Disclaimer: I don't own The Loud House!

Title: Distance

Summary: The Loud family learns to deal with Lori being away at college.

...

Luna jolted awake with a hoarse cry after being poked directly in the ear canal, propping herself up on her elbows. Her blankets are wrinkled and in need of a good wash; the same of which could be said of her pajamas. "Wassat? Who died? Where's the body?"

Another poke got her to turn her head sluggishly to the side of her bed, where the twins stood. Lola had on her usual long nightgown, gnawing her lip between her buck teeth. Lana was still in her overalls, but that wasn't news. She was at a stage where she practically lived in them.

"Can we bunk in here tonight?" Lola whispered, eyes darting around the room.

The girl stared at her younger siblings, then her roommate. Luan was awake as well, shrugging helplessly, baffled. It took Luna a moment to find the proper words. "Why not Leni?"

"Leni doesn't make me feel safe from aliens," Lana admitted, hugging her elbows. "But you'd fight off aliens with your guitar, right?"

Luna slowly blinked. "If you think I'm getting my baby covered in alien guts, you're wrong. I'll throw hands before I let them touch 'er."

"Good enough," Lola said. "We're not particularly picky. Scooch over."

She did so, grumbling things they were too young to say under her breath. Lola and Lana crawled up and under, pressing close to their older sister's body. Something hard and suspiciously bead-shaped dug into her breastbone from Lola's nightgown. Luna counted herself lucky she hadn't put on her usual face mask, which would smear on her sheets.

Luan slipped into a pair of clown slippers with an audible squeak. She was half-smiling, half-grimacing. "I think I'll go start up the coffee pot."

"Please do, dude," Luna called after her, voice scratchy.

"Can I have a cup?"

"Caffeine stunts your growth, dude. You wanna be a shrimp forever?"

Lola gave a little humph and crossed her arms. "You're not exactly a basketball player yourself."

Luna grunted. "What's on your mind, little dudes?"

"We had a bad dream," Lola replied. "Obviously."

The older Loud blinked at the twins, one eye at a time, before responding. "Lols, when you have a nightmare, you scream and wake up the whole house. Try again."

Lana sighed, tugging on her pajama shirt. "I had a bad dream. Lola just came with me."

"You seem to have a lot of those."

"Yeah. I think it's all those horror movies."

"Maybe you should lay off them, then?"

"But I like horror movies."

She made a shrugging noise. "Can't argue that."

Lola buried her nose in Luna's chest, so quiet the older girl could barely hear her. "I miss Lori."

Luna closed her eyes. "Same."

They'd all gone to drop Lori off at her new school. It was a tight fit, but the Loud family was used to that. Shared rooms, shared seats, shared teachers; the only thing not shared in the family was toothbrushes and deodorant. They certainly weren't used to the silence that overtook them as they rode home, or the folded sheets sitting on Lori's empty bed.

Luan counted herself lucky. She couldn't imagine how Leni must be feeling right now. She's probably as white as a sheet. She chuckled to herself in spite of it all, making a mental note to write that one down sometime.

The girl took the creaky steps two at a time, making lots of noise so her parents knew she wasn't attempting to sneak out. Not that she would. There aren't a lot of people out there willing to come to a comedy show at one in the morning. Not her kind of comedy show, anyway.

"Oh," she said, stopping at the base of the stairs. "Hey, Lisa. What's up?"

Lisa was bent over her chemicals, scribbling onto a clipboard. Lily snoozed away in a makeshift cradle on the couch beside her. It wasn't an odd sight, per say- Lisa didn't exactly hold herself to any set hours, and it wasn't like they could install some when she was curing the common cold and other such things- but her doing it in the darkness gave it an almost eerie glow to it. But, hey. It's not Luan's place to judge.

Lisa pushes her glasses up her nose. "I'm working on an antidote to heartbreak."

"Ah," Luan replied, as if this were a common occurrence. "You that torn up about it, Lis?"

"Not me. Lily. I just got her to fall asleep." She hunched over her writings even more, looking like a goblin with no bridge. "I'm too intelligent to let mere emotions hinder me. But, alas, Lily is too young to accomplish the same feat."

Luan perched herself on the free space on the couch. She didn't wrap an arm around her, though she wanted to. Lisa had very clearly defined personal space at a time like this. "Well, I dunno about that. Lily's a pretty smart baby. Won't be long now until she starts learning to talk more."

"What do you want?"

"I'm making coffee."

"I'd enjoy a cup as well, if you please."

"You wanna stay short forever?"

"Let's not delude ourselves. We're a fairly tiny gaggle of children. Luna's fifteen and she can barely reach Mick Swagger's chest. Short is expected of us."

"You got me there, Lis, but I'm still not getting you a cup. Four years old is too young for caffeine, no matter how smart you are."

"Dangit," she grunted mildly, turning back to her work.

Luan leaned back, propping her leg up on her knee, arms behind her head like a pillow. She didn't think it would be in good taste to leave her sister alone in the dark like this. "Y'know what? I think that coffee can wait."

Lincoln's room felt more closed in than it usually was. It wasn't exactly a big space to begin with, and the added weight of the silent halls seemed to cut it in half. The floors were made of lava, and the only safe spot was his bed, which was too warm to be comfortable.

"Cut it out, Lynn!" he yelled, rapping his fist on the wall. Lynn, of course, didn't listen, and continued doing rather loud push-ups from her room. Lincoln sighed in frustration and slipped off the bed, sinking his feet into the metaphorical lava. It didn't sting as much as too-hot bath water.

He stalked down the hallway, finding her door to be wide open and the lights on. Lincoln leaned against the doorway, watching as she hopped up and down, clapping her hands. "I'm surprised Lucy is letting you do this."

"Lucy isn't here," she panted, switching to jumping jacks. "She went into the attic- something about writing more of her spooky poetry. Leni followed her."

"Leni? But she hates the dark."

"I know. Shocked me too."

"So, uh, stupid question. Is this going to go on all night, or...?"

Lynn stopped long enough to shrug. "It's gonna go as long as I say it does."

Lincoln leveled her a look. "Don't make me get Luna."

"Luna's cheering the twins up."

"Don't make me get Luan."

"Ooh, scary. She might pun me to death."

The boy let out a long sigh. He'd threaten to get Mom and Dad, but they were for emergencies only. Lincoln wasn't a snitch. At least, not that kind of snitch. Venting to the omniscient presence was something different entirely. Who were they gonna tell? Ronnie Anne? "Lynn, what're you doing?"

"Practicing."

"For what?"

"Sports."

"You need sleep for sports."

She waved a halfhearted fist at him. "Get off my back, twerp."

Lincoln raised his eyebrows. "Is this about Lori?"

"What? No!" Lynn shook the accusation off with a snarl. "I just can't sleep. I'm exercising until I conk out. Everybody does it."

"I've never done that in my life."

"Yeah, well, when you get to be my age-"

"Lynn, there's only two years between us."

The pre-teen let out a long sigh, sweaty shoulders slumping. "Fine. It's about Lori. I miss her, alright? That's not a crime."

"No, it isn't," he agreed. Lincoln led her over to her bed. "But Lori wouldn't want you doing this."

"Are you kidding?" she scoffed. "Lori would love knowing we were angsting over her."

"Well, yeah, but if your skin gets oily and you get a breakout she'd never forgive herself."

"Ugh, you have a point." Lynn flopped back with a groan. "Wouldja mind takin' Lucy's bed? Just until she gets back. I ain't used to sleeping alone."

"Sure." Lincoln pulled Lucy's latest coffin off the top, setting it down with a wheeze. "It's better than the closet, anyway."

"I was gonna go to my new secret dark place," Lucy said as Leni crawled up the attic steps, clutching her notebook closer to her chest. "But I heard you coming."

"I totes get it." Leni nodded soulfully. "Between you and me, I found a new eye shadow color combo that I haven't even told Lori yet. It's too personal."

The fingers around her notebook tightened as she came nearer, sitting criss-cross a few feet away. "What do you want?"

"I don't." Leni shrugged.

"You hate the dark."

"Yeaaah, but it's not nearly as bad when I'm with someone."

"You want company, then?"

"I guess? I just thought you looked sad. Sadder."

"Sigh," Lucy said, then physically sighed. "When I'm feeling like this, I usually just write a poem about it."

"Oh, okay." Leni clapped a hand over her eyes. "Go ahead. I won't peek."

"I can't."

"I won't, I promise."

"It's not that." The girl loosened her grip, settling the notebook on her knees. "I just can't."

"Aw, Lucy," Leni said sympathetically. "Do you want a hug?"

Lucy's chin wobbled a bit. "You promise not to tell?"

"Promise."

Lana sat up, a bump in the blankets. "What if we all split up?"

Luna rubbed at her gunky eyes with a sigh. "We will. We all have different passions."

"That doesn't help me feel better, Lunes."

"Yeah, but it's true."

Lola hit her shoulder on Lana's behalf. Luna let out a quiet grunt. "You're terrible at being comforting!"

"I am when I'm sleepy, yeah." Luna halfheartedly pulled the twin closer. "C'mon up, Lans. Snuggle pile, party of three."

The twin in question came crawling up, lip trembling, and buried her face in her older sister's belly. "I don't wanna split up."

"You'll still have me, silly." Lola shook her shoulder.

"Are you sure? Lana lifted her head to look at her, teary-eyed. "You wanna be a princess. I wanna fix cars and toilets. How would it even work?"

"You'll fix the cars and toilets at my castle, of course," she sniffed curtly, sticking her nose up. "I'll have my servants build you a garage and everything."

"Can I bring my lizards?"

"Sure, why not? I'm used to being stuck with 'em as is." Lola poked her in the nose. "Just no spiders, okay? You gotta feed spiders creepy crawlies, and I don't do creepy crawlies."

Luna had been quiet to give them privacy, but she finally tilted her head up. "If you want, we can call Lori in the mornin'. I'm sure she'll be just as happy to hear from us as we will be to hear from her."

"Y'promise?"

"Swear on ma's grave."

Lana smiled a little. "That sounds awesome."

The duo shifted closer, curling up in Luna's arms, and attempted to sleep once again.

"It really is illogical," Lisa said for the fifth time, squinting at her work. "Missing someone."

"If you say so, Lisa." Luan had sunken into the couch, eyes halfway closed.

"I mean, just wait until science has cured death. Why would we want to hold onto such primitive emotions then?"

"That could be a long time in the future, Lis. We might go into the sun by then. Or maybe science will burn out. Get it?"

"That's not even a good bad pun."

She put a hand to her chest. "You wound me."

"And why would I miss her?" Lisa demanded testily, pouring another vial of liquid. "All Lori ever did was get in the way of my studies and fawn over her potential mate. It's not like she died or anything. Mom and Dad could drive us there, if they wanted."

"They could," Luan agreed. "I never said you missed her, though."

"Right." She rubbed her eyelids. "I think my tiny body is losing steam, so to speak. I'm mistaking words and connotations."

"Why don't you take a nap?" she urged. "Lily's a baby. She won't mind waiting."

Lisa waggled a finger. "The sooner, the better."

"If you fall asleep on your research, it'll probably be later."

The younger girl scowled and reluctantly scooched back on the couch, allowing herself to lean on Luan. "Curse you and your infernal logic."

"Yeah, I'm pretty brutal, huh?" She pulled her in for a hug, ignoring the reek coming off her un-washed hair. "I miss her too, just so you know. That's pretty normal."

"I'm not normal," she mumbled into her shirt.

"Maybe not, but you are human."

Lisa scowled. "That's even worse than being normal."

"Better than being both, though, right?"

"Hush." She curled closer. "I'm resting."

"This was a stupid idea. I'll bet Lucy isn't even coming back."

"Maybe," Lincoln agreed, rolling onto his back. "But I don't mind. It's a comfy bed."

"You do know Fangs sleeps above her, right?"

He glanced warily up at the sleeping bat. "I'm... trying not to think about it."

Lynn sat up, disgruntled. "We should just go watch movies or something."

"I'm pretty sure Lisa took the living room, and we all know how she gets."

"Ouf. Touche. Wanna go for a run?"

"In the middle of the night?"

"I'm really bored, okay?" Lynn shrugged. "And I really wanna take my mind off everything."

Lincoln stretched. "That's what sleep is for."

She sighed and sat up, picking up one of the many balls surrounding her bed to bounce it off the wall. Lincoln let out a grunt and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his ears. "You think Lori is sleeping better than us?"

"Probably not. But at least she's got her Bobby Boo-Boo Bear or whatever."

"Wait..." Lucy's mouth hung open. "What do you mean, 'poems don't have to rhyme'?"

"I know, right?" Leni nodded heavily. "I was shocked too. But my English teachers always swear on it."

"But what's the point, then?" She waved her hands around. "That makes basically anything a poem, then. It's just how you frame it in the word document."

The older girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think there's, like, other rules, but I dunno 'em. I just know they don't always have to rhyme."

Lucy somberly shook her head. "I just don't understand this world anymore."

"I never did," Leni admitted sheepishly. "So you're doing better than me."

It took maybe an hour of badgering to wear Lincoln down enough for the duo to go downstairs, but by then Luan and Lisa both had fallen asleep, snoring quietly, only to be awoken by their creaking footsteps. Lynn flipped on the last game she'd recorded and sprawled out, rocking Lily's sleeper without any real thought behind it. Lincoln had a comic book he'd intended to read, but he ultimately used it as a mini-blanket instead, watching without comprehension as the players moved about the screen.

Eventually, the twins and Luna joined them, Luna flopping to the floor and snoring within minutes.

Lucy descended from the attic with a pen in her mouth and paper in hand, while Leni slipped and slid in a pair of fuzzy socks, bags so deep under her eyes you would've thought it'd been a week since she'd last closed her eyelids, when really she'd simply been rubbing them a lot to focus better on reading.

"Thanks," Lucy said as she was offered a seat on the couch. She scowled at the paper. "I hate it."

Lynn set the remote on her knee. "Bad poem, Luce?"

"Yes, but that's okay. It was a vent thing." The girl carefully folded it into squares, sliding it into her pajama pocket. "I hate the silence more than I hate my poem."

"Big same," Lincoln offered, head falling back against the sofa. "I wish we had ice cream, like the people in the movies. That'd be nice."

Lisa checked her watch. "It'll be a few hours before it's open, older brother. I suggest we get a cat-nap, then head over."

"Yeah," Leni murmured, burying her face in her arms. "That sounds nice."

Author's Note: I dunno why it took me so long to write the last portion of this but boy howdy did it. I don't feel entirely pleased with this, but I'd like to think it's alright, if nothing else.

As always, I must point out that I can't pun to save my life. Not on purpose, anyway. So my Luan always comes out kinda weak.

-Mandaree1