Hey! It's been awhile since I've done one of these author's note thingies. (It's been awhile in general…) Just a quick note. A guest named Terra requested I say when in the show's canon did Lincoln went to boot camp, as to see which episodes in the Loud House canon affect my fanfiction.
Honestly, season one is the only one I've seen. I've barely seen any episodes from season two, and I've only seen the last clip of The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos.
Maybe I'll reference stuff from season two every now and then, but since I haven't seen most of it, my fanfic will focus mostly on what happened in season one.
Anyways, back to the my story! Enjoy!
-A Soft Yet Hard Shelled Taco Arc: Part 1-
*Flashback*
A bell rang out across Royal Woods, signaling the end of the school day. As soon as the bell rang, the children of Royal Woods began to walk home from school. A particular couple of kids decided to wait for a little until the sidewalk was somewhat empty before they started walking home.
Once the sidewalk cleared up, the kids, a boy, and a girl began to walk home side by side. The girl smiled at the boy with a raised eyebrow.
"Just you and me today, Lame-O?"
Lincoln chuckled.
"Yeah, I wanted to spend some time with just you, so I asked Clyde to leave you and me alone for today."
Ronnie Anne blushed a little.
"Y-You didn't have to do that, Lincoln."
"True... But I wanted to, Ronnie Anne", Lincoln said with a smile.
"W-Whatever."
Lincoln grinned after he noticed the bashful look on Ronnie Anne's face.
"Ahem… Anyways… Did you hear that your friend Liam got together with Tabby?", Ronnie Anne asked.
No reply.
"Lincoln?"
She turned to Lincoln to see that he was just staring blankly off into space. Upon closer inspection, Ronnie Anne noticed that his face had a pinch of sadness that could only be detected if you stared at him long enough. She decided to bring him back to reality.
"Hey, Lincoln!"
Ronnie Anne noticed Lincoln jump a little after she called out to him.
"O-Oh! Sorry, Ronnie Anne. What did you say?"
"I asked if you had heard about Liam and Tabby getting together."
A surprised look appeared on Lincoln's face.
"Really? No way!"
"Yeah! It's the talk of the school! I even saw them sitting next to each other acting all lovey-dovey during lunch today."
"Aw man. I was hanging out with my little sisters during lunch time. That would have been nice to see."
Ronnie Anne looked at Lincoln with a questioned look. She wanted to ask why he was hanging out with his sisters instead of his usual friends at lunch, but…
Ronnie Anne twiddled her thumbs.
She had something else she wanted to ask Lincoln first.
"Um… Uh… *groan* Hey, Lincoln?"
"What's up?"
Ronnie Anne shyly looked at Lincoln. Although she was frowning, Lincoln could tell she wasn't angry at him, or anything.
"I-I've been wondering… Do you ever get mad that I never do anything lovey-dovey with you in public?"
"Mad? Why would I get mad?"
Ronnie Anne put her hands in her jacket's pockets.
"I don't know… I mean… I guess I've been thinking that I haven't been that great of a girlfriend to you."
Lincoln gasped with shock.
"That's crazy! You've been the best girlfriend a boy could have!"
"... Really?", Ronnie Anne asked.
Lincoln softly grasped Ronnie Anne's closest arm to him and pulled her hand out of her pockets. He held it with care and love.
"Really. I have a lot of fun when I'm with you. Besides, I already know you're not into the whole public displays of love thing. And I'm okay with that. I like you just the way you are."
Ronnie Anne's face turned a tomato red. She immediately pulled her hand away from Lincoln's loving grasp and punched his arm as hard as she could.
"OW! Ronnie Anne!"
Ronnie Anne puffed her cheeks, with a blush still apparent on her face.
"Well… that's good to know then. Thanks, Linc."
Lincoln rubbed the spot on his arm that Ronnie Anne punched. Nonetheless, he smiled at Ronnie Anne.
"No problem. It's what I do."
"Speaking of what you do, what's up with you hanging out with your little sisters today instead of your usual group?"
Lincoln sighed as if he had a lot to talk about with her.
"Well, it's kind of a long story. And it's one of the reasons why I wanted to be alone with you today."
"Spit it out then, Lame-O. Can't be that serious, right?"
Lincoln didn't respond to Ronnie Anne's question, much to her dismay. He awkwardly scratched his head.
"The reason why I hung out with my sisters today is mainly that they wanted to spend all the time they could with me."
"But why? Don't beat around the bush, Lincoln."
"I'm… I'm… *sigh* … I'm going to boot camp in a few days, and I'll be stuck there for about a week, according to Dad."
Ronnie Anne's face froze in shock.
"B-Boot camp? You? No way. I can't believe that. You're not the type of guy who causes enough trouble to even be sent to detention, much less boot camp."
Lincoln chuckled a little at Ronnie Anne's comment.
"Yeah, I have to agree with you there. But I really am being sent there."
"Why? What did you do that was so bad that you have to go to boot camp for a week!?"
"I broke… my dad's special plate."
"..."
"..."
Ronnie Anne stared at Lincoln in disbelief with her mouth agape. The silence was uncomfortable enough for Lincoln to start to feel anxious.
"Uh… Ronnie Anne?"
"... You're being sent to boot camp… over a plate?"
"Y-Yeah?"
Ronnie Anne's face morphed into a glare.
"You're being sent to boot camp over a freakin' plate! That's the most stupid reason I've ever heard!"
Another light-hearted chuckle left Lincoln's mouth.
"Hehe… Yeah, I know."
Silence. All Ronnie Anne could do was feel anger. It was so apparent that Lincoln was able to feel the anger radiating off of her.
"R-Ronnie Anne? Are you okay?", Lincoln asked worriedly.
Ronnie Anne stayed quiet.
"R-Ronni-"
Lincoln felt his collar tug upwards.
Ronnie Anne held Lincoln closer to her face and glared into his eyes.
"Tell your dad that you won't go", Ronnie Anne whispered angrily.
"W-What?"
"Tell your dad that you won't go to boot camp over something as stupid as breaking a plate!"
Lincoln flinched at Ronnie Anne's raised tone of voice.
"B-But… I can't just say no to Dad… He's in charge-"
Ronnie Anne shook Lincoln angrily, albeit not too rough.
"Lincoln! Listen to yourself! You're going to let your dad send you to boot camp! Boot camp! It's not fair! You wouldn't survive a day in boot camp!"
An offended look appeared on Lincoln's face as he pushed himself off of Ronnie Anne. Lincoln raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
"Wait. What do you mean I wouldn't survive a day in boot camp?!"
Ronnie Anne cocked an eyebrow.
"Come on, Lincoln. You know and I both know that you don't really look like the toughest tool in the shed."
"Hey! I'll have you know that Lynn's been making me work out a little more lately."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! And you know what? I think I could survive boot camp! How different can it be from living at home with a bunch of crazy sisters, right?"
An annoyed look appeared on Ronnie Anne's face.
"Not that I have experience or anything, but I'm pretty sure you living at home with your family is nothing compared to boot camp."
"Please, Ronnie Anne. I'm sure you're just exaggerating. If boot camp really was that bad a place, they wouldn't let people send their kids off there. If anything, I think going to boot camp might make me a more awesome kid. Maybe I'll even get stronger than Lynn!"
"That's not the point, Lincoln. The point here is that parents should only send their kids to boot camp when they're being unbearably disobedient. All you did was break a plate."
Lincoln stayed quiet, his own annoyed look appearing on his face.
"Don't tell me you actually want to go?", Ronnie Anne asked in astoundment.
"So what if I do? Maybe for once, I get to choose what I want to do! Everyone around keeps telling me to do this, do that. I'm sick of it, Ronnie Anne! Lola tells me to butt out and throws a plate at my face-"
"What?!", Ronnie Anne interrupted.
Lincoln continued his rant, not noticing Ronnie Anne's expression turning from annoyance to worry.
"Dad gets mad at me for breaking his prized plate or whatever and is sending me to boot camp against my will!"
Lincoln locked his eyes with Ronnie Anne's.
"And now you're trying to make me disobey my dad! I'm tired! I'm tired of everyone pushing me around! I'm not some rug for all of you to walk over!"
Ronnie Anne's eyes flashed with sympathy.
"Lincoln, it's not like that. I'm not pushing you around. I just don't want you to get hurt. I know you, Lincoln. Even if you could survive boot camp, do you really want to go? Don't lie to yourself and try to make yourself all macho."
Lincoln grit his teeth.
"I can take care of myself, Ronnie Anne! And I'll prove it to you. I'll prove it to everyone. When I get back from boot camp a week from now, I'll even be able to hold my ground against you!"
Ronnie Anne's annoyed look returned in its entirety.
"Now you sound stupid, Lincoln."
"Oh, why? Because you think I'll never be better than you?"
"No, because you're actually going to let your dad send you to boot camp. You think that's what you want now. You think that a week at boot camp is enough to make you stronger than you are now."
"I don't think, I know."
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne glared at each other, both being able to feel each other's tension and stress. A heavy atmosphere surrounded the two as they stood their ground staring at one another. If the atmosphere got anymore heavier, cracks would have started to grow from the ground they stood on.
After a few moments, Ronnie Anne broke the silent staredown. She sighed and turned away from Lincoln indifferently.
"Well… I'm not going to wait a week for someone who just wants to be better than the people who care about him. And I'm definitely not going to boost my boyfriend's ego by fighting him in some pointless fight."
"What's that supposed to mean, Ronnie?", Lincoln asked, a bit of poison in what he said.
Ronnie Anne looked back at Lincoln with a stern look.
"It means I won't be your girlfriend when you come back, I'll just be your bully again. That way I won't feel bad when I beat you down."
Lincoln's glare immediately disappeared and was replaced with the most surprised and dejected face Ronnie Anne had ever seen.
"W-What?"
Ronnie Anne couldn't bear to look at Lincoln. She knew she couldn't take back what she said. She knew she broke his heart. But...
Ronnie Anne peeked a little at Lincoln, concealing most of her face from Lincoln. She didn't want him to see her so vulnerable, especially when he was the cause.
"You brought this on yourself, Lincoln. Hope you have fun at boot camp."
As soon as Ronnie Anne muttered those words, she ran away from Lincoln, not even allowing him to refute or try to apologize to her. She didn't want to hear it right now.
All she wanted to do was run.
Although all of her senses were screaming at her not to look back, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder to see what Lincoln's reaction was.
What she saw would haunt her and her nightmares for the next eight years.
She saw the face of a boy who looked as if he had lost everything, and who knew that it was all his fault.
*Flashback Ends*
The patrons and workers of the diner continued to go through the hustle and bustle of daily diner life, seemingly ignoring the two adults standing in the middle of the building staring at each other.
Lincoln was a little shocked at how much she'd changed. She was completely different from the ponytailed tomboy he knew so long ago. And yet… she still had those distinctive features that made her so recognizable to him. It was comforting for him to recognize those small details on Ronnie Anne.
It would have been more comforting for Lincoln if he didn't feel a little awkward seeing her again. The last time he saw her, she literally dumped him for being arrogant; something he regretted his entire time at boot camp.
Lincoln was about to break the ice himself when Ronnie Anne quickly wiped away the tears building up in her eyes. Her face immediately changed into a more calm one, although Lincoln was still able to detect a small trace of hope and worry in her eyes.
"*ahem* I-Is that *sniff* really you, Lincoln?", Ronnie Anne asked trying, and failing, to mask her staggered tone.
Lincoln smiled. Ronnie Anne was still as stubborn as he remembered. Even now she forced herself not to let her tears flow.
"Yeah. It's me. I'm… back, Ronnie Anne.", Lincoln said.
Silence surrounded the two again. Ronnie Anne held the top of her right hand with her left hand and sighed. This whole situation was tough for her too after all. Even as awkward as it was, however, Ronnie Anne couldn't help but look over the boy she dumped eight long years ago. She always thought that she hadn't changed as much in last eight years since she had kept her tomboy spirit and trademark purple colored jacket; even if she had to buy a bigger one.
But Lincoln, on the other hand, had changed a lot compared to his younger self. He looked a lot more mature, and he had this authoritative atmosphere around him that she couldn't explain. If that wasn't enough, Ronnie Anne had to admit something else to herself: Lincoln was, for lack of a better term, hot. He had totally grown into the type of man Ronnie Anne had always dreamed of. Cute, yet strong-looking at the same time. And it definitely looked as if Lincoln had a little bit more muscle on him than he did as a kid. Plus, Lincoln was a little bit taller than her. Yep. Definitely her type. And she hated herself for feeling this way. But she hated Lincoln even more for turning out so handsome.
Ronnie Anne couldn't hide the angry look gradually taking over her face. Lincoln noticed this immediately and backed up a little subconsciously.
"R-Ronnie Anne? Are you okay?"
Ronnie Anne was silent but moved towards Lincoln. Lincoln was about to take another step back when she grabbed his shirt. She looked behind her and to the kitchen behind the counter.
"I'm taking my break now!", she yelled.
"Okay, Ms. Santiago!", a female voice yelled out.
Ronnie Anne nodded and started to drag Lincoln with her somewhere.
"Ronnie, where are we going?"
"..."
Soon, Ronnie Anne and Lincoln reached a door that led to the back of the diner and went out it. She effectively threw Lincoln away from her grasp. Lincoln stumbled a little before standing still and straightening the spot on his shirt that Ronnie Anne had grabbed, an annoyed look on his face as he did so. He looked towards Ronnie Anne to see that she had finished locking the door to the diner.
"Ronnie Anne! Will you tell me why we're back here?"
Once again, Ronnie Anne was silent. Lincoln waited for a little for Ronnie Anne to do something, but it seemed to him that she decided to just freeze in place; she was eerily motionless, and it looked like she had her mind occupied at the moment.
Lincoln sighed deeply and began to look around the small area. It was small mostly because the walled up part of the diner that was the kitchen took most of the space, and the rest of the space was fenced in by the chain link fence separating the world from the back of the diner. It was big enough to be able to walk around however freely though. The chain link fence also had a gate locked up tight with a shackled combination lock, seemingly there as to have easier access to the dumpster behind the fence a small distance away.
Lincoln noticed some trash cans at the corner of the fence, a hose right next to the door he had just gone through with Ronnie Anne, and a small garden sitting against the walled up part that divided the kitchen from the back of the diner. The small garden, in particular, caught Lincoln's attention. He moved towards it and admired the small purple flowers growing. They looked so delicate and peaceful. There were so many of them too that Lincoln couldn't help but feel enchanted by the purple color coming off of the small garden.
Lincoln turned a little towards Ronnie Anne.
"Ronnie Anne, this garden is pretty, well, pretty! What type of flowers are-"
Lincoln only had seconds to stop an object from colliding with his face. If he had failed to stop it with his hand, it would have definitely given him a black eye. But whatever was thrown at his face didn't phase him a bit when it hit his hand. His hand didn't even flinch when it forcibly stopped the unidentified object. Upon closer inspection, however, Lincoln noticed that it wasn't an object that was thrown at him at high speed at all; it was a fist. Ronnie Anne's fist to be precise.
He felt Ronnie Anne struggle to get her fist free from Lincoln's grasp. Scared to offend her, Lincoln quickly let go of her hand.
"Ronnie! What the heck-"
Lincoln moved back quickly as Ronnie Anne threw another punch towards his stomach. Unfortunately, when Lincoln moved back, he felt his foot hit the front of the garden, indicating to him that he couldn't back up anymore. Ronnie Anne once again threw a punch at Lincoln, of which he dodged to the side to avoid. This time, however, Ronnie Anne predicted Lincoln's dodge and tried to kick towards Lincoln's legs to trip him over. Lincoln immediately jumped over Ronnie Anne's leg and backed off once again.
Soon, an unbalanced game of cat and mouse occurred between the two. Ronnie Anne was trying her best to hit Lincoln with one of her punches and kicks, and Lincoln was avoiding all of her assaults with ease, a worried look apparent on his face.
...
A man in the diner was enjoying his lunch when he noticed that across the diner and out the window there were two adults running and jumping around each other. As soon as he noticed that, he motioned over a waitress.
"Excuse me, miss?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Uh.. there are people fighting, I think, at the back of your diner", the man said as he pointed them out.
The waitress turned to where the man was pointing at. She quickly assessed the situation and chuckled a little.
"Oh! You must be new here. That's just our manager. She's probably fighting back a hoodlum from sneaking around in our trash."
"Oh! Really?", the man asked astoundedly.
"Yes, sir!", the waitress replied genuinely.
The man smiled and felt himself be more at rest.
"That's good to hear then. Can I have a refill of coffee then, please?"
"Of course!"
...
Lincoln could tell that Ronnie Anne was getting frustrated since she began to openly voice out a grunt every single time she tried to hit Lincoln with either a kick or a punch. He was starting to get worried about her.
"Okay, let's calm down, Ronnie Anne", Lincoln said, trying to reason with Ronnie Anne.
"Calm down? Calm down!? How can I calm down!?", Ronnie Anne yelled.
"Oh, just take some deep breaths and-"
"No! How can I calm down when you disappeared for eight years at a boot camp you were supposed to stay at for only a week!?"
Ronnie Anne tried to grab Lincoln with both of her hands, only to find her hands caught and interlocked by both of Lincoln's hands. He held her back in an attempt to talk to her face to face.
"Is that what this is about? Me leaving for over eight years without contacting you? If that's what it is, then let me explain-"
"I don't need an explanation from you! I can tell what you wanted to say those last eight years of leaving me alone with these feelings of guilt!"
Ronnie Anne pulled her hands away from Lincoln and tried to tackle him. Lincoln didn't want to dodge and let her fall to the ground, so he let her tackle him. Ronnie Anne felt a little less frustrated after being able to tackle Lincoln, but quickly grew even more frustrated when she realized that her tackle didn't even make Lincoln flinch.
"Ahhhrgh!", Ronnie Anne audibly groaned.
Ronnie Anne pushed herself off of Lincoln faster than Lincoln was expecting and aimed a kick towards his stomach. Lincoln reacted quickly by deflecting Ronnie Anne's kick with his left arm and grabbing her leg with his right.
"Ronnie Anne, come on! Let me talk to you!"
"I don't need to talk to you, Lincoln! I just want to beat you down like I said I would!"
"That was eight years ago! Can't you just move on from that?"
"Is that what you did, Lincoln!? Move on from me breaking up with you!?", Ronnie Anne angrily said.
As she was struggling to get her leg free from Lincoln's right hand, he saw a few tears start to fall out of her eyes.
"Was it so easy for you to forget about me and move on, Lincoln!?", Ronnie Anne continued, "Because I didn't! I've never been able to move on! You were always in the back of my mind. Every single day of the last eight years of my life was filled with pain and angst and… whatever! All because of your stupid face that day."
A melancholic expression appeared on Lincoln as he let go of Ronnie Anne's leg. She walked towards him and started to punch at his chest repeatedly. At first, she punched him with all of her strength. However, the intensity of her punches started to lessen as time when on. Instead, the amount of tears coming out of her eyes increased in volume. Soon, her punches became nonexistent as she laid her forehead against Lincoln's chest, hiding her face from him, and tightly gripping his shirt with both of her hands. She grit her teeth in an attempt to keep herself from sobbing out loud. Lincoln was able to feel her attempt since she would occasionally jump a little against his chest as she clenched her eyes shut. Lincoln could hear a sob trying to escape with every jump Ronnie Anne made.
Lincoln sighed.
"You're still as stubborn as ever, Ronnie."
"... S-Shut up, Lincoln."
Ronnie Anne felt Lincoln wrap his arms around her, bringing her into a tight hug, startling her a little. Once she knew that Lincoln wasn't planning on hurting her or anything, she relaxed into Lincoln's embrace, wrapping her own arms around Lincoln. Lincoln beamed when Ronnie Anne returned the hug. He began to rub his hands slowly up and down her back to help soothe her.
"It's okay to cry, Ronnie Anne. Don't force yourself not to. It isn't healthy after all", Lincoln said with a calm smile and closed eyes.
Ronnie Anne clenched her eyes even tighter but ultimately failed at keeping her tears from falling and her sobs from being audible.
"Why, *hiccup* Lincoln?... Why did *hiccup* you leave everyone for so long? You *hiccup* kept me waiting, you *hiccup* know? I was *hiccup* going to kick your ass."
Lincoln thought Ronnie Anne's little hiccups as she spoke her anger out at him were incredibly cute.
"Ronnie Anne... I didn't plan for it to go that way. It just… did", Lincoln answered.
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne stayed in that position for a little. It was hard for Ronnie Anne to remove herself from Lincoln's grasp. His chest was a lot more strong and relaxing than she had remembered, his shoulder was a comfortable place to lay her head on, and his attentive and firm grasp on her made her feel completely and utterly safe.
Ronnie Anne hugged Lincoln tighter. She felt at peace for the first time in forever. It was funny how after all these years of guilt and self-agony, all she needed to make herself feel better was a hug. Before long, however, Ronnie Anne stepped a small distance away from Lincoln and began to make herself look presentable. Ronnie Anne sniffed one last time before looking at Lincoln. Although her eyes were, in a way, frowning, they were accompanied by a small smile.
"My break's about to be over, so we can't talk in detail yet", Ronnie Anne said.
She walked over to the steps leading into the door of the diner and picked up a piece of paper she left on the steps before she started the fight. She walked back over to Lincoln and held the paper towards him. Lincoln took the paper and saw that it was the application to work at the diner.
"Fill that out and give it to me later. Do you have a resume on you?"
"Yeah, Dad and Lori helped me out with it", Lincoln said as he pulled out another piece of paper from the inside of his shirt, "There's not much on it though. I didn't really get to do anything… since… well, you know."
"I do know. Don't worry though, Linc. I'll be the judge of that."
Lincoln nodded and held both papers close to him.
"Ronnie Anne, I-"
Ronnie Anne held her hand out to stop him from talking. Lincoln felt exasperated from Ronnie Anne interrupting him so much in one day but stayed quiet.
"Lincoln… We'll talk more when I have the time. Today's Saturday, right? That means my shift ends earlier today. Come back around six o'clock with your papers. I'll take them and review them tomorrow. Right now, I gotta get back to-"
*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!*
Ronnie Anne looked at her watch and pressed a button, silencing the watch's timer.
"Well, there you go. I gotta go back in and work my shift. Go do those papers and I'll see you at six, okay, Lincoln?"
"O-Okay, Ronnie Anne."
Ronnie Anne's frowned eyes softened and her smile grew warmer. She grinned at Lincoln before unlocking the diner back door and running back inside the diner.
Lincoln decided to jump the fence since he didn't want to awkwardly follow Ronnie Anne into the diner. As he began to climb the fence, however, he heard the backdoor to the diner open. He turned and saw Ronnie Anne again.
"By the way! Those flowers in the garden are bellflowers. When I searched them online, they looked... cute. So I planted some in the garden. Plus… purple's a cool color, right?"
Lincoln smiled.
"Yeah. Purple is a cool color."
On the couch in the living room of the Loud House was a resting Lola, enjoying the rest of her day by watching television. She sighed with content as she sipped some of the pink lemonade she was holding in her hand. Even though she disliked the notion that she was less prim and proper than she was when she was a kid, a fact proven by her wearing a pink tank top with yellow hems and gray slacks at the moment, she loved to spoil herself rotten from time to time. It was funny how she was able to get the television to herself in the first place anyway, what with her various sisters going about the house doing whatever daily thing they did. Of course, she took this chance to let loose and just relax. Though she could have sworn she heard Lynn yell at Lana for something about a wrench in the wrong place.
Lola shrugged, placed her drink on the table in front of the couch, and laid back.
"Ah! This is just… perfect!~", Lola said to herself with a satisfied look on her face.
The only thing that would make this moment even more perfect is if a certain white-haired brother was here to spend time with-
*Click! Creeeak- Wumpth!*
Lola turned towards the direction of the front door and saw Lincoln enter through it. She could feel her smile get wider as soon as her eyes made contact with him. Lola immediately jumped off the sofa, rushed over to Lincoln, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Lincoln was a little surprised at the sudden invasion of personal space, so he rightfully flinched. He calmed down once he realized it was just Lola.
"Welcome home, Linky!", Lola said happily.
Lincoln smiled at his cute little princess.
"I'm back, Lola. What are you up- Whoa!"
Lola cocked an eyebrow at Lincoln and got herself off of him.
"What?"
"You're… not wearing a dress?"
Lola scoffed jokingly.
"Lincoln, Lincoln. Even a perfect specimen of a lady like me needs their relaxation time. I can't always wear a dress."
Lincoln laughed at this, thinking about how the younger version of Lola would never want to take off her pink dress. He executed a mocking bow to Lola.
"My apologies, your highness."
Lola laughed and patted Lincoln's head.
"At ease, my faithful servant. So, what happened with you today, Lincoln? Did you find a job?"
Lincoln chuckled and stood straight up. Lola felt a little bit at a loss for words when Lincoln stood his full height. He was much taller than her now, so when he stood up so suddenly, Lola felt her heart flutter a little.
"Well, I found a job that was hiring. I just got to fill out this application I got from the place. When I'm done, I have to give it and the resume to Ronnie Anne for her to examine, I think."
Lola gaped at Lincoln.
"You met Ronnie Anne again? Wow. Small world, huh?"
"Hahaha, yeah. It was weird seeing her again after all these years."
"I'd say. How is she? For some reason, she never came by to check if you were home the last eight years. It was mostly just Clyde and your other friends. Sometimes it'd be Carol too. But I never saw Ronnie Anne", Lola wondered out loud.
Lincoln's expression slightly darkened at Lola's statement. He knew exactly why Ronnie Anne never came by.
"Well… she and I didn't get to talk that much. She was still working. I'm going to meet up with her later today though; probably around six. In the meantime, I'll probably finish filling out this application."
Lincoln was about to walk up to Lori's and Leni's room when he felt a tug at his shirt. He looked to the source of the tug to see Lola holding onto his shirt.
"Now wait a minute, Lincoln. You have until six to do that, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"It's about two-thirty right now. If you manage to finish the application before that… Would you like to hang out with me?"
Lincoln grinned and gave Lola a thumbs up.
"Of course, Lola! I just gotta finish this application real quick."
"O-Okay! I'll be waiting down here then, okay, Linky?", Lola states as she lets go of Lincoln's shirt.
"Alright! I'll be right back."
"...Thanks, Lincoln."
Lincoln patted Lola's head.
"It's no problem at all."
Lola smiled and hugged Lincoln tightly, which he gratefully returned to her. Soon, Lola let go of Lincoln and walked back over to the couch to enjoy her show. Lincoln looked at Lola happily for a little before going on his way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he noticed Luan about to go into her room.
"Hey, Luan! I'm home!"
Lincoln notice Luan jump a little before she turned to smile at Lincoln.
"H-Hey, Lincoln! Welcome back!"
Lincoln looked at Luan questioningly. He noticed that a couple of sweat drops had started to form on her forehead. She was obviously nervous about something that had to do with him.
"What's up, Luan? You look… stressed out about something", Lincoln asked worriedly.
"M-Me?! Stressed out?! Nah, what? I'm fine, Lincoln."
"Are you sure? You could always tell me anything, you know?"
Luan sighed and ruffled Lincoln's hair affectionately. Lincoln blushed a little, embarrassed at being treated like a little kid again. But he enjoyed it nonetheless.
"I know that, you goofball. I… guess I'm just tired", Luan said as she continued to ruffle up Lincoln's hair as a form of stress relief.
"Is it because of your job as a comedian at that 'rich person's club' place?", Lincoln asked.
"Rich person's…? O-Oh! Yeah! That's exactly it, Lincoln! I think I've been joking myself out; making all these quips and skits can get real tiring sometimes", Luan stated quickly, removing her hand from Lincoln's head.
"I can't imagine how comedians can keep making new jokes and stuff for their audience. Makes me remember how amazing a person you are, Luan."
Luan blushed at Lincoln's comment and shyly held her arm.
"W-Wow. Thanks, Lincoln. That's… really nice of you to say."
"It's the truth, Luan", Lincoln said with a smile, "I really enjoy all of your puns and jokes. It's crazy how you can come up with them constantly. I'm more surprised at how you're not a superstar yet. I'd thought you'd be in movies now with how funny you- mmph!"
Lincoln's world was suddenly thrust into darkness after his face was covered by something soft. He tried to pull it off his face but noticed that something was pushing it harder and harder into his face. Lincoln began to struggle in fear a little before he heard Luan laugh at something.
"Calm down, Lincoln! I'm just giving you a "bear hug". Haha! Get it?"
If Lincoln could see, he would have noticed a bright red-faced Luan.
Lincoln was confused for a little before he started to feel the soft object on his face. After feeling it out for a little, he confirmed to himself that it was a stuffed bear that Luan had pulled out of nowhere. He found the spot where Luan's hands were and held them softly. Luan felt her heart flutter a bit.
"You still got it, Luan. I'd laugh, but it's kind of getting hard to breathe. Can you… you know-", Lincoln said muffled.
"O-Oh! Hahaha, sorry, Lincoln", Luan said as she removed the stuffed bear off of Lincoln's face. She then turned away from Lincoln to hide her blushed face.
Lincoln took in a breath of air and grinned at Luan.
"Phew! Thanks, Luan. Nice pun by the way."
Luan jokingly shrugged.
"Well, Lincoln, I am a comedian after all-"
Lincoln suddenly grabbed Luan and pulled her into a tight and warm hug from behind, making her blush even more heavily.
"I'd prefer a real hug next time though, wouldn't you?", Lincoln whispered into Luan's ear.
She wanted to swoon at the sound of Lincoln's voice hitting her ears. His voice made her whole body vibrate with passion and love. However, at the same time, she started to sweat nervously about something. Luan pushed herself away from Lincoln and backed away from Lincoln slowly.
"Y-Yeah, I agree with you, Lincoln. Sorry, I gotta' go… do something. Bye!"
"W-Wait, Luan-!"
Luan ran into her room and quickly shut the door on Lincoln. A confused and saddened Lincoln stood frozen in place for a little. Eventually, he sighed and moved away from Luna's and Luan's room and entered Lori's and Leni's room. He was immediately brought out of his depressed state when he was tackled into a hug by an overjoyed Leni.
"Linky~! Welcome home! Are you, like, back to hang out with me?"
"Hehe, I'm back, Leni. Sorry, I have to finish this application for a job, and I already promised Lola that I'd hang out with her earlier."
"Aww…", Leni said with a frown.
Lincoln returned Leni's hug, making Leni smile happily.
"I'll hang out with you later today, okay? Maybe we'll do something tonight before we go to sleep."
Leni smiled widely at Lincoln.
"Okie dokie! In the meantime, I'll totes help you with your application!"
Lincoln chuckled nervously at Leni's declaration.
"Uhh, it's okay, Leni. I could handle it. You could just hang out with me or-"
Leni grabbed Lincoln's application and ran over to her desk, making Lincoln chase after her, telling her not to write anything on the application yet.
…
Lola covered her mouth as she yawned. It had been an hour since Lincoln had arrived home. She was sitting with Lana and Lily, who decided to stop what they were doing and start watching television, stopping her personal relaxation time. They were watching a show that they all could agree on. As much as Lola enjoyed her sisters and their company, especially since they were all pretty distant for eight years, aside from her and Lana, she wanted to go hang out with Lincoln already. She was getting a little bit bored waiting for him, and because of that, the show became somewhat boring to her as well.
Suddenly, her bored state was broken by the sounds of someone going down the stairs. She turned towards to see Lincoln all ruffled up. He sighed when he reached the end of the stairs. Lola jumped off of the couch and ran over to Lincoln. The other sisters noticed this and watched Lola as she ran over to Lincoln. As soon as they set their eyes on Lincoln, they also moved from their positions to go over to him.
"Hey, Linc- ", Lola started before she was interrupted by her sisters coming up to greet Lincoln as well.
"Hey, Lincoln! Hey, Linc!", both Lana and Lily said at the same time.
Lincoln turned to the girls and smiled. They noticed that he looked a little weary.
"Hey girls. What are you up to?"
"We were just watching television", Lola answered, "What happened to you, Lincoln?"
Lincoln chuckled and started to tend to his ruffled up hair, setting it down as much as he could. His trademark tuft of hair, however, stood standing.
"Oh, nothing really. Leni tried to write some stuff on my application for the last hour though. It was tiring trying to make her not write anything weird. But I appreciated her company."
"Ahhh, okay. Did you get to finish your application then, Lincoln?", Lana asked.
"Oh yeah, definitely. I managed to somehow", Lincoln said.
"Does that mean you're free now, Lincoln?", Lily asked.
Lola couldn't help but get a little jealous at Lily. Lincoln was probably going to choose her over Lily since Lily was the youngest of the bunch. Lola sighed inwardly. She shouldn't get jealous like that. It made sense that Lincoln would choose Lily after all. She didn't even get to know him.
As Lola bashed herself inside her head for being jealous at a nine-year-old, Lincoln patted Lily's head.
"Sorry, Lily. I promised that I'd hang out with Lola today."
Hearing Lincoln say this to Lily brought Lola's attention back to him, and it made her blush a little. She didn't expect Lincoln to deny Lily's request. Now she was scared of how Lily might-
"Aw, okay. Next time though, okay?"
"Haha, of course, Lily. next time."
Lana laughed and put her hand on Lily's shoulder, feeling the same as Lily did when Lincoln said he wasn't free; not sad but a little disappointed.
"Don't forget about me, Lincoln. I need some quality time with you too, you know?"
"I'd never forget you, Lana. Who else fixes everything up here in this house?"
As the trio laughed warmly with each other, Lola stood from the side with a delighted smile. She should have never doubted Lincoln. Why she thought Lincoln would break a promise she would never know.
Soon, Lana and Lily went off to do whatever they wanted, leaving Lincoln to walk over to Lola.
"Ready to hang out, Lola? I've got a few hours to hang out before heading out."
Lola beamed and held Lincoln's hand.
"I'm always ready to hang out with you, Linky."
Once, Lincoln held her hand back, Lola began to lead them to her room. Once they got inside, however, Lola started to feel a little anxious. Even though Lincoln was back now and even told her that she had nothing to blame herself for, she still felt that guilt crawling back up her thoughts every now and then.
The guilt of being the catalyst to Lincoln being sent to that dreaded boot camp.
Lola sighed and tried to push those thoughts away. It somewhat worked, as she could feel herself start to be a little relieved. It probably helped that Lincoln was sitting in front of her smiling though.
"So, what are we doing, Lola?"
Lola smiled and immediately opened up her closest to reveal a massive amount of clothing.
"I'm going to try on some dresses, Lincoln. And you're going to judge them for me.", Lola stated with a fantastical pose.
Lincoln clapped with a chuckle but was blushing a little out of embarrassment.
"I'm down to do this and all, Lola. But I don't know anything about fashion."
"Oh, Lincoln. You don't have to know fashion to realize the elegance and beauty of a fantastic dress. Although, having knowledge of fashion does help."
Lola grabbed a couple of clothes from her closest.
"All I need you to do is tell me how the dresses look to you. If you really have no idea what to judge, I'll tell you that the upcoming pageant's theme is 'Fairytales'."
Lincoln balled his right hand into a fist and softly bashed it in his left palm, signaling to Lola that he understood what he had to do now.
"Ohh okay, I think I got it, Lola."
Lola nodded happily and began to choose from her assortment of clothes. After a little, Lola had decided on a specific set of clothes. She set them to the side and began to- Wait a minute.
It was at that moment that Lola froze. Lincoln got understandably worried when he noticed that Lola had stopped moving after she chose her clothing.
"Lola? Are you okay?"
Lola's mind was preoccupied with a new dilemma; could she change in front of Lincoln? She realized that if she were a kid, she wouldn't have given it a second thought. It was normal for siblings to change in front of each other after all, especially in a big family like theirs. But her family was anything but normal at this point. Because Lincoln was gone for so long, it did feel as if he were a stranger. Even though Lola knew that Lincoln was her brother.
For the first time in her entire life, Lola felt insecure about her body. She wondered whether or not Lincoln would accept her body in all its bareness. She could have sworn there was a point in her life where Lincoln had seen her body bare before, but it was so long ago that the memory was kind of blurry. She knew that it was stupid of her to think that Lincoln would judge her body at all, but the last time she let someone see her almost naked body was their own mom.
And yet, Lola couldn't help but feel excited to be in this situation. Especially since she was in front of Lincoln. A deep blush spread across her face.
"Lola?"
Lincoln walked up to Lola after she didn't respond to him a few minutes earlier. Lola shyly looked at Lincoln, who didn't notice the blush on her face because he was too preoccupied with his worry for her.
"S-Sorry, Lincoln. Something just popped up in my head. Ready for the best show of your life?", Lola asked, passion buried underneath her words. A passion unnoticed by Lincoln.
Lincoln gave out a sigh of relief and smiled at Lola, unaware of what she was planning to do first before putting on her clothing.
"Ready, Lola."
Lola's blush and smile grew bigger and brighter. After Lincoln moved back to his sitting spot, Lola stood at the foot of her bed and gave out one more deep breath, before looking at Lincoln with a sultry, wanting gaze that she couldn't keep from appearing on her face. Lincoln felt his face heat up when Lola sent him that look in her eyes.
It was at this moment, Lincoln's world was blown. Lola began to slowly strip off her pieces of clothing she had on off in front of him. When Lola took off her sweatpants, Lincoln immediately put his hands up to his face to cover his view, a blush growing on his face. He probably wouldn't have made that big a deal about it if Lola didn't take it off so agonizingly slow.
"L-L-L-Lola! What are you doing? Why didn't you tell me to turn around?!"
Due to Lincoln's reaction, it was obvious to Lola that he saw her in a different light as well. She couldn't blame him or even herself. It was like she was giving a private showing to her… boyfriend.
Hearts appeared in Lola's eyes as she began to discover a hidden passion of hers. She found that stripping in front of Lincoln specifically made her go insane. It wasn't as if she felt like this when she changed in front of Lana after all. She thought she could feel a fire inside of her, burning intensively with passion and eagerness. She slowly placed the palm of her hand on her leg and started dragging it slowly up her leg in front of Lincoln. This made Lincoln's blush intensify.
Lola used her free hand to put a finger up to her lips in an 'innocent' fashion.
"Why, Linky~... I thought you wouldn't care if I changed in front of you. We are siblings, after all, right?"
Lincoln uncharacteristically and shyly started to rub his hands together nervously.
"W-Well, yeah! Y-You're right! B-But, y-you know… It's kind of-"
"Don't worry about it, Lincoln. I don't really mind if you watch me change~. In fact, I think I prefer if you watch me."
Lola stepped over to Lincoln and stood in front of him. For some reason, Lincoln felt completely timid when Lola stood over him. He noticed her smile had grown somewhat larger, and she was showing her teeth.
"I don't want you to look away at all, got it, Linky~? I want you to witness me in all of my beauty", Lola said with an incredibly commanding tone.
Lincoln felt like he had literally shrunk a little at her tone.
"U-Uh, b-but I-I-"
Lola interrupted Lincoln by taking off her pink tank top, this time even closer to Lincoln, and revealing her light pink bra. She was basically nude at this point, having only her undergarments on. Lincoln reacted by trying to cover his eyes with his hands in respect to Lola's privacy. However, Lola was not happy with that, shown by the fact that an astonishingly intimidating glare appeared on her face.
She grabbed one of Lincoln's hand and slowly pulled it away from his face, revealing her glare to him. Needless to say, Lincoln was rightfully terrified.
"I don't think you understood what I said, Linky~. I want you to look at me. I want you to take in my beauty. Don't you think I'm pretty, Lincoln?"
Lincoln gulped audibly. Lola paid no mind to it at all though.
"O-Of course I do, Lola. I think that you're… beautiful."
Lola smiled, although her eyes continued to glare at Lincoln. She was basically giving her trademark evil look to Lincoln, only this time as a pre-teen.
"How beautiful am I, Linky?"
"Uhhh…"
Lola moved even closer to Lincoln, making him fall a little onto his back. She leaned into him and placed her hand on his chest.
"How… beautiful am I, Lincoln?", Lola said as she trailed her finger up Lincoln's chest slowly.
At this point, sweat was beginning to form on Lincoln's head.
"U-Um… amazingly beautiful? L-Like, as beautiful as a million suns setting on the horizon…?", Lincoln stated nervously.
Lola chuckled at Lincoln's attempt at a compliment. It wasn't the worst one she'd ever heard. Honestly, it was cute coming from him. The blush on her face lessened in color and she backed off of Lincoln. Lola could see that he internally sighed in relief. She walked back towards her pile of clothes with a huge smile on her face.
"Sorry, Linky~. I couldn't resist. You're too easy to tease. Let's continue with my modeling, shall we?"
Lincoln still had a blush on his face, although it had softened as well. He smiled at Lola, signaling her to go ahead and start. Lola went ahead and started to search through her clothes to see which one was the perfect set for the theme.
Ronnie Anne sat at one of the tables in the diner that was facing away from the front door, idly waiting for Lincoln to come by. She was dressed casually; wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt with white stripes, her trademark purple jacket unzipped, and blue jeans. Her hair was also tied up into a cute ponytail. By her side was a nicely sized satchel. Ronnie Anne was picking up french fries and eating them thoughtlessly. It was about seven at night, the diner was mostly empty, and she still didn't see any sign of a white-haired boy.
Ronnie Anne didn't even notice a waitress walk by her before suddenly stopping and walking back to her table.
"Ms. Santiago? Why are you still here? Your shift ended an hour ago! Usually, you go home right after work's over for you", the waitress asked.
Ronnie Anne sighed and sipped her coffee from her white mug.
"I'm… waiting for someone, Mary."
Mary snickered a little, put her hand on her cheek, and held her elbow with her other hand.
"Are you waiting for a date, Ms. Santiago?"
Ronnie Anne immediately blushed and a frown appeared on her face.
"N-No! I'm not dating anyone! I-I'm just waiting for an old friend. Catch up on times, you know?"
"Catching up with an old flame, then?"
"..."
"I guess I hit the nail on the spot, huh?"
"S-Shouldn't you be working, Mary!?"
Mary laughed and skipped off, leaving a blushing Ronnie Anne to ponder about her thoughts.
'O-Of course I'm only here waiting for Lincoln to talk with him. I'm not trying to get back with him or anything. I've moved on from him. I'm going to look for someone new and better than him! ...Right?…", Ronnie Anne thought.
Ronnie Anne shook her head, shaking her thoughts away. She decided that she was going to leave if Lincoln doesn't show up in ten minutes. She picked up her last french fry and put it in her mouth. She started to think about how the cook had improved on her cooking. The fry wasn't the best french fry she'd ever tasted, but it was a lot better than when she had started.
Ronnie Anne's thoughts were broken by the sound of a small bell ringing at the front door and the sound of Mary saying welcome. Ronnie Anne turned around to see Lincoln speed walk into the diner, looking around. Once he made eye contact with her, he smiled. Ronnie Anne immediately turned back to her table and away from Lincoln, trying to frown but failing to hide her blush.
Lincoln ran to her table and took a seat.
"Sorry, Ronnie. Lola kept me for a while. She was… er… showing me some of her clothes."
Ronnie waved her hand.
"It's fine, Lincoln. Did you bring your resume and your application?"
"Yeah!". Lincoln said as he pulled out the papers, "Here you go."
Ronnie Anne took them and looked through them quickly. Then, she put them in the satchel next to her.
"I'll evaluate them tomorrow morning. You should know by the afternoon when to come in for an interview, okay?"
"A-Alright!"
After Ronnie Anne put Lincoln's papers into her satchel, things got awkwardly silent at the table. Ronnie Anne poked at her dinner plate while Lincoln nervously smiled. The silence was broken when Mary showed up out of seemingly nowhere at their table.
"Hello, sir! My name is Mary, and I'll be your server for tonight. Here is the menu. If you need anything, don't be afraid to call me over, okay?"
Lincoln chuckled with a smile. Ronnie Anne peered at Mary, wondering what she was up to.
"Alright, thank you, Mary."
Mary nodded and left the table away from Lincoln, but still in the view of Ronnie Anne. When she got far enough, Mary turned back to the table with a thumbs up, mouthing the words, "Good luck! Don't mess this up."
Ronnie Anne blushed furiously and glared at Mary, who jokingly ran away in fear.
After Mary was out of Ronnie Anne's sights, she turned to Lincoln focusing hard on the menu.
"I'd recommend the BLT hot dog with caraway remoulade", Ronnie Anne said, catching Lincoln's attention and making him bring down his menu to see her.
"It's a San Francisco favorite apparently. More creamy and cool than other western hot dogs. It's pretty good", Ronnie Anne continued.
Lincoln smiled at her.
"Thanks, Ronnie Anne. I think I'll try that. Are you going to get anything?"
"Nah, I alright got myself a meal an hour ago. Go ahead and call over Mary."
"Gotcha. Mary!"
Mary walked over to Lincoln almost immediately and placed a glass of water in front of him. Mary and Lincoln then began to converse. Ronnie Anne looked over Lincoln, now with more clarity and less anger and lust.
Lincoln was really a man now. The scrawny kid he used to be was not sitting in front of her. To be honest, Lincoln was still a little scrawny looking, but that might just be because of his clothing. Ronnie Anne could see that he had some muscle. She guessed that boot camp really did make him stronger. She was grateful that he wasn't overly buff. He looked more recognizable this way. However, the biggest question on her mind now was… why? Why was Lincoln gone for so long?
Mary walked away from the table, but not before Lincoln gave his thanks to her. He turned to Ronnie Anne to see her just blankly staring at him.
"Ronnie? Ronnie Anne? Are you okay."
Ronnie Anne blinked rapidly for a second before shaking her head.
"W-What? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just… thinking."
"About what?"
"... About why."
Lincoln looked at her in confusion, his head tilted a little to the side.
"Why… why were you gone for so long, Lincoln? Eight years. Eight whole years I, everyone, was waiting for you. What… happened?"
Lincoln sadly looked down, his head facing the glass of water in front of him. The table was once again silent. It wasn't awkward this time though; it was kind of depressing.
After waiting patiently for Lincoln to say something, he looked up to her.
"I'll tell you a bit of what happened. I'll start with the first week of boot camp."
Ronnie Anne nodded. Lincoln took this as permission to start his story.
"It all started on a weird, dreary looking bus…"
…
Ronnie Anne stared at Lincoln with her mouth agape and a horrified look on her face. Lincoln was looking away from her, saddened by the memories of his lost childhood. He was focusing on eating the BLT hot dog that he got from Mary in the middle of him recounting what happened on the first week of boot camp.
Ronnie Anne was speechless. Over the last hour or so, she had heard one of the most disgusting and terrifying stories. It was made even more disgusting and terrifying to her since it was real and it had happened to Lincoln as a kid.
Lincoln coughed and decided to try and change the subject.
"H-Hey, you know, you're right! This BLT hot dog actually pretty good. I gotta' send my regards to your chef, hehe."
Ronnie Anne didn't say anything, leaving Lincoln to awkwardly laugh alone. He sighed and continued to eat his hot dog.
Suddenly, Ronnie Anne placed her hand on Lincoln's free hand, surprising him.
He looked at her to see tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Lincoln. I never knew that this could happen to anyone! I should have tried harder to make you stay. I should have just forced my way into your house and run away with you. Instead, I let you go suffer somewhere... for eight years! I… I'm a horrible friend."
Ronnie Anne began to sob quietly, and put her hands to her face, covering herself from Lincoln's view. Lincoln immediately put his hot dog down, wiped his hand with a napkin, and ran over to Ronnie Anne's side to console her. He used one arm to pull her closer to him into a side hug.
"Ronnie, Ronnie! It's okay. It's not your fault at all. No one could have expected that to happen to me. You have no right to blame yourself."
After Lincoln was done talking, Ronnie Anne wrapped her arms around Lincoln and hugged him back, resting her head on Lincoln's chest. Lincoln held her tighter.
For a while, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne sat next to each other at their table, holding each other in comfort. Ronnie Anne would occasionally make some hiccups, but the tears that fell from her eyes earlier were all gone, leaving her face dry.
Lincoln blushed a little when he noticed Mary at the corner of his eye watching them. However, instead of laughing or egging them on, she smiled and walked away, leaving the two alone.
"What happened next, Lincoln?"
Lincoln looked down at Ronnie Anne in surprise.
"What?"
"I asked you *hiccup* what happened next. You said that on the day you were going to escape with Emily that you helped her get out but got caught by the government officials or whatever. After they knocked you out, what happened?"
Lincoln thought about it for a bit. Ronnie Anne looked up at Lincoln in concern, wondering if she hit a soft spot. Lincoln saw Ronnie Anne's concerned look and promptly explained himself.
"Oh don't worry, Ronnie Anne. I'm not mad at you or anything. It's just that… After all that time in boot camp, every day just felt so similar. It's kind of hard to remember when everything was after the first week."
Ronnie Anne nodded and placed her head back against Lincoln's chest.
"I think… I remember what happened. Yeah, yeah, I think I got it. You sure you wanna' hear it, Ronnie?"
Lincoln felt Ronnie Anne nod her head against Lincoln's chest.
"Well, okay. I remember this feeling of dread. All I could see was black. I think eventually I realized I was knocked out…"
Finally, after three months, I finished a chapter. If you want to know what happened and what am I planning for in the future, I posted an update on my Tumblr. In summary, though, I'm planning to write more than just Loving Return now to keep my creative juices blending.
I also created a Devumaru page on Facebook for anyone who uses that instead of Tumblr.
For the Facebook page, just add /Devumaru/ at the end.
Thank you guys for being patient. Look forward to a new generation of Devumaru!
