Waking up in a cold sweat, the first thing Raj noticed was that his stomach felt like a monstrous mixture of chunky milk, a large pizza, and a dozen donuts. In his sluggish state, he couldn’t really recall if he had eaten any of those things, but he could never be quite sure.

Slowly, the hockey boy rolled out of bed to go to the bathroom. He trudged out his bedroom door, the stairs quietly creaking as he stepped down. He reached the living room, pausing for a moment. His head suddenly was hit with a sharp pain, his stomach bubbling, and he began shaking uncontrollably.

Raj didn’t quite make it to the bathroom.

Stepping out of his car, a blonde boy grabbed a small duffle bag and head towards the house. He knocked on his boyfriend’s front door and was greeted by the boy’s mother.

“Bowie! Thank you so much for coming.”

Bowie stepped in, hanging up the light coat he had on. “Of course! You know you can call me for anything,” he replied kindly.

Raj’s mother sighed, grabbing her own coat. “I would’ve asked Wayne to come over, but the MacDonald’s are on vacation this weekend. And this is a case I need to be at.” She grabbed her purse, sifting through it to make sure she had everything. “How much do you want me to pay you?”

“What?” Bowie gawked. “He’s my boyfriend, it’s not like I’m babysitting. Really, I don’t need anything.”

The Indian woman looked up, seemingly not pleased with his answer. “He’s… a little overwhelming when he gets sick.”

Bowie shook his head. “He wouldn’t let me pay him back for dinner last week. This can be me paying him back.”

She sighed and gave a soft smile. “Okay. But you can call if you need anything, okay? Oh, and if he asks about anything, tell him he’s fine, and you can text Ranbir or I after if you’re actually worried.”

“Got it,” the boy nodded. He waved Raj’s mother out the door, then slowly stepped into the living room where a cartoon softly played on the television set. He could hear a few snotty sniffles from the couch, so he peeked his head around to view the state of the other boy. He was a little pale, and he was curled up on a blanket lying down with several tissues on the coffee table in front of him, but things could’ve been worse.

Raj slightly lifted his head up and turned to see who was there. A semi-bright smile formed on his face. “Bowie!” he gasped raspily, sending himself into a coughing fit. He moved to sit up, blanket still wrapped around him, so that Bowie could sit next to him.

Bowie smiled, placing himself next to him. “Hi, hun. How are you feeling?” he asked warmly.

Raj coughed. “Better, I think. I haven’t thrown up, um, I think since this morning.”

“That’s good, or else we’d have a problem. I can’t stand throw up,” the blonde chuckled.

They sat quietly for a moment, watching the TV. Raj whined quietly to himself, laying his head on his own shoulder.

Bowie gave him a worried glance. “You okay?”

Raj shrugged. “My head hurts when I sit up,” he mumbled.

“Then why are you sitting up? Come, lay down,” the blonde instructed, patting his legs. Raj complied, laying his head in his boyfriend’s lap and cuddling into him. Bowie began to stroke his hair, sighing contently. “That better?”

“Yeah.”

They lay comfortably watching the TV, Bowie enjoying the quiet intimacy between them. If Raj wasn’t sick, it would’ve been perfect. It was a bit hot from the extra heat that radiated from the jock, but Bowie didn’t mind. After a few minutes, Raj’s breathing slowed, and only a few snot bubbles from his nose could be heard every so often. What was Raj’s mom talking about? If this was the worst of it, Bowie was going to have a great night.

He continued to rub his boyfriend’s head, kissing it softly. Raj sniffled.

Then Raj continued to sniffle.

…

Oh, he had started crying.

Frantically, Bowie leaned forward, checking over his boyfriend worriedly. “R-Raj? What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m going to die!” the boy wailed, beginning to sob hysterically.

“What? Raj, you’re not going to die! It’s the flu!” he stammered, furrowing his brows in shock.