It was no secret in the Seville household that Alvin was extremely affectionate when he would get sick. Whether he had a mild cold or an extreme flu, the residents of the household found themselves being awakened by the oldest brother tearfully asking if he could share the bed. Though Dave was his first option, Alvin had no embarrassment in asking Simon to make room for him in both his bed and his schedule.
Today was no exception.
Alvin hadn't quite felt the best the day before, but half way through the night when the teen ran to the bathroom to puke, his fears were confirmed and his emotions seemed to go nuts. Alvin stumbled down the stairs and pitifully pushed into his father's room. On more than one occasion, Dave had called into work saying that he needed to stay home with a sick Alvin. His boss would take it as an acceptable excuse when Alvin was much younger, but through the years Dave's boss was taking it less as a viable reason to miss a day and started arguing with Dave over it.
"Dave can I stay with you," voice sore from the puking and balance unsteady from the fever, Alvin held to the door knob lightly as his father stirred in his bed.
"Are you okay?" Dave asked after nearly a minute of trying to wake himself up enough to understand what was going on. He glanced at the clock; 4:50am.
"I don't feel good," Alvin said tears welling up in his already puffy eyes, "I puked."
Nearly rolling his eyes not out of irritation but instead out of helplessness, Dave ran a hand through his hair. "Of course, you can Alvin, but I can't stay home with you today. I have too many things to do. I could sit with you for a few hours if you'd like-"
Wiping his eyes and cutting his father off with a low groan, Alvin backed slowly out of the room. "It's okay I'll go see if Simon…" Alvin had closed the door before he could even finish his sentence. Dave rested his head back on his pillow and tried to get whatever sleep he could before his alarm went off in only an hour and a half.
Trudging back into his own room, Alvin took straight towards his immediately younger brother's bed. He shook Simon's shoulder lightly a few times before his brother finally met his eyes. "What?" rubbing his hazy eyes, the taller boy scanned the other boy to make sure nothing was too wrong. "What's going on?"
Tears once again in his eyes, Alvin pressed his hand against Simon's shoulder indicating that he wanted him to make room. Without another word, Alvin slipped into his brother's bed and took the half of the blanket he was offered. Curling into a ball facing his brother's back, Alvin fell asleep almost instantly. Simon's brain went nuts trying to figure out how he would be able to get all of his work done the next day whilst also having mandatory cuddle time with his brother. Maybe, if he was sick enough, Simon could just pile his notebooks on him as he slept leaving them both with what they had wanted.