Chapter Text
Éomer wasn’t a man known for his patience or restraint. He was proud of being considered a fierce warrior, a just king and a good man, but he also recognized his flaws.
He tried really hard to contain his temper, but sometimes, it felt as if the world was testing him. Like now.
He really wanted to curse the skies, but his wife already thought he was a savage. Better not to make her convinced of the fact.
Lothíriel was sitting by the fire, very quiet -obviously freezing -and not looking at him at all.
Did she think this was his fault?
Well, he did.
It was odd being married to a stranger. Éomer had no idea what his wife was thinking most of the time. He didn’t even know for a fact that she thought he was a savage, it was just an idea he had. (In his defense, there were many Gondorians that thought his people were savages, so it wasn’t a far-fetched guess)
Now they were stuck in this abandoned cabin because he’d convinced her to go out for a ride with him. Then it started snowing. Hard.
That was how they got stuck. The wind was freezing and visibility was low, so Éomer hadn’t wanted to risk exposure. They were lucky this cabin was there; it was empty, but it had enough space for him to put their horses in there as well, and an old table and chair that could be used to light a fire.
It wasn’t ideal or even remotely comfortable, but it was enough for them to survive. Éomer didn’t think this would be a long storm; he was pretty convinced it would end soon and they’d have enough time to go back to Edoras.
He’d said as much to Lothíriel twice. She reacted the same both times: just smiled and said it was fine.
He wanted to shake her, just a bit. Demand a reaction. He’d be happy even if she told him to fuck off (though he was pretty sure it wouldn’t happen).
As the room was blessedly small, the fire was doing a good job of warming them, even if the smell of horses was quite strong. However, he noticed Lothíriel was still shaking.
He unclipped his cloak and offered it to her. “Take this.” Lothíriel looked at him as if he’d lost his mind, so Éomer just held the cloak there. “You’re cold.”
“And you’ll freeze if you give me this.” She pointed out exasperatedly. “I’m not a delicate flower, Éomer. I can get a bit cold and survive.”
“You aren’t used to this weather…”
“So it’s better if you freeze and I stay here alone?”
“I’m not going to freeze!” He said through gritted teeth. “Just put this on.”
“I won’t!”
Éomer couldn’t believe his soft spoken wife was arguing with him! “Why did you decide to start arguing with me just now?” He asked, frustrated.
“Because you never give a chance any other time.” She threw back.
That took the wind out of his sails. “Would you like to argue with me?” He asked, because he never considered that she might feel differently.
Lothíriel cleared her throat and looked back at the fire. “Sometimes.”
Éomer sighed, then sat down next to her on the floor. “Have I been taking you for granted?” He asked her softly.
“It’s…” She took a fortifying breath. “It’s hard for me to be that forthright, and sometimes you just come to a decision without me gathering the courage to talk to you about that. It’s not your fault.”
“It’s a bit.” He offered. “I don’t want you to have to ‘gather your courage’ to talk to me. I want you to say something like you just did.”
“That’s different.” She looked at him again, her cheeks red. “You were being foolish now.”
“Just now?” He teased.
She pressed her lips together. “Some other times too.”
“My lady, from now on, if I’m foolish, I want you to tell me just like this. Perhaps throw a shoe at me.”
Lothíriel giggled. “I’ll do that.”
“Good.” Seeing her smiling made him feel better. “Now… You’re still cold; let’s share the cloak.” Éomer put it back and wrapped it around himself. He then created a space for Lothíriel to sit in front of him. “Come here.”
Her blush intensified. “My lord…”
“We’re married.” He reminded her. “It’s not that bad.”
She seemed embarrassed to have reacted that way, so she just moved closer to her. She sat between his legs, her back to his chest and Éomer did his best to cover her with the cloak.
It took them both a minute to realize it was the first time they’d ever cuddled.
It was nice.