(A/N: well, here we are! It's the twelfth day of Christmas, and the last of my one-shots for Twelve Loud Days. I still have an assignment to do for Uni, so it might not be right away that I upload the next chapter to Lincoln Gets Limber. Until then, thank you one and all to everyone who has read, favourited, followed and reviewed this anthology, and a big shout out to everyone whose ideas I used for these stories- LoudFam12, The Rooster Man, corbinace, DarthSidious04, LiamFitz20, Sky3427, Barnmaker, and the person who suggested the idea for today's fic, BurtonFan422.

Thank you all for your suggestions, thank you everyone for reading, and enjoy!)

The night settled over Royal Woods, and all was quiet in the Loud House, the younger residents now snug in their beds. Christmas Day was in its final hours, and what a day it had been- presents unwrapped in the morning, toys played with in the afternoon following lunch, Christmas dinner, festive films and hot cocoa in the evening, it was a fun filled day for the whole family, but all good things come to an end. As the children slept soundly in their beds, worn out after all of the excitement, the two parents decided to stay up just a little bit longer, sitting in the living room with the fire on while sipping on warm cups of delicious Christmas tea, another of Lynn Sr's recipes.

"Well, that's Christmas over for another year," the patriarch of the family sighed. "Is it just me, or does it feel longer every year?"

Rita softly laughed behind her mug, crossing her leg and leaning back on the couch. "No, the kids just get more hyper each year," she told him, which made the man chuckle.

"And we only get older."

"We get more experienced." The husband rolled his eyes at his wife's 'version of facts'- she hated when anyone called her old, and always had some alternate way of describing it. "Still, I think I'm going to miss it when things get quieter."

"I know what you mean. Soon, the kids will all start moving out, and then it'll be quiet in here."

"Hard to imagine, isn't it?"

"It's hard enough to imagine it was once just you, me and Lori under this roof. Back then, we couldn't imagine what it would be like with more children to look after… yet now, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there'll soon be one less person here."

"Me too. Still, we have at least another seventeen Christmases to come with kids in the house, and no matter what, they'll always be our kids. We raised them the best we can, and they'll go on to do great things."

He nodded, before allowing the sweet taste of his tea fill his throat once more. It was few moments later when they heard the familiar creaking of the staircase, and turned their heads to see their eldest daughter, stood about halfway up the stairs in her light blue tank top and white chequered pajama shorts.

"Oops," she said in a hushed voice. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Not at all, Lori," Rita assured her with a smile. "Your father and I were just talking for a bit. What are you doing up?"

"Oh, well… I couldn't sleep. I thought getting some water might help."

"Well, why don't you sit down with your mother and I'll get you some of my Christmas tea," Lynn suggested, standing from his arm chair. "I already made a pot, it won't take a moment."

The high school senior smiled and told him, "thanks, dad."

While the father of eleven went into the kitchen, Lori walked down the rest of the stairs and sat down on the couch next to her mother, not resisting when her mother pulled her into a side hug and even lifting her feet onto the couch so she could lean into it. It wasn't long before Lynn returned, a new mug of steaming tea in his hands. "Here you go."

Lori accepted the mug, the aroma already filling her nose. "That smells amazing!" She didn't even wait to take a sip, a relaxed sigh filling the room afterwards. "Wow… that is literally the best tea I've ever tasted."

"Aww, shucks, Lori!"

Rolling her eyes at how well her husband took the compliment, Rita looked to her daughter. "So, what's keeping you up? You know we're going to see Pop Pop tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know. I was just… thinking…"

The two adults locked eyes, parental instincts setting in as they focused their attention on their daughter. "What were you thinking about?"

"Well…" She took another drink from her tea, debating whether or not to tell them, though she knew that she would feel better talking to them about it. "This is my last Christmas before I go to the city. I'll be starting college in nine months, and… after that… I don't know how much I'll be here." She tilted her head back and looked up to her mother. "Don't get me wrong, I want to. This is my home, and I'll do whatever I can to visit, but…"

Rita nodded, not needing to hear the rest. "I know what you mean, Lori. You're about to make the first big step into adulthood, and it seems scary. Sometimes, it's the littlest things that make it seem all the more daunting, but you have to remember. Once you're there, all that seems to fade away, and it's all so worth it in the end."

"She's right," the Loud patriarch chipped in. "If I didn't go to college, I'd never have been able to be the man I am today, and I wouldn't have such a wonderful family."

"And it wasn't just that year abroad to London that helped him there." Rita returned her gaze to her daughter. "Have we ever told you about our first Christmas together?"

"I don't think so," Lori confessed. "When was that?"

"Well, it was close to a year after we started dating, about ten months. I had met his family pretty early on in our relationship, but I hadn't introduced your father to my parents by this time. Well, my mother was practically begging me to bring him round for Christmas so that they could finally meet."

"We talked about it for a while," Lynn continued, a smile appearing on his face out of nostalgia, "and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. All I knew about Albert at the time was that he was a military man, and that made him sound a lot scarier than he actually was back then."

"But, I was able to convince him to go through with it, and on Christmas Day, he showed up at our front door."

A brown haired man stood outside of a house, dressed in brown trousers, a dark green Christmas sweater and winter boots. He held a small pile of presents in his arms, which made it a little difficult for him to ring the doorbell. When he eventually did, he didn't have to wait long before the door was opened by a muscular white haired man with a thick grey moustache, wearing a white short sleeved dress shirt, blue trousers with a red tie and a black belt and black dress shoes. The short sleeved of his shirt revealed the anchor tattoo on his right arm.

"Hello," the brown haired man greeted. "I'm Lynn, Lynn Johnson. Is this the Loud family residence?"

"You're at the right place," the old man replied, giving a smile. "You must be the mystery man my daughter's been dating. It's nice to finally meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir. Forgive me for not shaking your hand, but I don't want to drop any of these presents."

"I can see." He looked past the man, seeing a blue van parked in the driveway. "Is that a V Series van right there?

"Yeah, a '66. My father gave it to me as a graduation present."

"That's a nice van right there. Looks like you've taken good care of it."

Lynn smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"Call me Albert. Now, come on, let's get you inside. My daughter's been eagerly waiting for you to arrive. Just wipe your feet and take your shoes off, then head on through."

Lynn nodded, allowing the elderly man to lead him inside while he closed the door after him. After he wiped his feet and removed his boots, he headed through into a dining room with red carpet and blue wallpaper, Christmas decorations all along the wall while the dining table was covered in a red cloth, ready to be set for dinner later. The living room adjoining it had an open wall plan, allowing him to see the décor- a green carpet underneath the black sofa and two armchairs that faced the TV, while a green Christmas tree was lit up in the corner. The walls had grey wallpaper with thin red stripes, and was adorned with pinned up Christmas cards and family photos. Sat on the couch and one of the arm chairs. were two women- one the age of Albert with grey curly hair, wearing a white sweater, pink pants and pink slippers, whilst the other was a blonde woman Lynn's age, wearing a pink sweater and brown trousers with white fluffy slippers. Deciding not to keep them waiting, Lynn entered the living room. "Merry Christmas!" He declared, to which the two women turned to him and smiled, the younger woman eagerly standing up.

"You made it!" She exclaimed, walking over and hugging him, whilst both made sure not to drop the presents. "Merry Christmas, honey."

"Merry Christmas, sweetie."

"Come on in." She took the presents from her boyfriend and placed them on the coffee table, then led Lynn over to the older woman, who was standing from the arm chair. "Lynn, this is my mom. Mom, this is Lynn."

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"My, how polite!" The woman spoke with a smile. "Call me Valerie, dear. How was your trip here?"

"It was good. Sorry if I'm a little late, I had to stop at a gas station for a quick top up."

"Don't be silly, you're right on time!" Rita assured him. "Come on, sit down."

He let Rita lead him to the couch, sitting down next to his girlfriend whilst Valerie sat back down in her arm chair and Albert came in and sat down in the arm chair next to hers. "So, dear," Valerie spoke, "Rita has told us a fair bit about you. She said that you work in IT?"

"Yeah, I work in IT for a local travel company," he confirmed. "I mainly help with handling e-mails, both between the higher ups and other departments and with promotional emails for the customers, but I also help keep the website working."

"That sounds very technical," Albert remarked. "Honestly, I don't get how those computers work. My dad taught me how to use a morse code machine, but I can't figure those things out for the life of me."

"He's never been good with technology," Rita told Lynn. "He's old fashioned like that."

"Excuse me, young lady, but I'm fine with technology. You've seen how well I've kept our car in shape over the years. And who was it that got the TV set up?

"Al, we had to call in an electrician after you fell off the roof setting up the aerial," Valerie reminded him.

"And it doesn't take technology to fix the car, dad," Rita added.

"Ah, you don't know what you're talking about." He turned to Lynn and asked, "you know what I'm talking about, right, Lynn?"

"Well, technically, it's engineering, not technology, sir."

"Ha! I like the kid already!" Valerie laughed, which led to her and Rita laughing, shortly followed by Albert and then Lynn as well. "Now, then, what did you bring with you?"

So, Lynn handed out the presents he had brought with him to the Louds- a fancy British tea and a China tea set for Valerie, a Naval aircraft carrier model for Albert, and a diamond necklace for Rita. He also received gifts from the Louds, those being a nice scarf from the two parents, as well as a cookbook by his idol from Rita, and he was grateful for them both. After that, he spent time with the family- watching the TV whilst chatting Albert about things like the Navy and his studies in the U.K., helping Valerie in the kitchen to cook up Christmas dinner, and playing a couple of games with the family in the living room.

Eventually, dinner came, and with Lynn's assistance in the kitchen, Valerie helped to put on a veritable spread for them all, with a perfectly roasted turkey as the centrepiece. No one had a single complaint, all enjoying the delicious meal they shared together. They ate, chatted, laughed and smiled, from starters to dessert, with Albert offering a lovely toast to celebrate their health, their futures, and their love.

Afterwards, they sat in the living room for a while with cups of coffee or wine in their hands, until Lynn looked up at the clock and saw that it was quarter past seven. "I need to get going," he declared, standing from the sofa. "I need to be back before the landlord locks up."

"You'd be welcome to stay the night here," Valerie offered, to which he shook his head.

"Thanks, but I'm heading to my mom's house early tomorrow, and it's pretty far."

"Alright. Well, it's been absolutely lovely to meet you, dear."

"Yeah, it's been nice getting to know you at last," Albert added. "You're always welcome to come by again, so don't be a stranger."

"Of course. I've had a great time today, so thank you for letting me come today."

"It's been our pleasure."

"I'll walk you to the door," Rita offered, which Lynn nodded to. He gave a hug to Valerie and a handshake to Albert, then grabbed his gifts and followed Rita to the front door. "Thank you for coming. I know you said your mom wasn't too happy about you not going to hers."

"It's fine, we talked it out, and she's happy I'm getting to know your parents. They're pretty cool, by the way."

"Well, it means a lot to me that you came."

"And it means a lot to me that you trust me enough to introduce me to your family." She gave a small giggle, which he returned with a chuckle of his one. "Well, guess I should go."

"Before you do… look up." He did just that, seeing the dangling mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, then looked back at Rita in time for them both to press their lips together in a sweet, festively romantic gesture. When they released the kiss five seconds later, their cheeks were red but their smiles were big. "Merry Christmas, Lynn."

"Merry Christmas, Rita."

With that, he made his way out the door, walking over to his car. He opened the door, put his presents in the passenger seat, then closed the door and buckled up. As he drove away, he waved to Rita as she waved back, neither seeing that the older couple were waving him off through the living room window.

"He's a sweet boy," Valerie told her husband, "and she cares for him a lot."

"I agree," he responded. "I think he's good for her."

"Who knows? Next year, there might be more than just him and Rita spending Christmas with us."

"Hopefully, they'll get married first."

She looked to her husband in amused surprise. "Look at you, talking about marriage! You really have taken to him, haven't you?"

"I might have." He turned around as his daughter returned to the living room, and smiled. 'He really is good for her.'

"It wasn't long after that, your mom and I got engaged," Lynn continued to speak. "Your grandfather allowed me to move into their house so that we could prepare for the wedding together, and my boss allowed me to work from home, since it meant moving further away from the office. It took us about eight months, and a couple of disagreements here and there, but we made it work, and we had a beautiful wedding. We returned from our wedding in time for Christmas, and your grandfather surprised us by telling us that he'd bought us a house, the same one we started our family in, and the house we're in right now." As another memory came to mind, he gave a chuckle. "Let me tell you, our first Christmas with you was interesting. Your mother was a few months pregnant with Leni at the time, and-"

"Lynn?" His wife interrupted, making him look over. He was going to ask her what she was going to say, but when he saw his eldest daughter with her eyes closed, breathing gently in and out with her head on her mother's shoulder, he simply smiled. "Let's save that story for another time."

"You're right. Let's get this one to bed."

Standing from his arm chair, he walked over and gently scooped up the high schooler in his arms, then began to head up the stairs, his wife following not too far behind. Taking her to her bedroom, Lynn gently laid her down in her bed while Rita covered her up and tucked her in, just like when she was a little girl. They both placed a gentle kiss on her head and whispered a good night to her, before heading back downstairs. They put out the fire and returned to their bedroom, sharing a kiss before calling it a night, not knowing they each had the same thought in their mind- they had twelve reasons to be happy this Christmas, twelve gifts in their lives, and they weren't material goods or experiences.

They both had a wonderful, loving partner, and eleven beautiful children, and that meant more to them than any present they could have found under the tree. Because that was what made Christmas worthwhile.

THE END