A/N: Just harmless piece of Éomer/Lothíriel/Elfwine fluff where they’re on a picnic. Since (most) girls have a strong dislike for bugs and such, I thought it would be a cute story idea. Here, I had Éomer talk about the more tomboyish side of Éowyn, since she obviously had no strong female influence in her life and I think that she often tagged along with her brother and cousin. And even though I personally have no brothers, I think that it would be the sort of thing they might do. For those of you whp really like my Eowyn/Faramir fics, I just took a small break from them, but they will be back! Read on and enjoy!

Worms and Spiders and Bugs Oh My!

“Mama! Come here!” Elfwine shouted to Lothíriel, who was sitting a ways away under a tree with Éomer while their son entertained himself. “Come see what I found! Papa! Come too!”

Lothíriel grinned. “Come on, love. Let’s go see what our darling boy has found.” The couple stood and walked over to where the six-year-old was playing in the dirt.

“Now what is it that you found, sweetie?” she asked him.

Elfwine grinned. “It’s a surprise,” he said, “Hold out your hands, Mama.”

“All right,” she replied, shooting a look at her husband as she held out her hands. “Now can I see?”

“Close your eyes.”

She willingly played along and closed her eyes. When she did, she felt something or things squirming in her palms. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was holding a fistful of slimy, disgusting, wriggling worms. Lothíriel shrieked and quickly dropped the worms, hastily standing and backing away from them. Éomer was laughing.

“And just what is so funny?” she asked, hands firmly planted on her hips. “I suppose this was your idea, love?”

“Of course not! He just wanted to show you what he found. How was I to know that it was going to be worms?” he asked, “What do you have against worms, anyway?”

“Bad memories,” she answered, “When you grow up with three older brothers, worms and other creatures like them are often used to scare the bejeezes out of you. It is not something that you easily forget.”

“I’m sorry, Mama. Are you going to cry?” Elfwine asked, looking up at his parents. “Please don’t cry.”

Lothíriel picked up her son. “No, baby, I’m not going to cry. You just scared Mommy. That’s all. Now, come on. It’s time to eat, and we need to get you cleaned up.”

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After they had eaten, Lothíriel put the boy down for a nap and was now relaxing with Éomer.

“I never would have thought you were afraid of worms,” he said, stroking her silky black hair. “I thought you were fearless.”

“Very funny,” she replied, “I thought you would know that most girls don’t like bugs. After all, you do have a sister.”

“I do, but Éowyn is not like most girls. She was always right alongside us, digging up worms and such.”

“Well I can’t stand the little buggers. They’re disgusting.”

Éomer smiled. “I’m going to have to remember that. Perhaps I should write your brothers…”

“You shall do no such thing!” Lothíriel told him, sitting up and hitting him lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t you even think about using this against me.”

“Oh, and why not, my love?” he asked, pulling her closer. “What makes you think you can stop me? You think you can stop the King of Rohan?” She started laughing, but stopped when she saw the serious look on his face.

“Don’t move.”

“Why?”

“There’s something on your leg; I think it’s a spider.”

“Get it off!” Lothíriel shrieked, furiously swiping at her legs. “Get it off!!” She looked at Éomer and saw that he was trying very hard not to laugh. He was unbelievable! She couldn’t believe he’d just done that! “You snake!” She hit him again, only harder, and in the stomach this time. “Why did you do that? I told you not to!”

“Sorry, it was just too much to resist, my love. Please, forgive me.”

“No, I shall not forgive you,” she answered, “I’m going to punish you instead.”

“And what would that punishment be?” he asked curiously.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“Of course I do. If I am being punished, I should know what it is.”

“All right, then,” Lothíriel said, moving closer and wrapping her arms around his well-built form. “I am going to punish you by forcing you to satisfy my every desire for hours on end.”

Éomer smiled. “That is too harsh a punishment, my love. I do not know if I can do that!”

“But you will have to, my king. You should not commit the crime if you cannot endure the punishment.”

“Then I suggest that we start my punishment,” he told her, lowering his head and kissing his wife on the lips.