Greetings. What I present to you today is what I hope will be a neat one-shot collection centering around a central universal theme.
All right, so how this will operate is that each chapter has a wraparound story in it and in between said story will consist of three flashbacks, each of which are generally either aftermaths of episodes or follow up scenes of certain moments of select episodes, hence why I'll be labeling them as "aftermath flashbacks". The first five chapters will showcase Lincoln with one of his older sisters each and then there will be three more to wrap things that all take place within a single day's span. Additionally, with the exception of those latter three, none of first five chapters are set in any sort of chronological order. They're basically stand alone stories with no direct connection to each other. Finally, even though this is centered around Lincoln and his older sisters, the younger sisters will make various appearances here and there, just not as the focus.
Okay, so first up, we kick things off with the one that started this whole concept in the first place. What you're about to read was initially meant to be a one-shot by itself, but I liked the concept I feature in this so much that I expanded it beyond just one in the form of this collection you'll be seeing in the coming weeks. This first one will feature Luna and the flashbacks will be based on "Kick the Bucket List", "For Bros About to Rock", and "Yes Man".
With all that explaining out of the way, I'll let you read on!
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.
Saturday afternoons over at the Loud house are an oftentimes lively affair and today was no different.
At the moment, Lincoln was laying in bed inside his room attempting to get into a brand new comic of his, but the aforementioned ruckus was making it a chore to do so. The commotion going on just beyond the doorway befitted the apropos surname of the family and normally he wouldn't mind the chaos. Yet on special occasions such as reading new comics, it would be a boon for him to get something resembling some peace and quiet.
Groaning slightly in annoyance, Lincoln got off from his bed, new comic at hand, and set forth to discover a quieter locale optimal for reading. He stepped out of his room, passing by most of his sisters doing their various noisy antics as he crossed the hallway and trekked down the stairs.
Things at the ground floor were hardly that much more tranquil, so Lincoln continued onward through the dining room and kitchen before opting to head on out to the backyard.
The second Lincoln stepped foot outside and shut the back door, he felt a calming sense of relief. The cacophony inside the house faded fast as he appeared to find the right venue to dive into his comic.
However, a quick glimpse showed that he wasn't the only one using the backyard for his own purposes.
Sitting right underneath the tree was Luna, her eyes shut as she was softly strumming away on her acoustic guitar, all while humming a gentle tune. The serenity of it all stood in profound contrast to everything else Lincoln was seeking to keep away from for the time being.
Letting a smile come across him, Lincoln stepped down the small set of stairs that lead into the backyard and made a course for where Luna was situated. While his initial goal was to find a location where he could read his comic alone and in peace, he now couldn't see any reason that would prevent him from sharing in the outdoor tranquility alongside his musical big sister.
"Hi there, Luna." Lincoln greeted, taking a seat to the right side of her.
Luna paused her guitar playing, opened her eyes and turned her gaze to Lincoln, smiling warmly at the arrival of her little bro.
"Yo, Lincoln." She said in a very relaxed manner, "What brings you out here?"
"Oh, just trying to get some time away from our loud family, pardon the pun, so I can read my newest comic." Lincoln replied just as coolly as she had just spoke, "Mind if I join you in doing so?"
Luna nodded, "Looks like you've already done so, but sure thing, little bro. I can relate to the sitch you're in. That's why I came out here myself. Too much commotion can throw me off my rockin' motion, know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I pick up what you are laying down, sis." Lincoln said, flashing an assured grin, which got a chortle from Luna for both that and the statement that very much sounded like something she would say.
"Hmm, now where could you have gotten that one from, bro?" She contemplated humorously, followed by giving him a self-aware wink.
Lincoln laughed briefly as he opened up his comic and picked up where he left before he went about finding a quieter refuge, while Luna resumed in strumming along.
During the few minutes that would pass by, Luna would get a case of curiosity looking back over at her little bro, seeing him so taken in and absorbed with his comic.
"Say, not that it's really any of my biz or anything, but whatcha readin' there, Linc?" She inquired.
Lincoln looked at his big sister, amazed that she was asking about the comic he was reading. Except for the one he entered for the Ace Savvy contest where he featured versions of them as superheroines alongside his own interpretation of Ace, none of his sisters shared any real interest in his comics, so to hear even the slightest curious inquiry came as a pleasant surprise.
"Oh..uh, well, it's a crossover featuring my two favorite characters, Ace Savvy and Muscle Fish, where they team up to take on a hybrid of a mutant turtle and the Card Shark, the latter of which is one of Ace's arch villains." He said.
Luna showed a confused tilt of her head, but also grinned, "Okay...sounds a little out there, but hey, that's comics for ya. Nevertheless, you seem to be diggin' it and who am I to judge? After all, if you're into it, that's all that matters."
Upon Luna saying that, Lincoln gave her an appreciative smile. Hearing her subtly suggest that it may not be something she'd be into, but to also acknowledge his own interest of it without resorting to mockery or accusations of being a geek, nerd or dork was very gratifying. A number of his other sisters had often dismissed his love of comics, including Luna for that matter, again aside from the aforementioned contest. But at the very least in this instance, she was more mellow and accepting of it, even when he was reading right next to her as she was in the middle of her guitar playing.
A little more time had passed as Lincoln got further along in the comic. But then, a sudden bout of chuckling from Luna caught his attention.
"What's so funny, Luna?" He asked.
"Oh, it's nothing, dude." Luna responded, trailing off in her chuckling, "But if you really want to know, you mentioning that turtle critter thing kind of reminded me of your own 'turtle on a shell' incident."
"Huh, what now? I have no idea what you're talking about." Lincoln said, completely confounded in what his sister was referencing.
"You know, the time I caught you having that jam session in the garage? The one you claimed was a 'you and Clyde thing', even though Clyde wasn't there?" Luna explained.
"Oh, right, that one." Lincoln said, come off sounding a bit ashamed, "The one where I kind of brushed you off at the time."
"True that, bro." Luna acknowledged with a small nod, "Though you did try to make up for it immediately last I remembered..."
Lincoln had found himself in quite the predicament. His little jam session came to an abrupt halt when he tipped over and was now stuck up in the air a bit all thanks to the drum strapped onto his back. He struggled in vain to regain his footing, but nothing was doing.
In a moment of quick thinking though, he managed to catch Luna in the corner of his eye as she was almost about to head back inside their house after she had begun leaving when she tried joining in on her little brother's jam session, only to be told it was 'him and Clyde thing'. At this rate, she was his only reliable method of assistance right now.
"Uh, Luna, can I get hand here?" Lincoln called out to her.
Luna turned around just as she about to round the corner at the end of the driveway and saw her brother's self-induced quandary, rolling her eyes and sighing. Even thought she felt rather dejected in being denied an opportunity to jam out with him, she nonetheless didn't want to leave him hanging.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lincoln witnessed Luna make her way back over to him. She stood in front of her brother, grabbed onto his wrists and pulled him up in one swift motion. She also took it upon herself to undo the drum off his back, likely to prevent such a calamity befalling him again.
"Whew! Thanks, Luna." Lincoln said in ease.
Rather than express her own pleasure in helping him out at the moment, Luna instead chose to press her little brother further on what he was doing just prior to his plight.
"Okay, what's the deal here, Lincoln?" She asked him somewhat sternly, "You say that this was a 'you and Clyde thing', but unless I've gone blind or Clyde's gone into hiding or turned invisible, I don't see him anywhere. Care to give me a bit of a lowdown?
Lincoln sighed, but then acquiesced to her request, "Okay, I'll explain things. During Christmas break, Clyde and I came up with this huge list of things we wanted to do over spring break. However, he and his dads went on vacation to Hawaii the past eight days before today, so we only had one day to do everything on the list. Realizing that, we decided to split the list in half and each do some of those things by ourselves. So yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."
He brought forward a sheepish grin on his face once he finished his explanation. In response, Luna raised her eyebrow, but then casually shrugged.
"Um...all right then, bro. You...keep on rockin', I suppose." She said somewhat disappointed.
With a light sigh, Luna turned around and again was going to leave Lincoln be. But seeing her like that was making him feel guilty and at this moment in time, he wanted to at least make her not feel she was unneeded right now.
"Wait, hold on a moment, Luna." He said while catching up to her.
She paused in her tracks and turned to face her brother again as he came back up to her.
"Look, even though this was something I had originally planned for me and Clyde, I don't want to make it seem like I'm pushing you away." Lincoln said regretfully, "So, I guess what I'm saying is...wanna jam with me?"
Within milliseconds, his sister's tune changed completely and a confident smile formed while she pointed at him with both hands.
"Now you're speakin' my language, little bro!" Luna stated proudly, "Hang on while get my axe and then we'll be rockin' and a-rollin'!"
Like a flash, Luna bolted into the house and in matter of seconds, she made a grand return with her guitar in her possession by leaping up and landing while striking an emphatic chord.
"YEAH!" She shouted with much mirth.
Finishing off her entrance, Luna sighed contently before she turned to Lincoln again and gave him an appreciative pat on his head as her way of saying thanks for allowing her to jam with him, even when it wasn't what he originally planned out, but certainly not something he didn't want to get as much enjoyment out of in any event.
"I learned a very valuable lesson that day." Lincoln said, looking back up at Luna, "While jam sessions can be fun by yourself, they're even better with a partner. Especially when that partner in question is someone who knows what they're doing musically."
Luna smiled, "Aw, you're took kind, Lincoln. But you know, to paraphrase what Mick Swagger and myself have said before with regards to rock 'n' roll: it's about having fun no matter how good you are."
Both of them shared a laugh before they returned to their respective activities: Luna with her guitar and Lincoln with his comic. But a few short moments later, Luna again took a pause in guitar playing as she had something else in mind.
"You know something, bro?" She inquired.
"Hmm?" Lincoln verbalized as he once more looked at Luna.
"I've realized that quite often music brings us close together. You're pretty much the only sibling of mine that seems to get a kick out of jamming out as I do. I mean, on occasion some of our sisters may listen or jam along with me, but they don't seem to get as much out of it as you do, Linc." Luna explained.
Lincoln looked on contemplatively, then he grinned, "You know, I think you're right, Luna. We always have a great time whenever music is brought into the picture. Now that you mention it, I'd say one of the best examples was when you made my first concert seeing SMOOCH one of the best nights of my life."
"Oh yeah, no doubt about that." Luna agreed with a joyful smile, "But if you ask me, the only thing that was just as good was what you did for me when we came back home later on that evening..."
Within the living room of the Loud house, a sense that mixed concern and chafe had consumed most of the Loud sisters. Earlier, Luna had set off for the mall to get Lincoln out of the shopping center's jail after he and Clyde were arrested for purchasing scalped tickets from an undercover mall cop. But that was over two and a half hours ago and without any response from her, everyone was collectively vexed.
"Man, what's taking them so long? Is it that much of a hassle to bust someone out of mall jail?" Lana asked out loud.
"Either that, or maybe Lincoln did manage to make it to the concert and Luna somehow conned her way into going with him anyway." Lynn said, making everyone around her groan over that possibility.
"Ugh, you know what, that's perhaps the most likely explanation. Typical. Luna literally cannot help herself, can she?" Lori expressed in irritation while shaking her head.
"Hey, I think I see them right now!" Leni shouted as she was looking out the window.
Everyone else would huddle around the window to indeed see Luna and Lincoln walking together down the sidewalk and just about arriving at the front yard.
"What the heck is Lincoln wearing?" Leni wondered.
"Ick! Whatever it is, it's hideous!" Lola stated in disgust, "Looks like something Luna must have forced him to wear."
"Yeah, and it's probably one of many things she had to have done that made Lincoln's night a complete wreck, just like every other first concert she tagged along with us." Lori added.
"Well, they do appear to be smiling." Luan observed, "Maybe they did have a good time."
"Or maybe Luna did, but Lincoln's only smiling to give the impression he did, too." Lucy said in disagreement, "This could be a facade for all we know."
That hypothesis from their goth sister was something everybody else seemed to take into consideration. While that occurred, Luna and Lincoln had made their way up to the front doorstep. The door opened up shortly thereafter and they stepped inside the house, where they were immediately confronted by their sisters, who all brought forth disgruntled looks on their faces directed straight at Luna.
"Yo, dudes!" Luna said happily, but then her attitude changed quickly once she saw her sisters' unfavorable expressions, "Uh...what's with the moody vibes you're giving off?"
"I think you know exactly why, Luna..." Lucy responded icily.
"Yup, you just had to ruin Lincoln's night, didn't you? Just like when you wrecked my Boyz Will Be Boyz concert." Lori said contemptuously.
"And our Blarney concert!" Lana and Lola shouted in tandem.
"Not to mention the time you felt the need to disrupt the dulcet tones of my first ever opera." Lisa stated bluntly.
Luna felt the urge to refute the accusation of ruining Lincoln's concert experience, despite contrary evidence against it, but slouched forward a bit in defeat over being reminded of her past mishaps. However, Lincoln wasn't going to stand hearing such disparaging remarks.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on, you guys!" He said, waving his hands, "Luna didn't actually-"
Lynn put a hand over Lincoln's mouth before he could go further and did her imitative buzzer noise.
"Lincoln, put a cork in it. You don't need to make excuses for Luna making your concert experience miserable." She said.
"But she-" Lincoln tried to get out, but would get interrupted again.
"No, Lincoln!" Leni interjected unexpectedly, "If she acted irresponsibly like we suspect she did, there's no reason to come to her defense."
"Really now, brah? You of all people are gonna lecture me on responsibility?" Luna questioned, taking a moment to raise her head up from her slouched stature.
"Well, when it comes to musical concerts, you do cymbal-ize some bad times." Luan jokingly said, "Get it? But seriously, your previous track record does kind of speak for itself..."
Luna groaned over both the pun and again being told she some sort of serial concert wrecker, but again couldn't muster up the courage to defend herself much. As the sisters kept on piling on her verbally, Lincoln had finally heard enough.
"Hey, will you all be quiet and lay off of her?!" He yelled in frustration.
In an instant, everyone ceased speaking and came off shocked to hear their only brother's ire and he was only just getting started.
"Now listen up and get this through your thick skulls. Luna. Did. NOT. Ruin. Any. Thing! In fact, she made tonight one of the best experiences of my life. Now granted, she did come off a bit too overzealous at first and I did go off on her because of it, but had it not been for her, Clyde and I would have been stuck way up in the cheap seats unable to see much of anything. But thanks to her, not only did we get all the way down to the front, but the band even invited us on stage with them!"
Lincoln took a brief moment to pause as placed a hand on Luna's back, then he continued on, albeit this time a lot less aggressively.
"You guys were completely wrong about Luna here. While I can't speak for your own experiences and perhaps she did hamper things like you've suggested earlier to me, I'd say that she doesn't tag along to first concerts of ours in order to wreck them, but because she loves music so much and wants share that passion of hers with us. Is that so wrong of her to do? May I remind you it was her own experience of seeking Mick Swagger perform for the first time that made her the rock 'n' roll girl we all know and love today. That was an unforgettable night for her and all she ever wanted to do for me was help make my own first concert experience unforgettable as well, and if you ask me, she succeeded more than I could've ever imagined and I cannot thank her enough."
To conclude his heartfelt defense of Luna, Lincoln tightly wrapped his arms around her waist, then he stood up on his toes so he could also give her a quick kiss on her cheek, making her feel even more moved by her little bro than she already was. This as all their sisters watched on feeling both pleased to hear Lincoln credit Luna for his ostensibly memorable night, but also guilty for being so quick pointing the proverbial accusatory finger at her for supposedly ruining things when Lincoln had now proven otherwise.
Letting go of Luna's waist, Lincoln began marching up the stairs, but then stopped halfway through and turned to face everyone again.
"Oh, and by the way, how come Luna was the only one who came down to get me and Clyde out of mall jail? Didn't see any of you come along with her. Eh, you must have all had more important things to deal with then, I suppose..." He stated, a little more curtly than when he last spoke.
He continued onward up the stairs, all while his sisters jointly issued apologies to him for everything, but right now Lincoln wasn't really having any of it, so they then directed their apologies to Luna instead.
When he reached the top, Lincoln took a deep breath to try relieving some of the tension that had built up during the instance he told off everyone. Adrenaline was rushing through him and causing trembles throughout his body. Though he felt like he needed to vent his frustrations out, it appeared to affect him more than he had intended to do so.
As Lincoln attempted to go over to his room in order to calm himself down so more, he felt a pair of arms hug him from behind just as he gripped onto the door knob. He turned around to see that it was Luna who had her clutches around him as she was also looking down at him with a couple of tears welling up in her eyes.
"Lincoln...thank you for what you said back down there. You didn't have to do that, though." Luna said to him, sniffling a tiny bit in the process.
"Well, maybe I didn't have to, but I wanted to." Lincoln said back, putting both his hands on Luna's shoulders, "I wasn't going to stand there and let you be accused of ruining concerts on purpose, which is the furthest thing from the truth in my case. You truly made mine unforgettable and there is no one else I'd rather would've have by my side tonight to help enhance the experience than you. Thank you so much, Luna."
Following those words of appreciation, Lincoln hugged Luna again and nuzzled against her shoulder. With a grateful smile coming across her face, she likewise placed her arms back around him and fondly hugged him reciprocally.
"Aw, you're welcome, little bro. Making your first concert as rockin' as I could was all I ever wanted to do and it means the world to me that you feel that I delivered in that respect." Luna said, brimming in sisterly pride.
While staying within their shared embrace, Lincoln peered just to the side of Luna to see their sisters looking on from the stairway, each of them smiling at the heartwarming scene before them. He smiled back in their direction, as did Luna when she also turned on over to face them as well, both likely as a signal that everything was forgiven between them all.
"If you ask me, Linc, that was one of the sweetest things you've ever done for me, coming to my defense and all." Luna said, looking over at her brother with a broad smile.
"It was my pleasure, Luna." Lincoln said in response, "I meant every word of it then and still do now."
Emitting a small laugh in admiration, Luna put her guitar to the side and brought an arm around Lincoln so she could draw him closer to her. Just as that happened, Lincoln in turn put his comic aside, allowing his sister to pull him in her direction freely. He then rested the back of his head on her shoulder as they both sighed contently in this new relaxing position they found themselves in, all while a gentle breeze blew along, adding to the pleasantness of the scene.
"You know, on the subject of concerts and sweetness, I think I know one thing that can top that instance we just discussed." Lincoln suggested.
"Oh, do you now? Well, lay it on me then, bro." Luna said while grinning, eager to hear what he was about to share.
Lincoln softly chuckled, "Well, it all started after a certain 'master of convincing' had a hard day's work, but was unable to persuade his parents to get him a VIP SMOOCH concert ticket, only to then be given the next best thing by his sisters, one who deserved particular kudos, and afterwards he wanted to show that one sister his utmost gratitude..."
Tonight had been one of the greatest nights of Lincoln's life. After being initially crestfallen over his inability to attend the VIP SMOOCH concert he was gearing up for after his parents ended up being depleted of funds, he rejoiced over something just as amazing.
As a way of expressing their most sincere appreciation for all he did in helping them convince their parents to give them the money for their individual needs, Lincoln's sisters put on their own concert for him in which they deemed him both their "VIB" or "very important brother" and "the best dang brother anywhere around" through the song they performed.
But if that wasn't enough, Lincoln was stunned that his sisters even managed to get SMOOCH themselves to arrive and perform alongside them. Plus, his friends Clyde, Liam and Zach had been invited to attend as well. All in all, tonight was nothing short of a thriving success.
At the moment, Lincoln had just exchanged goodbyes with his friends and then headed back inside the house, where some of his sisters were hanging around in the living room still decked out in the SMOOCH inspired garb they wore for their performance. In this case, it was his older sisters, as it was likely the younger sisters had gone off to bed almost as soon as the concert wrapped up due to how late at night it was getting.
"Hey, Lincoln, how'd you like the concert?" Lynn asked him.
"It was unreal! It was unbelievable! It was...it was…!" Lincoln stated jovially, but started trailing off and laughing nervously, as he was so excited that finding the right words started becoming difficult for him.
"I take it you enjoyed it, then?" Lori suggested with a chuckle.
Lincoln laughed nervously again, "Yeah, uh...let's go with that."
He approached his sisters more closely and shared in a group hug with them.
"Aw, we're so glad to hear that, Lincoln!" Leni said happily, "After all you've done to help us, it was the least we could do."
"Well, thank you guys so much for doing this." Lincoln said after parting ways from the hug, "I can't believe you managed all of this in such a short amount of time, too."
"Actually, if you ask me, you should really be thanking Luna more than anyone." Luan said.
"Yeah, I'd say so, too." Lynn added in agreement, "This may have been a team effort from all of us, but pretty much everything was her idea from the start."
Leni nodded emphatically, "It totes was! From the costumes, the instruments, to who got to play what, the song itself..."
"Not to mention convincing SMOOCH themselves to arrive. We literally didn't think there was a chance they would actually come over, but we were thrilled when they did. I guess you could say the abilities of a certain master of convincing managed to rub off onto Luna for that to happen." Lori said, adding a wink directed at her brother at the end.
Lincoln couldn't help but feel so touched at the moment. He was already so thankful for all his sisters doing this for him, but knowing now that Luna was the one who really got things rolling made him realize he owed a particularly special debt of gratitude toward her.
Amid all this, Lincoln also just only now noticed that Luna wasn't actually present among everyone else.
"Hey, where is Luna anyway?" He asked as he looked around.
"She should be up in our room right now." Luan answered while pointing upward.
As soon as he learned of her whereabouts, Lincoln immediately set a brisk pace upstairs and arrived at Luna and Luan's bedroom. The door had been left wide open to show Luna putting her guitar away in its case.
Before she could do anything else after that, Luna would get a mild startle when she felt a pair of arms tightly encircle her waist. She looked over to see Lincoln being the one initiating such emphatic action with a big smile on his face.
"Oh, well hey there, little bro!" Luna expressed with surprise, "How did you like the-"
She couldn't finish her sentence because Lincoln would then reach upward and started kissing her on the cheek a half dozen times. A light blush formed across her face during and upon conclusion of such affection from her brother.
"Heh...w-what was that for, Linc?" Luna asked, a nervous yet sweet smile taking shape on her lips as she also rubbed the cheek that had been kissed on.
"Smooches for the best sister ever!" Lincoln answered very happily.
Luna chuckled as turned around to fully face Lincoln.
"So, I'm guessing the concert was a righteous hit with you, huh?" She asked.
"And then some!" Lincoln shouted merrily, "And I owe it all to you!"
Luna started blushing again and laughed nervously, "Well, I'm not sure I'd go that far. I mean, it was a group effort from all our sisters, so I really can't take all the credit. They put in as much work into this as I did."
"Yeah, but I got done talking to some of them and they told me that this whole concert was really all your idea. I appreciate all of them for this, but now knowing you're the brains behind it, I harbor the most gratitude towards you more than anyone." Lincoln said.
To show his appreciation in full, Lincoln reached up and gave Luna another, more emphatic kiss on her cheek, then snuggled his head along her chest while hugging her again. Luna smiled as she was more than willing to return the hug with as much vigor as he did.
However, her smile shifted over to a frown when she began hearing her brother sniffling softly. She pulled away a bit to see small tears bubbling up in his eyes and rolling down his cheeks.
"Aw, hey now, dude. This shouldn't be a time for tears." Luna said concernedly.
Lincoln sniffled lightly and let the tiniest of smiles take shape, "I suppose not, but I'm just so happy right now. Not that I needed more evidence to prove it, but tonight made me realize how valued I am to you guys. To think you and all our sisters did this just for me...I don't know how I'll ever thank you enough for it."
"It was the least we could do, bro." Luna said, cupping his face with both hands, "We felt terrible after you couldn't be able see SMOOCH again because our 'rents ran out of dough. But because you did so much in helping us convince them to shed enough green for our own needs, there was no way we were gonna leave you hangin', so we had to do something so rad in return. You mean so much to us, Lincoln. You truly are our very most important, best dang brother we could ever ask for, anywhere around, period."
His heart swelling with some much raw emotion over being told that, Lincoln buried his face back against Luna's chest and wept, but entirely out of joy. In return, she hugged her little bro with as much sisterly admiration as she could summon forth.
"I-I love you, Luna..." Lincoln said softly during a pause in weeping.
"I love you, too, Lincoln." Luna responded in kind, "So, so much love for you, little brother."
She gave him her own meaningful kiss on his cheek, then resumed in holding him close to her, letting him pour out his emotions. Nothing in the world meant more to her, or all of the sisters for that matter, than this young thoughtful boy who selflessly sacrificed his own concert experience, albeit unwittingly, so he could allow his sisters have their things and in return, they expressed their own deep admiration for him in the form of putting on a rocking performance that he'll never forget. It's been a night that'll forever be etched in their loving hearts.
"You're right, bro, that too was a very sweet moment." Luna said, "But instead of comparing and contrasting, let's say both of those were equally sweet and call it even, all right?"
A few seconds went by and no response from Lincoln.
"Lincoln?"
Luna looked down at her brother and realized that he dozed off soundly on her shoulder.
"Huh, who knew reminiscing on musical memories can make a little dude so sleepy?" She said to herself jokingly.
In actuality, what really may have caused Lincoln to nod off was perhaps the sheer peacefulness of the outdoor sanctuary both of them had sought earlier and in that sense, Luna couldn't blame him.
Since she had no plans of her own involving going back inside herself anytime soon, and the fact that she wanted her little bro to be more comfy, Luna ever so gently lifted Lincoln up onto her lap and let him rest against her with the side of his head snugly placed alongside her chest. This act of repositioning did cause him to stir awake a little.
"Huh…?" Lincoln muttered softly, then noticed his new placement, "Oh, hey Luna. Sorry, did I doze off on you?"
"Yeah, but it's not a prob, dude." Luna answered, "If you're in need of a midday snooze, then be my guest. I'm not heading anywhere myself, so I'll be here for you if need be."
Accepting this generous offer, Lincoln flashed a small smile and snuggled himself closer to his big sister's welcoming embrace as she wrapped her arms around him firmly.
As she held on to her brother, Luna closed her eyes and took in the sounds of the outdoors surrounding them: a distant wind chime, birds singing, the gentle breeze billowing on by, among other things.
Seems like in addition to music, finding infrequent spaces of relative tranquility to spend time with one another was something else Luna and Lincoln had a shared affinity for that brought them close together, both figuratively and literally in this case.
Neither of them could ask for anything more.
There we go, one down, seven to go. In case you're wondering the order for the next four chapters as to which older sister will be featured alongside Lincoln, it'll be Luan, Leni, Lori and then finally Lynn. So with that, I see you very soon for the next one!