IV
Disputes
Survival. Generally, when someone is asked about that very abstract concept, they would say that it is the conservation or preservation of life in dangerous situations. Situations such as: one, natural disasters; two, diseases or epidemics; and three, wars. Those are, to say the least, the most general; but for Lincoln they were more than enough, for he didn't need to know if there were different threats other than those. After all, he was in the middle of the third one… And it wasn't just any war, no; it was one that involved his ten sisters. Not two, four, or even six; but all ten of them… He wanted to run. Unfortunately, Lily was still hugging his head firmly to her chest; and although he could break free with relative ease, he didn't want to risk being too rough with his little sister. He closed his eyes and sighed. Maybe, just maybe, however remote the possibility was, if he stood still, they would all stop arguing.
Well, Lincoln, your current objective has changed to 'Survive'.
For their part, the girls continued their quarrel.
"Lily, you are wearing out my patience," said Lori. "Just let us spend time with Lincoln and we will leave quietly."
"No!" exclaimed the youngest. "Since he arrived, I wanted to be with him. It's my turn!"
"Sis, Lincoln is not a toy as to decide whose turn it is to spend time with him," Luna explained, crossing her arms underneath her bust.
"Oh, really?" Luan questioned. "So why years ago, before giving your first official concert in Michigan, did you always ask Lincoln to help you practice and say it was 'your turn'?"
The rocker blushed and looked away. "T-T-That doesn't count! I was about to take my first big leap in my musical career, and I needed my brother to help me…"
"Even after the concert ended?" the comedian insisted. "You kept asking for his help everyday… What's more! I remember that from five to six was 'your special hour with Lincoln'. You asked for a sister's meeting to set aside that time to be with h—"
She couldn't continue, because Luna covered her mouth with both hands and gave her a threatening look that contained a message clearer than water: Shut up. Luan just laughed, shrugged her shoulders and raised her hands in surrender.
Completely ignoring what had just happened, Lynn continued, "Either way, Lily, it's not fair that only you get to be the one to spend time with him. I also want to do some stuff with Lincoln."
"I know, but you," said the blonde, pointing at the brunette and pressing the boy's head against her even more, "are going to punch him."
"We are just playing," she replied.
"I don't care. If you're going to be that rude, then I won't hand him to you."
"Then hand him over to me," Lucy interjected. "You know very well that I'm not aggressive like Lynn."
"Hey!" the athlete exclaimed, offended.
"I won't give him to neither of you two!"
"Enough, my dear younger sister," said Lisa, giving her a forced smile and pinching her arm behind her back. "Put aside that childish attitude of yours and let us spend time with Lincoln."
"By what right do you even dare to say so?" Lily contradicted, obviously annoyed. "I was going to play with Linky, and you took him away from me."
"That was because I had very important matters to attend to with him," she excused herself.
"That's a lie! You came to invade our moment together!"
Lisa licked her lips, stomped forward, her hands turned into fists and she pouted in anger. "That was because we had to deal with adult issues! And those are topics that a baby like you would not understand!"
Lily's face burned with fury. "Don't call me baby!"
"Baby!" the scientist shouted.
"Brocon!" attacked the girl.
With that scream, Lily managed to completely disturb Lisa's mind, whom only managed to something that was not even under her control: change the color of her face. The slight blush covering her cheeks, caused by the anger she felt towards her sister, vanished entirely, giving way to a whiteness that was worthy of a corpse, and a second later, her entire face —cheeks, forehead, nose, and even her ears— dyed once again cherry red. Inside her, Lisa implored that Lincoln had not heard such a statement, that he had not gotten the message, that he had been distracted, that he had done anything but hear that word. That damned word. That vile word.
Unfortunately…
"Brocon?" asked he. "What do you mean with 'brocon', Lily?"
… things don't always go as someone would like.
Leni, unaware of the seriousness of the matter (or at least for Lisa), began to speak, "Oh! I'll explain it to you, Linky. What happens is that…"
No, no, no! Lisa thought, feeling like she was going to pass out. Leni, I beg you, don't do it! No! I have to shut her up somehow!
And as if she'd had an epiphany, the thirteen-year-old brunette decided to apply the infallible technique to distract her older sister from whatever she was doing. It was a dirty trick, and she knew it…, but she had no choice. After all, "desperate times call for desperate measures".
"Leni," she said, "you have a spider in your hair."
The fashion designer was instantly silent; no one could hear any sound coming from her, not even the one of her breathing. Furthermore, her face remained serious, undaunted, unflappable, unwavering; her brow slightly furrowed and her body tensed.
It seemed incredible, but all those present were witnesses to what had just happened: Leni did not panic nor ran away screaming out of there as she would have done in the past! Oh, that was something, Lori thought, that needed to be registered, so she took out her cellphone, unlocked it, opened the camera app —she realized she had almost no space left, but didn't care in the slightest, for the photos she had there were all of a certain someone she loved very much— and took a picture with flash.
The other sisters approached the older one to appreciate the image; even Lily, who left a very worried Lincoln in the bed. Despite having Leni herself in front of them, they still found unreal what they had just seen; therefore, to fully convince themselves of the veracity of this fact, it was necessary to see the physical proof of what had happened —and that still was happening, for Leni still didn't move an inch— was not an illusion. Lisa was more than surprised. Hmm… Fascinating. I don't know how she did it, but it seems that she has overcome her phobia of—
"Spiders!" shrieked Leni with all her might, leaping into her place, interrupting the scientist's thoughts, and scaring everyone else.
Apparently, the designer's impression to that statement had been such that it petrified her on the spot; however, it was the sound and the flash of the cellphone that brought her out of her stupor. The girls watched the scene with disappointment, while Lori, without taking her eyes off her terrified sister, erased the image. They looked for the aforementioned animal to get it away from Leni and try to calm her down, for she had started to tear up, but did not find it. Or rather: they didn't have time to find it, since Lincoln's body completely enveloped the woman in a tender hug, while caressing her back and hair.
"Now, now, Leni," he whispered. "Don't be scared. I'm here."
The gentle touch of the boy and the warmth of his body were enough to get her out of her trance, but she was still afraid.
"L-Linky," she stuttered and sniffed, "i-is it g-g-gone?"
Is it gone? he wondered. Actually, he hadn't seen or felt anything in his sister's silky hair; but he couldn't just tell her that. He had to make her feel safe again.
"Yes, Leni," he lied, pulling away from her just a little and showing her his right fist, "here it is. And now let me take it out so that way it doesn't bother you again."
Lincoln walked to the window, opened it, put out his hand and shook it slightly, pretending to have throwed the nonexistent arachnid. Then he closed it and turned around to keep comforting Leni; but before he could even open his mouth, the aforementioned threw herself into his arms while kissing his cheeks over and over again.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she repeated in between each kiss.
Lincoln just smiled and let her continue with that show of affection; the love of his sisters was always well received, even when it might seem excessive. But hey, it doesn't matter. If they are happy like that, then I am too.
Leni, having stopped, smiled at her brother and hugged him once more. Now that she didn't feel the terror of having that hideous spider in her hair, she could finally fully enjoy the sensation of Lincoln's chest; of that broad, strong and warm chest that made her feel at ease and that—
A hawk from Lori interrupted her thoughts. "Well, well, Leni. You are literally taking centuries thanking Lincoln…"
"Huh? Centuries?! Did I get old that soon?!" Leni asked, alarmed and inspecting the skin of her arms.
Lori facepalmed. "No, Leni. It's just an expression."
"Oh! Then why did you say 'Literally'?"
"Because I— This— Because—" the oldest stammered, but then dryly added, "Just let Lincoln go."
Leni showed herself reluctant to abide that order. Instead from separating from the boy, she clung much more to him: her left cheek was pressed against his neck and her ample bosom against his torso; and her gaze kept on Lori, challenging, defiant.
"And why should I release him if I don't want to?" she asked.
The older one reddened; she never expected such tremendous insolence from Leni. She was about to shout at her, "Because I say so!", but found it impossible, because someone got ahead of her.
"Release Lincoln now!" Lisa exclaimed, running to her brother, holding onto his waist and facing the fashion designer.
The scientist's action caused a furor among all those present, who also shouted their own wishes, requests, or, failing that, demands. The screams mixed with each other, resulting in a jarring and chaotic symphony of conflict. However, the clamor of those ten women faded when they heard an eleventh voice. It didn't sound very happy. Even Leni and Lisa rejoined the group.
"Girls…, seriously…," Lincoln slowly muttered, without looking at anyone.
"Bro?" said Lana, the concern gradually increasing.
"What's the matter now?" asked Lola, her tone reflecting annoyance, but actually feeling genuine worry.
He sighed and raised his face; he looked at all of them with seriousness. "Look, you have no idea how much I like spending time with each one of you. I mean it! If not, I wouldn't even bother coming here every weekend. However, I don't like at all that you quarrel with each other because of me… I understand that you get mad at me for my ineptitude for certain things (believe me I'm aware of that), but if my presence is going to cause these conflicts to continue, then I think it would be way better if I didn't come home that often."
If I didn't come home that often. That sentence fell like a bucket of cold water on the Loud girls' heads. The shock caused by their brother's statement did not allow them to process the information immediately. After all, it was ridiculous what he had just said. It was ridiculous! Outlandish! Even stupid! There was no way he could say such horrible words to them… No, more than that: it was impossible. Impossible, impossible, impossible. Yeah, that. He had to be bluffing, joking. Some of them even smiled slightly, and watched Lincoln's face, waiting for him to curl his lips too and tell them that he wasn't serious.
They kept waiting.
After that, they finally understood it (rather said, they accepted it): Lincoln was not joking. No… No, no, no, no, no! No! That couldn't happen! They couldn't let it happen! No! They refused to let it happen! In itself, it was already— In itself it was already—!
Lisa pounced on him and hugged him with all her might. "Don't you dare! Don't even think about it! It's already a torture to wait all week to see you! Don't turn it into a torment, please!"
"If you do that, I swear you will regret it, Lincoln Loud!" Lola stated, imitating her younger sister's action and clinging to his shirt. Her face tried to reflect anger, but her crystalline eyes didn't help her look convincing.
"If I have to go look for you at your school myself, I will! I won't leave your side!" Lana exclaimed, immediately after her twin.
And then they all wrapped the boy in a constricting hug. He was still there, but the very idea of thinking he would stop coming terrified them. They were definitely not willing to accept an event like that.
For his part, Lincoln endured the combined strength of his sisters as he watched them: they all seemed shocked for what he said. Now he felt guilty. His words, although they had a pinch of truth since he had come to consider the idea of not going home so often to avoid more conflicts, had no conviction. He greatly enjoyed the company of his sisters and knew beforehand that they also did with his. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Girls, listen to me," he waited for them to remain silent and continued, "I don't like the idea either, but, I repeat, I also don't like to see you fighting with each other. And I know that there may be times when I don't pay the due attention to you, but I swear it's not because of some kind of favoritism…" He looked at them and smiled. "Each and every one of you are my favorite sisters and I love you."
Lincoln's words echoed inside all the women present. None knew what to say to that beautiful statement. They only delighted with the presence of their brother.
Before they could even open their mouths, they heard the front door open and the voice of an adult man announced, "Girls, we're here!"
"Well, I think we should go down," said Lori, slowly pulling away from her brother and looking away.
"Yeah, sure," Luna seconded, then cleared her throat and adjusted her blouse. "Come on, everyone."
One by one, the girls separated from Lincoln, who only stood there, without moving.
"Lincoln?" asked Luan. "Aren't you coming?"
"Yes," he replied, "I just need to do something." He turned to someone in particular and said, "Lisa, would you stay a minute?"
The scientist's heart skipped a beat; she didn't know whether to be happy or nervous. "S-Sure."
The girls left the room, some without looking back and others bad eyeing Lisa, until they were completely alone.
"W-Well, what do you need, Lincoln?"
The boy sighed and asked, "Why did you tell Leni she had a spider in her hair?"
Dang it… she thought.
"Ah, that, heh-heh… I-It was because I thought I saw—" she tried to excuse herself, but was interrupted by Lincoln, who had his face right in front of hers.
"Lisa…, don't lie to me…"
If the scientist's heart wasn't agitated before, now it definitely was. She felt cornered by her brother, but she couldn't just tell him that the others had invented a foul lie about her. Brocon. Yeah, right! Of course… Those were slanders! Injuries that they invented to tease her!
However, she couldn't tell him that. She feared that Lincoln would believe those lies. Oh, if only he looked away so she could think clearly and make up a good explanation. She couldn't concentrate with those blue eyes looking at her so intensely; with those piercing, alluring and seductive blue e— Come on, Lisa, focus!
"I-I'm not lying to you, Lincoln," she finally replied.
He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed heavily; then he turned his neck the other way and said, "Alright, Lisa, if you don't want to tell me your reasons, that's fine; I'll respect you. Just… Just don't scare Leni like that again, you understand?"
The girl slightly nodded, but then looked down and, while playing with her robe, asked, "Are you mad at me?"
Lincoln turned around and when he saw her like that, crestfallen, he sighed again and wrapped her in a tender hug, while caressing her head.
"No," he replied. "I'm not mad. It's just that I don't like to see Leni that scared. What I hate the most in this world is to see any of you suffer. That's why I'm asking you, okay? Not for anything else."
And after saying those words, Lincoln pulled away for a moment from Lisa, pushed aside her bangs with his left hand and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. The girl froze right there.
"Well, Lis, I'm going down to say hello to mom and dad, so don't delay." The boy left the room and closed the door behind him.
When Lisa finally reacted and was pretty sure that no one else was on the second floor, she slumped onto her bed, grabbed her pillow, covered her face, and let out a little squeal of excitement.
So, now we see how the Loud girls act around their brother. And at the same time, I managed to catch up with the story in spanish. I hope you're enjoying the story so far and like the crazy deeds of these brocons, he-heh. All the support I've received so far is really appreciated and I want to thank you once again. Please tell me what you liked and didn't like about this new chapter. Criticism is always well received. And reviews are always a great motivator.
And answering some these:
Maximess, here you go, dude. I'm glad you liked the little moment with Lily, and let me tell you that there will be more flashbacks with her and the other girls. And yes, the age gaps are mostly the same. But I'll explain some it later. And about the robot, I'll consider it. That sounds like an interesting gag.
NoSoul01, welp, I hope this was fluffy enough. As I said before, the age gaps are mostly the same, but I'll explain it later in later chapters. I hope you found it interesting to see all the girls in their own "Battle Royale".
Guest, they went ballistic, dude. I would not like to be in the middle of that battle. I'm glad you liked Lily's little moment with her older brother, and I hope you also liked this chapter.
SIAMES, thanks, man.
Kuro Okami, thank you so much. I hope this one was also perfectly done for you.
Mr. Haziq, I dunno... (Yes...)
FanFictionReaderIne, heh-heh, thank you. And we'll have much more of these hopeless brocons in the future.
Well, that's all for now. Please favorite, follow and comment this story. And if you have to point out some mistakes, please do. I always want to improve.
Dark Dragon Of Creation