It was already 6 am when Gempa woke up, and it was to the smell of food.

Confused, he made his way to the kitchen to be greeted by an unusual sight.

"T-Taufan," Gempa said, stifling a yawn. "You're up early."

"Good morning, Gempa."

The voice that greeted him wasn't the usual cheery sound that was associated with the fun-loving elemental. Instead, it was a dull, monotonous voice that sounded out of place coming from him. Taufan didn't even move his head as he greeted the newcomer. His eyes stayed glued to where his hands were slowly stirring the mixture on the fire.

Gempa frowned at the unusual attitude of his brother but kept quiet about it for now. "Do you need help?"

The wind elemental shook his head, still not taking his eyes away from the mixture. "I can do it alone."

Now the earth elemental was worried. "Are you sure, Tau?"

"I am not useless, Gempa. I can, and I will do this alone."

Tau's grip on the wooden spoon tightened and Gem noticed this, along with his choice of words.

"Is this about what Hali said last week?"

The wind elemental didn't say anything, but the tensing of his shoulders is enough to answer his question.

"Tau... he didn't mean what he said. He was just frustrated," Gempa said softly as he slowly walked closer to his brother.

"Y-you weren't there, Gem," Taufan whispered, finally turning around. "I was looking at him straight in the eye. He meant it, Gem. He meant it when he told me that I was just a burden to everyone."

His cerulean blue eyes were filled with tears. "I spent the last week trying to prove that he's wrong. But guess what? I just ended up proving that he was right. I'm useless, Gempa. I even failed to save him."

Gempa balled his fists, currently furious at Halilintar as he watched his (slightly) older brother break down in front of him. It's true that Taufan wasn't able to save Solar despite being near him, but Hali didn't need to remind him of that. Because all of them failed, not just Taufan.

The earth elemental took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. His anger at their oldest brother can wait. Taufan needed him.

Gempa knelt down in front of the wind elemental and gathered him in his arms. He took off Tau's cap and felt a pang of pain when he saw his graying hair. Taufan was the embodiment of happiness and that's what keeps him alive. But ever since Solar's death, there's barely any happiness in the house to keep him going. He was slowly fading.

"We all failed to save him, Tau. And we can't do anything about it now. That's what fate wanted, and we cannot defy fate."

"But you saved us, Taufan," Gempa whispered. "If it weren't for you, we would have fallen deep into depression a long time ago. But you kept us going. Your smiles, your laughs, it reminded us that there's a lot of things to live for."

The earth elemental's eyes were brimmed with tears. "Come back to us, Taufan. We need you. I need you."

Taufan shook his head and wiped his tears. His eyes were puffy and red, but Gempa could see a small spark of light coming back in his eyes.

The wind elemental let out a small smile and looked up to the stove. "I guess I'll have to start over," he said dryly as he half-heartedly glared on the overcooked food.

Gempa snorted at the dry humor. "Why don't you go back to your room and fix yourself first? I'll make breakfast. No buts," he added when Taufan made to retort.

The wind elemental sighed in defeat before a small mischievous smirk appeared in his face. "Yes mom."

Taufan ran away laughing before Gempa could even open his mouth to say something. The earth elemental shook his head in amusement, glad that his brother was coming back to himself.

His eyes bore on the stairs as Taufan disappeared in his room. Someone else was coming down the stairs and it took all Gempa's willpower not to run and punch him in the face. Instead, he took a deep breath and called out.

"Halilintar, we need to talk."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If I were Hali, I'll be running away already. Gempa is pissed.

Title reference to The Light Behind Your Eyes, a song by My Chemical Romance. Listen to this, it's a good song.