A Mote of Compassion

Lincoln Loud scurried up the stairs, head darting left and right as he nimbly made his way towards the top.

He had successfully evaded the attention of his sisters at the table; successfully evaded the possibility of being asked to yet another one of his sisters many, impossibly numerous events that came with their busy lifestyles.

Okay… He thought, creeping up the last few steps. I'm just about there. Just gotta get to my room and the day is mine. Finally, a day to myself.

He didn't mean to come off as selfish, but he had literally gone weeks without a day to himself; his summer was rapidly ticking away and he just wanted a day to read some comic books in the peace and quiet of his room. Surely that wasn't so much to ask, right? And that was without acknowledging how tired he was just on his own.

That was another detail to this whole thing. Thanks to his constant efforts to be there for his sisters for each of their events, Lincoln had gotten up early and stayed up rather late for many a day now, which of course left Lincoln a fair bit more than a little fatigued.

Jeez, I might need to take a power nap after I read a few issues, He thought, bringing a fist to rub at his sleep-itchy eyes. Right after I catch up on Ace Savvy. Gotta make the most of the time I've got. He rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, silently sprinting down the hallway towards his bedroom door.

Almost there, just a little further, aaaaannnd—

"Oh, there you are, Linc!" And just as his hand clasped the doorknob, a hand grasped his shoulder and roughly turned him around.

Lincoln groaned when he saw his elder sister, "Oh, hey, Lynn…"

Lynn grinned cheekily. "Glad I caught ya," She said, lightly putting her baseball bat over her shoulder, "You're coming to my game today, right?"

Lincoln felt his stomach sink. He had gotten caught. Yet again he was being asked to attend one of his sister's events; worse yet, he had been asked by one of his less understanding sisters. "Um, actually, I was thinking of just staying behind today. Catch up on comics and recharge a little, y'know?"

"What?" Lynn's tone shifted into immediate, incredulous disbelief. "Recharge? From what?"

Lincoln brought his hand to rub his shoulder timidly. He had to be careful. Lynn was holding a baseball bat, after all. "Um…I've been helping all the other girls with their stuff. I've been doing that for the past two weeks, remember?"
Lynn snorted, "So, what? You help all the other girls with their stuff, and you can't be bothered to come be there for me at my game? How is that fair, Lincoln?"

Lincoln knew he was on the losing end of his battle, and in response, the world began to tilt back and forth, his vision blurring. "Lynn…Please, I'm really tired…"

"From what?" Lynn smarmily asked, her eyes narrowing. "From just standing around? We're family, Stinkoln, being there for each other is kind of part of the—part of the…" Her words trailed off when she saw Lincoln's shoulders begin to sag. "Um, Lincoln? You okay?"

"I'm…fine…" Lincoln mumbled, his body swaying slightly. He stumbled over his foot and tilted forward. Aw crap…

"Whoa!" Fortunately, Lynn was quick to drop her bat and catch her little brother against her, giving his cheek a soft spot to land on her shoulder. "Ah, jeez! Lincoln! Do you need me to get you something? A glass of water maybe?"

Lincoln shook his head, tickling Lynn's cheek with his turkey tail. "I'm okay…" He drowsily replied. He gently pushed against Lynn so he could stand up again. "I think I just got a little woozy."
"You're telling me," Lynn said, biting her cheek. She tilted her head so she could get a peek at Lincoln's eyes beneath the fringe of his bangs. She frowned, this time in concern when she saw the little gray bags around his eyes. "Oh man…" She said, shaking her head and putting her hands on his shoulders to still him. "You weren't kidding. You really do look beat."

"Told you…" Lincoln mumbled. "I've been really burning the candle at both ends for a while now."

Lynn pouted and bit her lip. She had really wanted her whole family to be there at that game with her. There was just something about having everyone cheering for her that made her feel like losing was an absolute impossibility; like she was supercharged with pure, irrefutable talent.

That included Lincoln. Sure, her brother was far from a sports fanatic like her, but she knew he could cheer with the best of them. In fact, though Lynn would never admit it, she considered her dear baby brother a sort of lucky charm. She wanted him there, just like he had been there for the rest of their sisters.

But he really didn't look that good, that was a given.

And I'd be a pretty crummy big sis to make him go in this condition, She thought, shaking her head morosely.

So, she let out a big sigh and moved towards her brother again. "Okay, come here, Linky," She said.

"Huh?" Lincoln let out a drowsy little mumble in response to Lynn putting one of his arms around her shoulders. "Lynn? What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure you don't conk out before getting to bed," Lynn explained, turning them around. She quickly grabbed the doorknob and shoved the door open. "You look like death, baby bro."

"You aren't gonna make me come to your game?" Lincoln asked, a little more than surprised.

Lynn snorted, half in amusement, half in slight insult. "Jeez, Linc; how heartless do you think I am? What, you think I'm gonna pull out my bat and force you?"

"That would be a little extreme…" Lincoln said. He found himself feeling relieved when they approached his bed. It looked like heaven.

Lynn chuckled and used both her arms to lift Lincoln off his feet, depositing him onto his bed with a quick heave-ho. "I do wish you could come, Lincoln," She explained, reaching out to adjust his pillow beneath his head, "But I care more about you being okay than having a little extra support in the stands."

Lincoln blushed, his heart warming up a smidge in regards to Lynn's sweet sentiment. "I can still hope for the best for you from here," He said quietly.

Lynn laughed, "Thanks, Linky, I appreciate that." She stood back, bringing her hands to her hips as she looked over her brother, making sure he was comfortable. "Now, you want anything before I go and start getting ready? You know once I get into my game state, there ain't no stopping me."

Lincoln bit his cheek, "Um…Can you get me that glass of water? I actually am pretty thirsty."

Lynn stuck out a thumbs up in response, "You got it, Linky. I'll be back in two shakes of an alligator tail, okay?"

"Okay…" Lincoln gratefully mumbled, his eyes growing heavier. "Thanks, Lynn, I really appreciate this."

Lynn smiled and left the door a little bit open so she could come back in with his water without making much noise. "No problem, Linky. It's just what a big sister does."

…

"Linky?"

Lincoln's head stirred against his pillow, his eyes fluttering open in response to the voice calling out to him. "L-Lynn…" He blinked, blearily looking through his now dark room and into the glare of the hallway light peeking through his door.

The light in his room flicked on with a switch and Lincoln brought his arm over his eyes, blinking and lowering it to help his vision adjust.

"Heh, sorry, bro," Lynn chuckled, stepping into the room. In her hand, a paper bag with a stylized burger and the letters "BB" caught Lincoln's attention, and his stomach growled when the smell of charbroiled beef and crispy fries hit him.

"Is that Burpin' Burger?" Lincoln asked, wiping his eyes and sitting up.

Lynn smirked and went up to him, "Yup! After my game, we decided to stop by and get a bite to eat." She brought the bag onto Lincoln's bed, "Here, this is yours. I wanted to make sure you didn't miss out."

Again, Lincoln's heart was warmed, surpassing the grumblings of his stomach, "Thank you, Lynn…" He said, grabbing the bag. "This is really nice."

"Hey, I have my moments," Lynn said with a trace of good-natured snark on her voice. "Just because you gotta take a day to yourself doesn't mean you should miss out on some good grub."

"How did your game go?" Lincoln asked, his hand snaking into the bag for a fry.

Lynn's expression fell and she crossed her arms. "We lost…" She said dourly.

Lincoln jolted and the fry he was holding fell from his hand back to the bag. "Oh…Lynn, I'm sorry to hear that," He said.

"Eh, it happens," Lynn said, swishing her hand through the air. "Even when you're as awesome as me."

Lincoln bit his cheek and looked down, "Now I feel bad for not going."

"Don't." Lynn cut him off right away. "You're allowed to take some time for yourself, Lincoln."

Lincoln kept his gaze on the paper bag, "But you were pretty deadset on me coming before…"

"Yeah, and I was—" She sighed and let her shoulders fall, "—Well, I was kinda being a jerk earlier." She shook her head, "Sorry about that, Linky. You're not just here to do whatever we want you to do."

"You guys do stuff for me, too," Lincoln objected. "If I so much as cut my finger, you guys are all over me trying to make me feel better."

"Yeah, but I can't help but feel like it's still a little lopsided," Lynn said, bringing her hands up to demonstrate the imbalance like a scale. She sighed and leaned over against the bedroom wall. "I think it's time we get better at that."

"Whaddya mean?" Lincoln asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Remember that time you asked us to do things with you?" Lynn asked. "That time you tried to get Lily to be more like you so you had someone to do stuff with?"

"Yeah," Lincoln replied. "What about it?"

"You asked me if I wanted to read comics with you," Lynn explained. "And I kinda just booted you out. I'm guessing the rest of the girls were the same?"

"Uh-huh," Lincoln answered, a frown crossing his face when he remembered that day. For a home of thirteen, it sure could be lonely around the Loud house.

"Well, I thought about what you said on the drive back," Lynn continued, standing back up. "About how you're always helping us and being there for our stuff; to the point of being ready to keel over." She huffed and looked at her brother, "So, I've decided, I'm gonna start taking more of an interest in your stuff." She reached over to Lincoln's desk and grabbed several comics. "Lincoln," She said, going to sit on his bed. "You wanna read these comics with me?"

Lincoln lit up like a Christmas star surrounded by a thousand lights, "Really? You'd do that for me, Lynn?"

Lynn snorted, "I wouldn't have put so much thought into it if I didn't, Linc."

"But I thought you didn't like comic books," Lincoln said.

"I admit I find them a little bit on the boring side," Lynn admitted, scratching the back of her head, "But hey, you sit through our stuff, why shouldn't I be able to do the same for you?" She averted her gaze, "I do love ya, y'know."

"Lynn…" Lincoln's eyes glimmered, and he pushed the bag aside so he could leap towards her. His arms wrapped around his big sister, who teetered back slightly but made quick work of rebalancing herself. "Thank you! This means so much to me! I love you, too!"

Lynn smiled and wrapped her arms around Lincoln in return, jostling him back and forth as she squeezed him. "Jeez, who knew you could tackle like that?" She laughed. She gently pushed him back, "Now, how 'bout we start reading? Lucy has a poetry reading tomorrow and we should try and get some decent rest tonight."

"Right," Lincoln agreed. He took the comics from Lynn and jumped off his bed to go to his bedside drawer, "But we should start from the beginning of the story arc. Lemme get the first issue, okay?"

"Okay…" Lynn said amicably in return. She watched him rifle through the literal piles of comic books in the drawer, smiling somewhat uneasily to herself. Oh boy, this is gonna be a whole thing, isn't it? She thought. She then saw Lincoln's face, shining with happiness as he pulled out more and more issues, and her smile became more genuine. Though it is nice to see you so happy, Linky…

…

"Alright Linc, you comfy cozy?" Lynn asked as she pulled the blankets over him.

"Uh-huh," Lincoln yawned, turning on his side. On his bedside counter, several comic books, just read by him and Lynn, sat in their little plastic sleeves.

"Good to hear," Lynn whispered, balling up the empty to-go bag. "Now get some rest. I don't wanna see you all wobbly tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Lincoln mumbled, falling ever and ever closer to sleep. "Thanks for doing this with me, Lynn. Can we do this again?"

Lynn smiled. As much as she hated to admit it, she did find something entertaining in those comics. Maybe it was just the way the fights looked, but she had fun. "Yeah," She said, keeping her voice low, "How about we make this an every Saturday sort of thing? We could grab snacks and just chill out to read."

Lincoln smiled and opened his eyes to look at Lynn again, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Cool," Lynn said, nodding, "Then it's settled. Every Saturday is our 'bro-and-sis comic day', agreed?"

"Agreed," Lincoln said, nodding in return. He closed his eyes, "Thanks, Lynn. I'm so lucky to have a big sister as great as you."

Lynn chuckled and made her way towards the bedroom door, "Luck? Nah, I just love you, baby bro."

"I love you, too." Lincoln whispered just before he nodded off completely.

And Lynn left him there, in peaceful slumber, her heart warmed with his final words as she walked over to her own room.

She wished Lincoln could have come to her game with her, that he had been there to support her, perhaps give her that last bit of positive energy she needed to pull off a win.

But she had to admit, the events of this day were nothing to shake a stick at either. Because on that day, a mote of compassion had found itself in her heart, and Lynn had been able to use that compassion to form a closer relationship with her beloved baby brother.

And that was worth a couple dozen home-runs all on its own, no doubt about it.

A.N: Awww! Who knew that with a little compassion, the arguably worst episode of the series could have been avoided? I hope you'll forgive me for adding to the fanfic pile regarding "that" particular episode, but I found myself wanting to try my hand at it. Besides, a little fluff is always nice to write; especially when it involves such an underutilized sibling duo in canon. As always, reviews and feedback are always appreciated! They are the lifeblood of a writer, after all.

Manegie, out!