A/n- DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS

Inspired by: image/42137206342

There was screaming coming from down the hallway, causing Dirk to jump violently. He knew that scream all too well but every time he heard it, it never ceased to scare him to the point where he drops anything he's holding on to. In this case, it was his bowl of ice cream. Luckily, none of the delicious contents spilled out and he set the bowl aside. He jumped again as the screaming started back up, his foot hitting the coffee table harshly. "Fuck!" He grumbled, rubbing the top of his foot gently to rub away the stinging pain. He glanced towards the hall, his orange eyes staring intently where Dave's bedroom door was. He knew something was wrong. Dave had been having those damn nightmares for three weeks now and it didn't seem like they were going to stop anytime soon either. Maybe he should bring the kid to the doctors. No, scratch that thought waaaaaay off the list. They'd probably just call social services on him as they would think it was his fault Dave was screaming at night. He paused, listening intently as Dave had stopped screaming and settled back into the couch, picking his bowl of ice cream back up to start eating it. He had the spoon right up to his lips when he caught the sound of crying. Blinking, he put the bowl back down and got up, stretching out a bit before he padded down the hall to Dave's room. He stood by the door, not wanting to walk instead just yet in case Dave was still asleep, pressing his ear up against the door and listened. Hearing the crying coming from the other side, he hesitantly pushed open the door. "Dave?".

"Go away." Came the instant reply from the younger Strider, his voice thick and followed by a sniffle. "Sorry if I woke you up."

"Naw man, I just dropped my ice cream all over myself so I had to go the bathroom and wash it off to be all clean and shit." Dirk lied easily and moved over to Dave's bed, seeing the blonde curled up in a cocoon. He promptly flopped onto the bed and looked at the Dave-burrito, seeing the red covers shake as the boy trembled. A sigh left the elder Strider's lips before he moved closer and wrapped his arms around the mound of blankets and Dave. "Dave. C'mon, bro. It's okay. You know those dreams aren't real."

"How do you fucking know?" Dave asked, letting his brother pull him into his lap even if he did think it was uncool. Scratch that. He really needed his big brother right now. A lot. "You don't fucking understand, Dirk! You don't see all of them dying. All of my friends dying in front of me and there's nothing that I can do to save them! It's like I'm paralyzed or some shit! And they always look at me like it's my fault their dead!" Dave sucked in a breath before letting it out slowly and finally poking his head out from his cocoon of safety that was his blankets. "It's Hell."

"Shoosh. It's not Hell. You're just under stress or some shit, Dave." The elder murmured, his hand managing to find Dave's hair and started to stroke his hair. He knew it wouldn't calm the other down and his thoughts were confirmed as all he got for a reaction was a tense Dave and a swat to his hand. Sighing again, he looked down at his younger brother's face. There were dark circles under his eyes, to the point where you could almost see them under his sunglasses, his face was starting to look thin and his skin was pastier than normal, his freckles were even lighter than usual. He watched as the younger male rested his head against his chest, red irises being concealed now by his eyelids. "Have you tried talking to John at all?"

"Hell no. He'd just worry...I can't do that to him. Not with how he's been lately."

"How he's been lately?"

There was a few moments of silence before Dirk heard Dave's voice again. "He's been having issues sleeping as well...Apparently we're having similar nightmares...same with Rose and Jade. It's so bad that even Rose won't try to dissect them at this point."

"Damn. She's a nut about that shit too." Dave nodded into Dirk's chest and the elder could have sworn he heard the other say something but he didn't quite catch it. "What was that?"

Dave was silent yet again. It took a little prodding from Dirk before he finally repeated what he had said before. "Will you sing?" He asked, his face red. He loved hearing Dirk sing or even hum. His older brother had a beautiful singing voice and tried to get him to go into that sort of career but he never got him to actually do it.

"You want me to sing you a lullaby?" Dirk half-teased, half-asked. He was genuinely surprised that Dave had asked. It had been a long time since he had sang for anyone. "Sure, kid. What do you want to hear?"

"Anything. I just want to sleep." Dave whispered, the strain evident in his voice which made Dirk internally cringe.

"Alright, lil man. Let's see what I can whip up here. I'm not even gonna Strider-fy this shit because I actually want you to sleep. So let's do this"

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high

There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true"

Dirk started humming "Over the Rainbow" as he remembered it being one of Dave's favourites when he was a baby, hoping that it would lull him to sleep even if he was 16 now. He glanced down at said younger brother and was pleased to see the change in him already. He was more relaxed, albeit still very much awake.

"Someday I'll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me"

He heard a yawn coming from Dave now, making him smile just slightly and felt Dave curl in closer to him. It was working. Now hopefully Dave would sleep for the rest of the night.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly

Birds fly over the rainbow

Why then, oh why can't I?"

Dave's breathing evened out considerably and Dirk knew he was sleeping now. But he wasn't going to leave him. No. He knew his little brother needed him right now. Besides, the lil bastard fell asleep before he finished the song! Jerk. He'd get him back for it later. For now, he was going to finish the song and go to sleep, even if he was in Dave's bed.

"If happy little bluebirds fly B

eyond the rainbow

Why, oh why, can't I?"

His voice trailed off as he finished up the song and he relaxed back against the headboard, his arms around Dave, listening to him breath. He made sure to pay close attention to every little twitch he made, every little noise or movement he did, all to make sure he wasn't having another nightmare. After what had to have been an hour of keeping an eye on Dave, Dirk finally fell asleep.

It was late in the morning when both boys woke up, Dave getting up before Dirk and used the bathroom. Dirk woke up not long after and made breakfast for them. It was like the previous night had never happened. It was always like this but they both knew it had happened. And Dave couldn't put his thoughts into words about how much he appreciated having Dirk for a brother. Dirk did anything and everything he could for the younger and he definitely wouldn't change it for the world.