Author's Note: This was inspired by the episode "One of the Boys"; specifically, when Loni asks if Linka wants them (her brothers) to stay with her until she falls asleep. The way he asks it makes it sound like it wouldn't be the first time one or more of the brothers stayed with their sister. This story is looking at one of those other times. Admittedly, I have pitched this idea to a few other people, but no one's gone for it yet. Hopefully, inspiration will be drawn from this.
Trigger Warning: mentions of puberty, bodily functions, blood, character death, disturbing imagery, references to disturbing material. I lifted the nightmare sequence from "Five Days a Stranger".
The Loud House belongs to Chris Savino. Five Days a Stranger belongs to Ben Croshaw.
The time: the transitional period when last night becomes this morning. The place: 1216 Franklin Avenue, Royal Woods, MI. It was quiet in the Loud residence - or, at least, as quiet as it got. Scattered snores sounded out from along the second floor. There was also a flush, followed by the splashing of water in a sink. These noises ceased, and the bathroom door opened to reveal Loni Loud.
"Ugh," he said, "no more smoothies before bed." Turning off the bathroom light, the second-oldest of the Loud offspring began the (thankfully) short trek back to his (shared) bedroom. Within the darkness, he was able to clearly the two points of light that much better. Loni faltered in his steps. Wait, two? Looking down, there was one: moonlight, passing through the window, and again through the doorway of his bedroom. Looking up, he glanced around, eyes finally resting on the second source.
Unfortunately, it was from the last place he wanted it to be from: the bedroom at the far end of the hallway. Linka's room. Of all of the Louds, Linka was probably the best about getting to bed at a decent hour, and getting a full night's sleep. If she was awake at this hour, there was a very good chance that something was wrong.
Big Brother Protective Instincts (™) flaring up, Loni walked down the hallway, pajama pants rustling softly with each step. The trip was short but awkward, thanks to Loni's desire to get there as quickly as possible, but also as quietly as possible. Finally reaching the end of the hall, Loni put one ear to the re-purposed linen closet door, closed his eyes, and listened. Blocking out the assorted snores, he could just hear soft whimpering coming from within.
Tapping softly on the door (so as to not wake the others), he whispered, "Linka? It's Loni. Can I come in?" A few seconds rolled by, and with each one that did, Loni was increasingly of the opinion that he should just go in, with or without an answer. However, before he could act, there was a soft "Okay." from behind the door. Loni opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door after himself.
It was...what he had expected, which just made it worse. Linka, clad in a tank top and shorts, was sitting scrunched up at one end of the bed, pillow squeezed to her chest. Her bedsheet was in tangled mess at the other end of the bed.
"Can I sit down with you?" he asked, gesturing to the bed. Linka nodded, but said nothing. Loni sat down, and looked over at his sister. She was shaking, and her eyes were getting watery. 'I need to be careful,' he thought. Being the second-eldest of eleven children, Loni had plenty of experience offering comfort after a nightmare.
"You have a bad dream?" he asked. She nodded. "You want to talk about it?"
"No." She closed her eyes. "Yes." Loni said nothing; he just smiled a little and waited. "I was in my room, reading comics. I heard...something out in the hallway. I had this really bad feeling, so I got dressed, and went out to see what was going on." She paused, scrunching her face up.
"There was so much blood. It was on the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Everywhere." Loni winced at this last part. Linka had developed an aversion to blood following her first period several months back. Admittedly, Loni had...made things worse. Linka was having stomach pains and was leaking blood. Loni went straight into full-on panic mode, and thought she was dying. The matter did get sorted out, though it was classified under "We Don't Speak of This Again".
"You were dead. All ten of you. Your bodies were sprawled out on the floor, with big gashes in them. I just stood there, paralyzed with fear. And then someone came up the stairs, and turned towards me. They were wearing a welding mask, and this leather apron with blood on it. They were carrying a machete - that had blood on it too. I shouted at them, 'Who are you? Why did you do this?' They just looked at me for a few seconds. Then they reached up and took the welding mask off." Linka opened her eyes and looked straight into Loni's. "Loni, the person under the mask...it was me."
Before Loni could even blink, Linka had her arms wrapped around his torso, and was crying into his chest, "I'm sorry I killed you!" Her words were muffled, but clear enough. Loni wrapped his arms around her shaking form, and gently rubbed her back. Doing this had helped calm Linka down in the past. After some amount of time (as Gram-Gram would say, 'It took as long as it took.'), Linka stopped crying, and pulled away from her brother. She...looked messy, but after a few tissues to clear away the tear streaks and snot, she looked presentable again.
"Linka," he said, holding her by the shoulders, "you didn't kill me. It was just a dream. You didn't kill anyone; everyone is asleep right now. Just like you and I should be." Linka looked embarrassed and a little guilty at that last comment. Loni placed a hand on her head. "Hey, do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" Linka ducked her head down, and said, "Yes." Minutes later, Linka was tucked in, and Loni was sitting in her desk chair, right by the bed.
"Loni?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"No problem. Linka?"
"Yeah?"
"I hope you have better dreams this time."
"Me too. Good night."
"Good night." With a click, the light in the re-purposed linen closet was turned off. As Gram-Gram would say, Linka took as long as she needed to fall back asleep. And true to his word, Loni stayed with her the entire time.