to tire out the lion.
One of their first official dates, JQ took Javid out on motorcycle rides and look at the scenic route. They stopped at some food trucks on the way back and Javid got a lot of BBQ, JQ still has the photo of his face covered in sauce as one of his lock screen photos. When Javid says his favorite food is meat, JQ snickers. Every. Time.
JQ on his off days will just brush and take of Javid's hair. It reminds him of the street kids he used to take care of with Guan Shuan as a teen. Just to play it, usually doing small braids in the front. Or elaborate opera hair buns, depends on how much Javid will tolerate before getting something to do with his hands. Javid doesn’t mind since it gets in the way sometimes.
Javid enjoys JQ’s work uniform when he doesn’t have the leather coat on. The slacks and button up makes him look like a Leyendecker painting. Especially the tie, he thinks it makes him look handsome.
JQ is quick to steal his cloak, using it as a couch blanket all the time. Javid usually scoffs “It’s not even my cloak anymore, he just lends it to me.”
It’s common knowledge JQ is bi amongst his colleagues, no one makes a big deal about it. Javid however rocks his coworkers worlds when he wears a rainbow hair clip during June at the Unions pride festival. The only people who knew were Tang Xuan [Tang told him he was trans and Javid just said “oh. I’m gay, why would I care?”] and Yun Chuan [he was worried for Javid hanging out with Jin Qiu, knowing him as a past coworker and prisoner, pleasantly surprised to hear they were dating]
Rarely, when JQ falls asleep first, Javid will trace his stripes while he drifts off. The inverse is JQ running his fingers through Javid's hair, getting out the micro-knots.
Javid wears long sleeved sleeping clothes since he’s used to the deserts cold nights while JQ just roughs it out in boxers. When allowed, JQ will do anything to not have a shirt and just shorts.
Anytime JQ walks in the house with his hat on, Javid will take it off and massage his ears. (He thinks it’s cute how small they are) (JQ is just happy to deal with the post-work headache)
They are active. All I’m going to say.
JQ is low-key jealous of Javid being able to wear shoes. He just hasn’t found a shoe brand that specializes in arched shoes that are approved for his work. He has been able to wear sandals but they usually give him blisters after long wear.
Javid's love language is quality time and acts of service. JQ is physical touch and words of affirmation. Javid is the little spoon by default. No debate here.
If JQ comes home to Javid with his back turned, he will hug him from behind. No question or hesitation. It usually startles Javid from whatever he’s doing, and leads to wrestling on the floor since Javid will elbow him in the ribs.
Any attempt to pick up Javid's' sword has failed. That thing is stone, and it makes JQ worried about how much Javid can lift. Especially when he slams it on the ground, cracking the pavement. Leading to the house rule of all weapons being put away carefully in the coat closet.
Javid is secretly learning mandarin for JQ to surprise him on lunar new year. He practices his tones with Tang Xuan on his breaks much to Li Ling’s displeasure.
JQ made Javid a little wooden jewelry box for the bed side table to store all of his necklaces in.
Despite what most people think, they do not sneeze like kittens. They sneeze like big cats, which is a lot of anticipation and just a gust of air. JQ will even curl his lip and show his teeth like a tiger. Javid thinks its cute that JQ canines are crooked. Catnip does affect them. Javid will rub his face on everything while JQ will just space out. It’s a quick high, though, just a harmless stress reliever.
Javid, at any chance he can, WILL say “easy tiger” to piss off JQ. It’s the little things JQ will call Javid Mr. Shamash despite knowing his actual last name.
JQ ,when kissing Javid, will scritch the little beard he’s got. It gets a rise out of him and JQ thinks it looks handsome on him. Javid thinks its funny that JQ has to stand on his tip-toes to kiss him.
Javid's favorite place to kiss on JQ is where his scar meets his eyebrow. He doesn’t know how the scar got there, but he understands not everything from the past needs to be told. (It was from a run-in with Guan Shaun) JQ’s favorite is on the back of his neck underneath his hair (its the softest fur and smells nice)
Despite his strict beliefs in criminals being unredeemable (not so much anymore but still) JQ would love to take in troubled foster teens and give them some structure. Once they get settled and life calms down for the pair. For now he just fosters kittens to scratch the itch
Javid has made JQ call him in advance to let him know about post-work functions because the tiger is such a lightweight. He makes sure to swing by and pick up JQ, to the surprise of his coworkers. JQ loves dark liquor like whiskey and bourbon where Javid is a wine person.
JQ got Javid a silver locket for Valentine’s Day. After getting the most scathing eyebrow raise, he makes sure to only get gold or bronze metal. (Javid still wears the necklace, the silver and red jewels remind him of JQ's ear cuff)
JQ couldn’t have piercings since prisoners can rip them out, which is why he had a ear cuff. Javid has multiple healed piercings he doesn’t use anymore. (He got bored during patrols and his buddies would pierce it with an ice cube, apple slice, and a sewing needle)