And here we go, keeping up the Louds Vs train baby!

Now this is a more simple and just fun chapter, but it does have some nice stuff in it and I greatly enjoyed making this one.

Also just wanted to bring this up but me and Petrus would kindly like to ask anyone if they are interested in drawing some fanart for this story? Maybe do something like drawing your favorite scene from it. We'd love to see it, and if you do make any we'll give you a shout out so people can see it! Of course there's no pressure or anything, this is just a simple fun request and if you can't or don't wanna do it, no biggie at all. Just thought I should ask.

Also if someone wants to do Luisegluna's idea of having a sort of reaction story with the Louds and Past Queens I would honestly love that very much it would be so cool!

And with that I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

"Alright kids were here!" An elderly but lively sounding voice called out as a pick up trick pulled up onto an empty campsite that had a fire bit a picnic table at it. "Let's get out and start unpacking everything!" Stepping out of the drivers seat of the truck was an burly elderly man with white hair and a large tuft on his hair that sticks up as well as a gray mustache and thick gray eyebrows. He was wearing a camo coat, which hid a tattoo of an anchor on his forearm, with matching snow pants, black boots, and orange sunglasses. This man's name was Albert and he was…

"Sure thing Pop-Pop!" Lincoln told his grandfather as he stepped out of the passenger side of the truck. As Lincoln exited the truck he lightly tapped on the window to the back seat. "Hey Star were here!"

Immediately Lincoln got out of the way as the door to the truck open and Star excitedly jumped out with a big grin on her face. "Camping!" She yelled out as she leapt out of the truck and into a pile of snow on the ground. "What's up nature? You're gonna get tamed!"

"Well it's good to see you two kiddos are excited!" Albert gave a wide smile as he walked up to the to of them while talking off his sunglasses. Albert then opened up the bed of the truck where all their camping supplies were. "Now let's unload! The faster we set out campsite up the faster we can start having some fun!"

"Yes sir Pop-Pop!" Star and Lincoln said in unison as they started to help Albert unload everything in the truck.

"Thanks a bunch again for letting me come with you guys!" Star smiled widely as she took out a few lawn chairs from the truck bed and started to set them up around the fire pit. "But are you sure it's ok? I mean I know you said this was something important you did with you Pop-Pop every year, I don't wanna intrude or anything."

"Hey think nothing of it Star," Lincoln smiled at Star as he carried a cooler out of the truck and set it down next to the picnic table. "I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want you coming along, I'm glad you're here!" Star couldn't help but give a giddy smile at Lincoln's words. "Right Pop-Pop?"

"Of course kiddo!" Albert smiled as he got to work on setting up his tent. "Lincoln's told me a lot about you Star and I must say it's a delight to finally get to meet you!"

"Aw shucks you're making me blush." Star giggled as she finished setting up the chairs. "Well if that's the case then come on Lincoln! Let's set up our tent so we can get this camping trip in full swing!"

"You got it!" Lincoln grinned as he went to go help Star. So for the next 25 minutes the three of them got everything ready in their campsite and just unloading all their equipment from the truck from ice fishing supplies to skiing gear and snowshoes.

"Aaaaand finished!" Albert grinned as he dusted off his hands as he, Lincoln, and Star looked over their completed campsite. "Now we can really get things started."

"Oooooo, I can't wait!" Star couldn't help but stomp her feet up and down in excitement. "I've never really gone camping during the winter before on Mewni. Most people don't really do that sorta thing when it gets cold."

"Yeah lot of people on earth are like that as well." Lincoln explained as he put his went over to the ice fishing supplies and picked a few things up. "But they're missing out. There's a ton of fun stuff you can do while camping in the winter. For example ice fishing!"

"Oooooooo!" Star grinned with sparkles in her eyes. "So we're gonna be catching fish made of ice?"

"Heheh, no Star," Lincoln let out an amused chuckle as he shook his head. "It just means we're gonna fish for fish under the ice that's formed over the lake by cutting a small hole into the ice. I take it this means you never ice fished before?"

Star shook her head in response, confirming this. "Well hey just means we gotta show you the ropes then!" Albert said in a jolly tone as he put a hand on Star's head and ruffled her hair a bit, getting a laugh from the princess. "Come on let's head to the lake and we'll show you how a couple of old pros do it."

"Who you calling old, old man?" Lincoln asked his pop-pop with a smirk on his face.

"The short old foggie with the white hair," Albert teased back as he ruffles Lincoln's snow white hair causing both him and Lincoln to laugh. Star then began laughing at the sight of Lincoln and his pop-pop having fun with each other until-

CRASH!

"AH!" All three left out as suddenly something shot out of the sky and crashed down next to their campsite, leaving a crater in the ground.

Everyone slowly walked up to it and saw something at the center of the crater. Suddenly this something began to stood up and turned to the three of them to reveal themselves. "CAMPING!" Shouting at the top of his lungs and wearing nothing but a loincloth and a crown was King River himself.

"Dad!" Star shouted in surprise at seeing her father literally crashing their campsite. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

"Because camping! That's why sweetie!" River answered as he jumped out of the crater and in front of his daughter, giving her a tight hug. "I sensed you were going on a grand adventure through the great outdoors and I knew I just had to join you! Look, I even put on my camping loincloth just for the occasion!"

"Aren't you…cold in that?" Lincoln asked as he awkwardly stared at River. Sure he's been known for hanging out in just his underwear before but a loincloth in the winter just sounded like you were asking to get frostbite. "We have some extra winter gear if you need it."

"Pfft, please I hardly feel a thing my boy," River reassured Lincoln before flexing his body and showing off his manly muscles. "We Johanson's train our bodies to handle all sorts of environments!"

"Buuuuut what about that time you tried to fight a blizzard?" Star revealed making Lincoln and Albert's eyes widen in response. River tried to do what?! "You were completely frozen solid for days!"

"…We all have our off days sweetheart," River reluctantly admitted before giving his daughter a smile. "So what do you say? Can your old man join you for a camping trip? We haven't camped together in ages!"

"Weeeeeell…" Star slowly began as she looked over to Lincoln and Albert. "It's fine with me if it's fine with them, it's there camping trip after all,"

"Well hey, who am I to deny a dad wanting to spend some time with his daughter," Albert said with a big smile on his face as he sent a nod towards River. "The more the merrier I say!"

"I'm cool with it," Lincoln simply shrugged with a smile on his face. "Could be a lot of fun,"

"Well there you have it," Star gave a small smile to her dad, making River smile as well. "Alright dad come on, we'll both get to experience some winter earth camping! Lincoln and Pop-Pop were gonna show me how to ice fish!"

"The fish are made out of ice here?" River asked with a curious and confused look.

After about a fifteen minute walk Albert and Lincoln led Star and Lincoln to the frozen lake where there were already a few people ice fishing. "Luckily I already reserved us a spot," Albert reassured everyone as they went to a spot that had a metal spike stabbed into the ice with the number 9 on the top of it. "Alright Lincoln why don't you show em how it's done and I'll set up the chairs."

"Can do pop-pop!" Lincoln gave his grandfather a salute before taking off the back pack he had down onto the ice before reaching into it. "Now the most important thing when it comes to ice fishing is making sure the ice your one is nice and strong and stable so you don't end up falling in. Luckily we don't have to worry about that as the park does all that stuff and marks which are good fishing spots but if you ever want to try ice fishing anymore you first throw a heavy rock on the ice and if it holds without cracking then you're good to go!"

"Ok, ok, enough with the basics now let's get to the good stuff!" Star rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "How do we start actually fishing?"

"Well that leads to the next step," Lincoln then pulled out a hand saw out of his backpack.

"A saw! Of course!" River grinned as he slammed his fist into an open palm. "You use it to battle the ship and chop their heads off! Brilliant strategy my boy!"

"…Ok that sounds unnecessarily brutal," Lincoln blinked a few times at River before shaking his head. "No, no we don't use saws to battle the fish. We use it to cut a hole into the ice so we can actually fish in the lake. Like so." The two Mewmans then watched as Lincoln stabbed the saw into the ice and started to saw through the ice, making a cirle with it. "Now since there's four of us I'll make it fairly big so we can all fish in it with no issue." After a few minutes of sawing through it Lincoln managed to cut a circle into the ice. Once it was cut Lincoln took out the chunk of ice and threw it to the side leaving a perfect hole leading right into the lake. "There we go! Now we're ready to ice fish!"

"Here you go gang! Fishing poles for everyone!" Albert, once he finished setting up the chairs around Lincoln's hole, started passing out ice fishing robs to everyone. "Already put the bait on it for everyone so let's get started." Everyone then sat down on a chair around the hole and Lincoln and Albert rose their poles over the hole to show the Mewmans what to do next. "Now just put your pole over the hole and lower your line into it."

Lincoln and Albert did just that with Star and River watching them all and paying attention to their instructions. "Sounds easy enough." Star then put her pole over the hole and let her line follow down into the water as well. "Lincoln! Look! I'm doing it!"

"So wait how do I do it again…" River looked over his rod to try and figure out how to lower his line and, after fiddling with a few things, managed to eventually get it down into the water. "Amazing. Now what?"

"You're already doing it King River," Albert let out before reaching into a mini cooler he brought along and pulled out a can of root beer with one hand while holding his fishing pole in his other hand before sliding the cooler over to Lincoln. "Just grab a root beer, sit and wait, and just enjoy everyone's company."

"That sounds pretty nice," Star said as Lincoln slid the cooler over to her allowing Star to take out a root beer. Star then took a look at her surroundings including the large frozen lake they were on to the woods surrounding the lake and all the leaves tree and evergreens that were coated in snow. "I gotta say it is really pretty here."

"So that's it?" River asked as he looked at his fishing line that was in the water. "You just wait for the fish to come to you?"

"Yep, when you feel your line tug that means a fish went for your bait and you just reel it up," Albert explained as he leaned back in his chair with a relaxed expression on his face. "I tell ya this is the life. Ice fishing with some good company and a soda, doesn't get much better then this,"

"You're tell me," Lincoln agreed with his pop-pop as he took a sip of his root beer, letting out a satisfied burp afterward. "So Pop-Pop how's Myrtle doing?"

"Oh she's doing just fine," Albert smiled as Lincoln brought up his girlfriend. "She wanted me to tell you she said hi and that she's sorry she couldn't come along. She's going out of state to visit some friends of hers."

"Whose Myrtle?" Star asked while her dad had a bored expression on her face. "Friends of yours?"

"She's my girlfriend actually," Pop-pop explained to the princess. "Heheh, she's a great gal I tell ya, I'm sure you too would have liked each other,"

"Well hopefully I get to meet her one day." Star smiled but her attention soon went to her pole as she felt something tugging on it. "Oh! I got something! I got something!"

All eyes immediately went to Star as she quickly started to reel in her catch. "Way to go Star!" Lincoln cheered for the blond with a grin. "Just keep reeling it in!"

"Good work sweetie!" River complimented his daughter as he got off his chair and set the pole down. "You just keep it on the line and I'll go down and rough him for you!"

"Wait what?" Star and everyone else a brow as River jumped up and-

SPLASH!

River cannon balled right into the water.

"What the heck is he doing?!" Lincoln yelled as he and Albert went to the hole and looked into the water. The two white heads were then treated the bizarre sight of River grabbing the fish that was attached to Star's hook…and fighting it. The king of Mewni was punching the fish in the face, surprisingly the fish retaliated as it turned around and slapped River in the face with its tail repeatedly with River counting with a kick to the fish's gut. "…He's gonna get hypothermia."

"I'll go get a fire going," Albert went back to the campsite to prepare a fire for River for when he finished his epic battle for the fish.

"Ugh dad…" Star groaned at her dads behavior. They were supposed to be fishing the earth way, not the human way. "I'm so sorry about this Lincoln,"

"It's fine, it's honestly kind of impressive to be honest," Lincoln admitted as he continued watching River and the fish fighting. "Ooooo, that poor fish…"

ONE EPIC FIGHT LATER

"Ahahahah, showed him!" River laughed as he watched Star roast the fish he fought over the fire while he huddled close to the fire to warm up. While he was better then any human would be swimming in freezing water, he was still feeling a bit chilly. "How are you enjoying it honey?" The only response he got was Star grumbling a bit with a grumpy expression. "What? What's wrong?"

"Look dad I…appreciate what you did for me," Star let out with a sigh as she focused on her roasting fish. "But this isn't Mewni, we're on earth and I wanna do things the earth way."

"But you know how dangerous the wilderness is!" River told her daughter with a crazed expression on his face. It was a face of someone whose braved the dangers of Mewni's wilderness many times. "Besides it was me who taught you to camp after all! Besides it was me who showed you how to stalk a Narinthian tar beast for eleven days with no food, no sleep, and no clothes!"

"You did what with no cloths?" Lincoln asked with a shocked look as he roasted a hot dog over the fire. "What kind of stuff did you do on Mewni?"

"Stuff I will not be telling you Lincoln," Star told Lincoln before blowing a raspberry at Lincoln. A girl needs to keep some secrets after all. "And yes you did do that dad and I really appreciate that but I can do things on my own now, I don't need you holding my hand for everything."

"Oh…I see…" River looked down with a saddened frown.

"Well I gotta say I've never seen anyone catch a fish quite like that before." Albert said with an amused chuckle. He only wished he was able to record that spectacular sight. "Very well done River, you certainly know how to liven up a camping trip."

"Well thank you Albert, when it comes to the fierce wilderness you can only give your best if you wish to survive!" River said explained as he punched his own chest. Before anyone could respond to that they heard something rustling in the pushes nearby. "Ah-ha! A vicious animal could be nearby! Don't worry everyone I'll go check it out."

"Dad wait!" Star tried to call out to her dad and stop him, but River went charging ahead towards whatever was moving through the bushes anyway. "Oh no…" Star, Lincoln, and Albert then followed after River into the bushes, hearing growling as they got closer. Looking into the bushes they were treated to the sight of River on all fours glaring at an 3 foot animal with sharp claws and sharp teeth. Both River and the animal glared and growled at each other as they circled around each other. "Aaawww, that's cute! What is that?"

"Oh crud that's a wolverine." Lincoln's eyes widened at the sight of the vicious carnivorous animal.

"Oh the thing with the metal bones and extendable claws right?" Star asked Lincoln.

"Wrong wolverine Star," Lincoln deadpanned at her before looking to the scene with worry again. "Anyway River you should really get away from it! They're pretty dangerous!"

"So am I my boy…" River didn't back down as he and the wolverine continued to circle around each other. "He already challenge us by stepping into OUR territory, and he only provoked us further by looking into my eyes! That's a direct battle call!"

"He's not actually gonna fight that thing is he?" Albert asked with a raised brow and-

"GROOOOOWL!"

"RAAAAAAAHHH!" River and wolverine let out a battle cry and growl respectively as they finally charged at each other. Both immediately started biting and clawing at each other. "IS THAT THE BEST YOU GOT!?"

"ROOOOAR!"

"OW! THAT WAS A DIRTY MOVE!"

"GROOOOOWL!"

"WELL HOW WOULD YOU LIKE ONE OF THESE THEN?!"

"HIIIISSS! HISSSS!"

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?! IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!"

"…" Everyone was silent as they watched the fight. It was honestly like a train wreck. You want to look away but no matter what you just can't seem to. "You know…" Albert was the first to speak up. "I have seen some amazing things in my day but this…this takes the cake."

ANOTHER EPIC FIGHT LATER

"Are you sure you don't want to rest back at the campsite?" Lincoln, while carrying some ski gear, asked River in a bit of a worried tone. River and the wolverine fought for a solid ten minutes before River finally run, the king of Mewni sporting many scratch and bit marks after words so they had to spend 20 minutes disinfecting all of his wounds as well as wrapping them all up. Plus they might need to get a rabis shot later on just in case. "You uh, got pretty banged up back there."

"Oh pish posh Lincoln, this is nothing." River waved off his concern with his usual smile as he continued to up the hill with everyone else. "I get beat up more than this every weekend during bar fights,"

"Wait dad you participate in bar fights?" Star asked her dad in a surprised tone. Ok that was something new she learned about her dad that she didn't expect. "You drink?!"

"I never said I drink princess," River stated.

"Hahaha, sounds like you have a fun time!" Albert chuckled as he slapped River on the back. Albert's respect for the king has only grown since first meeting him. "I remember how my weekends back in my youth, we'd party all the way until from Saturday morning to Sunday night, did me and my old pals get into trouble."

"Probably with stuff that our young ears aren't ready to hear yet," Lincoln said with a simple grin on his face.

"You know it kiddo," Albert chuckled as he lightly nudged Lincoln with an elbow. "Some I'll tell you in good time, but others I'm taking with me to my grave. Like what happened in Cincinnati." But anyone could question Albert they finally reached the top of the snowy hill they were on top of which was filled with other people with snowboards, sleds, and ski's. "Alright made it too the top! Let's have some fun gang!"

"Race you down the hill Star!" Lincoln grinned at the princess as he set his ski's down and got ready too put them on. "Loser has to buy the winner a hot chocolate at the lodge!"

"Oh you're on snowball," Star grinned as she pulled out her wand and used it to conjure up a pink snowboard with stickers over the front of it. "I'm built for speed!"

"Wait Star!" River called out to his daughter before she could start going down the hill. "How about instead of that flimsy old board you get up on your old man's back? I can sled you down on my belly just like old times? What do you say?"

"Aw dad…" Star awkwardly chuckled before giving her dad a serious look. "No. I'm…a little old for that stuff don't you think?"

"What?" River frowned at his daughters' words as he looked up at her. "Since when were you too old for piggy back-sled rides?"

"For…a while now dad," Star told her father with an awkward look as she scratched the abck of her head. "I'm fourteen now. Look why don't you sled down with pop-pop, his sleds big enough for two."

"Yes well…alright then," River gave his daughter a sad smile. "You go have fun,"

"Thanks dad," Star gave her dad a sweet smile.

"Hey Star," Lincoln called out as Star looked back to see Lincoln…beginning to go down the hill. "I'm getting a headstart!"

Star let out a gasped as she quickly ran to the edge of the hill. "Lincoln you cheater!" Star yelled as she jumped up and placed her board under her feet before beginning to go down the hill. "You get back here mister!"

As River watched his daughter go down the hill by herself, he let out a sigh as he watched his daughter go down the hill without him. "Hey River, come on I got a two person sled here let's go down together!" Albert called up as he pulled up his large sled to the king before patting it. "Bet we can get some real speed going with the two of us on here."

"I suppose so…" River looked down in response.

"Hey something wrong big guy?" Albert asked with a bit of a concerned tone. River's been pretty upbeat this whole time, the old guy couldn't help but wonder what was upsetting the king. "Did something happen?"

"No, no, everythings fine," River said as he hoped onto the back of the sled. "Let's just sled down and have some fun,"

"If you say so," Albert wasn't gonna press on if River didn't want to talk about. So getting onto the front of the sled Albert and River both put their hands on the ground before pushing forward and sending the two down the hill.

"Here I come Lincoln!" Star shouted as she started to gain on Lincoln as the two went down the hill. Despite Lincoln's dastardly little head start the princess was able to catch up to him quickly. She wasn't gonna let him win that easily! "That hot chocolate is mine!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Lincoln grinned as he used his ski poles to give him a boost of speed. "How can you catch me if I'm an enigma? Hahaha!"

ZOOM!

"WOAH!" Both Star and Lincoln let out as something zoomed passed them, causing them both to lose balance.

"What the heck was that?" Star asked as she told Lincoln.

Lincoln looked forward, his eyes quickly widened at what he saw. "Holy cow!" Lincoln pointed forward to direct Star to where he was going. "Look at that old guy go!"

Star looked forward to see an elderly man absolutely rocking it on the ski's. He was expertly evading everything that came in the way and was speeding past everyone while only continuing to gain speed. There was a bump in the snow that he used to shoot up into the air where he begun doing a series of flips and tricks. "Zzzzzzz…" The old man snored while he was up in the air.

"Grrrr, you only won because you cheated…" Star grumbled as she began to roll up snow into a ball with Lincoln nearby also doing the same thing. "I hope you hot chocolate was all watery,"

"It was delicious and extra chocolatey." Lincoln told Star with a smug grin on her face, making the princess grumble. "And not my fault you were slow going down the mountain."

"Your face is slow…" Star pouted cutely, getting only a chuckle out of Lincoln. As Star continued to roll her snowball, a smirk came to her face as she thought of something that always riles Lincoln up. "Soooooooo, how are things with H-Poo going~"

"She's doing alright," Lincoln answered simply as he continued to roll up his ball. "Doesn't really go into details as to what she's been doing, but it's just nice to see her again."

Meanwhile watching them from nearby was River who was keeping an eye on her daughter as she chatted with Lincoln while the two rolled up balls of snow. "Oh you're losing her River," So far River hasn't had the best luck connecting with her daughter during this camping trip. So far she was upset at him for roughing up her fish instead of letting her catch it herself and she didn't even ride on his back down the hill earlier. "No! You've got to pull yourself together River! She looks up to you! Does she though? What's that supposed to mean? Didn't you notice, she's pretty much over piggy back rides and sled rides. She used to love those. And she went camping without you. She just doesn't need you anymore!" River then slapped himself after his little self-argument. "Ok calm down, just think. You just need to find something you both enjoy doing and you'll be back as number one dad!"

River then glanced at Lincoln and Star again and looked at what they were doing. "Hmmmm, looks like they are building a Snowmewman." River smiled a bit as he balled up some snow and started rolling it up.

"Hehehe, yeah I bet," Star responded to Lincoln with a teasing smirk on her face. "Bet you like having your girlfriend around again~"

"Yeah, it's nice," Lincoln said with a straight face.

Star froze for a brief moment. "Huh…" She had to make sure she heard that right.

"I said it was nice," Lincoln looked at Star as she looked at him like he grew two heads. "I like having her here again, I missed her."

"Wait…" Star narrowed her eyes at the white head as she stopped rolling her snowball. "You're not gonna deny that I called her your girlfriend?"

"I've…moved past that," Lincoln admitted with a small blush appearing on his face. "Go ahead and say what you want,"

"Sooooo…" Star soon gained an excited grin on her face as she leaned closer to Lincoln. "You admit it then~?"

Lincoln let out a sigh…and nodded his head. "Yes Star," Lincoln said with complete honesty in his voice. "I have a crush on Hekapoo. It's pretty obvious."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!" In an instant Star let out a high-pitched squeal that echoed throughout the woods and caused many nearby birds to fly away in fright. Lincoln didn't even flinch, he was completely used to stuff like that and Star was just one girl compared to ten. "Finally! It was painful watching you try and deny it!"

"What can I say," Lincoln shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets. "I'm stubborn sometimes."

"So when are you gonna ask her out~?" Star asked with a giant grin on her face. She's waited for this moment for so long! "If you need help planning a date I already thought of a few up."

"I….." Lincoln was hesitant to answer that question. "Don't know if that's a good idea."

And just like that they're back to square one. "Seriously?" Star groaned before giving Lincoln a disappointed frown and thumbs up. "Boo Lincoln! Boooo! What's even stopping you?"

"Well a few things actually," Lincoln stated in a manner of fact tone. "One, she had an important job and she can't ditch it to spend time with me. Second, she probably only sees me as a friend to mess with. And thirdly, she's probably met hundreds of guy's better than me."

Star gave Lincoln an unamused look. "First of all, she already ditches it to spend time with you." Star pointed out in the same manner as Lincoln. "Secondly, girls do that with guys they like, I did it with Tom when we were dating. And thirdly, of all guys in the entire multiverse she's choosing to spend time with YOU. Lincoln Loud!"

"…" Lincoln could only look down in response. All of that…wasn't exactly untrue.

Star then gave Lincoln a small smile as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, have a bit of confidence." Star told Lincoln before a smirk came to her face. "You're a great guy. I mean you scored a few ladies before~"

"…Dammit…" Lincoln let out a sigh. He knew what that meant. "What did Jackie tell you?"

"She told me that you kissed that Ronnie Anne girl twice," Star listed off the little tidbits about Lincoln's love life that Jackie told her about. "You scored multiple dates to a Sadie Hawkins dance once you little player, and you had a little thing going on with her for a while~"

"Thankfully that relationship didn't end in bad terms." Lincoln rubbed his heads as the memories of his past relationship with Jackie came back to him. "Gosh looking back at how I acted around her is kinda embarrassing."

"Hehehe, yeah she told me some of you stuff you did," Star said with a cheeky smile.

"…She didn't," Lincoln's expression became one of horrific embarrassment.

"Yep~" Star grinned and giggled a bit as she began listing off what Jackie told her. "Like yawning in the cinema just to wrap an arm around her~"

"Ugh…" Lincoln groaned out.

"Dressing like an 80's biker to look cool~"

"Please stop…"

"Aaaaaaand putting down some pick up lines~"

Ok that's enough of that. "Star I swear to Mewni if you don't stop…" He tried to threatened her but it was hard to intimidate someone when your face was burning red with embarrassment.

"Hehehehe~" Star giggled widely, greatly enjoying Lincoln's reactions and face. Lincoln let out a loud sigh in response as he sat down onto the snow ground. "Come on Lincoln, just ask her out. The worst that'll happen is a little awkwardness."

"Ok! Ok! Fine, I'll ask her." Lincoln finally gave him as he looked up at the princess who nodded in approval. "Just let me mentally prepare for it first."

"Alright fine," Star could accept that…on one condition. "But if you end up taking too long I'm gonna get involved."

"Sure, whatever," Lincoln rolled his eyes in response.

"I mean it~" Star leaned down towards Lincoln and playfully stuck her tongue out. "Or else I'll leak to the whole school how you tried to kiss Jackie and accidentally headbutted her~"

"…You wouldn't…" Just how much info did Jackie give that demonic princess?!

"Try me bunny boy~" Star clearly wasn't just playing the threat game. This was for real.

"Ok! I'll ask her out soon I promise!" Lincoln stood back up and lightly glared at Star who was only giving him a tiny shit eating grin. She was enjoying this way too much. "Look let's just finish this snowman alright?"

RUMBLE!

"…Hey do you feel that?" Star asked before a massive shadow cast down on them. Turning around they looked to see an utterly massive snowball approaching them. "Ooooh corn…"

"Hey Star! I'm here to help with your SnowMewman!" River called out from on top of the snowball as he rolled it his feet. But as he approached he suddenly began to lose balance. "W-W-Woah, oh dear, oh dear, oh-AH!" And just liked that River tripped and lost control of the massive ball of snow.

"…We should run." Lincoln said as the snowball quickly started to approach the two. Both Lincoln and Star quickly turned around and started to book it and get away from the snowball, but unfortunately they weren't fast enough and ended up getting engulfed by the large ball of snow.

"MMMMMMMMM!" Everyone's screamed were muffled as they continued to roll and roll and continued to gain speed and more snow.

After a couple of minutes the ball eventually came to a stop as it ran into a bunch of pine trees, losing all the speed and momentum it gained. Every was silent for a few moments until the giant snowball quickly began to melt. After a couple minutes all the snow melted with Lincoln successfully using his fire to free the three of them from their snow prison. Lincoln had a slightly annoyed expression on his face while Star had a frown. River had a rather sheepish expression on his face as he walked up to Star. "Um, s-sorry about that sweetie," River apologized for accidentally getting her and Lincoln ran over with his snowball he was making to try and help her making her SnowMewman. "I didn't mean to-"

"Dad!" Star suddenly snapped as she turned to her dad. River flinched as Star tried to get her anger under control. Taking a deep breath to try and calm, Star looked her dead in the eye with a bit of a glare. "Just…stop ok? Lincoln, come on. We better start over."

"Yeah, sure," Lincoln simply agreed with Star as he followed her.

Meanwhile River only watched his Star leave with a saddened expression.

Back at the campsite Albert was simply sitting in front of the campfire and just enjoying the sounds of nature. "Aaaaah…" Albert let out after taking a deep breath of that fresh winter air. Looking at his watch Albert checked the time before relaxing more into his seat. "Just one more hour." Albert then heard footsteps coming up to him and looked to see River approaching. "Hey there River! Where are the kids at?"

"Oh they're off building their snowperson together…" River told the elderly man with a down casted look as he sat down on a seat and put his hands up to the fire. If he's gonna feel sad he might as well be sad and warm instead of sad and cold. "Without me…"

"Hey…what's up River?" Albert asked the king with a kind smile. "You can tell me if something's bothering you, I won't judge at all,"

"…Well…I suppose it couldn't hurt," River agreed to talk about it. He's always heard that talking things out does help, so maybe that's true. Not like he has much else to do right now anyway. "It's just that…my baby girl doesn't need me anymore."

"Hm?" Albert rose a brow, gesturing River to continue.

"Star just doesn't need me anymore, I'm all washed up." River sighed at as he stared into the fire. "She made it clear today. She doesn't need me to help her catch fish, to give her piggy back sled rides, I can't even help her make a SnowMewman." River then slumped down in his seat with a sad expression on his face. "I suppose I'm just not the strapping young lad I used to be, I'm not fit to take care of my own daughter anymore…"

Albert was silent for a moment…before simply smiling as a chuckle escaped him. "Ah I know exactly what you're going through," Albert nodded at River, completely understanding what was going on with the king. After all it's happened to him and pretty much every dad on the planet with a teenage kid. "Guess it's about time you've reach this part of parenthood."

"Huh?" River looked at Albert with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"It's a time every father faces with their kids sooner or later," Albert explained as he leaned back in his seat and looked River in the eye. "Looks like it's your turn to face it now,"

"Even you went through it?" River asked the elderly man, causing Albert to let out a loud chuckle.

"Oooooh boy did I ever," Albert let out a fond sigh as the memories came back to him. "When my daughter Rita was becoming a teenager that was the hardest time for me. When she was a kid she pretty much wanted to do everything with me when I was home. Even signed us up for some father daughter classes, I swear if I didn't love my daughter so much I would have tried to start a war to avoid going to em,"

"Hahahaha," That got a good chuckle out of Lincoln. "I remember when my wife would make me and Star take ballroom dancing lessons, we would sneak away into the woods and have some real fun!"

"Hah! I remember when I taught her how to drive a tank!" Albert told River, causing both of them to laugh…and for River to wonder what a tank was. "But when she became a teenager everything changed. She was more interested in hanging out with her friends, in other hobbies, and boys then hanging out with her old man. Whenever I tried to come into her life she just got annoyed and told me I was being clingy. Heh, one time when I was picking her up from a boys I drove up to it in a tank to scare the bejeepers out of him. Worked a little too well…he moved about a week after that,"

"Oh my," River eyes widened a bit at that. But he could say the same. He remembered giving that demon boy Star used to date his signature death glare and scared the heck out of the lad. "How did your daughter take that?"

"Oooooooh she wasn't happy one bit," Albert explained as a sad smile came to his face as he remember how furious Rita was after Albert pulled that little stunt. "She didn't speak to me for two weeks and after that I decided to simply allow Rita to have the freedom she wanted and you know what…it worked out."

"Really?" River inquired.

"Yep, I let her grow and figure things out on her own," Albert explained to the king the most important thing about this part of his daughter's life. "When kids get older they need to be allowed to figure things out on their own. Grow, learn, make mistakes, face consequences. It's hard and they'll get hurt, but it'll prepare them for adult-hood."

"So…I'm supposed to just let Star go and do nothing…" River found himself frowning sadly again and looking down.

"No not all, you just need to be there for her." Albert told River, making the king raise his head again. "Help Star when she asks for it, or comfort her when she's sad. You're still her dad after all, and that's a job you'll always have no matter how old they get. You don't need to be in their lives 24/7, but just when they need you to be."

"…Yes, yes, I think I understand now," River nodded as he took in all of Albert's words. Now that he thought about it…that was the entire reason Star was sent to earth in the first place, other then to it being a safe place to practice her magic. But to let her live her life away from them and grow not only magically, but also as a person. "I guess it's just hard letting the little girl she once was go…"

"Believe me I know the feeling," Albert nodded in understanding. "But it'll be good for her, how about this. In a little less then an hour later me and Lincoln are gonna take you and Star to a special spot in this campground. Talk to her then,"

"I think I will," River stood up from his chair and puffed his chest out, feeling reinvigorated now after that little talk. "Thank you for the talk Albert, you're a good man!" Albert chuckled a bit at that and thanked River for the complicated. "Now if you excuse me…I smell that, that wolverine is back!"

"Good luck with him River!" Albert cheered River on as the king ran into the bushes.

ONE HOUR LATER

"Sooooooo…" Star began as she and her dad followed River and Lincoln through the woods as they lead them somewhere. All of them, except for River, were wearing snow shoes with Lincoln carrying a picnic baskets. "Where are we going~?"

"You'll see," Lincoln turned back to Star with a simple smile on his face. "But trust me, it's the best place in this entire park. Only me and pop-pop know about it,"

"So sacred ground then," River stated as he stroked his beard. "Are you sure it's ok for us to see it then?"

"Of course it is, wouldn't bring you along if it wasn't." Albert reassured the two mewmans with a grin on his face. Albert then looked to River and gestured his head to Star. "Go on,"

River nodded at Albert before clearing his throat and getting his daughter's attention. "Excuse me Star, could I talk to you for a second?" River asked his daughter, getting a brow raise from her.

"Uh, sure dad," Star nodded, wondering what her father wanted to discuss with her. "What's up?"

"Well sweetie I just wanted to say…I'm sorry for how I've been acting today," River apologized to Star, making her eyes widened a bit in surprise. "I know you just wanted to enjoy your camping trip with your friend and I ended up only getting in the way and messing things up,"

"Yeah I wanted to ask you about that actually," Star revealed as she crossed her arms and looked down at her dad. "What's up with you today anyway? You've been acting weird,"

River took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to say. "I suppose I just…miss the days when you were just a little girl on Mewni." River revealed making Star blink a few times in surprise. "I remember the days when I was taller than you and you were so young and wanted nothing more then to hang out with your old man and learns how to use weapons and survive in the wild. But then you got older and started hanging out with your friends instead of me and when you left the castle and started living on earth I, well…I missed you. And I started yearning for those days we spent together."

"…Aw daddy, I missed you too," Star leaned down to hug her dad with him immediately hugging back. "I missed you too. And I loved the time we spent together. It's not that I dislike hanging out with you it's just I rather do my own thing most of the time."

"I understand that know, and it's good that you're building a life of your own. I'm proud of you sweetheart," Star smiled brightly as her dads' words and hugged him tighter. After a few more moments they two separate and looked into each other's eyes. "And listen, if you ever need me for anything just give me a call."

"I will dad," Star nodded at her dad before putting a hand to the back of her head. "And hey I wouldn't mind getting to do stuff with you, just, give me a heads-up next time ok?"

"I will sweetheart," River put a hand to his heart. "Promise."

"Hey guys!" Lincoln called out to the two of them once they finished their talk. "Hurry up already! It's right over here!"

"We're coming Lincoln!" Star yelled back as she and River started to run after Lincoln and Albert to make to this mystery location. "So what's so special about this spo-Woooooooah…" As soon as Star and River caught up with the two white heads, they were utterly taken aback by what they saw. It was…beautiful. It seemed to be a small field of snow that was sparkling like diamonds. And coming out of the snow was a bunch of beautiful white flowers. And in the middle of it all was a large pine tree covered in the sparkling snow. "Wow…this is amazing…what is this place?"

"We named it winter's spring," Lincoln explained to Star as he set the picnic basket down. "When we go camping me and Albert make sure to visit this spot every year, it's the most important part of our camp outs. The flowers are called Snowdrops, unlike most flowers they can survive in the cold. And snow."

"How did you ever find this marvelous place?" River asked with amazement in his voice. No spot in Mewni came close to be as beautiful as this spot.

"We didn't." Albert said as he started setting up a spot for their picnic.

"Who did then?" Star asked with a curious look.

"My grandma did."

"Huh?" Star's eyes widened a bit after Lincoln spoke up. His grandmother…now that Star thought about it he's never really told her about his grandma before. He's mentioned Albert a few times to her but never his grandma. "Your grandma?"

"Yep, she found this place before I was born, then I started to join her and pop-pop for their yearly camping trips we always came her and had a picnic with her." Lincoln explained as he looked at the lone pine tree with a fond smile. "Her name was Grace, and she was the sweetest woman in the entire world."

"But wait you mentioned pop-pop dating someone named Myrtle." Star pointed out with a quiet tone. "So did you two get a divorce or…"

"No, no, I'm afraid she passed away." Albert revealed to the Mewmans, a sad smile on his face. "She died a few years ago, when Lincoln was about eight."

"I'm so sorry Albert," River said to Albert with a sympathetic tone. He couldn't' even image what it was like to go through that. "That's a real shame, it truly is,"

"Hey, it's ok really." Albert reassured the king as he looked to the pine tree. "I was grateful for the time I had with her, I've made peace with it. And hey, as long as I keep her close to my heart then she's never truly gone."

"Yeah, she's with us every single day, no matter what," Lincoln said before turning to Star and giving her a big grin. "Now come on, let's enjoy a little picnic."

"…Heh, yeah sure." Star giggled a bit and nodded. "Sounds goods."

THAT NIGHT

"Mmmmmm…" Star shifted a bit in her sleep, unable to get comfortable for some reason. She just found herself constantly tossing and turning and unable to relax. Upon opening her eyes she looked next to her to see Lincoln not in the tent with her. "Huh, did he have to pee or something?" Since she couldn't exactly get to sleep, Star got up to see yeah the Loud boy had gone. But that didn't too long as the second she left the tent she saw Lincoln on one of the chairs around the fire pit looking up at the full moon. "Oh hey Lincoln, couldn't sleep either huh?"

"No, not really," Lincoln told her while not turning his gaze away from the moon. "Kinda thought just starring at the sky would help or something."

"Yeah I getcha," Star nodded as she looked up at the moon as well. "Mind if I join you?"

"By all means," Lincoln smiled as he gestured to the chair next to her. Star gladly sat down at the two fourteen-year-olds simply looked up at the vast night sky. "Ya know today was a lot of fun. Your dad is pretty crazy."

"Hehehe, yeah," Star giggled before glancing at Lincoln a bit. "He always goes all out, whether it's camping or just being a dad. And your pop-pop's pretty cool too, gotta be the greatest grandpa in the world."

"Oh yeah he totally is," Lincoln happily admitted as he looked away from the moon and towards the princess. "We do all sorts of stuff together. You gotta come along for our next paintball game, believe me you haven't seen him in action until you see him playing paintball."

"Sounds like fun," Star grinned at Lincoln before looking down a bit in thought. She was a bit hesitant to ask this next question but she just had to know. "So…what was your grandma like? You mentioned she was sweet but…that was about it. You or pop-pop didn't mention anything else about her."

"Oh, sorry about that. Guess since you didn't really ask I didn't bring it up." Lincoln apologized before looking up at the moon. "Like I said she was absolutely sweet. She treated everyone with nothing but kindness and whenever there was a bug in the house she would release it outside so it wouldn't get hurt. She was more quiet then pop-pop but she was always there for emotional support and somehow always knew exactly what to say no matter what. Also if you think my dad's cooking is good, then you should have tried hers. She was like a God in the kitchen and she made the best Mac N Cheese in the entire world."

After Lincoln finished explaining his grandma, the boy suddenly felt tears coming to his eyes. "Heh…I'd give anything to have some of her cooking again…" Lincoln then noticed the concerned look Star was giving him and quickly wiped his tears away before they could fall. "O-Oh…um…sorry about that, don't know where that came from…"

Star gave Lincoln a sympathetic smile as she casted her eyes downward. "Well…it's cool that you know your grandma though." Lincoln's eyes widened and he felt his heart skip a beat as he looked to Star, seeing her grabbed her hair and begin to softly stroke it. "My grandma, Comet Butterfly, she died a long time before I was even born. My mom tried to tell me that I was sent to a grandma farm but…I learned what that really meant when I got older. I don't think she knows that I figured it out though…"

"Star…" Lincoln muttered as he stared at his sister.

"I don't know how she died. My mom doesn't like to talk about it, or her in general. I think it's still to emotional for her and…I haven't read her chapter yet." Star revealed as she lowered her head. "I don't know why just…whenever I end up on it I just…can't seem to work up the nerve to read through it or something. It's just weird. I hardly know anything about her. What she was like, what her own life was like…or even what she sounded like…"

Things were silent for a few moments until Star asked Lincoln a simple question. "You know…I've always wondered. Can you miss someone you've never even knew?" Star then felt a hollow chuckle leave her as she shook her head. "Heh, that's silly. I mean, of course you can't-"

Suddenly Star was cut off by Lincoln wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. He didn't say a single word. He only hugged Star close to him and supported her, allowing Star's eyes to build up tears as she silently released them and leaned into her brother.

And there you have it folks.

Bet none of you expected that ending huh? Well what can I say, I love Amphibia and I just had to use that scene from Hopping Mall in one of my stories and it fit in nicely with this one. I already knew I wanted to use Albert in this chapter and in canon Lincoln's grandmother was never really mentioned so I thought this would be a nice way to sort do my own version.

I took inspiration from my own Grandma Grace, she was the sweetest woman ever. Me and her even shared a birthday and ever since she passed away I always visit her grave on my birthday.

So I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and make sure to favorite, follow, leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter...

"By the Book"