A oneshot idea suggested by @Kattykittycat ages ago- I hope you all enjoy it :) Remember to brush your teeth while in quarantine.

Bemusement = puzzled, confused or bewildered

Gunk = An unpleasantly sticky or messy substance

Hopefully I can teach you some cool new words lol

Nightmare let out a loud, pitiful groan, curling up in his purple bedsheets and sniffling. He was sick.

"This is so stupid." He grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular. "How does a skeleton even get sick?"

He was trapped in a loop of being hot and cold, he couldn't stop sniffling and every now and again he'd let out a sneeze, causing his bones to rattle and a sharp pain in his chest. Nightmare wallowed in his self-pity, changing his position as it had started to become uncomfortable. He glanced over at the small, white clock that hung above his drawers, letting out a frustrated whine at the time. 5:30AM. Dream would probably wake up soon- he always woke up incredibly early much to Nightmare's dismay, however this time he'd appreciate it. On one hand, the ill skeleton didn't want to cause his brother to worry about him yet the other part of him wanted Dream to keep him company. 

But he doesn't want to make Dream sick.

Nightmare huffed, changing position once again until he was face-planting the soft, fluffy, white pillows. Being sick sucks. He remained in that position for a while, beginning to feel drowsiness seep in and take a hold of him before he was abruptly awoken by the harsh sound of his door swinging open. Nightmare squeaked in surprise, scrambling to sit up and peer at the door. There proudly stood Dream, his foot raised where the door had been. He'd kicked it open.

"Good morning, brother of mine." Dream greeted cheerily, stepping inside the room and approaching his bewildered brother. 

Nightmare blinked, the shock wearing off and a headache forming. He winced, clutching his skull and falling back into the comfort of the pillows. Dream frowned, worry beginning to build up.

"Night, are you okay?" He asked softly, his voice laced with concern.

Nightmare stared up at Dream, contemplating whether to tell him he was unwell. Not that it mattered anyway, Dream could easily figure out he was sick.

"Are you ill?" Dream asked, tilting his head.

Nightmare was about to answer before he felt the familiar tickling sensation in his non-existent nose and quickly covered it with his sleeve, sneezing into the lilac fabric of his pyjamas. 

"No." he grumbled.

Dream folded his arms, directing a playful glare at his brother before it melted into a look of unease, watching as Nightmare grimaced, holding his chest.

"Yes you are!" Dream exclaimed, stamping his foot. Nightmare chuckled, his laughter soon breaking off into a fit of coughing. Dream's frown deepened. He took a few steps closer to his brother, removing his glove and placing his hand on Nightmare's skull, checking his temperature. His eye's widened; Nightmare's was burning!

"You have a very high fever." Dream mumbled, giving his brother a look of sympathy. Nightmare mumbled something incoherent, swatting his brother's hand away sluggishly. Dream rolled his eyes, putting his glove back on.

"I'm going to go get you some medicine." 

Nightmare buried himself under the bed cover, whining in protest. 

"No medicine I'll be fine." He murmured. Dream tried to keep a straight face as he watched his brother fight with the bed cover before tossing it onto the floor.

"Too warm?"

"yes."

Dream resisted the urge to grin, turning around and exiting the room to retrieve the medicine. 'And Nightmare calls me childish' he mused.

After a few minutes of rustling in the cupboards, Dream eventually finds the medicine he was looking for and grabs a medicine spoon from the cutlery drawer. Now the hard part- actually making Nightmare take the medicine without issue. Nightmare usually did everything without any problem; if he was told to go to bed because it was late he'd do it with no argument, if he had to go retrieve something he'd do it without getting Dream to do it and if he had to clean something he'd do it without complaining. But take medicine? No. Nightmare refused. It baffled Dream. He had no idea why his brother resented medicine. 

Dream didn't even realise he was already at Nightmare's room, too caught up in his thoughts. He took a deep breath, preparing to battle his brother with a medicine spoon.

"Okay Nightma-" Dream started, stopping mid-sentence.

"Brother," Dream began. "Why are you halfway on the floor?"

Nightmare blinked. He'd been rolling around on his bed trying to get comfortable again however somehow ended up rolling too far near the edge, clumsily toppling off onto the carpet, one leg still on the bed. Was he going to tell Dream that? No.

"It's comfy."

Dream stared in bemusement, genuinely wondering if his brother was okay.

"If you say so." He replied, opening the medicine bottle and carefully pouring it onto the medicine spoon, cautious not to get it on the carpet. Nightmare eyed the liquid, glaring in disgust. This did not go unnoticed.

"I don't care if you don't like the taste of it, you need to take it." Dream instructed. "It'll help you feel better."

"The only thing that'd make me feel better is a nice carton of apple juice."

"We don't have any left, I need to go to the village to get some." Dream answered.

Nightmare swallowed, remembering. He subconsciously touched his arms. That was a few weeks ago. The notion went unnoticed. Dream exhaled, edging closer to Nightmare and holding the spoon of medicine out for him. Nightmare looked down at it with disinterest before shifting his focus back to his brother and sticking his tongue out childishly.

"I'm not taking that gunk."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not, it's disgusting."

"You're taking the medicine, Nightmare." Dream voiced sternly. 

Nightmare huffed, refusing to meet Dream's glare. Dream repositioned the medicine spoon, pushing it forwards at Nightmare's teeth.

"Open your mouth and take your medicine." Dream ordered.

"No."

"Nightmare."

"That is my name."

The corner of Dream's mouth twitched upwards momentarily.

"Take your medicine or you're going to have a bad time."

Nightmare snorted in amusement, opening his mouth to retort however being interrupted by Dream shoving the medicine spoon in his mouth. Nightmare swallowed the nasty liquid, sticking his tongue out and making a series of disgusted noises.

"You need to take one more spoonful." Dream stated, smiling to himself at his tiny victory as he poured some more medicine into the spoon. "Please co-operate."

Nightmare stared at Dream in betrayal. Dream smiled wider.

"Come on, this is the last spoonful." He mumbled. "For now." he added under his breath.

Nightmare scoffed, once again turning away from the medicine. Dream inwardly groaned.

"Please just take it." He begged. Nightmare spared him a glance, shaking his head 'no'.

He instantly felt guilty when he saw Dream's eyes grow wide and watery, letting out a sniffle.

"I just want you to get better." Dream murmured dejectedly.

Nightmare knew Dream had won. Slumping in defeat, Nightmare opened his mouth. All the sadness instantly faded away from Dream and he giggled happily, giving Nightmare the spoonful of medicine. Nightmare cringed at the taste.

"See? That wasn't so hard!" Dream said, grinning as he screwed the medicine cap back on.

"Bleh." was Nightmare's reply, though he couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face. 

"I'm going to put the medicine away and wash this spoon and then we can watch a movie or something to take your mind off of being ill." Dream declared, not waiting for a response as he exited the room. Nightmare gave a lazy grin, leaning back into the pillows again. He was so glad to have a caring brother like Dream, even if he did force him to take yucky medicine.

The rest of the day was spent with the two brothers watching Disney movies (thanks to Dream) and sharing stupid jokes.

"What did the crisp say to the other crisp?" Dream asked, already giggling at his stupid joke. "I value our friend-chip!"

Nightmare and Dream burst into a fit of laughter, radiating happiness. Nightmare smiled, feeling at ease. Everything was okay as long as Dream was here.

--End--