The rainbow is barely there, a scrap so faded you can only barely see its arc; it looks more like some careless smudge left by some careless painter than a rainbow. But it’s all he needs.

If you were to go by their names, you wouldn’t expect him to get anything useful out of a rainbow; after all, it is his brother who is Lord of Air, Lord of Sky, Lord of the Command. He is the Lord of Earth who lives in the sea.

But a rainbow is made of water.

And Enki is nothing if not crafty.

So he peels the scrap of color off the sky, pockets it, and returns home, smiling a smile his brother still finds unsettling, though it has never left his face.

“What are you eating?”

Enki looked up at his brother, then looked at his food. “It’s a hamburger, Enlil.”

Enlil looked disturbed. “What is it?” he asked, poking the bun.

Enki slapped his hand away. “It’s beef on bread. This has some other stuff on it, too.”

Enlil was still looking askance at the hapless food. “That doesn’t look like any beef I’d eat.”

“That’s why I didn’t buy you one,” Enki said, picking up his burger again.

Enlil watched his brother devour the burger with horrified fascination. “That’s disgusting.”

Enki tsked. “You’re so judgemental. How do you know that if you’ve never eaten one?”

“You like it; that’s enough for me.”

A serpent’s smile flickered across Enki’s face. “Well, look what happened to the last thing I liked.” Enlil glared. “Face it, little brother, I was right then.”

“Not hardly,” Enlil snapped. “They’re still a nuisance.”

“Ah, but,” Enki said, raising a finger, “a useful nuisance. Which you should know; you even admitted it after the Flood.”

Enlil hunkered over in his seat, radiating embarrassment. “They caught me while I was weak. And I bet you put them up to it.”

Enki laughed, drawing stares from the other customers. “I don’t need to tell hungry people to eat, Enlil. I certainly didn’t need to tell you to,” he added wickedly.

Enlil just stared.

Enki stared back, his mirth expended. “Which is why you won’t try any food I recommend, isn’t it? But you wouldn’t go near your elder brother just to criticize his dinner.”

It was as if Enki’s mild probing had flipped a switch in Enlil. He squared his shoulders, he sat up straighter, he smoothed out his expression…

And Enki kicked him. “Don’t go putting on airs, now. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Enlil glared at his brother, rubbing his sore shin. “Enzu.”

Enki stopped blowing bubbles in a drink that didn’t look like it needed the help and stared at Enlil in utter shock. Enlil, determined not to ask about the drink, stared back.