Okay, we are tasked with adding 6986 and 1596. Let's begin!

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 6 in column 1 and get 12.
We'll write down the last digit 2 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 9 in column 2 and get 18.
We'll write down the last digit 8 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 5 in column 3 and get 15.
We'll write down the last digit 5 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 1 in column 4 and get 8.

So, 6986 + 1596 = 8582.

