Chapter Text
After spending more than ten hours in labor, the physically drained Rita Loud, along with her husband, Lynn Sr., anxiously waited for the doctors to finish their evaluation of her newborn son. At long last, a male doctor approached the couple with a small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. He stopped just before the foot of Rita's bed, looking a little nervous.
"Before you get a good look at him, there's something you should probably know-" he began, but Rita cut him off.
"Quit the chit-chat and give me my baby!" she snapped. The doctor sheepishly placed the bundle in Rita's arms before stepping back. Rita carefully peeled back the blanket, allowing the dim lights to illuminate the baby boy's body. What she and her husband saw gave them a bit of a shock. The child's skin was the color of new-fallen snow, crisscrossed with tiny red and blue lines that marked where his blood vessels were. He yawned and slowly opened his eyes. The irises were bright red with flecks of yellow. The couple snapped back to reality when the doctor cleared his throat.
"As you can clearly see, your son completely lacks any pigmentation whatsoever. He's albino," the doctor said. "Now, it's completely normal for you to want to give him up for adoption-"
"No," interrupted Lynn Sr. "We love him, just like our other children. He could be covered in polka dots for all we care. Right, honey?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Rita said, gazing lovingly at the infant in her arms. "Welcome to the world, Lincoln Loud..."
...
TEN YEARS LATER
...
Lincoln yawned and rubbed the sleep from his permanently bloodshot eyes. The former linen closet that had been converted into his bedroom when he was five was sparsely furnished, but cozy. A desk and dresser stood against one wall, there was a threadbare but comfortable recliner under the small round window, and the hammock that served as his bed hung from two hooks in the ceiling. Lincoln slipped on the fluffy grey bathrobe that hung on the back of his door before stepping out into the crowded hall. This being a Friday morning, nine of his ten sisters were rushing around trying to get ready for the last day of the first week of school. Lincoln himself was homeschooled because a bout of relentless bullying in kindergarten forced his parents to pull him out of public school.
"Mornin', sport," Lynn Sr. greeted as Lincoln entered the downstairs kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal.
"Mornin', Dad," was Lincoln's chipper reply as he added the milk. As he set the carton down, one of his stark white fingers was grabbed by a pudgy pink hand belonging to his youngest sister. "And good morning to you, too, Lily," he said and tickled the baby in the highchair next to him. Lily giggled and continued messily devouring her own breakfast (getting more food ON her than IN her). Soon, Lincoln's mother walked into the kitchen carrying a small pile of books and papers.
"Good morning, Lincoln. Here's your schoolwork for today," she said, placing the stack on the table and ruffling Lincoln's hair. The third oldest girl, Luna, wore her hair in a pixie cut. Lincoln had something similar, but longer and more unruly.
"Thanks, Mom. I'll get started as soon as I'm dressed," Lincoln said and carried the schoolwork up to his room. Stripping off his pajamas, one could tell that he was in excellent physical shape. He weighed a solid one hundred twenty pounds, but there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He had a long, lanky frame that was more sinew than muscle, yet he was capable of displaying a surprising amount of physical strength. Lincoln dressed in a grey long-sleeved T-shirt, a lightweight black hoodie with the sleeves cut off, black fingerless gloves, slim denim jeans, and black converse sneakers. Even though summer had just barely ended, being albino meant he had to expose as little skin as possible. He could only withstand a few minutes of direct sunlight before he burned to a crisp. After saying goodbye to his sisters and father, Lincoln sat down at his desk and opened the first book. His own intelligence rivaled that of his science prodigy sister Lisa's but was more broad-spectrum. He was a man of many talents, his personal preferences being music, mechanical engineering, and wilderness survival. He finished all of his schoolwork by lunchtime, so he went to the garage to put the finishing touches on his pet project. He'd finished attaching wheels he'd gotten from a broken computer chair and was working on the hinges of a pair of cabinet doors.
"Watcha workin' on, bro?" Lincoln jumped and turned around to see Luna, his rockstar sister with brown hair, a ripped purple shirt with a white skull, a purple skirt, and purple boots, standing in the doorway.
"Entertainment center," he replied and picked up where he left off.
"But we already have one," said Luna, looking closer at the three-foot series of shelves and compartments. Like anything her brother built from recycled and scavenged materials, it was hideous to look at, but no doubt sturdy enough to serve its intended purpose.
"I know. This one's for my room," Lincoln said, making Luna even more curious and a little suspicious.
"Bro, I know you well enough. What's goin' on in that li'l white head o' yours?"
"Okay, you got me. Gus' Games 'N' Grub is having a gaming contest. The prize for first place is a small TV and a DVD player. Once I have those, I can move my video game console out of the living room. I just have to borrow ten bucks from Mom and Dad to pay the entry fee." Something then occurred to Luna.
"Hey, I still owe you for tuning my axe, don't I?"
"I think so. Why?"
"Consider this your payment," Luna said and slapped a ten-dollar bill into his palm. Lincoln's eyes bugged out.
"You mean it?" he asked.
"You betcha. Now let's go inside; I'm hungry like the wolf!" As they walked from the garage to the house, Lincoln and Luna passed Lola and Lana, the twins that were tied for third youngest, chopping firewood for the coming winter. Lola, with long golden hair that hung down her back, a pink sequin dress, and a tiara, placed a fresh log on the old tree stump. Lana, with greasy blond hair tied into two pigtails, a filthy red baseball cap that was at least two sizes too big, and stained overalls, hefted the huge axe that was longer than she was tall before slicing the log clean in half. They saw Lincoln and grinned, revealing that both were missing their two front teeth. They were identical in appearance and opposite in preferences, yet somehow managed to get along without constantly arguing.
"Hi, Lincoln!" they said in unison. Lincoln waved and continued on his way. He and Luna stepped through the back door and into the kitchen, where Lori, the eldest with short-ish blond hair, a blue sleeveless top, and brown shorts, was hanging up her cell phone.
"Hey, guys. Dad just called and said he's running late at the restaurant. Can you two help me cook dinner?" she asked. "I can't ask Leni for...obvious reasons." Said as bluntly as possible, Leni, the next oldest, was at the best of times absent-minded, clumsy, and easily distracted. Aside from that, though, she had a heart of gold and was the best seamstress in the house.
"No need. I've had meat and vegetables stewing in the crock pot all afternoon," said Lincoln. "I do that from time to time when no one's paying attention."
"Oh. Never mind, then," Lori said with a surprised look.
Luna leaned down and whispered in Lincoln's ear, "If that's how we've been eating when Mom and Dad are both too tired to cook, then you, my friend, are going places."
"Thanks. Wanna have a jamming session before dinner?" Lincoln asked.
"I thought you'd never ask!" The pair walked upstairs to the room Luna shared with Luan, the family comedian. They plugged Luna's main electric guitar and her spare into their respective amplifiers, then began playing songs from their favorite bands like KISS, Black Sabbath, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They were wrapping up "Detroit Rock City" when a sharp DING came from an egg timer clipped to Lincoln's belt.
"Ooh, dinner's ready!" he said and put the guitar he was using away. He grabbed Luna's triangle before going downstairs to serve the stew. He set out twelve bowls, but only filled eleven because their father wasn't home yet (Lily had her own food). "Come and get it!" he yelled before ringing the triangle. This attracted his sisters like flies to a slaughter. The first to arrive at the dining room table was Leni, with long, pale blond hair, a seafoam-green dress, and a pair of sunglasses perched on her head. Next came Luan, with light brown hair in a ponytail, braces on her teeth, a white sleeveless blouse, a yellow pleated skirt, yellow knee-length socks, and brown shoes. Luan was followed by Lynn Jr., a sports jock with darker brown hair in a ponytail shorter than Luan's, a white jersey with red sleeves and a red number one on the front, red short-shorts, white socks, and black cleats. After Lynn came Lucy, a young girl going through a Goth phase. She had raven-black hair with bangs that covered both eyes, a black dress over a black-and-white striped shirt, and skin nearly as pale as Lincoln's. The twins came next, followed by Lisa, the second youngest with short brown hair, thick eyeglasses, a green turtleneck sweater, pink pants, and brown shoes. Lori and Rita came last, with Lori carrying Lily. Only when everyone was seated did they begin eating. Lynn Sr. arrived home in the middle of the meal and sat down at the table with a tired sigh.
"How was the Fox family's wedding reception, honey?" asked Rita.
"Ugh, don't remind me. Those people eat like you wouldn't believe! And don't get me started on the five little devils they call children..." Lynn Sr. trailed off and helped himself to the stew. "Thanks for dinner, son."
"You're welcome, Dad," Lincoln said while collecting everyone else's dishes to put in the dishwasher. This was a standard day in The Loud House: you had the occasional sour moment, but problems usually worked out for the better. Little did Lincoln know that this life that he knew and loved was about to change, whether he liked it or not.
