AN: Greetings and salutations! Yes, I'm actually back with another Lori-Lincoln sibling relationship fic—although this one's a major tearjerker. Have the tissues ready.
As always, Loud House isn't mine.
"And now, Lori Loud would like to say a few words. Miss Loud?"
Taking a deep breath, Lori got up and walked to the podium. As the oldest of Lincoln's sisters, she had gotten the "honor" of giving a speech about him today. She had no clue how to do her baby brother justice in the few minutes she had, given how important he was to her and how much of an impact he had on her life. Frankly, she had barely known where to begin. But after thinking about what she really admired about Lincoln and her best memories of their relationship, she had put together something that she hoped would be meaningful.
Stay focused, Lori, she thought to herself as she walked up to the podium. In order to reach it she had to walk by Lincoln's casket, and she made sure to keep her eyes fixed straight ahead to avoid looking at her brother—seeing his lifeless face would have made her start to cry. Lori knew that she probably wasn't going to make it through her speech without crying anyway, but she did want to try and keep her composure as long as possible. Still, knowing what her emotions would be like, she had made a point of not wearing any makeup today.
When Lori reached the podium and took the microphone, she looked out at the sanctuary and almost teared up as she saw how many people had come here to pay their respects. She certainly wasn't surprised to see his friends—Clyde looked absolutely miserable, and Lori made a mental note to give him a hug after the ceremony—but there were a lot of people that she didn't recognize, or wouldn't have thought would come. Even Lincoln's old nemesis Chandler was in the back row. After briefly reflecting on how many people Lincoln had touched over the years, Lori took another deep breath and began to speak.
"Um, hello. I'm Lori Loud, Lincoln's sister, and thank you all for coming. We're here today to remember Lincoln Loud, a boy who was taken from us far too soon. But even though Lincoln's life was short, it was full of love and he provided us all with special memories that we'll never forget. As his older sister, I literally had the privilege of watching him grow up and serving as his baby sitter, mentor, and yes, even an occasional rival. . ." She paused as the audience chuckled at her remark. ". . .for twelve years. I couldn't even begin to list all the memories of Lincoln that are precious to me, but let me give you a few of them.
"We come from a big family, so it was no surprise to me or the rest of us girls when Mom said she was having another baby. But one day Mom came home with a big smile on her face and said she had a surprise for us. We weren't sure what it was at first, but then she showed us a blue onesie that had 'Little Brother' printed on it. We were all so excited! We were going to get our very first brother, and we were determined to be the best big sisters ever for him."
Lori sadly thought back to how excited her father had been that day, and how devastated he was now. He had been so thrilled to finally have a son after many years of waiting, and now his son was gone. To say he hadn't taken things well was an understatement, and Lori had to briefly fight back tears as she saw him in the audience. Taking a deep breath, she continued her speech.
"When Lincoln arrived, I was old enough to start taking care of him, so I would help Mom feed and change him. It wasn't always fun, but it went a long way towards making me the person I am now. Taking care of him then, and continuing to take care of my other little siblings as they arrived later, taught me so much about responsibility and leadership. And I also learned that while taking care of younger siblings is a lot of responsibility, it's also an enormous privilege. I'll never forget one day after I finished feeding Lincoln his bottle, he looked up at me and gave me this big smile. It was obvious he was saying he loved me, and I literally melted."
Lori smiled wistfully. "As the years went by, our family grew bigger and bigger, but Lincoln never did get a brother, only more sisters. Poor Lincoln. He was so outnumbered by us girls, and sometimes we took advantage of it. And, of course, he had his moments of being annoying and immature. But he always had such a kind heart. He was always willing to make a personal sacrifice for any of us if we were struggling. One of my most precious memories of him happened only a year ago. I was working a fast-food job to pay for a dance, and my boss wanted me to work the night of the dance. Lincoln literally volunteered to fill in for me so I could attend, even though it meant he himself would miss something he had wanted to go to. I was so touched that he would do that for me, and I'll remember that as long as I live."
Lori was now starting to tear up. "That selflessness defined who Lincoln was," she managed to say as she fought back tears. "When he got sick, he kept trying to do the same things for us he always had, even after he literally had no strength left. And he was always more worried about us than about himself, even though he was suffering terribly." She had to stop for a moment as she struggled to keep her composure. "I still remember the last conversation we had. I was sitting at his bedside in the hospital, and he said that he would be watching my golf tournaments and cheering me on from heaven. I totally lost it and started to bawl, so he sat up in his bed and hugged me. I was there to comfort him, and he was comforting me. That's exactly what Lincoln was like. He was—"
Lori simply couldn't keep her composure any longer. She covered her face with her hands as she began to cry, then looked up. "He was literally the best little brother in the whole world!" she sobbed. "And—and as m-much as I m-miss him, I'm r-really thankful to have b-been his b-big sister. Th-thank you." Not even bothering to wipe her tears, Lori made her way off the podium and back to her family, sitting next to her mother. Rita, with tears of her own running down her cheeks, hugged her daughter. "Sweetheart, that was beautiful," she whispered as the ceremony went on.