A/N: Hey fam! I'm back with my second offering to the Loud House fanfic collection. Before we start, can I just say how much I love Really Loud Music? The role was extremely fitting for Luna, and while the story was predictable (due to it being one with an obvious moral), the visuals, the music, and the heart were absolutely incredible and a satisfying joy to watch. As always, EVERY SONG that Luna sings is extremely catchy, not to mention emotional, especially 'What Have I Done?' which I personally think is one of Nika's best covers for the show to date. They just love giving away all the best songs to Luna, don't they? That's not to say that the other songs weren't great too though!

I was originally skeptical of the premise of a musical episode, worried that the music would be too much like filler and less story. However, most of the songs helped to move the story along and took nothing away from me, leaving me very satisfied with the overall episode. The variety of facial expressions and fluid animation really played an advantage too, but probably what makes me happiest of all is that of all the rare double-length episodes they've made as of now, one of them features Luna as the star, which is just too amazing for me to stay silent about. It is without a doubt a new addition to my list of 'favourite' episodes!

So…what does RLM have to do with this fic? Absolutely nothing. What?! Luna doesn't even appear in it, though she does play an important role. I just needed to vent my praises for this awesome episode, haha. But I hope you enjoy this story!

Reviews are always welcome.

Mission Accomplished

On a late summer's night, after a wild and very loud day of school-free, care-free activities, there's no better place to wind down than in your own little bed under your own roof, tucked in warm and safe. Especially during a thunder storm, which Royal Woods was currently experiencing. It had been raining hard for many days now; the local weather man had predicted that a large thunder storm was on the approach and was not left disappointed. It was a fierce one.

Rain wasn't uncommon in the area, but spirits couldn't help but be slightly dampened from repeated exposure to dark grey skies and wet turf that ultimately cumulated to soggy socks and soaked shoes. Therefore, most of the inhabitants of the Loud house stayed indoors, and were beginning to feel a little crabby. Not even the doom of gloom who was Lucy Loud could find reason to enjoy it. And what better time for thunder and lightning to join the effect than when everyone in the Loud house was trying to catch a few winks?

Not everyone had to endure the gloomy weather however. One Loud in particular had successfully managed to escape the rain. Luna Loud had taken off to another state for her high school band retreat with her friend Sam and her other band mates a couple of weeks or so ago. Everyone was happy for the young rockstar; she had been talking about the excursion for a long time and it was the very first time she was away from home on her own and for a long period of time. Luna had worked very hard to earn and save up enough money to go. And so it was that she had packed both her guitars and was off enjoying the sun and music while her family battled the wind, rain, and latest of all, thunder and lightning. She sent a video chat whenever she could to let Lincoln, Lori, and the others know how she was doing and to exchange the news. By the less-than-subtle gleam painted upon her face and present in her voice during these live feeds, there was no doubt that Luna was having the time of her life out there. Many of her siblings were envious and longed to be out of the city on an exciting adventure too, but with a large family and little money to spend on such luxuries, it just wasn't possible.

Luna wasn't a fool. She had been smart enough to realize months in advance that if she wanted to join the bandwagon to the retreat, she would have to earn her own way there, AND in a more efficient way than playing music on the sidewalk for loose change or asking her parents for the cash. Thus, she had gotten herself a part time job at the local musical instrument store earlier in the year. By taking what she had learned from her previous failures in job searching, Luna had been extra cautious when she served the customers: being informative, but keeping her own bubbling excitement for the world of music under control. Whatever strategies she employed must have worked because she held on to her position, and the staff, easily impressed by her knowledge and passion for the products, loved her. After many months of hard labour, she had rolled up enough dough to pay the fee required to go. Everyone was proud of her, especially Luna herself, for she must have felt the right to have deserved this trip in its entirety.

So, Luna had departed and wouldn't be returning till the end of the month. Outside, the rain continued to fall heavily in the pitch-black night. The darkness was only momentarily illuminated as the occasional bolt of lightning flashed its brief appearance, followed by the sounds of thunder, rumbling low and loud in the distance.

One particular burst of thunder was enough to wake 11 year-old Lincoln Loud from his slumber. His eyes snapped open a good minute before the gears in his head eventually whirled into motion to catch up with his surroundings. As he rubbed his eyes groggily before sitting up, he was greeted by the familiar sounds of rain pounding the roof top and against his single window. Lincoln groaned and suddenly found himself very much awake. He turned his phone on to check the time. Nearly 1:45 in the morning. He began to break the fourth wall to let loose some inner feelings (not caring if anyone was actually listening at this hour).

"Well, it's been 12, no, 13 straight days of rain, rain, rain. I only know this because my little sister Lisa keeps informing my family of the storm's status each morning at breakfast. Not that anyone is particularly interested in hearing this news with the exception of Lana, who's the only one who actually enjoys the downpour thanks to the mud it keeps making for her to play with. But even she's starting to get a little fed up with all this rain. It better let up soon, or else we're all gonna catch cabin fever. Or I guess 'Loud house fever'. I can't help but feel a little jealous of Luna. She's managed to escape all of this. But then again, she worked for what she really wanted, so I do feel proud of my cool big sis for taking responsibility. She's like that. We all miss her though, so I hope this month ends soon. It's not quite the same around here without her or her music."

Self-rant finished, Lincoln laid back upon his pillow, trying to get back to sleep, but to no avail. He wasn't bothered by thunder storms, but for some reason he couldn't return to dreamland. Some nagging voice in his head was calling to him that he wasn't allowed to rest just yet. It was like he was forgetting to do one last thing before he could call it quits again. Then he figured it out. It wasn't the rain or the thunderstorm that was keeping him awake, but something completely different, though in a way related. Mentioning Lisa and Lana out loud had triggered some brotherly instincts in his mind and prompted him to get out of bed and quietly make his way down the hall to check if his younger siblings were sleeping soundly as the storm raged.

It's a big brother's job to make sure his younger sisters are okay, he thought to himself as he tiptoed the short distance to Lana and Lola's room.

It's what a big brother does.

He quietly turned the handle before pushing the door ajar. Through the dim light of the hallway nightlight, he could just make out Lola's sleeping form. Completely still. As for Lana, she was kicking her feet slightly as she snored lightly, but the young grease monkey did this regularly in her sleep. Satisfied that the twins were safe, Lincoln closed their door and turned to face the one directly behind him. Performing the same motions to open it without a sound, he caught a glimpse of his 4 year-old and 15 month-old sisters snoozing peacefully. Finally, he made his way towards Lucy and Lynn's room. Through the crack between door and frame, he saw the young goth girl lying upon her bed just like her snoring older sister. Safe and sound.

Seeing Lynn snoring away, the thought of also checking on his three remaining older sisters formulated in his head, but he shook it off. They were old enough to take care of themselves. Now that his mission was complete, Lincoln felt much better. Looking after his family was a second nature to him, one that he was proud to possess. He took a few moments to do a mental roll call. Luna was having a ball with her friends in another state, his nine other sisters were fast asleep, his parents were downstairs also sleeping, and he knew all the pets were inside the house too (Charles was kept inside on rainy nights like these). The Loud family is safe, he thought confidently as he gazed down the dark hallway.

Only then did his eyes catch a shimmer of light close to the family's sole bathroom. Stepping closer and farther from the nightlight's glow, he saw that it was coming from the bottom of the closed door leading to Luna and Luan's bedroom. There was only one person currently occupying it and therefore only one person who could be awake. What was Luan doing up this late at night, though technically early in the morning? Lincoln stared at the light and then at the door, weighing his options. Maybe she was planning an elaborate prank to pull on the family when they woke up. Perhaps he should spy on her a little to know the threats that awaited him ahead of time. Or maybe the storm had woken Luan up like it had done to him. Was she in trouble? Lincoln didn't think that was much of a possibility. Luan was clever and fully capable of handling any problem she faced, always being the one in the family who chose to look at the bright side of things, even if that meant telling a bad joke in the most inappropriate of times.

Still, since both of them were awake and her room was right there, he might as well check on her too. He took a breath before knocking lightly on the door.

There was a moment of silence, then a scuffle, followed by footsteps. The door slowly opened to reveal 14 year-old Luan, her brown hair tied in her usual ponytail, dressed in her yellow plaid pajamas complete with bunny slippers. She looked mildly surprised at the sight of her little brother at this hour and greeted him with a huge yawn. "Hey, Lincoln. You okay?"

He nodded. As disheveled as his sister's appearance was, he thought she looked rather endearing. "Yeah, I'm fine, Luan. I was…just wondering if you were okay."

She blinked before nodding slowly. "Oh yeah, I'm okay." She said that, but Lincoln wasn't so sure she meant it. Having lived with many sisters for so long, he had developed a knack of detecting subtle signs that said otherwise and revealed inner feelings. Clearly, she was tired, which explained any lack of enthusiasm in her voice. But in its place, there seemed to be a hint of melancholy instead. Lincoln studied Luan's face carefully as he looked up at her. It was hard to tell since she was mostly in shadow thanks to the bedroom light being positioned behind her, but he thought he could see a strange look in her eyes. It looked like she had been…crying?

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She responded with the affirmative. "I'm fine, Linc. Really. I just…the storm woke me up, that's all."

The complex system within Lincoln's brain still wasn't satisfied with her answer. He took a chance to press further. "Well, it's just that you look kind of…sad. Is everything all right Luan?"

His sister stared at him. She crossed her arms as she looked down at her bunny slippers and sighed. "I'm fine," she muttered. But clearly, she was not. She turned around and walked back into her room, leaving the door open. Lincoln seized the opportunity to follow her inside and close the door behind him.

This was obviously not the first time he had been in Luan and Luna's room and he knew it very well. The square footage wasn't as large as that of Lori and Leni's room, however, due to the girls sharing a bunk bed, it always somehow seemed to feel more spacious, even with their various items scattered here and there. With its lavender walls and carpet, soft yellow lights, colourful posters, Luna's beanbag chair, Luan's Hollywood-esque vanity mirror, Luna's amps, keyboard, and drum set, and Luan's zany comedy props, the room felt very much like a teen-lounge. Like a cool get-away you'd like to kick back and hang out at. Lincoln often wondered why they didn't group together here for sibling meetings. There always seemed to be something new to discover. He preferred his own room of course, but this was easily the most interesting room of the house, with both the fun and cool things it held within its walls and the art that Luna and Luan created with them. Lori and Leni's room was much too girly for his taste. Lynn and Lucy's room was both too creepy and too sporty. Reptiles slithered around him the moment he set foot in the twins' room, not to mention that all the pink and gloss were way too eye-watering. And Lisa's experiments didn't really grab at him to deem her and Lily's room as interesting…just confusing. And weird.

Like all his sisters, both Luna and Luan always welcomed him in their room to have some fun whenever he paid them a visit to ask for a favour. He always got the impression that each of them wanted to mold him after her own image.

Speaking of Luan, he watched as the young comedienne sat on her bunk of the bed. There was no doubt about it: with the way she sagged her shoulders and hung her head low, she was definitely distressed about something. It wasn't normal for his chirpy, slap-happy sister to be this morose, even when it was bedtime. Some unknown force was eating her up on the inside, he just knew it. Call it sibling intuition, but he could tell that something was up. But what could it be?

Lincoln sat down next to her. "Something's bugging you, isn't it." He said this more as a statement rather than a question. Luan looked at him. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked kindly.

Luan looked down at the carpet, mixed feelings crossing her face. "No, it's…it's silly. You'll just laugh at me."

"I won't," he said automatically. Lincoln's mind went to work, running through all the different scenarios that he could think of that could possibly put Luan in this unhappy mood. A clap of thunder echoed outside.

"Are you afraid of the storm? Because if you are, that's nothing to be ashamed of, I mean…"

The girl cut him off, still not looking at him. "No, Lincoln, it's not the storm."

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"No."

Lincoln was starting to run out of ideas. He was about to ask if she had been attacked by Ace Savvy's latest arch nemesis The Poker, who prevented children from falling asleep by poking them non-stop in order to take control of their sleepless, worn out brains. But as he gazed at her forlorn face, he noticed a few more signs that he hadn't noticed when they were facing each other on the threshold earlier. There was a certain look in her eyes, one he thought he had seen before, somewhere, sometime ago. This wasn't a look of fear or anxiety, but one of longing and yearning in a very sad and desperate sort of way. The type of look one has when a pet or a dear friend has been lost. Sort of like the look Leni had last year, when Lori had been away from home for several days while competing in her golfing tournament.

Oh.

And that's when it hit him. All the pieces to the puzzle seemed to fall into place at the same time. Of course, he thought. Luan wasn't scared of the storm or a nightmare, and hadn't been attacked by The Poker. No, if his guess was right, then this was something else entirely. He spoke up in a very careful, slow voice.

"Luan? Do you…do you miss Luna?"

Still staring at the carpet, Luan blushed immensely.

His suspicion confirmed, Lincoln put his hand on his sister's back. "It's okay, Luan. We all miss Luna. There's nothing wrong with that. Why would you think I would laugh at you?"

Luan slowly turned her head to look at him at last, looking very embarrassed indeed. "I'm a teenager, Lincoln. I'm supposed be too old to be all…mushy and stuff. I feel so silly missing Luna." Just saying her roommate's name out loud stopped her confession, and started to bring fresh tears to her eyes. Knowing what to do, Lincoln gently put his arms around Luan and pulled her carefully towards him. He could feel Luan quivering as she hugged him back, tears slowly falling down her face.

"I miss her, Linc. I don't know why, but…I really do."

Her little brother gently rubbed her back to comfort her. "It's okay, Luan. It's okay. I'm right here. You're not alone." Aside from soft whimpers and sniffles, her sobs were completely silent as she held on to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. It genuinely broke Lincoln's heart to see her so sad. This cheerful girl full of optimism in every situation didn't deserve to feel such sorrow. The last time he had seen her so broken like this was when the family had successfully tricked her into making her believe that they were leaving Royal Woods for good. Making her cry like that was just confirmation that their counter-attack prank had worked, and after his humiliating experience with Mrs. Johnson, Lincoln hadn't felt a single pang of pity for Luan's crying state, instead feeling incredibly satisfied at her water-works parade, as did everyone else.

But this was different. His big sister was distressed for a very different reason. She was lonely and her heart was broken, and it was up to him to make things right.

It's what a brother does for his sisters.

Besides, neither of them was going to get any sleep if he didn't.

When Luan's shaking ceased slightly, he slowly pulled back to look her right in the eye. "Luan. There's nothing wrong with missing someone you care about. It's human nature. It's very normal.

Luan didn't look convinced. She slowly let go of Lincoln and looked down at her bunny slippers before speaking. "I try to hide it during the day. And I feel fine when I'm hanging out with you and everyone else. But as soon as it's bedtime and I try to sleep, just knowing that the bunk on top of me is empty just makes me feel so… lonely." She looked away, in what appeared to be shame. "I thought having the whole room to myself would be fun, just like when I had one years ago. But now I just want Luna back," she said weakly, fighting back more tears. "I haven't had a decent sleep in days."

Then, entirely unfitting for her current position, she cracked a small smile. "Too bad we're not in a national park. You could call me a 'lone ranger', get it?" She made a very weak attempt to laugh, but it was no good. Even she felt the pointlessness in delivering a joke to make herself feel better. Smile gone, she put her face in her hands.

Lincoln, however, kept his hand on her back, stroking it soothingly. "How long have you felt this way?" he asked gently as his eyes lingered on the purple threaded bracelet that Luan was wearing.

"I don't know. Maybe a few days after she left."

He nodded slowly. Back in the early years, when their family was only half its current size, there were enough bedrooms for he and all his older sisters to have all to themselves, even if his was just a transformed closet. But once more and more kids started entering the Louds' world, his sisters soon began to have to share bedrooms. This system had started years ago, and Luna and Luan had "lived" together ever since the beginning of it. He knew they enjoyed each other's company, so he could imagine the pain Luan was fighting right now. "I know how you're feeling, you know."

The girl looked at him. "How?"

"Well, in a way. When I first got my own room, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. My own private castle, you know? But pretty soon I began to feel a little lonely too. I missed you guys." Luan couldn't help but smile a tiny bit at this information.

He continued. "But for you, it's harder. I never had a sibling roommate so I didn't know what I was missing, just that I was alone. You, on the other hand, know who you're missing and you're alone."

Not wanting to linger on that last statement with the word 'alone', Lincoln quickly moved on to his next point. "But the thing is, you're not alone. You have me and the rest of our family. And you don't have to be ashamed of missing your sister either. We all miss Luna. And besides, she hasn't left us forever. She'll be back by the end of the month."

Luan looked at Lincoln as she listened to him. What he was telling her seemed to make sense, and she was starting to feel a little less heavy inside. "But if you all miss her too, how come no one else is having a mental breakdown like I am?"

"Because she's your closest sister," he stated as a matter-of-factly. "And vice-versa. Every day I can see it in the way you act towards each other. We all may miss her, but you miss her the most because of how close you two are. You guys are a dynamic duo! I honestly don't know what's held this connection between you guys for all this time, but it's always been there and held together strong."

The girl sat very still as she let everything that her brother just said sink in. It was true; she and Luna had made a very tight bond with each other over the years of sharing a room together and were extremely close. Maybe Lincoln was right about all this pain she had been feeling for the last week, but was too afraid to open up to anyone about it.

Lincoln, as if reading her mind, smiled warmly at her and pressed on. "And Luan? There's never a time where it's wrong to miss someone. And it doesn't matter if you're a teenager, or 6 years-old, or even a hundred years-old. We miss each other because we love each other. It just shows how much you care about the person. Look at me, it's been months since Ronnie Anne moved away and I still miss her tons." Lincoln suddenly stopped short and blushed when he realized what he had just implied. Too late, the words had escaped. "Dang it," he muttered. Luan, however, giggled at his predicament and poked him playfully in the chest. "Ohhh, you're too adorable Linc!" Her giggles became laughter, but not too loudly so as to not wake the other siblings. The boy looked very flustered, but just seeing his comedic sister finally laughing and smiling was enough to forget his awkward situation and even laugh a little along with her.

"You really fell into that one! Do you feel a little crushed? Get it?" The girl kept laughing. Lincoln groaned, yet felt happy all the same. Yep, Luan's back.

It was one of those few, but not uncommon times when Luan was actually right. Laughter really is the remedy needed for restoring the soul, and in this case, restoring a depressed heart. After a good round of it, Luan managed to calm down and she wiped a tear from her eye. It wasn't a tear of sadness anymore, but one mixed with joy and deep affection for her little brother. No professional psychiatrist could replace the little doctor seated right beside her.

"Seriously, Lincoln. Thanks for this. You really are the sweetest brother ever."

Lincoln smiled proudly. "But I'm your only brother."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Even if I had 10 brothers, the only one I'd ever want is the one sitting right here beside me right now. She leaned down and kissed his cheek before hugging him fondly. He blushed again, but regained consciousness to hug her in return.

Outside, the thunderstorm had ended and it sounded like the rain was finally starting to let up.

It was now very late and both siblings were very tired. Lincoln broke the hug before getting up from Luan's bed while she remained sitting. "You think you'll be okay tonight?" he asked as he faced her.

Luan looked up at Luna's empty bunk. She did feel better about Luna's absence, but she still felt a little lonely. She looked at her brother. "Maybe. I don't know."

Lincoln, the self-proclaimed 'man with the plan' felt an idea formulate. "Well, I'm no Luna, but would it make you feel better if I slept in her bed tonight? At least you'll have some company."

The girl considered his offer. It would definitely help her if someone else was here too, having been used to it after all these years. She smiled innocently at her brother. "That might help."

Lincoln smiled. "Alrighty then. Let me just get Bun-Bun." He exited the room, leaving Luan to her thoughts. She didn't have to wait for long; Lincoln was back, his stuffed rabbit tucked in his arm. Luan smirked at this completely adorable sight. "You still need that to sleep, huh?"

"Yep." He was used to being teased about it, and he didn't care. If Bun-Bun helped him to sleep, then so be it.

His sister was fidgeting with her ponytail, which he noticed. It looked like she wanted to say something more. "Is something else wrong?"

"No, I just…was wondering if you maybe wanted to sleep with me in my bed tonight. We could both keep each other company," she said in a hopeful tone with a tiny hint of begging, one he recognized as a much subtler version of the one she used when she pleaded for him to be her Funny Business assistant. She even threw in the infamous puppy eyes, the look that every single one of his sisters had managed to achieve and used whenever obtaining something out of their reach was imperative.

But such a manipulative appearance was unnecessary. Because after tonight, how could he say no?

"Sure," he said warmly.

He pulled Luna's pillow down from the top bunk down to Luan's and placed it beside her pillow as she scooted over to give him room. After turning off the light, the room was instantly enveloped in the night darkness as he crawled under the covers next to his sister. Without hesitation, Luan gently pulled Lincoln right up to her, snuggling him like a teddy bear. It had been a long time since she had done anything like this and she liked it. Lincoln was used to sleeping on his own, but every once in a while, he did enjoy cuddling with his sisters. Especially if it made them feel better.

Commonly, it was his younger sisters whom he often took upon himself to cuddle with in their beds until whatever nightmares or sorrows that had gripped them previously were erased from existence. Lana and Lola were the most common recipients, and on occasion, though less frequently, Lucy or Lisa. But in no way in this world were his older sisters exempted from such treatment.

"Bun-Bun may be your sleep toy, but tonight, you're my sleep toy," Luan joked as she nuzzled him affectionately. Lincoln couldn't help but smirk as he cuddled her back.

"And Linc?"

"Yeah?"

She gave him a gentle squeeze as she spoke lower than a whisper. "Thank you."

And so, they lay there, brother and sister, held protectively in each other's arms as the rain outside slowly ceased its downpour into a slow rhythmic tap-tap-tap upon the roof. Lincoln watched as his sister, once miserable, but now her old laughing self again, drifted peacefully off to sleep, her chest rising and falling slowly with every breath. He then turned to the fourth wall once more.

"You know, I didn't exactly expect the night to turn out like this. I was on a mission, and that was to make sure my younger sisters were okay. But instead, I ended up taking care of one of my older sisters. And you know what? That's perfectly fine, because as a big brother, it's my duty to look after my younger sisters. But as a brother, it's my duty to look after all my sisters. And tonight, Luan needed a good friend nearby, so I'm glad that storm woke me up to reach her. The role of just being there for your sisters when they need you may seem like a burden to some, but for me, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love my sisters, and now, all I want to do is make sure that Luan gets a good night's sleep." He looked back at Luan's sleeping form, listening to her steady breathing. He settled comfortably next to her, snuggling his face gently into the crook of her neck. And as the rhythmic sound of her heart beat lured him into blissful slumber, there was one final thought that settled within his mind before his internal systems shut down for the night.

Mission accomplished.

Luan had been asleep…that is until Lincoln started breaking that weird fourth wall. Woken up by his not-so-quiet venting, she had quickly decided to play off as if she were sleeping, so she ended up secretly hearing everything he had to say. And his words genuinely touched her heart. He really needs to speak a lot more quietly if he wants any privacy at all, she thought. Most of the time, she and the other girls would ignore him when he did this, but she remembered that he had once said that speaking his inner thoughts out like that always helped him to release many loose emotions and overall just feel better. Maybe it was like stating the perfect punchline to successfully deliver the perfect joke. So, she decided to give it a try. She turned to the infamous fourth wall and spoke to whoever was listening.

"Well everyone, tonight was certainly interesting. I've been trying to ignore all this pain in my gut for over a week now, but I can't deny it anymore. I miss Luna. And it's been driving me nuts. But then my little brother pops out of nowhere and gives me the most comforting words I've heard in so long. But the crazy thing is that everything he said is true. Thanks to him, I don't have to be afraid of admitting that I miss Luna anymore. I really can't thank Linc enough for getting up to help me when I was down." Luan snickered quietly at her joke before she continued with her little confessions.

"When it comes down to it, all of this just reminds me that Lincoln really is the best brother ever. Sure, he reads comics in his underwear and does other dumb boy things, but I love him so much. Sometimes he seems to really understand just what his sisters need..." Her tired eyes gazed at the boy, snoozing silently next to her as she pulled the covers higher over his shoulder. "...and all I need tonight is him," she finished as she nudged his foot. Noticing how cold his feet felt, she promptly wrapped her own feet around them in an effort to warm him up.

Her mind began to wander, and her thoughts brought her back to earlier that night, when she had lay completely still upon her bed, unable to sleep as loneliness threatened to slowly chew her up from the inside and she had only been spared upon hearing a knock on the door to find her little brother standing there. She vividly remembered his face, filled with concern and compassion for his big sister even when she denied that anything was wrong. Lincoln was a lot smarter than what she ever gave him credit for. And much more special. The connection she held with her brother was of course very important to her, and tonight's events were truly a reminder of what strength that their bond was held together by.

It was only then that she became aware that her camcorder, standing at the wall across the room and pointing at the bed, used for capturing any of her nighttime sleep-puns, had been recording this whole time. Which meant her entire discussion with Lincoln, the hug, her tears, his words, the laughs, the cuddling, and both of their individual self-rants were all captured on film. She smiled and closed her eyes. That recording was definitely a keeper. If she ever doubted her little brother again, she'd have to return to this footage to remind her that forgetting his words tonight would be equivalent to forgetting a universal law.

She then shifted herself closer to her brother, hugging him to her chest and enjoying the warmth before finally succumbing to the best sleep she ever had in a long time, a content smile etched upon her face. Held in their combined embrace, she felt safe and secure, warm and loved; no longer ashamed or embarrassed of any feelings hidden deep within her. As if Mother Nature was correlating with the events tonight, the rain had stopped completely and the clouds had started to part ways, allowing the moon to shine its rich white light through the window, as the pair slept peacefully, wrapped up in not just each other's arms, but what they shared and valued together the most: pure sibling love.

Thanks to Lincoln, Luan had learned that missing Luna just meant how much Luna meant to her. But as a bonus, she had also learned how much Lincoln meant to her too.

The End