Loud and Proud
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Naruto x ?
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Story Start
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In the waning hours of an ordinary weekday, Lucy Loud found herself grappling with an unusual challenge—a poetic assignment from her sister Lori, no less. Lori had concocted the idea of celebrating her 'ten-month anniversary' with her boyfriend, Bobby, and decided that a poem would be the perfect gesture. However, not being one for rhymes herself, Lori enlisted Lucy with the promise of allowing her the car to visit the cemetery over the weekend.
Lucy, draped in her usual gothic attire, sighed deeply as she mulled over her words, trying to find a rhyme for "locker" that wasn't utterly ridiculous. She was seated on the family couch, a notepad on her lap, when Lincoln walked in, catching the tail end of her sigh.
"What's up with the sigh, Lucy?" Lincoln asked, plopping down beside her.
"It's Lori. She wants a ten-month anniversary poem for Bobby. And I can't go to the cemetery unless I write it," Lucy explained, her voice flat, her frustration barely masked.
Lincoln chuckled, shaking his head. "She really takes these anniversaries seriously, huh? What's the poem called?"
"Bobby," Lucy replied simply, causing Lincoln to smirk.
"Let's hear it then," he urged, genuinely curious about what gothic romantic verses Lucy had concocted.
Lucy cleared her throat and began, her voice monotone yet clear, "Bobby, I thought you were a dunce, when you left those brownies in my locker. Yet here we are, ten months stronger, our bizarre love couldn't be any proper."
Lincoln raised his eyebrows, impressed despite himself. "That's… actually pretty good, Luce."
"Thanks," Lucy said, a small smile flickering across her face. "I just hope Lori likes it."
With the poem completed, Lucy stood, tucking her notepad into her bag, and headed upstairs to deliver her work to Lori, leaving Lincoln to his thoughts and the quiet of the living room.
Lucy's delivery was met with unexpected delight. Lori loved the poem, much to Lucy's relief, and the promise of the car was upheld. Content with the outcome, Lucy retreated back to the living room, where Lincoln was setting up a video game console.
Lincoln, spotting Lucy, called out, "So, how did it go?"
"She loved it," Lucy replied, settling down on the couch. "Said it was 'perfectly quirky and charming.' Looks like I'm headed to the cemetery after all."
"Nice," Lincoln responded, just as the TV displayed the main menu of a driving simulation game. "Wanna play? I'm trying to teach Leni how to drive."
Lucy raised an eyebrow but nodded, intrigued. "Sure, why not?"
As the evening progressed, Lincoln and Lucy were joined by Leni, who was both anxious and excited to learn driving through the game. The trio laughed and joked, the room filled with light-hearted banter and the occasional shriek from Leni as her virtual car swerved wildly.
Leni's determination, mixed with Lincoln's patient instructions and Lucy's sardonic encouragement, made for an entertaining session. Even Lori and Bobby joined in after a while, drawn by the sounds of laughter and chaotic driving.
The game eventually gave way to a movie marathon, which all the siblings watched together, sprawled across the living room with popcorn and sodas. The movie choice, a classic horror that Lucy enjoyed, was surprisingly a hit with the others too.
As the night drew to a close, Lucy found herself unusually content. The poem, initially a chore, had brought her unexpected joy through Lori's appreciation. The driving game with Lincoln and Leni had been genuinely fun, and even the horror movie had been more enjoyable with her siblings around.
In the quiet that settled as the credits rolled on the last movie, Lucy looked around at her siblings. Each was different, unique in their quirks and personalities, but together, they were a family—a noisy, eclectic, and utterly loving family. And as she pondered, Lucy realized that perhaps, just perhaps, she wouldn't mind writing another poem or two if it meant more evenings like this.
In the Loud house, amidst the chaos and noise, there were moments of pure family joy, and Lucy, in her own quiet, gothic way, cherished them deeply. The night ended with shared laughs, whispered plans for the next movie night, and a collective reluctance to move from the cozy pile they had all formed on the living room floor. And for once, Lucy didn't mind the noise at all.
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In the comfort of their living room, the Loud siblings were engaged in a slightly unorthodox driving lesson. Leni, having spectacularly failed her driving test twelve times. Naruto, taking a break from writing scripts for promos from intros and special announcements for the videos, agreed to watch Leni's driving practice unfold.
Lincoln, ready to start, handed Leni a controller shaped like a steering wheel, while Naruto watched curiously, hoping perhaps to understand how Leni could possibly quadruple her amount of fails during the time he had left.
"Wow! It's like a spinny thingy!" Leni exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she held the controller.
"It's technically called a steering wheel, Leni. So, are you ready to start?" Lincoln asked, trying to keep the session professional.
"WAIT! I need my special driving outfit!" Leni declared suddenly and dashed off. Moments later, she returned in a flamboyant outfit, striking several poses for dramatic effect.
"Great, so can we get started now?" Lincoln pushed, eager to get on with it.
"WAIT! I need my special driving smoothie!" Leni interjected again, rushing to blend a soy pumpkin cookie crumble cream smoothie, a seasonal favorite of hers. After taking a generous sip, she offered some to Naruto, who politely declined.
"Ok. Now, can we—" Lincoln tried once more to initiate the session.
"WAIT!" Leni cut him off again, her antics unfailing.
"What is it now, Leni?" Lincoln asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"Aren't you gonna open the door for me?" Leni responded innocently, holding her smoothie and playing along with her role as a driver.
With a theatrical sigh, Lincoln mimed opening a car door, complete with sound effects, "Click! Click!"
"What a gentleman," Leni giggled, finally settling down with her controller.
Naruto couldn't help but laugh, "Quite the attentive instructor I see."
"Hush, you," Lincoln replied with a mock scowl.
The game displayed Leni's avatar in a car on the upper right corner of the screen. "Ok, all you have to do is keep the steering wheel straight, and you'll—"
Almost immediately, Leni crashed into a virtual wall and received a 'game over' screen.
"Ummm, ok...let's try again," Lincoln suggested, resetting the game.
However, Leni's repeated crashes and game overs began to grate on their nerves, especially Lincoln's, who was trying his best to be patient to which Naruto intervened.
"Leni, why don't you visualize it like this. You're heading to the mall and if you want to get there as fast as possible to beat others for the sale for cute new outfits you got to follow the best path. Which means driving safely on the route to get their as fast as possible."
Leni gasped in delight, "Why didn't you two say so?"
"I can't believe that worked," Lincoln remarked in disbelief.
"Any good older member of a family has to understand how their siblings or children work or that just prove they're plain inattentive."
This time, something clicked for Leni. Maybe it was the incentive of 'going to the mall' or just getting used to the controls, but she started playing like a pro. The screen filled with praises like "Good!", "Holy Cow!", and "Dang, Girl!" as she maneuvered the virtual car with surprising skill.
"Wow! Go, Leni!" Lincoln cheered, genuinely impressed.
"Amazing Len..." Naruto added.
The session turned into a fun evening for the siblings, with Leni's newfound gaming skills and Lincoln's relieved praises. The Loud living room was filled with laughter and light-hearted teasing.
As Leni maneuvered through the digital traffic, her virtual car got stuck behind a slow driver. "Move it, slowpoke! Mama needs a new driving dress!" she exclaimed, frustration mounting. Not one to be deterred, Leni executed a daring move; she drove off a billboard to bypass the slow driver and zoomed ahead, her eyes set on the virtual mall. Her audacious stunt not only got her in front of the other driver but also helped her reach the mall, beating Lincoln's high score in the process.
"Wow! That was incredible!" Lincoln couldn't hide his amazement, impressed by Leni's unexpected prowess at virtual driving.
In the game, Leni's avatar jumped out of the car and pushed an old lady out of the way, prompting Lincoln to chuckle, "Easy there, Fast and Furious." He quickly took the controller away from Leni, half-joking, "But I have to get to the mall!"
"The mall can wait, Leni. You've got a real driving test to pass," Lincoln reminded her, trying to bring her back to reality.
"But I was doing so well..." Leni pouted as she headed out the door, cheered on by Lincoln and Naruto's playful chants, "Go, Leni, go!"
Unfortunately, things did not go well. Especially when the girl was returned via a police officer and a stack of citations.
Despite the setback, Lincoln's resolve didn't waver. "This isn't over yet," he muttered, turning to see Leni making Lori's bed as a distraction from her failure.
"Hey, Leni. What are you doing?" Lincoln approached her, trying to be supportive.
"Just going back to making Lori's bed," Leni sighed, her spirits low.
"Nice craftsmanship. But you can't give up on driving. It was my fault you didn't pass the test," Lincoln encouraged her, pulling out an instruction manual. "Let me try a different method."
As they set up a makeshift vehicle with household items like Luna's bass drum for brakes and Luan's whoopee cushion for an accelerator, the rest of the sisters joined in to help, eager to avoid their own chores.
After some practice with the makeshift car setup, Leni felt a little more confident, and the siblings cheered her on, hopeful that this time, the real test would tell a different story.
"Okay, first, fasten your seatbelt," Lincoln instructed, trying to bring some order to the chaotic setup.
Lola, ever the pageant queen, quickly wrapped some of her beauty pageant sashes around Leni to simulate seatbelts. "That was easy," Leni chuckled, pleased with her 'seatbelt'.
"Next, check your mirrors," Lincoln continued, pointing to a small hand mirror taped to the side of the 'car'.
Leni panicked slightly, "Why? Do I look bad?"
"No, no, no, no, I meant—" Lincoln tried to explain, but Leni was already bolting off.
"Stop the car! I can't drive in this hideous condition!" Leni exclaimed dramatically before returning with a helmet securely on her head. "That's better."
Lincoln sighed deeply but pushed on. "Lesson twelve: Avoiding road hazards. There's a squirrel in the road. What do you do?"
Lily, dressed in a squirrel costume, scampered across the living room making chattering noises. Leni, startled by the sudden appearance of 'a squirrel', screamed and pretended to swerve the car, running in horror from the harmless toddler.
The family groaned collectively; it seemed hopeless to teach Leni anything about driving.
"Use your turn signal!" Lincoln shouted as Leni tapped Luna's drum. "No, that's the brake!" Leni then hit Luan's whoopee cushion. "No, that's the gas!" In frustration, Leni accidentally slapped Lincoln. "No, that is my face!" He pointed desperately at a ladle. "This! This is the turn signal!"
"Oh! You mean the blinky blink?" Leni finally understood, referring to the turn signal.
"The blinky blink?" Lincoln repeated, dumbfounded.
"Yeah. It's right by the spinny thingy," Leni pointed to a wreath used as the steering wheel.
Lincoln paused, realization dawning on him. "Wait a minute! That's the problem! I haven't been speaking Leni!"
Naruto, who had been watching the entire fiasco unfold, chimed in, "I was wondering how long it would take you to clue in."
"What do you mean? Wait, you knew about this the whole entire time?" Lincoln asked, feeling a mix of relief and frustration.
"I won't always be around Lincoln and that means you'll have to be the main mediator. Think of this as training."
Leni, still partly in her driving lesson mindset, wondered aloud, "Wait, there's a country named after me?"
"No, Leni. I mean, I haven't been using words you understand. Let's try this again. Use the blinky blink," Lincoln instructed, pointing to the ladle again. Leni nodded and correctly used the turn signal this time.
"Good. Now turn left," Lincoln directed.
Leni looked confused.
"I mean, turn to your good side," Lincoln quickly corrected, and Leni happily complied, finally getting something right.
"Hey, crew, we're gonna need some new car parts," Lincoln called out to his siblings, who began replacing everything with items Leni would understand, like shoes for pedals.
"This is the brake pedal. What does the brake pedal do?" Lincoln demonstrated using white shoes.
"White shoes after Labor Day!" Leni cringed.
"Exactly," Lincoln grinned. "And this is the gas pedal," he continued, showing off a pair of 60's Go-Go boots.
"Go-Go!" Leni exclaimed, understanding the analogy.
With newfound confidence and the right 'language', Leni took to the virtual roads again. This time, her performance was markedly improved, steering carefully and using her 'blinky blink' correctly. Her siblings cheered her on enthusiastically.
Later, everyone moved to the backyard, setting up a mock driving course with the lawnmower to give Leni a more tangible test. Lincoln called out reminders, "Remember what we practiced, Leni!"
Leni navigated the course with surprising adeptness, calling out "Go-Go boot!" to accelerate and "White shoes!" to stop, even managing to turn at just the right moment to avoid crashing into the hedges.
The siblings erupted in cheers as Leni completed the course flawlessly.
As the day wound down, the Loud children were a mix of exhausted and exhilarated, proud of Leni's progress and slightly amused by the whole ordeal. Lincoln reassured Leni of her impending success on the actual driving test.
That night, Leni went to bed full of hope and Lincoln full of pride.
Only time would tell if Leni would overcome this final hurdle, but one thing was clear: in the Loud house, no challenge was too big when they tackled it together.