Loud and Proud
Luna Loud was in her and Luan's bedroom, packing things away. She and her band, the Moon Goats, had been contracted to play at the Royal Woods Pride Parade. Seeing as this was her first Pride Parade since getting together with Sam Sharp, her loyal, loving girlfriend, Luna wanted this gig to be perfect. Luna could still remember when Sam pushed her into rejoining the band after she quit in the wake of the 'bad luck' fallout. After taking the time to reconcile those unfortunate events and deciding that Luna's actions back then did not reflect on who she was now, Sam pressured the band into letting Luna rejoin, despite their understandable objections. Eventually, Sully and Mazzy relented, and Luna was invited back in, which she readily accepted.
Of course, Luna had another motivation for making this parade go as well as it can. In a game of 'Spin the Bottle' that she played with her siblings Luan, Lori, and Lincoln, and their respective lovers Benny Stein, Bobby, and Ronnie Anne Santiago, as well as Sam, Luna was dared into showing Sam her breasts by her devious room-mate Luan. When Luna did so, Sam couldn't help herself. In fact, the only reason Sam let go of Luna's chest melons was because there was a game to play, and that there were pre-teens present. Still, after the game, Luna and Sam went upstairs and did everything above the belt that could be imagined. Below it, not so much. Sam told Luna that she wasn't ready for that stage in their relationship yet. Luna understood, and still had a fun time regardless, but that desire to be intimate with Sam never went away. She hoped that, by accompanying Sam to this parade would signify that she was serious about Sam, and that, in turn, should let Sam's guard down, and allow her to get that last piece of clothing off in bed. Luna was looking over her gear, to see if she missed anything.
"Guitars. Check. Picks. Check. Bi-con costume. Check. Gotta thank Vee-Leni for that one," Luna listed. Since her sister Leni was residing in the Boiling Isles to hide from the Malefic Order, a band of dark witches that had their sights set on Leni because she could help them revive an ancient evil imprisoned in the Realm Between Realms for millenia, a shapeshifting basilisk named Vee had been living in her place, something the rest of the family was slow to get used to. What also didn't help was Lincoln living away from home, with the Casagrandes, owing to him needing to heal from the 'bad luck' incident causing deep-seated resentment towards half of the family, which had only come to the surface recently. While disheartening that Lincoln would feel this way about her, Lisa was quick to point out that, in her studies of the human psyche, had this not been addressed sooner, Lincoln would grow up to hate the family outright, and shut them out completely later in life, and that, all agreed, was something nobody wanted.
The Loud family did score a win when Lynn Jr., the sporty sister of the family, came back home from her interdimensional exile, having ran away from home after Lincoln's inner resentment became known to them. She did this to learn how to be a better sister, and after having found such advice from a Kevin Grant-Gomez of Danville, Lynn returned home. Luna made a mental note to thank the guy if they ever crossed paths, as having Lynn run away nearly broke the family beyond all hope of repair. Luna then examined the bi-con outfit Vee-Leni had made for her, which consisted of a crop-top and mini-shorts in the colours of the bisexual flag. Luna had made the mistake of confiding her intentions to Vee-Leni, who designed the outfit in a way that revealed as much skin as possible. Her mid-riff and thighs would be on full display, something Luna had never done before, not even on the beach.
"You want Sam to show you her stuff, you gotta show yours, too," Vee-Leni advised, once the costume was finished.
"We are having a bad influence on her," Luna remarked. Little did Luna know that Vee once tried something similar with a girl called Masha back in Gravesfield, with positive results. She looked over the revealing costume once more and, after a deep sigh to sum up her courage, put it on. If the fact that it revealed more skin than Lincoln whenever he read his comic books didn't make her uncomfortable, it was the smooth texture of the outfit that made her feel like she wasn't wearing anything at all. When she looked in the mirror, she swore that the outfit was almost see-through. When Luna squinted, she could almost make out her undies. What was Vee-Leni on when she designed this? To make matters worse, Lynn chose this moment to have a peek at what Vee-Leni cooked up for Luna.
"Is Sam coming over? If so, please tell us if you're planning to get 'down and dirty' so we can leave the house," Lynn quipped. Luna went bright red at this implication.
"Dude! It's my Pride Parade outfit! I'm already anxious as it is without you cracking jokes!" Luna chastised.
"Jokes are Luan's department. I was asking a serious question. You're wearing that to Pride? Nice! If the point of that get-up is to get you and Sam scissoring by sundown, you've got this in the bag," Lynn encouraged without a hint of shame.
"Did you forget to pick up a filter while you were in Danville?!" Luna responded.
"All the stores were shut. In all seriousness, we're really happy you're going to your first Pride Parade. We love you for who you are, and you should celebrate that. If any Bible-thumping dinosaurs come to ruin things, give us a buzz and we'll send them packing, OK?" Lynn counselled. Luna gave a warm smile. True, Lynn would still be Lynn. No force on this Earth or the other would change that, but at least she was more empathic than she usually was.
"Thanks, Lynn. Nice to know you have my back," Luna responded.
"Always will. Oh, by the way, do tell us how Sam tastes, alright?" Lynn requested.
"Will you get out of here!" Luna demanded in an embarrassed tone as she chased Lynn out of her room while brandishing one of her guitars. Lynn took this as her cue to bolt before she got clobbered. Luna then looked at herself in the mirror one last time before leaving. "Hmm, how would Sam taste? Only one way to find out," Luna wondered, and left for the big show.
After hauling her stuff into Chunk's van, the two set out to meet Sam, Sully, and Mazzy at the parade's start point; the town hall. From there, all the floats would travel to the town square, then back again, with Mayor Davies leading the show. When she got there, Luna was half-scared she was violating some kind of dress code, but then she saw all the other costumes that people were wearing that made hers seem tame by comparison. She was passing through, saying 'hi' to everyone she came across, until she scouted her girlfriend Sam and the Moon Goats getting ready for the show themselves. While she was nervous about how Sam would react to seeing her get-up, she was excited to be here nonetheless.
"Hey, Luna. Rocking outfit. Let me guess; Leni helped make it," Sully greeted. Everyone turned around to see what Luna was wearing.
"Woah, someone's got one thing on their minds today. Sam, you gotta see this," Mazzy urged towards Sam, who was still turned away, tuning her guitar.
"Come on, you stupid A-chord, straighten up. Parade starts in an hour," Sam muttered to her guitar.
"Sam, the string's fine. Come on, check out Luna's duds," Sully pressed. Sam then got up and turned to Luna.
"Hey, Lu-" but whatever Sam was going to say next did not make it out of her mouth. The instant she laid eyes on Luna, she froze into place. The sight of her girlfriend made her mouth hang open and drool like Homer Simpson eyeing a very large doughnut. Sam just stood there, staring at this hot girl that was Luna. Not since Juney, the recent transfer student with long, blonde hair, had she been this smitten. Not even Ms DiMartino made Sam feel as hot under the collar as this. "Lu… Lu….. Lu…..systems shutting doooowwwwwnnnnnn," Sam uttered before getting a nose-bleed and passing out.
"Now I know how Lori feels," Luna remarked.
"Someone get some water," Mazzy instructed. Sully then got out some bottled water from the cooler and splashed some in Sam's face, waking her up. Sully also got some tissues to help with Sam's still bleeding nose.
"Too far?" Luna asked.
"You think?" Mazzy rebutted. She then helped Sam onto a chair, where she began to recover. Luna chose this moment to go over preparations for the gig so as to not cause Sam to pass out again. Meanwhile, Sam was having a crisis of conscious, fidgeting nervously. While Sam was typically not one to get performance anxiety, seeing Luna dressed like that made her very scared, and very aroused. She kept sneaking in looks at Luna, and to her shame, she started undressing her with her eyes.
"She's your girlfriend. She's your girlfriend," Sam kept thinking over and over in her head. "Oh my God. If she knew what was going on inside your head, she'd think you were sick," Sam internally monologued to herself. She then got in one last glimpse of Luna. That outfit made her look like she wasn't wearing anything at all, which made Sam cross her legs tightly. "Or would she? Let's back up for a minute. She was the one who practically ripped my top up when we went to second base for the first time. She was the one who put her hands lower down when we got into it. She was the one who showed up in that sexy outfit," Sam reasoned to herself. Luna then went over to Sam and sat next to her while she checked over her guitar, sneaking in a sly smile at Sam. "I know that look. Forget it. She's inviting you in, girl. Don't leave her hanging," Sam's brain pressed, but Sam herself would not budge. "Do it now, before the show starts. Come on, one quick ravishing. No-one's looking. Do it!" Sam's brain almost ordered. When Luna leaned in closer, the screaming in her head got even louder. "SHE IS PRACTICALLY BEGGING FOR YOU TO GO DOWN ON HER! FINGERS OR TONGUE! PICK ONE!" Sam's brain had run out of patience. Acting on instinct, Sam grasped her hand tightly.
"Oh no, my guitar-playing hand. I think I sprained it. I'll just go and get some ice," Sam improvised. She then ran away to find solitude, in an attempt to quiet her mind. Luna looked down-trodden, but also suspicious. In all the time she knew Sam, she could tell when something was up, and something was definitely up with Sam. She set off in pursuit, but Sam was desperate to evade Luna.
"Really? That's what you did? Running away won't get you laid, girl," Sam's brain chastised.
"Shut up, you!" Sam rebuked.
"I didn't say anything," Luna replied. Sam could see that Luna had caught up to her. Sam was still panicking. Why did Luna have to wear that outfit that Sam could not stop staring at? Why couldn't she stop thinking that outfit would look better on her bedroom floor? Why couldn't she silence these thoughts that are going round and around in her head?
"Oh darn, no ice around here. I'll, uh, just check the next block over," Sam deflected and raced away again. Luna then chased her into the woods, which was a strange place to look for ice for a sprained hand. Try as she might, Luna could not keep up with Sam in these dense woods. When Sam saw that Luna was nowhere in sight, she sank to the floor in despair. Truth be told, she did want to be intimate with Luna, but she had all these doubts that she'd be good enough for her. She kept telling herself' What if Luna doesn't like what she see?' or 'What if your performance isn't up to snuff?' All those questions and more did the rounds in Sam's head. She then looked over photos of her and Luna on her phone and screamed into her knees. "Luna, you deserve better than me," Sam said in a sad tone of voice.
Luna was wandering in the woods for about ten minutes. She was sure Sam had to be here somewhere. Part of her told her to go back, but she wouldn't be a good girlfriend if she did that. She was about to give up, when she could hear soft crying from a few feet ahead. She recognised the tone straight away. Sam was there. Following the sound, Luna darted across the forest floor and found Sam, with her head buried in her legs, slumped on the floor.
"Hey, Sam, you OK?" Luna asked out of loving concern. Sam looked up to find Luna, and immediately turned away, not wanting to be disturbed by perverse thoughts again. Luna was disturbed by this gesture. She couldn't bear to see Sam in such a state. "Hey, come on. Look at me, tell me what's wrong, girl," Luna pleaded.
"I can't," Sam protested.
"Why not?" Luna inquired. Sam paused for a hot minute. She had thought about telling Luna the truth, but she also feared her reaction.
"I can't look at you in that costume without…," Sam began, but couldn't bring herself to finish her answer.
"Without what?" Luna probed. Sam started hyper-ventilating at the thoughts coming back into her head again. "OK, deep breaths, don't pass out on me again. I think I can guess what's going on, but in your own time," Luna guided.
"You'll think I'm a freak," Sam asserted.
"No, I won't. Remember when I told you about seeing my brother in the hospital?" Luna reminded.
"Yeah, after the Order attacked," Sam recalled.
"He had a similar problem. Early bloomer that he is, he started having erotic dreams about him and Ronnie Anne. He was so scared of our reaction, but we told him that he couldn't help it, that such thoughts are to be embraced, and that they make us human," Luna explained. Sam chuckled slightly.
"Do you miss him?" Sam queried.
"All the time. Lori sends us updates whenever she can. He's doing so well in the city, better than he was with us. We've even had discussions about making the move permanent, but ultimately, that's down to him," Luna answered.
"If a 12-year-old can handle living away from home with his girlfriend and dreaming of her, I should be able to handle my girlfriend trying to seduce me," Sam weakly resolved. Luna sighed heavily.
"Look, I should be apologising to you. I had Leni make this outfit with the express intention of lowering your guard, when I should've waited for you to come to me naturally. I'm sorry," Luna said remorsefully.
"No. If anything, I should be sorry for being such a prude and thinking the worst. The real reason I've been clamming up is because I was scared of what you would think if I ever said as such out loud. I should've known better, Lunes. I'm sorry," Sam returned the gesture. Luna then had a light-bulb moment.
"We've still got time before we have to head back. Tell me what you're thinking right now," Luna suggested. Sam smiled.
"Well, that outfit is making me want to rip it off you. I want to see those glorious teets of yours like we did after that bottle game. But I also want more. I want ALL of you, and I also want you to have all of me," Sam disclosed. This made Luna very excited. She made a mental note to thank Vee-Leni for her contribution to this project, as it turned out to be a smashing success.
"After hearing that, I still don't think you're a freak. In fact, I'm half-tempted to oblige you," Luna resolved. Sam gasped in shock.
"Really?!" Sam said.
"Not here. We are in the middle of the woods, after all, but if you're still keen, we can meet up at your place after the parade," Luna replied. Sam was starting to pick up what Luna was putting down.
"I think I'd like that," Sam accepted.
"One thing though. If I'm showing you mine, you're showing me yours," Luna bargained. Sam laughed heartily at Luna's response.
"Deal," Sam agreed. She then pulled Luna into a passionate kiss, one Luna readily returned. The two girls were locked in this embrace for about ten minutes until they decided that they should head back to the parade start point. On the way back, Sam had her arm around Luna's waist, and snuck in a feel of Luna's skin, which was seriously soft to the touch. So entranced by this sensation that Sam instinctually reached lower and lower, until Mazzy snapped Sam out of this trance.
"You mind not doing that here?" Mazzy interjected. Sam brought herself back to reality. To her surprise, Luna whispered in her ear.
"No worries. I thought about doing that, too," Luna assured. Now thoroughly convinced that Luna was a sex maniac (something Sam was totally fine with), the preparations for the Pride Parade were now complete. Mayor Davies ushered them towards the Royal Woods High School Pride float that they would be performing on, and the festival got underway. The float drove out to cheering crowds waving flags of all colours. Streamers, confetti, it truly was a celebration of Pride at its height.
"Thank you, Royal Woods! As Mayor, I am, shall I say it, proud to bring you our annual Pride Parade! The fight to get these wonderful people the equal rights they totally deserve is, sadly, ongoing, but we are making progress every single year! To this, I say, we will never stop fighting! One of my election promises was to highlight this struggle every year, and I meant it! Today, we say to the LGBT, young and old, you are welcome here!" Mayor Davies rallied to roaring applause. The Moon Goats then started playing 'Play it Loud' for all to hear. Luna was especially elated to see almost all her siblings had come along to support her. Vee-Leni came in place of the actual Leni. Even Lucy had pried herself away from her studies at Hexside to show her support for Luna. She even wore her Hexside uniform, something by-standers who cared to notice passed off as another variation of the flag colours. She was accompanied by a small boy in what looked like star-spangled pyjamas. This, Luna realised, was the Collector, a god-like being that could travel between worlds. No doubt he brought Lucy here. Lori had travelled from Fairway to attend. In fact, the only sibling Luna didn't see amongst the crowd was Lincoln.
"Told you this would be fun, Collector," Lucy indicated.
"Yeah, this is awesome! Candy, music. This is every kid's dream!" the Collector exclaimed. Then his attention shifted to some less-than-pleased elders waving banners of their own. "One question; why do those guys look less than happy?" the Collector inquired. Lucy then spotted a sight she dreaded; old people waving around Bible verses on banners shouting 'groomers!' and 'repent of your sin!'
"Oh great. I sometimes forget these people exist after having lived on the Isles. Sisters, assemble," Lucy gathered the troops. Lori then rounded up Vee-Leni, Luan, Lynn, Lola, Lana, and Lisa to form a human shield between the Bible thumpers and the parade.
"Get out of our way! This is an affront to God!" one elder demanded.
"You're an affront to this town, now beat it!" Lynn ordered.
"Yeah! You're the dinosaurs, we're the meteors. Lisa, prep your cloud-seeders. The Ice Age is coming early!" Luan quipped. While the Louds were prepared for a smack-down, a huge gust of wind blew their banners into a fire no-one was sure how it got there. "Huh, looks like He doesn't agree with you," Luan joked. Vee-Leni then had the idea to record a video on her phone, and the other Louds followed suit.
"Well, Luan, I'd say your room-mate's first Pride Parade is coming along nicely. Shame about these hateful bigots trying to spoil everything, again," Vee-Leni recorded herself and Luan, who, being the budding thespian she was, played along.
"Tsk tsk tsk, bad form. Not a good look at all. I think it's time to engage in a little cancelling. Smile for the camera, people," Luan then brought the phone towards the Bible thumpers, who tried in vain to conceal their faces, but to no avail.
"Retreat!" the lead Bible thumper could sense that the battle was lost for them. This point was hammered home further by the fact that he had been struck by lightning. They made for their cars, only for the tires to have been punctured by icicles. Again, no-one knew how they got there, and the one that was spared this treatment had been stolen by Flip.
"Call this a tax on those that refuse to live in the 21st century," Flip called out and drove off. Once Luan's video was uploaded online, all the Bible thumpers then got texts from various workplaces telling them they had been terminated from their positions with immediate effect. Their firings were justified as their workplaces fostered an environment of tolerance and diversity, plus several of them sponsored this parade to begin with.
"You won this year, but we'll be back!" the lead called out, then finally departed, along with the rest of his party, on foot.
"Score one for the meddling kids," Vee-Leni led the victory cry. Meanwhile, up on a rooftop, Lincoln had put his wand away, his work having been completed, and surveyed the scene one last time. While he was not ready to face his family yet, he still loved and supported them.
"Stay loud and proud, dear sister," Lincoln wished, before portalling back to Great Lakes City.
After the parade was over, Mayor Davies had gathered the Louds up on a stage to honour them for their gallantry against the Bible thumpers. The awards consisted of another medal for contributions to the town. The police didn't even charge Flip for grand theft auto, namely because they couldn't prove it, as the evidence of Flip's crime somehow vanished without a trace. When all was said and done, for Luna, something more personal needed taking care of. After saying goodbye to Mazzy and Sully, Sam and Luna were at the former's house, with not a soul in sight. The two of them were in Sam's room, each looking longingly at the other.
"So, we really doing this?" Luna asked.
"I….. guess we are," Sam replied. The two then began making out and collapsed onto Sam's bed. Before things could get too rowdy, Luna and Sam then turned to the audience.
"Guys, this is a T-rated fic. You're not gonna see it," Sam reminded.
"They might, if A: they ask Albert really nicely, or B: Grace provokes him enough," Luna laid out the terms and conditions.
"What's Albert's threshold?" Sam probed.
"If Grace sends him another XXX-rated comic, he might do it," Luna hypothesised. The scene then faded to black, depriving the viewers of Luna and Sam's good times.
Author's note: Happy Pride Month, everybody. Grace gave me the idea to expand upon elements touched on in our Sharuby Saga 2nd anniversary fic, namely, Luna and Sam's first Pride Month as an out couple. Please note, that Grace only gave me the idea. The content of this story was all me. Grace certainly didn't tell me to have Luna dress the way she did here. Knowing him, he probably wouldn't be brave enough to go as far as I did here. What? Don't give me that look. Someone in this pairing has to, OK?! I hope you enjoyed it. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. All properties belong to their respective owners. Enjoy.