Love is a better teacher than duty.

—Albert Einstein

Sibling's love: a feeling as pure and beautiful as that which can exist between parents and their children; a feeling so magical that can only exist between those people. A sibling can become your ally and confidant; your adventure partner; your accomplice in mischief; but above all, in the best friend that will accompany you in a large part of your life, either being by your side or living in your memories. But… what happens when that feeling goes beyond? What happens when that attachment exceeds the limit? What happens when that love becomes too strong? Well…, Lisa Loud could help you answer those questions. After all, she has a very obvious case of brother complex. The problem? She doesn't accept it.

I

Facts

Lisa Loud was not a person who cared about mere human emotions; but if she could describe her current emotional state, she would do it with one single word: fury.

Her cheeks were dyed red, she grinded her teeth and her fists were so tense that the knuckles looked completely white. She looked intimidating, and yet, her sisters looked calm; even amused.

Lynn's lips drew a mocking smile and she said: "Come on, Lisa. Don't try to deny it! Admit that what we say is true."

"I will not assert a fact that has no solid foundations," she answered.

"Oh, little sis! Stop fooling us… No…, rather stop fooling yourself," Lori said. "It literally looks miles away."

"That's not true."

"Then, why do you only spend time with him?" Leni asked, with genuine curiosity.

"That is due to—" Lisa wanted to answer but was interrupted by Luna.

"Why do you let only him enter to your super-secret bunker?"

"Because he—"

"Why do you ask him to make you peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, even when you learned to make them yourself?" Luan questioned.

"Sometimes I—"

"Why do you only invite him to the opera?" Lucy queried, with monotony, but with a faint smirk.

"He does know to appr—"

"Why do you watch his TV shows with him, even though you don't like them?" Lola asked, mockingly.

"For grateful—"

"Why do you watch The Dream Boat hugging him?" Lana added, using the same tone as her twin.

Lisa's face turned scarlet.

"I-I don't—!"

"And why do you have a picture of Linky with a heart surrounding him?" Lily finished, with "innocence"; the index finger of her left hand was perched on her lips, while the right hand held the above-mentioned image.

The statement of her eleven-year-old younger sister made Lisa let out a gasp, while she covered her mouth with both hands. How does she know that?! No…, more importantly: how did she get my picture?!

With a single movement, Lisa snatched the photo from the blonde girl, who only let out a giggle of victory, while her other sisters imitated the action of the minor.

"See?!" Lynn exclaimed, after giving a cackle. "It's obvious that we're right!"

That was it. The twenty-one-year-old chestnut's claim caused Lisa to exceed her limit. She carried the image to her chest, just at the height of her heart; closed her eyes; inhaled deeply; licked her lips and, with all her might, she shouted: "I already told you, girls: I don't have a brother complex!"

After that shout, all present remained silent; nobody made any sound, except for Lisa, who was panting heavily. The scientist mentally thanked that they were in her room, since it had become completely soundproof. Even if several of her experiments exploded in that room, no one would notice that something happened; the definite proof of that was that a couple of years ago, Cliff, the late cat of the family, continued to sleep peacefully next to the door, despite the fact that the new domestic aid android that Lisa built lost control and began to destroy and blow up the things that were around.

The thirteen-year-old girl thought that the matter would end there, until she heard a throat clearing and a phrase that came from a certain athlete, who, in reality, began to seem more like a potential test subject. "Yeah, sis… Surely not," she said sarcastically.

"Enough, Lynn," she spoke harshly. "What I say is one hundred percent veracious, and if you all, homo sapiens, don't believe me, then it's your problem, not mine," she made a gesture with the hand, which invited the other girls to exit her room. "Now, if you all excuse me, I have an important research to work on."

"You can't kick me out!" Lily cried out. "This is my room too!"

"Sure thing, my dear younger sister. You can enter right now…, if you wish to be my guinea pig."

The girl said nothing anymore.

Lisa closed the door firmly, thus denying any reply attempt from her sisters. Once alone, she laid on her bed and let out a long sigh. She brought a hand to the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.

This is inconceivable, she thought bitterly. How dare they reach such a conclusion? I don't have any brother complex! Not at all! It doesn't even make sense! I simply like spending time with Lincoln, just that. After all, he is the only one in this house that understands the importance of my experiments and doesn't need to use a dictionary every time he talks with me… She observed the photo and laughed, as she approached it to her chest. Well, maybe he does look for some words in the dictionary, and maybe he does reprimand me when I take my experiments too far…, but that is precisely what makes him him. Lincoln doesn't need to know everything to prove how smart he is; in fact, he looks so cute when he doesn't understand some things of what I say. And he looks so manly when he acts in that serious w—

Lisa opened her eyes abruptly, while recapitulating what she had just thought. For a moment, she felt her throat closing and her heart running wild; her palms were sweaty, and she felt that the room rose a few degrees of temperature. Nonetheless, she began to deny with her head. No, she wasn't doing anything weird; she simply adulated some of the umpteen qualities her perfect older brother h— Enough!

She grabbed her head with both hands and pulled her hair enough to cause her some pain. After about thirty seconds, the girl finished with that self-inflicted punishment and went to her worktable.

"Very well, Lisa Marie Loud. Enough of this nonsense! Don't let those senseless statements affect your use of reason! What you feel for Linky—coln! For Lincoln! It is only a deep affection and respect, same ones he earned himself. It's not your fault that he is so cute, it's his fault."

Feeling satisfied with that conclusion, Lisa put the picture in one of the pockets of her lab coat, took her set of test tubes —all half-filled with substances of different colors— and her notebook.

"Okay, where was I—?" She started, but that sentence stayed in the middle, for a small alarm began to sound in the room, which was accompanied by a flickering orange light.

The girl immediately left what she was doing and went to a monitor that showed the living room of the house and the main entrance. The door opened and Lisa's eyes sparkled when she saw the person who had entered the place. She ran out of the room.

"I'm home…," Lincoln greeted heavily, closing the door behind him.

"Linky!" Lily squealed, running towards the white-haired boy and giving him a hug. "Hi! How did it go in college?"

Lincoln smiled at the welcome of his younger sister and returned that show of affection, making Lily laugh and sink her face into the boy's torso.

"Meh," he replied with simplicity. "I've had better days."

"Why do you say that?" Asked the girl, looking up.

"That's because there are times when the bast—fools of your classmates leave all the work to you, just because they have to do 'other things'. Ha! Yeah, right…," he said the latter in a derogatory tone, but then inhaled deeply and addressed the blonde. "But let's not talk about that right now, you better tell me something, little sis. Tell me how was your week. What did you do?"

At twenty, Lincoln was studying architecture at the Michigan University, outside Royal Woods. His good grade points average in middle school and high school allowed him to get a scholarship and move to a student housing; nevertheless, he returned to his hometown every Friday and spent the weekends in his old house. As much as he liked to roam around the city, he still preferred the tranquility of his home. Or rather, the chaos of his home.

Lily was about to answer that she was playing with his old video game console and offer him to play together for a while but then she felt how other person hugged the waist of her brother while talking.

"Greetings, older brother! Say, how was your way to our abode? Did it go well? Were you comfortable? If not, I can pull some strings and get you a better transport. What activities did you do through the course of the week? Please, tell me everything."

Lincoln smiled and stroked his younger sister's head. "Hey, Lisa, don't go so fast; we'll have plenty of time to talk."

"Oh…," she said, not letting go of the young man. "My apologies, Lincoln. It's just that I find myself delighted by your arrival."

"Me too, Lisa."

The scientist smiled. "Oh, by the way! I want to show you my new research; it is about the molecular structure of different elements of nature and how to use them to create a much more efficient fuel than the one we know."

"I'm sorry, Lisa," he apologized, "but I don't think it can be today. I have to finish a project that is worth a twenty-five percent of my final grade. Also, my team left me completely alone…"

Lincoln's words made Lisa apply a little more force to her hug. He looked down and saw his little sister swell her cheeks and wrinkle her nose.

"But I waited all the week for you to come!"

"Hey!" Lily interrupted. "Don't try to hoard Linky for yourself! You're not the only one who waited all that time!"

The two girls threw sparks from their eyes, and the tension of what had happened a while ago only enhanced their pride.

"Girls, girls, don't fight!" He laid his hands on the heads of his sisters. "I also want to spend time with you, but I really need to finish this. I swear I'll compensate you, okay?"

The girls were silent for a few moments, making Lincoln think he had managed to make them come to their senses. However, Lisa spoke. "I'll help you with your project."

"What?" He asked. "Lisa, this is nothing related to physics or chemistry; it's manual work."

"I know, but trying doesn't hurt anybody, does it?"

"Well—"

"Besides," she interrupted, "I have an android that helps me with all that. I'll just make some adjustments and that's it."

Lincoln considered Lisa's offer. He really needed help, and if his little sister had a robot that could help him finish faster, better. Also, in the last years, Lisa had managed to build things that didn't explode nor attempted to exterminate the human race.

"Okay, Lis. You win."

The girl let out a shout of victory and began to climb up the stairs with Lincoln, still hugging his waist. The young man had a hard time walking that way but seeing his sister's happy face prevented him from saying anything.

"What about me? Am I painted or something?" Lily asked, angry. "You won't let me be with Linky nor enter my room?"

But Lisa turned around for a moment and, without emitting any sound, she said: "Guinea pig". Then, she returned her attention to the white-haired boy and observed his face with an emotion close to adoration. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes shone while seeing him.

Lisa could swear that a light surrounded her beloved older brother. And Lincoln could swear that his little sister's pupils looked like hearts…, although he had no idea why.

Greetings, everyone. So, as some of you could see, this is my first time posting a story in english. I'm not a native english speaker, but I hope the translation is good enough for you and also hope that you enjoyed it. If possible, please review this chapter and tell me your thoughts on it or point out the spelling mistakes.

With nothing more to add, I say goodbye.

Dark Dragon Of Creation