The next five chapters are going to take place in a relatively straightforward timeline. The thing with Ronnie Anne happened first, than this chapter takes place a few days later. The chapter after this will take place a few weeks after this one.

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Heh. They were joking right? Carol turned her head, and looked them over from the corner of her eye. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, standing side by side, staring at her anxiously, as though they expected a serious answer from her. She knew Lincoln pretty well, and this didn't seem like the kind of joke he would play. Maybe his little girlfriend came up with it.

Of course, just from what she could read of their expressions, it looked like it was the other way around. The girl looked really uncomfortable, so maybe she thought it up, but didn't think he'd actually go through with it.

"You're joking right?" They were, they had to be, but she still had to ask.

"No" Lincoln held her gaze, his face setting to show how serious he was. "Will you join our family?"

So maybe they weren't joking? It was unbelievable, but Lincoln wasn't This good an actor.

"Okay, first of all, what do you mean by that?" This all needed some serious clarification. "What does joining your family mean?"

"If you're open to it, we're hoping that you'll join us in and open friendship, kinship, and…" He suddenly looked a little nervous, his gaze flickering as he fought to keep his eyes on hers. "Romance."

"No." Seriously? Seriously. She didn't want to be so harsh, but it was probably best in this case. This wasn't a good idea. There were so many issues with it that she seriously couldn't even name them all. It was best that she just shut them down without any wiggle room. Hopefully they'd give up on it. She'd hate to see Lincoln try to go through with it and get hurt, because that was the only outcome she could even seriously consider.

"Oh." His head dropped, and his shoulders slumped. It was enough that she had to restrain herself from wrapping him up in a one armed hug. Doing that wouldn't help. It would just give him false hope.

And with that out of the way.

"Could you repeat that?" Sam sat up from her lazily reclined position.

She looked over the two standing in front of her. One of them was Lincoln, Luna's little brother. He was pretty cool as far as she could tell from her limited experience with him. Though she couldn't claim to know him that well. She didn't spend that much time around Luna's family when they hung out.

The other one was… Some girl. Sam wouldn't lie and say she had any idea who she was. She was probably a friend of Lincoln's, otherwise she wouldn't be here, but that's about all Sam could guess at.

"Will you join our family?" He said again, breathing in and out to calm his visible nerves.

That sounded fine, for the most part. She meant, it sounded innocent enough, but also, she really wanted to know what he meant. It wouldn't be cool if she agreed to it, only to later find out that they wanted her to do something super embarrassing. She wouldn't do it, but she didn't like going back on her word.

"I mean…" She paused, thinking about what she was going to say. "That sounds interesting, but I don't think I can give you an answer until I know what you mean by that."

He breathed in deeply, tilting his head back and looking up into the open sky, as he seemed to gather his thoughts.

"I… I don't know how to tell you about this, especially since the last person we asked just flat out refused." She quirked an eyebrow. The last person? "I'm just going to be totally honest about this, so don't stop me until I say I'm finished, okay?" She nodded her agreement. "I'm doing something that's completely selfish, but trying to go about it in the least selfish way I know how. I'm trying to surround myself in a family of my own choosing, with you, Ronnie Anne," So That was the other girls name. "Her cousin, and two other friends of my sisters. I know, and you should know, that I'm doing this because I need something. But I can't, and I won't force this on you." He took a deep breath, locking eyes with her, and steadying himself. "So I'm going to ask you three questions. Will you be our friend? Will you be our sister? And will you allow us to court you?"

Whooo, that was… Wow. Certainly unexpected. Almost felt like a punch to the gut, with the force that her breath had left her. She mentally shook herself, and forced herself to answer him.

"Okay, well… To answer you're questions in order: Sure, I'd love to be better friends with you, and I'm cool with becoming friends with your girlfriend; you can never have too many friends. I'm not going to say no to the possibility that we may become as close as siblings in the future. And to answer your last question, Uuuuuuh…" She faded out without actually saying anything.

"Well, that's better than a no." She heard him mutter quietly.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Lincoln and the other girl fidgeting in place, while Sam stared hazily into the blue sky, gathering her thoughts. A knot formed inside her, a unknowable tightness. The clouds passed overhead gently… They looked nice today.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you." She finally said, "I don't want to turn you down just because. I've always prided myself on giving everything a shot before I decided what I thought about it." Lincoln perked up, looking at her hopefully. "So I'm not saying no, but I do have some questions."

"Sure, ask us anything." He was probably just relieved that she hadn't shot the idea down out of hand, but he looked pretty happy to answer any questions she might have. His expression beaming.

"How many other people are you planning to include in this?" It was an easy place to start. Not an incredibly important question, but a good way to wade into the more serious ones.

"Other than you, me and Ronnie Anne?" He looked up in thought. "Three people."

"How, uh, how is this going to work?"

"Well…" He kicked the dirt at his feet. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, is this just going to be a harem for you? Are you going to collect multiple girls and demand that they all remain faithful to you?" She hadn't meant to make the question sound so harsh, but this was something she needed to know before she decided.

"No!" He looked into her eyes pleadingly. "I would never do that…" Taking a few calming breaths, he calmed down. "I… I don't Want a harem. I don't Want a group of girls who are tied to me and me alone. I Won't hold you down. I know what I'm asking you, and I won't demand that you…" He looked down. "In my dreams, I… I want to start a family of my very own. I want you to be there, and Ronnie Anne, and Carlota, Haiku, and Carol. In my dreams you're all as good friends with each other as you are with me. In my dreams, I love each of you unconditionally, and you all love me the same way. In my dreams, I don't hold you down. If you want to leave me, or start seeing someone else, I just hope that you have enough room in your heart for both of us." He kicked a rock, sending it skittering across the grass. "It's stupid, but that's all I've ever wanted…"

Watching him silently, Sam sighed, picking up her guitar and strumming a few notes while she thought. Letting the cool air fill her lungs slowly, she breathed out through her nose. He'd answered almost every question she had, but she still had one more.

"Alright… Can we start slow?" This was important. "I need you to let me set the speed that we all go through this. Otherwise, I don't think I could commit." That had always been a problem for her. Committing. It felt too much like being trapped, but this… Maybe she'd be okay.

"Yeah, sure." He nodded happily. "We can just be friends for as long as you want."

"Alright, cool…" She patted the bench beside her, waiting until they'd both crossed the distance to take seats. Sitting with a gap between them and her, Sam couldn't help but relax ever so slightly. "Listen to this song I've been working on, and tell me what you think."

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Chapter notes:

Chapters a bit short, but I hope Sam's inclusion was believable.