Lincoln was currently sitting on the couch, cradling Leni's head in his lap as she slept. They had started watching TV together, she had craved some of his attention and hadn't slept the prior night. They hadn't even made it through the first commercial before he had convinced her to lay in his lap, then before the commercial was over the gentle petting had soothed her to sleep. He had woken up the earliest in the house, as he always did, and noticed the light on in Leni's unit. He had entered to see her nose deep in designs, specifically for Lola's first round Ms. Universe dress since she qualified. He had wanted to disturb his sister, specifically to make her realize how tired she probably was, but he never got the chance. She stumbled down the stairs, led specifically by the smell of breakfast, ate fast, then immediately begged her sisters to loan her Lincoln. Needless to say, when she asked so forward like that, none of them could refuse her, least of all Lincoln.

It was so difficult for anyone in the house to say no to Leni, specifically due to how sweet she was. Even Ronnie couldn't bring herself to lord her position over Leni as often as she did the other sisters. The jealousy that Lynn and Lucy held towards Lori and Luna for having Lincoln's children before them should have naturally transferred to Leni, given her eldest daughter was only two years younger than Loan, but they never could bring themselves to be angry at the girl. She was, after all, just Leni. Simple, sweet, well meaning, but unmistakably beautiful Leni, here as defenseless and trusting as the day she was born... or yesterday. Lincoln gently ran his fingers through her hair as she rested. He loved her singletrack innocent mind as much as it worried him. The same thing that made her stay up all night and lose track of the time also made her the most honest member of the family. The same thing that made her scatterbrained also made her see the good in everything. The same thing that would make her miss the bigger picture would make her see the beauty in the little things around her. No matter how bad things got, Leni was always the true beacon of light in the house.

"Dad?" Lyle, their son, called out to him from behind the couch.

Lyle was almost the spitting image of his mother, though his eyelashes were slightly longer. He was relatively effeminate in appearance, no surprise being whose son he was, but of Lincoln's three sons he was the most pragmatic and direct. In that way his face belied his behavior. Sometimes if he wasn't looking directly at him he would swear he was Lisa's child, between the cold logic and turtlenecks he definitely could've passed. But their was only one time he was as gentle as could be, when dealing with his mother or sisters.

He shushed him and Lyle looked to see his mother laying on him, causing him to relax, "What'd you need son?"

"Well, I was going to tell you I couldn't find mom, I was worried she got lost following a stray cat or a woman with a dress she liked again... but it appears I was worried for nothing."

He nodded as Liena entered, looking concerned until she saw the sight then smiled at her father who smiled back. His second oldest daughter, the first he got to raise directly. She was the tallest of his girls, and also the most shapely being naturally gifted in many places like her mother, but she was like Leni in the respect that she saw the beauty in the world, but she did also inherit her scatterbrained nature at times. She was a Loud in name only, choosing to seldom speak unless the situation expressly called for her input, but it made her opinion all the more meaningful. She was usually draped in earth tones, greens and browns, and often spent her time in a greenhouse her father had built for her in the lot behind the complex, especially now that she was out of school.

"Yeah, we were watching some sort of reality show... you see how that went."

"You want me and Liena to-"

"No. She's right where she needs to be."

Lyle tilted his head and Liena grabbed his shoulder and smiled. He nodded at her and they left their parents alone. Their adoptive daughter, courtesy of Leni's whims and Lincoln being unable to tell her no, Bed, came and covered her with a blanket, kissed her on the cheek, hugged her dad, and exited the room, following her siblings up the stairs. Budou, or Bed for short due to Leni's inability to pronounce her name, was somewhere in-between Lyle and Liena. Very intelligent and logical but grounded enough to keep her older brother from becoming their Aunt Lisa, being one of the four people he fully respects and holds dear in equal measures. She was of Japanese decent, at least by the orphanages recollection considering the shit condition that place was in, but Lincoln guessed it didn't really matter. She was as much his child as any of the other kids. Leni adored her as well, falling in love with the girl on first sight, often asking her opinions on designs and giving her the first version of every one of her designs, even if the design was intended for some one else, much to Bed's delight.

Out of all of his kids, these three were usually the best behaved and best adjusted, mainly because of Leni. They adored their mother nearly as much as he did and often were her keepers as much as she was theirs. But no one was as thankful as her presence as Lincoln was. Leni could be... a lot due to her simple nature, and though no one had it in them to truly be mad her, she was better in small bursts, sometimes even to her kids as overbearing as she could be, but Lincoln could sustain himself on her joy alone. No food, water, or air necessary. He smiled at her as she snuggled deeper into his lap. He turned off the TV as he knew he wasn't going to watch any this afternoon, he had something more important to focus on.

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Lincoln was once again being dragged through the mall on Leni's day. He was thankful that the other members of Action News had paid him back already, because, thanks to his bubbly blonde sister, he was nearly broke again. He really wished he could be angry about it, so very badly, but every time he started getting to that point she would whisper to him that he was the, 'best boyfriend in the world,' and that smile would cool his boiling blood. He had no idea how she had this power over him, but he couldn't bring himself to hate it.

"And so, I told her, like, seafoam isn't your green, you should totally try Lime! It would bring out your eyes!"

She had been talking almost nonstop since they had gotten to the mall, and he had really tried to pay attention, but listening and balancing her nearly $500 of purchases was a huge ask.

"Lincy?"

How the hell did they even spend that much money? He only remembered her buying stuff at four stores! Five if you counted the shoe section and the clothing section of Teen Queen as two separate stores... they certainly seemed like it.

"Lincoln."

And how the hell did all this stuff weigh this much? It's fabric for God's sake! Well, fabric and heels, but that still shouldn't weigh more than most of Lynn's weights combined. He wasn't going to get beaten by a pile of fabric, or his name wasn't-

"Lincoln Albert Loud!"

"Huh?"

His older sister stood slightly off to the right glaring at him around her purchases, "Were you ignoring me?"

"Ignoring you? No of course not! I... I was just... focusing on carrying all your stuff."

She stared at him for a moment before smiling, "Oh! Yeah! That seems like it would take a lot of focus," thank God she was simple, "Are you getting hungry Lincy? You bought me all this stuff and I haven't bought you anything!"

"Isn't that a boyfriends job?" he joked with a nervous laugh, begging for her to insist so he could rest his arms.

She giggled and pinched his cheek, "Of course, duh! But it's a girlfriends job to reward her boyfriend for doing his job... at least that's what I heard Lori tell Bobby over the phone once," Lincoln winced at their older sisters name, "She was making a weird motion with her hand when she said it," he really winced at that, "But I guess food would do!"

He sighed in relief as he stumbled to the food court. They settled on food court pizza, twice the price for half the quality, and found a good seat for him, her, one half of purchases, and the other half of her purchases. His shoulders were hurting, for obvious reasons, and Leni took notice of him rotating them. She took a bite of her pizza, stood up, and moved behind him.]

He cocked an eyebrow, "Um... Leni what are you-" she began rubbing his shoulders, cutting him off causing him to moan, "Oh sweet Jesus."

"Feel better?" she asked in a soft tone as she continued rubbing his muscles in circles.

"So much," he moaned out as his body relaxed.

"You should have told me your shoulders hurt, silly," she chided, "That's, like, totally a lot for one person to carry."

"I'm... boy..." he moaned out, "Carry... for... you..."

She wrapped her arms around him, "Lincy, I'm flattered you want to carry stuff for me," She picked up one half of the bags with one arm, "But I'm not going to let you hurt yourself. That would be, like, totally un-big sisterish of me."

He leaned back in the chair and smiled at her, saying nothing. She was a welcome change from the jealousy of Lynn, the perversion of Luan, the possessiveness of Luna, and the neediness of Lucy. None of those things were deal breakers for him, just like her scatterbrained behavior wasn't either. But out of all of them the only truly selfless lover he had, with no ill intentions or malice, was there before him. It's no wonder Leni was the reason he stopped fighting his feelings.

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Three hours had passed without so much as a stir. Many distractions had attempted to pull his attention away from her, seeing him on the couch seemingly not doing anything. Lynn had wrapped her arms around his neck, only to get shushed before she could make a proposition, retreating when she saw the sleeping Leni. Lucy had come upon him, only to receive a kiss on the cheek and a gentle caress as she left. Ronnie had leaned on him in a hug briefly before leaving. Luna and Sam tried speaking only to get shushed by him, much like Lynn, they tried to protest earning a glare that chilled them only until they saw her in his arms. Even his children, running through the house, avoided the room after their mothers had told them, 'Don't bother dad, Aunt Leni is sleeping.'

Upstairs, in Leni's unit, her middle child was currently pleading his case to her oldest and youngest. He was sitting on Leni's couch, bed sitting next to him, and Liena draping her arms around him silently.

"He has to be getting tired of just sitting there. Maybe we should go get her."

"Lyle, he told you she's where she needs to be, let her be their with him," Bed reminded him.

"Well... yeah... he did say that. But he can't be comfortable just... sitting there."

They looked up at Liena who was silently listening to her younger siblings, she sighed and leaned on her younger brother smiling before stating in a sweet soft voice, "Sometimes... being with a person you love is the only thing you need to bring you joy..."

Lyle sighed and leaned on his hands, "I just don't understand it."

Bed smiled and laid on his legs looking up at him, "Well... we're just sitting here. Isn't that kind of similar?"

"Yeah but you two are awake..."

"Would you leave if we were asleep?"

He froze, unsure of how to answer as both of his sisters stared at him, which gradually turned into glares, "W-what?"

"Nothing," Bed grumbled as she stood up and Liena let go of him.

"What did I do?" he asked as they went into their rooms and closed the door, leaving him in the living room alone, leaning against the arm rest, rubbing his temples, "I don't understand women..."

Bed opened her door, "You just don't understand people at all, jerk!" she slammed the door leaving him alone.

He sighed and leaned his chin on his hand, "Guess I'll have to make something to apologize."

At his age it was no surprise that he didn't understand how his father could be enjoying himself just sitting in silence. He had been there for three hours and, if it called for it, he would be comfortable there for 100 more.

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After a long day at the mall, Lincoln was unsurprised that his time with Leni would end with a fashion show, taking pictures of her, and relaxing with her in his arms as they watched videos together on her phone. A date that was repeated many times, but never seemed to get old. Every once in a while Leni would start talking about their lives, their siblings, Leni's fashion ideas, and, like this time, their theoretical future children. Most of the videos that seemed to come up on her feed, if not fashion or silly animal videos, were child related, so it was no surprise this was the conversation of choice. Lincoln never had the heart to tell her that having kids as siblings might not be the best of ideas, especially when she was so passionate about it, so he just imagined, if just for the moment, they weren't related.

"So, like, do you think they'd have my eyes?"

"We both have the same color of eyes, Len."

"Nuh uh! Yours are totally trypan blue, mine are, like, sapphire, silly!"

"Oh, how could I have made a mistake like that," Lincoln laughed nervously.

She rolled over on his chest and put her index finger on his nose, "I know right! That kind of mistake could ruin our wedding!"

He sighed, realizing that might be another dream he could never make come true, "I wouldn't want to do that."

She was silent for a moment, "Do you think... do you think our kids will be smart like you?"

"What?"

"Do you think our kids would be smart like you... or do you think they'd be more like me..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well... I just want my kids to be... you know... not as dumb as I am."

"Leni?! What are you talking about?"

She smiled, "Lincoln, you are, like, the sweetest boy in the world. I know I'm dumb-"

"Leni!"

"I am, Lincoln. Most people can't stand me for longer than a few hours because... well... words are hard sometimes... and I lose track of conversations."

He sighed and hugged her, "That doesn't make you dumb Leni-"

"Oh come on, Lincoln."

"No, you come on, why do you think you're dumb?"

She looked down, "Well... I'm not good at a lot of things outside of fashion. I have a small voc... voca... vocke-"

"Vocabulary?"

"Bless you. But I don't know that many words. I'm bad with History... bad with science stuff... get lost easy... I know I'm a burden... I see the way Lori and our other siblings look at me... even you sometimes."

"Leni, I've never seen you as a burden"

"Yes you have, I see it in your eyes every time you have to find me, or help me escape from Lily's crib, or help me with something simple-"

"Sure I roll my eyes sometimes, but that's not because I see you as a burden," he smiled, "I do it because my brain reminds me that it's you."

"So it's okay I'm dumb because I'm me?"

"You aren't dumb! Jeez Leni, just because you aren't good with language, science, or algebra doesn't mean you're dumb."

"But I-"

"Let me prove it to you. You know my friend Stella, right?" she nodded, "What size dress does she wear?"

"35-28-30 with a 48 inch length... if she wants it tee length," she smiled, "Oh-em-gee, she'd look so gorgeous in an amaranth dress tee length."

Lincoln smiled, "Kara?"

"Hm, 31-25-32, she's still growing though. I'd say a 38 inch for now... def petite, though she's more of a coral."

His smile turned into a grin, "how about Carlota, you remember her?"

"Ronnie Anne's cousin? That girl was gorgeous! 35-26-41 50 inch, seafoam green would be so perfect for her complexion."

"You only met her the one time right?"

"Well... yeah," she put her finger to her mouth, "What do dress sizes have to do with intelligence, Linc?"

"Leni, I couldn't even tell you what those sizes mean, let alone even begin to find out how to measure them. So what if you can't calculate the distance of earth to the moon... or the front door to the sidewalk. So what if you get distracted easily, so what if you can't work simple locks, so what if you're a bit scatterbrained. You're a veritable genius when it comes to what you love. Everything else you can just leave to me," he smiled, "It's what boyfriends are for."

Leni's jaw dropped as her brain processed what her younger brother had just said. Her heart began to flutter and her cheeks got hot. She turned away from him rapidly covering her cheeks as she tried to process what she was feeling all at once.

"Leni? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah... I just... Lincoln? My chest feels funny..."

"Are you alright?"

"I... don't know... I... can I... Kiss you?"

"Well... yeah. I mean you've done it before."

She nodded, "I mean... like... yeah... totally. I just... I have the urge to for some reason."

He used his finger to lift her chin and smiled at her. He closed his eyes and gently placed his lips on hers. She was feeling something different when his lips met hers. Something like when they had sex. She couldn't describe it, but she felt like she was where she belonged right now... in his arms. It was a gentle kiss, like many of theres, but it felt like it was over to quick. Leni followed his lips, forcing him into another kiss. She moaned into his lips causing him to open his eyes in surprise, but closed them immediately after. This feeling of safety, warmth, comfort, she had never felt it before... but now she was sure she didn't want it to end.

"Linc," a voice called out from the doorway.

They separated from the kiss and stared at the doorway where Luna and Sam stood in large band shirts, panties, and smiles, Lincoln sighed and nodded, "Alright, I'm coming."

"Didn't interrupt anything, did we?" Luna asked Leni as she leaned in to the room.

"Uh... Um..." were all the sounds she could muster.

Lincoln lifted her face with his index finger and kissed her again, "I'll see you in a few day, Leni. Love you."

"Love you too... Lincy..."

She watched as her brother walked out the doorway with her younger sister and her girlfriend, watching as they wrapped their arms around eachother and him in a warm embrace as they sauntered to his room. Her day had gone quick... too quick. Unbeknownst to both her and Lincoln, for the first time, she was feeling some malice as her Lincy was gently stolen from her by her younger sister.

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Leni's eyes slowly opened and her sight adjusted to the darkness of the living room. She looked up at the smiling face of her younger brother as reality dawned on her.

"Lincy, did I fall asleep?" He nodded, "H-how long was I out for?"

"About six hours."

"Oh..." she looked down at the floor.

He smiled, knowing that she was sad because she felt like she wasted her day with him. She tried not to burden her sisters, knowing how much her brother's attention meant to them, but every once in a while she wanted him to herself.

"I... I stayed up all night again... didn't I?"

He nodded, "Yeah... you did."

She sighed and curled up in a fetal position, pouting as she did. Lincoln smiled and stroked her golden locks out of her eyes, causing her to look up at him.

"Leni."

"Yeah?"

"You want to sleep in my room tonight? We'll go to the mall tomorrow."

She immediately perked up, "You mean it?!"

He nodded, "Of course, we can lay in bed and watch some videos on your phone if you want."

20 years of the same date, and it still never got old. He sat up and lifted her up onto his back. He began carrying him up the stairs, Leni giggling all the way. He didn't even see his soon watching them around the corner. He had come to make Bed and Liena some sweets as an apology, for what he still didn't know, but instead he stood in the doorway and watched his father stroke his mother's hair for nearly an hour, the smile never leaving his face. He finally believed his worry was unfounded, but he still couldn't figure out why.

"Adults are weird," he concluded as he walked towards the kitchen.