Lincoln's entire being buzzed with pure excitement as he was led down the walkway from the front door. Not even the porch stairs could slow him down, the distraction of all the pretty orange and yellow lights and the various kooky little decorations that lined all the houses up and down the street provided him with the means to ignore the fright of traversing them.
And according to his sisters, every house was another opportunity for candy, just ready to be stashed away in his candy pail to be enjoyed at his leisure!
"Wow!" Lynn ran up ahead to the edge of the curb, standing on her tiptoes as she scanned all the houses. "Look at them all! There's way more than last year!"
"You're right, Lynnie!" Lori agreed, going up and grabbing Lynn's hand before she could inevitably run out into the street. "I guess we've had more people move in than we thought!"
"Which means more candy for us to get!" Leni exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Luan agreed. She went over to Lincoln, crouching down to his level with her hands on her knees. "And guess who gets to pick the first house we go to?"
Lincoln's eyes widened and he pointed his sword at himself, "Me?"
"That's right, you!" Luna gushed, setting her hands on Lincoln's shoulders. "So which will it be, Lincoln?"
"Yeah, which house should we go to first?" Lynn asked.
Truthfully, Lincoln had no idea which house to pick. Looking around, they all looked so promising, so bright and colorful with their promises of candy at each doorstep; all just waiting to go into his candy pail.
Which way should he direct them? It was almost overwhelming!
That is, until the house across the street lit up.
The Lorcan house was by far the most extravagantly decorated home in the neighborhood. From beyond its plastic black fence, accented with little gothic points at the top, at least six pumpkins, all carved in several wickedly exuberant expressions glowed with the orange lights of the plastic candles within them. On the front of the house, a projection of a big yellow moon glowed, occasionally taken over by a shadow of a gleeful face with pointed teeth.
But hands down the most noteworthy aspect of the house was the life-sized statues of Jack Skellington and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas in the middlemost section of the lawn, surrounded by the aforementioned pumpkins. As they were illuminated by the flickering lights of the pumpkins, the opening theme from their movie of origin played, continuously stating that it was, in fact, Halloween.
Lincoln instantly knew where he wanted to start his very first night of trick-or-treating, and the rest of the girls were quick to pick up on that desire when he unconsciously stepped towards the Lorcan home.
"Whoa-whoa-whoa, Lincoln!" Luan grabbed his hand before he wandered into the street. "Remember what Mom said? You gotta hold one of our hands to cross the street!"
Lincoln blinked and looked down at his foot hanging over the black asphalt. His cheeks grew slightly pink, "I'm sorry…"
"Aw, it's okay!" His other hand was taken by Leni, whose smile alleviated the guilt he felt at his perceived misbehavior. "You're just excited, we understand."
"And who could blame you?" Lori added. "That house looks amazing!" She looked to all her other siblings. "Whaddya say, guys? Wanna follow Lincoln on this?"
"YEAH!" All the other girls agreed.
Lincoln's eyes widened again. They were really listening to him. Him?
As if to answer his question, Luan gently waved his hand up and down. "Lead the way, Lincoln," She said.
A giddy little smile came over Lincoln, and after checking both ways across the street, he, with his hands safely clasped in both Leni and Luan's hands, led the group across the way.
The increased volume of the music made the excitement all too much to bear as they neared the little gothic gate.
"Ah, jeez Lynnie, okay!" In the pressure of that excitement, Lori released Lynn after they stepped back into the sidewalk, rolling her eyes in half-irritation and half amusement.
Lynn burst forward following Lori's release of her, going up to the little gate and only stopping so she could look up at the tall pointy tops of it. "Wow…" She said in a hush.
"Yeah, Lynnie, and there's probably more inside," Luan gently smarmed, going past her to grasp the gate handle, shaped like a pair of interlocked snakes coming out the mouth of a skull.
CREEAAA! The squeal given off by the gate's hinges suddenly made the crisp air of that Halloween night feel much sharper, eliciting a shiver of unease from the group of siblings.
"Wow, okay," Lori mused, taking a quick breath to steady her nerves. She went up to Lynn and took her hand into hers once more, warming her baby-est sister's shaky fingers in the loving comfort of her grip. "The Lorcan's are really bringing their 'A' game, aren't they?" She smiled to all her siblings, "That'll make the candy we get all the sweeter when we get it though, right?"
Luan blinked, seemingly snapping out of her moment of fright and looked to Lincoln.
He had stepped back from the gate, his little candy pail/shield lowering with his wrist, his sword angled low like a little hero who'd lost his nerve in the face of the dragon he was supposed to slay.
Time to do what a big sister does, She told herself with a determined nod, all fear cast away from her heart in favor of helping the little one she wanted to give a great first Halloween.
"Right!" She agreed, going over to take Lincoln's hand into hers, lifting his arm along with his candy pail. "You ready, Linky?" She asked sweetly when he turned to face her. "Because just beyond this little path is your very first piece of Halloween candy!"
Lincoln's eyes glimmered slightly at the mention of candy, and with that slight sparkle in them, he looked back to the path, down the dim walkway that led to the faint orange and yellow lit front door that waited for them.
There was candy at the end this path! And in his heart of hearts, he knew he had nothing to be afraid of, because…
Luan squeezed his hand, bringing his focus back onto her. In the kind blueness of her gaze, any and all fear that had cropped up within him dissipated.
She was there to make sure he had a good time that night, so what did he have to worry about? She cared about him, just like all the other girls did.
Maybe she even loved him, like Lori and Leni did, and if Luan was willing to go to such lengths for him, then he should be willing to do the same for her.
"I-I'm ready…" He declared, squeezing her hand back.
Luan smiled back at him, and with the gentlest of tugs, pulled him on their first few steps down the path.
The music from the movie came to surround the group of siblings as they traversed the walkway. With each step they took towards the door, the shifting lights of the front yard continued to paint their faces in a spectral dance of color, entrancing them to move closer and closer until at last, they were before the front door.
Lincoln gulped after he ascended the top step with Luan. Up on the porch, there was one more pumpkin, bearing the biggest grin of all the others besides what appeared to be a scarecrow lounging silently in a rocking chair with a straw hat resting over its downturned face.
"Jeez!" Lori looked around the porch, her eyes stopping at a little spider knocker embedded in the front door. "Can you imagine how long it took the Lorcans to set all this up?"
"Makes us look pretty lazy by comparison…" Luna remarked, glancing back down the street at their own home; nicely decorated in its own right, but absolutely paling in comparison to the Halloween spectacle they stood within.
Luan blew a snarky raspberry, "Yeah, yeah, it makes our place look shabby, does that really matter here?" She turned back to Lincoln, giving his hand a little bob to reassure him that everything was alright. "What matters is that Linky's about to get his very first piece of Halloween candy!" She pointed over to the little chain hanging down from the ceiling; the Lorcan's choice of a doorbell, complete with a little silver smiling bat hanging from the end. "Ready, Linky?"
Lincoln nodded, staring up at the chain that hung just within his reach. "Mmhmm," He hummed.
Luan's expression brightened and she reached out to take Lincoln's other hand. "Then go ahead, Lincoln," She said, bringing it to the chain to wrap his fingers around it. "You know what to do."
The cold metal of the chain loop against Lincoln's palm sent a shiver up his arm. The moment was finally there! He was finally going to get his first piece of Halloween candy!
RING-A-LING!
The chimes of the bell rang faintly from inside the house, followed immediately by the sound of footsteps, the clicking of a doorknob being turned, and at last, the door itself being opened.
Lincoln stood on his tiptoes, a jolt of exuberant electricity springing the words past his lips.
"TRICK OR TREAT!" He joyously boomed alongside his sisters.
"INCON!" His jubilant outcry was matched with one of equal energy in the adorable greeting of Lucy Lorcan, who upon seeing Lincoln, kicked her legs excitedly from her place on her mother's hip.
"AWWW!" The girl's cooed when they saw her costume.
To match the general theme of the house, Lucy was dressed as Zero the ghost dog, complete with a flowy white dress, a little hood with eye holes and floppy ghost dog ears, and a little orange dot of color upon her nose.
"O-M-GOSH!" Leni squealed, her hands going to her face. "Mrs. Lorcan! Your costumes are amazing!"
Mrs. Lorcan, currently costumed as Sally, smiled warmly at the group before her. "And just look at you!" She said, crouching down to them with Lucy in one arm and a gigantic bowl of candy in the other. "You're all dressed in such wonderful costumes yourselves!" Her focus centered on Lincoln, who, despite his eyes sparkling at the smorgasbord of sweets, didn't ignore Lucy when she reached out for him with her tiny hands, letting her grab his finger so she could bob it up and down. "I see we have a little hero of Hyrule here with us," She said in a loving tease. "You know I played quite a few of your games in my younger years, Mister Link."
Lincoln blushed and brough his cardboard sword up to scratch his head with a bashful giggle.
"Ooh, what about me, Mrs. Lorcan!?" Lynn leapt to the front of the group. "Can you tell what I am?"
"YNN!" Lucy cried, recognizing Lynn past her mask in an instant.
Mrs. Lorcan beamed at Lynn when she took Lucy's other hand into her own. "My goodness, that's you in there, Lynn Jr.? I thought for sure we had a real ninja on our doorstep. Should I keep an eye for you in the shadows the rest of the night?"
Lynn laughed a deep belly laugh in response, more in response to Lucy's sheer cuteness than anything. "Maybe…" She snickered while fishing out a red paper throwing star to place in Lucy's hand. "That's where ninjas live, after all."
"You don't think your light up shoes might make that difficult for you, Lynnie?" Lori smarmed.
Lynn turned to Lori and stuck her tongue out at her, inadvertently licking the front of her mask and getting a fair bit of fluff on it.
Lucy got a good little laugh out of Lynn's subsequent sputterings.
"So where's Mr. Lorcan?" Leni asked, peering past Iris with a giddy little blush crossing her cheeks.
"Right here."
All six Loud siblings nearly jumped out of their skins when the scarecrow that had been sitting quietly besides the door spoke up in a familiarly plain vibrato. Lynn turned to jump against Lori for protection, Lincoln hid his face in Luan's side, and Luna actually leapt into Leni's arms like they were in a Scooby-Doo cartoon.
"Daniel!" Iris chided as Lucy clapped her little hands joyously. "What did we say about scaring groups with small children?!"
"They asked where I was," Daniel said, lifting up his Jack Skellington painted face. "I thought it polite to answer."
"Well you could've found a gentler way to let us know where you were," Luan snarked, running a hand along Lincoln's back.
"Apologies," Daniel said with a nod. He turned back to his wife and daughter. "Iris, could you give our esteemed neighbors an extra piece of candy as recompense?"
"I think I'll be giving them three each," Iris said, crouching down in front of Lincoln, "Mostly because I heard this is someone's very first Halloween."
Luan's temper fizzled out and she focused on Lincoln again. "That's right," She crooned, giving Lincoln a pat on the back. "Linky, Mrs. Lorcan knows it's your first Halloween! Do you know what that means?"
Lincoln pried herself from Luan's side. "C-Candy?" He guessed.
"That's right!" Iris cheerily confirmed. She held out the bowl of candy for him. "And for such a great costume like yours, I think you're extra deserving of some."
Lincoln's eyes sparkled, his expression going blank as if Iris had presented him a pot of treasure instead of a bowl of candy; the wrappers of each individual piece gleaming like gemstones.
"Go on, Lincoln!" Luan jolted him out of his trance. "Grab some candy!"
"Yeah, Linc!" Lori urged as well. "We got a lot of houses to get to tonight. No time to dilly-dally!"
Lincoln could find no reason to object. So, with a trembling little hand, he reached inside of the bowl.
The candy wrappers crinkled in his grasp, and when Lincoln dropped them into his pail, a feeling rushed through him.
"YAAAAAY!" And with the cheers that came from his sisters, that feeling ballooned within him.
Joy. That's what it was. Pure effervescent joy, the same that any child would feel on Halloween night.
For the first time ever, Lincoln was experiencing that joy for himself. He was finally getting to enjoy a pivotal piece of childhood for himself.
Smiles were abound as the girls got their candy for themselves. Peace was made with Mr. Lorcan for his unintentional scare (With Leni being extra blushy during said apology), and they stepped off the porch, waving to the Lorcan family as they made their way back to the sidewalk.
"Happy Halloween, Louds!" Iris called out to them.
"APPY ALLOWEEN!" Lucy cried, throwing her hands after the group.
Once they were back on the sidewalk, Luan noticed Lincoln gazing into his candy pail, utterly transfixed with his very first pieces of Halloween candy.
"You look mighty happy, Linky," She chuckled, leaning her head against his for a quick nuzzle.
"Mmhmm," Lincoln agreed in a happy hum.
Luan's smile broadened and she threw an arm around Lincoln, pulling him snugly against her side. "Well get ready then. Because there's lots more candy to come, which means you're gonna get a lot happier."
Lincoln turned up to Luan, his grip on the strap of his candy pail tightening excitedly and a toothy grin of his own crawling across his face. "Yeah!" He boomed, raising his sword skyward.
The excitement was far from limited to the two of them though, as the next second found them wobbling from their black clad sister with flashing red sneakers sprinting past them.
"Then let's get moving!" She crowed, leaping through the air in what she believed to be a ninja pose.
Less than a second later, Lori was running down the sidewalk herself, a scowl of humorous irritation scrawled across her face.
"Lynn Loud Jr! You get back here right now!"
…
"TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
"Oh, what adorable costumes!"
The clacking of candy falling into candy pails followed the Loud children everywhere they went. They were so fortunate in their endeavors that after just a measly half hour of strolling around their chilly little neighborhood, the candy pails of all six kids were already nearly half full!
A fact that was constantly marveled at by Lincoln, whose sights always fell to the inside of his candy pail each time a new piece was dropped in.
"There you are!" The lady at the door gushed.
"THANK YOU!" The Loud siblings cheered in gratitude, already turning to make their way back to the sidewalk.
Yup, suffice to say, Halloween was going off without a hitch for the Trick-Or-Treaters strolling through the night, with nary a complaint to be made.
Well, maybe one complaint.
"Lorrriii!" Lynn tugged her wrist obstinately against the fingers grasping it. "When are you gonna let me go!?"
Lori glanced down at Lynn with a mirthful smirk, loosening her hold on Lynn's wrist so her baby-est sister didn't hurt herself with her forceful pulls. "Gee, I don't know," She chuckled, gently maneuvering her fingers to maintain her grip. "Are you gonna run off again? We wouldn't want to have you running into another mailbox now, would we?"
Lynn's gaze fell, a pronounced pout forming beneath her mask whilst she brought her free hand to rub the spot she had bonked her bandana clad forehead on. "It came right outta nowhere…" She mumbled with a cute little huff.
Lori snickered into her other hand, "Yes, I'm sure that usually stationary mailbox pulled itself right outta the ground just to get in your way."
"Can you please just let me go now?" Lynn pleaded. She stood on her tiptoes, being sure Lori had no choice but to see just how big and glimmery she was making her eyes. She also jutted her lips out in a cutesy pout, but neglected to notice her mask covering the lower portion of her face. "Pleeeasssee?"
Lori rolled her eyes and stopped so she could crouch down to Lynn. "Can you promise me you won't be doing any more running ahead?"
"I can't run at all?" Lynn tried to bargain.
"That's the deal," Lori affirmed.
Lynn seemed to deflate a little, her gaze dropping towards her sneakers. "But I'm a ninja…" She quailed.
Lori bit her cheek, taking a moment to scour her brain for a way to make the concept of Lynn reeling in her hyperactive tendencies actually sound appealing.
"Well…" She lifted a hand to scratch her cheek. "Aren't ninjas supposed to stay with their clan?"
Lynn blinked and looked back up at Lori, a dim sparkle returning back to her expression, "Yeah?"
"And aren't ninjas supposed to protect their clan?" Lori went on, internally hoping that she was going in the right direction with whatever she was going for."
"Uh huh," Lynn answered, standing a little bit taller.
Lori smiled and took Lynn's other hand into her own, "Well, we're your clan right? Doesn't that mean you should be sticking close to us? To protect us?"
It was instantly clear that Lori had hit the nail on the head as a flush of radiant excitement brought her baby-est sister back up onto her tip-toes.
"YEAH!" Lynn agreed, her heels bouncing her up and down along with her and Lori's clasped hands. "That would be a really ninja-y thing to do!"
Lori laughed, "Then can I trust you to keep us safe?"
Lynn nodded emphatically, "Abso-tude-lootly! I'll stay close and protect all of us!"
Lori grinned, "Then…" She released Lynn's hands while making a hushed whoosing sound, like she was freeing her from a spell, "You're free to go, Lynnie."
Lynn pulled her freed hands back against herself, her own smile evident despite the cloth that was her mask covering it. "Thanks, Lori!"
Then, as if the entirety of the conversation had never happened, Lynn turned around and dashed back to her other siblings, the soles of her sneakers flashing bright red with each step she took.
"Guys!" She hollered. "Stay close to me! I'm gonna protect you!"
Lori would have chastised her for completely missing the point of what they had just spoken about, but seeing Lynn pull out her little construction paper shuriken and then stand protectively by Lincoln's side made her decide she could let it slide.
Just as long as she doesn't run ahead, we're good, She thought. She stood up to her full height and turned around to continue on her way. And as long as she keeps an eye on where she's goi—
BONK!
As if the grand council of irony had been reading her thoughts, from around the corner came another Trick-or-Treater, bumping into Lori and sending her falling back onto the sidewalk.
"Augh!" Lori hissed when she hit the hard pavement.
"Oh jeez! I'm sorry! Are you okay!?"
Lori couldn't help keep the growl from escaping her throat. "Why don't you watch where you're going!" She barked, lifting up the brim of her hat so she could ascertain the identity of the kid she was about to turn into a human pretzel. "Is this your first day with—"
Her voice trailed off into a squeak when she beheld the golden-hazel eyes of the one who'd bumped into her, brightly evident despite the scaly green face paint that he adorned.
"—eyes…" She croaked.
"Are you okay?!" Bobby Santiago repeated, extending his hand out for her to take, overlaid with a pair of green cloth gloves with little felt claws over the fingertips. When he crouched down to her, a pair of glittery green wings shimmered from his back.
Lori knew she was bright red where she sat. The chill of that Halloween night was all but forgotten to her as her cheeks flushed with bashful warmth.
Don't just stare at him like fish, weirdo, say something! Her inner monologue snapped at her from the still intact fragments of her mind, desperately trying to get Lori to save them some sort of face in the presence of their crush.
What do I say? Lori asked herself.
Anything!
Anything?
Yes! Anything!
Lori gulped, "Um—"
FWIP! Before she could utter anything though, a tiny little paper star whooshed past Lori.
Bobby recoiled when the star flipped against his face, more in surprise than any sort of harm.
But that was just the first of many, it turns out.
"Hey!" Lynn leapt in front of Lori, a flurry of construction paper death flying ineffectively from her hands towards her sister's supposed attacker. "You knocked down my biggest sister!"
Lori's chest tightened, like the hand of humiliation itself had reached in and squeezed her heart and lungs together. Biggest sister? She really couldn't find another way to phrase that?
And where on Earth was she getting all these shuriken?
"Lynnie!" She gasped, lunging forward to try and take a hold of her.
"Don't worry, Lori!" Lynn sidestepped Lori's attempted grab, her arms a windmill blur in their onslaught. "I'll protect you! Just like a ninja's supposed to!"
Oh, just kill me now! Lori bemoaned, trying to grab Lynn again, only for her to wriggle out once more. Catching a sugar-crazed ferret felt like it would've been easier in that moment.
"Stop bullying my brother!"
Then, the slight mix up escalated into full blown chaos, because from behind Bobby came another; a little girl clad in a costume of a knight, a shimmery white foam cuirass with a prismatic sheen that ebbed about as she swung her little plastic sword and shield about, actually deflecting some of the shuriken away.
Bobby jolted and then mimicked Lori into trying to wrangle his own younger sibling. "Nini! Stop! It's okay!"
The little blue feather coming off the girl's plastic helmet bobbed to and fro during her continuous haphazard swings, never making contact with Lynn, but doing a pretty solid job at stemming the shuriken.
"What's going on here!?" The other siblings stepped onto the scene, various expressions of bewilderment, concern, and in the case of Luan, amusement on their faces.
"I feel like it's pretty self explanatory!" Lori barked. "You wanna lend me a hand here?!"
It took the combined efforts of the three eldest daughters to finally restrain Lynn. Leni and Luna to still her arms, Lori to hold her tight against her in the air whilst Lynn herself kicked her feet through the air.
As for Luan, she just stood back and laughed with an arm around Lincoln, who had seemed to grow still for some odd reason.
Once Luan took notice of Lincoln's stillness (and got her giggles under control), she leaned over to glean a look at him.
"Lincoln?" She bit her cheek when she saw his face; blank with a bit of a distracted gleam in his set-forward eyes. "Something wrong?" She followed his gaze towards where the altercation had taken place. "What are you looking—"
Lincoln didn't hear her. He just continued to stare forward, his baby-blue orbs holding a faint sparkle as they beheld the one that had captured his attention.
Bobby's younger sister was still flailing about in his arms, her little sword and shield waving about as her legs kicked the air she was being held above.
"Ronnie Anne!" Bobby eventually had to put his foot down with her, sharpening his tone so she knew he meant business. "Calm down!"
Ronnie Anne froze. "B-But…" She tilted her head back, appraising her big brother with misty eyes. "They were bullying you."
"No one was bullying anyone," Bobby gently assured. "This was all just a big misunderstanding."
"Are you mad at me?" Ronnie Anne quailed with a trembly lower lip.
The stern expression Bobby had adopted fell away, his heart swayed by Ronnie Anne's gold toned eyes, made extra big and glimmery so she could convey her remorse.
"Of course I'm not mad at you," He replied. He turned her around so he could hug her close. "I get that you were just trying to help me." He nuzzled her, sending her helmet slightly askew. "And I appreciate that, just don't go overboard so quickly in the future, okay?"
Ronnie Anne nestled into her big brother's embrace, gripping the striped front of his dragon costume. "Okay…" She agreed.
Lori's heart all but burst with confetti and shooting stars at the loving exchange happening before her, making a smile unconsciously etch itself across her lips and her arms to tighten around Lynn.
"Mmph! Lori! You're squishing me!" Lynn whined.
Lori jolted and loosened her hold on Lynn, still holding her fast alongside Leni and Luna despite that just in case she felt like launching a surprise attack for the honor of her clan or something like that.
"Sorry about bumping into you," Bobby said, walking towards the Loud siblings with Ronnie Anne still in his arms. "I guess I was just distracted." He smirked and gave Ronnie Anne a little bounce. "Keeping an eye on this little gal is kind of a full time job, y'know?"
The prospect of a shared experience in wrangling younger siblings sparked something in Lori, and like a rocket blasting off, she leapt to her feet.
"You're telling me!" She laughed. She passed Lynn off to Leni, both girls appearing perplexed by what was going on. "I think you can see for yourself that I know what it's like being in charge of your younger siblings."
Luna turned to the rest of the siblings, "Anyone else find it kinda insulting the way she said that?"
Bobby chuckled in agreement with Lori, "So no hard feelings?"
"None at all!" Lori answered, clasping her hands behind her back.
Perhaps it was the lighting of the houses surrounding them, but something about Lori sparked a sense of familiarity in Bobby at that second. "Hey, aren't we in class together?" He queried.
A fleck of excitement brought Lori onto her toes. "Yeah, I am!" She practically sang. "I sit in the third seat in the middle row!"
"I thought I recognized you!" Bobby said excitedly. "You're the one who knows all the math problems! Lori, right?"
Lori giggled, a strong pink tinge coming over her face, "That's me! Good to see you, Bobby!"
"Are you dressed as the girl trainer from Pokémon? How cool!" Bobby's compliment completely wiped the memory of embarrassing herself from Lori's mind.
Suddenly, there was no way that night wouldn't be remembered as amazing in her eyes.
Then, she felt someone step up behind her.
"Um…" Lincoln gripped Lori's side, biting his lip nervously. He seemed to be forcing himself to look up, towards Ronnie Anne. "Hi…"
Ronnie Anne blinked, appraising Lincoln herself. "H-Hello…" She mumbled, turning her face towards Bobby. Her freckled cheeks were suddenly covered by a faint shade of pink as well.
Lincoln eked out a step from behind Lori. He couldn't explain why he felt the need to introduce himself to the girl. Maybe it was because this was the first time he'd ever come across someone his own age, a novelty in of itself to be sure, but something about seeing Ronnie Anne bade him to go talk to her; a strange fluttery feeling in his stomach that was entirely foreign to him.
That being said, he still couldn't suppress the timidity that came over him while doing so.
"I—" He gulped and had to hide his face against Lori's leg when his shyness proved too much. "I'm Lincoln."
"Ronnie Anne," Ronnie Anne responded in a bashful mumble of her own.
Lincoln trembled further against Lori, but in a moment of impressive willpower, continued to speak. "I like your costume."
"I like yours, too," Ronnie Anne managed to reply. Like Lincoln, she was in a vicious battle with her own cavalcade of butterflies in her stomach, equally as unaware of what was making her so shy before the boy before her.
And all the Loud sisters watching the exchange found it utterly adorable!
As for Bobby…
"Nini?" Bobby bounced her in his arms again. "You okay? What's gotten into you?"
Luan snickered, "Not the brightest candle in the pumpkin, are you, dragon-boy?"
"Luan!" Lori lightly hissed. She gave Lincoln a little pat on the back, a soft smile gracing her features thanks to her knowledge of what was going on there. "Couldn't tell you," She lied, intent to not suffer any more awkwardness on the little ones most likely fighting with some very new feelings.
Best we be on our way, Her inner voice suggested. If not for Linc and Ronnie Anne, then to at least not risk embarrassing ourselves in front of Bobby again.
"Well, we should be on our way," She said, silently agreeing with herself. "We've got quite a bit more walking to do. Lots more candy to score, y'know?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Bobby said, trying to glean a look at his blushing baby sister. He looked back to Lori, "See you in school? Maybe we could have a Pokemon battle sometime? I'll bring my DS."
Lori glowed like the sun at that. "Definitely!" She emphatically agreed. "I'll be looking forward to it."
Lori hastened her siblings onward after that, hiding her crimson face against her palm and her giddy grin getting wider with each step.
"See you around, Lori!" Bobby called after her.
Lori had to resist squealing with joy. "See you around!" She sang, lifting her hand to wave back at him.
She wasn't the only one to wave either, as Lincoln found himself turning his head to look back.
He and Ronnie Anne matched gazes, causing them to both jolt in slight shock.
Then, the two of them raised their swords up, and waved at each other.
And Lincoln found himself hoping that they would meet again.
…
Fortunately for Lincoln, it didn't take long for his strange new feelings to fade. All the candy he got from trekking the rest of the neighborhood made sure of that. Together with his sisters, he visited each and every house that lined the streets surrounding his home. Every time another piece of candy was added to this pail, his eyes sparkled like polished gems.
A sight that Luan enjoyed every single time she saw it. She stalwartly stood by Lincoln's side at every door they walked up to; both the endearingly decorated, and the frighteningly so.
She would have to go back and have words with whoever decided to go with a clown theme. How dare they contribute to the negative perceptions that horror stories had inflicted on them? She would've read them the riot act right there had Lincoln not required all her attention. She, along with the rest of her sisters stood around their little brother in a protective ring when they visited that house, blocking his sights from any of the sharp toothed clown dolls that hung about the eaves.
The owners of that house got five very cross glares when they opened the door, all practically daring them not to give their precious baby brother double candy for having such a frightening display.
Luckily, the owners got the message and then some, gracing all six siblings with a handful of candy each, all to mitigate the risk of bringing the wrath of the Louds upon their home.
Especially Luan. When she pranked outside her family, she did so vindictively.
Luan would let them off easy, this time. After all, she still had Lincoln to attend to.
"We got a pretty good haul, didn't we, Lincoln?" Luan chuckled.
Lincoln looked up from his near overflowing candy pail, face brighter than the moon shining brightly above them. "Uh huh!" He chirped. "I've never seen so much candy before!"
Seeing Lincoln's thousand-watt smile filled Luan with fuzzy warmth. "So I'm guessing it's safe to say you had fun?" She joked.
Lincoln nodded emphatically. "Mmhmm!" He hummed delightfully. "I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life!"
Luan should've felt happy to hear him say that, and truthfully she was, but beneath that happiness was the faintest bit of sadness.
"I'm glad to hear that," She managed to sputter. She turned her head so she didn't mar Lincoln's happiness with the sight of her clouding eyes. "I really wanted tonight to be a great night for you, Linky…"
It's the least I could do for you, She thought. Considering how unfair the world's been with you up to this point so far.
It was a legitimate wish, spawned from her heart of hearts. Luan had planned throughout the entire month, from practically the very second she'd heard this was to be Lincoln's first Halloween to make it nothing short of amazing for him. Life had been cruel enough to her baby brother, she wasn't going to let any more hurt fall upon him, not without a fight.
She was his big sister, and she intended to show him the lighter side of the world; the bright joy that could be found in life.
"Luan?"
Luan swiped her hand across her eyes, wiping away the tears before they could surface and turned to Lincoln again.
"Are you okay?" Lincoln asked before she could respond.
Luan forced a smile back onto her face, utilizing the love she felt for the boy to brighten it to a convincing level. "I'm doing great, Linky," She said, reaching out to loop an arm around him. "Just super psyched that my favorite little brother got to enjoy his first Halloween."
Lincoln wasn't quite sure he believed her, but her pulling him against her side whisked those concerns away, and he couldn't help but tilt his head onto Luan's shoulder. The warmth he felt on his cheek seemed to combine with the fuzziness that spawned in his belly, creating a swirl of affection that cycled through the entirety of his being.
Suddenly, he felt the urge to reach out his arms to her.
"Luan?" He queried, tilting his cheek to look up at her.
"Hmm?" Luan hummed, giving him a sweet little nuzzle, unaware of his arms raising.
Lincoln gulped, "Can I—?"
"HEY LOOK!" His request for an embrace was cut woefully short by Lynn dashing past them. "I CAN SEE THE HOUSE! I'LL RACE YOU GUYS THERE!"
The next second found Lori sprinting past them as well.
"SERIOUSLY, LYNN!?" She hollered. "NEXT YEAR YOU'RE GOING AS A BACKPACK AND YOU'RE JUST GONNA STAY STRAPPED TO ME, YOU GOT THAT!"
Lincoln and Luan could only stare blankly ahead at the chase that pursued.
Then, they burst out laughing, practically doubling over when they saw Lynn evade Lori by darting through some low bushes, leaving Lori tangled among the leaves.
She had a feeling she wouldn't make a very good Pokémon trainer in that moment. What luck would she have catching a literal monster when she couldn't even catch a hyperactive little girl in a ninja costume?
Still Luan and Lincoln certainly got a few chuckles at the show.
"Ya gotta admit, Lincoln," Luan wheezed, wiping what was now a tear of mirth from her eye. "But this family of ours sure comes with a lotta laughs, doesn't it?"
"Yeah!" Lincoln agreed with a giggle. "Lots of them!"
Luan pulled Lincoln against her side again, leading him along the sidewalk towards their home. "And I'm glad I get to share them with you," She declared.
Lincoln smiled and leaned against Luan again, "I am too."
The two siblings held tight to one another during their final stretch towards home, the promise of oncoming candy stirring embers of excitement within their bellies.
And along the way, Lincoln realized something.
He loved Luan.
…
The warmth of their home greeted the Loud siblings upon returning from their Halloween excursions, with a toasty warm dinner waiting for them (an insistence by their father before they were allowed to eat their candy) and even toastier blankets to cover themselves in whilst they watched cartoons and enjoyed their candy. Good cheer was the dominant atmosphere whilst they laughed and chattered away, still clad in their costumes as they enjoyed the gentle early hours of the night; and as so often tends to be the case, joy seemed to only make time go faster and before they knew it, bedtime had arrived.
"There we are, Linky!" Leni hung up his costume alongside the rest of his clothes, the hat folded neatly within the tunic. "If you ever feel like being a little hero again, your costume is right here for you to wear whenever you want!"
Lincoln took a second to answer Leni at first, too preoccupied in his attempt to button his pajama shirt. "Thank you, Leni," He muttered, his tongue poking out the corner of his lip as his fingers fiddled the top button. Once it was put through, he put his arms out to check his handiwork.
"Aww," He groaned when he saw that the buttons were uneven.
Leni giggled and crouched down to Lincoln. "Don't feel bad," She cooed, deftly setting the buttons right. "Even I do that sometimes." Once he was securely buttoned, she picked him up. "Ready for bedtime?" She asked, using a hand to pull the covers back.
"Mmhmm," Lincoln replied, pressing his face against her shoulder. "Can I have a hug first?"
Leni smirked and gave Lincoln an affectionate squeeze. "You can have a hug anytime you want, Linky," She crooned, nuzzling her cheek into the top of his feather-soft locks.
They held onto each other for a long moment, Leni giving her baby brother the love he had asked for, Lincoln simply relishing in its warmth.
"Alright then," Leni sighed, lowering Lincoln onto his bed. "Be sure to sleep good, Linky." She brought the blanket over him, being sure no possible chill could come over him. She smiled and leaned down give him a kiss on his cheek. "You've got a big day tomorrow."
Lincoln yawned, his tired little self relaxing against the mattress. "Okay…" He mumbled, his eyes beginning to droop down.
"I love you, Linky," He heard Leni whisper. Then, he saw his light turn off, leaving only the tenuous blue glow of his nightlight remaining. His eyes grew heavier, the blue illumination soon only a thin blue line between the last vestiges of his wakefulness.
"Linco—Oh, oops!"
Suddenly, the voice of Luan, paired with a sudden influx of gold light jerked him from the comforting grasp of slumber at the very last second.
"Whuzzah?" Lincoln murmured, sitting up to look towards his door blearily.
Luan stood at his doorway, at first appearing as a blurry shadow among the bright backdrop of the bright hallway light pouring in.
"Ooan…?" Lincoln mumbled. He rubbed his eyes with his fists, clearing the bleariness and confirming that it was indeed his jokester sister.
Luan smiled guiltily and stepped into the room, garbed in her checkered yellow and black flannel pajamas. "Sorry," She said. "I thought you were still a little bit from actually going to bed. I just wanted to come say goodnight."
Lincoln managed a sleepy smile of his own. "It's okay," He murmured amiably.
Luan moved up to the side of Lincoln's bed. "I'll only be a second," She informed, reaching out to pull the blanket that had moved when Lincoln sat up back over him. "I just wanted to make sure you were settling down okay."
Lincoln yawned, "I am…"
"Did—Did you have fun tonight?" Luan pulled her hand back, clasping it over her chest as a faint blush colored her cheeks.
Lincoln summoned a little more energy from beneath the curtain of sleep trying to overtake him. "Uh-huh," He said. "I had a lot of fun."
Luan's face lit up, seemingly competing with the night light if not straight outshining it. "That's good," She whispered, folding both her hands together. "I'm glad to hear that. I really wanted to make sure tonight was good."
Lincoln believed her. He'd seen himself just how much effort Luan had put into planning Halloween out, sitting by her in the living room while they drafted various maps of the neighborhood, practicing Trick-or-Treating with her, and even getting a few small pieces of candy from Luan as a means of keeping him excited for the event in the interim.
And on the night itself, she had stayed by Lincoln's side for the entire time, easing him through some of the scarier houses, and getting excited with him for each piece of candy he received.
She'd done just about everything that could've been done for him regarding Halloween, and Lincoln's heart felt positively molten with affection for her when he thought back on it.
"Well, I guess I should leave you to get some Z's then," Luan said, patting the blanket down to fully tuck Lincoln in. "Sleep well, Linky."
With that, she turned and made her way back towards the door.
"Luan?"
Luan stopped at the threshold between Lincoln's room and the hallway, turning on her heel to look back in.
Lincoln threw his blankets aside and clambered down from his bed. He then scuttled towards Luan, stopping in front of her with a faint glimmer in his eyes.
Luan didn't know why, but her heart suddenly skipped a beat. "What's up, Lincoln?" She asked in a hush.
Lincoln took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts so he could ask for what he wanted in that moment.
"Can I—"
Hugs from two different people in one day?! What makes you think you're worth that?!
Before the words could be formed, the piercingly shrill voice of his mother lanced through his mind like a scorching hot scalpel, slicing his thoughts and filling him with a deluge of chilling terror.
"Linky, are you alright?" Luan herself felt a spike of fear crop up within her when she saw Lincoln's eyes suddenly widen.
You've already been selfish enough today! The voice screeched. Can't you quit being a burden for five damn seconds!?
Lincoln gulped, taking a deep, shaky breath. No… He ignored the tingling in his fingers, urging them to grab at his hair. I'm not being selfish.
In his mind's eye, he saw Lori and Leni. They didn't hug me just because they were giving me something I wanted. His arms rose a fraction of an inch. They hugged me because they love me. They told me that they wanted to let me know they loved me.
"Lincoln?" Luan queried.
Lincoln bit his lip, continuing to fight against the terror clawing at his chest. I—I… Something akin to an electric jolt ran up and down his body. And I wanna show my family that I love them, too!
And then, the energy propelled him forward.
"Oh!" Luan stumbled back from the tackle of affection Lincoln levied against her. When she steadied herself, she realized what had happened.
"I love you, Luan," Lincoln declared, standing on his tiptoes so he could snuggle up against her.
Luan's eyes widened. "L-Lincoln…" Her vision grew misty.
Lincoln tilted his head to look up at her. "Is—Is that okay?" He asked tremulously.
The tears fell and Luan pulled Lincoln against her to return the embrace. "'Is that okay'?" She repeated in a watery giggle. "Of course it's okay!" She picked him up off the ground, leaving his toes to hover over the carpet as she swayed him about lovingly. "I love you, too, Linky!"
Lincoln's heart sent a surge of warmth through him and he titled his ear against Luan's chest.
Tha-thump! Tha-thump! Tha-thump!
If he had been close to dreamland before, the sound of Luan's heartbeat practically made his eyelids and limbs as heavy as iron.
But he still had things to say, and he intended to make them known.
"Luan…" Lincoln shook his head in an attempt to ward off sleep for just a little longer. "Thank you for making Halloween so much fun." He lifted himself up and planted a kiss on Luan's cheek. "I'm so glad you're my big sister."
Luan couldn't recall many other times she felt more joy than she did in hearing Lincoln express his gratitude to her, and when he kissed her, she couldn't help but immediately turn her head and administer a smooch of her own against his cheek.
"And I'm glad you're my baby brother, Linky," She cooed, laying her head atop his. "And you know what? There's a lot more holidays for us to look forward to and—"
She smirked and nuzzled Lincoln, "—I can't wait to celebrate them with you as well."
And Luan meant what she said, because if it meant getting a hug from Lincoln, then she now had another wonderful reason to look towards the holidays, as well as every other day of the year.