83. Ch 83- Smooth Skating

In stark contrast to the hectic hustle and bustle that came with Christmas shopping the day before, the Louds were enjoying a much calmer day at home that Sunday. They had already enjoyed much of the morning playing in the snow, and now that lunch had passed, they were helping with decorating the house for Christmas Day, which was drawing ever closer. The twins, Leni and Luan were all working away at the Christmas tree with their mother, putting tinsel and baubles and ornaments of all sizes, shapes and colours onto the branches and over the fairy lights. Lisa was sat reading next to Lily as the infant played with her teddy, Lori and Luna were putting decorations on the window, Lynn Jr was holding her father's ladder steady as he hung tinsel and banners on the wall, and Lincoln was holding Lucy up so she could dress the fireplace with assorted ornaments. Some were more traditionally Christmassy, and there were a few personal ones from her and her sisters, such as a vampire in a black Santa hat, an elf lifting a barbell and a guitar playing Rudolph.

"This is pleasant," she told her brother, setting a candle on the corner of the fireplace. "The one time of year the darkness in me steps aside, and hope fills my heart."

"Well, it's always a good time of year," Lincoln agreed. "Even for us, things are quiet and peaceful."

"Not when it comes to opening presents, though."

He chuckled, unable to argue with the young goth. "Yeah, but that's true for everyone." He watched as she put the last decoration on the mantle, then set her back down on the floor. "You might be able to reach it for yourself next year."

"Actually, projections suggest that it'll take a year and a half for your height to reach the minimum threshold level for such an activity," Lisa cut in, her eyes not drifting from her book.

"C'mon, Lise, no need to burst her bubble," Luna said to the genius, looking over her shoulder. "It's almost Christmas, dudette."

"She's right," Lincoln said with a nod. "Besides, even if she's not quite tall enough next year, I'll still help her if she needs me to."

A sliver of a smile appeared on Lucy's face. "Thank you, Lincoln."

"Come on, I'm your brother, Lucy. I'm always here to help if you need it." The chorus of cooing from the sisters that heard this made him blush. "Or, you know, whatever."

"Lincoln, there's no need to be bashful," Lori told the boy. "You're literally the best brother any of us could ever ask for, be proud of that."

Although he didn't look any less bashful, his smile grew. "Thanks."

Rita's smile also grew, seeing all of her children getting along amicably and peacefully. 'I love these special moments,' she thought to herself. 'If the whole year was like this, it just wouldn't be the same. Even if times get tough, we pull together and make it work.'

"Okay, LJ," she heard her husband say, turning to see him step down after putting tinsel over the dining room entrance. "I think that'll do for now."

"Hey, I can always do the rest if you need me to," his namesake offered, to which he sternly frowned.

"No chance. Not after last year."

"Your father's right," Rita agreed. "You're not to be trusted with a hammer." The jock rolled her eyes before walking over to her brother and roommate. The matriarch gave a small sigh as her husband approached her. "How much is left to do?"

"Other than the holly on the door, there's the dining room and the landing still to do, but the stairway and the living room are done." He turned to the girls gathered around the tree and asked them, "how's the tree coming along?"

"Nearly done, Daddy!" Lola answered, putting one last bauble on a low branch before stepping back with the others. "And done!"

Everyone gathered round to look at the work. It was clear that multiple people had worked on it, as the decorations were arranged in somewhat different manners— Lola's were more neatly added while Lana's were less so, and Luan's tinsel was put on more loosely while Leni's was dressed neatly, as if she were giving the tree a scarf. Overall, though, everyone thought it was a great sight.

"That looks wonderful, kids!" the father commended, patting the two elder daughters on the shoulders while Rita bent down to do the same for the twins. "You've done a great job!"

"Yep! We make a great treem!" Luan joked with enthusiasm, giving her usual laugh. "Get it?"

The others groaned at the pun, before Leni asked something that would briefly change the atmosphere in the room. "So, like, who's gonna put the star on?"

The kids blinked as both parents looked worried, and within seconds, everyone was talking over each other to say why they should be the one that put the star on the tree. The only ones not talking were Lincoln and Lily, who the boy noticed was still playing with her teddy. Watching his baby sister play peacefully, he realised something.

"Guys!" he shouted, managing to get their attention enough for them to stop talking as well. "Maybe Lily should get to put the star on the tree this year! She was too young last year, and she's the only one of us who has never done it."

"Lincoln's right!" his father realised.

"Plus, it's always been a tradition that on your second Christmas, you would get to put the star on the tree," Rita informed them, bringing smiles and fond memories to the older girls.

"She's literally right," Lori acknowledged with a nostalgic tone to her words. "It's always so cute to watch, too."

"I remember when you did it for the first time, bro," Luna reminisced. "You tried to climb the tree like a little monkey. You wouldn't let go, so Dad had to hold you while we held the tree so you couldn't pull it over."

"Funnily enough, I don't remember that," the embarrassed boy muttered, his cheeks heating up again as everyone shared laughters at the memory.

"Ooh! I'll go get my video camera!" Luan offered, taking off up the stairs to get the item in question. She returned in just seconds, video camera in hand and filming. "And you're live."

"Thanks, Luan." Rita turned to Lily, who had been curious about what they were talking about since hearing her name mentioned. "Hey, Lily!" She picked the infant up, bouncing her slightly in her arms. "Wanna help Mama finish the tree?" The somewhat intelligible response from the baby was taken as a yes by the mother, who looked to her husband. "Lynn, where's the star?"

"Right here, honey," he replied, holding out the gold star. "Are you sure it's light enough for her?"

"I'll make sure she can hold it, don't worry." She took the star from Lynn Sr, then held it out to the baby. "Wanna put the star up?" Lily nodded, taking the star as best she could in her stars. Rita walked her over to the tree, the rest of her family giving playful encouragement as Lily gently reached out with the star, and after some reaching from both Lily and Rita, she eventually put the star on the top of the tree, to which her siblings all cheered and clapped. "Well done, Lily!"

"That's my girl!" Lynn Sr praised, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Knew it," Lynn Jr whispered to Lana, who grumbled and handed the middle schooler a pair of dollar bills. "Easy money."

The patriarch eventually got a grip, giving a few last sniffles. "Right. Who wants some hot cocoa?"

The kids all eagerly asked for some, while Rita disapprovingly shook her head. "Lynn, they've just had lunch."

"Ah, it's fine. Besides, they've all been so good and helped with decorating. I think they deserve a small treat."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine, but don't blame me if the house falls apart."

"I won't." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making her roll her eyes again but smile while doing so. "Right! Thirteen cups of cocoa, coming right up!"

The man disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the rest of the family to discuss what to do next. Lincoln was talking with Luan, when he heard his phone ringing. He quickly excused himself and pulled his phone out, answering the call and holding the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lincoln," he heard Jordan greet on the other line. "Are you free right now?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm free. What's up?"

"Me and some of the others are gonna head down to the park and do some ice skating. Want to join us?"

"Sure, that sounds fun. When should I be there?"

"We said we were going to meet at half two, so about then."

"Okay. I'll start heading there in a couple of minutes."

"Great! I'll see you soon."

"See you soon, Jordan." With that, he hung up his phone and went into the kitchen. "Hey, dad? I'm heading to meet some friends at the park, so no cocoa for me.

"You sure, champ?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

"Well, if you want, I'll whip a cup up for you later on."

"Thanks, Dad." He turned around to head upstairs, but stopped with a startle when he noticed his sisters were right behind him, Cheshire grins on their faces. "Geez! Lucy, have you been teaching them how to sneak up on people?!"

"No, but I'll make a note to do that," she responded with uncharacteristic glee.

"Was that Jordan?" Lori asked, making the boy sigh. "What are you going to be doing together?"

"Does it really matter to you?"

Lynn cocked an eyebrow at her brother's blunt answer. "What, we can't take an interest in what our brother gets up to?"

He put a hand on his hip and snippily argued, "you don't whenever I hang out with Clyde and the others!"

"That's because we know what you and Clyde get up to," Lana pointed out, her twinning nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it's always the same stuff with you two! Jordan, on the other hand—"

"Okay, let me stop you there, Lola!" Lincoln interrupted, holding a hand up to her. "We're not getting into this, because I need to get going. Just promise you won't follow me or spy on me." They gave halfhearted agreements to their brother, who then narrowed his sights on the four year old brunette. "That includes you, Lisa!"

She rolled her eyes with a scoff. "I have more important matters to attend to, and I don't wish for you to follow through with your promise from last time. I shall not maintain surveillance on you or your companions."

"That's good." He passed by his sisters, heading upstairs to gather his things. 'I should probably keep an eye out. Just in case.'

When she reached the park, Jordan saw that there weren't as many people about as she had expected, only half a dozen skaters on the frozen water and a handful of others playing on the snow covered grass around it. She quickly found that Joy and Mollie were already waiting for her, the former in a purple sweater, blue jeans, white gloves and purple earmuffs, and the latter wearing a wine red parka, grey jeans, black gloves and a white scarf. They saw the Rosato girl approaching and walked over to meet her.

"Hey, you made it!" Joy greeted.

"Sorry if I'm late," Jordan replied. "Dad needed a hand with some of the decorating."

"Nah, we've not been here long," Mollie assured her friend. "So, shall we get skating, or are we still waiting on someone?"

"Perhaps someone whose white hair probably looks more natural this time of year?"

Jordan gave the dark haired girl a disapproving shake of her head. "Joy, that's horrible. There is nothing wrong with his hair."

"No, but you knew who was talking about."

She shook her head again with a sigh. "Yes, I invited him. He's my friend, I figured he'd enjoy hanging with us."

"Hey, don't get so defensive," Mollie told her, holding her hands up in surrender. "We don't mind, really. If anything, it'll be interesting to see if he's bad or not."

Both Joy and Mollie chuckled at the joke, with Jordan unable to resist doing the same as she told them, "you girls are awful," before seeing the boy in question jogging over.

"Hey," he greeted to the girls as he slowed to a stop. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"Nah, we were just talking about you, actually," Mollie informed him with an unrestrained grin.

"Really? Let me guess, something along the lines of "you didn't invite the Girl Guru". That about it?"

"You know, if you want us to forget about it, maybe don't bring it up," Joy suggested, to which he gave a small chuckle. "So, are the rest of Clan Loud following?"

"Not that I know of. I asked them not to, but I'll keep an eye out just in case."

Joy blinked. "I was joking. They aren't actually coming, are they?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Jordan told her. "I'm just glad there's not really anywhere for Lisa to hide spy cameras here."

"Unless Lisa's developed snow drones." Both Lincoln and Jordan laughed at the suggestion, before looking to the now creeped out Mollie and Joy. "Guys, I'm joking. I made sure to tell them not to, and Mom and Dad said they'd ground any of them if they did. Who would risk getting grounded this close to Christmas?" His sound reasoning brought relief to the two other girls, whose expressions relaxed. "Now, come on. Let's skate!"

In agreement, they all made their way around the frozen pond towards the rental stand. "So, Loud," Joy chose to ask, "you ever skated before?"

"A couple of times, though not for a long time. Not since Lynn asked me to help her with ice hockey. So, if you're expecting me to be bad… well, you're probably right."

The girls shared a laugh once more, before Jordan comforted him by saying, "Linc, you'll be fine. It's just about having fun, we're not here to compete or anything."

Mollie and Joy both looked to each other, their eyes widened as they shared the same thought. 'Did she just call him Linc?'

Of course, neither said anything before they reached the rental stand, each giving five bucks for a pair of skates. They found a bench close enough to the lake and sat down on it, trading their winter footwear for ice skates. Mollie and Joy took to the ice first, with Jordan looking back as Lincoln staggered towards the temporary rink like a newborn deer, making her giggle.

"Come on, Lincoln!" she urged, stepping onto the ice.

"I'm coming!" he replied, though he couldn't help but think, 'eventually'. He made his way to the ice, immediately feeling a wobble in his legs as he slowly slid forward, doing his best to keep his balance. "Okay, I'm on the nice. Now… how do I move?"

Before he could even attempt to do so, Mollie skated past him, the sudden breeze she caused catching him off guard, sending his arms flailing before he inevitably landed on his butt. The impact wasn't too rough, but he still groaned a little as he rubbed his derrière. When he heard someone slow to a stop in front of him, he looked up, being met with a bemused grin from Jordan.

"Need a hand?" she offered, holding a hand out to him. He smiled meekly as he nodded, putting one gloved hand on the ice and holding hers with his other, then gently got back to his feet, though still wobbly. "You really haven't skated in a while, have you?"

"It's been more than a year, yeah, and it's not like I did it a lot to begin with."

She couldn't resist a small titter, before then asking him, "would you like me to show you?" Though still feeling timid, he gave a nod. "Well, first things first, give me your hand." He looked at the hand she held out, the same one she had used to help him to stand up, and took hold of it. "Alright. Now, you never want to look down while skating. Keep your head up, and lean forward with your knees bent."

"So, like this?"

She watched him shift his posture according to her instructions. "Almost, just don't bend down quite so much." He nodded and straightened his posture a little. "There we go. Now, what you're going to do is lift your foot up and step it forward, then lift your other foot up slightly as you glide forward."

"Okay?" He attempted to do just that, moving forward a little with her doing the same to keep pace. "And then, repeat it?"

"You've got it!" She kept with him as he began to get a feel for it, encouraging him as his tentative steps became more confident. "When you think you've gotten a hang of it, try extending your leg further with each step." He nodded back to her, doing just that. This allowed him to start skating faster, with Jordan keeping up to make sure he was getting it. She watched him for a minute or so, seeing his smile grow with his confidence, and it made her smile grow too. "You've got it! I'm going to let go of your hand now, okay?"

"Uh… yeah, okay. One… two… three… now!" She let go and Lincoln pulled his arm back, a slight wobble coming as he adjusted his balance, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that he was able to keep skating. "I… I did it!"

Jordan's laughter returned, finding something very endearing in the boy's innocent glee. "I knew you could, Lincoln," she told him, her smile growing and a blush forming as he smiled at her. "You just needed a confidence boost."

"Well, I think it was you helping me that gave me it." He could now see the pinkness in her cheeks, which brought a bit of a blush to his own face. "So, uh, how do I stop skating?"

"You're not tired already, are you?" she teased, making his blush grow as he struggled for an answer. "Relax, I'm kidding. So, what you need to do is take your right foot, move it apart from your left foot and put it down sideways."

"Okay. I'll try it." He took a few more gliding steps before placing his foot sideways, quickly slowing him to a halt and kicking up a bit of frost. He saw Jordan skate past him and turn around, so that she could stop in front of him. "I'll be honest, that was… more sudden than I was expecting."

"You'll get used to it. Other than that, how do you feel?"

"Pretty good, actually. You're a good teacher."

"Aww, come on, you're just being nice."

"Doesn't mean it isn't true." She blushed again, though turned away to stop him from seeing as yet another couple of giggles came from the girl. "So, is that it?"

"Yeah, that's the basics of skating. Now, we just have fun with it!" Before he could ask about it, she took off and began to pick up speed. "Let's see if you can catch me!"

He chuckled as he yelled back, "let's do this," then took off after her. This would be the start of a fun filled half an hour on the ice, in which Lincoln, Jordan, Mollie and Joy would skate around the pond together, sometimes engaging in little races together, and Mollie and Joy would occasionally try and get Lincoln to do tricks. This would often end in laughter at the boy taking a tumble, though he surprised them a couple of times by managing to pull off some of the tricks. Eventually, though, Lincoln felt his energy beginning to run down a bit. "This has been pretty awesome," he told Jordan as he skated alongside her at a leisurely place.

"I'm glad you came, Lincoln," she replied. "It was more fun with you here."

"Really?" She nodded, and it made his heart feel warmer. "Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me, Linc. I invited you because I—" Before she could finish the sentence, she felt something hit into her skate, startling her and making her misplace her foot. This caused her balance to go completely off, and Lincoln saw that she was about to fall, so he reached out to grab her. He wasn't able to stop them from falling, so he pulled her closer and twisted himself, making him land on his back with Jordan on top of him. Jordan had shut her eyes from the mild fear that came with falling, but when she heard Lincoln groan in pain, her eyes shot open and she looked down, worry washing over her. "Lincoln! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm… I'm fine," he answered, though his expression and strained tone said otherwise.

"What happened?" Joy asked as she and Mollie skated over, having heard their friend's cry.

"I'm so sorry about that," they then heard a man apologise, looking over to see a red haired man in a black winter coat, black jeans and red gloves skate over, with a boy in a red puffer jacket, blue jeans, blue gloves and a blue beanie behind him. "I was teaching my son some ice hockey stuff, and the puck got away from me. I'm really sorry, kid."

"It's okay," Lincoln replied as best he could, pushing himself into a sitting position, with Jordan helping him. "Accidents happen, right? Don't worry about it." He then looked at the kid behind the man, an eight or nine year old boy who was acting shy. "What's your name, buddy?"

The kid looked out slightly from behind his father and replied, "J-Jerry."

"Don't worry, Jerry, I'm not upset with you. It was an accident, and I'm okay. Was this your first time playing ice hockey with your dad?" Jerry gave a small nod. "Well, if you enjoy it, and you keep practicing, maybe one day you'll make a team."

This seemed to calm the boy down, as he gave a small smile. "You think?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you're okay, kid?" Jerry's dad insistently asked, to which Lincoln nodded. "Do you need a hand up?"

"No, I can manage." True to his word, Lincoln steadily but surely got back to his feet, managing to keep his balance when back on his feet. "See? I'm fine."

"That's a relief. Still, if you need anything, just let me know."

"I will." He then looked to Jerry and told him, "have fun playing ice hockey, Jerry."

"I will!"

With that, the group of sixth graders gave waves as the father and son skated away again. "That was cute," Joy admitted.

"Yeah, you were really nice to that kid, Lincoln," Mollie agreed.

"Well, he seemed scared, and I knew that if it was one of my sisters, I'd want them to know I wasn't mad at them. He's just a kid playing with his dad, he didn't mean any harm."

"Either way, that was sweet of you to do, Linc," Jordan told him, which made his smile grow, as it did the grins of her friends.

"Thanks. So, I don't know if you guys had anything else planned, but I think that's enough skating for me today."

"Yeah, I think so too," Mollie said, with Jordan and Joy nodding too. "How about we take the skates back, and see if we can find something else to do?" The others agreed, so they began to skate back to the bench where their shoes were waiting. Mollie skated close to Jordan, pulling her slightly away from the others. "You know, that's the second time he's protected you from a fall. Seems he really cares about you."

"You think? I think it's just something he gets from looking after his sisters. Still, I'm gonna have to pay him back for that later. He's a great guy, and I'm glad I invited him."

"Yeah, I can tell. Since when did you start calling him Linc, huh?"

Jordan's eyes went wide as her cheeks flushed upon being called out on that. "Sh-shut up," she muttered as she skated ahead, hearing Mollie chuckle behind her as they left the ice.