"Aaaaw, c'mon Spammy!" Popup laughed as they chased their baby brother through the living room, a brush in hand.
"No!" The youngest brother squawked, his hands shielding his head as he jumped over the back of the couch just as Popup rounded the coffee table. Popup may have been taller, with longer legs and therefore, longer strides, but Spam was small and nimble, able to keep himself just out of reach of his older sibling.
"You'd look so good though!" Popup whined as he turned to take the long way around the sofa, leaving Spam ample opportunity to put some distance between himself and Popup.
"Noooo! Not the crest!" Spam shrieked as he ran into the kitchen, skirting around the table where Click and Survey sat.
"Are you not going to help me?!" The youngest brother shouted as he skidded to a stop just behind Click, watching from behind the oldest sibling as Popup moved to stand opposite him, watching carefully before ducking to the left, circling the table in time with Popup, keeping his older sibling on the opposite side of the table.
"Naw, you look like you have everything under control." Survey chimed as she adjusted her glasses to look at a stray piece of paper, pen absentmindedly clicking in her hand.
"Well news flash, I don't!" Span whined as he quickly reversed direction in time with Popup's attempts to cut him off.
"Just let Popup do your feathers Spam." Click sighed over the rim of their mug of coffee.
"But I like my crest!" The youngest Addison cried as he ran back to the living room to continue the chase.
"At least let them brush it out." Click called after the two, watching as Spam and Popup once again began running circles around the coffee table, sofa and armchair. "Your feathers are getting long enough to tangle, and I'm not going to deal with you complaining about there being matts in your crest."
Spam paused to glare at his oldest sibling, giving Popup just enough time to snatch Spam up. A most undignified squawk erupted from Spam's mouth, and till the day they died, Click would never admit to blowing coffee out of his nose.
"Nothing fancy!" Spam ordered once he was finally restrained and sat on his older sibling's knees, facing away from Popup as the pink Addison began running their talons through his head crest.
"Yes, yes, of course." Popup chuckled as they brought the brush to their brother's feathers. A calm settled over the siblings then, nothing but the sound of a brush running through hair and papers being rummaged atop the table.
It was nice, peaceful, and despite his earlier reservations, Spam was more than happy to keep Popup keep playing with his feathers, it felt nice to be preened.
"Are you sure you don't want me to do anything with your crest?" Popup asked once all of Spam's feathers had been smoothed into a malleable state, it hadn't taken nearly as long as Popup had been working, the older sibling just liked to play with feathers.
"Very sure." Spam deadpanned.
"Aaaaw, but Spammy!" Popup laughed as they parted Spam's feathers perfectly down the middle of his head, gently guiding the shoulder length feathers apart. "You'd look so cute with Tasque-tails!" They chimed.
In the reflection of the telly where Spam could see a faint, blurred outline of himself… Despite the lack of clarity, he could reluctantly agree with his sibling that yes, he would look cute…
But he's not going for cute, he's going for professional!
"I guess you could do something with my crest…" He finally grumbled out, crossing his arms over his chest with a pout. "Nothing fancy shmancy though!" He reiterated.
From the kitchen, Click chuckled, shaking their head fondly as Spam continued to babble about his feathers with a level of excitement that was very much absent some few minutes before.
"Something nice and simple…" Spam reiterated, "Something that'll keep my feathers out of my eyes, like, like that thing you tried to do for Survey but couldn't because her hair is too short!"
"Pretty sure a bun is pretty fancy shmancy by most standards." Survey piped from the table as she reached over to Click's mug to steal a swig of his coffee.
"Well it looked pretty simple to- Ouch!" Spam retorted as he tried to turn in his sibling's lap to look at Survey over Popup's shoulder, only to find his crest in a death grip. "Hey, what gives Popup!" The youngest Addison whined as he blindly reached up to swat at his older sibling.
"Popup? Hello?" Spam called sarcastically, even going as far as to try and snap his fingers to get his sibling's attention.
"Don't snap at people Spam, that's rude." Click clucked from the table.
"Yea, well, it's also rude to hold people hostage by the-"
"Shut up…"
Popup's voice was very, very quiet… And deadly serious…
The once comfortable, homey room became grim and cold in a half heartbeat, there were few things that could turn a situation so sour so fast, but that tone was definitely one of them.
Spam had only ever heard Popup take such a tone once before… And it was when Boost first dropped by to get some things from his room… Spam still remembered that day, as clearly as the glass ceiling over his head.
He had been having breakfast with Popup and Survey, the two had taken the day off just like Click said they would, when Boost walked through the door, firstly asking if Click was home, and then asking if Click had told them, Survey and Popup, what the fight last night was about.
Back then, Spam expected his brother to apologise…
But he didn't…
Instead, he asked what Popup and Survey really thought about his condition…
"Click's not here right?" He asked, "He can't throw you out for speaking your mind."
Spam remembered the kitchen growing very quiet and cold, or maybe the cold was just from him because it felt like his whole chest was freezing from the outside in…
No one said anything, no one moved to stop Boost from saying anything, so he picked up where he left off and just… Began going on and on about how, Spam needed help and, they, the three of them could find him a specialist and how he was four years late for his colour and how he wasn't normal-
And then Popup slammed their palms down on the kitchen table, hard enough to have the silverware jumping and glasses spilling as they stood from their seat, walked right up to Boost and told him to; "Get. Out…"
Spam had never heard his sibling use that tone, but apparently both Boost and Survey had because Boost was quick to back away from Popup and Survey was even quicker to get between the two of them.
Spam was scared then, so the second he could he ran to his room and hid under his bed.
Survey would later tell him that she packed Boost a suitcase while Popup kept him out on the front lawn…
"Popup…?" Click called slowly from the kitchen, nervousness ckung to his voice as they pulled their chair out from the table. "Popup… What's the matter?" The oldest sibling asked calmly as they slowly began making their way towards the duo.
Spam was frozen still on Popup's lap… The last time he had heard Popup use that tone, Popup looked just about ready to cave Boost's face in with their bare fists…
And if Spam had somehow done something to warrant that sort of reaction…
"Look." Popup whispered, the hard edge of their voice was rerplaced with… Overwhelming nervousness, almost desperation as they tried to part Spam's feathers further. "See!" Popup hissed tightly, and Span could tell that Popup was trying their very best to keep their voice steady.
"Tell me you can see it! Tell me!"
The Tasque-tail death grip Popup had on Spam's feathers was finally released, but his older sibling's hands never left his head, parting his crest again, gently, carefully this time.
"You see it right!" Popup asked, nearly pleading.
There was a pause before Survey breathed a faint; "Holy shit…"
"What!" Spam finally shrieked; "What is it!"
"Spam…" Click began very gently as they rounded the sofa to kneel before the youngest brother, setting their hands at his small shoulders as Popup told Survey to go fetch the handled mirrors from upstairs.
"Spam I need you not to panic alright?" Click said firmly as they gave Spam's shoulders a small squeeze.
"Alright?" The older sibling said firmly, "This changes nothing. You're still our brother, always have been, always will be."
"Click what the fuck are you talking about!" Spam demanded just as Survey skidded back into the living room, tossing one mirror to Click as the angled the other one to sit just behind Spam's head.
"Don't. Panic." Click said again, firmly, as they held up the mirror so Spam could see the back of his head where the roots of his snowy white head feathers were tinged a light shade of peach…
