Salt Magic

"I hate to tell you this," Brian said as he slipped up behind Justin and took the salt shaker from his hand, "but I'm on to your evil plot." He set the seasoning down firmly and trapped the younger man against the counter where he was preparing a huge pot of vegetable soup.

"I guess it's too late to kill you for your money," Justin decided after seeming to give it careful thought. He angled his head for a quick kiss to Brian's jaw. "So I'll have to keep you around for other things."

"You will? For what? Food testing?" He gestured at the salt shaker as if warding off evil. "Why do we even have that? You know how bad that stuff is." He reached over and snitched a piece of carrot, crunching noisily in Justin's ear just to see the faces he would make.

"Yeah, yeah. But Bri..."

Brian recognized the inevitability of a full Justin trivia overload and pulled up a chair to get comfortable. He settled in, with Justin standing between his legs. The would be chef resumed chopping vegetables as he spoke and Brian helped by letting him continue his work.

"Gus and I were reading 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' the other night and in it..."

"Wait, you mean to tell me you're getting practical living hints from the Red Fairy Book?" What a kid.  Brian shook his head at the expression on his lover's face. He was so funny sometimes - like the day he showed up at the loft with a paper bag full of fairytale books of all things, and that smile on his face, like he'd won the lottery. Seemed one of Deb's neighbor's had had a bunch of Andrew Lang fairy books out, selling them at a yard sale and Justin had bought the damn things. So instead of going to Babylon that night, he sat on the floor and went through them all, looking at all the color plates and illustrations.

"It's the Blue Fairy Book and as I was saying," Justin huffed, chopping a little harder, "the thieves come to Ali Baba's house and the servant girl figures out that they are thieves because they won't eat salt with their meat." He pauses to smack Brian's leg. "Stop snickering, I'm making a point."

"Yeah?" Brian tightened his grip and pulled him close to growl against his neck. "I like your point, Sunshine."

Justin tossed the knife down onto the counter and scooped up the last of the chopped veggies, flinging them carelessly into the pot and lowering the heat to a simmer. He pushed his hair away from his face and turned around in Brian's embrace, pressing himself hard against the other man.

"So you agree that a little salt is a good thing."

"I never said that."

"You can be such a pain," Justin grinned, looking Brian right in the eye and preparing for an extended verbal battle.

"You really don't want to mess with salt magic, Bri. There are primal forces at work that even the great Kinney can't withstand." Justin was working hard now, trying to keep from betraying his amusement, and his desire for the man who held him.

"Is that so?" Brian asked seriously, just managing to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up as he slid his hands up under the soft gray shirt Justin was wearing. "Primal forces?"

"Um hmm. Serious stuff. Sharing salt is a sacred ritual. To refuse, well..." Justin's eye's were sparkling, alight in a way that made him completely irresistible. He could lead Brian over a cliff right now and the man would go willingly.

Instead he led him to their bed.

And damn if he didn't take up that book and open it to the story, straddling Brian's hips and preparing to read.

"You know there's got to be at least three good puns in here somewhere," Brian informed him seriously, stealing  the book from his hand and tossing it aside. "The Blue Fairy Book." He wrestled the younger man down to the mattress and planted a series of kisses down his neck to his chest, pausing only to remove Justin's shirt.  "I'll show you some salt magic and some very primitive forces."

*****

"So?" Justin prompted, waiting for Brian's verdict on the soup.

"Not bad," came the reply, accompanied by a smile.

"See, I told you it needed a little salt." Justin grinned. "Can't underestimate the power of that salt magic." The grin widened and he looked towards the bedroom where the rumpled bedding held the evidence of their mid-afternoon activities.

Brian nodded slightly, conceding the point. Taking another spoonful of the soup to hide his smile.

Justin leaned closer and lowered his voice to an almost whisper. "Want to see what happens when I add pepper?"

END

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