20. Chapter 20

AN:

Imagaco: I can honestly say the thought has never occurred to me, hehe. But who's to say what won't spark the imagination in the future?

Tristen: Thank you! I mean, the praise goes to the people who've taken the time to make and fill out the thing, but it's really gratifying that someone's enjoyed the story that much. I look forward to seeing if this chapter gets any more tropes on the page, hehe.

Izaya Orihara 101101: I can't speak for Auto, though I'm reasonably certain he feels the same way, but I like protective, big sister Lori myself. I was pretty disappointed that not only did Ghosted not have anything of that sort, but it also arbitrarily made Lincoln and Lori's relationship worse than it usually is. Probably at least part of the reason why I've been writing more Loricoln as of late :). The pretzel maker definitely has her charms though

LotusFury: I'm a firm believer that every chapter has a natural stopping point, and that's the point where I stop writing. Trying to hit an arbitrary word count would just dilute the substance of the chapter. Also, I almost always update on a weekly basis, and smaller but more frequent chapters just work better with my schedule :)

DoctorYnot: Always happy to hear you're enjoying the story man. I wasn't expecting to write a second story with Carol as the completely unintended ensemble darkhorse, but this particular version of her is definitely proving more fun to write than I'd expected she'd be. More likely than not, the Amazon Island arc is going to happen, so look out for that, hehe. Also yes, I agree that Tuxedo Link is more palatable, but also keep in mind that Leni's the one who came up with the name. So when other people use that title, they're only using it because that's how she relayed the story to them :)

F14M3RZ: I think a small point you might be overlooking is that at this point in the story, the Amazons are the only culture confirmed to practice polygamy. And because, as you've said, the real world skews monogamous, its safe to assume that the same holds true in this world. While the Amazons are a soverign nation, they are but a single nation among many. And much like in the real world, the fact that there are people out there who have nontraditional marriage arrangements doesn't automatically normalize those arrangements. Lincolns accusers are judging him by their values. And while the audience knows they're in the wrong, they also have access to narrative information that the people in-story do not. Archetypes have all kinds of crazy powers (unless they're Chandler), and its not unreasonable for people to be worried when a completely unknown Archetype like Harem King rears its head. They know what Dark Lords and Assassins can do, that stuff has been thoroughly documented. But they don't know what Lincoln can do, and that scares them. Also, the fact that Lori, who has been to the Island, had no idea that the snu-snu thing has ever happened, should have been a clue that Amazons don't exactly spread that information around :). It's not a malicious thing, it's just a hazard of choosing to enter into that particular marital arrangement, and Carol herself confirmed that it's an extremely rare occurrence.

"What are you doing, Sam?" Lori asked wearily as she watched the younger girl squirm enthusiastically in her grip. Much to her annoyance, Sam appeared to be enjoying the experience.

Sam and Luna's careers necessitated that the girls spend a great deal of their time traveling. With Lori's own responsibilities as a hero keeping her busy, she'd rarely spent much time around either girl in recent years. So it was strange to try and reconcile the Sam Lori knew in her head with the Sam she more commonly ran into out in the world.

Lori was herself, a pseudo-celebrity. She enjoyed celebrity-like status because she was a public figure and a high profile superhero. While she was generally well regarded by the public at large, Lori typically didn't have much presence in the public space beyond her duties as a professional. She was occasionally asked to do the odd interview for one periodical or another, and sometimes she got to say a few words on camera after a particularly impressive feat of heroism, but otherwise she was just another girl trying to make the world a better place.

Luna Loud and Sam Sharp were in a whole other league. Legitimate, capital 'C' Celebrities, nothing pseudo about them. It was rare that Lori didn't find herself treated to the sight of the girls in some fashion or another. Even disregarding the fruits of their actual music careers into account, The Sirens made highly advertised guest appearances in television and movies on a fairly regular basis, and often ended up working their way through the talk various show circuits when their schedules would allow. And in the stream of commerce, the girls' names and likenesses had been licensed for every conceivable type of marketable product. The very clothes on Sam's back, her trademark leather jacket, t-shirt, and jeans in her signature colors were literally trademarked now, with the complete outfit now readily available for purchase at most reasonably upscale clothing stores. Naturally, her brand also had blonde and blue hair dye as available as separate purchases for anyone who really wanted to commit to the look. The point was, Sam Sharp, the rock star, was a common sight in the public space, and it that sweet, soft spoken, and incredibly well-mannered girl and wholesome girl that Lori found herself encountering out in the world most often.

"I'm getting reacquainted with our little brother." Sam replied, cheerfully. "Now could you put me down? I think Lincoln was about to find his courage, and I want to be within arms-length just in case that happens."

"My little brother." Lori corrected her, sternly, to which Sam simply shrugged.

"One doesn't invalidate the other."

"I'm going to invalidate y—" Lori stopped herself, and took a deep, calming breath. Then she gave the still airborne girl a good, hard shake just for good measure, taking just a bit of enjoyment from the resulting dazed expression on her face.

This was the Sam Sharp that Lori remembered. The Sam she'd grown up with. Bombastic, energetic to a fault, and strangely preoccupied with monopolizing as much of Lincoln's time for her and Luna as possible. Which she'd only found moderately annoying in her youth. The Louds were a fairly close knit group, and having to hunt down Lincoln just because Sam wanted to him to pretend to house hunt, or file joint tax her and Luna only added an extra layer of tedium to their sibling activities. Now, however, something about the girl's mannerisms had her on edge. Sam had a funny way of smiling when Lincoln was in view. Lori couldn't quite place it, but there was something strangely familiar about that smile. Frustratingly familiar. Whatever it was, Lori didn't want anyone to be smiling like that at her brother.

"Why were you..." Lori chose her words carefully. "Wrestling...with Lincoln?" Much to her dismay, the Sharp girl immediately perked up.

"Oh, well why didn't you say so? Let me tell you a tale..."

"Gaaaah!" Lincoln yelped as he crashed into the ground, immediately finding himself in a confusing juxtaposition, caught between the very hard ground and the very soft thing currently pressing him into said ground. Squeezing one hand experimentally, he was equal parts thrilled and dismayed to be met with an extremely feminine purr of approval. After a moment of struggling, he was finally able to free his face from its all too tantalizing prison, and found himself staring into the happiest face he'd seen this side of Leni.

"S-Sam?" He squeaked terror born from his current predicament warring with genuine delight over seeing the girl who had become like family to him over the years.

"Hello, Lincoln." The older girl cooed, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Any chance you could move your hand just a little to the right?"

Lincoln took a moment to consider the request. "I don't think I'm allowed to." He said, carefully.

CRASH

"And then you showed up." Sam concluded, doing her best to bow in spite of her incapacitation.

"Why was your story from Lincoln's point of view?" Lori asked, puzzled.

"Because that's the structure that made the most sense." Sam rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious. "What, did you really want to hear about me skulking around just out of sight, waiting for the opportunity to make my move?"

The two Louds exchanged uncertain glances. "Did..." Lincoln began, hesitantly. "Did that actually happen?" His only response was a smile and a wink.

Lori winced, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. This was the kind of thing you forgot about when you spent the majority of your time only seeing Sam's public persona.

"Right." She said with a sigh. "Setting aside that uncomfortable thought for the moment..."

BZZT BZZT BZZT

"Lori, i think your butt's ringing."Sam offered.

"Thank you, Sam." Lori growled. She promptly released her hold on the younger girl, causing Sam to collapse to the ground with a cry of surprise.

"You okay, Sam?" Lincoln asked, after she'd remained in that position for a few moments.

"No. Come over here and nurse me back to health."

Lincoln immediately started forward, presumably on instinct, but before even completing his first step he came to an abrupt halt and looked to Lori.

No. Lori silently responded with a shake of her head. Then she reached for her still twitching waist pouch, and whipped out her phone.

"He—" Lori winced as a torrent of excited babbling rushed forth from the device's tiny speaker.

"Carol. Carol. CAROL!" Lori shouted, trying to make herself heard over the din. "I can literally hear you. Like, even without the phone! Stop yelling!"

She breathed a silent sigh of relief as actual words began filtering through her speaker.

"Yes. Lincoln's fine. No, it wasn't a false alarm, I just took care of business." She glanced at the still prone girl on the ground, currently groping blindly at the air. "I told you, he's fine. He's—...NO, he's not wearing the tuxedo!" Lori rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll pass on the message. Alright, see you in a few." Then Lori terminated the call, wondering how Lincoln dealt with having so many pushy blondes in his life.

"Carol says 'hi'. Said Lori, glancing at her little brother. He practically preened at the news. What the heck? Lori said 'hi' to the twerp literally every day, and he never reacted that way.

"Aw, that's so nice of her. Tell her—"

"I'll tell her you got the message." Lori interjected, sliding her phone back in her pouch. "Now, I really should be getting back to work, but..." Lori trailed off as the glanced down at the pile of Sam at her feet.

"Lincoln? Are you coming? I'm cold and lonely down here." The fallen blonde wailed.

"...I'm honestly worried about leaving you alone with her." Lori concluded, shaking her head. She turned back to her brother. "Has Lynn shown you how to choke somebody out?"

Lincoln blinked, clearly confused. "She's shown me some submission holds, but not really how to do them. She just kind of...grabs me, and tells me to figure out how to break out. I think I'm...0 for 200, or something by this point?"

"Of course you are." Lori muttered, shaking her head. She motioned for him to come over. "Alright, well, no time like the present."

"Is this really necessary?"

"Well, that depends." Lori said with a smirk. "Sam, are you still conscious."

"Conscious and still waiting down here."

"There you go." Lori said with a shrug. "Now let me show you how to fix this little problem."

"Hey!"

Lincoln still looked unconvinced. But just as he opened his mouth, presumably to protest the perfectly justified incapacitation of Sam...

"Chill out, sis." A familiar voice rasped. "I'll take it from here."

"Luna!" Lincoln cried out happily, instantly recognizing the dulcet sound of his big sister's voice. True to form, the front door swung open, and standing in its wake was the purple clad rocker.

Trepidation stayed Lincoln's feet. He wanted to rush over and give his wayward sister the standard Loud family greeting; strangulation via intense hugging, but there was always a certain degree of anxiety that accompanied Luna's visits. Lincoln considered his relationship with Luna to be pretty fantastic, given how rare it was that they actually got to spend any time together. Luna always made time for him. It didn't matter how far away she was, or how busy her schedule was, his big sister always found at least a few minutes each day to find out what was going on with her little brother.

Getting a chance to see Luna in the flesh was always a joyful occasion for the male Loud, but it was undeniable that there experience was always...intimidating. Every time Luna came home, she was more grown up than the previous time he'd seen her. Not just physically, though it was undeniable that Luna had grown into a grown into a gorgeous woman over the years (even his limited experience with her legions of fans had made that abundantly clear), but just in a general sense. Luna was worldly, it seemed like she'd been everywhere, met everyone and done everything. And when he saw her on TV, verbally sparring with other celebrities and casually discussing her upcoming projects with a nonchalance that seemed wholly inappropriate for someone as absurdly successful as she was, it always kindled the same sense of dread in the boy. How could this girl, this woman, possibly still care about the dumb things he got up to in his perfectly mundane life? When would the day come where Luna Loud finally realized that in the time it took for her to have her morning coffee, she'd likely experienced more excitement than Lincoln would for that entire week?

The very sight of her had brought back that fear in full force. The fact that she was wearing a variation of her favorite outfit, the one Lincoln had come to associate with his sister almost as strongly as her music, didn't diminish the fact that her deceptively casual clothing was immaculately tailored and fitted to accentuate her womanly curves. New additions in the form of a leather jacket, similar to what Sam wore save for her signature coloring, and a pair of incredibly stylish looking dark purple sunglasses, did little to reassure Lincoln. She looked every bit the world renown rock star that she was. And the thought that this might be the day when she'd finally outgrown him, terrified Lincoln right down to his core.

Then, Luna reached up...and took off the sunglasses. She looked tired. Eyes half-lidded, not from her usual laid back attitude, but from genuine weariness, accentuated by the dark bags under her eyes. Even so, those were his sister's eyes. And when she fixed her gaze on him, and gave Lincoln that sweet, lazy smile of her's, he knew his worries were for naught.

"Hey!" She chuckled, holding out her arms. "What's a girl gotta do around here to—OOF"

Lincoln didn't hesitate this time. He sprinted towards the waiting girl and threw himself at her, slamming into her far harder than he'd intended. He feared he might have been a bit too enthusiastic in his greeting, that he would send them crashing to the ground in a comical recreation of what he'd been through with Sam only minutes earlier. But Luna planted her feet and held firm. The rocker responded in kind, wrapping her arms around Lincoln and hugging him just as fiercely. And for a time the pair simply stood there, locked in an epic embrace, each seemingly trying to hug the other to death.

Peeling his face away to the best that their hug would allow, Lincoln looked up into his sister's warm, welcoming eyes, watching her as she watched him. And it was in that moment that he knew that as crazy, and frustrating, and uncertain as life could be, in this moment there was one singular truth he could believe in.

Luna was home.