Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stupid Christmas

She places the bow against her strings, and takes a deep breath.

“Here we go.”

Carol Pingrey loves her music. She really does. Anything from the bubblegum pop ballads of Boyz Will Be Boyz, to the ragtime tunes of Scott Joplin, to even the occasional country hits of Alan Jackson. But during a certain time of year, she’s encouraged to express her love of of one her most cherished genres of all.

Christmas music.

So, on this December day, the song she plays is one where she’s able to do just that. She’s able to use her violin to surge all of the holiday spirit and excitement into her music as she steadily rakes the bow along its strings, creating the magical melody to play… well… Carol of the Bells.

How apropos. And no one really does it better with the style and finesse of one Carol Pingrey. Especially when the other girl in the room joins her in playing along on her amped up purple Sterrett.

A power chord, strums gradually becoming more forceful to bring about a more bombastic sound, she shows just how much she gets into it with the way she shakes and bangs her head, even sticking her tongue out.

Luna Loud is a rock god. And Carol can’t resist, the girl’s radiating energy is just too contagious. So she rocks on too, putting everything she can muster into her slides and transitions, disregarding posture for poise, mind strictly on the rhythm until finally they’ve reached the conclusion of their duet. The strumming and the raking reaches fever pitch. Both girls have sweaty brows, teary eyes, and racing hearts. This wasn’t about anything but the love of the music, man! But somehow, like everything else, it became about their love of one another.

They draw out their final respective notes as long as they’ll ring out, and simply idle for a moment to catch their breath before look to one another. It’s Luna to break the silence, as she’s one to often do.

“That… was…”

“Terrible!” Carol finishes for her.

Luna meets her claim with confusion. “Terrible?” she repeats.

“Not you, obviously,” Carol retorts. “I mean me!” she hollers as she takes her violin and bow and carefully lies them on the bottom bunk bed beside of her. She lets out a tense sigh, and Luna places her guitar to the side as well before cautiously pacing towards her.

“I could have been so much better,” Carol continues. “First of all, my bow string is dull. Secondly, I always mess up with that transition into the bridge. Not to mention when we play together I have a hard time keeping in sync with you. I don’t know if I’m just being slow or if you’re going too fast, but it’s like I can’t keep up with your rhythm!” she blurts out. She ebbs on her despondence to meet Luna with a weak expression. “That’s… not your fault, by the way.”

Luna just shakes her head and smiles. “Chillax, C. We were awesome! You were awesome!”

Carol sighs before allowing herself to deflatedly have a seat on the bed, minding her violin as she scoots it to the side. "Yeah, but it wasn’t perfect.”

Luna considers her statement for a moment before taking a seat beside of her. “Is anything, though?”

Carol just looks to her with a bit of an incredulous look in her eyes. “Pilates?”

Luna smiles as she places an arm around her girlfriend. “Well… that might be a stretch.”

Carol rolls her eyes at the attempt of humor. “Gag me,” she teases.

But Luna just keeps smiling at her until Carol meets her eyes. “Okay, I know one thing that’s perfect.”

Carol softly smiles, because she already has an idea what Luna will say to her. “Oh yeah? What’s that?” And her intuition proves not to be too far off as Luna answers…

“I’m going to spend this Christmas with you.”

Poor Carol, she could melt upon hearing Luna’s tactfully tacky response. Like her, it was just too cute.

“Aww… Lu Lu Bear…”

The way they look into one another’s eyes, it’s clear what they’re supposed to do next. It’s just the two of them here together, and Carol did convince Luna to start using this new cotton candy lip balm…

“Well, I know there’s no mistletoe hanging over us, but…” she trails off, alluringly biting her lip as her cheeks burn red.

“So kiss me,” Luna responds.

Without any further ado, the girls close their eyes, pucker their lips, and lean in closer…

Before the bedroom door is swung open to reveal Luan Loud. “Deck the halls with boughs of holly!” she loudly sings.

And of course, it just totally kills the mood, but Luna doesn’t seem to mind as her little sister comes in screaming all obnoxiously. Typical. Better yet, she isn’t alone. Behind the fourteen year old girl is another familiar face Carol remembers from Bold Navy, the face of one… uh… dang it… What was her name again?

Oh yeah. Maggie.

The emo girl trudges in with an Eeyore-esque frown, but does nothing until Luan nudges her with her elbow. WIth that, Maggie follows her line with…

“Fa la la la la, la la la plllllllllllll,” she finishes with a blow of a raspberry.

Luan shrugs. “Eh, I’d ask if what you’re feeling is seasonal, but I already know you’re jolly well emo. Hahaha!” she jokes with a laugh.

Maggie says nothing. The anguish and despair in her eyes do all the talking for her.

While Carol does feel a little miffed at the two for interrupting what was about to turn into some quality kiss time with Luna, she gets over it upon seeing the purple clad rocker smiling with their arrival.

“What’s up, dudes?” she greets. “Practicing for later?”

“Yup! You know I love me a good-” Luan begins.

“Don’t say it. If you think anything of me as a person, you won’t say it,” Maggie interrupts.

Luan exuberantly grins with glee, however.

“You know I love me a good Christmas Carol!”

“And now I want to die,” Maggie bluntly states.

The older girls meet the joke with indifference as well, but Luan of course busts a gut over it as she continues laughing.

“Well, at least she got it out of the way now,” Carol says.

Luna disregards the pun to stand up from her bed now. “So, I see you guys are about ready to head out.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Maggie says with her usual cynicism.

“But where’s-?” Luna starts before another girl makes her way into the room.

“Who’s ready for a blue Christmas?” Sam Sharp asks upon making herself known.

“Finally, someone with some class,” Carol jokingly says as she stand up from the bed too. “How’s it going, Sam?”

“If I was any better, Lisa would try to clone me,” Sam gladly answers.

“Don’t let her hear that. She might actually try to,” Luna says as she paces towards Sam to give her a fist bump.

The other girl returns the gesture, “Yo, Lunar Eclipse. Are you ready to rock the neighborhood?” she playfully asks.

“Always ready to rock, Blue,” Luna replies with a smirk.

Carol’s demeanor shifts into that of uncertainty. “Rock the neighborhood? What, are you guys hanging out without me?” she almost accusingly asks with a furrowed brow.

“Chill, babe,” Luna answered. “We’re going Christmas caroling. All of us!” she explained as she looked to all of the other girls in the room with glee.

“You said chill. It’s cold outside,” Luan points out with a little snicker. And of course Maggie rolls her eyes at this.

Carol thinks back, “Did we ever decide to go caroling? Nobody told me about it! Or… Maybe they did, and I forgot with everything else going on…”

“Nope. They didn’t tell me. Yeah. Definitely.”

She tries to meet her girlfriend with stern stare, but her shaky voice and pinkening cheeks cause the cracks to show. “I don’t remember anything about going caroling tonight. When did you guys talk about this?”

Luna looks back to her with questioning eyes. “Seriously? We planned it last week. We all agreed on Friday night,” she recalls.

“I’m pretty sure you suggested Friday,” Luan adds, all jokes aside.

“Pffffft, I wouldn’t have said Friday,” Carol says, but in her mind, she thinks, “Oh man, I really did say Friday, didn’t I?” She shakes herself though to focus on keeping her composure. Make one wrong move, and everyone will know the truth. “I’m just not sure if we should go tonight, that’s all,” she adds while crossing her arms.

The others meet her claim with confusion, but Luna dons a hint of scorn. "Well we’re all already here, dude. Come on! It’ll be totally rad!” she argues, trying to hold a sense of optimism.

“Yeah! We’ll have a lot of fun!” Sam interjects. “And you have a super pretty voice!”

Carol grins at that. “I do hold my high notes flawlessly,” she agrees with pride.

“Wait. I’m supposed to be assertive here. Focus, Pingrey!” she scolds herself, and she shifts back into her defensive gait.

“I still don’t think tonight is any good,” she firmly restates.

Luna frowns again. “Why not?”

Oof. Carol was hoping she wouldn’t ask that. But, being the mindful, astute young woman she is, she had already begun forming reasons to list off in her head to convince her rocker-chic lover that her way is the right way. But she’d really rather not do so in front of… uh… certain company. She intently eyes Luna. Then, she shifts her glare to Luan, Sam, and Maggie, before looking back to Luna.While this was supposed to be enough indication for Luna to say something about giving them privacy, Luna instead does nothing. She just keeps frowning back at Carol with the same stubbornness she always does when things get like this.

“Ugh. Now I have to look like the bad guy,” Carol mentally cusses. But if that’s what has to be done, that’s what has to be done, and she’ll do it. Really, she kind of has to. “Uhm, Luna?” she tries, assertively yet calmly.

“Mmm?” Luna simply responds.

“Oh don’t play dumb with me you grinch,” Carol wishes she could say. Instead, she keeps her wits to her, and responds with the following.

“Could we have a moment alone?” she asks, being sure to look to all of the three other girls.

They all exchange concerned looks (well, concerned doesn’t exactly describe Maggie) before shrugging.

“Uh… We’ll be downstairs,” Sam says on their behalf. Before she turns to walk out with Luan and Maggie though, she takes pause to check in with Luna once more. “You guys good?” she asks.

Luna unamusedly sighs. “Yeah. We’ll be down in a sec.”

Sufficed with Luna’s answer, Sam reluctantly follows the other girls out of the room.

“Talk about getting the cold shoulder! Hahaha!” Luan jokes as they disappear into the hallway, and Carol and Luna hear the groans from her companions from the bedroom.

Then, there’s a brief silence. Strong, palpable. Luna’s brown eyes lock with Carol’s baby blues, but not in the way they often hope for that leads to cutesy hugging and kissing. No, this was about to turn into a great debate. And if Carol could do one thing, it was hold her own in a debate.

Even if Luna was the most impossible and bullheaded girl to ever look so stupidly cute in skully T’s.

“What the heck is the deal?” she blurts out, not even trying to hold back.

“Alright, good. No point anyway,” Carol decides. “I have to pull this off somehow. I really, really do.”

“The deal is, I was under the assumption we would be taking it easy tonight,” Carol rebuts.

Luna furrows her brow at that. “Yeah, well, I was ‘under the assumption’ that we were going caroling with our friends!” Luna mockingly retorts.

“Okay, first of all, caroling is a no,” Carol begins. “Not only did you say nothing about it all day, but you know I have a ton of important stuff to get caught up on!”

“Stuff that can’t wait one night?!” Luna argues.

“No, it really can’t!” Carol almost desperately tells her. “I have this… one deadline that’s really important to meet. I have to get this thing done as soon as possible, and I’ve hardly had time between accounting homework, SAT prep, and looking into college scholarships! Don’t even get me started with all the stuff we still have to do for yearbook committee,” Carol lists off.

“The heck with yearbook committee! Everyone stopped caring about that when Mr. Sunderland left anyway,” Luna blurts out. “And what… project are you even talking about? And can’t you just put it off for a few more hours so we can go have some fun?”

While already somewhat flustered, now the former homecoming queen now feels totally confounded. “Luna, it’s… a commission. I haven’t talked about it because I don’t want you to accidentally say something to somebody and it get out. It’s supposed to be a secret,” she explains, almost like she’s rehearsed several times in case it would come up.

“Well… Okay, I guess. I get it, you gotta draw something for somebody. That’s totally cool,” Luna says, ebbing slightly on the aggression. “But this is really important too.”

Carol sighs as she considers how to follow through with what she wants to say next without sounding like a total shrew. “How important?”

Luna scoffs. “It’s our friends, dude? You’re not supposed to just blow friends off, even if you do have stuff like this to do.”

“Well, okay, that’s fair. That’s totally fair. I’m a bad person for saying no to caroling with your friends because I have more important stuff to take care of,” Carol argues in an attempt to guilt trip Luna. But once the words leave her mouth, it’s her who feels guilty.

Luna takes a moment to digest her girlfriend’s words, nodding with understanding. “Alright. I get it,” she begins. “You’ve got more important things to do.”

She takes another pause to think about how else to react to what’s been said to her, and Carol can see the shroud of despondence that now hangs over her. “Nice going, idiot,” she says to herself. “Luna, hold on-” she starts, but Luna cuts her off.

“I’m gonna go back downstairs. I don’t want to keep our friends waiting anymore,” she states before grabbing her coat and walking her way over to the door. She stops there, and looks back to Carol. Where there seemed to be anger in them before, there now seems to be more sadness than anything. “If you decide you can make some time for us, you’re more than welcome to come along,” she tells her.

With that, she turns to make her way out the door, leaving Carol alone in the bedroom. She heavily sighs with a blend of many conflicting guilty emotions. Guilt for staying behind, guilt for keeping secrets, and a shallow sense of guilt for wanting to stay behind as a way to get back at Luna for trying to guilt trip her. Which, news flash, it worked.

Even so, she got what she wanted. Now she’s alone, and she has some time to do what needs to be done. She makes her way over to her backpack, and unzips it to pull out her drawing tablet and get it set up. She then takes a seat over on Luan’s desk with it, and lies it down on the table until the image of her latest art project manifests on the screen.

A roughly sketched drawing of her girlfriend Luna Loud with rock mega star Mick Swagger.

“Stupid Christmas…” she utters to herself with a heavy heart before deciding to get to work.

-----------------------

Lynn Sr. is in the kitchen singing along to the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album with the twins as they make Christmas cookies. “Christmas, Christmas time is near… Time for toys and time for cheer…” he joyfully sings as he mixes the batter in his bowl. Suddenly, he feels a tugging at the hem of his sweater.

“Ugh! Daddy! I want to lick the spoon!” Lola cries. Shortly after, Lana yanks her by her hair to take her place at her father’s side.

“I never get to lick the spoon!” she whines as she reaches up for the coveted confection covered spoon.

“Settle down, girls. Remember; Santa is always watching,” he reminds them, failing to realize that Cliff the cat has made his way up to the counter to try and sneak a taste of the cookie batter himself. “Dang it, Cliff,” he cusses, grimacing with a sense of defeat.

Meanwhile, Lynn Jr. and Lisa make their way into the kitchen, making a beeline for the refrigerator. “Okay, I know all of that mathematical hullabaloo already,” Lynn remarks regarding Lisa’s argument. “But bear with me here, Lis. Santa. Has. Magic,” she finishes with a clap.

Lisa rubs the bridge of her nose as she allows her older sister to open the fridge door for them. “I would continue refuting your preposterous claims about the supposed mythological phenomenons regarding that of the Coca Cola product that is Chris Cringle... but I’ll refrain from doing so. I’m far too famished, and pie sounds good,” she long-windedly tells Lynn.

Lynn rummages through the contents of the icebox with a conflicted look on her face. “Pi? Stop thinking about math for once. Let’s get some food.”

Lisa meets her with stoicism. “I walked into that one. Move over, Lynn dog,” she jokes.

“Hey! You know how I feel about that stuff!” Lynn retorts.

“Pish posh, applesauce. Speaking of applesauce…” Lisa ripostes as she maneuvers her way through Lynn to get her small hands on a treat. They disregard all of the Dr. Pepper they keep in the fridge, and the many fatty foods the other siblings share an affinity for in favor of an unfamiliar pitcher of… milk? Lynn takes it, and she and Lisa both study it.

“What is this?” Lynn asks as she takes a whiff of it. It doesn’t smell so good, and she cringes.

“Let me see that,” Lisa instructs, because weird smelling things usually mean there’s something fascinating to discover about them. She scrutinizes it for a moment before shrugging and deciding to take a sip of it. Once she swallows it, her face scrunches up all sickly like.

“Is it milk? Is it expired?” Lynn questions.

“That’s… not milk…” Lisa answers, shaking her head a little because of the concoction.

“Uh girls, that’s for me and your father,” Rita lets them know as she walks into the room with Lori and two year old Lily at her side. Their mother goes over to the fridge, takes the pitcher from her second youngest daughter, and then puts it away before making her way over to Lynn Sr and the twins.

Lori smiles at Lisa. “I see you found the eggnog. I remember my first time trying some, haha,” she recalls with a little laugh before making her way to the dinner table for a seat with little Lily.

Lynn Jr looks to Lisa for a moment as well. “You good, Dexter?”

“I… ahem… I’m going to go… uhm… science…” Lisa stammers before making her way out with a little fumble in her step.

Lynn makes sure to go escort her back to her bedroom, but not before filching a snack wrap from the fridge.

Rita taps her husband on the shoulder, and he defensively tenses up before realizing it’s her. “Hey beautiful,” she flirts.

“Oh, hey handsome,” Lynn Sr. jokingly says with a little less vigor before returning his focus to the cookie batter before him. “Uh, sweetheart, can you please tell our daughters to give me some space,” he asks.

“You’ve got it, Super Dad,” she jokes. “Alright, come on ladies. I think they’re playing Frozen in the living room,” Rita tells the twins, motioning them along.

“Aww! Frozen!” Lana happily cries, running into the living room.

“Aww! Frozen…” Lola groans, trudging along.

“You’re too good for us, dear,” Lynn tells his wife as she makes her leave as well.

“No… you,” Rita tells him with a wink.

Lori sits Lily in her chair, and offers her spoonful of sugar. “Is that good? Yeah?” she asks with a cutesy voice.

“I like it!” Lily happily announces.

“D’awww,” Lori gushes with glossy eyes.

Shortly after, her cell phone rings, and it’s none other than her beloved… “Bobby Boo Boo Bear!” she greets as she pecks the answer call dial, revealing his handsome face.

“Heeeey babe,” he draws out with a smile. “How’s everything going?”

“It’s loud,” she chuckles, “but I like it that way. How are you guys?” she asks.

From the other end of the line, her only brother Lincoln makes himself visible. “Hey Lori! It’s awesome over here!” he answers on their behalf. He turns back to look at the long line of people behind him all gathered to donate their canned goods to a certain Ronnie Anne Casagrande, who smiles as a charitable patron drops off her contribution in a bin.

“Thanks so much! Merry Christmas!” the eleven year old girl cheerfully expresses.

Lincoln and Bobby both look back to Lori through the phone screen. “It’s really great, babe. I can’t believe how many people showed up for the food drive.”

“Yeah, it uh-- It’s really great,” Lincoln says, wiping a single tear away from his eye with a sniffle.

“I’m really happy to hear it, guys. This is what Christmas is all about. Giving to others without asking for anything in return,” she tells them before smiling at her infant sister, who just looks unarguably adorable as always.

The smiles wane from Bobby and Lincoln as they feel a presence nearing them, and they turn to see who it is.

“Uhm, is that Lori?” the faceless voice nervously asks.

“Yeah! Do you wanna say hi?” Lincoln asks the stranger.

“Is that who I think it is?” Lori asks with a sly smile, “Tell him to get in here!”

Clyde timidly makes himself seen on the chat, and despite a little trepidation, musters words to say to her. “H-Hi Lori. I hope you’re doing well,” he politely greets. No nosebleeds, no robot sounds, just well mannered salutations.

“I’m doing great. I hope you’re having fun!” Lori tells him in response.

“Oh, yeah. It’s always fun helping others,” Clyde says with a little more pep, warming up to the casual conversation a little.

“It literally is,” she agrees.

Clyde simply smiles, and the other boys do too. “Well, I just wanted to check in and let you guys know we might be staying a little later than planned. I hope your folks are okay with that,” Bobby tells his girlfriend.

“Trust me, they won’t argue. Besides, we have enough going on over here with the twelve days of Frozen and Alvin,” Lori wisecracks.

“We only have each other! It’s just you and me! What are we gonna doooooooo?!” Lana carelessly sings from the living room, totally out of tune and time with the TV. Lola just buries her face in a pillow, praying for it to end as soon as possible.

“Are you seeing this Santa? I better get everything I want this year!” she bellyaches.

Luan, Sam, and Maggie all watch on from the foyer. While the former two find it amusing, the emo expectantly frowns. “Your sister is my spirit animal,” she jokes to Luan, who simply laughs in response.

Finally, Luna makes her way downstairs to join everyone, wearing the despondence from the argument with Carol on her sleeve. The others pick up on her depressive display, and are quick to ask about it.

“Is everything okay, Luna?” Lola is first to ask.

Luna dismissively waves at her. “I’m okay, Blondie. Got lost inside an adorable delusion, I cannot hide.”

The others frown. “Aww, is Carol not coming with us?” Sam questions.

“She… said she had some stuff to take care of,” Luna skittishly answers. Her disappointment is obvious, but she does her best to put on a front by fixing her posture and letting out a sigh before forcing a smile. “So hey, are you dudes still down to go caroling?”

“Sure! But you left your Carol upstairs, hahaha!” Luan jokes, but she quickly realizes it’s not the best time even before she notices everyone glaring at her. “Sorry… Bad time.”

Luna shakes it off again. “Naw, it’s all good dude. Tonight’s about having fun. I don’t wanna worry about it.”

The others exchange worried looks, but decide not to be so fretful with Luna’s encouragement. “Well, alright dear…” Rita starts. “You guys are gonna be home at a decent hour, right? You know how Flip feels about the neighborhood getting so Loud,” she reminds them.

“Flip can cool his tits,” Sam scoffs.

“Sam!” Luna blurts out.

“I like her,” Rita whispers to Lana, who nods in agreement.

“She has a pretty voice like you,” Lana comments, and Rita just smiles at that.

Sam continues her elaboration. “Yo, real talk. This is a night for fun and adventure. Anyone who isn’t into that stuff can either stay upstairs and do whatever, or go home,” she declares.

Maggie casually turns to make her way out the door, but Luan stops her.

Rita thinks over Sam’s declaration. “Wait a second… Carol has her own house…”

“I like Carol! Don’t make her leave!” Lola practically begs, jumping out of her seat.

“Relax… No one is making her go anywhere…” she assures the excitable tot.

The carolers all look to Luna, who fixes her eyes on the stairway. She wistfully considers the possibilities, but ultimately comes to the same conclusion as everyone else. “Yeah… No one is making her go anywhere…” Luna somberly agrees. The thought is saddening, but she refuses to dwell on it. Or at the very least, she won’t let it keep her where she stands. So she puts her big girl panties on and bucks up. “Alright dudes. Who’s ready to rock the Christmas spirit!” she cries with a smile.

“Yeah!” Luan and Sam cheer.

“Yaaaaaaaay,” Maggie sarcastically, lethargically moans.

Luan just smirks at this, then grabs her by the wrist to maneuver her towards the door. “Come on, sunshine.”

“Be safe you guys. Have fun! Keep your coats on!” Rita tells everyone.

“Everybody be quiet! First Time In Forever is about to play!” Lana demands of them all, practically shaking with excitement in her seat as she glues her eyes to the television.

Sam smiles at her display of childish wonder, then starts to make her way out the door. She notices that Luna isn’t quick to follow though, and looks back to her with a forlorn expression.

“Luna?”

The other girl lifts her head to meet Sam’s eyes, and after a moment of consideration, perks up a little. “Yeah. Let’s roll,” she says with a weak smile before walking to the door.

Sam returns a smile of her own, and with that, the carolers make their way into the night to spread Christmas cheer.

Minus a Carol.

Chapter Text

Stupid Juice

“Gah! Nothing’s working!” Carol groans as she reaches to grab at her tablet screen like a sheet of paper so she can crumple it into a ball of failure and misery and woe so she can toss it to the side like yesterday’s drabble. But, dang it, for all the benefits that come with SAI… simply pressing the new file button isn’t as dramatic. Another disappointment in a night chock full of them.

She leans back in her chair, letting out a heavy sigh as she looks skyward, hoping to find magic motivation in the ceiling somehow.

Surprise! It doesn’t come.

“Ughhh,” she moans again as she looks forward once more before rubbing her restless eyes. The mind is willing, but the body has grown a little weak.

“Let’s face it, I’m weak… I’m weak as fetch,” Carol cusses to herself before donning a wince. “Eh, fetch doesn’t work. Stick to what you know, C.”

She repeats this mantra as she looks down at her tablet, seeing the lack of progress on her Christmas present for Luna. “What I know is that, I blew off spending time with her so I could work on this stupid thing. So I need to do it and get it done. It has to get done. I PROMISED myself I would get it done. So why are you sitting here thinking about working on it, when you can actually WORK on it!”

She picks up her stylus and almost brings it to the pad, but catches herself freezing as she turns to her phone. There was a time when she loved it buzzing with messages from friends, or girls with the last name “Loud.” But now it was weird. She needed the thing to not buzz so she could focus on real life and actually getting productive things done like the boring, drab, almost mindless adult that she dreamt of being before meeting Luna Loud.

“Wow, that thought got depressing,” she thinks aloud before fixing her eyes on the phone again. It’s almost beckoning to her. Heaven knows she shouldn’t pick it up, but dang… she really really wants to. She gives in to the temptation. Just this one time won’t hurt. She’ll just check the time, make sure Mom and Dad haven’t called, and then get back to work.

Oh… but of course. The moment she presses the unlock button, she remembers just what picture her wallpaper is. Someone, she doesn’t even really know who, snuck a shot of Luna spooning her just in front of a window on a wondrous, snowy winter day. She was wearing her favorite black and purple sweater, while Carol was rocking a lovely blue sweatshirt of her own with little snowflakes patterned into the seams.

The smiles on their faces… Carol’s heart melts every time she sees it. It’s a reminder that it’s all real. Their love is real, everything they’ve been through has been amazing, and there’s just no telling how far they’ll go. She loses herself just staring at the image until her phone screen fades to black, reminding her that she has to lock these things out for the time being to focus on the task at hand.

“It’s for Luna… It’s all for Luna…” she whimpers.

“What’s for Luna?” a familiarly optimistic voice asks from the doorway of the bedroom.

Carol turns back, and sees Leni Loud. As per usual, the blonde is smiling, but she has on a fresh new sweater that’s, as the kids like to say, lit.

“Hi Leni,” Carol tiredly greets, turning back to her tablet to lock it before Leni can see her progress. The leaps and bounds she’s made on the blank canvas would definitely spoil her surprise for Luna. Totes. “I’m just uh… working on a commission for someone,” she answers with little enthusiasm.

“A commission?” Leni questions before thoughtfully putting her finger to her chin. “Oh! You mean like a drawing for somebody!”

“Yeah, exactly,” Carol simply responds.

Leni steps into a chipper little leap over to Carol, giddily looking over her shoulder. "Can I see?! I promise not to say anything to anyone! I’m totes better about keeping secrets now! Like, I haven’t even told anyone that Luan got Lola for secret Santa this year!” she blurts out without realizing she’s even leaked previously unknown information.

Carol rolls her eyes. Normally it would just be Leni enough to make her smile, but right now, not even her usual brand of delightfulness can keep her from feeling so humbug. Even so, she can’t take it out on the poor girl. Even if she wanted to be… her old self. Instead, she shakes her head, and gets back with the program. “I would any other time, Len. But this is uh… kind of important. I really can’t let anyone see what I’m working on,” she tells her.

Leni frowns. “Is everything okay, Carol? It gets a little lonely, all these empty rooms, just watching the hours tick by,” she thinks aloud.

Carol raises a brow at her oddly poetic statement. She is right though. Maybe she does need a little social interaction to get her mind and heart back in the right place. Leni could be a welcome distraction for a few. No arguing, no worrying, just some wholesome conversation. And hopefully she won’t turn it into Why aren’t you caroling with Luna?

Carol braces herself, and then turns to face the second oldest Loud sister. “I’m fine, Leni. Thanks,” she fibs with a little smile. “What have you been up to? What’s new?” she asks.

Leni giddily shows off her outfit. “Well, I think I’ve finally found the perfect Christmas wardrobe! What do you think?” as she poses.

“I think you look lovely,” Carol answers with conviction. “I especially love the little sparkles in your sweater.”

“Oh yeah! I got the idea from Luna!” Leni remarks.

“Aaaaaaaand there it is. Hello darkness, my old friend,” Carol thinks before she dejectedly sighs, wearing a rigid frown that not even Leni’s bubbly attitude can help her hide.

This makes Leni frown too. “Awww… What’s the matter? Your sweater isn’t so bad!” she comments.

Carol perks up at that with a Dwayne Johnson furrow of the brow. “What? My sweater is-- oh, never mind,” she gives up before she even gets started, settling back into a defeated slouch.

Leni grabs Luna’s bean bag chair, and clumsily gets it set up close to Carol before awkwardly taking a seat in it. She can’t help it, she’s trying, and Carol couldn’t laugh even if she was in the mood for humor. Ignoring her own lack of finesse, Leni focuses on the task at hand. “If there’s something making you sad, you should talk about it. It’s not okay to keep your feelings bottled up,” she states.

Carol thinks over her words for a moment. “I know. This is kind of complicated though…”

“How so?” Leni asks. “Like, is it your head, your tummy, or your heart?”

Again, Carol thinks it over, and her stomach growls a little bit. She’d been drinking too much soda lately. She really needed to get back to strictly milks and juices. Skim. No-pulp.

“A little of all three, honestly,” she admits.

“Hmm…” Leni hums. “I’d tell you to have some milk, but Lisa’s still asleep after drinking Mom's and Dad's special milk that was in the fridge. So maybe I can’t help you there. But I can try to help you with the other two! If you want, I mean… I can just leave you alone, too, if you’d feel better…”

Carol looks back into Leni’s glossy eyes. In them, she can see everything she needs to, everything she’s happy to know about the girl. She isn’t the type to ask out of boredom or self-interest, she’s the type to ask because she genuinely wants to help in any way she can, regardless of what price she’ll have to pay, big or small. She cocks half a smile. “You’re too good for us, Leni.”

“Please don’t say that,” Leni responds with a wince. “You know it isn’t true.”

Carol softly rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Yes you are,” she wants to say. But, she respects her wishes, and focuses instead on how to go about this conversation. Would it be so wrong to do just a little venting? If Leni was right about one thing (definitely not about her sweater. Bold Navy pulled through like every other time), it was that keeping things bottled up is unhealthy. Especially when she needs to get to work on this stupid drawing. So, she takes a deep breath. If Leni wants to help like she says she does, this would be a win-win.

“Okay… Well, you know how Luna and the others went caroling tonight?” she begins.

“I actually didn’t,” Leni answers. “I’ve been busy working on wrapping up my present for secret Santa. I… am not so good with tape,” she admits, rolling up her sleeve to reveal an abundance of tape stuck to her arm.

Carol winces, then leans forward to help Leni start getting the tape off of her arm. As she digs her perfectly manicured fingernails into the sticky tape, she contemplates how to continue their discussion.

“Okay, well, long story short, I was supposed to go too. But it totally slipped my mind, and, well… I kind of have more important things to do. Is that so bad?” she wonders.

“Well… it depends,” Leni responds, still letting Carol help her with the scotch tape. “You and Luna do spend a lot of time together. And responsibilities are important. It’s like Batman always used to say. With great power, comes great responsibility.”

Carol refrains from being snarky about that as she finishes getting the tape off of Leni’s arm. The other blonde rubs her now tender skin as she smiles back at her friend.

“Thanks.”

Carol sighs though. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m glad to hear you say that. It does make me feel a little better…”

Leni picks up on her blatant uncertainty. “Buuuuut?...”

Belatedly, Carol adds, “I still feel bad.”

Leni considers this for a moment. “Well, you did say you would go with her. And they probably are having fun,” she comments, earning a little scowl from Carol. “But hey! I know Luna. She won’t be mad at you for working hard on what you’re doing! And I know you’ll make it up to her. You two are totes perfect together!”

Carol can’t help it. She has to smile at that thought. “Thanks Leni. I really needed to hear that,” she confesses.

“You’re super welcome!” Leni tells her. Then, she softly chuckles. “You know… I always sort of knew you’d become part of our family.”

Not only does Carol’s heart almost burst from the way Leni refers to her as ‘family,’ but her curiosity piques into genuine attention. “I… thank you Leni. That means a lot. But what do you mean?”

Leni smiles as she sighs with relief. “Do you remember the first time you came over to our house?”

Carol laughs as the vague fragments of the memory start flooding her mind’s eye. “Oh man… Yeah. Yeah, I remember…”

The year was 2007, and Carol Pingrey was only seven years old. She had only recently moved to Royal Woods with her parents from Los Angeles, and while she had been excited about the prospect of moving somewhere to spend more time with her family (which turned out to be a lie) in the quieter, more friendly suburbs of Michigan (which was also a lie), things were really tough. Just like LA, she was another face in the crowd, and she didn’t have very much exciting going on besides the rare occasions of being partnered with kids at school who would be forced to socialize with her, and being able to draw in her notebook when teachers couldn’t be bothered by it.

That all changed when she met Lori Loud. The first girl to talk to her for more than a few seconds, the first girl to ask her questions about who she was and why she liked the things she did. The girl that would one day convince her to join the Bluebells, run for class president, and eventually become the woman she grew up to be. And yeah, it was rocky for a while once they got a little older and more concerned with popularity and meeting others’ standards after awkward transitions into puberty… But once upon a time, none of that mattered.

All that mattered was Carol finally made a friend. And she had four little sisters to play with! And a baby brother!

“I’m really excited for you to meet my family!” Lori exclaimed as they walked side by side. It was a cool autumn day, but still nice for walking. Jacket weather, perfect for Lori and Carol to show off their brand new, almost matching coats. Thankfully the bus stop was only a few blocks away from 1216 Franklin Avenue.

Carol really liked the way Lori dressed. So much so, that she actually decided she’d try to dress up more like her. It started with wearing more blue. Blue was a nice color, and it was Lori’s favorite. But she really liked her purple jacket. Her mommy said she looked good in purple, and with time, she came to accept that as well. But not for a long while after that fateful autumn day. The very first day she’d come to Lori’s house for a play date!

“I’m excited too,” Carol simply said with a small smile on her small face. What she really wanted to say was “I’M SO HAPPY TO FINALLY BE GOING TO A FRIEND’S HOUSE!” but she decided that was probably a little much. Even as a young child, she astute. No need to spaz.

“I can’t wait to show you my bedroom! It used to be all mine before my parents made my stinky sister start sleeping there too,” Lori pouted.

“It must be nice to have sisters. Even if they are smelly,” Carol thought to herself.

“But it’s okay,” Lori furthered. “Leni likes a lot of the same things I do. We play dress up, and sometimes we color. I know you love coloring.”

“I do love coloring!” Carol chirped. In reality, she was more fond of drawing than actually coloring, but she didn’t want to argue about it. It was better just to let Lori assume this. It was just nice being acknowledged, even if it was kind of… wrong.

Finally, the two girls came within eyesight of the Loud house. In retrospect, not much would change over the next twelve years, except for a few more coats of paint, and the amount of feet that would pitter patter along its floors. Everything else would virtually stay the same. Including just how endearing Lynn Loud Sr and his loving wife Rita could be. They stood on the front porch, watching as their youngest daughters Lynn and Luan played together, passing a little red ball back and forth. They shifted their focus to the incoming seven year olds. While Lori smiled wide as she prepared to run to her parents, Carol idled by with an unsure, nervous gait to her.

“Mommy!” Lori hollered as she hurried to make it to over to her parents, who both looked on with smiles of their own.

“Oh-ho! Hey there!” Rita got out as Lori squeezed her little arms around her as hard as she could.

“Mommy, Carol’s here! That’s her!” she cheered as she pointed over to her shy guest.

Lynn Sr and Rita exchanged happy glances before looking over to the young girl. “Hello, Carol. We’re very happy to have you over,” Rita greeted the Pingrey child.

She really, really wanted to respond with a wave and “Hello, Mrs. Loud. Hello, Mr. Loud,” but she froze. Instead, she just timidly looked back to them, feeling her neck shrink into her shoulders before she could let out a weak little, “Hello.”

The Loud parents were respectful and understanding. They had six children. They knew this type of behavior could be expected of little girls. “Make yourself at home, Carol. If you need anything, just let us know,” Lynn told the girl.

“Lori, why don’t you take Carol inside. I’m sure she’d love a glass of water,” Rita suggested.

“Eww! Water!” a three year old Lynn Jr. cussed as she caught the ball Luan passed to her.

“You should get her a juice box! She’ll be berry happy!” Luan joked.

“Haha! That was clever!” Lynn Sr. chirped with pride. “I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!”

Rita rolled her eyes at the exchange of silliness, and disregarded to give her oldest daughter more attention. “Sweetheart, when you go inside, would you check on your brother? He’ll probably wake up from his nap soon.”

“Okay, mommy!” Lori gladly agreed before rushing back to Carol. “Come on, Care! I wanna show you my brother!” she said to her as she took her by her wrist.

“Uh… oh-okay,” Carol skittishly said before allowing herself to be whisked along into the house in what was seemingly a blur.

And there she found herself, actually standing in Lori’s house. For a moment, she was nebulous. It was surreal. She’d only ever seen a few other people’s houses, but only when her mother and father were taking her somewhere. For the first time in literally forever, Carol was at a friend’s house! She was so happy, she couldn’t even smile. The muscles in her face were practically paralyzed as she looked around at the wonderful new world around her. Pictures of Lori, Leni, uh… the third one, Luan, Lynn, and the baby all plastered along the walls. New walls that didn’t seem cold. New carpet that seemed more inviting than linoleum. This wasn’t just a house. It was a home.

Lori finally looked to Carol, and snapped her out of her daze. “Well, this is my house,” she started.

Carol broke herself from her stupor to meet Lori’s blue eyes. “I like it!” she almost instinctively blurted out, immediately regretting it. It sounded so dumb, so spazzy.

But Lori just kept smiling. “I think I do want a juice. Do you want one?” she asked.

“I like juice,” Carol simply said. She wasn’t nearly as tactful then as she would grow up to be.

She followed her friend into the kitchen, and inside, they would discover two other children close in age. Of course, there was Leni. She was in first grade, so Carol would see her around school sometimes. But then there was… poop. Lyra? Lena? Something L. The one with brown hair. She was in kindergarten, and wore really pretty purple dresses. Normally, the two girls were prim and proper. Any time Carol would see them walking in the halls of Royal Woods Elementary School, they’d have bright, shiny smiles on their faces… unless Mrs. Johnson was making them do stupid lips and hips.

But at that moment in the kitchen of the Loud house, the two girls were arguing over what appeared to be a juice box just like Lori and Carol had coveted.

“Let go of it, Luna!” Leni commanded her younger sister. Luna. Right.

“Stop! I’m telling mom!” the third youngest Loud argued as Leni attempted to take it from her.

“Will you guys stop! My friend is here!” Lori yelled at them. Five minutes inside the house, and her sisters were already messing everything up for her.

Carol could only watch with trepidation at the display. Weren’t brothers and sisters supposed to be nice to each other? Share things? Play together? Not fight over silly ol’ juice boxes… But they continued, and somewhere in the middle of the kerfuffle, Luna accidentally squeezed the juice box, making a mess of juice on not just the floor, but herself. Her older sisters froze, and Carol did too. They all looked to the sole brunette, who met them all with glossy, watering eyes…

“My dress!” she cried before bawling. Yup. Carol’s first experience with Luna was watching her literally cry like a little girl.

“Ugh! Nice going, Leni!” Lori scolded at her.

“Me?! I never do anything wrong! It’s always you guys!” Leni defensively retorted.

Sensing the air of hostility, added to the fact that Luna’s crying was only getting louder, and Lori decided she needed to put her big girl panties on and bite the bullet. Not because she cared or anything, but because she didn’t want to get in trouble the one time she brought a friend over. “Okay, okay. Sorry, Leni,” she apologized. “Now help me clean up this juice before mom and dad come inside.”

“Hmph. Why should I?” Leni petulantly pouted with folded arms.

“Pleeeease Leni?” Lori begged.

Leni considered it for a moment, but then rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine,” she conceded.

With that, the two girls frantically began scurrying about to find something, anything to clean up the stupid puddle of juice on the floor. Unfortunately, they had no such luck. Worse yet, Luna was still crying her eyes out over spilled juice. She was a ticking time bomb. At some point, their parents would hear her, and they’d come marching in, Luna would tell on them, and then they’d be in trouble! And poor Carol… all she could do was stand and watch, totally unsure of how to react to any of it. It was all too strange, too new, too scary.

Finally, Lori made the call to action. “Carol!” she hollered.

Carol quickly bucked up to look to her with doe eyes, but she couldn’t get a word out.

“Help us find something to clean up!” Lori ordered before running out the room. “I’ll check the bathroom!”

“And I’ll check the living room!” Leni announced before running in the direction of the back door. She realized halfway there that she was going the wrong way though, and quickly turned back to go the other way, nearly tripping over her own little feet.

They were gone. As quickly as they came, they were gone now. It was just Carol, paralyzed with anxiety, and Luna, still bawling like a banshee.

For a little while, all Carol could manage was to stare and watch at the poor girl. Her pretty purple dress was covered in grape juice, and if they didn’t do something soon, it would probably stain. It was time for Carol to be brave. She thought to herself, “Okay, I have to be like Lori!” and with that, she too started hurrying through the kitchen to find something to help. Her mind and heart were both racing millions of miles an hour as she desperately looked for a towel, or a cloth, or even an old piece of paper just to help even a little bit. It was the end of the world! They were all going to get in trouble, and Carol wouldn’t never be allowed to come back to her house!

She worked too hard to make friends with Lori. She wouldn’t let it be ruined by something as stupid as stupid juice.

Just as it was all starting to seem hopeless, Carol found them. Trusty old paper towels. They were high up on the kitchen counter, where grown ups could get to them easily, but little ones… eh, not so much. “Dang it,” she cursed under her breath upon seeing this.

“You- you- you said a bad wo-o-o-ord…” Luna stammered through her hysterical crying.

Carol ignored her. Man, she was annoying. No way they’d ever be friends like her and Lori. Fat chance. But, it was her little sister, and if she wanted to stay over and play and do all the things friends were supposed to have fun doing, she’d have to fix it, and fix it soon. So, she got up on her tippy toes, and tried as hard as she could to reach up for the paper towels on the counter. “Nuh, unh… Come on! Come on!” she uttered as she reached and reached and reached, hoping to get just the tips of her little fingers on the dumb roll. Realizing her stature wouldn’t be sufficient enough, she knew she had to try harder. She had to jump! She had to leap! She had to have confidence in herself to actually do this! And dang it, she wouldn’t give up until her dainty, scrawny hand finally grazed the paper towels.

“Huah!” she elatedly gasped as she felt them. “Almost! Almost!”

Finally, they gave way. She was able to strike it in just the perfect way to make them fall and roll down to the floor.

“I did it!”

She smiled at her success, but it soon escaped her as the deafening siren of Luna’s squalling pervaded her mind once again. Yeesh… she was loud. The loudest Loud, easily.

“Luna… Luna!” Carol called to her, trying to calm her down.

Finally, the five year old ebbed a little on her crying to look to Carol. Snot was running down her nose, greasy fingers were smearing her shabby clothes. She was a mess. She really wasn’t ugly. She just looked really goofy with a juice spot on her dress and a face full of tears and snot.

“Here, let’s clean you up,” Carol said to her with a soothing voice before picking up the roll of paper towels. She then stepped over to Luna, ripped off a couple paper towels, and began using them to dry off her soiled tummy.

The outrageous bellyaching gradually simmered down into just a few tears and sniffles. Whatever Carol was doing, it was helping, and she had to smile a little with pride.

“Heh, I guess this is what it’s like to be a big sister,” she commented as she finished up drying off Luna’s dress to the best of her ability. It didn’t help the stain, but it was at least making her less damp.

“M-My dress is still- still…” Luna stammered, unable to finish.

“It’s okay. Lori will know what to do,” Carol assured her. “She’s really smart.”

For a brief moment, the two children met eyes. In Luna’s, there was still pain, still anguish. But there was also a sense of relief. She didn’t have to cry anymore, things would be okay. So, Carol smiled at her. It was the least she could do for the poor thing.

Finally, Lori and Leni returned, the former holding a box of tissues, and the latter carrying a roll of toilet paper.

“Carol,” Lori began with a look of disbelief.

The guest turned to proudly smile at her friend, “It’s okay Lori. I’m helping her get cleaned up.”

“Who cares about her?! We need to clean up the spill before my parents come inside!” Lori argued.

It made Carol sad. She didn’t know any better, and Lori didn’t have to yell at her for it. “Oh…” She watched with a heavy heart as Lori and Leni rushed over to take the paper towels, and then use them to clean up the puddle. It didn’t take very long for them to wipe it all up and discard the trashy towels, but it still felt like a little while for Carol. This visit was nothing like she’d hoped it would be.

The mess was cleaned up now, and Luna had stopped crying. The best part? Mom and Dad seemed none the wiser. There was still the matter of Luna’s now stained dress though. “Alright, come on Luna. Let’s go get you changed,” Lori worriedly told her as she walked over to her.

“But- but, I like this dress,” she whined.

“I know you like it, but it’s messy. Have Leni go help you change,” Lori refuted.

“But- but mom and dad?”

“Don’t worry about it, we’re not gonna get in trouble,” Lori insisted before turning to Leni. “Leni,” she simply said with an authoritative tone.

“Sir yes sir!” Leni called out with a salute before taking Luna by the hand to escort her upstairs. “Come on, Lulu. Let’s get you dressed up!” she gladly beamed.

Luna couldn’t form actual, coherent words. She just sort of jumbled up noises as tears and sniffles still managed to escape her.

Soon after, they were gone, leaving Carol and Lori to themselves once again. For a moment, it was weird. Carol couldn’t look at Lori. She still felt bad about making her yell, and she didn’t want to say anything to make it worse. She just wanted to help. She just wanted to make it so they could have fun and play like they were supposed to do. But eventually, Lori spoke up. “Okay… Sorry about my sisters. They can be really dumb sometimes,” she started, all of the excitement gone from her voice. Back was the nurturing nature that made her so endearing to Carol  before, and it didn’t take very long for her to recognize it.

Yay! She wasn’t made after all! There was still hope! “It’s okay,” Carol simply said. She didn’t want to overdo it. That should be simply enough.

Evidently so, because Lori was over the juice incident in no time. “Hey! Come on! I want to go show you Lincoln! And then maybe we can go to my room and play something!”

It was like an enormous weight had been lifted from Carol’s shoulders. Finally, they were going to go upstairs and be alone. After a lifetime of waiting for a moment like this, it would finally be happening. Carol’s dream of having a real friend was coming true. And yet, the only way she could feel comfortable putting it into words was…

“Okay!”

The moments leading up to the two children making their way to Lori’s room seemed to pass by in slow motion. Carol could feel her palms sweating profusely as she followed her upstairs into more uncharted territory, the second floor of the house. Structurally, it wasn’t much different from her own. There were lots of doors that went into lots of rooms, but the difference with this house was that people actually occupied them. To seven year old Carol, the thought was equally exciting as it was kind of scary. As much as she didn’t like being alone, sometimes it was good to be.

Finally, they made it to the doorway. While Lori casually just opened the door to let them inside, it was almost something out of a Disney movie for young Carol. A big, bright shiny light shown it’s way out, birds sang a song, her eyes grew big and glossy.“There it is,” she thought to herself, “That’s her room!” It was amazing. Sure, it was pretty much what she expected, but it was still amazing! Not only did Lori have a really nice Princess Pony bed dress, but there was a second bed where Leni slept, too! She had monkeys on hers. There was a little table for coloring and drawing (yay!), a big doll house, stuffed animals… they’d be able to play all evening in here!

It was literally almost enough to bring a tear to her eye.

“So,” Lori began as she faced her companion for the afternoon, “What do you wanna play first?”

“Uhm… What?” Carol uttered. She was asking her what she wanted to do first? How was she supposed to respond to that?!

Fortunately, before she could make a butt out of herself with some sort of dumb response like “You pick, it’s your house,” or “I don’t know. I’ve never played with someone outside of school;” Leni came to the door, a worried expression on her face.

“Uhm, Lori?”

“What is it now?!” Lori snapped.

“Can you come into the babies’ room for a sec?” she timidly asked.

“Oh, poop!” Lori cursed, “I forgot about Linky!”

“Well, that, and Luna’s about to start crying again…” Leni furthered.

Lori heavily sighed at that. “Alright, I’m coming,” she told her sister before following her out of the room. Maybe she just forgot Carol was there or something, because she didn’t tell her what to do. She just left her standing there, alone in Lori’s room with all of her lifeless toys. They were pretty neat when Lori was here, but now they just reminded her of what it was like to be at home with parents too busy to play… Maybe she was supposed to stay in here and wait, maybe she wasn’t. Either way, she really didn’t want to. Besides… Lori did say she wanted to show Carol her brother. So, she invited herself to go check in with Lori and her siblings in the other room. She was lucky she caught Lori trailing off into the room she did, or she would have had to have looked for her in some sad version of hide and seek.

She even almost blurted out “Wait!” but caught herself before she could. Thank goodness. That would have just been weird of her… Disregarding all of the icky feelings of doubt and anxiety brewing up inside of her, she peddled along to catch up with Lori, pussyfooting into the same room that she and Leni disappeared into. Inside, Lori and Leni stood next to a melancholy Luna… who was on the verge of tears again, and dressed in clothes much different from what she normally wore.

“Where did you find this?!” Lori guffawed upon seeing the wardrobe Leni selected for their little sister.

“It’s my old Nikki Stevens costume from last Halloween,” Leni reminded her.

Gosh, Luna looked so different wearing a rockstar’s drab and not a frilly dress. Kind of dumb too, but, Carol wouldn’t dare tell her that after what happened earlier…

“Oh Leni…” Lori facepalmed. “She hates it! Can’t you find something else?”

“Mom is doing laundry today!” Leni cried.

And poor Luna… she was about to cry more than Darius Rucker when the sun comes up tomorrow. It was in that moment that Carol felt her adrenaline begin to surge inside of her. Dang it, this kid already put her play-date in jeopardy enough today, she was not going to let it happen again. But, she also knew what it was like to feel sad, to feel ugly, to feel like someone less than everyone else in the room…

She knew just what to say to Luna. The same thing she wished someone besides her mother or father would just tell her…

“I think you look really pretty!”

The three Loud sisters all looked over to Carol with conflicting expressions. Disbelief, skepticism, nausea?...

Through heaving breaths, Luna was able to ask, “R-Really?”

Astutely recognizing what Carol was thinking, Lori quickly joined in. “Yes! My goodness, Luna… You look amazing!”

She then shot a glare at Leni signifying that she do the same. Despite sometimes failing to pick on these kinds of things, Leni realized what Lori meant this time pretty fast.

“Oh, oh! Yeah! That’s why I picked this one, Luna! It makes you look like a punk!”

Carol imagined that Lori thought of some grown up words as she facepalmed again.

“Whuuuuh?” Luna got out, clearly upset with the term Leni used to describe her just now.

Carol, being the very smart young lady all the grown ups told her she was, was quick to think of a smooth recovery. “She means like a star! You know? You look like a really cool punk, dude!”

Luna was able to find a smile through all of her sadness, thanks to those words. “I’m… cool?”

“Oh, the coolest!” Lori chimed in. “In fact, you’re so cool, I think you should go show Mommy and Daddy!”

Luna beamed brightly at that, seemingly dropping whatever had her so upset before. “Okay!” she chirped before making a beeline for the door. “Mommy! Daddy!” the other girls could hear her hollering as she hurried her way to them.

Leni and Lori sighed of relief. “Thank goodness…” They then turned to Carol. “That was ridickyolous,” Leni tried to say, pronouncing it as such.

“Yeah it was,” Lori agreed. “Hopefully she just plays with Luan and Lynn and leaves us alone.”

Carol could see that the other girls were okay with this. Maybe she should have added something too…

“Yeah! I want to have some fun!” she blurted out, regretting it as soon as she did. Gosh, what a dumb thing to add...

Luckily, Lori nor Leni seemed to think much of it, as they just smiled while the former agreed with, “Me too!”

Just then, the sound of a baby’s whimpers became audible. Ever so quietly, he began quietly cooing. For Carol, it was enough to bring her some panic. Was he going to cry like Luna? Would they ever get around to just playing and having fun? But Lori and Leni didn’t get excited. They just grinned to one another before pacing over to the baby’s crib, and pulling up little step stools so they could check on him.

“Come here, Carol!” Lori invited her friend with a wave, “I want you to meet Lincoln!”

“O-Okay,” Carol stuttered. Truth be told, she hadn’t seen too many babies. It was almost intimidating to think that Lori and Leni treated it so casually. Even so, it was important to have courage… like Lori. Lori was really brave. With that, the little girl walked her way over to the step stools where the others stood, where she would soon be invited by the hand of Lori for help up. Carol smiled as she took it, a warm feeling coming over her. She let Lori pull her weight so she could join her at her side. Then, once she knew she was steady, she placed her little hands on the edge of the crib so she could take a look inside. And there he was, baby, white haired Lincoln. His tiny body wiggled around as he worked his weary eyes open, and then he fixed them on the girls. For a moment, he just studied the big people, fascinated by their presence, but far from afraid. In fact, he even spit out his pacifier so he could meet them all with a little smile.

“Awww,” Carol quietly blurted out. He was amazing. So small, so cute, but just as real and alive as anyone else in the room.

Lori glanced over to her friend with a little smile encroached on her face. “He’s my favorite. He only cries when he’s hungry,” she jokes before slyly grinning at Leni.

“Hey!” Leni playfully retorted.

Carol heard them, yeah. But she was hypnotized by the small child lying in the crib, smiling up to her. At one time, she was that little. And one day, he’d be big like her. One day…

“I hope I can be a mommy someday,” Carol said to the others with dreamy eyes.

“I think you’d be a great mommy!” Lori encouraged. “You take good care of things, and your baby would have really pretty hair like you!”

Hearing that made the warm feeling inside of Carol cascade into something even more wonderful inside of her. That was only something a real friend would say. “You really think so?” she asked with a little bit of a blush.

“Really, really,” Lori answered with conviction in her baby blue eyes.

For a little while, the two simply smiled to each other before turning their focus back to little Lincoln. Babies were supposed to cry a lot, Carol thought. But Lincoln was just happy to be here with everyone.

Lori patted Leni on the arm to get her attention. “Hey, will you go to tell Mommy that Lincoln is awake?” she asked.

“Okay! Are you guys gonna play without me?” she asked with some concern.

“No. We’ll wait for you,” Lori assured her.

Leni was content with her answer, and so she stepped down from her stool to hurry downstairs. “Okay!”

Once she was gone, Lori turned to meet Carol with a smirk. “I’m not waiting for her,” she confessed. Which, truthfully, was more than okay with Carol. Sure, she was excited to be around with Lori’s sisters, but what she really wanted was to just have her to herself for a little while.

“You literally lied to her!” she playfully teased with a little jostle to Lori’s arm.

“Haha, I did,” Lori shamelessly admitted before stepping down from the stool and waving goodbye to her brother. “See you later, Linky.”

He just cooed. The kid couldn’t be better.

Carol looked to him once more with a little smile, and gave him a soft little wave of her own. “Bye bye,” she quietly said before stepping down to follow Lori out of the room.

She caught up to her friend, who started thoughtfully humming. “Hmm… I like that word…”

“What word?” Carol asked.

“Literally. I think I’ll start trying to say it more,” she decided.

“Heh, would you say you literally like it?” Carol joked.

“Heh heh, yeah, I literally do!” Lori joked back.

They shared a laugh at that. It was really nice. All this time, Carol found herself so worried that maybe she liked Lori more than Lori liked her. But here they were, laughing at each other’s jokes, smiling at each other, and doing it all in Lori’s house. She was just so excited at the thought of it! It was all she ever wanted! But at the same time… she was scared. Was it all in her head? Did Lori really even like her? She didn’t know how these things worked, and she was so tired of worrying. All she wanted was to let it go, and be allowed to freely enjoy having a true friend.

So much so, that she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She had to say something. “Hey Lori,” she began with a little trepidation.

“Hmm?” Lori hummed in response, her attitude as bright and bubbly as ever.

It wouldn’t be easy. Maybe there was still time to play it off like she just wanted to know where the bathroom was or something. But then she repeated a familiar montra to herself that helped her when she felt afraid… “Be brave. Like Lori.” So, she took a deep breath, then said what she needed to say to her. “Lori, are we friends?” she asked. Such a simple, short question. And yet the weight behind it was so heavy, so powerful. If she said yes, she wouldn’t have to feel doubt anymore. She could just be happy enjoying the other girl’s company. But if she said no… Gosh… She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if she said no… She felt a whirlwind of worry inside of her as Lori looked to her with a conflicted expression on her face. Was she confused? Flustered? Was this all too much, too soon for her? If it was… oh man… Carol wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears… Her entire life she had dreamt of having someone like her! The last thing she wanted was to ruin it!

She just shouldn’t have said anything…

Then, as Carol was wallowing in the prison of her doubtful mind, Lori blinked with surprise.

“Carol…” she began.

Then, she smiled wide.

“Of course we’re friends!”

Carol had to blink a few times herself. Was she hearing her right? Did she just say what she’d hoped she would say? She wouldn’t dare utter another word even if she could have. Now more than ever, Lori had all of her attention.

“You’re really nice! And I like a lot of things about you!” Lori told her. “You dress really nice, and I like playing with you at recess!”

Okay, maybe Carol could have expected her to say yes… but actually say that she liked playing her at recess? No way. “Really?” she keenly questioned.

Lori took a second to think about how to respond, and smiled when she came up with something. “Yup. Actually, I think you might literally be my best friend.”

Somewhere in the distance, the Hallelujah chorus had to be playing somewhere. Hearing Lori tell her that was literally her best friend was almost enough to make her swoon on the spot. They hadn’t even gotten to playing yet, and this was already the best day ever. But she kept her cool. She was more than happy to hear Lori lay these claims, but between all of the excitement and maybe tuckering herself out a little, or maybe just realizing even at the age of seven that it was never good to spaz out… she was okay with just accepting the truth, cherishing the fact, and going to play with her best friend. “Wow… I think you’re my best friend too, Lori,” she simply said.

And while she had just expected Lori to leave it at that and lead her to the bedroom, she found herself pleasantly surprised once again as Lori smiled wide, and then wrapped her arms around Carol for a great big hug. Her heart pitter pattered into a pounding as she felt Lori wrap her into her sweet embrace. Now she felt like crying because of how dang happy she was.

“We can be best friends forever!” Lori cheered with glee as she continued squeezing Carol in her little arms.

Dang it, that did it. Not only was Carol smiling wider than maybe she ever had in her life, but she literally shed a single tear of joy as all of her insecurities and fears were washed away with one simple gesture. She couldn’t have been happier to return Lori’s hug with one of her own, so that’s what she did. She wrapped her arms around Lori too, allowing herself to exchange these feelings of love and acceptance without a care. They savored the moment in each other’s arms, really letting it last before finally breaking away to meet each other’s eyes once more. With the same bright, bubbly attitude as before, Lori smiled at Carol. “You never answered my question from earlier, silly,” she said.

Carol met the statement with some dissonance. “What question?”

“What do you want to play first?” Lori responded as she gestured towards her open bedroom door.

It was truly amazing how much could happen in such a short amount of time. In what was only a matter of minutes in the Loud house, Carol had been on a roller coaster of emotions, steering her in the direction of hurt, comfort, fear, and ultimately, most importantly… true happiness. It was mostly because of Lori. Heck, it was pretty much all because of Lori. But she had to admit, part of it came from being there for baby Lincoln, and being there for little Luna.

“Can we play house?” Carol suggested, somewhat nervously.

Lori met her a brief pause, almost as if she would decline. But in an unsurprising move, she brightened up at the thought. “Sure! I love playing house!” she chirped. “Let’s go!”

Carol chuckled a carelessly free and happy chuckle. Nothing could bring her down now. Nothing. “This is going to be so fun!” she cheered.

Lori paused again, donning a sly smirk. “Literally.”

And with that, they hurried their little feet into the bedroom, where they went on to play and have fun for the rest of the afternoon.

Literally.

Carol and Leni both let out nostalgic sighs as they conclude their reminiscing in the past. Despite still feeling some of the same guilty feelings from before, Carol also takes comfort in knowing how well things have gone in the lifetime leading her up to this very moment between her and Leni. A girl who is not only the sister of both her best friend and her girlfriend, but also someone she can trust and confide in. Someone who feels strongly enough to label her as 'part of the family.'

“Leni… Thank you,” Carol starts, almost having to force it from herself instead of choking up.

Leni meets her gesture with some of her own brand of confusion. “Thank you? For what?”

Carol contently nods. “For just checking in. It means a lot,” she explains. “Not just this one time, but always. You’re always taking so much time to make sure others are okay. Heh… You’ve really changed since the first time I came over,” she ends with a tender rib.

Leni smiles at her words. “I guess we all changed a little bit,” she simply says.

For a moment, the two of them look away from each other to instead focus on fascinating spots on the floor. In the time inside her own mind, Carol comes to a decision. Maybe this would be a small way to return all of Leni’s kindness, and maybe it’s really her own selfish way of getting to express herself. But she decides to do it for one big reason. She wants to share it with Leni, a person who deserves the best in her eyes.

“Hey, Leni… Do you still wanna see what I’ve been working on?” she invites with a shimmer in her eye.

Leni meets her surprising display with some conflicted feelings. “Uhm, really? Are you sure? I mean… You did say it was a secret.”

Carol nods softly shakes her head. “That doesn’t matter. I trust you. I think you’ll like it,” she elaborates.

Leni considers her offer for a moment, but decides to go ahead and allow it with a wide smile beaming on her cheeks. “Sure. I’d love to!”

At her blessing, Carol takes the tablet that she was using to work on her newest project, and searches for her initial sketch of Luna and Mick Swagger. She finds it, and looks to it with a blend of both pride and shame before handing it off to Leni. “Check this out,” she says, playing it cool like she’s known to do.

Leni accepts the tablet, and studies the picture for a moment before her eyes widen up and her mouth forms an O shape. “Oh, wow!” she comments. “This is really cool, Carol!”

“Thank you,” Carol simply replies. “It’s just a sketch, I’m going to start working on the actual thing now,” she explains. “If I could ever stop feeling sorry for myself…” she quietly trails off for only herself to hear.

Leni just exuberantly admires the drawing for a little bit before donning that same familiar confused expression as before. “Wait a second… Why is someone paying you to draw Luna with Mick Swagger? Is this from the same guy who asks you about those cannon pictures?”

Carol tries not to be snarky with her disbelief over Leni’s failure to pick up on the situation. “Leni, no one commissioned me. This is a present for Luna,” she reveals.

Leni takes a second to digest the information before finally being able to wrap her head around it. “Ohhhhh… So, this is what you’re getting her for Christmas,” she deduces. “And… this is why you stayed home. You want to get it done in time for then,” she further speculates.

Carol heavily sighs. It was one thing to keep the knowledge to herself and bear it, but to hear it from someone else-- Leni of all people… it really sinks in just how crummy it sounds. “Yeah, that’s why I’m here and not caroling with her and the girls right now,” she guiltily admits.

Leni notices her friend's blatant despondence, and rests a comforting hand on her leg. “Hey, it's okay,” she sweetly starts. “When she sees this picture that you worked really hard on, all she'll be thinking about is just how much it means to her,” she claims with confidence.

“Shyeah, if I could ever get to work on it,” Carol ripostes.

Leni smirks because of this, and then stands up with a proud posture. Carol meets her haughty display with some concern as she raises a brow.

“Where are you going?” she asks.

“I'm going to go see if my dad needs any help in the kitchen. You're going to stay here and get to work on your present for Luna,” she firmly, yet lovingly orders as she makes her way to the door. She turns back to look to Carol one last time with a smile before she makes her exit, though. “Luna knows you love her, Carol. We all do. Just keep doing your best to make her happy, and you'll be happy, okay?”

Carol allows Leni's advice to sink in, and she feels a warm, happy feeling come over her because of them. Maybe there would still be doubt, but with Leni's encouragement, she believes now that she can make the best of the situation. “Thanks,” she simply says once more, smiling at Leni once more.

She returns the gesture, and then creeps her way out the door before gently closing it behind her.

And with that, Carol finds herself alone once more. She takes a deep breath as she focuses on getting focused, “Okay…” and then stands up to return to her workstation with the drawing tablet. Before she opens the file back up to resume her project, she decides it will help her to stay motivated with some music to accompany her. In a way, it will be like she's not alone. And in a way, it will be like a little piece of Luna will be with her.

So she takes out her phone, and unlocks it to see that lovely wallpaper of the lovers on that winter day. She allows herself to get lost in the image for a moment before opening up her music app, and getting her “Luna” playlist booted up. The song to play is “Back to December” by Taylor Swift. It was a song Luna recommended to her after a great debate about Alan Jackson and the descent of country music, and it’s held a very special place in her heart because of it. As the beginning notes from the mandolin begin to play, she takes one more deep breath, and then focuses on her tablet.

“Let's do this…” she says before placing the stylus to screen and getting to work.

By the time she's started, the song has made it to the last line of the chorus, and Carol sings along with it.

“And I go back to December all the time…”

Chapter Text

Stupid Cans

About an hour and half passes before Carol’s phone dies in the middle of…

“NO! SLEEP! TILL BROOK-lyn?” the girl sings as she realizes her soundtrack has been sabotaged. “What the-?” she utters as she checks the phone, discovering its untimely death. “Boo, you whore,” she cusses at it before tossing it over to Luan's bed. It's in this moment that she realizes just how tired her eyes are from staring at a screen for so long, how uncomfortable her butt and back are from all the sitting, and how dry her mouth is.

“Dang, how long has it been?” she questions as she peeks over to the Tenacious D wall clock Luan and Luna agreed upon buying.

6:26. About an hour and a half, alright.

She rubs her eyes before looking down to her work in progress. While it was starting to shape up into a finished product, she isn't so sure it’ll be just right. Some of her lines are too rigid. Some of her shading is off. If she doesn't focus more on Mick’s jawline and less on getting Luna’s chest right, the whole thing will be a waste of time, and...

“Okay. I think I've earned a short break,” she tells herself before she can beat herself up anymore. She doesn't need this negativity in her life. A few minutes away to focus on not completely hating her work will probably be healthy. She stands up from her seat and stretches her well taken care of… everything. She'll cut down on soda eventually, but for now, she knows she looks good enough to enjoy some as long as it helps her get so much work done.

And speaking of soda…

“Ahhh… I could go for a drink,” she thinks aloud with a yawn before deciding to make her way out and go to the kitchen. She scratches her back before doing another little stretch (ergonomic chairs are best to avoid irreversible coccyx damage), and during her brief pause, she overhears some indistinct humming from one of the nearby bedrooms. She peaks around, and finds the humming is coming from none other than Lisa. Much like Carol’s been doing for the last ninety minutes, the girl often labeled a child prodigy sits at her desk, face in one hand, pencil in the other as she intently looks upon a large sheet of paper with all sorts of daunting numbers and words plastered all over it. They're likely schematics for one of her devices or machinations.

From the sound of it, she appears to be humming the opening lines to Do You Want To Build a Snowman, and only stops to take a swig of the Coca Cola can resting to the side of her. Ugh, Coke. Definitely not Carol’s favorite drink, but she understands the struggle. She can definitely sympathize with a kid trying to sugar herself up to finish a project.

She can’t help but stand there at the toddlers’ doorway for the while and just admire Lisa. The fact someone so young could be so talented and smart for her age was borderline jealousy inducing. Carol always strived for perfection. It was no secret. But she had to a much slower road getting to her Ivy League scholarships compared to the second youngest Loud daughter’s path to getting her PhD in biochemistry. The Carol before Luna would have made excuses or unjust claims about the unfairness of it all. But the Carol today can only watch in awe, a warm sense of pride for the girl radiating inside of her. Even crazier? She somehow manages to keep quiet enough not to wake her younger sister Lily, who sleeps in her bed only a mere few feet away from her.

Seeing that the little one is asleep and that Lisa is occupied, Carol decides to go ahead and mosey on out. She’ll gladly have herself a Dr. Pepper before getting back to busy-bodying. As she prepares to step away though, she catches Lisa’s eye. The bespectacled girl does a little double take to be sure she actually sees Carol there, and when she’s certain she’s real and not some sort of mirage that’s the result of too much caffeine, she offers her some salutations. “Hello, Carol. I see you’ve decided to remain here for the duration of the evening, unsurprisingly.”

Carol looks back to her, and belatedly responds, “Heh, yeah. Home away from home.”

“I suppose there are worse places you could take residence. And you have proven to do well enough as Luna’s significant other, despite the statistics being against your favor,” Lisa continues without actually looking to her. Instead, she focuses her little eyes on her spreadsheets, dutifully working away on algorithms and variables that Carol won’t pretend to ever understand.

“Statistics?” Carol repeats with skepticism. Maybe others don't see what makes ‘Caroluna’ work, but she doesn't care. She knows things are good. Or at least, they are for the most part.

“Disregard,” Lisa simply states before leaning back in her chair and letting out a heavy sigh. She rubs the bags under her eyes with her little hands, and then turns back to steal a look at her sleeping baby sister. She’s still resting comfortably, which is all the assurance Lisa needs to focus on other pressing matters. She studies her schematics for a moment longer, but then lets out a “Bleh” before taking another drink of her Coke and facing Carol.

The older girl can’t help but chuckle a little at her display. “Heh, you look a little tired,” she jokes.

“Full disclosure, I’m feeling rather lethargic,” Lisa admits while rubbing one of her corneas. “I have a deadline to meet on this assignment I’m working on with some fellow colleagues for another fellow colleague, but experimenting with my parental units’ apparently alcoholic concoction earlier today forced me to take an impromptu siesta… causing me to fall behind schedule,” she details as she checks the watch on her wrist.

Carol frowns at that. “Yeah, I get what that’s like,” she simply responds, letting her somber eyes meet the carpet below.

However, Lisa doesn’t become distressed. In fact, she just shrugs. “It’s inconvenient, but there are just some variables one can’t account for. Let it go, let it go,” she ends with a little roll of her hand. The five year old genius then rolls her chair around to face Carol, and meets her with her usually indifferent expression. Unlike Maggie, she doesn’t seem grouchy or grinchy though. She just seems… okay with things. “But enough rambling from myself. How are you, Ms. Pingrey?” she casually asks now.

It takes the older girl a bit by surprise. Usually when she encounters one of Luna’s sisters, they start hollering about mudpies or football. Then again, it wasn’t often she caught them alone. She hardly got Luna to herself in this house. It was a nice change of pace to have someone express some interest in engaging in casual conversation with her, especially someone who could meet with her on a more sophisticated level like little Lisa. She’ll gladly take advantage of the opportunity.

“I’m well, thank you,” she sort of fibs as she decides to go ahead and pull up a chair. “I’ve kind of been busy working on my own little project, actually.”

“A project, you say?” Lisa inquisitively replies. “Of what caliber?”

While she decided her secret was probably safe with Leni, she tells herself now that it’s probably better to keep the details of her own deadlines ambiguous. As long as Lisa is interested in genuine conversation without weird ulterior motives involving DNA samples, no harm could be done keeping it to herself. “Well, I don’t know if you know this, but I occasionally take art commissions for extra money. It’s not that I really need the cash, but it’s a good way to make use of my talents I’d like to think,” she admits. If anyone could understand the logic behind her reasoning without labeling her things like pretentious, it would be Lisa.

“Oh, I understand completely,” Lisa responds. “To paraphrase the old cliche, it’s questionable to perform tasks and services for others without requesting compensation when you’re able to execute them well.”

Carol chuckles a little at that. “Exactly! But yeah, that’s what I’ve been working on. A new commission.”

Lisa nods with understanding, retaining her collected nature as she often does. “Splendid. Some people like to view the holiday months as a time to put off responsibilities and distract themselves with an overabundance of leisure time and relaxation. But I would argue that this time of year requires more hard work and dedication than other seasons!” she proclaims before glancing over to her unfinished work. “Coming from the girl who’s procrastinating to enjoy a soft drink and water cooler talk with a confidante,” she adds with a little smile.

Carol gladly accepts that as her way of admitting they’re on pretty good terms, and she smiles back. “We’re ridiculous,” she remarks before looking back to the floor. What was really ridiculous was how she was supposed to be working on her project, and now she's talking to Luna’s little sister. Not Luna.

Dang it, this was going well. Why did she have to remember that she’s here because she didn’t go caroling with her girlfriend?

Noticing the subtle change in demeanor, Lisa decides to inquire on this. “Am I sensing a hint of despondence from you, Carol?”

Carol dismissively waves at her. “No, I’m fine,” she lies. “It’s like you said. Just because it’s Christmas time doesn’t mean we can’t just decide to stop all of our important work and… go caroling…” She couldn’t finish saying it with confidence. She wants to believe she’s in the right, but she still feels guilty, and it really shows with the way she dejectedly slouches at the thought.

Which incites Lisa to prod further. “Hmm. Perhaps,” she thoughtfully begins. She takes a moment to consider how to go about furthering the conversation, but soon composes what she considers to be a sufficient follow up. “Tell me, Carol… you wouldn’t happen to be regretting declining Luna’s invitation to join her in yodeling her so-called ‘Christmas carols,’ would you?” she questions with air quotes.

She meets the inquiry with a guilty wince. She considers possibly responding with anything less than the truth, like blaming her drop in serotonin levels on a lack of energy or being frustrated with her lack of progress on the ‘commission’ (which, wouldn’t be entirely false, actually). But seeing that Lisa already knows what’s up, she decides to just spill the proverbial beans. “Alright, you got me. I feel crummy for staying home to work on my drawing,” she admits, folding her arms and hunching a little with shame. “But it’s really important! I have a deadline! I can’t just put this thing off and expect it to finish itself!”

“Boy, wouldn’t that be serendipitous,” Lisa scoffs. Despite it being more of a witty comment for the sake of amusement, she takes a moment to think about the scientific potential for something that could fulfill such a purpose. “Hmm… I should write that down,” she says before actually, literally writing it down on her notes.

Carol just continues with what she was saying. “I mean, I don’t know… I guess I did tell her that I’d maybe go caroling with her. But with everything else I’ve had going on between school and trying to work around everyone’s holiday schedules, it just kind of slipped my mind.” She frowns now, the slight guilt now resonating into sadness. “Lisa, if I can trust anyone to be brutally honest with me, it’s you. Tell me straight. Am I a bad person?”

She allows herself a moment to digest all of Carol’s statements, and then glances back at Lily to make sure she’s still asleep. Seeing that she’s just as well as before, she returns her focus to Carol, and offers her the following as a response. “Well, to be wholly transparent, I am not exactly an expert on romantic endeavors. While I have conducted some research on the data studies involving success rates of high school relationships for… ‘screening purposes,’ I also lack personal experience in this area considering my attentiveness for academics. Not to mention I’m five,” she states. “This must all come as quite the shocker, I know.”

Carol takes in Lisa’s information, but decides to say nothing else until she’s heard a little more. After all, Lisa is a girl of science. She’s only getting started forming her hypothesis.

“You’ve asked me if I consider you a bad person, and the short answer to this vague, nondeductible question is simple. No, I do not think you’re in the wrong here. In fact, I can list several reasons why I find your reasoning for staying behind to work on your assignment to be far more fruitful,” she furthers as she steps down from her chair. In typical Lisa Loud fashion, she walks her tiny legs over to a nearby whiteboard, and rolls it over to where she can display its contents for Carol to clearly see. On it, there are several algorithms recorded, all pertaining to proving Why Coca Cola is Objectively Better Than Pepsi. Seeing Carol’s look of confusion regarding this, Lisa tells her, “A colleague and I were ‘memeing’ as the kids like to call it.” She then erases the contents from the board to get a fresh start.

She takes a black marker, and presses it against the board. As soon as the tip meets the canvas, it makes a loud squeaking sound, and both girls feel a sense of panic as they frantically turn to look to the third person in the room.

The sleeping child is unfazed by the sudden, sharp noise that pervaded the air, seemingly resident to the world of slumberland for just a little while longer.

Carol ebbs on her sudden stress, and Lisa wipes her brow as she lets out a sigh of relief. “Heh heh, the board likes to squeak sometimes.” With a little more consideration, she proceeds as she was. Carol attentively, curiously watches as Lisa begins forming a bullet point list. “Okay, so, first thing’s first. You have a deadline,” Lisa says as she writes down deadline along the first bullet point. “As I’m sure your experience as the lead editor of your school’s yearbook has taught you; deadlines are crucial to meet. You have a client. They’ve offered you compensation for your services. Speaking of which…”

She then writes compensation on the board.

“You’re making time for something important, and you’re earning revenue that you can use to buy Luna a present.”

“Wow Lisa, that makes me feel so much better,” Carol wants to say, but she keeps it to herself despite rolling her eyes.

“And lastly… There’s always next year…” Lisa concludes as she writes next year before placing the cap of the marker back over the tip. Barring any external circumstances, I trust you'll still maintain ties with Luna by then.”

Carol wants to shrug it off and let what Lisa is telling her stick, but between fatigue and just feeling all around crummy, the logic in her words don’t inspire. “I know… I know…” she simply says, slouching over and letting her pouty face fall into her palm.

Lisa sees this, and thinks of how to approach her next point. “Hmm. Perhaps you do. But have you considered this?” Lisa asks before removing the marker cap once again and turning to the board. This time, instead of quickly scribbling down a few letters, her arm moves in several different ways, piquing Carol’s curiosity. She finishes, and turns back to face Carol with her same neutral expression as she reveals a new drawing on the board. It depicts crudely drawn doodles of who appear to be Luna, Sam, Luan, and Maggie. “Ms. Shrinivas has suggested I make more time to work on developing my art skills,” she dryly reasons.

Carol meets the gesture with some confusion. “Okay? It’s Luna. And the others. But why are you showing me this?”

Lisa takes a moment to let a yawn escape her and glance over to Lily once again before returning her gaze to Carol. “Well, again, I’m not the proverbial Dr. Phil when it comes to soft sciences. However, I know enough about these things to recognize the great possibility that your significant other, my sister, is likely doing well with the company she has,” she explains. “In layman’s terms, I think Luna can have some fun without you.”

Carol raises her brow and places a hand to her chin. “Okay, I mean, I would hope so,” she says with a bit of a scoff.

“Please don’t misinterpret my message,” Lisa replies before taking a seat back on her computer chair. “What I am about to say is strictly an attempt to help you overlook your feelings of sadness in order to accentuate the positives.”

This… is new. It definitely is unlike Lisa to make such a great effort to be a human venting station, at least from what Carol has seen. And yet, here she is, going out of her way to accentuate the positives.

“I may not be able to illustrate this for you with pen and canvas as well as you’re able to with your drawings, but I might be able to paint a metaphorical picture for you…” She then turns around to face her computer once more, and makes sure to sneak in a swig of her lukewarm Coke before focusing on punching in some sort of codes into some sort of program.

Carol just meets the foreign servers with even more confusion, and allows her eyes to wander over to the sleeping child just a few feet away from her. And she can’t help it, seeing sleeping Lily makes a little smile stretch across her face. Even with everything that brings her stress, she has to admit to herself that knowing Lily was happy, healthy, and safe brings her joy even in the toughest of times. And she knows Luna and the others feel that way even more.

The idea of family being together always made her happy.

Finally, it appears that Lisa has finished up whatever it is she’s doing on her desktop as she lets out a cliche “Aha!” She then swivels back around to face Carol again, this time with a smile on her mug.

“Of course. Science makes her smile,” Carol thinks, but again, she keeps her snide comments to herself in order to let Lisa have the floor. “What?” she simply asks.

“Carol, if my calculations are correct… Which, who are we kidding here? They always are. But if they are correct, then I might be able to tell you just exactly what you’ll be missing out on this evening thanks to a simulation I’ve run using this fascinating new program of mine!” Lisa excitedly tells the older girl.

Carol takes a moment to digest her words. “Simulation? You mean like… you plugged some stuff into your computer to like, tell me what the others are doing without me?”

Lisa nods and smiles. “Yup.”

Many, many questions run through Carol’s mind. Why would Lisa have such a device? How did it work? When did she make it? It just seemed impractical. And… kind of campy. Like something out of a dumb fanfiction story.

However, only one question matters enough to her to actually put it into words for Lisa to hear.

“What did it say?”

The starry night sky glows over the snowy streets of Royal Woods. Mothers and fathers escort their sons and daughters along to admire the Christmas lights displayed along the houses and street corners, and said streets are alive with the sounds of music, most of which come from carolers moving from house to house to spread Christmas cheer.

Carolers like Maggie, who lack cheer unlike Luan.

“Oh come on, you snow you like caroling with me, just admit it!” Luan jokes to the girl trying to walk fast enough to stay ahead of her.

She rolls her eyes. “I sang because it would have been conformist of me not to. I'm so nonconformist that I go against what typical nonconformists do.”

Luan chuckles at that. “Well holly ‘bout that? You've actually goth into the Christmas spirit! Hahaha!”

Maggie frowns harder than usual. “I am not a goth! Get it right already!”

“Ahh, you're right. I'd say I'm gonna end up on the naughty list, but I know you emo kids are pretty listless!”

Maggie stops I'm her tracks, and thoughtfully looks skyward before meeting Luan with an approving nod. “Okay, that one was clever,” she admits.

“Why thank you,” Luan proudly replies, and the girls continue walking forward on the sidewalk.

Just a few feet behind them, Sam Sharp and Luna Loud watch as they follow, and the latter lets out a little laugh. “Oh man, those two are a riot,” she comments before smiling at Luna. However, Luna is unable to meet her with the same level of enthusiasm, instead offering only a weak little grin as she keeps her hands snug in her coat pockets. The display concerns Sam, who raises a brow. “Dude, are you alright?” she finally asks.

Luna perks up a little bit with surprise. “Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. Why?”

Sam furrows her brow to make it clear she isn't buying it. “Well, between moping and pouting since we left your place, and singing flat back at the McBrides’ house…”

“Is it that obvious?” Luna asks, choosing to concede instead of argue against what her best friend seemingly knows to be true.

“I mean, kind of,” Sam sorrowfully states. “I'm sorry about what happened with Carol, dude. But you don't have to pretend you're not upset about it just for the three of us,” she concludes, pointing out Luan and Maggie as well.

The aspiring comedienne continues playfully razzing her seemingly unamused companion, now joking with her about how her mother only has one toe and one knee. “That's why her friends call her To-ny! Get it?!”

“I want to bury you in the snow,” Maggie bluntly ripostes.

And despite everything, Luna has to smile a little at that exchange, which makes Sam smile too. “Man, how did those two end up together?” she asks.

“A bunny,” Luna answers.

“Gary?” Sam asks.

“It's a long story,” Luna responds. She then lets out a sigh, her somber thoughts returning to her. “Sam, can I ask you something?”

“Nope,” her blue and blonde haired friend teases, but the unimpressed look she gets as a reward lets her know that now isn't the time for jokes. “Sorry. What's up?”

Luna takes a moment to consider her words as she looks to the white blanketed ground running along the sidewalk, remembering how her last encounter with her beloved ‘Care Bear’ went. “Was I wrong? I mean, should I tell Carol I'm sorry I'm bad? Sorry I'm blue?”

Sam thinks it over. “Well, I mean, if you want me to be honest, I don't think either one of you is like, wrong. I just think you guys could have handled it better. Both of you could have.”

Luna winces. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better? Cuz it's not workin’ dude...”

Sam Sharp sharply sighs. “Okay, if you want me to tell you you're the bad guy here and you're in the wrong, I'm sorry, but I can't. You told Carol we were all doing this together. But you knew she had a lot going on. I don't think it's anything to be depressed about.”

Even so, Luna has a hard time believing her words, because she still hangs her head lowly. “Maybe… But I don't know. I'm still kind of ticked at her, and I'm still kind of ticked at myself. Love hurts sometimes.”

Sam frowns upon hearing those words, but then tries to brighten up with a smile. “Yeah, it does. But it's also really great, especially when you have someone as awesome as Carol, and she has someone as awesome as you,” she reassures as she wraps her arm around Luna for a brief little hug. “You two will work it out later. But for now, just try and focus on why we're here. Playing it loud and playing it proud in the name of Christmas cheer!”

Luna sighs, but allows Sam's words to ring true inside of her. Maybe there is still some hope for this night to be fun. “You're right, Sam. You know you're right,” she says with a little smile.

Sam removes her arm from Luna, and slyly grins. “It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small.”

Luna rolls her eyes. “You and Lana can take your Frozen and stick it where the sun don't shine.”

“Santa is watching, little girl. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake…” Sam sings, eyeing the brunette with a look that shows just how desperate she is for a sing-a-long.

And Luna decides to let her have this one. Partly because she decides it might help her feel better, and partly because... she knows from watching Maggie with Luan that it's usually easier just to let her idiot friend be an idiot. She can't fight this feeling anymore. She's forgotten what she started fighting for. “He knows if you've been bad or good,” she continues, gradually brightening up with her own little glow.

And Sam, being the good idiot friend she is, she sings along with her. “So be good for goodness sake!”

They continue into the next verse, getting a little louder, and a lot more cheerful.

“Oh, you better watch out, you better not cry! You better not pout, I'm telling you why! Santa Claus is coming… to town!”

They burst into shared laughter, really just enjoying themselves and forgetting all about the important mushy stuff they were discussing. The night is young! And just as Sam said, there’s still plenty of cheer to be spread through song!

However, with all the pouting and then singing they were preoccupied with, they sort of lost track of just where they were heading. Luna notices this first as she looks around at the unfamiliar area around them. “Yo, Sam. Where even are we?”

Sam ebbs on the silliness as well to address Luna's concern. “Huh. I actually don't know.” She then decides to holler to the two girls ahead of them, hoping they have some sense of direction. “Hey Luan!”

The chipper fifteen year old turns back to face her immediately older sister and her friend. “Yeah?”

“Where are you going?” Sam follows.

“Oh! Uh, didn't you say you wanted to end up at Ortega Avenue?”

“No, that’s where Ronnie Anne is holding her food drive,” Luna answers back.

“Oh. Well I can see why I made a mistake now,” Luan jokes before turning to Maggie with a wide smile, hoping for some encouragement. In a shocking twist, Maggie just frowns, unfazed by the pun.

Luna stops and takes a moment to consider their current situation, thoughtfully tapping her chin with her finger.

Sam sees this, and decides to pry a little. “What'cha thinkin’, Moon Moon?”

“Hmm… Well… I guess we could drop by and see if Steely Anne needs a hand with anything. What do you guys think?” she asks her friends.

They all exchange careless little shrugs, and smile. Okay, so Maggie doesn't smile, but the others do. “Sure, why not?” Luan answers on their behalf. “I could get a laugh watching Lincoln act all weird around his crush.”

Sam meets Luna with a smirk regarding her sister’s statement before acknowledging her directly. “Yeah, you would know all about that, wouldn't you Luan?”

Luan and Maggie both blush and meet the older girls with doe eyes. For a moment, they're more frozen than Anna’s heart, but then Luan relies on her tactfulness to form a rebuttal. “Uhh… I don't get it, heh heh,” she laughs before nervously rubbing the back of her neck, being sure not to look at Maggie and instead focusing on a super interesting spot on the pavement below. Shockingly, super shockingly, Maggie does the same.

Luna and Sam just smile at one another. “Alright, let's roll, Autobots,” the third oldest Loud instructs, and with that, they press on to Ortega Avenue.

Up ahead in the distance, she sees a shimmering light. Her head grows heavy and her sight grows dim, so she stops for the night.

The light comes from the angel sitting atop of a large Christmas tree set up in the middle of the Ortega Avenue Church parking lot. Lines of people have formed in front of little kiosks with signs labeled Can Food Drive. The dozens of denizens are gathered around to offer what they can for a cause greater than getting presents for themselves, but rather making sure others without that luxury can have a Merry Christmas. And it’s all thanks to Ronnie Anne Santiago, and her older brother Bobby. Ronnie Anne stands happily at her kiosk where she awaits another charitable patron’s donation. “Thank you! Merry Christmas!” she graciously tells them as they drop off their box of canned goods for the drive. As they walk away, she looks down to the box, and opens it to find three dozen cans inside.

“Wow!” she can’t help but blurt out. “Guys, check this out!” she hollers to the two boys assisting her.

Lincoln Loud and Clyde McBride (commonly referred to in collectivity as ‘Clincoln McLoud’) walk her way, and look to the box of goods as well. Both boys don similarly awed faces upon seeing the considerably big donation.

“Woah!” Clyde comments.

“That’s like, the biggest drop tonight so far!” Lincoln adds.

And despite the amazing occurrence, Clyde can’t help but let out a dejected sigh. “Man, I kind of wish we could see more drops like this…”

Lincoln raises a brow at his statement. “What do you mean, buddy?”

Ronnie Anne sighs too as she realizes what he meant. “Yeah, I feel that Clyde. It would be kind of nice if people could give a little more,” she admits. But she takes a breath as she fixes her posture, choosing to be optimistic. “But hey, every single can counts. I’m just happy people are trying to help out.”

Lincoln warmly smiles at the girl. It isn’t the first time she’s made him feel this fuzzy feeling in his chest, the one that makes him look to her with the compassion he does. “You’ve put together something really awesome here, Ronnie Anne. Thanks to you, some kids in the neighborhood won’t be going to bed hungry for a little while.”

Ronnie Anne looks to him, and sees the way his big, stupid glossy eyes look at her like that. God, he always did this to her. Why couldn’t he just be subtle about his feelings like normal people? Sometimes, she wanted to kick him in his perfect teeth. Other times, she wanted to just hug him tightly until his white haired head popped off. Today, she decides to just settle for playing it cool. That’s one thing she can usually manage. “Thanks for all your help, Lincoln. Seriously, it means a lot…” she starts with a warm smile in return. She doesn’t let the mutual gaze last long though. “Alright, get back to work, lame-o. These cans won’t stack themselves,” she instructs as she passes off the box (which is actually kind of heavy for twelve year old boys who don’t get a lot of exercise) to the lad.

“Oof. Uh, alright, I’m on it!” he simply responds, trying not to hide how shaky his arms and legs are as he turns away to put the cans away. Ronnie Anne just watches with a little smile, and maybe a little blushing, as he and Clyde go back to their business.

“You got this, Lincoln!” Clyde encourages his best friend. “Though, be careful not to strain your knees.”

Meanwhile, Bobby stands on a stage erected for the occasion, where he attempts to fix something wrong with the PA system all while his grandfather Hector watches on with incredulousness… and maybe some disappointment.

“Oh, for Blarney’s sake, Roberto… It’s all a matter of jiggling wires!” the mustachioed man cusses.

“Ugh, well, I’m not wired to jiggle wires!” Bobby retorts as he keeps trying to do just this to a rafter above. While finagling with the system though, he catches glimpse of some familiar faces in the distance, gradually drawing nearer. He shifts his focus to them, and squints his eyes enough to see that they belong to the four carolers who walked all the way from Franklin Avenue. A smile stretches on his eager face. “Luna!”

He hops down from his step stool to rush off the stage, and the other drive workers all shift their attention from their respective activities to see what’s got him so excitable. Upon seeing the resident rocker of Royal Woods and her clique of carolers, Lincoln does the same. “Luna!” he cries just like his proclaimed ‘bro-in-law,’ and he takes a moment to consider his next move between her, Clyde, and the heavy box of cans. If he could, he would shrug as he comes to a decision. “Take care of these for me, will ya Clyde?” he asks, and before the other boy can even answer, Lincoln is unceremoniously handing him the weighty box.

“Oh, oka- WAHH!” he cries as the box is pretty much dropped in his arms, and Lincoln darts in the direction of his older sister.

He and Bobby cheerfully idle in the same spot as they await the foursome to step forward. Luna, Luan, and Sam smile at their warm welcome, and Maggie just kind of exists like she's known to do.

“Hey guys. How goes the fight?” Luna asks her brother and sister's boyfriend.

“It's going great! We just got a really big drop, and the night isn't even halfway over!” Lincoln chirps.

“A big drop? That's great!” Luan congratulates, leaving dumb jokes aside for once.

“Oh yeah, tonight is shaping up to be great. It's enough to drive me crazy!” Lincoln replies, choosing not to leave dumb jokes aside.

The others smile and roll their eyes, minus Maggie of course.

“Well, that's food for thought, haha,” Luan jokes back, now inciting some groans from the others… including Ronnie Anne, who now takes her place at the side of the other freckled girl with an affinity for purple hoodies.

“Man, he's such a nub,” she comments regarding her best boy friend.

“His sister is even worse,” Maggie furthers.

Disregarding all the tomfoolery, Bobby takes it upon himself to ask the newcomers about their surprise arrival. “So what brings you ladies here? I thought you were all caroling tonight?”

“Well, we did hit a few houses,” Sam answers on their behalf. “But we kind of got lost following these two wanderers, and yeah.”

Luna smiles at Ronnie Anne now. “But hey! Since we're here, maybe we could help out? I see you've got a pretty big turnout!”

Ronnie Anne proudly looks around at the event she organized, feeling an equally empowering yet humbling warmth overcome her. “Yeah, it did turn out pretty great.” She then looks to her older brother, meeting his eyes for just a moment before shifting them to Lincoln. It catches him off guard, and he finds himself somewhat entranced by her gaze. She sweetly smiles at him as she says, “And I couldn't have done it without the help of some really great guys.”

Lincoln nervously laughs at her seldom sincere statement, but she keeps her eyes fixed on him instead of bashfully averting them. It's pretty awesome for Luna at least, who can't help but love what she sees.

Eventually, Ronnie Anne looks away from the white haired boy through, and turns her attention to her previous post at the drop off kiosk. Clyde has assumed responsibility of her station, where (despite showing visible signs of fatigue) he does his best to keep servicing contributing patrons. She turns to Luna and company once more, offering them one more smile and a little wave. “Well, I should get back to work. Thanks for dropping by though, guys. If you really wanna help, I'm sure Bobby can find something for you guys to do.” She leaves it at that, and then turns to walk away with her hands inside her hoodie pockets.

“Okay, see ya!” Sam tells her with a wave of her own, and then the remaining members of the group exchange looks with one another.

It's Bobby to speak up next. “Okay, so I was working on the PA speakers a little bit ago, but I'll be honest that that kind of stuff isn't exactly my forte. Maybe you guys can help me out with that?” he suggests.

“Sure! Chunk has taught me a thing or two about rigging up amps, so maybe I can figure something out,” Sam offers.

“Yeah, and speaking of speakers, I’ve messed around with some tech in theater class,” Luan adds.

“Alright, wicked!” Bobby chipperly responds. “Let's get to it before abuelo has a coronary…”

The young man turns to head to the stage, but only Sam and Luan are eager to follow. They all look to the stragglers with uncertainty, and while Lincoln looks a little distraught about being left with nothing to do, Luna grins, and Maggie… Well, it's Maggie.

“Come on, Magpie. A little electrical work might spark your interest!” Luan tells her with an inviting wave over.

The pale ravenette rolls her eyes. “Fine… But only because there's a chance you'll set yourself on fire,” she states before making her way over to her oddly dissimilar friend.

Sam sees the way Luna and Lincoln linger behind though. “You coming guys?” she asks.

Luna waves her off before Lincoln can even own his mouth to speak. “We're fine, dude. Work your magic.”

It's sufficient enough for Sam to simply shrug and go ahead with following the others, which leaves Luna with her only brother. For a moment, the two idle silently where they stand, with Luna still smirking at Lincoln, and Lincoln still showing some anxiety.

“Heh… Luan and Maggie sure are an interesting pair, huh?” he says to break the awkward silence.

But Luna won't let him ignore the elephant in the snow so easily… “Yeah, I guess they are. Kind of like you and Ronnie Anne,” she somewhat teasingly tells him.

He rolls his eyes and sighs, realizing she won't let it go. “Alright, I already know where you're going with this,” he says to her.

Luna just plays it cool though, choosing to lean up against the nearby railing as she continues. “Nah, I won't harp on it. I know how you feel about meddling,” she starts. “But, you know, if you ever feel like talking about this stuff, I’ll be right here waiting.”

Lincoln ebbs a bit on the apprehension, allowing himself to relax as he rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry to jump the gun there. Just… I mean…” He looks over to Ronnie Anne to make sure she's occupied and out of earshot, and fortunately, she is. With that, he turns back to Luna, and takes a deep breath before proceeding. “I don't know how to approach her about this anymore. Like, I mean, it's obvious there's a lot of chemistry between us… But I still don't know if she feels the same way… or if she'd want to do anything about it even if she does.”

Some of Luna's amusement at his expense escapes her as she digests what he had to say. It was… relatable. “I respect that. I hear ya,” she simply says to start. She stops leaning against the railing now to fix her posture as she levels with him. “I mean, I know you're only twelve, but feelings are feelings bro. You can't choose how you feel about people, and you can't choose who you feel them for.”

Somberness draws from her lingering breaths, and Lincoln can read her like an issue of Ace Savvy. “So, speaking of uh… ‘this stuff’… where's Carol? I thought she was supposed to come with you guys?” he asks.

Luna winces as she looks skyward. “Yeah, she was supposed to. But I guess she had other things to worry about.”

Lincoln takes a moment to consider his response, and decides the following might be best. “Well, whatever it is, I hope she gets it worked out. And if you decide you wanna, you know, talk about it… I'll be right here waiting,” he offers with a smile.

Luna smiles back. “I know, little dude. You're good.”

For a moment, they just share the feeling of compassionate understanding with this mutual gaze, but before it can overstay its welcome, a familiar raspy voice calls out to Luna.

“El luna! Como estas?” Hector greets the girl, approaching her from behind.

Luna turns to acknowledge him, offering him a sincere smile and inviting him into hug. “Ah, Senor Casagrande? Muoy bien! Y tu?”

“Muoy buena, muchas gracias,” he answers as he accepts her embrace, and then he disengages to greet her younger brother. “Lincoln, you had better get back to helping Ronnie Anne. You wouldn't want her spending too much time alone with Clyde now, would you?” he teases.

They all look over to the kiosk, where Clyde clumsily drops some cans, causing Ronnie Anne to face palm. Luna covers her mouth to muffle her laughter, and Lincoln just shakes his head with amusement. “Yeah, I better go help out,” he says, and then he looks to his sister once more. “Thanks for the talk, Luna. I'll see ya again after bit.”

“Go on, get outta here ya mongrel,” she slips into her British accent to tease him.

He just chuckles, and then makes his way back over to the kiosk where he belongs. Luna then turns her attention back to her fellow guitarist, who laughs a little laugh. “Mongrel, that’s funny,” he remarks. “So not only are you clearly fluent in Espanol, but you’re also cultured in the ways of the old English?”

“I even speak a little French,” Luna jokingly responds. “But nothing I can say in front of the kiddos.”

Hector teasingly wags his finger at her. “Now now, missy. You know Santa frowns upon naughtiness.”

Luna laughs. “You know, you’re not the first person to tell me that tonight,” she tells him as she looks up to the stage for Sam. The blonde takes Bobby’s place on the step ladder to begin tinkering with the box of wires on the rafter above, and her peers just inquisitively watch until Luan decides to pull an oldie-but-goodie on Maggie. She just barely pokes the other girl’s shirt enough for her to look down, then glides her finger up to bonk her nose. And of course, Luan gets a good laugh from it. And to Luna’s surprise, a little smile actually grows on Maggie’s face with the gesture.

“Heh, there’s just something about this time of year that brings out the best in people, isn’t there?” she thinks aloud before turning back to the older gentleman.

He nods in agreement. “Yes, yes there is. And speaking of the best in people… I just happen to have a very good friend of mine waiting ‘backstage’ if you’d like to say hello to them,” he lets her know.

She dubiously raises a brow. She knows it isn’t Mick Swagger, and she knows deep down it probably isn’t the blonde haired, selfie loving princess she’d really like it to be… But even so, her curiosity has been piqued. “Oh?”

“Follow me,” Hector simply says with a cool little wave, and he leads her up the stairs to the back of the stage area, where his personal acoustic guitar is propped up against some scaffolding. He looks to Luna with a sly, keen expression, and Luna can’t help but chuckle a little.

“Ah, I see. You’re friend is beautiful,” she plays along. “Not as beautiful as Carol though…” she wistfully thinks to herself.

Hector picks up the guitar by its neck, and extends it for Luna to take. “While my ‘handyman’ of a grandson works on getting the speakers fixed, why don’t you provide some entertainment for these fine folks? After all, I heard a rumor you’ve doing quite a bit of singing already tonight.”

Luna studies the guitar and the man holding it for a little bit as she considers the possibility, then looks out to the many unfamiliar faces forming lines all along the lot of the church. Despite her own troubles, and despite feeling some petty sadness over Carol not being here, or the likelihood of more tribulation the next time they meet… seeing all of these people gathered together for the reason of giving to those less fortunate makes her own misfortune seem…

“How did Sam put it? It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small?”

With that thought, she decides to go ahead and take Hector up on his request. “Alright, Old Timer. You drive a hard bargain,” she jokes as she accepts the guitar.

He shrugs. “Hey, that bodega doesn’t run itself.”

With the guitar in hand, Luna paces her way over to the front of the stage, disregarding the looks she gets from strangers and friends alike. Once upon a time, Carol told her about feeling like a natural giving presentations because she knew she could do well. And, despite some flubbering in front of stupid Mr. Sunderland during a certain lecture on Richard Avedon and his influence on 21st Century Photography, she proved her point more than well. For Luna, she can take similar pride in her own work. When time is on her side, and the moment is right, she can deliver the goods with any wicked axe or beat up box better than just about anyone… even if she’s a little out of tune.

At least, she’s perfectly capable with the right muse. And the right audience.

She decides to go ahead and keep it casual since there’s no mics, amps, or cameras, and goes ahead and takes a seat on the ledge of the stage. The occupants of the lot all systematically grant her their undivided attention upon seeing her colorful punk garb and quaint little six string, and she takes a breath to calm her nerves before starting. She forms her fingers in a G shape, and then begins strumming along to the rhythm in her head, the rhythm in her heart…

“I don't want a lot for Christmas, there's just one thing I need. I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know. Make my wish come true… All I want for Christmas... Is you…”

What starts as a leisurely little song just for fun soon develops into a vehement display of emotion and passion, just as Luna’s jam sesh’s are known to do. The music emitting from her guitar grows louder and more bombastic with every chord, and every lyric to escape her lips is sung with more energy and life. Maybe it’s because of the feelings howling inside of her over a certain special someone, maybe it’s just because she knows these people are watching and listening. It’s probably a little bit of both, but she really doesn’t care anymore. What really matters is, it feels damn good to just… let it go.

But it isn’t just great for her. No, Hector has a very hard time not singing and dancing along to her bop. And Bobby, despite getting some of the words wrong and having some awkward solo dance moves, has just as much difficulty. Sam throws up the goats and headbangs along with her tongue out, and even Maggie smiles and nods her head to the melody with Luan. And, while Clyde’s sick shucking and jiving is dang near impossible to ignore, Lincoln can’t help but glance at Ronnie Anne from the corner of his eye as she claps along to All I Want For Christmas… Is You.

Luna finishes up the song with one last perfect high note, both from her voice and her instrument, and then allows herself to soak in the round of applause that follows her festive performance. Her friends and neighbors clap, the people who are just now learning to never forget her name are cheering, and she imagines that, if Carol were here… she would have really enjoyed it too. Probably enough to jump up on stage and kiss her right on the lips. But, she isn’t here. And while that fact is still disheartening, she decides not to let it soil her moment. Instead, she focuses on just how great this whole thing, and everything it stands for, really is.

However, it comes to an abrupt and unexpected halt thanks to one particular face in the crowd.

The sound of music lingering in everyone's minds is soon replaced by the deafening sound of an airhorn, and they all shift their focus to the source of the alarming disturbance to find none other than Flip is responsible. And, he does not look happy. Of all the people to be upset by his interruption, Ronnie Anne is the most unsettled, and it shows as she grits her teeth and clenches her fists. Before she can lash out though, she feels a soft hand welcoming itself on her shoulder, and turns to find it belongs to a concerned Lincoln. He doesn’t need to say anything. The consoling look in his eyes is enough to tell her to at least wait a little bit to hear what the Food and Fuel Pharaoh has to say before… well… kicking his butt.

Everyone pays close attention to the greying man as he puts the proverbial spotlight on himself. “Alright, everyone listen up. Cause what I have to say is really important!” His audience keeps quiet and they all diligently listen, but it doesn't stop most of then from looking at him with scowls on their faces. The man clears his throat, and then proceeds with his rant. “I think I've made it very clear in the past that I don't fancy a lot of racket from Christmas carolers and the such. They're loud, they're course, and they get everywhere! And I'm sure most of my loyal customers here tonight remember that I've got a very important business to run during the day… I gotta get my eight hours a night!” he smugly states.

Ronnie Anne looks back to Lincoln with a Flip fueled fire in her eyes. And while the level headed boy would normally try to coax her into showing some restraint, even he decides Flip has already caused enough trouble for one night, and let's go of her shoulder with an almost siccing nod. Without anything standing in her way now, Ronnie Anne begins to trudge forward…

“However…” Flip starts again, and Ronnie Anne stops in her tracks to listen to what he has to add. He takes a heavy sigh, almost as if he feels guilt. “I gotta admit, seeing all of you people here tonight, taking time out of your busy lives just to give some of what you have to people with a lot less… It really… it really…” He chokes up, but eventually coughs up some words to efficiently sum up his newfound feelings. “Oh. I guess I'm just trying to say... I'm sorry if I've been a grinch in the past!”

Everyone else exchanges peculiar looks. Sam to Luna, Hector to Bobby, Lincoln to Clyde… and Ronnie Anne just stares at Flip with her jaw wide open. Everyone allows his profession of remorse to linger in the winter air for a little longer, unsure of how to react to what’s been said. Fortunately, Flip decides to break the awkward, tense silence with another proclamation. “Girl, you rock a sick Christmas jingle. I'm not even mad about my tinnitus acting up!” he praises Luna.

She perks up with surprise. “Uhm, thanks Flip. I mean… thanks,” she repeats, allowing a little smile to curve on her face with the unusual display of kindness on his part.

“No, no. Thank you, Lincoln's sister. Thank all of you! I feel… I feel…” he stammers, his eyes practically tearing up with joy. “I feel like I could sing!”

Again, everyone exchanges peculiar looks. Or, cringes, really…

“But I won't!” Flip concludes, much to the relief of everyone else. “Instead, I have another way to show you guys my heart grew three sizes today…" He reaches into his pockets, and pulls out handfuls of wrinkly, faded coupons. "Free Flippees for everyone! Come on down to the store and I'll give you any flavor you want!” He tosses the coupons out for everyone to catch, and (while still skeptical about the whole ordeal) they accept them with smiling faces.

Of course, it doesn't stop some of the more astute occupants to closely examine the old coupons, like Lincoln. “Hey… These expired four years ago!”

But Flip's jovial energy doesn't fade. “Don’t sweat it! I'll still accept them! Heck, it's not like I've given out coupons any time… ever!”

And for a short while, the occupants of the church lot are caught in the hussle and bussle of holiday cheer and charity. Flip gladly hands out more of his expired coupons for free Flippees to anyone who will accept them, and the drive finds brief pause. Ronnie Anne decides to take advantage of this, and skidaddles her way over to the stage to meet with Luna. The resident rocker carefully puts Hector’s guitar back where she found it, and then turns to find the twelve year old girl there to surprise her. “Hey you,” she simply greets.

“Luna!” Ronnie Anne chirps, and then she looks back down to everyone else, fumbling over her words as nothing but incomprehensible babble comes out.

Luna just smiles as she places her hand on her shoulder. “This was pretty great, Ronnie Anne. You give a little bit of your love, and check it out. All this happens.”

Ronnie Anne looks to Luna with glossy puppy eyes and a warm smile of her own. “Luna… Thank you.”

She raises her brow at that. “For what?”

“For what you did just now. For just being awesome.”

Luna blushes, and turns away as she tries to think of how to respond to this. Her eyes happen to wander to her younger brother, who has taken it upon himself to assume Ronnie Anne’s position at the drop off kiosk. It warms her heart, and she meets Ronnie Anne’s glossy puppy eyes again. “If you really wanna thank me, pay it forward,” she tells her, nudging her head to Lincoln’s direction.

Ronnie Anne looks over to him. It takes her a moment to understand just what Luna’s insinuating, but once it registers, she can’t help but blush a little. Being Ronnie Anne Santiago though, she plays it cool. “Thanks again, Luna,” she simply says, and with her hands snug in her hoodie pockets, she makes her way off the stage to take her place back her kiosk.

Luna watches with pride as she sneaks up on Lincoln and teasingly taps him on the shoulder, making him laugh, which then makes her laugh. “They have no right to be so cute together,” Luna says to herself. She then takes another good look around at everything and everyone, feeling the warm and fuzzy feelings that swell up with the reciprocity of Christmas spirit going around. Bobby and Flip enjoy some Flippees together before Hector offers them some eggnog, which Bobby respectfully declines. The same cannot be said for Flip though. Clyde helps out an elderly woman and her grandchildren with a box of cans, this one a lot less heavy than the previous drop. He even gets them all to laugh with a joking little flex of his muscles.

And finally, there’s Luan and Maggie. Luna watches as they stand at underneath a pavilion, and after Luan laughs at one of her own jokes that Maggie rolls her eyes at, they both happen to notice just what hangs above them…

A mistletoe.

Both girls’ faces turn beat red with embarrassment as they turn and look away from one another, and they each nervously rub the backs of their necks as they don cheeky little forced grins over it… which gradually turn into warm, sincere smiles. And while they don’t kiss, it’s still enough to make Luna smile too.

“And neither do they…”

For a moment longer, she just loses herself watching them all, taking comfort in the fact that, at least for now, they’re as merry as they can be. Ronnie Anne’s drive is a success, everyone is having fun, and best of all, actual good is being done for a meaningful cause. And yet, despite it all… She still can’t help but think about her…

She pulls out her smartphone, and unlocks it to check the time. It’s only 7:00, but more importantly, there’s that image in the background. The very same image Carol keeps as her wallpaper, the one that reminds Luna just how much her girlfriend means to her…

Her regretful reverie is soon broken by the sound of a familiarly sweet voice coming from behind her though.

“Luna?”

She turns to face Sam, who meets her with some worry.

“Are you okay?”

Luna takes one last good look at everything going on, and because of it, decides she’s content with how to answer her friend.

“Yeah, I’m good, dude,” she tells her with a smile.

Sam smiles back. “Cool. Because, I won’t lie, I’m tempted to go get Hector’s guitar and see if I can play something myself. And you know I don’t like singing alone,” she finishes with a sly look in her eyes.

Luna nods with approval, picking up just what the girl with the blue streak in her hair is putting down.

“Then let’s make it a duet.”

 “And that, according to the simulation, is exactly how your significant other is spending her evening,” Lisa says to Carol as she fixes her glasses.

The older girl takes a moment to consider everything that has just been said to her. While she doesn't understand all the science behind the computer program Lisa used to construct this scenario, she also knows it's probably best not to question a five year old with the mental capacity to publish a doctoral level thesis on quantum physics. So, even with some lingering doubts in the back of her mind, she chooses to believe that Lisa’s simulation probably isn’t so far off. And if that’s the case… It’s not so bad. Luna’s having fun, and she’s happy. The food drive is going well; Sam, Luna, and Maggie probably don’t hate her for staying home, and hey... Flip even got the stick out of his butt. And Carol knows a thing or two about butt sticks…

So yeah. Things are well in Royal Woods. Maybe she still has room for guilt and regret, but for the time being, she can find a little comfort in what Lisa had to offer her.

Finally, she thinks of how to respond to it all.

“Wow…”

Lisa takes a sip of her Coke, the last drop of the can she discovers, and then tosses it in the trash, careful not to make too much noise to wake her sleeping two year old sister.

“I’m not sure if I understand the context of your ‘wow,’” she admits. “What exactly has you so flabbergasted?”

“I… I’m not sure, really,” Carol confesses. “I mean, I guess… I guess I’m just happy to hear that Luna is happy. I don’t want her to feel bad about what happened between us.” She considers just leaving it at that, but with the momentary silence, and the way Lisa simply nods at her… she decides to treat herself to a little more venting. “But at the same time, I’m still a little worried. Like, what’s gonna happen when she gets home? What if she can’t look past this? I don’t know… I still feel like I really messed up here…”

“I could run another simulation?” Lisa keenly suggests, but the unamused glare she gets in response is all she needs to see that this wouldn’t be appreciated. “Okay, okay. To be frank, and I mentioned this earlier, but I am by no means an expert on the nuances of romantic relationships. Heck, I struggle with platonic interactions,” adds, only somewhat joking. She takes pause to decide just how to react to Carol’s concerns, but her demeanor changes when she chooses how to proceed. “Carol, would you like to hear the two things that stood out to me when processing the data behind the simulation?”

Carol pitifully raises her head up to meet the five year old’s eyes. “Sure.”

And with her permission granted, Lisa lets her know. “First of all, and I don’t wish to sound course; but, you chose to stay home for a reason. You have a responsibility to your client and yourself to complete your commission. Luna and the others will be fine. You aren’t missing out. Don’t let this be in vain.”

Ah. There it is. The cold, hard facts.

“Lisa’s right… I stayed home to work on the stupid drawing. I guess I need to at least get it finished so Luna won’t hate me too much,” Carol thinks. But rather than saying that, she only tells Lisa, “Okay…”

Deciphering Carol’s intent with keeping her response brief, Lisa chooses not to press any further on that matter. The message had been received. However… there was something else she wanted to say… something she considered to be more important. “The second point I’d like to bring to your attention is, well… your concern for Luna…”

That gets Carol to perk up.

“It’s rather endearing. To be honest, I’m not even sure if I can approach this the same way I do my studies. I can just see the way you two care about one another,” Lisa begins, but she stops herself in an attempt to further compose her argument. Halfway through though, she makes it clear with a frustrated shake of her head that, even she doesn't want to overthink. She’d rather just speak from her science loving heart. “Carol, in my five short years, I’ve seen a lot. A lot of good, and a lot of bad. Heck, I was there for when uh… when the fiasco with the termites and Aunt Ruth happened…”

She almost loses track of her thoughts reminiscing on that experience (one that Carol personally thought was kind of funny), but doesn’t let it deter her from getting to her point.

“What I’m trying to say is, there are a lot of things to worry about. Getting into a university suitable for your desired career path, choosing to cut as many fats and carbs out of your diet for the new year, waking up early enough to get first dibs on the bathroom in this house. But one thing I won’t be worrying about as I lay my head down for eight hours of interrupted REM cycle sleep tonight, is whether or not things will work out between you and Luna. And would you like to know why?”

Carol is momentarily stunned by all of it. It was one thing for someone besides Lori to connect with her on such a personal level over her relationship with Luna, but for it to be Lisa? It was practically a Christmas miracle. “Why?” she simply replies, sincerely eager to hear Lisa’s reasoning.

“Because, even though I may not have personally engaged in courtship, I’ve seen it work at its best. My mother and father, Lori and ‘Bobby Boo Boo Bear’... and now you and Luna. Trust me when I say, I’m not just taking an educated guess here. I have it very good faith that, this time next year, the two of us will be having a similar conversation about what you wish to get her for Valentine’s Day.”

It was astonishing. Carol feels almost numb. In a matter of seconds, she could feel Lisa truly opening up to her. Beneath all the stoicism and hyperfixations on studying phenomena, there’s a human being. One with emotional attachments to other people. She feels honored to know now that, not only does Lisa care a lot about the woman she loves, but she cares about her. She warmly smiles, feeling her heart race in her chest. “Lisa, oh my god… Thank you. I- I really needed to hear that. I really did.”

Lisa plays it cool as she swivels her chair over to her mini fridge, opening it to collect not one, but two cans of cold Coca Cola from inside. “I’m just telling you how I see it. No thanks are necessary. But, I do appreciate that my spiel had merit to you. And I do hope you get to feeling better.”

Carol looks to the side, feeling just as bubbly as ever as she rests her hand against the sleeve of her sweater. “I think I do. I really think so.”

“Excellent,” Lisa comments as she pops the top from her Cola can… and…

The faintest mumbling comes from Lily’s bed. The two girls look over to it, and find that the tiny person snuggled up in her blankets is now tossing and turning. They eyeball one another as a small sense of panic pervades the air, then look back to the tot as she sits up to look at them.

And, oh dear… she begins to cry.

For a moment, Lisa and Carol are paralyzed from the abrupt awakening of Lily Loud, but with her heartbreaking bawling, adrenaline begins pumping through their caffeinated veins, and they both hurry over to her bedside to comfort her.

“Oh, it’s okay Lily! Shhh, shhh… It’s okay!” Carol says in an attempt to coax her, but it’s hardly fruitful. She still cries.

Lisa similarly struggles with herself for something to reach out to her only younger sister, but all she can think to say is, “Please don’t be distressed, younger sibling! Uhm, oh... “

“Wah! WAH!” Lily bellyaches. The poor girl was sleeping so peacefully… but now all the waking world had to offer her were two girls that are supposed to be really smart just stuttering like doofuses over how to get her to stop feeling cranky. Yeah. Of course she would cry some more.

They look to one another again, hoping that maybe they’ll find some sort of epiphany just with the new visionary stimuli. But, dang it, that science stuff ain’t workin’ here.

“What do we do?!” Carol cries.

“I don’t know! She doesn’t usually do this!” Lisa retorts.

“Well, that’s comforting,” Carol thinks. But she can’t even be snarky right now. Not when she realizes the poor baby’s discomfort is (at least partially) because of her.

“Dang it, how do you cheer up little kids? Cartoons? Toys? Ugh… I wish I could remember what my mom did for me. If she would ever tell me about when I was a baby… If she was ever around…”

“Okay, now’s not the time for daddy issues, Carol. Focus! What does Lily like?! What do babies like! Oh, if only Luna were here… she’d know what to-”

Ding. Light bulb.

She almost feels a little silly for not thinking of it sooner. Of course this was the answer! If it didn’t work to help Lily calm down, she’d sell her BMW.

Okay, no she wouldn’t. It was a really nice car, and she still had seven months before it was paid off. But still.

Lisa sees the way Carol’s expression shifts from panicked, to awed, to focused. Something was up with Ms. Pingrey.

“Carol?”

Without any more thought about it, the former homecoming queen kneels down to Lily’s side, meeting the crying child’s eyes with her own. She takes a moment to gaze into them, hoping to truly understand her pain, hoping to convey just how much remorse she really feels… And then, she begins.

“Silent night. Holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace… Sleep in heavenly peace…”

Lisa can only watch in awe as Carol’s sweet, soothing singing is freed from her larynx. Great Galileo, this woman had a beautiful voice. She could impress Julie Andrews. Even more commendable though is the fact that, it seems to be working. At least a little bit. Lily still cries, but slowly, she ebbs on her sadness. The tears stop rolling from her eyes, the melancholy moans turn into faint whimpers. Soon enough, the little girl has stopped all together, as all of her focus is given to the angelic, nurturing lullaby being sang just for her. It’s truly a sight to behold for Lisa. While the only things that normally stop her in her tracks involve chordates and calculus, she can’t help but feel privileged to bear witness to such a beautiful sight. In fact, she finds it to be so compelling, that she actually joins Carol in singing the remaining verses to the song.

She’s quiet at first, but when she sees Carol turn and smile encouragingly at her, she feels herself smile too. It makes her comfortable letting go and letting herself sing along for Carol, little Lily, and her.

Carol watches as the beautiful baby girl before her drifts off to slumberland. Her little eyelids flutter heavily, but her pupils meet her own all the while. The last she’ll see before escaping to a world of silent lucidity will be a singing, smiling Carol Pingrey.

And for Carol, that thought gives her enough reason to forget about everything else for just a little while. All that matters is being here for Lily. All that matters is showing her she is loved.

“Sleep in heavenly peace…”

Finally, she has fallen back to sleep. She lies motionless with her eyes closed as a little drool escapes her mouth. Her little chest rises and falls with full, healthy breaths… no hitching like there was from the crying. And while she could easily look away now with the comfort that Lily will be okay, Carol finds herself mesmerized. Of all the things she had done in recent memory, none of them gave her quite as much fulfillment as being there for the little girl. Not any drawing or minuet, not any letter of consideration from universities and potential employers, not even her last kiss with Luna.

No, this would stay with her for a very long time. Probably forever.

Even so, all good things must come to an end, and she decides that it’s time to let her be to get back to… whatever it was she had going on before. Lisa. The ‘commission.’ Right. She stands and turns away from the child to look to Lisa, and is surprised to see the five year old girl sniffling and wiping away a tear from her eye. “Lisa?”

“I’m okay,” she assures her. “That just… That was so wholesome,” she admits.

Carol can’t help but smile at that. “Hey, maybe we should step outside for a minute. Give Lily a little space.”

Lisa nods as she fights to regain her usual decorum. “I won’t argue with that.”

Carol is first to make her way to the hallway, only pausing once to look back at the girl she just spent so much time having a heart-to-heart with. She’d never look at her the same way after tonight, not only because she was there to sing with her, or because she took so much time to discuss Luna with her. But because she still had so many years ahead of her. She was amazing enough now. Who knows how just how great the person she’ll grow up to be?

“If only she had better taste in soft drinks,” she thinks to herself as she watches Lisa collect the two Cokes from her desk, being mindful not to wake up sleeping Lily yet again.

She scurries her way out to join Carol in the hallway, and the taller teenager carefully and quietly creaks the door shut behind her. For a moment, they simply catch their breath, allowing the silence to stagnate around them. “Phew… That was really something,” Lisa is first to comment.

“Yeah, we almost messed up there,” Carol quips, and they share a little laugh before getting serious again. “Uhm, Lisa… I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but… You just listened to me give a five hour rant on my situation, even when you had better things to do.”

“And your point?” Lisa rebuts with a raise of the brow.

Carol takes a second to think over how to say what she wants to say without sounding like a total Regina George, but decides that, for once in her life, overthinking things won’t be necessary. Heck, Lisa probably reached the same conclusion a lot sooner. “Well… I guess I just… I didn’t think you really noticed me that much. I always kind of thought I was just ‘Luna’s girlfriend,’ to you…”

Lisa nods with understanding, but surprisingly, a smile comes to her normally expressionless face. “Well, Carol… I’ll let you in on some classified information. A lesson I’ve learned with becoming an older sibling is that; sometimes, it’s important just to take time to listen to those in need,” she confesses. “And… I’ll admit I get sentimental around Christmas time.” With that, she extends the unopened can of Cola, inviting Carol to take it.

And in this moment, Carol realizes two things.

One, Lisa doesn’t just look at her as ‘Luna’s girlfriend.’” She has some respect for her in other regards. Maybe it was because they took their work seriously, maybe it was because they were well educated, it could be a lot of things. That didn’t matter as much as the fact that, the two of them could be something more than peers for the sake of Luna.

And two… Coca Cola isn’t so bad.

So, she decides to accept the can from Lisa, and pops the top. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” Lisa repeats, and they clink the cans together before sharing a swig of the stuff.

It’s easily the best Coke Carol’s ever had.

Chapter Text

Stupid Crystal Ball

For a while, she felt really good about herself. She had Coca Cola and her Clik Clok playlist full of violin covers and Third Eye Blind (a suggestion from Luna that actually stuck) to keep her motivated and excited for her drawing of said lover and her rock n roll icon, Slick Mick Swagger. But with every freckle she adds to her face, with every shadow and shade she adds to the caricature… she longs for the real Luna.

"Dang it, I'm not supposed to hate working on this thing," she cusses to herself. "But, dang it… I still feel so bad about the way things went down. I know what Lisa said, I know what Leni said… but… I still feel so crummy…"

She reaches into her pocket to get her phone. 8:02. Same background as last time, the one where they held each other close on the snowy winter day. For a little while, she just keeps unlocking her phone to admire the picture, until she finally decides to just say the heck with it and go through her whole album of selfies, sneaky candids, and portraits of the happy couple.

"God, I love her so much… And I do a terrible job of showing it…"

She catches a glimpse of the drawing tablet before her, seeing the unfinished drawing. With a little luck, she'll be able to get started on the coloring, maybe even be able to get the thing finished as early as tomorrow night, assuming Luna won't hate her and make her cry all day…

"Stop torturing yourself, Carol! It will get done by Christmas! That's all that matters!"

But with that thought comes another…

If you decide you can make some time for us, you're more than welcome to come along.

"8:00… maybe… maybe I could just go warm up the car a little, take a drive around the block, see if I can maybe-"

"No… No, Carol. You already sacrificed enough of your evening for this. It would just be unreasonable at this point to stop working on this to go and ruin her fun. Yeah, Lisa and Leni both said she's fine. That everything will be fine. Yeah… Yeah…"

"So why am I not getting anything done?" she petulantly bemoans out loud.

Shortly after, she hears a little thud. She perks back up, paying close attention to see where the sudden sound is coming from. Her eyes wander all around the surfaces of Luna and Luan's room, but curiously enough, nothing happens. Deciding it must be a fluke, she braces herself to get back to work on the drawing with a heavy sigh. "It won't finish itself…" she utters as she lowers her stylus, ready to get back to work.

Just as the tip touches the screen, she hears another thud, this one a little louder, a little closer from the sound of it. She darts her vision in the direction of the noise… the nearby ventilation shaft. It's in this moment that she realizes just what the sound was, and she lets out another little sigh as she steps away from her chair to go check up on the perpetrator. Unsurprisingly, she opens the vent to find nine year old Lucy Loud, who is just casually crawling her way through. Surprisingly though, the abrupt opening of the duct (and the beam of horrible, dreadful, artificial light that shines through) actually startles Lucy, so much so that she lets out a "Gasp."

Like, she actually says it. Because it's Lucy.

Carol just smirks. "Hello Lucy," she greets. "Snooping around for Christmas presents again?" she belatedly adds.

Lucy conveys thoughtfulness on her mouth alone as she looks to Carol, then sighs. "Sigh… You caught me. I told myself I'd control myself this year, but I had to get away from all the Frozen stuff," she bluntly states.

Carol giggles to herself. "You had to let it go?"

Lucy groan-sighs at that one, and not even in a fun way. "Between that stuff and Lynn badgering me to help her find presents, yeah… That's what I'm up to. Fascinating, I know," she says, making her lack of amusement evident with her tone.

So Carol decides to ease up on her. "Well, I know you love hanging out in the ducts, but you might catch a cold this time of night. Why don't you come down from there?"

Lucy considers her words for a moment, but her silent contemplation soon comes to an end as she climbs out of the duct and down to the floor below. As usual, there's a lack of flamboyance to her. But in a way she's still graceful. "So what are you doing? Why are you sitting in here by yourself?" she asks the older girl now, choosing to skip the small talk. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love sitting alone in a room for hours at a time and all…"

It catches Carol a little off guard. "Oh, well, I'm working on a drawing," she answers, hoping and praying that maybe Lucy will just… let it go.

But she doesn't. "Oh? You didn't want to go caroling with Luna?"

Grumpy face.

In the past, Carol may have been a little antsy about telling her she doesn't have to explain herself. But, she's never going back. The past is in the past. Instead, she chooses to keep her cool. Not just for Lucy's sake, but for her own. "I did, Lucy. But things got in the way," she simply puts it, and with a somewhat somber gait to her, she returns to her desk to sit back down.

Lucy tilts her head to the side as she thinks it over. "Oh, alright," she settles for saying. Apparently the hoping and praying paid off a little bit, because that's all she says about the matter. However, the curious little girl doesn't let that stop her from prying a little more regarding a certain 'commission.' "So what are you working on? Do you mind if I see?" she asks.

All of the Loud siblings made somewhat of an effort to take an interest in Carol's hobbies. Lynn asked her about golf, Lola about pageantry, and even Lincoln asked her for some advice on how to talk to a pretty girl once. For Lucy, they were able to connect through art. While the young goth's affinity for writing poetry and the occasional short story were well known around Royal Woods by now, she still had a great desire to become multifaceted with her creativity. Carol admired it, she admired it a lot. Between seeing her wanting to constantly improve with her projects, and being a little girl still trying to find her way in a lonely world… Carol could empathize with her. She made it easy.

Besides, she isn't as talkative as Lisa. So where was the harm in letting Lucy, the quietest of the Loud sisters, know about Luna's present? "Well, okay. I can show you," Carol starts. "But it stays between us, okay? Don't even tell Edwin about it."

She imagines Lucy's eyes widening from behind her black bangs. "I… Okay. This must be pretty secretive then," she says before regaining her usual composure. "That's okay though. We can be bound by secrets."

Carol raises a brow at her statement, one that makes her mind automatically think it sounds a little creepy. But she shakes it off as she leads motions Lucy to come have a look at her progress on the drawing.

The pale ravenette makes her way over, and drops her jaw with disbelief at the sight of the unfinished piece. "Wow. Carol… Luna is going to love this."

She feels some warmth upon hearing Lucy say that. "Thanks, Luce. That means a lot coming from you." Lucy doesn't smile back, but that's okay. Carol knows to expect stoicism from her, even when she acknowledges something exciting.

For a moment, they're quiet as they admire the work of art. For Lucy, there might be a little envy or even jealousy, maybe even some constructive criticism to offer in the back of her mind. But, unlike so many others in the world, she chooses to keep her opinions to herself and simply respect the beauty in front on her. As for Carol, she loses herself looking in the eyes on the Luna before her. She isn't real of course; the real Luna probably wouldn't smile at her like this right now. It makes her heavily sigh, inciting Lucy's curiosity once more.

"Is something wrong Carol?" she asks.

"It's nothing. I've complained enough today," the older girl chooses to answer, hoping that it will suffice Lucy enough and that she won't pry further. In a way that's both fortunate and unfortunate though, the nine year old lingers into the grey area, deciding to repay Carol's empathy with some of her own.

"Well, if this is about your drawing, I think it looks amazing."

It makes the older girl feel better to know that her art isn't lacking, at least. Rather than correct her and tell her that it's the circumstances behind the drawing that are weighing down on her, she decides to swim with the changing tide. "Thanks Lucy. But enough about me. I wanna hear about your day! Anything interesting happen? Did anything die?" she casually asks, hoping to pique some of the gothic girl's interest.

Death doesn't exactly come to mind, but she does decide to go ahead and use this chance to talk to someone about something she's taken a new interest in. "Hmm, well, I have been dabbling with some magic."

"Oh? That sounds pretty neat. Like, card tricks or something?" Carol asks, smiling a smile that started off forced, but grows more genuine with the draining seconds.

Lucy scoffs. "Pffft, card tricks are for amateurs. The type of magic I've been practicing is much more impressive, if I do say so," she concludes with a seldom seen smile.

Seeing this rare display of ego warms Carol in a way she hasn't been warmed since, well… the last time her ego was stroked. Ego stroking is awesome sometimes, so she keeps stroking Lucy's. "Well, if you're so sure about that, why don't you show me what you've been working on?"

Though often quiet and considerably skittish, the night is still quite young, and it's rare that people outside of Lincoln, Lori, Lynn Sr and occasionally Edwin ask her to indulge her and her hobbies. So, Lucy doesn't overthink things. She just wears that same smile, directing it to Carol Pingrey once more to answer, "With pleasure."

The holiday season has always been Carol's favorite. Something about the way that Autumn gradually exchanges it's golden colors and scents in favor of white blankets of snow has always appealed to the artistic side of her, and her sentimental side has always cherished the way that people all seem to come together for greater harmony for the last few weeks of the year. Friends, families, the hard working men and women of department stores who bond with blood during Black Friday sales…

While Christmas is definitely her favorite holiday, she's always done her best to have spirit for every special day of the season. Including Halloween. This year, she and Luna dressed as Catra and Adora for the annual Vortex Club Spooktacular, and as soon as they finished bobbing for apples and dancing their Princess of Power butts off, they high tailed (literally, in Luna's case) to Lucy's corn maze to help with the pageantry. They started by pretending to join forces to battle against Zombie Rita's Brood, but finished by becoming zombies themselves to trick and treat the families of Royal Woods. It was totes amazing. And a big part of the success was Lucy's affinity for all things Halloween, all things dark and mysterious.

The little girl's passion for such things began as early as watching Lynn Sr. fail miserably at trying to play Silent Hill games, and developed with books, movies, and television shows that covered all things macabre, undead, and supernatural. Not all of it could be considered 'scary' though. Some of her interests were more tailored for people of all demographics. Like the occasional fortune telling.

"I'm not an expert by any means, but I've been doing a lot more research lately, and I'm fairly confident that I could do an accurate reading on someone," Lucy explains to Carol as she guides her hand-in-hand into her bedroom. Fortunately for the spooky little girl like her, her roommate Lynn Jr. isn't home right now after choosing to spend the rest of her evening at friend Tanya's sleepover, leaving her and Carol to delve into the dark arts of prophecy alone in the shared room. Well, with Edwin too, of course.

Seeing her excitement over the crystal ball she has set up in the middle of the room with its eloquent, tarot table cloth and purple sequin turban set to the side makes Carol smile warmly. The best part of the holiday season, hands down, is the way children are encouraged to shamelessly believe in miracles and magic. For Lucy Loud though, she always believes in the former, at the very least. And while someone with a stick up their butt like the Carol Pingrey of old might not have the patience to let this little girl believe in something easily questionable, the Carol Pingrey of today just keeps any and all skepticism to herself to let Lucy have her fun. "Goodness. You've got quite the impressive seance room here," she comments, earning her a pleasant tone from Ms. Lucy.

"Thank you," she simply tells her as she frees her hand from her grip, making her way over to the other side of the seance table to assume her turban and begin this reading. "Now, if you'll have a seat, we can begin."

Carol decides to really try and get into the mood and sell to Lucy that she's going to take this seriously, so she goes as far as to dim the lights of the bedroom, just barely dialing down the light switch as she smirks to her young friend. "There. Can't have a fortune reading with all this light," she explains before making her way to have a seat and join Lucy.

"Agreed," Lucy simply says with a grin. She gets serious again as Carol takes her seat, and she starts the session by staring intently at her crystal ball, focusing all of her energy and chakras on it. Carol watches the way her fingers twitch when she hovers her little pale hands over the dome, the way the curves of her lips clench with the way she moans "Ommm… Ommm…" She has to pretend she's itching her upper lip just to conceal her amusement. It's such a fun, wholesome sight. At the same time, it's pretty cool the way the stupid little glass ball starts getting smokey inside, almost like Lucy's actually conjuring up some magic and like she didn't just have her parents give her forty dollars for an 'authentic' crystal ball from the Halloween store.

It would seem that Lucy reaches the apex of her conjuring as her facial muscles begin to relax, and deeply inhales through her nose, almost smiling as she looks up from the ball to Carol through her raven bangs. "Now… What would you like to see?"

It takes a few seconds for it to register in Carol's mind what she's just been asked. "What?"

"What part of your future would you like me to look into?" she clarifies.

Dang, Carol didn't think about this at all on her way here. She was mostly just doing her best to keep Lucy amused. "Uhm, well, hmm. I have to think about it."

"Take your time. It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through," Lucy tells her.

"Why does everyone keep talking like they're referencing songs?" the older girl spats, earning her a confused expression that she only sees half of from Lucy.

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm probably the only one who notices," she petulantly huffs before adjusting her attitude back to proper form. She really tries to think of what to ask the aspiring fortune teller, but nothing fun comes to mind. There are questions she could ask about herself, but in a way, she finds herself too worried that a certain someone will come up again, which she doesn't want happening. She's already cried to two Loud family sisters about their sibling today.

Not to mention that, while the crystal ball looked silly before, it looks rather intimidating now. What if Lucy really does know magic? What if she really can read her future? She's already the biggest worrywart in Royal Woods, the last thing she needs is to be put on edge even more tonight!

"Uhm, gee Lucy. I really wish I knew. I guess… I guess I'm not really sure what I want to see for myself," she says, trying not to sound too mopey about it.

Lucy has been reading her in a different sort of way though, and it shows with how she belatedly asks, "Are you sure about that? There isn't anything you'd like to ask about?"

As obvious as it is now that everyone and their mother knows Carol and Luna are going through a bit of a tissy, she refuses to give into her selfish temptation to cry and moan to another person about their issues tonight, least of all nine year old Lucy Loud. She's better than that, and Lucy deserves much, much better. The fact that she's even taken the time to lure her here in an elaborate attempt to get her to vent to her about it through the ruse of a fortune telling makes it quite clear that this very smart little girl is very worthy of appreciation.

And that thought gives Carol the inspiration she needs to finally come up with something for her. "Okay, I think I thought of something. Lucy… I want to know where you'll be in ten years," she happily requests.

It takes her by surprise. Her eyes are probably widened behind her veil of black hair. "You want to know what I'll be doing?" she asks with an almost timid tone.

"Don't act so surprised!" Carol chirps. "Seriously, I wanna see what you think. Er, I mean, what the future forebodes…" she explains, trying to get back to that playfully excited place she was upon hearing of Lucy's plans.

The little goth girl takes her time to consider the sudden proposition, humming thoughtfully to herself before trying to tactfully put her thoughts into words. "Well, as much as I appreciate that, I would honestly rather try to do a reading about you. I want to see if I can actually predict someone's future," she answers.

Of course. Of stupid course. The one time she tries to make it about someone else, they tell her no. What is wrong with society?!

But Carol doesn't get too excited, she just tries to be pragmatic with her approach. "Well, what does it matter if we do me or you? The future isn't set in stone," she argues, not intending for the latter half of her response to be so meaningful.

But words are subjective, as poet Lucy Loud takes to heart. And those words open her mind to a new perspective she had ignored this evening. "You're smart," she simply tells Carol, still sort of mind blown. But she shakes herself of the shock soon enough to return her focus to the crystal ball, staring deep into the nebulous of its smokey realm to search for something more. "Very well. If you want to see where I'll be in ten years… I'll do my best to look into it."

Nothing more is said for a few seconds as Lucy continues searching, concentrating as hard as she can to find a sign of life. Carol just watches with awe, letting the weight of the moment sink deep into her core. She doesn't feel like she's just messing around with a little girl anymore. In a matter of minutes, she now feels as if a trusted soul is about to embark on a spiritual journey with her to a place she's both scared and excited to see, one that might just change the way she thinks about things forever.

Or maybe it's just her drama loving, sentimental self being her drama loving, sentimental self.

Either way, she feels wholeheartedly invested in what Lucy has to offer her now, and she feels her heart pounding a little faster and harder with every second that passes. Eventually though, her suspense is rewarded as Lucy excitedly gasps.

"I see something!"

Carol blinks a few times before she can muster any words out. "What do you see?"

Lucy smiles as she looks back into the ball. At first, it's a smile that comes with epiphanic eureka. The pride of success. But as the moment evolves, so does the image in her ball. And whatever it is she sees, it makes that smile something more happy, more wonderful.

"I see… lights."

The lights are very bright, but only for a moment. I almost can't see anything at all. They eventually die down, just a little, just enough for me to know where I am. It's a church. Everything is pristine and beautiful. Everything white is porcelain. Everything colorful is vibrant.

I feel… anxious. Not in a bad way though. I'm not scared. I'm… happy to be here. And I'm not alone. I'm with my family. The first person I see in the corridor is Lincoln, tall, tone, handsome. Not at all what you would expect from him now. I guess the years are going to be kind to him. He even has a little shaggy beard, and… well, I'm not surprised that Ronnie Anne is with him. That's nice to see, actually. I like those two together. She might be a little surly some days, but I know deep down she really cares about Lincoln. She cares about all of us, I think. She belongs in our family, like you do.

Uhm, let's see… Okay, I'm seeing Lisa now. She still has glasses. Her hair is still short. But she's not by herself taking notes in the corner, or complaining about how the frozen swan in the punch bowl is a little misshapen. No, instead she just smiles at me, making jokes about how the reception is taking too long to get started. Lola overhears this, she joins in. The two laugh it up for a little while in a way I don't think I've ever seen them do together. Huh. That's nice to see.

Lana is there too. Her hair is a lot longer, and it's really pretty when she gussies up. I half expected her to be in a suit, but no, she's wearing a dress just like Lola's. She goes over to her, smiling about how Lindsey Sweetwater over on the other side of the room is arguing with her date. I guess some things won't be changing after all. I can forgive that very much so, because seeing my twin sisters so happy together brings a lot of warmth to my heart.

I digress, you'll probably see the recurring theme here, Carol. As I move through the sea of peers and friends in the church, I find more of my- our loved ones just as happy to be here as everyone else. Lynn is with a new boyfriend, I couldn't tell you who, but he has gorgeous dark hair and dark skin. Definitely goes to the gym with her. She waves happily to me, we hug for a short while. She whispers… she whispers that she loves me.

Sorry, I uh… I choked up for a second...

Clyde is with, oh wow, he's with Haiku, actually. They look happy to be here together. I think they look cute. I don't think she's smiling, but I know her. She just doesn't smile, even when she is happy. That's really different from Mom and Dad though. Dad has a thick, burly beard now, but he keeps crying so much that it's hard to take that very seriously. Mom is so patient and understanding though. She just keeps patting him on the back, lying to people and telling them that he has a 'condition.'

Sigh… Luan never misses the chance to make a joke, I guess. Even ten years from now. She makes her way over and says, *Ahem,* "I don't know about a condition, but you sure could use some conditioner! Hahaha! Geddit?!"

I don't do impressions. Don't get used to it.

Dad doesn't get upset though. In fact, it actually cheers him up a bit, and she has a handkerchief for him when he stops burying his face in Mom's shoulder. Then they hug of course, because you know how this family loves warm hugs.

I guess Maggie learns to love then too, because she's Luan's plus one. I really love those two. Not much makes me smile in this world quite like them.

No offense to you or Luna, of course. This is your special day, after all.

And Lily is sure to keep reminding some of the other children of that. Three of them. All girls. My youngest sister is now a growing girl, Lincoln's age. She has a little bit of all of us in her face. His optimism, Lori's sternness, Mom's compassion… And I can tell she's a little impatient with how the other girls are acting, but she doesn't act on it. She just smiles and keeps still.

Then Lori comes over. Gosh, she's aged so well. She's just as beautiful and shrewd as she is now, maybe even more so. The kids must be her's, and it really shows now. They have her face, her attitude. They have their father's hair and eyes though. Gosh, they're all so precious. And you can see just how proud Bobby and Lori are of their family together.

They aren't the only ones with children of their own, it seems. Leni is there with a baby boy in his arms, quiet and content with the amazing discovery of a world around him. They all are, really. Like their own little Loud House.

Well, it looks like that's everyone except for a certain someone… Let's see if we can find her.

I follow everyone else to the pews of the church, ready to have my seat and wait for the show. I get to sit by Lincoln and Lynn. How fitting that us three middle kids are still going to be so close, heh. Anyway, it's all so amazing. I don't know if you or whoever chose this church, but it's breathtakingly gorgeous. The stained windows have the most stunning shades of reds, blues, and yellows, all complemented by the magnificent architecture the building has to offer. It truly is a glorious building worthy of such an occasion, your day.

The chatter begins to die down as a tall, dark man makes his way up to the altar, joined at his right by Lori, and at his left by Sam. They must be the bridesmaids. Chunk is still kickin' it, and he assumes the grand organ to begin playing the ceremonial tune of the Bridal March.

Sorry I keep choking up. I just… This is all really nice to see.

So, after Lily does her thing as the flower girl, you're first to come out. You wear a long white dress, absolutely amazing. You always look amazing, but today, the day of your wedding, you look like a goddess. A Disney Princess finally about to have her happily ever after. You hold a bouquet of purple roses in your hands, and your father is giving you away. He looks so proud of you. You're already tearing up, just like half of the audience. Every step you take is one of grace and poise, perfectly in sync with the Bridal March. Maybe you're nervous, maybe you're just trying to take it all in while the moment lasts. Either way, nothing stops you from looking genuinely, genuinely happy.

You make it to the altar, and your father gives you a kiss on your cheek through your veil. He stays for a moment longer just to admire how far you've come, how much he loves you. But he knows that he can't keep you there forever. He goes to have his seat over by your mother, and like everyone else, he anxiously anticipates the arrival of your bride to be.

Chunk changes the tempo of the March up just a little, adding a more upbeat, rocky flavor to it as she finally makes her way through the corridor. She wears a purple dress with a gorgeous purple rose in her hair, just like the ones in your bouquet. She too has flowers, and her makeup is already smearing with how she's crying. My father somehow manages to maintain composure as he walks with her down the aisle. He must have cried all the tears he could, heh. Everyone is paying attention to Luna though, of course. She looks stunning, almost like a brand new woman. At the same time, everyone knows it's her. She still has her air of energy around her, that resonating glow that makes her so charismatic, so loveable. Even with tears running down her cheeks, the smile on her face is something so mesmerizingly adorable. The sheer love and happiness in the room is… gosh, it's unlike anything I've ever felt.

The seconds burn slow, and yet all too fast as she finally makes it to you. Dad manages to only keep his tears to a minimum as he hugs her from the side, kissing her head before making his way to his seat. Then, it's as if the room freezes as you two meet each other's eyes. It's obvious that you haven't seen each other all day, because you look nowhere else, refusing to break this powerful, emotionally charged eye contact. It doesn't matter that you have your veil, it doesn't matter that you're both crying, you still effortlessly lose each other in this loving embrace of a mutual gaze, almost hoping you never have to look away.

But you can't stay forever, and you guys know it. How else can you get married if you don't? The pastor doesn't rush you though, no one does. They allow you to take your time breaking away from each other's eyes to look to the man, and you're sure to take each other by the hands to let each other know that you're together in this as you wait for him to begin the ceremony. He goes through the usual verses about how the two of you are gathered to join in the holy union of matrimony, and thankfully it goes by pretty quickly. Once he's finished, he gives you two the opportunity to say your vows. You go first. You're nervous, but you can see that Luna is even more nervous. You're used to being the center of attention, and you want this to go well for her too.

Your vows go something like this.

Luna… I don't know where I would be without you in my life. I don't say that as hyperbole, I don't say that metaphorically. I literally mean that. I was a lost soul swimming in a fish bowl year after year before you came into my life. And, I know I've been hard to love sometimes. I know I've made it an uphill battle more than once. But my gosh, Luna… I've never been as happy as I am loving you.

You make me smile with your music, you make me laugh with your laugh. You're smart, loving, passionate… Very attractive…

That gets a laugh from the audience.

You've made me a better person just by being yourself. You've shown me that it's not what or who we know that defines us, but how we choose to treat others. I would trade everything material I have for your love. I would trade every accolade, every award, every scholarship and grant just to spend a little more time with you. And lucky me, you're letting me spend the rest of my life with you.

I could talk all day and night about how much I love you. I really could. But your sister once told me that actions speak louder than words, and, well… I want to prove to you that you're my world by putting a diamond ring on your finger, kissing you in front of everyone we know, and then taking you to Buenos Aires for Dulce de Leche. You're my everything, Luna Loud. I love you so much.

Everyone lets out a collective "Aww." She was tearing up before. Now, she's crying. It takes her all the time you use to get the ring and slide it on her finger for her to straighten herself up. She eventually gets there though, and when she does, she nervously gets the paper from her hand to recite what she's written about you and her love. Funny enough, she doesn't really need it.

Carol… As okay as I am at writing lyrics, or composing new tunes, words have never really been my strong suit. But that isn't gonna stop me from telling you everything that I feel for you. Especially after all those… amazing things you had to say about me. You're my rock, C. I don't know how else to explain it. You talk about how meeting me changed you, but maybe you don't realize just how much you've changed everything for me. Before you came into my life, I felt like I was floating. Like I was just meant to kind of drift with my music until destiny made its way to me.

Well, you're my destiny, Carol Pingrey. You are the music in me. I don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep, because I don't wanna miss a thing. Ever since we became friends, lovers, I've felt whole. Like that thing that was missing from my life to keep me from just drifting without rhyme or reason was you all along. And, gosh, I've never been happier, too.

So please, be patient with me for a little longer. Don't fret when I get too loud, don't cry when I can't give you all the things you deserve. Because all smoke on the water aside, I need you in my life, Carol. I don't want to imagine a world that you're not a part of, and I don't want to miss any chance I can have to spend my time with you. I love you more than anything in the world, Carol. I want to spend the rest of my life with you starting today.

Yes, you cry. By now a lot of people in the pews are crying. Especially my dad. Especially your dad. Your finger is shaky as you give your bride your hand, and hers are shaky too as she maneuvers the matching diamond ring she wears onto you. Your hands clasp together again, shaking together with a tight grip because you both know that this is it. This is the moment you've been waiting for your whole lives.

Pastor Mitchell closes his book, bringing it to his thighs as a grin comes to his face.

Do you Luna Loud take Ms. Pingrey to be your lawfully wedded wife?

Hearing those words sends my heart sinking into my gut. I can only imagine how it must make you feel. Never has there been such anticipation for anyone in the room. They already know just what the answer to that question is, but finally hearing it be spoken out loud makes everyone see just how real this is. It makes Luna see how real it is, as if anything could ever be this good again. She does her best to fight the tears, to keep from choking up as she finally answers with those famous two words.

I do.

Now it becomes your turn. Pastor Mitchell looks to you, meeting you with the exact same mirth and question that he asked Luna.

And do you Carol Pingrey take Ms. Loud to be your lawfully wedded wife?

And what do you tell him?

I… I do…

And that's all that he needs to hear you say. With those words, it becomes official. Everyone can feel it in their bones, the two of you hold each other's hands tightly as you turn to face one another, the shaky tears streaming down your cheeks.

Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you wife and wife. And you may kiss the bride.

Not a single moment compares to the one where you get your veil lifted by Luna Loud, revealing your face free for a true love's kiss. A whole life's journey alone, together comes to a head as it's the two of you staring face to face with the person you're now married to. Like before, you have to just take it all in, deeply losing one another in your most beloved pairs of eyes. Any and all doubts have been erased. Any challenges you had to face to make it to this kiss have been proven worthwhile. You only have each other, it's just you and her.

Neither of you can hold back anymore. You practically throw yourselves into each other's arms to share the most passionate, loving kiss you've ever shared, all to the roaring sound of applause from everyone else who loves you.

It's hard to come back down from such a rush, heh. But you can't stay on that altar forever. You wouldn't want to if you could know what your lives will behold, anyway. So once the ceremony is over, the party begins. There's cake, there's lots of pictures. Not just of the two of you, but of you, Luna, and all of your new siblings-in-law. And of course, there's dancing…

Everyone finds someone to hold on to and love. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, Mom and Dad, Lori and Bobby…

Clyde and Haiku, Lola and Lana, Luan and Maggie…

Lynn, Lisa, Lily, everyone makes room to dance with someone. I even get to dance with one of my beautiful nieces for a little while.

But all eyes are on the two of you, Carol and Luna, as your favorite song plays. It's not a song anyone expects, I can't quite make out what it is. But it's a song the two of you have sang together before, both in times of joy and distress. It's a song that reminds the two of you just why you're so in love with one another, that no matter what, you'll never be alone as long you have each other to hold on to. And you do for as long as you can, dancing away with your hearts...

Lucy has to take pause to wipe her teary eyes and rest her weary head. She's put so much focus and energy into this reading, doing her best to paint the picture as clearly as possible for a girl she sees to be her future sister-in-law. Meanwhile, Carol is in a complete state of bewilderment. For the last several minutes, she's felt such a roller coaster of raw emotions. She's cried tears of total joy, doing her best not to choke up on just how much she really could cry if she was a spaz. Which she's not.

But dang it, hearing such wonderful things from such a wonderful child has done everything but melt her heart. She's almost reduced to a puddle, but she does her best to keep calm and collected as she finds some words to do these feelings some justice.

"Did you… did you really see all of that?"

Still reeling, Lucy tries her best to convalesce and meet Carol's attention with her own. The smokey fog inside of her forty dollar crystal ball doesn't dissipate in the slightest, and neither does the shakiness in her voice. "I did," she simply answers. But two simple words together can have so much power behind them, Carol's been reminded today.

It doesn't matter if she's telling the truth or not. It doesn't matter if she's just a child with a very creative, very vivid, very much generous imagination. The joy she feels right now being reminded just how powerful her love is for Luna, and how powerful her love is for her, burns bright with the light of day and a raging storm. So she locks any and all doubt or cynicism she has deep down inside, almost enough to snuff it out entirely. Like a child waiting for Santa on Christmas Day, she wants to believe that such magic can be true. If only to selfishly make her feel this good for a little while longer.

Words escape her though. She isn't one to become speechless very often, but in this moment, she knows not what to say. Thankfully for her, she doesn't have to take initiative this time. Lucy, the little girl with such an impressive head on her shoulders, makes the next move. "So, that's where I see myself in ten years. I hope that answers your question sufficiently," she says with the usual volume of stoicism in her voice, but with a secret yet conspicuously aware charm to her tone.

What a clever little girl. She knows exactly what she's doing, and she knows just how Carol will respond. It dumbfounds her even more. All she can reply with is a weak, simple "Yeah..."

Lucy softly smiles at that as she takes a moment's solace in admiring her work. But she isn't one to be very egotistical. She doesn't dwell on it for very long before setting another plan in motion. "So, I've fortuitously gotten what I wanted from this reading. I think I can really conjure up the magic I need to see into the future," she begins.

"That's an understatement," Carol amusedly scoffs. With just how detailed and tailored her fortune telling was, it's almost enough to fully convince her that magic is really at play here. Regardless of whether or not that's the case though, Lucy continues on.

"So, how about we look into your future now?"

Hearing that makes Carol's eyes well up just a little more. Not enough to actually cry again, but dang. She has more to offer? She has more to say? What else could there possibly be to delve into? The actual best day of her life isn't enough? There's something else that tops it? She actually has to laugh a little as she shakes her head with disbelief, trying to find something else to offer besides flabbergastedness and jaw dropping. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she's able to get out, almost like word vomit with how abrupt and quickly it leaves her mind and lips.

Because of that, she doesn't expect anything of Lucy. She doesn't expect a joke, or a smile, or anything of the sort. And she certainly doesn't anticipate the way the little pale girl's head cocks slightly to the side, as if she's having some sort of moment of clarity.

"I don't know. In a weird sort of way, I can see myself in you. I know that's weird to say coming from someone younger, but… I feel like maybe we're a lot a like in some ways," Lucy starts to tell her. The words make the grin from Carol's face wipe away fast, giving way to something more serious, considerate, and attentive. Maybe it's something she's considered before, maybe it's something she's just now realizing. But she knows whatever she has to say, it's certainly important. "We know what it's like to feel alone, all while feeling like we have love. Does that make any sense?"

Like a shot to the heart, it makes Carol Pingrey freeze. She hardly expected today to be anything like this. The staying home, the upsetting Luna, the Coca Cola daydreams, none of it. She definitely didn't expect Lucy to paint the picture of her wedding with Luna, that's for sure, but she just keeps the surprises coming with what she's just said.

And she's right. She's right about every single word. That's what hits the hardest. There was a time when Carol was her age, young and impressionable, eager to discover the hidden gems of the world. As great as it could a lot of the times, like when Mom and Dad were actually home, there were times when things really weren't so easy. Like when they started working more, and when she and Lori started drifting apart. She would obsess over grades and academia the same way little Lucy fascinates herself with all things Victorian and Goth, choosing to spend many nights alone with her violin instead of just having fun. She felt it was important at the time. It was important at the time. It was definitely easier than being made to feel alone by everyone...

"I think it does."

Lucy takes a second to fully digest the substance of her words, actually replying with a bit of a smirk. "Plus, we're both too sentimental for our own good,"

"You can definitely, definitely say that again," Carol laughs. Gosh, so many different feelings all surging through the air of the room. It's hard to imagine it being so easy to want to laugh and cry all at the same time, but somehow, Lucy's made it rather easy.

She knows the risk in egging her on further, but if the good can outweigh the bad just as it has with the first reading, she'll gladly accept the chances.

"Alright Lucy, if you want to look into my future some more, go ahead. I can't say no to someone like you right now."

Silent contemplation lasts only a few moments before Lucy fully smiles once more.

"Well, let's see what we can find then."

Again, she brings her small hands to the dome of the glass ball. The fog inside begins swirling more violently as she uses her 'magic' to seek and capture something worth holding onto. It takes her more of that same clinching and groaning from before to power through the task, but with time, she's able to reach a fraying thread, grabbing on to see what it can offer her.

Carol only watches with great anticipation. What could the little girl possibly offer her next? Everything she's given her thus far has been nothing short of perfection. In a way, she braces herself for disappointment. Surely Lucy will run out of steam, so it's easier to just accept this now and start preparing for some words of encouragement and appreciation despite that.

However, she makes herself the victim not of self fulfilling prophecy, but of overlooking a different possibility. One that she didn't realize could worry her as much as when she sees the shocked expression donning on Lucy's face. She lets out a concerned gasp while searching for a fortune to tell, freezing in place as whatever she finds leaves this impact on her. It makes Carol's heart skip a beat, and she tenses up just as much as she worriedly asks "What is it? What's wrong?"

Lucy says nothing, practically jabbing Carol's heart. Oh lord, whatever it is, it must be really bad for her to turn into stone like this.

A single tear rolls down her eye, but the frozen look on her face soon turns out to not be paralysis of fear, but rather awe.

"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen…"

I hear a song playing quietly over the radio. I'll never be your beast of burden. My back is broad but, it's a hurting. All I want is for you to make love to me...

It sounds really nice, really serene. It matches the view of the room. There's an evening sun shining perfectly through the window, not too bright to blind, but bright enough to make everything a vibrant, golden hue. It glows heavenly with the snow's white blanket giving it just the right chiaroscuro.

You sit upright on your bed, wearing not only what has to be one of the coziest sweaters I've ever seen, but also one of the most authentic, warm smiles I've ever seen on a person's face. You're at peace. Nothing in this moment is worrying or troubling you. All you have to be concerned with right now is the positivity in your life, and judging by who you have beside you, holding your hand and snuggling close with you… there's a lot of it to go around.

Luna has a snuggly sweater of her own, a shade of purple to match your crystal, icy blue. Her eyes are shut at first, relaxed as she considers similar thoughts to your own. They open slowly though as she decides to look to your eyes, meeting them that same way I see you guys do so often. The way that shows just how much you two really love being together. They soon look down to your hand though. Not the one she holds in her own, but the other hand. The one rubbing her tummy.

The one rubbing the life growing inside.

She's definitely a few months in, from the size of her. I'd guess the third trimester. She just smiles so contently as you carefully rub up and down, massaging the two people you love the most, letting them know you're there for them. That you'll always be there for them.

It stays like this for a little while. Just the two- well, the three of you, completely at ease, completely calm as you just appreciate each other's company and nothing else. You definitely don't mind though. This… this is all you've ever wanted. I can feel it. I can see it.

You're not all left alone for very long though. A gentle rapping comes to your door. At first, you guys try to ignore it, but Luna nudges her head at you in a way that tells you to acknowledge whoever it must be. You playfully roll your eyes and stand up, slowly making your way over the door to open it.

On the other side, Lily makes herself known, holding an acoustic guitar by its neck in her hand. She realizes that maybe she's come at a bad time, but the two of you meet her concern with nothing short of compassion and understanding in the form of smiles. Luna nudges her head to have her come in, and you too gesture her that it's fine.

So she smiles back before making her way inside the room, careful not to bump her guitar into anything as she has a seat on the chair over by the bed. You take your place back beside your wife, the mother of your child, and snuggle just as close to her as before. A little small talk gets exchanged between the three of you, the usual questions and pleasantries and fun little quips. But Lily gets to the point soon enough at Luna's instruction, and shows the two of you what she has prepared.

She brings the guitar to her lap, then makes sure it's in tune just as Luna has taught her to do before placing her fingers where she needs them to be on the fretboard. She takes a deep breath, then begins picking the strings with her fingers to create a beautiful, familiar melody.

Silent night… Holy night… All is calm. All is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace… Sleep in heavenly peace…

She doesn't make a single mistake, music or rhythm. Her voice doesn't crack, she doesn't fall out of line. It's quite literally perfect...

It really is. It leaves Carol shaking and teary eyed, burning the image of her and a pregnant Luna Loud together in her mind's eye for permanent reference. The fact that Lucy could offer her such a wonderful image, the fact that she could see Lily singing Silent Night to them just as she has done for her on this very evening… It wipes away all doubt in her mind that the little girl really is magic. Maybe not in the way she says she is, but then again, maybe so. That doesn't matter though. What matters is the way it makes her heart swell up with such love. For the love of her life, to the idea of them having a child together some day, for Lucy herself.

And she's sure to let her know it as she slowly stands herself up from the seance table, methodically pacing her way over to her. Lucy is a bit anxious to see how she approaches her, but any worry blooming in her mind is soon faded when she feels the taller girl wrapping her arms around her for a tight hug.

"I love you," Carol tells her through her sniffling, affectionately running her hand up and down her back.

At first, it surprises her. It takes her a moment for it to fully register just what she's doing. But after a few seconds to let it sink in, she offers her arms back in return, wrapping them lovingly around her sister's girlfriend. "I love you too, Carol," she simply says.

And for a few slow burning, well savored seconds, they remain this way. Two friends happy to exchange their love for one another in a warm hug. Carol eventually breaks away from her though, using her sweater sleeve to wipe some of the tears from her cheeks. It's the best cry she's had in ages, one to alleviate so much tension inside. Not just from the new, sensational emotions she feels from hearing such lovely things about her future, but also the present she has to undertake. The past she's carried on her shoulders. The days of future past that have all made her the Carol Pingrey she is today.

Like a song coming to her mind, she feels a powerful urge to take action. The future is far from set, but with the idea that her life with Luna can be anything at all like Lucy has described, she knows in her heart what she has to do now. So she doesn't waste much time as she fixes herself up, making her way over to the doorway.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asks, worry obvious in her voice.

Carol stops to face her. After the early Christmas gift she's given her in the form of these readings, the very last thing she wants to do is soil her mood this night. So the first thing she sets herself to do is make her way back over to her, kneeling down to meet her eye level with a smile in her eyes. "I will be, Lucy. I have to finish Luna's gift. I can't let this time I have away from her slip away," she explains, her heart somewhat heavy to think that. But she's come to terms with the fact that that's the way it has to be, especially with the decisions she's made.

She won't let it hinder her in anyway, though. Not anymore. She'll work through the temporary wistfulness by drawing like hell has frozen over, keeping in mind all the ways she can make up for her shortcomings to Luna by being the best girlfriend, wife, and mother she can possibly be for her one day.

So with that, she moves Lucy's bangs enough to just barely reveal her hazel eyes. She makes a point not to stare into them, knowing that she wouldn't like that. Instead, she just plants a small peck of a kiss on her forehead, then concealing those eyes with those ravenette bangs once more. It's a small gesture of love, but it's enough to make the little girl's heart fill to the brim with joy as she watches Carol leave her bedroom.

She sighs a deep "Sigh" of relief, making her way back to the seance table. The mystical fog within her crystal ball has all disappeared now, her magic having lost its effect on the talisman. It doesn't bother her in the slightest though, because she knows her magic hasn't worn off anywhere else for anyone else. And she wears that with a smile as she makes her way over to her trusted companion Edwin.

"I don't know where those visions came from, Edwin. I really don't. Maybe I've just read too many romance novels, heh," she jokes to him before getting serious again. "But I'm happy I could help Carol feel a little better. If anyone deserves to have a Merry Christmas, it's her."

She never hears that, but she doesn't have to. The muse inside of her burns brighter with every second that passes, every step she takes back to Luna's bedroom to get back to work on her present. Nothing can stop her now. Even so, she decides to take one last pause before fully committing to her work for the rest of the evening…

Lisa's bedroom door is open just enough for her to have a peek inside, and she quietly tiptoes her way over to do just that. First she looks to the little prodigy's desk, checking to see if she's still hard at work. She isn't actually. In fact, she's nowhere to be seen. It perplexes Carol just a little, but she doesn't dwell on it too much.

"Must be going on a Coke run," she thinks before shifting her focus on the person she actually came in to check on.

As expected, baby Lily rests peacefully in her bed, unperturbed by the silent night. In her dreams, she can be free to laugh and play and enjoy a world of infinite possibilities just as she would if she were with the waking world. Maybe she dreams of the toys she'd like for Christmas, or her favorite treats, or maybe even playing with her beloved siblings and parents. No matter what it is though, Carol is just happy to know that she's happy. Like every little girl like her deserves to be.

She doesn't shut the door, she doesn't make a sound. She just smiles to herself with that in mind as she turns away, ready to get back to work, ready to make sure Luna has the best Christmas of her life.

After all, she's got to have Lily sing for them someday.

Chapter Text

Stupid Cold

The hour is kind to Carol at first. The momentum stays in her favor with every brush and stroke of her stylus against the canvas of her tablet, perfecting her lineart, excelling her coloring, painstakingly mastering her shading. Her wrist starts to hurt with time though, and there are times where she makes mistakes and has to stop, take a step back, and do something over. One step forward, two steps back.

She uses her music and her inspiration from the things Lucy, Lisa, and Leni told her to fight the frustrations. She can't get sleepy now, not when she's so close to being finished. Not when she sacrificed the night with Luna to stay where she is...

*At a truck stop diner just outside of Lincoln, the night is black as the coffee he was drinkin'. And in the waitress' eyes he sees the same 'ol light shinin'. He thinks of Colorado… And the girl he left behind him…*

*He said I wanna see you again, but I'm stuck in colder weather. Maybe tomorrow will be better… Can I call you then?*

Her head gets droopy like her eyelids, but she keeps her music playlist shuffling and a can of Dr. Pepper by her side to keep from faltering. To keep from letting her mind wander to the bad things that could happen when Luna comes back to her.

Yes, there's a possibility that all of those things Lucy envisioned for the two of them were a bunch of snow. But she wants to believe that there was truth to all of it, that the magic she spoke of before wasn't something metaphorical, but literal. And if that's the case, she knows her bond with Luna can't be broken. But even then, she fears how she'll be when she comes back from her caroling with her- their friends. Will she ask her to leave? Will she go straight to bed and leave her hanging until the morning? What if she for some reason decides not to come home at all? The odds aren't high, but even small odds have been against Carol before. Like at a certain restaurant where she was supposed to just tell Luna she likes her and then go home happy.

At least they got to go home happy even after stupid Mr. Sunderland and stupid Becky the python ruined everything.

The jukebox plays on drink by drink, and words to every sad song seems to say what she thinks. But she keeps pressing on, putting all of her heart and soul into the drawing of Luna and Mick Swagger. It must be perfect. It has to be perfect for her. Not just to make up for everything stupid she's done in the past, but to show her just how much she loves her and how much she wants to keep on loving her going forward. Into the new year, into the decade, into the rest of their lives.

Her efforts are not for nothing, at least at the end of this hour. It's as if smoke leaves the stylus as she pulls it back from the tablet screen, letting her hand fall to her side, letting her body lean back in the chair to take just a moment's rest. She idles for a few seconds, resting her buzzy eyes and taking in the deepest breath. "It's finished…"

She refuses to let herself rest a second longer though. Just because the present is done does not mean that she can afford to slow down now. What if there are mistakes she missed? What if she overlooked some perspectives that need more color? What if some lines are jagged? What she finds when she looks to the screen though is nothing short of perfect. Even being her own worst critic, she can find no room for improvement with this drawing. Not only does she feel confident that Luna will love it, but she herself finds it to be some of her best work yet.

That makes her smile as she leans back in the chair again, finishing off the soda on her desk with one last swig before carelessly letting it fall to the floor. "I did it. I really did it!" she excitedly blurts out. It feels good to finish her latest big project and actually be satisfied with the result. That's a rarity for any artist, she imagines.

It also serves as a temporary distraction from everything else for a little while. She savors the feeling of pride as she stands herself up from the desk to have a good stretch, not even caring that she probably looks a little unattractive with her hair kind of frizzy, her belly showing through the crack of her sweater, and the way she scratches her butt with a grin. It doesn't matter! She did good! And she carries that with her as she paces over to the bedroom window, hoping to get a look at the outside world and at least imagine fresh air.

Despite the ups and downs, she can't deny the view. The blanket of glowing white snow underneath the streetlights of Franklin Avenue is a sight that just doesn't get old. The moon and the stars in the sky are just as splendid as always, but they're made even more of a spectacle with contrasts of blues, yellows, and whites through this bedroom window. It just feels like Christmas time. Like the world is somehow right in this moment.

Were it so easy that her thoughts could stay so content? Seconds drain, and with them, she feels a familiar longing coming to her. Loneliness has always been her least favorite thing to feel, but in this moment, she remembers what it's like. She remembers what it's like to be a little girl who just wanted to spend more time with her parents. A growing teenager who couldn't stay best friends with Lori Loud. The queen bee of Royal Woods high whose friends talked trash about her behind her back while she hopelessly pined for the company of her one true love…

But, it really wasn't so bad. Especially during the holidays. Mom and Dad never shied away from being there to carve pumpkins and have big Thanksgiving dinners. They often took the week of Christmas off to make the most of baking cookies, decorating stockings, and hanging up the Christmas tree together. And she knows that this year she'll do the same with them.

Better yet, she has another family she gets to spend time with this holiday season.

Remembering that they're just a doorway away from being kept company, she decides she's had enough of tormenting herself. The view outside the window isn't going anywhere, and her drawing is finished. Nothing is stopping her from going and spending some time with the people she loves.

Well, most of them anyway.

Her favorite instrumental rendition of O Tannenbaum, nice and slow, begins to play over her speaker just as she walks through the bedroom door. Rather than go back to turn it off though, she decides to just let it play, even leaving the door slightly cracked so that she can hear its faint tune in the hallway. She realizes now just how really tired she is after such a long day, but she doesn't even know the time. "I'll check and see when I get downstairs," she thinks as she yawns. Like a lady she's sure to cover her mouth though, just in case any of the Louds happen to see her. That's who she's after, anyway. Someone, anyone to just socialize with, if even for a few minutes.

She doesn't know when Luna will be home, she tries not to dwell on it. She wants to see her almost as much as she's nervous to see her, which makes for a bit of an uncomfortable combination in her gut. This late in the day, that's the last thing she wants, so she tries to get her mind away from discomfiting things to focus on finding some joy. It won't come from Lily, the little girl is still sleeping. As she should be. And it doesn't appear that Lucy or Leni are in their rooms like they were before either.

It perplexes Carol a little to find that everywhere she goes, lights are all out. The only illumination meeting the upstairs corridor comes from some blaring from the TV downstairs, so that's where she decides to go next. Maybe that's where everyone's gone?

Her theory proves to be correct as she pussyfoots her way down the steps, the only light again coming from the television. It's still blaring loudly with the sounds of cartoony wonder of what has to be the fifth rerun of Frozen today, but no laughter comes from Lana. No pouting comes from Lola. Instead, there's only some slight snoring as the two twins sleep peacefully on the couch in their mother's embrace. She too is asleep, she was probably the first to doze off after seeing this stinkin' movie so many times today. Being a mom sure is hard work, and everyone recognizes and respects her for it. Not just her family, but Carol as well. It brings a smile to her face to see just how much she does for her children. Not to mention the idea that she could be like that someday with her own kids.

She does her best to quietly sneak into the kitchen so that she doesn't wake them. Inside, she finds a mess where Lynn Sr and the kids must have given up on hard work in favor of play after finally finishing baking a smorgasbord of Christmas cookies. There's light from the above the stove, enough so that she can see everything clearly. But that's not the only light. From the window, she can see something else shining brightly, enough to brighten up the kitchen counter with a new shine. She steps closer to it to get a view of whatever it must be, and finds that the light is actually coming from the building next door.

Through the garage window, she can see the other Loud children; Leni, Lynn, Lucy, and Lisa all sitting around their father as he takes center stage with a large book in his hands. She isn't exactly sure what it is from where she stands, but if she had to guess from the size and shape, she'd guess that it's some sort of photo album. Maybe they're all going back to look at photos from Christmases past, or baby books, or just general family photos throughout the years. Whatever it is, it both warms and sinks her heart to watch the way they all seem so happy to share such a loving moment together.

Warmth knowing that they can have this love they all deserve. Sinking knowing that… she doesn't want to disturb. She doesn't want to go and ask to be part of something that maybe she doesn't belong in. Sure, they're her home away from home. But her last name isn't Loud. She wasn't there for all the pictures they're admiring. She might have an excuse to go and stick her nose in their business if Luna was here with here, but she's not. It's just her.

She lets out a sigh and she hangs her head lowley. She'll let them have their fun, and they'll be none the wiser to her feeling of being left out. It's not an ideal situation for her to be in, but she knows that it's best for everyone to just conceal it, don't feel it, and never let it show. She can be happy for them. It's the mature thing to do.

So she creeps away from the window, taking a deep breath. For a little while, she just stands in this spot, contemplating what she really wants to do, where she really wants to be, and if it was worth it to stay home tonight to finish that drawing. Sure, it came out magnificently. Probably her best work… maybe ever. But how many more nights does she have to feel this alone? Were those fortunes Lucy foresaw something to really get her hopes up for? Or were they the same types of delusions she had as a girl just obsessed with becoming part of the yearbook committee?

It's easy to lose herself in these thoughts with no one else around. But in a sort of serendipitous sort of way, she doesn't have to be alone much longer.

"Carol?" she hears a familiar voice quietly call from behind her. She turns to face them, finding Lori standing at the door way with what has to be the ugliest Christmas sweater she's ever seen, likely a gift from Bobby. A weak smile is encroached on her face, almost like she can just smell the wallowing in self pity from Carol. She also carries the handles of six mugs in her hands, probably here to get refills of hot cocoa with candy canes for her and the waking members of her family.

She's met with blinking eyes from her BFF for a second before she can shake herself of surprise, exhaustion, and distraction to address her. "Oh, uh, hey Lori," she simply greets, doing her best (and still failing) to hide all of those things in her tone.

Lori keeps wearing her same smile though as she sets the mugs down on the counter, making her way over to the refrigerator to retrieve some milk from inside. She looks to Carol with some inquisitiveness in her eyes, casually telling her, "Give me a hand, would ya?" before focusing back on her drinks.

"Oh, sure!" Carol chirps, still trying to work with the sudden changing tide. It's nice though. Now that her best friend is here, she can forget about being lonely and concerned for a little while. They can just talk about whatever, relax for a bit, not overthink things. Maybe…

Whatever they end up doing, she knows one thing. She's bent the ears of too many Loud siblings over her own problems tonight. Christmas is about giving, not receiving. So she decides to take some of that famous Pingrey initiative in an attempt to get some good conversation going that she hopes Lori will enjoy. "These aren't all for you, are they?" she jokingly asks as she helps Lori steady the first mug she pours milk into, earning her a little chuckle.

"Heh, no. Even my tubby butt can't drink all this hot chocolate myself," she quips back.

"Ooh, hot chocolate, huh? Sounds delish," Carol pleasantly replies.

Lori smiles to her now. "We have plenty of mugs if you'd like some," she invites.

Normally, Carol would let her icky feelings of being excluded get the better of her, and she'd decline. But the last thing she wants is for Lori to ask if something is wrong, so she decides to just accept her generosity. "I'd love some!" she tells her.

Thankfully, Lori doesn't grow suspicious. Or at least she doesn't show it as she makes her way over to the cupboard to fetch another mug for her guest. Cool, it's an Elsa mug. Because of course it is. Carol looks at it with a bit of a sardonic sneer, but Lori just haughtily grins back to her as she trades it off. "Because you're a queen, of course," she jokes, and Carol just fakes a goofy laugh as she sticks her tongue out. Lori does the same in return, and they just share a little laugh about it.

The next few seconds are quiet as they concentrate on mixing cocoa and marshmallows with everyone's mugs. Luckily, having Lori here makes it easy for Carol to distract herself from all those negative chakras that were shadowing her mood. She has her best friend to spend time with as she quietly awaits the return of Luna, so that's good. That's great!

She just hopes Lori feels the same way though. Because she doesn't say anything else as she places seven mugs of cocoa in the microwave for heating. She's too fast to peck the buttons for Carol to see the time, but just the act itself reminds her that she still hasn't even seen what time of night it is. She finally looks to the nearby clock, discovering that it's already 10:16 at night. Much later than she'd hoped.

"Oh my gosh," she blurts out, and it breaks Lori from her quiet reverie.

"What?" she simply asks.

"I just had no idea it was already this late!" she answers fretfully.

Lori doesn't seem so distraught though as she simply smiles and even laughs a little bit. "Well, you have been up in that room for the last few hours. I hope you've been taking bathroom breaks at least," she jokes.

It doesn't amuse Carol. One, she doesn't like toilet humor. Two, she already feels bad about being up there all this time. There's no need for someone else to join her in making her feel worse. But she doesn't express that. Instead, she just fakes a little laugh of her own before fixing her eyes to the ground. "Heh, I guess…"

Again, they get quiet as they wait for the cocoa in the microwave to finish heating. It isn't necessarily an awkward silence, though, but rather silence that comes with the two of them being preoccupied with their own thoughts and their own fatigue. The only thing is, Carol knows why she's so tired. She doesn't know what has Lori this way though. And the more she looks at her, the more she realizes it. The more she notices a longing in her eyes, the somber tone of her now faded smile.

Part of her doesn't want to say anything about it, but then again, Lori has been there many more times for her than she can count on two hands. It's what best friends are for, after all. So as Lori beats the microwave dinging by just one second to click it off and begin taking mugs of cocoa out, Carol decides it's time for those signature big girl panties to come on.

"Is everything okay?" she simply asks as she rests a comforting hand on the other girl's very ugly Christmas sweater shoulder. Seriously, if Bobby didn't give this to her, she just has really ugly taste then.

It surprises Lori in the same way that she took Carol off guard approaching her in this kitchen, and she wears the abrupt change in demeanor on her face as she turns to face her, fighting to make some words come out. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm totally fine," she stammers with nervous laughter.

Which of course means that she is totally not fine.

"Are you sure? You just seem quieter than usual," Carol follows up, trying to sound more supportive and less interrogating. Thankfully it seems to work, because Lori lets out a sigh that signifies a heart to heart is soon to come.

She places the hot cocoa to the side on a plate, choosing to look out the window rather than to Carol's eyes. Carol's gaze follows, and they find themselves looking out to the Loud family members still gathered around Lynn Sr as they reminisce in their family's loving history. It fills Carol's brim with those same feelings before, but now something new blends with the conflicted concoction. Now she finds herself wondering just why Lori could be feeling such things over such a sight.

Before she even has a chance to ask about it, or even start thinking of how she can go about it, Lori speaks up again, a little laugh escaping her. "I still remember the first time you came over here. We had a lot of fun that day. Even if Luna cried like a baby…"

Dang, that day comes up again. It really was such an amazing, unforgettable time. Sure, the juice and the crying didn't make for a perfect start, but by the time the two girls finished their playdate, it was just something to laugh about. Even a decade later. And while Carol could choose to ignore the fact that Lori mentioned Luna, she decides not to be too pushy about investigating her state of mind. Instead, she just lets herself make light of it just the same. "Yeah. Who would have thought that she'd be the girl I'd fall in love with?"

They share a laugh at that, then again fall into silence. It lasts a few seconds as they both look to the ground instead of each other, but Carol doesn't do well with such silences. She's been spoiled by the Louds in that regard. And well, who knows? Maybe Lori is just waiting for her to press on about the elephant in the room. So with that in mind, Carol decides to press on a little.

But again, just as she's about to speak, Lori starts talking again, this time looking directly to her. "You know, I'm having an awesome time. The six of us have just been out there laughing and messing around, I've been catching up with Lynn and Lucy, I never take time for that. Not as much as I should anyway," she trails off, the exasperation becoming clearer with every word spoken. Her eyes become sunken, and Carol finds her posture doing the same knowing that Lori's actually upset about something. She says nothing though, choosing instead to just pay close attention to whatever she'll have to say to her. "I'm scared though."

That isn't at all what Carol expected to hear, but still, she remains quiet.

Lori sucks in one more deep breath before elaborating further. "This time next year, I'll be a student at Fairway. I won't live in this house anymore. I won't have as much time to catch up with them. Or Leni, or Luna, or you. I'll be… I'll be distant…"

There's a cold silence that follows. Who could have known that Lori felt this way? In a way, it saddens Carol that she didn't, but more than anything, it bothers her that her best friend feels so distraught. "Lori, don't say that," she begins, not really even sure where else to go.

Lori knows though. She knows exactly how to articulate these thoughts that have swarmed inside her head for so long now. "It's true though. I'll be busy with school, you'll be busy with school and Luna… Bobby has the Bodega to run now… I have a hard enough time trying to be here for my ten siblings, my parents, Pop Pop, my friends, just everything and everyone! And every day it just gets harder…"

There's pain for both girls to hear and say such things. For Carol though, it's all about helping her friend feel better. Even if she can't get her feet on the ice without stumbling, she wants to reach out. And she'll do it one way or another. "Lori, where is this coming from? You haven't said anything about this at all."

She sighs, the guilt for even feeling like this burdening her. "I try to keep it to myself because I know the rest of you all have stuff going on. I know you're busy."

"I'm never too busy for my best friend though. Seriously, I hope you know that," Carol defends. "I don't care if I have to blow off school or projects or whatever! I want to be here for you the same way you always are for me."

Lori wants to smile at that, but she just can't. Not with these thoughts playing over and over in her head. "But that's just it. I can't always be there," she starts, looking to the ground with familiar sadness. She doesn't wear it long though. She looks back up to Carol, putting on a smile that she can't tell whether or not is forced or somehow a very weak yet authentic smile. "Look, I'm not trying to be a Debby Downer or seem like I'm super depressed or something. Because I'm not. I'm really not. In fact, I'm mostly excited about… you know… growing up. But days like today just don't happen as much as I'd like them to. I guess, I guess I just don't want to ever miss out on any Christmases at home…" she trails off, looking back out to the window, back out to her family members being so happy.

The past, the present, and the future have all been weighing down on Carol's mind this winter day. She wishes she could grasp pieces of them and keep them forever, like photos in an album. But that isn't possible. It doesn't need to be. "Well… I guess that's just it, huh? We can't hold on to moments forever. They wouldn't be special if we could," she says, her own thoughts bleeding into her heart for Lori's plight. "And things can't always go the way we plan. Sometimes, even with the people we love most, there are bumps in the road."

She doesn't let the bad outweigh the good though. Instead, she feels a very real, albeit tired smile curving on her face. She wants Lori to know there's warmth inside, and she does it by resting a reassuring hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"But you know what I know? I know you. And I know that no matter what, you'll be around for us. Me, your family, everyone. There's a reason we all like you so much, ya know?"

"I don't- I don't know..." Lori stutters, but Carol won't let her get all down on herself again. There's a snowball's chance in hell.

"Lori, just take the freakin' compliment."

She smiles, then Lori smiles. She can't be sure that she's right, not with the future so unclear and blurry. But for now at least, she knows she has the comfort of her best friend.

"Thanks Carol," she says, just holding the sincerest gaze with her for a few seconds. It's a good feeling, but not as good as the feeling of being able to joke around after some serious business. "I'd hug you, but I don't want to step on Luna's toes," Lori quips, making them laugh a little over the thought.

And while Carol would simply like to leave it at that, her giving Lori the attention she deserves… She can't help but let curiosity get the better of her. "You say that like she'll be home soon," she hesitantly utters, looking to the side as opposed to Lori's face.

She perks up, "Actually, I don't know about that. I've been texting Bobby and Ronnie Anne, and they both say the food drive is going really well," she says, "I guess Luna and Luan are providing 'entertainment,' and something about Flip handing out coupons?"

"Entertainment? Coupons?" Carol thinks, a whirlwind of new questions blizzarding her thoughts. First of all, it's amazing to think that Lisa could have so accurately predicted Luna and her friends going to the food drive. And Flip being… well, Flip. But for so long? Is the Food Drive really going off so well?

It's great to hear, because it is for a really good cause. And while she doesn't know anything about Lincoln's little girlfriend Ronnie Anne, she knows that for an eleven year old girl to work so hard to make something like this happen, it must bring her a tremendous amount of pride and satisfaction. Likely all earned. Add that to the fact that Luna, Luan, Sam, and Maggie must really be having fun… that's good. That's really good…

How long will she stay though? It's going on eleven o' clock, and while that's not particularly late for the standards of teenagers, what about all of the people at the food drive? Will they want to go home soon? How long will they stay after to clean up? Will Luna be tired and ready to go home? Will she even want to see Carol despite any of this?

She decides to finally put some of these feelings into words for Lori in hopes that she can maybe figure out where to go from here. But be it karmic retribution, divine intervention, or just cruel irony… both girls find themselves becoming distracted by a very familiar series of piano chords. They look to the living room, and lo and behold, it's time...

"I swear, they've played this movie a hundred times already. It's not even a Christmas movie!" Lori cusses as Elsa of Arendelle trudges through the snowy mountains alone, retreating from a world that seems out to get her. But despite her projected cynicism, Lori actually smiles. It's as if she's been cast under a spell, one where she must forget everything else and sing along, because she simply can't resist joining in.

"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen… A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like… I'm the queen… The wind is howling like a swirling storm inside… Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried…"

Her voice is quiet enough that only she and Carol can ever hear it, but she seems truly happy to be playing her part. Almost like she's been where Elsa's been, she puts her heart and soul into it, doing her best to work through very real emotions coming alive in her heart.

As Elsa keeps singing, the lyrics keep speaking to Carol. She thinks of Luna, she thinks of the drawing she has finished for her. Her heart begins beating faster and faster with every note, like a song from her violin is playing inside of her.

*Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be! Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know… Well now they know…*

She knows what comes next. And knowing it makes her decide what she has to do. The past is in the past, but her present is in her control. The future is in her control.

"I have to go," she simply says to Lori before darting her way towards the front door, leaving the other girl perplexed.

"Go? Where are you going?" she asks.

Carol doesn't answer right away. She stops for a second to check her phone, thinking too many thoughts at once about what she needs to do and how she needs to get it done. She isn't so selfish to just completely leave Lori hanging though, not like she possibly could have back before some self improvement. "It's not too late to make things right," she simply says before grabbing her winter coat from the coat rack, getting herself ready for the cold to come. She only stops for one more moment, only to look to the television one last time.

If Elsa can let it go, so can she.

So with that, she whisks out the door, leaving Lori alone with seven mugs of cocoa. It doesn't bother her in the slightest though. She knows where her friend is going, and she knows why. And that makes her happy.

Once outside, Carol can't resist. Like Lori before, she feels as if some sort of magic has come over her in the form of an empowering song. She has to sing, she has to smile. "Let it go! Let it go! Can't hold it back anymore… Let it go, let it go!"

"Turn away and slam the door!" Mr. Grouse hollers at her from his bedroom window, not singing. Just wishing neighbors weren't so loud.

It's like Carol doesn't even hear him though. She just prances her way to her black BMW, making her way inside to start the car as she keeps singing. "I don't care… what they're going to say!... Let the storm rage on…" she puts the keys in the ignition, turning them to let the engine roar. "The cold never bothered me anyway."

It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small. And the fears that once controlled her can't get to her at all. She feels that more and more as her tires tread the cleared roads of the suburbs and into the city. She takes some time between red lights and reveries to admire the blankets of snow and Christmas lights from people's houses and the city park. They're a reminder of just how wondrous this season is supposed to be. She wants to embrace that now more than ever, and she refuses to let doubts and insecurities plague her as she keeps singing her song for a quiet world to hear.

"It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through! No right, no wrong, no rules for me… I'm free!"

"Let it go! Let it go! I am one with the wind and sky! Let it go! Let it go! You'll never see me cry!" she continues with the windows cracked, letting the breeze keep her cool as she drives through a backroad, hoping it will serve as the quickest route to Ortega Avenue. It's a the same road her parents would take when she was a child, but for the opposite reason. They liked taking the long way home.

It's somewhat hard to recognize with the night sky's stars and her parents not laughing in the front seat, and it doesn't help that some flurries are starting to rain down from the heavens. But it doesn't distract her enough to keep her from singing! "Here I stand… And here I stay… Let the storm rage-"

Okay, the road is a different story. Apparently, whoever salts the roads doesn't get paid enough or is just too lazy to go through this part of town, because a big icy sheet becomes a big crappy obstacle in Carol's way. It's too late for her too slow down and avoid it though, and she feels her car spinning around before she can do anything else about it.

It all happens so fast that it's almost a blur. There's no pain and no hurt though, just some nausea as she comes to a screeching halt.

"On…"

She takes a moment to let the song in her head stop, then studies her surroundings. Luckily, it doesn't seem like any damage has been done to herself or the inside of the car, but to be sure things will be alright, she steps out in the cold night air to have a look at the outside.

Fortunately, her BMW doesn't seem to be harmed. Compromised by a ton of snow and ice, maybe. But that can melt. The paycheck for body repairs wouldn't. That's not going to be an issue though, it seems, so she calms herself down with deep breaths before trying to exert any further thinking energy.

She thinks of why she left the Loud house in the first place, and how she needs to get to Ortega Avenue Church. She thinks of how it's going to be an uphill battle, but she knows in her heart that she can make things right if she just shows Luna how sorry she is. If she shows her just why she stayed home to begin with. But first and foremost, she thinks of how she needs to find another way to get there, and how her precious car is literally on the rocks.

"Dang it!" she cusses, kicking a nearby block of snow that actually turns out to be a snow covered rock. "Oof!" she sounds before hopping up and down, repeating "Ow, ow, ow, ow," to herself as she covers her poor little foot. She doesn't think her toe is broken, but oh well. Even if it is, there's more important things to concern herself with.

Dang it, things were going okay for once! She was going to drive over to see Luna and say the perfect things to her about how sorry she is and all that junk like some sort of Disney movie! But now her stupid car is stuck out here in the stupid cold, and who knows how long it can take for her to get it towed?!

She could call Lori, she could call her parents. Heck, she could call Chunk if she needed to. But even then, how long would it take? An hour? Two? Too much time to spare, she knows that much.

Which sucks. It really sucks. She got a small window of time to reasonably go to the church and see if she could still save the night from herself. She could still go tell Luna how much she loves her, how sorry she is for not just going stupid caroling earlier. Instead, she got her stupid Carol Pingrey Christmas Carol with everything past, present, and future… and she has nothing to even show for it now!

It was so easy to feel inspired and in control just a matter of minutes ago. But now, just like the night where she wanted to confess her feelings to Luna at the stupid Stinky Clam, she feels defeated. Cheated. Robbed of any hope to be victorious.

Worse yet? She knows she deserves it.

She doesn't care that there's snow on the ground, or that it will cover her butt and make it all wet and soppy. She just doesn't care. She kneels down beside her car, and buries her face in her forearms. She doesn't cry though. She doesn't even feel the urge to. She just feels a numbing sense of disappointment. For herself, for Luna…

"I'm sorry Luna. For everything…" she whispers into her sleeves, hoping that somehow, some way she'll be able to hear it.

She doesn't. Of course she can't. As much as Carol's tricked herself into believing that anything close to magic can exist in this world, no amount of holiday spirit or wishing upon stars can help her right now. The sun doesn't revolve around her wants and needs, and neither does her Moon. And she knows this. She accepts it. So there's no need to get excited or get in any hurry, she just sits here, the world cold and quiet around her…

For a moment, any way.

At first, she isn't even sure if it's real. She thinks that maybe it's just a sound in her mind that her brain remembers. But as she slowly raises her head up, she realizes just how real it really is.

In the distance, there's music. She isn't sure what song, she doesn't even care. All she knows is that only one person thinks every song needs a C Power Chord, and this tune has plenty of them.

"Luna!"

She isn't so far away after all! And she's still playing music for the people at the food drive! That means there's still time, and if she stops sulking and hurries her fat butt up, she might be able to still make things right!

Yes, there's the matter of her car being stranded, and the fact that she probably shouldn't have sat down in the snow all petulantly. Because yeah, her butt really is soggy now. She doesn't care though! What matters most of all is that there's still time to make things right, there's still time to apologize, and there's still time to...

"Let it go! Let it go! And I'll rise like the break of dawn!" she sings as she gets back up to her feet.

Let it go! Let it go! That perfect girl is gone…" she sings as she faces the way of the music.

"Here I stand… in the light of day!..." she sings as she starts trudging with monumental footsteps.

"Let the storm rage on!..." she sings at the very top of her lungs, letting the whole world know that not a damn thing can stop Carol Pingrey from getting to Luna Loud.

"The cold never bothered me anyway!"

Chapter Text

Stupid, I Do

Luna Loud has always been known as "The Loudest Loud." Ever since her discovery of all things rock and roll, her life has been dedicated to the sound of music. She lives it, breathes it, carries music with her everywhere she goes.

Literally. She always has her phone, or an MP3 player, or even a CD Player if she needs one.

That's only when she doesn't have a trusty guitar though. She's always appreciated making her own music much more than simply listening to others, but life isn't so convenient that she can just spend all of her time playing instruments. And even if she could, it's just impractical to think that she doesn't need rest from it here and there. Which is the case right now as she sits by herself on the edge of the stage erected outside of Ortega Avenue Church, just barely pricking the strings of an acoustic guitar owned by Hector Santiago as she thinks things over.

She looks out to the fray of people all gathered around to make the most of tonight's canned food drive, most smiling and laughing, some yawning with fatigue. It has been a long night, and even Luna can feel herself beginning to wear down. It's mostly the people with holiday cheer to keep her attention, like her brother and his friends, or Sam and her fellow carolers. Even Flip is hard to ignore with how uncharacteristically peppy he's been the last couple hours.

But Carol hasn't left her mind all night. Yeah, it stinks they had an argument, it stinks that she decided to stay home and work on whatever stupid thing it is that keeps her so busy. Most of all though… it stinks that she isn't here.

She wistfully sighs before looking back down to her guitar again. There aren't many songs she has left to play. In fact, there's only one that speaks as her muse right now, but she just doesn't have the heart to sing it. Not when tonight is supposed to be about giving back to others. So she doesn't bother with it, deciding to put the old acoustic guitar to the side.

It didn't dawn on her just how tired she really is until a hardy yawn comes to her, one she has to really stretch as she drags it out. It's a big one alright. So big that she doesn't even notice the person approaching her until she's let it all out.

"You've been spending too much time playing nursing home gigs if you're seriously getting sleepy now," Luan jokes with her usual cheeky demeanor. It takes Luna by pleasant surprise to have her younger sister joining her, and she just smiles back as she sits down beside her.

"You try singing a dozen songs for an adoring audience," she retorts, playfully nudging Luan with her elbow.

The other Loud sister just laughs though, deciding to stop with roasts to let her have the win this one time. Maybe she's a little tired herself too, because rather than try to come up with more attempts at sophomoric humor, she just sighs with relief as she looks to the crowd of people too. "It's pretty amazing how all of these people came here just to help out," she says, no hint of sarcasm or tomfoolery anywhere in her voice.

Luna almost has to do a double take to make sure she's really not foolin' with her or setting up for some twisted punchline, but she doesn't jump to any conclusions. Instead, she just gives her the benefit of the doubt, letting her guard down to agree with her. "Yeah, it's some kind of wonderful," she echoes, hoping that this really will result in some sincere conversation.

That's one way Carol's rubbed off on her. She's such a sap anymore.

Luan just keeps smiling a warm smile, looking to the crowd before making her eyes back to Luna. "How are you holding up?" she finally asks, making it known now that that was her initial intention coming here like this.

It doesn't annoy Luna though. Instead, she just takes it in stride as she looks to her sister and casually shrugs. "Honestly, I'm pretty good. I'm really happy that everything seems to be going well tonight," she begins. "I've never seen Ronnie Anne happier. Lincoln and Clyde are good. Bobby's good. The family's good. Heck, even Flip is trying to be cool!" she chirps.

But even with her most sincere enthusiasm, Luan can read between the lines. Even so, she knows her sister well enough to know that she's not looking to say anything more about Carol. She'll work things out on her own the way she wants to. It's concerning, sure. But it's also admirable.

So instead of pressing on it, Luan just keeps smiling softly, both for Luna and for someone else that comes to her mind. "I haven't even heard Maggie complain much. I think she got the humbug out of her butt," she jokes.

Luna smiles at that too, laughing quietly as she searches the sea of pedestrians for the aforementioned emo girl. She joins Sam, Bobby, Lincoln, and Clyde in making some small talk about how things are going, pretending to laugh when they do about Avengers memes and Duke Nukem of all things. Seeing her make the effort is heartwarming, especially when she remembers why.

"You two are cute together," she says, not looking directly to Luan in hopes of not embarrassing her too much. It doesn't matter though. Luan clams up in a way she very seldom does, her cheeks burning bright with crimson now as she fumbles over words.

"I uh- We're just friends! Seriously!" she defends, clearly a little annoyed by her sister's comment.

But Luna doesn't get defensive back. Instead, she just cooly rolls her hand. "Yeah, yeah. I know, I know."

For a few seconds, they get quiet. Luna knowing she's right even when she's told she's wrong, Luan contemplating how to continue the conversation without making herself look too conspicuous. And while Luna could expect a poor segway into a joke or a pun, or just Luan fibbing about needing to be somewhere else, she's surprised instead by more seriousness from the clowning girl.

"But, uhm… Let's say I did like her. Hypothetically, of course," she starts, nervously tapping the ends of her index fingers together. And every girl in the world knows that that's basically admitting to liking someone, but Luna doesn't get in-your-face about it. She just lends her ear to hear what she has to say. "You don't think people would like, think I'm just trying to be like you or something, would they?"

Luna's eyes widen. The idea that Luan could be scared to be romantically involved with a girl because of herself being with a girl had never occurred to her, but now it almost makes too much sense. Even if she didn't directly impose such a thought on her, she decides to take a little responsibility for it, enough to at least offer some sisterly advice in the heat of the moment telling her what to do. "Yo, let's get one thing straight here, Lu. If you like Maggie like that, you can't let being afraid stop you from telling her," she assertively begins. "I mean, if you think she likes you too, don't listen to them, cuz what do they know? Some people are going to be jerks no matter what you do. But if you and Maggie like each other… That's all that matters, you know?"

Luan knows that, of course she does. She makes it obvious in her eyes with the way she looks to Luna so piteously. At the same time, there's still childlike fear. It's not so easy to make such a big move. "Well… Alright… Uhm…" she stammers before composing a follow up. "Okay, let's say hypothetically that maybe she does like me back. Or, I think she does at least. I don't know, I haven't asked or anything," she rambles, feeling more nervous with every word that comes out of her mouth.

Luna can't help but grin a little though. She knew this day would come, she just didn't expect it to be tonight of all nights. Even so, she's played this sort of scenario out in her mind enough times to have a decent amount of confidence in what she has to offer in response. "Well, you know what I'm going to tell you next, right? The only way you can find out is to make a move," she tells her. Firmly yet lovingly. "Hypothetically speaking, of course," she's sure to add to let her know it's her well being over all else.

"Yes! Of course. Of course, heh heh," Luan anxiously agrees with a discomfited laugh before swallowing it to embrace that nervousness for once. It isn't easy, but she takes Luna's words to heart, at least. And even then, she still feels herself finding some relief over airing this out with her. "Thanks for listening Luna. I don't know what I'd do without you," she offers her with sincerity.

And while Luna could easily gush it up right back the way her family members and friends are known to do, she knows Luan appreciates a good joke. Even if it's stupid. "I know, you'd just make jokes with the stupid puppet of yours," she ribs, earning her a laugh and a jostle from Luan that she returns with ones of her own.

They finish their brief horseplay to enjoy the fuzziness of the moment, and while they could easily leave it at that to go about their business and possibly even pack it up so they can head home, Luan decides to bring out one more piece of seriousness from her heart. If only to repay her sister's kindness. "Last time I'll ask, you sure you're okay? About… about Carol, I mean," she asks, leaving any ambiguity behind to focus on brass tacks.

It stings a little for Luna to hear it, but again, she doesn't falter or get excited. Part of it from being tired, part of it is from the good outweighing the bad. But she isn't so careless as to neglect her own disappointment over where she stands with her girlfriend. "Yeah, I'll be okay," she says, the longing clear in her voice as she hangs her lead low, bringing her finger to the stage to dance a little circle on it. "I just wish she was here, ya know?"

That's fair, more than fair. Luan can understand what she means, she can even relate to it to a degree. But this isn't about her, and she doesn't want to push her buttons any further. Instead, she wants to do what she feels is her purpose in life, and that's to try and bring a smile to her sister's face. She starts by trying to come up with ideas for jokes, of course; but nothing clever comes to mind. So she wracks her brain a little more, thinking hard about where to go from here.

Thankfully it doesn't take too much longer, though. She has a bit of an epiphany when the answer makes itself clear before her very eyes in the form of an acoustic guitar. "Hey! Why don't you give everybody one last song?" she suggests with glee. "I'm sure they'd all appreciate a good send off tune. What do you say?"

Uncertain at first, Luna says nothing. She looks to the ground below, some bah-humbug rattling her core. However… when she finds herself looking back out to the crowd before her, she can't help but feel those same burning passions flaming inside that she felt upon first watching Mick Swagger as a little girl. The children, the parents, the (likely inebriated) Flip, her friends all smiling and laughing… it reminds her just what Christmas is all about. It reminds her just what her music is all about.

So she smiles, pepping her step as she fixes her posture. "Ah what the heck. If I don't do it, than who will?!" she cheers as she stands herself up and makes her way over to the guitar.

"That's the spirit!" Luan says as she follows suit, and she wears the happiness well as Luna gets prepared to engage in one last song with her audience. However, the smile wanes when she remembers something pretty important. "Just don't do something Flip knows the words to. I'm like, half sure he's been drinking eggnog," she tells her sister, pointing him out in the crowd.

He tries to tell some kids that he knows Santa personally, but the just snicker to themselves before ignoring him to play Fortnite on their phones.

It's the last of Luna's concerns as she approaches the microphone on the stage. The people in the crowd notice her well before she can even announce her presence, and they start giving her their undivided attention one by one as she assumes a performing position. "Everybody doin' alright?" she asks over the mic, earning her positive cheers in response. Not a lot, just enough to indicate that people are in the mood for one more song, but only one more. Which is fine with her, that's all she has anyway. "Cool, cool…" she simply says as she fixes her eyes back down on the guitar in her hands.

Every guitar has a story behind it, and she knows this one has been used by Hector Casagrande for many occasions. Lifting spirits during times of hardship, singing at birthday parties and Thanksgiving dinners, probably even some serenades to a lover or two. She channels that sentimentality of the past, as well as the energy in her arena tonight to dive halfway into the pool of her emotions. Music comes from the heart, man.

The other half is what's been there all along. The burning desire she has with Carol Pingrey; the love they share that brings just as much pain as pleasure sometimes. It hasn't always been easy to get along with her, heck, they hated each other once upon a time. But she knows if she could see her right now, if she could only have her to herself, she'd only want to tell her just how much she wants her. How much she needs her.

The song she has in mind isn't one she'd considered before today, but the more it's played in her mind, the more she's correlated it with their relationship. And while she couldn't find it in her to share it with anyone before, it's the only thing she knows she can sing now.

"Alright, I know the sun's sinking real low, I won't keep you guys too long," she begins, not wanting to stall anymore. Her guitar is in tune, her feelings will be in it, she's more ready than she'll ever be. Carol or not. "So here's one last little diddy for y'all. I hope you like it."

With that, she takes one last big breath, ready to begin her closing performance…

The timing couldn't be anymore perfect, either.

Before Luna could even get to the microphone, Carol Pingrey beat the blistering cold and the blankets of snow to make her way to the lot of Ortega Avenue Church. The star bright Christmas lights, the sound of music, the air of festivity all made it easy to find. Maybe not so easy to get to, but easy to find, nevertheless!

She didn't waste any time in trying to find Luna either. The moment she joined the crowd of people, she started scanning for any sign of her, hunting like a shark with the scent of blood. "Excuse me, pardon me, I like that coat!" she uttered to strangers as she shuffled through, only stopping in her tracks upon seeing her friends together. "Bobby!" she called out to him, knowing that this was almost as much his responsibility as Ronnie Anne's.

He and the others all looked to her with surprise (except Maggie, because, well, nothing really surprised her). "Carol! Good to see you!" he greeted with a smile. But she didn't smile back, not because she was unhappy to see him, but because of her mission and how serious it is. That, and seeing Luna's friends knowing that she knows that they know she said no to caroling earlier made her feel pretty crummy.

"Bobby, good to see you too!" she greeted before getting straight to business. "Have you seen Luna?"

"Uh, yeah. She just took to the stage again, actually," he answered, pointing her out for her.

Gosh, she looks so intimidating up there. All of the mental rehearsing of how their talk could go hardly proves fruitful, because now she just feels like the same little girl visiting the Loud house for the vert first time. Heck, it makes her shiver more than her cold, damp butt.

At the same time, it brings her a sense of serenity seeing just how much of a natural she is on the stage, like she's really destined to do this sort of thing for a living. All eyes on her don't bring her fear or nervousness. No, she just takes it in stride, ready to sing for them as if they're all just one trusted friend in the comfort of her own bedroom. It's somewhat contagious too, because Carol feels her heartrate ebbing just slightly as she realizes it's not about her at the moment.

"Oh, alright," she simply says, keeping from getting any more pushy or excitable. Which might be a good thing, because she also realizes she has another order of business to take care of.

She sees the way Bobby, Lincoln, and Clyde all look at her somewhat awkwardly. Despite not being involved directly, they've heard the story. They know what she did. And while Maggie doesn't look to her with any sort of real visible emotion in her stare, she knows that deep down their must be some passing judgment. Like, even emos have feelings, right?

But of them all, it's Sam Sharp to truly look hurt. The somberness in her eyes is clear as November rain, and it pains Carol to see it. It really, really does.

"Uhm, I think owe you guys an apology," she begins, not knowing how well it will work. She never meant to hurt anyone, but that doesn't mean her actions wouldn't have consequences. And being here now makes her feel the weight of that.

She doesn't get very far either before Sam cuts her off, a stern tone to her voice and face. "Save it, Carol…" she tells her, furrowing her brow as she borrows a hole into her soul with her eyes. Gosh, it makes her feel so gulity and crappy and stupid. She's probably going to hate her forever after today, and truth be told, she knows she's come to deserve it. She'll just have to live with the shame for the rest of her days…

Or maybe she's just a drama queen who jumps to conclusions...

"All that matters is you're here now," Sam finishes as a warm smile comes to her face. It invites her to let her guard down, to see that she truly means it. She doesn't hate her, she couldn't if she tried. And while Carol is apprehensive to fully believe it at first, she keeps looking back to those baby blue eyes. In them, there's empathy and understanding. No resentment, no pain. Relief, even.

Which makes her feel relief too. Even more so when Maggie speaks her mind.

"Yeah, I couldn't hate you any more. I have enough hate in my heart," she affectionately tells Carol, her tone matching her super vibrant, super upbeat personality.

"That's- that's good to know," she weakly laughs, almost ready to completely relax.

"Besides, I'm sure Luna will just be happy to see you," Luan Loud says as she sneaks up behind the blonde haired girl, joining the group of friends to enjoy the last song. It startles her at first the way her arm wraps around her shoulder for a brief little side hug, but with a lapsing seconds and the way they all meet her with kindness in their eyes, she warms up to the idea of forgiveness.

She can only meet them all with a warm, loving smile. She doesn't have the words to say to them now, but later, she'll be sure to thank them all for their kindness.

After she deals with a certain someone first.

Again, her eyes look to Luna. All eyes do, actually. It would seem she doesn't notice her in the crowd, but that doesn't bother her any. No, she feels the same aura of energy that's becoming more palpable by the second that everyone else does. It starts as the anticipation for something spectacular, but the second Luna's pick strikes the strings of her guitar, it forms into a much more powerful, resonating feeling of awe.

Especially when Carol realizes the song she's playing, and where she's heard it before in a certain nine year old girl's tellings of the future.

"Do you want to build a snowman? Come on let's go and play… I never see you anymore, come out the door, it's like you've gone away…" Luna sings, the longing obvious in her voice. It makes Carol's heart race faster with every note and every word, knowing that this is a song for her. For them.

"We used to be best buddies, and now we're not… I wish you would tell me why?..."

"Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman…"

"Okay bye…"

All the while, she hadn't noticed her in the crowd. Her mood was so in sync with her own music that the faces in the crowd all almost seemed invisible. Her mind's eye could only see Carol, the two of them together. It could almost bring a tear to her eye…

And while there's the question of whether or not she could even be able to continue, Carol can't just hold it back anymore. She needs to make like Elsa and let it go again, she needs for Luna to see and hear that she's here for her.

So with the biggest pair of big girl panties she can put on, she takes the most freakin' Pingrey initiative she can muster, and sings as loud as she can for all to hear.

"Do you want to build a snowman? Or ride our bikes around the halls? I think some company is overdue, I've started talking to the pictures on the walls…"

"Hi Carol," Clyde casually adds with a little wave.

Realizing that it's her girlfriend, the very same girl that made her begin this song, Luna's eyes widen with astonishment as she slowly feels the air coming back to her. It almost makes her want to just stop playing, drop the guitar, and run straight down to her arms, but she doesn't. No, she feels something magical taking control of her fingers, leading her to keep picking the chords and listen to her angel of music sing to her with the same passion and energy she could offer to her.

"It gets a little lonely, all these empty rooms, just watching the hours tick by!..."

"Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman…"

"Okay, bye!..."

Suddenly, they hear the sound of a new guitar joining the fray. On the far right of the stage, Hector Santiago makes his presence known, rocking an incredible skully themed Les Paul as he transitions into a sick, powerful guitar solo. He wants to make the most of this moment for the two young lovers, and he knows that can't happen if Luna is focused on her guitar.

She doesn't have to say anything to him. She doesn't care anymore about performing. All she wants now is to get off this stage and go to her.

So she hops down off the stage, her feet landing safely on the ground below. She slowly fixes her gait, locking into a mutual gaze with Carol. Even in the distance between them, they can feel it. They can feel just how powerful and understanding this love is between them. There's no sadness, no worry, just happiness to see one another again. To sing to one another.

And everyone else just watches with great anticipation as the two girls slowly walk towards one another, Hector finishing up his incredible solo with one last killer high note.

"Luna?"

"Carol?"

"Please, I know you're in there…" Carol sings, so sorrowful.

"People are asking where you've been…" Luna sings, cautious.

"They say have courage, and I'm trying to…"

"I'm right out here for you…"

"Please just let me iiiiiiiin!" both girls sing together, finally meeting in the middle, getting within arms' reach.

"We only have each other, it's just you and me, what are we gonna do?!..." they sing with the most energy they can muster, a whole day's worth of pent up emotions besting them, bringing tears to their eyes and pounding to their hearts.

But in each other's eyes, they see what makes it all worthwhile. The same love that brought them together brings them here now, ready to forgive, forget, and fall into each other's arms.

"Do you want to build a snowman?" Luna quietly sings as she feels Carol's arms wrap around her, and it's as if the world is truly frozen as her favorite face welcomes a smile, singing back with two simple words.

"I do…"

They're welcomed back to reality by the sound of roaring applause all around them. They break free from each other's gazes to look around to everyone smiling and clapping, even tearing up in Bobby's case. It wasn't the finale they were expecting, but any air of exhaustion or closure has seemingly been black holed by the radiant positivity created by Carol and Luna's singing. They return their smiles to one another, choosing to forget about all others for just a little while. It feels so much nicer to be happy here together than it did to be alone with their thoughts all day.

Which can't simply be ignored, and they both know it as they're stricken with sudden urges to spew diarrhea of the mouth, talking over one another in attempts to get actual apologies going. Finally though, Luna clams up to let her girlfriend have the first word.

"I'm sorry," she starts, and before Luna's hormones can best her and allow her to start interrupting her again, she persists in explaining herself. "I know it was selfish of me to act the way I did. I should have just gone caroling with you."

Earlier when they first argued, she probably would have wanted those words. But now all she wants is for her baby girl to know things will be alright. "No, don't say that. You weren't being selfish! You had important stuff to work on," she defends.

Important stuff. Right. Hearing that reminds Carol that she really should explain just why she's been a butthole in the first place. So she scurries through her coat to find the right pocket with her phone in it, going over it once before realizing two seconds later that it is in fact the right pocket. "I have something to show you, okay? This is what I was working on," she says as she works to get her Google Drive pulled up, but Luna doesn't seem interested.

"It's okay, C. I don't need to see it. I know it was important. I'm sorry if I made you feel bad for staying in," she apologizes in return, but it's as if Carol doesn't even hear her as she stubbornly keeps working to get the gift pulled up for her. Aha! She finally does, and she brings it close to Luna's face as she keeps ramblin' on. "Yeah, maybe you said some stuff I didn't like, but I wasn't the best- HUAH!" she gasps upon seeing the drawing she made of her and Mick Swagger.

The look on her face brings a tremendous feeling of relief to Carol's chest. If she hates her, at least she seems to love the present. Which she makes evident with how she starts to spaz out, beginning with actually taking the phone from her hands to have a better look at the drawing on the screen. She's amazed by how perfect it looks in both mechanics and sentiment, amazed by the way she's managed to keep it a surprise for so long. It thaws any ice left in her heart, and she finds herself at a loss for words as she keeps looking back between the phone and Carol's beautiful face.

Finally, she finds something to say as she hands the phone back. "Aww… Baby!" She's quick to go ahead and throw herself around her with another big hug too, one that makes Carol smile warmly as she slowly wraps her arms back around her too.

It may not have been the perfect day, but it's all worth it to share this moment together.

And Flip seems to agree as his grown man ass starts bawling over this sight. "That's the most wholesome thing I've ever seen!" he caterwauls, all of the eggnog really getting to him it would seem. The girls don't get upset though. They just shake their heads and roll their eyes. Bobby Santiago knows that he'll just keep being a pest though, so he takes it upon himself to relieve Flip of his duties.

"Come on, big guy. Let's go get you somewhere to lay down," he coaxes him, leading him along to the welcoming backseat of his truck, picking up a waste bin along the way.

Never one to go out without one last word though, Flip is sure to let everyone know just how he feels about it. "I promise never to steal anyone's Christmas again!"

The girls share a laugh over the old man's silliness, but it soon becomes an afterthought as they hold each other close. Their eyes meet again, and in them there's some weakness. There's some apprehension about how to move forward. But the fires of passion burn much brighter, the embers of love are much more prominent. They see it in the glossiness of their irises, in the weak beams of their lips. Luna decides to even borrow some of that Pingrey initiative to ghost her fingers into Carol's hair, running just a strand through them to show her she can trust her.

"I'm so happy you're here," she says to her.

Hearing it makes Carol fully jump into that trust, and her cheeks burn a little with the warm, fuzzy feelings concocting inside her. "I'm just glad you don't hate me," she admits with a very weak little laugh, earning her genuine surprise from the other girl.

"Hate you? Carol… I love you. I can't thank you enough for that gift," she vehemently tells her. She skittishly decides that isn't enough though. She needs to add one more thing to really show it's true. "And I can't thank you enough for being mine."

It seems as if all is finally right in the world of Carol Pingrey as the girl she loves gives her that validation, that reassurance. It makes it easy to forget all of the sad and lonely thoughts that rattled her brain all this time, instead making room for the usual lovey dovey sappy stuff that makes her relationship with Luna so important to her. She's her best friend, her rock. Her everything. And she remembers earlier wanting to be able to show her that in the way that all lovers do…

"You know, I think you still owe me a kiss," she tells her, giddily grinning as she shimmies her shoulders a little around her neck.

Luna just laughs a little, happy to hear that. "You know, I think you might be right…"

The air changes around them from an icy cold to a palpable warm, their breaths hitch and hearts stop. Finally after what seems like forever, they're going to just forget all the other stuff and enjoy a stinkin' kiss with one another.

If reality would let them!

Because just as they feel like their lips are about to touch, they become distracted by the very sudden commotion of what almost sounds like a stampede coming into the church lot. They again look away from one another's eyes to acknowledge whatever insists on being more important than kissing, but are surprised by what they find.

It's the convoy of Channel 5 News vans. First they see the crews' men and women scrounging out like anchovies from SpongeBob, all hurrying to set up booms and cameras and lighting for the real star of the show, the last person to exit a van. None other than star Royal Woods anchor Katherine Mulligan. It genuinely surprises some in the crowd, including Luna and Carol, but most people just start clamoring to talk to her or get their faces on TV for a little bit.

The award winning news anchor steps her way out of the van to acknowledge some of her fans with small waves, telling them "Thank you, thank you. Yes, I'm Katherine Mulligan, Channel 5 news, thank you," as she makes her way to go get ready for a live recording in front of the camera. The others just watch with either excitement or curiosity, giving her their full attention as she begins to explain just why she's here for both her live audience and those watching at home.

"Good evening everyone, I'm Katherine Mulligan with Channel 5 news," she begins, making sure people know her name again. "I'm standing here at the Ortega Avenue Church, where eleven year-old Ronnie Anne Santiago has started a canned food drive to help gather donations for those in need. Where is little Ronnie Anne?"

She doesn't even hear it. With all of the excitement going on, she has a difficult time keeping up. That's on top of the fact that her drive was already going much better than expected. Now the local news team are here to cover it? How the heck is she supposed to respond. In her confusion, she's almost deaf to the world outside her mind, but eventually one voice is able to reel her back in.

"Ronnie Anne," Lincoln calls out a second or third time, finally getting her attention.

It takes her a moment to get with the program, but she finally comes around to understanding that she's being talked to. "Huh?" she tactfully responds.

Lincoln just smiles boldly and brashly at her, the same way he did after kissing her at Jean Juan's French Mex Buffet once upon a time. "Katherine Mulligan is here to talk to you! Aren't you going to go say hello?" he tells her, but not so much like he's really surprised. In fact, if she didn't know any better...

"Lincoln? Did- did you-?" she stammers, her heart fluttering fast in her little cold chest. It's not possible. There's no way Lame-O could have possibly made this happen!

But the way he smiles that dang smile back at her… wow. He really did it. He really lived up to his 'man with a plan' moniker this time. "My mom has some friends who work at the news station. I had her ask for a favor, and Katherine was all over getting some good publicity," he explains with his signature sly grin.

And for a few seconds, Ronnie Anne is dumb to speak, her teeth clenching, her cheeks burning red. So many thoughts race through her already hazy head, but in this fairy tale of an experience, her heart tells her mind one thing that it should say. Something she doesn't overthink or analyse, something she just sings aloud with Christmas cheer.

"I love you, Lame-O," she blurts out as she pulls him in tight for a hug, squeezing him with all of the affection she has to offer. It's been her best day ever, and for him to be the one to be on the receiving end of so much pent up positivity? Nothing feels more right.

And the snow haired boy does nothing to fight it. He just embraces her embrace, proud to know he helped give her such a loving early Christmas gift. "I love you too, Ronnie Anne," he simply says back, returning the hug with pats of his own.

Ronnie Anne could just forget all about the interview and just stay like this forever with her favorite boy in the world, but all good things must come to an end. And this hug sees its close when her older brother Bobby rushes over with a shitake eating grin on his face, happy to break the news to her. "Ronnie Anne! Ronnie Anne! Katherine Mulligan wants to have an interview with you!"

She can't even say anything to him. She can't even find words for Lincoln as she disengages from their hug. Nothing can repay him for the joy he's granted her with his generous gesture. Even so, she likes the idea of trying, and she makes that attempt by pecking him with a little kiss on his chilly freckled cheek.

He feels his cold body warm up real quick, the blood rushing from his head to his toes. A very cheeky smile comes to his face, and it stays there for a little while longer even as Ronnie Anne laughs and makes her way to go and share her thoughts with the big time news reporter.

She doesn't even notice anyone watching her, like Sam Sharp or Clyde McBride.

"That's so wholesome," Sam sniffles, a little tear coming to her eye.

"It really is," Clyde agrees, his own eyes welling. Unlike her though, he decides he really needs to do something about it. "Do you have a handkerchief?" he asks, realizing he left his in his other coat.

Serendipitously, Sam just so happens to have a little hanky on her person, and she offers it to the boy. He first uses it to wipe his tears, then, well… blow his nose...

After a decently spaced awkward pause, she just tells him "That's dry clean only."

Meanwhile, Katherine Mulligan begins her interview with the timid little girl who brought everyone here. "Ronnie Anne, how does it feel to have put all of this together?" she starts the interview by asking, genuine enthusiasm projecting from her posture and smile.

It isn't as easy for Ronnie Anne to let her guard down. But after taking a moment to look all around at how so many people came together for her cause, she decides to relax a little and enjoy this. "It's… it's amazing. I didn't expect it to go so well."

"It really is amazing to see so many people coming together to help spread holiday cheer and goodwill towards man. And even more amazing that you managed to somehow make it all possible!" Katherine encouragingly tells her, not a single iota of that positive energy leaving her. It makes it even easier for Ronnie Anne to relent and smile along, the warmth of it all finally sieging her heart. "Th-thank you. But I couldn't have done it without the help of my family and friends," she's sure to tell her, keeping them all in mind. Especially Lincoln, who she looks back to with a warm grin, making him blush again.

"That's very modest of you," Katherine tells her before cutting to some business. "Well, to show our appreciation on behalf of the Channel 5 News team, we have arranged to have five hundred shipments of canned goods and homecare products brought to the church!"

"What?! No way?!" Ronnie Anne exclaims, the news so sudden and extraordinary that it's almost too hard to believe.

But like a Christmas miracle, Ms. Mulligan answers her cry with "Yes way!" before gesturing her to look to the vans of her convoy opening their doors to reveal boxes upon boxes of canned food.

All the little girl can do with watery eyes and her fluttering heart is smile wide from ear to ear, happy to show her unwavering gratitude for it all. "Oh my gosh! You have no idea how much this means to me! Thank you so, so much Ms. Mulligan!" she hollers before reaching out to give the reporter a hug. She doesn't get upset though. She just laughs as she happily pats the girl on the back.

From a gazebo a few yards away, two teenage girls, both very different yet all too similar, watch on with polarizing expressions.

"Aww… That's really nice," Luan Loud comments, the radiating smile on her face only growing wider and healthier with the lapsing seconds. She looks over to her exceptionally gloomy companion Maggie to see how she'll respond, and while her face is as bleak and unphased as she expected, she eventually ebbs on the emo to shrug. "Yeah, even I have to admit it's pretty cool."

Luan smirks with her usual brand of goofy humor getting the better of her. Of course, it's only nature, and it's only really a thoughtless endeavor. Unlike the other thing weighing down on her mind. "I'd make the obvious pun about being cool and being outside, but I actually have something else I want to ask you about," she starts, her tone and demeanor changing a little as her shoulder flatten.

It piques Maggie's curiosity, and even gets her to raise a brow for a moment before her face goes back to glowering. "Well, since you're refraining from being predictably stupid, I'll refrain from being predictably snarky," she ripostes. "What's up, funny girl?"

Luan considers her words for a minute, really going back and forth in her mind about how to approach this, or if she even really wants to. But her older sister's words of encouragement play back in her head, and she takes a deep breath as she decides it's time to get serious about something for once. "Uhm… Well… You know how it's a Christmas tradition to have to kiss somebody under a mistletoe?" she asks, trying not to make it obvious that she's really nervous.

In a way that's both lucky and inconvenient, Maggie doesn't really pick up on it. Maybe she thinks she's just telling another bad joke, but she responds with "Unfortunately," in her usually unimpressed tone.

It makes Luan deflate even more, and subsequently shakes her of what little confidence she had. So instead of persevering, she decides to just throw in the towel now, refusing to embarrass herself. "Oh. Well… never mind then…" she bemoans, the heartbreak evident in her voice.

Now Maggie realizes there's no funny business to be had here. And, it worries her. She actually perks up a little, her voice and her posture both rising as she looks to make it right. "No, I'm sorry. Why do you ask?" she asks, hoping to make it clear that she doesn't want to hurt her friend's feelings in any way.

Again, in a way both fortunate and all too crazy, Luan decides to go ahead and set fire to the rain. Something has to give, and she knows that if there was ever a perfect opportunity to show this girl just how much she means to her, it's tonight of all nights. And unlike some people, she has no problem making her own opportunities when she can find the gumption to do so.

And for Maggie, fear and bravery are both worth having.

"Uhm… The thing is… well…" she stammers, trying her hardest to swallow the anxiety and just be what she wants to be for this girl. Not just a joke, not just a misfit she could bond with, not just a friend, even. But something much more meaningful, something much more important. Something to make her as happy as she's helped make her.

And she finally finds the courage she needs as she stops focusing on her shaky fingers, instead looking to Maggie's grey eyes that gaze back at her. Dang… she's really beautiful.

So she literally swallows the lump in her throat, refusing to breathe for a second so she can just look her in the eyes and say what she needs to say.

"Look up."

The ravenette does as she's told, giving Luan the benefit of the doubt that this isn't just some stupid prank. What she finds is even more surprising, though, and it makes her eyes show more emotion than anything has in quite a long time as the suspense in them becomes crystal clear. "Did you- did you put that there?" she asks as she looks back to Luan, referring to the little holly of mistletoe that happens to hang above them.

And while Luan feels near paralyzing fear coursing through her shivering veins… she actually manages to smile back at this girl. A girl that makes her smile brighter than anything ever has before.

"Maybe?"

There it is. The truthful bombshell that changes everything. Whether or not for better or worse is yet to be seen, but with time, they both realize it. They've both wanted this for a while, to take that fundamental step from being just two outcasts who can make each other a little less lonely to friends, more than friends. Two people worth doing everything it takes to make one another happy.

And in a way that happens all to often, Luan can't keep quiet around her. She has to break the silence with the first thing that comes to mind, not really caring whether or not it hits or misses. Just hoping that she can at least see she cares a lot about her.

"Okay, the truth is… I mistleto-tally did."

Maggie looks to her with absolute, total, bonafide bewilderment. Shock, disbelief… Dumbfoundedness.

"That has to be the worst pun you've ever made," she tells her, dang near sucking all of the tension out of the air and shoveling it in the snow in favor of gloom and doom. But only almost. "But... tradition is tradition," she adds, actually forming a little curving smile on her lips as she bashfully looks to her fellow caroler.

For Luan, it's like time freezes as the pale skinned emo girl shuts her eyes, puckering her lips as she brings them closer to her. While she freezes with it at first, it's like some kind of magic comes over her as she finds the Christmas miracle of momentum to actually close her eyes too, meeting Maggie's lips in the middle to complete the exchange of a beautiful first kiss. It doesn't last long, it doesn't go too far. They just press their lips for a couple seconds, pulling them away almost as fast as they brought them together.

But in the few seconds that they could show this love for one another, sparks flew around them, a cavalcade of dramaturgy and togetherness freefalling all around them like rain or snow. They feel it in the goosebumps on their skin, in the beating of their hearts, in the wetness on their lips where they felt kisses touch. And of course, they feel it in their cheeks where redness swells with blushing, and curves form with smiles.

"Merry Christmas Maggie," is all Luan can think to say to her special friend as they lose each other in their mutual gaze, and while Maggie says nothing back at first, she invites the other girl to hold her hand. A hand that Luan gladly accepts. Only then does Maggie decide she can be free to let her guard down, unafraid of any stupid jokes or being judged for showing just how happy she really is.

"Merry Christmas Luan."

True love isn't something that neither Luna or Carol dreamt of growing up. While they liked seeing the princesses find their princes in the Disney movies and fairytales, they just never took the time to think it could be for them. They liked music and dancing, making time for friends and family, putting their prides into their passions.

But that was then. This is now. And seeing those two girls finally decide to express their love for one another makes both their gay hearts swell, the two of them smiling wide with gawking eyes as they hold each other close. "Awwww!" they squeal together, unable to contain the enthusiasm that comes with seeing such a lovely sight.

"I can't handle all of this cuteness!" Carol weeps, her hands shaking in fists with the trembling energy inside of her. Energy that is very much understood by her girlfriend, who shows just as much excitement.

"I know!" she simply agrees, looking to Carol and laughing and squealing and even jumping a little before the moment slips from them, rolling into the two of them alone, together once again.

This is how it was before the craziness, before everything that happened tonight. It was just the two of them, sharing smiles, losing one another in their eyes, the symphonies and fires of their hearts bonding them together in a way that nothing else compares to.

And even then, with an opportunity lied out for them on a silver platter to finally put a lid on the drama and just make up for good already… Carol feels like she has to compensate for something by taking it slowly for the billionth time. "I'm glad everything turned out alright for everybody," she casually tells Luna.

She isn't alone in feeling this way it would seem, because her girlfriend coolly nods her head in agreement, choosing not to seem spazzy or too perturbed. "I am too," she says, keeping her hands to herself, keeping things lowkey, keeping things…

She then realizes she's not a fan of either of those things, and wants to just let it go already. So she looks to Carol with a newfound inspiration in her eyes, taking her by her hand to let her know that that they can never mind the darkness, and just find a way. "Now kiss me before something stupid can happen."

Seeing this determination to move on and make good in Luna surprises Carol. Shouldn't they say more? Don't they have more things to discuss? Is it really the right time?

But those eyes, those dang brown eyes… the way the look back to her with that contagious passion in them, those same burning embers she's dreamt of falling in love with every night since her first time coming over to her house for a stupid, stupid class project...

She decides she wants to let it go, too.

"Yes dear," she concedes, and with that, they finally share a kiss on this fateful winter's evening.

"Three, two, one…"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Neither Carol or Luna have ever gotten to experience what it's like to have a New Year's kiss, but that changes for them now as the clock turns its hands into a brand new year. Just like every kiss they've shared, there's the same usual spark and magic. But with the sentiment of a new dawn, along with the cheering and applauding of all their loved ones around them, it's unlike any normal kiss they've shared before.

They disengage from one another's lips, opening their eyes to find each other in an all too familiar, all too comfortable way. "Here's to another year of Caroluna," Carol says with a smile directed towards her favorite girl in the world, her other half of Caroluna.

Luna smiles just as warmly at first. But it becomes a little course as she lovingly taps her girlfriend on the shoulder as if to signal she needs some space. "Absolutely, love. But uh, it'll have to start when I get back. I have to use the little rocker's room," she says, only hanging around just to see if it's not going to hurt Carol's feelings. She can see that her need to leave is genuine though, so she doesn't get sour. She just nods.

"Hurry back," she simply says with a little wave.

Luna laughs a little nervous laugh, but she doesn't wait around to make it any more awkward. Instead, she marches her little caboose in a beeline to her parents' room, hoping to find some alone time in their private bathroom, leaving Carol by herself. She just watches with warmth in her heart at how even her darling Luna having to hurry to pee is adorable, hanging onto the magical moment they just shared for just a little longer before letting it go to see what else the Loud family has to offer tonight.

The tune of Taylor Swift's Last Christmas begins playing on the television as she creeps her way through, deciding to go check and see what Lori might be up to. She had expressed some sadness over Bobby not being able to join her tonight for a midnight kiss, but apparently something changed in the interim, because she had been all smiles going into the party. On her way to find her though, she finds something very much worth stopping to be a part of.

"Last Christmas… I gave you my heart! And the very next day, you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special!" Lana sings along with Taylor Swift, really putting everything she has into it. While Bruder Trucks and Beast Machine action figures are the things she asked Santa for this year, nothing stops her from enjoying some Taylor Swift every once in a while. Especially this song.

And of course, Lola wants to be a crabapple about it. So she groans as loudly and conspicuously as she can to make sure everyone notices her displeasure, unworried about the consequences of being naugthy for the time being. She has 364 days to worry about being nice again. She decides to go even further by nagging about changing the channel to anything but this, but before she can even draw the breath to start voicing her displeasure, a third little Loud joins in the festivity.

"Last Kissmas, I da da da da," Lily does her best to sing along, dancing her little feet over to join her older sister in front of the TV. Together she and Lana dance and sing, happy as can be just to have some good ol' fashioned, harmless fun together. And seeing that is enough to convince Lola that maybe she shouldn't wait 364 days to be nice after all. In fact, she decides to just have some fun with them. The song isn't that bad.

"This year, to save my from tears, I'll give it to someone special!" she joins them in singing for the last verse, wide smiles on all three of their faces. Which of course makes Carol smile as she watches.

"Come on guys, give the Christmas music a break," Lynn Sr surprisingly complains, earning much warranted shock from his beloved wife.

"Since when do you say no to Christmas music?" Rita asks, almost concerned.

He shrugs "Eh, it just gets old after a while," he casually explains, more ambivalent than anything. However, his attitude changes when he takes his wife by the hand, bringing her in close to hold her. "Unlike you…"

Her eyes widen with the glossiest "Aww!" she can blurt out, and there's hardly any hesitation between the two to share a little kiss. Which again, makes Carol smile.

All the sweetness fills her heart to the brim with saccharine sweetness. She loves nothing more than being able to see the Louds, her home away from home, happy the way they are now. There's always some… bittersweet feelings that come along with them, but she's conditioned herself to try and not let them get to her anymore. There's no need to be jealous about people she loves and cares about so much, especially when they've done the best they can to make her feel like part of the family.

Even so, she decides to go ahead and reach out to her other family, her loving mother and father. So she takes out her phone, ready to unlock it and maybe compose just a little message to see if they're okay. Before she can even access her messaging app though, she's pleasantly surprised by a new notification; a text message from Daddy! She giddily opens the message to find an image attached, a candid selfie of he and her mother sharing their own New Year's Kiss at the art gallery.

"Aww, they're so happy together!" Carol thinks as her cheeks blush a little. She doesn't even need to think hard about what to say back. She just wants them to know she loves them just as much as they love her.

Totes gorge! Happy New Year! *Hug emoji*

Send. With that, she returns her attention back to the party, ready to resume her search for Lori. Which, in a house of thirteen, she knows won't be easy. She'll probably have to go through every single Loud before she ever makes it to her, because that's just how these things work. She's been here a million times.

But she wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Where's Lisa? She loves Coke!" Lynn Jr asks aloud as she tries to find her younger sister, two ice cold Coke bottles in hand. Her only brother Lincoln is sure to give her his attention, thinking about where he last saw her.

"I think she said something about experimenting with Mom and Dad's eggnog?" he recalls, earning a worried jaw drop from his immediate older sister.

"Uh oh…" she utters, and realizing that it's urgent to go and check on her favorite little egghead, she grabs him by the hand to go and hurry to the rescue. "Come on Stinkoln, she'll admit she was wrong about Santa if she's drunk!" she declares as she whisks him away with her.

"Woah!" he hollers as he lets her do it. Because he loves her.

It's yet another wholesome sight for Miss Pingrey to see. And fun to know that Lisa would rather drink something else besides Coke for once. "Even if the stuff isn't that bad… I guess…" She just gives up on trying to get to Lori without any other distractions at this point. She just lets whatever may come to her, and it comes in the form of Lucy and Luan now. As expected. "Maybe Lucy isn't the only one who can see into the future," Carol jokes to herself, actually making herself laugh a little. "And maybe Luan isn't the only one with a terrible sense of humor."

She stops mentally monologuing long enough to pay attention to what the colorful duo have for one another, and from the looks of things, it would appear Lucy just might be readying for another fortune telling. "Alright Lucy, fortunate for you, I'm ready to have my fortune told!" Luan jokes, laughing her signature laugh afterwards. Lucy might be rolling her eyes from behind her bangs, but no one is ever sure. She just disregards the pun to talk business.

"Okay, but bring tissues. Every time I do one of these readings, people cry," she says. And while Carol wasn't sure whether or not it was a subtle dig at her or not at first, it becomes obvious that it was with the way the spooky little girl turns and smiles at her.

No offense taken though. It was a really good cry.

With the other Loud siblings taken care of, she segways into the kitchen where she finds Lori and Leni laughing over something on their phones as they hold mugs of cocoa in their other hands. It takes them a second to realize they've been joined by Carol, and excitingly, Lori doesn't bother with pleasantries. She gets straight to the point as she lets out a little squeal. "Eeee! Look, look, look!" she giddily repeats as she sets her cocoa down to hurry and show her best friend what's up.

Being the nice and loving person Carol is of course, she just lets it happen as Lori joins her side, bringing her phone screen forward to show her what has her so happy. Carol fixes her eyes on it, and a short video plays of the recorded video chat between her and her beloved Bobby Boo Boo Bear. There's the same countdown to midnight from everyone in the house, followed by Bobby and Lori bringing their lips to their phone screens to share their own version of a New Year's kiss.

Which prompts the girls to squeal with joy together. "EEEEEK!"

"You guys kissed over video chat! That's the cutest thing ever!" Carol comments after watching it, and Lori practically shakes with excitement over the high she still has over being able to make things work with her long distance lover.

"I know! It's like we literally kissed at midnight!"

Carol warmly smiles at her. "That's so good to hear Lori. I was a little worried there for a bit," she admits, earning a little scoff and laugh from her.

"Pfffft, as if! Bobby always finds a way to make things work. He's the best!" she swoons, sighing with relief afterwards as her glossy eyes drift to the ceiling, the place of reveries.

Carol knows all too well what it's like. So she doesn't judge. "He really is," she simply tells her, happy to know that he makes her so happy.

Lori doesn't dwell solely on this though. She manages to bring herself back down from Cloud Nine to address the other girl for a little bit. "Ahh. Sorry about that," she snickers. "I'm just so happy about everything right now! We're all here together, everyone is having a good time!"

This Lori is a much lovelier sight to see than the one so worried several days ago. She doesn't have dread for the future, no, she only has appreciation for the world around her today. It serves as a pretty red bow on an already gift of a day for Carol Pingrey. "You know, I'm just happy I get to spend my New Year's with family this year," she says with a smirk, knowing what she said.

It makes Lori grin too, and she affectionately jabs her gal pal in the arm. "You are literally the biggest sap on Earth," she teases.

"And you know you literally love it," Carol teases back.

As they laugh it up, Leni works on getting the last of New Year's cocoa ready for everyone at the party, getting a familiar Elsa mug on the counter to let it sit and cool down. In the commotion though, Lori and her just so happen to turn and meet at the same time, causing the younger sister to spill some water all over her shirt from the very last unfinished mug.

For a moment, the three of them just freeze. Lori looks to Leni, Leni looks to her, and Carol looks at both of them, wondering just how the girl will react to getting a mess all over her sweater. Which, truth be told, was actually very stylish compared to Lori's. But Carol would keep that her own little secret for the rest of time.

Finally, Leni draws breath, sending desperate, nervous pangs through the veins of both Lori and Carol. However, she doesn't fret. She actually just starts laughing.

For a moment longer, Lori and Carol just exchange confused looks to one another, feeling the same conflicted feelings of relief and anxiety and uncertainty coursing through them. But eventually, it becomes very easy to get over them, and they both join the girl in her laughing.

"Alright, I guess I'll go get cleaned up thanks to the klutz over here!" Leni jokes at Lori.

"Hey!" Lori just says, unable to think of anything else as a comeback. She doesn't mind though. She's just happy to share a laugh with her sister.

Leni's laughter is the first to die down though as she becomes straight faced very suddenly. "But seriously. I'm going to go change."

With that, she goes to make her way out of the kitchen, and Lori hollers behind her, "I'll be with you in a sec, Leni!" before directing a little smile to Carol. She stays quiet for a second to let the lingering ruckus from the playing around follow Leni out the kitchen, and then she asks Carol a question that she realizes she's been meaning to ask all night as soon as it comes out.

"So… Everything worked out with you and Luna I take it?"

And really, it doesn't take her much effort to think of a response. She just smiles. "Oh yeah. We kissed and made up,"

"Literally," they both laugh together.

Belatedly, Carol continues, feeling those familiar warm and fuzzy feelings come to her that always do when she thinks of her best girl. "She made me a mixtape for a gift like the total hipster she is, and she said she has another present for me coming. I have no ideas for what it could be though," she tells Lori, who just nods thoughtfully.

Then, in the most obvious way ever, she follows with "Hmm… Well, I wonder why she could be taking so long to use the 'little rocker's room?'"

Carol feels her mouth agape for a couple seconds longer, taken by surprise. They actually managed to get one over on her this time! But she doesn't stay flabbergasted long. Curiosity becomes far more impeccable. "Oh my gosh, are seriously in on it? What is it? Concert tickets? A surprise serenade? Wait- Luan isn't going to hit me with a mallet again is she? You're not going to hit me with a mallet, are you?" she worriedly asks, remembering what happened the last time Luna had a trick up her sleeve.

"Pffft, please Carol. This isn't some cartoon," Lori ripostes before getting all sly again. "All I'll say is that I think I saw her heading to the back porch…"

She points her little finger over to the door, making it known that it was left cracked open by the last person to walk out there. Which Carol astutely guesses must be Luna with a final Christmas gift for her. It definitely excites her to think of the possibilities, how could it not? At the same time though, she remembers how bad mallets hurt.

"If anyone hits me over the head with anything-"

"Don't worry. I can't be your bridesmaid if you die," Lori says to her. It makes her internally "Awww!" to herself, because of course Lori will be her bridesmaid someday! At the super awesome and wholesome Caroluna wedding that Lucy envisioned for them! But now isn't the time for fantasies. Not when reality itself is so promising. "Now go to her," Lori finishes, contently smiling knowing that she's set something magical in motion.

It makes it very easy for Carol to smile back. This is the same girl who eleven, twelve now, years ago invited her into her home for their very first playdate. It was the day that made her realize they were meant to be the bestest of friends forever, and even though there were quite a few bumps in the road to bring them back to this spot now, nothing makes the feeling of mutual love and compassion for one another any less real.

"Thanks Lori," Carol tells her with a smile, and that's all that's needed for now. They'll have plenty of time to enjoy each other's company this new year.

But for now, destiny awaits. And her name is Luna Loud.

The snow glows white on Franklin Avenue tonight, not a footprint to be seen. The stark contrast between the bright blanket of snow and the starry night sky leaves Luna in a state of awe, even with the swirling winds inside. She does her best to steady her breath, to conceal, don't feel, don't let it show.

It becomes significantly harder as her girlfriend makes her way out of the house to join her. Even though she had anticipated her to come, it still makes her heart begin pounding hard in her chest. Even so, she tries to keep any and all nerves more steely than Dan as she turns to meet the other girl with a smile, one that gets returned.

"This isn't the bathroom. Unless you're taking pages from Lana's book," Carol jokes, making Luna roll her eyes.

"And look at you, trying to be funny like Luan," she teases back as Carol steps closer to her, joining her side as she stuffs her cold hands into the pockets of her sweatpants.

"How's it working?" she asks, trying to hide her own discomfort with the bothersome cold to herself to only show Luna the best of her.

Speaking of cold, Luna doesn't hold back with her retort. "You're as funny as Luan, that's how."

"That bad?" Carol laughs, and Luna joins her as the two girls share a brief gaze. Their eyes soon wander out to the starry sky though, losing everything to a different beautiful sight.

"Look at this sky," Luna is first to remark. And it isn't just her own sentimentality that gets the best of her. No, Carol feels the same swelling of awe in her chest at what these frozen wilds have to offer her. The stars, the glowy green hues of the snow reflecting off the atmosphere...

"Gosh… It's- it's beautiful," she stammers.

Luna weakly laughs. "I know right? I can't even joke about it."

Neither can Carol. After all, there's nothing funny about how amazing this world is for her. Somehow, it's all begun to make sense. But it doesn't explain how the feeling of bitter coldness she had walking out of the back door of the house has all but disappeared now, now replaced by comforting warmth. Maybe it's just something in the air, or maybe it has something to do with being so close to the woman she loves.

"It's funny how the moon always manages to be so beautiful," she tells her, and the look Luna gives back lets her know that she sweet little flirt is appreciated. Which just makes her feel even warmer inside.

"You rock," Luna tells her with a smile, leaning her head over her girlfriend's shoulder to fill the gap between them, getting close enough to share in that warmth. For a short while, they stay like this. Head over shoulder, eyes glued to the starry night that leaves a world of pleasant imagination to them.

Mostly pleasant, at least. Because despite how great things are going now, Luna still can't help but feel this trepidation trickling at her heart.

"Uhm, I'm glad you found me out here, though. I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Something important," she says as she moves her head, making an effort to show Carol the seriousness in her brown eyes.

She can't help but become a little frightened by the tone in her voice. Talking about something important doesn't always translate to talking about something good, Carol's learned over the years. But she doesn't want to become too excitable just yet. There's still hope for the alternative.

"Okay," she simply says, giving her girlfriend her attention.

Luna works through her swirling emotions to try and find the right words to say, even when she's already practiced this a hundred times. She isn't like Carol, who can just think on her feet and master her words like she's about to give a commencement speech. Sure, she's pretty good with remembering lyrics or writing them down for later, but free verse isn't really her strength. And even then, even after all the time to think about these things, it becomes so hard not to get tunnel vision when the girl she has to say these things to is staring right at her.

She knows what she's getting herself into, and it scares the heck out of her. But at the same time, she trusts Carol. She loves her. That's why she's with her now, ready as she'll ever be to say what she needs to say to her.

"I don't think you understand just how much you mean to me," she begins, her voice shaky. There's no sarcasm or playfulness. All the bravado and showmanship she carries with her was left at the door. Why, Carol isn't sure yet. And even with a few words spoken, she already feels herself become terrified with the idea that something is wrong. But she can't falter yet, and neither can Luna. Not when so much is left to say. "Like, I love you. I hope you know that I love you. But I don't know that I've done a good enough job of showing it," she continues, her eyes falling to the snow now.

Hearing that brings the worst kind of pain to Carol's heart. How could she let her true love feel this way? "Luna, come on..."

"Let me finish," she asserts. She knows it has to be just as hard for Carol to endure as herself, but there's still so much to say. They can't become overwhelmed just yet. "You're always telling me how I've changed your life and stuff. Like, making you part of our family. And, I know it sounds a little weird, but I'm actually really happy you think that. Because I do consider you part of my family," she explains, trying not to let the cracks show in her new armor.

It sounds okay so far, but what if that's just to soften a blow? What if… what if this the beginning of the end? Just the thought nearly breaks Carol.

"You're kind of scaring me here, Lunes."

Hearing that brings clarity to Luna. In a weird way, it almost relieves her to know that her girlfriend could become this worried so soon. Seeing the same concern in her eyes makes the pounding in her chest seem all worthwhile, like maybe there's no real reason to be afraid herself.

"Don't be. I don't want you to ever be scared again," she tells her with a little smile, taking her hand. It's cold, but together, they can bring each other warmth. Not just to their hands either. When Carol sees this new clarity in Luna's eyes that gaze back to her, she feels less afraid. More invited to relax and trust in her. Just like she always seems to do. "Carol, I love you more than words can describe. I can try writing all the songs in the world about it. I can try having you draw pictures. I can rant for hours about it. But I didn't think I could ever really show you perfectly how much I care until… well, now, actually," she says, the song coming to her naturally now. The fears that once controlled her don't get to her at all. "I know some people don't like us together. Some people think we should be with others, or think we just don't make sense. But I don't care what they think, ya know? All I know is that you make me happier in a way nothing else ever has. I owe everything I have right now to you."

The sky and the snow have melted in Carol's view. All that matters now is Luna, and the things she's saying to her. Like the vows Lucy envisioned for them, she can't help but let herself become wrapped around Luna's finger like a ring, firm like a diamond. "That's… really sweet, Luna. I hope you know how much I love you too," is all she knows to say, still unsure how to really feel. Scared? Excited? Sad? Happy? All of the above?

But Luna finally offers her some clarity of her own as she makes the first obvious move in showing her just what she had planned. And when she does, all the fear and distress evaporates from Carol like snowfall in spring. She can't help but gasp as Luna gets down on knee, not even caring about the cold, wet snow, looking up to her eyes still as she tells her, "Well, I guess we're about to find out."

It has to be a dream. It has to be. There's no way Luna's doing what she thinks she's doing. This has to be a joke. Luan is behind it. Or it's magic. It's Lucy to blame! It's science from Lisa, it's eggnog from Flip, it has to be something, because there's no way in freakin' heck that Luna Loud could possibly be as bold as to do the thing that she seems like she's doing.

But… when her hand goes into her pocket, and comes back out with a little black box… it becomes real. And Carol starts to cry because of it.

"I know it has to wait until we're older. But I don't care. I've been saving up for this for a while now," Luna explains. Then, the moment of truth. The first time in forever since going up on stage with Mick Swagger that she truly feels her life is about to change. Her fingers shake to the bone as she musters the strength to open the box with them, revealing an astonishingly beautiful diamond ring. Carol gasps again, her tears falling hard now as she realizes this is really happening.

"Carol Pingrey… will you marry me?"

All of the trouble they've gone through to get here, everything from a stupid class project for stupid Mr. Sunderland to the fateful day that Carol didn't go caroling… it proves to be worth it. All of the good outweighs the bad, all of the love shared only grows stronger with every passing day. The past, the present, the future… they're all the stuff of Christmas miracles. Magic.

It takes some time for Carol to muster her own strength to do anything besides bawl like a baby, but she finally is able to get her heart to tell her mind to tell her mouth what it should say as she looks from the gorgeous rock to the lovely rocker holding it.

"Yes! Yes Luna! I'll marry you!"

It's like time freezes for both of them as Luna takes the ring and slides it carefully onto her finger. While they were both shivering and shaking before, they're somehow able to keep their hands perfectly still as Luna finishes the task, marking her love with a symbol of permanence. It may take months or even years for her to be able to wear a ring of her own to match one of Carol's, but that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that she said yes.

And that she likes her present.

"It's purple!" she cries as she notices the tint of their favorite color on the diamond. And while many of her words were hard to find in this jumbled mess of a proposal, Luna actually finds it easy to think of what to say now.

"It's beautiful. Like you."

It's enough to make her cry even more, or probably fall to her butt with how it makes her legs feel like jelly. But that's okay. Luna loves her enough to want to marry her, to want to spend the rest of their lives together. Maybe someday they can be mommys together, living in a nice little house just like this one on Franklin Avenue. But that's someday. For now, she's just okay knowing that with this ring, one thing is official. She has a family to call her own.

Finally, the overwhelming sensations flowing through her become too much. She has to act on them as she throws her arms around her new fiancee, squeezing her tight to let her know she loves her so much. There's not even a little apprehension on Luna's part either. She's just as quick to hug Carol back, squeezing her just as tightly to let her know the same.

For a while they stay like this, the world slowly going back to moving around them as the stars shimmer bright, the snow glistens white, and the ring nestles on her finger just right. Eventually though, they make the effort to go from hugging to looking deep into each other's eyes. Like so many times before, all they need is this. They don't care how cold it is, or how tears are rolling down their cheeks. They only have each other, it's just the two. And they know what they want to do.

But it isn't only them for much longer, as they feel someone else's presence from the door. A very welcome presence.

Lily stands with her feet at the doorway, a very concerned look on her face. Even so, Carol and Luna can't help but meet her with smiles. It's almost impossible not to smile at the little girl. It doesn't phase her, though. Something still bothers her a lot. "Why you crying?" she asks, heartbreak in her voice.

Gosh, it's so sweet to think that even at her age she can be so considerate. It just makes the already sensitive couple even more overwhelmed with feelings. But for Lily, they can get their act together. And of course, Carol likes the idea of taking initiative and breaking the silence herself. "Your sister just made me really happy, that's why."

"You happy cry?" Lily asks, still worried. But they don't want her to worry anymore. Not when everything is so right. So Luna borrows some of that Pingrey initiative, inviting her baby sister to come join them. "Come here, kiddo," she says as she pats her thigh.

Lily thinks it over for a second. It might be a little cold out, and Mommy and Daddy might get a little worried if she goes outside. But hey, Luna says it's okay. And she has her footsy pajamas on. She should be okay. With that in mind, she walks her little legs over to the grown ups, who just keep smiling at her like grown ups usually go before Luna picks her up.

She just keeps smiling at her, not only to show her that she's alright, but because she's just so darn happy that it's hard not to. She takes a moment to consider how to explain it so that her little sister can understand, but she doesn't overthink it. There's nothing to worry about anymore.

"I think Carol is pretty neat. Don't you think so?" she settles for telling her. And of course it makes Carol happy to hear. Lily isn't quite sure how to react, but she decides just to focus on answering the question for now.

"Yeah," she simply answers, a little timidly.

Luna and Carol exchange a loving look at one another, more than okay to share this moment with the little girl now. Especially if she insists on being so nice. "Really? Well, I think you're neat too," Carol tells her, deciding to be bold and tickle her leg a little bit.

It manages to get her to stop worrying so much, because she laughs and smiles at Carol's gesture. She likes it when she's around to play with her. She really does think she's pretty neat! In fact...

"I love you," she says to the girl that will become her sister-in-law one day, nearly killing her with cuteness and kindness. But she and Luna have to smile widely at that.

"Awww! I love you too, Lily!" Carol says back, unable to even remotely contain just how happy all of this makes her. All her life she's wanted to be able to depend on others to be there for her, to really give her a sense of belonging. And now that she has it, she fully intends on enjoying it as much as she can.

Thankfully, she isn't neglected of any part of the whole package. Duck, dodge, push, and shove, that's the way the Louds show their love. So of course Luna has to tease the littlest Loud for leaving her out. "Hey, what about me?"

Lily just laughs at it too, but she doesn't play around when she lets Luna know just how she feels about her. "I love you sissy," she says, breaking through Luna's veil of confidence. Maybe Carol's just rubbed off on her too much, but she just wants to be fluffy right back to her. "And I love you, kiddo."

That would have been just fine. They could have ended their little exchange of I love you's right there. But Lily likes the way everybody plays around. And she likes making people feel good. So she asks just one more question to her sister.

"You love Carol?"

If Carol could cry anymore tears, she would. But she's all tapped out. There's only so much perfection a person can handle. It doesn't keep her from feeling the sheer joy in her soul though. To think that she's lucky enough to have these two girls in her life humbles her. It makes her realize just how great things are, as if it was even a question after adding a little weight to her hand.

Luna? She feels the same way. All her life she's wanted to find out what it's like to live the greatest dream, and now she has it. She has it in her arm with little Lily, and in her hand as she takes her fiancee's, ready to say the same two words she hopes to hear a little later down the line.

"I do."

They share one more mutual gaze, the powerful exchange of love and understanding just as tender as always. They know now more than ever they could stay like this forever, and thankfully, they have the time. But for now, they decide it's okay to look away in order to enjoy a view that won't last forever. A view they can share not just together, but with the loveable little girl joining them. The night sky is everlastingly beautiful, a reminder that everything they've done, everything they will do has purpose. This holiday season though, it's just been better somehow. Not in a way that can be explained with science or fortune tellings, just something magical that they know is there.

Magical like the snow, magical like the wind, magical like the stars.

Magical like the ring on Carol Pingrey's finger.

THE END.