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“Bowie, you’re clearly sick.”
Bowie rolled his eyes all the way from the bed he and Raj shared, the aforementioned boyfriend stood at the edge of it, his arms crossed and a single brow raised. Sometimes Bowie regretted letting Raj take on his sass, he should’ve known it would be used against him the most.
But as much as he didn’t want to admit it (and would NOT), Raj was right. Bowie felt terrible. His throat felt stuffy and sore, his body weighed down by fatigue, his head pounding painfully at the sound of Raj’s dog’s singular bark, and his eyes barely wanted to open. In his heart Bowie knew he had come down with a cold, if not the seasonal flu.
It didn’t happen very often, but this time, Bowie really is sick.
“‘M not…” Bowie cringed at how raspy his voice was, giving away the fact that he’s very obviously lying. He slowly sat up, his joints practically killing him, but Raj’s death glare might just kill him a little faster.
“...You know I’m not letting you go out when you look like you haven’t slept in a week, right?” Raj said flatly, a hand moved to instead place one on his hips, leaning his weight on one of his legs. “It’s a tuesday anyway, you only have one class and a part-time shift. I could email them for you, eh?”
Bowie’s eyes widened slightly, but he quickly gathered his composure. “No need to do that, I’m going in, whether you like it or not.” He grumbled stubbornly, despite his body begging otherwise.
Raj quickly narrowed his eyes, walking slowly closer. Bowie didn’t find Raj threatening very often; With that round face, equally round eyes, and bushy brows, Raj looked soft in most of his expressions. Plus, after knowing the guy personally for so long, his personality was even less intimidating.
But when he stood over a sick Bowie, who was still sitting on the bed, Bowie found the narrowed eyes to be much sharper than usual.
“Bowie, I’m going to hunt you down and drag you back here by your ear if you even think of leaving this damn bed.” Raj said calmly, and Bowie thinks that’s what scared him the most. Still, Bowie knew Raj enough to at least push a little more and try to get his way.
“Raj—”
“Go. Back. To bed.”
Nope, Raj was not budging.
So Bowie crossed his arms with a huff and leaned back onto the soft pillows below. Raj’s expression switched into a small smile instantaneously when Bowie yielded. The shorter boy waltzed his way over and leaned down to press a tender kiss on Bowie’s forehead, fingers running through Bowie’s curls.
“I’ll get you meds and make you some congee, eh? I’ll even make you some crispy fried garlic just the way you like em. Oh! And I’ll ask Wayner to grab some hot tea from your favorite place to make up for it.” Raj spoke, barely over a whisper, before standing back up straight. “It’ll take a while for me to finish cooking, so in the meantime, just try to get some rest, okay?”
“Ugh. Fine.” Bowie was not going to be doing that, but Raj didn’t have to know.
Raj smiled, pleased enough with the response. He picked up his dog, Bone Crusher, on his way out and made his way over to the door, but just before he left, Raj poked his head through the door. “And if you even think about working or ‘being productive’, I’ll end you.”
Chills ran down Bowie’s spine. “Jesus fucking christ, okay! Point taken!”
Raj giggled, waving his hand. “Love you, Bows!”
Then, the door gently shut.
Bowie waited a few seconds before picking up his phone from the nightstand and looked at the time. It was just nine in the morning, and Bowie’s one class started at ten. He didn’t have a lot of time, but he probably wasn’t going to bother making himself presentable anyway.
He hopped out of bed and opened their shared closet, throwing off his pajamas and on a comfy sweater and sweatpants. He’s pretty sure it was cold outside (or was that fever talking?), so he grabbed an infinity scarf and gloves too. He grabbed the bag he prepared yesterday before he felt the sickness too badly, and prepared himself.
Carefully, Bowie turned the handle and cracked their bedroom door slightly open. He could hear Raj chopping something in the kitchen area of their apartment, which gave Bowie the perfect opportunity to sneak into the bathroom and freshen up.
And oh boy, he needs it.
Bowie almost scared himself with how sunken his eyes were, he looked a little pale, and his mouth was completely dry. Maybe Raj was right that he was more sick than Bowie would like to admit, but it was too late to turn back now. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, not bothering with any sort of skincare.
Once he was done, he dried his hands and peeked out the bathroom door. Raj had his back turned, presumably using the stove. He was distracted.
There was his chance!
As quietly as possible, Bowie quickly shuffled down the hallway of their apartment and as quickly as he could, he gently closes the bathroom door and turned around, just to be immediately jumpscared by a little thing on the floor, an unprecedented obstacle.
Bone Crusher, Raj’s energetic dachshund.
Bone Crusher was looking up at Bowie curiously, tail wagging, and tongue happily dangling out of his mouth, and Bowie’s face paled in an instant. He shook his head slowly.
Please don’t bark, please don’t bark.
Bone Crusher, not understanding the severity of the situation, opened his mouth.
‘NONONONONO—’ Bowie mouthed at the dog, waving his hand wildly as if he could understand what Bowie was trying to stop him from doing. Bowie could only pray as Bone Crusher looked at him, presumably confused at what the fuck Bowie was even doing. In fact, it felt like he was giving Bowie the side-eye.
It felt like the two were having a standoff.
Miraculously though, Bone Crusher walked out of the hallway without a bark.
Bowie let out a silent sigh of relief and continued on his way. On his tiptoes, he tried to walk past the kitchen and to the exit. It was right there! His hand stretched out, practically grazing the front door.
It’s right there!
Then—
CLANG!
“EEK!” Bowie jolted to the right and away from the door handle where a wooden spoon flew across the room and hit with a loud sound. It wouldn’t have hit Bowie either way, but the forced still rattled the shit out of him.
Resisting the urge to gulp, Bowie slowly turned his head back.
Raj was glaring at him, hand still outstretched from having thrown the spoon with terrifying accuracy.
Bowie braced himself, dropping his bag to the floor with a thud and held both his hands up. He tried to give Raj a charming and apologetic smile, but he was pretty sure it came off more as nervous.
“Heeeeyyy Raj…Baby…Sweetheart…Absolute gorgeous angel—”
“Bowie Kingston Davids.”
Oh my god, he was so fucking dead.
Bowie curled his shoulders into himself and sulked as Raj continued to let him stew in silence, only conveying his displeasure with the way he looked at Bowie. The shorter boy quickly turned off the stove and put a lid on his pot before walking over to Bowie, picking up the bag he dropped, and jutted a thumb into the direction of their bedroom. “Back to bed. NOW.”
Safe to say, Bowie did not have the energy nor the balls to argue after that.
——————
Bowie laid in bed for an extra ten minutes after he had changed back to his pajamas before Raj walked into the bedroom, a tray in his hand. On it was a bowl of congee, a glass of water, and a tiny zip bag of what looks like Tylenol. Raj set the tray on Bowie’s nightstand and walked over to grab a chair from his desk, placing it right by the bedside and took a seat.
Raj let out a sigh. “Bowie, you gotta take care of yourself, eh? Trying to sneak out while I was cooking for you was totally uncool.” He chastised, and somehow his soft tone made Bowie feel even more guilty. “It’s not like you could pay attention in class or serve customers like this anyway, not to mention you might get other people sick!”
“Well, me staying here would probably get you sick too. I’d rather get some random customer sick than get you sick.” Bowie lightly argued, but he knew Raj was right.
“Eh. I’m pretty sure I’ll catch it either way. We’re sharing a bed and we basically woke up with our faces squished together this morning.” Raj snickered. “It’ll just have to be your turn to spoil me when I do get sick.”
“Of course, we both know how whiny you get when you’re sick.” Bowie jabbed with a smile, watching the way his boyfriend giggled as he picked up the spoon, scooping the food into it. He raised the spoon up to his mouth and lightly blew on it, cooling the hot dish down.
Raj then raised the spoon up to Bowie’s mouth, and he couldn’t help but force an unimpressed look back.
“You know it’s just a cold and I can feed myself perfectly fine, right?”
“Oh, come on man, no need to be embarrassed! Wayner fed me all the time whenever I was sick. Hell, I’m pretty sure you’d do it for me too if I was sick.” Raj huffed, keeping the spoon in front of Bowie’s face. “Now say ahhh!!”
Bowie smiled and rolled his eyes, and decidedly did not say ah, but opened his mouth and let Raj feed him nonetheless.
And as expected, the congee was amazing. Raj nor Bowie were the best chefs they’d ever known, but Raj had seemingly mastered some of the more homey recipes, stuff like soup, curry, porridge, and of course, congee. Bowie peered over to look in the bowl; the congee had a poached egg, crispy garlic, chopped green onions, and just a touch of soy sauce on top.
“‘S it good?” Raj asked, his head tilted. His hand stirred in the bowl a little before he broke the egg with the spoon and scooped up a bit of everything. “My mom used to make it for me when I had a tummyache or felt too sick to eat.”
Bowie gave a small smile, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s really good, don’t worry. You know I’m not too terribly picky.”
“Pickier than me either way.” The jock mused, holding the spoon up to Bowie’s mouth expectantly, to which Bowie let himself be fed. The two of them sitting in comfortable silence, the repetition of their action didn’t feel awkward or unnatural, and Bowie was grateful for that.
Eventually, Bowie finished his brunch.
Raj placed the now empty bowl and spoon back on the tray, and instead handed Bowie the pills and a glass of water, which Bowie handily took before leaning back on the pillows he had propped up against the headboard.
“Wayner said he should be back in an hour or so— Apparently he has a group project meeting so it’ll take a while before he gets back, but I’ll remind him to get you that tea, eh?” Raj asserted, taking Bowie’s glass of water and placing it on the tray. Raj turned back to Bowie and stood there, considering something before his features turned to a grin. “So, I guess in the meantime…”
Bowie slowly blinked at Raj as he wandered to the other side of the bed and climbed on, making his way over to Bowie’s side and laid down, arms immediately wrapping themselves around Bowie’s side and snuggled into him. Bowie couldn’t help but chuckle, even when he was sick, Raj was too clingy to stay away. Bowie wasn’t going to complain though.
Bowie realized it was probably not good to let him snuggle, but Raj was right, he was probably going to get sick regardless, and Raj clearly didn't want to let Bowie out of his sight after the stunt he had tried to pull and arguably almost succeeded.
And maybe a small, selfish part of Bowie liked having a super cute boyfriend taking care of him when he’s sick. So what? Raj was probably not going to leave no matter what he says, anyway.
So Bowie ran a hand through Raj’s hair, letting him nuzzle his face into the crook of Bowie’s neck, leaning on his shoulder. Raj pulled the duvet over the both of them, making sure it covered both Bowie and himself before settling back down.
“You can kick the blanket off if you start feeling hot and stuff. You know, for when the meds kick in and you start sweatin’”
Raj meant well, but Bowie couldn’t pass up the chance to tease him a little. “I thought I was already hot, no?” Bowie smirked. Raj turned his head up a little, deadpanned.
“No offense, dude, but you sound like a wheezing duck…and you look like you’ve just crawled out of a ditch somewhere.”
“Alright, damn…”
Raj let a beat past, before averting his gaze. “But maaaaybe you’re still hot.” Raj smiled, squeezing Bowie into a slightly tighter embrace, before finally looking back at Bowie. “To me, at least.”
Bowie grinned. “That’s all that really matters.”
Another few seconds passed, and much to Bowie’s surprise, Raj pushed himself up and pressed a small kiss on Bowie’s lips. The two stared at each other again until eventually, Raj looked away, face flushing with embarrassment.
“That was uh…” Raj cleared his throat. “...A get well soon kiss.”
“Well…” Bowie dragged his word, leaning down slightly. “Can I get another one?”
A second passed.
Leaving Bowie no time to prepare, Raj turned and their lips suddenly crashed into one another. Raj grabbed at Bowie’s collar and pulled him in, deepening the kiss, before climbing on Bowie’s lap. Bowie closed his eyes, placing his hands on Raj’s hips, gently squeezing his side and relishing in how Raj squirmed, leaning his weight into the passionate kiss even more.
Raj threw his arms around Bowie’s neck, tilting his head. Bowie wasn’t sure if it was his sickness or what, but the kiss felt dizzying, carrying him in a constant state of delight. Unconsciously, Bowie ran his hands up Raj’s shirt, tracing the scars under his pecs, listening to his quiet murmurs and whimpers against his lips like sweet melody.
In the back of his mind, he knew kissing was a bad idea; Bowie probably needed rest, and kissing was probably a fast track to getting Raj sick too. But can you blame him for wanting to kiss the absolute sweetheart in his lap right now?
Unfortunately though, Raj eventually pulled away, panting for air. Bowie reached out, running a thumb gently over Raj’s lips and wiping the trace of saliva away. Raj wiped his mouth with his sleeves, his head downcasted, but unable to hide the slightly reddened cheeks.
“Sorry, eh? You probably should be sleeping.” Raj awkwardly laughed, climbing off of Bowie’s lap (much to his dismay), and laid himself back beside the bleached blonde. “I’ve just been wanting to do that.”
“Like, make out? We made out like…a day or two ago.” Bowie pointed out with a snicker, and the feeling of Raj lightly punching his arm only made him feel more mischievous. “But I mean, I guess I’m pretty irresistible.” He commented, smugly raising a brow.
“Mhm. I guess if you say so.”
Another minute of silence passed.
Bowie scratched his cheek lightly, looking off to the side. The feeling of mischief earlier replaced by a revelation and a small awkwardness. “Although…If you’re not getting sick before, you for sure will now.”
Raj blinked at him, as if processing what he said. He then grinned right back, closing his eyes and scooted himself closer, taking back his previous spot at Bowie’s side.
“Totally worth it.”
Bowie sighed fondly, throwing an arm over Raj’s body and drawing his closer, letting Raj get comfortable.
The two laid in silence, with only occasional coughs from Bowie, until eventually, Bowie felt the fatigue kick in and he slowly drifted off to sleep, feeling satisfied, and undoubtedly much better than when he had just woken up.
Raj was right, he should’ve just stayed in bed from the beginning.
——————
And for the record, Raj did end up getting sick a few days later.
Bowie opened the door to their bedroom to see Raj wrapping himself in multiple layers of duvet and blankets, curling in on himself. Bowie couldn’t help a small smile as he made his way to Raj’s bedside, placing a bowl of pork bone broth on the bedside table, alongside a cup of honey lemonade.
Raj rolled over, sniffling. “Hey Bowie…”
“Hey babe.” Bowie greeted, sitting just on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling? Could be a lot better, I bet.”
“Ugh, yeah…”
“So, do you regret the kiss yet?”
“Never. Still worth it.”
Bowie giggled, prompting Raj to sit up against the pillow and head board, and picked up the bowl he had prepared. “I made you soup. Nothing special, but I also got you some lemonade with honey in it.”
Raj shuffled over, leaning his head on Bowie’s shoulder, a blanket still around his body. “Thanks, Bowie. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Even when Raj’s sick, he was so indescribably sweet that his words alone lit up Bowie’s whole day.
Still…
“...You know I’m sorry for getting you sick.” Bowie frowned, stirring the soup slightly. “I should’ve just take care of myself instead of having you fuss over me like, the entire two days I was stuck in bed for.”
Raj, after eating the spoonful Bowie fed him, tilted his head. “I wanted to take care of you, so I was gonna do it anyway.” Raj interrupted himself with a sniff, grabbing some tissues for himself before turning back to Bowie with a tired but genuine smile. “You doing the same for me now, eh? You’ll do that?”
Bowie smiled back, kissing just atop Raj’s hair, feeling the small rumble of Raj giggling against his chest.
“Of course.”