Author Notes - Confession time! I'm not entirely certain where I plan to end this story. In case it wasn't obvious, this story goes through Lynn's life as she gets older through the lens of her gender identity. I could potentially have it go on for a long while, but I'm thinking about stopping it once we hit year 13. As in, her age in the show. So we're essentially gonna play catch up with canon and probably stop it there.

This chapter is sort of interesting in that Lynn's gender identity doesn't play a major role in it except for a couple of parts, and even then only briefly. While this story is directly about her identity, I want to demonstrate that she has a life outside of that. You know, like most queer people do.

CHAPTER SEVEN - DOUBLE THE TROUBLE

Twins were on the way. Twin sisters of course. Apparently, after five generations of the Louds only having sons from Lynn Sr's side, the lineage was making up for lost time. Their parents already decided on names: Lana for the first child, Lola for the second. Because after six daughters with the 'four-letter-long L-name' theme, there was no reason to stop now. Leia, Lisa, Liby, Lexi, Lula, Lacy, Lily… there were still a lot of options.

But, of course, the upcoming twins would raise the kid count up to nine - eight girls, one boy. And they only had five bedrooms for the whole lot of them. So, something had to be arranged.

'This is literally the. Worst!'

Lori had spent a large portion of the day complaining. She was going from having this entire massive room to herself, to having to share it with someone. It didn't really matter who it was. Just the thought of sharing with another person was aggravating.

'I'm so excited!' Leni said, hanging up her clothes in the closet. 'We get to share a room! I'll put my clothes on this side of the closet, so you don't accidentally wear them. … Would they even fit? Would they even look good on you? … Of course they would! Everything looks good on you.'

Lori let out a sigh and plopped onto her bed, now one of two in this room. Well, she supposed that if she had to share a room with someone, she could've done a lot worse than Leni.

'Are you okay, Lori?' Leni asked. 'You seem sad.'

Lori sighed again. 'I'm just annoyed that I have to share a room.'

Leni frowned. 'You don't wanna share a room with me?'

Lori glanced at Leni, and immediately regretted it. When her little sister looked sad, she really looked sad. There was something about Leni that the other sisters didn't have, and it wasn't just her disability. Leni was way too precious for her own good.

'It isn't you,' Lori said, sitting up. 'I'd be annoyed if it was anyone. But, I'll admit…' She smiled. 'You're probably the best I could've asked for.'

'AW, thank you! You're the best roommate I could've had too!'

Without a warning, Lori found herself the victim of a very tight sisterly hug. Yeah, she definitely could've done worse. For instance, she could've been bunking with either Luna or Luan. Who, of course, were bunking with each other. To, uh, mixed results.

'I get top bunk! I'm older than you!'

'Beauty before age, sis!'

'Coming from Miss Buck-Tooth!'

'Hey! That was uncalled for. And that's the tooth!'

'Okay, now you're doing that just to annoy me!'

One room was designated the room for the twins, and was currently empty at this time. Lincoln got a whole room to himself, thanks to his 'only boy privileges'. Hey, if he was going to be the only brother to eight sisters, he was going to take all the perks when they came.

But Lynn was convinced that she got the best deal out of everyone. Sure, her room was kind of small to begin with, and there would be less room for all her equipment, but that's what the basement was for. It was all worth it, though, because of one thing that was now in her room. And that one thing was in a cot, pressed up against the wall.

Little Lucy, lying flat on her bed with her arms spread out. She was so silent that most people might think she was dead. But Lynn knew better. Little Lucy was tougher than that. Sure, Lucy was small, but she was stronger than her tiny frame would make you believe.

'Isn't this cool, Lucy?' Lynn asked.

She spoke in whispers, just in case the little one was sleeping. Since she hardly moved and her bangs covered her eyes, it was never really clear if Lucy was awake or not. Even when she was playing with toys.

'We get to share rooms now! Isn't that cool? That way, I can keep you safe from nightmares and stuff. … Then again, maybe you like nightmares. You look like the kinda kid who would like nightmares. Don't you?'

Lucy said absolutely nothing. Her quietness still had her parents worried, but Lynn wasn't worried. That was just how the little girl was. It wasn't like anyone else in the family was 'normal', except for maybe Lincoln. No family with Luan in it could ever be considered 'normal'.

'This is cool. … I think it's cool. Do you know what that means? It's a really good thing.' She sighed. 'The one problem is that now I won't be able to throw any of my balls around. I don't wanna hurt ya. I mean, I know you're tough, but I don't-'

Lynn looked away for a second, only for - BONK! - something to smack into her head. Just hard enough to leave a dull pain for a few seconds. When she looked at the offending object, it turned out to be a rather gothic-looking baby rattle. She picked it up, and looked back at Lucy. The little one was still lying down.

'Lucy, did you just…?'

The Loud Kid count went up from seven to nine. Lana and Lola weren't just twins. They were identical twins. Lynn expected them to have the exact same personality, much like most identical twins she had seen in cartoons. After just a few months, her expectations were proven unbelievably wrong. Every other day, Lynn would look out the window and see Lana - accompanied by their father - splashing around in the mud. Much to her father's exasperation.

'Okay, Lana,' He said. 'That's enough.'

Lana didn't listen to him and continued playing around. Lynn Sr only stepped in when she tried to shovel some of that mud into her mouth.

'AH! Lana, no!' He yelled. 'We do not eat mud! Or trash! Or… wow, you have one heck of a diet.'

Watching Little Lana get down and dirty so much was strangely comforting. Not just because it meant that Lynn had another 'tomboy' in the family to be gross with either. If Lana could be like that, and no one ever questioned her girlhood, then it gave Lynn a much higher chance of being seen as a girl now. She hadn't come out to anyone at school just yet, even taking off her ponytail when it was time to go, but watching Lana was making her confidence grow.

It made Lana very different to-

'WAAAAAAAHHHHH!'

-Lola. In contrast to quiet and dirty Lana, Lola was the whiniest little brat that Lynn had ever known. While Lana ate more-or-less anything that was put in front of her, even if it was literally dog food, Lola would chuck the world's biggest hissy fit if her milk wasn't the perfect temperature. It was almost as if she knew that she was the second born twin, and wanted everyone to know that she 'deserved' to be first.

Lynn would never complain about Lori's whining ever again.

Halloween had arrived. It was one of Lynn's favourite times of the year, for three reasons: candy, candy, and CANDY! Sure, candy wasn't exactly the best thing for an athlete to eat, but it was so sweet and delicious that it was totally worth it. And besides, she could easily work off any weight gained. This year, she was to have Lincoln accompanying her. Unsurprisingly, he was going as Ace Savvy this year. Again.

As they stepped out the door to start trick-or-treating, Lynn couldn't help snickering.

'That's a really dorky costume, Stinkcoln,' She said.

Lincoln may have been only five, but he had already proven to have a thick skin. He simply rolled his eyes at her.

'Well, to be fair,' He said. 'I'm not the one who's in costume all year round.'

The very moment he told this joke, he seemed to regret it. Once again, he had a lot of awareness for a five-year-old. For a couple years now, he was already proving himself to be the smartest kid in the family so far. Which may not have been saying much.

'Uh, sorry,' He said, looking away. 'I know I shouldn't make jokes about that, and-'

Lynn just laughed. 'Nah, that was a pretty good one, bro. I walked right into that one.'

'So, uh, jokes about that aren't off-limits?'

'Eh. Don't push your luck.'

Give Lynn credit, she almost managed to stay by Lincoln's side the whole time. The inherent cute factor of a brother-sister duo definitely got them more candies than they would've gotten separately. Lynn couldn't help grinning as she thought about next year, when they could dress the twins up in matching outfits and get even more candy!

Very quickly, however, Lynn couldn't keep it in any longer. The thought of filling her bag up with candy ate at her until she dashed away, running down the sidewalk so fast that Lincoln had no hope of catching up to her.

'Candy!' She cried. 'Candycandycandy!'

'LYNN!' Lincoln shouted, trying and failing to run after her.

Lynn spotted the next house and ran for it as fast as she could. Nothing else mattered but getting all the candy before anyone else could. She was so determined to get there, in fact, that she vaulted over a random boy (who was about Lincoln's age) without realising he was even there. Just a little more to go, and she-

'OOF!'

-skidded to a stop; that was Lincoln, and it sounded like it hurt. When she spun around, she saw that the other little boy and Lincoln had (somehow) crashed right into each other. With a groan, Lynn ran back to make sure that they were okay.

'Stinkcoln!' She said. 'Are you…? Eugh…'

Lincoln was alright. Being the little brother to Lynn made him tough against everything, so he wasn't even bruised. He was just a little dizzy, and maybe a little shocked from the impact. The other kid, however? Blood was gushing out of his nose at an alarming rate. Like, at a faster rate than Lynn had ever seen before. And she had seen a lot of blood.

'Oh, sorry!' Lincoln cried, lifting up his Ace Savvy cape. 'Uh, here, try this.'

The boy grabbed the cape and pressed it up against his nose, which seemed to do a good job at stopping the blood. Perhaps not the best way to solve the problem, but it did the trick. Even if it was kind of gross.

'You're not hurt, are ya?' Lynn asked. 'Uh, badly, I mean.'

'It's fine…' The kid said, his voice a little muffled by the cape. 'It happens a lot when someone runs into me. Or when I get scared. Or if I see someone that looks nice. Or-'

'Hey, wait a minute!' Lincoln said. 'I recognise that outfit. You're One-Eyed Jack!'

'... Who?' Lynn asked.

'He's Ace Savvy's sidekick!'

Now that Lincoln had pointed it out, Lynn noticed this kid was also dressed up like a total dork. Except this dork had an eyepatch on over his glasses.

'And you're Ace Savvy himself!' The kid said. '... That's a really cool costume.'

'Yeah, one of my sisters made it for me,' Lincoln said. 'Oh, uh, my name is Lincoln. What's yours?'

'Clyde.'

Clyde lifted the cape away from his nose, which wasn't gushing blood anymore. It still didn't look pretty, and it had left a stain on Lincoln's cape. Neither kid seemed to care, though.

'Oh, that doesn't look good,' Lincoln said. 'Maybe we should get you home.'

'Yeah, you might be right,' Clyde said. 'It still kind of hurts. I think my dads might be able to help with it.'

Lynn cocked an eyebrow. 'I'm sorry… dads? Like, more than one?'

'I've got two dads.'

'... Huh. Okay.'

Since Lincoln, and Lynn to a lesser extent, felt partially responsible for the accident, they accompanied Clyde all the way back to his home. During the short walk, he and Lincoln hit it off quickly. Lynn could barely stand to hear them rambling about their nerdy comic books. She'd never admit that she found it kind of cute.

'Uh, so, who's the girl?' Clyde asked, as they strolled down the sidewalk.

'Oh, her? She's my big sister, Lynn,' Lincoln replied. 'She's really tough and sporty. You don't wanna mess with her.'

Lynn chuckled. 'You got that right.'

'... The same sister who made you that costume?'

'Not even close. It was Leni who made the costume.'

Clyde was silent for a moment. 'Wait, so how many sisters do you have?'

'Right now? I think… eight.'

'EIGHT?!'

The look on Clyde's face was absolutely priceless, unbelievably shocked and waiting for the 'just joking'. But the 'just joking' never came.

'In order,' Lincoln continued, soaking this up. 'It's… Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn here, me, Lucy, and the twins, Lana and Lola.'

'That's a lotta sisters…'

'Do you have any sisters? Or brothers?'

'Nah. It's just me.'

It didn't take too long to reach Clyde's house, marked by a mailbox labelled 'McBrides'. It looked a lot better than the glorified shack the Louds called home, as far as Lynn was concerned. Lynn knocked at the door, and was greeted almost immediately by two men who seemed just slightly younger than her own father. One looked a lot like Clyde himself, while the other… not so much.

They were both holding a bowl absolutely loaded with candy, but they put the bowl aside the moment they saw Clyde standing outside with a bloodied nose. The man who didn't look like Clyde gasped and fell to his eyes. Tears were already coming to his eyes as he placed his hands on his boy's shoulders.

'Oh no!' He cried. 'O-Our little angel is hurt!'

'Don't worry, Howie,' The man who did look like Clyde said. 'We've seen this before. At least it looks like the bleeding's stopped. Come on, Clyde.'

'Thanks, Dads,' Clyde said with a smile.

He was brought inside by his fathers, seemingly leaving the Loud Kids to stand outside their doorstep awkwardly. It didn't take long, however, for the Clyde-looking man to turn around and give them a big smile.

'So sorry for being rude,' He said. 'I'm Harold, and that man over there is my sweet husband Howard. He's a lovely man, but he can be a little… emotional. Clyde will be just fine. So, are you two friends of his?'

Lincoln shrugged. 'Kinda? We just met today when I, um, accidentally ran into him and his nose started bleeding. But he's an Ace Savvy fan, just like me!'

'Well, that's awesome! Clyde's been a big fan of those comics for a couple years now, and he's been waiting for someone else who liked it as much as he did. And who's that standing behind you? Your sister?'

Lynn's concentration on this conversation was quickly waning, but she was brought back into it upon hearing the word 'sister'. Every now and then, she was reminded of how much of a difference that ponytail seemed to make. A total stranger could now identify her real gender without much of a question.

'Yep,' Lincoln said. 'One of my sisters, anyway. I've got eight of them.'

Harold's jaw dropped. 'E-Eight?! That's… that's a lot of kids. I think Howie and I are quite happy with just the one, but I'm sure your parents love all of you equally.'

'Yeah. Except for me. I'm definitely the favourite.'

'Hey!' Lynn cried.

Harold laughed. 'Oh, I'm sure. Hey, seeing as it might take a while for Howie to clean Clyde up, why don't you two come in?'

Lynn rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, no, we've got candy to bag.'

'We have cookies! Snickerdoodle, if that changes your-'

'GIMME COOKIES!'

Lynn dropped all regards for 'stranger danger' and dashed into the house's living room as fast as she could. Even the insides of the house seemed much nicer than her own, probably because they only had the one kid instead of nine. She plopped herself down on the couch and scooped up a whole handful of cookies that were resting in a bowl on the coffee table. Well, trick-or-treat already required that one abandon all 'stranger danger' rules. Why not go all the way?

The second those cookies touched her taste buds, she could've sworn she had died and gone to heaven.

'OOH!' She cried, letting herself slump on the couch. 'Thethe are thome good cookieth.'

'I'm… glad you like them,' Harold said, less than happy about her getting crumbs everywhere. 'Now, there's something I need to tell you. I know it may be weird that I married another man, but-'

'Eh,' Lynn said with a shrug, after swallowing the cookies. 'Not really. I've seen weirder. I mean, you love each other, right?'

'Of course we do!'

'Then why would we care?' Lincoln asked, sitting down next to Lynn.

Harold let out a sigh of relief. 'Sometimes, we get people who aren't so accepting of us. I don't know why, but some people don't think it's right for a man to marry another man.'

Lynn emitted an indescribable sound of disgust. Even as a seven-year-old, she knew that some people in the world were just jerks. Why love between two (consenting and adult) people could be seen as bad, she'd never know.

'Some people are just jerks,' Lincoln said.

'I just want you kids to know,' Harold said. 'In case you ever decide to visit again, that this is a welcoming place. Howie, Clyde and I don't care what you are or who you love. We've been through a lot of mistreatment across our lives, and the last thing we want is to bring that on someone else.'

Lynn was reaching for another cookie, but stopped herself. Harold clearly said that just to be welcoming, but the words really did mean something to her. If they claimed that they were accepting of everyone, then maybe…

'Our angel's alright!' Howard said, bringing Clyde back into the room. 'He's all ready to get back out there! Oh, and we can wash out the blood stain in your cape, if you want.'

'Nah, it's cool,' Lincoln said. 'We've got candy to score!'

'Uh, can I… go with you guys?' Clyde asked.

'Heck yeah! With matching costumes, we're sure to make even more candy!'

Well, no time to think about that now. Lynn had more pressing matters to worry about. Matters concerning the acquisition of boatloads of candy!

Author Notes - Because it would be a crime to exclude canonically queer characters in a story all about queer identities. I adore Clyde's dads, and not just because they were a massive milestone in LGBTQ+ representation in kids' media. They're fantastic rep because it's literally never addressed. The characters, and the show by extension, treat Harold and Howard's relationship like it's 100% normal. The main focus with them isn't that they're gay, but that they're loving (if overprotective) fathers.

This chapter may have seemed somewhat pointless in the grand scheme of things, but it's setting something up between Lynn and Clyde's family. What, exactly? You'll just have to wait to find out.