Sapphic September: A Collection

Sweet Summer Night (Marlana)

Fandom: Hannibal

Pairing: Marlana (Margot/Alana)

Prompt: fire

Summary: Margot has never had a s'more before. Alana wants to remedy that. Post-fall.

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After they tucked Morgan into bed for the night, Alana and Margot sat on the back patio in front of a small bonfire, stoked and tended to by Alana. The night air was dry and cool; late summer in Montana was always pleasant and clear-skied, with a bearable drop in temperature once the sun went down. Margot sipped her red wine and watched her wife bustle around the fire like a goddess of the hearth.

"I still can't believe you've never had a s'more before." Alana glanced over her shoulder at Margot with a faint smile as she opened the box of graham crackers.

Margot shrugged one shoulder in a smooth, elegant gesture. "Never had the opportunity," she said, lowering her glass. "It wasn't like we ever went camping. We didn't do much together as a family. Probably for the best, honestly."

"Well, here's your chance." Alana handed her wife a skewer and a bag of marshmallows, then moved her chair closer to the bonfire and held her own skewer over it.

Margot's lips turned up as she set her wine down on the patio and carefully slid a marshmallow onto the end of her skewer. "You're very enthusiastic about this."

"For good reason! It's an essential part of summer and fall bonfires."

"Mmmhmm."

Alana grinned. "Really! I promise I won't bother you about it again once you've tried it."

Margot moved her chair closer to the fire and hesitantly held her marshmallow out above the flames. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

Alana's smile turned borderline seductive. A fire different than the one in front of them ignited in Margot's stomach, fanned even more by Alana's response, a sultry "please do."

Margot wetted her lips and promised Alana with her eyes alone that she would.

They lapsed into comfortable silence, and Margot copied how Alana rotated her marshmallow over the fire. The flames felt as if they were burning away the exposed hairs on her arm. Alana soon stood up, and Margot watched her place her marshmallow between two graham crackers and a piece of dark chocolate. She was so engrossed, in fact, that she caught her marshmallow on fire, and by the time she noticed, it was too far gone.

"Well, damn," Margot said, as Alana doubled over laughing. "Is this a common occurrence?"

Alana handed her the bag of marshmallows, still chortling. "It is. Have another one."

Margot focused solely on her marshmallow this time and soon had a worthy candidate for a s'more, which Alana showed her how to put together. Margot blew on it and took a bite. The sweetness bombarded her taste buds immediately. Once she got past the initial shock of sugar, however, she could appreciate how the chocolate melted against the marshmallow, which was crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, and the graham crackers added a nice crunch.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was going to be very sweet," Margot said as soon as she'd swallowed her first bite. "I don't know if I'll be able to finish it."

Alana smiled, soft and fond, and Margot felt a strong surge of affection in her chest, unusual in its depth and strength. Only Alana could arouse that in her, it seemed.

"That's okay," Alana said. "Thank you for trying it."

Margot stood up and approached her wife, bending down to kiss her. Their kiss tasted like melted chocolate, caramelized sugar, and red wine. "Thank you for sharing what you love with me," she murmured. Then she kissed her again, and it morphed into a heady, open-mouthed kiss that made her body sing. When she pulled away, Alana was looking at her as if she hung the moon in the sky.

The sentiment was entirely mutual.

"I'm going to go shower," Margot said, setting her unfinished s'more on Alana's plate. "Meet me inside when you're done?"

Alana smiled. "That sounds delightful." She leaned up and captured Margot's lips with hers. "And don't worry, I won't keep you waiting."