Author Notes - Like I said, Lincoln's turnaround is going to be pretty quick. Because, you know, I wanna write him in-character and not like a massive jerk. I could easily make a joke at the expense of modern Loud House, but my opinions on the newer seasons aren't important to this story.

CHAPTER FIVE - LINCOLN AND HIS SISTER

Lynn woke up early - it was a nightmare. A nightmare about losing the all important finale of… a sport she couldn't remember anymore. Something like baseball and boxing combined, however that would work in real life. The moment she saw just how far behind her team was, it yanked her right out of the dream world.

'Oh, it was just a dream…' She murmured, looking around her room. 'We can still win this thing.'

The light of a rising sun shone through her room, filling it with a faded light that grew brighter every second. Lynn liked to watch her room get lighter as she woke up, because it meant that she was up bright and early. She gave every muscle in her body a good stretch before she even threw the blanket off.

It shook the morning off her brain, and the memories of what happened the day before came back to her.

'Stupid Lincoln…' She muttered. 'Stupid boy…'

Only then did memories of her father's words come back too. Most of his words were forgotten before she even went to sleep. There was one sentence, however, that remained strong in her mind: Lincoln is just being a dumb little boy.

She chuckled to herself. 'Yeah… just a dumb little boy. A big dumb little boy! Hehe… what would he know? Nothing!'

She jumped out of bed and stretched every part of her body once more. It felt good to get all that rust and melancholy out from between her bones. That was part of why she loved exercise so much - it helped her forget all about her worries.

'Only a stupid little boy would think I'm his brother! I… I am a girl!'

With a spring in her step, she looked at the window that had been her mirror for weeks. It reflected someone back at her perfectly: a boy who looked suspiciously like her. For a moment, that melancholy returned. Then, she grinned.

'And you're just a little boy too, reflection! You're not me. I don't know who you are, but you're not me. And ya never will be. Ya hear me!'

Just to prove her worth over this reflection, she banged her fist against the glass. Of course, the boy in the window managed to counter her attack perfectly, but in her mind she had defeated him.

'Lynn Loud! LYNN LOUD!'

If her sisters weren't awake before, they definitely were now. The walls in the house were so thin that she could easily tear through them without even trying. In fact, she could already hear Lori groaning and saying words that her parents wouldn't approve of. Hearing the frustration coming from her oldest sister made Lynn laugh.

'Lynnnnn…' Lori groaned. 'I'm going to KILL YOU!'

'You'll have to catch me first!' Lynn declared.

She opened her door ever so slightly, so she could slam it open without exhausting her strength or breaking it again. That way, she could ensure that everyone in the house heard her and was awake. When she leapt out into the hallway like a long jumper, Lori was already standing in her doorway and looking like a half-asleep monster.

'I was wrong…' She muttered. 'You weren't annoying because you were a boy. You're annoying because you're Lynn.'

'Thanks!' Lynn said, grinning. 'And that's because I'm not a boy!'

'Great. Good for you. You recovered. Now, please, be quiet. It's the weekend.'

Lori closed her door and let out a groan so loud that all of the sisters must've heard it.

'DAD! Get breakfast ready!' Lynn shouted. 'I need some energy, NOW! I call dibs on the bathroom!'

She dashed to the bathroom before his sisters or parents had a chance to leave their rooms, and locked the door behind her so no one could remove her. Once she was certain that she had control over this fort, she approached the toilet and…

Oh.

Right.

That.

In her thrill of being a girl, she totally forgot about that one piece of 'equipment' that she shared with her brother and father. And not her sisters. She had (accidentally) walked in on her sisters getting undressed enough times to know that.

Before, it was enough to shut her down and make her wonder if she really was the girl she wanted to be.

But now…

'Oh yeah! I'm a girl and I've got one of these. How many girls can say that?'

There was an angry knock on the bathroom door.

'DUDE!' Luna yelled. 'Hurry up and pee! I'm bustin' here!'

'Too bad, sis!' Lynn said. 'This girl is taking all the time she wants.'

'You can still pee in the bushes if you have to. I can't!'

'Not with that attitude!'

Lynn took her time doing her business, just to make Luna lose it. After doing the bare minimum to wash her hands, and only because her parents insisted, she burst from the door and ran past a desperate Luna.

'I hope you've got breakfast ready, Dad!' She shouted. 'Cos I'm coming down!'

The stairs weren't good enough for her today, so she used an even better way of getting down to the ground floor - she hopped onto the handrail and slid down it like she was an expert skateboarder. It brought her down a lot faster than she was expecting, and she found herself getting a knee-full of carpet.

Her knees were grazed, and certainly in pain, but she didn't care. She got to her feet right away and rushed into the kitchen. Lynn Sr, who had done this song-and-dance many times before, was already there. The scrumptious smell of sizzling bacon was heavy in the air, and Lynn was already licking her lips.

'Hey, LJ!' Her father said, turning his head away from his cooking for a moment. 'You seem to have perked up a little.'

'Oh yeah!' Lynn said. 'What you said last night - whatever it was - was totally right! Lincoln's just a stupid little boy, so I don't hafta listen to him. I am a girl, no matter what other people might say!'

'Hey hey, that's great! But remember, I'm a boy too. You don't think I'm stupid, do you?'

'Well…'

Lynn Sr chuckled. 'Alright, I walked right into that one. Just give it a few minutes, and your breakfast will be ready!'

'Thanks, Dad!'

Lynn spent a few hours having breakfast, lifting weights, and rewarding herself with some TV time. Her father was giving her a few extra privileges, due to her rough experiences, and she was taking full advantage of it. Much to the annoyance of her sisters, except for Leni who just wanted her to be happy.

'Com'on, Larry!' She yelled at the TV. 'You can't score a goal to save your life!'

She was so invested in this soccer game that she didn't notice the door to her parents' room opening. In fact, she didn't notice her mother at all. Not until Rita stood in front of the TV, which elicited a long groan from Lynn. She was about ready to shout at her mother for ruining her fun, until she saw what she was carrying.

Lincoln.

Lynn went quiet. In her head, she had imagined roasting the daylights out of this little kid. Gloating in his face that she was, in fact, a girl. Demanding that he deal with being the only boy in the family so far, despite what he may have hoped. But now that her only brother was right there in front of her, there was only one thing she could say.

'... L-Lincoln…?'

How humiliating. Her powerful spirit had been stopped in its tracks by a toddler. A toddler who could barely understand what language was. A toddler who somehow managed to destroy all of her self-esteem, however temporarily, just by shouting out something that wasn't even true.

And still, she found herself unable to confront him like she wanted him to. Perhaps that was because he was just a toddler, and she wouldn't want to hurt him. But that had never stopped her before.

'H-Hey!' She said, puffing out her chest to seem as confident as possible. 'I-I remember what you said last night. Maybe you're too young and stupid to remember it, but I do! And… and you were wrong. Dead wrong. You may think that I'm a boy, but I'm not.'

She truly wasn't really thinking as she spoke. All she was doing was rattling whatever words came to her head. Heck, she may not have been doing even that. She was just flapping her mouth up and down and words were coming out. Words that just so happened to be relevant. Words that she wasn't certain if Lincoln was even understanding.

'So you're wrong, Stinkoln!' Lynn said, pointing at him. 'I-I'm a girl. I was always one, and I will always be one. And if you still think I'm a boy, then you're wrong!'

Lincoln just stared at her. He wasn't crying or anything like that; even so young, he had skin as thick as bricks. Living with five sisters who often flung some unpleasant words around probably helped. Still, he didn't look happy as he stared, nor angry about being the only boy.

'Lincoln,' His mother said. 'Do you see what your words did to Lynn?'

He simply nodded.

'Good. Now, there's something that you need to say to her.'

He didn't say a word. Rita sighed, and sat down on the nearest seat. Lynn, meanwhile, hardly moved a muscle. She had no idea where this was going, and she didn't really want to know.

'Lincoln, listen to me,' Rita said. 'I know that you're not happy about being the only boy. I imagine it must be quite the shock, thinking you had at least one brother, only to find out that you've just got five sisters. And you're young. But you're always quite bright for a kid your age. You don't just learn quickly, but you understand how people are feeling very well. I'm sure you realise how bad you made Lynn feel after telling her that she was a boy.'

Lincoln frowned. 'But… why? Why Lynn so sad?'

'Well, think about it like this. If we all started calling you a girl, even though you know you're a boy, how would you feel?'

Lincoln sat in her lap, letting it all sink in. Lynn rolled her eyes and crossed her arms; as if he was actually understanding a bit of this. Yeah, he had proven himself to be kinda smart, but he was just a stupid boy. After a few seconds of silence, he slid down his mother's legs and waddled his way over to Lynn.

'Uh, back up, bro,' She said, backing away. 'Y-You don't want me to punt you across the room!'

Even Lincoln knew that this was just a bluff. Lynn was powerless to stop her tiny little brother from waddling over to her, lifting up his arms, and… giving her leg the biggest hug his small arms could manage.

'Um… what are you doing?' Lynn asked, as though it wasn't obvious.

'Hug,' Lincoln said. 'Lincoln sorry.'

'I… you… what?'

Lynn wasn't sure what to do in this situation, so she just picked him up. She was rather unfamiliar with holding children, but her experience with several types of balls and weights let her attempt something that wasn't so bad that her mother had to swoop in.

'You're sorry?' Lynn said. 'That's… uh, thanks? I guess? I-I was expecting to get angry, so I don't know what to do now.' Her eyes narrowed. 'Are you really sorry, or just doing this cos Mom told ya to?'

'I… don't know,' Lincoln replied.

Lynn let out a sigh; right, her brother was only a couple years old. Just barely able to comprehend the difference between boys and girls and not much beyond that. The entire situation was probably even more confusing for him than it was for her, and that was saying something.

'Do you think I'm a girl?' She asked.

She really had no idea what kind of answer to expect, but her expectations weren't exactly high. Lincoln was quiet for a bit, before he revealed his answer.

'No,' He said. 'I think you're a boy.'

'… Oh.'

Lynn barely had any expectations for this, but the smallest amount of hope was replaced by the smallest amount of disappointment. Even though she didn't really expect anything else, she really had hoped that Lincoln would say 'yes'. That he would say that he really did see her as the girl she truly was. Granted, he barely comprehended the idea of 'girl and boy' to begin with, so his words probably meant nothing.

Still, it would've been nice.

'But you're a girl,' He said.

Lynn did a double-take. 'Uh, what? B-But you just said that-'

'I think you're a boy. But you say you're a girl. So you are a girl.'

'I, uh…'

With a sigh, she said herself down on the couch again. She placed Lincoln down next to her, on the other side of the couch, and didn't know how to feel when he crawled over to her anyway. It was pretty cute, but his 'toddler logic' was hurting her brain.

'I… guess I'll take that.' Lynn said, leaning back in her seat. 'I don't know what to think, but okay.'

Lincoln leaned up against her, cuddling up like a little kitty cat. Not unlike the hypothetical cat that the Louds had been thinking about getting for a little while now.

'I made you feel bad,' Lincoln said, unable to do much beyond state the obvious, apparently. 'Sorry.'

Lynn shrugged. 'Aw, you're forgiven. You're just a stupid little kid anyway.'

'Hey!'

'... But not that stupid.'

Lincoln let out a little laugh. The girliest little giggle of anyone in the family. It gave Lynn hope. If Lincoln, who everyone knew was a boy from the start, could be as un-masculine as can be and still be a boy, then she could be the most un-feminine person in all of Royal Woods and still be a girl. The little boy mounted her legs and cuddled up to her chest, babbling adorably.

And then Lynn did something she'd normally never be caught dead doing.

She gave him a big gentle hug.

'AWWW!'

Lynn's cheeks went bright red when she noticed that Leni had been watching her the entire time.

'Don't you have things to do!' Lynn yelled.

'GO LONG, LINCOLN!'

The very next day, Lynn was fairly certain that Lincoln had forgotten the whole thing. He hadn't brought it up since. Still, he made sure to call her his sister, so he must've remembered something. Not that Lynn could be sure.

With the intent of putting all of that garbage behind them, she brought the little guy into the backyard to play a little football. Of course, she wasn't nearly as rough as she normally was. Any of her big sisters would've sustained several bruises by now, and the game had barely started. When Lincoln got old enough, she'd be rough with him alright.

But for now, he was too little. And way too fragile. So, she just lightly tossed it his way as he sat down on the grass. He caught it with ease and laughed, a little too proud of himself.

'That was a bad throw,' He said, grinning.

'What?!' Lynn cried. 'What do ya mean, bad throw?'

'It was a bad throw.'

'I-'

Why she expected A+ reasoning from a toddler, she would never know. She simply snatched the ball out of his hands, ignoring his angry pleads to have it back. Even as a baby, he hardly ever cried when his sisters made things hard for him. He always just looked annoyed, or angry at worst. It was one of the things that Lynn actually liked about him; much less annoying.

'You think that I can't make a good throw?' She asked. 'Well, you're wrong! I bet you that I could throw this ball so hard, that it goes flying through the air like a rocket!'

Lincoln laughed. 'Nah! Would never happen.'

Lynn smirked. 'Oh yeah? Well, watch this!'

She lifted that football high into the air and threw it with every bit of might that she had in her body. Which, for four/five-year-old standards, was a surprisingly amount. It soared into the air like a rocket, just like how Lynn said it would. It zoomed through the skies like an arrow!

*SMASH*

Directly into Mr Grouse's window. And all of Lynn's happiness and determination melted away.

'Uh oh.'

Lincoln laughed again. 'You're gonna get in trouble!'

'You're not helping!'

Lynn tip-toed over to the fence, all but certain that she could easily slip into the house and snatch the football before Mr Grouse ever noticed she was even here. She just got her head over the fence when she heard a familiar voice.

'LOUDS!'

She gulped; never mind, he already noticed. His grumpy stare pierced right through the shattered glass, and all Lynn could do was give him a nervous smile.

'Uh, whoops?' She said.

Mr Grouse narrowed his eyes at her and snatched the football off the ground. As per the rules, 'his yard, his property'. And apparently windows counted as his yard, which Lynn thought was stupid but this wasn't the time.

'LOUDS!' He shouted again, right through the window. 'Your son catapulted a football through my window again!'

Now it was Lynn's turn to narrow her eyes. 'HEY! That's daughter to you! I'm actually a girl, Mr Grouse. Get it right!'

She slapped her hand over her mouth. After coming out to her sisters and brother had proven difficult, she hadn't even intended to come out to Mr Grouse any time soon. Or at all, for that matter. And he was an oldie, and she knew - for a fact - that oldies were never so accepting over these things.

He cocked an eyebrow. 'You are, are ya?'

With nothing else to do, Lynn nodded. 'Uh… y-yep.'

Mr Grouse was silent for a little while longer, until…

'LOUDS! Your daughter broke my window again! Deal with her, please!'

Lynn's fear evaporated. She vaulted over the fence and hopped over to the window, much to the annoyance of the already-annoyed neighbour.

'Really?' She asked, eyes sparkling. 'Y-You really think that I'm a girl?'

Mr Grouse gave her a deadpanned look. 'I don't really care what you are. You could tell me that you're a wolf, for all I care. All I care about is that you SMASHED MY WINDOW!'

Author Notes - Alright, so Lincoln's turnaround wasn't exactly a 180. I'd call it more a... 150, I guess. There will always be people who simply don't get it, but let people do whatever makes them happy. Plus, Lincoln is still very young. As he gets older, he'll get over the whole thing.

I figure that Mr Grouse is the kind of guy who wouldn't give a crap if you were gay/trans/disabled/of-colour/whatever, cos he just hates everyone equally. He probably won't be doing much, if anything, in the rest of the story, though I might give him a reappearance later. I just wanted a quick scene of Lynn accidentally coming out to him.