A/N: Now here's an interesting character pairing I've always wanted to explore. A little tricky too, because of who I've picked: how do the top two most anti-social and independent members of the Loud House find any way of connecting with each other? Let's see if this works. If you haven't watched 'Sleuth or Consequences' from Season 1, you better watch that before reading this.

Do you remember a story I wrote in early 2019, titled 'Little Builders'? I had so much fun fabricating Lisa's dialogue that I really wanted to do it again. I gave her a few lines in stories like 'Not Dancing on my Own' and 'Toothless Wonder', but here, we'll go full out on her speech once more.

In the 4th comic book, Loud and Proud, there was a story dedicated to Lisa that involved her being allowed to check out books at the library but only if she agreed to read storybooks to little children. I liked that idea so much that I decided to use that. Not only that, but there's an official picture uploaded on the Loud House Instagram of Lisa and Lucy reading in the library, which also served as inspiration for this story (and its profile image). There's another piece of recent media that I went full out on using, but I'll let you figure it out. It's extremely obvious.

What else? Oh yeah…thoughts on the overall season so far…pretty disappointing, I'm sad to say. What is this, Season 1? Lincoln and Clyde have gotten so much attention, far more than the others. It's too bad that their story plots aren't that interesting, not to mention I am getting sick of them screaming and overreacting with every situation they are placed in. Maybe it's because I've never been able to accept Lincoln's latest voice; it's just not him. Or maybe it's the fact that the duo have been reduced to cowards and wimps. But regardless, I've said it once and I'll say it again and again: there are so many more interesting characters and character pairings to work with here. Gathering everything we've seen so far, this has easily been one of the weakest seasons ever, what with almost half of the episodes being squandered on the Casagrandes and a handful of ordinary episodes being spent on a boring pairing. The Casagrandes have their own show that could have used those 9 episodes; why push them into this one? So far, the only thing that has stood out to me this season is 'Any Given Sundae', the very first episode starring Lily as the central character. That's it.

HOWEVER…we're getting an episode tomorrow focused on Luan and…it looks like Luna might be playing a role. I don't want to hand over my betting coins or build my hype up until I've seen it, but anyone who has been following me and my continuing story-arc starting from my second Loud House fic 'Mission Accomplished', knows what I'm looking for in the show, and that this episode might hold the key towards unlocking that something, that being Luna and Luan's relationship focus. So, fingers crossed, everypony.

And above all, it's nice to see a Luan episode that actually focuses on Luan and her problems. Those April Fools' episodes are not Luan episodes since she was the antagonist, making the central conflict everybody else's problems.

Lisa and Lynn's upcoming episodes sound promising too.

I hope you enjoy my latest story. Reviews are welcome!

Secrets and Libraries

October 16, 2019 – November 8, 2019

The sounds of silence greeted Lucy Loud as she entered the library's double doors.

Royal Wood's public library wasn't anything fancy or over the top. Just your regular environment of carefully organized books and magazines, DVDs and CDs, textbooks and reference material, out of print covers and ancient newspaper articles stacked neatly in their proper places. Large windows provided plenty of natural daytime light, narrow alleyways of wooden shelves supported the long-preserved inventory of titles, and wide tables scattered in every open space and tight corner offered a variety of creative seating arrangements. A row of computer kiosks lined the rear wall for high school students to research worldly sources at their fingertips or surf social media. A relatively stocked children's' area stood prepared to occupy young feisty spirits looking eagerly for a book of their favourite TV show or a toy to entertain their imaginative minds.

Like all libraries, it was in its natural design to be the treasure trove for any wandering soul on a mission to find the answer to a particular question he or she may have picked up while trekking through life's tricky paths. Perhaps an answer that would help them choose a direction down a path, or to understand how to journey further down the path they had already selected. Or maybe the library simply served to be a quiet place to reflect and get away from life's noisy problems.

But above all, it served its ultimate purpose: an undisturbed space of protected resources where one could study in silence, discover facts, find their books, and simply rest.

Despite bearing the surname 'Loud', quiet little Lucy far much preferred the silence compared to the ear-splitting noise emitted from her rambunctious family on a daily basis. She had a tough shell, but that by no means meant that she enjoyed loud rock music and chemical explosions detonating at any unsuspecting moment, finding them nothing short of distracting, not to mention that the fleeting thoughts of when another blast of sound would jump out at her always fractured her concentration while trying to read her novels or compose a poem. Lucy loved her family, but there was only so much a girl like her was willing to tolerate. She was finding that even her usual getaways such as the attic or the air ducts weren't isolated enough, and her own room was out of the question if her roommate was there too. Lynn was never exactly quiet whenever she scored an imaginary goal with her tennis ball and celebrated her unnecessary self-victory immediately afterwards.

And the bathroom was certainly out of the question. That clogged toilet had been a close call.

Thus, she had chosen the library as a more suitable place to focus on her personal projects than her own house, and came here as much as she could. Deliberately shutting the others out didn't bother Lucy, as there weren't many people within her family whom she really went out of her way to hang out with one-on-one. Lincoln, who seemed to be the only one aware that she liked quiet activities, was a possible exception if he himself wasn't contributing to the family's noise pollution. But mostly, she opted to be alone. Even though the library was often packed with people every day, the point was that it was QUIET. She would find an empty table in a lonely corner to read and write. It was all in her own personal system.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, early November. The weather outside was chilly and only growing chillier. Leaves were changing and falling in heaps all over the damp earth. But Lucy didn't mind the cold. Not when she was inside the library. Making her way through the building's wide interior, the new temperature, maintained at a soothing warm level, was inviting and she allowed herself to loosen up just a bit. The library was only a short walk from her house; her frequent requests for transport had convinced her parents to decide that she was old enough to walk herself there on her own. With her homework and chores finished early and no plans for the rest of the day, she would have plenty of time to relax.

She devoted a few minutes to wander care-free around the massive mazes of bookshelves, letting herself become lost in her oasis. Everything was quiet and still. The sight of so many rows of books ranging from big to small and old to new could not help put raise Lucy's spirits, something that living people often failed to do. The smell of aged paper and ancient wood wafted to her nose and beckoned her closer to each and every shelf she meandered past. She liked this. She liked it a lot. Books did not talk back or disrupt her ways of living or insult her beliefs and interests; she could step into their elaborate pages and fall into a serene pasture for her to close off the rest of the world.

Too bad no one else in her family seemed to find such appreciation for a place like this as she did. Well, that wasn't completely true. She knew Lisa loved libraries too, but that was where all common interests stopped. If one were to actively place Lucy and Lisa in the same library at the same time, the duo would immediately split off down their own separate paths directed towards the shelves that contained the material of their own interests. The next time they would likely see each other would be when they were both leaving through the front door. With Lisa engrossed with complex scientific discoveries, Lucy enveloped with the world of darkness and vampires, and both of them disliking the other's interest, there was not all that much to talk about if they were to ever collaborate their thoughts.

Today, Lucy was browsing the bookshelf, searching for a copy of The Undead Uncovered, in hopes of learning some useful tips to improve her studies of talking to her deceased idols, many of whom were the world's most legendary poets, and to perhaps gain some inspiration for a new poem while she was at it. This was half of her objective.

Having located and procured a large volume of Undead Uncovered, she proceeded to walk to the library's magazine and comic section. The other objective's half was to find at least one comic book of Princess Pony to read within the security of her coffin late at night when she could hide her secret interest away from the family's busybody eyes. She wasn't picky on which issue or version it was; she just wanted something belonging to the franchise to hold on to for a while.

Stepping into Lucy's black shoes for a minute, her desire for the latter was justifiable. After nine seasons of airing, the unbelievably-successful and popular television show of which the Princess Pony comics were based upon had aired its final episode last month, leaving Lucy feeling strangely hollow and mixed on the matter. Only Lincoln knew of her passion for the show, so he was really the single living soul whom she could open up to about it. Already, she had been in his room at least five times to discuss the official ending of her beloved show and how she was to cope with it now that it was over for good.

Lincoln was a good brother. He had kept her secret for her ever since that eventful day when he had found out, never speaking a word to anyone within or outside the family, and even buying her the newest comic books of Princess Pony on his frequent runs to the comic store for his own purchases. He would hide it amongst his comics and sneak the stuff to his room where she would be waiting with her payment ready. And the whole time, he had maintained their sisters' belief that it was he who had owned that flushed Princess Pony book. Now, close to two years later, and even though the sisters had lost interest in teasing him about it or just plain forgot, he continued to protect his little sister from any potential ridicule still waiting to be unleashed. This was just another reason why Lucy would always be thankful to have Lincoln in her mortal life. If there was anyone she had come to rely on, it was him.

Lucy couldn't explain why she found the Ponies so captivating. She had made the excuse to Lincoln that even she felt the need for an occasional break from the darkness. But as time went on, and her interest in the franchise grew, it seemed to be more than that to her. She liked the show. She liked the characters. She enjoyed the episodes and the clever story-arcs. The thickening plots kept her in suspense with each cliffhanger and the attention to background and subtle detail kept her mind in high hopes for more. She couldn't nail down a direct reason why she, a girl fueled almost purely by studying immortal spirits and the futility of life, would be so interested in something entirely the opposite of all that. But she did know this: seeing Princess Pony come to an end had been hard for her. Devastating almost. Luckily for Lucy, she was good at hiding her emotions. None of her teasing sisters were none the wiser for her misery.

Unfortunately, that did not ease it a single bit.

So, she had resigned to rereading all the books and comics that she could get her hands on; just some way to fulfill her secret desire for Pony-based material. Thankfully, the library had plenty of them to offer. Now it was all a matter of setting out her carefully-thought out system. First, find Undead Uncovered. Then, when no mortal being was looking, find a comic of Princess Pony from the comic section. Use Undead Uncovered to hide Princess Pony comic book against her body while she found a place to sit and read. Hide Princess Pony again, this time within the open pages of Undead Uncovered with both books propped up against one of the library's public book stands. These lightweight metal frames, designed to raise books at a slight angle to prevent neck strain, were sturdy enough to support both books, concealing her comic from view so that any passers-by would be tricked into thinking that the girl was reading Undead Uncovered. Check out both books when no one was watching her. Sneak the comic within the pages of Undead Uncovered until she had reached the safety of her coffin. Repeat until her need for Princess Pony had ceased to exist. Mission complete.

It was the perfect system and Lucy knew it. She had been doing this for years.

At last, she found a comic, Princess Pony: Friendship is Super Awesome, Issue #10, and swiftly hid it within the thick block of pages bound by the larger book of Undead Uncovered that she had been cradling against her body. With both books secured, Lucy picked up a metal book stand from a nearby shelf and began searching for somewhere safe to indulge in her hidden interest. Most of the tables were occupied by groups of students studying for midterms or elderly folks fast asleep in their chairs with books lying open in their laps.

Scanning the area around her, she finally spotted a small table just outside the children's area with only one occupant: a teenage boy in a red hoodie, busily typing away on a laptop. What he was doing, Lucy didn't know, nor very much cared. He was probably a student working on one of those research papers they frequently had to write up. There was an empty chair on the opposite side of the table. That would have to do.

The boy glanced up briefly as Lucy walked over and sat down such that she was facing him. He gave a curt nod accompanied with a small smile. Lucy didn't smile, yet nodded back. It was the least she could do to be polite. With no words exchanged between them, the new tablemates simultaneously returned to their own world of literature.

Lucy set the dark black book on the frame; opening it up, she found her comic and prepared to read the first page. Before losing herself to the imaginative world of ponies and magic, she took a moment to take in her surroundings in case anyone she knew were to come barging in and catch what she was doing. Even though her system was fool-proof in that no one would know what she was really reading, she couldn't let herself get careless. After seeing how her sisters had laughed at Lincoln when they thought that flushed book of Princess Pony had belonged to him, she didn't feel ready to face that kind of humiliation, no matter how long ago it had been. Granted, this franchise was tailored towards girls, but Lucy wasn't like most girls. She knew this well and wasn't taking any chances.

Peering around, she noted a large bookshelf near her right. Someone could appear from behind it and spot her. She looked at the children's area just a few feet away and saw that several toddlers and preschoolers had gathered on a large circular carpet for the afternoon story time hour.

And who should be sitting at the head of the small crowd of kids, but none other than Lucy's second youngest sister, Lisa Loud.

Behind her long bangs, Lucy's eyes blinked. Why on earth was Lisa reading children's stories to…well…children? Some of them even looked older than Lisa herself. It appeared that the young scientist hadn't noticed her older sister sitting nearby, instead concentrating on the book she was currently reading. Lucy could just make out Lisa's voice.

"The cow says 'Moo'. The pig says 'Oink'." Lisa looked up at the kids with an unusually soft expression on her face as she addressed her small audience. "Where do the cow and pig live?"

"The Sunny farm!" some of the kids called out.

"Precisely. I mean, correct…uh, yes," Lisa said with a little smile. "The cow and the pig play all day on the Sunny farm. Then they go home to the barn for a nap. The end."

Lisa closed the book and looked at her watch. "The hourly hand has struck 1500 hours exactly four seconds ago," she stated as a matter-of-factly to the children. "Thus, concludes our hourly story hour. Please depart in orderly fashion towards the nearest exit. Er, I mean, your parental units, um parents, will be here shortly if not already to take you home."

Several of the kids let out moans of "Awww", to which Lisa said, "Now don't you fret, young Homo sapiens. I shall return to the library approximately 167 hours from now. Street phrase, I'll be here again next week."

Lucy watched as several grown-ups, who were also seated close to the carpet area with their own books and devices, stood up to collect their children. One small boy walked right up to Lisa and gave her a hug. What surprised Lucy the most over this sight was how Lisa responded with a smile and return hug. The boy said something that Lucy couldn't hear, but she heard Lisa's reply.

"You're welcome, Max. I am utmost thrilled that you enjoyed the stories."

The boy Max and his mother departed shortly after, leaving Lisa all alone. Lucy watched as she began packing up the three or four storybooks in a bag retrieved seemingly out of nowhere.

Now, Lucy could usually care less about what Lisa got up to on a daily basis, though not any less than the rest of her family did, really. Either her experiments and research were far too complicated for anyone to understand or Lisa actively shut them out to avoid distractions around her work zone. Even with this in mind, Lucy wasn't sure what compelled her to abandon her books and approach Lisa, but she did. The mystery as to why her sophisticated sister was doing something well out of her circles felt too great for her to ignore.

Lisa's back was turned towards her as the younger girl filled her bag with the books. Rather than giving her a hearty slap on the back as Lynn usually gave to her or making a fancy entrance that Lola felt was necessary whenever making her presence known, Lucy went with something plain and simple.

"Hey, Lisa."

Lisa jumped a foot in the air, letting out a cry not unlike "Yipe!" This was followed by an ironically loud chorus of "SSSSHHHHHH!" from several disapproving library patrons from a considerable radius. It was funny how they always seemed to come out of their shadows upon the slightest disturbance.

Not that Lisa's sudden interjection was all that slight.

Gripping her chest as she recovered, Lisa looked around wildly for the offending party and locked eyes upon Lucy. "Oh! Er, greetings, elder sister! I was not aware that you were present at this particular time. You gave me a bit of a fright."

"Sorry. I was only saying hello," muttered Lucy, who was quite used to this reaction from anyone whom she made an effort to greet. She looked around quickly. Everyone had disappeared to their books once more. Then she spotted the teen boy whom she had been sharing a table with, who seemed to be the only one still shooting them an annoyed look. "Sorry," Lucy mouthed in his direction. He shrugged and then twisted back around to resume typing on his laptop.

Lucy turned back to Lisa. For some odd reason, Lisa was still looking pretty frazzled, which Lucy found a little odd; as shocking as her well-meaning greetings naturally were, the family was so accustomed to them that their initial shock was usually the worse they received. Right now, however, Lisa was still breathing heavily and her eyes were round and wide behind those large glasses. At first, Lucy was confused, but then she looked at the books protruding from Lisa's bag and remembered why she had approached Lisa in the first place.

"I didn't know you read to kids at the library."

With fingers fumbling and eye twitching, Lisa stuttered shakily. "Er, um…I was not reading per se…I was merely conducting a study on small infants to determine their growth in the science of literature."

The raven-black-haired girl stared at her for a good minute. Lisa was still looking on edge. Then Lucy bent down and picked up a book that had not yet been stashed away from sight. Behind the bangs that concealed much of her face, she raised an eyebrow as she scanned the cover. "The Cow on the Sunny Farm?"

The bespectacled girl quickly snatched it from her. "Yes, well, one must obviously start out small with such young test subjects as these. Baby steps, as they say."

Her expression not changing in the slightest, Lucy simply stared at Lisa, wordlessly and effortlessly setting off an awkward silence that blanketed the area in a thick invisible fog. It became so quiet that the only noise one could hear was the clickety clack of typing from the teenager nearby.

Lisa frowned.

Lucy kept staring.

Lisa kicked at the carpet.

Lucy kept staring.

Lisa rubbed her arm.

Lucy kept staring.

Lisa looked up.

Lucy kept staring.

Lisa looked down.

Lucy kept staring.

Lisa's eye twitched.

Lucy kept staring.

And the boy kept typing.

Clickety clickety clickety clickety clickety clickety clickety clickety.

Then Lisa finally cracked. "Fine. You win. You caught me red-handed. Yes, I do read trivial storybooks to children."

Lucy tilted her head, genuinely curious in Lisa's business for once. "How come?"

The younger girl was quiet for a moment, before choosing to sit down on the carpet and speak in a very low voice. "Around a year ago, when my library overdue fines were still of considerable debt, Librarian Wetta and I settled on a compromise: I would be permitted to resume borrowing books from the library in return for hours of confinement whilst I entertained the specimens of this children's designated reserve area with pre-elementary stories."

Lucy stared down at her. "You've been reading books to the kids to cover your library fine?"

Lisa's dismal expression did not change. "Well, that's not entirely true. Wetta informed me about five months ago that she felt that I had paid my dues and that I was free to cease storyhour, but…"

She trailed off there. Her mouth, slightly open, slowly closed. It was a one of the very rare times where for once, words seemed to fail the child genius. Lucy looked at her little sister, who seemed to be struggling to finish her sentence. She wondered what could be the case. She thought back to the circle of kids who had sat very close to the narrator while she read aloud from the books that had captivated the majority of them. She remembered watching Lisa as she read to them, in a slow, almost careful and light voice, rather than her bored and impatient sort of tone. Then she recalled the way Lisa had responded to the little boy Max who had gone out of his way to thank Lisa before leaving with his mother.

She took a seat on the carpet next to her sister and spoke in an equally low voice.

"Do you enjoy reading to the kids, Lisa?"

Lisa's entire face blushed crimson and she looked away. "As there is no point in lying to you, third-elder sister unit, I confess. As absurd as it stands, I admit it: I do find pleasure in humouring these young Homo sapiens in their basic world of childish imagination through childish literature."

There was a brief pause that broke with Lucy speaking again. "I don't think it's absurd."

"Do not toy with me, Lucy. Of course, you do. Why would I, a woman of scientific discovery with the universe's greatest resources at my fingertips, want to engage myself in ridiculous antics such as this?"

"I've seen you reading to Lily before," Lucy responded flatly. She looked down at Lisa, who refused to look back at her.

"Yes…I have. But as her immediate older sister, I presume it necessary to look after her as a means of fully initiating her into modern society of…"

"Do you like reading to her?" Lucy interrupted.

Lisa stopped. "Well…perhaps I do."

Another silent pause fell upon them. The boy nearby continued to type away.

"You're a really good reader, you know," Lucy offered.

Lisa slowly looked up at her. "Do you think so?" she asked, cheering up a bit.

"Yes. I saw the way those kids reacted when you told them storytime was over. None of them wanted to you to leave. I think that's a sign that you're good at this job."

She watched as Lisa absentmindedly played with a lock of her shaggy brown hair. "I suppose my background experience in delivering lectures on quantum physics and microbiology to the universities in Switzerland has prepared me for presenting readings to audiences of various ages. Though I never did believe that one such crowd would be of little youths such as those who last occupied this area."

"Uh, of course," Lucy said, confused by Lisa's elaborate talking as usual, but catching the important points nonetheless.

Lisa traced circles along the carpet with a stubby index finger. "It's just that…whilst initially I disliked the notion of wasting my time in attempting to engross children with fictional tales, I was struck with bewilderment over how easy it is…and how pleasurable it could be."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that, Lisa."

"You don't?"

Lucy shook her head, letting her curtain of dark hair swish about briefly. "No. You just found a new pastime you like, that's all."

Behind her glasses, Lisa's eye's trailed to her bag of books, then across at her feet. "I…suppose it could be viewed in that way. Despite this simple fact, however, I cannot help but feel strong emotions of embarrassment to have been caught engaged in my supposed new pastime."

"Makes sense," Lucy agreed. "You're always surrounding yourself with science stuff and research. You've won awards in the greatest discoveries and highest achievements. It's what you're known for. And because of that, you think that spending time with kids is beneath you."

Lisa blinked, her mouth slightly agape. "I…well…I suppose that does fit my current predicament."

Lucy maintained her hushed tone for Lisa's sake. "To be honest, I did find it a bit strange to see you reading to the kids, but only because I've never seen you do it before. But I don't think it's really that weird. If anything, it's nice to see you've found something else you like, other than science. I usually don't associate myself with the happiness of others…but it sure looks like you're making those kids happy."

Lisa's mouth slowly curved into a small smile. "Yes, that does seem to be the case. My audience does seem to enjoy my selection of childish tales. And I believe that their enjoyment is the very reason why I myself enjoy doing this."

She let out a small sigh as she stood up, brushing a lint ball off her pants. "But what has baffled me far more than anything as of late is that I cannot understand how any of this adds up. How can bringing happiness and joy to several others give rise to a level of comparable satisfaction to myself? I have poured through the most scientific and sophisticated books that this library has to offer, searching for an answer to this question, but to no avail."

Lucy stood up next to her. "Not everything is answered with books, Lisa. If reading to kids makes you happy, then just keep doing it and enjoy it. That's all there is to it."

How strange this was, how a girl of few words such as Lucy was trying to clear up the confusion of a girl of many more words and deeper knowledge such as Lisa. But the universe works in weird ways, because Lisa appeared to be soaking up Lucy's words in deep thought. Maybe there was more to this mysterious girl than anyone gave her credit for.

"So, you're saying…that if I enjoy reading to children…just keep doing it and enjoy it?"

"Yes."

Lisa was quiet for a few moments. Then she looked up at her older sister and smiled a slightly wider smile than before. "Well…thank you, Lucy. Perhaps you are right. Although I'll admit that my first instinct towards the world's greatest mysteries would be to find a scholarly solution, it would seem that the answer was right before me the whole time."

Lucy nodded, feeling satisfied. "I know it sounds crazy. But sometimes the answer really is right in front of us…just too close for us to see it."

Another moment of silence fell between them, until Lisa asked a final question. "If you do not mind, may I request that we contain this new hobby of mine under confidential wraps for the time being? Though my previous anxiety of my current stance has been eased, I personally do not feel ready to break the news to the rest of the family."

"It's okay. I'll keep your secret," Lucy promised.

Lisa smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

The boy was still in the exact same spot where he had been last seen; from what Lucy could capture over his shoulder as she passed him, he was deeply absorbed in typing a very long document. He didn't look up when Lucy returned to her share of the table with Lisa by her side, not that Lucy was asking him to; whatever he was doing did not concern them.

"You know, Lisa…seeing you read to the kids doesn't seem childish at all," Lucy said loftily as they ended their short journey to her empty chair. "If anything, it feels more grown-up to me."

Lisa didn't answer. Lucy looked down at her and felt the colour drain from her already-pale skin when she saw where Lisa was looking

She had forgotten about her Princess Pony comic, exposed plain as the afternoon daylight in the open folds of Undead Uncovered.

With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, Lucy knew she was done for. Her fool-proof system, one that she had taken so many careful steps for and crafted so many cautious plans to execute was destroyed by one careless slip-up. Her secret was now out and she couldn't back down. She stared at Lisa who hadn't moved a muscle as she simply looked at the open comic book; ponies, happy faces, and the vibrant colours of pink and purple splashed all over its pages. Lucy shut her eyes, frozen on the spot, and waited for Lisa to respond.

"Sister? Is this what you have been reading?"

Lucy winced painfully. "Sigh. Yes."

When Lisa failed to say anything immediately, she did it for her. Might as well get this over with as quickly as possible. Who knew what kind of eternal sufferings she was in for following this moment?

"You're not the only one with a secret interest, Lisa. Now you know what I like too. Go ahead and tease me. I can take it."

The young scientist looked up at her sister. Though her eyes remained hidden, Lucy could see Lisa gazing up at her intently. "And why, pray tell, would I choose to tease you?"

Feeling confused and a little frustrated that Lisa was making her suffer further by putting off the laugh track, probably to wallow in her big sister's misery, something Lucy would normally enjoy, but certainly not like this, Lucy grinded her teeth. "Because Princess Pony shouldn't be for someone like me. It's full of hearts and adorable faces and friendships…everything I'm not supposed to be."

She slumped her shoulders uncomfortably, her entire body slouching such that she was a little bit closer to Lisa's height. Another round of silence filled the area, save for the teenager, who was rapidly typing a massive storm on his laptop's keyboard.

Then Lisa spoke up in a quiet tone, such that this conversation was just between the two of them. "And so you believe that because your external outlook is quite the opposite of a franchise such as Princess Pony, you feel the need to be embarrassed if anyone were to find out?"

Lucy was getting more frustrated, angry almost. "Of course, I do," she hissed with an unpleasant mixture of shame and embarrassment laced in her icy tone. "How would you feel if you were caught doing something way out of your character?"

"I would feel the exact same way as I did when you caught me reading to those kids."

That caught Lucy off-guard. Her mind froze up and then went into rapid-fire, spitting out thoughts so quickly that she ended up fumbling her words. "Uh…um…"

Lisa took a step closer to her big sister. "Lucy. I do not have any intention to tease you."

The goth girl stared nervously at her, trying to read her face. A difficult task, since Lisa's neutral expressions were all too similar to her own, nearly impossible to understand the feelings within. But this time, there seemed to be a peculiar softness in Lisa's face. One that almost seemed to breath sincerity. This made no sense.

At last, Lucy's mind finally formulated words into a question that her heart was screaming out loud. "But why not? You said it yourself, Lisa. You think it's so sickeningly sweet that you'll get a toothache just by looking at it."

Lisa looked back at the comic book, then back at her. "Two years ago, perhaps. Yes, I suppose I would have found my own reasons to ridicule you if you had been caught reading one of those. Given my immediate reaction upon Lincoln's confession that the flushed Pony book belonged to him, this would be a reasonable estimation."

Lucy made an inaudible gulp. She still hadn't owned up to that even after two years.

Then Lisa craned her neck up in an effort to meet her face directly. "However, you have taught me a valuable lesson today. One that my vast knowledge and resource access could never explain with such accuracy and relevance. You've taught me, and shown me, that it is perfectly acceptable to possess an additional interest in such a hobby that is well outside one's more commonly associated circles. For me, I am the world's youngest leading scientist who enjoys reading to children. And for you, you're…uh…an individual centered towards the darkness and gloom of the universe while finding interest in…(Lisa glanced at the comic book again for reference)…ponies and, um, pink."

She took a breath before finishing. "In your own words, Lucy, if you find interest within the luxury of Princess Pony, 'just keep doing it and enjoy it'."

Lucy peered down at Lisa. She suddenly became aware that the sounds of typing had stopped. Glancing up at the other side of the table, she briefly caught the eyes of the boy, who had indeed ceased typing. But only for that moment, because he quickly resumed, eyes lowered once more to the screen, his fingers more rapid than ever.

"Correct me if I am wrong, sister, as I am not at all familiar with this particular franchise, but is it true that the tv show of which your comic is based upon has ceased its airings?"

Lucy blinked, a little surprised, and nodded. "Yeah. The show ended last week."

"And how are you coping?"

Now that question really caught Lucy off-guard. Obviously, Lisa knew about her liking for the ponies, but it was a whole new level if she was aware of her problems stemming from it. It was as if Lisa knew about her recent misery…

"H-How…how do you…know…?"

Lisa adjusted her glasses. "Princess Pony is a surprisingly popular franchise, dear elder sister. Although if you are indeed a fan of it, I'm sure you are well aware that that's the case. It is close to near-impossible to browse the internet without pictures, video advertisements, or media promotions leaking onto every platform you choose when trying to conduct your complicated late-night research. I have encountered traces of Princess Pony numerous times, and while I have largely ignored their delightfully devilish lures to tempt me into clicking their ads, I have picked up on enough information to understand that the show has come to an end as of late. And not only that, but it has sent the majority of its expansive fan followers into quite the united disapproval over its final airing. Which is why I was curious and asked if you are a part of that majority."

You really had to give an approving nod for Lisa's observational skills towards something that she wasn't even interested in. So many people could learn from her. Not that the fanbase for Lucy's show was exactly secret though. It was indeed notorious for spreading its roots everywhere you went and producing up from the depths as wickedly adorable flowers. Lucy being a part of it, however, had been her and Lincoln's secret until now.

Feeling those familiar pangs of depression starting to cloud over at Lisa's mention of this, Lucy sat down slowly in her chair, but still faced the young genius. "I am," she admitted with a quiet sigh, notably letting out a real one rather than verbalizing it. "It's…been hard. I really like this show. But now that it's over…I don't know what I'm supposed to do with myself anymore." She lowered her head remorsefully.

She then felt a tiny hand come to rest upon her knee. "While I cannot equalize in your predicament, Lucy, I can still offer a reasonable suggestion."

The goth girl raised her head a little. "What's that?"

"You continue doing what you are currently doing. Fulfill your desire for this show by revisiting various media belonging to it. Rereading and rewatching the books and episodes respectively. You can be surprised by how much more you can appreciate a series upon your second exposure. And above all, you do not need to feel remorseful that it is over. Simply be glad that it happened, along with the continued chance to enjoy it repeatedly. And perhaps, there may be a follow-up in the future."

Lucy was looking at Lisa carefully as she said this. Strangely, her words were somehow making her feel better about things. As weird as the way Lisa spoke and all those high levels of thinking she naturally had, she was actually making sense. Princess Pony was over; that could not be denied. But maybe reading these comics and rewatching her select favourite episodes could fulfill her yearning for content, if a little. What else did she have to lose?

"Maybe you're right, Lisa."

"Of course, I am."

Lucy glanced at her open comic book again. "Um, you know how I promised to keep your secret of reading to the kids?"

As usual, Lisa was one step ahead. "You would like me to enact the same favour unto yourself?"

She nodded too. "Yes."

Then Lisa smiled. "Of course, Lucy. I have achieved many accomplishments within my six years of living. I have solved for 'y' and finalized time travel. I can certainly keep this secret for you until you decide for yourself when you would like to make the reveal, should you choose to, that is."

After today's events, and everything that had been exchanged between them, Lucy felt herself wondering momentarily why she felt the need to keep this a secret anymore. After all, this was her interest, and Princess Pony made her happy, just like reading to kids made Lisa happy. But with a second secret keeper by her side, she decided to keep it that way, at least for a little while longer.

For the first time that day, Lucy felt the corners of her mouth curve into a small smile of her own out of the gratefulness for her little sister. "Thank you, Lisa."

The boy was typing like crazy, but Lucy didn't notice. She was too busy focusing on Lisa. She and her shared virtually nothing in common except that they both preferred quiet spaces to concentrate. But they both had secrets and libraries had mutually been their selected location to hide them away for safekeeping.

And now…it would seem that they were now extra-safe with each other.

Lucy couldn't help but voice her latest revelation. "Maybe we have more in common than I thought."

As if she had been reading her mind, Lisa finished her train of thought. "I agree. Despite our differences, there appear to be subtle ways in which you and I reflect each other strongly."

Lucy's small smile did not waver.

No further words were spoken as she slid out of her chair and approached Lisa; the young prodigy simultaneously closing her portion of the small space between them so they could share a brief, yet genuine hug. There was a certain mysterious force within the Loud family that united all the members into an embrace such as this without needing to ask for one first. Even Lucy and Lisa, different in every way possible and the last you would expect to engage in any sort of human contact, were bound by such force. The most amazing part of it was that neither of them resisted it.

The sisters released each other after a moment or two. Lucy felt much better, her secret disappointment over Princess Pony was without a doubt still present within her, but no longer was it as severe. With assurance that perhaps it was acceptable to continue marching on with her interest, along with no plans in sight to cease following it, the future with the ponies was looking a little brighter in her concealed eyes.

Lisa picked up her bag of books. "Well, I must depart, Lucy. Mother will be arriving in approximately 10 minutes to escort me home, and I still need to collect an issue of Toddler's Science Monthly before we do so."

"I'll come with you," Lucy said, closing up both her books. "I think I'm done here."

And with that, the sisters left the table, side by side. And despite the heavy load of books that each of them was carrying, Lucy could somehow feel that the weigh lifted off of her shoulders that afternoon was not unlike the weight that had equally been removed from Lisa.

As the sounds of silent chatter and ancient page turning filled the library's interior, the teenager, who had not said a single word throughout any of this, finally finished typing his long, long document. He let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his face before twisting his head around, letting eyes adjust to the different perspective for a few minutes. He caught a glimpse of that black-haired girl and the smaller girl with huge glasses exiting the library with books in hand, each of them looking in better spirits than when he had first witnessed them when they had entered the library at separate times earlier. The late afternoon's bright setting sunlight cast itself upon the floor as the girls passed through the large doors and disappeared from sight. The boy smiled, then turned to face his 14-page document again. At the very top of the text, he typed in three words along the centre: Secrets and Libraries.

"Cool," he said, triumphantly.

Scrolling back down to the very bottom, he typed two finishing words:

THE END