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It was Saturday, the fact squads rest day. With no new facts to share or demonstrate today Lighty and Facty decided to spend the day watching mind-numbing TV instead, consisting of bright flashing lights and the occasional unskippable 30 second ashwagandha ad.
Just as the two were actually getting invested in the ‘show’, Martian entered the room.
He was a bit timid like he always was, his second pair of arms hugging himself while his first set of arms fidgeted anxiously just above his chest.
Lighty paused the show with a sigh, begrudgingly twisting his head to look at the new specimen in the room.
Facty did the same, more curious than annoyed.
“Look guys,” Martian started, his voice squeakier than normal. “I'm really sorry about the whole helmet and via ferrata situation. I seriously thought those were actual helmets, at least that's what we wore back at home…”
The duo on the couch glanced at each other for a moment, trying to assess if the aliens' apology was genuine.
“And I was just trying to show the viewers how safe via feratta really is! I didn't know a simple backflip would, err, cause that much damage.” Martian winced, eyeing the small crack in Lighty's head from the incident.
“So, yeah. Again you guys, I'm really sorry.” His antennae drooped as he gave a puppy dog look towards Lighty and Facty, looking as if he might tear up.
Facty sprung up from the couch, standing right in front of Martian, so close that they could almost feel the shame and embarrassment wafting off of the small critter.
“Apology accepted!” They exclaimed, pulling Martian into a hug so strong he was knocked off his feet.
“Wh- huh?” Martian grumbled, dizzy from the rib-crushing hug.
“What's the point in holding grudges? We all make mistakes sometimes, it's fine. It's whatever, isn't that right Lighty?” Facty swung around, twirling Martian with him as he smiled unnervingly at Lighty.
“Huh?- Oh, yeah! Of course we all make mistakes sometimes. That's what makes us, us.” The lightbulb replied, wanting nothing more than to just return to his show.
“Exactly!” Facty's bass boosted voice reverberated throughout the living room. “You know what, just because you took the precious time out of your day to apologize to us we should get you a treat!” Facty set the alien back down who was now grinning at them like he received an infinite bowl of spaghetti.
“A treat?! For me??!” Martian bounced on his feet as his already sparkly eyes became even more sparkly.
“Yes! Stay there my green little friend, Lighty and I will get you the perfect treat!!” Facty exclaimed, quickly grabbing Lighty by the arm and leading him to the kitchen.
Once they were in the kitchen, Facty let go of their surprisingly strong grip on Lighty's arm.
“A treat? He's not a dog Facty. Martian doesn't need to be rewarded for apologizing after literally killing us twice.” Lighty rested his arms on the counter, rubbing his face.
“True. He's not a dog, but you saw how sad he looked. It probably took a lot of courage for him to apologize to us.” Facty frowned. “I just want to do something nice for him.”
The lightbulb sighed. “Sure. I guess. So, what do you have in mind for this ‘treat'?”
Facty smiled widely, their eyes almost manic. “Ice cream! We could all get ice cream as a treat, a perfectly safe and fun activity!”
“Do you know how to eat ice cream?” Lighty asked, he couldn't remember a time Facty ate anything other than spaghetti.
“Pssh, don't be silly Lighty, I’ll figure it out when we get there.” Facty waved at Lighty dismissively, quickly disregarding him and heading back to the living room to talk with Martian.
Martian was spotted on the couch, clearly ecstatic about the treat he was promised, kicking his legs since his feet couldn't reach the ground. He watched with anticipation as Facty approached.
“So? What's the treat?” Martian asked, struggling to contain his excitement as his second set of arms fidgeted in his lap.
“We're gonna get you some ice cream!!”
On cue as soon as those words left Facty's mouth the whole squad was instantly teleported to an ice cream shop with three ear piercingly unsettling shrills stacked on top of each other accompanying them.
“Oh wow! Ice cream!” Martian cheered, his grin almost as big as his face as he gazed upon the building labeled simply as ‘Ice Cream Store’ with a huge cartoonish strawberry ice cream hanging right above it.
“Thank you guys so much!” He turned towards Lighty and Facty. “You know, you really didn’t have to bring me here.”
“Don't even worry about it, Martian. You're our friend.” Lighty smiled, giving Martian a pat on the head. It was horrible how easily Lighty folded for this poor alien. “What flavor do you want?” He looked at both Martian and Facty. “I'll pay for it.”
The two instantly ran to the counter and looked at all of the various ice cream flavors. Facty tapped their chin in deep thought even though there were only four flavors to choose from.
“I'll have vanilla.” Facty decided, tapping on the glass multiple times.
“I want mint chocolate chip.” Martian said, pressing his face right against the glass.
“Alright, sounds good.” Lighty walked towards the counter and paid for the ice creams, getting chocolate ice cream for himself.
Once they all had their treats they sat down at a picnic bench to enjoy their ice cream.
Lighty watched as Martian and Facty slowly figured out how to properly eat their ice cream. It was a miracle that they lived so long without knowing how to eat simple foods.
“I love you guys so much.” The alien muttered, briefly looking at Lighty and Facty before returning to his ice cream.
Lighty heard the small mumble and a warm smile spread across his face. “We love you too, Martian.” He held one of Martian's hands and the already bright orange blush on his face bloomed with an even deeper shade of orange.
“We'll always love you.” Facty joined in, giving Martian a hug. Lighty hugged Martian too, almost crushing Martian between them.
Martian smiled and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to forget this wonderful day for a long time.