Note: Not all of the Loud House cast are related.
The related ones are:
Lincoln and Lily.
Lola and Lana.
Lori and Leni.
Additionally, almost all of the Loud kids have had their ages changed slightly or so.
Creative liberties, yay.
The ages for them are:
Lincoln : 16
Lori: 17
Leni: 16
Luna: 16
Luan: 15
Lynn Jr: 15
Lucy: 13
Lola/Lana: 10
Lisa: 8
Lily: 6
Lastly a shoutout to LoudAutomata16, he uh, has cool hair, I guess?
-Now onto the story…-
It was a little past Six in the evening, the sun slowly starting its descent down - signaling yet another end of a long and hot day, and yet the vibrant sounds of urban life continue to hum without a miss of a single beat. For some it was the end of another day of life and for others, it was the start of a new one.
For a certain white-haired teenager sitting atop a rooftop of a certain apartment building, staring aimlessly yet acknowledging of all this in front of him, this wasn't just another day of his life, but rather it was the start of a new life entirely for him.
Meet Lincoln Loud, a 16-year old boy who, foremost, loved Ace Savvy comics, alongside essentially anything to the superhero, he had a rather modestly impressive talent in drawing and art, he loved video-games, his family - his parents and his sister, he loved his friends… and he loved oh so much more close to him.
The boy, sitting down Indian-style had just recently - that is, today - moved from his old home town of Royal Woods, the one where he had lived for the 16 years of his life, to Great Lakes City. Humble suburbs to daunting urban life.
He should've been helping his parents unpack right now, and he was - up until his mood began to sour and he decided he needed some time to himself. Not wanting to roam around a city he had no idea about he decided to just head to the roof of the apartment building instead.
His parents had chosen to move here due to mainly financial reasons. That is to say, they were offered some rather lucrative job opportunities - ones that would secure his future and that of his little sister and so on. Admittedly there were other reasons as well, but these were - or at least presented to be - the main ones.
For his mother, Rita, she had been offered a position via some friends in a Health Insurance office, 'De Ross Care' as it was called. It wasn't an executive position or anything but it was fairly senior enough and fairly 'up there' that his mother made quite the decent paycheck, plus there was always the potential that she would eventually end up getting an executive spot. Eventually.
It was just as well, Lincoln figured, his mother did deserve a job like this - she was a hard and diligent worker and she had been fairly loyal to her previous job, having worked there for over 14 years, she was fairly sad to leave it behind too.
His father, Lynn, on the other hand was a bit of a curious case, for years he worked towards his dream; that of owning his own restaurant. A dream since his childhood. With that said Lynn was a fantastic cook, he had been into the trade since his Preteen years and fast forward today he had the skill and finesse to… almost... rival a world renowned chef, plus his spaghetti was something Italian guys in suits would kill for!
Lynn had in fact, eventually achieved his dream of owning his own restaurant and it became quite popular, quickly rated among the top 3 restaurants of the town. Certainly well above your average burger and smoothie joint. Business would be booming at best - there would at least be a mild ruckus at worst, his family would, of course, get a few free meals here and there and Lincoln would usually help out at the restaurant - cleaning the floors, tables and dishes et cetera. And of course he would help with cooking there - a skill he would also use at home alongside his dad.
Income was never really a particular issue with the restaurant, so it caught Lincoln off guard that his dad decided to sell it after he was given a job offer as a Chef - A Sous Chef - at a restaurant, someone else's restaurant in the city. Sure it was a pretty big title and all, Sous Chef was the 'Second-In-Command' chef, but how was that better than owning your own restaurant?!
Well, Lincoln was then told the details of the whole deal - the restaurant in question was a very high-end restaurant, big, fancy and highly rated; the high class sort. Its name was 'La Délicatesse' (well, what else would it be called? Uncle Bill's Tummy Fillin' Hall?) and the pay was very, very hefty indeed, it wouldn't make them millionaires any time quick…even with the salary combined Rita's but it was certainly a comfortable amount, it would bring them well over halfway to the seven-digit status. Plus along with other nuances in the job contract made it so it was a relatively more reliable form of income as well. Lincoln had never seen nor imagined a grown-man in his late thirties would be ever so giddy. He could almost swear he saw some of his father's long fallen hair grow back.
So there it was, and the decision was set. Although there may have been other reasons for the move, the obvious ones were apparent, he had to give up his old life for the sake of a new, promising future - he didn't have to entirely like it, but he understood without complaint nonetheless.
After all in recent years he had become what some would say 'wise beyond his years'...In more ways than one. Though he was still, not an adult just yet… But close. Very close.
Leaving behind his old friends was still a hard thing to swallow though, after all they had been through, after all the support he gave, and after all the support he received from them. You can't just get up and wave goodbye to good friends and good people you've known for years. For over a decade.
Especially Clyde, arguably his closet but certainly his longest best friend. After him there's Liam, Paige and Jordan… the girl. Well he supposes he was on good terms with the boy too. Good Lord, he was even feeling a slight nostalgia for Chandler!
Lincoln briefly snapped out of his longing day-dream to let a soft chuckle… albeit with an equally soft sigh he went right back into his thoughts.
He in particular missed his older friend Bobby; his Bro, as they liked to call each other, to Lincoln he was his Big Bro - the one he never had, although Bobby was only 2 years older than him, the bond was there. he was a mature kind of guy, working a lot of part time jobs to help out his large family. Maybe he was a bit of a Klutz too, but he was still pretty cool. Alongside him he missed Bobby's little sister Ronnie-Anne who was as old as him- their friendship was a bit of a roller coaster the last few years to say the least, but in the end they managed to remain close and best friends.
All those Memories...Bonds...and History… Sure, it wasn't like Lincoln was moving away to another continent and was going to live off the grid in the Siberian wastes and eventually pair up with a Russian mercenary named Reznov and-
Lincoln briefly stopped his thoughts for a moment, as if readjusting his metaphorical imagination lens inside his head, checking for mental cracks on its surface. And maybe for a loose screw...or sixty. He had a pretty strong imagination and creative mind, one of the perks of spending his time growing up in comics and videogames. No wonder his modest talent in art.
Back to his original train of thought… He wasn't just vanishing away from life - he could always, when they were available, call them. Talk to them. Video chat with them. Hell, there was still a chance he would meet them- one of them again - not necessarily in Royal Woods. In fact, Bobby had been planning to visit the city for his own personal reasons for a while now - maybe he'll be lucky to see his bro, soon even!
Lincoln got himself ever so slightly smiling goofily at the thought, a teenager humbly beyond his years he maybe but he was still a kid on the inside. His still well-preserved Ace-Savvy costume being a testament to that.
But that died down quick. Reality was a quick bullet, as Lincoln came back to the sense of his surroundings. His small modest smile slowly fading.
Maybe that was it… maybe he was still a kid, and just like a kid he was scared of this new place. Of new people. And of what was to come in a place and life so unfamiliar to him. Even with all he had grown...
In all Honesty, It wasn't like urban life was a Disney tale; unless you were a dog or something.
Lincoln Sighed, this time more notably and took another slow look around the surrounding city from the top of his apartment building….
His new home.
And then he felt the small, delicate movement on his lap. One he was very familiar with.
It was a soft roll… then a small head of white hair, like his own, showed itself… a small arm reaching out towards him - towards his face - and then there were bright blue eyes looking directly at him, as if he were the savior of humanity himself…
It was a little girl, a few months over a year old, wearing a soft, yellow onesie and white socks. She was a ball of pure innocence... she was his family.
Lincoln softly put his arms around her and lifted her - slowly and carefully as if trying to lift a piece of a cloud. He cooed to her and gave her a small delicate kiss on her forehead and then settled her in his arms sideways, looking down at her every moment. A soft and warm smile staying on his face for every moment - as the little toddler stared upwards with her own - wider and brighter smile.
"Aw, Bun…. Did you get all worried seeing me sad?" Lincoln said softly and slightly playfully to the little 'Bun'.
"Well… don't you worry about it...None…" Lincoln chucked...while also mentally smacking himself for the pun. "I'm just a little scared is all… only a little" he continued. "Everything's different here … plus with what I… uh, we had to leave behind…" he stopped short of what he wanted to say as a tingle of what seemed to be familiar depression was coming back to him.
But as soon as he focused his eyes on the little girl in his arms that tingle was gone- or at least suppressed. and a small but strong smiled adorned his face again - the little girl was looking up at him, with a small, curious 'o' face and eyes staring brightly and widely at him, as if he was some out-of-this-world superhero alien who had just saved her from a villain.
His smile continued as he as he softly nuzzled the little toddler's forehead, inciting a squee and giggles from her, following which he playfully took his index finger and gently booped and pressed her nose.
To which she reacted, grabbing his finger with both her tiny hands - giggling all the way. And thus her young life was complete. This was all the enjoyment she needed. This was essentially all her innocence cared for.
"I'm glad though…..that at least…" Lincoln said still smiling at her. "I'm glad that you don't have to worry about these different things…. That you don't have to be scared." he paused briefly, giving the 15-month old a soft tickle on her cheek, causing another squee and giggle, along with added determination to… teach his finger a lesson?
Lincoln chuckled at the thought of whatever goal the little Dread-Finger slayer was hoping to accomplish. "I'm happy you and Lily will be taken care of, for when you get older." he spoke softly, as he had been doing so.
"I'll be helping to make sure of that too… And I guess I shouldn't complain about myself either…..much." He rolled his eyes, knowing he still had to soothe himself over his new arrangement, among other things.
He took another long look at the young girl, still playing with his finger with all the joy of universe, safe and happy in her own world, safe and happy in his arms…
Lincoln broke his look from the young baby girl and yet again took a slow view of the buildings around him - from one side to the other at the buildings that were as tall as the one he now lived in - and others that were even taller, with the sun still ever so slowly putting itself away.
He tilted his head back and took in a deep breath, and gave out a now, long exasperated sigh followed by silence. Brief silence.
"I can relate"
…
In that instance, inside Lincoln's head, All the swear and cuss words in the known universe - and perhaps some from behind the edges of reality, blitz past his brain like lighting through a rod.
….
"HOLY CHRIST IN A BUNNY SUIT JUMPING ON AN ORANGE POGO STICK!" came out his reply.
The little girl in his arms stopped playing with his finger and looked up at him with a now neutral look, Meanwhile Lincoln with wide eyes looked down at the girl, took a breath and turned around slowly to set his gaze upon whoever it was that essentially gave him an outer-body experience - and turning his skin almost as white as his hair.
After a few, er, several heavy-inhales, almost hyperventilating-like, He turned around to see a sight that… Peaked his interest? While also catching him off-guard almost the same as the sudden voice - a girl with completely dark hair, pale skin, wearing a black sleeveless dress, which went down to her waist, followed by a simple black skirt that stopped at the top of her knees, her arms covered instead by the sleeves of a white undershirt, along with this she had black and white striped leggings covering her legs, with black shoes and white socks. She had some sort of ornament in her hair but Lincoln couldn't tell what- since it was as dark as her hair and blended in. Almost lastly, she had a small, normal-looking and rather humble golden necklace around her neck. And maybe most curious of all, the thick front bangs of her hair completely covering her eyes. She certainly was going for a look.
And yet what was even more curious was the fact she seemed completely unfazed by his reaction. As opposed to any other person, who would be pondering several questions about life, triviality of existence, and also as to which kind of bunny-suit Lincoln may have been referring to, as he kept in mind the fact he was on a open roof in the middle of the city.
His startled expression changed to that of a Raised-Eyebrow expression as he looked at her for a moment…. And then the sudden realization that he was now in a situation where he was about to converse with her….
Of all the people he could've met first in the city… Actually you know what, it's the city - there were far worse people you could meet in the city - like some crazy sociopathic clown with a strange obsession for bats…. huh.
"Rig...Right…" Lincoln mumbled. Snapping out of his ... creative views of urban life.
He had the Goth girl in front of him to focus on, and yes he knew what Goth was. However, in this particular case, given the girls notably pale skin, Lincoln couldn't help feel but a slight bit…creeped out.
"Creepy or not though…" Lincoln thought to himself… "she's kinda cu-"
Even for the most responsible of 16 year olds, teenage hormones can be a hell of a drug.
Almost immediately Lincoln shook his head and made a mental note to smack himself later - possibly to the amusement to the little girl in his arms, and or his little sister Lily.
Once again, he refocused himself to the pale girl in front of him, still standing all but still.
"...Hi?" Lincoln said, speaking as unsure as if he were talking to a cosmic entity of some sort.
"Hi." She replied in a monotone voice, following which there was a brief pause between them before she continued. "You're the new one who just moved in. I saw you were deep in your thoughts." she went on, "And It looks like they've been troubling you for a while." She said, referring to and noticing the bags under the boy's eyes, they weren't particularly heavy or anything – but enough to be noticeable especially up-close.
"I'd recommend writing them down somewhere, like I do, it helps in… lessening their weight, so to speak." she finished what she wanted to say, not a single change in her demeanor.
Lincoln blinked for a moment, before replying to her. "Right...Heh that's the same advice one of my friends gave me a while back." Lincoln started thinking back momentarily, however, not wanting to start reminiscing in the middle of a conversation - even if it was one he didn't really want, it would only make things more awkward, so he continued his side of the conversation.
"Name's Lincoln… and No, I am not in fact, a young 50 year old." He said half-joking, gesturing towards his white hair - it was generally the first thing people took notice of.
The girl gave what looked like a brisk smile before replying. "I'll admit, your hair's kinda cool" she told him somewhat admiringly, a bit of irony since her hair was pitch black.
"My name is Lucy. Lucy P. Howardson"
Lincoln took notice of her using her middle initial as well as her full name, oddly catching him off guard, but he went on to reply to her.
"Uh...right… In that case it's Lincoln A. Loud for me…. But why the formality?"
"Oh" Lucy quickly replied, "My father tends to use his full name when talking to his colleagues or business partners." she continued. "After watching him do it…I started doing it when I was a little, maybe five or six… after a while it just stuck as a habit, I guess." a slight trickle of embarrassment in her voice as she finished.
"My father encourages me to continue saying it like that though, he says it's respectful to the family name and ancestors… My friends - both mortal and beyond - agree with the sentiment so that's why I say it like that. Have been for a while."
Lincoln shook his head slowly in understanding. "I guess that's kinda neat… wait did you say mortal and beyond?"
Lucy nodded in turn "I have fellow Goth friends from school, plus others in the building, alongside which I have a few friends from the Night, the Spirit world and from other realms and realities." she said nonchalantly.
"I come up here to write my thoughts in my journal, though sometimes I come later on the night to, hopefully, converse with some of my unique friends."
"Oh Boy" Lincoln thought to himself, but he had to admit… her being so open about this kind of stuff was pretty admirable. Suppose when you have had a hobby, one you've very much enjoyed, for so long you forget about other people's thoughts on it. It was something he could relate to.
"Well." Lincoln replied, albeit not with entire confidence. "That's pretty cool… but how long were you standing there exactly?"
"A few minutes. I didn't hear much of what you were saying though, since you were speaking pretty quietly… impressive really." Lucy replied
"Spuu-key!". A sudden, small voice cried out.
Both Lincoln and Lucy turned towards the little girl in Lincoln's arms, who was now staring intently at the Goth girl in front of her, her arm slightly outstretched, making a pointing gesture at Lucy, while giving her a wide-eyed yet curious look, along with a smile- albeit not showing any signs of being perturbed as one might expect from a toddler.
Lincoln looked down at the little girl and smiled, playfully scratching the side of her head with his index finger.
"I guess she is" He replied to the girl in his arms, "But don't you think that's kind of rude to say hmm?" he jokingly inquired the young toddler.
"Spuu-key!". Was the toddler's reply, now in an even more high-pitched yet amused voice.
Meanwhile, Lucy had actually very slightly changed her, unfazed demeanor at the sound and sight of the little girl, even giving off a small, modest smile.
"It's fine, In fact It's what I usually go for anyway." Lucy replied referring to her look, as the little girl in front of her gave out a quick burst of giggles.
"It's pretty cool I'd say" Lincoln replied. "Although… maybe layoff on giving people heart-attacks?" he added, not particularly seriously.
"Old habits are hard to kill." Lucy retorted, implying that this wasn't the first time she had pulled her instant-transmission act.
"Heh, Right so… come here often?" Lincoln asked her, apparently consenting to a conversation.
The two, newly acquired acquaintances, both shared modest smirks with one another, all the while the little girl in Lincoln's arms looked around at both of them and everything in between - smiling the entire moment.
Lincoln and Lucy went on for several minutes - perhaps around 20 or so minutes conversing with each other, sharing with each other various pieces of information about themselves, things such as Lincoln being sixteen and Lucy revealing she was thirteen. A fact Lincoln kept fresh in his mind given the thought he almost had about her earlier. Admittedly Lucy was a slightly taller than the average thirteen-year old.
From there they continued on about their families, Lincoln telling Lucy about his Parents, his little sister, Lily, and his move and most of the reasons behind it, to a surprisingly intently listening Lucy. Of course Lincoln couldn't tell.
Lucy told him about her obvious interest in Gothic culture and other-worldly norms as well as her love for writing - especially poems. Then about her own parents, her mother being a bookkeeper and her father- very interestingly- being an archeologist, Prior to which he used to work at some university in Massachusetts. Currently he was on an expedition to Iceland or some such and it was just her and her mother for the summer, this was a fairly common thing however, her father being away on far along archeological expeditions, it didn't really bother her much anymore, in fact she truly admired her father for his work. Sometimes he even brought along some trinkets to 'decorate' in the house.
After their conversation reached it's the end, and with the sun finally at its last moments for the day the two...now newly acquired friends… bid each other farewell. Lucy opting to stay around the roof for a while more, as she usually does and Lincoln deciding it would be time to mentally prepare himself a confrontation with his parents… He was supposed to help unpack after all…
"Have to admit, it was pretty nice meeting you, Luce" Lincoln spoke to her, as he stood ready to part off, apparently having given her a nickname. He was actually feeling pretty good right now, after talking with her, even a little energetic.
"Likewise" Lucy replied, her monotone voice showing some signs of expression… seemingly a pleasant expression.
Lincoln was about to turn away to head towards the Rooftop stairs, then towards the top floor, but before that Lucy spoke one last time.
"Your sister was pretty adorable as well." Lucy said pointing towards the little white-haired girl in Lincoln's arms. "Lily was her name, right?" she asked, inquiringly.
Lincoln's demeanor took a slight shift from being calm and happy to…. Slightly upset perhaps even…scornful? But only ever so slightly… it was a fairly modest shift - mostly due to Lincoln holding himself back. Lucy was able to barely notice it as well - although became very confused at the sight.
Lincoln turned slowly to her, looked at her with somewhat faded eyes before saying anything.
"She….She isn't Lily…" he spoke meekly. Lucy was about to Nod in acknowledgement before Lincoln continued to talk.
Gesturing towards the little girl in his arms with a smile Lincoln continued to speak;
"Her name is… Lila." After which he paused briefly before continuing.
"And she's… She's my Daughter." Lincoln finished what he wanted to say.
A moment of pause ran through the air after.
Lucy was certainly… taken aback… but she had to intentions of wanting to come off as rude.
"Oh…" Lucy replied in a similarly meek voice. "I...didn't realize um.." she stopped short, unsure of what words to say.
Lincoln, however, simply gestured to her that it was Alright.
"It's fine. No way you could've known… I guess I didn't mention it." he said, now in his own monotone voice. "Anyway, Look… It was nice meeting you here and all, and maybe you can meet my little sister Lily some other time, but for now I gotta head back to my folks…. They're gonna be… thinking about me...heh yea." Lincoln added a half-hearted chuckle at the end.
"I see. Alright." Lucy replied, "It was a pleasure to meet you too, and your… daughter." she smiled warmly at both Lincoln and his little girl, Lila. "And I wouldn't mind meeting your little sister either." she added.
Lincoln gave a weak, fragile yet sincere enough smile and turn about to head off. He stopped however, for one last set of parting words.
"And uh… Stay safe up here… and with… your… ghost...friends... when you talk to them" he said so unsurely.
"Mhm. Duh." was Lucy's reply, saying in her usual monotone but a bit of playfulness.
Both waved each other a final goodbye, even Lila gave a rather wild wave to her "Spu-Key" friend. Lincoln walked away towards the stairs - his immediate destination being the elevator on the top floor.
Meanwhile Lucy simply sat down on the rooftop floor again, her mind now filled with further thoughts than it usually was. She had been fairly excited to meet the new boy moving into the apartment and did a pretty fantastic job at not showing it… but she certainly wasn't expecting such a ...unique… character development about him.
She took out her thick, black journal and her pen, and starting writing away at whatever she was thinking of, her thoughts and words her own treasures for her eyes and mind.
Meanwhile, Lincoln slowly descended down the brief staircase onto the top floor, making his way towards the elevator, Lila, the little ball of energetic innocence, slowly calming herself down into a slumber…
After talking with Lucy, he had been rather, albeit not entirely, relieved him of some of his stress that was the mountain of thoughts in his mind- all in regards to his new situation around him- and for a bit that relief proved a bliss… but now a new avalanche of thoughts had crashed through his head… mainly of the jagged thoughts all so familiar to him.
The most prominent of these thoughts was one that he knew all too well. One that he smacked his brain against oh so many times, like it was some spiked mace.
"And Now I have to wonder…" Lincoln said to himself. "What"...
"What does she think of me?"
It was really surprisingly, all things considered, how… something so simple as Judgment from your fellow man could be so damningly eternal… even the gods themselves must wince at such a cruelly inflicted punishment…
He had a bad habit of worrying too much.
Lincoln sighed, stood in front of the elevator and pressed the button to call it. He then took a look at Lila, his little bun, she was happily and without a single worry slumbering away in his arms as if he were some pillar and epitome of invincibility.
Regardless of whatever anxiety and doubt tried to poison his mind right now, just as it always had before, No judgment from man or divine was going to get between Him and Lila.
He smiled at his daughter, as the elevator door opened, he walked into it slowly and pressed the button the floor where his new apartment was, only briefly looking away from his little girl.
He may not have be a Superhero… but he was a few things close if not stronger.
He was a good son…mostly…he'll have to check back on that...
He was a big brother to his little sister, Lily.
And He was a Father. To his little girl, Lila.
"And you know what…." Lincoln softly spoke to his slumbering toddler.
"I wouldn't trade it for the world." he said warmly and confidently as the elevator took them down to their floor. Lincoln, even with his worries still here, smiling all the way.
Although He wouldn't mind being a Kid, for a bit more, either…..
The Elevator made its way to Lincoln's floor, the Fourth floor, the middle floor of the eight floor apartment building. He exited when it came to a full stop and started to slowly make his way to his apartment, keeping the image of his parents waiting for him on the other side fresh in his mind
He stopped just outside the door and for a few moments stared blankly at it, after which he briefly looked down then towards Lila, carefully and slightly adjusting as she rested her head on his shoulder.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and took a heavy sigh, and finally knocked on the door - At this point it seemed as if the Judge of the Pearly Gates himself was awaiting him beyond it.
The door opened to Lincoln's father, Lynn who looked a tad bit tired, It didn't take much for Lincoln to guess why - his dad was never good with lifting around stuff.
Surprisingly enough, at least for Lincoln, Lynn popped a small and meek smile at the sight of his very young granddaughter nuzzling into his young son, although was still a little miffed at the latter.
"Back?" Lynn said, somewhat unenthusiastically and with a raised eyebrow.
"Yea, back… sorry about walking off but you knew I wouldn't be instant sunshine and rainbows on my first day here. I mean it's not a bad place but you know what I mean…" Not exactly a great defending argument, but he was honest.
A sigh by Lynn followed, and the man waved his son into the apartment.
"Your help would've been appreciated, we've unpacked most of the things, with Lily almost finished with her stuff." he explained, "Your mom and Lily unpacked some of your stuff, to get by for tonight as well as set up Lila's crib , they didn't touch much else because they, or rather Lily, insisted that we shouldn't 'mess' with your personal stuff." Lynn finished, while adding air quotes.
"Quite the little Swiss guard you've trained." He further added, referring to Lily and her unconditional loyalty to her brother - well, actually not entirely unconditional given how many times he had to piggyback carry her around, per day.
Lincoln chucked ever so slightly, before speaking himself,
"Yea well, good help is hard to find these days… But anyway, look dad, I'm sorry about storming off today, especially since you and mom needed my help and all, so how about I cook dinner for us tonight while you and mom relax for a bit?"
"Fair enough." Lynn replied, before continuing on.
"I get to critique your cooking, though." a sly smirk appearing on his face.
Lincoln looked at his father with a somewhat deadpan stare before replying,
"Yea, Yea sure whatever Chef Gordon" inciting a chuckle from his father.
"Where are mom and Lily, by the way?"
"Your mother is in the shower, while Lily's napping, believe it or not, she spent pretty much all of her energy, helping out with the boxes. I'll let her sleep for another hour or two then get her up for dinner." Lynn answered.
"Uh, right, well I guess I'll go put Lila down, freshen up and start with the cooking. Spaghetti, Amico?"
Lynn nodded in reply with another faint, but genuine smile, after which he went on to his business - specifically that of setting up the newly bought TV, while Lincoln headed towards his and his daughter's room - down the hall of the apartment at the very end.
"Lincoln." Lynn spoke, causing Lincoln to stop and turn around.
"Remember why we came here, son." he paused briefly while looking at Lincoln.
"The kind of opportunities your mom and I got don't just fly by every morning. These kinds of opportunities mean a good future for us. For you and Lily and for Lila."
Lincoln simply nodded, his father continuing his small speech.
"I know you don't like it right now, and I know it feels hard, leaving behind your close friends and all, but you need to try your best to adjust, I mean, there are worse things after all and we're not that far – you and they could still visit every now and then, and no one says you'll have to live here forever." Lynn paused for a moment.
"We, your mom and I, just wanted our kids to be happy in the future… as well as our granddaughter." Lynn gave yet another modest, yet sincere smile while looking at Lila, still burrowed into her own dad's neck.
Lincoln nodded again,
"I know dad, you're both good parents… I'll get used to it soon, You know I'll try my best, at least." Lincoln told him with sincerity.
"I know one day you'll end up completely taking up the mantle of being a father one day, but till then we can still help and support you. I hope you understand." Lynn replied.
The two simply gave one final nod to each other before going back to their own goals, Lincoln- admittedly now with a slight slither of guilt, walked past Lily's room and deciding to take a quick peak - she had impressively almost completely unpacked and set her things up. No wonder why she tuckered out on her bed.
Lincoln gave his calmly sleeping sister a smile and closed her door, continuing on his way to his room.
He ran into his mother, just coming out of the shower and gave her a somewhat weak greeting - now afraid of her reaction towards his abrupt absence from earlier.
"Oh, hey sweetie, feeling better?" Rita asked her son, perhaps with a slight bit of awkwardness in her voice.
"Uh yea mom…" Lincoln paused for a second, "I feel a little better now, yea. But I'm sorry about walking off - I'm gonna cook dinner tonight, the usual, while you and dad can rest up."
A small smile now coming onto Rita's face, growing slightly wider when she noticed the slumbering little toddler on her son's arm. Though she was still a little disappointed in Lincoln, only a little, but not upset.
"It's fine sweetie, I knew it'd be hard for you, with your friends and all, Just don't make us worry too much alright?"
"Yea alright, Sorry." Lincoln replied with meekness but sincerity.
"Now go and put Lila down in her crib, catch a break and make sure to clean yourself up before you start cooking!"
Rita instructed her son as she walked towards her and her husband's room, glancing over at her said husband, who was looking at a bundle of wires belonging to the television, as if they were the very incomprehensible veins of the universe's body.
She sighed and smiled and walked into her bedroom, Lincoln doing the same towards his.
Lincoln put his daughter down in her crib, carefully covered her with her favorite green colored blanket, and then sat down on his bed, looking around his room and at his many boxes - still to be unpacked, he knew he would have to get around to them tomorrow - at least it would be an excuse not to go outside for a while.
Lincoln thought back to meeting Lucy on the roof, there were plenty of things one could think about a person such as her, but Lincoln could only think of what she thought of him. After he told her about Lila. First introductions have always been hard for him like that ever since…
Lincoln quickly shook those thoughts off. For now. He was always the over-thinking sort…
He took another look at his sleeping Lila, smiled and with a breath, went onto freshen up in the bathroom before starting his work in the kitchen.
The rest of the night went calmly enough, Lynn managed not to cause the expensive TV set to combust, and Lincoln cooked a very enjoyable dinner, As everyone started, Lily joined in, excited to see her brother again after several hours, getting a piggyback ride as recompense and then went excitedly on about how she was very eager to resume her adventures in one of favorite video-games tomorrow, apparently she was close to a level-up for her already high-level character.
Everyone enjoyed their dinner, Lincoln receiving fair bit of praise for his cooking with his father ever so proud. Lincoln may not have been up to his father's skill but he was close enough.
After that everyone freshened up one last time, went on their way to sleep - it being a little past 10 PM, The parents went into their room, Lincoln and Lily shared a final hug and nuzzle before heading into theirs.
Lincoln finally laid down in his bed. Despite having skipped out on his part of the work, he still felt somewhat exhausted - he could only guess why.
Giving one last look to a still happily sleeping Lila, Lincoln yawned and dozed off into his own sleep. Admittedly it took a little while before said sleep finally caught him.
He dived into his dreams again, his dreams filled with Superheroes, aliens, various video game references and maybe some cliché and corny punch lines here and there.
All the things you'd expect in a kid's dream.
He knew he couldn't dream forever - not like this, He was sixteen and he had a daughter - alongside of being a big brother to his six year old sister
He knew he had to grow up. But now, with all the recent change, he had to first figure out where and how exactly he was now growing up.
And perhaps as well as who he'll be growing up with… or rather who Lila will be growing up with…
He just needed help with all that.
XXXX
I'd appreciate pointing out any mistakes in the writing.
Thank you for for reading.
(edit: changed "first floor" to "top floor" where ever mentioned.)
(edit 2: fixed several types and made some slight adjustments.)
(edit 3: changed city name/location from Detroit to Great Lakes City from the show, see chap #3 for more details.)