unforgiven ➽ a Halilintar-centric fic

20 | far away

Taufan was going to strangle Gempa with his bare hands. To death? No. Until he starts talking about what's going on between him and Halilintar that has the both of them walking on a knifepoint? Maybe.

Usually it was him and Hali who got into fights, and Gempa would have to break them up per their usual routine. It would be a cold day in hell when Gempa finally lost it and took all his anger out on their oldest, but with how things are going, he hoped the devils owned scarves.

Point being, he hated playing mediator. That required talking about one's feelings and addressing how they feel about every little thing they did. There were too many details, too many things to remember and take note of. He couldn't do that. Gempa was the responsible and Halilintar was the level-headed one, while Taufan was all thick lines and unbound by societal context or otherwise, especially when it concerned his siblings.

The best he could do was let it play out. Sure, they haven't spoken in years, but their time and brotherly bond had to count for something, right? Siblings fought all the time. This was just another ripple that would have to subside in due time.

It didn't help that he and Gempa had a back-and-forth that lasted an hour straight, of which Tok Aba had to break them up as they were chasing off their customers. Now not only did he feel infinitely more frustrated with his younger brother, he was also suffering from a sore throat.

Moreover, Taufan had heard everything last night word-for-word. And because of that, he simply didn't understand why the two of them were so worked up over nothing. Sure, he and Gempa risked their necks more than a dozen times and Halilintar's stuck on boring old Earth – but they all had their reasons for their actions. How was Halilintar supposed to know how many times they almost died when they haven't spoken to each other? Was Gempa supposed to miraculously gain the power of mind-reading overnight and know how much it hurt Halilintar and Tok Aba when they left them?

"'Communication is key,' he says," Taufan muttered angrily, rolling his eyes as he helped close up for the night, tucking away chairs and wiping down the tables. Gempa had headed back home, refilling and restocking their supplies from the storage, so there was no one present to listen to his rants. "'Always be clear with your intentions and don't twist your words unnecessarily,' he says. Idiots, the lot of them."

Footsteps sounded behind him, growing closer with each step. "Say that any louder and I'd have you dropped from our roof," Halilintar noted dryly, dressed in a simple shirt and shorts. "You two need to be more aware of your surroundings and the business. I heard every bland insult all the way from my room."

He spoke too soon. It was just typical of Halilintar, to drop in unannounced at the absolute worst or best moments.

Taufan threw down the rag, crossing his arms. Since he returned to Earth, he'd never really gotten a chance to speak to Halilintar one-on-one. The latter was always occupied with something, and he was all around the place with Gempa and Tok Aba playing catchup. This conversation should've happened in better circumstances, but he learned since a young age that not everything will play out like how he planned it.

"Finally done being cooped up in your room?" Taufan commented. "Or have you developed a sudden hunger for blood? I'll have to warn you – I haven't touched a vegetable since we left the orphanage."

Halilintar's nose scrunched up in disgust. "And I see you haven't lost your horrible sense of humor." He waved him off, a habit he could never break since they were kids. "I'm just here to make sure everything at the stall is in place, and I'll head back to start dinner."

Taufan's eyes bulged. "You can cook?" he gaped. Don't you hate cooking?"

The lightning elemental was already flipping through the ledger, groaning at the sight of the day's sales. Not only was it at an all-time low, the paper itself was crumpled and the handwriting barely eligible.