Lincoln Loud frowned as he looked himself over. The "date pants" were certainly a nice start, nice, solid, khaki colored slacks which blended well with his dark brown dress shoes, combining to give the boy an air of respectability that honestly felt kind of alien to him. The effect was lost, somewhat, from the waist up, as the tried and true coloring gave way to a bright orange, long sleeved dress shirt. At the time, one of those rare moments when his parents had managed to put aside enough money to buy him and his sisters some nice clothing, Lincoln had been delighted to find a dress shirt in his signature color. But when you had a family as big as his, clothing like that shirt was bought with the intention of making it last as long as humanly possible, and now Lincoln was regretting what what now seemed to be a flippant decision.

"Should have gone with something more subdued." He muttered to himself, twisting two and for, desperately trying not to look like a traffic cone for once in his life.

The sole male Loud sibling usually tried not to be so self conscious about what he wore. It was a common, almost episodic occurrence in the boy's life, in which events transpired so as to teach him that he needed to be comfortable in his own skin, and that was a lesson he tried to take to heart. But it wasn't always that simple. Lincoln was no stranger to dates by this point, outings with Sam, and his sisters-turned-girlfriends had become commonplace by this point, Lincoln had long learned to avoid feeling like he was going to make a fool of himself just because he happened to be out and about with a pretty girl. This, however was different. It was a real date. Which, in no way implied that Lincoln didn't treasure those experiences he'd shared with his girlfriends, quite the contrary. Being fortuitous enough to earn the affection of any one of his lady loves would have made Lincoln Loud the luckiest, and happiest guy alive, the fact that eight such girls (potentially nine, he still wasn't sure what exactly was going on with Lucy) not only returned his feelings, but were willing to co-exist along side one another with little to no complaint, was simply staggering to the young boy. But, while Lincoln's girlfriends were, by and large, older and wiser and more experienced than he was when it came to romance, they were also people he'd known for his entire life. He didn't need to hide anything from them because they already knew and accepted him for who he was. Even Sam, the only one of the bunch who was still a fairly recent addition to the Loud family dynamic, had been a familiar presence in Lincoln's life long before she'd sort of...invited herself into his newly realized relationship with Luna. He didn't see fit to even qualify Sid as an exception to the rule. Sid was simply...Sid, an anomaly unto herself, even in a world that housed Sam Sharp.

Maggie was different. He hadn't known the girl for all that long before she'd shown up at the mall and asked him out on a date. Which had come as a complete surprise to the white haired boy. Yes, Maggie was working for the great evil that was apparently planning to consume everything on the planet before moving on to another hapless world. But she was also gorgeous, beautiful in a subdued, understated sort of manner, clearly too confident in herself to be concerned with something as petty as her own looks. She was cool, attitude wise, almost to the point of being aloof, though still prone to occasionally letting slip a much sweeter side of herself that she clearly tried to keep under wraps, and there was something strangely endearing about that. She could also fight surprisingly well, which...didn't reflect too well upon the girl given her status as an allegedly evil minion of mankind's greatest foe to date, but it was certainly impressive (and a more than a little arousing) how well she'd held her own in her battle against Luan. And, not to put too much emphasis on the girl's physical traits, but it was kind of undeniable that the girl was quite...tall, for her age, which Lincoln was quickly beginning to realize was something he found appealing in a girl (though how much of that was due to the alarming frequency with which he'd had to deal with building-sized girls as of late, he couldn't say.) And while they hadn't been able to spend too much time together thus far, those moments they had meant something. Lincoln had found a connection with the dour-faced girl that was so rare. He was pretty sure he liked her, in a way that went beyond simple friendship. And the fact that the older girl had approached him for this date strongly suggested that those feelings might be reciprocated. But those were presumably predicated on the date going well! And the only way that could happen, is if he could get over his own insecurities regarding—

"Told you he'd be in here, stewing."

Lincoln started in surprise as a familiar voice wafted through his door way, interrupting his self-reflection. Looking up, he saw that Lori was inviting herself into his inner sanctum. Followed by Leni. And Luna. And Sam. In short order, the entirety of the Royal Woods chapter of Team Gigant, had assembled in his suddenly very crowded room.

"H-hey, girls." Lincoln stammered. He had started waving at the group, but about half-way through the motion he decided that was kind of a lame way to greet one's girlfriends. Lincoln tried to salvage the moment by turning the wave into a stretch, but that immediately felt like the wrong decision. Suddenly at a loss, Lincoln simply abandoned the action entirely, letting his arm drop, dangling limply at his side. An instant later, he sicked that hand in his pocket. Lincoln wasn't certain as to what it was, exactly, he was now trying to accomplish, but he was fairly certain he'd failed magnificently.

While this was going on, Lori made her way across the room and sat down on Lincoln's bed, motioning for the younger boy to sit next to her. His body began to comply before conscious thought even registered the request, and the next thing he knew, he was sitting alongside his big sister.

"I—" He began, but was swiftly cut off as Lori's arm snaked around his midsection and pulled him into a side hug. Uncertain how to respond, Lincoln returned the gesture, laying his head atop the older girl's shoulder.

"You need to get out of your head, little brother." Lori chided him, nuzzling her face against his. "It's going to be fine."

"But what if it's not?" He asked, unable to meet her eyes. Lori reached out, gently cupped his face in her hand, and turned him, forcing him to face her.

"It will be." She said, not a shred of doubt in her voice. "Because you're Lincoln Loud, and you're the best brother and boyfriend a girl could ask for. All you need to do is remember a few simple things."

"And what—" Again Lincoln was unable to complete his sentence, this time because Lori bent down and captured his lips with her own. His body immediately relaxed, responding to the familiar, comforting sensation of the older girl's gentle, tender kiss. Lincoln couldn't say for how long the kiss went on precisely, but he immediately found himself regretting it when Lori began to pull away. However long it had been, he knew it hadn't been long enough.

"You just need to be yourself, Lincoln Loud." Lori said, giving the boy one more squeeze. "That's all you've ever needed to be."

Sensing movement behind him, Lincoln turned away from Lori to find Leni leaning down. He responded in kind, tilting his head up and meeting the older girl's lips in a second kiss.

"Be nice to her, Linky. She'll like that." Leni said, beaming down at the boy as she pulled away. Immediately Luna took her place, taking her own turn with the Loud boy's lips.

"Be bold, bro." Luna said.

"But not too bold." Sam chimed in, not waiting for Luna to step aside before she took her own turn, sidling up to the pair before darting forward like a striking snake, taking the younger boy for her own. "—Unless you want to bring her back here, that is." She finished, giving the boy a lascivious wink.

"Sam!" The Sharpe girl didn't acknowledge her girlfriend's reprimand beyond quickly sticking out her tongue at the irate brunette. She took a moment to affectionately tousle Lincoln's hair before allowing Luna to drag her away, giving the now slightly dazed boy a brief reprieve. He barely registered Luan's uncharacteristically stoic face moving towards his own, but regained enough of his senses to properly respond to the comedienne's affection, wrapping his arms around her and deepening their kiss. As she pulled away, Lincoln was heartened to see a bit of the brunette's usual cheer creeping back into her face.

"Just be on your guard." She said, coughing softly in embarrassment. "I don't think you'll have any trouble putting a smile on her stupid face."

"I've learned from the best." He said, honestly. No further response was forthcoming, but Luan definitely stood up straighter as she stepped away, allowing Lynn to take her turn.

"Lynn." Lori chided the younger girl, who'd leapt onto their brother with a bit too much enthusiasm, trying to remind her of the point of this little exercise.

"Yeah, yeah." Lynn grumbled, panting slightly as she released Lincoln from her lip lock. "Just trying to get his confidence up." So forceful had been her ministrations that Lincoln was now flat on his back, his pupils dilated, somewhat unfocused. Lynn pulled him back to a sitting position, and treated herself to one last cuddle.

"You're a lot tougher than you think you are, Linc." She concluded, giving him what was clearly the gentlest punch to the arm she could muster. "Just believe in yourself. You can do this."

Lincoln nodded woodenly, smiling as best he could at the athlete. The punch had still hurt like crazy, but that wasn't Lynn's fault, she was a lot stronger than she used to be. He still appreciated the gesture. The deception apparently worked, as Lynn gave him one last reassuring smile, then hopped to her feet.

"Lincoln." The boy flinched instinctively as Lucy was suddenly sitting next to him. Funny, he hadn't seen her come in with the other girls. Before he could ruminate further oon the pseudo-supernatural phenomenon that was his little sister, Lucy slid close and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Lincoln chuckled at the rare show of enthusiasm from the normally stoic girl, and responded in kind, hugging the younger girl tightly.

"Just be yourself." She murmured, reaching up and giving him a chaste, but affectionate peck on the cheek.

"Lori already said that." Lincoln replied, returning the gesture.

"I know, but it bears repeating. It's good advice." She shrugged. "Plus, I had to come up with Lynn's advice, and didn't have time to come up with anything for myself."

"Hey!"

"I got it." Lincoln chuckled, releasing his grip on the girl. "Thank's Luce." He looked around at the family assembled around him, Sam included. "Thanks, all of you. I'm feeling a lot better right now."

HONK HONK

"And that would be mom with the car." Lori announced, gently removing Lucy from Lincoln's person. "You'd better get going, little brother."

Lincoln gave the group one last nod, then hopped to his feet and rushed downstairs. He had a date to get to.

Lori stared out the window, watching Vanzilla speed off down the street. "That's your cue." She said, turning around. Leni and Lucy nodded to one another, then made their own exit.

"Not that I'm complaining." Luna began as the remaining girls turned back to the window. "The little dude definitely needed a pick me up. But are you sure that's gonna be enough to keep any more...uh, 'accidents', from happening?" From their vantage, Lori could see Leni and Lucy now outside. The older girl picked up the diminutive goth, cradling her protectively in her arms. Then, Leni took a brief running start and launched herself into the air, sailing far into the distance.

"I honestly don't know." Lori replied, shrugging. "It's not like I could run it by Seven, what with him being attached to Lincoln. But hopefully we've calmed him down enough that he'll be able to keep his cool on his date." The eldest Loud sibling shook her head, wearily. "Last thing we need is another accidental Gigant on our hands."

"Sid seems nice." Lynn interjected.

"She does." Lori conceded. "Though I really wish she wasn't a packaged deal with my ex's sister. That's going to make things...awkward, at some point." She frowned, shaking her head in annoyance. "Regardless, the last thing we need is more giant girls running around Royal Woods."

"This town's not big enough for all of us." Luan added, prompting the other girls to look her way.

"That...was weak. Even for you." Luna observed.

"Shut up." Luan grumbled as she started for the door. "I'm still worried about that brother-napper putting the moves on my man."

"We're here." Fiona announced with a palpable dearth of enthusiasm. "Now get out."

"I'm not ready." Came Maggie's instantaneous reply, as the younger girl immediately set about wildly looking to and fro, looking very much like a cornered animal. Fiona was annoyed, but not surprised. For the duration of the mercifully short trip, Maggie's one and only response to any question directed her way was "I'm not ready." It had been funny at first, but the amusement had worn thin very fast.

"Well, too bad." Fiona grumbled, reaching past the younger girl and shoving the passenger side door open. "Boss paid me to drive you here. And here is where we're are. Now go!"

SLAM

Fiona only barely managed to pull her fingers back into the car before the door was slammed shut once more. Furious, she rounded on her co-worker, fully intent on unleashing some of her rapidly mounting frustration on her burdensome passenger. But the sight of Maggie, shaking, shaking, legs pulled up against her chest, her normally bored, listless eyes wide with fear...something about that sight stirred something inside her, and she felt her anger begin to ebb.

Fiona collapsed back into her seat with a long, loud sigh of exasperation. "Look, kid. You're making a much bigger deal out of this than you need to be."

"Am not." Maggie muttered, scrunching her body into an even tighter ball.

"Yes, you are." Fiona reached out, pushing down the urge to swat the still trembling, raven-tressed head that was poking out of the Maggie-ball, and instead patted her on the shoulder in a manner which she'd hoped was comforting. "That little dope wouldn't have accepted your invitation if he didn't like you."

"Maybe he was just being nice." Maggie protested weakly.

Fiona rolled her eyes, mustering her resolve. "And even if that was the case, and it's not, so what? You're here. He'll be here in a bit. The hard part's over. All you need to do is go out and enjoy yourself."

"I've never been very good at that." Maggie mumbled, eyes downcast.

"It's an amusement park, dummy." Fiona retorted. "The park is gonna do all the work for you. Just be around and...you know, be present. Talk to him, laugh at his jokes, stuff like that." There was a sort pause, then movement. A rustling in the Maggie-ball as it reconfigured itself so that two piercing eyes were peering out from within.

"That sounds too easy." She said, suspiciously.

"It's supposed to be easy." Fiona replied. Then, under her breath. "In theory." There was another pregnant pause.

"W-what if I can't think of anything to say?"

Fiona didn't have a response to that. Especially since her anti-social junior was very likely to run into that exact problem sooner than later.

"Just...lean over a bit." She said at last. This prompted the Maggie-ball to finally unfurl, the younger girl's head poking upward and tilting quizzically to the side.

"Huh?"

"If there's a lull in the conversation, and you can't think of anything to say, just face the kid and lean over a little." She considered her words. "But not too much. Like, a twenty to thirty-degree angle, maximum."

Maggie blinked in surprise. "And that works?"

"Yeah." Fiona rolled her eyes again. "It's a secret girl trick. Works every time."

Maggie stroked her chin, thoughtfully. "I can lean." She concluded. Then, much to Fiona's surprise and relief, she opened the door and began climbing out.

"Wait!" Fiona called out, reaching into the back of her car and fishing around for a bit. Finally, she found what she was looking for; a small black bag. "Don't forget your purse." She said, handing the accoutrement to the suddenly perplexed girl.

"But I don't have a purse." Maggie replied, examining the bag in her hands. "I don't even own a purse."

"Boss said to give it to you. There's some spending cash, a first-aid kid, and..." Fiona lowered her voice. "One of those things. You know, just in case."

"Fiona!" The normally pallid girl was now bright red. The older girl rubbed her temples, trying to ward off her impending migrane.

"Not one of those things!" She growled, snatching the purse out of Maggie's grasp, and fumbling around a bit before producing the item in question. A rather innocuous looking plastic baggie. Housed within it was a small, jet black oval object.

"Ah." Maggie replied, regaining her normal coloration. "That makes...slightly more sense."

Fiona handed the purse back to Maggie. "You're off the clock, but he wanted you to have one on-hand. Just in case you needed it. Now get going, that kid's not gonna date himself."

"Right." Maggie took a deep breath, perhaps a bit deeper than was actually necessary, before setting out, her stride gradually becoming more and more confident the further she got away from the vehicle. Most noteworthy, to Fiona, was a small smile that slowly crept it's way onto the younger girl's face. It was a little thing, but given how stoic the raven haired girl was normally, it said a lot about just how much she'd been looking forward to this day.

"When was the last time I was that happy?" She asked the now empty car, as she reversed out of her parking spot and began heading for home, her obligations met for the moment.