The sun was hidden behind a thick blanket of dark clouds from where small snowdrops were falling as the cold, freezing wind raged against two young adults walking in the street; the girl was using a pair of furred earmuffs, a white coat, a pair of jeans and black boots. The man was using a black ushanka to covering his white hair, a black coat, jeans and a pair of boots.

Both of them were using a scarf mostly to protect their faces from the gelid air, but they also wanted to pass unnoticed to everyone that possibly might recognize them; they wanted that day just for the two of them, and even if it was just a trip to the city to buy stuff for the house, they were together, and that was what matter.

"I never thought the city would have changed this much since I left…" Lincoln commented; the boy was really amazed to see all the new things his hometown had to offer such as new restaurants, theaters and a great diversity of stores. He felt as a kid that goes for the first time to the new toy store; he wanted to see everything, to see what he'd been missing. But the desire of stay with Lucy was stronger than his curiosity. Anyways, the stores could be there and he could visit them later.

"It really did. You know… if you want, you can go and check; I can buy the stuff we need and…"

"Nah, the city can wait." Lincoln said. "It might be big and beautiful, but all I want right now is being with you." The white haired boy looked at his sister but she looked away to hide the blush on her face. Lincoln found this cute and couldn't help but chuckle, but Lucy wouldn't let that pass; in revenge for that she took his hand, weaving her fingers with his. Lincoln didn't expect that reaction, and now he was the one with a blush on his face.

"Lucy?" Lincoln said, but the gothic girl was still looking away, her cheeks glowing red. The sight of her beautiful blushed face covered under her long bangs took away all his worries, and even when the weather was gelid, being with her he felt like no cold could freeze him.

Ten minutes passed and the siblings were standing in front of the new mall built in the center of the town; a large five story building with windows composing its facade. Lincoln wasn't amazed to see it, but once he and Lucy got in they found out that the inside was bigger that it looked from outside; he had gone to places with buildings ten times larger that used that same facade. The first floor was the food section; locals such as Chez Pizzas, Burger Queen or McRonald's among many others filled the place as a big fountain adorned the center of the place. The food looked, and specially smelled delicious; Lincoln didn't eat breakfast that morning, and even when the coffee was delicious it wasn't enough to calm his stomach.

"You're hungry, Luce?" He asked, hoping to get a positive answer.

"No." Lucy said in her normal monotone voice. The white haired boy looked down in defeat. "But I know you are, let's stop and buy something." The gothic said with a slight smile on her face. Lincoln's eyes shone as he and Lucy headed to an Aunt María's local; it wasn't a famous food chain, but it was the closest to a homemade meal you could get in the center of an urbanized town. They sat in a table and in no time a waitress arrived.

"May I take your order, sir?"

"Yeah, I'll have a plate of pancakes and a black coffee." Lincoln said, already tasting the food.

"Got it. And what about you, ma'am?" The waitress asked.

"Hm… I'll have the same as him, but I want double pancakes and a large banana smoothie." The gothic girl said, leaving Lincoln with wide open eyes.

"I'll bring your food in a minute." The waitress said before leaving. Lincoln looked at Lucy with surprise; not because just moments ago she said she wasn't hungry, but because he knew that Aunt María's Pancakes were something you don't want to repeat. Not because the food was bad, but because it was big.

"So, you're not hungry?" Lincoln asked sarcastically, receiving a small chuckle from Lucy. "Do you really think you can finish all that food?"

Lucy just stood there, glancing at Lincoln under those black fangs. Lincoln felt uncomfortable. A stare from Lucy was like being a fawn on tall grass; you know there's something watching you, but you don't know when it will attack until it's too late.

"Lucy?" The white haired boy asked with a little bit of worry, more for himself than for her, but instead of receiving an answer, the food arrived to their table; the set each tray in front of them, with special care in Lucy's since hers was way heavier.

"Hope you enjoy your meal." The waitress said before walking away. Lucy grabbed the fork and knife, and without hesitating she started to eat. Lincoln decided to focus on her meal; the last time he ate in that place was when he was eleven, and it was because other restaurants were full. In that time the place was just a small Mexican restaurant on the eastern part of town, but it seems it has been doing very well since they could get a space in the mall.

By the time Lincoln finished half of his plate, Lucy also finished half of hers. The boy looked at her with shock, seeing that his sister finished a plate-sized pancake and half of the banana smoothie.

"What's the problem, Lincoln? You can't keep up with your little sister?" Lucy asked with a mocking smile that bothered Lincoln. The boy tightens the grip in the fork and knife and started to eat; he was feeling satisfied already, but he would never lose to his little sister, especially if it was an eating competition.

After five minutes of eating, Lincoln started to feel as if his stomach was about to blow. His belly grew, barely noticeable because of the coat. There was just one piece left on the plate, one piece between him and victory. Lucy wasn't feeling any better; just as Lincoln she had just one piece of pancake left in the plate, but she was so satisfied to eat it. They both stared at each other with a defeated look in their eyes.

"I'm… so full…" Lincoln said; his hands on his belly, rubbing circles in an effort to keep the food there.

"Draw?" The gothic asked extending her hand.

"Draw." Lincoln shook her hand, sealing the deal. He was about to ask the waitress to bring the bill, but before he could even speak, Lucy grabbed the fork and ate the last piece of pancake.

"That's not fair, we had a deal!" The boy claimed. Lucy just looked at him with dizzy eyes; she raised her hand to reply, but instead of words, a loud burp came from her mouth. It lasted some seconds before it died, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

"I win…" The black-haired girl said cleaning her mouth with a napkin and a smug smile on her face.

After leaving the restaurant and a very impressed crowd for Lucy's incredible burp they walked a little bit to make time for their bodies to process the food. Lucy offered to go to the book store at the other side of the mall, to which Lincoln accepted: he wasn't exactly a man of books, even though he'd read some, most of them didn't really meet his expectations. But if Lucy wanted to go… well, give it a try wouldn't hurt.

"So… what else do they sell in that book store?" Lincoln asked. At least he wanted to find something interesting for him such as an old Ace Savvy issue or every other comic, not that vampire-wolf-basic girl crap or the naughtiest desires of a sexually frustrated fifty-year old woman. Those things were very popular in his days, and honestly he couldn't blame the people who bought that shit because cinema studios were only giving them what they wanted to see… Or what they taught them they should see… Maybe it was because-

"Lincoln…" Lucy called him, bringing the boy back to reality.

"What happen, Luce?"

"It's time for you to tell the truth." Lucy said. Her voice was just as calmed as always, but he could notice the seriousness on it.

Lincoln came to a halt, his heart skipped a beat and a shiver ran down his whole body. A part of him refused to believe it but he knew this day would eventually come, and that was the main reason he didn't want to return to Royal Woods. The boy closed his eyes, mentally cursing the day when he decided to leave his house, cursing the day when he made a deal with Paolo, and over all, cursing this moment.

"I guess you deserve to know why things happened…" Lincoln said. "Come on, let's sit." He said, leading the girl towards a bench. He stayed there in silence for a minute, gathering the courage and searching for the correct words to say.

"When we were kids I always knew our relationship would be very different. You were my first little sister, the first one I had the joy to carry in my arms, and the first one to call me big brother…" Lincoln said with his eye staring at the floor. "I swore I would fulfill my duty and protect you from everything or everyone that might threaten you, but…" The boy stopped.

"But?"

"As time passed, some things changed in me. I eventually grew, and with that change I started to see girls in other way. There were times when my body felt like burning; a strange sensation would hit my loins and my mind flooded with…"

"Lust…" Lucy said.

"Yes… At first I thought I would keep it controlled if I jack off, but that sensation would eventually come back, and would be stronger. After I lost my virginity with Ronnie Ann I thought it would be over, but I was wrong…

"But… what made you take the decision of leave the house?" Lucy asked.

"One day when you arrived to the house after school, I noticed that you looked really sad. I went to you to see what was happening and you told me that nobody liked the poem you wrote, do you remember?" The white haired boy asked.

"How could I forget about it? I put a lot of effort in writing it but nobody in school appreciated it." The goth girl said with a darkened tone and looking down with a sad expression under her bangs.

"I wanted to be the big brother I was supposed to be."

"And you were. You sat in my bed and asked me to recite my poem, and you ended up listening to all the poems in my book." The girl said with a sly smile.

"And how did it make you feel?" Now Lincoln was smiling.

"It really cheered me up… "

"Exactly. As I was listening to your poems your face was shimmering with the most beautiful smile I have ever seen." Lincoln said. "But…"

"But?" Lucy asked; her face was blushing and her heart was racing. "What happened then?"

"That sensation…" Lincoln replied with a darkened tone. Just remembering that moment made his stomach stir; he has been trying to forget that god damn moment for the last ten years, but it was an easier said than done task. "Just like with Ronnie Ann, that sensation hit me with all its force. My body began to burn with intensity and as my mind blurred; in that moment a part of me wanted to… but another part of me reminded me the promise I made; I sworn to protect you from everything, but how was I supposed to protect you from me?..."

"Lincoln…"

"That's why I left. I was just a time bomb ready to explode at any moment, and I didn't want any of our sisters to get hurt… I didn't want to hurt you…"

"Does it mean what we did…?" Lucy said. By the tone of her voice she seemed to be hurt by his words, so he tried to fix it.

"Don't get me wrong. That time was special because… I really wanted to do it. I wasn't thinking in just have sex, but in being with you." He said. "Through all those years there wasn't any night I lay in bed wondering what were you doing..."

The girl now was smiling; her face red and joy in her eyes. Then, it changed to a gesture of concern.

"Besides, it was ten years ago. Right now there's nothing I rather more than being with you." He added.

"I guess that answer my question." The goth said with a sly smile and a light blush. "But now I have another: what did you do all those years?"

"I'm not very proud about it." The white haired boy said. "I got involved with… bad people, and I did a lot of bad things…" He said. The truth was that he didn't want to confess it all; not because he didn't have to, but because he was ashamed of what he did. Even though it sounds bad, Lucy was the sister he cared the most, and he was afraid of what she could think about him once she knew the truth.

"Lincoln, I want to know." Lucy said with a serious tone. Lincoln got really nervous, but knowing that it was only a matter of time for her to ask, he sighed in defeat.

"Well, I-"

"Lucy!" A totally familiar voice for the goth but unknown for the white haired boy caller her. The source was a beautiful ginger girl with blue eyes and freckles all around her face. She was using a brown coat, as well as jeans and sneakers. By the tone of her voice you could easily tell that she was the kind of girl that likes to go to the mall, buy dresses, likes all about fashion and all the girly stuff you could imagine. But if that's the case, why or how she knew Lucy?

"Oh, h-hello Brie…" The goth girl tried not to lose her cold-girl countenance, but the truth was that she was totally taken aback by her friend's arrival. In other circumstances she would be happy, but right now this was the wrong place and the wrong time.

"Hey Lulu… I didn't know you were…" the girl said with a sassy glance. She was lying tho, she saw Lucy with that mysterious man a while ago.

"Oh, y-you got it all wrong, I mean we're…" Lucy couldn't finish a sentence because right next a new one came. Her face was totally blushed and her hands were trembling. "What are you doing here anyways?" She finally said reluctantly.

"Oh, I was just walking around buying some stuff, then I saw you and I said Oh, look over there it's my dear friend Lucy Loud." She said in a sweet, innocent voice, but Lucy knew she was lying.

"Quit fooling around and tell me what you need" The goth girl said firmly.

"What? Aren't you going to introduce your cute little friend first?" Brie said with a smirk, clearly to mess with her.

"Alright. Brie, this is…" Lucy almost revealed his brother's name, but fortunately she was able to stop. "Mac, and Mac, this is my best friend Brie."

"A pleasure to meet you Mac." The girl said offering her hand, which Linc-I mean, Mac took with care.

"Pleasure is all mine, ma'am." The boy said as he planted a kiss on her hand. Lucy was obviously angry with that, which was Brie's intention.

"Alright, enough of this. Just tell me what you want." Lucy said as imaginary steam was coming out of her ears and her face was totally red.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I need your help to decide which outfit I'm gonna use to Andrea's party." Brie said with such concern as if it were the worst thing possible.

"A-and why would you need me for that." Lucy asked. If her eyes were visible you could notice she's looking everywhere.

"Why? Because you have such a good taste for fashion. Do you remember that pink dress you were us-"

"Oh! You're right! We better get going." Lucy said as she put a hand over Brie's mouth, next she turned her and forced her to walk. "Before you split it all out." She whispered to her friend.

"Uh, Lucy?! Lincoln asked, but his sister was already gone. Well, maybe it wasn't that bad; he could use that time to goof around and see-

His thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of his phone in the pocket. The boy took it out and saw it was just a message from his sister.

See you at the parking lot in one hour.

Well, he had one hour to…

He received another message.

See me at the warehouse in 1856 Orange St. now.

The sender wasn't any of his contacts and the number was private. It had to be them. Luckily for him the meeting place was a few streets from the mall, so he could walk there meanwhile.

Ten minutes later he was in front of a big, abandoned building; it looked really old but if that was the place they wanted to see him, there was nothing left to do more than getting in… somehow.

The door was open; well, it was one problem less. Once inside, the white haired boy walked through a dark hallway with no more light than the flash of his cellphone. Man, the place looked as if it was built in the XIX century, why couldn't they choose a much better place? The floor is dirty, the walls are full of webs and… oh, there are syringes all around. It wouldn't be surprising to find homeless people sleeping in here.

The man snapped out of his thoughts when the light focused on a rusty old metallic door at the end of the hallway. This better be what I'm looking for. I need to be with Lucy in forty minutes. He thought. The white-haired boy opened the door, revealing a wide, spacious room that surprisingly was clean; there wasn't any trash around and the ceiling was clean from any web or bird nest. As he was observing those details the lights of the room turned on, blinding him for a moment and forcing him to cover his eyes. As his sight fixed to the new illumination he saw in the middle of the room a big, metallic container, and from behind of it a woman he could recognize everywhere walked in. His stomach clutched and his pulse raced.

"Hello, Lincoln."

Guess another sister managed to meet with Lincoln. Who could she be?