One, Two, Three O'clock, Four O'clock rock! Five, Six, Seven O'clock, Eight O'clock rock! Nine, Ten, Eleven O'clock, Twelve O'clock rock! We're gonna rock around the clock tonight!

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Okay, breath, everything was going to go according to plan, Sam knew it. Still, she figured she better check her equipment one last time before she moved out. The target building loomed ahead while she rummaged through her various pouches and bags. Red, white, and green weren't exactly the best colors for the job, but that was a lot less important that staying on theme. The purity of the effort couldn't be undermined, otherwise… Well, if she half assed it… She just couldn't do that… Felt a bit like breaking a promise…

Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, her fingers deftly sorted through her supplies until she was satisfied, before she straightened and looked back at the building. The Loud family home stood almost slumped in on itself, though rather than looking like it was falling apart, it looked like it just found a particularly nice place to rest and fell asleep. She supposed that it was a testament to how much love the Loud's put into it that even with a small hole in the roof, and a light dusting of snow everywhere, it only looked warm and inviting.

She ignored the urge to take a peak through one of the gently glowing windows, because as tempting as it was, she couldn't let herself be seen. Circling around the house, she searched for a way in that didn't obviously have people on the other side. There was a surprising dearth of openings on the side of the house. Most them were on the front and the back, though she did make note of Lincoln's bedroom window, frustratingly high as it was.

Okay… Crap, how was she going to get inside? She ran scenarios through her head, in fast forward because she was beginning to get cold. Could she ring the doorbell and then run around and enter in through the back door? Eh… She'd prefer if no-one knew she was there at all… What if she lightly knocked on the door, and then put whoever came to check into a sleeper hold and dropped them just inside as she was coming in?… Tempting… But she couldn't guarantee that only one person would come… And it would be awkward to be caught by one of the Loud kids while she had their sibling in a sleeper hold…

Her hand trailed back to her waist, fingering the loops of rope and grappling hook, she'd brought on the off chance that she might need it… It was beginning to look like she would, but she was somewhat starved for targets for it. The… No, wait! The hole in the roof! It was perfect!

Jogging back around the to rear of the house, she unhooked the grappling hook from her belt and gave it a few practice swings, feeling the weight and seeing how far and at what angle it flew when she lightly released it a few times. Okay, she felt like she had it. She bobbed her head, nodding confidently to herself, before bringing it around in a slow circle to her side. Speeding up gradually, she held her other hand up to help guide the shot and released.

The hook arced gracefully through the air, before landing just above the hole and skittering down to it. She winced, hoping nobody heard that… Or saw it… Because now that she was thinking about it, didn't Lucy spend a lot of time in the attic? Huh… Dang… She held her breath, looking up at the hole, and only letting it back out after thirty seconds of nothing. Whew, okay… Good, fantastic.

Shivering slightly in the cold, she wished she had the typical garb usually worn when on missions like this. The thick coat would have worked wonders against the weather… Eh, tugging on the rope to make sure it was secure, she figured she just wasn't skilled enough for that. Whoever could sneak around in a fluffy suit, with bells attached, deserved this job way more than her. It was fine, she sighed. It wasn't like she was doing this on a regular basis… Shaking her head, she found her way to the side of the house and gave the rope one last experimental tug.

Breath steaming in the cold air, she wrapped a loop around her wrist and braced herself with one foot flat agains the wall. Taking another breath, she looked up at the sky, delicate flakes of snow floating gently through the air above her. A pinprick of cold announced one landing on her cheek, and she flinched at the bite. Taking one last steadying breath, she firmed her resolve and pulled herself up the rope. Her other foot coming up the the wall as it was forced to leave the ground, she hauled herself up with strength born from carrying amps around all the time. When you had all the accessories, but you didn't have a roadie, being a musician required a lot of core and upper body strength.

With a final heave, she lifted herself over the lip of the roof and stopped to catch her breath. Not too long, as she was still freezing, and eager to finally get inside the house. Still, she took a second to steady herself on the tiles, then tracked up the last of the distance and hauled herself up onto the upper roof and through the hole. It was a narrow squeeze, but she supposed a larger hole would have let too much of the warm air out for the family to put up with it.

Dropping down, she cast her gaze at her surrounding. A dimly lit room with a sloped roof met her. Boxes were stacked haphazardly around the space, with makeshift paths between them leading deeper into the room. A soft light glowed through the hole she'd just come through, along with the occasional snow flake. Besides, it, the trapdoor to the rest of the house was the only thing providing any light. Though she could see a pull cord hanging from the middle of the room, attached to a single bulb.

"Okay…" She breathed, rubbing her arms to banish the chill. Now for the hard part…

Creeping to the trapdoor, she crouched over one of the thin beams of light, coming up from the cracks, and brought her ear down to listen. Her eyes closed, she focused her attention on her formidable hearing.

The sound of a flushing toilet, followed by water rushing through pipes, had her freezing. She forced herself to relax though, it's not like whoever was using the bathroom could actually see her if they came out. It was just that she wasn't expecting to hear something so close to her. The faucet had a recognizable squeak whenever it was turned, but she didn't hear it… She heard the door open instead, followed by plodding footsteps away… Gross, who didn't wash their hands after they went to the bathroom? The footsteps continued past where Sam knew the stairs to be and another door opened and closed. She didn't hear anything else… Well, she did, but not in the upstairs hall.

Waiting a second to be sure, she wrapped her fingers around the bottom rung of the ladder that sat atop the trapdoor. She didn't want it falling through, and alerting the whole house. With her other hand she carefully pushed the door down and peered through the gap. She couldn't see the bathroom from her angle, but she also knew that someone had just used it, so unless they had someone else in there with them, she felt like the coast was clear.

It was probably Lana, now that she was thinking about it. The only other Loud sibling who would skip washing her hands was Lynn, but even then it was unlikely. It didn't really matter anyway.

Pushing the door open enough for her to slip through, she dropped stealthily to the carpeted floor bellow, before taking a moment to ensure that the trapdoor shut behind her. The dangle cord, that hung down so people could open the trap door from below, swayed, and she stilled it between two fingers. The last thing she wanted was for someone to investigate the attic.

Okaaaay… She breathed out slowly and steadily, sinking into a lower stance and creeping down the hall. In through the nose, out through the mouth, she kept her eyes narrowed and her ears perked. Floorboards creaked in the twin's room, but she already knew Lana was in there. The question then became, did she start now and continue as she found them, or should she wait until she knew where they all where first?

Ultimately she didn't actually have to do either one. No plan survived first contact with the enemy, meaning that all successful plans had to adapt. Her feet carried her down the rest of the hall, stopping just in front of the twin's room on one side, and Lincoln's room on another. Her palm flat agains the twin's door, she leaned in to bring her ear to the barrier…

With a gentle push, the wood whispered open, and a crack appeared between the door and the frame. An eye peered through into the room beyond, sweeping quickly from one side to the other.

The crazy split between posh princess pretentiousness and rugged outdoorsmanship was as startling her thousandth time seeing it as it was the first time. The stitching where the two sides met gave the impression that the room was its own Frankenstein's monster, separate from the rest of the house.

Luckily, Lola was in there too. Unluckily, she was facing the door. While Lana sat on her bed, with her back to the entrance, fiddling with something that Sam couldn't see; Lola lay on her bed, a magazine held in the air above her, her head propped up against a brace of pillows. She wasn't actually looking at the door, but Sam doubted she'd be able to get in without drawing attention.

The lock clicked back into place as she pulled the barrier shut. Biting her bottom lip, she glanced behind her to make sure that nobody was coming up the stairs. Okay… Dang… Her gaze traced over her surroundings. Turning, she considered the entry to Lincoln's room for a second.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you're missing something until you get it back. That wasn't quite true for Sam, but it was true that up until then she'd been ignoring it. She always remembered, but that didn't mean she wasn't startled to feel the giddy ear worm that thinking about her favorite Louds had become. Her lips twitched upwards and she nodded to herself, pushing the door open and entering without another thought.

"Hey," Lincoln started with a bored expression on his face, clearly expecting one of his sisters, before he saw her and confusion blossomed in its place. "Sa-" She cut him off, her hand over his mouth, as she pulled the door mostly closed behind her.

"Shh…" She held her index finger vertically across her still quirked lips.

Carefully drawing her hand away, she held his gaze for a second longer, before rotating back around and crouching on the floor. She could feel Lincoln's eyes on her back, peering down at her from his bed as she unclipped pouches and pockets, searching.

Two books, of violently different subject, found their place leaning against the twin's door. One titled "Turn Your Pets into Cyborgs: How to help those animals who truly need it." The other titled "Using Accents to Sound Interesting: Getting a leg up over the competition." Sam was never the best at wrapping gifts, but she figured that the gift was more important than the wrapping paper anyway. She'd rather get an unwrapped gift, than a shell of wrapping paper.

With a hard rap of her knuckle against the door, she snatched her hand back through the gap, and watched through the faintest sliver of space between the door and the frame until Lola swung her door open and looked down at the thump of the books falling to the carpet.

"Wha?" She stooped and picked up the books in either hand, her eyes tracing the covers as she turned them in her grasp. "Who?" Halting her examination, she cast her gaze down the hall. "Don't expect anything in return!" She called into the empty corridor, the shells of her ears turning red when nobody answered. "B-but… Uh…" Stepping back into her room, she hovered in the frame hesitantly, "Thanks…" Before awkwardly shutting the portal.

Heh… A spot of warmth flowered in her chest… She wasn't doing it for the thanks, but they were nice. Speaking of one of the reasons why she was doing this, she could still feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. Right… How to do this… How did she do this. She clicked her tongue, but stopped at how loud it sounded in the silence… Hooookay; she breathed out heavily, giddiness turning to lead in her gut. Let's just do it. No hesitation, no explanation, just rip the bandage off. Otherwise, she may not be able to bring herself to ask.

"Lincoln," She stood from her crouch and spun to face the boy. "You trust me, right?" Her hands went to her sash, which wasn't a sash. Her fingers deftly uniting the knot while she waited for his answer.

"Mostly." He joked, attempting to find solid ground in humor.

"Lincoln." She said again. He wasn't serious, and she knew that, but… She was, and… Capturing his gaze, she tried to convey everything; what she meant, what she needed. She was trying to convey… Herself, she supposed.

"Yeah, of course." He answered for real, all semblance of humor fleeing his expression.

Good… She knew it, but relief washed through her anyway. The next part would have been hard to pull off if he didn't trust her… And she'd be devastated. Heh… She swallowed, her throat suddenly thick.

Pulling at one end of the unknotted fabric, it slipped off her shoulders and uncoiled. When it was done spinning, she was left holding the opening of a large beige sack.

"Get in?" Came out as more of a question than a demand.

For a solid thirty seconds, he didn't say anything back. His eyes flickered between her face, her outfit, and the bag, and she couldn't help but sweat at the almost audible workings of his mental gears. Then, "Okay." He slowly rose out of bed, before climbing into the sack and sitting down Indian style.

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, she couldn't help herself when her arms closed around the albino's shoulders and she quickly pulled him close. She was lucky… She was lucky she had him. She let him go and snatched up the lip of the bag, tying it off.

Slipping her phone from another pocket, she rested her butt on the edge of the bed… Huh, her eyes took in the Lincoln filled sack; maybe she should have waited until she was actually ready to leave his room before she put him in there… She'd just be fast. Her digits flew over the touch screen, pulling up her contacts and penning a message. "Where's Luan right now?" She texted to Luna.

While waiting, her gaze drifted back to the sack… It was the traditional color, though she didn't know if the color actually mattered. Was a beige bag used because it was just the most convenient, or because it had some significance? She'd assume the latter, but she'd also never seen someone work with a different color… No wait, she'd seen red bags too.

She wasn't sure why she was focused so much on these tiny details, that hardly mattered. She was already deviating from the standard enough that she only vaguely resembled it; what did a little more hurt?

The pact of Christmas. Something in return for something. It didn't have to be equal, but the conditions were set. Of course, she figured she was actually a bit more like Krampus. After all, it wasn't milk and cookies she wanted.

She brought her phone up when it vibrated. "In the living room, why?" Came Luna's reply

Pumping her fist triumphantly, Sam cracked the door to check that the coast was clear before heaving the sack onto her shoulders and quickly pacing down the hall. Twisting the knob, she burst into her girlfriends room.

"Sam?!" Luna looked up at her from her spot, slouched over a beanbag chair, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Shh!" She chastised her better half, dropping the sack to the carpeted floor and causing Lincoln to grunt.

"Oh…" The musical Loud's expression turned solemn. "Sam…"

Spit pooled in her mouth, forcing her to swallow, and she took a breath to steady herself. The smile that next spread Sam's lips wasn't real. "Carry this down to the car, alright?" She held the sack out to her girlfriend.

"What's in it?" She asked, even as she lifted herself out of the beanbag chair and reached for the neck of the bag.

"Hi Luna." Lincoln's voice came muffled through the cloth.

"Ah, right, I should have guessed." Luna's hand hesitated for half a second, before taking the sack, at the sound of her brothers voice. "Hullo Lincoln." Hefting their precious cargo over her shoulder, she took a step towards the door, but stopped before she passed her girlfriend. Wrapping her arm around Sam's opposite shoulder, Luna pulled her close. "We can talk later, if you want."

""Hmm…" She responded noncommittally, even as her grin became more real. She may not have agreed to talk, but… She could never manage to keep anything from her favorite Loud's. Heh… Her smile shrank to reflect her actual level of happiness, a small upturning of her corners of her lips.

"We'll see you in a bit." Luna let her go with one last squeeze, then stepped past her and out the door, disappearing into the hall.

Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Sam shook herself to get her head back in the game and hummed. Alright, she blew out a breath, ideally she'd be able to get through the rest quickly. She didn't want to know what would happen if she broke the Christmas pact, even if it wasn't anything at all… That would be disappointing. Better nothing than getting dragged away to work at Santa's toy shop, but still…

Right, so she actually knew that most of the Loud's were downstairs. The second floor was too quiet otherwise. That made her job both easier and harder. On one hand, she could get them all at once. On the other, there would be more eyes to see her. Eh, what can you do? She shrugged, turning on the spot and peaking out into the hall. It was still clear, though her eyes flicked down to the twin's room. She already gave them their gifts, should she do something to prevent them from leaving? Eh… She shook her head.

Time to kick her efforts into hyper-drive. Taking a final breath, she slipped down the hall and slunk down the stairs, keeping an eye through the rungs to make sure she went when nobody was looking at the stairs. The front door was slightly ajar, letting dustings of snow swirl through the gap.

Slinking around the corner, to the dining room, she immediately sank into a crouch at the sight of Leni happily comparing bolts of fabrics at the table. Silently rolling under the table, she swept her vision around the entire room, before drawing a book from a pouch and pressing it flat against the ground. Skittering backwards, towards the kitchen, she kept her palm on the cover, even as she needed to stretch out more and more to do it. In the last foot before her feet reached the door, she braced herself and then pushed the book across the floor; sending it forward until it bumped into Leni's foot. Sam somersaulted backwards through the kitchen door before she could see Leni's reaction.

Coming back to her feet, she was glad that the kitchen was empty, though she couldn't afford to stay as there was no guarantee that it would remain that way. Her eyes flicked to the basement door, ajar like the front.

Well, she let out a breath, she might as well check. She could only think of one person who might be down there, and she wasn't eager to face Lucy on her home field… But, if she didn't, she didn't know if she'd be able to complete the run… So…

Edging to the door, she crept through and down the stairs. The secret to walking stealthy, she'd figured out, wasn't to tiptoe. It didn't matter how much of your foot hit the surface, it only mattered how forceful the impact. That was why tiptoeing became the stereotype, she figured; it was just easier to control the force of your step with the extra control that the ankle provided. That said, people didn't understand that; When they saw people tiptoeing, they assumed it was quieter because there was less of them touching the ground. Personally, she'd found that gliding the outside of her foot over the floor, before she stepped, helped her a lot more. A whispering diagonal pressure, rather than one that comes straight down. Hopefully her skill would be enough to go unnoticed.

"Hi Sam." Dang it! Auaegh! "What are you doing here?"

Ignoring the small goth, Sam's hand found the correct pouch and she whipped out her prize. "Taxidermy Toss!" She whisper shouted, sending a paperback whirling through the air, towards Lucy, like a buzz saw.

The corner of the binding smacked against her forehead and she tumbled backward, the book falling on top of her. Whew, that was a close one. Hopefully Lucy thought it was all a dream when she woke back up. Exhaling in relief, she started back up the steps.

"Ow…" Sam imagined coming from the basement, because she definitely didn't hear Lucy say that. If she had, it would mean Lucy was still conscious, and that was simply impossible.

A quick peak to check that the kitchen was still clear, and she slipped through and back to the dining room, where Leni sat with her new book. She could see the living room from her angle, the rest of the Loud siblings were sprawled around the room.

Lily was standing in front of the tree, playing with the ornaments she could reach. Lori was keeping an eye on the youngest Loud, while using her other eye to pay attention to her phone. Luan was watching Whose Line is it Anyway on the TV. Lisa was reading an incredibly thick book at the coffee table. Lynn lay over the back of the couch, watching TV upside-down.

Sighing, a certain unknowable weight lifted from her shoulders. If she was being honest with herself, she was glad. Maybe it made her a terrible Santa… But she wasn't there for them. The fact that they were all gathered in one place made it easier and meant that it would be quicker. Her thoughts drifted to her car, and the people she loved inside.

She could get them all at once, she just needed a distraction. Her attention turned to the Christmas tree. The lower ornaments were all plastic, so Lily couldn't break them, but from the half way point and up, they were made of glass.

She slipped a small mirror square out of her pocket. Originally she brought it to let her check around corners without being spotted, but she didn't turn out to need it for that. Feeling the weight of it in her hand, she eyed a spot on the wall, just to the side of the tree. She didn't want to break any of the ornaments, but she might be able to trick them into thinking one broke, if she could get the mirror to shatter.

Carefully slipping the remaining five books from their various pouches, she held them against her body and edged to the archway. Lining up her shot, she hurled the mirror like a throwing star. Her eyes widened, and she blinked in surprise, when instead of shattering the corner of the mirror imbedded in the wall.

"What the heck was that?" It did its job though, and she darted forward as the Loud siblings turned towards the sound.

Setting down the stack, she pushed it across the carpet, towards the center of the room, and was out the front door only a second later.

The cold slammed into her like a truck, and she hissed as her body heat almost seemed to be sucked from her body through her skin. Treading quickly to her car, she got into the drivers seat and allowed the heat of the AC to reimburse her.

"You okay?" Lincoln asked from the back seat, no longer inside the sack.

"Yeah…" She sighed, twisting the her key in the transmission.

The ride back to her house was had in relative silence, until they pulled onto her street and her house came into view.

"Where's your dad's car?" Lincoln leaned forward, looking over her shoulder at the empty driveway. She didn't answer. "Oh…" He seemed to realize. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"It's fine." It wasn't, but it also wasn't their fault, and she appreciated the thought all the same.

"We should have come earlier. You shouldn't have had to come get us." Luna insisted.

"It's fine." She said again, shaking her head. "You're here now."

Marching up the the front door as they trailed behind her, she swung it open and lead them into the house. Her path carried them to the living room, and with a bit of work they had a fire roaring in the fireplace. A quick trip to the kitchen rounded them up some hot chocolate.

Snagging a light blanket from the arm of the couch, she sat between her two favorite Louds, dragged them snug against her on either side, and draped the blanket over all their shoulders

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Chapter notes:

Most of the time, in stories where a lot of insane stuff can happen, the stories tend to focus on more lighthearted stuff… For the last while, I've been interested in seeing if I can show the more serious times in these worlds… I probably didn't explain it very well… Uh… Like the stories where insane stuff happens regularly; it's my impression that for that to happen, it has to make sense for the world they live in. So, if the people and world are more crazy than the standard… Well, they're still people. So I guess I'm taking the rules of those worlds, and trying to apply them to more serious stories.

My interpretation of their relationship here, is that Luna and Lincoln are best friends. When Sam started dating Luna, she was exposed to Lincoln a lot, and became best friends with him too. Neither of the girls are romantically interested in him, but they both love him dearly and consider him to be a part of their group. The front wheel on a tricycle, so to speak. Absolutely necessary to the function of their group, but not in the same kind of relationship.

The original request was just "Samta Claus", so I started writing this more serious piece. I only realized half way through that why she's doing this never really comes up. There is a specific reason, but if I wrote about that I feel like I'd kind of be betraying the original prompt. So… The actual reason is that it's Christmas evening, and Sam has been alone at home all day, because her dad went on a month long business trip, and she doesn't have any siblings. She doesn't want to spend her entire Christmas alone, so she decided to retrieve her two favorite people.

At various points I had different ideas for where I wanted this to go. I went back through, after I came to a final decision, and edited it to match the arc I wanted, but I… I usually don't write that way. Usually I have a fully formed plan before I start, so this felt a bit awkward to me… I'm also slightly iffy about the ending, but… I can't figure out how to make it better at the moment, and I need to release this.