Body and Soul 100
Theme: 1, Magic
Author: Faerie’s Kiss
Rating: PG
Note: This is from a livejournal community challenge, Body and Soul 100 where you choose from a list of themes and post the stories you write on those themes. Blahblahblah... So, here's mine...

The small Mason jar of tea made its way, meandering gently across the grain of the wooden kitchen table. The small young man, with the soft brown eyes, reached for it as it moved towards the palm of his hand. The newspaper was spread across the paper, and he tapped an ad with the tip of his finger, the words tracing over the tips of his fingers, moving slightly as he did so. The order of the letters moved and adjusted at his amusement and he set the newspaper back down again.

He smiled at himself and leaned back, his arms crossed under his neck.

The newspaper insisted that it was Snow the Murder in the Bronx, and the weather would be fog with a hint of Victory!

He sighed and the words reordered themselves, the date turning back towards Friday, January 13, and the weather turning into Snow, with a hint of fog. The sports had something to do with victory over a rival team…

He glanced at the clouds outside and smiled slightly. Of course it would rain… He could smell it; he could feel it against his skin already.

The doorbell interrupted his thoughts, his peaceful morning.

Isn’t that how it always goes? He sighed and rose slowly, holding the hot cup of tea loosely in his hand.

“Hello?” he murmured and tilted his head slightly as the door opened with the light tap of his fingers against the door.

A young man stood outside the door, a bag loosely held in his hand. “Hi?” The young man said and ran his fingers through his hair. Silver bangle bracelets clinked together and a stage emerald winked from around his thumb.

“Who are you?” Blaise asked and pushed the door open further to let the young man in. A small silver hoop stared at him from under the dyed red hair.

“I… well… I saw your ad in the paper, that you needed a roommate?” Painted, dark blue nails ran through his hair.

“…Yes?” He nodded and stepped back to let this other young man into the small apartment, full to the brim of books that smelled like time and smothered with the soft smell of tea, deep and solemn.

He knew what this newcomer thought of him, a shy, gawky college student with glasses and brown hair and eyes. Probably the most opposite creature that could have been created as a paradox to the other.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” the young man stepped awkwardly, patiently in the room, even steps, and Blaise noticed, well taken care of shoes. The gentle transformation of awkward to curious took only a moment and the bright blue eyes took in the room, the walls of books, the curiously antique furniture, the way that the young man fit in so clearly well. If the slow rise of an eyebrow meant anything, he even noticed the curious… well… gentleness of the room. The patience that went into every piece of furniture.

Blaise waited for the blunt question that didn’t come, instead his potential roommate was tracing one painted nail over the cracked leather bindings of the books.

“There are really old, aren’t they?” he whispered and hesitated before slowly pulling one out. “And in the original German, too!” In his hand, he had a first or second edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, “Children’s and Household Tales” of the Brothers Grimm.

“Oh, wow,” he sat down on the hardwood floor, holding the book almost reverently. “There are all… wow…” His fingers traced over the pages and sighed happily. “Are all of your books fairy tales and folklore?” he gently set the book back where it belonged.

Blaise had frozen, mid-step to watch with wide eyes, ready to rush in and save his precious books from potential damage. With the question, though, he nodded, “Yeah… I’m getting my degree in English and I plan on continuing with folklore…” He chewed on his lower lip and the other guy smiled.

“That’s pretty cool; you know what you want to do… I’m pretty much working my way through any degree I can pass…”

Blaise laughed softly and sat down on the couch, the soft material against his back and arms. The other followed and sat down opposite from him before he thrust out a sheet of paper, filled with references and previous living places. “This is all of the stuff you asked me to bring and I really, really, really hope you’ll let me stay with you. Because you have such an… awesome place and…”

Blaise nodded and set the paper on the table, “There is no rent, so you just help pay for groceries and such. You pay for your own moving. Your room is already furnished, but if you don’t want it, you can bring in your own things…” The details and minutiae were covered quickly, his roommate quickly agreeing to almost everything that Blaise set out.

The newcomer finally asked quietly, “So, who are you? I mean, you’ve got this awesome place that you can obviously afford alone; you have three cats that you adore, and you’re looking for a roommate?”

Blaise smiled and the spoon in the tea cup began to spin by itself, slowly and patiently, “Would you believe me,” he whispered softly, as though telling a secret tale, “If I told you that you have to be my roommate? That magic,” the lights flickered slightly, dramatically, and he watched the slightly wicked, dramatic smile across Blaise’s lips. “Told me so?”

He grinned, “I’ll believe whatever you tell me.”

Everything settled slowly and he leaned back, tapping his finger against his lips.

“Are you always that blunt or am I just special?” he grinned and leaned back, crossing his arms.

He shrugged, “I didn’t know if I could trust you…” Blaise rose and stroked a finger over a cat’s back, the black and gray body shuddering happily.

“So scare the shit out of me, make me hysterical and nobody believes me, huh?”

“Is it such a bad idea?”

The cat purred, a soft rumble that reflected the history of great lions being bred and another one came up to demand love, rubbing against his feet. “Hi, sweetheart,” he lifted the cat and Blaise watched, his eyes narrowed curiously.

Everybody has their own magic, the ability to love, for one, yet the magic that curled around his new friend, that was simple magic, natural magic, feminine magic.

It would be interesting…