Lincoln threw himself onto the couch, exhausted from another day at school. The week was finally over, but he couldn't enjoy the weekend. Clyde was unable to hang out with him, already having obligations to visit family out of town. Ronnie Anne was still avoiding him. Only now did it dawn on Lincoln how few real friends he actually had.
"Hey Lincoln, I got a new game for us to play." Lynn's voice cut through the silence of his misery.
"Ugh…" he groaned, "I'd rather just lay here for a while."
"That's cool. You actually don't have to move much for this game." Lynn said, jumping onto the couch and forcing Lincoln over.
Now Lincoln's interest was piqued. It wasn't everyday Lynn discovered a new game, much less one that didn't involve excessive movement.
"Alright, so how do we play?" he asked.
"Oh, we can't play here." Lynn chuckled, "We have to meet the others upstairs."
"Others?" Lincoln blinked.
"Well yeah." Lynn shrugged, "Wouldn't be much of a game with two players."
"That's never stopped us before." Lincoln pointed out, "We play plenty of games by ourselves."
"This game needs more than two players." The jock explained, "Just trust me. Get off your lazy rump and follow me."
Lincoln groaned again as he pushed himself off of the couch. He trudged up the stairs after an excited Lynn. Whatever this game was, it had better be good. As he walked he noticed how unnaturally quiet the house was.
"Where is everybody?" he wondered aloud.
"Lola and Lana dragged mom and dad to see some stupid movie." Lynn explained, "Lisa's giving a lecture at the local university on, uh… molecular biochemistry, I think."
"Figures." Lincoln chuckled, "What does that make? Five times this week?"
"Six, but who's counting?" Lynn shared in the laugh, "Ok, here we are."
She opened the door to Luna and Luan's room, of all places, and sure enough they were both there.
"So what kind of game are we playing?" Lincoln asked. He turned at the sound of Lynn locking the door.
"Oh… just a game." She smiled, coyly. That rarely ended well for him.
"It's cool, Lincoln." Luna grinned.
"Yeah, bro, just lay back and relax." Luan giggled.
"What kind of game, Lynn?" Lincoln asked, slight panic entering his voice. Did he forget one of their birthdays? He had the strangest sense they were about to lynch him.
"It's a kissing game." Lynn's smile turned into a wolfish grin.
Lincoln blinked.
"What?"
"It's simple." Luan explained, "We take turns kissing you while you're blindfolded, and you have to guess who it is."
Lincoln was silent for a long moment before bursting out into laughter.
"Oh man, you guys really got me!" he wiped tears from his eyes, "Luan, did you set this up? You must have! Oh man, it's…" he trailed off as he saw his sisters exchange strange looks. "Oh man, you guys are serious."
"Well, if you don't want to…" Luna sighed, strumming her guitar.
"I…" Lincoln blushed, "Sure."
It was obvious by the shock on everyone's faces that this had been the last answer any of the Loud children had expected. Even Lincoln looked surprised by the word leaving his mouth. The room filled with awkward silence as every face turned red.
"I want in." a familiar voice said.
The four Loud children let out a collective scream before realizing it was only Lucy.
"Lucy!" they exclaimed.
"Where did you even come from?" Lincoln asked, "Wait, let me guess. Air ducts?"
"Next door." Lucy corrected, "These walls are thin."
"I told you." Luna whispered to Lynn.
"Wait, wait, wait." Lynn scowled, "You want in, too? Great! More competition."
"You're only ten!" Lincoln pointed out.
"And I've had a crush on you since I was eight." Lucy said, "I'm good at hiding my emotions."
"I'll say." Luan muttered.
"Well then, let's get started." Luna said, "Before somebody else shows up."
Lincoln gulped as his eyes were covered in cloth. He had kissed Ronnie Anne before, of course, but to kiss a blood sister… It seemed so strange. A romantic ballad was strummed out on Luna's electric guitar some distance away, given power by an amp. It was safe to assume Luna wouldn't be the first up. There was a particularly long pause – longer than Lincoln had expected.
"Um, we don't have to do this if none of you want to." He said.
"It's not that, bro." Luna said, "The others are playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first."
"Shush!" Lynn hissed, "I'm in the zone!"
Safe to rule Lynn out, too. She would probably cheer at her 'victory' and then Lincoln would know for sure who it was.
Finally, with a growl of frustration, Lynn fell silent. That only left Luan and Lucy. First round would be easy, given Luan's braces. Sure enough, he felt the metal-laced teeth nip against his lips before her own made contact. The kiss was short and pleasant, almost bubbly in its intoxication. Lincoln felt himself get heady. It was at once different and similar to his kisses with Ronnie Anne.
"L-Luan?" Lincoln cleared his throat.
"How'd you know?" Luan asked.
"B-braces." Lincoln couldn't help but stutter.
"I thought I'd make it easy for you." Luan giggled, "Next round you won't be so lucky."
"Next contestant. Luna, get in on this." Lynn said.
Another round of silence broken occasionally by Luan's jokes and collective groaning. Finally, a second pair of lips brushed against Lincoln's. It was a soft, gentle motion, puckering and un-puckering a few times. Surely something so gentle couldn't be hard-rocking Luna or aggressive Lynn. It also seemed rather inexperienced, suggesting youth.
"That's gotta be Lucy." Lincoln said, not altogether unpleased with the kiss.
"Wrong, dork." Lynn laughed at his expense, "That awesome kiss was courtesy of a born winner."
"Awesome?" Lincoln's chuckle was cut short by a punch in the ribs. Definitely Lynn.
"Last turn for this round, I guess." Lynn said. Obviously whoever he chose would leave only one sister left.
"I'm sure either of us will make it count." Luna smirked.
A few seconds passed and then Lincoln's mind exploded. The kiss was sudden, unexpected, and completely passionate. Lips moving in a dance, tongue forcing entrance, he lost himself to it. It was a contest, one of yielding and submitting as well as assaulting and conquering. His mind whited out, and all too soon it was over.
"Oh man, I didn't know we could use tongue!" he could barely hear Lynn saying.
"L-L-L-Lu-Lu…" Lincoln stuttered, unable to arrange his thoughts.
"A little tongue-tied, right Lincoln?" Luan asked, "Get it?" A collective groan.
"Close enough, bro." Luan grinned victoriously; it would be impossible for Lucy to top that. "How was it?"
"A-amazing." He confessed.
"Well, Lucy?" Lynn said, "Your turn."
Lincoln waited, wondering why he still had to wear the blindfold. Finally, he felt Lucy's cool shadow fall over him, her lips a hair's breadth from his own. Quietly, almost too quiet to be heard, she spoke.
"I've been waiting a long time for this."
Then, to his surprise, she nipped his neck. The pain was short and gave way to unique pleasure. With little bites and pecks, Lucy worked her way back towards his mouth. The actually kiss was as passionate as Luan, yet with all the delicacy of Lynn's and the finesse of Luan. Somehow, someway, this ten-year-old girl could pull off the combined effort of her older sisters. Lincoln wasn't the only one to notice. Lynn was muttering curses. Luan gave an impressed whistle while Luna played a mellow riff.
"Wow." Was all Lincoln could say.
Then something altogether unbecoming happened.
"Pitching a tent, Linc?" Luan asked, "Get it?"
"Shush!" Luna nudged her sister in the ribs.
"It's so big." Lucy observed, as monotone as ever.
"I-I've seen bigger." Lynn's voice betrayed the lie.
"Oh god, I'm sorry!" Lincoln's face flared in the most shameful hue of red. He covered himself and sprinted for the door, holding back tears of embarrassment.
"Wait, Linc!" Luna called out, but it was drowned out by the door slamming.
His sisters exchanged pained looks with one another. Honestly, had they really expected any other outcome? The entire situation was nothing less than overbearing for one so young, especially when confronted with unfamiliar emotions driven by hormones. Especially with the weight of human culture glaring down disapprovingly.
Surprisingly, Luan wasn't the one to break the somber silence.
"So…" Lynn said slowly, "Who do you think won?"