Lyra was sitting comfortably in her unit with her younger brother, free from interruptions... at least since she scared Lina and all the other pesky interlopers off. She was running her hands through his hair since she got him to take that old bandana off. She never knew where her mother got that old thing... or what her younger brother's obsession with it was. Perhaps it was just jealousy. She had... issues with that... but the other girls just didn't understand. Lina was too young, Lacy wasn't even there, and that little demon Liena wasn't even a twinkle in their father's eye... so what'd those floosies know about her Lemy. The little angel that he was.

She kissed her brother's head as he did his homework, by force as usual, he pushed her face away causing her to smile, "Cut it out Lyra!"

"What's wrong? can't accept a little affection from your older sister?"

"I'm not a baby anymore!" he complained.

She grabbed his hands and smiled, "That's where you're wrong."

"HEY!" he started struggling as she laid on his soft, wavy hair... like a pure lamb.

"You'll always be my baby brother," She kissed him again... and again... and again, 'God, give me strength.'

She was broken from her trance by a throat clearing behind her, turning rapidly she realized her prayers had been answered... in the worst way possible. Her father was standing there, tapping his foot as Lina, Lacy, and Leia hid behind him. She glared at them, realizing what had happened.

Little rats.

"Lyra... did you threaten your sister's?" He asked.

"Father, I would never do such a thing," she responded.

"Bullshit!" Leia bellowed.

"Language."

"S-sorry daddy... But she keeps doing this! Monopolizing... I mean, 'Isolating,' my... I mean, 'our,' brother!" She pointed at Lyra behind his leg, "Make her stop!"

"Yeah!" Lacy and Lina agreed in unison.

Lyra calmly crossed her arms, causing all three to swallow hard and hide behind their father... until he did the same causing her eyes to widen before she stared at her feet. He sighed and smiled.

"Girls... Lemy... give me and Lyra a few minutes to talk, would you?"

"We don't have to," Lyra stated calmly, not looking up.

"I think we do. Lina, go teach Lemy some new chords."

"Aw! Sick!" Lemy shouted as he stood up and grabbed his bandana.

"Let's go dude!" She smiled as she grabbed him and pulled him behind her.

Lyra watched as the other two ran out behind him, Leia stuck her tongue out, earning a glare from the older sister, causing her to run faster. She sat down, side eying her father.

"I hope you realize that you pulled him out of the pot directly in to the fire," she growled.

"I hope you realize not all your sister's are Lupa."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He sighed, "It means, while I know what's going on... some of it is more pure," he stared at her, "Than others."

She blushed, "W-What are you implying?!"

"You know exactly what I'm implying."

"I've never touched him!" Lyra shot back.

"I never said you did."

"T-Than what are we talking about?!"

He sighed, "Come on Lyra... you're afraid that Lina, Lacy, and Leia are going to get to him first... when I'm not entirely certain they realize what they feel yet."

"Leia absolutely does!" Lyra snapped before shaking her head, "I-I mean... I don't know what you're talking about..."

He smiled before squeezing his daughter's cheek, "You are way too much like your mother."

She crossed her arms, "You know I hate being compared to her."

"Then stop being like her." he teased.

"I'm nowhere near as irresponsible-"

"-Says the girl who was holding her brother's arms still while kissing down his forehead."

Was she kissing towards his lips? "I-I wasn't-"

"You were," Lincoln corrected her, leaning on his hand, staring at her.

She gripped her cross, "L-Lord forgive me... w-why am I like this?!"

He shrugged, "You're a Loud is the only answer I have... and not just that. You're Luna's daughter, free bird."

He touched her cheek, "Listen... I guarantee you won't have to worry about your sisters... at least until Highschool. Me... I'm already struggling to keep Loan in check... and I can tell her presence is having an effect on you."

Had he read her mind? "I-I..."

"I'll tell you like I told her, since you're so adamant on copying your older sister," She couldn't rebuke him, "I'll love you no matter what... and because of that, I'll have to stop you every opportunity I get from repeating history... understand."

"Y-you really think I would-"

"Do you think your sisters would?"

"I-I see the way they look at him!"

"Lina and Lacy don't even know what sex is yet... Leia might, but she's too much of a self saboteur to even make it that far... thankfully."

"So you're siding with them?!"

"I'm not siding with anyone... I'm saying projection is the highest indicator of guilt."

She opened her mouth to speak, but realized he had her dead to rights. She resented her parents for a long time after she discovered the truth... then her father came back. She tried to fight the affection she seemed to have for the platinum blonde man, but every time she did a compelling force drew her to him. Perhaps it was Gods will that her parents were... like that. After all, as the good book says, don't hate the sinner, hate the sin. Perhaps it was because of her early hatred she too was afflicted with that sin. Especially when she found out they had sinned enough. She was disgusted with their actions, jealous of Lina's normality, angry that she wasn't enough... then her angel was born. She remembered refusing her mother's request initially to be in the room with her... but her father was so insistent. As soon as she laid eyes on him, she was doomed. Her Lemy. Her resentment ended then, and she vowed to protect his purity for as long as God... or the devil that resided in her... would allow.

Resentment was replaced with thankfulness. Her mother seeing her love for the boy essentially allowed her to raise him, bouncing from state to state with them to broaden their horizons until their father could find something more... stable. She wasn't certain when... but that thankfulness had become understanding. The longer she raised and guided him... the more perfect he became. He was rough around the edges and a bit rebellious, sure, but at the end of the day he would always attempt to do what's right... always help her as much as she had him. They were each other's support system seemingly there entire life... and isolation always bonds further. Eventually the thought of losing him, in any capacity, sickened her. As time went on... her obsessive grasp tightened... and she had no one to blame. Her mother, for all her faults, didn't have a single malicious bone in her, so she couldn't attribute some sick revenge to her current situation. Her father had ben a hinderance, so it obviously wasn't his wishes. No... it had to be her punishment for her resentment. She was exactly like her mother.

What was once innocent protective big sister instinct had become something much more.

How long had her father known? Longer than her? The way he would give her a sideway glance when she doted on Lemy, the way he interrupted their time together, how often he would interject with obscene inferences... but how did he know? She hadn't even touched him yet. Sure, gentle kisses on the top of his head every once in the while, gentle cuddling in the morning, she purposefully restrained herself from anything further... so how did he know what she felt? Or was it her proximity to... her oldest sister? Loan was everything she secretly wished to be with her blatant love for Robert, one of their normal siblings, and he comparison became obvious. It didn't matter if her father thought the worst though... she would keep him pure... even from herself.

But... how did he do this? Sometimes he seemed like the biggest goof off in the house, falling for every childish prank her Aunt Luan played on him, falling into all her Aunt Lucy's, admittedly well thought out, but overt traps, allowing her mothers, God save them, to roll all over him, Giving in to her Aunt Lola's bratty whims, allowing Aunt Lynn to get the drop on him, allowing Aunt Ronnie and Aunt Stella to lead him by the nose, like a complete wimp... and then others he was this man before her now. Which side was the act? She was too baffled to lie.

"I-I wouldn't ever... I just... I love him so much..." she stared at the completed homework, "I have to protect him..."

Her father smiled, "I know you do Lyra... but trying to control him will only make him fight back harder. He's Luna's child too, after all. Punk is kinda in his veins."

"Then what happened to me?"

"A religion obsessed child of a rockstar, abhorring her parent's lifestyle and attempting to distance herself from everything having to do with it? Pretty rebellious in my book."

"T-That's..." once again speechless.

He raised an eyebrow, "Now... do you know what else you and your mother have in common?

Lyra bit her lip and under protest nodded, "F-Fine... I admit it... I... I do... but I don't want to do what you think!"

"I know you don't."

"It's just... I... I want to protect him from that... sort of stuff for as long as possible. Keep him pure."

"Unlike us, right?" she nodded, "Then chaperone," Lincoln suggested, "It'll probably protect him from you as well. You won't have to let go of him and your sisters can, hopefully, get that Westermarck effect that eludes this family far too often," He clapped his hands, "It's a win, win, win."

Lyra thought about it, "B-but... what am I supposed to do? He doesn't want to spend time with me like... them."

Lincoln cocked his eyebrow, "Come on, free bird... what does he find cooler than anything?"

Lyra looked away, "I don't want to fuel his unnecessary obsession with that silly instrument..."

"Well... guess Lina gets to be the cool big sister then," Lincoln joked as he shushed her so she could her Lina coaching her little brother on separate scales.

Jealousy... the second worst of Lyra's sins, her eye twitched a little, "T-that's not..." she turned to her father, "You can't use this against me! I'm your child! Reverse psychology won't-"

He smiled, "Lyr, it's fine if you want to be the stern one," he tilted his head, "Of course... Lori was the stern one amongst all of us and... well... I didn't get to talk to her for... like... 21 years... but I'm sure you'll be fine!"

She growled, "Y-You..." She heard them all giggling in the next room, she punched the sides of the couch before standing up, "Damn it!"

He smiled as he followed his daughter into the room, staying back so he could watch the events unfold before him. The room went silent as Lyra entered. Her arms were crossed and her foot was tapping. All the kids gulped and Lemy stood up after sighing.

"Alright Lyra... See you guys."

"Not Fair!" Lacy growled, scrambling to her feet until she caught Lyra's glare, causing her to sit back down.

Leia locked into a glaring competition... that she quickly, almost immediately, lost.

Lina was nervously strumming a few chords and tabs, refusing to make eye contact.

"Lina," Lyra turned to her sister, "Do you know what tabs you were just playing?"

The platinum blonde haired girl pushed her one blue bang out of her eyes and shrugged, "Uh... I don't really know all that fancy music stuff... just what sounds cool."

Lyra sighed and walked to her sister, taking the guitar out of her hands, sighed, "Lord forgive me," she took the silver cross, touched her forehead, chest, and shoulders.

She cranked the overdrive up and let loose a series of hammer ons and pull offs. It was the opening to Banshee of the Opera by Blood Maiden. A power metal classic. Lemy and his three sisters jaws dropped as she finished the opening and let loose the main chords and the rhythm line before screeching the guitar to a stop. Lacy and Leia stared at each other in disbelief. Lina pinched herself to make sure she was awake. Lemy began shaking as his gaped stare turned into an awe filled grin.

"Wow..." Lina was in awe of her older sister, but not nearly as much as their younger brother.

"Lyra... that was AMAZING!" Lemy ran up and hugged his sister, causing her to blush and grin too, "Where did you learn to do that?!"

"O-Oh, you know... I picked up a thing or two from Mom when I was a little y-younger than you... I stopped playing when Lina was born," she chuckled, "D-do you want me to teach you?"

"Fuck yes!"

"Language," she chided.

"S-sorry ma'am..."

Lincoln smiled as he watched the scene unfurl.

She smiled and gently stroked his hair, "Fine... b-but you have to sit in my lap... to learn proper hand placement!"

"Deal!" He shouted excitedly.

He then facepalmed and groaned, "Loud women..." he groaned, "God, I hope I made the right choice."

Lincoln loud, a man of many qualities and few weaknesses... but his main weakness would always be his kids. Seeing the four of them getting along was mostly worth his own sanity... just like his sisters happiness was back then.

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Lincoln woke up, the weight on his chest apparent. Lucy had horrible sleeping posture when it was her turn, but he still found his little sister adorable. She liked to sleep mounted on him, utilizing his chest as her pillow. It made for some... interesting issues in his sleep. His own little sleep paralysis demon. He stroked her hair lightly, waking her up as gently as possible. She was wearing one of his t-shirts as pajamas, a habit her and Lynn had gotten into both in and out of his bed. It annoyed him when his laundry went missing but he had to admit... it was kind of hot seeing a girl wearing his clothes. The obvious had long since been pushed out of his mind. Thankfully, since he began participating, the sex sessions seemed to calm down substantially... it was much more easy to get pleasure when the other party was an active participant after all... meaning he got to enjoy more time like this.

The petite girl stirred under his hands intertwined with her raven hair, looking up, smiling warmly, "Good morning... my love..."

"Morning Luce. We need to get up... before any one else in the house does."

She yawned, "Five more minutes, dearest brother... it's a weekend."

"No, no, no, we agreed... whoever sleeps with me has to wake up early."

"I'm awake, just... enjoying this."

He playfully slapped her butt, causing her to squeal and grin, "Come on... get up."

"B-but..."

"But nothing... you get me today... that's what the rules are."

The rules were set in stone, agreed upon by Lynn, Lucy, and Leni. Whoever slept with Lincoln the night prior had him for the day. They would relinquish him to the sisters, not in the relationship, when required if only to prevent suspicion. She stretched her arms up and kissed him lightly on the lips. Sometimes he wished that arrangement still lasted instead of the free for all it eventually became, but for now it was close to nirvana.

"Fine... I guess I'll get up first," She stood up with a yawn before stumbling out into the hall.

Every morning was roughly the same in different positions. Lucy always slept like that, stating it was easier to fall asleep to the gentle beat of his heart. Lynn slept on his arm like she always had, snoring directly in his ear... but the conversations at night made it worth it. Leni, no surprises, was a spooner. She loved cuddling with her younger brother, like he was a big teddy bear. He was all too happy to oblige. The days were almost normal, albeit with obvious changes. Lucy loved spending the days lazily in varying ways or dragging her brother to her mortician club events. He couldn't be sure, but for some reason he felt like they knew about their... arrangement. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if she flat out told them. They were all for tragic romance... though he didn't really see what was so tragic about it. As long as they were smart, they'd be fine. Today he was certain would be a day of reviewing her poetry, which had become far more risqué as of late, which means he could mostly relax in his room reading comics, her laying on his chest, until she demanded his undivided attention. He would flip the pages, run his hands through her hair, listen to her gentle breathing, and wind down.

Tomorrow would be Lynn's day, and she had a baseball game that afternoon, thankfully, so he'd be at that like he would've been anyway. She'd probably pull him to some restaurant to celebrate her win, as usual, or, on the off chance she lost, demand a massage to make her feel better... he didn't know which he preferred. Through the week though it was a toss up between forcing him to do physical activity with her, or generally working out which he was starting to think she had some weird fetish for, or going to or watching some sporting or sports entertainment event. She was really excited for Wednesday, so he was certain she had wrestling tickets. He stood up and collected his clothes for the day before walking into the hall. He was at the back of the Line with Lisa. She stared at him for a moment before jotting something down on a notepad. It made him feel... uneasy.

"H-Hey Lisa"

"Good morning brother," she spoke in an eerily normal tone for that stare she had given him.

"W-what you got there?"

She closed the notepad, "An observation diary."

"Observing... what exactly?"

She smiled, "Dear simple brother, if I told you it would ruin the observation."

Now he felt extremely uneasy, "O-oh? Can you at least tell me if it has to do with me?"

"Amongst... other people. Don't worry about it."

"You know Lisa, when you tell me not to worry about something I instinctively worry about it more."

Lisa pondered for a moment placing the back of her pen to her mouth, "In that case... worry about it?"

He sighed, "At least you're trying to make me feel better... I think."

"Anything to help, brother!"

Leni was two ahead of him in the line, he knew what was about to happen. He deftly maneuvered as she began approaching the bathroom, eyes closed and hands in front of her. He placed his hand against the wall, catching her forehead as she almost smashed head first into the wall. She opened her eyes in surprise than smiled.

"Awwe! Thank you Lincy! You wanna..." she then looked around to see Lisa staring at her, "I mean... see you later!"

She slammed the shower door and Lincoln could hear Lisa scribble something. When he turned around she was staring at her fingers, trying to act nonchalant. He shivered, knowing she was up to something but having no way of figuring out what, and lined back up behind her. Lucy passed by and closed the door behind her for Leni. She gently brushed her arm against Lincoln's and smiled. More scribbling. Another chill and a defeated sigh.

"Whatever you're doing... will it get me in trouble?"

"No more or less than you're in currently," Lisa noted as she pulled out another notepad and began scribbling down a few equations, "It really is nothing to worry about Lincoln... I promise."

"I'm going to regret this..." he whispered, "I believe you."

She smiled, "was that so hard?"

"Yes..."

The door opened and Lisa stepped inside, Leni stepped out, closed the door, looked around, and kissed Lincoln gently on his lips, "Thanks for earlier, Lincy. Sorry you couldn't come with me..."

He shushed her, "The twins could be around."

"Oop!" she covered her mouth, "Sorry... I'm looking forward to monday!" She hugged him and walked away.

He could've swore he heard scribbling... or maybe it was the shower turning on... either way the uneasiness didn't subside until Lisa exited the shower and entered her own room. He sighed in relief as he entered the bathroom. At least he wouldn't have to worry about that... for now. He thought about what Leni said as the lukewarm water crashed against his back. He was happy he would be hers for monday. It's usually just her using him to model clothes or go shopping with her, normal Leni activities, but really her entire being just lifted his spirits. It was impossible not to feel energized around the jovial girl. Sleeping next to her on Sunday always made him feel rested when monday came around for school too... so there was that. His time spent with her was always spur of the moment, so even though he was pretty confident in the pool of activities she would pull from, he wasn't certain which one she would drag him to.

Weeks had passed and it had become almost normal... although he was still paranoid of their secret getting exposed. Lucy always tried to assure them the three of them were looking out for him... but that was the part that kind of scared him. All that scribbling... did Lisa know? He got out the shower and put on his clothes for the day. If she did... what about the twins? Lily was still a toddler so she probably didn't know... more focused on coloring and pestering him with drawing with her... not that he minded. He went down stairs, sat in his spot next to Lynn and Lucy, Lucy grabbing his hand under the table and Lynn gently squeezing his calf while staring away from him with a coy look in her eyes. Leni gently rubbed his leg under the table with her bare foot. This was the kind of crap he was talking about. Luan would've definitely known if it weren't for their mother and father making her take down all her cameras. She did take them all down, right? He took a few bites of his food before looking around. What about Luna and Sam... wait... where were Luna and Sam?

"Hey mom," he called, pulling away from Lucy.

"Yes Lincoln?" she responded, back to him as she helped Lynn Sr with some of the dishes from cooking.

"Where's Luna and Sam?"

She tilted her head, "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Luna told you that the band got asked to open for that band again tonight. Apparently she asked you on the drive back if you wouldn't mind setting up for her again, but she said you didn't answer... she thought you were tired."

He stared in disbelief and face palmed, "Dang it... I was focused on," He looked at Lynn and Lucy who were staring at him smiling, remembering that night, "...other things... I must have not heard her!"

"She was pretty upset that you didn't answer..." he suddenly remembered he had been pulled around by Lola, Lana, Lily, and even occasionally Lisa... when she wanted to use him as a lab rat... but he hadn't been asked to listen to any new music or hang out with Luna since the event... was it his fault?

"Great," he groaned, "Now I feel like a jerk..." he looked over to Lynn who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms before nodding, "Hey mom, where are they playing? I might go and surprise her!"

She smiled turning to her son, "That would be sweet of you... I can't remember the place... maybe text Macy for an address."

He thought for a minute and pulled out his phone, moving to the name Mazzy... she wasn't mad at him too was she?

'Hey, just found out I blew Luna off the other night when she asked me to be you guy's roadie again... I feel like a jerk.'

It only took a second before the message chime went off.

'Seemed a little like one too.'

Well, that answered his question.

'Ouch.'

'Lol, no sweat, I'm assuming you want to make up for it?'

'Desperately.'

The next message was the address he google which was to an actual venue in Detroit, a tap house that apparently had a lot of bands that he recognized on there future act list, not a dive bar or a cafe like he was used to, "Wow," another message from Mazzy soon followed.

'It starts at 8, so you better be here.'

Her next message was a fist emoji, followed by a winky face, "Dad... can you take me downtown?"

"Is that where she's playing? What cafe?"

"It's not a cafe, it's a tap house," he corrected.

"A tap house?! Like with alcohol?!"

"Oh relax Lynn," Rita rolled her eyes, "She's going there to play, it's not like she's going to party or something."

Lynn looked at his son, "I-I don't know, Lincoln"

"You just have to drop me off, I'll ride home with the band," he pleaded, "They aren't going to sell alcohol to a baby-faced teenager anyway."

Rita nodded, "He has a point dear... and it did seem really important to Luna."

Lynn sighed, "Okay... what time?"

"8 PM"

"Oh shoot," Lynn snapped his fingers, "I have to be at work at 8! Tough luck son."

"I'll take you," Rita said, causing Lynn to glare at her, until she glared at him and slowly spat out her next words, "It's... important... to... Luna."

Lynn sighed in defeat, "Your mom will have to drop me off first..."

"I'll tell them I'll be a little late," He repeated that in text, earning him a tiny fist.

'I guess a little pounding will suffice then.'

'Hardy har.'

He jumped up and kissed his mother's cheek, "Thanks mom!"

He couldn't have ever expected the shit show that would happen at that concert, nor the aftereffects on his and Luna's relationship... or Sam's... but he would always be thankful he arrived when he did.