Brush your teeth before you cross the road

Dream yawned as he sat up in his bed, stretching his arms. It was another day. Smiling, the cheerful skeleton hopped out of bed and clicked his fingers, instantly getting changed from his pyjamas into his usual outfit. If only getting dressed was that simple for others. Dream stepped towards his window and pushed the curtains away, gazing outside. It looked beautiful. The bright rays of the rising sun casted a soft, golden light onto the land, making everything seem to have a youthful glow about it. The gentle, welcoming breeze calmly weaved it's way around everything, causing the grass and tree leaves to sway softly, as if they were dancing. Dream smiled softly, the beautiful day putting him in a good mood.

"Time to wake up Nightmare!" He chimed, turning away and rushing towards his door, swinging it open and charging towards his dear brother's room.

"Night! It's morning!" He yelled, kicking the door open. Nightmare jumped and glared tiredly at his energetic brother, pulling a not impressed expression. He remained quiet, just glaring at his brother. Dream stared back at him momentarily before smiling. Nightmare huffed, rolling his eyes before groggily sitting up and heaving himself off the bed, trudging towards the window and closing the curtains to block the sunlight, casting a shadow over his room.

"Night, why do you always close the curtains at day time? That's when they're supposed to be open!" Dream pouted, folding his arms.

"Because it's too damn bright and distracting." Nightmare grumbled, clicking his fingers and changing into his usual attire. Dream rolled his eyes at the answer. 

"If you say so, brother." He mumbled softly, still smiling.

"Why did you wake me up so early? It's like, five in the morning Dream." Nightmare murmured, yawning tiredly.

"I wanted to go outside and enjoy the day with my favourite brother ever!"

"...I'm your only brother."

"Exactly!"

Nightmare rolled his eyes again, trying not to smile.

"Come on, Night, let's go outside!" Dream exclaimed, grabbing Nightmare's hand and dragging him out of the room. Nightmare stiffened slightly, having no choice but to follow Dream. Before he was fully dragged out of his room, he spotted his crown on his desk and quickly grabbed it, placing it on his head.

Dream giggled giddily as he dragged Nightmare down the stairs and out through the back door into the outside world, both of them being engulfed by the overgrown grass.

"We should probably cut down this grass at some point, I can barely see you through it." Nightmare stated causing Dream to gasp dramatically.

"No! I love the tall grass!" Dream exclaimed, hugging some of the grass and staring wide-eyed at his brother.

"We cannot get rid of it!"

Nightmare rolled his eyes, sighing softly. 

"Okay, fine, we can keep the tall grass." he mumbled, folding his arms and smiling slightly at Dream, who cheered in response and did a quick, happy dance. Nightmare released a chuckle of amusement. 

"C'mon, Dream. Let's go see the sunrise." Nightmare stated, gesturing towards the Tree Of Feelings. "We can see it better if we sit in one of the branches."

Dream grinned widely and nodded.

"Great idea!" He praised, eyes shifting into big, yellow stars. Dream began to run in the direction of the tree, Nightmare following after him with a soft smile on his face.

The two skeletons eventually arrived at the tree and began to climb it together, deciding to sit on the first sturdy branch they came across. Once seated, they faced the direction of the sunrise, gazing at it in awe.

"Wow..." Dream was speechless as he stared in wonder and admiration at the glorious sunrise, rays of golden light causing everything to have a soft, golden glow about it. Lakes and ponds of pristine water glittered and birds chirped and sang gracefully. It was as if it were a scene from a fairytale- it looked surreal.

"I have to admit, it is quite... captivating." Nightmare said quietly, gazing forwards with a calm expression. Dream glanced at his brother and grinned. It was nice to see him relaxed like this. 

"Yeah, it is." Dream spoke after some time.

The two brothers continued to stare at the sunrise together,  a peaceful aura around them. 

This was nice. It was nice for Nightmare to sit with Dream and watch the sunrise. It was nice for Nightmare to feel calm and at ease, something he doesn't feel enough. This was nice.

"I'm actually glad you woke me up so early..." Nightmare mused, turning slightly to face Dream. 

Dream shifted slightly so he could see Nightmare and smiled warmly at him.

"Want me to continue waking you up really early?" He asked. Nightmare rolled his eyes slightly. "Not all the time, I might die if you do that."

Dream tilted his head, a look of amusement yet confusion evident on his face. Instead of saying anything though, he turned back to stare at the sun rising, over-thinking what Nightmare had said.

Nightmare sighed softly, looking downwards at the ground below momentarily.

A pleasant silence stretched between the two, though the silence was soon broken by a very stupid question.

"Wait, how do birds fly?" Dream asked, genuinely confused as he looked upwards at a bird gliding through the air.

Nightmare face-palmed, giving Dream a look which screamed 'you idiot'.

"They have wings, Dream. Anything with wings can fly." 

"Oh, yeah... Wait, penguins have wings and they can't fly!"

"They're not wings, they're called flippers. They have them so that they can swim easily through the water." Nightmare educated Dream.

"Oh..." Dream mumbled thoughtfully.

"Although, there are some flightless birds... like ostriches. They have wings but can't fly."

"I didn't ask for a lesson on birds-"

"Ostriches use their wings to balance when they run-"

"Nightmare. No more about birds. I have learned enough." Dream voiced, glaring playfully at Nightmare.

Nightmare chuckled slightly. "Sorry." He apologised.

Dream chuckled slightly. "It's fine." He mumbled, going back to stare at the sun. 

Nightmare stared fondly at his brother before sighing, a small frown appearing on his face as he turned to also look at the sun.

"I'm so glad to have a brother like you. I don't know what I'd do without you, Dream." Nightmare spoke softly, still frowning.

Dream frowned slightly as well, shifting to once again look at his brother with sympathy.

"If you weren't hear I..." Nightmare mumbled, thinking carefully. Dream tilted his head slightly, waiting for Nightmare to continue.

"I'd probably be dead."

Dream's eyes widened a fraction.

Nightmare met Dream's gaze, smiling slightly.

"T-The other monsters... They hate me, Dream. If you weren't around, then they'd kill me. I'd be dead where I stand." His voice wavered as he spoke, purple tears building up in his eye-sockets.

Dream frowned deeper, not wanting to believe what Nightmare had said and not wanting to see him cry. He reached forwards, wiping away the tears from Nightmare's eye-sockets and bringing him into a hug.

Nightmare sniffled, leaning weakly into the hug.

"Why do they hate me Dream? I d-don't want to be hated..! Why can't they understand that this i-isn't my fault! I didn't ask for this, I.. I never asked to be made..." He trailed off, tears spilling down his cheeks like waterfalls.

Nightmare was so caught up in his self-hate that he failed to see the yellow tears streaming down Dream's face and failed to hear the muffled noises of distress coming from him.

"D-Don't say things like that-!" Dream choked out, releasing a strangled sob and holding Nightmare even closer.

Nightmare's eyes widened and he looked up to see Dream with tears flowing freely and the sorrowful expression he dawned.

"Dream..?" Nightmare asked quietly, sitting up so he could see Dream more clearly. Dream whimpered, staring at Nightmare with a look of heartache.

"I-I..." Dream stammered, unable to get words out. 

Nightmare felt a wave of guilt wash over him for making Dream cry.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry..." He whispered. Dream sniffled, wiping away his tears and trying to smile at Nightmare.

"I-It's fine." He said. "I just... I didn't know you had thoughts like that." Dream mumbled, sniffling again. 

Nightmare exhaled. "Please stop crying, I didn't mean to get you involved with all my problems." He mumbled, wiping away a stray tear that slipped down from Dream's eye-socket.

"Come on Dream, where's that smile I know and love?" He asked softly and encouragingly.

Dream smiled slightly at Nightmare, causing him to smile back in response.

"There it is..." He mumbled.

Dream closed his eyes, wiping his tears away a final time with the sleeve of his shirt and smiling a little more at his brother.

Nightmare grinned with half-lidded eyes, opening his arms for Dream to hug him. Dream leaned forwards and hugged Nightmare, sighing quietly.

Nightmare also sighed, closing his eye-sockets. After a small moment of silence, he began to sing a soft, familiar tune.

"You're my sunshine..

My only sunshine.

You make me happy...

When skies are grey.

You'll never know dear

How much I love you.

Please, don't take my sunshine away..."

Please, don't take

my sunshine

 a w a y . . .