Remember to brush your teeth before you cross the road

This is a memory oneshot, the final calm before the storm.

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"Night, let's go play outside!" Dream exclaimed, bouncing happily with excitement and starry eyes. 

Nightmare hummed, stepping over towards the window that his brother stood beside and gently tugging the long, draping curtain aside so he could peer through.

"But it's raining." He replied, tracing the raindrops that slithered down the glass pane with his lilac eyes. "You'll get wet."

Dream giggled and shook his head.

"But it'll be fun!" He proclaimed. "Let's go jump in the puddles and dance in the rain!"

Nightmare folded his arms and glanced between his excited brother and the window. He didn't really want to go outside and get soaked but at the same time he didn't want to disappoint Dream. He sighed, absentmindedly twiddling his thumbs as he considered his options. All it took was a glimpse at his brother's large, hopeful, starry eyes to persuade him.

"Okay." He answered in defeat, a small smile appearing on his face.

Dream cheered happily and mumbled something about getting their coats before bounding up the stairs giddily. Nightmare grinned slightly, deciding to turn back around and stare out through the window. 

The sky was overcast with dark grey clouds and a strong gale of wind launched a bundle of dead leaves into the air. Nightmare eyed the spectacle for a moment before closing his eyes and resting his arms on the windowsill, listening to the steady drumming of the rain against the window. 

The two brother's had finally started to talk again. Ever since his fox-friend died, Nightmare shunned himself away from the world and his brother. He locked himself in his bedroom every day, refusing to accept the death and avoiding Dream at all costs. The villagers sudden change of attitude towards the guardian of negativity scared him; he couldn't understand why they suddenly all agreed that he was a bad person. He wasn't, was he? He didn't think he was.

Dream had tried every day to get through to his brother. He'd stand outside Nightmare's bedroom door for hours, either trying to talk to him or simply telling him about things that were happening even if Nightmare didn't respond. Sometimes he'd teleport into the bedroom to check on his brother but the guardian of negativity would become angry and start to yell at the other who was just trying to help. It didn't stop him though- nothing would stop him from trying to help is beloved brother. So Dream had continued to reach out to him and Nightmare had continued to push him away.

Eventually Dream was able to get through to him. Things were shaky between them at first. Nightmare would easily become irritated with how cheerful and obnoxious his brother was and they'd get into arguments almost daily. But things were calming down now- their arguments had died down to bickering over silly things such as "Did you eat the last apple?" and "Why can't you remember our pet rock's name?"

Nightmare smiled softly and reopened his eyes at the sound of his brother's loud footsteps coming down the stairs. Things were okay between them- things would always be okay between them.

"Why can't you hang up your coat in the closet?" Dream playfully scolded, tossing the lilac coat at is brother. "It does not belong in a drawer."

"I'm sure lots of people put their coats in a drawer."

"No one does that!" 

Nightmare chuckled, slipping into the coat and zipping it up all the way before lifting the hood up over his skull. Dream smiled, hurriedly putting the coat on and zipping it up almost all the way. 

"Let's venture out into the wasteland!" Dream exclaimed, turning around and rushing into the kitchen towards the back door.

Nightmare rolled his eyes in amusement, following after his brother. 

"You need your hood up, numbskull." Nightmare huffed, lifting Dream's hood and making sure to cover his eyes with it.

Dream grumbled, adjusting the hood so that he could see before grabbing the door handle and swinging the door open. A sudden gush of wind made the two shiver and Nightmare wondered if this was really a good idea. He glanced at Dream, noticing his starry eyes softly glowing with glee and decided that yes, it was a good idea. Dream bolted through the door towards a group of puddles, wasting no time in jumping into each one. Nightmare grinned, stepping out through the door and pulling it shut behind him. He trudged through the mud towards his brother, yelping in surprise when he was suddenly jerked forwards by the arm into a puddle.

Dream grinned toothily, continuing to jump up and down in the puddle while holding his brother's arm. Nightmare glared slightly, twisting his arm out of Dream's grip. Without hesitation, he jumped and practically slammed his feet into the puddle, splashing muddy water all over his brother. Dream squealed before breaking into a fit of laughter and kicking some water up at Nightmare.

The two laughed and played together in the puddles for a while until they were both drenched in the murky water. They staggered into a clearing of glossy, wet grass and collapsed onto it in breathless laughter.

"That was fun!" Dream laughed, falling back into the damp grass and staring up at the crying, graphite sky. The droplets of rain softly pelted his face and he smiled calmly, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath of content. Nightmare stared down at him curiously, wondering how his brother could enjoy being in the rain so much. He seemed so relaxed and happy.

"Why do you like the rain so much?" Nightmare asked, watching as his brother reopened his eyes to peer up at him.

"Because it always brings us together." Dream replied easily. 

Nightmare tilted his head slightly, silently urging his brother to explain. Dream chuckled, glancing back up at the sky before answering.

"Back when we used to argue a lot, we'd always sit together in the living room while it rained. It felt like the only time we could really get along." He mumbled softly. "You never wanted to hang out with me except when it was raining- then you'd let me sit with you and we'd actually talk."

Nightmare felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He frowned and laid down in the grass beside the other guardian.

"I'm sorry." He apologised sheepishly, staring up at the sky. "I was afraid."

Dream frowned, glancing towards Nightmare.

"Why?"

Nightmare shrugged.

"I don't really know." He replied with a melancholic smile.

The two remained in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the rain's serenade and the shivering leaves. 

"I'm sorry I pushed you away." Nightmare said quietly. "I didn't realise how much I needed you."

Dream smiled.

"I forgave you ages ago, stop apologising." He chuckled. "I'll always be here for you even when you're being stubborn."

Nightmare and Dream both chuckled and stared up into the sky simultaneously. The rain was starting to become heavier and the clouds had darkened. 

"Maybe we should go in and dry off now." Nightmare suggested, sitting up and staring down at his brother.

Dream nodded in agreement, copying Nightmare and sitting up. The guardian of negativity heaved himself up and held out a hand for his brother to take, grinning. Dream grinned back and grabbed the hand.

"Does this mean you'll read me bedtime stories again?" 

Nightmare rolled his eyes playfully, helping Dream up off the ground.

"Maybe."

The two smiled at each other before treading back towards the house. 

--

Nightmare stared up at the crying sky. He liked the rain.

'What are you doing?' The voice hissed. 'You know what you need to do, so get on with it.'

He sighed, trudging towards the Tree of Feelings.

--End--