User blog:That Engineer/Lil Roomie Ch. 1

After doing at least 3 stories that are centered around drama, my mind has been starved a bit on one important factor: fluff. I believe that when one writes, there should be a balance of drama and heartwarming so you don't burn yourself out in either category; and lately, I've been itching to start a cute fic for a while. Sure, Worth and Syn have such moments, but they aren't true heartwarming fics (especially for their topics). So, this will be my first Loud House fic that centers around family moments with a few of the siblings. I was gonna wait until one of my other stories was finished, but I couldn't wait any longer.

This is also the first time I put a story on here since it's within regs.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

Lincoln lied awake in his bed, several thoughts running on a treadmill in his head as he stared at the dark ceiling. Small snores reverberated throughout the room, the source of which was a small infant snuggled contently in her crib. The 11 year old glanced at his new roommate, spotting a small snot bubble coming out of Lily's nose as she slept. Lincoln huffed, giving a small smile. For someone who drooled all over his comics and toys earlier, he couldn't stay mad at something so cute.

See, Lincoln wasn't in his old room, which at this point he might as well call 'Lisa's lab'. Following the whole 'roommate dilemma', each sibling had a new sibling to bunk with that was more compatible with their interests. At first, Lincoln's idea for a compatibility test appeared to have worked, but it quickly failed within a few hours. Guess using a test from a comic book wasn't the best idea after all. Still, it was rather odd how some of his sisters didn't seem to get along despite having similar interests.

For example, Lynn and Lana were both tomboys who loved to get down and dirty every once in a while (or in Lana's case, all the time). Between playing sports and mud wrestling, you'd think they wouldn't have any issues with sharing a room. Then again, while Lynn had tons of sporting equipment, Lana had many reptiles. How their parents let her keep a rattlesnake, Lincoln would never know. Nor did he want to. Didn't she know how dangerous those things were?...

Next up were Luna and Lisa with their explosive personalities. Lincoln furrowed his brows. To be fair, that was a recipe for disaster. Sure, both sisters made a ton of noise either through music or chemical explosions; but Luna purposely cranks her music up to 11, while Lisa's detonations are typically accidents. And didn't Lisa have a small problem with getting ringing in her ears every now and then? Speaking of the little prodigy, it was a hard pill to swallow knowing that Lisa is actually bald with a pulsating green brain. If it weren't for the fact Lincoln was more focused on thinking about how his method failed, that memory alone would give him nightmares.

Then, there was Leni with Luan. Leni was someone who could probably laugh at any joke you tell her, unless it's one of Luan's lame puns. In most cases, the blonde would roll her eyes at the punch line; this time around, she actually laughed at the comedian's jokes. Luan was more than obligated to keep the hurricane of puns coming, but it seemed Leni can't tell if someone is actually telling a joke or just making a statement. It's no wonder Luan eventually got fed up with her laughter.

Lincoln's mind drifted to Lucy and Lola temporarily sharing a room. He only thought about it for a second before wanting to facepalm at how idiotic that pairing was. Sure, both girls definitely had a dramatic flare to them, but it was like looking at the personified version of light and darkness. Would Lola really want to stay with a dark and gloomy roommate without trying to spruce things up to her liking? After seeing what she did to Edwin, the answer was obvious.

The last pair was Lily and Lori. Honestly, they were a bit of a headscratcher, but both of them had some sort of mobile device. Million dollar question: what would a baby need a phone for? Half the time they might try to eat it. Things seemed to go well, until Lori stepped on Lily's phone. Lincoln couldn't help but roll his eyes at what Lori said. Lily making a huge deal out of her phone being broken? That's a lot coming from someone who'd certainly go ballistic if someone broke your phone, Lori. One thing was certain though: Lily was much smarter than anyone would give credit for, seeing as she knew how to upload an embarrassing photo of the teen.

Lastly, there was Lincoln. He purposely left himself out of that test since he didn't have a roommate to speak of. But, it was now clear as to why his compatibility test failed. Just because a few people have similar personalities, doesn't mean they'd have a lot in common. Lincoln and Clyde sure shared a lot of interests, but Lincoln would admit that he didn't have as many problems as Clyde did. Certainly none that would require multiple visits to a therapist.

"Guess Lisa was right. Again..." The boy groaned. "Actually, I prefer cohabitation so that I have a built-in test subject. Doesn't seem that way since she turned my old room into a lab..." He folded his arms. "I mean, 17%? That's gotta be made up. Lisa might be smarter than all of us, but she still has some similarities with my sisters; chocolate being one of her weaknesses for one."

Not that Lincoln had anything against Lily, it's just that he didn't like having to sleep in a room that smelled like week-old trash. Seriously, how does Lily's poop smell so bad? And more importantly, how can Lisa stand it? Thinking about his sisters again, the new pairings looked to be working well. Lori and Lola are quite bossy and into fashion, Luan and Lucy were very creative in what they do, Luna and Lana's hobbies tended to involve heavy lifting and a lot of noise (or something like that. Lincoln wasn't too sure if music was a 'garage-based hobby'), and even Leni and Lynn managed to find some common ground.

On one hand, it'd be a lie if Lincoln said he was upset by the fact he had nothing in common with his sisters. The reason he preferred his single bedroom was that it allowed him to escape the antics of his sisters on a daily basis. The beauty of it being that the walls around the closet also seemed to be thicker than the walls in the other rooms, allowing Lincoln some peace and solitude if he needed it. He couldn't get that in a shared room like the one he was in right now. Although it felt nice having more space to walk around, Lincoln could also hear Lynn's snoring through the wall...

On the other...it'd also be a lie if he wasn't a little bit bothered by this. The last time he tried to get his sisters to indulge in his activities, they pretty much brushed him off. Then, he sought out Lily and hoped to mold her into his 'mini-me'. Turns out, his sisters had the same issue. That in itself was a little debatable with someone like Lori and Leni. Both girls were definitely into fashion and had a lot of girl talks, so what exactly was their problem? With the other sisters, the differences in hobbies was much more clear and understandable. But now, that appeared to be solved for the most part with the recent roommate changes. Not only that, the siblings had promised to let Lily decide on what she wanted to do from then on when it came to her interests.

A small frown took form on Lincoln's face as his thoughts focused on the infant. In general, he and Lily had a good relationship. Being one of the siblings who often cares for her, you'd think they'd be a decent match. Guess Lisa literally was right on them having a commonality of 17%, seeing as Lincoln couldn't even stand sharing a room with his baby sister for one night. Guilt started to pool in his stomach as memories of the last few times Lincoln hung out with Lily resurfaced. Aside from trying to influence her into doing stuff he likes, he also used the baby as an excuse to avoid visiting his great aunt; and he nearly lost her. In fact, this happened twice when Lincoln brought his younger sisters to the mall and the baby was stuck on a runaway train. Lincoln could only imagine the looks he'd get from his family if they saw he returned home with someone else's baby; much less if Lily got hurt from that train incident. Not only would he have been grounded, they would probably never trust him to watch Lily ever again (along with his younger siblings at worst). What's making these memories rather depressing? It's the one thing all of these situations had in common: Lincoln used Lily as a means to an end, rather than for genuine bonding.

A series of whimpers derailed Lincoln's thoughts like a chainsaw cutting through a wooden door. By instinct, humans can detect the sound of a baby quite easily; it's one of the most identifiable high-pitched noises you'll experience. The boy climbed out of bed and walked towards his sister's crib, wondering what could have disturbed her slumber. He didn't detect any foul odors, so she couldn't need a late-night changing. Looking down, Lincoln saw Lily's eyes were still closed, but she was twisting and turning under her blanket. A small cry escaped her every few seconds, little tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "Must be a nightmare." Lincoln muttered before picking up the baby. Lily let out a whine that was louder than expected, probably getting the attention of those sleeping in the adjacent rooms. The 11 year old gently rubbed Lily's back. "Shhhhhh...don't worry Lily, big bro is here." He cooed.

The 15 month old buried her head in the cup of Lincoln's arm, gently gripping his shoulders as she sniffled back snot.

"Had trouble sleeping?"

Lily nodded, now mostly awake. She babbled something that Lincoln didn't quite understand; perhaps he'd ask Luan on knowledge about 'Lily-speak'. Regardless, he gave a warm smile. "Wanna sleep on my bed?"

The infant smiled back, saying 'yes' as best as she could. Lincoln carried her back over to his bed, lying down with Lily still on his chest. He kept a hand on her back to prevent her from slipping off. "Maybe I was thinking about this all wrong. We could actually be good roommates. I mean, if Lynn and Leni found common ground, whose to say we can't?"

Lily babbled on again, not necessarily trying to form any words, just random noises. After a few minutes, her energy ran out and sleep claimed her once more; her brother was quite comfy as a pillow. Lincoln gently fiddled with the little hairs on her head, being careful to not interrupt her nap. Thinking back to those three incidents, a look of determination formed on his face. "Don't worry Lily. I'm gonna make up for the times I haven't exactly been a good brother to you." He whispered.

Lincoln was on the verge of letting the Sandman claim him, when a sudden sneeze brought him back to the realm of the awakened. He felt a sticky wetness on the front of his shirt, making him lean up enough to glance down. Lily was still asleep, but snot trailed from her nose with a large, green splat mark on Lincoln's chest area. The 11 year old frowned at the ceiling as he lied back. "Ok...we're definitely making a few ground rules..."