Disclaimer: I don't own The Loud House!

Title: Yellow Brick Road

Summary: Ronnie Anne takes care of her fam.

...

Ronnie Anne closed the door to her room with a determined frown, flicking the lock with a practiced twist of the wrist. That done, she slipped her hands into her hoodie pockets and turned to the omniscient presence with a long sigh.

"'Sup. I know I don't, like, talk to you as much as Lincoln does, but I gotta get some stuff offa my chest." She tapped it with her fist in demonstration. "Ever since we moved to the city, I've had people on me left and right, trying to take care of me. And, well... I kinda let them?" Ronnie Anne shrugged. "But I haven't given anything back, y'know? I let 'em spoil me, and while there's nothing wrong with spoiling, I need to get even. And I think I just figured out how to do it. Check it."

Ronnie Anne pulled her phone out of her pocket, pulling up a picture and setting it on the bed. "This is Carlota's boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. She broke up with him for being a cheating pain in the neck. That was on Tuesday. She's been a wreck ever since." She cracked her knuckles. "Well, it's Friday now, and with the freedom of the weekend on my side, I'm gonna find him and get even. Maybe I'll see about bringing back a tooth or something as revenge."

Suddenly, her eyes darted around, ears straining. Ronnie Anne lowered her voice. "But let's keep that between us, alright? Mom doesn't want me out picking fights."

Ronnie Anne planned for a long breakfast, as always. If there was one thing she'd learned about living with her Grandma full-time, it was that she never let anyone go hungry. Which was fine in short-term, but she'd always preferred a light breakfast. Ronnie Anne was fairly certain that, should she ever tell her, Rosa would have a heart attack.

"You're under arrest!" CJ said suddenly, and Ronnie Anne found herself with cheap plastic handcuffs around her wrists. He smiled toothily at her. "I'm playin' cops and robbers."

"Hey, now!" Ronnie Anne complained, but she was smiling too. "What did I steal, officer?"

"Um..." He tapped his chin. "I dunno. I hadn't thought that far."

A perfumed hug swallowed her up from behind, all soft and warm, as Rosa piled even more food on her plate. It made Ronnie Anne's belly ache just to look at it. "You stole my heart, mija! Now, eat up!"

Ronnie Anne sent Bobby a pleading look. Her brother's plate was more heaping than her's. "You want some of mine?"

"Sorry, Nini." He gestured to its contents with a spoon. "All full here."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Carl slammed his tiny hands on the table. "Nini?"

Ronnie Anne's face felt like it was on fire as Bobby nodded, setting the spoon down long enough to muss up her hair. "Yup! She's my lil' Nini!"

"Ooooh," Aunt Frida cooed, taking a photo. "That's so sweet!"

"Can I head to solitary confinement?" Ronnie Anne asked rhetorically. "Lalo can have my food." As if summoned, the big dog's head popped around the corner, ears raised, long tongue lolling out hopefully.

"No way. I need your help," Hector grunted, shoving the paper in her face. "You're better at these crosswords than I am. What's eleven down?"

"My ever-thinning patience?"

"Hmm..." He tapped his pen to his chin. He slowly shook his head. "Too many letters, mija. Try again."

Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes.

"Ah, Ronnie Anne!" Aunt Frida had a hand on her shoulder before she could head for the front door, redirecting her to the living room. "Can you watch Carlitos for a bit? I need to go grocery shopping."

"But-" she tried to say, but then Carlitos had her hand and was leading her to the couch, and it's a little late to bail now. Beside herself, Ronnie Anne flicked on the show she knew he liked and slumped into the cushions. Babysitting was weird, but also distantly familiar; she was the youngest of the Santiago branch, but she knew how to cook and clean, and that was pretty standard for the gig.

Lalo hopped up, draping himself across her lap with a happy bark. He gave Carlitos a greeting kiss, making the baby giggle. Ronnie Anne struggled to breathe as she scratched him behind the ears out of habit, glancing at the omniscient presence flatly. "This may be harder than I originally expected." She brought her fists down on the dog's back; not hard enough to harm the canine in any way, but enough to make a point. "Ugh, but it has to be this weekend. It took me all week to get the info I need, and by next week the emotional wounds will have scabbed over! It's a no-go for making a point!"

Carlitos babbled along, waving his hands excitedly. Ronnie Anne chuckled and ruffled his hair. "You have a point, little guy. I guess I'll just have to go after hours."

Ronnie Anne jumped awake when her phone buzzed in her hand. She fuzzily blinked at the time, which cheerfully told her it was one A.M. Grumbling under her breath at her own plan, she slipped her hoodie on and slipped into the hall. Snoring echoed down the halls, overshadowing the sound of her squeaky hinges.

Getting down the hallway wasn't difficult, but as she passed the kitchen she heard a familiar groggy voice mumble. "Nini?"

Ronnie Anne startled and turned. "Bobby? Why're you up?"

"I needed a- needed a drink of water," he slurred, setting the glass down on the counter. It was only half-empty. Bobby sluggishly blinked at her. "Didja have a bad dream, sis?"

"Um," she said, knowing that telling him her plan was out of the question. "Yes? I mean- yeah. I guess I did."

"Awwww, Nini." Bobby bent down (tripping over his pajama bottoms as he did so) to pick her up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Your big bro's got you, sis. No scary nightmare monsters are gonna get you now."

"Thanks, Bobby." They bumped into the wall. "Ow."

"Sorry. I'm not very coorgina- coorjin- I don't walk good this early."

Frowning over his shoulder, Ronnie Anne let her older brother mumble platitudes as he led her into his room, setting her down and tucking her in, hoodie and all. He took the side closest to the wall and fell asleep almost immediately, snoring loud enough to give her a headache. She deemed her plan foiled and tucked her arms under her chin, staring at the headboard until sleep came to her.

"Okay, so Saturday was a flop," Ronnie Anne admitted, tying her hoodie around her waist. "That's fine, we're fine. Got my zzz's on, ate some breakfast, took a shower. I think I'm ready to handle this situation firsthand." She slammed her fist into the palm of her hand again. "If you know what I mean."

This time, she managed to get as far as the steps outside the apartment, only to be stopped by Carl, who grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, Nini?"

Ronnie Anne sighed and waved a fist at him. "Don't make me knock you a good one."

Carl held up his hands. "Hey, peace, Ronnie. You talked to Carlota recently?"

"No?"

"Well, you oughta. She's been hidin' in the Bodega." The boy made a sort of shooing gesture in the wake of Ronnie Anne's discouraging silence. "Go on. Get."

She crossed her arms. "You're her brother. Why can't you go?"

"Hey, I know when my sis needs girl time over Carl time. And she needs girl time." Carl poked her sides, leading her down the stairs and to the front of the store. Ronnie Anne went with, mostly because she didn't trust herself not to punt him over the side if she resisted. "Just do girl talk, or whatever. I dunno."

"Girl talk?" she echoed with a snort.

Carl shrugged. "You're kinda the closest thing I got, so..."

Bobby was at the counter when she slipped inside, eyes bright and happy. Ronnie Anne had to admit that this one job thing had proven to be a good change for him, as well as less laundry all the way around. (Not that she had to do laundry anymore. She didn't do much of anything, anymore.) He pointed her to the employee break room, handing her one of her favorite ice pops on the way.

Carlota was slumped over a metal chair and sucking on an ice pop of her own as she came in. Ronnie Anne sighed and sat cross-legged on the floor rather than pull up another chair, sticking the pop in her mouth.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Carlota said. "How you doin'?"

Ronnie Anne resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm fine. You?"

"Doing better. I'm thinking of going thrift shopping tomorrow. You wanna go with?"

The girl bit down, hitting a sensitive tooth along the way. She blinked back the pain. "Pass."

Carlota's lip quivered, then settled into a firm line. She edged the chair closer. "Ronnie, are you avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you?" she repeated. Ronnie Anne shook her head. "Nah."

"It certainly seems that way."

"Carlota, I've never been into thrift shopping. That's never really been a thing between us."

"Then what is our thing?"

Ronnie Anne shrugged, eyes flickering to her shoes. Beating up exes, if I could just get away for two seconds. "I guess this is. Sitting together, eating ice pops, and talking."

"Well," Carlota said, clearly displeased. "I suppose that's better than nothin'. Still. I wish we spent more time together."

"What can I say?" Ronnie Anne prompted. "I'm a simple kid. I don't do a lot of the fancy stuff." She remembered Carl's insistence, and wondered if maybe he had a point. Maybe Carlota did need girl time, whatever that entailed. And hadn't she sworn to help her? "Alright, fine. Let's go thrift shopping after school."

Her entire face lit up. "Really?"

"Really."

Carlota let out halfhearted yelp of joy, wrapping her arms tight around the girl's neck. "Oh, thank you! It'll be great!"

Ronnie Anne shifted, then settled, burying her nose in her neck. "I just hope it's enough."

"Dude, it's all I want," she reassured her. "I just... need some family time, y'know? To commiserate and eat ice cream and junk." Carlota let out a tiny laugh. "I mean, what did you think I need? For you to go beat him up?"

"Um," Ronnie Anne said, a conflicted look on her face. "No?"

Carlota fixed her a look. "What did Aunt Maria say about fighting? Not to mention... you're eleven? Daniel's seventeen. How were you gonna fight him?"

"In order: Mom said not to fight, you'd be surprised just how much I can hurt a seventeen year old, and Daniel's his name?" She cupped her chin. "Interesting."

"Ronnie Anne, no."

"Ronnie Anne, yes," she insisted. "What else am I supposed to do? Nothing?"

The teenager scoffed a little, rolling her eyes. "Bobby warned me about this."

"About what?"

"That you're literally way too protective. And you take things too far. And you're a little violent."

"I'm not violent- I'm tough." The toughest girl in all of Royal Woods. In her grade, that is. Ronnie Anne wasn't sure if she could face Lynn Loud Jr. and make it out alright. "And somebody's gotta pick up the mantle and teach 'em not to mess with the Casagrande-Santiago family. I did it back home, and I'll do it here."

"That sounds so silly. A pipsqueak knight, off picking fights."

Ronnie Anne crossed her arms, affronted and amused all at once. "Just ask any of Bobby's friends. One time, a kid was messing with him, so I kicked 'em between the knees." Carlota laughed. "They say his voice is still squeakier than a helium balloon."

"While that is a beautiful image, it's really not necessary." Carlota squeezed her one last time before letting go, ignoring Ronnie Anne's pout. "I don't need protecting."

"If you say so," she sighed, though she found she didn't actually feel defeated. Defeat had happened sometime yesterday anyway, between trying to sneak out in the middle of the night and babysitting. It just seemed like waste that she got herself all worked up, only to go nowhere and be right back where she started. Still selfish. Still not helping.

It was a start, though, and Ronnie Anne would take what she could get.

Author's Note: This ended up being a lot different than I expected, and I'm not entirely sure if I like it or not. But I had fun with it, and that's what matters! =)

-Mandaree1