October 23, 2010 (Present Day)
"And Linky and I have been reading together at least a few times a week ever since then!" Leni beamed at Lincoln as she finished her story, eyes aglitter with affection. "He's even learned how to read a few words!"
"Really?!" Reggie exclaimed with pleasant surprise. He stopped writing and looked towards the boy, "I didn't know that! Lincoln, that's amazing!"
"Neither did we," Rita and Lynn Sr.'s eyes widened, along with the rest of the girls. "Lincoln, when did this happen?"
Lincoln pinkened and he pressed his index fingers together bashfully, "Um…I'm still not very good at it. My favorite book to read with Leni is the one about the mouse and the cookie, and I can still only read a few words."
"That's still literally amazing though, Linc!" Lori said. She looked over at Leni, "And you helped him learn that, Leni?"
Leni smiled modestly and brought a hand to scratch the back of her head, "It wasn't very hard if I'm being honest. All I did was help Lincoln learn the sounds of the letters. I think he picked it up so easily because of how smart he is."
"Well, either way, that is incredible to hear!" Reggie said, going to write in his notepad with renewed vigor. "That is a major milestone for you, Lincoln! Much congrats!"
Lincoln's blush lessened and he smiled a tiny cute smile, "Thank you, Mister Reggie."
Reggie swished his pen to finish his sentence and looked up to the family once more, "These have been great stories so far! Who wants to go next?"
His answer was immediate, replied to by the leap from the ground that propelled Luan in front of the couch. "I'll go!" She proclaimed, setting her fists on her hips. "I got a heckuva Linky and me story to tell, right, Lincoln?"
Lincoln's eyes brightened and he sat up on his knees, "Oh yeah!" He turned to Reggie and grabbed his sleeve excitedly, "Luan helped teach me how to be brave!"
"Is that so?" Reggie chuckled, "Well then, I'd be more than happy to hear that story, Little Miss Luan."
Luan grinned, "O-kay!"
She turned around and went to the armchair her father sat on, clambering up in a quick scamper until she was sitting on his lap.
"Comfy, sweetheart?" Lynn Sr. laughed.
"Yup, and I'm all ready to start!" Luan announced. She crossed her arms and tilted her head upward, giving herself a look of self-importance, "It all started one Sunday, when I was coming downstairs pract—I mean, getting a drink of water!"
…
October 10th, 2010
Catch, toss, catch, toss, catch, toss, ca— "Gah!" Luan let out an annoyed grunt when one of the little plush hackey-sacks she had been juggling slipped off her palm, tumbling down the last few steps of the stairs before it came to a stop at the bottom.
Luan groaned and pulled the other two hackey-sacks against her, going down the steps to retrieve the fallen one. Jeez, this is way harder than I thought, She thought, reaching down to snatch the sack, How am I ever going to teach myself to do this on a unicycle at this rate? She sighed and stashed the hackey-sacks in her pockets before turning her attention to the living room.
And that's when she saw her brother, standing on his tiptoes in front of the living room window, intently focusing on something outside.
"Hey Linky!" Luan's call sent a jolt into Lincoln, one that Luan admittedly felt guilty for, so she offered what she hoped was a decent make-up smile in return. "Oops, sorry about that," She giggled, making her way towards him. "I guess I need to work on announcing myself better."
Lincoln's shoulders fell, the moment of fear passing in light of Luan's undeniably infectious laugh. "Oh, hi, Luan," He greeted.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" Luan asked, going to the window beside him.
Lincoln looked back out with her, "The neighbors across the street are doing something kinda weird."
The aforementioned "weird" thing was actually rather simple to identify for Luan. On their front yard, Daniel, Iris, and Lucy Lorcan were setting up their Halloween decorations.
And they were certainly putting their all into it. Most prominent was a giant inflatable jack-o-lantern, taking up most of the lawn. Besides that were two exquisitely well made life-sized statues of Jack Skellington and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas, with Lucy reaching out towards them from her place in her mother's loving hold, her little chubby arms managing to brush her fingers against Jack's suit.
Lastly, bordering around the edges of the lawn, Daniel was laying down a plastic black fence, with spiky little gothic touches at their tops with orange and black lights looping them together.
The Lorcan's clearly didn't play games when it came to Halloween.
"Aww, Lincoln, there's nothing strange going on," Luan laughed, looking back at Lincoln. "The neighbors are just putting up their Halloween decorations!"
Lincoln blinked confusedly in response. "Hallo-what?" He asked, falling back on the flats of his feet.
Oh right, he probably wouldn't know what that is, Luan realized with a frown. Looking upon her brother's curious face, she felt a burning need to fill in that little bit of information withheld from him by the cruelness of life. Besides, this was a rare opportunity she could do so, considering how much Leni had sort of monopolized such duties.
Who knew Lincoln would consider her the smarty-pants of the Loud house? Now Luan had seen everything.
Still, she was happy she had the opportunity to tell Lincoln about this.
"Hallo-ween," She clarified with a grinning nod. "It's a holiday where kids dress up and go trick or treating."
Lincoln tilted his head, sending a little inward squeal through Luan's mind at the cuteness of the action, "Trick or treating? What's that?"
"It's when people go out in their costumes and get candy from all the houses in the neighborhood!" Luan replied.
The mention of candy served as an "on" switch to Lincoln's attention, and his eyes immediately glittered when the thought of sweets came to mind.
Lincoln had come to love any and all sweets in the two weeks he had been with his new family, thanks largely in part to his father being so intent on introducing him to new foods and his sisters offering him candies every so often, with his favorites coming about to anything chocolate or strawberry flavored.
"Candy?" He said, taking a step towards Luan, his mouth falling open. "People give out candy?"
Luan smirked and placed her palms on her knees to crouch to Lincoln's level. "Yup! Tons of candy! And you get to dress up in a costume, too!"
Lincoln was brought back onto his tip-toes by the sheer awesomeness of the holiday. "Costumes? What kind of costumes?" He asked.
Luan giggled. She was really pulling Lincoln into the whole thing, "They can just be about anything. You can dress up as a superhero, a fireman, a monster, a—"
"Monster?" Lincoln's glittery eyes dulled and his excited little smile fell into a shocked and scared wriggle of a frown. "There are monsters during Halloween?"
Crud! Why'd you have to mention that, Luan!? Luan resisted the urge to facepalm and instead brought one of her hands to the top of Lincoln's spiky little white fringes, ruffling them like she'd seen her older sisters do. "You don't have to worry about that though," She said, trying her best to sound soothing. "They aren't real monsters, just people in costumes."
"That still sounds kinda scary though…" Lincoln murmured, pressing his head into Luan's palm.
"But you get candy out of it!" Luan insisted. She searched her mind for something else to say, "And-and-and—" A lightbulb lit up above her head, "And we'll be there with you! You know we'd make sure you were safe, right?"
Lincoln clenched his hands together, rolling his shoulders before he replied. "I—I guess so…"
He trusted all his big sisters, to the moon, to the sun, and any space in between, but the fear of monsters made even the most faithful grow doubtful when one has experienced the sort of pain Lincoln had received.
"Well I know so!" Luan cheered, pulling her hand back, "Besides, like I said, they're just people in costumes, and we get candy out of it, and—" A faint blush warmed her cheeks and she got a little lower so her and Lincoln could be eye to eye. "It'd be your first Halloween, and it'd make me really happy if I got to share it with you."
The earnestness of Luan's words managed to sway Lincoln's thoughts away from the image of a thousand shadowy monsters, all brandishing a myriad of objects to strike with out of his mind. In its place, he was able to see Luan's bright blue eyes staring into his own, alongside her crooked smile, conveying such an infectious cheer that the fear that was clenching his heart simply didn't stand a chance.
Who was Lincoln to deny such a possibility to someone so full of positive energy?
"I-I'd like that, too," He murmured, taking another tiny step towards Luan, "You make it sound like a lot of fun."
"It is a ton of fun!" Luan said, throwing her hands into the air. Her eyes lit up with the arrival of an idea. "Ooh, you know what we should do? We should think of a costume for you! Halloween's only a few weeks away and we gotta think of something for you to be!"
Lincoln seemed piqued by the thought. "Um, okay…" He looked down at his feet, licking the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "What should I be?" He asked, turning back to her.
"Anything you wanna be!" Luan boomed, bringing her hands higher. "Whatever you can think of! Anything or anyone you like!"
Lincoln bit his lower lip, appearing once more deeply in thought. What a conundrum. Anything or anyone he wanted, he could be, was that really possible? Could he really don another identity, shedding his loathsome self for a whole night? That certainly sounded nice, but was it really possible? More to the point, was it really okay?
"C'mon, Linky," Luan cooed, going and putting an arm around his shoulder, pulling him against her side. Much to the delight of everyone, Lincoln's trust in them seemed to be continuing on an upward curve, leading to his acquiescent attitude towards sideways hugs.
The whole family hoped full embraces would not be too far off in the future.
"You can be anything," Luan said, squeezing Lincoln against her. "Anything you want, I'll make sure you get."
Again, Luan's words instilled something in Lincoln, this time, a fledgling ember of belief.
Maybe it was okay after all. Maybe it was alright for Lincoln to consider donning another form, one that would help him at least feel like he was someone different…
Someone better.
That's when Lincoln's mind arrived on something, or more importantly, someone, someone who Lori had compared him to on his very first morning in the Loud house. A person who exemplified courage, something he wished he had almost more than anything.
As the idea coalesced in his mind, his eyes drifted to the entertainment center besides the window, to the Nintendo Wii that stood next to the TV.
"Well…I think I have an idea…" He said haltingly.
Luan smiled and lightly jostled him, "Then shoot, I'm all ears!"
…
"Wait, I'm not sure I get it." Leni blinked owlishly at Luan and Lincoln, no longer focusing on Lori painting her nails. "Linky, you wanna be yourself for Halloween?"
Lori clicked her tongue and looked up from her nails, "No, Leni, he wants to be Link, he's a video game character. Wears green, swings a sword, has a shield." She turned towards Lincoln and Luan, a smirk crossing her expression, "A pretty solid choice for Halloween if you ask me. I think that'd fit you to a tee, Lincoln."
Lincoln blushed and averted his eyes to his socked feet, a small smile coming across his face.
"So d'ya think you could make that happen, Leni?" Luan asked. She squeezed Lincoln against her side again. "I promised Linky he could be absolutely anything he asked, and I do not want to break my first promise to my baby brother, thank you very much!"
She laughed when an afterthought came soon after. "Well, I wouldn't wanna break any promises to you regardless, Lincoln," She said, casting an affectionate glance down at him. She looked back to Leni, "So, whaddya think, Leni?"
"Umm…" Leni brought a hand to her cheek, unknowingly smearing a small bit of nail polish onto it, much to the amusement of her siblings. "I think I should be able to if it's not too complicated." She turned back to Lori, earning herself another giggle from the elder girl when she saw the line of blue on her cheek. "Do you think you could get me a picture, Lori? You seem to know the character."
"Sure!" Lori said, smiling at Lincoln and Luan. "And you know what? I'll whip up a sword and shield for you outta stuff in the garage! Gotta have the whole works for the costume, right?"
"Darn straight you do!" Luan agreed. She looked down at Lincoln again, "Looks like you're gonna get your Halloween costume, Linky! Wanna say something to Lori and Leni?"
Lincoln jolted and quickly bowed his head towards his two eldest sisters, "Thank you, Lori and Leni! I'm really happy!"
"Aww, you're very welcome, Linky!" Leni cooed.
"Yeah, don't mention it, Linc," Lori said. "Luan's right, we gotta make your first Halloween as awesome as literally possible."
Lincoln found himself so grateful for having such great big sisters at that moment.
"Now c'mon, Linky!" Luan said, garnering his attention again with a jostle, "We should get some trick or treating practice to make sure you've got the basics down by Halloween night! Wouldn't wanna get a trick put on you instead of a treat, right?"
Lincoln nodded, "R-Right!"
Luan sure had a ton of energy, almost as much as Lynn, but as she led Lincoln back downstairs, keeping a firm protective hold on him while they traversed the stairs themselves, Lincoln found himself feeling grateful for her as well.
After all, she told him he could be anything he wanted to be for Halloween, even someone as courageous and strong as the hero of Hyrule.
…
"Alright, Linky, just knock on the door and say the words when the door opens, 'kay?"
Lincoln nodded, gripping his empty pillowcase and adjusting the baseball cap Luan had slapped over his head. Certainly not the Link costume he was hoping for, but certainly good enough for this practice session.
So, with his casted arm gripping the pillowcase tight, he lifted his good arm and demurely tapped his knuckles against the wood of the door.
CLICK!
The door immediately opened, revealing a smiling Luna beyond it. "Well, who do we have here?" She giggled.
"T-Trick or treat," Lincoln said, shyly lifting his pillowcase towards her. He turned to Luan, "Did I do it right?"
"Sure did!" Luan cheered, reaching out to pat him on the back. "Keep doing that and you'll have more candy than you'll know what to do with!"
"And I bet you'll be so cute in your costume when Halloween comes, that people will give you double candy," Luna said, reaching out and dropping a lollipop and a fun sized candy bar into the pillowcase. Just because it was a practice run didn't mean they had to skimp out on the spirit of the occasion.
"And remember, Linky, you gotta say thank you at every house you go to," Luan instructed with a little swish of her finger.
Lincoln nodded and faced Luna again. "Thank you," He said, bowing his little head.
Luna beamed at him and opened the door to let them back in, "You're very welcome, little one. Now why don't you come back in? It's getting chilly out there."
She was certainly right about that. With autumn making a swift headway through their town, each day was quickly becoming chillier than the last.
They all had a feeling the first snow was not far off, and there were feelings of trepidatious excitement, especially amongst the girls.
They couldn't wait to show Lincoln all the fun that was to be had with it.
Lincoln trotted into his home, reaching down into his pillowcase for the candies given to him. His eyes lit up when he retrieved the candies and he quickly pulled the lollipop wrapper off and partook in the delectable sweet, humming happily when the strawberry flavor hit his tastebuds.
"Mmmm!" He brought his casted fingertips to rest against his cheek, a rare face of contentment bringing his lips into a soft smile as he swayed with the taste, allowing the large hat to fall off his head and onto the floor.
Awww! Both Luan and Luna couldn't help but find the sight adorable. It was strange, but ever since Lincoln had arrived, they found his happiness to be one of their most sought after treasures, with his little smile being more or less the crown jewel of said treasure.
How quickly the little one had wormed his way into all their hearts.
"Be sure to savor that flavor, Lincoln," Luan laughed, going up to his side and looping her arm around him again, matching his glittery eyes with her own, "Because come Halloween, you're gonna have enough candy to last you until New Years, easy!"
Lincoln lit up, and to Luan's surprise (and delight), wriggled out of her sideways embrace to wrap his arms around hers, bringing her arm against him for an affectionate nuzzle.
"Thank you, Luan!" He cried, bringing his face against her shoulder, resting his cheek against it when he was done nuzzling her, "I'm so excited to be doing this with you!"
Lincoln… Luan looked to Luna, searching for instruction on what to do next.
Luna beamed at her warmly in response, raising her hand to mimic the motion of ruffling Lincoln's hair, the most tried and true method of conveying not only peace to him, but affection as well.
Luan turned back to Lincoln and raised her free hand, bringing it to comb through his tresses, intently putting all her effort into being as gentle and loving as possible. Whoa, his hair is really soft! She marveled, bringing her fingers up, moving a section of his hair into a little tuft of messiness.
"I—I'm really excited, too," Luan murmured. She took a chance and brought a hand to Lincoln's back, patting it while her heart swelled with affection for her brother. "I'm so glad I get to be a part of your first Halloween."
Lincoln smiled and rubbed his face against her shoulder some more, and Luan continued to pat him on the back, tilting her cheek against the top of his head.
Suddenly, she looked forward to Halloween a whole lot more.
…
"Lincoln, sweetpea…"
The sound of their parents calling out for the boy just as they stepped up behind them took Lincoln and Luan's attention off the homemade map of the neighborhood laying before them.
Lincoln tilted his gaze up at his parents, offering a cheery little laugh when he saw them, "Hiya, Missus Mommy! Hiya, Mister Daddy!"
Lynn Sr. chuckled in reply and got down on the floor with the two of them, "Interesting little drawing you guys got here. What am I looking at?"
"It's a map of the neighborhood!" Luan bombastically replied. "Me and Linky are planning out our route for Halloween! We gotta try and maximize our candy earning potential!" She laughed and leaned over to elbow her father in the ribs, "We don't wanna risk a sugar crash, get it?"
Lynn Sr. tossed his head back and laughed a hearty, full-bellied laugh, "That's a good one, sugarcube! You're getting better at bringing the laughs every day!"
Luan clicked her tongue and scratched the back of her head, "It's what I do, Papa. It's what I do."
Rita crouched to the ground as well, taking a spot closer to Lincoln. A frown marred her expression and she seemed to hold a reservation in saying whatever had to be said next. "Oh, Luan told you about Halloween?" She asked instead, "That must make you real excited, doesn't it? All the candy you'll be getting?"
"Mmhmm!" Lincoln hummed, bringing his index finger to trace over the various streets. "Lori and Leni said they're gonna help make a costume for me!"
"How nice!" Rita said, pressing her hands together. It was then that Rita and Lynn Sr.'s eyes met, something that escaped Lincoln, but not Luan.
Is something wrong? She thought, biting her lip anxiously. The last time she saw her parents share that look was the time they told her Lynnie had accidentally broken one of her previous puppets.
Rest in peace, Mr. Coconuts, She thought with a mournful little shake of her head.
"Um…Son?" Lynn Sr. apparently chose to bite the bullet and spoke up next. "Your mother and I have something we wanna speak to you about. Would you mind coming with us into our room so we could talk?"
Lincoln seized up and he swiveled between his mother and father. "Am I in trouble?" He asked, his voice going heart-wrenchingly meek.
"No, sweetie, not at all!" Rita swiftly interjected. "Your daddy and I just wanna talk to you about some stuff we're gonna do this week with you."
"Yeah, that's all," Lynn Sr. assured. "Your mother and I just need you for a teeny little scotch of time, okay?"
Lincoln couldn't say all his worries were gone, but he definitely did feel a little better knowing he wasn't in any sort of trouble with his parents. That was the last thing he wanted. He wanted so hard to be a good son for them!
"O-Okay." So, Lincoln, with trust and a desire to be said good son for his parents stood up, taking Rita's hand when it was extended to him and trotting alongside her towards her and Lynn Sr.'s room.
Lynn Sr. followed soon after, but not before giving Luan an affectionate little pat on the head, "We'll have your brother back to you in two shakes of an alligator tail, alright, sugarcube?"
"Uh…Sure thing, Papa," Luan said, watching her parents go into their rooms with Lincoln, an increasingly persistent wriggle of worry squirming away within her.
Soon, she saw the bedroom door close, leaving her with two options on what to do next: sit and wait for her parents to return her baby brother to her; or to risk reprisal by going close to eavesdrop.
Kind of an easy answer; at least to Luan.
Like a tap-dancing spider, Luan nimbly rose to her feet and darted behind the couch to her parent's bedroom door, stopping in a silent skid just in front of it. Once she was there and sure she hadn't been heard, she cupped her hand to her ear and pressed it against the cool wood.
"Lincoln…" She heard her mother's voice first, as soft and gentle as a crystal bell, capable of softening any hurt whether before or after it occurs. "You remember that you're going with me to Dr. Finestein's office tomorrow, right?"
"Uh huh," Lincoln replied. "I like going there. I get to feed Fisher, and Dr. Finney-stee is really nice to me."
Ha! "Dr. Finney-stee?!" I totally gotta remember that! Luan thought, bringing her other hand to cover her lips before a laugh could escape.
"And he certainly likes you quite a bit as well," Rita chuckled, "That's why he wants to help us with something, something that'll help you very much in the long run."
"What's that?" Lincoln asked.
"Well—Lincoln—Your father and I…" Rita came to a pause, and Luan heard her heartbeat pick up in her ears.
"Lincoln, we want Dr. Finestein to take a look at your teeth."
"What?!" The fear was immediate, and poor Lincoln's little voice kicked up to a tinny pitch. "You mean I'd have to get in that scary chair? And let him put those scary metal things in my mouth?"
"Yes, but Lincoln, I promise you have nothing to be afraid of;" Rita soothed, "Dr. Finestein is very careful. He won't hurt you; I promise."
"Have I not been doing a good job brushing my teeth?" Luan frowned and a heavy ball of sadness fell into her stomach. She could already hear the oncoming deluge of tears in Lincoln's choked cry. "I promise I'll do it more!"
"Lincoln, you've been doing a wonderful job brushing your teeth," Rita tenderly shushed, "It's just that you've only started brushing them recently. And because you didn't brush before that, your father and I are worried about the health of your teeth."
"But—But it's scary!" Lincoln protested, and Luan just knew his face was awash with tears as he said it, that in turn casting a few cracks down her heart.
Linky… He had just been so happy when they were planning Halloween together a minute ago. Now, life had once more flipped that happiness over on its head, leaving only sadness and despair in its wake. I…it's not…
"Oh, no it isn't, Son, I promise you, there's nothing to worry about," Lynn Sr. said.
Lincoln didn't respond. Instead, all Luan heard was the sound of his high pitched little sobs, shaky and gasping as sadness wracked over his frail little form once again.
It's not fair! Luan thought, her hand gripping a fistful of her shirt. Why can't Linky catch a break?! Doesn't he deserve one by now for cryin' out loud!?
It was as if someone was squeezing her insides with a cold and clammy fist, throttling her emotions and summoning that horrible prickly sensation into her eyes. I've gotta do something! Anything! But what can I do!
With thoughts moving a mile a minute, Luan suffered through the pitiful sounds of her baby brother crying on the other side of the door, intermittent with only the sounds of her parents trying to comfort him.
"Aww, easy does it there, Son, it'll be okay," Lynn Sr. said.
"Please don't make me do this," Lincoln whimpered.
"We wish we didn't have to, sweetpea, but we're just trying to look out for your health," Rita assured. "And I promise we'll do everything to make this as easy as possible for you."
"But it's so scary!" Lincoln repeated in a muffled wail.
Luan couldn't bear it anymore! Her heart was about to shatter into a million pieces! She had to do something!
So, with barely any prior volition, her hand went for the doorknob, and with the zeal of a charging bull, she burst into her parent's room.
"Don't worry, Lincoln!" She cried, her fist raised with determination, "I'll go with you!"