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A Woman After My Own Heart	By : AberrantScript Category: +G through L > The Loud House Views: 3876 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House and make no money off this work of fiction.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Author's Notes:
Notes at bottom! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: The Loud House Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)
Chapter 9: Angels in Disguise
Lana was eating lunch by herself today.
She'd tried to wait out the teasing taunts and haughty jeers, but eventually she had to move outside, too. So, as she sat down on the grass to eat her small lunch (keeping a few bites here and there to feed to Bugle later on), her mind drifted.
The big blowup yesterday seemed to cement her identity as butch and, combined with her fondness for being dirty, icky, and socially-awkward, she was left with little choice but isolation. The few students who were open about their sexuality didn't like her manners and interests with all things filthy. It was a situation in which she couldn't please everyone. It was a situation in which everyone, someway and somehow, thought her a freak.
And for the longest time that was ok because Lana "is what she is," and her family had always loved her for it.
She guessed things just got too lonely for her. Or maybe meeting Bugle rekindled her desire for friendship with someone her age. Or perhaps she was a closet masochist: bent on torturing her soul for all of eternity with the hopeless dream of finding love and affection from someone besides the sister that could never give it without guilt and shame.
Lana laid her sandwich on her pants as she looked at a small ant colony near her feet. She tore off a piece of bread and laid it down hear their marching line and watched with a smile as the little army broke formation to pillage the prize.
"Why would you do that?" called that girl from the lunchroom debacle.
Lana's smile never broke, though her heart was feeling pain, as she graced the newcomer with her guileless grin.
"Dad always taught me that if we have the power to help others, to not do so would be an awful sin."
Lola watched as Lana tore off another tiny piece and laid it right beside the swiftly-disappearing one. She knelt down on the grass, aiming for the least icky and dirty patches, and looked as the ants quickly diverted half their forces to the new gift. She looked sideways at Lana and saw the girl looking down upon them with a gentle smile.
"But don't you need to eat?" the fairy tale girl asked.
Lana's smile crooked to the side as she patted her thin, lean stomach. "Eh, I'll be fine."
Her cheeks burnt in embarrassment as a low grumble sounded.
Lola's brows turned downward in annoyance. "Yeah… it doesn't sound like it."
Lana shrugged her shoulders and leaned back onto her elbows.
Lola looked down on the girl, thoughtfully and curiously. Why would someone help something as stupid and icky as ants? She sighed as she sat down, trying her best to control her automatic urge to cringe at the thought of sitting in God only knows what. She opened up her sack and pulled out a sandwich, and just held it in her hands.
Lana's eyes caught sight of that sandwich and she looked away, but her stomach wouldn't: it grumbled greedily, though it knew its owner had nothing else to eat and that sandwich was off limits.
Lola's frowning lips slowly turned upward as she felt amusement bubbling up from her chest. With a silent nod, she tore the sandwich in half and dropped one half onto Lana's unsuspecting stomach.
"Woah- hey, that wasn't nice!" Lana wasn't really upset, but what else do you say when someone dumps food on you?
Lola shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know what you're talking about." She took a bite out of her sandwich and turned to the side to hide her grin.
Lana picked the half-piece up and looked at it hungrily, but paused. "Why would you do that?"
Lola glanced at the girl sitting beside her before looking down at the little huddle of ants picking the last crumbs off the dirt.
"A friend once told me that if we have the power to help others it'd be horrible not to help them."
Lana didn't know what to say to that; so she grinned and took a bite out of her sandwich, mmm-ing at how delicious it was~
Lola groaned. "Ugh. If that is how you're going to eat around me, then I might just pack up and leave."
Lana's grin didn't falter. "What can I say? I am what I am~"
Lola turned to her with a dark look and crooked smirk. "Dead people don't make disgusting sounds~"
Lana choked around her bite before managing to swallow it.
Lola laughed at the look of horror on her friend's face, falling back into the grass and not even thinking about how dirty her dress was getting.
Lana felt a bloom of love in her chest and smiled at her friend.
She finally had what she'd been missing for two years.
Mrs. Woodhouse was a very kind and gentle woman. Once you got past her quirks, tendency to pop into your personal bubble to share a juicy tidbit, and love for every feline in the universe, she was pretty rad.
Luan was sitting in the woman's living room. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt two sizes too big that belonged to Mrs. Woodhouse's granddaughters. Her own filthy rags were getting washed in the laundry. Her face and hair, once black as a coal miner's, were freshly rinsed and dried. She was sipping on a cup of black coffee; not really her favorite way to drink coffee, but after being down in the cold depths of a home she'd drink anything that was warm and comforting.
Mrs. Woodhouse was making her rounds through her home, greeting her family of cats like a doting mother. "Hello to you, too, Ms. Whiskers~" She scratched behind the ears of a fat tabby that'd hopped onto a table right beside her.
Luan smiled wide as a black cat hopped up onto her lap. It had a gorgeous pair of blue-grey eyes that reminded her so much of Maggie. She scratched it behind the ears, and the cute thing just purred.
Mrs. Woodhouse turned at the noise and smiled warmly. "She likes you, dear."
Luan looked at her. "She's a beautiful cat. She reminds me of Mag- of this girl I know."
The landlady's smile curled on one end. "Oh? What sort of girl? A girl-friend?"
Luan's smile crooked to the side as well. "I don't know yet, but maybe she won't just be a friend."
The old woman hummed as she came over and sat down beside Luan. "Is there something wrong? Why haven't you scooped her up into your arms, eloped with her on the Canadian border, and made all her dreams come true?"
Luan fought the blush threatening to heat up her face at the thought of marrying Maggie. "W-well, I don't know how she feels. I… kinda think she likes me, but we haven't talked about it. I only met her Monday after all." She trailed off with a laugh.
Mrs. Woodhouse nodded sagely. "Ah, love at first sight can be tricky, indeed."
Luan did blush that time because who said anything about the L-word? Yeah, she was totally thinking it, duh… but, to hear someone else say it about her and Maggie was… wow, it sounded pretty good, didn't it?
"Does she love me? Doesn't she love me? At lot can be spoken in that first trance as two souls gaze upon each other through the windows in their eyes."
Yeah, Luan understood what the lady was saying. She and Maggie did say a lot. But what did it mean?
"But you'll know she's the one when you can look at the world and sing, I have found the one whom my soul loves~"
Luan couldn't help her smile. She did want that. But could they… would they… might they? The future was fraught with dangers and confusion. She didn't even know if she'd still have an apartment to come home to.
She didn't know if her little miss sparky adventures would foot the bills enough…
As entertaining as the thought sounded, there just wasn't enough security for love to be in her life.
She sighed and the woman looked at her understandingly.
"Don't worry, dear. You'll find the one-"
Luan shook her hand and interrupted, "No, it's not that. I… I just can't have love in my life right now."
The woman placed a hand on Luan's. "What's wrong, dear?"
Luan looked into the elderly landlady's faded eyes. She wore glasses and even still had trouble seeing… but she could see Luan's pain just as clear as the purest crystal. Something about the warmth and understanding radiating from where those frail fingers laid on her own urged her on.
"I have a younger sister I need to take care of."
Mrs. Woodhouse hummed.
Luan turned her eyes toward a pair of salt and pepper shakers. Something safe and comforting to pour herself into as she spoke.
"Our parents died in a fire… which I-I caused… a-a-and I've b-been struggling to-to keep her as her guardian…"
The woman rubbed her hand with an aged thumb and hummed softly.
Luan's eyes were flowing with unshed tears, ready to burst forth and flood her cheeks with icy warmth.
"M-my landlord h-has been trying to k-kick us out for months-" Her breath hitched as a sob nearly came out. "-I only have one more chance b-before I lose it all… our home, my sister..."
She looked into those ancient eyes and lost her composure at the intense gaze she felt. She hiccoughed as tears dripped onto her hands on the table.
The black coffee laid still and chilly on the table, just like the shivering soul inside Luan's restrictive chest.
"I-I only h-have four days left t-to get the money for rent. I'm barely h-holding things together."
Her eyes clenched tight as her breath hitched again and a sob tore from her throat.
"There, there. You're doing your best," the old woman soothed.
But it didn't help.
"I-i-it's my fault…"
It didn't phase Luan's tears when Mrs. Woodhouse squeezed her hand a little tighter.
"Bad things happen; accidents and things we can't control. But the thing that you can control is how you face them."
Luan sniffled as Mrs. Woodhouse took her hands in her frail fingers.
"I see a woman determined to do everything she can to help her sister. I see someone struggling and fighting with everything she has for someone she loves."
An aged hand caressed her cheek, and Luan pressed against it, covering it with her tears.
"Your sister needs you, Luan."
Luan hiccoughed, blinking the tears away long enough to see the woman's kind face.
"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't let someone help you."
Luan turned her eyes down to the table.
Mrs. Woodhouse chuckled. "My, your cocoa is all cold now. Let me make you a new cup."
And Luan just sat there, staring at the patterned cloth covering the table as the old woman went to work in the kitchen.
She'd spent so many hours on her bed, beside the bathtub, under the knife… away from her sister… eternally chastising herself brutally and remorselessly because of her past.
She crossed her arms and pulled her knees to her chest.
There comes a time, though, when you need to see the bigger picture.
She looked to the side at those two shakers once again.
Lana needed her. Not just a guardian and sister, but Luan. She needed emotional presence and support.
Did Luan provide that?
"Here, dear. Thank God for microwaves." The old woman chuckled, bringing a faint smile to Luan's lips.
Mrs. Woodhouse sat down and patted her lap.
And soon her whole family of cats smothered her until they were rolling over and onto Luan like tidal waves.
That black cat from before fell onto her chest and Luan saved it from falling by wrapping her arms around it.
Her brown eyes met its blue-grey, and she smiled.
There wasn't really a reason why she should do it alone.
Maybe it'd be best for Lana… for herself… if she let Maggie into her life.
After Maggie had left in the morning, Carol and Leni opted to part ways. They rarely did so and never made it a habit, but Leni wanted to run off to a store and buy something for her sister. A surprise, apparently.
The local library wasn't open on Friday, so Carol decided to buy another coffee and spend the rest of her morning in the comforting safety of the familiar coffee shop.
She'd been getting through a new fanfiction she'd found online. It was a… habit that she kept to herself because it was embarrassing. Being known as the introverted bookworm was bad enough, but once people knew she read medium-to-good quality femslash novels about cartoon characters they'd never let her forget it!
Sometimes those fanfics left her a little hot and bothered, too, which only made it worse. Especially when Lori was there. Her favorites were the ones where an inexperienced virgin girl gets summoned by an older blonde woman, and BDSM happens in a sweaty, steamy, magnificently wonderful way.
After one too many times of… accidentally leaving a very tiny wet spot on her favorite bench in the coffee shop… she decided to curb her reading in public.
But speaking of sexy blonde dominatrices, she noticed that Bobby was on the phone, and judging by his excited voice it must be Lori on the other side.
She sighed as her phone (and her almost-smut fanfic) were lowered to the table.
Bobby Gonzalez was literally the luckiest man in the universe.
She looked at him; really looked at him. She tried to find what it was that attracted Lori in a physical sense. The man was rugged, had some stubble on his chin, thick, manly eyebrows, and wavy, dark hair. In a non-sexual way, Carol really liked how he looked. He had the kindest eyes and the heart to match them. His hands were rough and calloused, showing how hard he worked. Plus, he treated his workers and customers so well his shop developed a small group of dedicated cultists, of which she was one of the first acolytes.
You totes can't beat the city's best coffee, given by the city's warmest smiles, and enjoyed with the city's pleasantest company.
They were like one great big family, and Bobby was kinda like the father figure most of these misfits sorely needed.
He was one of a kind and honestly if her sexuality wasn't as straight as a dog's leg, she'd have sunk her claws in him so hard he'd be screaming out their safe word in the throes of passion.
But ain't that just how things go? The gay girl falls in love with the straight girl whom doesn't fully appreciate the straight guy whom is totally dedicated to her. It was an unfair triangle full of pain at every angle.
"What pain?" one might ask.
As Carol watched Bobby's joyous grin slowly fall, her heart was branded with a raw, burning prod. As much as she loved Lori… as much as it pained her to see Lori run into another person's arms… she wasn't stupid enough to overlook her love interest's flaws.
Lori was a touch selfish, prone to be demanding, and lacked in the ways of compassionate understanding.
She eavesdropped on their conversation since they were the only two out in the lobby and he didn't care about speaking his end loud enough to hear… and she didn't care to give him privacy.
Lori wanted him to close down the shop all next week so he could go on a trip with her… and even though he obviously would love to enjoy a vacation with her… he couldn't drop his employees like that, and with such short notice. They needed their jobs, they needed the time and money, and if he left he'd have to send them home until he came back. There wasn't a single person there trained to take his place for that long of a time.
Bobby pleaded even as Carol's heart broke for him. Lori wasn't in a mood for being understanding, and her icy words stung so badly even Carol could feel them as she watched the young man.
"B-babe-"
Click.
He laid his phone to the counter and sighed. He went back to wiping down that pristine patch of near-crystallized counter.
Carol wasn't entirely sure why she got up; why she walked behind the counter; why she poked his shoulder with a timid finger; why she gave him a reassuring smile while the man had tears on his cheeks…
But she had a feeling that, as she wordlessly wrapped her arms around him and let him take out his emotions on her shoulder, she probably fell in love with this wonderful man somewhere along the way.
Maybe it was a different love; maybe it was the same love; maybe it was something entirely new…
But he was the world's best friend to her and her sister, providing them with a safe refuge from the shock of seeing their slowly-fading grandparents, and she knew she wanted to return that same feeling to him.
"It'll be ok, Bobby. Lori will come around." She rubbed his shoulders soothingly.
It was an empty hope, they both knew, because Lori was also prone to break up with him for a time before coming back.
She couldn't count the days she saw his face broken; she couldn't count the times she saw Lori on the street with another man around her finger…
As she leaned back, she earnestly thought to herself… that maybe love is much more than a person's sexuality… maybe it's much more than broken hearts and empty promises…
Both of their souls pined after the same woman, whom often scorned them and spurned their advances.
Maybe…
The only person who knew what the other was going through best was standing right in front of them in that moment.
And even though Bobby didn't excite her in the same way that Lori did…
And even though Carol didn't snag his heart the same way that Lori did…
The two nevertheless found understanding and affection in a renewed embrace as tears fell from both of their eyes.
She chuckled as she thought to herself, If only Bobby would get a sex change~
But even then, she didn't want anything to change about him.
He chuckled with her, feeling warmth and comfort in his friend's arms.
Who knew what would happen with Lori?
But in that moment they knew one thing as plain as day.
They had each other…
…and maybe that's all that really mattered.
Leni hummed as she strolled around the department store. Oh, she'd much rather be at the mall, picking out designer brands, and chatting up bored employees for their advice on the latest trends. Instead, here she was at a dime-a-dozen store, picking through the meager scraps of cheap clothes like a turkey vulture searching through the bones of a carcase.
She sighed loudly as she tried to settle between a blue blouse that was close to her favorite sea-foam color… or a green jacket that was also close to her favorite sea-foam color.
She tried not to grumble and complain. She was saving her money to help pay for her grandparents' comfort, and that was something she did with a smile.
But, at the same time, she missed when she could go to a proper clothing store and look through everything without a care for the cost.
She was interrupted when she heard a cough. She turned around and found herself smiling as a man stood there, a bit awkwardly but smiling as well.
"Excuse me, miss," he kindly said.
Leni's smile grew wider as she nodded. "Yeah, mister?"
He wore some type of suit… like Alfred from the Batman comics!
"If I may offer my suggestion? I couldn't help but notice you were struggling to choose between those two articles of clothing…?"
He was deferring to her judgment, while offering to give her free advice. Fashionable advice!
Leni didn't know who this man was, but he was already a dear friend.
"Sure, go ahead! I totes can't decide on my own."
She posed in front of him and brought the blue blouse up before her chest for a few seconds. Then, she moved it to the side and brought up the jacket.
He hummed. "Miss, you'd look lovely in both, but the blouse-"
Leni replaced the jacket with the blouse as her face tinted pink at the compliment.
"There. See? The blouse matches your eyes perfectly."
Leni hummed joyously at the charming tidbit, and promptly hung the shirt over her arm as she put the jacket back in its place.
"If I may ask, miss, why are you here? You look a bit uncomfortable."
Leni smiled at the man teasingly.
"I could ask you the same thing, mister. By the way, you remind me of Alfred! Can I call you Alfred?"
The man's smile fell for a second, in apparent pain that caused Leni to frown.
"What's wrong?"
But then, his smile returned as he shrugged.
"I used to work as a butler, and my employer's daughter called me that. I don't think she ever used my real name."
Leni nodded, touching his arm for a brief second to give him comfort.
She turned her eyes over and saw a poster right beside her… an ad poster with job listings for the store. And something clicked inside her mind.
"You're here looking for a job."
He nodded.
"That I am, miss."
Leni chuckled.
"It sounds weird when you call me that."
"Pardon me, I didn't mean to offend-"
Leni's hand found his arm again and she gave him a small squeeze.
"It's weird but not unwelcome."
He nodded in relief.
"Actually," began Leni, "I think my landlady has a job opening for a housekeeper."
His attention was piqued.
"And I'm almost positive that there's a couple apartments open, too… not to imply anything, but just to throw that out there." She smiled sheepishly.
He gave her a beaming smile.
"Well, I'm interested. Do you have a contact number so I can get ahold of her?"
Leni shrugged.
"Eh, I'm just about finished up here. When I'm done I can walk you there. We're only a half-dozen blocks away."
"Alfred" smiled and accompanied her around the small store, giving her advice and smothering her with compliments which Leni soaked up like a sprouting flower.
They both felt a sense of familiarity with the other, but they couldn't figure out why.
It was almost like they'd met before… or seen each other maybe? It didn't honestly matter because they really enjoyed each other's company just the same.
As Leni led him down the street, she asked about his former-employer's daughter… a Miss Margaret Frost, she was told.
As Alfred crossed a street side-by-side that warm and welcoming woman, he learnt about this young woman named Luan Summers who was developing feelings for this gloomy, irritable girl that'd just recently been coming to this cute little coffee shop Leni frequented.
They both laughed together when they realized how similar the employer's daughter was to Luan's new love interest… when they realized how similar that Maggie's new love interest was to Leni's friend, Luan.
It was pretty funny to them how love worked, finding two sets of similar people and throwing them together. It was almost careless; almost magnetic… but Leni and Alfred nonetheless felt how romantic it all seemed.
"What if they're the same people?" Leni had asked with a teasing smile.
"Then, we've certainly got our work cut out for us~" replied Alfred with an equally teasing grin.
Alfred met the landlady that evening.
And through his friendship with the honest and compassionate Leni Bennett he got the job as Mrs. Woodhouse's new housekeeper.
And he also got one of two remaining apartments.
He felt his eyes warm up, but years of practice allowed him to keep the tears at bay.
But when Leni hugged him and invited him over for dinner and to meet her twin sister (they lived on the same floor, in the same hallway now), he couldn't be faulted as a few deviant tears fell from his eyes.
He pulled back and grinned so widely it hurt.
At his lowest moment, when he was stopping at a dollar store to check out their ads while on his way to the homeless shelter, this blessed woman had swooped in and saved him.
He looked into Leni's smiling blue eyes and he saw nothing more than an angel in disguise.
It was drawing late in the evening, a couple hours after Mrs. Woodhouse sent Luan home with her pay. Plus extra.
When she gathered enough of the story to understand how desperate Luan's situation was… to comprehend to what depths Luan might have to go to save Lana… it moved her heart in a way she hadn't felt in a long time.
Luan needed three-hundred dollars in just a few days' time. But she only had fifty saved up for it.
So, Mrs. Woodhouse split the difference, and paid it.
Oh, Luan Summers didn't know yet, of course.
The aged woman knew better than to force too much money onto a proud person. So, she placed it in a sealed envelope and sent her on her way.
When she's at a safe distance, Luan would see her pay of one hundred dollars, plus a generous tip, and a hand-written note.
"My father once told me that if we had the power to help someone, and if we didn't do it, it'd be a terrible sin."
Mrs. Woodhouse knew and believed in that saying… but when she also knew what she could save Luan from…
Saving the girl from whoring her body, for example…
It was then that she was reminded of the truth in that statement.
Did she feel forced to give the money? No. She gave with a cheerful heart; and liked to give so much her left hand didn't know what the right was doing.
She was an old, old woman, and had seen a great many things in life that many others didn't have the opportunity to see.
She wouldn't need money in a few years when her body would be laying in the grave; but Luan would need it.
It was when she was processing her thoughts for the day that she heard a knock on her door.
Not even a half hour after Luan had left, she'd gotten a visit from the sweetheart that was Leni Bennett and a middle-aged man that the young woman fondly called Alfred. And with a cheerful, giving heart, she'd sent them on their way.
And now, barely an hour and a half later, there was a knock returning on her door, and the elderly woman got up on crackling knees and stumbled over with a bowed back.
When she opened her door, she was greeted by a proper young woman in business casual, her black hair arranged in a bun.
"Hello, dear, how can I help you?"
The woman took a steadying breath.
"My name is Margaret Frost, and I came to ask about your apartment. The woman at the counter said you had one left."
Yes, Mrs. Woodhouse thought, The one right beside Carol and Leni's.
"Yes, I have one left. Would you like to come in and talk about it? You'll have to excuse my precious babies; they're very affectionate."
Margaret Frost smiled warmly as she stepped into the room and was promptly surrounded by a Red Sea of cats on both sides.
"I'd love to."
Additional Notes:
This is, so far, my favorite chapter. And that bonding scene with Carol and Bobby was awesome to write. Love is an interesting topic for me, and writing it in a deconstructive way... bringing a woman and man together with differing sexual tastes, was enjoyable for me. It also made me tear up a bit.
Who is your favorite ship in this story so far? I think the only one I haven't fully interacted with is Francisco and Lynn, and there's still one more couple that hasn't debuted yet~
Mine is Luan/Maggie, of course, but that Carol/Bobby friendship scene hit me hard. I sincerely hope I won't be lynched if, say, Carol decides to give up on Lori at the same time that Bobby does, and the two slowly draw together as close friends... and maybe something a little more, as sexual interests allow~
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A Woman After My Own Heart