Idea suggested by Outsider316 or Insani-D or whatever he's calling himself now.

This story rolls with the fanon that Cici is grumpy and irritable (that's how I see her portrayed in art, and it's not like she did much in the show). Oh, and only Linka is genderbent. Everyone else is the same.

Cici Cynia was not a very happy girl. She didn't know why or how she ended up so angsty all the time, but she suspected she was always like that. According to her mother, back when she was a baby, she never smiled or laughed or giggled or anything. In fact, her mother also used to say that she used to bite her during breastfeeding. Not to get more milk, but just to hurt her. Whether that story was true or not, there was no denying that she had a knack for hurting people.

It's not like she went out of her way to hurt people, though. They always came at her! Loud, stupid, annoying, braying idiots always trying to get up in her beeswax. So what if she punched some kid in the face and broke his nose? He shouldn't have made fun of how big her ears were (which they weren't!)

Point is, the children of Royal Woods eventually learned to stay out of Cici's way, and she was damn glad they did. She didn't need any of them, and if they ever came too close, she'd cut them. That's how she rolled, and she was happy with it 364 (sometimes 365) days of the year.

Too bad today was the one.

As Cici marched down the green grass and approached the middle school, she noticed that a lot of her peers were exchanging gifts of chocolate and flowers and red teddy bears with big plushy hears stitched on. It was Valentine's Day, the day of love, and Cici… well, she always told herself that she was a strong independent woman that didn't need no man, but as she watched that Lynn Loud girl getting a few boxes of sweets from admiring male sports fans, she couldn't help but feel envious.

As if she could sense her staring, Lynn looked in her direction. She broke out a big, beaming smile.

"Hey Cici!" She waved, and the moody girl groaned as she started coming over. She had a strange relationship with Lynn – the two girls had fought before, beating the crap out of each other until the principal broke them apart, and for some reason Lynn got it in her head that they were friends now or something. Like in DBZ when Goku became friends with Vegetable or whatever his name was. Cici put up with it because in a world of intolerable people, Lynn was one of the ones she could somewhat tolerate, but still she didn't like her. She didn't like anyone.

#edgelyfe

"Yo Cici, how's it going?" Lynn wrapped her arm around her shoulder, and Cici pushed her off. Undeterred, the jock said, "Listen, I want you to meet someone. My little sister Linka. She's gonna be coming to this middle school next year, and I decided today would be a good chance to show her around."

"And I should care because?"

"Because I kinda need to go take a dump," said Lynn. Her smile became more strained, and she began shaking in place like someone who reallllllllllllllly needed to go. "I just wanted to introduce her to someone cool - that being you - and then maybe have you watch over her for an hour."

"An hour?!"

"Gotta make sure all the number two is out so I can be number one!"

Cici shivered; she doubted she'd ever be able to unhear that. "Fine," she relented with a roll of her eyes.

"Awesome!" cheered Lynn. She looked back into the crowd of students, disappeared into it, and came back with another girl manifested in her hand. Cici presumed it was Lynn's sister, though aside from the freckles, they didn't resemble each other that much. Weirder still, Lynn's sister had white hair. Not blonde that kinda looks white, but actual white. Cici was about to quip whether this was really Lynn's younger sister, but she stopped herself when she noticed something.

The girl Lynn had with her… seemed really sad.

"Linka, this is Cici. Cici, Linka. Alright, you two have fun until I get back."

And with that, Lynn dashed off so quickly she turned into a colored blur. It reminded Cici of Taz from Looney Tunes.

Linka didn't say anything, so the older girl figured she needed to break the ice. "What's got you so down?" she asked bluntly.

The white-haired girl flinched like she had been struck. Surprisingly… Cici felt a little guilty for making her flinch.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing. Um… I'm Linka, it's very nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand, and Cici took it and shook it. Her hand was pleasantly soft.

"Clearly it's not nothing," Cici noted, "so you might as well spill."

Linka's attempt at a slight smile faded. She withdrew her hand and looked down at the ground. Her lower lip seemed to quiver. "I… it's just that… it's Valentine's Day, and I wanted to spend it with my b-boyfriend, but he… he..."

Tears started to spill from her eyes, and she hugged herself. "He broke up with me," she whimpered.

"Oh… I'm… sorry to hear that."

"It was just yesterday too. He fell in love with someone else. Someone… b-better than me."

Linka was fully sobbing now, and Cici rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably. She didn't really know how to deal with a crying girl. Was she supposed to touch her shoulder? Pat her head? She wasn't a dog, so it wouldn't be right to pat her head… right? Gaah, she didn't know! She didn't even know why she cared so much, she just… felt a weird kinship with this girl.

Maybe because they both had the same problem: they wanted guys to love them on this special day, and the Y-chromosome population of the world sucked too much to answer.

Men suck, Cici thought like a Tumblrina.

"I should've been a better girlfriend for him," she heard Linka whimper. That, more than anything this month, enraged her.

"Better girlfriend for him? No, he should've been a better boyfriend for you!" Cici shouted.

Linka looked up, eyes wide with surprise. All around them, Cici could feel the eyes falling on her, but she didn't care. Her blood was pumping to her brain, and her brain was telling her to make Linka feel better. She even went as far as grabbing Linka's shoulders and dragging her closer. Ignoring the younger girl's yipe, she continued, "Listen to me, Linka, and you listen good. You don't make any excuses for that guy. He was a piece of crap that didn't deserve you. I mean, look at you… you're kind and cute and-"

She immediately stopped talking when she realized she had just called her cute.

Linka blushed hard. Her spotted cheeks were redder than any heart-shaped box of chocolates. She swallowed, then whispered, "Thanks," in a low, low voice.

Cici was also blushing now. "No probs," she muttered. She let Linka's shoulders go, and the two girls just stared at each other. Neither was really sure what they were doing, but one thing they both felt sure of…

...there was something forming between them.

The bronze-skinned eighth grader decided to play it off. She smirked confidently, and brushed a strand of her hair. She grabbed Linka's hand, and she said, "Hey, I got an idea. Let's ditch school. You like going to the arcade?"

Linka's eyes widened, and she nodded furiously, her long hair bouncing up and down with each nod. "I love the arcade," she said.

"Good. We'll spend V-Day having fun. Girl's day out. Together."

"But… but what about Lynn?"

"Linka… she's going to be in that bathroom for a looooooong time. So you are in or not?"

Trepidation passed through Linka's eyes. Cici was preparing for her to shoot her down when she saw something amazing. Linka's deep frown slowly turned upside-down, becoming a pure, radiant, adorable smile.

"I'm in!" she cheered.

The two girls began to run to the arcade, holding hands the entire time. And as their feet pounded the pavement, and she listening to Linka's girlish giggles, Cici realized that for the first time in a long time… she was smiling too.