notes: "sweetener" by ariana grande is so annoying, but it inspired me to write this for some reason. forgot if lori is a good cook or not, but let's just pretend that she is. i do not condone incest. enjoy?
sweetener
Leni surprisingly woke up at eight oh-four on a Saturday morning. She raised her arms above her head, arching her back as she stretched out her rigid muscles, a little pleased moan escaping her throat. Her half-lidded eyes stared up at the ceiling after she unshielded them from her frilly sleeping mask. Sunlight poured through the opened blinds into the bedroom, soft yet vibrant, making the sixteen-year-old even more awake.
Blinking a few times, Leni sat up in her bed, rapidly running her fingers through her already messy blonde hair in an attempt to straighten it a bit. She knew she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, and it was a Saturday, so she didn't have to worry about her appearance for school or anything. But I still hate bedhead, she thought with an annoyed pout.
Leni let her hands fall to her sides after playing in her hair for a tiresome minute. She sighed, lifting her pink covers from her body and shifting to sit at the edge of her bed. The blonde tilted her head as she noticed a familiar sister missing from the bed across from hers.
Huh, Lori's up too? Leni blinked quizzically. She usually sleeps in a little late on Saturdays.
Leni glanced at the clock on her nightstand—it now being eight ten—then back at the eldest sister's bed. Her comforter was perfectly made up. Seeing this prompted Leni to hop up and quickly make up her own bed, making sure it was perfectly neat and tidy as well. Once she was pleased with her work, Leni smiled proudly and crossed her arms over her chest.
There, now that that's outta the way… she splendidly began to think before turning to make her way to the hallway, only to clumsily slip on a stray shoe with a shriek and tumble backwards.
Luckily and thankfully, Leni's back made contact with her sister's bed instead of the floor.
Leni blinked her eyes open at the ceiling. "Oh, I'm alright," she noted to herself with a dopey smile. "I landed on Lori's bed." She then gasped. "But now I probably messed it up!"
She quickly rolled over and stood up, exhaling in relief at there being no dishevelment. "Great, everything's still perfect…" the blonde breathed, leaning over to merrily envelope the pillows in her arms and inhaling their scent.
Leni jolted. Their scent… Lori's scent to be exact was…exhilarating. It was of fresh summer apples with a tinge of vanilla. Leni's eyes fell closed, now blissfully intoxicated. She secretly could never get tired of it whenever her elder sister came in their room smelling of her personal soap and perfume after a warm shower. The scent was so Lori and so good.
Then realization dumped over her like a bucket filled with iced water.
With wide eyes, Leni fleetly rearranged the pillows back in their proper places, staring at them as if she got caught red-handed doing something wrong. Did she do something wrong?
Not wanting to think about it too much (or think about it at all), Leni resumed to what she was going to do before the little mishap. She quietly opened and closed the door behind her before walking down the hallway. The house was relatively quiet, which wasn't surprising since it was a Saturday and everyone was mostly sleeping in.
When the sixteen-year-old Loud sister had made her way down the stairs, messy hair cascading down her shoulders in jagged, light-blonde waves, she could hear faint sizzling coming from the kitchen and the delicious smell of food invaded her senses.
Promptly, Leni's stomach growled and she couldn't help but follow the smell. As she walked towards the kitchen, the sizzling grew louder, and the sound of someone humbly singing to herself transpired as well. Leni curiously peeked her head inside the kitchen, and it was none other than her sister, Lori Loud, currently flipping a pancake in one pan and frying bacon in another.
From where Leni was standing, Lori's back was facing her as she moved her hips a little to the beat of the song that was softly playing from her cellphone, singing along to the abrupt chorus.
"Get it, get it, get it, get it / Hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it / Flip it, flip it, flip it / You make me say oh, oh / Twist it, twist it, twist it, twist it / Mix it and mix it and mix it and mix it / Kiss it, kiss it, kiss it / You make me say oh, oh."
Leni wanted to laugh at the silly and confusing lyrics, but was too distracted by the elder Loud's exposed, long legs underneath her checkered shorts that stopped only a few inches below her butt.
A rosy blush formed upon Leni's cheeks, her eyes fixated to Lori's moving hips and tan, pretty thighs and calves. And of course, her shorts left little to the imagination as they hugged Lori's butt cutely and marvelously.
Leni's face grew rosier and rosier by the second as she stared on.
And Lori was blissfully unaware of the attention, stacking pancakes and scrambling eggs whilst rolling her hips to the song, singing lightly to herself.
"When life deals us cards / Make everything taste like it is salt / Then you come through like the sweetener you are / To bring the bitter taste to a halt / And then you—LENI!?"
Leni jerked back into reality, briskly shaking her head before sputtering, "H-huh? Who? What?"
Lori had immediately turned off her music as soon as she noticed her sister. An embarrassed blush reddened her cheeks as she clutched the spatula in her hand, flabbergasted. "How long have you been standing there?" she questioned incredulously, her voice slightly raised from the shock.
A while too long, the younger of them wanted to say. "I-I heard and smelled something cooking, and I'm, like, really hungry so, um…just wanted to know what was for breakfast!" Leni ended off with a bright smile, trying not to give herself away.
It's not like I was just watching you look and dance all attractive or anything… Like nope, wasn't doing that at all…
Leni really hoped she looked convincing as her face went up in flames.
"…Oh," Lori finally responded after a few seconds of awkward silence, cheeks going back to their natural color. She idly turned off the stove. "Well, yeah, I'm making breakfast since I woke up early and couldn't fall back to sleep," she explained, stacking three fluffy pancakes on a separate plate. "And since you're standing over there like some weirdo—you scared the crap out of me, by the way—you can have the first batch."
"O-oh, th-thanks, Lori," stammered Leni, grabbing a lock of coarse hair abashedly. She reluctantly went over to receive the plate her sister was preparing, stomach growling again in hunger.
Leni watched Lori quietly, standing close beside the eldest girl. Her eyes slowly trailed from the food over to Lori's profile, lingering at her plush pink lips and short, golden blonde hair. A small pang of jealousy surged through Leni as Lori's hair was neat this morning whereas hers was unkempt.
But her envy was automatically diminished as the scent of apples and vanilla emanating from the taller girl clouded her senses so pleasantly, making her mind swirl.
Leni was completely immersed yet again. Why does Lori have to always look and smell so good? she thought dreamily.
"Here, Leni," said the seventeen-year-old, turning to give her sister her breakfast, but Leni was invading her space, face merely inches away from Lori's left shoulder blade. Warmth sparked up Lori's neck at the proximity. She crinkled her nose in confusion. "Are you…sniffing me?"
Leni's half-lidded eyes widened. "What? No." She backed away a foot, eyes shifting from side to side. "I was just…like…seeing how tall I am compared to you. I'm pretty sure you're like a thousand centimeters taller than me. Or maybe it's ten thousand," blabbered Leni, cheeks guiltily a dark pink for the umpteenth time this morning.
Lori blinked at the younger sister, who was acting strangely weird. She rolled her eyes, setting the plate on the counter next to Leni's coiling form. "Whatever, Leni," she said. Lori then began preparing her own plate, hesitating before swiftly turning back to Leni, uncertain. "Do I smell bad or something?"
"No, of course not, Lori," Leni answered truthfully with doe eyes. Lori didn't look too convinced by the immediate declaration, though.
Leni bit her lower lip, heart racing before she let everything spill.
"You smell amazing. You always smell amazing. Like, you always smell so good and so sweet, it kinda drives me bonkers!"
Leni slapped her hands over her mouth. Lori's jaw was dropped, expression unreadable. Time had frozen between the two. Leni's throat tightened. Maybe she had said too much.
She quickly grabbed her plate and ran as fast as she could towards the staircase, nightgown fluttering behind her knees as she trotted up the stairs, not daring to look back—too embarrassed to look back.
Awkward silence had befallen in her wake.
Lori had watched after her until she disappeared upstairs, completely dumbfounded, lips still parted. Leni's words replayed within her mind over and over again.
You smell amazing. So good and so sweet. It kinda drives me bonkers!
The eldest blonde's cheeks tinted a light pink. She really didn't know how to feel about Leni's sudden confession. Weirded out? Flattered? Good?
She set her plate of freshly-made breakfast aside and decided to make herself some coffee as well. Maybe I'm still dreaming and this'll wake me up, Lori thought as a silly little afterthought. She knew she was wide awake, and what just happened really happened.
A tiny, amused smile crept upon her lips as she recalled over it all.
"Never knew I could drive someone 'bonkers,'" Lori commented to herself, stirring her warm cup of coffee and making sure to add sweetener into the mixture.
this is my first one-shot for this fandom by the way. i apologize for any ooc-ness that may have occurred.