No. He's dead. So what's the point of waiting when there's no one to wait for?

Soft sobbing could be heard from Solar's room and Gempa held in a sigh. He made his way towards his youngest brother's room, his feet not making a sound against the cold wooden floor.

Each of the doors of their bedrooms had a unique touch that resembles their personality, and Solar's was no exception. His door was a plain mahogany wood with a golden circular doorknob that burns your hand if you turn it the usual way (clockwise). You have to turn the doorknob counter clockwise in order to get past his first line of defense. It's no secret that Solar was a very private person, and everyone in the house respected that.

Gempa had patiently went through the three lines of defense of his bedroom door (the main door of the house has five) to let Solar know who's by the door and went in. He wasn't surprised when he saw the light elemental sitting at his study table, his eyes puffy although he tried to hide it with his visor. He gave Gempa a watery smile as tears continued to flow nonstop on his face despite his efforts to wipe them all away.

It was one of the rare moments when the usually composed boy showed any kind of emotion, and the earth elemental knew perfectly well what caused him to break down.

He directed the younger elemental to sit at the edge of the bed and hugged him, letting all his support and understanding through the hug. Solar leaned into his brother's warmth and sobbed into his shoulder.

Gempa just rubbed the younger elemental's back as he let all his frustrations and pain through his tears.

"W-why d-d-does he h-have t-to d-d-die?" Solar whispered in between sobs.

"Let me guess, Chapter 35?"Gempa asked softly wherein he received a nod in return.

"Someone's death always means something. And his death, which I'll admit I haven't moved on to yet," Gempa gave a watery chuckle. "Anyway, his death meant the end of the protagonist's childhood. It also meant the start of the new war."

"B-b-but, he lost his godfather. He lost his only parental figure in life," Solar whispered.

"I see that you agree with a lot of people that his aunt and uncle weren't good for him."

Both gave chuckles which lightened up the mood of the two of them. Solar, letting go of the hug, looked at his older brother lovingly.

"I guess we're all lucky to have you, Gempa."

It's true. If it weren't for him taking up the role of a parental figure, the rest of the seven would have fallen apart, succumbing to their dark sides. Gempa became their anchor. Especially after Tok Aba died a few months ago.

"Not really," Gempa admitted. "I'm luckier to have you all. You kept me sane."

The last sentence made Solar raise an eyebrow. "Even with the trio's pranks?"

"Especially with their pranks," Gempa said softly, smiling at Solar. "Each of you have a unique way of reminding me why everything goes on despite everything. And I couldn't be more thankful."

Gempa ruffled his youngest brother's hair. "Hey! I just fixed it, you know?" Solar said indignantly, but the smile on his face said otherwise.

"There are more deaths to come in the upcoming books, Solar. His death is just the beginning. And I know from experience that hot chocolate really helps with the mood," Gempa said, standing up. "Would you like some? I'm going to make some in the kitchen."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the three oneshots that I was supposed to post last Thursday. Q^Q

Anyway, I'm gonna have a busy week (when did I have free time anyway) since it's gonna be our midterms. Make that a busy month since I have to train for the division contest on journalism on the end of the month. Though I'm gonna try to write stories here and there. I still have a lot of story ideas in my possession.

Lovelots,

Glace, the Queen of Angst