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The wind wasn't howling, but it was humming at the citizens of the city. The snow wasn't storming down, but it was trickling down gently from the cybernetic sky above. And the cold wasn't biting, but rather it was playfully nipping at the heels of the populace.
That was, for most. Those with nice coats and scarves, gloves and hats, warm homes to be home in. For those living in a dumpster with only a pillow and the regular year-round clothes, it was chewing him hard. Spamton's stomach was also chewing at the inside of him, like it often did, but t'was the season to be jolly and have huge sales! He wouldn't let a little cold and starvation get him down.
An open clearing near the usual dumpster had nearly a foot of snow, pristine save for a few sets of footsteps trampled into it, following each other's leads carved into the blank canvas. A christmas gift to himself, he decided, would be to fuck around in this free pile of cold entertainment: the poor (and cold) man's sandbox.
"You sure you can afford a sale like that?" Blue, protective and worrying sister as always, was looking out for Yellow's very eager 90% off sale sign.
"Yeah! I got some leftover stock of stuff from the year that didn't sell. Instead of discarding products no one wants, just make people think they want it because they'd be stupid to pass up an offer like this! And it's not store-wide, you of all of us always read the fine print.
Pink sensed a good moment to butt in, so he did.
"You know some random customer who can't read is gonna be up in your ass about it, though?" His finger pointed at nothing in particular, other hand on his hip. Orange sensed a good moment to poke fun of their beloved brother, so they did.
"Yeah, Pink's the one who wants the customers to be up his ass." Blue pretended to be more shocked at their words than she actually was, and Yellow snorted into a laughing fit. They were referring to Pink's habit of flirting with half of the male customers that visited his store, and this was well established and respected - if not occasionally poked at - by his siblings.
Pink grandly faked offense at this jab, pointed finger moving with his hand to cover his chest in a 'what , me?' gesture, with a giggle breaking the act.
"Hey, excuse me?" Everyone summoned their customer service voices with incredible vigor to hopefully cover up what they were just talking about; some guy was trying to get their attention. Ever the eager one, Yellow jumped in first.
"Hi, are you here for the Deluxe Snow Sales Event™?" And then he topped it off with a grin that said 'yes, yes you are.'
"No, I'm, uh, I saw one of your guys? Trying to sell me a snowball. Couldn't tell if he was a child or just a small adult, but just in case I figured I'd warn you guys that you either have some new competition on the block, or your kid is behind the colour cafe trying to sell people snowballs. And also other things for a 1% discount. Out of a really shittily built igloo."
"... One of our 'guys'? You mean an employee? We're addisons, we only-"
"Yeah, yeah, an addison, but tiny. I just figured you're the only addisons I usually see 'round these parts, either you lost your kid or there's some new guy. Whatever, have a nice holiday special!" And just like that, they marched back off.
"... Yeah, we're the only addisons for miles around. Talk about a bad time to move in." Orange waxed on their thoughts and stared at their fingernails. But...
"From an igloo? 1% discount? They must be really fuckin' desperate. Damn! You should be looking after
this
guy, Blue!" Yellow leaned over to his sister to drive the jab home with a finger.
"Huh, yeah..."
"Wait, woah, don't actually-"
She was already off.
"Hey! Wait!" Usually she would be patient to the ends of the fucking internet, but she clearly had some thoughts judging by the marching pace she was carving into the pavement.
"I'll, uh... You have fun."
The other three watched their sister chase after a mystery. The random customer was already strolling off the other direction, hands in pockets and not a care in the world, a stark contrast to her.
... We're the only addison family around here, and that's how it's been for decades. New guy must be pretty fucking down on his luck, seems bad to just leave a fellow addison out, especially this time of year...
... Or maybe it is just a kid? Hopefully not. I don't want to have to get this kid back home. (She knew her heart wouldn't let a random kid be missing from their family.)
The signs were... interesting. Cardboard, badly spelled with equally bad handwriting. Points for lost child. Oh sweet fuck. Already walked all the way over here, being this far in already...
"Hey, you in there?" Something stopped shuffling around. "Don't make me come in there, I won't fit, I don't wanna ruin your lovely hut there! Haha." The shuffling did not resume and no faces appeared. Blue inhaled, and put on her most severe 'big sister' voice possible. "I'm not mad, I just wanna know you're okay in there. Come on out."
Her heart stomach hit the floor when a weirdly familiar face peered back at her, tiny hands just in view. Subtle, faint scarring that she recognised from somewhere... The face darted back in.
"C'mon now. Can't stay in there forever." She weighed the options in her head over who this was. Child size, yes, child writing and sales techniques, yes, but... Something didn't sit right. The scarring...
"NO! Don't- THAT'S HORRIBLE OF YOU!"
"What? They're just ornamental, right?"
"No they aren't! People live there!"
Her brothers were bickering already, maybe she should have insisted to their parents that they got separate rides in the acid river swan boats after all.
"No way! No one could fit in there!"
"Well, you and I couldn't. Some people, they... fall into the river, sometimes, and get shrunk by the acid. It's a horrid thing to go through, so they don't need your Bart-looking ass throwing things at them!" Said Bart took great offense, and the siblings squabbled among the shared boat, parents trying to calm them. At least Bart had stopped throwing small items at the houses. A small denizen poked themselves out to watch the bickering now the hail was gone, and Blue watched them watching their siblings, with a bittersweet smile on their face.
That scarring.
She knew she remembered it from somewhere. The pieces fell into place, smacking her in the face with a hard revelation that left her on her knees, literally, as Blue poked her face closer to the hole of the igloo.
The shrinking acid scarring, plus that unique colour scheme that had gotten him ostracised sometimes... The glasses were new, and the puppet look... Well, she'd heard of other things changing the appearance of darkners when they get corrupted, to a degree nearly like that.
All pretense of stern big sister or customer service wiped out, and her voice was a timid, honest, beg.
"... Grey?"
"Oh, look! There she is, absolutely hauling ass down the path." While their description was vulgar, it was accurate, and Orange turned at their own words to face her.
She nearly tripped trying to stop in the snow, and Pink was the first to point out the lump hidden in her jacket.
"Uh, Whatcha got there?"
She took a second to catch her breath, looking up at them with wild eyes.
"Fucking, Spamton Grey Addison."
"Okay, but really, what's the-"
A little face nervously poked out, confirmed Blue wasn't just being sarcastic. It hid again.
"We, we fucking... thought you were dead. " Orange rarely had much emotion in their voice, and currently they were making up for years of deadpan with a single sentence.
"... [[Livin' Thing]]!" Horrid, crushed, glitchy voice, a huge indication of corruption. He balled up his fists, clenched glasses in a tiny hand, and now the only difference from the face they'd missed all these years was the strange puppet marks and the wide, deeply bagged eyes.
Silence had everyone firmly choke-held.
"... Hey Blue? You were right, fuck this sale. Fuck this holiday too. For now. Let's get home, we have better things to do." A few tears broke Yellow's cold and rough demeanour, but more tears were on the way for everyone else too.
They shoved the signs down to be cleared another day, locked up shop, and started a quiet but warm walk back home. And for the first time in years, with all 5 in tow.
"I THOUGHT... YOUR [[Hated]] ME."
"No, no, never, we're so happy to... Finally have you back! ... We thought you'd.... Skipped town, or died, after..."
Everyone saw the advertisements for Bigshot Autos get bought out overnight. Nothing else had to be said.
"We missed you."
And finally, Spamton's turn to be the waterworks came as the five crying idiots arrived back at their home.