Well, greetings. This is third and final work of mine being put up there for my big February 29th triple upload.
Allow me to get kind of philosophical on you for a second. Sometimes you write fanfics for some kind of greater purpose down the line, and others simply to indulge in one of your favorite things in life. The latter is most certainly the case with this one, as I have here nearly 10,000 words worth (minus the author's notes added in obviously) of another story dealing with what is generally seen as the most popular sibling pair.
Admittedly, there is another reason for why I wrote this aside from such indulgence. As you've gathered by the summary, this is an alteration of the events of the episode "The Price of Admission" and it deals with the curiosity of how Luna was the only older sister who wasn't even so much as mentioned, let alone seen in it. Each of the other ones either made physical appearances (Lori, Lynn and Leni) or were at the very least heard from (Luan), so I came up with this little (or big given the word count) "what if" story dealing with a hypothetical scenario of Lincoln getting some help from Luna over everything that's gone on for him during the night.
Also, just as a fun fact, this story has been a long time coming, as I originally began work on this several months ago around the same time I was working on the first three stories of mine I've put up, "The Intervention Game", "Fortunate Reprieve" and "Help was Right in Front of You". The reason I've waited until now to publish this one was because this is that last story of mine which changes anything within an episode's events that I mentioned in "Serendipitous Solidarity", and barring some serious inspiration, this probably will be the last one that does anything of the sort for a very long time to come. That, and this is my personal favorite of any stories that I've done that change any events of episodes just for the fun of it and nothing more.
Okay, with all that having been said, enjoy!
The Loud House is the exclusive property of Nickelodeon and Viacom. The usage of the setting, characters and such is based on nothing more than a pure affinity for everything and is not being used for monetary purposes.
Tonight so far has been one of the most restless night in the young 11-year-old life of Lincoln Loud. Fear and sheer terror had gripped his soul unlike few other instances before.
Earlier that same evening, Lincoln had meant to see the new movie featuring Blarney the Dinosaur along with Clyde, but instead he secretly went to see "The Harvester", a horror slasher film about a farmer who takes a dark, evil turn by going on a sadistic organ-harvesting spree after his farm's crop haul was wiped out by a drought. Lincoln really wanted to go see it himself at first, but was forbidden from doing so by his parents because of them telling him he'll get too scared, not get any sleep and may have nightmares over it. In hindsight, they were totally right and Lincoln was now feeling like a fool, a poor, terrified fool at that, as a result.
If seeing such a scarring film wasn't bad enough, upon returning home, Lincoln was sent on what felt like to him to be a wild goose chase by his parents looking for pumpkin decorations for Halloween in unpleasant locations such as the basement, the attic and the garage. Lincoln was also almost sent to perhaps the scariest of all locations, the crawlspace out front, but luckily avoided such catastrophe when his dad said he'll just get those decorations himself the following day.
As bedtime finally arrived, Lincoln was sure enough having extreme difficulty getting himself to go to sleep. Because of it, he attempted to do some things with his sisters in order to relieve himself of his fears. After unsuccessful efforts with Lola and Lana, he did manage to get some activities in, such as getting girl advice from Lori, playing a quick round of basketball with a very exhausted Lynn and even getting Leni up in the middle of the night telling her that it's actually morning. In that case however, she almost ended up leaving the house thinking it was time for school, but Lincoln managed to stop her before she went too far. He even tried conversing with Clyde, but even he wasn't available for a talk, and this was despite the fact that he told Lincoln that he could communicate with him 24/7.
Back in his room, and no closer in feeling any more relieved enough to finally fall into slumber, Lincoln was a quivering, petrified mess. He covered himself with the blankets up to the lower half of his face. His eyes twitched and darted around all while he muttered to himself frightfully.
All that time sitting in fear and fidgeting around, though, was taking its toll in one part of him. He felt himself carrying a full bladder that needed releasing.
Sighing in reluctance, Lincoln steadily got out of bed and slowly stepped out onto the hallway. It was one straight line down to the bathroom, so he hoped that nothing scary or too out of the ordinary would halt him. Still, he couldn't help but have a heightened sense of vigilance with every step he took.
When Lincoln did eventually arrive at the bathroom, he felt a sense of relief. He would also be relieved in another sense once he closed the door and carried on with his business. Following a flush of the toilet and a scrub of his hands, he came on out feeling just a little bit better about himself.
But that wouldn't end up lasting long when Lincoln then quickly bumped into someone, or potentially something in his imagination, that resulted in him falling back first onto the floor and cowering in terror.
"AAH!" He shouted, "Don't tear me open and yank out my insides for your own pleasure!"
"Huh? What are on earth are you on about, dude?"
Seconds after hearing that voice, Lincoln felt a small sense of ease. He got up into a sitting position and looked up to see Luna standing over him.
"Oh, it's just you, Luna." Lincoln said while a little short on breath, "What are you doing here?"
"I was waiting to use the bathroom myself once you were done." Luna responded, "You nearly scared the you-know-what out of me, bro. Speaking of which, gotta go before I end up wettin' myself. Definitely don't want that happening."
After taking a quick moment in helping Lincoln back up, Luna stepped past her brother so she could also get her own bathroom business done. As that happened, Lincoln backed himself against the corner in between the bathroom and the door leading to Luna and Luan's bedroom. His nerves were back in full throttle just moments after feeling he was getting back to something in the neighborhood of normalcy.
Perhaps what didn't help matters was when Lincoln heard the bathroom door close unexpectedly and then felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to yelp in panic.
"Dude, chill out, it's just me again."
He looked over and sighed in relief after once again realizing it was only Luna, who now started to appear to have her concerns about him.
"Hey, is there something going on, Lincoln?" She asked him, her tone of voice increasing in worry, "I'm mean, seriously, you're losing it like I've rarely seen you before."
"I'm totally fine, Luna..." Lincoln attempted to brush off, though the shakiness of his speech didn't really help out his case.
Luna looked at him more skeptically, "I highly doubt that, bro. You're shaking a lot and I do believe you just accused me, or specifically whoever you thought I was seconds ago, of wanting to tear out your insides. That is most certainly not what I would call being 'totally fine', Linc."
As all this was going on, the doors of the two bedrooms right in between where Luna and Lincoln were standing opened up, with Lori and Leni peering out from one side and Luan from the opposite end, since they were the ones closest to hearing Lincoln's outbursts.
"Hey, what's going on out here?" Luan inquired drowsily.
"Yeah, can't you both literally go back to sleep right now?" Lori asked in a little bit more of an annoyed manner.
"It's nothing, dudes." Luna tried explaining, "I think Lincoln's just having a little trouble sleeping or something similar is all."
"Aw, is everything okay, Lincoln?" Leni wondered concernedly, "Is there something I can do to help?"
"I think I can handle this myself, Leni." Luna assured her, "In fact, you all go back to bed. I'll take care of our little bro from here, all right?"
After hearing that, Lori, Leni and Luan each nodded before the closed their respective bedroom doors.
"Come on, bro, let's go over to your room so we can find out what's sending you off your groove." Luna said with a reassuring smile.
Letting a weaker smile come across him, Lincoln allowed his sister to assist in guiding him down the hall and back inside his room. Upon entering, he would take a seat on the edge of his bed and his sister followed suit, placing an arm around him soon after.
"All right, little bro, I'm all ears." Luna said to him, "Now, what's gotten you so uptight?"
Lincoln sighed as he tried to get himself calmed down enough to explain everything.
"If I tell you, can you make sure to keep this between me and you?" He apprehensively requested.
Luna nodded and then did a motion with her hand near her mouth that appeared to imitate the act of locking something up, followed by patting her brother on the shoulder.
"It will not leave this room, Linc, I promise." She said confidently.
Taking a deep breath, Lincoln prepared himself to reveal the potentially very humiliating reason for his totally fright-filled and sleepless night.
"Okay...well, earlier tonight, me and Clyde were meaning to go see the new Blarney movie. But instead, while he went to see that one, I chose to sneak on over and see the Har...Har...Har..."
"'The Harvester'?" Luna answered for him, then widened her eyes once she realized what her brother had just confessed to doing.
"Y-Y-Yeah..." Lincoln stuttered, "How did you know what I was talking about?"
"Well, I did catch a little clip of it myself not too long ago. It was some gnarly stuff, man." Luna admitted, shuddering a tiny bit as well.
Lincoln was quite surprised to hear this, "Oh, I had no idea. But anyway, I did see it and I've been so scared since then..."
He sighed heavily as he brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them and resting his chin on his arms.
"You can go ahead and laugh at me now, Luna." He said pensively, "I deserve it after doing something so stupid."
Luna was completely taken aback by such a statement by her brother.
"What? Why on earth would you expect me to laugh at you over this, bro?" She wondered in shock.
"Because like I said, it was a stupid thing for me to do." Lincoln replied, his voice getting more wistful, "Besides, you have no problem laughing at me when I do something really dumb, like when you and our sisters did so after I admitted to that whole 'girl guru' nonsense as an example."
"Nonsense" was the perfect descriptor in Luna's mind for what Lincoln was saying. She seriously could not believe that her little brother was actually expecting to find any of his nighttime fears remotely funny or worthy of mockery from her. Wanting to set him straight, she cupped his face and made him look at her.
"Lincoln, you are comparing two completely different things here. One is something you admitted yourself at the time and right now was a pretty bogus effort, one that was admittedly funny to hear, you of all people doling out girl advice." Luna said while chuckling, but quickly reverted back to a more comforting tone, "But that's beside the point. This on the other hand is something much more serious. I'd never find any humor in you being scared, because that would too cruel for words, little bro."
"Yeah, but still..." Lincoln started out saying before cutting it off with another sigh, "Oh, it doesn't matter anyway. I still made a huge mistake seeing that movie and I'm paying for it. I've been so scared since coming back home and I'm too afraid to get any sleep because I might have a nightmare over it..."
He felt himself trembling again and not too long after that, he could feel a few tears pooling up and sliding down his cheeks. In all the time after coming back home and since the beginning of his sleepless night, crying was something he'd never thought about doing, even at his most scared. Now perhaps because of Luna's presence, or really just having anyone in general to truly confide in as opposed to someone to do something with to distract from the night's harrowing events, Lincoln was feeling more willing to start let things go.
Looking over at him with great concern as he was breaking down in tears, Luna took the initiative by bringing her little brother over onto her lap and enclosed her arms around to have him in a loving embrace. In return, Lincoln positioned his face along his big sister's right shoulder and lightly sobbed into it.
"Luna, I'm sorry about this...I really should not be feeling like this over some stupid movie...but yet at the same time I feel so scared that I can't help it..." He softly said between shivering sobs.
"Hey, don't worry about it. There's nothing wrong with letting it out as opposed to keep it all dammed up inside, no matter what's causing you to feel that way." Luna told her terrified baby brother soothingly, "It's going to be okay, Linc. I'm right here for you."
She adjusted her grip on her brother by placing one hand along the back of his head and the other right on his back, alternating between rubbing and patting it. Though the feeling was nice, he felt greatly embarrassed about the whole scenario he was experiencing to the point that something stunning came out of his mouth.
"You know, I've probably taken up too much of your time already, Luna." Lincoln murmured quietly, "You can leave if you like. Why waste precious moments on something so stupid like this?"
Luna couldn't have disagreed more, "It's not a problem at all, Lincoln. I can't possibly leave you behind at this moment knowing you're so glum. No matter what's keeping you down, I'll stay here as long as I have to until I know for certain that my baby bro is chill again."
After those words of sisterly devotion, she gave her brother a kiss on his tear-stricken cheek and tightened her embrace of him more firmly.
Thought he was still feeling so ashamed for confessing to such an ill thought out ordeal and crying over it, at the same time, Lincoln was feeling just a little bit relieved after hearing those words. He felt so safe and in solace being within the soft and secure grasp of Luna's arms, safe enough to shed some tears to ease away his fears. He got the sense that nothing was going to harm or otherwise get to him while his sister was by his side and holding him close to her.
It would take a few more minutes, but Lincoln's tear flow finally did cease, though the shakes, trembles and overall sense of dread remained steadfast. But he had to know those may soon dissipate as well by result of Luna's efforts in consoling him. The question that loomed over him next was how would he deal once she did finally have to leave him alone.
Pondering over that would have to take a back seat when rather suddenly, the door to Lincoln's bedroom swung right open, causing both he and Luna to yelp in fright. It turned out that the culprit was Lynn, who was hunched over and clutching at her stomach.
"Oh, gotta hurry up and..." She was saying, until she realized whose room she barged in on, "Wait a sec, this isn't the bathroom. Uh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you, Lincoln...and Luna? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm just...helping our little bro getting back to sleep since he was having some trouble with it. You don't have to worry yourself over it, sis." Luna responded, "Moreover, how did you mistake this for the bathroom anyway?"
"Ugh, must've been that impromptu basketball session Lincoln here made me play not that long ago. It may have thrown me off some and caused me to lose my sense of direction for just that little bit." Lynn said.
Right as she finished her sentence, Lynn again grabbed at her stomach as it growled.
"Augh, anyway, need to beat feet for real to the bathroom. Why did I have that extra meatball grinder just after dinner? Now I gotta-"
Luna raised her hand up and interrupted her sister, "Okay, that's enough, you can stop right there. We don't need to hear all the gnarly details, LJ. Just head over and take care of things."
Lynn laughed weakly, "Right, of course. Anyway, sorry again for barging in. Good night, you two."
She quickly closed the door and made a dash for the bathroom. Still a tiny bit high strung from the interruption, Luna and Lincoln looked at one another and shared a small laugh.
"Well, that kinda got to me, not gonna lie, Linc." Luna admitted with a mild grin.
"I can tell. Your heart is beating quite a bit." Lincoln noted, as he had since moved the side of his head against her chest, "It also isn't really helping with my overall mood I must say..."
Regrouping after their sister's unannounced interruption, Lincoln shuffled around his positioning within Luna's lap to get more comfortable, while she also once more adjusted her embrace of him as she was wanting to now really nail down deeper her brother's issue regarding his sleepless night.
"So, anyway, if you don't mind me asking, why did you wanted to see such a creepy flick in the first place, dude?" Luna asked.
Lincoln sighed as he took a moment to formulate the best response he could muster.
"I don't know for certain, Luna." He answered, "Was I trying to prove to myself that I can be brave? I mean, both my friend, Rusty, and heck, even my teacher, Mrs. Johnson, ended up seeing it themselves. So it was like once I saw them going, I felt like I had no choice but to check it out myself as well to, just as I said, prove I'm brave enough to sit through it. Well, safe to say I failed big time in that sense. Now here I am scared to my wits and needing you to comfort me through it all..."
Sighing a little bit, Lincoln let out a sad moan he again buried his face against Luna's shoulder.
"Who am I kidding? I'm not brave at all. If a scary movie made me become like this, then I must be a bigger coward than I ever thought..."
While letting her little brother have another moment in remorse as she consoled him some more, Luna wanted to disprove that unfounded notion that he was a coward. Luckily, she thought that she had the perfect anecdote that she figured would make him see otherwise.
"Hey now, don't call yourself a coward, bro, because that's not true if you ask me." Luna assured him, "In fact, let me remind you of something."
She pulled away from the embrace of her brother just enough so that she can have him look up at her.
"Remember the time when the power went out after you plugged in Dad's old, retro TV for Lucy?" She asked.
"Yeah..." Lincoln answered, a hint of regret tinged in his voice over having to be reminded of that incident, "Why are you bringing that up?"
"Simple, because that was the night you truly highlighted your own bravery." Luna answered.
Lincoln looked on with an expression of puzzlement, but his big sister was about to divulge further into what she was getting at.
"Let me try explaining it better, dude. You may recall after the power went out, Lori was going to flip on the circuit breaker, only to find out it was located in the basement. When she found that out, it's like the glow within her faded faster than Luan's actual glowing body from that cookie of Lisa's she ate." She said, chuckling some over that last bit.
Lincoln also let out a little chuckle of his own, which made Luna very happy to hear. Any sense of her little bro showing relief through laughter felt like she was succeeding at her big sister role, on top of encircling him within her arms for his comfort. She then continued on with her tale.
"So anyway, with Lori being chilled to the bone, pretty much the rest of our sisters were too afraid to go down the basement, and that would include me, 'cause I certainly wouldn't have done it. But I do know one person who was willing to take the plunge."
Luna gave Lincoln a big smile and then she playfully poked him on the nose.
"That person was you."
Lincoln smiled back slightly in return, "Really? Me?"
Luna chortled, "Of course it was you, little bro! Don't you remember?"
"Well, yeah, I do remember." Lincoln responded, "But I think what I meant to say was that's the moment you think it showed I was brave?"
Luna nodded, "Sure enough, and let me count the ways. First there was the part where you comforted Lana and Lola after they thought there was a ghost in the basement. That was such a sweet thing for you to do, bro. Then you said that you will protect them, and all of us for that matter, as you would guide us through the basement and assure us each time we heard some creepy noise there. And let's not forget when you charged head on to fight off what you though was a ghost, which granted turned out instead to be a pile of laundry and Clyde's voice coming from your walkie talkie, but still, that was mighty courageous for you to tackle something me and rest of our sisters were frightened of at the time."
Following the conclusion of her story, Luna smiled at Lincoln again and lightly tousled his hair.
"So do you see, Lincoln? You are brave when you can be and you shouldn't doubt yourself of that fact just because some scary movie may have frazzled you for the time being."
She looked on at her little brother, hoping that her recollection of that memory would assuage some of his fears. He appeared to be taking in her words and tried to let them realize his earlier claim of lacking bravery was devoid of merit.
Unfortunately, much to his big sister's disappointment, Lincoln sighed sadly as his expression was still very much sullen.
"Linc?" Luna asked worriedly.
"I...I...I'm sorry, Luna." He said, looking back up at her, "While I liked hearing that story, I still don't feel like I'm any better now. If anything, I feel a little worse. It's not your fault, but what does it say that, based on what you said, I was able to overcome things I thought were real at the time, but let a movie that's not real at all leave me so shaken? It just doesn't make any sense to me..."
Despite his best efforts to hold everything back and still not wanting such a film to hit him so hard, a second series of tears began cascading downward.
Seeing this unfortunate reaction from Lincoln made Luna feel quite dissatisfied with herself. She thought for certain that her remembrance of that basement trek would at the very least prevent such self doubts of bravery on his part. Now seemingly back at square one with him once again quietly crying, she felt like she was at a loss over what to do next.
"I'm sorry, bro, but I'm not sure what else to tell you." She admitted, "You pretty much said it yourself. It's just a movie and that it's not real..."
Left with no other options for the moment, Luna sighed and simply once more brought her little bro back towards her into another secure embrace. Perhaps this is what he really needed right now. No stories, no anecdotes, no fancy "you're braver than you really are" speeches or anything else of the sort. Right from the start, it appeared all that was necessary for Lincoln was to have someone be there for him, to hold him, to be told that everything will soon be okay and allow him in the here and now to let things out emotionally without fear of judgment.
As she held on to him, Luna felt her whole body jolt when a sudden, violent tremble overcame Lincoln. That soon followed up with a big gasp of air from him, then he sobbed a little bit harder than before since his sister first came around in seeking to help relieve him of his nighttime fears. Then, in another first, he finally put his own arms around her and latched on for dear life. Thought taken aback initially, Luna tightened up her own grasp of her brother and did everything her power to calm him down.
"Shh, it's all right, Lincoln..." Luna said softly into his ear.
Lincoln sniffled as he trembled again, "I seriously shouldn't be this scared. This isn't how I should be or who I really am..."
"You don't need to be ashamed of that, not in the slightest." Luna assured her brother, still holding him even closer, "We all get afraid sometimes and you know someone will be there to tamp those nerves down whenever you need them."
She whispered various additional comforting words to him. She stroked her fingers through his soft, white hair and down his back. She gently rocked him back and forth while humming a calming tune. All of this being done so that her little brother could be secure enough to the point that he can attain peaceful slumber without fear constricting him.
"I suggested it before, but I don't know if I actually even want to go to sleep, Luna..." Lincoln said anxiously.
"Why's that?" Luna asked, "Well, I mean, I know why as you told me earlier, but go on."
Lincoln sniffled a few times and let a drawn out pause take hold before he could respond.
"Because I think I'm going to have a nightmare and if I do, I know that...he will get me." He said frightfully, gulping before referencing the organ-harvesting psycho at the root of his fears.
"No, Linc, no one's gonna get you." Luna told him confidently, "Nobody's ever gonna come between me and my favorite bro, I promise you that. And even if someone is dumb enough to do so, be it some creepy farmer dude or whatever, we'll see how long they'll last after taking a walloping from my axe."
Lincoln pulled away slightly from his big sister's arms to look up at her, "Wait, you'd really do that? But your guitar is like your most valuable possession. You would actually risk damaging or even breaking it in my defense?"
Luna cupped Lincoln's face, locked eyes with him and pressed her forehead against his own.
"A guitar is immaterial compared to a little brother. Sure, it may be my most prized possession and I would hate to see it get mangled, but I can always get another axe. On the other hand, there's no guarantee that I'll get another little bro, especially one as sweet and rad as you are and I'd do anything to ensure your safety. You mean more to me than any guitar in the world." She said in as heartfelt a manner as she'd ever spoken in.
"Really? Even if there was some kind of rare, limited edition guitar signed by Mick Swagger himself?" Lincoln wondered curiously.
There was a slight admitted moment of hesitation from Luna when she heard those words coming from Lincoln's mouth. But in the end, there was only one correct answer she could ever give out.
"I'd take such a guitar straight outta Mick's hands...and use it to beat the ever loving daylights out of anyone who dares to threaten you and that is the honest truth, Lincoln." She said with complete confidence.
Such an ironclad promise being made official, Luna kissed Lincoln's forehead and once more hugged him fondly, something he now responded with more effort than he had now knowing how devoted to him that she was.
However, this tenderhearted moment shared among them would be interrupted when Lincoln thought he heard a faint noise.
"Did you hear that?" He asked worriedly.
"Hear what, dude?" Luna wondered curiously.
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds, trying to listen in more intently for any suspicious sounds. Sure enough, both of them did hear some sort of clattering noise coming from downstairs.
"What was that?!" Lincoln quietly stated in a panic.
"Hey, relax..." Luna said to him calmly, "I don't think it's anything to wig out over."
Thrice now, the same sound echoed upward. No matter what it was, Lincoln was sending himself into another tizzy over it as his teeth chattered. Though she assumed it wasn't something to be concerned over, Luna let go of her brother and figured she may as well check things out.
"Wait, where are you going, Luna?" Lincoln asked her.
"I'm going on downstairs to see what's up, if that'll make you feel better." She responded.
"And you're going to just leave me up here worrying about what might happen to you?" He inquired nervously.
Following that line of questioning, Luna turned away enough from Lincoln so that he didn't have to see her rolling her eyes. Even she had to admit to herself internally that this reaction from him to something that is likely to be totally innocuous was a little much for her. But no matter if he was overreacting to potentially nothing at all, that didn't mean Luna wasn't going to do anything to help Lincoln be more relaxed, so she had an idea.
"Tell you what, bro, why don't we both go down together and see what's going on?" She offered to him. "That way you won't have to worry about me and you'll be able to see for yourself what's making that noise."
Lincoln sighed, but nevertheless smiled very lightly, "Okay, I guess I can go along with that."
Luna smiled back and extended her hand out to Lincoln, which he grabbed onto with his own and allowed her to take him along out of his room.
The two of them arrived at the top of the stairs, but before beginning to go down, more clattering came about for the fourth time and upon hearing it quite clearly this time around, Lincoln's knees began trembling and his teeth chattered once more. To try soothing him some, Luna put her arms around him again and lightly stroked the side of his head.
"Hey, we got this, okay?" She said to him, again smiling confidently.
Lincoln gave his sister an unsure look, but he took a deep breath and hugged her waist for extra support. Next, they both started traipsing down the stairs together slowly and steadily, hoping not to alert or startle whomever or whatever was making the noise.
Upon making to the bottom, Luna and Lincoln picked up on some more faint noises that sounded like munching and silverware tapping against a plate. The sibling pair realized these sounds were emanating from the kitchen and now knowing that, they peered around the dining room. By then, the culprit of the late night disturbance was identified even through the darkness within.
"Oh, see that, bro? It's just Dad snagging himself a piece of cake." Luna said barely above a whisper, then she squinted and made a correction, "Or make that the whole thing, really."
Sighing in relief that it wasn't anything worth truly dreading over, Lincoln let a smile form.
"Guess I was making a big deal over nothing...again." He said, also in a whisper.
"Hey, as long as you're doing better, it's all good." Luna told him, gesturing they should head on back up next, "Now, let's see that we can get you back to sleep, all right?"
Lincoln nodded slightly, "Okay. And you're right, I am actually feeling just that little bit better now."
With that affirmation, Luna guided Lincoln with her to head back upstairs. However, as they planted their feet on the very first step, an audible creaking noise was made and it didn't go unnoticed to their father.
"Ah! Who's there?!" Lynn Sr. could be heard quietly saying fearfully.
Luna let out a frustrated groan, "Dang it. Looks like we gotta make ourselves known, dude."
And just like that, Lincoln was right back to feeling anxious once more. He didn't like it, but he knew there was no other choice, because otherwise their father would investigate the noise himself.
With some reluctance, Lincoln followed Luna along so that they can reveal themselves.
"It's okay, Dad, it's just me and Lincoln." Luna said softly as they approached their father in the kitchen.
"Oh, phew...for a second there I thought I heard your mother coming along." Lynn Sr. said, chuckling nervously, "But anyway, why are you two down here? Shouldn't you both be in bed?"
"Well, you see...Lincoln here was having difficulty getting to sleep and I wanted to help him out..." Luna began explaining, "While I was doing that, he thought heard something going on down here that was leaving him shaken, so I brought him down with me to show it was nothing to worry about, and I'd say catching our Pops chowing down on cake isn't something worth getting a complete freak out over."
Lynn Sr. laughed in embarrassment about getting caught red handed like this, but that was put aside when he looked to his only son. He was hugging Luna for dear life and his facial expression denoted fearfulness that his father had rarely seen before.
"Lincoln, you were having trouble sleeping? Why is that?" Lynn Sr. asked him, then something occurred to him, "Wait, I think I know what's going on here."
Pushing the cake aside, he got up from the chair he was sitting on so he could scoot it away from the kitchen table and put it in front of his two children before he sat down again, leaning forward so he can face his son closer.
"Was it because I sent you to all those places to find those ceramic pumpkins?" He asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about, Dad?" Luna wondered.
Lynn Sr. looked up to his third eldest daughter, "Oh, you see, when Lincoln came back home from the movies, your mother and I were in the middle of putting Halloween decorations and we both sent him around to find those pumpkins I just mentioned. We thought they could be anywhere ranging from the basement, the attic, the garage and the crawlspace. Now thinking things back over, I probably put some unneeded emphasis about how dark, scary and cramped those places can be and maybe I shouldn't have done that."
After wrapping up this theory on everything, Lynn Sr. returned his gaze back to Lincoln.
"So is that why you're having trouble getting some sleep, son?" He asked again.
Lincoln let out a long, shaky sigh, "No...it's something else..."
Lynn Sr. raised an eyebrow, "Something else? What's going on here, Lincoln?
"Well...I have a confession to make..." Lincoln responded anxiously.
Luna placed both her hands on her brother's shoulders, knowing exactly where this was going, "Wait, I thought you didn't want anyone else to know, bro."
"I can't keep this hidden much longer, Luna." Lincoln said, looking briefly back at his sister as he did, "I have to tell him."
He sighed a second time and faced his father once more, who was awaiting whatever his son was about to confess.
"Dad...when I went to the movie theater earlier, I didn't go see the new Blarney movie..." Lincoln began with, his heart racing as he swallowed before going on, "Instead, I sneaked over and I saw...I saw..."
"You saw what?" Lynn Sr. asked, but seconds later, it dawned on him, "Wait, don't tell me you saw..."
"Yes, I saw 'The Harvester!'" Lincoln blurted out.
Upon hearing the name of that film, Lynn Sr. reared back in his seat and yelped. It might've came off as an overreaction, but at the same time, he had previously been straight up terrified by simple act of the film's trailer being played on Lincoln's phone, which probably doesn't speak too well of him, but he couldn't dwell on his own fears at this time.
"Lincoln, I…" Lynn Sr. attempted saying, but was having difficulty finding the proper words to say, "I don't know what to say..."
He sighed and shook his head, both in disappointment over his son's confession, but also again over failing to find the best way to discuss everything. For now, such a talk might have to wait.
"You know, it's getting late and maybe we'll talk more about this tomorrow..." Lynn Sr. said, glancing over at the unfinished remains of the cake, "Something tells me we're both gonna get an earful from your mother when that time comes, son."
"Or you could get an earful from her right now."
As the light switch to the kitchen flicked on suddenly, everyone turned to see Rita standing by and if the look on her face said anything, she was not in a good mood at all.
"Oh, uh, honey, what brings you here?" Lynn Sr. asked his wife with a couple of weak laughs, "Look, it's not what it seems! I'm just trying the cake out so that it's..."
"Never mind that for the moment. We'll talk a little bit later in regards to that." Rita said with an admitted smirk, but that quickly vanished when she glanced down to Lincoln with a very stern, disapproving look, "But as for you on the other hand, did I hear you correctly, Lincoln? You saw that movie after I specifically told you that you couldn't?"
Lincoln nodded apprehensively, "Yes...I did, Mom."
"Well, explain yourself, young man!" Rita demanded, folding her arms, "What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't thinking, okay?!" Lincoln responded, his voice starting to strain.
"I don't think that's good enough of a reason." Rita said unfavorably, "But then again, this wouldn't be the first time you did something without thinking through the consequences before getting caught or your father and I finding out later on."
Lincoln didn't disagree at all with his mother's austere assessment. Yet at the same time, it also didn't make him any less frightened by her chilly demeanor to the point that he was holding on to his older sister a little more tightly, which encouraged her to say her own piece.
"Wait, I don't think you have to be that harsh toward him, Mom..." Luna attempted mounting a defense of her brother.
"Uh-uh, I don't want to hear any excuses, Luna." Rita dismissed with a wave of her hand, "But I am going to guess that he came running to you because of how scared he was due to his ill-thought out idea of seeing that movie, thus wasting your time when the both of you should be asleep?"
"First off, no time with my bro is ever wasted, no matter how late it is." Luna argued defensively, but then calmed herself down and continued on more rationally, "And you have things backwards, Mom. He didn't come to me at all. Instead, he bumped into me after he was in the bathroom and after I used it myself, I saw him looking so shaken up that I chose to help out and see what's going on. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? It's what I'm supposed to do as a big sister, isn't it?"
After hearing Luna's side of things, Rita closed her eyes and sighed deeply, shaking her head.
"No, I guess there's nothing wrong and I suppose I shouldn't have said it's a waste of time." She conceded, then she looked at Lincoln again, "But that still doesn't change the fact that I don't like that you saw that movie behind the backs of your father and I, Lincoln."
Lincoln nodded his head right as another set of tears were forming, "I understand, Mom, and I'm so, so sorry for doing so. I regret every minute of seeing it and you were totally right. Since coming back home, I've been really scared, thinking the Harvester himself could be around the corner out to get me in reality or in my dreams. I don't blame you at all if...if...if you think less of me because of this whole ordeal of mine, which is entirely my fault and again, I'm so sorry..."
Whether he truly meant everything he just said in that last line or only said it because of how terrified he was, Lincoln couldn't bear to face his mother and buried his face yet again along Luna's shoulder while she instinctively embrace him in return. The sight of her only son weeping and that piercing line about him claiming she'll think less of him did soften Rita's hardened posture.
"Luna, do you mind for a second?" She asked of her while reaching out for Lincoln.
Thought she was reluctant in doing so, Luna slowly let go of her brother as her mother knelt down to Lincoln's level and turned him in her direction.
"Lincoln, come on now, of course I don't think of you less. You may have done something really ill-advised, but no, don't ever assume that it changes my opinion of you in any way. All I ever ask of you is to just use your head more often, okay? I say that because I know you're an incredibly smart and clever boy. More specifically, you're my incredibly smart and clever boy and I love you because of it."
Rita smiled as she brought Lincoln right into her arms, which he welcomed by hugging her back. Soon after, and because they couldn't help themselves, Lynn Sr. and Luna also joined in on the hugging.
"Don't forget that you're my smart and clever son, too, kiddo." Lynn Sr. said.
"And the fact that you're also the most rad and sweetest little bro I could ever ask for." Luna added, reiterating a variation of how she described him some time earlier.
A few moments later, Lincoln felt his parents and sister let go of him, whereupon he showed a genuinely relieved smile.
"Thanks, and I'm sorry again for everything. I'm guessing there's gonna be some kind of punishment coming, though?" He asked tentatively.
Rita sighed, "Well...technically I suppose there has to be something doled out. However, since you've already had a pretty rough night based on what you said and that it can be seen as a punishment in itself, I think the rest can wait until tomorrow."
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I told him before you came out of the blue and startled us all." Lynn Sr. pointed out to his wife with a chuckle, then turning to his kids, "Anyway, you two should head back to bed, okay?"
"Can do, Pops." Luna said with a small nod.
With that, Luna lead Lincoln out of the kitchen and as that occurred, they can hear the beginnings of a conversation between their parents about the whole cake situation.
"So, Mr. Cake Monster, care explaining to me what was going on here? You do know that cake is for the school fundraiser, right?"
"Now, honey, let me posit it to you this way. If anything, I was doing you a favor in that..."
The discussion faded out as Luna and Lincoln were returning back upstairs and into Lincoln's room. As they sat back down on the bed, Luna noticed that Lincoln was trembling yet again, albeit less so than recently, and still had a few tears glistening in his eyes. Her response to this, like any other so far tonight, was to again bring him close to her into another hug.
"Sorry..." Lincoln muttered when he got the chance to speak up, "My nerves are just all over the place at the moment."
"It's okay, little bro..." Luna said simply and soothingly.
All Lincoln did next was find himself in that all too familiar part of his sister's shoulder, sniffling and silently letting some remaining tears fall. But in few minutes time, he adopted a new tactic by taking a few shuddered breaths in order to calm down some.
"Hey, there you go." Luna said approvingly, "Just breathe in and out."
She added her part by applying a few circular rubs of his upper back and once he released one more solidly deep breath, she pulled away and looked at him.
"How are you feeling now, dude?" She asked.
"You know...I have to admit that I am feeling quite a bit better." Lincoln responded, a bigger smile than usual so far tonight forming, "The more I think about, that's probably the thing that scared me the most: worrying about how Mom and Dad were gonna react if or when they found out what happened tonight."
Luna smiled back, maintaining an arm around Lincoln's shoulders, "Oh, really? Though I have to say, you were pretty brave in fessing up to everything to our 'rents."
"Yeah, that's one way of putting it." Lincoln agreed, "Guess that also means you were right about what you said to me earlier about how can be brave if I can be."
"Hey, I wouldn't have said it if didn't believe it." Luna said.
With another smile adorning his face, Lincoln briefly hugged his sister for a moment.
"Thanks for everything, Luna. Looks like all I needed to feel more relieved was for someone to be by my side and to have a shoulder to cry on." He expressed admirably.
"Yeah, you certainly did quite a bit of that last part." Luna stated plainly with a little chuckle.
Lincoln did take a moment to look more closely to see that the right sleeve of Luna's nightshirt did sport a sizable damp spot on it, which made him feel a little bit regretful.
"Oh, sorry about that." He said with an embarrassed, sheepish laugh.
"Hey, don't worry, it's cool." Luna told him while lightly mussing around with his hair, "It's what a big sis is there for."
Lincoln let out a small, relieved giggle, "And I'm glad you were, especially when I confessed everything to Mom and Dad. Truthfully, between you and me, it was Mom who I was really worried the most about finding things out, since she's the one who lectured me about not seeing that movie and how scared I'll get if I did."
"You know, I don't blame you one bit, bro. Mom can become one scary lady when she wants to." Luna said as she squeezed Lincoln's shoulder.
"Yeah, almost as scary as the Harvester!" Lincoln added jokingly.
The pair shared a laugh over such a comparison, and once that was out of the way, Lincoln released a big yawn and stretched.
"I think at long last I'm ready to go to bed..." He said sleepily.
"You sure about that?" Luna asked, "'Cause I can still stick around for a little longer if you'd like."
"Nah, I think I'm all good right about now." Lincoln replied.
With that answer, he crawled over, got underneath the covers of his bed and rested the back of his head on the pillow. As he got comfortable, Luna shifted over closer to him.
"Last chance, are you absolutely sure you're good to go?" She asked again.
"Yeah, I am." Lincoln affirmed, "Besides, I've taken up way too much of your time anyway as it is. You should also be getting some sleep, too."
"I know, but I'd say making sure you getting your Z's is most important first." Luna said, putting her hand over one of his, "And also, to repeat what I said earlier, no amount of time with you is ever wasted and I don't want you to ever think differently."
After hearing those heartwarming words, Lincoln sat up from his bed so he could hug Luna yet again, something she was all too ready to give back readily.
"Thanks again for being there for me tonight, Luna." Lincoln said ever so appreciatively, "I love you."
"I love you, too, Lincoln." Luna reciprocated in kind, tightening her embrace of him just a little more.
She almost didn't want to let go of Lincoln, but eventually she did knowing he really needed to finally get some sleep. As she pulled away, she looked right into his eyes.
"If you still have any trouble getting settled into slumber, be it any time from now or any other night, you know were I am. I'm always ready again to be there for you whenever you need me to be, little bro." She told him affectionately.
Lincoln nodded, "I know, but I don't have to rely just on you, though. I'm sure Lori, Leni, Luan and Lynn would do and feel the same, too."
"Yeah, that's true." Luna agreed while grinning, "It's gotta be sweet to have five big sisters, right? That means you'll always have someone who can be there for whatever reason you need."
"Indeed..." Lincoln said, yawning again and laying back down as snuggled against his pillow, "Well, good night, Luna."
Luna smiled as she leaned down, gave her little brother a kiss on the cheek and then softly stroked the side of his head.
"Good night, Lincoln." She expressed sweetly, "Hope your dreams are as rockin' as you are."
Lincoln's eyes blinked a handful of times, each slower than the last, until they closed shut finally as he sighed in ease. Even after he appeared firmly into getting some sleep, Luna sat by his side for a little while more just to make absolutely sure that he indeed attained a peaceful slumber with the hope he won't be troubled anymore by thoughts or visages of the horrors seen at the theater hours earlier. He may have paid a heavy price when he did that, but at least he got his metaphorical money's worth back with Luna's help.
A few minutes in, small little snores were coming out of Lincoln's mouth and that gave all the reason for Luna to finally leave him be. She stood up and turned around, leaning over to give him another, more lighter kiss on the forehead this time around, then she carefully began leaving his room.
Before closing the door all the way, she had one last look over at her sleeping brother and smiled at how relaxed and at ease he was compared to how frightened and hesitant to gaining any shuteye he was beforehand. But thanks to one of many of his loving sisters, those fears were slowly chipped away and now there he was in a deep sleep.
Ever so gently closing the door, Luna sighed contently and began walking back to her room. She stepped inside, climbed up to her bunk bed quietly enough as to not disturb Luan just below and got underneath the covers. As she was getting prepped for needed sleep as well, she sighed happily again.
"I really do love that little dude so much..." Luna whispered to herself before closing her eyes and getting comfortable enough for her to return to her own slumber.
The following morning, Lincoln gently fluttered his eyes and yawned. He took his time in sitting up, getting out of bed and then smiled. Though feeling a little worn out from everything involving last night, he was at least glad that no nightmares came about. It appeared that the efforts from Luna did seem to do the job. That, or maybe he was just lucky, but either way, no nightmares was certainly a big plus.
As Lincoln left his room somewhat still sleepily, he was surprised to see no line in for the bathroom, though he could tell someone was inside due to the shower running. He stood there and waited his turn, then noticed that the door to Luna and Luan's room was left just barely open. He was in no hurry to use the bathroom at this moment, so he thought he pay a visit to the sister who helped him make his night easier. He knocked on the door lightly and gently opened up.
A quick look around showed that Luna wasn't around, though Luan was instead, kicking back in her bed.
"Uh, hey there, Luan. Good morning." Lincoln said, stepping inside just a little.
"Oh, good morning, Lincoln. What brings you here?" Luan asked.
"Actually, I was hoping to possibly talk with Luna." Lincoln answered, "Would you happen to know where she is?"
Luan pointed in the direction in of the bathroom, "She's in the shower right now. If you like, you can stick around until she's done. Better yet, how about you come over and cop a seat with me? It'd make for an arresting idea!"
Sometimes, Luan's puns didn't make a whole lot of sense, and in Lincoln's mind, these two really were out there. He hoped to chalk it up to it being still early in the morning and with her perhaps still getting her bearings straightened out. Regardless, he did come over and join her, and was surprised that she quickly took a more serious posture and expression as she sat on up.
"But all joking aside, and I'm not sure if she would want me to tell you this, but Luna did tell me about what happened last night just a little while ago." Luan said and placed her hand on his shoulder, "You doing okay?"
Lincoln took a brief pause, but then gave her a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine, and don't worry, I don't mind that she told you."
"Well, anyway, I'm sorry to hear that you had such a rough night, Lincoln." Luan said to him, now putting her arm around him.
"Thanks, but I'd say most of it was my own fault. Could've saved myself a whole lot of trouble had I not seen that movie in the first place." Lincoln conceded to with a small laugh.
"Maybe, but still it must've been nice for Luna to help you though things, right?" Luan wondered.
Lincoln nodded, "Yeah, it sure did."
As if by coincidence, Luna came in after finishing up showering and having gotten all dressed up.
"Okay, brah, try snagging the shower while you can before..." She was saying, only to see Lincoln there with Luan, "Oh, well hey there, bro. Didn't expect to see you here. What's up?"
"I was waiting for you to be done so that I can talk to you for a moment." Lincoln responded.
"And I suppose I'll leave you two to it." Luan said, standing up and walked past Luna, but stopped and turned back for a moment, "Oh, and nice job again with what you did for Lincoln last night, Luna. You certainly showered him in relief!"
She laughed a little as she quickly grabbed a set of clothes and made her way to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Luna turned her attention over back over to Lincoln.
"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked, taking a seat one of the beanbag chairs and signaled her brother to join alongside her.
Lincoln got up from Luan's bed and tried sitting down next to his sister, but there wasn't exactly much room. To compensate for that, she simply positioned him right on her lap.
"There we go." Luna said with a small chuckle, "Now, what's on your mind?"
"Well, for the most part, I wanted to thank you again for all you did for me last night." Lincoln replied, smiling appreciatively, "I still don't know if you needed to take that much of your time like you did, but still, I appreciate the effort anyway."
"Aw, don't mention, little bro." Luna said, ruffling his hair around, "All in a day's work for me...or night's work, whichever you wanna put it."
They shared a quick laugh, then Lincoln would get a bit of a concerned look on his face.
"I guess some point later today Mom and Dad will have a talk with me about some kind of punishment for seeing the movie behind their backs. Hopefully it won't be too bad, since Mom did say last night what I already went through kind of was a punishment in itself, so maybe they'll go easy on me some." He said with sigh.
"I bet that's what will happen. I doubt they'll really bring the hammer down after seeing how shook up you were." Luna assured him while patting one of his hands, "And if you like, I could tag along with you when the time comes."
Lincoln was a little surprised with that offer, "Oh, well...you don't have to do that."
Luna shrugged, "Maybe not, but since I was by your side when you confessed to Mom and Dad, it couldn't hurt if I could do the same again later on, but only if you want me to that is."
"Well, either way, if do have any anxieties when it comes to dealing with them, I think I know one way to tamp them down." Lincoln suggested.
He smiled as he simply brought himself up closer to Luna. In response, she gladly embraced him and rested her head on top of his.
"Hey, whatever works for you. Oh, and by the way..." Luna began saying, taking a quick moment to lightly kiss his forehead, "I love you, Lincoln."
"Love you, too, Luna." Lincoln proudly reciprocated.
Both closed their eyes and let this little morning snuggle take its course. Only when they heard a camera shutter clicking a couple of minutes later did they look to see Luan standing by with her phone out.
"Couldn't help myself." She said with a grin, "You looked like two peas in a pod. Or in this case, two beans on a bag!
Though they both rolled their eyes, Luna and Lincoln did share smiles with their sister before she went on her way.
"You know, I got to admit that one was actually a little clever." Lincoln said.
"Yeah, I'd say so, too." Luna agreed.
Afterwards, they resumed in their moment of snuggling and bonding. Though Lincoln was dreading the inevitable talk he'll have with his parents a little bit, he knew that his signature confidence will come back thanks to Luna's assistance, as if she hadn't done enough for him last night. Because of it, he knew that he always had someone to rely on whenever something troubled him and he'll forever be grateful for her because of that.
Ah, that was pretty nice if I do say so myself. Well, what a day of updates this has been! Thanks for reading and I'll see you again sometime soon enough.