Brush your teeth before you cross the road

Dream groggily sat up on his bed and stretched his arms, releasing a long yawn. He had slept very well last night, having dreamt about being in a field of pink flowers surrounded by fluffy bunny rabbits of all kinds of colours. He smiled at the memory, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and standing up. He immediately made his way to the bedroom window and drew the curtains open, peering outside at the beautiful morning sky. 

Feathery clouds dotted the heavens in mixtures of pinks, purples and whites, blending nicely with the rosy sky. The sun was just rising, casting it's golden beams of light onto the land below. The distant silhouette of trees seemed to almost glow as the sunlight enveloped them, their leaves waving in the wind. Dream smiled to himself, letting out a sigh of content. He loved watching sunrises; they were a wondrously spectacular sight.

Dream turned away from the window, shifting his line of sight towards the golden sun-shaped clock he had hung up on his pale-yellow walls. It had just gone over half past five.

'I should go wake up Nightmare.' He mused, clicking his fingers and changing into his usual clothing. The cheerful skeleton grabbed his crown from off the drawers and exited his room, sauntering towards his brother's room. He was about to kick open the door like he usually did however managed to refrain- instead he quietly pushed it open, stepping inside towards his sleeping brother. He was drooling. Dream snorted in amusement, grinning as he observed Nightmare. He looked peaceful; Dream almost didn't want to disturb his sleep. Almost.

"Nightmare." Dream mumbled, softly shaking the sleeping skeleton. "Night, wake up. It's morning."

Nightmare stirred, mindlessly swatting his brother's hand away and rolling over onto his side. Dream huffed, shaking the other again with a little more force.

"Night, it's morning." 

Nightmare murmured something, turning back over onto his back and squinting his eyes open, peering up at Dream with hazy eyes. Dream grinned down at him. Nightmare tiredly glared at his brother for a few seconds, letting his eyes adjust before he shifted his focus onto the purple clock.

"It's not." Nightmare grumbled accusingly, closing his eyes again.

"Yes it is! It's past 5AM, you should be happy I let you rest a little longer." Dream whined.

Nightmare re-opened one of his eyes slightly, eying the time on the clock again.

"For like, half an hour."

"More than half an hour." 

"thirty-four minutes is basically half an hour." 

"No it's not!" Dream bickered, folding his arms. "It's not my fault I can't wait any longer to see you."

Nightmare remained quiet, unable to process words properly. Dream inwardly chuckled at his victory. His brother had a light, lilac tint on his face and wore a look of defeat.

"Fine, I'll get up." Nightmare mumbled, fumbling with the bed cover for a moment before moving it aside and heaving himself up off the bed. Dream let out a cheer though stopped in surprise when he felt Nightmare flick his forehead. Nightmare lazily smiled, ignoring Dream's protests and clicked his fingers, changing into his royal purple attire.

"I'm hungry." Dream huffed.

"Get some food then"

"I want you to make food- can we have pancakes?" Dream asked with starry eyes. Nightmare avoided his eyes and shook his head.

"Nah."

Dream was about to complain when he had an idea. He smiled widely as Nightmare turned to look at him, narrowing his eyes. What was he planning?

"But Night, your cooking is amazing and it makes me so happy!" Dream exclaimed. "Please, brother- I love when you make food."

Nightmare felt his face heat up at the compliment and he inwardly groaned. He wasn't used to this kind of flattery. He muttered something under his breath before passing by Dream and leaving his room.

"Pancakes it is, then." He called out, letting a small smile slither onto his face as he heard his brother let out another cheer. Dream hurried after Nightmare, humming happily to himself. The two padded down the stairs and into the kitchen, Dream immediately taking a seat at the small dining table and watching Nightmare.

Nightmare spared him a glance before retrieving a pan, some utensils and the ingredients, beginning to make the batter in a jug. Dream rested his head in his hands, closing his eyes for a moment. He perked up slightly at the sound of soft humming; he listened intently to the pleasant tune, a smile on his face and eyes still closed. This was nice.

He jumped slightly when he heard a small breath of laughter besides him, opening his eyes to see Nightmare place down a plate of delicious pancakes in front of him. Dream blinked. How long did he have his eyes closed?

"Thank you Night!" Dream thanked excitedly with starry eyes. "You're the best!"

Nightmare looked away sheepishly, an embarrassed grin on his face. "Thanks." He stammered, taking a seat across from Dream with some pancakes for himself. Dream giggled happily before reaching forwards and grabbing the bottle of maple syrup that his brother had placed down, uncapping it and pouring a generous amount onto his pancakes. Nightmare rolled his eyes playfully, mumbling something about a sugar rush before leaning forwards and snatching the syrup out of Dream's hands.

"Hey!" Dream whined, folding his arms. Nightmare disregarded his brother, carefully trickling a small dose of syrup onto his own pancakes.

"You're not having anymore- you've coated them completely." Nightmare stated, placing the bottle of syrup besides him. Dream sighed however made no effort to steal the syrup back. Instead, he smiled again and dug into his pancakes hungrily. Nightmare chuckled, also starting to eat his serving.

The two brothers sat in a comfortable silence, occasionally chatting about random thoughts as they ate. Once they were both finished, Nightmare stood up and grabbed both of their plates, stepping towards the sink and beginning to wash them as well as the utensils. Dream felt a slight tinge of guilt for not helping. Nightmare turned his head around slightly to look at his brother. 

"Dry the plates and utensils." He ordered. 

Dream felt the guilt instantly wash away as he approached Nightmare, grabbing a clean cloth and beginning to wipe down the objects, a soft smile on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" Nightmare asked, tilting his head slightly while continuing to wash the kitchenware. Dream remained quiet, still smiling to himself. Nightmare sighed before smirking, flicking soap bubbles at his brother. Dream squeaked in surprise, jumping away and glaring at the laughing Nightmare. He wasted no time in stepping forwards and grabbing a hand-full of the soap bubbles, throwing them back at the guardian of negativity in retaliation. The two stared each other down before grinning widely; the bubble war had begun.

There were soap suds and patches of water all over the kitchen floor and counter-top in no time. The two skeletons were both in a fit of laughter with bubbles all over them, continuing to fling them until they were all gone. They leaned against the counter, trying to catch their breath between giggles. Dream's eyes were bright, golden-yellow stars and even Nightmare's seemed to have a soft lilac glow to them. They weren't stars though. 

"Now the kitchen is a mess." Nightmare managed to say, almost breathlessly.

"You started it." Dream giggled, sticking out his tongue at the other skeleton. Nightmare rolled his eyes playfully, poking the space between Dream's eye-sockets again. Dream batted his hand away, still trying to stop is laughter.

"You're helping me clean this up." Nightmare stated once he'd calmed down. His lilac eyes still held that gentle glow, making Dream smile with content. He nodded a 'yes' to him, walking away to get the mop with a cheerful bounce in his step. Nightmare exhaled quietly, grabbing the dish-cloth and beginning to wipe down the counters. Dream soon returned and got to work right away on mopping the floor. 

It didn't take too long before they were done. Dream proudly admired his mopping skills, nodding to himself in approval. Nightmare stared at him, amused.

"Hey Night, let's go outside." Dream suggested, not giving his brother time to respond before he gently took his hand in his, leading him out of the kitchen through the backdoor and into the outside world. Nightmare simply smiled, allowing himself to be dragged away by Dream. 

They eventually stopped near a bed of yellow and white flowers. Dream sat down (cautious not to squash any of the flowers) and tugged Nightmare down with him. A few butterflies delicately fluttered around the two, making Dream giggle happily. Nightmare smiled softly, observing them for a moment before shifting his gaze down to the flowers. 

Dream held his gloved hand out, watching in awe as one of the butterflies came to inspect the hand, landing on his finger momentarily before flittering away. He turned his attention to Nightmare, about to speak before pausing. His brother had began to intricately string together some golden-yellow flowers. Dream smiled warmly; it was nice to see his brother look so relaxed and peaceful. He glanced downwards at the flowers, plucking some silver-white ones from the ground and copying Nightmare, starting the formation of a flower chain. Nightmare glimpsed at Dream, grinning as he watched him join the pretty flowers together in a link.

The guardians remained there in a blissful silence creating their flower crowns, the only disturbance being the sound of leaves and plants swaying in the breeze. After a few minutes of the quiet, Dream decided to speak up.

"You're a great brother. You know that, right?" He praised, smiling widely at his brother's flushed face.

Nightmare stammered, unsure with how to answer. He didn't think he was- but how would he know that? Only Dream can be the decider of that. Dream felt his smile falter ever so slightly, seeing the flash of doubt in his brother's eyes.

"Hey, don't doubt it for a second." Dream assured. "You mean so much to me and I can't imagine living without you."

Nightmare's entire face had been dusted a soft purple. Dream laughed lightly, placing the finished flower crown he'd made onto his skull above his crown. Nightmare glanced at him.

"I like your flower crown." He stuttered out, blushing even more in embarrassment at his awkwardness. Dream gave him a toothy grin in response, amused. Nightmare's eyes lingered on the silver-white flower crown a little longer before he turned back to his, weaving the last of the flowers and securing them in place. He tentatively placed the golden-yellow flower crown around his usual crown, fixing the flowers so that they stood out. He turned back to look at Dream, smiling shyly. 

"Yours looks amazing- Well done!" Dream praised, clapping his hands together joyfully. Nightmare smiled in content, his eyes glowing a bright lilac from happiness. Dream's eyes once again shifted to stars and he found he couldn't stop himself from capturing his brother in a warm hug. Nightmare let out a small laugh, hugging the guardian of positivity back in return, closing his lilac, starry eyes that went unseen by Dream.

This was nice.

Dream hopes there'll be more days like this.

Nightmare hopes this day will never end.

--End--