Two Losing Louds (Christmas Collab)

"X and Y in a situation similar to Gift of the Magi."
X: Lincoln.
Y: Lynn.

>Lincoln groans for the ninth time, pacing aimlessly around the sidewalk.
>Ronnie Anne follows, if mostly to keep him from bumping into people, like he did with her.
>Or veering into traffic.
>Which he almost did after bumping into her.
>"I'm still not sure why I'm here," she mentions for the third time, kicking a little block of ice, watching it bounce and skip across the frozen road.
>She grins when it clears the distance, pinging off the wheel well of a bus.
>"Because you're the only one I can trust to help with this," Lincoln grumbles, plunging his hands into his coat pockets.
>"Well, what about your dumb friend?" Ronnie Anne inquires, calmly gliding along the icy sidewalk.
>"Clyde?"
>Lincoln shakes his head, groaning.
>Tenth time.
>"No. He's busy-"
>"Oh, good to see I was your first choice," Ronnie Anne interrupts.
>"And I can't trust him with this," Lincoln continues, "he always messes up when I'm trying to be serious."
>Ronnie Anne just grunts, kicking another chunk of ice across the road...
>Only to curse when it gets crushed under a passing truck.
>"Dang. Well, what about one of your sisters?" she asks, scratching at her cold ears. "Couldn't they help you?"
>Lincoln scoffs.
>"You're joking, right? They're even worse. At least Clyde doesn't make a scene when trying to keep something quiet."

>Ronnie raises her hands defencively.
>"Hey, I'm just asking. Don't bite my head off, Lame-O."
>Lincoln groans, shaking his head.
>Eleven.
>"No, it's...it's Ok, Ronnie Anne. Sorry about that. I'm just...I'm frustrated about this. I don't know what to get Lynn this year. I don't even know what sport she's playing right now-"
>"Sport?" Ronnie Anne repeats, cocking a mocking eyebrow at him, "just one?"
>"You know what I mean," Lincoln grumbles.
>"Heh, yeah. Oh hey, hold that thought."
>Before Lincoln could continue, the girl runs ahead, her leg arching back as she slides towards a puck-sized piece of ice.
>"Slap shot!" she yells, her boot connecting heavily with the object.
>Lincoln's eyes widen upon hearing those words.
>"What...?" he whispers, more to himself then anyone else.
>Ronnie Anne raises her arms at the sight of the puck hitting the fire hydrent across the street.
>Then promptly puts them down when it bounces off, right into the mailman's shin.
>"Well, I'm out of here," Ronnie Anne says quickly, giving Lincoln a light punch in the arm before she runs.
>"Later Lame-O!"
>Lincoln just stands there, numb to the world.
>"Slap shot..." he mutters to himself.
>"Hockey. Of course..."
>He snaps out of it and quickly follows after Ronnie Anne.
>Before slipping on the ice and falling flat on his face.
>"Ow..." he groans painfully.
>Twelve!

>"I feel like he'd enjoy getting a comic, but they're so short. And what if I get him one he already has? Or one he doesn't l-"
>"Listen, Lynn?" Margo interrupts, "When you told me you wanted to hang out and chat, this isn't really what I was expecting."
>Lynn shakes her head, leaning into the barricade.
>"Yeah. Sorry about that, Margo. I just...don't know what to get Lincoln for Christmas."
>Margo scans the road beneath them, watching for any passing targets.
>"I don't get why you don't just talk to your sisters about this."
>Lynn scoffs, shaking the fresh snow out of her hair.
>"Please, Margo, you've hung out at my place before. A third of them wouldn't be any help, another third would just make fun of me, again, and the last bunch would make me spend more money than I have. "
>"And I'm here, because...?"
>"Because you're the only girl I can trust, Margo!"
>Lynn rests her head in her hands, her cold fingers massaging her temples.
>"I can rely on you to keep this a secret, and Lincoln-"
>"Doesn't know me," Margo finishes, squinting into the distance.
>"Yeah, exactly!"
>"No, Lynn. That's the problem."
>Lynn lifts her head to shake the fresh snow out of her mane, looking at her friend in confusion.
>"Bluh?"
>"I don't know your brother," Margo explains, looking away from the road to meet her friend's eyes.
>"We've said maybe twelve words to each other, and almost all of that was "hello". I'm sorry Lynn, I don't th-wait."
>Bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, she watches the vehicle fast approaching.
>Then she grins.
>"Oh, sweet! A bus!"
>Pushing off from the barricade, Margo quickly crosses to the other end of the overpass.
>Dropping down, she hastily starts to collect as much snow as she can reach.
>"Hurry, help me make a big one! It's coming fast!"

>"Wait..." Margo says for the sixth time.
>"Margo."
>"Wait..." Margo repeats, this time raising her hand.
>"Seriously, I need he-"
>"Waiiiitttt...."
>"Margo!"
>"NOW!"
>Grunting loudly, the girls push the large snowball off the ledge.
>Just in time for the bus to appear below them.
>*KRUMP*
>It lands perfectly, exploding on the roof of the vehicle and showering the road beneath it in white.
>The bus swerves from the sudden blow, horn blaring in warning.
>Thankfully it manages to correct itself before it can crash, and continues down the road.
>Both girls can hear the driver shouting as he disappears.
>As soon as he's gone, Margo and Lynn burst into hysterics.
>Leaning against each other for support, the teens giggle over the success of their prank.
>"O-oh," Lynn whimpers, pulling away to wipe the tears out of her eyes, "Oh, man, Luan was right. That is fun!"
>"Y-yeah!" Margo agrees, finally calming down herself. "Did you see the dent we made in the roof?"
>Lynn cackles at the thought.
>"It's going to take them weeks to hammer that out!"
>With a happy sigh, Margo rests a hand on Lynn's shoulder.
>"So what else does he, besides comics? Your brother. Does he like Lego?"
>Sitting down in the snow, Lynn rests her head in her elbows.
>"Yeah, but mom says he has enough."
>Plopping down beside her friend, Margo reaches up to brush away more white from Lynn's brown.
>"Those robot things that turn into stuff?"
>Lynn grunts.
>"Lori said she's twist me into a pretzel if she steps on one of those again, so no."
>Margo grunts, resting her head on the concrete wall behind her.
>"This would be easier if he played sports," she admits, "like my brothers, you know?"
>Lynn's head shoots up from her arms.
>"Playing..." she mumbles, staring into space.
>"Huh?"
>"Playing! Margo!"
>Lynn jumps to her feet, dragging her friend with her as she runs down the overpass.
>"Lynn, what are you-"
>"I'm an idiot, Margo!"
>Lynn turns back to grin at her stumbling friend.
>"Video games!"

>A few days later, before Christmas.
>"Alright, kids," dad calls out, raising his voice to be heard over the noise, "Santa left each of you a present under the tree! You can open them early-"
>And like that, the table grows dead silent.
>Eleven pairs of eyes swivel to stare at the tree in the living room, the slapdash decorations causing it to lean a little.
>Then everyone makes a break for it, racing for the little gifts tucked underneath it.
>Every Loud for herself.
>Pushing and shoving, they shout and kick for a chance to be first.
>Lola and Lana even start biting.
>All's fair in gift-giving, after all.
>Lynn makes it to the tree first, powersliding past the coffee table and wrapping her arms around the biggest present.
>The wind is knocked out of her chest when Leni divebombs on top of her.
>The tomboy is quickly buried under a mountain of Loud, each sibling bickering over whose gift belongs to whom.
>Lola and Lana continue biting, gnashing viciously with their sharp little teeth.
>Even Lily joins in, cackling gleefully as she slaps Lucy in the face.
>They all freeze when the whistles shrills and mom makes her appearance.
>"That is enough!" mom shouts, desperate for control, "all of you, off each other right now!"
>She points at her children, gesturing to the couch.
>"Come on, off the floor! Luan, put that boot down! Luna, get off of Lisa, you're crushing her! Leni, hands off your sister's neck! Lynn-"
>Mom blinks.
>"Lynn! Let go of your brother! That's a sensitive spot for boys!"

>With a grumble, the sisters start to untangle themselves.
>Lori's up first, picking up a still-giggling Lily and carrying her to the couch.
>Luan puts down the heavy boot and helps Lisa find her glasses.
>Luna lets Lucy slip out of her headlock, smoothing out of the goth's hair as they get up.
>Leni pries the twins off her arms, shooing them to the couch.
>Lynn releases Lincoln from her death grip, helping him to his feet and walking him to their spot.
>Hearing peace return to the living room, dad enters with a tray of hot chocolate.
>Then mom and dad get to work, sorting gifts and calling a child to collect theirs.
>Each one gets a stern warning to wait until everyone has theirs before they can open it.
>Lori's left for last, knowing her legendary patience for unwrapping.
>Eleven pairs of eyes watch mom carefully.
>Specifically the whistle in her fingers.
>A gasp rolls through the crowd as it's brought up to her lips.
>With a tweet, the kids dig in.
>Wrapping paper and cardboard flies everywhere as the kids shout over each other in excitement.
>Dad moves to mom, giving her her hot chocolate while they watch as the chaos ensue.
>"Can't help but love this," dad admits, wrapping an arm around his wife, "you know?"
>Mom calmly plucks the bow that fell into her mug before taking a sip.
>She then rests her head on his shoulder, smiling despite herself.
>"Yeah."
>She takes another sip.
>"I do."

>At Lynn's urging, her and Lincoln take their time unwrapping their gifts.
>Carefully peeling the wrapping, sticking bows into each other's hairs.
>their smiles growing wide as they pull the packing paper out of the boxes.
>Lincoln's grin was the first to fade as he pulled out the little package.
>"Game and Watch Gallery," he reads out loud, "and Wario Land II."
>Lynn nods excitedly.
>"Yeah! I always see you playing with that old brick after Lori found it in the attic, so I figured I'd get you something fresh to play!"
>Then her smiles disappears when she notices Lincoln not jumping for joy.
>Or kissing her in thanks.
>"Something wrong?"
>Lincoln quickly shakes his head, putting the little games back in the box.
>He nervously grins back at her.
>"N-no, it's great," he says flatly.
>A bead of sweat slides down his temple
>"I love them."
>He nods towards her gift.
>"What do you think about yours?"
>With a gasp, Lynn's smile is back.
>Pulling open the flaps, she pulls out...
>"A blade sharpener?" she asks, mostly to herself.
>"Yeah! I heard you complaining yesterday about your skates growing dull."
>He ruffles her shaggy hair.
>"I even got a good deal on it, and now we don't have to pay the rink to fix them!"
>Then Lincoln's grin fades when he notices Lynn's reaction.
>He was expecting yelling.
>A thank you.
>Maybe even a hug.
>But Lynn looks...unhappy.
>"Lynn?" he asks cautiously, "what's wrong?"
>Lynn doesn't look him in the eye.
>"I...sold my skates," she mumbles.
>"What?
>"I didn't have enough money to afford those games," she explains, "so I hocked my skates to get the cash."
>Lincoln finds himself at a loss for words.
>He looks down at his gift from Lynn.
>He sighs.
>"And I sold my GameBoy to afford the sharpener," he admits.
>Both Louds don't say anything after that for a long moment.

>Lori glances over, the first to notice the change in mood.
>"What's wrong with you two dorks?" she asks, plucking the bows from their heads, and adding to the crown of plastic on hers.
>Lincoln answers first.
>"We sold some stuff to buy our gifts," he says glumly, "but our gifts were meant for the stuff we sold."
>Lori nods sagely.
>"Gift of the Magi, gotcha. Say no more."
>Lori pinches Lincoln's arm.
>"You know, Santa left you two another present."
>Lincoln and Lynn look up, confusion on their faces.
>"Bluh?" Lynn asks.
>Lori simply points to the tree.
>Specifically at the grey-wrapped box tucked in the corner.
>"That's for you two," she whispers, leaning close to whisper, "dig in."
>Lynn quickly retrieves the package, dragging the surprisingly heavy box back to the couch.
>Though the mood is gone, both siblings tear into the package with more excitement than they expect.
>"So that's where my tin foil went," mom grumbles from her spot.
>Lynn holds Lincoln's hand as he opens the lid.
>Lincoln gasps loudly, causing her to lean forward to look.
>She gasps too, squeezing tightly.
>"My GameBoy!" the boy cries out, yanking the grey brick from the box.
>"My skates!" Lynn yells back, pulling out one of her blades, hugging it tightly.
>"Ow!" she shouts, pulling the boot and its blade away from her chest.
>"I don't get it," Lincoln says, checking the batteries in the back, "how did...where did these come from?"
>Both siblings freeze when they feel a hand on their shoulders.
>Lori's head leans into their vision, her grin almost as obnoxious as the crown of bows in her hair.
>"I bought them back a couple days after you hocked them to Flip," she whispers.
>"I helped!" Leni calls out.
>"Lori?" Lincoln asks, "L-Leni?"
>"You two idiots owe me fifty bucks," she whispers, squeezing her sibling's shoulders.
>"Thanks Lori," Lynn says, raising up to her knees to hug her sister.
>"Merry Christmas, you little dorks," Lori replies, pulling Lincoln into a threeway hug.

~Fin~