All of your kind words welcoming me back were really amazing to see. You guys actually brought tears to my eyes.

I really never thought this story would get so popular, so to see so many people still supporting this fanfic after so long really warms my heart.

I'll leave my chatter for the end though. Without further ado, here is the next chapter!

-A Soft Yet Hard Shelled Taco Arc: Part 3-

Ronnie Anne couldn't react. At all. She just stared blankly at Lincoln as he wrapped up his long memory of what happened to him. She didn't have any tears flowing down her face, but her eyes were still very glossy.

After being able to talk about his past just a little more, Lincoln felt a wave of fatigue hit him, mentally feeling as if he were in pain. The story had brought back those buried feelings of powerlessness and the feeling of being so close to death. Lincoln took a deep breath and shook away his thoughts as best he could, though he could feel a thought form in his mind before vanishing quickly.

Lincoln forgot about his little dilemma when he noticed Ronnie Anne frozen in place. He started to worry about her a little. So Lincoln gently grabbed a hold of her shoulder and started shaking her a little, hoping to snap her back into consciousness.

"U-Um… Ronnie Anne? Are you okay? I'm sorry if I took too long telling you what happened next."

Ronnie Anne said nothing back.

After watching Lincoln shake her manager for a little, Mary finally decided to step in.

"Is everything alright here?", she asked, a little concerned about the state of Ronnie Anne.

Ronnie Anne suddenly jolted before looking at Mary with a serious look.

"Mary… bring me the bottle under the corner counter in the back."

Mary flinched, her eyes moving side to side rapidly before focusing back on Ronnie Anne.

"U-uh… W-What bott-"

"Don't even start with me, missy. No matter where you hide it, I'll find it. I need that bottle right now."

Mary had a nervous expression on her face.

"E-Erm… Do you want me to just pour some into a shot glass for you?"

Ronnie Anne continued to look at Mary with a serious face, undeterred by her question.

"Bring the whole bottle plus two shot glasses."

Mary sighed in defeat before nodding to Ronnie Anne, dashing through the doors behind the front counter and into the back.

Ronnie Anne didn't even bother looking at Lincoln, who was looking at her with a heavily concerned look.

"Are you okay, Ronnie Anne?"

Ronnie Anne didn't say anything. Her only response was a slow and almost unnoticeable nod.

Before Lincoln could ask anymore questions, Mary came back with a strange looking brownish bottle. Lincoln noticed that Mary seemed a little bit more on edge than she did earlier.

"A-Are you sure you want the whole bottle, Ronnie Anne?"

Ronnie Anne nodded, expression non-changing the entire time. Mary nodded in understanding and placed the bottle and two shot glasses on their table and left. Lincoln swore she held up her hands in a prayer position that was directed at him as she left their table.

Lincoln looked away from Mary leaving and at the strange bottle that was brought to them.

"U-Ummm… What is this, Ronnie Anne?"

Lincoln had to ask because the brown bottle, that seemed almost filled to the brim with a sort of liquid, had no label on it at all, leaving its contents to be a mystery to anyone who laid their eyes on it.

Ronnie Anne set up the two shot glasses, placing one in front of her and one in front of Lincoln. She quickly popped open the cap of the bottle and poured the strange, clear liquid into each of the shot glasses. She raised it up and beckoned for Lincoln to do the same. All the time keeping that serious look on her face. At this point, Lincoln was just baffled, waiting and hoping for an answer from Ronnie Anne.

"Tequila", Ronnie Anne finally responded.

At this, Lincoln's eyes widened a little as he slowly recalled as a kid hearing about the various types of popular alcohols, one of them being tequila.

"T-Tequila?!", Lincoln exclaimed.

"Specifically 'Wail of the Weeping Woman'. It's one of my favorites. Not as strong as I'd like, but the flavor is incredible."

Ronnie Anne poured it into her shot glass until it was almost filled to the top. It was at that moment Lincoln realized that the bottle wasn't brown and the liquid wasn't clear. It was actually the opposite, with the bottle being see-through and the alcoholic drink being brown. She began to aim the bottle towards Lincoln's shot glass.

"W-Wait, Ronnie! I-I can't drink! I'm not allo-"

Ronnie Anne's expression finally changed from her serious look to an annoyed look directed at Lincoln, which shut him up instantly. She then poured some of the tequila into the shot glass in front of Lincoln.

After placing the bottle down, Ronnie Anne grabbed the shot glass in front of her between her thumb and her index finger, and quickly got rid of the tequila down her throat, placing her shot glass down back on the table at a similar speed, making a loud clanging sound as her cup hit the table. She looked up at Lincoln with a raised eyebrow, seemingly questioning him with her eyes.

"Well? Take a shot, Linc."

Lincoln gulped and nodded, not wanting to get Ronnie Anne angry. He rose the shot class near his face and felt the strong atmosphere of the drink enter his personal vicinity, making him flinch a little.

"U-Um… I'm not sure I want to do this, Ronnie…"

Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes but conceded, quickly snatching the glass out of Lincoln's hand and downing the drink herself, clanging it back onto the table.

"*cough**cough*. Sorry, Linc. I won't make yah if you don't want to…"

Ronnie Anne put back on her serious face and looked off into the distance, clearly avoiding looking back at Lincoln. Lincoln, seeing this, sighed and poured some of the tequila in the shot glass near him. Ronnie Anne didn't turn her head back to him, but he noticed her eyes looking at him curiously from the side.

Lincoln held the foreign drink up to his face again, taking in its strength and trying to get used to strong air around it. He must have had a struggling expression on his face, because he could see Ronnie Anne preparing to tell him that he didn't have to if he wasn't comfortable doing it. Lincoln knew she would and he wouldn't have it.

'It's been eight years since you've seen her, Lincoln. Just do this for her. She deserves it!', Lincoln scolded himself in his thoughts.

Lincoln could hear every thought in his mind yelling at him to stop being crazy and put down the drink. It felt like he was being commanded to reject the drink in front of him. It wasn't… It wasn't something he thought people should partake in for some reason… Soon, however, Lincoln forced those thoughts out of his head as best and quickly as he could, bringing the shot glass closer to him.

'For Ronnie Anne', was the only thought Lincoln allowed in his mind at this moment.

Lincoln took a quick deep breath. Ronnie Anne's eyes widened as she turned back to him, reaching out towards him.

"W-Wait, Lincoln! Don't - !"

Lincoln threw the tequila from the shot glass directly and swiftly into his mouth, swallowing it just as fast. Immediately after this, Lincoln's eyes bulged out as he began to cough heavily, his body heaving with each cough. He held his chest and covered his mouth, keeping the coughing covered and muffled-sounding. Lincoln tried as hard as he could to ignore the burning feeling that came from the drink and focus on the rich taste of caramel and cinnamon on his tongue, but it was getting increasingly harder and harder to ignore that fiery feeling in his throat. He could feel tears building up at the corner of his eyes.

Ronnie Anne's head dropped a little, but a small smile formed on her face as she went over to Lincoln's side of the table to start rubbing his back slowly.

"Sorry, Lincoln. Should have warned you sooner. Tequila's pretty strong. Especially for first-timers like you, I'm assuming?"

Lincoln looked up at her wearily, and nodded, making Ronnie Anne chuckle a little.

"If you keep drinking this, you'll get used to it, trust me."

Lincoln shook his head rapidly, causing Ronnie Anne to laugh harder. After a little, Lincoln was finally able to stop coughing and clutching himself in pain, though he could still feel a little sting from the tequila. He looked at Ronnie Anne with an awkward smile.

"Y-Yeah, I think I'm good with alcohol from now on, Ronnie."

Ronnie Anne smirked and poured another glass for herself.

"Well, alrighty then, Lame-O. More for me then."

Lincoln placed a comforting hand on her free hand, grasping it and surprising her. When she turned to look at him, she saw a concerned look on his face.

Ronnie Anne frowned and drooped her head a little. She turned back to her shot glass and quickly dunked it down her throat. She placed it heavily on the table and stared in front of her, resting her arms on the table and opting to stare off again into the distance instead of looking at Lincoln. Lincoln was about to take action and talk to her when she cut him off.

"Pour me another cup, please?", Ronnie Anne asked, looking back at him, still in her resting arm position on the table, reaching towards him with her shot glass in hand.

Lincoln smiled softly and took the bottle and slowly and carefully added some more to Ronnie Anne's glass. She smiled in appreciation and sat up, raising the glass to her mouth and taking another shot of tequila. Lincoln chuckled.

"I hope that's your last one, Ronnie Anne."

Ronnie Anne laughed weakly.

"With what I just heard from you earlier, I think I'm gonna need the whole bottle."

Lincoln's smile faded and was replaced with a saddened expression. Ronnie Anne didn't even have to turn around back at him to know that he was looking at her with a sad expression.

"I-I'm sorry, Ronnie. I didn't mean to make you feel bad… I'm sorry for telling you-"

Ronnie Anne shut him up by grabbing him with her closest arm to him and dragged him closer to her, eventually touching shoulders with each other. She hugged him tightly, trying her best not to look at him.

"Shut up, Lincoln. Are you serious? You have nothing to apologize about. If anything, I should apologize for not being able to take your story…"

Ronnie Anne sighed and hugged Lincoln tighter.

"I'm sorry for making you have to remember stuff like that…"

Lincoln noticed that at this point, he could see her clenching her fists very tightly.

"Argh! Damn it!"

Lincoln jumped a little at Ronnie Anne's raised voice. She lifted her arms in the air and quietly threw a tantrum, stomping her feet on the floor not as quietly. Soon, she placed her arms closely to her sides, still clenching her fists but adding in the action of her teeth grinding against each other. Before Lincoln could do anything, she took the entire bottle of tequila, pushing the shot glasses away from her.

"Fuck it", Ronnie Anne said simply.

Lincoln watched in amazement and a little bit of horror as he watched Ronnie Anne begin to drink directly from the bottle. He watched as the burning liquor slowly but consistently drained out of the bottle and directly into Ronnie Anne, who drank it constantly without the need to stop. Lincoln was able to say this because she did nothing but drink out of the bottle for the next few minutes. Suddenly, she removed the bottle from her mouth with an audible and satisfied *Ah~*. She placed the now empty bottle in front of her and wiped her mouth with her jacket sleeve.

Lincoln noticed that a small smile curved up on Ronnie Anne's face. He could tell at first glance though that her smile was the result of her heavy drinking. A couple of hiccups escaped Ronnie Anne's mouth as she smiled at nothing in particular. Lincoln swore he could hear her humming a small tune as she bounced lightly from side to side.

That small smile on her face. however, turned quickly into a tired expression, with Ronnie Anne letting out a sigh.

"Estoy agotada y ya estoy borracha…", Ronnie Anne whispered under her breath, though Lincoln was still able to hear her albeit not able to understand.

Ronnie Anne's face morphed into a wide frown as she turned to look at Lincoln. Her movements were a little sluggish and she began to slouch over the table. She leaned her closest shoulder over to Lincoln and pushed into him, putting all of her weight onto the concerned and confused white-haired man.

"Lincoln~! *hiccup* I hateee… how you were in that- *hiccup* -bad place fur so long. Why didn't *hiccup* you cawl one of us for- *hiccup* -for help, you idiot?"

Lincoln chuckled slightly as he pushed Ronnie Anne softly back into her spot at the table. Ronnie Anne's eyes were halfway closed as she felt Lincoln push her back into sitting up, which lasted all for two seconds until she slouched back onto the table, muttering something under her breath drunkenly.

Lincoln patted her back softly, hoping to help her feel better.

"W-Well, Ronnie, I tried so many things during my time there. One of the things that I had to rule out was calling anyone because no matter what camp I was sent to, they never had a public phone for people to use."

Ronnie Anne grumbled and reached out her arm to Lincoln. She lightly started smacking his closest arm. Lincoln couldn't tell if she was playfully smacking him or if she was trying to command all of her strength to destroy his arm.

"*hiccup* That's~... horrible, Lame-O~... *sigh*"

Ronnie Anne started sniffling a little, something Lincoln caught onto almost immediately. She clenched her fists tightly and pressed them as hard as she could to the table, as if she were trying to break through the table with her raw strength.

"I bet…", she continued, "I bet you *hiccup* think I'm more horrible…"

Lincoln stared at her in shock.

"What are you talking about, Ronnie Anne? I don't think that-"

Ronnie Anne sat up quickly and pressed her clenched fists against Lincoln's chest, stopping him from saying anything else. Lincoln could see tears start to build in her eyes.

"The last memory you had before your trip there was me breaking up with you over a stupid fight we had! *hiccup* How could you not think I'm horrible, Lincoln?! I poured salt into your wound, for Christ's sake. I'm horrible! I hated you all this time *hiccup* because I thought you didn't come back to make me feel guilty! I hated you so much! And I missed you every fucking day! Every day!"

Ronnie Anne started hitting her fists against Lincoln's chest. Lincoln looked down sadly at Ronnie Anne having a breakdown. When he opened his mouth to talk to her, she continued.

"While I was *hiccup* hating you and wishing you'd never come back, you were getting… You were getting tortured! Treated like trash! Literally thrown to the wolves! I lived these last few eight years thinking *hiccup*. Just thinking about how the last thing I saw from you was your heartbroken face! I told you to have fun at boot camp! Fun!? You suffered for so long there and I told you to have fun!"

Ronnie Anne finally started to cry as she continued her assault on Lincoln's chest.

"I-I *sniff* *hiccup* I don't know what to do anymore! I thought I could *sniff* *hiccup* hate you and just move on! But I just started hating myself! *sniff* And here you are! *sniff* *hiccup* Back from being in a hellhole for eight years! EIGHT! *sniff* *hiccup* It could have happened to anyone else. But it had to happen to my best friend and boyfriend. It just had to! IT JUST HAD TO! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Ronnie Anne stopped hitting Lincoln's chest and looked up into his worried eyes, wide with sadness and shock. She couldn't look into the vastness and beauty of his clear blue eyes anymore. She looked back down and just rested her head into his chest, fists still pushing into him.

"Why- *sniff**hiccup*... Why did it have to be you, Lincoln… Was this… *sniff**hiccup* Was this karma for me? Was this my punishment for breaking your little heart so many years ago?"

Ronnie Anne couldn't talk anymore. She began to sob quietly, facing away from Lincoln by looking down, but still having her body push into his chest.

Lincoln waited patiently for her to say anything else that was on her mind. Once he confirmed that she was done, he placed his arms around her and hugged her softly, bringing her closer to him and making her open her eyes in surprise.

Lincoln rubbed her back as he thought about his next words carefully.

"Ronnie Anne… you know, I missed you every single day for the last eight years."

Ronnie Anne flinched when she heard this but didn't look up at Lincoln. Lincoln smiled down at her and continued.

"I thought about you a lot. How when I got home I wanted to make up with you and be friends again… I had no idea I would be gone for so long. But…"

Lincoln held Ronnie Anne's shoulder and lifted her up so he could look into her chocolate-colored eyes. He smiled softly as he brushed away her unruly bangs and even wiped some of the tears on her cheek away.

"There was never a moment I resented you for anything, Ronnie Anne. You always were a positive memory in my mind, one that kept me going. Don't tell me that you hate yourself. It was because of you and everyone important in my life that I wanted to get out of there alive. You were one of the people who saved me from losing… myself, Ronnie."

Ronnie Anne's face twisted and clenched when she heard Lincoln's kind words to her, trying her best not to cry loudly, followed by some loud gasps threatening to come out of her as she attempted to prevent more of her tears from flowing out. Lincoln decided to ignore her trying to be tough and just brought her into another close hug. This broke the dam holding Ronnie Anne back as she bawled loudly, muffled by her burying her face into Lincoln's chest. Years of guilt have started pouring out of her as she felt herself be temporarily free of the constant reminder that she might have attributed to Lincoln's pain. She clutched at Lincoln's jacket as she hugged him, thankful that the nicest boy she's ever met was so kind to her even when she didn't think she deserved it.

Slowly, Ronnie Anne felt her exhaustion begin to settle in, probably from a mixture of her getting her feelings out and the entire bottle of tequila she had downed earlier. Soon, she fell asleep comfortably on Lincoln's chest, still hugging him.

Lincoln sensed that her grip on his jacket lessened and her bawls slowly turned into soft breaths. Lincoln pushed her away from him a little to look at her reddened face. He saw that she had fallen asleep right on top of him. Lincoln chuckled and rested her against the table booth seat. He raised his hand, hoping to get Mary's attention, to which she saw and quickly approached the table.

She noticed the now sleeping Ronnie Anne as Lincoln pushed the shot glasses and empty bottle closer to Mary.

"I think… Ronnie Anne is done drinking for tonight, Mary. May I have the check?", Lincoln asked, thankful that his dad had lent him some money earlier. He would definitely pay him back once he got a job.

Mary giggled and picked up the shot glasses and the empty bottle, placing a note in front of Lincoln. He looked at it intrigued before turning back to face Mary.

"It's on the house for tonight, sir. Courtesy of Ms. Santiago here."

Lincoln was surprised to hear that Ronnie Anne had covered for him without his knowledge. Before Lincoln could argue, Mary had begun to walk away. Before she got too far, however, she stopped and turned her head behind to face Lincoln.

"I've never seen the boss cry so much before. Or drink an entire bottle of this stuff before. She usually only drinks a shot or two if we had an annoying customer that day. She must really be comfortable around you. Please treat her well, sir."

Lincoln smiled as he put his hand to his chest, pointing his thumb at himself.

"'Course I will! Ronnie Anne is one of my closest friends!"

Mary smiled widely at Lincoln's declaration and started walking away again.

"Hope you and I can become coworkers soon! I'll catch you later, sir!"

Lincoln sighed in content. He turned his attention to the note Mary left behind and began to read it.

'Please take Ms. Santiago home! This is her address!'

Lincoln read the address over carefully.

"Ronnie Anne doesn't live too far from here, huh?"

Lincoln paled as he realized the big problem.

"I'm supposed to take her home when I can't drive?! This late!?"

"*Huff* Ho' boy… Almost… there..."

Lincoln mumbled to himself as he climbed the stairs to an apartment complex's second floor, where Ronnie Anne's room was apparently.

Her home wasn't too far from the diner since it only took thirty minutes for Lincoln to walk all the way to Ronnie Anne's place from the diner.

When Lincoln asked Mary to take Ronnie Anne home instead, all he got as a reply was Mary giggling like a schoolgirl and telling Lincoln that he should just take her home like how a knight in shining armor would take home a princess. Flustered, Lincoln opted to just carry Ronnie Anne on his back and carry her home.

Lincoln couldn't help but let out a sigh as he reached the top of the stairs, making sure Ronnie Anne was safely secured on his back. He wanted to text at least Lori that he was going to be a little late tonight, but his phone had, of course, run out of battery. So Lincoln just had a silent prayer that his sisters wouldn't worry too much about him. Lincoln walked down the hallway, passing door after door, looking for the specific number that belonged to Ronnie Anne.

As Lincoln did this, he couldn't help but take in the environment that Ronnie Anne lived in. It wasn't the most fancy place, but it felt very homely. The hallway Lincoln was on was also blocked by an almost-chest-high wall that prevented people from falling over but allowed them to look down at the world. Lincoln looked over the said wall and looked at this part of his city at night. Dim lights dotted the dark night and Lincoln watched as the silence would be accompanied by sounds of cars passing by only for the silence to slowly creep back into existence. There wasn't much to see at this height, however, since most of the buildings around were at least four stories high, but Lincoln appreciated the sight nonetheless. After a moment of looking down at the area, Lincoln continued on his search for Ronnie Anne's door when he eventually found it at the end of the hallway… near the other set of stairs that Lincoln could have used to get up to the second floor. Lincoln mentally facepalmed himself.

He turned his head slightly around to look at the sleeping Ronnie Anne on his back.

"Pst! Ronnie Anne! We're here at your place right now. I can't get in though so I'm gonna need your help", Lincoln asked, hoping she would be awake enough to open the door for him to place her in her home.

Ronnie Anne shifted a little on Lincoln's back at the sound of her name. After a few seconds, Ronnie Anne gave out a groan, making Lincoln think she was awake. However, his hopes were dashed when she just reached into her jean pockets, took out her keys, and just dropped them onto the ground, falling back asleep on Lincoln's back.

Lincoln let out a light humorous scoff before bending down and picking up the keys with one of his hands, using his other arm to hold tightly onto Ronnie Anne's legs. Once he got a hold of the keys, he tried out each one to see which would open the door. After a few tries, Lincoln eventually got the door to open. Lincoln pushed open the door and excused himself as he walked into Ronnie Anne's personal domain. As he shut and locked the door behind him, his eyes wandered around the place Ronnie Anne called home.

It was a pleasantly small place. It had carpeted floors and was free of any stains or clutter on the ground. There wasn't much on her white walls as well, save for a few pictures of her family. The lack of other things on the wall helped add to the clean atmosphere her place was giving off so far. Lincoln slipped out of his shoes before plopping off Ronnie Anne's shoes as well, and went further into the apartment room. As he did, he noticed that the apartment room was suddenly lit up, albeit from a dim light similar to the ones used by the streetlamps at night outside. Lincoln was thankful for this since that meant he didn't have to look around in the dark for a light switch. After being fascinated by the automatic lights that Ronnie Anne had placed in her hallways, Lincoln continued on in.

Lincoln took a look at the big main room he walked into. The first thing he noticed when he walked further in was a space right next to the exit that was reminiscent of a living room. There was a two-seater couch directly placed in front of a television set on top of a table meant for the television. A cute patterned rug was between the television set and the couch, adding to the living room ambiance Lincoln was feeling from that part in the room. Finally, to top it all off, to the side of the living room, on the wall that had the door Lincoln had just used, was a large window, covered by purple vinyl blinds.

He looked forward and saw a wall with a huge square hole meant to represent a window that allowed whoever was on the other side to look at the living room set up. Upon closer inspection, Lincoln noted that the other side was a kitchen, allowing Ronnie Anne to not only cook her meals, but also watch whatever was on the television at the same time. He appreciated the fact that her kitchen was clean of any dishes and debris that could have been all over the place.

Lincoln looked to the two rooms down the hallway from the exit and entrance door. One door was on the left while the other door was on the right. At the end of the hallway was a perfectly-sized drawer, where Lincoln assumed Ronnie Anne kept her clothes

'Wouldn't it be easier for her to put that in her room? Well, whatever…'

Lincoln opened the door on his left first and found himself looking into a small but cute bathroom, filled with the basic necessities for bath time, a toilet, and a small bathtub without a shower head.

After taking note which side the bathroom was on, Lincoln closed the door to the bathroom and turned around to open the door that was on his right. He opened it to see a small room, obviously meant to be more personal than the other rooms as this one seemed to be a little bit more messy.

He walked in and took in what he saw. Or what he could barely see. There wasn't a window in this room, so the only things he was able to see were whatever were lit up by the dim light coming out of the hallway into the open door to Ronnie Anne's room. Lincoln did notice though that her ceiling had a couple of those glow-in-the-dark stars and planets sticking to it, making the nearly entirely dark room have a beautiful source of atmosphere and universal presence at the very top of it.

There was a bed in the far corner of the room, opposite of the side Lincoln was on. Right next to the bed was a small table stand, with the only thing being on top of it being a small lamp. Lincoln set his sights on the lamp and quickly looked for a way to turn it on, finding a small rope hanging down from inside of the lamp. He pulled it down and was greeted by the room being lit up.

Lincoln looked around the now lit room and found it very simple. Other than the small piles of clothes and more memorabilia in the form of pictures of her interacting with her family, the room was very quaint and easy on the eyes. Lincoln placed Ronnie Anne's keys on the same small table as the lamp. He turned to her bed and noticed its purple sheets. He snickered a little to himself, appreciating Ronnie Anne's purple tastes that were similar to his orange tastes, and placed Ronnie Anne onto the bed with care. He stretched out his back, a little stiff after carrying her so long before bending down a little and tucking his old best friend into her bed, akin to how he would for his younger sisters if he had the chance to had it not been for the small issue of Leni bringing him directly to bed as soon as it was bedtime.

Lincoln smiled as he looked down upon the sleeping form of Ronnie Anne. Looking at her had caused some of their old memories together to resurface in Lincoln's mind. Memories before they broke up that fateful day. Memories before he was sent to…

Lincoln shook his head and focused back on Ronnie Anne, seeing her peaceful sleeping, even snoring a little, making Lincoln chuckle at how endearing Ronnie Anne was, even when she was asleep.

After a few moments of reminiscing, Lincoln stood up from his almost squatting position.

"Well, Ronnie Anne. This was… fun! Thanks for letting me apply to the store and all… And… Thanks for hearing me out. It hurt talking about it… but I needed to. I hope you have a great night, Ronnie, It was nice to be able to hang out with you again. See you soon."

Lincoln looked at her sleeping form one more time before turning to leave, only to stop after feeling something clasp around his wrist.

He turned around and saw Ronnie Anne sitting up and holding onto the arm Lincoln had that was closest to her, although her eyes seemed more dreamlike and glossy, with her cheeks dyed a red color, indicating that she was still under the influence of the alcohol she had drank an entire bottle of. She moved her free hand to behind her head and took off the scrunchie holding up her hair into a ponytail, throwing it across the room, unconcerned with where it would land.

"Lincoln… Could you… stay… with me tonight?...", he heard her mumble as her grip on his wrist tightened a little.

Lincoln couldn't stop the blush that appeared on his face, especially since he was asked this by his former flame. At this moment, he took in the more physical aspects of Ronnie Anne that were only enhanced by the nighttime atmosphere a, like the dim golden-brown light of her lamp and the replacement starry skies, accompanying both of them.

As her long night-black hair flowed effortlessly down her neck once it was freed from the constrictions of her elastic hair tie, her half-lidded eyes, which radiated a beautiful cocoa color, stared deeply into Lincoln's ocean-clear blue eyes. Ronnie Anne's blushed face only added to the seductivity arising from her drunken state. She left her mouth open slightly and formed a small smile, which only made her adorable buck teeth even more noticeable, and only served to make her look more endearing and amazing to the snow-colored-haired man. Lincoln could see her jacket slipping off of her, exposing the beautiful almost-peanut butter-colored skin of her shoulder, which deepened the seductive atmosphere in the room as Lincoln sank deeper into the realization that he was not just looking at his former best friend, but his older and more mature old flame.

"Won't you… please stay… Lincoln… ?", Ronnie Anne asked again, looking a little bit more tired than the first time she asked.

Lincoln audibly gulped as a sweat drop fell down his forehead. He took a chance to think over the choice Ronnie Anne gave him. He did feel as if he were responsible for her at the moment, seeing as she was drunk and all alone. Lincoln groaned internally as he asked himself why Ronnie Anne looked so attractive all of the sudden. It just made things more awkward for him, especially when you considered their history. Now here she was, asking him to stay by her side with those puppy-dog eyes that were obviously under the influence of alcohol, which completely overrided any logical thoughts she may have had prior to getting drunk.

'I love you, Linky…'

Immediately after hearing those four simple words reverberate in his head, Lincoln stopped his panicking. He felt his mind become more at peace and clear as his red face turned back into a normal color. Before he set his focus on Ronnie Anne again, his thoughts drifted towards how he had a new flame in his life now. His forbidden love that literally felt too good to be true. Lincoln took out his at-the-moment dead phone and held it tightly.

'Lori… I love you too. I love you so much…', Lincoln thought to himself as he hugged his phone in the sudden desire to feel closer to his current girlfriend.

He looked at Ronnie Anne another time. This time though, he delicately grasped the wrist of her hand that was still on his wrist and pulled it off. He bent down again and tucked Ronnie Anne into bed one more time, hearing her mumble words that he couldn't understand, other than the occasional thank you she would mutter under her breath.

Once Lincoln finished tucking her in again, he let out an exhale that was followed by a warm smile. He reached over to Ronnie Anne and placed his hand on her forehead, letting her know that he was there with her with a warm touch. She beamed at Lincoln's loving grasp on her head and drunkenly looked at him with a pleased expression.

"Sorry, Ronnie Anne. But I gotta get home tonight. I've got a lot of people waiting for me to get home. But I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?"

Ronnie Anne took a moment to take in what Lincoln said before nodding sluggishly, which only made Lincoln wonder if she actually understood what he said to her. Ronnie Anne grinned and, with her wobbly movements, slipped the arm she had closest to Lincoln out of her tucked in position on the bed to reach over to him. Lincoln felt as Ronnie Anne pinched and caressed his cheeks. Though it made Lincoln get a little bit of a red tint to appear again, Lincoln made sure to keep his focus on the more pressing matters at hand. Like making sure Ronnie Anne fell asleep safely and soundly.

Ronnie Anne giggled.

"If I knuuw that you were gonna *hiccup* turn into such a hunk, Lame-O~, I would have kept you here all to my… *yawn* … self…"

With those last words, Ronnie Anne closed her eyes and fell back onto her pillow, snoring softly as she did. Lincoln, although taken aback by her comment, could only let out a small and quiet laugh, standing up from Ronnie Anne's side and reaching for the lamp cord. Before he did though, he faced Ronnie Anne's sleeping form, which reminded him of a certain princess from a story, only this time, instead of being afflicted by a curse, the purple-jacket wearing girl in front of him was afflicted with drunkenness.

"Goodnight, Ronnie… It was really nice to hang out after so long. Hope we can do this again soon… Maybe without the alcohol next time… I'll catch you later."

Lincoln pulled the cord to the lamp, immediately placing the room in complete darkness.

After making sure her apartment room was locked and that she was safe, Lincoln left Ronnie Anne's abode to return back to his own home, jogging all the way there. Because Lincoln did choose to jog all the way home, the trip only took him about forty-five minutes.

'Still…', Lincoln thought to himself as he snuck in through his front door, 'It is really late right now… I hope no one is awake waiting for me. That would just make me feel really guilt-'

His thoughts were broken by the soft yet hurried sounds of rushing feet that came from the upstairs rooms. The sounds all became louder as they met up at the top of the stairs only for them all to start rushing down them. In only a matter of minutes, all of Lincoln's sisters had reached the bottom floor to check on the sole brother of the Loud family, wearing nightgowns with their respective colors, excluding Lily who was wearing orchid-purple overalls.

'And now I feel really guilty', Lincoln chuckled to himself internally as he shut and locked his front door.

Lincoln noticed all of his sisters start to congregate around him, worried expressions plastered on all of them.

Leni was the first to approach Lincoln.

"Linky…? Where were you? You took so long. We were worried."

At hearing Leni's worries come to fruition, all of his sisters exited their sheepish and admittedly sleepy states, ready to listen to their only brother.

Lincoln scratched the back of his head, concerned about making his sisters stay up so late just to hear what had caused him to be home so late.

"Sorry for keeping you all up. I couldn't let you guys know I would be late 'cause my phone ran out of batteries…"

Lori let out an exasperated sigh but smirked at Lincoln.

"Of course that would literally happen to you. So what took you so long, Lincoln?"

"Ehh, it's a pretty long and honestly boring story, guys. Plus it's pretty late so I don't wanna keep you all-"

Lincoln stopped in his tracks when he felt a pull at his jacket. He looked down to see Lily tugging at him, a small smile present on her face.

"I think we all wanna hear your story, Lincoln."

Lincoln looked at his other sisters concerned, only to have his concerns fade when all of them nodded, agreeing with Lily on what she had said to Lincoln.

Lincoln chuckled as he began heading towards the couch.

"Alright, if you want to hear what happened after I got to the diner, I'd be glad to tell you guys."

The girls grinned happily as they followed after Lincoln, unprepared for the revelations that would come out of Lincoln's recollection.

"... So after Ronnie Anne fell asleep because of all the tequila she drank, I carried her home and tucked her into bed. Don't worry! I made sure to stay with her until I knew she was safely sleeping on her bed. Then I hightailed it home after realizing how late it already was! And now I'm home!"

Every one of Lincoln's sisters stared at him with wide eyes and gaping mouths. All of them except for Lily, though she was still looking at Lincoln with a conflicted look when he mentioned he was hanging out with another person of the female gender, not really understanding why she felt so… annoyed by that fact. Lincoln could feel the awkward tension fill the air around them as he shifted uncomfortably on his spot on the couch. He thought it was weird the awkward tension was there. He understood kinda why it was there with Lori, but not everyone else. Lincoln even made sure to exempt the part where he told Ronnie Anne about him being abandoned in the snow-covered woods to die back then too. What was it that made it so… awkward now?

Soon, one of the sisters broke the silence.

"L-Lincoln… B-Blimey, luv… You're telling me that not only did you meet Ronnie Anne again… but you and her plastered yourselves to the point that you had to carry her to her place… and you two were alone together in her room while she was shitfaced!?", Luna asked.

Lincoln shook his head at Luna's statement, oblivious to the implications in Luna's question and her crude language at the end.

"Nah, Luna. I only had one shot of that tequila stuff! It really burned my throat so I didn't have anymore than that. Ronnie Anne on the other hand… She downed the whole bottle right in front of me."

"But, you were all alone with Ronnie Anne… in her apartment… in her room, right, Lincoln?", Lynn asked, a frustrated and annoyed but also disappointed expression on her face that Lincoln couldn't comprehend.

"W-Well, I couldn't just leave her at the diner. Plus, when I tried to leave her room, she wanted me to stay with her! So I just stayed with her until she fell asleep. Then I made sure everything was locked and secure for her before I left her apartment room!", Lincoln answered, hoping that his answer made sense to all of his sisters.

That answer apparently did make sense to them as he felt that weird feeling emitting from them lessen, though the expressions on their faces changed from shock and surprise to more contemplative and muddled.

"Hm… I guess it's fine you brought Ronnie Anne home, Lincoln. That was very nice of you to do for her... 'Least you didn't make a pour decision and drank tequila like crazy with her", Luan added.

Lola nodded in agreement, ignoring the groan-worthy pun by Luan.

"Yeah, Linky. I can't imagine you being drunk, so I'm glad you were responsible enough to not drink too much and to get Ronnie Anne and yourself back home."

Lincoln chuckled awkwardly after Lola's declaration.

"Aww, come on guys. I'm more responsible than that!"

Lily giggled softly and shook her head.

"Lincoln, we do think you're responsible! Super responsible!"

Lucy placed her hand on Lincoln's shoulder kindly.

"It's not that we don't think you're responsible, brother. It's more…", Lucy started.

"After being apprehended for such a large proportionate amount of time by that juvenile reformatory, we fear that your impulses to be rebellious and the such may arise as you encounter experiences that appeal to your age demographic", Lisa finished.

The sisters looked at their second-youngest sister in amazement.

"Y-Yeah, what she said, Linc!," Lana said, "We're just worried you'll go out and be crazy now that you're free!"

At hearing the last words in Lana's sentence, Lincoln flinched. Feeling sort of strange, Lincoln looked away from the group with a depressed look.

"Free, huh… Yeah… I… I am free...", Lincoln couldn't help but state openly.

The girls looked at Lincoln worriedly. Lincoln immediately noticed this and waved his hands to assuage their fears.

"D-Don't worry, guys! I'm fine! You know, the last few weeks have been the best... Being able to come back and be with you guys again… It's a literal dream come true!", Lincoln started, a happy grin on his face before it suddenly shifted into a thoughtful expression, "But... being free means I can be whoever I want to be and do whatever I want to do now… And…"

Lincoln looked at his hands.

"Sometimes I feel… Sometimes I feel like I'm being told to do something… held back by... something..."

Lincoln pondered on the question longer than expected as a whole village of new thoughts emerged in his mind, only to be pushed back into his subconscious, as if something unconsciously told him that thinking that way was asinine. Lincoln held his head, grimacing a little. A phrase came up in his mind constantly. The same phrase that popped up during his return to Royal Woods in that pizza shop and during his fight during the cake competition that Lori was a part of.

'Don't be weak... Don't falter… Don't fail. Fight until the end's cold embrace.'

And the thoughts that came rushing out to attack this singular thought were the same that appeared during those moments.

'Don't hurt people. Protect yourself and your loved ones. Remember this and you'll never lose yourself, Lincoln.'

Unfortunately, those thoughts would be pushed away from the forefront and be replaced again by the phrase that followed him persistently, only for the cycle to repeat itself as the more peaceful thoughts fought back to retain its position in Lincoln's main mindset at the moment.

Lincoln started to sweat a little. He could sort of recall hearing these words during his high-action moments, but they haven't been this loud in the last few weeks. What was going on? Why are these thoughts still here? Why is there still a struggle in his head? He was free! He was back home! He was with his family. He-

'Remember this, Loud… You're stuck with me… Forever… Best be on your best behavior…'

Lincoln's eyes dilated as he had an internal panic attack at the authoritative voice. Lincoln could feel the world fall around him. His sisters were disappearing. His home was disappearing. He fell off the couch and felt himself getting further and further away from the light… all alone. Floating in a void of emptiness and despair. He never made it home, did he? He never found love with Lori and reconnections with his younger siblings and Ronnie Anne. He was still there. Suffering. Probably for the rest of his life. When will he get to see his family again? He wanted to be with them so desperately. He wanted to be free so badly. He wanted to be with Lori again. Did she actually love him, or was that just a sick amalgamation of his subconscious. Where was he? Was he free? Or was he actually losing his mind even more than he already was? Did he really break free from his imprisonment? When will he be free-

"Lincoln! Lincoln, please! Snap out of it!"

He just wanted to be home with his family. He didn't care about any problems they had anymore. He didn't care about being smashed in the face with a plate anymore. He didn't care about looking cool to Ronnie Anne and going to the boot camp to be tougher anymore. He just wanted his family. His friends. His sisters. He wanted to be free. At home. Free at home with his family. Free-

"Bruv! Come back! Please! We're here! We're here for you!"

He wanted… To be… Free…

..

..

..

Suddenly, Lincoln felt his world violently shake. He watched as the black void around him cracked with every shake vibrating across the emptiness. Lincoln closed his eyes tightly and let his thoughts drift away, begging to himself that the shaking meant that he would soon be out of this empty abyss and he could finally be… fr-... The silence was broken by the sounds of distress, calling out to him with anxiety obviously rising with every call to him that they repeated.

Gradually, Lincoln found himself being able to come back into consciousness, seeing that he was presently being shaken relentlessly by a concerned Luna. She stopped shaking him immediately after noticing he had come back from his soundless trance.

All Lincoln could feel was confused. One moment he was telling everyone about his meeting with Ronnie Anne and how he took her home, and the next, everything went black.

"U-Um, guys? What happened?"

They looked at Lincoln with equal confusion on their faces as Luna slowly let go of their only brother.

"Y-You mean you don't know, Lincoln?", Lori asked.

"N-No? Everything just went black for a second…"

Lincoln noticed that he was very sweaty. Uncomfortably so.

Luna held Lincoln's hand tightly and tenderly, as if she were trying to be careful holding something fragile.

"You blanked out, Linc… You muttered some stuff about you still being stuck in… well, you know where…", Luna stated, unable to bring herself to even mention the dread place Lincoln stayed at.

Lincoln looked down at the floor.

"I-I did? I seriously can't remember saying that…"

Lisa held Lincoln's free arm close to herself, attempting to calm her brother down but mostly ended up calming herself down.

"Lincoln… You may have more serious repercussions from your eight year long persecution than we initially thought… H-How do you feel now?"

"To be honest, Lisa, I feel kind of relieved for some reason. Like I was just hit by the realization that… I'm fr- that I'm home."

Everyone took notice of Lincoln skipping over a word and, with a certain level of unsettledness, they could tell he had no idea he just skipped over a word during his answer to Lisa' question.

Before anyone could react, Lily took charge and hugged Lincoln's side tightly. She looked up at Lincoln, a look of determination on her face that was not deterred by the tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.

"Linky! You are home now! You're not stuck at that horrible place anymore! You're with us! And we'll always be with you now, whether you like it or not!"

Lincoln's eyes went wide at hearing Lily's statement before shifting into a big, loving smile. He rustled her hair gently, making her smile in content.

"Lily… Thank you."

The rest of the Loud sisters were in awe of the adorableness emitted from their brother and youngest sister. Lynn was the next to enter the adorable bubble created by the two by holding Lincoln from the back and around his neck in a hugging position. She felt Lincoln flinch a little but chalked it up to Lincoln being surprised that she was there.

"Lincoln… I hope you know that all of us feel the same way as Lily", Lynn said lovingly as she nuzzled into Lincoln's hair.

"Lynn… Wow… I-I…", Lincoln stuttered, amazed by the show of compassion by Lynn.

Luan, albeit hesitant at first as something zoomed through her thoughts, hugged Lincoln directly on the front of him, finding herself hugging Lincoln's chest tightly. Whatever she was thinking about didn't matter to her right now. What mattered was making sure her little brother was okay.

"Ditto, Lincoln. You're stuck with us from now on, no matter what you do", Luan said.

Soon, every sister joined in the group hug with Lincoln, leaving him in the middle of the various girls hugging him tightly.

Even though he was still confused as to what happened to him… he could feel the love emitting from the hug they were giving him. He could feel how concerned they were about him. He hated himself for making them worry so much about him. He inwardly promised to himself and to them that he would work harder on improving himself to the point where concern wouldn't be the first emotion they have to undergo when he was home too late.

Lincoln melted into the hug, trying his absolute best to hug each and every one of his sisters.

Lincoln watched as each of his sisters exited the first floor by heading upstairs to their rooms, saying their goodnights to Lincoln and getting ready for a goodnight's rest. The last of his sisters up the stairs, Leni, turned around and waved at Lincoln, whispering that she'll be waiting for him in her and Lori's room before rushing back up the stairs.

Lincoln felt guilty that he kept them all awake until almost two in the morning again, but seeing their satisfied smiles made him forget about his guilt. Lincoln was about to head on up to Lori and Leni's room for his nighttime cuddle session with Leni when he noticed Lori still downstairs with him, holding her arm with a frown on her face. Lincoln approached her lovingly and held her hand with both of his.

"Everything okay, Lori?", Lincoln asked caringly.

Lori sighed and held his hand back, not being able to stop herself from smiling softly at the warmth emitted by his touch.

"So… Ronnie Anne, huh?"

A confused look grew on Lincoln's face.

"Yeah, Ronnie Anne. I know it might be kind of weird seeing as she is Bobby's little sister and all," Lincoln said before realizing what Lori was insinuating, a glum look appearing on his face, "I'm… I'm sorry for going over to her place without letting you know…"

Lori shook her head as her frown became accompanied with a sad look in her eyes.

"No… it's not that, Lincoln. It's just… Now that you and her met each other again… I guess you would... like to reignite the flame between you two, right?"

Now Lincoln was really confused.

"What do you mean, Lori?"

"Well… You and Ronnie Anne used to be… you know, a thing. Since it makes more sense to be with her than… with me… I-I literally get it if you want to, you know, get bac-"

Lori felt herself get cut off with a quick but still just as passionate kiss from Lincoln. Her eyes grew entranced as she felt herself giving into Lincoln's kiss before closing them entirely to feel every little sensation from their shared kiss.

Lori let go of her arm to use both of them to hug Lincoln tightly, an action he replicated by doing the same to her.

In the late night moonlight, the two forbidden lovers shared a passionate kiss, both desperate to win over the other, tongues wrestling for dominance and mouths opening and closing against each other in an attempt to reach ever deeper into the other.

Soon, the two felt their bodies want for oxygen again, so they hesitantly let go of the other, leaning back away from each other, only for Lincoln to rest his forehead against Lori's.

Hearing his ragged breath and seeing his blush-filled face only made Lori want for more from her handsome and loving brother.

"L-Lincoln…"

"Lori… You know I love you, right?"

Lori nodded against Lincoln's head.

"O-Of course!"

Lincoln smiled and cupped Lori's cheeks, rubbing them softly and attentively.

"Do you love me, Lori?", Lincoln asked with his eyes halfway closed, adding an air of seductiveness to his usual cute face. Now it just made him look way too handsome. Too handsome for Lori to take as her mind rushed with a billion thoughts all at once as the entirety of her face turned into a cherry red color.

"Y-Yes! I love you, Lincoln! More than literally anything!", Lori spoke out faster than she ever had before.

All of the sudden, the seductive atmosphere disappeared as Lincoln stepped a little bit away from Lori with a grin on his face.

"Good! I'm glad to hear it, Lori!"

The atmosphere changing so dramatically caused Lori to be afflicted with mental whiplash as she stared at Lincoln, unable to comprehend what just happened.

Lincoln smiled lovingly and bent forward to kiss Lori on the forehead.

"Lori… I love you right now. Ronnie Anne and I had our time. Now it's all about you… and me… together."

Lori felt tears start to build up in the corner of her eyes, but an overjoyed smile replaced the frowning expression she had earlier.

"O-Oh! Lincoln! I love you so much!"

Lori tackled Lincoln into a huge hug, kissing him softly and delicately wherever she could, making Lincoln giggle a little. Lincoln gave her a huge hug back and kissed her everywhere as well, making them have an impromptu kissing competition as the two raced against each other to see who could kiss the other more times. Not that they really cared about winning the competition. Participating in it was all they wanted to do as Lori nibbled on the side of Lincoln's throat, causing him to give a deep and quiet moan. Hearing this made Lori very excited.

She trailed her index finger down Lincoln's chest, slowly approaching her end destination on Lincoln's body.

"Hey~... Linky~. Don't you wanna… do something tonight before you head on over to Leni's bed to sleep?"

Lincoln's face instantaneously turned red with embarrassment and excitement. Lori let out a giggle when she saw this and playfully placed her hand over Lincoln's privates, rubbing and stroking lightly, making Lincoln squirm in place with each movement she made.

"Well~... What do you say, Linky~? Don't you want to do something fun~, real quick?"

"L-Lori! W-We can't! Everyone's home right now!"

Lori slyfully pouted at Lincoln, giving him a cute pair of puppy-dog eyes.

"Aww, but Linky~... We'll literally be real quick, I promise."

"I-I just don't think it's a goo-"

Lincoln stopped. Thoughts of how he was alone with Ronnie Anne and how he thought she was pretty flooded his mind at this moment, with only one goal in mind. To make him feel guilty. To make him feel like utter trash for looking at another girl when he had the most amazing one in the world as a lover right in front of him. Lincoln felt himself get frustrated. He wasn't frustrated at Ronnie Anne and he was definitely not frustrated with Lori.

Lincoln was frustrated with himself. For being so weak. For… failing Lori…

Lori worridley looked at Lincoln, who had all of the sudden become quiet. She reached out and cupped his face in her hand, caressing him gently.

"Lincoln? Are you oka- Whoa!"

Lori felt lifted into the air rapidly, and found herself safely held in a bridal carry within the arms of Lincoln. She looked up at him cutely, wondering if he was okay. Lincoln looked down at her, a determined look on his face followed by a deepening blush.

"Lori…", he huskily whispered to her, causing shivers of delight to run down her back, "Tonight… I'm going to make you the happiest woman in the world."

Lori promptly blushed at hearing Lincoln being so assertive. She didn't even know how to respond, stuttering out words as she tried to cohesively come up with a sentence to answer Lincoln's statement.

Lincoln took no offense to her stuttering and instead smiled at how cute his older sister had become. He reached down towards her forehead and gave her a little but adoring peck.

He placed his forehead against hers and whispered.

"I'm going to love you all night, Lori."

With that, Lincoln ran up the stairs and headed towards his room, Lori blushing furiously all the way, frozen like a statue in Lincoln's arms but nonetheless very ecstatic for what was to come.

*Lemons Ahead*

Lincoln quietly and swiftly entered his room, making sure not to bump Lori's head on anything. It was incredibly difficult to maneuver himself and Lori in his room at the moment however. It was even smaller than he thought, even with all of his personal items gone. The furniture took up a lot of the space and Lincoln instantly understood why Lori went through all the trouble of moving it out of the room when they had their first time in here.

At this point though, Lincoln didn't care. It had just enough room for him to make Lori experience all the pleasure he could give to her. He just had to keep in mind that their heads were really close to the ceiling once they got on the bed…

Lincoln placed Lori on the bed carefully, shooting her a loving smile before climbing onto the bed and approaching her. This whole time, Lori had been stunned by Lincoln's actions. But behind her stunned appearance, she was getting really exhilarated. Once she noticed that Lincoln got close to her, silently asking for permission to kiss her, she smirked and slightly opened her mouth in anticipation, allowing Lincoln to join her lips with his by bending herself a little bit closer to him.

Soon, the two lovers met lips with each other, passion fueling their every movement as Lincoln delicately pushed his body towards Lori's, sliding his arms up and down her backside and hugging her close to his chest. Lincoln made sure never to put his whole weight on Lori by propping himself up a little by his knees and elbows. Lori felt herself melting away due to Lincoln's soft caresses and his ravenous kisses. She knew she couldn't let him do all the work though, so she began doing her own types of caressing, starting with one of her hands reaching up to the top of Lincoln's head and pulling him closer to her mouth, letting them kiss each other as deeply as it was possible for them to do.

Soon, their kisses started escalating to a full out make-out session, tongues tussling against each other and their mouths crashing into each other rapidly as if they were trying to overwhelm the other. Lori, intoxicated by Lincoln's tenderness towards her, began to reach down towards Lincoln's chest, aiming for the zipper of the pants he was wearing. Before her hand made it halfway across Lincoln's chest, he softly grasped her wrist. She pouted up at Lincoln, a little annoyed by him stopping her.

"I thought we were literally going to do some fun stuff tonight, Linky~...?", Lori remarked with a mock-sad tone.

Lincoln, with half-lidded eyes, kissed her on the forehead and smiled smugly at her.

"We are, Lori. But tonight… I want to start off making you squirm."

Lori couldn't react fast enough, watching Lincoln suddenly disappear from her view and head for the area between her legs. Before she could say anything, Lincoln had spread her legs further apart and moved in closer to her privates, the air around it warming up Lincoln's face as it awaited him with expectation, which helped add to the very long list of reasons why his face was strawberry-red.

Lincoln held onto the bottom of Lori's thighs and pushed them fairly higher into the air, making Lori lay on her back. Lori was stuck between being thankful that she wore her light blue nightgown to bed so that she could jump right into action with Lincoln, and being embarrassed that Lincoln had a clear view of her assets so easily.

There was no doubt that Lincoln immensely enjoyed the view.

"L-Lincoln! I-I-... Y-You-... U-Uh-... W-What are you up to?", Lori asked, a little nervous but mostly excited for what she hoped was going to happen.

Lincoln looked up at Lori, seduction in his eyes. He stuck out a little bit of his tongue before replying with an equally as seductive voice.

"Well, you gave me some service down there for me… So I think it's only fair I return the favor for you, Lori~..."

Lori was about to reply, wanting to tell Lincoln that he didn't have to, but it was obvious by his heavy breathing and his alluring eyes that he really wanted to do this for her. It was also obvious because as soon as Lori opened her mouth to reply, Lincoln gently lapped at her opening, causing her to scream out in pleasure instead of speaking out words of reprieve to him. Lori placed her hands on Lincoln's head and latched onto his luscious snowflake-colored hair.

"A-Ah! W-Wait! L-Lincoln! I-I've never had this d-done to me before!"

That was news to Lincoln as he raised an eyebrow.

'I always thought her and Bobby did a bunch of stuff… I guess not~...', Lincoln thought to himself.

Lincoln smirked as he licked her again softly up and down her orifice, holding her legs against her and in place as he felt her thrash and jolt again. His eyes were on her the whole time, watching as she bit her lip and tried her best not to scream out of pleasure, only to fail once he flickered over her opening. He didn't even mind the slight pain from her gripping onto his hair so tightly and so desperately.

When he took a moment to stop and look at her, he could almost see the disappointment in her eyes. Lori looked down at him, her eyes struggling to stay open against the pleasure surging up her body from her special place and her face now colored completely red. He could even see her biting her lip as she waited in anticipation for Lincoln to continue.

Seeing this sight only made Lincoln want to pleasure Lori even more.

"Lori…"

Lori had to gasp when she heard Lincoln whisper her name in such a robust way.

"Y-Yes, Lincoln~?"

Lincoln beamed at her lovingly, making her fall in love with him all over again

"I'm really happy this is your first time… That means there are still some first times I can take from you, just like the ones you'll take from me~."

Lincoln licked at her again, causing her to arch her back up towards the sky, gripping onto her brother's hair and scream out a little in pleasure, keeping it as quiet as possible, remembering that it was still really early in the morning.

Lori wanted to reply back to his loving words, only to hear him continue his loving statement towards her.

"But if it isn't your first time, that's okay, Lori… Because…"

Lori looked at Lincoln's now determined but still blushing face and swore she saw fire in his eyes, burning with spirit and tenacity.

"I'm going to make sure every time you have with me is the best time you ever have."

And with that, Lincoln placed his mouth onto Lori's cake pantry and dug in. The instant Lori felt Lincoln's mouth clasp onto her nether regions, she let out a bawl of rapture, feeling her mind slip away from the incredible pleasure Lincoln was giving to her. She felt each movement Lincoln made with his mouth. Every little suckle against her regions, every lick across her opening, and every slight movement against her pearl. Each movement Lincoln made against her girly bits made her squeal in pleasure. The pleasure was even intensified as Lincoln's heartfelt words of determination to make every time the best she would ever have reverberated around her mindscape. She tried calling out to Lincoln, but the insane amount of ecstasy she was feeling made it so that she couldn't even complete her sentences.

"L-L-Lin- AH!~ L-Linky~! I-It- AH!~ A-A-Amazin- AHHH!~ R-R-Righ- *Whimper* R-Right T-Th- AHHHH~! AH!~ AHH!~ T-There! S-S-So *Whimper* S-So G-Good~!"

Lincoln was barely able to make out what Lori said, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to him at the moment was making her scream with satisfaction. So Lincoln wanted to go further, making sure that she would never forget this feeling he was giving her.

Slowly, he pushed apart her slit with his tongue and thrusted it inside of her. Lori's eyes bulged out as she arched her back again, amazed and unprepared for the sudden pleasure that pulsated through her body from down in her regions to the top of her head.

"AHHH~! L-LINCOLN~!"

Lincoln prayed that they wouldn't wake anyone up as he dug into Lori, feeling out and pushing on every spot inside her with his tongue. He felt Lori shake violently with every movement of his tongue. He heard her breathing even faster than before. As he gave her his lip service, Lincoln reached over with one of his hands and began to softly twiddle with Lori's bean.

Soon, Lincoln realized that when he ran his tongue over a certain spot, Lori would suddenly tighten around his tongue and jolt a little. With an evil internal smirk, Lincoln focused all of his efforts on the g-spot he had found in Lori.

Lori couldn't comprehend what was happening anymore as her breathing rapidly increased in speed and her eyes rolled upwards and towards the back of her head. Everything was blank for her. The only thing coursing through her mind and her body now was pleasure. Pleasure that was brought on by the man she loved so much.

"L-LINCOLN! I-I-I C-CAN'T T-T-TAKE- HUAHHHHHH~!"

With that last scream of enjoyment and a jerk of sudden movement from her body towards Lincoln's face, Lincoln felt his tongue suddenly be tightly constricted by Lori's pleasure spot, momentarily hugging his tongue as if it were giving its gratitude for the amazing euphoria that Lincoln's tongue had provided for it. He could feel his hair being so firmly held on to by Lori's hand that it almost felt like she was going to rip it straight out.

Lori felt literally on fire. The immense pleasure Lincoln had just put her through placed her in a fiery vortex, as the pleasure and heat surged all around her body. She felt her teeth gritting against each other, her hands clenching down on Lincoln's beautiful white hair, and her feet securely wrapping around Lincoln's head. Sweat dripped down from her forehead. Her mouth was wide open, unable to close itself at the moment due to her delightful release.

Soon, the two lovesick siblings felt themselves calm down a little, with the only sounds left in the room being the sounds of them slowly breathing, trying to catch up with their bodies.

"W-Wow… Lincoln… That was… Oh my god… That was literally amazing…", Lori said, breaking the silence.

Lincoln looked up at her with a knowing smile as he lifted himself up and crawled closer to Lori's face. He gave her little pecks on her cheek, which she took without any reservations. Lincoln moved back only a little, keeping himself close to Lori's face.

"If you think it's over now, Lori… You'd be wrong. I'm ready to love you… all night long…"

Lori felt herself tense up at Lincoln's voice and his emphasis on his promise. She didn't even know if she could last that long. But for him… She would try anything.

Lori blushed heavily as she looked back at Lincoln with expectation.

"Well then, Lincoln. If you really think you can literally last that long, show me what you've got planned for us tonight."

Lincoln nodded and in a quick movement that Lori couldn't register, took off his pants and undergarments (leaving his upper-body clothing on), letting his wild stallion be free of its constraints.

Lori felt her bottom glisten and moisten with excitement as Lincoln came nearer to her with his weapon of mass gratification.

Lincoln softly pressed against her crevice, rubbing up and down on it, teasing Lori and making her anxious for his pleasure stick.

Lori began to breathe heavily again, glaring at Lincoln as he continued to only rub against her.

"L-Lincoln… D-Don't… D-Don't make a lady have t-to beg…"

Lincoln pushed in a little, making Lori stop talking almost immediately, with her words being replaced with a quick gasp of air.

Lincoln leaned in over to Lori's ear.

"I would never make you beg, Lori. Instead, I'd make you scream."

And with that, Lincoln thrusted in deeply. Lincoln made true on his statement because Lori had begun to scream straight away. Lincoln started out with slow and long thrusts, making sure to stretch out his rod as far as it could within Lori's pleasure spot before thrusting all the way back in slowly. Then, once he felt that he and her were ready for some loving action, Lincoln began thrusting faster, with each thrust gaining speed as he pumped Lori over and over.

All Lori could think of doing was to tightly hold on to Lincoln's neck.

"L-L-LINCOLN! O-OH MY GOD! W-WHY ARE YOU- AHHH~! AH~! W-WHY ARE YOU SO M-MUCH MORE- *Whimper* -A-A-AGRESSIVE A-ALL OF THE SUDDE- OH MY GOD! AH~! AHH~! AHHH~!"

Lincoln couldn't help the proud smile that appeared on his face as he furiously and relentlessly pumped Lori into paradise in their shared missionary position.

"*Huff* I'd do- *Pant* anything for you, Lori. *Phew* If you want- *Huff* -More pleasure- *Pant* -I would- *Huff* -Get better for you. *Grunt* I love you so much, Lori. I- *Huff* -Really, really love you", Lincoln whispered into her ear, not stopping his movements whatsoever.

Hearing this didn't satiate Lori at all. If anything, hearing Lincoln's words at this moment only helped add to her losing her mind.

"*Pant* AHHH~! L-Lin- AHH~! L-Linky~. You don't- *Huff* -have to be better at- OH MY GOD! -A-Anything for me! I- *Pant* I-I l-love you for you! Y-You don't *Whimper* -Have to change for- AH~! -Me or a-anyone!", she whispered back affectionately, before tightening her grip on Lincoln by wrapping her legs over his back to hold him closer.

Lincoln appreciated hearing Lori's words of reassurance and responded by pumping harder into her love-hole. Lincoln could have sworn he saw heart-shaped pupils in Lori's eyes before they rolled to the back of her head. It didn't help that Lincoln began to give her another deep kiss as he voraciously continued to press himself into the love of his life.

Who was, at this moment, clenching Lincoln's backside tightly for dear life, losing herself to Lincoln's amazing relentlessness. She started to feel like she was floating above the clouds with her white-haired angel. Lori gripped Lincoln's shirt firmly, afraid and excited to metaphorically, and somewhat physically, lose her body weight alongside losing her mind.

Soon, Lincoln lifted his head away from Lori's, feeling that he was about to blow at any moment. Lincoln fought as hard as he could against his own body to make sure he wouldn't burst until Lori did, gritting his teeth in the process. Fortunately for him, Lori had already reached her peak multiple times during her intense love-making with Lincoln. When Lori finally noticed that Lincoln had pulled away from her lips, she was able to muster up some strength to refocus her eyes on her beloved brother on top of her. She quickly noticed that he was holding himself back for a simple reason that she was able to deduct with haste: he wanted to make her happy before himself.

"L-Lin- AH~! -L-Lincoln! If you need to- Oh~! Ohh~! -C-Cum… Do it! Cum! C-CUM FOR ME-AHHHHH~! LINCOLN~!"

"L-LORI~!"

Lincoln couldn't hold back anymore. When Lori's words of maximum pleasure had reached his ears, he had to force himself to pull out of her pantry and out of her hug once he felt every signal in his body tell him to let loose the waters from his gates. Lincoln had to hold back a moan as the white fluids drained out of his body and landed on Lori's exposed belly, since her nightgown had been pulled up during their zealous coitus, and on her face; specifically on her cheeks and bridge of her nose.

The two lovers took a moment to catch their breaths and allow their bodies to be able to regain some much-needed stamina. Lori, with her eyes still half-lidded, breathed heavily as she reached up to her face and picked some of Lincoln's spunk to put on her finger. Looking at Lincoln, she decided to put on a little show and curbed her eyes into a more seductive look.

Lincoln snapped out of his post-relieving of his joystick to notice Lori looking at him with her finger pointing upwards. He soon saw that some of his essence was on the tip of Lori's finger. In a deliberately slow motion, Lincoln watched with a little drool coming out of the corner of his mouth as his older sister placed her finger in her mouth, closing her eyes and sucking on her finger sensually. Lori even went as far as to lick around her finger a couple times, mimicking how she did with Lincoln's love-rod that one morning. She even let out a few moans, making Lincoln gulp as he took in what was happening in front of him and saved it in his brain's hard drives.

With a simple popping sound out of her mouth, Lori let out a satisfied sigh and seductively looked back at Lincoln.

"As usual, you taste amazing, Linky~."

With that simple sentence, Lincoln Jr. shot right back up, hard and ready for more action, making Lori mockingly scream out. Lincoln dived back into Lori, ignoring the spunk still on her and brought her back into another deep kiss, which she happily accepted and returned.

But then, all of the sudden, Lori's eyes opened wide as she remembered something very vital that night.

She pushed Lincoln off of her, seeing a distraught look appear on his face. Lori felt extremely ashamed for making her love make a face like that, but there was someone else she had to think about too.

"L-Lincoln! As much as I would literally love to go crazy all night with you, don't you remember? Leni is waiting for us to come back to bed!"

Realization hit Lincoln as his distraught face turned to one of consideration and remembrance. He thought about his situation more. He should probably stop now and continue with their love-session another time. There was no reason why they couldn't do it another time after all. Maybe it was better that they stop now-

'Won't you… please stay… Lincoln… ?'

Thoughts of Ronnie Anne crossed his mind again, making him feel instantly guilty again, as he looked upon the gorgeous woman in front of him.

Lori thought that Lincoln had decided to stop, so she was about to lift herself up to go get changed and cleaned up before heading back to her room. However, before she could even move, Lincoln cupped her chin so that she would face his face and look into his eyes.

When she took a look, she noticed a determined expression on Lincoln's face. That fire, still ignited in his eyes, burning with power and tenacity. She gulped as she became fully aware about what Lincoln was still planning to do.

"L-Lincoln, wait! W-We have to go back to my room! L-Leni-"

Lori was cut off again by Lincoln's kiss. He pushed her back onto the bed, hugging her tightly as she tried to push him away from her. Each time she pushed him away a little though, his lips would come rushing back into hers. The beast that was Lincoln persisted in attacking Lori with his kisses, enrapturing Lori in his love web.

Eventually, Lori's defense crumbled, and she gave in to Lincoln, forgetting about the issue that the two still had that night. Lori watched as Lincoln aimed his rod back towards her entrance. With a loving sigh, she spread her legs open, encouraging Lincoln to press forward.

"Well, Linky. You did say you would love me all night. The night is still young… twerp~."

Soon, screams and wails of pleasure rang throughout the room once again, with Lincoln taking Lori back to pleasure town for the third time so far that night. As the two indulged in each other however, they failed to notice the lens of a camera, hidden the whole time in the room through a small slightly-opened door in Lincoln's drawer that was across the bed.

"I told Lincoln I would wait for him before I went to sleep! He's taking a while… What if he fell asleep on the stairs!? I totes hope he didn't! They get really cold at night!"

Leni walked out of her and Lori's room, dressed in her seafoam green nightgown and heading towards the stairs to look for the man who turned her nightmares into dreams every night they slept together.

Ever since Lincoln came back, he had become her personal body pillow whenever it was bedtime. It really helped her out with her nighttime terrors. Now it was all sunshine and rainbows again! With a touch of a white haired knight visiting her in her dreams to take her on cute adventures.

Because Leni thought about how Lincoln had affected her dreams, she began to think more about Lincoln himself. She thought about his kindness towards her and her family. Ever since he had come back, he devoted almost every second of his day to spending time with them. One moment he would be spending quality time reconnecting with Lily, the next he would be listening to Luna jam out, something that the Loud House hadn't heard in such a long time.

'Of course though! As soon as Linky came back, everyone totes got more happy again! It was all thanks to him~!'

Leni reminisced about her snuggle time with Lincoln. Of all the people he could have chosen to sleep with, he chose her. It made her incredibly ecstatic and excited for bed every night now. The bags that used to be very present on her eyes had finally disappeared of late, helping her look very much more alive.

'Speaking of snuggle time, I need to go grab him! He's very late and we totes need to get our beauty sleep!'

Leni went over to the stairs to pick up her brother from his nap, only to discover that he wasn't there. Leni clenched her face in confusion.

'Huh? That's weird. Maybe he's downstairs sleeping on the couch then. I'll just cuddle with him there!'

Leni started heading down the stairs when a muffled shrill softly echoed across the hallway, stopping her at the top of the stairs. Intrigued by the sudden sound, Leni walked back up and tried listening for it again.

Sure enough, that muffled sound rang out again, with this time being the time when Leni noticed that the sound was coming from down the hall. She had a somewhat good feeling that the sound was coming from the room at the end of the hall, since the door to it was slightly open. Inside the room though, it was unlit, making it completely pitch black from the view of the hallway.

'What's going on in Linky's old room? Maybe he's actually in there! Probably playing one of his old video game thingies!'

Leni beamed as she walked down the hallway, expecting to open the door to see her little brother hanging in his room just enjoying what was left from his childhood.

As Leni came closer to Lincon's old room though, she took the time to think about something peculiar.

She began to hold her chin between her index and her thumb in deep thought, stopping halfway in the hallway towards Lincoln's room.

'Hmm… that's weird though. Like, I remember Lana telling me a long time ago that all of Linky's things were gone! His room shouldn't have anything anymore. But then… what is that sound-'

The now closer and louder but still muffled sound repeated itself again, interrupting Leni's thoughts. Now sure that the sounds were coming from Lincoln's room and very curious, Leni decided to go towards his room with the commitment to open it up and see what was going on in it so late at night. As she walked closer, she was starting to understand what the sounds were saying as they came out of Lincoln's childhood room.

"O-Oh, YES! LINKY~! R-Right- *Gasp* -R-Right there! AHHH-~!"

Leni immediately recognized that voice.

'Lori? Did she just call out Linky? What is she doing in Lincoln's room?... Oh! *Pff* Silly me! Lori's probably playing with Lincoln in his room for old time's sake! Probably playing, like, twister or something! I totes want to let them keep playing… but as a fellow older sister, I should tell the two to go back to bed and play tomorrow!'

With her ambitions resolved, Leni walked towards the white-haired man's door and slightly pushed it further inside to see what her siblings were doing.

As soon as she was able to see past the door and the door frame, Leni's whole world came to a standstill. Right in front of her and by the door, Leni watched as she saw someone's butt moving up and down into another person's butt as the bottom person's legs dangled in the air. A certain musk that came from the active figures spread to the outside of the room and rested in front of Leni, allowing her to smell the strange atmosphere coming from Lincoln's room.

As her eyes adjusted to the night, she realized that there was a strange looking stick going in and out of one of those girl holes that she and Lori, the other Loud sisters, and probably most girls in the world had.

Seeing this long rod go in and out of the girl hole made Leni feel really stimulated all of the sudden. Leni felt as a strange impulse urged her to strip down and start touching herself, leading her to suddenly imagine a certain snow-white haired ma-

Leni felt her face all of the sudden redden up like she was sick. She had no idea what was happening in front of her and to her.

'O-OH MY GOD! W-What is happening in here?!' Who-... Who are they-'

Leni's thoughts were interrupted by the female figure screaming from below the male figure.

"L-Linky! Y-you're so- *AH~! -A-Amazing!"

Leni was once again stopped in her tracks, working her mind as hard as it could to quickly comprehend who was in the room. It wasn't just anybody in Lincoln's room. It wasn't rats or anything trying to take the room for themselves. It was… It was…

'L-Linky? And Lori? What are they… What are they doing…?'

Because Leni was stuck in her trance, she hardly had the able attention to notice a wet spot beginning to grow in her underwear as she watched her two siblings procreate in her younger brother's room.

Leni didn't know how to feel or how to react. It was just-

"AH~! YES~! FASTER LINCOLN! AH~! H-HARDER!"

Yeah. Seeing her two siblings doing this adult thing just made it harder for her to understand.

No matter how hard Leni tried to yank her eyes away from the view, she just couldn't. The scene of her brother and her sister doing something so passionate and loving caught Leni's attention; much more than any sale on fashion items at the mall could ever do.

But what caught her eye the most was specifically her brother, as he hammered away at Lori's womanhood.

In that moment, Leni saw something about Lincoln that she never really took notice of before. Instead of him just being her kid brother, she saw a man. A handsome young man taking the prize in front of him after suffering for eight years.

To be completely honest, the last few years of her life have been a blur, due to the absence of her beloved brother. She can faintly remember not really paying any attention to the hundreds of guys that tried to ask her out back in her high school days. It also helped that her other sisters would do a bunch of things to get the guys to leave her alone, both violent and peaceful.

But as she stared at the brother she wanted so desperately to come home, she found herself noting that Lincoln was, by far, the most attractive man she's ever met.

Leni burned the image of Lincoln's bare behind pumping repeatedly into her older sister. She took note of his nicely toned bottom, jiggling lightly as it pounded against Lori's bottom. His muscular legs that helped him continue to bounce up and down in his sexual act. Those 'sacky'-looking things that wiggled in rhythm with each thrust of his really long and thick banana…

The once innocent thoughts of having her brother back home to comfort her began to slowly be tainted with the image of Lincoln becoming a man. At this moment, Lincoln was no longer her brother. The new thoughts of this mature man suddenly appearing in their lives and living in their home so close to her took over Leni's rationality. Because of her new indecent thoughts, Leni started feeling… differently?

A part of her felt really… bad? It felt bad for her to see Lincoln doing something like this with another girl instead of her. Even if that other girl was her older sister as well as his.

But another part of her grew angry. Angry that her older sister took all of Lincoln's attention that night… What was stopping her from taking his attention every night then?

A foreign feeling entered Leni's thoughts as she grew mildly annoyed by her sister taking her Linky time away from her. Even though she felt really hot and bothered by the love scene in front of her that was staring her brother and her sister, she couldn't help but frown at the sight of her sister being the one under Lincoln. Leni slowly began imaging someone who should be on the bed with and under Lincoln, receiving his physical love. That someone being hersel-

Her usual personality took over as the feeling of sadness washed over her. Sadness about being left out of something, especially when it was something to do with Lincoln. Those indecent thoughts of Lincoln being a man that were previously in her mind were completely gone, replaced with the thought of Lincoln cuddling with Lori every night now instead of her. She shouldn't care so much. Everyone deserved to cuddle at night with Lincoln! Not just her… not just…

Leni stepped away from the door. Tears began to show themselves at the corners of Leni's eyes as she participated in her own mental struggle.

'L-Lori… E-Everyone… T-They all totes deserve to have alone time with Lincoln! …So why do I feel so… dirty? Why do I w-want him… all to myself…?'

Tears streamed down her face as she tried to fight against her own desires.

All of the sudden, the noises of Lincoln and Lori's love-making sounded louder and louder to Leni. It was if the truth came closer and closer to her. The truth that Lincoln would prefer to hang out more with Lori than… her.

'N-No… That's not t-true! Lincoln wants to be with everyone! E-Especially me! ...Especially…'

"AHHH~! YES! YES! YES! LINKY! M-MORE! GIVE ME MORE~!"

Leni clenched her face in both physical and mental pain. Not being able to take the various sounds of pleasure coming from Lincoln's room anymore, Leni ran away. Back to her safest place: in her and Lori's room and under her blankets.

She held her legs close to her body as she hid under her blanket. A thought started to echo in her head constantly when she protected herself from being seen under her blanket.

'Linky doesn't care about you anymore. It's all about Lori for him now… It's all about her… Not you…'

That was the last thought she had before she fell asleep...

And that's another chapter done. I'm getting back into the hang of things! I've been working on the future plans I have for this story and let me tell you all, I don't think it's going to end anytime soon. But I started this thing, and I want to do my best to finish it.

By the way, if you all haven't noticed, I've been really inactive on Tumblr. That's because I lost access to my account there because I am an idiot.

So I decided that if you guys want to interact with me outside of FanFiction, you can follow me at my Twitter page that I revamped just for Devumaru! If you search on Twitter just the term "Devumaru", DevumaruTheAlleyCat should pop up! That's me!

I was also thinking of making a Discord but I have no idea where to start with that so Discord is on the back-burner for now.

Thank you all for your patience with me. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter of Loving Return!

-Devumaru