[Scar/Dream] Heart Thief

37. Feverish Confidence

Honestly, it could be worse.

Dream was feeling pretty awful, but at least he had a warm bed to rest in. He was protected inside a house, with no risk of being bothered by other people. He had easy access to food, water, and medicine. And he had Scar's company.

He had a feeling he would recover quickly this time. He usually only got one bad sickness each winter, so once this passed, he should be okay. But the time seemed to drag by. He didn't have the energy to move much, so he would only get up to go use the bathroom, and then he was crawling back into bed and pulling the covers up over himself. Even with his fever, he felt too cold when he didn't have the blanket on him, so he just made himself deal with the stuffy, sweaty feeling. At least Scar was often there, dabbing his forehead with a cool washrag, giving him water to drink.

Dream slept a lot, but there were still hours he would spend awake, not tired enough to sleep, but also not wanting to go anywhere, so he stayed there in his bed. He felt foggy during those times he was awake. It was hard to think. But Scar didn't seem to expect him to talk much. He would just sit there with him, asking him how he was feeling and then just holding his hand. Scar always wore a mask around him now and Dream could understand, Scar probably didn't want to catch this. But it was still a little disappointing, not being able to see Scar's smile.

Scar had told him that he was going to stay home from work until Dream was better, and Dream was thankful that he wouldn't be left alone. Just seeing Scar made him feel better, and though hours dragged by, it was nicer with Scar's hand in his hair or Scar's fingers linked through his.

One day, Dream woke up feeling even more lightheaded than before, and he blindly felt around for Scar and realized he wasn't on the bed. He pushed himself up, looking around and then coughing. It was a painful, unproductive cough and it took a while to subside, and once it did, he grabbed the bottle of Gatorade off the table. His fingers shook as he tried to open it, and after several moments, he finally managed to get the lid off so he could take a drink. His throat hurt as he swallowed and he set the bottle down, rubbing at his eyes. They were wet with tears and he didn't even know when he had been crying. Maybe it was in his sleep, or it was just from the painful coughing. He looked around again and tried to call for Scar, but wasn't able to make a sound.

Dream's eyes widened. He held his throat, clearing it and trying again. All he could produce was a weak rasp of Scar's name. He lost his voice. Dream groaned and flopped back down. Yeah, that happened before too, he was pretty sure. Not that he talked much anyway, as he hid out in his car waiting for the worst of it to pass. But this has happened.

Maybe something warm would help. He kinda wanted soup. His appetite has gotten a little better, which made him happy, and it made Scar happy too. Scar always looked at him with so much love whenever Dream managed to eat or drink something, it was very motivating.

After a few minutes, Scar came in, smiling at him before pulling his mask up over his mouth and nose. "Oh, you're awake. Sorry, I stepped out to call Stress."

Dream gestured for him to come closer, knowing Scar wouldn't be able to hear him from over there, then said, "About what?"

Scar seemed taken aback when he heard his voice. He knelt down, cupping Dream's face. "You sound awful. How's your throat feel?"

"Little sore," Dream replied. "Lost my voice." It took effort to even speak at the volume of a whisper.

Scar's brow creased with worry. "Oh, you poor baby. Well, I was just talking to Stress about the last temperature I took. Your fever's been pretty stable, so she said you should be okay, and to just keep an eye on you and make sure you keep drinking water. If you're sweating, she said to get electrolytes into you, which I've been doing. If it gets to 105, I need to bring you in, but it hasn't gotten that high. But oh, now you've lost your voice... I'm so sorry." He brushed some of Dream's hair back from his forehead.