I’ve been
writing about them for so long that sometimes I think I own Hercules, Iolaus
and Jason. Actually they belong to the
ancient Greeks as part of their history and mythology. In the mid-90’s they were taken by the folks
at Renaissance, written about and cast with actors upon whom these stories are
based. I don’t make money on this; I
just fill up my life.
For more
background on the Kallikantzaroi who were rumored to
visit on Solstice Eve, unless a large log was present and burning see my story RURAL DIONYSIA
written for the 2003 Slash Advent Calendar.
Thanks to UD
for betaing this story.
JUST A PINCH
By McJude
“Would you
like some, Jason? It’s almost
ready.” Iolaus gave the steaming
contents of the large iron pot a gleeful stir with a long handled wooden
spoon. He felt a little like a chef, not
a bad one like Falafel, but a really good one like Epicurus. Next time Hercules chided him about his
cooking abilities, he would point to this night.
“Thank you, no, Iolaus.
I’m still staying away from the wine.”
“Well, in that
case, I’m not going to be the one to convince you otherwise, but you could stay
and talk for a while.”
“Smells good, too good, I’m sure I would be tempted. But it’s been a long day of travel.”
“If we’d known you’d be back tonight, we’d have fixed some
food.”
“Not a
problem, Iolaus. I’ll see you and Herc
in the morning. Right now I have a big. . . soft bed
calling me. Take care.”
Even though he
knew the omitted word was “empty”, Iolaus figured Jason needed to rest. He was looking forward to a quiet night with
Hercules which would include candlelight and this special warm spiced wine. His mind wandered to the extended potential,
if Jason had not come home. Still he
could daydream.
* * * * *
Xena
and Gabrielle were off on another adventure, exploring new worlds and
discovering new gods, but they had taken the time to send a gift back to their
friends in
The contents
of the package, though nicely wrapped in small pieces of silk and leather,
would tempt very few. Still, it was
probably only because it did not contain anything of perceived value, but only
a collection of seeds, leaves, twigs and flower pods, that it had made its way
back to
He doubted if
many of the readers had made it all the way down to the bottom of the scroll
where the recipe for the special wine drink using the spices contained in the
package was written. Still, their fingers
had blurred the ink enough that he had to guess as to quantities and identities
of the various items in the package.
They all smelled wonderful, so it probably didn’t matter – especially if
you used enough wine.
* *
* * *
Hercules’s
nostrils flared when he came into the house. Iolaus found him particularly sexy
when he flared his nostrils, but then he found Hercules particularly sexy most
of the time.
“What is that,
Iolaus? It smells wonderful.”
“A lot
happened today. We got this package from
Xena and Gabrielle.
It looked as if it contained mostly sticks and leaves, but I realized
they were spices like the herbs your mother used in cooking. Only exotic ones from far
away lands. At the end was a
recipe for a hot wine drink, which I thought was perfect for Solstice Eve.”
“Good timing.”
“Well, the
timing could have been better . . .” He felt he needed to tell Herc that
Jason was back.
Hercules
wasn’t listening. He was opening and
sniffing all the packages of spices.
“You didn’t use
this one did you?” He indicated a small
container of a red powder.
“Just
a pinch. The recipe was a little blurry, but I figured
a pinch wouldn’t hurt.”
“I think it is
really hot.”
“I tasted it,
it wasn’t bad.”
“You
sure?”
“Try it.” Iolaus licked his finger, stuck it in the
powder and extended it for Hercules to lick off. It couldn’t be hotter than Hercules mouth on
his finger, could it? He sighed in
relief when Hercules did not jump back in pain.
It never dawned on him that it might be hot when he added a generous
pinch to the wine.
“A little sour, but might be pleasant with wine,” Herc
commented.
“That’s what I thought.”
Hercules got a
strange look on his face. Iolaus read it
as embarrassment, but wasn’t completely sure.
What was there to be embarrassed about?
“Now, light
some candles and we’ll set over by the fire and drink this. Chores are done. It’s Solstice Eve. Let’s just relax and . . .
“I love you, Iolaus,” Hercules said for no particular
reason.
* *
*
They clanked
their mugs together and downed the first of the hot wine in one swig. It was a holiday tradition left over from
their youth. Even in recent years when
Hercules had limited his consumption of wine and ale, he was always eager to
share the ritual, even when his mug contained only water. Tonight it was wine, made more delicious by
the spices that Gabrielle and Xena had sent to
them.
Iolaus poured
them each another mug and they walked toward the fire. He was not totally surprised when Hercules
gave him a swat on the back on his leather pants. The man had been a little
randy the past few days, but normally Hercules didn’t get that way when Jason
was around. From their days at the
academy, he always liked to keep that part of the relationship a secret. Then he realized that he hadn’t gotten around
to telling Herc that Jason was back and in his own bedroom.
“This is
really good,” Hercules said as he downed the second mug. “Sweet and spicy, warms you
from the inside out on a cold night.”
“You must be
really thirsty.”
“You know I
always work up a thirst looking for a log to burn to keep the Kallikantzaroi away.”
“And where is that special log?”
“Right here, where
it always is.”
Hercules indicated the front of his braided leather pants.
That settled it. Ever since that wonderful night in their
youth when he and Hercules had celebrated Solstice on the road, discussions of
the log had ended with hot, wonderful sex.
Iolaus was more than willing to go along. If they could keep it a little
quiet, Jason would never know. He
moistened his mouth with another drink of hot wine.
*
* * *
“Seems as if I have
another log of my own.” Iolaus commented as he dropped his pants to
the floor. His erection was already aching
and he feared that he might cum just from taking Hercules in his mouth.
Hercules had already shed his clothes
and was standing in front of the flickering fire gloriously hard. The two men looked at each other and then
down to their cocks. Iolaus loved the
fact that his small body always made his cock look
huge. Hercules did not need the help of
comparison to a smaller body, he was huge.
“Looks like we’re
ready to celebrate.” Hercules commented.
“How about one more drink?” Iolaus’s mouth had a dryness that even
another mug of the hot spiced wine would not relieve.
He was shocked when Hercules grabbed
him by the neck and dropped him to his knees.
He finished his drink on the way down.
“Suck it, Iolaus. You know you want it.”
Of course, he always wanted it.
“Get me nice and wet so that I can
fuck you the way you like to be fucked.”
Hercules rarely used the word “fuck”
and suddenly he had used it twice in the same sentence.
“I’m going to make you squeal and jump
and cry for more.”
So much for a quiet
night by the fire.
*
* * * *
Over the past few years their sex had
become less frequent. Hercules had even
fallen in love with and married Serena, which made Iolaus wonder if they would
ever have sex again. Of course they
had, but it had never been quite the same.
There was always this nagging feeling that he was just a substitute for
Hercules’s real desire for a wife and family.
Tonight, however, the sex was exactly
what Hercules had promised. The way
Iolaus liked to be fucked, on his knees on the floor, deep thrusting and
pulling away, clenching and unclenching his ass so that Herc would not know if
the next entry would be easy or difficult, and finally collapsing in a heap on
the floor. Gods, it was good.
“My turn.” Iolaus said with a chuckle
lifting himself up on one elbow. Despite the fact that orgasm had rocked
through his body several times as Herc fucked him, he was still hard and ready
to go. He expected Hercules to stop and
chide him, but surprisingly the big man rolled on his stomach and presented his
naked ass. “Now that’s a sight for sore
eyes.”
“It’s not your eyes that I’m
interested in, Iolaus. It is solstice
and turnabout is fair play.”
“Wow.”
Iolaus said as he plunged his cock, wet with wine and cum into his
lover. Someday, when he had nothing to
do but think, he would try to remember the last time
Hercules had let himself be fucked. Not
tonight though, it was too wonderful just thinking about being inside his
lover.
Neither of them was quiet until they
fell asleep on the floor.
*
* * *
“Well I guess I’m not going to have to
wish either of you a Happy Solstice.”
Jason commented as he walked in on his two friends naked on the
floor. “I thought you outgrew those
kinds of high-jinks when you left the academy. “
Iolaus opened his eyes and looked at
his hard cock. It wasn’t a typical
morning hard-on, but one that was throbbing and wanting even more sex. A quick glance affirmed that the sleeping
Hercules was in the exact same condition.
Although his awakening to find Jason standing over him would probably
quickly wilt it, right now the big guy was snoring peacefully having
successfully kept the Kallikantzaroi away with the
large log in his hand.
“I’m sorry.” Iolaus said, grabbing for his pants. “I don’t know what came over us. Herc was a little amorous, but I thought we
could keep it quiet.”
“Must have been very
enjoyable.”
“Well, Herc really liked it, and it
would be a lie if I said . . .”
“I know, I
heard most of it. It was like having the
two of you in the same bed under me on those road trips. You know the ones where Herc pretended that
he wanted to sleep on the floor. I
learned to fake a snore pretty successfully, and beat off as the two of you
went at it. Some friends you were.”
All that remained of last night’s wine
was a thick syrup, concentrated in sugar and spice,
but devoid of alcohol. Jason stuck in
his finger and licked it off.
“It is pretty tasty.”
“Yes but it makes you really . .
. horny“
“Gods, Iolaus, now
you tell me. I’m thankful that I didn’t
take a bigger taste or you’d be down on your knees helping me out. What is in this stuff?”
“Spices that Xena
and Gabrielle sent from their trip to the East.
There was a recipe for hot wine, which I pretty much followed. It’s on this scroll. Read it yourself.”
*
* * *
Jason was most grateful the privacy
the table afforded him as he sat reading the scroll. He fingered his cock in the folds of his
tunic as he quietly read the news of their journey and mulling instructions for
the wine.
“It gets a little blurry at the end.
“ Iolaus had at least put his trousers
back on. “I had to guess at some of the
spices though Xena’s pictures did make it pretty clear. There was one red powder that I couldn’t
find, so I just used a pinch.
“I didn’t taste it and was really
worried when Herc suggested that it might be something hot. I was really glad when he licked some off my
finger and said it wasn’t.”
Jason was nodding his head, partially
to stifle the desire to throw it back and roar.
There was an arrow on the bottom of the scroll indicating that something
was on the other side.
“Did you finish reading this
Iolaus? Turn it over?”
“No, why?”
“So you missed the part where Gab said
. . . let me read it to you.” He mimicked the Bard’s voice and continued.
“Also enclosed is a fine red powder made from the shells of an Indian insect. It is prized as an aphrodisiac, but a little
goes a long way. I used it on Xena and can attest that it really truly works.”
“We probably shouldn’t tell Herc, but
I think we can add two more satisfied customers to the list,” Iolaus said.
“Make that three.” Jason added.
“
“And you’ll tell Herc you just got
home this morning.”
“You drive a very hard bargain.”
Iolaus decided a timely trip to the
outhouse would be necessary to reactions caused by the words drive and
hard. They definitely would have to let
Hercules sleep it off.
McJude
September 10, 2005