Firstly I would like to thank everyone for the support! It really encourages me to keep writing this. Secondly I'd like to comment on two things. First, some of you guys guessed it already but it was definitely Lucy in the vents lol. She was supposed to say it in the last chapter, but since I had to cut the chapter in two because of how long it would get otherwise, it ended up not appearing on the last chapter. Second, I know some of you are afraid of me making Lori "the mean one" but I'm afraid I might have just done the opposite lol. I have my own reasons for really not liking the idea of Lori being too mean. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D

By now, Luna was pretty much used to being scared by Lucy, the resident goth of the Loud house.

As opposed to Luna, Lucy had always been a quiet child. So quiet, in fact, that even her footsteps barely made a sound, making it hard to notice when she appeared, usually resulting in someone getting startled when they noticed her or, in this case, when she spoke to someone. Luna didn't know whether her sister did it on purpose or not, but sometimes she almost suspected that Lucy enjoyed scaring people like that.

Luna, much like everyone else living in the Loud house, was so used to being scared by the young goth that normally she would quickly get over the initial scare and move on, not even getting frustrated or angry at the frequency in which that happened anymore.

But this time it was different. Scarier. Not due to the way she suddenly appeared, but to the words she said.

As the rocker quickly got over the usual scare and finally processed the words her little sister had said, she felt her stomach grow heavy and her throat dry up as she realized just what they meant.

'She knows.' Luna tensed up, looking around to make sure there was no one else nearby, as unlikely as that was. 'How does she know?' She looked down at her sister, trying to read what the little girl was thinking. But, as always, Lucy was basically unreadable, her expression painfully neutral.

After checking the door and making sure it was closed, Luna got down on one knee, trying to get on eye level with Lucy, even though her long bangs made it hard to know where exactly her eyes were, and with as much conviction as she could muster, she said:

"What."

"You like Sammy." Lucy deadpanned. "As more than a friend."

"How..." Luna didn't know what to say. She knew her sister knew it. She heard it the first time. But hearing the little goth confirm it only made her heart beat harder in her chest. "...how did you know?"

"The spirits told me."

Luna could almost feel her jaw hit the floor as she heard that. She had always found Lucy's affinity for the supernatural a bit too morbid for her tastes, even getting a little spooked by it sometimes, but now she could feel a chill running down her spine, not wanting to believe in what her sister had just said.

"I'm joking." The goth stated, noticing the uneasiness in her older sister's expression.

'Dang it, Lucy...' The rocker released a breath she didn't even know she was holding, her whole body slumping forward with relief. 'Don't joke like that, dude. You're gonna kill your sister...'

"I noticed how tense you were today." Lucy continued. "You seemed unusually nervous when introducing us to Sammy, which didn't happen the other times you brought friends over. She seemed surprised when you suddenly called her "Sammy", which means you usually don't call her that. That, combined with the knowledge that you had a crush on "someone" named Sam, made it obvious that Sammy was the person you had a crush on."

Luna only stared at her, dumbfounded. She knew that her little sister preferred to just observe from far away most of the time, but she had no idea she could be that perceptive.

The goth allowed a tiny smirk on her face as she watched the expression of disbelief in the rocker's face. "I also read a bunch of romance novels." She whispered.

The older girl blinked twice at that, and rubbed her face as she tried to process what her sister had just said. "Well, at least you didn't find that out by spying through the vents or something..." She sighed, sitting down on the porch.

"Oh, no, I was definitely in the vents." Lucy's expression quickly changed back to her usual neutral stare. "I just wasn't spying."

"Dude, what!?" The rocker frowned at that, suddenly scared of just how much the goth had heard in there.

"Don't act offended, you called me a rat." She recalled. "Or a raccoon."

"Ugh, nevermind, just..." Luna rubbed her temples, not wanting to think much about her spooky sibling's antics. One thing still troubled her mind, though, and she couldn't stand not knowing it anymore. "...does anyone else know?"

Lucy slowly turned her head towards the door, as if she could see right through it. "Well..." She hesitated before facing Luna again. "Knowing our siblings, I wouldn't be surprised if maybe two or three of them suspected it. But I don't think anyone knows for certain, though."

The older girl sighed again, feeling all the insecurities and fears she had forgotten during the afternoon returning. "That's... good."

Noticing her sister's distress, Lucy slowly walked closer and sat next to her, but remaining silent as she did so, not uttering a word.

As they sat in silence, Luna started thinking about how the rest of her family would react, and, as she realized it was only a matter of time before they all knew, even if she was convinced that it was completely irrational, the fear of rejection started surfacing again. 'They love me, I know that. But...'

"Don't you think it's weird?" She broke the silence suddenly and, for once, Lucy was the one startled, although Luna was almost unable to tell, since the small girl barely moved at all.

"What?" The young girl asked, raising her head so she could look at her sister's face.

"Y-you know, that I'm into girls." Luna looked down, flustered. "Don't you think it's weird? Or wrong? O-or disgusting? Or-" As she began to breathe heavily, Luna realized just how much she was really afraid. She really didn't expect to get this nervous coming out to just one sibling, especially a younger one like Lucy, and she did not dare to imagine just how stressful it would be to come out to the others. "-don't you think I'm weird?"

Lucy had never seen her big sister this vulnerable before. Sure, Luna would sometimes get nervous before playing in front of a big crowd, or upset when she found out one of her siblings had gone to a concert without her, but as she scooched over to her sister's side, Lucy realized she was holding back tears.

In an attempt to comfort the older girl, she put a hand on her shoulder, but as Luna looked at her in surprise, she hesitated in saying anything, not knowing what to say to make her feel better.

If Luna could see past her sibling's bangs, she would have notice the worry in her eyes, instead of the the usual neutral mask she wore.

"Sigh..." Lucy sighed. Or said, actually. "I know you must be scared of what I think of you right now, but we are all going to die anyway, so I don't think our differences really matter in the end."

The rocker felt another chill going down her spine, clearly spooked by the goth's comment. But, knowing her sister, she knew that this was her way of assuring her she accepted her, so a small smile formed on her lips, even as she fought back the tears. "Way spooky, sis... but thanks."

"Besides," The small girl continued. "I know I don't say this often, but..." She hesitated, struggling to find the right words.

Luna looked at her sister, confused as she hadn't expected the usually quiet girl to say anything else.

"You're my big sister, Luna, and I love you." In an uncharacteristic display of affection, Lucy gave the older girl's arm a quick hug, but releasing her after no more than a few seconds. "You're family, and nothing is ever going to change that." She assured her, a small smile on her usually stoic face.

Luna couldn't help but smile at that, and it was her turn to hug the goth, pulling her closer into a side hug. "Thanks, Spooky." She said, trying to hold back the tears. "That... that means a lot."

Lucy didn't say anything, choosing instead to just appreciate the silence as they stayed like this, hugging and and looking at the last remnants of the sunset as the day finally turned into night. She knew that she and Luna weren't the closest of sisters, but she still appreciated every moment with her, even if they didn't say much to each other. Lucy would never say it out loud, but she admired the rocker, and definitely thought that she was the coolest out of all her older sisters, even getting into death metal and other kinds of heavy rock because of her. Seeing her this vulnerable was shocking to her, and even though she didn't say it, she would do anything to make her feel better.

After a few minutes, Luna finally got up, not wanting to stay outside as the night began to get chilly. "Can you..." She hesitated, lost in thought. "Can you not tell the others? About, uh, you know-" Luna gestured to herself. "-me?"

"Sure." Lucy didn't hesitate. If keeping a secret was what she had to do to see her sister cheery and carefree again, then she would gladly do it (well, as "gladly" as she could do anything). "I'm great at keeping secrets."

"You won't have to keep it for long." The older girl assured. "I'm gonna tell them all myself! Eventually..." Luna added, a bit crestfallen.

"Oh. Do you... do you know who you're going to tell next?"

Luna hesitated a bit before answering. She was planning on telling most of their siblings at once, but there were still three names that came to mind when she thought about who she would tell on a one-on-one conversation.

"Actually, I do!" She said, seeming to be thinking of something. "Aaand, if you help me, I might just be able to tell her tonight!" Luna looked at Lucy, an expectant expression on her face.

The small girl actually seemed a bit surprised at that, but she quickly went back to her usual bored expression as she gave a thumbs up. "Sure."

"Thanks, Squirt." Luna beamed as she ruffled her sister's hair, earning her a small chuckle from the quiet girl. "I knew I could count on you, dude." She knew that she and Lucy weren't the closest of sisters, but she still appreciated every moment like this, when she could get any positive reaction out of the usually stoic girl. Luna never really told her, but she admired the goth, and definitely thought that she was the bravest out of all her little sisters, having found her passion so early in life and pursuing things that made even people older than herself spooked and confused. Seeing her smiling like that filled her heart with joy, and even though she didn't say it, she would do anything to see her smile more.

Her train of thought, however, was interrupted when they heard the sound of glass breaking and, for the fourth time today, the sound of a loud explosion coming from upstairs.

"LYNN! I HAVE WARNED YOU BEFORE TO NOT PLAY YOUR DUMB JOCK SPORTS NEAR MY EXPERIMENTS!"

"WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING YOUR DUMB NERD EXPERIMENTS IN THE HALLWAY!"

"THAT'S IT! BOTH OF YOU! GO TO YOUR ROOMS LITERALLY RIGHT NOW!"

Both girls stared at the door, dumbfounded.

"I... guess we should go back inside." Luna suggested.

"Agreed."

As they walked towards the door, Luna put a hand on her sister's head and smiled. "Come on, Luce! I'll tell you my plan when we get out off the cold."

"Okay." Lucy replied, a small smile visible on her lips and a small tinge of excitement on her usual monotonous voice.

However, as Luna grabbed the doorknob it came off, and both sisters stared at the metal piece with their mouths agape before exclaiming in unison:

"Dang it!"

Lori Loud was exhausted.

She, despite what most people might think, loved her siblings. She would never admit it, after all, she had a reputation to maintain, but despite being so hard on her siblings, even bossy at times, she loved them dearly and she hoped that they knew that.

But despite loving them, they could tire her out sometimes, as was the case tonight.

Being the oldest, her parents trusted her to take care of all 10 of her siblings, some needing a bit more attention than others, and the only way she found to make her younger siblings listen to her was yelling at them, something she secretly hated just as much as they did.

Taking care of 10 kids and teenagers was certainly hard, but Lori was convinced that today had to have been the most tiring day she had had in a while. After spending the day yelling at Lisa for blowing up her room not once, not twice, but four times, at Lynn for breaking stuff around the house, and even at the twins after Lola accidentally ran over her foot with her princess car earlier, Lori felt ready to crash. And that's not even counting the fact that she had to help Luna and Lucy get back in the house after they spent 30 minutes stuck outside for God knows what reason. That's why, after changing into her sleep shorts and white tanktop, flopping into bed, and texting Bobby everything that happened during the day, she was glad to just enjoy a moment of peace and quiet while her sister Leni sat on her own bed drawing something, a dress design, Lori noticed, and the younger ones were getting ready for bed.

She could finally enjoy a moment of silence, and she would accept any silence she could get in this loud house.

Lori only realized how stressed she was, however, when her much needed quiet was interrupted by three knocks on the bedroom door, and she had to take a large breath and close her eyes to prevent herself from getting too angry at whoever dared to bother her this late at night.

She was still angry, though.

'This better be an emergency, or I swear to God.' She thought as she sighed, stomping towards the door. "Whoever is bothering me this late better be literally dying! If not, I'm gonna-" Her words died in her throat when she opened the door and saw no one, before looking down and noticing Lucy, already in the white t-shirt and stripped pants she wore to bed, looking up at her with an unreadable expression.

"Lucy?" Her anger faded away instantly, giving way to confusion. Of all her younger siblings, the quiet girl was the last one Lori expected to come to her room, especially this late at night. At least not without popping up from who knows where and scaring her.

"I need Leni's help." Lucy stated in her usual monotone voice, not moving away from the door.

"Uhh, sure." Lori was still too surprised by the girl's sudden visit to say anything else, only glancing at Leni, who looked up from her sketchbook after hearing her name.

"You need... my help?" Leni put her sketchbook down, confused.

"Yes. I need..." The goth hesitated, but her expression was still painfully neutral. "...fashion advice."

The fashionista gasped loudly at that, a smile so wide on her face it almost hurt. "Say no more!" She exclaimed excitedly as she picked up her sketchbook and ran out the door, taking a startled Lucy by the hand with her.

'That was... unusual.' Lori thought to herself as she went back to bed. 'Well, if they don't destroy the house then it's none of my business.'

As she laid down and closed her eyes, Lori sighed as she felt herself falling asleep. 'Finally... some well deserved peace and-'

She was suddenly jolted awake when she heard someone knocking at the door. Again.

'This time it better be an emergency.' Lori ran her hands down her face in frustration before finally getting out of bed and stomping towards the door. "What is it n-" But once again, she was at a loss of words when she opened the door and found Luna, already wearing her purple skull nightshirt, but, unlike Lucy, with a slightly nervous expression.

"Luna...?" Just like when Lucy appeared, Lori was more confused than angry. Luna was, for the most part, a very understanding and responsible sister, and despite the rocker's constant words of rebellion, it was actually very rare for her to disobey Lori's orders, and so she would definitely never show up uninvited without a good reason, especially not when she knew that Lori was trying to sleep. "Is there something you need?"

"Oh, uh, you know!" Luna smiled nervously, fidgeting with the collar of her shirt. "Just wanted to, uh, have a nice conversation with my favorite big sis!"

Or maybe not.

Lori looked back at the clock in her nightstand, before giving her younger sister an unamused look and sighing. "Beat it, twerp." She said as she tried to close the door.

"Wait! Wait! Lori!" However, Luna stuck her foot between it and the door frame, trying to keep her from closing the door. "Can we just- Can we talk? Please?"

The older girl looked intently at Luna, as if trying to read her thoughts, before sighing and going back to bed. "Come in." She signaled.

Luna sighed in relief before getting in. After she locked the door behind her, the brunette walked silently and sat on Lori's bed, on the side opposite to the one her sister was sitting.

As they sat in silence, Lori looked at her younger sister and noticed just how nervous she looked. Luna was trying to look at anywhere but Lori, and she wouldn't stop picking on the hem of her shirt. Lori had seem her sister nervous many times before. She remembered how nervous Luna would get when coming home from school with a bad grade, especially when she was younger, or how scared she got when she accidentally broke their mom's favorite coffee mug. Lori was her big sister, and so it was to be expected that she had seem Luna nervous many times more than their other siblings, but this was the first time in a long while that she saw her normally upbeat and loud sister this anxious.

Luna wasn't much shorter than Lori, but right now she looked absolutely tiny with anxiety.

The older girl's patience, however, was starting to thin, so if Luna wasn't going to say anything, then she would be the one to break the silence.

"Okay, Luna." She said, startling the nervous rocker beside her. "Something's up. Spit it out." She ordered.

"W-well, uh, you see..." Luna started, trying to keep up her nervous smile but quickly dropping it after sighing. "How do you know you if like someone? Like, like like someone?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lori's eyes widened in surprised. Luna was the last sister she would expect to have boy problems. She was funny, smart, talented, and one of the most easygoing people she knew, and she thought that her sister was probably used to male attention by now. Still, Lori couldn't stop feeling a pang of pride in knowing that, even after all this time, her sister still looked for her advice when she had problems.

"Well, I'm not gonna say I was expecting you to ask me that, but I'm glad you came to me anyway!" The blonde sat closer to her sister as she put a hand on her shoulder. "You see, when you really like someone, you start thinking about them literally all the time, you know? You feel light when they speak, and you feel sad when they go away, even if only for a while." Lori said, clearly thinking about her boyfriend, Bobby. Despite what her siblings might think, Bobby wasn't the only thing on her mind all the time, but she still thought about him a lot. She had been devastated when he moved away, but they promised to be strong for each other and try to make a long distance relationship work. Despite what Lori might think, some of her siblings even admired their relationship and commitment.

"You can't stop thinking about how much you want to hold their hand, or see their smile, and you can literally see their face even when you close your eyes..." Lori added. But, as she looked at Luna, she realized that the younger girl was looking at her feet, and other than a small blush, her expression was unreadable, as if she wasn't even listening. "But you already know that, don't you, Luna?"

Luna nodded slowly, as if ashamed, and kept fidgeting with the hem of her shirt instead of looking at Lori. 'This is so unlike her... what's wrong, Luna?' The blonde thought to herself.

Since the rocker seemed to be in no rush to speak up, Lori decided to just ask her herself. "So, who's the lucky boy?" She asked, wondering if it was that Sam guy from two weeks ago.

But, as soon as she asked that, Luna flinched and crossed her arms, as if hugging her chest, and as Lori got closer, she noticed that the girl was holding back tears, a grimace etched into her face. 'Oh something is definitely wrong...' She thought, worriedly.

"Luna...?" As concern overtook her, Lori dropped any pretenses of being the bossy and distant sister, and she sat closer to Luna as she put an arm around her. "...is everything alright?"

The brunette sighed and took a deep breath before attempting to speak. Her voice was laced with fear and anxiety, and Lori barely heard her as she started talking, her voice barely a whisper.

"Lori..." Luna gulped before continuing. "W-would you... would you be mad at me if the person I liked wasn't a boy?" She finally looked at her older sister as she asked that. Her eyes were filled with both worry and tears, and she seemed to hold her breath as she looked at Lori, looking for any signs of rejection in her face.

'Oh, Luna... so that's what this is all about.' The blonde's heart almost broke at the sight of the fearful expression in her younger sister's face, fighting back the tears.

Lori didn't even need to think about it. She pulled her sister into a hug and started caressing her hair in an attempt to calm her. "Of course not, Luna." She assured her, softly. "I love you. I love you and nothing is ever gonna change that, okay?"

That finally broke the dam, and although Lori couldn't see her face, she could feel the younger girl release a sob, and she just kept petting her hair as she lowered Luna's head into her lap. "I'm- I'm so sorry, Lori!" She sobbed. "I know it was dumb, but I was just- I was just so scared..."

"It's okay, Luna, it's okay..." Lori reassured her, caressing her back in an attempt to soothe her sister's crying. "You're okay, everything is gonna be alright." She whispered.

Few people had ever seen Luna cry like that. Other than her parents, the only ones Luna didn't feel the need to be strong around were Leni, who would always be there for anyone who needed comfort, and Lori, who was currently letting the distraught rocker cry for as long as she needed to.

It was hard to guess, seeing how they seemed to be constantly annoyed by each other's antics, but Lori was one of the closest sisters to Luna. Luna respected Lori's authority and admired the way she always seemed to stay relatively calm and find a solution for every solution, while Lori loved how Luna was just the right balance of caring and responsible, while still keeping her free spirited and passionate attitude. She knew that Luna would be the one that took care of her siblings and the house when Lori goes to college in a year or two, and she was positive that her sister would do a great job at it.

Even though she appreciated being trusted enough for Luna to not feel the need to hold back her tears, seeing her sister cry was one of the things that Lori hated the most, but she said nothing as she ran her fingers through the girl's short hair and waited for her to calm down.

They stayed like that for a minute or two, Lori playing with Luna's hair, and Luna with her head on Lori's lap and and her arms around her sister. Both stayed in silence, and other than Luna's occasional sobs and heavy breathing, not a sound could be heard in the room.

Lori waited for her sister to calm down a bit before talking again. "You know, Luna..." She started, making the younger girl look up at her. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but her eyes were still puffy and her face was red from crying. "You don't remember this since you were so young at the time- Well, I hope you don't remember this but," The blonde chuckled as she saw the rocker's confused expression. "When you were about three years old, I accidentally hurt you." Luna sat up upon hearing that, not knowing where her sister wanted to get with this, but too curious to interrupt the story. "Well, I didn't hurt you exactly, but I let you get hurt anyway. We were playing in the kitchen and you tried to climb a chair, but couldn't get down once you did it. I, stupid as I was back then, told you to literally jump instead of helping you down, because I thought I could catch you! Of course I wasn't able to catch you, though. I was just a dumb five year-old, so when you jumped we both fell on the ground and you ended up hitting your head pretty hard on the floor. It was so scary to me! You immediately started screaming like I had never heard you scream before, and I panicked thinking I had broken my little sister or something." Luna was still confused, but she was so engrossed in her sister's story that she barely remembered that she was crying just a minute ago. "I did everything I could to make you stop crying, but you only stopped after mom picked you up and took care of your head. It was just a bump really, nothing serious, but I felt so guilty... Even though you had already forgotten about it the next day, I couldn't sleep right for a week after that, too scared I would hear you crying again if I closed my eyes."

After looking at Luna to make sure she was still listening, Lori put a hand on her sister's red cheek, wiping away a tear with her thumb, and looked her in the eyes. "After that whole incident, I promised myself that I would never make you cry like that again, and that I would make sure to always protect you and our siblings from getting harmed, especially by me." She smiled a smile full of melancholy, but one that still managed to warm Luna's heart. "I promised myself that I would never hurt you like that again, and I plan on keeping that promise, Luna. You are my family!" Lori pulled her sister into another hug, holding her tight as if she was afraid to let go. "I know I don't say that enough, but I love you so, so much... You're always going to be my baby sister, and nothing is ever, ever changing that, you hear me?" She kissed the top of Luna's head before letting go, noticing the girl was holding back tears again.

Luna sniffed and rubbed her eyes before starting to laugh softly. "Geez, Lori... You're gonna make me cry again." Lori merely smiled at that.

She was so glad to finally see her sister smile again. 'Being down like that is just... it's so not you, Luna.' She thought as she lied down, exhausted.

"So, you like that Sammy girl, don't you?" Lori asked, a knowing smile forming on her lips as she looked at Luna.

"How did you know?"

The blonde laughed at the question. "Really, Luna? You give a love letter to this "Sam" person and then two weeks later you show up with a girl named literally Sammy. Do I need to say anything else?" She smirked.

"Yeah... I guess that was kinda obvious." The brunette rubbed her arm as she looked away, flustered.

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"You guys would look cute together." The older girl stated.

Luna looked at her sister, seeing a soft smile that looked almost foreign on the usually bossy and cranky girl. "Aw... thanks, dude." She said, looking away to hide a smile of her own.

"Have you told her yet?"

"Well..." The rocker's smile disappeared, a disappointed expression taking over as she looked down. "I was gonna tell her today but... I just couldn't do it..."

Lori smiled sadly at her sister. She knew how hard confessing your feelings to someone was, but she could only imagine how much harder it must be when that someone might not even be able to feel the same for you.

"You'll tell her when the time is right, sis." She tried reassuring the saddened rocker. "I believe in you."

This earned her a small smile, albeit a sad one. "Thanks, Lori."

"Have you... uh, told anyone else about this?" The blonde was afraid asking this might not be a smart move. It wasn't something she needed to know, despite her curiosity, and her sister was already in a fragile state. But her fears were quickly forgotten as Luna didn't seem to mind the question.

"Well, technically Lucy found out on her own, so no, you're actually the first person I come out to." The rocker said as she scratched the back of her head.

"Oh..." Lori often feared that her bossy demeanor and strict behavior would end up driving her siblings away, so, hearing that Luna not only trusted her, but trusted her enough to come to her first with something as big as this soothed her insecurities and made her beyond glad. "Thank you for trusting me, Luna." She said, letting a smile slowly take over her face.

It was Luna's turn to pull her the taller girl into a hug. "Always, sis, always..." She whispered, not sure he could be heard with her face buried in her sister's chest.

They stayed like that for a little longer, in each other's embrace, just enjoying each other's company in silence. Lori couldn't help but smile as she played with her sister's hair, not being able to remember the last time they hugged like this. "Hey..." She started in a small voice, not wanting to end this moment by disturbing the brunette. "If you want me to, I'm always going to be there to support you. You know that, right?" Lori looked at Luna as she pulled her head from her chest, staring at her older sister's face before cracking a smile.

"You know," The rocker smirked. "You're not as big of a bitch as we like to pretend you are."

"Really, Luna?" The blonde glared at her, unamused. "I try to be a decent big sister for once and this is how you repay me?" She said, trying to sound offended, but instead she broke down laughing as soon as she noticed Luna trying to hold back her own laughter.

And as the sisters laughed together, they realized that they hadn't done that in a long time, and it was something they missed dearly, even if neither of them would admit it.

"For real though." Lori said as she wiped off a tear. "Say shit like that one more time and I'll literally kick you out of the bed." She said, trying, and failing to sound serious.

Luna only smirked at her in response. "That's my sister."

Lori wanted to spend more time like this with her younger sister, just joking and laughing at each other's dumb antics. She really did. But as they heard someone turning the doorknob, they both realized that this moment couldn't last forever.

"Lori? I think you locked me out again!" They could hear Leni from the other side of the door, sounding slightly panicked. "Are you asleep already?"

"I guess I should go to my own room now..." Luna said as she got up.

"Yeah..." Lori was exhausted, but she missed spending quality time with her punk sister like that.

"Thanks for everything... I mean it." She smiled at her older sister as she walked towards the door.

"Thank you for trusting me." The blonde replied, smiling. "Goodnight, Lunes."

"Goodnight, sis..." The brunette hesitated a bit. "I love you." She added before opening the door and walking away, apologizing to Leni for locking her out of her own room.

Lori only smiled upon hearing those words. She knew that she didn't need to say anything else. She loved her sister to death, and now she was sure that she knew that too.

"What was Luna doing here?" Leni asked, still confused at everything that happened.

"Oh, she was just, you know," Lori hesitated for a bit, thinking of something to say that wouldn't be a lie, but also wouldn't hurt her rocker sister's privacy. "Asking me for some love advice!" She added quickly, knowing that was technically not a lie.

"Oh!" Leni gasped, excited. But quickly her expression changed from excitement to concern. "Are... are you alright, Lori?"

"Hmm?" The eldest sister was confused about why her roommate would ask her that, before realizing that she had been crying too before Luna left. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. Just exhausted is all." She assured her, rubbing her eyes. That technically wasn't a lie either.

"Well, then go to sleep, silly!" Her younger sister replied, satisfied with her excuse. "Don't let me keep you up!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going..." And go to sleep she did. Today had been a long day for Lori Loud, and she was absolutely exhausted, both physically and mentally, and so she fell asleep almost instantly after resting her head. She barely noticed that, instead of being about her far away boyfriend, this time her last thoughts before sleep were about her rocker sister.

'I just hope she doesn't get hurt.' Lori thought before finally drifting off to sleep.

Luna Loud was exhausted.

As she came out of her older sisters's room, she slumped against the wall and sighed.

Today had been a long day for Luna. In just one day, she introduced her crush to her family, ran around the house more than once trying to avoid her siblings, spent an amazing afternoon with Sam and almost confessed her feelings! Twice! She even came out to two of her sisters, and it was even on purpose for one of them. Today had been a long day for Luna, and she wasn't even counting the fact that she got locked outside with her spooky sister for almost 30 minutes in the cold.

She was absolutely exhausted, both physically and mentally, and so she wanted nothing more than to go to her room. However, she couldn't help but smile when she heard a familiar babbling noise coming from bellow.

"Heeey, if it isn't my favorite little dudette!" She exclaimed as she noticed Lily at her feet. "What are you doing out here this late, lil' Lil?"

"Wuna!" The baby said, raising her arms.

"Aw, come here!" Luna picked up her little sister, who giggled with joy. "Isn't it past your bedtime, little sis?" She asked, noticing the lavender footie pajamas the baby was wearing.

Lily, however, only blew a raspberry in response.

"Yeah, good point." The rocker agreed, rubbing her nose against Lily's and earning a hearty giggle from her baby sister.

Suddenly, Luna yawned, and then she sighed, realizing just how tired she really was. "At least I'm not gonna have to explain all this to you, huh?" Lily merely tilted her head in response.

"And what's that face supposed to mean, little dude?" Lily giggled and shushed her loudly, holding up a finger in front of her smiling mouth.

"Huh? Why are you shushing me, Lily?"

"How did your talk go?" A voice came from behind Luna, making her yelp and causing Lily to laugh loudly and clap her hands.

"Lucy!" Luna turned quickly, embarrassed. "Don't scare me while I'm holding Lily!" She whispered loudly, not wanting to wake up any of her siblings that might be sleeping already.

"Sorry." Lucy said, looking absolutely not sorry as she covered a giggle with both hands.

"You two planned this, didn't you?" She asked looking at Lily, who was also trying to cover her giggles while she looked at her big sister with her big, happy eyes.

However, before Luna could scold any of her sisters any more, she noticed something she hadn't seen because of the dark in the hallway. "What's up with that hat?" She asked the goth.

Luna didn't notice it before, but Lucy was wearing a large black sunhat, with a big black and white stripped ribbon and small, almost unnoticeable details that reminded her of cobwebs.

"Leni just finished making this for me." Lucy said, with what almost sounded like pride in her voice.

The rocker's eyes widened. She knew her big sister was talented when it came to clothes and other artesanal activities, but she didn't think she was capable of making a hat like that in only the twenty or so minutes she spent in Lori's room. "Cool." Was all she managed to say, though.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt another yawn coming, and then she noticed Lucy stretching up her arms towards Lily. "I'll put her in bed. You should go to sleep too." She said in a monotone voice, and Luna agreed, feeling completely exhausted, and gave the goth her baby sister.

She couldn't hold back her smile when she looked at Lucy, in her big black sunhat, carrying Lily, half asleep in her lavender footie pajamas. 'Those two are just the cutest!' She thought to herself as she saw Lucy try to hold back a yawn, a rare sight to see on the goth's usually unmoving face. "You should go to bed too, lil sis."

"Okay." Lucy said as she started to walk towards the other side of the hallway, where both her's and Lily's rooms were.

Luna was ready to crash at any second now. However, before she opened her bedroom's door, Lucy called out to her once more.

"Luna."

"Hmm?"

"You know that when the others find out, they're probably going to try and meddle in your relationship with Sam, don't you?" Her little sister asked, not turning around.

Luna stopped as she heard that.

She thought about her siblings, about the emotional conversations she had today, and about how she would feel so much more free when her family finally knew about her. She thought hard about all that, and about how she had been uncharacteristically anxious lately. She thought about all that before looking back at her sister.

Luna smiled, her mind finally made up. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Wooh boy. I think this chapter is about as long as the rest of the fic combined, definitely my longest chapter yet, and I am exhausted. A few things I wanted to say about this chapter: 1- Coming out is goddamn terrifying, even if you have a loving family, and especially if you don't. 2- All of the older Loud sisters, but especially Lori Leni and Luna, remind me of my own older sister, who I haven't seen in ever since I was a little kid and don't even know if she's alive or anything. This made me get really emotional when writing Lori's little speech. 3- Lucy and Lily are just the cutest! 4- Some of the things in this chapter were things that happened to me, like getting trapped outside my house earlier today when the doorknob broke or accidentally making a sister jump from a chair when I was a kid lol