A/N Hey guys! And welcome to part 1 of my triple update weekend! I've got a few requests to fill over the summer, and so now I'm just hammering away at them. I hope you guys enjoy!
Story Summary/Prompt: Leni x Lincoln fluff (Requested by Lexboss).
Helping A Big Sister
"Ahh, it's good to be home." Lincoln went with a smile as he took in the nighttime air around him. Tonight was the night Lincoln had finally been allowed to see his favorite Band- Smooch- in action, and he loved every second of it.
Though, after spending close to three hours at a concert with his friends, even he was exhausted and had decided to finally go home. Now, on a normal day if he decided to come home past curfew, he'd be in for a major grounding. Luckily for him though, his parents already knew of how long the concert would take and had planned accordingly.
And so, the young boy hopped up the short flight of stairs leading to his front door, before taking care not to break the front door knob, "Just gotta ease my way inside and everything's gonna be all right!" He thought, before slowly, but carefully opening the front door to his home, stepping through, and then moving to close it behind him. "Steady, steady…"
"Get out!" A feminine voice echoed through the home, no doubt startling everyone inside… as well as causing Lincoln to lose his careful grip on the door, slamming it as a result.
"Lincoln!" Rita and Lynn Sr. shouted, no doubt frustrated by their son's lack of control.
"Dangit." He thought, "If that door comes off in the morning, I am so grounded." Before turning and bolting up the stairs, "Sorry mom and dad!"
"You know that if that door's broken in the morning, we're gonna have to finally get a professional to fix it, right?" Rita quipped, annoyance filling her voice.
"Yes, I know dear." Lynn Sr. answered, frustration filling his own, "And if it is, he's getting grounded for life."
"It's past curfew, who could possibly be arguing this late at night?!" Lincoln worriedly thought, as he jumped onto the second floor clearing; the young boy shivered at the mere idea of having to deal with sister-fight protocol again, especially with how well it turned out last time. He gulped, "Let's just hope they can handle it themselves this time…"
"Oh, hey Lincoln." Lori turned to the young boy, defeat filling her voice, "You're late. Did mom and dad know you were coming home past curfew?"
The boy nodded, "Yeah…" He tited his head in curiosity, "Uhh, what's going on with Leni?"
The young woman shrugged, "I'm gonna be completely honest with you Linc, I don't know." She sighed and looked her brother in the eyes, "All I did was start talking about Bobby like I usually do, and the next thing I knew, she was shouting at me to get out of the room!"
Lincoln raised an eyebrow in confusion. Now, of course the Louds were like a typical dysfunctional family, with each member having their own issues and flaws. And for Lori, Lincoln liked to think that she was a bossy know-it-all who was too boy obsessed to be anything else. And yet, deep down, he respected her ability to keep order in what would otherwise be a chaotic household.
Yet, the mere idea of someone, let alone what many would describe as the ditzy blonde of the house, usurping her power and evicting her from what the eldest often described as her room, well that was just too difficult to believe.
"Uhh, you sure I'm hearing you right?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I mean, are you sure we're talking about the same Leni here?"
Lori nodded, before flaring her arms out for emphasis, "Yes! Leni just went and kicked me out of our room!" She then retracted her arms and leaned back against the door, "She didn't even tell me what's bugging her before she did it…"
"That's not like Leni…" Lincoln rubbed his chin, "Well… she did mention that this had something to do with Bobby… so maybe he did something…" He quickly shoved that thought to the back of his mind, "No, he wouldn't do that, especially to Lori." He then continued, "Well, did you annoy her or something? Or do you know if something happened today?"
Yet, the eldest sister simply shrugged in response, "If I knew something, I'd say, but as it stands, Leni went mad and kicked me out for no reason." She then shook her head, "She just pushed me out and slammed the door in my face."
A moment of silent contemplation passed with that, with neither Loud sibling sure how to react to the sudden shift.
And so, with a sigh, Lincoln broke the silence, "Well then… how about I try to talk to her? I mean, it couldn't hurt right?"
Lori immediately raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that bro? I mean, I know you're the 'man with a plan' and stuff, but are you sure you can handle… whatever Leni's going through right now?"
Lincoln shrugged in response, "I don't know if I can, but I won't know if I don't try, right?"
For a moment, the eldest sister stared at the boy in thought, narrowing her eyes as if trying to scrutinize him. And yet, she let out a breath, "Look twerp, I'm gonna give you a chance to talk to her, and maybe get her out of this… whatever that's bugging her." She tried to put force behind her words, but even she knew, she was too tired to deal with it.
"All right." Lincoln nodded in understanding, "Plus, if I don't help her out of this now, it's gonna be bothering us later." He immediately thought, before he watched his sister unlock the strange combination lock to her room and force the door open, allowing the boy to enter. And enter he did.
With Lincoln inside, the young woman closed the door behind him, before she turned to face the hallway, "All right everyone, nothing to see here, all of you need to go back to sleep!"
And before she knew it, random grumbles emanated from her siblings rooms, before they all returned to their slumber.
Immediately, Lincoln found himself standing in a dark room, with nothing, but the dim moonlight filtering through the nearby window and soft sobs filling the air.
"All right Lincoln, time to do your thing..." The young boy took a single, deep breath, before he slowly, turned to face the source- a young, blonde-haired woman dressed in turquoise night gown.
"Leni?" He greeted, his light voice cutting through the young woman's tears.
Yet, unwilling to answer the boy, his elder sister continued to cry into her pillow, her salty tears staining the pillowcase.
"Hey Leni..." he repeated, "Maybe she didn't hear me..."
Yet, that received the same result from the woman. She refused to answer his call.
"Maybe I should be more direct..." Lincoln took another deep breath, before rounding the bed until he was standing in front of Leni's head. He kneeled down at her bedside and outstretched his arm, following it up with a light shake.
*Sniffle* The young woman responded by pushing herself up from the pillow and attempting to wipe away some of her tears, "What do you want?"
"Wow, after calling her failed, I didn't actually think that would work..." The young boy rubbed his arm and looked around, "Well Leni... we were wondering if something was the matter? I mean you did kick Lori-"
"It's nothing." Leni turned away in her bed, wrapping herself in her covers as she did so.
Lincoln sighed in response. If leaving with his mother and ten female siblings had taught him anything, it's that when a woman- especially a young one- tells you that something's wrong, most likely something big is going on. And so, he shook his head and walked around the bed, "Leni, I wanna help you."
Yet, the woman responded by turning away once more, "Go away Lincoln. I told you I don't want your help." *Sniffle* "Just leave me alone, ok?"
"But Leni..." Lincoln took a moment to gather his thoughts, "If you don't tell me what's wrong, I can't help you... you don't wanna be sad, don't you?"
Instead of answering, she simply continued her sobbing.
For a moment, Lincoln stood back and thought, "Looks like I'm not gonna get the truth out of her as easily as I'd hoped..." He shook his head, "But when Leni's sad, everyone is!"
A memory quickly rushed to the forefront of his mind- the last time Leni was this sad was when she lost that clothing design contest, and her sadness was so contagious that everyone in the home actually fell into a mini-depression.
Immediately, he shook his head, "Nope, leaving her like this isn't an option." he then took another deep breath and steeled his stance, "That means I have no choice. I have to change tactics."
With that in mind, he turned and opened the door, catching the attention of his eldest sister. "You finish with Leni yet?"
Lincoln sorrowfully shook his head, "Sorry Lori, but she seems to be tougher than I though... mind sleeping in my room while I help her?"
For a moment, Lori considered arguing against the request- after all, that linen closest was small compared to what she already had. And yet, she nodded, "All right, make sure Leni's ok, all right?"
He nodded in response, "You got it, Lori."
Then, Lori simply turned and walked into the young boy's room.
With that, he slowly shut the door behind him, refocusing his gaze upon the young woman in his care, "Welp, here goes!" Quickly, the young man jumped onto his sister's bed, before climbing under the sheets and coming up to her side.
"L-Lincoln?! What are you doing?!" The young woman shouted in surprise.
Yet, Lincoln remained calm- no doubt he had had to deal with situations such as this before, "I'm cheering my big sis up, and I'm not leaving until she's happy!" And then, to emphasize his point, he wrapped his arms around her waist.
For a moment, Leni considered fighting her brother, forcing him out of her bed and out of the room for the night. After all, in her eyes this was her problem and she had to deal with it. And yet... when her gaze fell upon the determined visage of her brother, she couldn't help, but feel comforted. It was as if she knew that he would stay as long as he needed to in order to make her happy.
And that's what she loved about him.
"Now please, will you tell me what's wrong?" Lincoln asked firmly.
Leni chose instead to look away and break free of his embrace, "No. Now please, go to sleep..."
She then turned and hopped on her feet, "I just need some... alone time, ok?" And with that, she walked over to the nearby window and opened it up, stepping through afterwards.
Before he realized what was happening, Lincoln was on his feet, rushing to stop his sister from committing what he though she was implying.
"No, Leni!" He though as he stuck his head out the window. Though, much to his relief, Leni wasn't standing over the edge as if looking into an abyss. Rather, she sat with her legs dangling over the edge, with a small paper in her hands.
"I'm not sure if that's a good sign." Lincoln carefully climbed through the opening, hoping that his father's tiling was good enough to prevent him from falling through, and much to his relief, it was.
Slowly, he approached his sister once more, taking a seat next to her as he did so.
*Sniffle* that sound echoed through the night.
For a moment, Lincoln sat steadfast, unsure of just what to say to his sister.
*Sniffle* she went again, before unfurling the paper as she did so.
"I guess what's going on has something to do with that..." Lincoln leaned over, desperate to get a glimpse of what was causing his sister so much grief.
"Lincoln..." the young woman broke the silence, soft sobs filling the air between her words.
"Y-yes, Leni?" Lincoln stammered.
"Do you think I'm... special?" The young woman asked.
Lincoln's eyes went wide as the sudden realization hit him, "That's why she was sad!" Se wasted no time flaring his arms, "Of course I think you're special! You're you! You're the best-"
"Oh, ok..." she cut him off in disappointment. "I was just asking because I got my report card back today..." her voice trailed off.
When it came to Leni's report cards... well, the Loud always knew what to expect. Not that knowing ever damped the pain that came when the results were reported.
Her eyes begin to wander.
"Leni, don't worry about grades! I mean, come on!" Lincoln tried to wave her off, "You're just-"
"That's not the problem, Lincoln." Leni finally answered, soft tears beginning to stream down her cheeks once more.
Lincoln sat dumbfounded, if it wasn't her self-esteemed being hurt from her typical report card, what could it be?! "What?"
Leni took another deep breath, and lied back, allowing her gaze to fall upon the stars above.
Lincoln followed his sister's movement, "Leni... what's going on?"
She remained silent, her heart slowly speeding up.
"I have to get her to tell me the truth." Lincoln took the young girl and turned her to face him, "Leni, you've been there for me as long as I can remember. Please, let me return the favor." His gaze filled with a hopeful determination.
"Ok…" The young woman sighed. Though she wanted to end their conversation right then and there, she found herself unable to. It was as if she was compelled to tell him everything. "Today all the boys made fun of me for my bad grades..."
"So, high schoolers think they can bully Leni huh?" The young boy could feel rage pooling in from the bottom of his gut, "Who were these people, Leni. I wanna have a little-"
"Lincoln... don't." She sighed, "I got used to all the insults..." before holding up the paper once more, "It's just... I'm afraid that... we'll no ones ever gonna like a girl as dumb as I am!" She begins to cry into her arms, "That I'll never find Mr. Right for me!"
"Well that explains why she snapped at Lori when she mentioned Bobby." Lincoln hardened his gaze, "Leni! Never tell yourself that! You're not dumb! You're just... special."
"Yeah... and despite what TV says, no one wants to be with a 'special' person..." Leni painfully replied.
Lincoln grabbed Leni's shoulders and turned her to face him, "Leni, never let anyone tell you you're not special." He then pulled her in close, giving her a tight hug as she did so, "People just need to realize how awesome a sister you are! You've made all my clothes and took care of us all when we were sick! If someone thinks you're stupid or lame, then they can go shove it!"
"You- you mean that Lincoln?" Leni's eyes went wide in shock.
Lincoln nodded, "Of course I mean it, you're my sister after all..."
With those words, Leni tightened their hug, before pushing him forward, and placing a soft kiss upon the boy's lips, "Thanks Lincy, you're the best."
Lincoln sat back in shock for a moment, before smiling, "No problem Leni."
"Can we sleep together tonight?" Leni nervously asked. "In your room? You know how much Lori hates sleeping in yours..."
And yet, Lincoln simply smiled, "Sure sis." And with that, the duo got up and returned to the bedroom, before sleeping the night away.
12-5-14-9 1-14-4 12-9-14-3-15-12-14 19-9-20-20-9-14-7 9-14 1 20-18-5-5 11-9-19-19-9-14-7!
A/N I hope you guys enjoyed! I thank Sunblast-X for his help!