A pretty short chapter, but I still think it's a sweet one.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Dennis awoke with the feeling that something was wrong. Nothing in particular made him feel that way; the feeling was just... there.

Dennis crawled out of his bed and tip toed down the hall to Colin's room, clenching his blanket and teddy bear in his tiny hands (yes, Dennis still had a blankie and teddy, but he was nine years old and had had his brother vanish off the face of the earth for almost an entire school year. Don't judge him). Dennis's bare feet slid across the cold, hard wood floor of the hallway, and his feet whispered against the wood as he passed his parents' room and stood in front of Colin's door.

Dennis pushed open the door and was about to ask his brother if he could sleep in his room tonight when he saw Colin.

At first, Dennis thought Colin was having a seizure. He was flailing and thrashing in his bed, trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. Dennis could have sworn he could hear Colin's heartbeat clear across the room. Colin's bed was drenched in sweat.

Dennis was about to call out for his parents when he heard Colin muttering.

"No... please... stay away," he cried. "Please!"

Dennis frowned. He once again considered calling out for his parents; they'd always comforted them when they had nightmares, but... this was something Dennis could help with.

Dennis crossed the floor and climbed onto the bed beside his shivering older brother and wrapped his arms around the boy, controlling his tremors and spasms to try and keep the boy from accidentally hurting himself. Colin already had emotional scars; he didn't need physical ones, too.

"Colin," he murmured, "It's just a nightmare. Whatever you're seeing is not real. Wake up, big bro. Come on. I know you can do it."

Colin whimpered a few more times, but with some quiet urging from Dennis, he managed to pry his eyes open and stare into his brother's caring, concerned eyes. He slowly reached up a hand to touch his face, and his fingertips met the sticky trails sliding down his skin. Tears.

"What happened?" He mumbled.

"You were having a nightmare," Dennis answered.

"Dennis... what are you doing in my room so late?" Colin asked, trying to avoid the nightmare topic for a little longer.

"I felt like something was wrong, and after this year... I came to check on you. I guess my feeling was right," Dennis said with a watery smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

If anyone else had asked that question, Colin would have turned away, said no, or even bitten their head off (figuratively, of course).

But this was Dennis. If there was one person Colin trusted in the world, it was his little brother. Besides, after being petrified and causing his brother to worry for an entire school year, Colin owed this much to Dennis for not giving up on him after all those letters went unanswered.

"I... I was walking down a dark, silent hall. I was the only there... but then I heard hissing, like a hundred snakes speaking at once. I turned around, and I started taking pictures. I don't even remember why. But then, I lowered my camera and saw the most terrifying creature I have ever seen. A gigantic snake twenty times as tall as me with green, leathery skin, razor sharp teeth, and big yellow eyes. It was horrifying. And then... I felt an unbearable amount of fear and pain. Then it was like I went to sleep."

"The night you were petrified," Dennis realized, and Colin nodded, not meeting Dennis's eyes.

Dennis sighed before embracing his brother. Neither of them spoke another word. They simply sat there in silence, arms wrapped around each other. Colin didn't cry, and Dennis didn't cry. Neither moved until the sun was almost peaking above the horizon.

"I love you," Colin finally murmured.

"I love you, too," Dennis agreed.

Siblings often take each other for granted. They spend years wishing to be an only child, but when their sibling is hurt or in danger, they come through. That 'I wish I was an only child' turns into an 'I want my brother/sister back.' I know some of you don't believe me, but Dennis and Colin can vouch for that.

A relationship between brothers is something unexplainable with words, something so special and yet so ignored. Brothers spend so much time fighting (don't get me wrong. Fighting is a part of being siblings, but this is an excessive amount of fighting) that they forget that one day, their brother might not be around anymore.

Colin and Dennis didn't say it very often, but they loved each other more than life itself. If one lost the other... they're not even sure what would happen to the one left behind.

"Dennis," Colin whispered. "Can you promise me something?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"Promise you'll never stop loving me?"

Dennis smiled. "I'll promise if you promise."

The brothers grinned and hooked their littlest fingers around each other.

"Pinky promise," they said in tandem before laughing and drifting off to sleep, side by side.

THE END, EVERYONE! Hope you enjoyed the story!

Thanks for reading!