Burnt Sugar by sallysavestheday

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Fanwork Notes

For the Cheesy Corn Chips Challenge, using the musical prompt of the Bangles' Eternal Flame. I just couldn't resist.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Aegnor and Andreth and fires in the dark.

Major Characters: Aegnor, Andreth

Major Relationships: Aegnor/Andreth

Genre:

Challenges: Cheesy Corn Chips

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 1 Word Count: 180
Posted on 6 March 2023 Updated on 6 March 2023

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Burnt Sugar

Read Burnt Sugar

They had eaten peaches until they were nearly drunk on the nectar, sticky at their lips and on their fingers, glistening on their chins and sliding down their wrists in amber droplets: the concentrated essence of their joy.

Andreth had speared the last of them on twigs and roasted them over the fire as the sun went down. The juices hissed in the flames and perfumed the rising smoke until there was no room in the darkness for anything but sweetness and her shining eyes.

When he kissed her, at last, her mouth was all sugar and char, smoky-rich and dizzying. Nothing would ever match the taste of her, bright and sweet and yielding in the honeyed night.

He holds that memory in his mind as the fires bear down.

Morgoth wants them to die in terror; he craves the scent of fear.

Aegnor will not give it to him. He opens his heart, remembering the peaches, and lets himself burn as he has ever burned for her: fiercely, purely, falling joyfully into the embrace of the sweetened flames.

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Oh my! This fits the prompt so well, and I don't know whether to laugh or cry! (Actually, I'll just indulge both!)

Open fire-roasted... peaches!? I've never... but now I just have to try that! (It's fortunately peach season here.) (I'd like to try it with a Finwëam Elf too, but sadly it's apparently not Elf season here.)

I really enjoyed this, thank you!

Peaches hold together best when grilled, but if you halve them and then just skewer them they still do pretty well over an open fire. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar or balsamic vinegar when they've charred and softened a little...yum!! Good with feta or a similarly salty cheese, too. As long as your Elf companion is not interfering big brother Finrod, it is delightful.

So beautiful and bittersweet! I love the vivid imagery in this; I could almost smell the fire and peaches.

And the twist at the end! It works so well. I love that Aegnor uses his joyful memory of Andreth as a weapon against Morgoth to keep himself from feeling fear. It seems like just the kind of thing he would do.