October 23, 2010 (Present Day)
"AWWWWW!" The family gushed out a series of adoring exclamations with the conclusion of Lynn's story.
"That's such a sweet story!" Leni exclaimed, bringing her hands to her cheeks. "I didn't know that all happened!"
"Yeah," Luna said, a small chuckle rising in her throat, "I just remember poor dad having to carry Lynnie and Lincoln back inside because they fell asleep in the car."
"Oh yeah!" Luan laughed. "His poor arms were so sore the next day that he couldn't even make dinner without letting out a little squeak every time he picked up the spatula!"
Reggie laughed heartily, scribbling his final notes of the story in his notepad with a little flourish.
Over on the other side of the couch, Rita rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh of amused exasperation along with a smirk. "The worst part is that I asked Lynn if he wanted me to take one of them off his hands. He told me no because he insisted that he had to be Hercules for the two of them."
"He is Hercules!" Lynn said. "He's the strongest in the world!"
Reggie laughed again and flipped the page to the next blank one. "Wow, sounds like Lynzilla's come a long way since college. He once pulled a muscle lifting up a ten-gallon water drum."
"I just wasn't ready!" Lynn Sr. called from his bedroom. "Don't go telling my kids embarrassing stories about me, Reggie!"
Reggie snickered and turned his attention back to Lynn and Lincoln, "So then, it sounds like you two have become pretty good friends since I dropped Lincoln here with you guys, is that right?"
Lincoln blinked, his eyes glimmering in a thoughtful shine. "Um…" He looked over at Lynn, "I think so…Are we friends, Lynn?"
Lynn immediately broke into a bright grin, "Of course we are, Lincoln! We're totally friends!"
Lincoln blushed and looked down at his clasped hands, his cheeks reddening and a bashful little grin coming across his face, "That makes me happy…Thank you, Lynn."
Reggie's heart grew several motes warmer at that sight. Looks like your social skills are moving forward just fine as well, Lincoln, He thought. He looked over the rest of the family members present. "Any other stories from you girls? That first one was so great to hear, I totally wanna hear more!"
"Ooh, I wanna go next!" From her spot atop one of the couch's arms, Leni hopped and raised a hand. "I've got a few stories about me and Linky I wanna tell!"
"A few stories?" Lori asked, "I dunno, Leni, we don't have all night y'know…"
"Lori…" Rita warned. "We have plenty of time before dinner is ready, let's let Leni tell her stories." She beamed lovingly at Leni before turning to Lincoln, "She's been such a great help to you, hasn't she, Lincoln?"
Lincoln smiled and nodded emphatically, "Uh-huh! She's taught me a buncha stuff!"
"Is that right?" Reggie said, flipping his pen with a little flourish before bringing it to the paper. He then looked over to Leni, "Now that sounds like a story worth hearing! Go right ahead, Leni!"
Leni glowed and sat up a little bit straighter. "Okay!" She chimed, setting her hands on her hips. "Then I'll start near the beginning of the month! On a morning where Lincoln and I were watching cartoons before school like we usually do, I noticed something off about him…"
…
October 6th 2010
Leni laughed, rocking back and forth on the couch in response to the antics of the cartoon she and Lincoln were fortunate to catch that morning. "That guy got hit on the head with two coconuts!" She giggled, pointing her finger at the TV.
When she didn't hear Lincoln laughing along with her, her mirth came to a stop and she turned to face him.
Lincoln wasn't watching the TV. He instead was curled up in a little ball, his legs and arms drawn up against him while he twiddled with a single loose thread on his sweater, absentmindedly pulling and wrapping it around his finger as he eyed it with an anxious frown.
A far cry from the usually happy, or at least calm boy she was used to sitting beside every other day.
And she knew it was her job as his big sister to see what was ailing him.
"Linky?" She hopped a little closer to Lincoln, still giving him space, but hopefully getting close enough to inspire comfort in the boy. After all, she had become his impromptu stair-buddy every morning before school, holding his hand during the arduous journey down to the living room.
She seemed correct in her thought process, as Lincoln didn't seem bothered one bit by her approach. "You look kinda down," She said, tilting her head so she could glean a closer look at him, "Are you okay?"
Lincoln bit his cheek, fiddling with the thread for a moment while he gathered the words.
Leni didn't mind giving him the time. She was just glad he was willing to confide in her.
"I'm…scared," He said after a half-minute of deliberation.
Leni tilted her head the other way, "You're scared? What for? Did you have another nightmare? You can tell me about it."
Lincoln shook his head, "No, I didn't have any dreams last night."
That was true. Whenever he didn't have a nightmare, he had no dreams in general to speak of. All he had on those thankful nights of reprieve was all encompassing blackness.
That, and the strange little orbs of light that seemed to like keeping him company within the darkness. The blue, the purple, and the red all liked to hover around him, glowing in gentle pulses, giving off the sounds of little chiming bells.
Lincoln took a lot of comfort in their presence.
"So what's scaring you?" Leni asked, sitting back, her hands laid flat on her knees. "Did we do something? Did I do something?"
Lincoln shook his head again, abandoning the thread to instead turn to Leni, "No! None of you did anything!" He shrank back when he realized how passionately he had said that. He didn't mean to, he just wanted to make it clear he held no ill will towards his sisters, Leni especially at that moment. "I'm sorry," He mumbled, bringing his hand back to the thread.
"It's okay," Leni assured, giving Lincoln a cheerful grin. She reached out and stilled his hand, keeping him from pulling the thread further. No sense in having him ruin such a nice sweater. "Why don't you tell me what's got you scared then? That way I can try and make you feel better."
Lincoln's pout lessened, and he released the thread to turn his hand into Leni's, letting her fold his clammy skin into Leni's warm palm. "Before we came down here…" He began. He gulped and closed his eyes, "Missus Mommy told me she was taking me to the doctor today."
He half expected her to gasp in horror, to have the warmth of her hand drain away, leaving it as icy as the implication of the terrors he may have to face.
"Oh? Is that all?" Instead, Leni tilted her head again, her smile broadening as she brought her free hand to ruffle Lincoln's snowy locks. "Linky! The doctor's nothing to be scared of!" She said, moving his hair back to restore it to a somewhat neat state.
She had worked very hard that morning to make sure her little brother was well groomed, thank you very much.
Lincoln's eyes popped open. "It's—It's not?" He asked, looking up at her, past the little spikes of his bangs.
"No, not at all!" Leni affirmed, shaking her head. "Doctors just wanna make us feel better! They're who we go to whenever we get hurt or sick."
Lincoln bit his cheek and looked down. "But…" He took his hand out of Leni's and put it over his casted arm. "The last time I went to a doctor, I got this…"
A chill invaded Leni's cheerful heart. She hadn't put much thought into Lincoln's cast as of late, as most days it was spent hidden beneath the sleeve of whatever he was wearing that day. And with it hidden away, she most certainly didn't think about the circumstances that led to it being wrapped around his person.
Especially not after she came across that folder…
"Well…" Leni took a quick breath before reaching out to lay her hand over Lincoln's again, "You won't have to worry about something like that today."
Lincoln's lips quirked into an anxious frown again, and Leni saw his shoulders tense against his neck. "You promise?" He asked, his voice taking on a slight quiver and his gaze raising towards her again.
Leni smiled, her grin as bright as sun-bathed pearls, "I promise! You'll be just fine!" She giggled and leaned close to Lincoln again, "And you know what's great about going to the doctor?"
Lincoln's eyebrow rose quizzically, "What?"
"You get a lollipop afterward!"
Lincoln sat up, bright little stars forming in his eyes, "A lollipop?! Really?!"
"Yup!" Leni said. "And it'll be all for you!"
The conversation lightened significantly after that, with Leni telling Lincoln about all the possible rewards a visit to the doctor's office could entail. From candies, stickers, and even the possibility of little toys, Lincoln's fears were swept away by the encouraging words of his big sister.
And Leni was happy she was able to do so, because Lincoln had suffered enough, and Leni wanted to make sure she did everything she could as a big sister to keep him from hurting any further.
It was what he deserved.
…
October 7th, 2010
Leni let out a happy gasp when she saw the contents of the popsicle box in her hand. "Ooh, lucky me!" She said, reaching in to grab the purple wrapped treat. "I got the last grape flavored one!" She swiftly pulled the wrapper off the equally purple delicacy, popping it between her lips before her sisters could come in and envelop her in a frost-fueled-frenzy.
Grape popsicles were practically gold bars in the Loud house, after all.
She winced when the coldness of it hit her senses, but she soon acclimated and came to enjoy the genuine fruit flavoring of the popsicle not long after, humming to herself in delight as she trotted out of the kitchen and into the dining room.
"There we go! Look, Lincoln! It's a kitty!" That was when she heard the voice of her mother, congratulating the boy in question from the living room.
Leni, piqued by the possibility of a cat (She always wished they'd get a pet or two in the house), immediately dashed towards the living room. "Kitty?! Did we get a kitty?!" She asked in high-pitched excitement.
Unfortunately for her, no such furry critter awaited her, just her mother and brother sitting before the living room coffee table with a bevy of paper workbooks and coloring books before them.
Rita gave Leni an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sweetie," She said, sweeping her hand over the various books, filled and scribbled in various colors and fashions. "I was referring to Lincoln's good work on his homeschool assignment."
"Oh!" Leni had forgotten about that.
As of Monday of that week, in an effort to both evaluate and prepare Lincoln for school, Rita had gotten in contact with the school district to get some supplementary materials for the boy to aid in fast tracking his education. Thankfully, he seemed quite adept in picking things up at a fast pace, absorbing most of the lessons within his grade level without much difficulty.
However, that didn't mean he got everything right away.
And judging by the sullen look on Lincoln's face, this was one of those rarer times in which that happened.
Rita seemed intent on alleviating any feelings of self-doubt before they could surface though, given how she waved Leni around the table, "Here, come take a look, Leni! See how good Lincoln is getting with his counting!"
"Ooh!" Leni took her mother up on that no question, darting around the table, her popsicle held aloft as she kneeled down to the table. "Lemme see, Linky!"
Lincoln seemed hesitant to show Leni his work, given the way he covered the paper with his good hand when she got close.
Leni, however, was just not going to have that.
"Aww, come on, Linky! Lemme see!" She cooed, scooching a little closer to Lincoln. "I wanna see what a good job you did!"
Lincoln bit his lip, but acquiesced to Leni's request and pulled his hand back.
It was a simple connect the dots exercise numbered from 1 to 20, with each line connected by a little orange line of crayon. With it completed, a cute little drawing of a smiling kitty beamed out at Leni and Lincoln, nearly perfect, save for a few errant misdraws along its cheeks and ears.
Certainly something worthy of praise considering the child who did it was really only introduced to the concept of numbers such a short time beforehand.
But Lincoln clearly didn't think so, considering the self-resentment evident upon his expression, stuck between a somber little frown and a thoughtful little gleam of resignation in his eyes.
To Lincoln, the cat looked like it had scars, and that in turn brought to his mind images of other scars.
Leni saw his hand drift to his stomach, and in her mind's eye, she imagined a folder, filled with information she wished she could wipe away from her mind, a rare example of knowledge she wished she did have a hard time absorbing.
She knew where Lincoln's mind was going, and she had to stop it.
"Wow, Linky!" She said, forcing a good dosage of cheer into her voice, "What a cute kitty! Mom was right, you did do a good job!"
Lincoln shook his head, taking his hand from his stomach to trace a finger along one of the errant lines brought about by his inability to know which number came after the last. "I messed up," He said plaintively, "I messed the kitty up…"
"What? No you didn't!" Leni sat up on her knees, "Your kitty looks so cute! It's perfect!"
"But these lines aren't supposed to be here," Lincoln weakly protested, his head drooping. "Now it looks like the kitty has—like it has—"
"Stripes!" Leni fortunately had a spark of insight come to her before Lincoln could speak further. "They look like little stripes on the kitty!" She deposited her popsicle in a nearby empty cup and took up a blue crayon. "Here, lemme show you!"
She leaned forward, being sure to gesture Lincoln close so he could see. "See? If we color the spots between these lines and fill 'em in…" She took the crayon off, showing her handiwork to her brother, "Then we got stripes! Isn't it cute!"
Lincoln leaned to examine the new detail added to his drawing, eyes glimmering in interested perplexity. "Stripes?" He asked.
"Yup!" Leni replied. "They're like little things that make the kitty's face cuter!" She giggled and reached out to poke Lincoln's cheeks, "Kinda like your cute little freckles, Linky!"
Lincoln blushed and brought his hand to his other cheek, "Really?"
"Uh huh!" Leni affirmed with a nod. "Both you and the kitty are totes cute, Linky!"
Lincoln tilted his cheek away from Leni's finger, looking down at the cat again, "So you really don't think I did a bad job?"
"No way!" Leni said, shaking her head. She traced her finger over the numbers, "Linky, if anyone knows how hard it is learning stuff, it's me, and you—" She poked him in the cheek again, eliciting a giggle out of him, "Are learning great! Trust me!"
Thanks to Leni's praise, the resentment Lincoln felt for himself shrank significantly, and in its absence, a bashful little smile came over him. "Thank you, Leni," He said.
Leni laughed and grabbed her popsicle again, grabbing the nearby box of crayons as well, "No problem, Linky. I'm just saying what's true. You're a totes little smarty!" She placed the crayons in front of Lincoln, "Now, why don't you color in the rest of your kitty?"
Lincoln nodded and took the crayons into his hand, "O-Okay."
"And why don't I get you a popsicle of your own?" Rita suggested, standing up from the couch, her expression positively radiant in light of what she just witnessed. "You've certainly earned it after all your hard work!"
Lincoln perked up significantly at that, "Ooh, yes, please!"
Soon after, the two children sat at the table, enjoying their popsicles and coloring together, enriching Lincoln's mind and making Leni happy when she saw the progress that came with it.
…
October 8th, 2010
Leni crunched on her popcorn, happily munching away as she and her siblings watched the movie beneath the cozy confines of their giant shared puffy blanket.
It was now an established tradition that on Friday nights, all six siblings would have a Disney movie night, an exercise in quality time amongst the siblings and a means of adding some much-needed magic to Lincoln's currently lackluster repertoire in his childhood thus far.
And honestly, despite whatever qualms many may have with Disney, one couldn't deny that their movies were ripe with such magic; especially some of the earlier ones.
And today's pick? To Leni's delight: Sleeping Beauty.
Sure, there were some concerns amongst the older siblings that this particular movie would be a little on the scary side to the little one, but Lori, who had thankfully advocated for it with Leni, argued that a classic fairy tale story of good conquering evil would actually be good for Lincoln, and that with the five of them present, they could mitigate any fear that could rear its ugly head.
And as it turned out, they seemed to be right. Lincoln had for the most part been completely enchanted by the film. The hand drawn nature of the art, the dazzling colors, the three antics of the good fairies; every aspect made his eyes positively glitter with each passing frame, giving Leni and Lori who were sitting on both sides of him an adorable sight to behold.
Even when the evil fairy Maleficent made her appearance, Lincoln seemed to hold his fear in check, only having to latch onto Lori's arm when she proclaimed that Princess Aurora would die thanks to her so called "gift".
Fortunately, Lori made quick work of that, patting his head with her free hand and gently telling Lincoln that everything was okay.
Lori's such a great big sister! Leni thought when she saw that. Linky just trusts her with everything his little heart can muster!
She was happy that Lincoln had someone to find security in, that was without question. It was whenever Lori was around that the fearful and withdrawn nature Lincoln had arrived with was at its smallest; that was when his traumatic past had the least effect on him, allowing him to find strength to face whatever daunting task his new life decided to bestow upon him at any given moment.
Still, as much as she wanted to keep such feelings down, Leni couldn't shake them from at least creeping into the background of her mind, most prominently in moments such as this one when she saw Lincoln continue to hug Lori's arm even after Maleficent's scene passed.
Why didn't Lincoln show the same level of trust or affection to her? Hadn't she been there for him as well? Hadn't she provided him comfort in those occasions that she happened to be beside him during his moments of strife?
She certainly thought so.
I mean, sure, I can't play as easily with him as Lynnie, and I can't make him laugh like Luan, and I can't whistle like Luna, and Lori just…somehow knows how to make him feel better all the time, but… She bit her cheek and found her gaze lowering onto the blanket covering her lap, I've still been trying my best…At least—At least since I saw—
She winced when several images lanced through her mind, and she trembled beneath the prickling pain they brought upon her heart.
"Leni?" And as luck would have it, Lori noticed her shiver. "You okay?"
Leni nodded, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay…" She summoned a smile to show her siblings, trying to alleviate any concerns. "I just bit a popcorn seed!"
"You should really be careful," Luan said, "you don't wanna end up 'popping a tooth'!" She looked over the others on the couch, an expectant smile on her face, "Get it?"
Luna gave Luan a half-hearted chuckle while Lori rolled her eyes, "Yes, very clever, Luan."
After that, they continued watching the movie, utterly absorbed as the three good fairies took Princess Aurora into the forest for safekeeping. As the plot dictated, time passed, and in a manner of a few expositional lines of narration, Princess Aurora had grown into a beautiful young lady.
"She's so pretty…" Lincoln whispered as Aurora conversed with her woodland friends.
"She certainly is," Luna replied with a smirk and leaning forward, "Though you may wanna be careful expressing that opinion, Little One, there's some debate between us on which Disney Princess is the best. And trust me, that can be a messy argument."
Lincoln looked over at Luna, "Really?"
"Oh yeah," Lori replied with a chuckle. "We've had some pretty intense dinner table arguments over that."
"I don't care what you say, I'm not apologizing for throwing that cupcake at you!" Lynn huffed.
Lori rolled her eyes and looked over at Leni, "Leni, Aurora is actually your favorite, right?"
"Uh-huh!" Leni chimed with an enthusiastic nod. "She's totes the prettiest! And I'd love to have three fairy godmothers to help me with stuff!"
Maybe school wouldn't be so hard then, She mentally added.
"Well, needless to say, we all have our own favorites, too," Luna explained further. She smiled and reached over Lori to pat Lincoln on the head, "So don't be surprised if you find us trying to pull you on our side of the argument, 'kay?"
Lincoln didn't quite understand what that meant, but he still nodded, bowing his head slightly so he could let Luna ruffle his hair a little bit extra, "Okay," He hummed.
Suddenly, Lincoln's ears perked up when a melodious voice came from the film, and he along with his sisters turned towards the TV just as the song started up proper.
Princess Aurora was singing "Once upon a dream", and the woodland animals whom she had been speaking with were making quick work of "borrowing" a nearby traveler's clothes so that they could pretend to be the one she had dreamed of meeting.
The following scene with the owl returning in a red cloak and hat along with two more woodland critters clomping below in boots brought about a series of deep belly laughs from all six children.
Then, the traveler reappeared, back for his cloak, hat, and boots, shocking Princess Aurora and even bringing a gasp out of Lincoln.
Luckily, the traveler meant no harm, and after some rather paltry introductions, the two were dancing, much more gracefully and with the music and animation taking on a significantly dreamier aesthetic.
"Oh, it's so pretty, isn't it?!" Leni gushed, bringing her hands to her cheeks.
Lincoln tilted his head, "The way they're dancing—It looks different from the way Princess Aurora was dancing with the owl…"
"That's because they're ballroom dancing," Leni airily explained. "It's the totes fanciest way of dancing!"
"The fanciest?" Lincoln repeated. He looked back at the movie, taking in the movements, "It looks kinda hard."
"Eh, it's not as hard as it looks," Lori said, swishing her hand. Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind and she looked over at Lincoln and Leni, "Hey, Leni, why don't you show Linc how to do it?"
Leni jumped with a start, all but yanked out of her own personal daydream of dancing with a prince. "What? Me?" She asked, looking back at her sisters somewhat dumbfoundedly.
"Um, yeah," Lori said, rolling her eyes, "You should be able to do it. Besides—" She looked down at Lincoln, still holding onto her arm and regarding her curiously as well, "Haven't you been teaching Lincoln a ton of stuff already?"
That was undeniably true. Though unseen by Leni herself, everyone in the family had definitely noticed that out of all of them, Lincoln found Leni the easiest to ask questions regarding things he didn't know. With everyone else, he seemed ashamed to voice such matters, but with Leni, he was perfectly fine.
Somehow, someway, Lincoln had come to associate Leni Loud as the fount of knowledge in the Loud family; asking her whatever question popped into his mind and occasionally going up to her whenever he needed help with his homeschool work or, rather adorably everyone found, just wanted to show off his work to her for praise.
Leni hadn't noticed, but Lincoln did find her comforting, just in a way she didn't expect.
"I mean, I suppose I've helped Linky with a thing or two," Leni replied, folding her hand beneath her chin thoughtfully. She tilted her sights on Lincoln, who looked down bashfully in response, "Whaddya think, Linky? You want a quick dancing lesson?"
Lincoln blushed and removed his grip on Lori's arm to twiddle his fingers, "If you want to…"
"Awww, Linky," Leni softened her voice for the bashful boy, "You know I'd love to."
Lincoln visibly relaxed and lifted his head to peer up at Leni, "Then yes, I want to learn."
"Ooh, then let's rewind the movie back to where the song started then!" Lynn snatched the remote from Lori's hand, catching her by genuine surprise and leaving her staring at her now empty palm.
Leni giggled and threw the blanket off her lap, jumping onto her feet. "Sounds like a good idea to me! C'mon, Linky!"
Lincoln followed after Leni, letting her direct him into standing in front of her in the middle of the living room.
"Ready!?" Lynn asked.
"Just a second, Lynnie," Leni said. She crouched down to Lincoln's level. "Linky, can you give me your hands?" She asked, extending her arms.
Lincoln nodded and reached out for her hands, letting her tenderly take his good hand within her palm and letting her carefully take the edge of his casted hand into her grip.
"I'm not hurting any of your arms, am I?" Leni asked, glancing at both the cast and at a tiny bandage stuck against the side of Lincoln's good arm.
"I'm okay," Lincoln replied, taking a glance at the bandage as well, "My arm's feeling a lot better now."
Leni beamed at Lincoln, "I'm glad."
"Can we start the song yet?" Lynn asked. "I don't wanna risk mommy or daddy sending us to bed before the movie's over!"
Leni giggled, "Okay, okay." She looked down at Lincoln, "Ready, Linky?"
Lincoln nodded resolutely, "Ready!"
Permission given, Lynn pressed play and the song began anew.
Leni led Lincoln through the first few steps, humming along with the song as he tremulously followed along. Every time he stumbled or tripped over either Leni's or his own feet, Leni was quick to steady him, whispering little words of encouragement each time.
"I'm sorry," Lincoln mumbled, actually looking a tad ashamed at his clumsy and lackluster performance.
"For what? This is so much fun, Linky!" Leni giggled, twirling the two of them around.
"But…" Lincoln peeked at the TV. "I'm not doing it right."
Leni smiled, "Linky, there is no right or wrong way to dance! You just do it!"
Lincoln didn't seem convinced. He just kept his sights squarely on his own two feet, too ashamed to look at Leni.
That's when Leni had an idea; something brought upon by a dance she had with her father at a family member's wedding one time when she was around Lincoln's age.
"Linky, do me a favor?" Leni asked.
Lincoln looked up at her, "Mmm?"
"Lift up one of your feet for me," She directed. When Lincoln did, Leni quickly slid her own foot beneath his. "Now the other."
Lincoln lifted his other foot and Leni brought it on top of her other foot as well.
"I'm not hurting you?" Lincoln asked, looking up at her concernedly.
"Nope! You're still as light as a feather, Linky!" Leni laughed. "Now just follow my lead, okay?"
Lincoln's cheeks pinkened and he nodded, looking up at Leni's smiling face once more.
Leni led Lincoln through the rest of the song, lifting his feet with her movements like her father had done with her a few years prior. She hummed with the song, smiling down at her little brother as he slowly began to get into the dance himself. By the end, he was smiling as widely as she was, giggling when she twirled them around one final time as a last flair to their performance.
"Yaaaayy!"
"Great job, you two!"
"That was amazing!"
Leni gently hoisted Lincoln off her feet, setting him beside her before turning to her sisters to give a bow.
Lincoln quickly did the same. "Thank you for dancing with me, Leni," He said, squeezing her hand as they rose.
"Thank you for dancing with me, Linky!" Leni gushed, squeezing his hand in return. "A few more lessons and I just know you'll be the best dancer ever!"
Lincoln smiled shyly, "Then I'll be glad to have more lessons with you…"
"Okay, that was really sweet, you two," Lori interjected. "Now what say we keep going with the movie? It may be Friday, but we do still have a bedtime, and you know how gung-ho Mom and Dad can be about getting us to bed."
Leni had to agree with that. Mr. and Mrs. Loud gave them a later bedtime on weekends, but they were always adamant about getting them to bed on that later time still.
Leni never really understood why. Didn't they get bored without them? Where was the fun of a quiet house?
A question for later, she supposed.
"Come on, Linky," She cooed, going back to the couch and lifting the blanket for Lincoln to crawl back under. Once he was settled comfortably, Leni followed after him.
The rest of the film passed by peacefully after that, with Lincoln just as entranced with it as before, something that Leni found beyond adorable.
The icing on the cake though? During the climactic final battle with Maleficent's dragon form, Lincoln actually latched onto Leni's arm instead of Lori's.
And she ruffled his hair and told him everything would be fine, intent to be the big sister he deserved.
Because she had the burden of knowledge weighing upon her heart; knowledge that demanded she nurture the boy who remained curled up against her even as he cheered the happy ending of the film with the love and care he had missed out on in his first years of being.
Because in the very deepest part of her heart of hearts, Leni Loud believed it was owed to him.