"Lincoln…"
Lincoln Loud's lips quirked when a familiar voice brushed against his senses.
"Linc…"
He turned his head as he became more aware of the warmth of his blankets over his pajama clad form. He knew those voices! They made him happy!
"Time to wake up, Linky…" Those sweet, loving voices became clearer and clearer as they coaxed him out of the realm of sleep, and Lincoln's eyes scrunched as they slowly and heavily fluttered open.
Even with all the blurriness of just waking up, Lincoln recognized the ones who stood around and sat upon his bed with him.
"Girls…" He murmured, a happy little smile coming across his face as his vision cleared.
"Good morning, Linky!" Lynn leaned over to grab her brother in a sideways hug, nuzzling her cheek into the top tuft of his hair, earning herself a giggle and a nuzzle back from the little one.
"Did you sleep good?" Leni asked, leaning towards Lincoln with her chin in her palms.
Lincoln nodded, "Mmhmm!" He threw his hands into the air. "I dreamt I was in the park with all of you! And it was really pretty and there were a buncha flowers, and duckies, and we played on the playground and we—"
Lori smirked, "Wow, Linc! That sounds like one fun dream!"
"A really pretty one, too!" Luna remarked, her hands folding together.
That had been a wonderful development within the Loud house. For some reason no one in the house could really figure out, Lincoln had actually started dreaming, actually dreaming. No one could place the reason why; they just knew that it happened shortly after Mr. Reggie's visit.
Or, as Lori knew it, the first dream had come about the night she and Lincoln had bunked together immediately following Mr. Reggie's visit.
That was another memory she would keep forever; the memory of Lincoln excitedly telling her about his very first good dream when they woke up the next morning. His eyes absolutely sparkled as he told her every little detail he could remember, and all Lori could do at the time was continue to hold him close and tell him how wonderful each detail of his dream was.
"Hey, Linky…" Luan said with a smile. "Do you remember what today is?"
Lincoln ceased his wild chattering. "Today?" He repeated, tilting his head.
"Yup," Luan affirmed with a grinning nod. "Today's a day we've been waiting a long time for…Remember?"
Lincoln blinked, his voice falling silent as the wheels of his mind worked to figure out what Luan could be referring to.
"Want a hint, Lincoln?" Luna lightly laughed. "It starts with an 'H' and has a lot of orange."
Lincoln bit his cheek. A lot of orange…And which one is 'H' again? He brought a finger to his cheek, giving his sisters the adorable sight of his thinking face as he tried to put two and two together.
Um, 'H' makes the 'ha' sound, He thought, his eyebrows creasing. 'Ha'…'Ha'. 'Haaaaa'.
Suddenly, his body jolted with the mental image of a pumpkin popping into his head. "Is it…" His eyes widened and he crawled out of his blankets to get closer to his sisters. "Is it—"
"Yup!" Luan bombastically exclaimed. She reached behind her back and pulled out a tiny plastic Jack-O-Lantern she had kept hidden. "You're right on the money, Linky! Today's the day!"
"HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" All five sisters cried.
Lincoln lit up like a Jack-o-Lantern with a thousand lit candles inside him. "Halloween!? It's really Halloween!?"
"You betcha, Linc," Lori confirmed, putting a hand to the top of his head in an attempt to still him. "Tonight, it's you, us, and a ton of candy, all for the taking!"
Lincoln sat up on his knees and threw his hands into the air. "HOORAY!" He cried in unrestrained joy. He pulled his arms back and looked up at his sisters. "Can I put on my costume now?"
"I still wanna make a few final adjustments before tonight," Leni said, smiling apologetically. "But I promise, tonight you are gonna be the absolute cutest little hero anywhere!"
Lincoln's eyes glittered with the promise. He was going to be a hero? He was finally going to get to shed his loathsome self at last?
The thought made his heart nearly burst with excitement right then and there.
"But first," Lori said, reaching down towards Lincoln, "We've got a tasty breakfast, courtesy of dad to get to!"
Lincoln's excitement went up another notch at the thought of breakfast; a gratitude that though sad when one considered his past, was altogether more on the heartwarming side when the Loud family saw just how happy every meal made him.
So, Lincoln, with the aid of Lori was brought down to the soft carpeted floor, and the six of them made their way down to the kitchen, chattering about what the day held for them.
"Oh, wait a second, Leni!" Luna chirped just before Leni pulled Lincoln past the threshold of the living room and dining room. "We gotta cover Lincoln's eyes, remember?"
Leni jolted. "Oh yeah," She said, releasing Lincoln's hand so she could step behind them and cover his eyes with her hands.
Lincoln tilted his head up at his sisters past Leni's hands, "Why do you need to cover my eyes?"
"For the surprise, of course!" Luan giggled, taking Lincoln's hands into her own. "We want to build up a little suspense before you see what we all did for you."
Lincoln immediately felt his heart grow a bit warmer at that. "Oh…" He said, his free hand folding over his chest as Luan led him onward.
He allowed his sisters to guide him as his eyes were cloaked in darkness, taking wobbly little steps while the girls giggled excitedly.
"Oh, look who it is!" Lincoln's heart fluttered when he heard the voice of Rita.
Missus Mommy! His inner voice excitedly cried.
"Shh! Mommy!" Lynn hushed in a very unsubtle whisper. "We're trying to surprise Linky!"
"Ooh, I'm sorry," Rita cheerily played along with a not so quiet whisper of her own. "Just tell me where to stand, okay?"
Lincoln felt himself get led to the center of the room as he heard the others dash around to set the final touches of their surprise.
"Daddy, are they ready?" He heard Lynn ask in an excited little chirp.
"Comin' right up, sweetpea!" Lynn Sr.'s voice boomed when he clearly stepped into the dining room along with the rest of the family.
A few more sounds of things being put in place went through Lincoln's ears, and in the excitement of it all, Lincoln found himself standing on his tiptoes to try and peek over Leni's hands.
"Can I look now?" He pleaded, making his voice extra cute to try and convince everyone.
"Just a little bit longer, Linky," Leni giggled, lifting her hands to supersede his attempt to look over them. "No peeking now."
Lincoln listened to Leni and stood back on the heels of his feet. "Okay…" He said, biting his lip.
Thankfully, Leni was true to her word, as not thirty seconds later, he felt Luan release his hand, followed by the voice or Lori.
"Okay, go ahead and let him see, Leni!" She instructed.
And with that go-ahead, Leni's hands were finally pulled away and Lincoln got to see just what his family had done.
Lincoln's eyes glittered at what was before him. The entire dining room had been decorated for the occasion of the holiday, with orange, purple, and black streamers adorning the walls alongside little black paper cutouts of bats smiling down at the table. In the corner of the back wall, a big yellow construction paper moon hung, with gray paper clouds surrounding it and even a silhouette of a witch on a broomstick!
The breakfast table was just as equally extravagant. All around it, little plastic goblets with orange and black swirls waited to be filled next to the little jack-o-lantern paper plates. In the middle of the table, little battery powered candles with orange light bulbs glowed while surrounding the food Lynn Sr. had prepared.
Scrambled eggs and bacon were the norm for most weekend breakfast times in the Loud house, but between the plate piled high with crispy bacon and the bowl filled with fluffy eggs was the special menu item that garnered Lincoln's attention immediately.
Pancakes, a stack of pancakes. But they were not your regular circular pancakes. To fit into the theme of the day, Lynn Sr. had made them into the shapes befitting the holiday. Pumpkins, bats, a stylized little piece of candy complete with the side shapes of the twisted wrapper, and a bevy of other Halloween shapes made up the stack of pancakes. In the pancakes themselves, little bits of color could be seen.
Lynn Sr. had put M&Ms into the batter!
"Happy Halloween, Lincoln!" The family crowed.
While Halloween was indeed an anticipated holiday in the Loud house, the Loud family didn't usually go this above and beyond for it. But because this was their first Halloween with Lincoln (and Lincoln's first Halloween in general), they felt the need to make it extra special so that the little one in their care would have a first Halloween he could cherish for years to come.
And judging by the awed look that came over Lincoln, they had begun with a very promising start.
"This is breakfast!?" He squeaked, hopping up and down with excitement.
Lynn Sr. laughed and reached down to pick Lincoln up by his underarms, "Sure is, squirt!" He lifted him into his booster seat. "We thought it'd be nice to have a little fun with breakfast given the day."
"And we wanted to make sure your first Halloween started nice, too!" Lynn Jr. chimed, crawling into her seat besides Lincoln.
"D'ya like it, Little one?" Luna asked, taking her spot opposite him.
"Mmhmm!' He hummed in exuberance, his eyes already falling on a bat shaped pancake.
"Then what are we waiting for!?" Luan asked, taking her seat between Leni and Luna. She grabbed a fork and knife and tapped them on the table. "Let's dig in!"
"I'm with Luan!" Lori agreed, taking her seat on Lincoln's other side. "Let's get this candy-coated day started!"
"YEAH!" All the other Loud children agreed.
…
"So what's on the agenda for today, kids?" Lynn Sr. asked as he finished cutting up Lincoln and Lynn's pancakes, all while leaving the pieces in the shapes of the Halloween pancakes intact.
"Ooh, Linky and me are gonna play outside!" Lynn cried in excitement as she immediately dove into her cute little stylized skull pancake. "We're gonna ride the swing, and build sandcastles, play catch, and a whole buncha other stuff!"
"Goodness, that sounds like quite a fun afternoon!" Rita said, reaching out to wipe away the piece of pancake that had already found itself stuck upon her youngest daughter's cheeks. "You really like playing with your big sister, don't you, Lincoln?"
"Mmhmm!" Lincoln replied, letting out a pleasant hum when he took his first bite of the Jack-O-Lantern. He opened his eyes and looked upon Lynn with a little gleam in them. "I really like playing with Lynn. It's always so fun."
"Awww!" The girls around the table went; all except Lynn who simply blushed and looked down at her twiddling fingers in response.
I love playing with you too, Linky! She mentally exclaimed.
"Well just be sure to be careful while you're playing, okay?" Rita said.
"Yeah, Lynnie, especially around the sandbox," Lori added, reaching over to give Lynn a pat on the head.
"We will," Lynn agreed, reaching down to pat the spot where the cut Lori had tended a while back had been, now completely healed thanks to the love and care Lori had laid upon it.
"What about everyone else?" Lynn Sr. asked, surveying the rest of his children.
"I gotta finish my homework," Lori groused, chomping down on a piece of bacon with a little more force than was necessary.
"Told ya you should have done it on Friday," Luan jeered. She sat up and put her hands on her hips, "That's what I did, and now I got all day to just kick back and watch cartoons!"
"Yeah, I bet it's real hard to finish your homework when all you have to do is read thirty pages of a whatever book you want, second grader," Lori retorted.
"Well I'll be working on the last little details of our costumes!" Leni chimed, her shoulders shimmying in excitement. "Oh, wait 'til you all see them! They're gonna be so great!"
"I'm sure they will be with you working on them, Leni," Luna said, giving Leni an amicable smile.
"I honestly wonder where you find the time, sweetpea," Lynn Sr. said between bites of egg. "This isn't affecting your schoolwork, right?"
"Don't worry, dad," Lori interjected. "I've been helping Leni with her homework every night. She's been getting it done, don't worry."
"Yeah!" Leni chirped. "Lori's been a ton of help! When she helps me, the numbers and letters don't jump around so much!"
"I'm glad to hear that, sweetheart," Rita beamed.
"What about you, mama?" Luna asked. "Are you and papa doing anything today?"
"Eh, mostly grown-up stuff, Moonshine," Rita replied, reaching out to run a hand through Luna's curly brown locks. "Your papa's got his usual Halloween nonsense to tend to—"
"No teenagers will be tee-peeing our house on this night, that I promise!" Lynn Sr. interjected.
Rita rolled her eyes and brought her hand back, "Other than that, we have to go over that paperwork for Lincoln's appointment with the principal and his teacher tomorrow!"
"Oh, that's tomorrow?!" Leni gasped with a happy jolt. "That's fantastic! Linky, that means you're gonna go to school with us soon! Isn't that great!"
Lincoln's shoulders tensed up a little and he took another bite of his food, chewing a smidge bit slower, "Uh-huh…" He mumbled, his voice betraying the nervousness he felt on the matter.
"Don't worry, Linky!" Luan crowed. "School's not that bad! In fact, it'll probably be a ton of fun for you considering you're gonna be in kindergarten!"
"Yeah, Linky!" Lynn joined in, reaching up ruffle his hair. "I was in kindergarten last year, and it was a ton of fun!"
"And plus," Lori cooed, bringing the syrup over to top off his pancake pieces. "We'll all be in school with you. Not far off at all, okay?"
"Okay," Lincoln murmured, giving his sisters an unsure little smile.
"Me especially!" Lynn exclaimed. "Because I'll be right across the hallway from you!"
"Make sure you actually stay in your class though, Lynnie," Luan directed with a cheeky little grin. "No sneaking out to see Linky like that time you snuck out to see that dog that got on the playground."
"It was a wolf and he wanted to be my friend!" Lynn insisted.
Lori groaned, "We keep telling you, he was a husky and the only reason he let you ride him is because you gave him your sandwich."
"He loves me and he will come back to me one day, I know it!" Lynn boomed, the same determination her father exuded present in her voice.
From then on, the conversation drifted into silly hilarity, and Lincoln, though nervous about his upcoming entrance into academia was still happy.
Because how could he not be, with his family around him and a wonderful night of Trick-or-Treating to look forward to?
…
"Alright, Linky! Here it comes!" Lynn pulled the little blue ball back, gathering force behind her throw as she stepped back, raising it higher like the ball was Zeus' lightning bolt. Then, she scuttled forward, brought her arm down—
And gently released it into a harmless little roll down the grass.
Lincoln's tongue poked out the corner of his lips and he jogged forward, meeting the ball halfway with his leg rising just as Lynn taught him.
"HA!" He let out a battle cry just as Lynn taught him as well, and beneath the force of his tiny kick, the ball was jettisoned away in a series of bouncy baby hops.
"Way to go, Linky!" Lynn threw her arms into the air in jubilation. She ran up to him and ruffled his hair, pulling him into a one armed hug against her side. "That was a great kick! You even got a little air with that one!"
Lincoln smiled and returned the affection by laying his head on Lynn's shoulder, "Thank you, Lynn."
In the week since Reggie's visit, Lincoln had found himself somehow even more attached to Lynn, looking forward to their daily playtimes with great excitement.
The reason? Lynn had said they were friends, and he'd never had a friend before.
That's why he never said no to any requests to play by his big sister, and why he had been trying his very best to keep up with her in all her hyperactive zeal.
"Wanna try another kick?" Lynn asked, parting from him. "I bet you could actually get it as high as the tree with a little more practice!"
Lincoln did wanna keep playing with the ball, but not by kicking it. "Actually…" He said, biting his cheek and twiddling his fingers, "I was thinking, maybe—I could try catching it?"
Lynn blinked, "Really?" She couldn't hide the tinge of glee that was creeping into her voice, "Are you sure?"
Lincoln nodded, offering a nervous smile that he really hoped inspired confidence in his big sister for him. "I—I wanna try and catch it, so we can play catch like you always wanted."
That had been a fairly well voiced desire by Lynn. Ever since Lincoln had gotten his cast off, she had been trying her best to warm him up to catching the ball, starting off by simply rolling it back and forth across the grass, to very gently bouncing it back and forth along the kitchen floor, to finally, the hardest nut to crack—
Actually tossing it through the air for the other to catch.
Lincoln had been pretty good at tossing it, a little afraid of accidentally hurting Lynn at first, but that was fortunately rectified right away when Lynn squished the ball against her cheek to show how soft it was.
The actual hard part had been getting him to catch it. Every time Lynn had tossed it to him, the poor little thing couldn't help but curl into a ball, his fear of coming into harm overtaking him and forcing him to essentially turtle up on the grass.
Thankfully, Lynn was plenty understanding and was always quick to go to his side to provide him with a bevy of sweet hushes and loving reassurances.
And every time she made him feel better, he only wanted to get better. He had to catch that ball. He had to prove to both himself and Lynn that he was every bit the little brother she had wanted.
Especially when he recalled Lori's retelling of how much Lynn had been looking forward to his arrival.
"O-Okay!" Lynn replied exuberantly. "Lemme just get the ball!"
Lynn took off towards the ball, taking it deftly into her hands from its spot against the tree before returning a few feet in front of Lincoln.
"Okay, I'm gonna just toss it to you nice and slow, okay?" Lynn was already grinning from ear to ear as she lifted ball up in her hand. "You ready?"
Lincoln nodded, hardening his face and setting himself into what he believed to be a catching stance, hunched shoulders and bent knees.
Lynn respected his determination too much to tell him how cute she thought he looked in that moment and instead reared her hand back, "Okay then! Here it comes, Linky!"
Just like before, despite her great cry, Lynn's actual exerted force was actually pretty soft. The ball flew from her relaxed grip, gently spinning through the air like a petal on the wind more than a ball being thrown.
But to Lincoln, it may as well as been a ten-ton boulder, soaring through the air to crush him into a pancake, and not a funny Halloween shaped one. He tried to stay in one spot to catch it, he really did, but just as it was about to graze his fingertips, the fear overtook him.
"Augh!" He squeaked, whirling away and allowing the ball to pass by him, his hands going over his head to try and protect him from the perceived danger.
When the fear was gone, he realized what he had done, and with that realization came cold, heavy shame.
No… His eyes misted over and his fingers found themselves gripping around his hair. I got scared again! Why can't I do it!? Stupid Lincoln! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"Hey…" His tirade was thankfully cut short by Lynn, whose sneakers had appeared in the corner of his vision. He saw her take a knee in front of him and felt her take his hands and carefully unwind his fingers from his hair before he could start pulling it.
"Way to go, Linky," She whispered, setting her forehead atop the crown of his head. "You came closer than ever that time. You're so brave."
Lincoln sniffled and brought his hands over the tops of hers. He sat there with her on the grass, just listening to her softly sing his praises about how brave he was and how much she loved playing with him.
And because of his big sister's words, another brick was added to his tower of resolve.
…
"Ahhhh!" Luan folded her hands behind her head. "This is the life, isn't it, Luna?"
Luna didn't respond. She was far too engrossed in the music blasting through her headphones, courtesy of her father's old CD player in her lap.
Had she heard Luan, she would've agreed. Resting there, her eyes closed peacefully as she listened to crunchy guitar riffs really was her ideal Saturday afternoon.
Not that Luan minded. Luna being preoccupied meant she could play one of her favorite games.
The Tell-Luna-Fake-Bad-News-And-See-If-She-Reacts Game
Bit of a long name, she had to admit, but still fun nonetheless.
Luan bit down on her carrot stick, a snack their father had insisted on to counteract the slew of candy they would eat that day, and leaned over towards Luna for her first gem of the game.
"Hey, Luna?" She snickered. "Did you hear? Mom and Dad say you can't go trick-or-treating with us tonight because Mom wants you to clean the chimney."
As expected, Luna didn't respond in any other way than continuing to bob her head and feet to the music.
Luan giggled impishly and sat back in her spot, pressing her hands to her lips as her shoulders shook with her laughter. Man she loved this game!
"Hey, Luna?" She said, leaning towards her again. "Did you hear? Dad's selling all your old CD's so he can send me to clown camp!"
Another slew of giggles overtook her when Luna once again didn't respond, and Luan couldn't help but bounce right back like one of those punching bag toys to get Luna again.
"Hey, Luna? Did you hear…?" However, before she could tell Luna about how she was gonna be forced to live in the backyard, her eyes drifted over to a piece of paper resting on the floor beneath them; a paper with a scrawled-out map of the neighborhood on it.
"Do—Do you think we're gonna be able to make this a good Halloween for Linky?" She found herself saying instead.
"I'm sure we'll be fine."
Had Luan been a cat, she would have leapt clear off the couch in that moment that Luna spoke up.
Luna opened a single one of her startingly bright brown eyes, sizing up her younger sister in a comforting gaze.
"We've all been looking forward to this," She said with a nod, "And I know you've been doing everything you can to get Lincoln excited for it. I know everything's gonna be great."
Luan gulped, "But what if something goes wrong?"
"Then we'll make it better, like we always do," Luna said sagely.
It really was surprising how tranquil and wise music made the usually shy and insecure Luna. Who was Luan to argue against such a final answer like that?
"You're right," Luan agreed, sitting back in her spot. "We'll make this a Halloween he'll remember forever and ever. No doubt about it!"
She was so psyched by Luna's little pep talk, that she didn't realize that Luna had responded to her.
"Wait?" She said, turning to Luna with a slightly dropped jaw. "You heard that? Does that mean—"
"If Papa were to even try to take my CDs away, he'd have to pry 'em from my cold dead hands," Luna remarked while continuing to bob her head to the music.
Luan didn't do any more fake bad news after that.
…
"Jeez!" Lynn Sr. leaned back against his chair, splaying his arms over it as he sought reprieve from the stack of paperwork. "This is more paperwork than we did with all five of the girls."
"What'dya expect?" Rita sighed, looking between one of the many folders beside her and scribbling the information she gleaned from it into the seemingly endless stack of papers that laid across the table. "None of the girls have Lincoln's background."
"Poor little thing…" Lynn Sr. said, springing back to the table. He continued filling out the paperwork, frowning to himself when he reached the third emergency contact. They still hadn't found someone to fill in that slot, and if they didn't find someone soon, they would have to resort to—
Lynn Sr. shuddered, Aunt Ruth.
Yeah, Lincoln had enough trauma. He'd really rather not expose him to Aunt Ruth's cavalcade of cats and expired food.
Luckily, they still had a week before Lincoln started school proper. Speaking of which, that amount of time really made Lynn Sr. wish for a reason for them to take a break, any reason at all.
CHING-A-LING!
"Mommy! Daddy!" Lynn's boisterous little voice followed the chime of the bell that signaled the back door opening. "Linky and I are hungry!"
Oh, thank goodness, Lynn Sr. thought.
"Hungry?" Lynn Sr. jumped up from his chair. "Well we can't have that now, can we? Little bellies need food in order to keep playing, after all!" He turned to Rita, "Rita, what say we take a lunch break?"
Rita yawned and began collecting all the papers and folders together, "That actually sounds like it could do us some good. What are you thinking?"
"Well," Lynn Sr. crouched down to his two youngest. "I'm thinking that with you two trick-or-treating tonight, we should make sure you get something healthy to eat beforehand. How about some sandwiches with some ants on a log on the side?"
Lynn stood up on her toes, "Ooh, can I have both ham and turkey on mine?"
"Absolutely, sweetpea!"
Lincoln tilted his head, "What's ants on a log?"
All that was promised of Lincoln was that it was delicious, and Rita and Lynn Sr. set about to making lunch. Together, the two parents prepared a platter of turkey and ham sandwiches, all with lettuce and cheese with a side of ants on a log for each of them. Once the other girls had gotten their plates, with Lori and Leni opting to stay upstairs and Luna and Luan staying on the couch, the remaining four took up occupancy at the smaller table in the kitchen.
"These aren't real ants, are they?" Lincoln asked, lifting his celery stick close to inspect the little dots in the peanut butter.
Rita chuckled, "Don't worry, sweetie, those are just raisins."
"Oh," Lincoln replied, taking a chomp out of the celery.
It was tasty!
"So what'd you kids get up to out there?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Well, after Linky and me played catch and made a ginormous sand castle, we swung around on the swings!" Lynn replied, taking a sizeable chunk out of her sandwich.
"And after that, we looked at the clouds," Lincoln added chipperly.
"Yeah!" Lynn said. "I saw a dinosaur!"
"And I saw a bunny," Lincoln informed.
"Aww." Rita grabbed a napkin and reached forward to wipe a smudge of peanut butter off of Lincoln's cheek. "It sounds like you two had a lot of fun, didn't you?"
"Mmhmm," Lincoln hummed, tilting his cheek to aid Rita in wiping the smudge off. "And when we played catch, I almost caught the ball."
"That's right!" Lynn chirped, elevating herself higher by her palms. "Linky can almost catch the ball without turning away! He turned away this time, but not until the very last second!" She turned towards Lincoln; expression lit up with sunny pride for her baby brother. "He's getting so brave!"
"Is that right?!" Lynn Sr. gushed, looking between Lincoln and Lynn Jr. "Wow, son, that's not easy to do, great job!"
Lincoln's cheeks pinkened and he looked down at his plate, the tiniest of smiles playing across his lips. "I just wanna be a good baby brother to Lynn."
"Hey," Lynn snatched his attention with a quick quip, and with her hands gripping the underside of her chair, she scooched it closer to Lincoln's. "You're already the bestest baby brother I could ask for," She declared, placing a hand to the top of his head.
And I love you, lots and lots, She mentally added.
Lincoln leaned into her palm, "And you're a great big sister."
And in the face of such a sweet exchange, Lynn Sr. and Rita could only beam at each other.
It had been a great deal of work adjusting to having Lincoln in their family. The stack of paperwork that even now awaited them had not been the first and would most definitely not be the last, but if it meant giving the boy who had harbored so much hurt in his short little life a chance at the happiness he clearly felt in being a part of their family, then they were more than willing to fill out a sky-high stack, because frankly…
They loved their son.
…
Lincoln stood before the bedroom door, fumbling his hands together as he thought over whether or not he should request passage through it. He knew the person behind it was busy with that homework thing he had heard quite a bit about, but his heart bade him to come here anyway to seek out what it desired.
She wouldn't mind, would she? She said she would be more than happy to tend to his need for affection whenever he found himself wanting for it, while planting a smooch on his cheek no less. She wouldn't get mad at him for coming to her now, would she?
It's okay, His inner voice chimed, actually being pleasant with him for a change. She said she loves you.
His chest buzzed with pleasant warmth when he remembered that fact. She did say she loved him. Someone actually loved him!
The realization of that fact had been like an antidote to a long suffered from poison to Lincoln, like a glass of water following a tortuous journey through a desert, like the first brick laid down upon a foundation that had been neglected for far too long.
The one who had made him feel that way wouldn't rebuke him, he just knew it.
Still, even with such certainty, the twinge of anxiety returned after his little knuckles tapped against the door.
"Come in…" His nervousness spiked up when he heard the fatigue in her voice, but rather than risk getting her angry by knocking than dashing, he brought his hand to the door knob and pushed his way in.
"Hi, Lori," He meekly greeted.
"Oh, hey Linc!" Lori however, seemed happy to see Lincoln, and she tossed her pencil down upon the worksheet, glad to have a distraction from the slog that was her math homework. "You done playing with Lynnie for right now?"
Lincoln nodded, "Missus Mommy is making her take a bath before we go trick-or-treating tonight."
Lori smirked, "Lemme guess. She caught a whiff of her while she walked by her?"
Lincoln nodded again. That was exactly what had happened.
Lori laughed, "I can't say I'm surprised. She practically lives in the mud some days." She leaned forward, matching Lincoln's gaze with her own. "So what brings you here?" She asked, despite already knowing the exact reason he was there.
Lincoln didn't know she knew though, and in his shyness, he found himself looking at the floor, bashfully rubbing his hand down his arm. "Um…"
Lori gave him a sweet smile, "Aww, does my baby brother wanna practice hugging?"
Lincoln looked back at her, unknowingly melting Lori's heart with his baby blue gaze. "C-Can we?" He asked, taking a tiny step forward.
Lori brought a finger to her cheek, looking to the ceiling with a mock thoughtful pout, "Hmm, let's see…" She brought her hands out and began tipping them like scales. "Math homework…or a hug from the cutest ding-dang brother in the world…"
A giddy grin came over her and she scooched off her chair to get to Lincoln's level. "Get over here, silly boy!" She said, holding her arms out.
Lincoln did just that, dashing forward and leaping into Lori's arms in his typical hug-tackle.
"There we go," Lori cooed, wrapping her arms around him and burying her nose in his hair as he snuggled up against her. "Cuddlebug Lincoln returns."
Lincoln squeezed Lori and tilted his head along her chest.
Tha-Thump. Tha-Thump.
He felt his body relax in the warmth of her embrace, letting the love his big sister held for him instill him with a sense of safety he had unknowingly craved all his life.
"I love you, Lori," He murmured, his fingers gripping her shirt.
"I love you, too, Lincoln," Lori replied. She gently pulled him off his feet and sat back, taking him onto her lap so she could rock him back and forth. "With all my heart," She added, leaning in to give him a peck on the cheek.
Even after a week of hearing her tell him that, Lori telling Lincoln she loved him still made his heart burst with joy.
He was loved.
"You're getting so good at hugging, Lincoln," Lori complimented with a gentle jostle.
"I like hugging you," Lincoln murmured contentedly.
"Well I like hugging you, too," Lori replied. She gave him another quick peck on the top of his head before looking down at him again. "And you know who else would like hugging you?"
Lincoln peered up at her, "The other girls?"
Lori smiled, "Yup. I know they would. Mom and Dad, too. Anyone in the family would love to hug you." She set her chin atop his head, "Y'know why, Lincoln?"
Lincoln gulped, trying to summon the words that he wanted to believe more than anything, "Because they love me, too?"
"That's right, because they love you, too," Lori confirmed with a loving nuzzle.
After another minute or so of embracing, Lori gently pulled Lincoln back. "So…" She said with a loving smirk. "Even though I love getting all these hugs from you, I gotta ask, have you thought about who you wanna hug next?"
Lincoln shifted his gaze downward, "A little…"
Lori chuckled at the return of his shyness, "Well, don't leave me hanging. Who's the lucky 'huggee'?"
Lincoln blushed, but sat up so he could whisper his reply to Lori, actually holding a hand over his cheek as if trying to keep it a secret from the lack of other people in the room.
Still, Lori indulged him and turned her head so he could feel safe in telling her.
When she heard him, a wide, happy smile came over her face.
"Oh yeah!" She said, beaming down at Lincoln, "She'd love to get a hug from you!"
In her zeal, she brought her arms around Lincoln again and lifted him up, "C'mon, let's go see her right now!"
Lincoln jolted, "R-Right now?"
"Yeah!" Lori carried him to her door, opening it with a quick twist of the doorknob and then stepping out. "She's gonna be so happy," She whispered once they were out in the hallway proper.
"But, Lori!" Lincoln squeaked, his hand gripping her shirt in a fearful vicegrip as his pupils shrank when the possibility of rejection crossed his mind. "What if she—"
"Hey…" Luckily, Lori sensed the surge of fear of in a millisecond and immediately began rubbing his back. "Don't worry," She shushed, bouncing him in her arms. "When you ask her for that hug, I know for a fact that she's literally gonna be through the roof happy. And do you know why I know that, Linc?"
Lincoln's heart was still beating pretty fast in his chest, but looking up at Lori, he knew what she was trying to instill in him. "Because she loves me?"
Lori nodded, "That's right, because she loves you."
And then, in an effort to mitigate his fears, she leaned down and kissed his forehead.
"Now let's go," She whispered, going to one of the several doors in the Loud house upper hallway. "It's time to for you to get another hug…"