A/N: In memory of Stan Lee, 1922-2018 and Alec Guinness 1914-2000. I don't own Loud House or any of the below referenced movies. Minor spoilers for Captain Marvel and Avengers Endgame. So I was gonna post this once the cover art was finished, but that might be awhile so I'm posting it now.

The Tale of the Two Captains: Part Two

Loni Loud was on a mission. A mission of the utmost importance and one that he would not fail. He was an Avenger now, and it was his job to make sure that Lori felt comfortable with her new surroundings. The temptation to take her straight to see Avengers: Endgame was there, but he knew she wouldn't be able to handle the feels trip it would take her on if they did watch it. He certainly hadn't. And the whole point of this was to take her mind off of everything that was happening so that she wouldn't cry, which tore him to pieces both times he bore witness to it. No one as nice or caring as she should ever feel that sad again, he decided.

When it came to introducing someone to something as epic as the MCU, starting with Captain Marvel was not the worst jump off point. Filling her in about everything he knew about her character became his top priority in the car ride over, and she was so overcome with fascination that she even groaned with her head in her hands! He didn't blame her. Realizing she'd been so out of touch with something this epic would have made him feel ashamed as well. He left out the fact that Lori's character's past outfits in comic continuity were more risque and a hard act to follow for a lot of female comic book fans.

"...was leaving Lane by himself a good idea?" she suddenly asked.

"Oh, he'll be fine! Dad leaves him with my sibs all the time, since he's usually in the house most of the day."

Upon exiting the Lyft he had ordered to take them to the theater, the Captains took in the sight of the enormous line of people that stretched from the front entrance of the red bricked theater, to around the back. One week post release of Avengers: Endgame and it still brought droves of moviegoers.

Making their way to the back of the line, they're presence did not go unnoticed by the various men, women, and children they passed along the way. Some pointed, others "oohed" or "ahhed", and a few took out their phones to snap pictures of them. Loni was the epitome of pride as he strolled confidently to the end, whereas Lori looked less than comfortable. Eh...it was probably just the heat.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look! It's Captain Marvel and Captain America!" a little boy with a striped shirt cried out jumping up and down on the sidewalk.

"Could my kids have a picture with you two?" The mother asked hopefully.

"Heck yeah, they can! They wanna take a picture with us!" He told Lori.

"Um… okay…"

Both Captains got on either side of the excited Marvel fans, Loni on one knee and holding his shield in hand like a trophy. Lori kept her arms at her sides, wearing a half smile. This process repeated itself a few more times, fans of the armored captains coming up and requesting pictures. And who wouldn't? They looked great! His favorite part about these kind of interactions were when they asked him where he got the outfits and he got to tell them he made it himself. The reactions tended to be mixed, some mouths dropping or others just waving their hand at him dismissively. He was about to go into a long explanation of how it was done, when he noticed a few people in the line ahead of him pointing and snickering. Maybe they were fans too?

"L-Loni? I'm really not comfortable doing this anymore...", Lori told him looking down.

"But we haven't seen the movie yet!" he protested.

"I know, but... they're…" she indicated to the same group of teens he spotted earlier.

"Yeah… if that's Captain America, I'm Black Panther… guy looks like a string bean", One of them drawled.

"Right? And that girl's hair isn't the right style for Marvel. It's too wavy."

Ah. So they weren't true fans. They were gatekeepers. Bullies. If there was one thing that Captain America hated more than anything, it was bullies, no matter where they came from or why they did it. Damnit, he had enough pressure to be a good host as it was without the added negativity. They wanted Captain America? Okay… he was gonna give it to them.

"Hey Lori, see that can sitting on top of that mailbox?" He asked pointing across the street. "Betcha I can knock it down with my shield."

"It's literally 25 feet away. You're gonna mess it up if you-"

Loni heard her protests but he was too focused on the mission at hand. He reeled his arm back in a pitcher's like pose, took a deep breath and threw the frisbee like weapon with all his might. The metallic disc spun straight and horizontal, never peeling off from its trajectory. It knocked the can of cola off the mailbox, the disc clanging against the wall behind it and falling to the sidewalk. The snickering stopped and all eyes were on the two cosplayers. On reflex he pressed the button sewn into the fabric of his uniform and turned to Lori. He felt like he was supposed to do something important next but he couldn't remember what it was for the life of him… oh yeah!

"WOOO! Go Rogers! Go Rogers! Do the butt shake! Do the butt shake!", Loni chanted swishing his hips and yanking his arms up and down like an automaton.

There was never an inappropriate time for a bootyshake in Loni Loud's world. Since this was America's ass, he gave it a little extra "oompf". That throw was near perfect and if S.H.I.E.L.D had seen that display of epicness, they would have had him on as the next-

"Loni! LONI! THE SHIELD!" Lori shouted trying to get his attention.

"I know! It's awesome, isn't it? Levi made it for me, and it works just like the-"

"Nononono the shield! It's coming back!"

"Huh?" He glanced sideways and sure enough the metallic shield was tumbling through the air, back towards him at alarming speed.

"Oh yeeeeah… that's what that button doe-"

His dim observation was cut off as Lori tackled him to the pavement of the sidewalk. The shield continued its course, and clanged against the brick mortar of the theater's wall, right where Loni's head was a moment ago. It clattered to the ground, and then drifted its way to Loni's right arm and stuck to the vambrace with a *click*.

"For future reference I need to know; how stupid are you?!", Lori demanded her face inches from his and still on top of him.

"Loki told me that that's something that can't be 'quantified'. I don't know what that word means but he sounded pretty serious. Hey Lief was right! You DO smell like Loki!"

…..

"… but Vibranium isn't a real metal!" Lori told Loni as they found their seats in the semi-crowded theater. They opted for chairs in the middle row, neither of them understanding how anyone could be comfortable sitting in the front directly under the screen. Waaay to much strain on the neck. "Or… wait… is it? This is a different dimension, so I probably can't rule that out…"

"Sadly, you're right about that. Reality is often disappointing. But that didn't stop Levi from making this bad boy for me!" He told her, removing his cowl and patting his shield. "Electromagnets built right into the vambrace for a quick return. He says it's made of titanium, which is technically bulletproof. When we get a chance, we're gonna head to the shooting range and give it a proper test run!"

Lori's blood went cold. She was now left wondering how Loni hadn't gotten himself killed years ago and if saving him from literal decapitation was something Loki had to do on a daily basis. Leni had her own shortcomings in the brains department, but she seldom ever gave Lori the impression that she would hurt herself the second she walked out the door. She could list every reason why what he just said was the dumbest idea she'd ever heard of. Instead she bit her tongue and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "If Levi says it's bulletproof… pleeeasse… take his word for it… and don't let anyone shoot at you."

He appeared to go over her plead for a brief second before turning to look at her with renewed cheer. "OKAY!"

She sighed with relief and sunk deeper into the red cushion of her chair. "Wow… if Lisa built everything Lincoln asked her to make, his room would be an armory." She said, shaking her head. There were several things Lori had to say to her when she got back, each one more confrontational than the last. How could she be so irresponsible? If the multiverse was as infinite as Levi claimed it to be than it was a miracle they weren't sent to a dimension far more hostile or God forbid, dystopian. She is soooo making me a titanium golf club when I get back… "That was nice of him to make though," she muttered letting it go for now. "You just asked and he agreed?"

His face turned more solemn as he held the shield tighter to his chest. "Actually, he made it for me after my mom passed. As a gift."

"Oh… shit… I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories…"

"It's not a taboo," he told her simply, "It's been seven months. I'm totes okay to talk about it now. Especially with my cousin."

Cousin?

She was about to give an answer to that when the theater lights started to dim.

"Ohhhh it's starting!" He said bouncing with excitement.

She put it aside for later and leaned back in her chair, her expectations for the flick she was about to watch at no particular level of elevation. The trailers for Captain Marvel looked… okay. Lori hardly watched any superhero movies growing up, the ones she could remember seeing were with her boyfriend or when she was stuck babysitting one of her siblings. The movie took an odd approach at introducing the character, showcasing the Captain's status as a soldier of the Kree rather than jumping right into her origin story.

Loni was a bit nervous that this wouldn't go the way he was hoping and she would want to leave the theatre again. He'd seen it twice already, undeterred by any of the complaints so called "fans" voiced about it. People really needed to learn to separate an artist's work from their personal beliefs. But as the Superheroine made her entrance to Earth and Lori leaned forward in her chair after every scene transition, his worries started to evaporate. His favorite scenes came and went, but he wasn't watching any of them. He was too busy gauging the reaction of the now grinning intergalactic Half-Kree Half-Human sitting to his left. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open, and the laughter that escaped Lori's throat at the scenes with Nick Fury and Goose were music to his ears. The MCU just got one more fan. And her name was Lori Loud.

…...

"Whadya think?" Loni asked stepping out into the lobby 2 ½ hours later. The moviegoers of two other auditoriums were filing out into the red carpeted lobby, filling up the space in a matter of seconds.

"That. Was literally. Amazing!" She gushed.

"I know, right?!"

"That part where she's up against her mentor and she's all like, 'I don't have to prove anything to you!' and she zapped him with one of her hand beam thingies?"

"Photonic blasts?"

"Photonic blasts! And I almost cried when the green guy got reunited with his family!"

"The Skrulls?"

"Skrulls, whatever. And she was holding back her true power level the whole time! One hand tied behind her back!", she said shooting her fists in the air. Loni just leaned against the wall, wearing a smug smile.

"Erm… yeah it was… it was alright…", she said, now regaining her composure. "Huh… so that's what it's like to nerd-gasm…"

Captain America threw his head back in laughter, a feeling of triumph overtaking him.

He quickly opened his arms, and with a strength she didn't know he had, gripped Captain Marvel in a bone-crushing, bear-hug and spun her in circles. She tried to protest but it was drowned out by an unusual victory cry.

"EXCELSIOOOOOR!"

"Loni. LONI! Put me down! I can't… breath!" she rasped.

Snapped out of his bout of excitement he set her down gently. "Sorry, I'm just like super happy you're happy right now!"

"Hey everyone, check it out!" A teen from the lobby shouted. "It's the Avengers! Can I get a quick pic?" he asked, approaching them.

"Me too!"

"I'm next!", more people started to shout.

Slowly a crowd formed around the two Captains, pulling out their smartphones and smiling with anticipation at the prospect of a photo op. This time Lori felt a wave of pride wash over her, a better understanding of the character and why she was so popular starting to cement itself. She felt strong. She felt powerful. She felt… Marvelous.

"Ready for round two?", Marvel asked America, one eyebrow cocked.

He snapped his cowl back on, reached for the shield slung over his shoulder, and met her newfound enthusiasm with his own. "I could do this all day."

….

"All day" lasted only about fifteen more minutes, but with every picture she was snapped in, grew the power she felt rise up from her core. Loni had went to use the restroom so she held his shield for him putting it down only to give a fan another quick pic. God help her, she was having fun. The idea crossed her mind that Lisa's accident might have been one of the funnest, if weirdest things, that ever happened to her. Maybe this didn't have to be a weekend of tragedy and time lost back at home. With what time she had left here, perhaps she could-

"Can I have a picture too?" a deep voice asked from behind her.

"Sure", Lori said turning to face the source of the voice, "would hate to leave anyone ou-"

She felt her breath leave her lungs as she took in the features of the young man before her. He was a tall, around her own age, blonde, had the same hairstyle as Loni but more facial hair on his chin. He wore a green and yellow polo shirt in a zigzag pattern, brown khakis and gray adidas running shoes. It shouldn't have surprised Lori anymore to run into someone in this dimension that looked like someone from her own social circles, but she hadn't been counting on how down right… stunning, the boy version of Carol Pingrey looked. Unlike Carol, his dimples were deep and his voice was even deeper. She could see the fabric of his shirt stretch outward from a very visible athletic build.

Dangit! The boy version of her is hot too?!

"I love your outfit, and I had to…", he trailed off as he took in her features. "Loki?"

"No… uhh… Captain Marvel actually." She told him rubbing the back of her head. "Loki's the long haired British guy… I think."

"Oh… sorry," he said, unable to keep himself from staring, "I thought you were someone else for a sec."

"Been getting that a lot lately."

"Anyways uhh… my name's Carl." He extended his hand and smiled.

"Lori." she said accepting it, hesitantly.

They're curious staring contest lasted about ten more seconds before Carl reminded himself of the real reason why he approached her to begin with. "I saw you with the dude cosplaying as Captain America. Are you two friends by any chance?"

"Fooorr… God, what the hell are we... lack of a better word. Yes we are."

"Awesome! Do you think…", he said reaching for an envelope in his back pocket, "you could do me a huge solid and give him this?"

She took the envelope in her gloved hand and examined it front to back. On the front was the unmistakable Pingrey seal that held both folds of the paper together, and on the back was one word written in the neat black calligraphy. It simply read: Sorry.

"Uhh… sure, but why not just hand it to him in person? Aren't you two friends?"

His expression turned hopeful. "... he's talked about me?" A look of regret touched his features and he looked down. "We haven't been on the best of terms, lately. I've been trying to get a hold of him-"

"Whew! Thanks for holding my shield for me!" Loni said coming out of the restroom. "Being a superhero is thirsty wor-"

As the Captain approached the newcomer, Lori saw Loni's face break it's normally happy go lucky features and shift into one of pure malice. The shift was quick, almost instantaneous, and she couldn't remember seeing Leni put on a face quite so… angry.

"What do you want Pingrey?" Loni huffed, taking his shield form Lori. He held it like he might use it for more than just knocking down cola cans.

Carl grimaced. "Okay… last name basis? I don't think I deserve that."

"Is this guy bothering you, Lori?" Loni asked her, his contempt filled eyes locked on to the boy in front of him.

"No. He just came up to say 'hi'."

"Well, he's bothering me, so I think that's our cue to leave." Loni told her, side stepping her and heading for the tinted glass door's exit.

"Waitwaitwait! Dude! Can you and me please… please… just talk?" Carl begged getting in front of him.

"Why should I?"

The argument they broke into was odd. Back home, Leni and Carol were friends .Not particularly close, but friends, as far as she knew. They would get into fights every now and again, but it wasn't over something serious. These two bickered like they were an old married couple. Frequently Carl would catch himself getting off topic and would try to bring them back to the point, yet Loni was quick to shut him down. Whatever Carl had to say, Loni didn't want to hear any of it. It was concerning to Lori, because this guy seemed nice and she was genuinely curious as to what Carl had to apologize for. Loni wasn't budging so Lori stepped in between them.

"Hey Carl, would you excuse us for one moment? Us Captain's need to have a quick chat."

He nodded, and she pulled him by the arm about 10 ft away so she could get to the bottom of whatever tiff it was they we're having.

"Seriously, what's up with you two? Why are you being so hostile towards him?"

"That guy is bad news, Lori. He's caused me and my brother a lot of pain and I don't know what his angle is, but he's up to something! I mean did you see his shirt?"

"Uh… yeah? It's a little ugly, but what does that have to do with it?"

"Heeellloo!" He jeered flailing his arms. "It's the color scheme for Hydra! That alone is a good reason not to talk with him."

Lori pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. "Okay… let's just pretend for a sec that we're not superheroes. What did Carl Pingrey do to Loni and Loki Loud that was so bad you won't even hear him out?"

Loni looked down and he gripped his shield tighter. , "... me and him were the ones that got the cosplay business off the ground. I made the outfits and the props, he handled the money stuff and advertising and it went well for a while. Then he took some of my revenue and gave it to my dad to put it into my college fund."

"Why would that make you angry?"

"Its wasn't for that! I like, made it clear to him that all of my earnings go straight to 'Son's of Daughters Against Drunk Drivers', but instead he goes behind my back and totes betrays me."

"...it sounds like he did it with the best of intentions…"

He crossed his arms. "Doesn't matter. It's not what the money was for."

"Well you can at least open the envelope and see what he has to say."

He took the envelope from her outstretched hand. He opened it. Inside were three pages in his handwriting, most likely telling him how much he regretted his financial decision, and under that lay a check. It was made out to SADADD. And it was for $1,500.

"See? This more than makes up for what he did! You should talk to him."

"Why? Why do you care if we make up or not?"

She sighed. "There is someone in my dimension a lot like him. We've been at each other's throats for years and I don't ever see that changing. But this guy is taking the first step to reconcile with you and Loki. That's probably more than I'll ever get back home."

"Lori..."

"You've done so much for me since I got here.." She told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now, let me do something for you. Loki and him I can picture having a grudge, but not you and him. Hand me the shield, go over there, and talk to Carl."

He wanted to protest and simply exit the theater with her. But he knew Carl would probably find him again, and Loni… wasn't completely against the idea of trying to hash things out. He agreed.

She thanked him and Lori stepped outside the theater to give the two their privacy.

…...

Loni turned to face the young man. Carl looked defeated. Like he was about to take on Chitauri Leviathan single handedly. Another reason Loni agreed to speak with him, and had not tried to show Lori what else he could do with his shield given the opportunity, was because Lori was smart. Smart like his brother, and though Loki would definitely be against this, a lot of the biases he held towards Carl were unfair. It wasn't his fault he was a better shot than Loki.

"Hi." He greeted.

"Hi."

Fuck, this was the most uncomfortable side-mission he'd ever been on, and he didn't feel as powerful as he first had when he put on the suit that morning. He wondered if this was something Steve ever had to hash out with Bucky. Probably not, since Bucky and him dealt with more end of the universe related business. Carl claimed he was just thinking of his future. Their future. That hadn't been the right way to do it, though. He didn't want to jump into the conversation starting with what how he got the money for the check, so he went to the question that had been sitting in the back of his mind for the last couple of weeks.

"So…" Loni started, "you see Dark Phoenix yet?"

Carl's features relaxed a little, and he chuckled sourly. "Yeah. I did."

"Real suckfest, amiright?" Loni grinned.

"The suckiest. Quicksilver had hardly any screen time!"

For a while it was like old times. They updated each other on the comics they'd read, what they'd been doing since summer break, where they planned to go. They even managed to share a laugh, ripping apart the movies they thought held the most promise this year but had completely fallen flat. Loni was going to tell him about Lori and why they were there when Carl interrupted him mid sentence.

"I miss you." he suddenly said. "And I am so… soooo sorry."

"Yeah. I gathered that from your last fifty texts." Loni told him removing his cowl.

Lane had only been half right when he announced why he believed Loni was single. Loni debated with himself furiously. Every part of him wanted to just say "piss off" but his mother had taught him better. She had also taught him that sometimes holding onto something so tightly could hurt a lot more than letting go of it. In regards to her death, and when he opened the business to make sure kids like his little siblings had the support they needed after losing their loved ones, this was something he felt he could not let go of. Yet Carl's feelings weren't exclusive. "I… I miss you too…" He replied, the regret thick in his voice.

Carl took Loni's hand in his own. His thumb gently stroked his gloved knuckles. Loni knew he shouldn't let him, but it was one of his weaknesses. And his touch was so gentle. Carl swallowed before saying, "You both hate me. You have every right to… I don't care about the business or what Loki thinks of me or what you do with your money. But is it impossible to continue where we left off?"

Touch. It's a powerful sense. A kind of magic that Loni Loud had shared with people throughout his life, and a gift that his mother frequently told him he had (but to be careful with certain people). When his forehead gently rested against Carl's, when his fingers intertwined with the other young man's, the memories flooded back in, almost as if they were being directly shared through each other's hippocampuses. The hours they spent talking to each other about their favorite comics. The smell of his hair in the shower. The security of waking up in the arms of someone so... precious. And being told in the most confident voice possible that he wasn't the school idiot that people made him out to be. That there was creativity and potential to who Loni was, and that it was to be explored and could be shaped into something bigger. It was that talk that made him get his cosplay business off the ground. These memories played back to him on repeat in imax. For a few seconds he forgot why he could have ever reached a point of disgust or even loathing with Carl of all people.

"No…", Loni whispered. He did want to start over. "... but… my life is… kinda crazy right now." He told him, lifting his head to meet his gaze. "... can you and me meet next Tuesday at 5:30? At your house?"

Carl closed his eyes and his features relaxed. The smile that crept up his face reflected the hope he felt build from within. "Yes… please."

….

The two captains now sat on the bench of a gravel outlook that rested atop a dirt trail. It towered over the theater they were in moments ago. It was Loni's favorite spot, a place he came to reflect upon for his next ideas for a costume. The best ones he got were after he got done with a movie, so the location was air was cool and the view gave them a cozy look at the familiar yet unfamiliar town below them. The streets were mostly empty, with exception to kids playing some street hockey about 100 feet below. It was a bitch getting up there in their outfits. Figuring it wasn't necessary to head straight back they sat and reflected upon their day.

"So… cousin…", Lori said, trying out the word, "is that we are?"

"I suppose…", he answered, chuckling, "it's weird, but that's how dad asked me to treat you guys, and what he says goes. Unless you already have cousins!"

"Nah… me neither. Aunt Ruth didn't have any kids and I don't think she will anytime soon."

Loni winced, grimacing at the image that played through his mind. "Yeah same with our Uncle Luther… guy really needs to take better care of himself."

"Ugh… when you go to visit, does he ask you to massage his bunions?", she asked.

"Worse. He makes us clean his ears… all three of them."

They both shuddered in disgust, flashing back to the borderline traumatic experiences they had with the one distant relative they had on their mother's side. As far as they were concerned, they weren't distant enough. They chatted about their favorite parts of the movie a bit longer, Loni telling her there were now twenty plus movies she had to see to get the full scope of how awesome the MCU was. All the while she nodded her head or made grunts of confirmation. She wanted to just keep the pleasantry going, but her concern for him after seeing the way he behaved with Carl left her with some questions. Questions that as painful as they were, needed to be addressed.

"Look, can we… can we talk about Rita?", she asked hesitantly.

"Totes." he told her straightening his posture.

"It's just… I don't want to presume anything, but you guys seem to be doing really well for yourselves after she passed. Well, except for Lars, but that's to be expected… I guess what I'm trying to ask is, how did you get from there… to here?"

Loni gave a half smile. "It wasn't easy. There are days where it still isn't easy and days that I will wake up in bed and just start crying. All of us have got challenges of our own, but we're managing. We've had a lot of support. That's kinda the flip side to death; when somebody loses their people it brings everyone around them together. It did for us, that's for sure. The Santiagos, the McBrides, the Sharps, the Casagrandes, heck, even Mrs. Grouse… they all united like the coolest team of superheroes ever to help out my family in the worst of times. It was... amazing."

That lessened Lori's anxiety significantly. She'd never lost anyone before, so how they dealt with this was something she could only guess about.

"My religion also helped me put my mom's death and my place in the world into perspective."

"Oh!" She said, suddenly surprised. Lori had been a self identified atheist since she was a pre-teen. Her parents hadn't put up much of a fight when she told them, but her proclamation of a lack of belief made her lose some connections to people in her community. She had no problem being friends with those who did align themselves with a higher power, as long as it wasn't something they shoved in her face. For now, she set aside her own bias and asked, "You believe in God?"

Loni clicked his teeth looking like he was trying to find the right words "Sorta… but I don't like to call it God. I call it: the force."

"The force…"

"Oh right, you probably haven't seen that movie either. Now, what the force is, is uh… dang it, I know this line! I've heard it a bajillion times!" he said snapping his fingers.

"...is what gives a Jedi his power." She finished for him, doing her best Alec Guiness impression. She stood up and extended her arms like she was putting on a presentation. "It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together."

Loni was left speechless at her near perfect reciting of that line from Episode IV.

"... are you a Jedi?"

"Star Wars was a must watch, whenever I babysat Lincoln. He kept playing it and playing it and after awhile the dialogue stuck with me. It's also a pretty good movie."

For some, religion could be the answer, the bandage to the achingly persistent question, "why did I have to lose them?" For Loni, it appeared he'd taken his love for Star Wars and integrated it's spiritual side to make better sense of Rita's fate. Frankly, it was one that Lori could get behind; it didn't preach hate, discrimination, or inequality towards other groups of people nor promised eternal salvation for blindly accepting whatever it's holy book spat out. Just the idea that everyone was part of the universe, (or technically now the multiverse) and that one day they would all become a bigger more unified version of it.

She sat back down, took his hand in both of hers and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "That's beautiful, Loni. I'm… I'm so glad that you've made it this far. And I can totally picture your mom being one with the force."

"Exactly…" he told her wiping his eyes and squeezing her hand, "She's one with the force, now… and someday? I'm gonna go be a part of the force with her."

"Strike me down and I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." They both said in unison, and giggling at their synchronicity.

"And the more I think about it…", Loni continued, "maybe it was also the work of the force that brought us together..."

Cue Binary Sunset.

"Yeah. Maybe it was…" she confirmed. It was certainly a better reason than 'my savant little sister did something incredibly reckless and almost got us killed'. The warmth of the summer heat had grown notably cooler, the perch from where they sat gave them a breathtaking view. Lori sat with her new cousin and relished in the feeling of one of the many weights that left her shoulders that day. There was so much to look forward to, now, and with what little time she had left here, she wanted to spend it all with the family that looked just like her own. She looked at him with a knowing smile.

"...you wanna tell me about Carl?"

He lifted his head and his face captured the essence of hope. Like a child catching fireflies on a warm summer night. Hell yes, he did.

A/N: What can I say? I'm a sappy guy. I love interactions between Lori and Loni, and Loki and Leni. If they weren't related I would ship them harder than… well harder than I ship Loni and Carl. Almost makes me want to write a fanfic spin-off of them making lov- I mean up. Special thanks to Hatoralo for giving me the idea for this chapter and convincing me not to give up the story. They are awesome, go check out their stuff (sorry, I don't know what your gender is). The irony isn't lost on me that some of my personal beliefs did make it into this fic, but I'm opinionated, and that won't change anytime soon. By now you've probably realized my fics are more dialogue heavy; sorry, that's just the way I roll. To anyone who uses the shit out of narration and uses it well: kudos to you, I wish I had your skill. To those of you actually taking the time to read this, should I do one more chapter in dimension XY before switching back to dimension XX oooorrrr should I write a couple of chapters showing what Lane did with Luna and what Lief did with girl-Lynn. Both? Neither? Come on, talk to me! I'm not needy, I swear! I sweeeee- *gets tackled to the floor by the needy police*