Before we get onto this oneshot, I just wanted to say that if you haven't already seen the 'Dreamtale - Two Birds On A Wire' by Gil gummybear then I seriously recommend you check it out, it's an amazing animatic and beautiful art style.

Brush your teeth before you cross the road.

Nightmare was panicking. It was around 3AM and he hadn't slept yet. Today there is going to be an art festival in the village and Dream had begged him to come along with him to admire all of the art and take part in the activities. He really didn't want to go; he liked art but he'd have to stay in the village for a few hours and that means he'll have to withstand all of the nasty glares and whispers about him.

He let out a frustrated sigh, pacing around his room. There was no way he'd be able to sleep- he was too stressed. Just being in the village for a few minutes was bad enough and now he's going to have to stay there for two or three hours- hell, maybe more. He stepped towards his window, resting his arms on the window sill and gazing outside at the beautiful midnight sky.

There were hundreds of glittering stars dotted throughout the inky heavens, twinkling and dancing around. The ethereal, radiant moon casted rays of moonlight on the land and in through Nightmare's windows, giving the room a soft glow. It made him smile slightly and momentarily forget about the upcoming horror. The night was truly a pretty, wondrous sight to behold.

But then he remembered the festival.

Nightmare's smile instantly fell and he let out an agitated groan, burying his face into his hands. He couldn't back out now; when he'd finally given in to Dream's pleading he had looked so happy and pulled him into a tight hug, repeatedly saying 'thank you'. If he told Dream he didn't want to go anymore then he would be heartbroken. He didn't want that. He couldn't let his beloved brother down.

Nightmare uncovered his face and moved away from the window, sparing his bed a glance. He wouldn't be able to sleep. He checked the time again. Quarter past three. How long had he been looking outside? Time seemed to be moving quickly; it was daunting. He paced around his room some more, his mind imprinted with the unwanted memory of all the villager's staring at him with those eyes- those damn eyes! He hated them. He covered his non-existent ears, hearing their dreadful murmurs.

'He's an outcast.'

'He's evil, he guards the negative feelings.'

'He doesn't belong here.'

Nightmare whimpered, desperately trying to block out the hateful words. He checked the time again. Quarter to four. That didn't make sense - it can't have been half an hour already. He didn't realise he was sobbing, nor how loud it was.

His bedroom door was suddenly swung open, Dream bolting towards him with fearful eyes.

"Night, what's wrong?" Dream asked quietly, taking Nightmare's hands in his own and staring into watery lilac eyes. Nightmare sniffled, tears cascading down his cheeks like endless waterfalls. He couldn't tell him. Instead, Nightmare let out a choked sob, collapsing into Dream's arms. Dream frowned, concern written all over his face. He gave his brother a comforting hug, whispering soothing things to him and patting his back. 

A few minutes had passed and Nightmare had gradually started to calm down, the once endless tears slowly coming to a stop.

"Did I wake you?" Nightmare stammered, a wave of guilt washing over him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Dream released his brother from the hug and stared at him worriedly.

"It's okay, you didn't mean to." He replied gently. "Why were you crying? Is it because of the art festival later on?"

Nightmare's breath hitched; Dream exhaled softly, giving him a knowing look.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to." Dream mumbled, trying not to let disappointment seep into his voice. He wouldn't want his brother to go if he was this terrified.

Nightmare shook his head. "I'll go." He half-whispered. 

Dream's eyes widened slightly- he wasn't expecting that. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Okay, I promise I won't let go of your hand." Dream reassured. "I'll stay with you for the entire thing."

Nightmare felt himself ease ever so slightly. He was thankful to have a brother like Dream. He didn't deserve him- at least, that's what he kept telling himself.

"Thank you." He whispered, his eyelids drooping. Maybe he would be able to sleep after all. 

"You're welcome." Dream hummed, embracing him again. Nightmare's eyes fully closed, allowing the darkness to finally take him into a dreamless slumber. Dream stayed there for a moment, making sure his brother was asleep before gently lifting him up and stepping over to his bed, placing him down and pulling the bed cover over his sleeping form.

"Goodnight, Night." Dream chuckled slightly before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Dream sighed softly to himself, lingering by the door before treading back towards his room. He'd let his brother sleep in a few hours longer instead of waking him up at 5AM- he deserved a rest.

Dream kept his word; it was now 9AM. He had been awake for quite a few hours watching his favourite program on TV and eating a bowl of cereal that Ink had recommended - they were called Temmie Flakes and tasted delicious! 

He glimpsed over at the clock and noticed the time, jumping up from the couch and practically bounding out of the room and up the stairs towards Nightmare's room. He knocked on the door three times, calling out his brother's name.

"Nightmare! It's time to wake up- the festival starts in an hour." 

A low groan could be heard through the door, signifying his brother waking up. Dream pushed open the door, approaching Nightmare. He had his arm over his eyes, blocking out the blinding sunlight that shone through his window.

"Can you close the curtains." Nightmare grumbled, voice laced with sleepiness. Dream nodded (even though the drowsy guardian of negativity couldn't see him) and hurried towards the purple curtains, closing them in one swift movement. Nightmare mumbled a thank you, uncovering his eyes and peering tiredly at his smiling brother.

"Wakey wakey, Nootmare."

Nightmare huffed, sitting up and gesturing for Dream to come closer.

"C'mere." He murmured tiredly. Dream tilted his head, approaching hesitantly. Once he was close enough, Nightmare reached forward with his hand and flicked Dream's forehead.

"I'm not Nootmare." He stated. "I'm never telling you a story about Nootmare and Droom again."

Dream folded his arms, sticking his tongue out at his brother. 

"I'll make you." 

Nightmare ignored his brother's remark, closing his eyes again. Dream unfolded his arms and lightly shook his brother's shoulder, earning a displeased noise in response.

"Get up." Dream ordered. "The art festival will be starting soon."

Nightmare frowned, opening his eyes again and sitting up.

"I forgot about that." He grumbled, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and pushing himself up.  He glanced at the clock, surprised to find it was quarter past nine and not 5AM. He switched his gaze back to his brother questioningly, raising a non-existent eyebrow.

"You let me sleep in?"

Dream nodded happily. "You were awake until almost 4AM, I wasn't going to just let you sleep for an hour."

Nightmare felt himself smile softly at the response, grateful for Dream to be so considerate.

"Thanks." He mumbled. Dream grinned and nodded in response.

"Now get changed and we can start making our way there." he said, waiting expectantly.

Nightmare exhaled, clicking his fingers and instantly changing into his usual royal purple clothing. Dream smiled at him, turning away and beginning to walk out of the room. Nightmare trailed after him, quickly snatching his crown from off the dresser and closing the door behind him with a 'click'.

The two padded down the stairs and towards the front door. Nightmare felt bubbles of nervousness rise within him, frowning slightly as they both left the house and locked the door behind them. Dream noticed Nightmare's anxious expression and gently reached out for his hand, holding it firmly.

"I won't let go of your hand." He once again promised, smiling brightly at the negativity guardian. "Just try and ignore the villagers- they shouldn't do anything if we're stuck to each other the whole time." He assured, gesturing down to their intertwined hands. Nightmare glimpsed down at their hands for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly, giving a small smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He agreed. Dream's smile returned and without further ado, he began to head in the direction of the village, Nightmare following close beside him.

Dream made sure he did his usual routine of distracting Nightmare from the village by pointing out random things he saw which seemed to work quite well; Nightmare seemed less tense. When they eventually arrived at the festival they were a few minutes late- not that it mattered though, people showed up at all different times. Dream spared a glance at his brother, squeezing his hand reassuringly. Nightmare gave him a weak smile, avoiding the villagers' watchful eyes.

The two guardians made small talk between themselves as they wandered through the festival area, occasionally stopping to admire pieces of artwork and sculptures. It really was amazing what people could do!

"I bet Ink would love it here." Dream thought out loud. Nightmare hummed softly, a small smile on his face as he focused on a painting of a bed of flowers. 

"Yeah, I bet he would." He mumbled. Nightmare was actually kind of enjoying the art festival; Dream stayed right by him the whole time holding his hand and distracted him from the villagers by constantly chatting and cracking puns. Plus the creative pieces of work were nice to look at. It had already been an hour or so since they got here; the place was crowded and yet Nightmare wasn't too bothered. He had Dream right next to him making him feel safe and secure. 

"Hey, Night." Dream started, getting his brother's attention. "They have easels over there where people can paint- we should paint something together!"

Nightmare tilted his head curiously, following his brother's gaze and noticing the easels supporting different size canvases. There were only two other monsters there and they seemed to be completely absorbed in their paintings which meant they wouldn't be glaring at him. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, okay." He replied. Dream grinned, wasting no time in dragging Nightmare over towards one of the easels. It had a fairly large canvas on it and enough room for them both to paint on it together.

"What should we paint?" Dream asked, still holding Nightmare's hand with his free hand while the other grasped a paintbrush. Nightmare shrugged.

"What about you and your friends- Ink and Blue?" He suggested.

Dream hummed, liking the idea- though it would be missing a crucial part.

"You forgot the most important person!" Dream huffed. Nightmare blinked, confused. Dream only talked about Ink and Blueberry- who else was he friends with?

"Who?" He asked, dumbfounded. Dream giggled, rolling his eyes playfully.

"You, silly." He revealed. "I can't leave you out of the picture."

Nightmare blushed slightly in embarrassment. He was definitely not the most important person, right?

"How about I paint Blue and me, and you paint you and Ink?"

"You purposefully gave me Ink to do- he'll be the most complex to paint." Nightmare grumbled, smiling slightly. Dream gave him a toothy grin.

"Perhaps I did."

Nightmare chuckled under his breath, picking up a paintbrush.

"Okay, I'll draw Ink and me." He confirmed. Dream cheered, already getting started on painting. 

The brothers weren't the best at painting (though Nightmare did seem to be a bit better than Dream) but that didn't stop them from trying their best. They were so absorbed in their painting that they hadn't noticed the small crowd of people gathering around to watch. The two guardians were still subconsciously holding hands and talking to each other while working.

It had been almost an hour until they were finished with their piece. They both stepped back from the easel simultaneously, pleased with what they had created. 

Dream and Nightmare were painted holding hands and Blueberry was stood beside Dream, holding a plate of crudely painted spaghetti. Ink was next to Nightmare; he had surprisingly come out quite well though still looked a little off in Nightmare's eyes.

"I think it looks great!" Dream praised, hugging his brother impulsively. Nightmare's eyes widened in surprise before he grinned, returning the hug. It's when they pulled away did they notice the few monsters that had been quietly observing them. Nightmare let out a startled yelp, instinctively moving closer to Dream and hiding partially behind him.

"Hey Dream, that's a pretty good painting." One of the villagers praised, smiling at the guardian of positivity before leaving. The rest of the crowd seemed to nod in approval, slowly beginning to disperse. Nightmare exhaled, moving away from behind Dream and turning to face him. he was about to say something before he was interrupted by something tugging on his sleeve. He turned around nervously, surprised to see a small, purple child-rabbit monster peering up at him with a big smile.

"I think you did really well on your painting!" He complimented, smiling brightly up at the guardian of negativity. 

Nightmare was awe-struck; that was the nicest thing a villager has ever said to him. The child was suddenly pulled away by a taller, blue rabbit-monster (presumably the mother) who gave Nightmare a glare before scolding her child.

"Don't talk to him, Bonnie!" She hissed, pulling the whining child away from the two brothers.

Nightmare had a very hurt expression on his face, however there was still a warm, fuzzy feeling building up inside of him at the kindness of the small, purple rabbit. Despite being hurt, he still smiled. Dream glanced at him, his worry melting away when he saw the smile on Nightmare's face.

"That child didn't hate me." He mumbled thoughtfully. Dream grinned, squeezing Nightmare's hand.

"He must know there's nothing wrong with you." Dream commented. 

Nightmare remained quiet, all of the hurt from his face fading away. 

"Come on, let's take this painting home- I can show Blue and Ink next time I see them!" Dream declared, releasing Nightmare's hand and grabbing the canvas, beginning to lift it up. Nightmare nodded, helping his brother get it down with a calm smile plastered on his face.

"Be careful, some of the paint is still wet." Nightmare warned gently. Dream hummed in response and with that, the two began to leave the festival, carrying the painting together. When they were officially out of the village, Dream let out a breath of happiness.

"This was really fun, you know?" Dream stated, turning to beam brightly at his brother. Nightmare chuckled quietly. 

"Yeah, I actually enjoyed it." He replied softly. 

The two walked onwards down the grassy path, talking about their favourite aspects of the day. They both laughed together about something and Dream couldn't deny the overwhelming joy he felt at the sight of his brother smiling a bright, genuine smile- his lilac eyes softly glowing in content.

--End--