Author's Notes: This is my first fanfic, and it really should've debuted months ago. But I decided to put my best foot forward and plan this all out. If I want to be accused of anything for writing this, I hope it'll be grossly over-achieving.

This story is one that comes from personal analysis of certain characters and events that have never, in my opinion, been addressed in a truly satisfying way.

This is meant to be a long, character-focused story that's meant to tackle the consequences of these events and provide closure.

The Loud House is trademark & copyright of Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Viacom, and I claim no ownership of this property or these characters.

The title is from an excellent album by The Smith Street Band.

In the early hours of the morning of what was promising to be a fairly ordinary, if slightly rainy day, the Loud House was quiet. From the pets to the parents, no one made a noise louder than a snore. The only other sound was from the drizzle that lightly pattering the leaves of the trees and the pavement of the street. But just because all was quiet didn't mean that nothing was happening. Not everyone in that house was asleep.

Inside, on the second floor, a bedroom door slowly opened, and one of the many sisters of the household quietly stepped out into the hall, being extra careful not to make noise as she closed the door behind her. She tiptoed her way down to the linen closet at the end of the hall, her sock-feet making nothing more than light padding sounds on the dark red carpet. Once there, she carefully nudged the door open and squeezed in, trying her best not to bump into any of the boxes that lined the floor. She closed the door behind her and took in a breath of surprisingly fresh air. The full moon was shining just past a cloud through the slightly open window, bathing most of the room in a cool blue light, with just a hint of orange from the nearby streetlight that cast its glow onto a part of the ceiling. The sound of the falling rain was easily covering the sound of breathing from the corner. She looked down and saw a blanket-covered mound curled up on the air-mattress lying in the right corner of the room.

She got down and crawled over until she was close enough to reach out and poke the blankets. She didn't, instead she leaned over to where she whispered, "Linc? Hey, you asleep?"

"Nah. Can't." He sniffled lightly.

"Me neither." She said quietly, getting down on her knees. "You okay?"

"I'm alright."

"What ya thinkin' about?"

He rolled over to look at her; he could barely see the nose in front of his face, let alone hers. "I made a wish earlier."

"What'd you wish for?"

"I wish I was back in our room."

"Dad said he'll get your bed moved tomorrow. You won't have to sleep on the floor again."

"Yeah, but I want our room back."

"He said it's better like this." She said in as quiet a voice as she could without whispering. "Mom said Lori and Leni need their space, and Luna and Luan are already sharing. And the twins are going to need to be together when they… "

"I'm lonely." He interrupted. He sat up, brushed his blanket off to the side and looked at her. She could barely see him clutch his Bun-Bun close to his tiny chest. "I miss you, Lynn."

Lynn reached out into the dark until her hand brushed her little brother's cheek. She could feel tears all along the side of his face. "I miss you too, Linky. So much." Lincoln didn't say anything, he just sniffled again and nuzzled her hand. "Hey, it's not all bad. You got your own room. That's good, right?"

"But I'm here, and you've still got to sleep with somebody."

"Lucy's not that bad. She's quiet, and a bit weird." She smiled. "I think that Tim Burton movie we saw went to her head a little."

He laughed. "Yeah, she got a kick out of that."

She laughed too, and put both of her hands in her lap. "I hope she doesn't let it, you know, be her thing. She's dramatic enough."

He replied with a moan of approval. She sat down, tucking her feet under her oversized sleeping jersey. Lincoln shifted so he was sitting cross-legged as well, so she and he were sitting exactly eye to eye. Even in the darkness she could still make out a glimmer of his white hair.

"You got a light?" She asked.

She barely saw him nod, and he shifted over slightly to a spot next to his bed. With the flick of a switch, the LED flashlight near his pile of comic books bathed the room in a sharp, white light that made Lynn put her hand up to cover her eyes. "Too bright."

Lincoln pointed the flashlight at the wall, softening the light significantly. "That good?" Lynn nodded as he settled back down, cross legged, with Bun-Bun still close to his chest. The two kids could only just look at each other, lost for words. Lynn looked directly into Lincoln's bright blue eyes, but he was looking slightly off to the side. He seemed to be intently studying the faded cream colored wall.

After some time had passed, Lynn finally said, "Hey, Linc, look at me." Lincoln sighed and looked back at her. "You don't need to be so down. I'm just down the hall. It's not like I'm going away or something."

Lincoln looked directly into her green eyes, so very unlike his own. "But we won't have our nights anymore. We'll need to go to bed without reading or talking anymore." He said gloomily as he looked down to his Bun-Bun.

She shifted forwards and placed a hand under his chin, pulling his gaze up to hers. "Linc, we can still play together and take our baths if you want. I know a little whale and a ducky who'd like that too." She looked down and gave Bun-Bun a poke on its plastic nose. "Hey there."

"He can't say anything."

She smiled. "Where's the fun in that?" She leaned down to look the bunny right in the eyes. "Now remember, you're supposed to take care of him when I'm not here, aren't you, girl?"

"Bun-Bun's a he." Lincoln said, as he slightly tightened his grip on his stuffed rabbit.

"Nope. I had her first, so I say she's a she."

"Well he's mine now and I say he's a he." Lincoln said, "And there's nothing you can do about it."

Lynn grinned, showing off her missing teeth. "Oh really?" Lincoln gulped, he couldn't help it. It was pure reflex, based on the glint in her eyes. Before he could even move, Lynn had catapulted towards him and started pulling at his shirt. "Come on. Stop struggling." She grunted as she tried to pull his orange pajama shirt over his head, causing him to drop Bun-Bun.

"It's cold!" He rasped from inside the depths of his shirt.

"It's not that cold." Lynn assured him as she finally pulled off his pajama shirt.

He shivered slightly as his bare back hit the mattress. "It is cold. Lynn, could we…" But he stopped as Lynn pulled off the massively oversized jersey she used for sleeping, leaving her in just her shorts and socks.

"We could still have our nights if you want." She said with a small smile as she laid next to him. "I'm not going anyplace."

"Can we go under the blankets?" Lincoln asked as he moved Bun-Bun next to his pillow. Lynn pulled the blankets up over the two of them. "You're never going to let anything get between us, will you? I mean, we're already rooms apart."

Lynn stared for a second, before grabbing Lincoln and pulling him into a hug. His smooth, indoor-kid skin rubbed not unpleasantly against the rougher, slightly sun-cooked skin of her chest. "Linky, you're my bro. You're better than any game could ever be."

"It's just – I heard someone talk about how comic guys and sports guys don't ever get along. And I don't want us to be like that."

She sighed, "Linc, I promise that I am never ever going to let any of my sports get in your way. You're always gonna be first." She looked directly into his eyes. "You're always number one."

He looked down and said, "Lynn, I promise I'll always be there for you, and if you ever need me, all you have to do is ask and I'll be there." She nodded, but didn't say anything. Lincoln moved his hand over her side to scratch her back. She sighed happily and reached over to start toying with a lock of his silky, snow-colored hair. As Lincoln ran his hand between his sister's freckled shoulder blades, he asked, "We'll be like this forever, right? You're never gonna be like those other sports guys?"

She placed her hand on the side of his round face as. They were so close that he could feel her breath as she said, "Never ever." She smiled, and then quickly leaned over to give him a giant wet smooch right on the lips.

"Ugh! Lynn!" He said as he recoiled and started furiously rubbing his lips with his forearm. "Gross!" He felt around and grabbed at his shirt to continue his scourging of the germs.

She put her head on her arm and started laughing. "You're silly. My silly Linky."

"Shut up." He said as he switched the flashlight off. They cuddled without a word for quite some time, until Lynn fell into sleep with her arms wrapped around her little brother. But there was one thing Lincoln did before he drifted off to dreamland; he promised himself that he would never forget that night. He wasn't going to be the kind of person to break a promise.

And that was the prologue, easily the shortest chapter of this behemoth.

Next chapter has been written, and will be up soon.

Critique is welcome, but please keep it constructive.

Thanks for reading!