Dave, feverish and misearble with the flu, half-conscious and dazed. His muscles too achy to get up, he shivers under a sweat soaked thin blanket. Wishing for the sweet sweet release of death, or at the very least, the gentle embrace of sleep sounds pretty nice too. He curls up tighter into himself, pulling his knees close to his chest. God please let him fall back asleep. And mercifully, he does.
A fitful few hours of sleep leaves him more exhausted than before, vivid dreams flashing around his overheated brain. Fever dreams are the worst.
At one point, Dave thinks he's vaguely aware of Bro entering his room, probably to check if he's still breathing. But as the veil of sleep starts to lift, factual reality replaces his fever-induced hallucinations, and he recalls that Bro is at work. Has been the whole day, most likely will be all night. Dave rolls over, still too sluggish to come back to the waking world.
---
The next time he comes to, there's significantly more weight pressing down on his body. Two extra blankets have been piled on top of him. Dave emerges from his fever cocoon like a kitten that's approximately one sniff old. Shakily reaching his hand around the general direction of his nightstand, searching for his phone, the side of his hand meets something cold and heavy.
A frosty bottle of AJ, condensation dripping down the plastic surface. Next to it, a full pack of ibuprofen.
Dave blinks once, twice, brain entirely too cooked to process.
Dave cracks open the bottle, swallowing the sweet, cold nectar greedily, with no regards to if some of it drips down his chin and chest. The ice-cold juice stings on the way down. It settles down into the pit of his stomach, his thirst parched and silent prayers answered. He pops two pills from the foil, and downs them with additional gulps of juice, more patient this time.
Dave lays back down, finding a position that hurts his stiff shoulders the least amount. Maybe a little more sleep. The hypnotic drone of the small fan on his desk eventually lulls him back into unconsciousness.
---
