Chapter Text
Lynn awoke in the middle of the night. The cause? A noise, a grumbling of her stomach to be precise. Normally she would ignore it and just go back to bed. Oh, but she knew these were the rumblies that only a sub could satisfy. One sounded pretty darn good right about now. Lynn rose from her bed like some sort of sports-playing vampire and silently made her way out of the room, being careful not to disturb Lucy. As she silently closed the door behind her, she noticed a faint light coming from downstairs. Now who could be awake at this hour? She tip-toed down the hall and slowly down the stairs.
The light came from the television, which was on but on mute. It was showing some late-night news network. How strange. Lynn silently reached the bottom of the stairs, looking over to the couch. Her heart sank when she saw who it was sitting there. Lincoln. She shouldn't known. He was staring blankly at the screen, it didn't seem he was focusing on what the T.V. was showing at all. The shadows that were usually under his eyes were far more pronounced than normal, the bags were heavier. The poor kid looked like he was about to pass out any second, but just couldn't.
Lynn knew how much Lincoln was affected by his Insomnia. This was far from the first night this month alone he was forced to stay up, and it would most likely not be the last. Lincoln didn't like to talk about his condition, despised being shown any sort of pity for it. Still, Lynn usually heard him sneaking downstairs, or pacing up and down the hallway on nights where sleep was impossible for him. Still, her heart ached whenever she saw how exhausted he always looked. She slowly approached the couch and whispered. "Lincoln."
Her brother jumped a bit, turning to Lynn. He smiled a bit when he saw who it was. "Oh...Hey, Lynn." He whispered back as Lynn sat on the couch next to him. "What are you doing up so late?"
Lynn scratched the back of her neck. It felt so...AWKWARD to hear him ask that. He actually sounded concerned for her, when she knew it should be the other way around. "Just...Was just getting a snack, that's all." Lincoln nodded before turning back to watch the T.V.. It was...hard for him to concentrate at times. "Um...So, what are you doing watching the news?"
Lincoln turned back to her. "I'm not really. The shaped, the colors...I find them soothing. This was what popped up when I turned the T.V. on so I just left it like this." He explained. "Might help me..." He was going to say 'sleep', Lynn knew that, but he caught himself. There was a pause. "Lynn, am I...am I a freak?" He asked.
Lynn whipped her head around to Lincoln. "What?!" She actually spoke out loud, slapping a hand in front of her mouth. "What...?" She whispered after a pause, listening for Mom and Dad to awaken, but they didn't. "Where is this coming from? Is someone at school picking on you?"
Lincoln shook his head. "No, nothing like that." That was a lie, of course. He was usually harassed for how he looked, how exhausted he was at all times. But none of his sisters had to know that. "I just wanted to know." He said, almost casually.
Lynn took her brother by the shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes. "No, Lincoln." She hissed firmly. "You are not a freak. Don't let anything tell you otherwise, got it?" She demanded.
Lincoln nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. "Y-Yeah, okay...Thanks, Lynn..." He muttered.
Lynn pulled her brother into a tight hug, squeezing the air from his lungs. "I love you, Lincoln. So, so much. You know that, right?" She asked.
Lincoln didn't answer until he pulled himself away. "Yeah, I know. I love you too, Lynn." The two of them smiled at each other. Wordlessly, they turned back to the T.V. and watched. Lincoln rested his head on Lynn's shoulder, sighing contently. Lynn had an arm around her brother, rubbing his shoulder in a comforting manner. If only he knew how she really felt. When she was his age, she imagined herself marrying some sports star, some buff jock. Yet recently, she felt that yearning love for her own brother. Not only was it weird because of their relation but because how small he was, how meek. He was so fragile, but she found herself drawn to him with an intensity she never could've imagined.
Thankfully, no one knew of her feelings. Not even the oddly smart and observant (for her age) Lucy. Lynn wanted to keep it that way. She knew the two of them could never be together like she wanted. But for now, she'd do anything in her power to help her brother out. The two kept sitting and watching, not saying a word. Lynn kept glancing over at her brother, feeling pity whenever she saw he was still awake. Her own eyelids felt heavy, like iron weights. But she fought sleep away.
Only when, as the morning sun nearly broke the horizon and Lincoln finally fell asleep, did Lynn permit herself to pass out.