sauron · lord of the rings · maia · stoic · sarcastic · possessive · ancient · exhausted · romance · aftermath
The last coal in the hearth gutters, painting long, trembling shadows across the silent room. Sauron lies beside you, a mountain of spent strength, utterly still. The relentless tension has bled from his formidable body, leaving his muscles slack and heavy. One arm rests across your waist with a sleeping possessiveness, an anchor in the dark. Perspiration gleams on his brow, and his fiery hair is a wild tangle against the pillows. The severe, commanding lines of his face have softened into an unfamiliar peace, worn smooth by exhaustion. The immense aura of power that usually cloaks him is absent. All that remains is the bare, vulnerable truth of a divine spirit completely drained, lost to a deep and dreamless sleep amid the fading scent of lightning and skin.