"I can see Vanzilla!" Leni cried excitedly, bobbing on her heels at the window. She turned around, running to her sisters currently putting the finishing touches on the poster. "Are you guys done!? We've probably got less than a minute!"
"Just a little more glitter!" Lynn insisted, shaking the orange canister over the lopsided little glue cat's-eye marble she had insisted on making.
"Lynn, we've pretty much drowned this thing in glitter!" Lori objected, grabbing the poster's top edge. "We gotta hurry and get into position!"
Together, the five girls lifted the poster, carefully sliding the residual glitter onto another piece of paper as to avoid getting it on the carpet. They did not need a lecture from their parents on what was supposed to be a happy day, thank you very much.
"Quick, get the light!"
"Why do we haveta do this in the dark?"
"Dramatic effect, duh!"
"Luna, here!" Lori pulled Luna beside her, taking her hands and placing them along the centermost top edge of the posterboard. "You should be front and center for this!" She declared.
Luna's eyes widened, "You sure?"
"Absolutely!" Lori assured with a nod. "You literally did the majority of the work! You totally deserve it!" She smirked and winked at Luna, "And don't be shy about owning up to it, okay? Linc should know how much you wanted to make this a good day for him, right?"
Luna blushed a little and her gaze fell as a bashful little smile played across her lips, "Right…"
A second later, the lights went out in the living room and the girls gathered together at the foot of the stairs, giggling excitedly as Vanzilla's lights streamed through the window and subsequently turned off.
"Ooh, this is gonna be so great!" Leni squealed.
"I hope Linky likes this!" Luan laughed.
"Shh! Pipe down! I can hear them walking up!" Lori whispered.
"Why is the house dark?" The girls all jolted when they heard Lincoln's curious little voice. "Aren't the girl's home?"
Of course we're home, little one, Luna thought with a chuckle.
The girls giggled again when they heard the house key slip into the keyhole on the other side of the door.
"Good question!" Rita said with a tone that betrayed her obvious knowledge of what laid beyond the door. "You don't think they're already asleep, do you?"
"Without dinner?" Lynn Sr. laughed. "Wow, they must have been tired! I guess we'll have to eat without them."
Lincoln gasped, a sound accentuated when the door opened, letting in a sliver of moonlight into the entryway. "We can't do that!" He protested with genuine concern for his sister's figurative empty bellies. "Then they'll wake up hungry!"
"But what if that meant you could enjoy your cake by yourself?" Rita teasingly tempted the boy. "You wouldn't want to have a whole cake to yourself, little man?"
"I can't eat a whole cake by myself!" Lincoln squeaked. "And I'd feel bad not sharing any with the girls!"
Unbeknownst to Lincoln, all five girls heard his passionate proclamation, and together, their eyes widened and their hearts warmed as a single collective thought ran through their minds.
AWWWWW! I love him!
"Okay, okay," Lynn Sr. pretended to relent. "We'll get your sisters. But let's switch on the lights first, okay?"
At their father's not so subtle cue, the girl's felt their excitement hit a fever pitch. The moment was here!
PLIK!
Golden light flooded the room, and when both groups saw one another, a jubilant cry followed suit.
"WELCOME HOME, LINCOLN!"
Lincoln lit up like a sky filled with fireworks at the sight of his sisters. "Girls!" He cried, extending a single arm from the fabric of the sweater still wrapped around his form. He wriggled within his father's arms excitedly, a gesture that Lynn Sr. aided in by lowering him to the ground and allowing him to hop out.
Lincoln dashed to the girls, one of the sleeves of the sweater waving behind him. When he got in front of them, he stopped to behold the bright sparkly creation they had made.
All around every single spot of the poster board was glitter, holographic stickers, and personalized drawings, all showcasing which sister was dedicated to each section.
For Lori, drawings of stars above a stylized sword and shield, with careful usage of blue and orange markers to accent them with bright silver glitter, making the stars glimmer at the top right corner.
For Leni, the top left was adorned with hearts and stylized kittens, with the cats having blue stripes amongst their light green faces, and hearts surrounding them doused in purple glitter.
Lynn harkened back to their previous playtimes for her section at the bottom right, with four leaf clovers, marbles, and ducklings gleaming out with their healthy dousing of purple and orange glitter (with some green marker to color in the clovers, of course).
Luan decorated her section at the bottom left with a plethora of yellow laughing face symbols, with a few equally smarmy looking jack-o-lanterns to boot, colored bright orange with both glitter and marker beneath.
Lastly was Luna at the top center. Silver and purple music notes were her motif of choice, scattered around in a semicircular arrangement with a stylized orange-glitter crescent moon at its center.
And at the very center, surrounded by all the personalized decorations, was a message written in glue and covered in a mix of all three glitter colors.
CONGRATULATIONS LINCOLN!
WE'RE SO HAPPY YOU'RE DOING BETTER!
(HEART) YOUR SISTERS!
Lincoln's eyes widened in wonder, tilting his head to regard the lovingly crafted creation his sisters had made for him. "Is—Is this for me?" He asked, looking to their smiling faces when he managed to power past the awe of what he was being presented.
"Yup!" Luan replied cheerily.
"We wanted to show you how glad we are that your cast came off!" Lynn exclaimed.
"And what better way to do that than by making something super pretty for you to remember this day by!" Leni gushed.
Lincoln absorbed their words for a moment. Then, when he fully processed them, his eyes began to glimmer, and he raised his arm to grasp at his still covered other arm, his much thinner, less bulky looking arm. "Really?" He gulped, his throat growing thick with rising emotion.
Lori smirked sympathetically, "You see the poster, don't you? We are so literally psyched that you don't have to lug that cast around anymore, Linc." Her smirk widened into something a little more mischievous and she gently elbowed Luna, "Luna especially, she was the one who wrote the message and drew most of the glue shapes, after all."
Luna's stomach went a little cold when Lincoln turned to her, and her fingers clenched around the top of the posterboard in the face of his giant, gleaming eyes.
"Luna?" He gulped again and stepped towards the poster, tilting his head so he could look up at her over it. "Did you really make all this?" He asked tremulously.
Luna had to have Lori elbow her again before she could respond. "Oh! Um—I did some of it, mostly the more complicated shapes. The rest of the girls did most of the coloring and design stuff, but I did help with—"
"Luna, you're rambling." Leni thankfully stopped her, a kind smirk on her face as she patted her shoulder, putting a small balm of calm on her increasingly fast beating heart. She then looked to Lincoln, smiling cheerily as she spoke on for her. "Linky, after Luna talked with you on the phone, she got really determined to make this for you, because she wanted to make sure this was as happy a day as possible for you."
She faced Luna again, a big, jolly grin absolutely lighting up the room by several notches, "And while, yes, we all did our part, I think we could all agree that Luna was the heart and soul of this project. Wouldn't you agree, Luna?"
Luna could only gulp once more; goodness, was that all she was going to do?
"I think so!" Lynn chirped in agreement. She stepped in front of the poster and pointed her fingers at the words in the center, "See this, Lincoln? Luna wrote this!"
Lincoln tilted his head, taking in the words, like he was actually trying to figure out what they said. "What's it say?" He asked after apparently giving up in trying to do so.
"I'll help with that!" Leni said, leaning over the poster and tracing her fingers over the upside-down letters, "It says, 'Congratulations Lincoln. We're so happy you're doing better. Love, your sisters!'"
Luna couldn't help but notice the way Lincoln's eyes widened further when the word "love" was mentioned, like someone who had just found a gold bar in their ice cream sundae would do.
"Is it just me, or does she read better upside-down than right-side up?" Luan laughed, completely missing the little bit of emotional signaling their brother just gave.
"Regardless, one point that we wanna make clear here is that Luna did most of the leg work on this project." Lori beamed down at Lincoln, snapping him out of whatever train of thought the word "love" had sent him on. "Don't you wanna say thank you, Linc?"
Lincoln nodded alertly in reply, "Uh-huh!" He stepped back, taking another long look at Luna, this time with his lower lip being bitten nervously as he searched for the words.
"Luna…" He said, shuffling where he stood. "Thank you for making this for me. I really like it. It makes me happy."
Luna's chest grew significantly warmer at those words, and in the face of them, all she could manage out was a whisper of, "Y-You're welcome, Lincoln. I'm glad you like it."
Lincoln continued to shuffle, the arm outside the sweater he was wrapped in unclenching and going out towards Luna for a split second before it returned to grasping the fabric in a bashful grip.
Something that Lori and Leni noticed in a split second.
"Lunes," Lori said, elbowing her for the third time.
"I think Linky wants to hug your arm," Leni whispered in her ear.
Luna jumped in mild surprise, but when she realized the truth of her elder sisters' statement, she quickly released her vice grip of the posterboard and went in front of it, kneeling in front of her brother with the intent to encourage the affection he wanted to convey.
"Little one?" She whispered when Lincoln looked at her. She smiled and extended her arm out for him. "Go ahead."
Lincoln smiled a tiny smile, conveying a strange mix of happiness and somberness in one expression.
He looked like he was in the middle of figuring out something. Something confusing.
He didn't express whatever was on his mind though, as the next moment found him stepping forward and taking Luna's arm against himself, bringing it to his chest and wrapping both his covered and uncovered arm in the safest embrace he knew how to take part in.
Luna meanwhile was left to marvel at the way Lincoln's covered arm felt wrapped around her own. Beneath the fabric of her father's sweater, Lincoln's arm felt considerably less bulky. Instead, it felt smaller, so much smaller, so much frailer.
It feels like a little doll's arm! She thought, tilting her head to try and get a glimpse at its shape. She couldn't make out anything, just the crease and folds of the sweater.
"Thank you, Luna." She didn't get much more time to observe though, thanks to Lincoln breaking her concentration with another declaration of gratitude paired with a sweet little nuzzle against her shoulder. "For this really pretty poster, and for whistling for me earlier."
And Luna suddenly found her curiosity regarding Lincoln's arm to be a matter of secondary importance. "You're welcome, Lincoln," She cooed, bringing her arm to rub his back. "Congratulations on getting your cast off."
"Speaking of which," Luan spoke up next, "how come you're covering up, Linky? Let us see your arm!"
"Yeah!" Lynn agreed, raising her own arm skyward. "We wanna see your arm, Lincoln!"
Luna suddenly felt Lincoln's hold on her arm tighten, as well as notice him press his face into her shoulder a little more forcefully. Looks like someone's feeling a little bashful, She observed, giving his back another little circular rub to hopefully calm him down.
"Linky?" Leni went over towards Luna and Lincoln. "Are you okay?"
"Aww, he's okay, girls." Rita joined them on the floor, handing Lynn Sr. the white box that held the cake they had bought on the way back home. "He's just feeling self-conscious about how his arm looks without the cast."
"Why's that?" Lori asked, setting the poster against the couch and joining everyone else. "What's wrong, Linc? You got a third arm we don't know about?"
Lincoln shook his head, gripping Luna's arm even more insistently, "No, it's just…" He frowned and turned his head to regard his family morosely. "My arm looks ugly…"
"How does an arm look ugly?" Lynn asked. "It's an arm." She then looked at her own arm, as if trying to ascertain some reasoning for how it could bear any trait that would have it called ugly.
"It's really dirty…" Lincoln timidly mumbled in reply.
"That's not your fault though, Lincoln," Rita reasoned. "It's only like that because your cast made it so you weren't able to get to your arm. It's nothing we can't fix with a little soap and water."
"Besides," Lynn Sr. said, completing the little support circle by kneeling by Rita's side. "Your sisters wouldn't hold such a tiny thing against you, right, girls?"
"Right!" All five daughters replied.
Despite that claim though, Lincoln still maintained a stiff apprehensiveness to him, keeping his face partially hidden in the perceived safety of Luna's arm.
"But…" Rita spoke again, voice laced with loving understanding. "If you want to clean up a little first beforehand, we'd understand that as well."
"But we also wouldn't be grossed out by a little dirt," Lori assured, "Seriously, you should've seen Lynnie the time she snuck out to play on a rainy day."
"It was so boring in here that day though!" Lynn protested.
"That did not make the resulting mud gremlin we had to deal with you becoming any less of an annoying memory," Lori said smarmily.
"Mommy! Lori's calling me a gremlin!" Lynn whined.
"Guys, we're getting a little sidetracked here, don't you think?" Suddenly, Luna cut through the tirade, pulling the attention of the family onto her. She looked down at Lincoln, who had gathered a smidge of courage to look out at the family. "Lincoln, do you wanna go with Mama to clean up your arm?" She asked tenderly.
Lincoln turned back to the fabric of Luna's sleeve, biting his cheek as he thought the proposition over.
"Umm…" He peered up at her, asking his question before he actually voiced it with the sheer vulnerability of his giant baby blue gaze. "Are you sure you guys won't think it's ugly?"
"There's no way we could think of any part of you as ugly," Luna said, a small speck of surprise shocking her when she wondered how her mind had come up with that response so fast.
"Yeah, Linky!"
"C'mon, let us see you!"
"We've waited so long to see you get better!"
"We won't judge, we promise!"
Luna smiled down at Lincoln and brought a hand to tenderly twirl his turkey tail. "See? Lots of good vibes here, Little one. Feel free to make whatever choice you want."
Lincoln bit his lip, tilting his sights down again for a moment before finally speaking up again.
"I guess I can show my arm right now," He murmured.
Slowly, carefully, ever so cautiously, he released Luna's arm and stepped back, his hand going to grip his covered arm and his shoulders rising against his neck.
"You want me to take that sweater for you, squirt?" Lynn Sr. asked.
Lincoln gulped and forced his hand to relax, letting it fall to his side like a rock on a rope. "Uh-huh," He said through a clenched jaw.
Lincoln remained stiff as a board as his father reached out to him, gently unfurling the little makeshift blanket from around Lincoln and pulling it away.
Thus revealing, at long last, his unencumbered arm.
All five girls gasped, but not in disgust or any kind of aghast shock.
Seeing Lincoln's arm, the girls did see why he could feel self-conscious about it. It was a little on the gritty side, with several dark patches smudging the dry, flaky skin, almost making it look a little bit like crocodile scales. Beneath those dark patches, the skin was white, startingly white, sort of like how Lincoln had looked as a whole when he first arrived with the Loud family; emaciated and sickly.
But the girls paid no attention to that, they were simply too thrilled to see the tiny little limb in its full functionality.
"Oh Linky!" Leni got down to his level by falling on her knees, grinning from ear to ear as she moved closer. "It's your arm! Your little arm!"
"You're finally free of that cast!" Luan crowed, raising her own arms skyward.
"We can play catch!" Lynn cheered.
"You can play videogames!" Lori added.
Luna beamed at Lincoln and reached out to ruffle his hair, centering his cute little gaze back on her.
"You're doing better, Little one, this is proof of that," She cooed.
Lincoln blinked, biting his lip and growing a little tense as he looked over to his arm, currently being lifted up by Leni's loving hands. "You girls don't think it's ugly? Honest?"
"Not one bit, Linky!" Leni proclaimed, bringing her hand to run it over the top of his arm. "Your arm is just as cute as the rest of you!"
"Yeah, we're just happy!" Lynn gushed.
"Happy that you really are getting better!" Luan added.
The praise and congratulations went on for a fair bit longer after that, only stopping when an outcry from the stomach of the youngest Loud daughter interrupted the festivities with a demand for sustenance.
"Oops!" Lynn giggled, bringing her hands over her complaining tummy, "I guess making that poster made me hungry."
"We literally just put sprinkles over glue and drew shapes with markers, Lynnie," Lori said smarmily, only to have her own stomach betray her with a considerably louder growl not two seconds later.
"Ha, you're hungry too!" Lynn teased.
"I'm pretty sure we're all pretty hungry," Rita laughed, standing up with Lynn Sr. "You girls wanna guess what we're gonna have for dinner?"
"We're not having cake?" Leni asked, head tilting to the side.
"Well, yes, but we can't make a meal out of just cake now, can we?" Lynn Sr. said.
Speak for yourself, pops, Luna's inner voice commented.
"No, we're going somewhere that I know you girls always love going to," Lynn Sr. continued. He grinned a cheeky grin and leaned towards the children. "Someplace your brother hasn't gotten to try yet. A place that starts with a 'B'?"
All five girls gasped, and Lincoln looked to them curiously, wondering what had just popped into all their minds.
"Burpin' Burger!?" They cried, voices escalating with fast rising excitement.
"That's right," Rita replied with a nod. "Your father and I decided we should make tonight as much of a celebration as possible, and that means getting something you all will enjoy."
"YEAAAAH!" In their fervent agreement, everyone but Luna and Lincoln bolted past the parents, jettisoning out the front door and into the night.
"Wait!" Lynn Sr. cried, turning towards the door. "Don't you want to get ready first? You're all in your pajamas! Some of you aren't even wearing shoes!"
"Don't care, the excitement will keep my toes warm!" Lynn replied with gusto.
Lynn Sr. sighed and let his outstretched hand fall.
"Why don't you just put the cake in the fridge and go out there and meet them?" Rita suggested with a chuckle. "I'll help Lincoln with his arm and we'll meet you out there, okay?"
"Okay…" Lynn Sr. mumbled. He noticed Luna still standing by and reached into his pocket. "Luna, sweetie, you mind going out and unlocking Vanzilla for me? I don't need Lynn Jr. to ruin another pair of socks by running all over the grass again."
Luna nodded, reaching out to take the keys from her father, "Yes, papa."
"As for you," Rita said, going over to Lincoln. She bent down and lifted him up into her arms, "What say we take a minute to wash off that arm of yours before we go?"
"Okay," Lincoln replied while latching onto Rita's shoulder with his fingers. He still couldn't quite bring himself to wrap his arms around anyone while being carried, an emotional barrier that fortunately, his mother, father, and eldest sister paid no mind to whenever they carried him.
Once Lincoln felt safely situated in Rita's grasp, he turned down to Luna just as she was handed the keys.
"See you soon, Luna," He said sweetly. "Will you sit next to me in Vanzilly?"
How could Luna say no? Especially when her eyesight zeroed in on his tiny little hand, freshly free from the bulky cast waving at her as her mother walked them towards her room.
"Absolutely," Luna said, clasping the keys against her chest, her heart warming several flicks when she saw him smile back at her just before he disappeared with her mother around the corner.
"Wow, this little dude really has you wrapped completely around his finger, doesn't he?" Her inner voice remarked a second later.
Whaddya want me to say, he's cute! Luna replied, dashing out the front door after slipping her feet into her slippers.
…
Thankfully for Luna, Leni was more than willing to let her have her seat in the second row of Vanzilla's seat rows, enabling her to fulfill her promise to Lincoln and be seated next to him as the family puttered along the streetlight illuminated night-time streets of Royal Woods.
"Are you warm enough, Lincoln?" Luna asked, grabbing the corner of the little purple blanket he had long ago arrived in and making sure he was sufficiently covered,
"Mmhmm," Lincoln hummed, pulling the blanket closer against his now pajama clad self. After washing his arm, he had asked Rita to garb him in his nighttime wear so he could be the same as his sisters.
"So how'd they get the cast off, Lincoln?" Lynn hauled herself up to look over from the back row. "Do they really use a saw?"
Lincoln's eyes widened and he lifted his arm out from the blanket. Now that it was clean, it no longer bore the smudgy dirtiness to it, but it still looked quite a bit on the flaky side, with its stark paleness remaining as well. "Um, I think so…" He replied.
Lori sat up in mild shock and looked over at Lincoln from her place on the other side of the carseat. "Wait, what? They actually used a saw?" She balked.
"The cast technician uses a dull bladed saw, sweetheart," Rita informed from the front passenger seat. "It cuts through the cast using vibrations and stops before it gets to the skin."
"That's right," Lynn Sr. spoke on. He laughed and glanced at Lincoln in the rearview mirror. "Remember, squirt? You said it tickled, right?"
"A little bit," Lincoln replied with a bashful smile. He looked around at all his sisters. "I got a little scared when that happened, but I thought about all of you and I was able to be brave."
"Awww!" Leni gushed, pressing her palms to her cheeks.
"I bet you were!" Luan exclaimed, "You're one of the bravest people I know, Linky!"
The girls continued to heap praise onto the boy that sat between them all, warming the hearts of both parents up front.
"Aw, ding-dang-darnit." The slowed deceleration of the car at a particularly large clump of traffic interrupted the chatter, pulling the attention of all the Loud children to the front window.
"Looks like it might take us a bit longer than we thought to get to Burpin' Burger," Lynn Sr. sighed while reclining slightly in his seat.
"Why don't we put on some music?" Rita suggested, reaching out for the radio. "Any requests, kids?"
Immediately, the air was filled with a cacophonous slew of song requests, all noticeably geared towards music of the pop persuasion.
"HEY! WAIT A SECOND!" It wasn't until Lori sat up on her knees and boomed out a ceasefire on the requests that the babbling stopped, bringing a constrained level of silence into the vehicle.
"Why don't we let Luna decide?" Lori asked, settling herself back down.
Luna jumped, stopped only by the stinging pull of her seatbelt restraining her. Her picking the song? Where did that come from? That was something that was never offered among the sisters. One typically had to fight tooth and nail to get their voice heard, and Luna; being so soft spoken, rarely had the courage to lash any meaningful aggression for her cause.
So why had Lori just offered her free rein on the matter?
"Yeah," Lori said, looking over at Luna, "It's been a while since Luna's got to pick." She gave a barely discernible glance down at Lincoln before returning to Luna, "And she's got pretty decent taste if you ask me. Especially when she sings along."
She finished off her statement with a very obvious wink at Luna from above Lincoln's line of sight.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say she wants you to try singing for the little dude, brah," Her inner voice said.
"Yeah, Luna!" Lynn pulled herself up over the top of the back row again, flashing Luna her best grin. "You should pick a song and sing with it! You always sound great when you sing!"
"Yeah! You totes have the best singing voice, Luna!" Leni piled on.
"You're even better at singing than whistling!" Luan cheered.
Luna's cheeks tinged a deep pink at the encouragement of her sisters, "I…" Her throat tightened and her palms suddenly grew clammy. "I don't—" She bit her cheek and looked down at her lap. "I'm not sure—"
"Luna?" Before she could formulate any sort of dismissal to the request, the tiny voice of her little brother swept the nervousness away.
That anxiety was further dissipated when she saw his adorable baby blue gaze affixed on her, earnestly beseeching her to consider the request of their other siblings.
"I think I'd really like hearing you sing," He said, hiding his face in his blanket when the bashfulness overcame him. "I really like it when you whistle to me, so I bet you sound even prettier when you sing."
And just like that, Luna couldn't say no. Curse her inner voice for being right; she was wrapped around Lincoln's finger.
"So, Luna? You have a song in mind?" Lynn Sr. asked with a smirk.
Luna gulped and brought her hands together, feeling the cold, clammy moisture on both her palms. "Um…" Her mind scrambled through all the songs she knew, searching for something that would please everyone in the car while playing to her sensibilities.
She fortunately didn't have to think long, as less than a half-minute later, a song did in fact pop into her mind.
"How about…" She blushed and glanced at everyone before looking downward again, "Can we listen to Lady Olivia?"
"Ooh, that's a good one!" Leni exclaimed.
"Yeah, do it, daddy!" Lynn cried. "Lady Olivia's great!"
With the cheers of her sisters ringing through the car, Luna watched her mother pull out a bright, prismatic CD, emblazoned with the name of the artist in dark, spiky letters, typical of what one would see in a metal band's logo. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the disk go into Vanzilla's console, and she took a nervous and shaky breath as she prepared for that very first power chord to come.
It didn't disappoint. That very first grand riff of the electric guitar that started the song she knew so well immediately filled her with an exhilarating sense of invigoration, pepping her into sitting up as if a bolt of lightning had gone straight to her spine.
And unbeknownst to her, Lincoln had reacted pretty much the same way, sitting up a little higher alongside her and bobbing his head in near perfect time with her as the song moved into its beginning melodies.
The rest of the family found the sight quite adorable, the unknown shared bit of musical taste between siblings.
"Go on, Lunes!" Lori encouraged as the first bit of lyrics soon approached
"Yeah, sing for us, Luna!" Leni cheered.
Lincoln turned up to Luna again, temporarily breaking out of his trance to inquire the prospect again. "Please, Luna?" He asked, his small voice somehow catching in Luna's ears despite the volume of the music.
And Luna just couldn't find it in her heart to refuse, no matter the risk of embarrassment that was involved.
So, just as Lady Olivia began, Luna did as well.
You and I
In starlit brightness
Powered by the sky
Bright by light
Your sadness will fall away
Just smile on
You are a ring of sunlight
Lighting up the day!
Luna's voice was crystal clear, dulcet and a near perfect match with Lady Olivia's bright and cheerful timbre.
Even better, she had completely wrenched Lincoln's attention towards her. His eyes absolutely sparkled, practically filled with stars.
Too bad Luna couldn't see him, due to having her eyes closed. It was the only way she could bring herself to sing without stuttering.
And I will be the moon
Reflectin' the light right back at you
Take my hand and follow through
I'll be there to guide you higher too!
The chimes and bombastic drum beats along the powerful guitar riffs made it seem like Vanzilla itself had a heartbeat, and everyone within it was perfectly in sync with that heartbeat, most strongly of all, Luna and Lincoln.
Luna still had her eyes closed, but she knew just how to finish off with the final guitar solo, arcing through the sound system like a frenetic rollercoaster ride.
No up or down
Just float here with me
No fear here
Just be brave and free
Rainbow starlight
Hearts lighter than air
My moonlight shines bright
For you I care!
Don't you falter
Together, we'll light the way
I believe in you
So believe in me!
Luna knew those to be the last of the lyrics, but as the song descended from its wild riffs to a gentle denouement, she continued to compliment the softening melody with her own addition.
"La la, la la la…" Luna repeated those final gentle murmurs, softening with the song until it ended completely, dipping Vanzilla into silence once more.
"YAAAAAAY!"
That silence didn't last long however; as less than a second later, it was completely shattered by the sound of raucous applause, shocking Luna into popping her eyes open.
"Way to go, Luna!"
"Oh sweetpea, that was absolutely amazing!"
"I knew you'd do great!"
Luna's sights drifted to all of her family members, her eyes widening as they buried her in their praises.
They liked her singing? Really? Did it really compare to Lady Olivia? She had just been following along.
Behind her, she heard Luan chuckle. "Hey, Luna," She said, reaching over and tapping her on the shoulder. "I think you just made a fan."
Something in Luna's heart told her in a millisecond who she was talking about, and her eyes immediately looked to the space between her and Lori.
Lincoln was utterly starstruck, completely enthralled and enraptured with Luna. His eyes sparkled like a thousand diamonds in the sun, and at the side of his carseat, his tiny hands gripped the handle.
"Um…" Luna blushed and scratched her cheek with a single finger, smiling sheepishly as she thought of what to say next, "Did you like it…Lincoln?"
Lincoln only nodded wordlessly, too blown away to come up with anything to say. But even without any sort of verbal response; Luna felt her heart burst with affection because of the way Lincoln was looking at her.
It was the same as the way she had seen him look at Lori, complete with the little imaginary hearts that she always swore floated above his head whenever he saw her.
…
"Alrighty then, let's get this little smorgasbord of ours set out then!" Lynn Sr. walked around the table, his arms bulging with all the paper bags they had acquired at the Burpin' Burger drive-thru. "We got a patty melt with all the fixin's for Lori, a chicken sandwich with no tomatoes for Leni, a cheeseburger only with pickles for Luna, chicken strips with onion rings for Luan, two little belcher meals for Lynn Jr. and Lincoln, a grilled chicken sandwich for your mother, and for yours truly, a grand belchin' bacon cheeseburger!"
Once all the food had been set, Lynn Sr. sat at the head of the table with Rita, spreading his arms out to his family. "Alright, eat up, everyone!"
"Yeah! Let's eat!" The girls agreed.
"Ah, ah, ah," Rita interjected, wagging her finger with a smirk. "Don't you all have to say something before you dig in?"
"Thank you for the food!" The girls added.
"Thank you for the food," Lincoln repeated in a smaller, but just as happy voice.
And together, the family ate in bright spirits, conversing on whatever came to anyone's mind and laughing with whatever silly statement came about.
Most everyone gave their two cents to the chatter, everyone except Luna, who was more than happy just watching Lincoln from her place across from him, a soft smile gracing her features.
She was still riding the residual wave of joy she had felt when she saw his reaction to her singing; bolstered further more by the praises he had given her when he had shaken off the amazement that had stunned him at the initial ending of her performance.
"That was so good, Luna!" He had crowed, his little arms raised towards Vanzilla's ceiling. "You're such a great singer! Can I listen to you sing some more sometime?!"
Luna said yes, of course. He was simply too cute for her to consider anything else.
"Um, according to you, he's always cute, brah," Luna's inner voice said.
Well, he is, Luna playfully replied back, taking another bite of her burger.
She was also incredibly happy to see him in such good spirits as well, thanks to no small part in his ability to use both his arms while eating, using one hand to grab his chicken nuggets, and the other to hold his drink.
"Is your arm doing okay, little man?" Rita asked when she noticed his arm going a little shaky when he brought his straw to his lips.
Lincoln nodded, pursing his lips when the straw slipped out thanks to an involuntary jerk from said limb. "Uh-huh," He said, pouting a little as he lifted his other hand to scratch at his dry skin. "It's still really itchy though."
"Aww, don't worry," Rita cooed. "After we eat, I'll put something on it to make it feel better, okay?"
"Okay," Lincoln said, bringing his hand back down.
Only for his smaller arm to jerk against his hand, causing a harder cringe to run through the rest of his body, subsequently sending his drink tumbling out over the table where the lid burst off, sending chocolate milkshake over the table top.
"Whoa!"
"Incoming milkshake tsunami!"
"Protect the cake!"
Luna's eyes widened in the face of the chocolatey deluge, and she swiftly hopped out of her chair, taking her burger and fries into her arms just in time to avoid having them become much more sweet than savory.
She was, however, not quick enough to keep the frosty beverage from dripping onto the sleeve of her concert T pajama top, causing her to jolt both in shock from the cold sensation on her skin, and in slight displeasure from the prospect of a stain marring her valued piece of clothing.
Oh no! Luna thought with a gasp.
"Whoops, someone's finger slipped," Lynn Sr. chuckled, standing from his seat. "I'll go get a rag, be right ba—"
"I'M SORRY!" Before anything else could be said, Lincoln let out a fearful cry, shattering the jovial atmosphere into a million pieces. In his booster seat, his arms and legs contorted against his torso, with his hands going over his eyes as he tried to curl into as tight a ball as possible. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN, I PROMISE! I'LL JUST DRINK WATER FROM NOW ON!"
His terrified proclamation sent a frantic bolt of concern into the rest of the family, and in response, everyone, Luna included, dashed to surround him.
"Whoa, Linky, it's okay!" Leni attempted to sooth.
"Yeah, Linc, we know you didn't do this on purpose," Lori urged, bringing a hand to run through his hair.
"We know it was an accident," Lynn said, taking his hand into hers.
"And drink water from now on?" Luan queried, "You don't have to do that, Linky. In fact, if you want to, you can share my milkshake with me."
The family continued to try and calm the distraught boy between them, doing their absolute best to impart the fact that they held no ill will towards him.
"I-I-I'm not supposed to m-make a m-m-mess!" Lincoln whimpered, keeping his body curled defensively, making sure his chest was as protected as possible.
"Sweetie, it's okay to have a little slip up from time to time," Rita cooed. She placed her hand on his back, causing him to cringe further, to which she began to rub it comfortingly. "It's nothing to worry over, we promise."
"Your mother's right, squirt," Lynn Sr. reiterated. "Nobody here's gonna get mad at you for a tiny little spill like this. We'll just clean it up, easy peasy."
Lincoln continued to keep his face hidden in his limbs for a while after that, trembling and breathing in hushed little gasps to the increasing concern of his family.
"You might wanna try saying something yourself, doncha think?" Luna's inner voice spoke up within her mind, "I mean, I doubt you could say anything to make it worse."
Luna had to agree with herself there. Carefully, she wriggled her way past her sisters, and extended a hand towards Lincoln's shoulder.
"Lincoln…" She whispered, setting her hand down. "Please don't be scared. It's okay, I promise."
Perhaps that final touch was just what was needed, because when Luna laid her hand over his tense as stone shoulder, he finally managed to tilt his head to peer out at her.
"But…" A single eye traced over to Luna's sleeve and he paled even further, "But I spilled some on your shirt. You're not mad at me?"
Luna hadn't been very excited about that in all honesty; but in light of the fear and remorse her brother was obviously experiencing, she decided she could let it slide.
"It's alright," She said, giving him a small smile as she grabbed a napkin and began dabbing the chocolate off, "It's not the end of the world."
"Besides, it's an easy stain to get rid of!" Lynn Sr. assured. "You've got nothing to be worried about, squirt!"
At the continued insistence of his family, Lincoln slowly, but surely managed to pull his head up from his arms, keeping his limbs tightly wrapped around his torso, but gathering the courage to look upon his family while anxiously biting his lower lip.
"Are-Are you sure you're not mad at me?" He asked in a trembly vibrato.
Luna joined her sisters in gathering closer around Lincoln.
"Not one bit, Little one," She said, catching his eyes with her own and offering the most comforting smile she could muster.
And to her delight, Lincoln relaxed not long after.
…
"Okay, seriously, you're gonna get grounded one of these days, me," Luna's inner voice said as Luna herself cracked her door open and peered out into the dark hallway.
Whaddya want me to do? Luna countered to herself. Something about nighttime just makes me really thirsty. It's Friday night, how mad could mom and dad get?
"You do know there's still cake, right? I'm pretty sure I'd rather not miss out on leftovers because you got yourself in trouble, brah."
Luna had to admit, she had herself there. After Lincoln had calmed down and the spilled milkshake had been cleaned up, the rest of dinner went off without any further incident. The celebration had even ended on a happy note when after the last morsel of Burpin' Burger had been eaten, Lynn Sr. had walked out of the kitchen with a bright blue cake, special for the little one who had healed so well and would hopefully continue to heal with the love and support of his new family.
That cake had been delicious, a baked concoction with chocolate pastry and strawberry ice cream making up its inner layers, complimented up top with little swirly peaks of bright green fondant along the outer edges of the blue frosted delicacy.
Lincoln had naturally been blown away by it, and the girls all beheld the adorable sight of his eyes widening and his jaw literally dropping as his hands went to his cheeks.
Even better, as a means of truly celebrating the use of both his arms, Rita had helped Lincoln cut the cake himself, laying her hand over his to help him hold the knife and cut the first slice.
Cheers of congratulations had erupted around the table when the chocolate and strawberry ice cream filling was revealed, practically erasing the memory of the milkshake spill from everyone's minds, most notably Lincoln's, given the million dollar smile that crossed his face in response.
And the cake? Yeah, Luna's inner voice had a very good point in telling her to be careful in not getting caught past bedtime, lest she risk losing any of the delectable leftovers she knew to be in the freezer.
I'll be quiet, same as always, She told herself as she tiptoed out from her room. So, with her tiptoes flitting her down the carpeted hallway, she made her way for the stairs, avoiding the more creaky spots thanks to her many other nights where she journeyed out for something to quench her thirst.
Alright, just gotta skip the second first step and the third to last step, She thought, extending her leg downward.
"Ah…Ow…"
She was stopped however by the faintest sound of a pained voice tickling her ear, prompting her into stepping back from the stairs and turning towards the direction where it came.
Her eyes locked onto the faint blue glow of Lincoln's nightlight, shining dimly through his partially open door. Lincoln? She thought, padding a few steps towards the door. She stopped just before the door, tilting her head to try and listen in a little more intently. Had she heard him right?
A whimper of pain was her answer, followed quickly by a tiny, sniffly, "It hurts…"
Luna was prompted into moving inward just by that. "Lincoln, are you okay?" She asked, stepping into the light.
Lincoln jumped and backed away towards his wall, gasping at the initial sighting of Luna, but quickly calming when he realized it was only her.
"Oh, I'm sorry," She said, raising her hands placatingly. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just thought I heard you say something about something hurt—"
Before she could finish, she saw what was obviously hurting Lincoln.
His hand rested on his healed arm. Across the dry, pale skin, white scratch marks, red around the edges from irritation glowed painfully in the calming blue light.
"Little One!" Luna whispered in a shocked hush. She dashed to Lincoln's side, nearly taking his arm into her grasp, but managing to stop herself before she scared him by doing so. "Your arm, what happened?" She asked. "Where'd these scratch marks come fro—"
Again, she was stopped when her eyes moved to the answer.
His fingers, hanging above the scratch marks, actually bearing a few flakes of skin within his nails.
He had done it to himself!
"Lincoln…" Luna brought her hand to her lips. "Why did you—What's wrong?"
Lincoln bit his lip ashamedly and looked away, unknowingly showcasing the shining droplets at the corners of his eyes to his big sister. "I—My arm is really itchy," He whimpered, clenching his eyes shut and allowing two tears to descend down his cheeks, "and when I scratch it, it hurts, but I can't stop because it's so itchy."
"Didn't Mama put something on your arm to make it better after dinner?" Luna asked.
Lincoln nodded, shedding a few more tears despite that. "Uh-huh, but that was a while ago, and now it's itchy again…" He said in a plaintive little murmur.
A sense of sympathy reared up in Luna, filling her heart with a desire to make her brother feel better.
"Any ideas, brah?" Her inner voice asked. "Maybe some lotion or something? You've got some of that in your room, right?"
That could work, Luna agreed, nodding to herself. Her lips quirked into a pout, But those scratch marks probably really sting. I should probably do something about that…"
"Maybe get him a slice of that ice cream cake to take his mind off it?"
A lightbulb then lit up above Luna's head at that; not for ice cream cake, but for something else that could be found in the freezer.
"Little one, do you mind if I leave you for a moment?" Luna asked. "I'm gonna go get something that should make you feel better, okay?"
"Okay…" Lincoln murmured, setting his palm on his arm again.
"Promise me you won't scratch while I'm gone?" Luna pressed.
"Mmhmm," Lincoln hummed, wincing when his arm stung with his touch.
"Good." Luna couldn't help but notice the pain on Lincoln's face, and in an attempt to at least try and make him feel better, she leaned in and gave him a sweet smile. "Don't worry, Little one, I'll make sure you feel better, alright?"
Lincoln sniffled and nodded tremulously in return, "Alright…"
Luna leaned back, keeping her smile and giving him a little wink, "Then just sit tight. I'll be back in two shakes of an alligator tail."
"Two shakes of a what?" Lincoln asked, tilting his head cutely as she darted out of his room.
Luna flitted down the hallway, abandoning the slow approach she had initially taken, hooking her hand around the corner of the stair rail and hopping past the first few steps.
Gotta be quick, She thought, jumping down the steps, keeping her gait nimble and dainty as she expertly avoided each and every delicate spot of the staircase.
Once she was done, she kept going, as swiftly and as quietly as a ballerina, keeping on her toes as she entered the kitchen.
"Better hurry and get what you need," Her inner voice remarked, "And be sure to keep quiet when moving the stepstool, alright?"
Luna went over to the far counter, grabbing the little step stool the family kept on standby for all the shorter members of the family to be able to reach the counter (though Lynn hated having to use it).
Luna rarely had need for it since she could typically reach the counter herself, but she did need it for something else at that moment. She carefully grabbed the edges of the stepstool, lifting it up and lugging it across the kitchen, being sure not to scrape it on the floor as she made her way towards her destination.
There we go… She thought, placing the stool at the base of the refrigerator. Once the stepstool was placed, she dashed back to the counter, opening the drawer and plucking out the other item she needed for her mission.
A plastic bag, the type her father packed her sandwiches in her school lunches every day. She popped it open and moved back to the fridge, stepping to the top step and opening the freezer with a careful pull.
Her nose wrinkled when the cold air ebbed against her face. Looking into the freezer, she saw the cake, mostly obscured by the packaging it had come in, with only a little slit of transparent plastic covering at the top showcasing it's blue, pink, and chocolate brown colors.
But while a slice of cake would most likely make Lincoln feel better, Luna had a feeling her parents wouldn't be happy with her pumping the boy full of sugar at Eleven O' clock at night, so she instead focused on what she was really here for.
She reached into the freezer, moving to the left of the cake and delving into the ice tray. She plucked each ice cube, one at a time, and dropped it into the bag, sending the quietest sounds of them clinking together into the kitchen.
That should be enough, She told herself when the bag was halfway filled. She carefully closed the freezer back up and stepped back down to the floor once more. Now I just need something to wrap it in…
She zipped the bag up and moved towards the oven, where a cloth rag was hanging from the handle. She reached out and slipped it off, laying it flat in her palm where she placed the bag of ice and folded the cloth around it.
That'll do it, She thought, a smile of self-satisfaction crossing her face as she pulled the corners to the top. She then tiptoed out of the kitchen, going into the darkened dining room once more. Now I just need to get the lotion and I'm good to go!
She returned to the stairs, staring upward into the darkness that she had such experience traversing.
Don't worry, Little one, I promise I'll make you feel better! She thought, clutching the chilly wrapped bag of ice close to herself.
"Heck yeah you will!" Her inner voice crowed.
…
"Lincoln?" Luna tiptoed through the door, a bottle of antibacterial lotion and the cloth wrapped bag of ice in her hands.
"I'm here, Luna." Lincoln looked up to greet her when she stepped up to his bed. To Luna's relief, he didn't show any signs of having gone any further with his crying, with the only remnants of any tears being the teartracks on his face and the slight puffiness of his eyes. "Did you get the medicine thingie Missus Mommy used?"
Luna offered a sympathetic (and hopefully encouraging) smile, "Not the exact thing, but this lotion I have right here should help. I've also got something that should stop the stingy feeling." She climbed onto the bed with Lincoln, taking a spot next to him and setting the lotion and ice atop the blankets. She took a breath to steady her nerves and looked back to Lincoln. "Can I have your arm, Little one?" She asked, extending her own arms out towards him.
Lincoln pulled his arm against his chest at first, eyes widening for a second before Luna spoke up again.
"I promise I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't hurt," Luna whispered, pulling her hands back. "All I wanna do is make you feel better, okay?"
Lincoln took in her words, taking a few quick breaths before he seemed to absorb them. When he apparently did, his shoulders fell and he tremblingly brought his arm back out towards Luna. "O-Okay…" He quivered.
"Poor little dude is totally spooked," Luna's inner voice commented.
Then I better make sure I show him he has nothing to worry about, Luna herself thought.
"It's okay, Little one," Luna whispered, reaching out and carefully taking his arm into her hand, using the other one to grab the lotion. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
"I-I know," Lincoln shuddered, closing his eyes and forcing his shivering body to scoot closer to Luna so he didn't have to stretch his arm so much. "I know you're just trying to help me."
Luna smiled. "That's right, Lincoln," She said, lifting the bottle of lotion and tilting it over his arm. She gave the bottle a squeeze, and out from it came a dollop of minty green lotion, obscuring one of the bright white scratch lines in its cooling glowy luminescence.
"A-Ah!" Lincoln yelped, wincing when the lotion inadvertently irritated the scratches a bit.
Luna fought back the little spike of anxiety that sprouted in her heart and instead set to spreading the lotion over his arm, warming the chilly substance with her hand as she applied the now soothing tincture over the glaring scratch marks. "Shh, it's okay, Little one, I got you," She cooed, continuing to caress his arm even after the ointment was sufficiently applied. "Just give it a moment. This'll make you feel much better."
"Luna…" Lincoln shivered, and he moved closer to her, "I—I don't like thinking about the doctors from back then…"
Luna jolted a little bit, "The doctors from back then? What do you mean, Lincoln?"
"Back when I first got the ouchie on my arm…" Lincoln cringed heavily, and his voice became strained, "The doctors had to hold my arm because I wouldn't stand still to let them wrap it up. It really hurt, and I—I was really scared!"
Luna's face blanched, and she couldn't help but release his arm in shock. "Lincoln…" She croaked, bringing her hands over her lips.
Her mind ruthlessly conjured up a thousand images of her already precious Little one writhing in pain and terror as several medical professionals attempted to help him, unknowingly frightening the boy further in their attempt to do so.
Her heart all but shattered in the sheer awfulness of the image, and as much as she wished she could resist, her eyes grew watery.
Lincoln, thankfully, didn't notice. His eyes remained closed, and even though his arm retreated back against the safety of his chest, he surprised Luna by moving even closer, bowing his head and presenting his messy thatch of white hair to her.
Luna instantly knew what he was asking for; the method of comfort he had grown most familiar to when it came to seeking consolation from his big sisters.
Luna wiped her eyes on her sleeves and brought her hands to his head. She combed her fingers through the fluff-soft locks of his hair, fighting past the tightness of her voice to whisper tender words of calm to him.
"It's—It's okay, Little one," She said, leaning closer to touch her forehead to the top of his head, shushing him lovingly when he gasped in response. "You're not there. You're right here with me. Your big sister who only wants to make you feel better."
"L-L-Luna…" Lincoln shook his head, bringing his hands to rest atop Luna's against his temples.
Luna nuzzled him in return, continuing to hush him with every iota of care she could muster. "Just breathe, Little one, everything's going to be alright."
They continued like that for a little while longer; Lincoln contending with his anxiety attack, Luna leading him through it with every ounce of love she held within her heart for him.
"I—I'm sorry, Luna," Lincoln said once he was mentally back on his feet, slinking away from Luna while biting his lip embarrassedly.
Luna smiled somberly in return, continuing to ruffle his hair a little more before pulling her hand back. "It's okay," She whispered. She grabbed the bag of ice and presented it to him. "Would you mind if I use this to help your arm a little more? You can say no if you want."
Lincoln moved from biting his lip to instead bite his cheek, mulling over the possibility while cradling his arm protectively.
Please, Little one, please trust me, Luna thought with an imperceptibly silent gulp. I only wanna help you.
"Umm…" Lincoln peered up at her past his bangs, "You're sure this'll make my arm better?"
Luna nodded, a wan smirk coming across her face, "Uh-huh. All I wanna do is make you feel better, Lincoln."
Lincoln gulped, much more audibly than Luna, and closed his eyes again before relinquishing his arm and holding it out to her again. "Okay," He said, thankfully sounding less afraid than the previous time.
Luna took his arm again, cradling the underside in her palm like a small animal. "It'll be a little cold this time too, but it'll get rid of that last bit of pain," She explained. "Just relax and let the ice do its thing, okay?"
Lincoln nodded. "O-Okay," He repeated, his voice sounding noticeably stronger, perhaps because of his now strengthened trust in Luna.
And Luna was careful when she pressed the covered bag of ice over the scratches.
Lincoln cringed again when the even colder cloth gnawed against his skin, but he stayed firm, simply biting his lip as he let out a small hiss of displeasure from the initial chill.
Then, he relaxed, and his eyes opened to look back up at Luna.
"Does that feel better?" Luna asked tenderly.
Lincoln nodded, his eyes sparkling with a hint of amazement at the now dulled, nearly unnoticeable pain left in his skin. "Mmhmm," He hummed, pulling his arm back to look at it. The redness around his scratches were gone, even the scaly, crocodile look of his skin was diminished, looking a little bit more like the skin of his other arm. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Luna grinned, sitting up a little higher in the surge of happiness that ran through her. "Good!" She said, unknowingly allowing her voice to go up in volume a little. "That makes me happy!"
Lincoln blinked up at her, then looked back at his arm with a tinge of pinkness painting his cheeks. "Thank you, Luna," He mumbled, bowing his little head to her again.
Luna lit up as well, and she acquiesced to Lincoln's request for affection, this time asked for in greater spirits, and brought a hand to tousle his turkey tail. "Absolutely, Little one, I'm just happy that I was able to make you feel better."
Lincoln hummed contentedly from the touch, bringing a chuckle out of Luna when she suddenly imagined him as a cat.
She wished she could stay with him longer, just like she had wanted to that night a few weeks back where she had aided him with his nightmares.
But unfortunately, bedtime was bedtime, and she knew that she, along with Lincoln needed their rest.
Still, no harm in making sure he was comfortable before she left, right? It was a big sister's responsibility to attend to such matters, wasn't it?
So, after making sure Lincoln's arm was all good, she tucked him back in, being sure he was extra comfy-cozy (as Lynn would say) and fluffing his pillow so he could drift off to dreamland in comfort.
"Is there anything else I can do for you before I head back?" Luna asked, stepping back with her hands clasped behind her.
Lincoln's blush deepened and he looked down, "Um…Can you…" He gripped the edge of his blanket in his hands as he searched for the means to convey his request.
Luna just smiled, endeared by his adorable bashfulness, "What is it, Lincoln? You can ask."
Lincoln's little shoulders rose against his neck and he turned towards the wall. "Can you—Can you sing something for me?"
Luna suddenly felt like the room went deafeningly silent. Sing out loud? Twice in one day? Did fate just hate her or something?
"You—You don't have to if you don't want to…" Lincoln luckily breached the silence with his tiny voice during the middle of her impending freakout, stopping it cold in its tracks.
He kept his face turned towards the wall as he spoke on. "You can just go back to your room if you want, you've done enough for me tonight." He pulled his blanket tighter against himself, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. That was silly."
There he went again, devaluing his own wants and needs, regarding them as unworthy.
Regarding himself as unworthy.
"C'mon, dude, just woman up and sing him a ding-dang song," Luna's inner voice quipped.
Great, now she was being pressured from two sides.
Well, only one thing to do then, Luna supposed, taking a breath and going over to the edge of Lincoln's bed.
"What? Of course I'll sing to you, Little one!" Luna chimed, hopping up on the bed again, smoothing down the front of her pajama shirt with her hands as she got settled.
Lincoln jolted and faced her, "Really?"
Luna nodded earnestly, "Nothing would make me happier." She tilted her head and beamed at him affectionately. "Do you have any specific requests?" She asked.
Lincoln was left shy once more, his whole face going pink as he brought the blanket up to cover half of it. "Um, you can sing anything you want," He murmured, "I just really wanna hear your voice again. It's really pretty."
Luna's heart suddenly felt like someone had poured just-right-temperature hot chocolate into it, leaving her really wanting to reach out and hug her baby brother at that moment.
Still, whatever she wanted? That left a lot to choose from.
"Whatever I want?" She parroted out loud. She looked to the ceiling and brought her hand beneath her chin, "Okay…Just lemme think…"
"Hey, remember that tune you made up the night you helped him with his nightmare?" Her inner voice asked. "Why don't you work off that?"
You want me to improvise a whole song on the spot, are you serious? Luna internally retorted.
"You made up the melody on the spot," Luna's inner voice reasoned. "Come on, don't be a chicken, me."
Luna had to fight the urge to groan. Being goaded by herself, what an annoyance her own mind could be sometimes.
She had little other ideas though, as every song she knew the lyrics to suddenly seemed to disappear from her mind at that moment.
"Okay," She said, looking back at Lincoln, forcing herself to smile past her nervousness, "I think I got just the song for you. Wanna get yourself comfy-cozy?"
Lincoln nodded and laid himself fully against his bed, bringing Bun-Bun against his chest as he got settled. "Ready," He affirmed, bringing his chin between the stuffed rabbit's ears.
Luna nodded, doing her absolute best to ignore the frantic drum solo her heart was performing. "Alright then, here I go, Little one."
Luna then took a deep breath, sat up straight, closed her eyes, looked up to the ceiling.
And begin to sing a completely impromptu lyrical version of the lullaby she had composed for her brother the night she had warded off his nightmares.
The winds carry the leaves through the woods
Let them carry you to a world of dreams
Be brave and soldier on, Little one
Silver pools and Golden skies await you
Now don't be scared
Your heart makes you strong
Let the world see you
For how bright you are
And when the winds die down and you're laid low
I'll carry you forward to the world we know
Know in my heart that you're as good as gold
And your silver soul wards off the cold
Be brave and strong
Strive for the sun
And when the moon comes out
I'll be here with you
"My dearest Little one…" Lincoln had fallen asleep before that final lyric flitted its way out of Luna's lips, but her smile stayed as she regarded him.
Lincoln had conked out halfway into the second verse, eyes fluttering shut as if the sandman himself was closing them for him. He pretty much melted beneath his blankets, his head tilting against Bun-Bun's head and his mouth slightly open as he breathed in little hushed wisps.
"How much you wanna bet he remembered that song's melody in his subconscious or whatever?" Luna's inward voice chuckled. "That's probably why he fell asleep so fast; some part of him must remember that night you first hummed it to him."
Luna sincerely hoped that was the case. The idea that she had a sort of special string of a bond with her beloved baby brother, no more important than the bonds he or she shared with any of her sisters, but individualized to them, made her incredibly happy. To have her own connection to him, just like the rest of her sisters did, filled her with a joy she didn't know how to quantitate; she just knew she loved it.
She loved him.
And I hope you love me, Little one, Luna thought, lifting a finger to wipe an errant tear from the corner of her eye.
"I'd be surprised if he didn't considering how awesome that song was!" Her inner voice exclaimed.
Luna smirked and hopped off the bed, Yeah, I haveta admit, I was pretty awesome there. But now I really, really need that glass of water.
"Plus you forgot to move that stool. Better do that before Pops stubs his toe in the morning."
Before Luna left, however, she looked at Lincoln one last time. Seeing him snoozing away, another loving smile crossed her face.
But first one more thing, She thought, stepping forward. Carefully, she leaned forward and gave her brother a sweet little smooch on the center of his forehead, right over his fluffy bangs.
"Goodnight, Little one," She whispered, leaning back. "I love you. Have sweet dreams, and make sure not to scratch anymore if you wake up, okay?"
Luna then flitted out of the room and into the hallway once more; leaving Lincoln with her proclamation of love, her orders for him to have nothing but good dreams…
And a smile playing across his sleeping face as his arm lifted over the spot she had kissed.