October 4, 2010
Lori's teeth ground against her pencil as she glared at the blank page before her, mercilessly criticizing her with its taunting whiteness, bereft of a single word of the essay she would need to put down before getting the rest of her after school time to herself.
Needless to say, it wasn't going well.
"Uggghhhh!" Lori flung herself against the back of her seat, laying her head back and blowing air up at her bangs to keep them from falling in her eyes. "This is impossible!" She groaned, bringing her hands to rub at her temples. "600 words on the Boston Tea Party!? How am I supposed to do that!? What do I look like, a novelist?!"
Technically speaking she only had to do half of that today since the assignment itself wasn't due until Friday, but her mother had insisted she do at least that in an effort to avoid any last-minute stress come Thursday.
Unfortunately for her, those 300 words still didn't come easy. She was only in the fifth grade after all; such a minute word count was still very much a rigorous undertaking.
Lori let out a huff and leaned back onto the table with her elbows, keeping her chin resting in her upturned palms.
Her brain felt positively rung dry, absent of even the smallest seedling of an idea to start off the assignment.
Oh how she wished she was in any of her other sibling's shoes at that moment, either done with their homework or doing something so easy that Lori actually yearned for those earlier school years.
Lincoln's homeschool assignment was the epitome of that. Lori would've given anything to be in the living room with him, making a little flower for an arts and crafts assignment out of paper and pipe cleaners.
That sounded so much better than writing about a bunch of people throwing tea into the harbor because of some reason she couldn't really recall at that moment, she didn't feel like cracking a book open right then either.
I need a break, She decided, pinching the bridge of her nose. I've already done my math and science homework, it can't hurt.
Lori slid out from her chair, standing to her feet and moving towards the refrigerator. And y'know what else can't hurt? Ice cream!
She quickly opened up the freezer, standing on her tiptoes to reach the large tub of Neapolitan ice cream that laid within.
Aw jeez! She thought, sagging beneath the weight of the great tub in her arms; the weight of living with six—actually, seven other people.
Not that she'd prefer otherwise. Who could complain about a giant tub of ice cream?
"O-kay!" She grunted with the effort of hauling it onto the kitchen counter. Once that was done, she set to grabbing the other necessary supplies, that being a bowl, an ice cream ladle, and a spoon. When she opened the tub, a pleased smile crossed her face. Jackpot! She thought, reaching for the ladle.
"Hi Lori!"
Lori jumped nearly a foot in the air in response to the high-pitched little voice that seemed to materialize right next to her.
"Ah!" She yelped, her hands flailing for the ladle spinning in mid-air. Once she had a grip on it once more, she looked down to the little one who had called out to her.
Lincoln stood a foot or so away from her, hiding behind the completed little arts-and-crafts flower he clutched in his casted hand's fingertips, peering at her from between one of the little bright blue petals.
"Sorry…" He apologized in a tiny murmur.
Lori took a breath and set a palm against her chest, "Oh, Lincoln, hey there." She set the ladle down on the counter and kneeled down to his level, "Is that the flower you were making?"
Lincoln nodded, lowering the little trinket by the green pipe cleaner stem in his hand. "Uh-huh," He replied, taking a step towards Lori.
"It's so pretty!" Lori grinned and gently brushed a finger over one of the petals, gently prodding the construction paper material, "Sturdy too, great job, Linc!"
Lincoln seemed to relax a little at Lori's praise. "T-Thank you…" He mumbled, his cheeks pinkening. "Missus Mommy said the same thing."
"Well she's very right," Lori giggled. She leaned towards the orange center of the flower, taking a big, exaggerated sniff from it. "And it smells good!"
Lincoln's eyes widened and he looked to the flower, "It does?"
"Absolutely!" Lori said, falling back on her heels. "All flowers smell good, and you've made a great flower, Linc."
Lincoln turned the flower towards himself, tilting the center part towards his nose. He closed his eyes as he smelled the paper himself.
Perhaps by the encouragement of Lori, he did smell something, an imagined scent of sweetness coming from the paper.
And Lori just found it adorable. Little ones like Lincoln were supposed to have a sense of imagination, and seeing him play pretend with her only made her want to foster it further.
"I—I think I smell something too," Lincoln said, lowering the flower. He smiled and looked up at Lori, "It smells nice!"
"Told ya," Lori laughed. She reached out and ruffled Lincoln's locks. "You're quite the little artist, ain't ya, Linc?"
Lincoln giggled, his timidity washing away beneath Lori's affectionate touch. His sights then went over to the tub of ice cream on the counter. "What's that?" He asked, turning towards the counter when he saw the pink stripe of strawberry ice cream.
"Oh, that?" Lori replied. "I was just gonna make myself a bowl of ice cream as a little break from my homework."
Lincoln tilted his head, "Ice…cream?"
Lori blinked, taking full notice of her still fairly new little brother's curiosity on the subject. "Yeah…" She said with a slowly arriving frown, "I thought I could use a treat…"
She prayed to whoever was willing to listen that the thought that was burgeoning within her mind wasn't true. "Lincoln?" She queried. "Have you ever had ice cream before?"
Lincoln looked back at her, holding the flower close as he bit his lip nervously. "Uh-uh," He admitted.
"You haven't…" Lori mumbled, her eyes narrowing as they fell.
"I'm sorry…" Lincoln said again, his head falling as well thanks to his own perceived failing.
Lori banished the pity that threatened to overtake her and stood up. "No," She assured, shaking her head, "there's nothing to be sorry about, Lincoln. In fact…"
She turned to the counter, "This just means I can give you your literal first taste of ice cream myself!"
Lincoln jolted, and watched Lori scoop out several flavors of each ice cream into the bowl, "R-Really?"
"Totally," Lori said, nodding with pursed lips. "Ice cream is literally the best thing in the world!"
"Did Mr. Daddy make it?" Lincoln asked further, his tiptoes pushing him just a scotch higher, really not doing much to give him any better view of the ice cream Lori was scooping, but looking pretty darn cute to the elder girl.
Lori snickered and looked down at Lincoln endearingly. It was a rather adorable belief of Lincoln's that any and all particularly exemplary foods of the world simply had to have been made by his new father.
"Well, no, he didn't make the ice cream himself," She replied, moving away from the counter towards the pantry and fridge. "But he did teach me how to make the best ice cream sundae you can find anywhere this side of Michigan." She pulled out several ice cream accoutrements, giving her little brother a wink as she made her way back to the bowl. "So whaddya say, Linc? Wanna try it out?"
Lincoln's jaw dropped when he saw all the treats Lori placed on the counter and simply nodded at her. "Uh-huh," He said, eyeing the chocolate syrup.
Lori beamed at him and turned the chocolate syrup bottle over the ice cream. "Good choice," She said, squeezing the bottle and covering the frosty treat in a deluge of chocolaty goodness.
From there, Lincoln watched Lori make the sundae. He watched her spread the syrup, swirl together a sizeable hill of whipped cream, crumble up some Oreos, sprinkle the—well, the sprinkles, and lastly, to cap off the momentous occasion, two jewel-bright maraschino cherries at the very top.
"And—done!" Lori lifted her hands away from the bowl after placing the cherries, smiling to herself like an artist completing her magnum opus.
"Can I see?" Lincoln chirped.
Lori turned to look down at Lincoln.
He actually looked like a kid his age at that moment, bouncing on his heels, his little flower clutched in his hand, and his giant glimmery eyes focused solely on the underside of the bowl.
Lori had a feeling her heart could've melted the ice cream considering how warm it got right then. "Sure," She replied, stooping down and reaching under his arms.
The fuzzy warmth she was feeling grew stronger when Lincoln didn't object, he just secured himself against her when she lifted him up, anchoring himself from the perceived danger of falling by clutching a fistful of Lori's shirt with his good hand.
Not that Lori would ever let him fall.
"Well, here it is!" Lori announced, securing him with a quick bounce. "Our ice cream sundae, Linc!"
Lori watched Lincoln's appraisal of the sundae, grinning to herself as she beheld the adorable sight.
Lincoln looked like he had just found some ancient treasure. The sparkling ice cream sundae, multicolored thanks to the chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla flavors with a prismatic overtone courtesy of the sprinkles, the pillowy cloudlike appearance of the whipped cream, the dark chocolate syrup flowing like delicious lava, and the gleaming cherries on top might as well have been made of solid gold given the way Lincoln stared at the dish, his jaw dropping and his grip on Lori's shirt loosening.
Lori giggled and bounced him in her arms, unsuccessfully getting him to pull his eyes off the sundae. "You're lookin' pretty psyched there, Linc!" She sang. "Can I go ahead and assume you wanna try it?"
Lincoln only nodded wordlessly in response.
And Lori couldn't bring herself to make him wait any longer. "Okaaay," She hummed, going over to set him on the counter. Once he was safely seated away from the counter's edge, she opened the utensil drawer and fished out two spoons. "Alright, Linc," She said, handing him his spoon. "Time for your very first taste of ice cream! Ready?"
Lincoln gulped and fumbled with his spoon. "Mmhmm," He hummed with a nod.
"Then let's dig in!" Lori proclaimed, dipping her spoon into the decadent confection, showing Lincoln just how to gather as much of the good stuff onto a single spoonful.
Lincoln did his best to copy her, going for the strawberry flavored ice cream and gathering a respectable amount of toppings, whipped cream and syrup onto his spoon before he brought it back towards himself.
"Aaaaand chomp!" Lori bit down on the spoon and immediately let out a hum of delicious appreciation, bringing a hand to her cheek and standing on her tiptoes as the flavors ran through her.
"Mmmmm!" She pulled the spoon from her lips and regarded Lincoln; eyes just as sparkly as his were a moment before. "Linc, you've gotta try this! It's literally outta this world delicious!"
Lincoln gazed down at his spoon for a second longer before doing so, his mouth agape as he prepared to partake in the mystical treat he had not even imagined existing before walking into the kitchen. Then, with an adorably over the top chomping sound of his own, he bit down on the spoon, getting his very first taste of ice cream ever; courtesy of his big sister.
The reaction was instant.
Lori wouldn't have been surprised if from Lincoln's perspective, the world had become some sort of rainbow wonderland given the way his expression lit up, brighter than a thousand sunbeams and producing ten times as much warmth within Lori's heart.
The loud hum of a squeak that came from him when he began kicking his legs felt even better to see.
"Mmmmmmm!" He chimed, imitating Lori and tilting his cheek into his hand. He beamed at Lori, bouncing where he sat after the ice cream melted in his mouth. "Lori, this is one of the tastiest things I've ever had!" He proclaimed.
Lori giggled and went to lean against the counter, "That's pretty high praise there, Lincoln. One of the tastiest things you've ever had? Even better than anything dad has made?"
Lincoln's eyes widened and his sights drifted down to the bowl. "Um…" He fumbled with the spoon again, pressing his thumb against the chilly curve of the metal. He then bit his lip, staring at the kitchen entryway before asking Lori to lean in closer.
"Maybe a little…?" He cautiously replied in a whisper. "Please don't tell Mister Daddy. Everything he makes is so tasty, I don't wanna hurt his feelings."
Aww… Lori thought with a smirk. "Don't worry," She whispered in return, "Dad was the one who taught me how to make it, remember?"
"Oh yeah…" Lincoln relaxed when he remembered that Lori had told him that exact fact earlier. The experience of the sundae had completely wiped it from his mind. Following that, he peered at the bowl once more, holding his spoon aloft before he turned back to Lori.
"Umm…Is it okay if I have some more?" He asked, hope clinging to every syllable his little voice uttered.
Lincoln… Lori felt tempted to just put the bowl on his lap and let him have the entire sundae for himself, with the only thing stopping her from doing so being the fear of him getting sick. She was so used to dealing with siblings that devoured any and all sweets like piranha that seeing a little one like Lincoln ask for more himself made her…Well, in all truth it made her sad. It just wasn't the kind of behavior one expected from someone his age.
"Of course you can have some more," She cooed, nudging the bowl closer to him and hauling herself onto the counter. She gave him a gentle grin and brought her spoon back into the bowl, showing him that it was okay for him to keep eating with her. "It's always more fun to eat with someone you care about after all."
Lincoln's face went blank for a moment, and Lori swore he saw his little turkey tail stand up on end. "O-Okay," He mumbled, averting his eyes to instead focus on the bowl, his cheeks tingeing pink.
The thought of someone saying they cared for him was unfortunately still such an alien concept to him.
But Lori didn't bother prying any further. She was just happy when she saw him dip his spoon back into the whipped cream once more.
Together, the two siblings enjoyed the sundae, Lori proclaiming just how good it was every few bites, and Lincoln agreeing with his typical demure little "Mmhmm". Not much of note happened afterwards…other than Lori's surprise at realizing Lincoln had eaten the cherry, stem and all once the bowl was empty.
"Don't worry, you'll be okay," Lori laughed in relief, leaning away from Lincoln's open mouth after she confirmed he was past any danger of choking. "I'll just make sure to pull the cherry stem off myself next time I make you one of these."
Lincoln closed his mouth and looked at Lori. "Next time?" He said tremulously.
"Yeah next time!" Lori assured with an emphatic nod. "I had a lot of fun sharing this with you, Linc."
Lincoln's blush deepened and he set his spoon back in the bowl. "I did too…" He murmured. He peered up at her past his bangs, "Thank you, Lori."
Warmth bloomed within Lori. "Anytime, Linc," She said, hopping off the counter and moving the bowl into the sink. She returned to Lincoln and brought her arms towards him. "Want me to bring you down?" She kindly offered.
"Yes please," Lincoln replied, scooching himself into her tender grasp.
Lori sighed after she set him down. "Well, this was a lot of fun, Linc," She said, setting her hands on her hips with a pout, "But unfortunately, I gotta get back to my homework. As much as I hate to admit it, mom has a point in me not procrastinating."
Lincoln nodded, not fully understanding all the words Lori had said, but understanding that she needed to be alone once more. "Okay," He said, looking down at his now shuffling feet.
Lori quirked an eyebrow, taking immediate notice of his nervous gait. "Something you wanna say before you go, Linc?" She asked, kneeling down to him.
"Um…" Lincoln kept his gaze on the floor. "I—I came here before so I could—So I could—"
"So you could what?" Lori gently pressed. "You can tell me, Linc. Do you need my help with something?"
A piece of her was really hoping he was about to ask for a hug. Something about seeing him look so small and timid made her just want to hold him against her.
Lincoln gulped and took a tiny step forward, "I—I wanted to—" His eyes clenched shut and he raised his arm towards Lori while standing on his toes. "I wanted to give you this," He admitted, presenting her the flower he had held close the entire time they had been eating the sundae.
Lori could've been knocked over by a single gust of wind. The sight of her baby brother presenting the pretty little orange and blue trinket to her all but made her heart burst with rainbow confetti.
"Lincoln…" Lori whispered, reaching out for the flower.
"You don't have to take it if you don't want to," Lincoln murmured, his eyes remaining firmly shut.
Lori shook her head and carefully took the flower into her hand, "Lincoln, no, I love it, this is wonderful."
She wished more than anything she could keep the tightness out of her voice. Ding-dang darnit, Lori! Don't cry, just be grateful! She thought, wiping her eyes before Lincoln could see.
Lincoln opened his eyes just after she managed to dispel the oncoming tears. "Really? You really like it?" He asked, bringing his arms against himself.
"I am literally gonna keep this forever now, Linc," Lori adamantly assured. She smiled and brought the flower to her nose, taking a deep, appreciative sniff.
Strange as it was, she thought she actually did smell something that time, something sweet.
"This is going right by my bed," She announced when she looked back at him, "Right after it helps me get my homework done."
Lincoln's blush grew deeper, and Lori was happy to see a modest little smile paint itself on his expression. "I-I'm glad you like it," He murmured.
"I literally love it," Lori gushed. She grinned and ruffled his hair with her other hand, "You really are the sweetest little guy ever, Linc. Thank you for this."
"You're welcome," Lincoln replied, tilting his head into her palm. When she pulled her hand back, he peered up at her again, "Do you want me to go now?"
Lori smirked and stood up, holding the flower beneath her chin, "Well, I don't want you to go, but I really do have to finish my homework. But I'll catch up with you later though, okay?"
Lincoln nodded, his happy expression brightening further, "Okay!"
And with that, Lori watched him turn around and run out of the kitchen.
"Bye-Bye, Lori!" He called.
"See ya later, Linc!" Lori called back cheerily.
Once he was gone, Lori sighed and went to sit down at the table once more.
Before she could focus on her homework again though, she gazed down at the flower, her lips drawing into a giddy grin.
Ohhhh, Lincoln! She internally squealed, swaying with the flower in her chair, What right do you have to be this cute!? I swear, one day, when you let me, I'm gonna hug you until the cows come home!
…
October 9, 2010
"Look, Lori!"
Lori lifted her gaze up from the top screen of her DS, sipping a few more drops of her frosty cold strawberry lemonade as she looked at her two youngest siblings in favor of her beloved Cyndaquil.
She looked upon Lynn and Lincoln, sitting atop the red, blue, green and yellow slide their mother had made long ago for Lori's third birthday. Lynn sat beside Lincoln, her arm wrapped around his shoulders supportively as Lincoln stared down the gentle curve with trepidation, not really appearing afraid per se, really just anxious; anxious, but determined.
"Linky managed to come up to the top!" Lynn cried, patting Lincoln's shoulder while regarding him proudly.
Lori put on a smile for Lincoln's latest accomplishment. "Wow, Linc!" She cheered, lilting her voice to show just how impressed she was, perfect for a little one who needed a boost in self-esteem. "Great job! That's literally so awesome!"
Lincoln's lips quirked upward by the smallest amount. "T-Thank you, L-L-Lori," He stuttered, his hands going over his reddening cheeks.
"And now we're gonna go down the slide together!" Lynn announced, tilting her cheek along the top of Lincoln's head. "Right, Linky!?"
"R-Right," Lincoln shakily replied, his sights sizing up what appeared like a forty-foot slide instead of a five foot one.
Lori smirked sympathetically, "Don't rush him, Lynnie. Let him take his time."
"I am!" Lynn said, looking at Lincoln again. "Just relax, Linky; we can take this slow, okay?"
"Yeah, Linc," Lori added, "You can do it! Just breathe and go down with Lynnie when you're ready, alright?"
"I-I w-will," Lincoln stammered, his little hand going up to Lynn's upon his shoulder.
Lori had a feeling he would need a bit of time, so instead of pressuring him by continuing to watch them, she returned her attention back to the DS screen, stretching her legs across the lawn chair she sat in and taking another refreshing sip of her beverage.
It was a perfectly picturesque Saturday afternoon in the backyard of the Loud house; one where the warmth of the sun had mitigated the chill of the October climate, bringing the weather to one of the final decently warm days before Fall completely took over.
It was such a nice day that Lori actually didn't mind being stuck babysitting; mostly thanks to her father taking Luna and Luan on errands with him, Leni being across the street lending the Lorcans a hand by watching Lucy while they worked on the final stages of their move, and the fact that her mother was not far off doing some craft work in the shed, making the stakes relatively low should things get too tough for her.
And honestly, Lori found herself not minding keeping an eye on Lynn and Lincoln. Because of their little brother, Lynn's personality had softened up considerably, making her much easier to wrangle than previous times Lori had been unfortunate enough to preside over her; and with that softened demeanor, Lori found her baby-est sister—well, significantly cuter for lack of a better way of saying it.
Ya really have been a little beacon of change for our family, haven't you, Linc? She found herself thinking with a soft grin.
As she suspected, Lynn and Lincoln were up top for a while, so much so that she managed to train up her Cyndaquil two more levels before she at last heard the soft thump of her two youngest siblings reaching the bottom of the slide.
"Yeah! Way to go, Lincoln!" Lynn's celebratory cry followed shortly after the aforementioned thump, pulling Lori from the fanfare of her newly evolved Quilava in favor of Lincoln's great showing of courage.
"I-I did it?" Lincoln asked, opening his eyes and looking up at Lynn, still holding onto him in a giddy one-armed sideways embrace.
"You sure did!" Lynn said, jostling him. She looked up at Lori, catching her sights with her identical brilliant green eyes, "Lori, he did it!"
"Congratulations, Lincoln!" Lori gushed, sitting up and folding her legs into a pretzel so she could lean forward. "You're really brave, y'know that!?"
Lincoln turned red as a maraschino cherry in response to the praise being heaped on him, but he smiled and kept his sights on the grass he sat with Lynn on. "Thank you, Lori. Thank you, Lynn," He cutely murmured.
"Whaddya wanna do now, Lincoln?" Lynn asked, parting from him to stand up. "As a reward for being brave, I'll let you pick the next thing we do. Whatever you want!"
"Can we play in the sandbox?" Lincoln asked.
"Sure!" Lynn bombastically replied, taking his hand to help him onto his feet. "I can show you how to dig a mote for a sandcastle!"
"That sounds fun," Lincoln said with a tiny quirk of a grin.
Lori's heart warmed up several motes as she watched Lynn lead Lincoln through the backyard. Oh Lynnie… She thought, looking down at the DS screen again. You might be the one who's changed the most since Lincoln got here. You've practically become a model big sister for the little guy!
She snickered to herself when she recalled such an occasion of burgeoning big sister-hood from Lynn the last Saturday, where after their father had brought the two little ones back from the park, the sore backed Lynn Sr. entrusted Leni and Lori with tending to the sleeping youngest, which, fortunately for them didn't involve much more than putting them on the couch to snooze away their nap in peace.
Together, Lori and Leni placed them on opposite ends of the couch, with Lori bringing Lynn a blanket and Leni doing the same for Lincoln.
Lynn woke up in a hazy daze just as Lori draped the fuzzy red blanket over her.
"Lori?" She had mumbled, eyes showing she was seconds away from falling back asleep.
Lori smiled at Lynn, "Hey, Lynnie."
"Where's Linky?" Lynn yawned, head tilting against the pillow and her eyes closing completely.
"Just on the other side of the couch," Lori chuckled, tucking the blanket against her baby-est sister's sides. "He's still asleep, same as you. Don't worry, we'll take care of him while you catch some Z's, okay?"
"Okay…" Lynn yawned, content in the knowledge that her baby brother was being taken care of while she unfortunately succumbed to her need for rest.
She said one more thing before dozing off completely though.
"Please make sure Linky has a blanket too," She said in a hush. "He got cold when he was outside. I want him to be warm."
Lincoln of course had been provided a blanket, same as Lynn, but she hadn't known that, and the genuine concern she showed for him even as she was nodding off only showed just how dedicated she was to making sure her beloved baby brother got the love and care they all knew he deserved.
And Lori couldn't help but feel proud of her for that.
It's almost like I don't need to be here at all, Lori thought with a smirk back in the present day. Lynnie seems to be taking care of Lincoln just fine.
And that's when Lori learned that when one's day is going well, you don't comment on it, out loud or otherwise.
"Augh!"
"Lynn!"
Two little cries, one of shock, the other of alarm spurred Lori into looking up, her big sister instincts starting up like the engine of a car.
Over by the sandbox, she saw Lynn and Lincoln. Lincoln was standing by the sandbox, his hands over his lips and his face blanched several shades whiter.
As for Lynn, she appeared to have fallen over the wooden border of the sandbox, leaving her face first in the miniature sandbank.
Normally, Lori would have laughed at the sight, but because she had just been recalling how well Lynn had been taking care of Lincoln, that urge to laugh was instead overwritten by love-fueled apprehension, propelling her into leaping out of her chair and dashing over to the two.
"Lynnie! Are you okay? What happened?" She asked, shoving her DS into her pocket and stepping into the sandbox.
"She tripped…" Lincoln quailed, lowering his shaky fingers from his lips. "She was looking at me when she tripped over the wood thingy." His eyes began to gleam and he bit his lip. "Lynn, are you okay?"
The frightened timbre of Lincoln's concern seemed to be the catalyst Lynn needed to lift herself up. With trembling arms, she pushed herself against the sand, shaking the sand out of her bangs and sputtering sand from her mouth.
"Are you okay, Lynnie?" Lori asked, kneeling down in the sandbox with her.
Lynn didn't reply at first. She just turned herself around, sat up…
And revealed her wound.
Thanks to the weather being relatively nice that day, Lynn had opted instead for shorts, ignoring the concerns of her mother and father to protect herself from the occasional wind chill in favor of her desire to be, in her words, "play ready".
And because of that, her knee had been slashed by the wooden border of the sandbox, leaving a sizeable cut going diagonally down her kneecap.
"Lynn!" Lincoln couldn't help but let out a squeak of fear once he saw the thin rivulet of blood that mixed in with the sand surrounding the cut. "Oh no! You're hurt!"
Lynn looked up from the cut, gazing blearily at her siblings with giant, stunned eyes.
"Lynnie…" Lori got a little closer, reaching out to try and soothe her before that bleariness could progress past the initial shock of getting hurt to…
"WAAAAAAAAH!" Lynn closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky, letting out a pained and despairing wail for all the squirrels and other suburban critters to hear.
"Lynnie!" Lori sat next to Lynn, immediately setting into trying to console her by cupping her cheeks to wipe away the deluge of tears that were mixing with the sand on them. "It's okay, don't cry! It's just a little cut, nothing to worry abo—"
"UUUAAAHHH!" Then, to make matters worse, another high-pitched sob sounded off right behind Lori, sounding a thousand times more broken than Lynn's, like the bearer of that cry had been greatly and cruelly well-versed in it over the course of their short life thus far; completely shattered in heart for the umpteenth time thanks to his admittedly emotionally sensitive self.
Lori's heartrate doubled and she turned to face Lincoln, her hands still holding Lynn's cheeks as she faced the other crying child she now had on her hands.
Lincoln had fallen to his knees. His arms were curled around himself and he shook as tears of his own fell from his eyes onto the grass surrounding him.
"L-Lincoln!" Lori took one of her hands off Lynn to extend it towards the boy, "What's wrong? Are you hurt too?"
"I-I h-hurt L-L-Lynn!" Lincoln sobbed, shaking his head. "It's m-my fault she got h-h-hurt!"
"What?" Lori gasped. "That can't be true! Whaddya mean?"
"L-Lori!" Lynn's pained cry yanked her attention back to her. "It hurts!"
Lori found herself swiveling her focus between her two siblings, her nerves prickling sharper into her senses every second.
Crap! Crap! Crap! She thought, the hairs on the back of her neck rising in panic. What do I do?! Should I go get mom? No, leaving them alone might just freak 'em out more! Maybe I can take Lynn with me to the kitchen and get her patched up then come back for Lincoln? Oh, that's an even worse idea! I can't leave Linc here alone! And I literally can't take Lincoln first and bail on Lynn! Geez, what do I do?!
It was then that Lynn held her arms out to Lori, childish instinct bidding her to seek out comfort from her big sister by finding shelter in her arms.
And that's when Lori got an idea; one that her arms would hate her for a good while after concocting.
Thankfully, her heart cared more for the little ones in her care than the soreness that was to come with what she was about to do.
"Alright, you two, c'mere." Lori extended her arms to both her sides, curling them around the backs of her baby brother and sister and pulling them into her sides. Once she had them securely in her grasp, she took a deep breath, and stood to her feet.
A grunt of exertion was immediately forced out of Lori, and her legs trembled with the strain of Lincoln and Lynn being lifted off the ground with her.
Aw jeez! She mentally groaned.
Her and her sisters had certainly gotten a few giggles the day Lynn Sr. had come back with Lincoln and Lynn from the park, wheezing heavily under the duress of carrying the smallest of the family from the measly distance that was the driveway and the living room (they had also been unaware of the incident in which he had helped Mrs. Lorcan with some heavy objects beforehand). When they had been handed off the little ones, with Lori holding Lynn and Leni holding Lincoln, they couldn't help but wonder what could have made their father so tired.
Lori knew exactly what that reason was now. Holding Lynn or Lincoln one at a time was easy, holding them both at the same time with only one arm to do so for each of them felt like a task straight out of a Greek myth to the eleven-year-old girl.
Lincoln was still far from anything considered heavy, but given how emotionally worked up he was, Lori had her work cut out for her in not dropping him with the added wobbliness of his shaking and crying.
As for Lynn, while she certainly wasn't heavy for her age (in fact it was the hidden consensus around the Loud house that she was actually rather small for her age), she was still bigger than Lincoln, and Lori was significantly smaller than her mother or father. She needed to use both her arms whenever she carried Lynn in the past.
So yeah, carrying them both, not easy; Lori now greatly sympathized with her father back on that day.
But this was no time for pity. Lori had to get her siblings inside so she could properly tend to them.
Alright, Lori, She told herself. No backin' down, this separates the big sisters from the big posers!
So, with steel in her heart, Lori trudged through what now felt like a mile long backyard, taking wobbly, but determined steps through the grass towards the house.
All the while, she whispered soothing reassurances to the two little ones hiding their faces in her shoulders, telling them over and over that everything was going to be okay.
"Shh, it's okay, you two," She crooned, tilting her head to give them each a loving nuzzle. "Don't worry, I'll make this all better."
Lincoln cringed, but didn't move away from the affection, while Lynn only curled up tighter against Lori, seeking further consolation from her big sister.
Lori wheezed when she got to the stairs that led to the back door, but she persevered, clutching her siblings close as she ascended the steps.
Ugh, of course the door had to be closed… She internally groused, lifting her foot up and kicking the latch knob open. She deftly stuck her foot behind the latch, pulling the door open and hopping away from the swinging entryway before unsteadily moving back still on one leg.
"Here we are, you two," She huffed, all but lunging for the kitchen coffee table, being sure to carefully place her siblings in a single chair. "Just sit here while I get the first aid kit, okay?"
Her only response was a pair of choked coughs, with Lincoln and Lynn both holding their heads in their hands, too focused on their pains and failings to comfort one another.
In light of their sadness, Lori was spurred into swift action, making quick headway into grabbing the one of many first aid kits the Loud family kept in just about every room of the house. What could she say, her family was accident prone, especially Lynn Sr.
That proved to be a fortunate boon for Lori though, since Lynn Sr.'s proclivity for accidental self-injury necessitated the need for a bigger than average first aid kit right beneath the knife drawer.
Lori lugged the great red cross emblazoned box from the bottom drawer, bringing it to the floor by the chair Lynn and Lincoln sat in. She popped the latch open, revealing the bevy of medical supplies that would hopefully alleviate her baby sister's suffering. From within the first aid kit, she grabbed a cloth rag and moved to the kitchen sink.
"Alright, Lynnie," She said once the rag was soaked with water and a small bit of soap. She got down on one knee in front of the chair Lynn and Lincoln sat in and tenderly took Lynn's injured leg into her hand. "Make sure you hold still for me while I clean this up, okay?"
"O-Okay," Lynn hiccupped, lowering her fists to look at what Lori was doing with big green eyes.
Lori smiled up at her reassuringly, wordlessly telling her not to worry as she brought the cloth to her knee.
Lynn gasped when the cold cloth touched her skin, wincing and resisting the urge to pull her leg back while Lori carefully and lovingly cleaned the sand away from around the wound.
"Atta girl," Lori encouraged, keeping her eyes focused on getting all the sand away from the cut. "I'll have you all patched up in no time."
"Th-Thank you…" Lynn sniffled.
Once the wound was sand free, Lori set the cloth aside to later be put in the laundry hamper and then grabbed a tube of medicated ointment along with a bandage.
"Almost done," She assured.
Lori applied the ointment, just as carefully as before, making sure the cut was fully cleaned and primed for healing. Then, when she was done with that, she peeled off the paper wrapper of the bandage, exposing the bright pink coloration of it, and brought it over the wound.
"There we go…" Lori cooed, gently smoothing the bandage down to cover the cut completely. She looked back up to Lynn, smiling cheerily to put any lingering fear she felt to rest, "All better, Lynnie."
Lynn rubbed her fist against her eye, hiccupping again but thankfully calming down. "T-Thank you, Lori," She sniffled, bringing her other hand to rub at her other eye. "You're the best."
Lori felt her heart grow warm, and with that warmth came a desire to do one more thing to help her sister feel better.
"Aww, you're welcome, Lynnie," She said, placing a kiss over the bandage. "It's just what big sisters do."
And Lynn managed to look past her fists to give her big sister a watery smile, the pain in her knee all but forgotten following the loving peck Lori placed upon it.
She silently hoped that she could be as good a big sister as her one day.
Speaking of which, both big sisters were then reminded of the other crying child still in their midst.
Lincoln still sat beside Lynn, his knees up against his chest and his face hidden against them.
"Lincoln…" Lori turned to the boy, setting a hand on his sneaker to get his attention. "There's no need to cry anymore. Lynnie's all better now, see?"
"It's my fault…" Lincoln whimpered. "It's my fault Lynn got hurt…"
Lynn jolted next to Lincoln, her tears drying up immediately in the shock of hearing Lincoln say such an untrue thing. "What? No it's not," She objected with a sniff.
"If-If I didn't a-ask you to p-play in the sandbox with m-me, you n-never would have g-gotten h-h-hurt!" Lincoln shook and curled up tighter, his little voice breaking as he admitted his self-perceived responsibility in the incident.
"Linc…" Lori gently chided his thought process. "It was just an accident. You had nothing to do with it. These things happen."
"I hurt Lynn…" Lincoln bemoaned. "Now I can't be her brother."
Lynn looked like she had been slapped clean across the face at those words. "Yes you can!" She cried, unintentionally scaring Lincoln into stiffening like a stone statue. She clapped her hands over her mouth when she realized what she did, eyes widening and her voice shrinking. "You can be my brother," She whispered.
"Lincoln, you weren't the one who hurt Lynn," Lori assured. "She just tripped. People trip. You couldn't have seen that coming."
"I shouldn't have even played with Lynn." Lincoln's next statement sent sad pangs through both Lynn and Lori, making Lynn's eyes glimmer anew, and Lori's lips crease into a frown.
"I only make things bad," He wept.
"Oh Lincoln…" Lori squeezed the edge of his sneaker, trying to imbue some comfort into him.
Yet another instance of Lincoln seeing himself as someone lesser, something lesser.
And Lori just wished she could do something, literally anything to wipe that belief away from his heart.
"Linky…" Lynn's little sniffle began to build up into a watery stiffness once more, signaling to Lori that something needed to be done before she had them both crying yet again.
"Y'know what?" Lori said, standing to her feet and setting her hands on her hips. "I think we need some cheerin' up here, and I think I know just what we need for that. How about I make you guys one of my famous ice cream sundaes, my treat?"
Lincoln shook his head, "I don't deserve it…"
Lori frowned, but she spoke on with, "You don't have to deserve it, I just wanna make one for you guys, because I wanna see you smile." She looked down at Lynn, catching her sights and offering a cheeky little wink, "Right, Lynnie?"
Lynn perked up and nodded in understanding. "Uh-huh," She gulped, wiping her eyes with her fists. "Can we get extra cookie crumbs?"
Lori gave her a thumbs up in response, "You got it."
Lori set to making the sundae right away, pulling all the necessities from the freezer and pantry and crafting the bowl together with practiced ease.
"Linky?" While she did so, she heard Lynn speak up back at the table with Lincoln, imploring him to listen to what she had to say. "Linky, please stop crying…"
Lori turned to catch a sideways glance at the two youngest of the Loud house, squeezing the little bag of cookies in her hand so they could be spread over the whipped cream spiral.
Lynn had her hand on Lincoln's shoulder, gently jostling him to try and get him to look up at her.
"Linky, can you look at me, please?" She pleaded.
"I'm sorry, Lynn," Lincoln murmured, shaking his head. "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."
"I didn't get hurt because of you," Lynn insisted, gently but forcefully. "It was just an accident. I'm not mad at you or anything, I promise."
Lincoln coughed, and Lori noticed him lift his head by the smallest fraction of an inch. "But—If I didn't—"
"It doesn't matter that you asked to play in the sandbox," Lynn said. "What matters to me is that we were having so much fun playing before that." She lifted her hand and set it on top of his head, "That's what I wanted, I wanted to play with my little brother, because I like it when he's happy."
Lincoln seemed to relax just a bit, and he managed to squeak out a few more words thanks to Lynn.
"Lynn?" He began, lifting his head up to finally chance a look at the one he believed to have set onto harm. "H-How come you like to play with me so much? I can't throw a ball, or run as fast as you, or even climb up the slide without you helping me." The baby blue brilliance in his eyes dulled and he looked down at his sneakers. "Wouldn't you want someone else to play with than me? What's so great about me?"
"Linky…" Lynn lowered her hand, fingers clenching as she thought over a response.
Ooh boy, Lori thought, biting her cheek and setting the cherries at the very top of the sundae, one for each of them. That's a big question. Hope you can muster up an answer, Lynnie.
"Um…" Lynn clasped her hands together and set them on her lap. "I—I—It's because…"
C'mon, Lynnie, you can do it, Lori mentally cheered.
Lynn gulped and closed her eyes, bringing her hands to her chest. "Because you're my little brother!" She replied, her voice elevating again. "I wanna play with you because you're my little brother! And I wanna be the best big sister I can be for you!"
Lincoln's eyes widened, and the bright sheen they had bore prior to Lynn hurting herself returned. "Lynn…" He croaked, his voice tightening.
Lori smiled and lifted the bowl off the counter. "See, Lincoln?" She said, bringing the bowl over to the table and setting it in front of the two little ones. "Even if it had been your fault that Lynn got hurt, which it wasn't, it wouldn't matter, because Lynn just wants to see you happy, right, Lynn?"
Lynn snapped her sights off the sundae that had grabbed her attention for a split second. "R-Right!" She affirmed, looking back at Lincoln, "I only want you to be happy, Linky! Because that's my job as your big sister; to make you happy!"
Again, Lincoln was at a bit of a loss for words, both thanks to the alluring bowl of ice cream in front of him, and the effect of Lynn's proclamation.
"Linc?" Lori spoke up next. "Do you know how Lynnie reacted when Mom and Dad told us you were coming to live with us?"
Lincoln blinked, and shook his head.
"She was literally over the moon excited!" Lori gushed, reaching out to hand the two of them their spoons. "Probably the most out of all of us! Literally, all she ever talked about for a few weeks was how much she was looking forward to you getting here."
Lincoln's jaw dropped over the course of Lori's explanation. "I—" He turned to Lynn, who had turned red as a beet over the course of that same explanation. "Really, Lynn? You were excited about me?"
Lynn twiddled her fingers together bashfully. "I—" She gulped and forced herself to look up at Lincoln, "I really liked the idea of having a little brother to play with." She somehow turned even redder, but forced herself to speak on with, "And—I'm really, really happy that it turned out to be you."
Aww! Lynnie! Lori barely resisted the urge to squeal with glee at the adorable proclamation.
"Told ya, Linc," She said, laughing cheerily instead. "No matter what you do, or think you do, we're here for you, because we care about you." She kneeled down to go by Lincoln's side, "Get it?"
Lincoln nodded, looking between Lori and Lynn. "Mmhmm," He mumbled, his voice tightening and his eyes sparkling.
Lori smirked and stood back up, "Good. Now that we got that settled, no more tears, you two." She reached out and brought the bowl closer to them. "It's cheer up time, okay?"
"O-Okay!" Lynn and Lincoln managed to reply in enthusiastic unison.
From then on, a gentle sense of calm presided over the three siblings, with Lori watching Lynn and Lincoln enjoy the sundae she had prepared for them, as happy as before and looking like, well…
Like a brother and sister.
And Lori couldn't help but thank her lucky stars that they were her little siblings because—well because…
"Lori?"
Lori's train of thought was cut off by Lincoln querying for her attention.
"Don't you want to have some ice cream with us?" Lincoln asked, his cheeks stained with chocolate sauce.
"Yeah!" Lynn added, wiping whipped cream off her lips in favor of smearing it on her sleeve. "Come have some with us! There's enough cookie crumbs for all three of us."
Fuzzy warmth spawned to life within Lori, and she just had to take them up on that offer, standing to her feet to go grab a spoon for herself.
She was happy they were her younger siblings for a lot of reasons, but one such reason stuck out in her mind extra prominently in that moment.
Because her youngest sister and her baby brother were, in her own words; "literally the most absolute cutest things in the world!"
…
October 16, 2010
"Lincoln…" Lori held the little plastic scepter she had given Lincoln way back on his first day with their family, a proud smirk on her face as she stepped towards her little brother, "Do you solemnly swear to uphold the values of the Loud Sist—the Loud Siblings; to always have your sist—sibling's back when they need it, to be someone to stick by through thick and thin, for sour or sweet, on sunny and cloudy days, for as long as your voice joins with ours?"
Lincoln blushed, squeezing Bun-Bun close to his pajama clad self as he shyly nodded in response. "Mmhmm."
His mumbled answer was met with the sound of hushed giggles around him, prompting Lincoln to look around at his other four sisters sitting just behind him.
"Did I do something wrong?" He asked, squeezing Bun-Bun tighter.
"You're supposed to say 'I swear', Lincoln," Leni clarified with a chuckle.
"Oh." Lincoln turned back to Lori, going on his toes and taking a determinative breath. "Then, I swear."
Lori's smirk softened and she kneeled to bring the scepter to the top of Lincoln's shoulders. "Then, by my authority as the oldest kid in the house, I hereby formally name you our sibling, thereby granting you all the rights to attend our weekly Sist—Siblings meetings!"
I really gotta get used to the idea that our group isn't all girls anymore, Lori told herself as she touched the scepter to Lincoln's shoulders.
"Welcome aboard, Lincoln," Lori said, bringing the scepter to tap the top of his head, earning her a cute little giggle from the boy.
Lincoln gazed up at Lori after she took the scepter back, eyes sparkling with affection for her.
Lori had to admit, the statement Luna made the previous day made a lot of sense to her now. Looking at the way Lincoln regarded her, she could clearly see those little imaginary hearts floating above his head.
And Lori, having built a fair few memories with the boy over the past three weeks, certainly felt like she'd probably have a heart or two floating above her head as well given the vast wellspring of affection her heart had cultivated for him.
There was no questioning it now, this little one who she had just formally welcomed into the fold of her and her sisters was her little brother now, one-hundred percent.
And Lori loved him with every fiber of her being.
"HOOOOORRAAAY!" Any further thoughts on the bond that had built between them were quickly squelched by the other Loud sisters jumping up and surrounding Lincoln, their expressions collectively putting the outside moonlight to shame.
"Congratulations, Linky!" Leni cheered.
"You're one of us now!" Luan crowed, pumping her fists up and down.
"Was I not before?" Lincoln asked, regarding his sisters with a timid little smile. Even if they said no, he was just happy that he was considered a part of their group now.
"You were," Luna said, running a hand through his hair, "this little ceremony we made up was just our way of formally welcoming you fully."
"In other words," Lynn said, wrapping Lincoln in a one-armed side embrace and tilting her cheek along his turkey tail. "You're our one-hundred percent brother now, and nothing can change that!"
Lincoln's shoulders bunched, but not with tension for once, but in bashful happiness. "That makes me happy," He announced, nuzzling all the hands now running through his hair. "I really like being with all of you."
"And we literally love having you around here, Linc." Lori lifted her hands to unbutton the dark blue cape Leni insisted she wore during the ceremony.
Hopefully Mom and Dad wouldn't mind that they had to use one of the good towels to make it.
"Now," Lori said, clapping her hands and tossing the towel on her bed as she walked past her siblings. "What say we all dig into this cake, and get this sibling meeting started?"
The aforementioned cake Lori was talking about was the quarter chunk of ice cream cake left over from Lincoln's cast-off celebration the previous day, brought up to her room with special permission by their parents when the girls told them just what they were doing that night. Besides the cake was a bevy of sundae accoutrements, perfect for making an already tasty cake into something that the Loud siblings would be talking about for years to come.
"Ooh, I call first slice!" Lynn exclaimed, bouncing past everyone else to get in front of Lori.
"Um, first of all, I'm the one who's actually putting all the toppings on each slice, Lynn," Lori said, stepping past her to actually go up to the cake and its various toppings. "And second of all, this is still Lincoln's celebration and Lincoln's cake, I'll be serving him first if you don't mind."
Lynn immediately got back on the flats of her feet. "That makes sense," She agreed, glancing back at Lincoln just as he appeared at her side. She grinned at him and moved behind him to nudge him forward encouragingly, "Go ahead, Linky! You know how good Lori is at making ice cream super extra tasty!"
Lincoln twiddled his fingers together and went up to Lori, his expression shy, but earnest at the prospect of the delicious delicacy that was ice cream and cake.
"What'll you have, Linc?" Lori asked jovially, her hands deftly cutting him a slice and transferring it to a plate.
Lincoln's lips quirked in a bashful giggle, and he tilted his gaze up towards Lori, the rest of his siblings all spouting little imaginary hearts of adoration at the sound of his laugh.
"Um…" Lincoln pressed his index fingers together, the pinkness in his cheeks lessening as his eyes traced over the toppings. "Can I get whippy cream, choccy syrup, cookie crumbs and a cherry please?"
Lori laughed, "I'll give you two cherries, just because you asked so politely." And because you're so ding-dang cute! Whippy cream and choccy syrup? Come on, Lincoln!
Lori cut each of her siblings a slice, customizing their individual ice cream cake sundaes to each of their taste, saving herself for last, but giving herself just as much care into her own slice as the others.
Plus the last two cherries as well.
"Alright, you guys," She announced, carrying her slice to her podium. "Everyone happy with their grub?"
"MMHMM!" Everyone hummed contentedly in reply.
"Good," Lori said with a click of her tongue, grabbing a laser pointer she had acquired from her mother. "Then let's get to our first bit of business."
She pulled forward an easel with a whiteboard on it and turned it towards her siblings.
"And that is: How do we convince Mom and Dad to get us pizza this coming Friday?"
…
The rest of the meeting went on as it normally did, with Lori leading her siblings through each topic with aplomb, showcasing her natural leadership skills through every minute of it with firm focus.
"So we're in agreement on this movie night's pick then?" Lori asked, wiping away the other titles that had been proposed.
"Yeah!" Leni chirped, bouncing from her place atop Lori's bed. "Oliver and Company is the totes cutest movie ever!" She looked over at Lincoln, his cheeks stained by the chocolate syrup. "Linky, you're gonna love it, trust me."
Lincoln pulled the cherry stem from the cherry between his lips, plucking it out and regarding her with a giddy grin from the sweetness of the cherry. "I bet I will," He said, placing the cherry stem on his empty plate. "I've liked all the movies I've watched with you girls."
"Awww!" Several of the girls gushed.
"Then it's decided, we're watching Oliver and Company this Friday, hopefully with pizza for dinner to go along with it," Lori said, circling the movie title with the marker.
"Ag-reed!" The rest of the siblings confirmed.
From then, the meeting soon came to a close, and the siblings all joined together in helping clean up the remnants of the delicious cake they had finished off.
"Do you want me to help you off, Linc?" Lori asked while taking his plate.
Lincoln shook his head and began scooting towards the edge of the bed after his hands were free. "No thank you," He chirped, turning himself around so he could reach his leg down to the floor while clenching the fabric of the blanket. "I can do it myself."
It was Lincoln's firm desire that now that he had the use of both his arms again, that he showed himself and his family that he could not only get better, but do better.
And of course, the rest of the Loud family were all for that, because though they didn't consider Lincoln as any sort of inconvenience, they couldn't object to the idea of letting him improve his confidence.
So Lori let him do his thing, still staying close and watching him slowly and carefully slide his way down to the floor…
And unknowingly catching the hem of his shirt on the edge of the bed, bunching the fabric upward.
The jovial atmosphere that had permeated the room was sucked out in an instant, and the gasps of shock and fear that came from all the Loud girls made Lincoln realize what had just happened long before the chill that caressed his back did.
"What is—"
"Linky?!"
"Oh my gosh!"
The sight of those yellowish-blue bruises and pinkish-white scars were seared into Lori's mind, sticking firm into her memory surely forevermore and making her drop the paper plates onto the floor.
Lincoln gasped and released his grip of the blanket, accidentally allowing himself to fall onto the floor, where he all but tore the fabric of his shirt with the force he pulled it down with, pitifully trying to cling to some denial that his sisters hadn't seen the marks.
"Linky, are you okay!?"
"What happened to you!?"
"Did you fall or something!?"
But it was no use. They had all seen them, and the previously happy atmosphere fell into one of chaotic concern by the sisters, and skin-burning shame for the sole brother.
Lori stood, utterly stricken into statuesque shock by what she had just seen, remaining still while her sisters crowded around Lincoln, asking a question a second of the steadily panicking boy.
All her sisters except Leni, who stood behind Lori with her hands curled together over her chest and a somber expression on her face instead of a surprised one.
Had Lori's own mind not been malfunctioning, she would've wondered why that was, but for now, only a single thought ran through her mind, lancing through it over and over like a fiery boomerang going around and around without restraint.
Someone had hurt her little brother. Someone had wished harm upon him, brought harm upon him, left lasting impressions of that harm.
Suddenly, that knowledge of Lincoln's mother hurting him became all too real, and Lori—
Lori's heart shattered—No, shattered was too light a word for it, her heart exploded into a million pieces of burning hot emotional shrapnel, tearing her apart from the inside and causing an immediate deluge down her cheeks.
Lincoln… Her legs wobbled and she suddenly felt like the world was teetering. My—My little Lincoln—My sweet, awesome, amazing little Lincoln. Who could…Who could do this to you?
Her chest panged something terribly, and one of her legs gave out beneath her, bringing her to one knee.
He really had seen hurt; hurt that she could never even imagine, hurt that when she really thought about it, felt foolish to believe she could do anything about.
She was just a kid herself damn it! What could she do in the face of something so obviously out of her league traumatic?
I—I don't stand a chance…I can't do anything to help with something like thi—
"Lincoln, please answer us!"
"Yeah, how did this happen!?"
"Did someone do this to you!?"
The answer to those questions were obvious, but the girls were just too stricken with shock at what they saw, that they didn't want to imagine the clear answer—the fact that the little one they had come to know and love had come into such harm at the hands of the one who had brought him into the world.
"Eh-Eh-EHUAAAAAA!"
And because of those questions, growing louder and unintentionally more frighteningly insistent, Lincoln broke.
Lincoln! And it was by that anguished cry that Lori was able to snatch herself out of her despair, lifting her head and leaping to her feet like she had just been touched in the back of the neck by a static-laced finger. The tear tracks on her face were inconsequential, and her vaporized heart miraculously pulled itself back together with the desire to go to her baby brother's aid.
"Guys!" Lori shoved her way past her sisters, pulling them behind her and putting herself between them and Lincoln.
Seeing Lincoln, she had to take a hard gulp to keep her heart from falling into her stomach again.
Lincoln was curled up in a ball, as he was want to do whenever he was distressed, but unlike those times, his hands weren't over his eyes. Instead, they were haphazardly running through his hair, sending it sticking out in several angles and occasionally clenching around the fluffy white locks in a vice grip.
That was nothing to say on the rate he was actually crying though. His face was absolutely drenched in tears, making his cheeks shine like someone had thrown a bucket of water over them. In his throes of despair, his breaths rasped with each terrified exhale, making it sound like Lincoln was breathing through a grated piece of metal, painful to listen to, and undoubtedly painful for him to do himself.
"Lincoln!"
"Please don't cry!"
"We're sorry, we didn't mean to scare you, we were just—just—"
"I'M S-S-SORRY!" Lincoln broke through their words with his own frantically gasped out proclamation, like producing the air to speak them was the most laborious task one could undertake. "I'M S-SO S-SORRY! I D-DIDN'T W-WANT YOU T-TO KN-KNOW!"
"Know what?"
"Lincoln, please calm down!"
"Yeah, you're starting to scare us!"
Despite that, Lincoln didn't show any signs of calming, and Lori found her mind spinning to try and find something to do before he caused lasting harm upon himself.
The other girls pelting him with questions is literally not helping, do something about that first!
The resurfaced part of her rationality spoke up for her, prompting Lori into following through with that realization.
"Alright, girls…" Lori turned towards Luna, Luan, and Lynn, "Get out."
"What?!"
"What do you mean get out?!"
"Lori, we need to help Lincoln!"
Their protest were instantaneous, vehement in denying the eldest's orders in their perceived need to help their brother.
Lori scowled, "Well you're doing the exact opposite, get out!"
"No!" Lynn objected.
"Yeah, we're staying here for Linky!" Luan huffed.
"Lori, please, let us help," Luna pleaded.
Lori suddenly felt like she was on the losing end of a battle. If she raised her voice, that would most definitely just scare Lincoln more, but without doing so, she saw no way in getting her younger sisters to listen to her.
"Girls…" Then, by some sort of miracle, the soft, gentle voice of the remaining Loud sister flitted through the air.
Leni stepped by Lori's side, holding her hands up placatingly towards the other girls, a stark contrast to the stalwart guard Lori was conveying.
"Lori has a point," She soothed, "Lincoln is clearly really, really scared, and crowding him isn't going to help him in that. Let's just leave this to Lori, okay?"
"But—"
"But nothing," Leni cut past the next bout of protests before it could begin, a mote of rare firmness coming into her voice. "If you really care about Linky, then you'll listen to what we're saying."
She then turned to Lori, offering a sad, but encouraging little smile, "Lori's got this."
Lori really wondered how Leni, the girl who flipped her lid at the sight of a spider, was keeping so calm in that incredibly, insurmountably emotionally heavy moment.
Perhaps she would ask her later, but for now, there was another person who required her attention.
"Alright, head on out then, girls." Lori gently ushered them out her door, Leni following after them to do any outside damage control. "I'll call you in when things calm down, okay?"
"Okay…" Luan sighed.
"Please make sure Linky feels better, Lori," Lynn said, glancing up at her before she passed through the door.
"Yeah, he's already gone through enough," Luna whispered, her eyes shining with the harsh realization that Lincoln had truly, undeniably been left those marks by his birthgiver.
"Don't worry, she will," Leni soothed. She stepped past the threshold of the door and turned to Lori, "Lori's our big sister after all, she's certainly made us all feel better from time to time, right?"
"Right," Lynn agreed, her hand going to her knee.
Lori brought her hand to the door, "Right…Stick close by, guys, I'll be out for you in a bit."
And with that, Lori pushed her door shut…
And was left alone with Lincoln.
Lori's chest panged achingly when she turned around and saw Lincoln again. He was still curled up into a little stone ball, his hands running through his hair and actively pulling on the fine little strands of white, giving Lori the desire to just go and grab his hands away so she could kiss both his little fingers and the spots on his scalp he had pulled against.
But she knew she had to play this delicately, carefully, as tenderly as possible.
"Hey Lincoln…?" She kept her voice feather soft, going from the door and stopping about three feet away from the boy.
"I'm sorry…" Lincoln shook, and Lori saw him tug at his hair again.
"Don't worry about that right now," Lori cooed. She hunkered down to sit across from him. "Can you do me a favor though, Linc?"
Lincoln hiccupped, but through his reddened gaze, Lori saw a near imperceptible nod.
"Can you please stop pulling your hair?" She whispered, scooching just a little bit closer. "I don't like to see you hurt yourself."
Lincoln coughed and trembled some more, but through what appeared to be a great force of will, his curled up fists relaxed, and fell around his eyes.
"Atta boy," Lori said, lilting her voice encouragingly. "Now why don't you just take a few deep breaths for me? Do you want me to get you something to drink to help you calm down?"
"I didn't want you to know…" Lincoln didn't respond to Lori. He just continued to weep into his fists, taking several troubled, wheezy breaths.
"Didn't want us to know what, Lincoln?" Lori at first thought he was talking about the marks on his body, but something dreadful told her there was something beyond that. Lincoln looked far too broken for this to be a simple matter of shame by appearance.
"I d-didn't w-want you to know how b-b-bad I am…" Lincoln fell into stammers again, and Lori's own fists clenched against the carpet.
"Bad?" Lori gulped and willed herself to speak on. "You're not bad, Lincoln. You're literally one of the sweetest little guys ever."
Lincoln shook his head. "No. No I'm not…" One of his hands went down to grip his side, where he knew an almost completely faded bruise rested along his ribs, one that had originally been in the shape of a footprint. "You saw all the ouchies on me. Now you know how b-b-bad and u-ugly I am!"
Lincoln… Lori never wanted to hug her baby brother more than she did in that moment. She wished more than anything she could just pull him into her arms, smother his crying face with every kiss she could muster, and simply hold him close until that horribly untrue belief was completely wiped away from his wounded heart.
"Lincoln, you are not bad or ugly," She said, moving closer still. "You are literally the cutest, sweetest, most amazing little guy I have ever met, okay? Nothing about you could ever be considered any of those things because they're just not true."
Lincoln shook his head, more vigorously this time and clenching the fabric over his bruise, "But—But only bad boys get ouchies like these. Being bad is what makes people give them to you."
Lori's eyes started to sting again and she consciously had to keep herself from extending her arms out to Lincoln. Just outside her door, she could hear the sounds of her sisters breaking down as well.
And within Lori's heart, an ember of rage materialized when she thought of who could have possibly inflicted such a belief on Lincoln.
His mom better not ever cross my path, She thought, her jaw tightening.
"Lincoln, that isn't true either…" She managed to power through the anger though to focus on Lincoln. "Nobody should ever have hurt you like that, even if you did misbehave. You only deserve to be treated with the kindness everybody deserves, especially so considering how kind you yourself are."
Lincoln noticed Lori edging closer, and he hid himself in his arms. "But—My—My mo—my mo—"
"It doesn't matter what anyone said to you before," Lori interjected, stopping right in front of Lincoln. "What I'm saying to you, and what I'm sure everyone else in the family would agree on, is that you are one of the best things that has ever happened to us, period."
She took a breath and reached out to pry her fingers beneath Lincoln's. "Those ouchies don't mean you're bad or that you're ugly, they mean that someone hurt you." Then, with a gentle pull, she brought Lincoln's hands back, exposing his puffy red eyes so he could see her own tear-streaked face. "And you should never have been hurt, Lincoln, never ever."
Lincoln regarded Lori, his lower lip trembling and a few more tears trickling down his face. "I-I made you sad," He whimpered, his little fingers gripping Lori's hands.
Lori smiled a watery smirk and bobbed his hands in hers. "A little…" She admitted. She sniffled and leaned forward to tilt her cheek atop his fluffy white locks, her means of soothing the stinging feeling Lincoln had inflicted upon himself by pulling on them. "But only because I don't like it when my sweet baby bro talks bad about himself, so can you do your big sister a favor and cut back on that?"
Lincoln shivered, but Lori felt his grip on her hands tighten when she nuzzled him. "I'll try…" He quailed.
I think I'm gonna have to accept that as a win, Lori thought, giving him another nuzzle for good measure. She lifted herself away from Lincoln, giving him her best smile to try and ease him into a sense of calm. "I'm happy to hear that," She told him, releasing his hands to cup his cheeks. "Do you mind if I let the others back in then?" She asked, using her thumbs to dry his tears. "They're probably still pretty worried about you."
Lincoln took a big sniff, clearing the congestion from his nose and making Lori chuckle. "Uh-huh," He agreed with a nod. His eyes drifted to Lori's arm. "Can I—"
"You literally don't even have to ask, Linc," Lori interjected with a laugh. She deftly moved by Lincoln's side, leaning against her bedframe alongside him and presenting her arm for him to latch onto, "Hug away."
Lincoln's eyes gleamed with affectionate gratitude, and anyone who saw that look would be forgiven for imagining a few more floating hearts above his head. With his sister's permission given, he latched onto her arm, squeezing it against himself and hiding his face in her pajama sleeve.
"Thank you, Lori," He murmured. He nuzzled his cheek against her arm, "You're so nice. I—I really, really like you."
The ache in Lori's chest faded to near nothing, and she brought a hand to run it through her little brother's hair. "No worries, Linc. I really like you too," She crooned lovingly. "Can I call the other girls in now?"
"Mmhmm," Lincoln hummed, his grip tightening, but his face turning to face the door.
Lori nodded and turned towards the door as well, "Okay, girls, come on in!"
Lori was surprised the door didn't fly off its hinges with how fast it opened.
"Linky!" They all cried in unison.
"Do you want me to get Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex?"
"Maybe I could whistle something for you?"
"I could read you a story if you want."
"Do you need a bandage? I'll get you any color you want."
The other Loud sisters came in like a sisternado of pure concentrated concern, all clamoring in their offers to help their brother feel better, all trying to brush away his belief that he was anything even close to bad.
And even though that energy was a bit much to take in, Lincoln remained at ease, because he had his eldest sister to keep him calm with sweet little shushes, affectionate little nuzzles…
And a still unvoiced, but undeniable sense of love for him.