Siege of Hearts

by D4rK Sid3

It all began with an innocent look that soared the sporty girl and the man with the plan down a path not meant for them to take together, searing their hearts under siege. LynnColn

5. Peak Into the Future

A/N: So sorry for taking so long for this chapter to arrive, but with the holidays and work, I barely had time to sit down on the computer and write. I was saving my ideas, occasionally plastering it on paper to not forget. I am so glad I have so many views, subs and reviews. I hope you guys had an amazing Christmas and enjoy the rest of the remaining of this year! On with the fic.

Summary: It all began with an innocent look that soared the sporty girl and the man with the plan down a path not meant for them to take together, searing their hearts under siege. LynnColn

-Disclaimer: The Loud House belongs to Nickelodeon and I do not make any money writing this fic.

A Siege of Hearts

Chapter 4

Peak Into the Future.

Lynn was the very first to open her eyes, blinking in and out of focus, pressed against the rock, she felt a warm weight on her lap, convoking her gaze to look down, her face breaking into a tired smile as she did. Lincoln was lying on her lap, a trail of drool had fallen down his chin in his stupor, her sudden movement made his eyes to squint letting out a tired groan, his body suddenly moving to the side, a little too far into her thighs for comfort, yet she didn't complain. Her fingers automatically went to his scalp tracing his snow colored locks between her calloused fingers as his face broke into a small smile. She stayed there for more minutes, just watching around her and occasionally tracing Linc's face with her thumbs enjoying the warmth that radiated from him. But eventually they needed to get going; looking at her watch, she shrugged at the three hours they had napped on the cold dirt. The day had finally broken into a delicious breeze that was comforting and refreshing without a chill to accompany it, the sun feeling great on her skin and the mud had served as a fresh cold bed.

She heard a grunt as his eyes started to stir, his eyes opening and closing, easing his sleepiness with the swift move of his eyelids. He looked up and there she was. Both teens locked eyes.

"Hey you" Lynn was the first to break silence after a few seconds of staring, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, amusingly lifting an eyebrow at her younger brother.

"Hey" Lincoln couldn't avoid his sappy tone returning the smile, sighing with bliss. Her fingers continued trekking through his locks and he never wanted the moment to end, smiling widely. This had been perhaps their affectionate moment, well maybe an improved one from the other two last year, when brother and sister comforted each other in the best way they knew how. Last year had been a terrible moment for both of them though it had been for reasons that still Lincoln didn't know the real reason behind it.

Lynn by the vast majority of the year had changed out of nowhere. A few months before the dancing ball, his sister had been down and snappier than her usual self. The sister meetings came and went as far as Lincoln was concerned, Lynn only got out of them angrier than ever or just refused to go along with them using whatever excuse she might have at hand or lashing out violently. When she couldn't think of anything else, she usually dragged him by the back of his shirt to another session of painful exercise that left him feeling like his body spine had hopped into a cap and hauled ass. Eventually Leni for some odd reason was eyeing him suspiciously, having the most serious expression on her face that he had ever seen, but every time he asked about she dismissed his concerns making a comment how she was staring at his terrible sense of fashion and how she should design him something new. Ever stranger is that her eyebrows seemed to crunch into a furious expression when either he was with Lynn or she, once more, dragged him for another session of Lincoln goes ouch.

The moment of the dance passed and after, for the first time in seven years they cuddled. She had kissed his cheek, lingering in his warmth, thanking him for a night to remember, sleeping soundly to the next day; things went back to normal after that to the relief of everyone, he never found out what had been the real reason but now it hardly mattered. He could envision that since that day, his feelings were cemented. Naturally, he pushed them down, finding them disgusting and confusing, but now as he gazed once more into her warmth dove eyes he could hardly care, accepting it; he would deal with it later. Relaxed he stood up cracking his back as he went gazing at his clothes.

He shook his head once more. "How long was I out?"

"About three hours. Our clothes should be ready" She broke into a playful smirk. "Unless you want to go around on your birthday suit, General Buttnaked"

Both snickered making their way to the boulder. Through touch it wasn't that bad, like accidently dropping a glass of water all over yourself. Still, they smelled funky and muddy, better than going around almost naked anyway. Both turned around fighting with a hidden desire to peek at the forbidden attraction at their sibling, with shaky hands they finally got dressed successfully keeping their secret under wraps from each other. The teens went to their bikes, mounting them.

"Let me go ahead, it has been quite a while since I've been here"

Lincoln blinked. "You told me that you never had"

The sporty girl smirked in turn. "I never said that, I told you about the trail"

He groaned; take it to Lynn to trick him, again. He watched her go, this time unable to resist the temptation, once more staring at her bouncing butt cheeks atop of her bike, growling at himself to going along with his attraction at his sister until she disappeared from view. She returned ten minutes later with a smile on her face.

"It's dry all ahead Linc, gagghhh! After all this, I could eat a bull"

His stomach silently agreed with that idea; that power nap had left him hungry. Both sat down once more on the dry ground, this time fully clothed pulling their still wet backpacks open. Since everything was sealed tight, the food and drink wasn't spoiled. In complete Lynn fashion, she pulled half a meat ball sub wrapped in Ziploc and bit into it with a groan full of appreciation. He soundlessly ate his granola bar, his PJ sandwich with cheese and some water, just observing the horizon, occasionally stealing looks at his sister as she voluptuously devoured that sandwich and went to seconds eating some jerky, washing it down with water. She burped into the air, long and vulgar to his complete displeasure, patting at her stomach satisfyingly full.

"Mmmmm that hit the spot"

"God, do you have to be so gross?" Lincoln cringed with an expression of annoyance. "I swear if we weren't outside you'll b-" His words died in the back of his throat as he let out a fart, blinking in confusion.

Lynn busted out of laughter holding her stomach for dear life and keep her meal down.

"Geez, when the weather man said that today there would be a nice breeze, he didn't say anything with a chance of flatulence"

His cheeks exploded with red, embarrassed in front of his sister and crush, turning around so she wouldn't be able to stare at him. Ok, so maybe mixing cheese, Pj and topping it off by eating a trail bar was not the best idea that he got but he was desperate to find whatever in the morning.

"Oh simmer down sissy. It was just a fart, a tiny fart; I better show how it's done!" She said assuming a squat position.

"No, no please, don't! Don't do it!"

His sporty sister broke down into laughter once more and this time he couldn't avoid laughing with her. After that silly situation, both hoofed down the trail without any incident. It was…fun, the mud had dried up as the day flipped to midday and without another division of the river being in their way, it was pretty easy to traverse their bikes through the ground. With that nice meal he didn't mind the difficult parts of the terrain, easily pedaling his way uphill through the mile and a half, his cow lick flickering in the wind and he felt…free. No wonder why Lynn did this so often, it was just him, his sister and the wind in peaceful harmony. Perhaps this is what his mom was talking about in the morning; gladly if it was over 100 degrees he would rather shoot himself in the foot, but in that little corner of Michigan, it felt nice.

Half a mile later, they stopped to drink water and refresh, gasping at how good it felt. Lincoln for the first time thought that Lynn drinking water was somewhat…erotic; especially those droplets that thankfully slipped on her skin, watching them disappear into her shirt. He shuddered with envy, how he wished he was one of those droplets. He managed to refresh himself with no further incident, covering his half-mast with the water bottle and mounting his bike going up the trail before his sister to pass up the excitement without suspecting anything, Lynn had the same urges, looking how his tight ass contracted every time he pedaled up hill, building a chill down her spine and suddenly, her clothes felt wet again, but just downstairs.

She knew of a way to get this hornyness out of her system besides jacking off furiously and that was perhaps show him the real reason behind this trip besides the delicious breeze.

"Hey Linc!" She called, catching with him easily without an ounce of exhaustion. He looked over his shoulder with envy until she was standing next to him.

He wiped a trail of sweat off his face with the back of his hand.

"Wanna take another detour?"

He lifted an eyebrow.

"Did you manage to build an even more extreme trail, with crocodiles, jumping arcs of fire and a pool of acid with sharks in it?" He asked sarcastically.

She grinned at the ridiculous of it. "Nope, something better…I'll show you something that I have never showed anyone before, something special to me" She cradled her chest on her hands, on her heart.

Lincoln's heart suddenly accelerated to dangerous levels, trembling from toe to head, barely managing to stay afoot on the bike. She…she couldn't mean? No, no…it was ridiculous. Of course she didn't mean that.

"Follow me" She said pedaling without waiting for him. Going off his stupor, he did, this time too focused on mulling her words to take a peek at her butt. The trail they were currently in went into a circle around the bridge; it wasn't really that big, just five miles around it. Though it took over another road adjacent to the railroad museum, divided from the camping spot, instead, it ran along the face of the mountain, going uphill all the way to what was humanly possible in their bikes. They were forced to abandon them when it became impossible to traverse through the rocky terrain, tying them to a pair of trees with chains, continuing on foot. The view was more breath taking the more they continued he thought as he turned around for a few seconds, watching as the bridge became smaller through every step he had taken so far. At the distance, the farm went as far as his eye could see, the sun reflecting on the ground with hues of brown and orange.

Lynn rested for a second against a tree, trying to find her bearings.

"It's, just up ahead" She yelled, now feeling the strain of exhaustion creeping in her bones, whipping her water bottle and taking a greedy gulp from it. Lincoln blinked at the display…uh, so she was human and not a sexy cyborg, she could get tired. He repeated her motions, drinking from his water bottle. At this distance, they had been probably going uphill steadily for a mile. His feet ached, the shoes he was wearing were not really designed for the grueling hike but he didn't dare to display any weakness in front of her, he would deal with the pain later. He stood up from his resting spot, proud and ready to go on. His sister smirked at him, pride in her eyes. It elated him to keep going forward for her and for himself, feeling as he was rejuvenated through her. Both teens continued for a quarter mile until the dirt road just ended up in a flat clearing. He couldn't his near collapse, throwing his backpack to ease the pain in his knees, though he straightened up as soon as Lynn came to view, looking around the grassy space…that's it? She dragged him over just to see stupid grass.

When she gazed at him, she tilted her chin confusedly. "Watcha standing on your ass for? It's over there!" She pointed at what seemed to be the edge of the clearing. Arming whatever energies remained, he did as she asked and man, he was glad he did.

…it was beautiful.

The entire city of Royal Woods could be seen from there. His eyes could see the tiny moving dots of cars traversing the roads through the city and the different highways that surrounded the city. To the East he could see a forest region that housed another park with a lake, and the big body of water that was the division between United States and Canada, getting lost in the view, he doesn't realizes that Lynn is observing him rather than the spot she had stood over many times in her life time, trying to read him; through the wonder reflecting on her eyes and how his mouth hangs open, this would be a perfect time to…to tell him. C'mon, you can do this…just like she practiced dozens of times. Tell him that his hair looks like sculpted by the Greeks themselves, tell him how his tender blue eyes turn her to jelly, tell him how he makes her heart to sing. This was her chance Lynn! Don't puss out!

She sighed trying to gather her courage but as his eyes looked with hers, she panics immediately, a horrified chill running through her spine. She is…scared.

"This is beautiful Lynn, I never would have thought you would know something like this" He smiles looking eyes with her before tilting his face. "Something you wanted to say?" He eyes his sister with her mouth hanging open, tracing the green clearing with a foot, strangely fidgeting with her hands, rubbing them together.

"Uh…nothing" You fucking pussy…

There is at least peace in here. Nothing to bother her besides her internal battle at herself for being such a coward. To her growing concern, a tear almost slipped down her cheek, but she angrily wipes it off making an excuse that a piece from a leaf got into her eye. Lincoln eventually got a blanket off his backpack, lying on it comfortably pulling water and the rest of his food out of it, patting his side for her to join him. After another debate against herself, she did, pulling her food out. They ate in silence, occasionally their eyes flickering to each other. But this felt different; there was an intimacy that felt alien to Lincoln in that moment. A certain tension that he had noticed growing the further they went up the hill and now, even in the open air, he could almost see it growing to an uncomfortable level.

"Lynn, if you wanted to say whatever was in your mind, you can just say it now" He gazed on her, his eyes widening as she flinched as if she had been punched. It was a rare prospect that he managed to stump Lynn in this way and he wondered what in the hell had happened. Naturally, the day had started weeeird, awkward and terror filling for the growing boy, they were at each other's throats today, almost fist fighting. Then it was all fun and games, a challenge, an unforeseen bath with nature, a burst of emotion from both of them and then a nice comfortable nap followed by their trail all the way up here and now…she was, what was the word. Twitchy? Embarrassed? Even ashamed? He couldn't believe it. She was Lynn for Pete's sake. The self-proclaimed too tough for life Lynn, his sister, his protector and the strongest person he knew. Whatever was bothering her was big and he swallowed his internal turmoil fighting against his own feelings, instead pulling out the brother in him to be deeply concerned about what could be bothering her.

"It's nothing Linc" She said with a bit of a snark, biting whatever remained of her sandwich in two quick bites. "Just thinking of life ya know? Where do we all go from here" She sighed.

He tried to follow her. "What do you mean?"

"Ya know, the future. I am 14 years old and I don't know what to do with my life"

Lincoln lifted an eyebrow. "Duh…sports!"

"That's it? You think I am not capable of doing something else with my life?"

The white haired boy blinked. For as long as he had memory of anything, Lynn had challenged life itself. Whatever obstacle was there, she was there to hoof around it then kick its ass to submission. If it wasn't for the sexist rules of the school, she would be kicking ass on football. She was Miss Challenge, Miss Win-It-All. At her adult age, there wouldn't be a trophy, prize or medal that didn't have her name and won multiple times, and here she was, doubting it?

"Lynn…you're a sportsgirl and the most talented that this city has seen in a long time"

His words did brought a smile out of her, then it died as she cheated the true meaning of their trip here. Though her doubts were completely true, her future wasn't written in stone, regardless if it was contrary to her own nature, Lynn was putting some serious thought on that question.

"But I want to be something else. It was like, everyone is expecting this out of me and while I can make it happen without a doubt…I don't know if I'm cut for that kind of world"

Her brother extended a hand and put her on her forehead making her blush.

"Hey cut it out" She lapped his hand away half heartily.

"You don't have a delirious fever, but let me ask you something."

"Hmmm?"

"Are you nuts?" He threw his arms up dramatically.

She got mad immediately pushing him away. It was just like in the morning, only this time, she breathed in and out, lifting him back on the picnic blanker roughly by the edge of his shirt. He swear he heard a crack.

"Look" He placated her. "I am just…confused. Sports are your life. You got more balls than anyone in the entire block"

She snickered, her good mood restored. "I don't doubt that".

He blinked for a few seconds, then it hit him, he sighed. Take it to Lynn to put his masculinity in doubt.

"All I am saying is that, sports are your life. You got tons of sports equipment, you practice at least every sport recorded in history and you still make your own around the house! Everything can be a sport in your eyes and I've seen you beat guys thrice your size and you, Lynn Loud Jr, is doubting herself if she could be part of that world? Lynn, let me be honored to say, that you would make a bitch out of that kind of world" He crossed his arms staring at her with a wide smirk.

Goddamn…Take it to Lincoln one more time to made her fall over heels for him. Her eyes watered immediately and she was forced to look away.

"Lynn…are you crying?"

She blinked. She was…she was crying like a little bitch. Lynn felt stupid and increasingly so as his hand made contact with her shoulders, in a brotherly effort to comfort her, though SHE WISHED it wasn't in a brotherly way. She hiccupped, this time silent tears falling down her cheeks at the soul wrenching pain. Lynn would have never anyone to see her like this, especially the most important person in her life and now she could realize that the hidden crush had turned into something else, something more profound.

Love.

No, no, no. She couldn't handle that.

"I am not crying!" She pushed him again but he didn't let her to get separated from her.

"Lynn…"

"I said I am not!" She threw a bottle of water that he barely managed to elude tilting his head to the other side, the bottle falling down the mountain. He hugged her tightly, ignoring the punches that impacted his back, wincing in pain, yet the need to comfort her was worth the suffering. Eventually the hits stopped, squeezing his shirt through her fingers, burying her head on his shoulder.

Now the tables had turned, now he was comforting her…for the second part of the day. Brother and sister laid in each other arms and the feelings she was convening at that time were all but sisterly, her fingers tracing down his firm back.

"Of all the gentle souls, you have to pick a big an ugly ogre like me"

He chuckled. "Are you taking notes from Luan?" He laughed. "You're probably a better comedian with all these jokes you've been slipping today"

Lincoln was looking at her confusedly, which made her break into a sweat. She was pushing the boundaries between brother and sister, pushing to see how further she could take this before he realized that she was bluffing, hard. Lynn knew exactly who she was and there was no doubt of how she felt about herself. However, her feelings had evoked into something beyond forbidden, beyond the love that is supposed to be felt by her kin to Lincoln and that…scared her, enough to make her cry openly. She hated feeling so weak about her brother and perhaps maybe, this would be a way to retaliate against those feelings and let him realize how much he meant to her. She was ready to face whatever he expressed, strong enough to take the pain if he rejected her. One more time, her impulsivity won over, not thinking that if he ever spilled the beans the family would disown her.

"I am serious" She stabbed him with an angry look. "I'm hideous, just because you're my brother doesn't means you cannot have an ounce of honesty in you and just admit that I look like a bean bag with a pony tail"

Lincoln blinked again, this time pushing her playfully. "You'll do just fine in standup comedy" He made a pause. "There is one thing I forgot to add Lynn" He began, tilting his head so he could look at her properly. "You worked so hard for your body, I feel like a sack of bones compared to you. You got curves like a highway, eyes of a tigress, deadly, fierce and proud and when I look at you, it's like I looked at myself, how I would like to be. And not just muscles but right here" He pointed at her heart. "You hide who you are, but you are a very caring and sweet inside. You are so fierce and have a willpower made of steel; whatever you put your mind to, you get it done. Every guy wants a girl like you, who wouldn't?"

Now she was the deer between the headlights, too shocked to even comprehend what he had just admitted to. Did he meant, any girl or…he was about speaking about…her?

One second they were both still, both dealing on their own terms with what was said, Lincoln sweating bullets and wanting to disappear from the face of the Earth and Lynn still in disbelief to what he had just hinted to. Then the world must had tilted on its axis because per every second that passed their faces had started to come closer. Lincoln couldn't have stopped even if there was a wall in front of him. He had stopped freaking out and internally and just went with it, his eyes tracing every contour of her face, her lips, her blue eyes shining with warmth and comfort. His hand slowly made a trek from the grass it had been ripping off the ground towards her folded legs, his fingers going up and seizing her hand into his own.

His lips were so close to hers that she could feel his warmth breathe on her lips, feeling his accelerated pulse through their unified hands.

Oh.

My.

God.

This…this was really happening.

She panicked again, thinking it would be nothing more than a brotherly peck on the cheek and she was overanalyzing things, just like her brother.

Lincoln would have known the taste of her lips at that moment if it wasn't from a sudden animalistic screech that swooned through the middle of their foreheads. They both screamed falling on their butts and getting to their feet as fast as they could, the ability to breath stolen momentarily. Their eyes gazed upon a massive brown eagle crying into the day, perched at a pine tree holding half a squirrel to feed her young, tiny squeaks resounding from their nest at the top of the pine tree. Both teens sighed, either in annoyance or because they couldn't discover what could have been if they had went for it. Obviously neither did know what they really felt, for both of them it was thought that their counterpart was just being a comforting sibling to each other.

How far from the truth it was.

With the moment ruined, Lynn started gathering the things from her picnic into the basket and Lincoln joined in silence, each sulking on their own manner. The day was far from over though and it was not going to ruin their fun; with a last look at the beautiful horizon, they decided to make their way down to get with the rest of the hike, going back to their chained bicycles, this time slowly making their way downhill, avoiding steep rises on the ground and the roots that would made them victims of gravity with the wrong step. Already on the ground, the teens traversed their way back to the main route, pedaling uphill through the path that took them to the end of the bridge and to the train museum that had been erected by the original settlers almost a century ago. The entrance fee was a complete rip-off, at three bucks a piece and just through Lynn's insistence he went on with it. There wasn't really much to see really, while Lincoln though that trains were cool, the museum tour didn't really interested him in a bit and the sentiment was shared by his sister, he'd wager that if this would continue, he would sneak into one of those old locomotives to catch some extra shut eye with Lynn.

However the guide finally managed to get to the sweet c and started talking about ghosts, a part that honestly interested Lynn for the scary part of the tour, with this being her first time in the museum or any company whatsoever in the park.

"On this same locomotive". The tour guide, a man with brunette hair and glasses, pointed at the old iron machine. "The engineer went insane and drove its passengers off tracks, tumbling down the bridge in tragedy, fifty people died that day…however, the very same locomotive was used ten years ago. The infamous number 2295 stopped down the tracks, in the middle of the bridge due one of the deadliest blizzard that this country has ever seen. With not enough heat to proper the locomotive forward and the cold snapping the rails overhead, the passengers froze to death while some others made an effort to survive, very few made it. It is said that at night, if you put your ear to the rails, you might hear the 2295 whistle blowing in the distance and the distorted screams of the dead, condemned to roam the blizzard for shelter for all eternity".

By now Lincoln and Lynn had been listening on with deep interest, though they could value it as part of the cultural appreciation of their state and if there was something they liked, it was a good scary story that would make your skin to crawl. From what Lincoln had seen on this decade, the movies had started to shift to slasher films passed as 'horror' and so many had taken off in the 90s, there wasn't anything better than getting scared shitless, with your eyes glued to the screen and jumping at a terrifying scene, it made him feel…alive. The siblings hung around the old train station for some more time, pointing out the possible ghosts would linger and scaring each other at any time one of them turned their backs. It always sent a pleasurable chill down her back when Lincoln would take her by the hips or put his firm hands on her shoulders, though the little bastard knew how to scare her, she had to give him that. Eventually they both grew bored and they decided to visit the restaurant attached to the museum, a place called Last Stop, a fitting name.

Silently thanking their mother, they both two double stack hamburgers and a large glass of soda. They made time talking about the visit to the museum and how much Lincoln had enjoyed this hike, surprisingly, once more, his mother was completely right. This was better than being stuck all day playing video games until his eyes bled through the TV screen. Once more, Lynn had improved a part of him, surprising him with things he didn't even knew he enjoyed! He wondered what other things she would make him discover…and then his thoughts went back to sexual frustration, wondering what type of things they could discover together. Shaking his head, he thought a long sip of his soda, savagely tearing into his hamburger to pass the frustration.

"Woah, settle down king of the jungle or you'll choke to death. I ain't heimliching your sorry skinny ass, I'm gonna kick you in the stomach till you puke a lung"

And suddenly he was choking with laughter drinking another sip of soda to pass the offending piece of hamburger, still laughing. The overflow of the overflow of fizz made him burp loudly, slapping his hands on his mouth embarrassed beyond relief. His sister immediately cracked at it.

"This is seriously, the second time. Are you trying to get into a competition with me here? You should know, I am the king of the burp"

Lincoln chuckled. "Self-proclaimed queen? If I had more soda I would rap 'Ice, Ice Baby' without pause"

"Oh you gonna drop me some sick burp rhymes?"

They both snickered teased ach other for the half an hour they were at the restaurant. After paying they left, sitting on a bench at the edge of the bridge, their eyes observing the mountain, each lost with could have been at the top of it. With just two hours to spare for their mom's deadline, they just decided to relax after such a grueling hike, and even Lynn, with her untold level of energy gave to the exhaustion, the weight of the meal simplifying the fact that she wouldn't go anywhere else for at least another hour. Lincoln offered to buy some ice cream sold at a stand at the right side of the museum, watching him go, Lynn placed her chin on her legs, observing him completely enamored with her brother.

"Lynn?"

A boy voice called her name making her snap her left to gaze upon the new comer. Her eyes widened.

It was Francisco, her ex crush and part of the baseball team. He was nursing an ice cream and looking at her oddly.

"Hey Lynn"

"Oh, hey" She forced a smile her heart racing a hundred miles per hour a second, but for the wrong reasons. Suddenly she felt exposed and pressed against a wall, she only had to relax. After all, it was extremely normal for siblings to hang out, she only wished for him not to see how chummy he was with her brother…it was somewhat personal and nobody should see it; the way she behaved was for him and him only. For the rest of the world, she was Lynn Fucking Loud, a walking hurricane of destruction, pain and defeat.

"I thought you would be at practice today" He threw her an embarrassed smile that used to make her go crazy back in the day. It reminded him of Lincoln…wait, Lincoln! Where was he? Her eyes looked around but she didn't see him on the ice cream stand. Really, there were just like two people around it, where the hell was her brother? What she didn't knew was that Lincoln had seen the other guy approaching her and he was immediately hit with a feeling of inferiority and awkwardness. He knew exactly who he was, after all, living with so many girls at the same time, it was impossible not to hear about their current crushes or their girlie reunions to talk about who their hearts sang to. Lynn opened up after being pressed for nearly an hour, cracking under the pressure of Leni's famous tickle attacks and word got to him. Francisco was in better shop than he was and a matter of fact he was noticed by girls around their school. Sure, the guy was easy going and from the short amount of times he had met the guy in Lynn's practice, he was as friendly as they came. But he wasn't ready to get his heart destroyed, specifically due his taboo feelings for his own sister…it was beyond fucked up.

So like a coward, he hid.

The ice cream that he got was currently melting in his hands, dripping on his skin and on the ground but he didn't care…was this, jealously? He never had gotten it from anyone else other than family, so when a voice called for him, he screeched dropping the ice cream on the air putting his hands on the air. The creamy substance flew through the air and almost fell on the girl who had called for him.

"Woah, the hell Loud?" The girl screeched giving him an eyeful with an odd smile on her face.

"Polly?" The sporty girl made a face, twirling around the puddle with her roller blades of what used to be crunchy rocky road and vanilla ice cream with chocolate shavings. He recognized her from Lynn's team practice; he was a girl just like Lynn. Both had athletic builds, excellent grades and were both to be prone to violence if you messed with them. They both loved roughhousing, were completely open minded to the point of being blunt about what they liked, highly energetic and a sports fanatic. He did kind of still felt about the move he pulled on the dance when he was avoiding Ronnie for being a spineless dumbass last year, though he wished he still remembered the good time they had back then. He saw her occasionally at school, waving at each other and sometimes even talking about silly things after Lynn's practice, getting weary of getting a spin in her infamous roller skate skills.

Other than that, he had seen her hanging around with Lynn after practice, just talking and relaxing. He was entirely unsure of their relationship, being teammates and all, but Lynn really lacked any good friends, or a better observation was that she lacked any.

But that was a subject for another time.

"Hey ya big nerd. What brings you over here?" The brunette asked crossing her arms and tilting her head expectantly, eyeing him from head to bottom. He knew that she had a crush on him since last year, but he wanted to avoid any miscommunication, he was her with Lynn…and Lynn was perhaps now flirting with that other guy. He sighed internally faking a smile.

"Oh, hey Polly. I was just here with my sister, Lynn. We went hiking in the trails and up the mountain for a while. I thought you would be on soccer practice".

The girl rolled her eyes. "I would have if she hadn't ditched on us. The team kinda was down and the practice was just sluggish as hell. The coach was pissed"

For a moment Lincoln felt bad that her sister had given something she loved to death for him but as he thought about today's moments, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Well, it was my birthday yesterday and her idea to bring me to this place. And well, you know her. She loves sports to death, so it was nice of her, I think" Lovely way to antagonize her you idiot! He angrily insulted himself as he looked how the brunette was taking the news.

The brunette processed this, smacking her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

"Ohhh so you're the reason why this all started uh? Maybe I should demonstrate the upgrades to the 'helicopter'? Could be fun! You'll puke your guts out for a hundred feet" She cracked her fingers wiggling them in a grabbing motion.

He held his hands defensively. "Uh…I'll pass; I like them exactly where they are"

"Meh, you aren't fun. Well? Where do you guys went?"

"We started off at the bridge, but we quickly got bored and we took a detour on the under hike, it was just so muddy and gross but on Lynn's insistence I was forced to pedal through"

The brunette laughter ran freely imagining a screaming Lynn forcing Lincoln to pedal faster. She took off her helmet freeing her brown hair divided in two pigtails.

While they both talked, Lynn was forced to deal with Francisco, as he asked with surprise why she was here. He wasn't a bad guy per-se, he wasn't bad on the eyes and he was started to get some musculature accented by the jersey he was wearing a little on the tight side and her sisters had went nuts recommended her to date him, Leni went as far as to make her three outfits and even Lisa was squawking like an excited toddler; those were odd times. His smile used to make her wild, but that passed when her conflicted feelings eventually figure it out why she liked him. He was exactly like Lincoln. The reason why she walked away from the attention she was giving him back then because she was terrified to admit to herself that she liked…and now loved Lincoln, far more than a sister is supposed to love a brother.

"Well, it was his birthday yesterday and I promised him I was gonna drag his butt all the way up the mountain. He came here as a tough cookie and left like a man!" She exclaimed with a pride expression.

The boy was extremely amused, snorting with laughter.

"Well, heh, if it serves as any consolation to him, tell him I said happy birthday to him. Well Lynn, it was cool to catch with you but I am off to find my girlfriend"

She was about to say to him to him, but as her eyes gazed to his right, her smile felt automatically.

Her brother, the boy she liked and loved, was talking to another girl, but not any girl, but Polly Pain. Perhaps the only person who she talked to in school, they weren't friends but suddenly, her mood turned into a storm of fury and she saw nothing but a rival trying to steal him from her.

"Woah, are you, uh, okay Lynn?" The boy asked but she ignored him marching straight to the pair with Francisco looking at her oddly.

Lincoln and Polly were amid making conversation so neither saw the incoming hurricane of fire heading their way.

"It was good to see you Polly, hope we can catch up around the rest of the summer, but I promised Lynn some ice cream, and well…"

She snorted. "I almost saw it all over my shoes, did I scared ya that much?"

Lincoln nodded, the truth was that his moment with Lynn was extremely private and the discovery of his attraction to his own sister made him even more conscious about anybody who knew him.

"You just scared me" The boy reassured her with a nervous twitch of his lips. "Truth is, it's a first for me. I fell behind and Lynn got mad, ya know how she is.

The brunette hummed in response once more chuckling imagining it. She was about to speak when she was shoved and roughly turned around making her throw her helmet to the ground by the rough motion, her eyes widening in response. The white haired boy didn't ever saw her coming!

Lynn eyes were pooled with icy fury and barely restrained force gripping the shoulders of Polly as she struggled to free herself.

"Hey butch" She teasingly said being used to rough house with Lynn all the time, but this felt different than the other times, never had she seen her so mad in her life and she supposed that she was the one to set her off. All this, over a cone of ice cream? The other sporty girl forced a smile.

"Hey yourself roller bitch. Watcha keeping my brother'ere for eh? He was getting me some ice cream" She said eyeing the gooey mess that used to be two cones of ice cream, waffle pieces everywhere; the sight of it left her more than enraged at Lincy's offering stepped on by the brunette and things couldn't just stay that way.

"Well I just said hi and he tripped all over himself and threw the ice cream. Though knowing him as clumsy feet it wasn't really surprising"

Electricity seemed to pop out of both girls' eyes, crashing with an intensity that scared Lincoln to death, feeling the tension cracking in the air. The sporty girls almost never crashed, it was sometimes due a failed shot or failed strategy to win a game, though with their skill it almost never happened, but when it did, it was nasty business. A tanned hand suddenly went between the girls forcing them to separate. The taller Hispanic had went in between their spat.

"I leave you for five minutes alone and you're starting a fight Polly?"

His assertiveness must had knocked some sense into her, because she backed down immediately crossing her arms.

"Whatever you say, boy toy"

The term brought both siblings eyes to widen.

"Did you just…said boy toy?" Lynn lifted an eyebrow at the sudden development.

"What about it?" Polly asked her, her mouth opening in an angry display of teeth.

Francisco put a hand on her shoulder, placating her to keep her distance, throwing the siblings an easy going smile.

"We are dating" He confirmed, placing his hand around her hips which she knocked aside before he put it up again and this time she didn't resist, looking aside and to the siblings once more, pouting and crossing her arms.

Lynn was surprised but not against the idea. After all, Francisco is deemed to be quite a catch between girls and was one of the most handsome boys in school, that they both were part of the multiple school teams was the cherry on the cake; they would be able to see each other often, as much as class. While that thought stirred in her head, she really felt happy for Polly. She wasn't a bad girl and she had enough patience to tolerate talking to her, perhaps the only one that could stand her besides her family. Lincoln…was a different story altogether and today had been so far the best day in her life, thanks to him, she felt cherished, loved and accepted. She liked to think that after that moment on the top of the mountain, they were about to kiss, or was that wishful thinking on her part? Though maybe he felt the same way as she did, after all, they were the closest of the family, it would sort of make sense for him to be attracted to her, or at least think of her that way being still not fully accepting the attraction he felt for her…and perhaps he would be needing some guidance to deal with it or act on it…and she wouldn't like her brother to get lost in that limbo right?

The tension on the air disappeared almost immediately with Francisco's intervention; Lincoln felt immediate relief and silently thanked the boy

"That's good" Lynn nodded her head. "Not a bad catch Francisco" She punched his shoulder like old times, the boy smiled rubbing at the offensive spot while the other sporty girl stabbed her with a look of hatred which she received with a proud smirk, glad to get under her skin. She didn't noticed Lincoln giving her an odd look, as if looking for an explanation why she was acting that way…they always seemed so friendly and so were their spats, always related to sports, never anything else.

The Hispanic boy smiled. "Well we're off. It was good to see you two but we're starving. C'mon Polly Oh…and happy birthday Lincoln" He politely said.

"Thanks" Smiled Lincoln as the couple waved away half-heartily.

The sporty girl popped her back with a lazy smile on her face.

"Well, that was fun. Not surprised that they're dating"

Lincoln tilted his head. "I thought you used to like Francisco"

"Nah! Not anymore, my interest shifted somewhere else" She said as she eyed the retiring couple and keeping her prize secured, though after she realized that she revealed far too much to comfort as Lincoln stepped on her eyesight with a panicky look on his face.

"Some-someone I know?"

Lynn smiled mysteriously. "Maybe you do Linc, maybe you do" She started to look away not noticing the infuriated look that her brother had as he balled his hands into fists, shaking from rage in acidic jealously.

The day passed without incident, both siblings sitting on a bench to talk to pass the episode with the couple. But as the sun started to dip over the horizon and with an hour to spare, they decided to come home earlier than the curfew set by their mom. The ride was silent, each lost into their thoughts as the whirl of emotions that they experienced today came at full force. They felt desire, lust, love, attraction, agony, fear, acceptance, disappointment and so many others in an emotion tornado that set to drive them off the edge and the feelings intensified as they arrived home and immediately took a shower and wash the grime off the hike from their bodies, the yesterday's incident long forgiven. Dinner with the family was chaotic as usual, though both siblings were lost in their own world.

Since last year, their parents had decided to just join both tables together so the family could eat together, rather than having a wall separating them; usually talkative, Lynn was instead twirling her food around and sometimes driving it to her mouth only for her fork to fall down. Lori would have noticed right away and would single her out after dinner. But her mother saw it, making a note to talk to her. It was odd, they looked so happy when they arrived, though they seemed to hide something that she attributed to a sibling's spat, the usual between the two.

Lincoln from his part had eaten his dinner in a rushed manner, sparing no one about his true inner demons. The hour where Clyde's parents were supposed to pick up was coming and he wanted to get ready, he needed to think about his self-discovery and taboo desires for his sister and what better way than the brain rattling mechanical rides of the Carnival and over sugared junk food sharing with his best friend and his parents. The white haired boy finished, avoiding a projectile from his mom's soup to his face that he avoided like a seasoned veteran.

"Missed me" He mocked Lola as she shook from rage.

"Ooh…that's ok" She eyed him with ill intent that made him back away immediately and run upstairs and his siblings to spare at him with pity.

The pageant girl laughed completely amused. "Works every time!" A sudden humph of a throat made her snap her eyes to her mother.

"If I see a single item misplaced from his room, you and I are going to have a conversation about pulling you off the next pageant." Rita told her sternly.

"But…but mommy! Daddy, mom's mean to me" She pouted with tears in her eyes. The older man just passed the next page of his newspaper, by now, immune to her charms.

"Listen to your mother"

The pageant girl gnawed her teeth together, completely furious for not getting her way.

Lynn rolled her eyes at the childish display and instead took her leave, placing her items on the sink. The last exchange they did after they arrived from their hiking adventure was a warm hug that left her cheeks redder than the sun and she was surprised her body didn't pass out due her whole blood going to get cheeks. The crack of that childish radio that Lincoln had resounded through the hallway and he left an hour later with Clyde and his parents; she couldn't watch him go and said her goodbyes but heard the car pulling out with several goodbyes said downstairs, abstinently bouncing her ball against the wall repeatedly. Lucy was looking at her oddly, which was strange on itself but Lynn always knew when she was looking at her. There was a certain tilt to her head when she was processing something in her mind about to flow from her poetic lips, brewing from the depth of her soul.

"You seem troubled sister" The goth soft voice almost made the grip on her ball to falter, but she slanted the tip of her fingers saving the fetch before throwing it again.

"How observant of you" Lynn sarcasm was forced, Lucy could tell, the 12 years old knew her like the palm of her hand and she was more than met the eye.

She sighed. "I am merely stating the obvious dear sister, but as your concerned blood sibling. I desire from you the truth, I owe you more than I enough and I only wish to aid you in any way I can possibly can" Her voice disappeared in whispers in the only way she knew how.

Lynn shuddered at the expression blood sibling and Lucy picked on that immediately, saving the information for later.

"I am scared"

Lynn voice came in short note, in whispers even quieter than hers. The only way the sporty girl knew she was surprised was with the rise of her shoulders, a clear sign that she was surprised with the admittance as she was but with Lucy, there was no need to apparent being touch.

"That is…odd, coming from you, but the question is, why would you be?" She asked petting her companion Fangs, perched at the circular bed post.

"I have my fear of losing my family, especially Lincoln. I just want to get closer to all of you, before I go somewhere else"

Lucy sighed once more. "Losing your family? That's a logic fallacy and I do wish you do not make mention of it again, it is most disheartening…you will never lose us. Though we bicker and fight, though we discuss and say horrible things to each other and tease ourselves to oblivion, this family stays together through thick and thin, do not ever doubt that. We might go our separate ways to make our life, but our bond will never be broken". Both sisters shared a smile. "Though about your second point…you losing Lincoln? If only, I wish I was close to him like you are, you are the blanket and the pillow, like bread and butter or like a hobo with his cheap alcohol"

The brunette grinned. "Did you just compare us to a drunk homeless?"

Lucy chuckled. "Maybe my humor is going around the world too much with the jokester, get it?"

Both sisters shared a laugh. Though the goth turned serious.

"Is this because Lori left the house to make her own life?"

The sporty girl nodded, looking aside.

"Not only that, but I've been wondering about my future lately. All my life, I had my goal and a single goal, be the best, the very best in every conceivable sport invented. Just be the best, but lately…I've had doubts for a while about what my future holds for me, in more ways than future scares me" In more ways than one, she thought catching her ball and looking aside. It was a half-truth, but she was going mad with grief and she needed to vent badly. "If I don't get to participate in the big leagues, what should I do?" The jock asked her sister.

"So, is this what it was as well? You're scared of the future and what it holds for you?" Her sister nodded. "Well, I am only nine years old, so a delightful sorrow like the one you're experiencing hasn't reached me yet. However, you should look deep inside of you and see the inner you. Her worries, needs and wants"

"Needs and wants?" Lynn asked rhetorically.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Given your often straight forward approach, I say you take what you want to take and let it be yours. Isn't that the always winning streak from the sporty girl extraordinary? The winning strategy that will lead to victory and lift that trophy high for all to see?" Her monotone voice said ending in whispers.

The brunette grinned widely, imagining only the best prize of all, with snow colored hair and bluest eyes she had seen.

Lucy quirked an eyebrow at the last bit, but she stayed silent.

"Maybe you're right" She conceded catching the ball one more time. "Thank you Lulu"

The goth threw her a short and diminutive smile, nodding her head.

"You are most welcomed"

She fell asleep almost immediately, tired from the physical and emotional roller coaster of these two days.

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From his part, Lincoln had fun at the Carnival, though his heart wasn't in the right place and the mechanical rides that shifted his guts up and down didn't count. He thought about his inner feelings the whole day, the whole year he had been suppressing them, telling himself that it was nothing else but a phase of puberty, but yesterday erased that excuse; he was attracted to his sister, deliriously so. He wondered if this would shift to forbidden love and that unfortunate thought came as he was 360 degrees in the roller coaster and essentially made him so scared that combined with the adrenaline, he lost his dinner and the will to eat more junk food. They hung around one more around, shifting to more soothing rides and then he went to Clyde's home. They talked about his adventure today and Clyde was so surprised at Lynn's change of heart that he wondered if she had been swapped by an evil clone, courtesy of the evil Card Countess but Lincoln had just rolled his eyes with a smile, thinking that just last year he would've agreed with him.

"Awww dude, are you sure that you cannot stay over tonight? My parents even say yes, a fact that only happens when the stars and the planets align." Clyde exclaimed crossing his arms.

"I wish dude, but my dad wants to do something with me tomorrow and I have to be there" He didn't mention it to be a firearm, not knowing how he would react, not to mention his parents.

Clyde crossed his arms. "Fine, at least we got close to two months of wonderful summer vacation! And while I am so sad that my precious Lori has gone away…I send her my love wherever she is"

"Right…" Lincoln droned, never informing him her exact location for her own protection if somehow Clyde managed to get less awkward and actually send something like a nude package or worse, bunch of roses laced with chloroform. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, gazing again to his friend who had continued talking.

"Oh boy, now that we're going to be in Middle School, probably I can get her attention an-"

Lincoln was forced to intervene.

"I thought you said that you gave up on my sister? I am quoting you, 'She is no longer my sunshine on my bed of flowers', what's up dude? Having second thoughts?"

His bespectacled friend seemed to freeze, hugging himself, hunching over his bed.

"You're right Lincoln. It is for the best that I walk away from the love of my life! Even though she is in the clutches of that tanned fiend…I am so glad that you reaffirm this" He uncovered his chest where a steel copy of his sister face was plastered. He tore it up and threw it in the trash, dropping to his knees and crying.

The white haired boy rolled his eyes, patting at his back, occasionally muttering a 'there, there' until he calmed down. He returned home without incident and threw a smile at Lynn's room as he passed it, settling down on his own bed in his underwear, sighing in relaxation without even passing through his mind that his presents had being gathered dust for the entire weekend, untouched.

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The sun peeked over the horizon, illuminating Royal Woods and starting the day in the city. The church bells resounded through the small city immediately waking Lincoln up. Through his stupor, he slams his tongue on the roof of his mouth and lets out a loud yawn, sending a hateful look at the stupid sun and those stupid bells interrupting his sleep, his crusted eyes barely glimpsing at the Rocky and Bullwinkle clock, indicating that it was past six in the morning. Many families were already packing up for church, but then, being a not very religious family themselves rarely went; though his mom did went at least once a month. His musings were interrupted by the heavy footsteps resonating in the hallway, coming in and fast. But why would his dad…oh yeah, boom-boom time.

His door opened slowly, his dad greeted him with a warm smile.

"Morning boy, my…already eager to start eh?" He asked with a chuckle. His dad was dressed differently that day, he had exchanged his green vest and Jade green squared undershirt for a simple red shirt with a Colt logo embroiled on the chest area, he was wearing blue jeans and thick brown boots. He had a tennis bag slung over his shoulder along with a thin carrying case which he supposed his gift was within it. He got dressed quickly in his usual attire but his dad stopped him before he got out of room.

"Be sure to bring some sunglasses with you and Oh! A cap. I'll wait for you in the car champ; we'll have some breakfast in Dine N' Dance to be ready for today!" Lynn Sr. took his leave downstairs leaving Lincoln to pick the aforementioned items, quickly remembering that he left his baseball cap in the restroom with the rush of taking a shower after the hike; he must had accidently threw in the dirty clothes hamper. Sighing he made his way to it but his path was interrupted with a door almost slamming on his face and just Lynn's teachings that had sharpened his reflexes made him avoid a certain broken nose, quickly jumping five feet away with a practiced leap. He sighed in relief observing as a mop of brown of hair made her way out.

"Geez, good morning to you ya big nerd" Lynn rolled her eyes.

Lincoln was about to protest when he saw her attire. She was dressed in full Football gear; though this time she was wearing a black jersey with a red metallic logo with a L in it, she was carrying her gym back and a blue helmet pressed against her voluptuous hips.

"…are you trying to replace another boy in football?"

Lynn snorted. "I am merely practicing with the boys. The coach said that what we pulled last year was a douche move but he was impressed by my moves and while not being able to officially be part of the team, I can go and kick their asses through the day and make them look bad! HAH! And who says that you gotta be part of the team to win anyway?" She snickered, quickly imagining the sweet domination that she would unleash today.

The white haired boy almost pitied the team, almost.

"Kick their asses Lynn" He smiled at observing her to be so happy that morning, considering her sudden change of mood, though after their hike, the funk had seemed to be gone, suddenly the bathroom incident seemed like a think of the past. His sister smiled widely, boosting about the pain she would exert today without saying it so.

"Heck yeah. I will….OH! Before I forget, hey Linc…" Her mood suddenly changed to an expression that he had seen briefly a couple of times, she was…timid.

"Hmmmm?"

"Come after the game, I got something to tell ya. The game is beginning in three hours after our training routine and I want to be spend to relax and talk" She looked aside, sulking, as if whatever he was about to say would burn her on the spot.

The snow white boy tilted his head at the sudden change of mood.

"Sure, dad and I shouldn't take long with what he wants to show me. I'll ask him to drop me off, hopefully I can catch you cleaning house with the team, or better yet, the entire field" They both laughed shaking their head in amusement, smiling at each other. She punched his shoulder making his squeak like a hamster.

"What was that for?"

She smirked. "That was retribution for yesterday, be lucky I decided not to flatten your arm to look like an airport's runaway"

"I am grateful for the pain I just received" Lincoln joked still rubbing his arm waving with his other hand. "Well I'm off, have fun in the game Lynnator"

The sporty girl smirked at the nickname. "You don't know half of it Linc" In more ways than one, she thought as she hugged him briefly and made her way to the garage with him in tow, waving their dad and Linc away as she mounted her bike, eager to start the football training and mentally preparing for what she was about to reveal to her sibling after the game; it made her feel giddy, enough to throw an amused giggle after making sure that there was nobody around to do so.

What neither sibling knew was that after today, the line that separated them as such would be erased, forever.

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A/N: Another done! Ready for the next one? See ya in January and have a happy new year!

D4rK.