Chapter Text
The deal was that if Raj finished his English paper this week, then his mom would trust him to take the bus, but he had to call his mom as soon as he got off. So, with his backpack in towe, the brunette got off the bus and called his mom.
Who had to track his location to help him figure out how to walk to Bowie’s school. It was only down the road, but Raj was kind of pants with directions.
On the way, Raj stopped at a small supermarket to grab a bouquet of flowers, a small array of yellows and purples. After paying, he found Bowie’s school across the street.
Raj already had a ticket from Bowie, but he was still a bit nervous entering a school full of people he didn’t know by himself, let alone sitting alone in a crowd to watch a school play. The doors to the school were left open, and there was a long table with a few students with money boxes collecting payments. Luckily enough, Raj recognized one of them as one of Bowie’s friends.
“Raj!” Bri called out to him, waving. “Oh my god! Bowie wouldn’t shut up about how excited he was that you were coming.”
“Hi Bri.” Raj gave a small smile and waved. “Aren’t you, um, in the show?”
“Nah.” She shook her head. “I just help choreograph and put together the sets between scenes.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
She gave him a bright grin. “Ticket, please! Bowie already bought you a ticket, right?”
“Mmhmm!” Raj took the scrap of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
She ripped off the end of it and handed it back. “And there you go! Auditorium entrance is to your right and then the second door on the left. Enjoy the show!”
Raj smiled, nervously walking toward the directed door. He walked in, and there was quite a bit of noise from the chatter of teachers, students, and families around the room. The jock quickly ducked toward the right side of the room and in a chair on the end. As he picked up his phone to update his mom and Wayne, the lights began to dim.
From behind the curtains appeared two of the actors— Raj thinks Bowie told him they were the ones playing Tracy and Link— to introduce the show. Raj recognized one of them, Bowie’s friend Miles, as he asked the audience to turn off their cellphones and normal theatre jabber. After a few quips from the girl that got some light chuckles from the crowd, they ducked back behind the curtains, and the drapes slowly opened to a bright and colorful scene and some cheery music.
Raj watched attentively as a girl sang “Good Morning Baltimore”, and the atmosphere was fun and exciting as they sang and danced to their heart’s content. The boy moved his hands to the beat of “The Nicest Kids in Town”, quietly dancing in his seat. Raj would even hum to himself the tunes, but it felt like there was something missing in the show. He wants to like Bowie’s show! What’s missing?
“The man can dine me on a diet of detention so long as he don’t starve me of my tunes.”
Oh, that was it.
He gasped excitedly at the sound. The jock’s eyes locked onto this one particular male in the detention room scene, and he didn’t think he could take them off. The boy wore a tighter green shirt and vest with a pair of loose jeans that fit his frame perfectly, and his provocatively inviting smile would make Raj’s knees buckle if they could. Though everyone on the stage was dancing, this boy’s moves felt much more tantalizing and alluring. The way his hips moved, the sultry way he spoke; Raj’s heart skipped at the sight. He bit his lip as he watched, trying to stop his ever growing smile.
Sure, Raj knew Bowie looked good when he was in his element. He knew the boy could sing and dance, and it’s not like he knows anyone else in the show. But something about the blonde in the performance had Raj hooked, the way his suave confidence shown brightly on the stage.
And his singing voice didn’t make things any easier.
“Heeeeyyyyy!”
Raj had given up hiding his smile, as he face brightened at the hypnotic, golden voice that echoed throughout the room. It comforted Raj in a way, but an interesting feeling bubbled in his gut. He held his hands by his face, squeezing his fingers with excitement and anticipation. Further, the actor sparkled under the stage lights, and the brunette could see the way his arms and legs were nicely showcased- neatly and fastidiously, but letting Raj notice the finer details that only his eyes would gravitate to.
“Blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.”
Man, Raj could attest to that.
At the end of the show, many of the performers met with their families or friends in the hallways outside the auditorium. Raj peeked from the door, scanning the crowd for his boyfriend. He saw several people dressed up and taking pictures, smiling happily and proudly. Then, finally, his eyes landed on a tall blonde boy that wore a fancy, dignified tan suit that he had worn in his final dance number.
“BOWIE!”
Raj immediately ran to his boyfriend and tackled him into a hug, Bowie grunting from the impact. Bowie beamed at him, and quickly squeezed him back. “Raj!” he giggled. “How was the show?”
“IT WAS SO AMAZING!” the brunette whooped as his eyes sparkled up at his boyfriend. “There was so much singing and dancing and you were singing and dancing and-”
“Isn’t that the point of a musical?” Bowie’s friend Molly stood beside him, smirking.
Bowie rolled his eyes lovingly. “Hey, don’t burst his bubble. He’s excited.”
“And who wouldn’t be?” Molly crowed proudly. “That was for sure better than last night.”
“Literally. I’m so glad we neatened up the You Can’t Stop the Beat choreography,” Bowie sighed in response.
Another person spoke that Raj didn’t recognize. “Man, Hailey was so nervous shimmying with you yesterday. Didn’t she step on your foot? And I think Jules…”
However, the jock didn’t pay much mind to the conversation at hand. Instead, he stared tenderly at his boyfriend’s face, admiring every detail. The light makeup on his face, the clean look of his formal outfit, the confident look in his eyes, the corners of his mouth turning up as he laughed. Each tiny piece of Bowie enthralled the boy, alluring him into an almost hypnotic state.
After a few moments, the blonde’s eyes gravitated toward the brunette’s in his arms, and he smiled happily at the sight of his boyfriend standing there staring at him. He took a hand to brush some hair out of the boy’s face, matching the affectionate gaze that was spread across his face.
Raj then widened his eyes, suddenly remembering and shoving the flowers in his boyfriend’s face. “Th-these are for you.”
Bowie gasped, a bright smile forming on his face. “For me? Oh my god. Raj, you didn’t have to. You’re so sweet.” He kissed the boy’s cheek.
As they looked at each other adoringly, a clearing of a throat and someone else’s voice could be heard. “You coming to the cast party tonight, Bowie?”
Bowie lifted his head to look away from his boyfriend for a second, though Raj continued to stare. “Nah, I’m beat. And I don’t know if I could handle a second one after last night’s.” As he looked at his friends, he ran his fingers through the brunette’s shaggy locks. “Plus, I don’t think Raj would enjoy it all that much.”
Molly and the other guy gave each other a knowing look, and then looked back to Bowie. She smirked. “Sure.” She waved to the two of them as they walked off. “Bye, lovebirds. Have fun.”
Bowie turned back to Raj, smiling gently at him. “Ready to go?”
Raj gulped. “Yeah.”
The two were abnormally quiet in the car, Bowie’s hand on Raj’s leg as he drove. Though he stared out the window, the brunette had a silly little smile on his face as he bit at his thumb and hummed the last song of the show. Bowie occasionally glanced in his direction, smiling gently at his adorable boyfriend.
After a moment, Bowie sighed happily. “Though I can’t say I’m glad for the reason why, I’m really glad you were able to come to my show,” he muttered, squeezing the boy’s thigh as he spoke, sending shivers up his spine.
Raj, still trying to hide his goofy grin with his hand, looked over at him. “Yeah?”
Bowie nodded. “Yeah.”
The jock turned back to the window. “You could’ve gone to your after the play party. I didn’t mean to make you miss it.”
“I would’ve gone if I had wanted to. But I’m exhausted, honestly.” He shook his head, glancing at Raj. “Plus, I want to see you.”
Bowie could see the boy’s shoulders hunch and his ears redden. “O-oh.”
Bowie squeezed his thigh again. He could feel the brunette shiver and bite his thumb with nervous excitement.
The blonde pulled into a convenience store parking spot, and looked at Raj. “I’m gonna grab us a frozen meal and some dessert probably. Anything you want in particular?”
“Uuuuhhhh…” The boy’s mind was elsewhere. “Straw… strawberry.”
Bowie snorted. “Right. Okay.” He closed the car door and headed inside.
Bowie held a few bags with frozen fried rice and orange chicken and a variety of sweet snacks— plus strawberry ice cream. He walked back out into the parking lot toward his car, slowing down when he heard a weird noise. It sounded like a song, but he wasn’t sure what it was.
As he got closer to his car, he realized it was a song, and in fact it was playing from his car. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he walked closer. That was when Raj rolled the window down.
The brunette wore a pair of Bowie’s sunglasses and looked in his direction. Bowie raised his eyebrows at him. The words of the song began to play, and it was then Bowie recognized it as Raj began to mouth the words.
“ We’re no strangers to love…”
Raj pointed at Bowie. “You know the rules,” Raj then pointed at himself. “And so do I…”
“Oh my god, Raj.”
“ A full commitment’s what I’m thinking of… ”
Bowie shoved the bags into Raj’s face. “You’re so gross.”
Raj giggled at him. He watched as Bowie climbed into the driver’s seat, picking up his phone.
The jock began to sing softly. “ Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down… ”
“You wanna play that game, huh?” Bowie continued to scroll on his phone. He tapped something, and the song abruptly changed.
Raj tilted his head curiously, listening to the music. As the other started to drive, he began to sing.
“ We hug and yes, we make love and always just say ‘goodnight’… lalalala… and we cuddle sure, I do love it, but I need your lips on mine. ” His eyes glanced in the brunette’s direction. The boy had scrunched down into his seat, holding the neck of his shirt over his mouth and nose as his face turned bright red.
Bowie smiled to himself as he looked away, trying not to laugh. “ Can you kiss me more? We’re so young- ”
“S-s-stop singing.”
“Huh?” Bowie playfully pouted. “You don’t like my singing?”
Raj hid himself further in his shirt, slumping in the seat. “I-I really like your singing.”
Bowie smirked as he drove. “But you don’t want to hear me sing? You got to sing.”
A moment of silence passed.
“Hm?”
The boy mumbled something.
Bowie raised an eyebrow, peeking at him. “What? I can’t hear you.”
“It’s makin’ me feel funny.”
“Making you feel funny?”
Raj whined as he shoved his entire head into his shirt. “Yeah.”
“In a good way or bad way?”
He didn’t get a response. The jock simply squeaked, trying to curl into a ball and hide.
“Raj.” Bowie’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re worrying me. Is everything okay?”
“Y-yeah?” the boy croaked out.
“I… I don’t want anything like a few weeks ago to happen again, Raj. You mean so much to me. I need you to know that.”
The brunette whimpered into his shirt. “I know…”
“I know you’ve been doing better, but… it’s okay if you’re not feeling great, okay? We can take it easy tonight; we can do whatever you want. Whatever it takes to let you know I’m never getting tired of you. I don’t care if I’ve been losing sleep or been busy or you just simply don’t feel like yourself. I’ll be there. Because I love you,” the blonde’s voice slightly quavered as he spoke, and he reached over to squeeze his boyfriend’s knee. Raj turned away from the touch.
“Bowie,” he whispered.
“We can just cuddle, if you want to? We can watch a movie, like A Bug’s Life, or Most Valuable Primate, or we can watch hockey clips-”
“ Bowie .”
Bowie parked the car at the apartment, turning to Raj. “Yeah?”
Raj gulped and took a shaky breath. “I really liked your show.”
Bowie gave him a concerned look. “I… know?”
“A-and I really liked your singing and dancing.”
“…okay…”
“You looked really, um, good.”
Bowie was silent for a moment, until suddenly his eyes widened. He then burst out into laughter, and Raj peeked from his shirt to give him a confused look. It took him a minute or so to stop laughing, but Bowie finally spoke after his hearty chuckle. “Oh my gosh. You had me worried!” He leaned to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead. “You coy little man.”
Raj gave a nervous giggle in response, Bowie then getting out of the car. The passenger door promptly opened, and the blonde reached out a hand to the other. Raj weakly smiled at him, taking his hand and walking into the apartment with him.
They walked in, and Bowie slowly closed the front door as Raj slipped off his shoes. Bowie took off his coat, and then wiggled to slide out of his suit jacket. However, a gentle hand suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
The blonde turned to see his boyfriend looking up at him with a pleading look. He stopped moving, anticipating something. Their faces were closer than he realized, and it was then he really became aware of whatever tension had been between them all evening. He subtly licked his lips, his eyes not moving from Raj’s.
“I-I want to take it off,” the boy whispered.
Bowie’s voice was barely audible. “Okay.”
The boy’s calloused hands gradually made his way up to the blonde’s shoulders, sliding to reach under the suit jacket. Slowly, Raj began to pull the sleeves down off the boy’s shoulders, sensually running his fingers along the blonde’s arms. His wavering eyes followed down to the boy’s chest, feeling timorous by their close proximity. His body continued to heat up as the jacket steadily moved to the other’s elbows, and then to his wrists, until the jacket fell to the floor. Raj stared at the jacket that now laid behind his boyfriend.
Bowie smiled at his bashful boyfriend. “Did you want to watch something?” he asked softly.
Raj began to nod, but then paused for a moment, slowly shaking his head.
Bowie raised an eyebrow. “Did you want to do something else?” He watched as Raj squirmed under his gaze. He then raised both eyebrows. “Oh! I almost forgot. Are you hungry? I can put our stuff in the micro real quick.” He began to walk away until a firm hand grabbed onto his.
Raj mumbled something incoherent.
“What was that, baby? I can’t hear you.”
“I’m hungry,” he grumbled.
“Well, that’s what I was going to do. Make us food.”
He looked at Raj curiously as the boy shook his head. It looked like the jock’s face was reddening by the second, if that was even possible.
“Did you have dinner before the show?”
Raj shook his head.
“Well we should eat now then, right?”
Raj gave a quiet whine, then nodded. Not letting go of Bowie’s hand, he walked toward the kitchen with him.
Bowie grabbed a pan and began cooking the rice while the chicken was in the oven. Raj leaned on the counter watching him and twiddling his thumbs.
“You know, I can’t say I’ve ever had a guy buy me flowers for a performance,” the blonde said softly. “And with such nice colors too? I don’t know what I did to win the boyfriend lottery, but, man, am I glad I did.”
He eyed in the other’s direction, who gave a half-hearted chuckle in response. He anxiously turned back to the food. “Not that I’m happy with the circumstances, I mean. Like, obviously I want you to come to my shows, but not because you took a mandatory break from school and had to miss hockey,” he added, forcing a chuckle out.
“I know,” the boy whispered.
Bowie then turned his body to face Raj, looking at him worriedly. “Raj, are you okay?”
Raj whipped his head out. “Yeah.” He gulped as he met the other boy’s eyes, shifting his gaze and rubbing the back of his head. “Um, yeah. I’m good.”
Bowie sighed, turning back to the food.
The jock cracked his knuckles anxiously. “I-I was really happy I could come to your show. I’ve been working hard all week so my mom would let me come.”
Bowie gave a small smile. “Well, I’m glad she let you.”
“Yeah,” Raj beamed, holding his hands together. “And the show was so cool. Tracy’s dad was really funny. A-and I knew a lot of the songs. But my faaaavorite part was when you were there. You came on and you were dancing— you looked so cool! You were moving like-” The boy tried to imitate the dance his boyfriend had done in the show, though he was failing miserably.
Bowie watched him, giggling at his awful attempt. Then, his eyes flickered down, and saw how Raj was aggressively trying to move his hips. He smirked, pointing at the jock. “And that’s what my hips looked like?”
“Huh?” Raj paused, looking down. “O-oh.” His face suddenly reddened. His eyes glanced towards Bowie’s hips, then immediately darting up to meet his eyes. “Y-yeah. I liked how you did it.”
Bowie, intrigued by the boy’s reaction, slowly stepped forward, copying the dance he had done in the show. As he did so, he could hear Raj’s quiet squeal, biting his thumb and backing up until he hit a corner, eyes watching with an ansty anticipation. Bowie continued to walk until he stood in front of Raj, towering over him.
“Was it like that?” Bowie whispered raspily.
“Y-y-yeah.” Raj’s face was beet red.
“Makin’ you feel weird?”
Raj nodded aggressively.
“Is that what you meant earlier?”
Raj nodded even more aggressively.
“Why didn’t you just say that?” Bowie smirked.
Raj darted his eyes elsewhere. “I dunno.”
Bowie huffed out a laugh. “You’re such a dork. I thought you were mad just now.”
Raj squirmed under his gaze nervously. “I-I’m not.” Hesitantly, the boy took his thumb and traced it down the blonde’s side, stopping once he hit the hip bone.
“The food’s gonna get cold.”
“I-I know.”
Bowie slowly turned to walk away, taking the pan off the burner and pulling the chicken out of the oven. He took two plates from the cupboard, serving food to each. He then picked up the plates, turning to hand one to Raj. “Let’s go sit. We can watch something while we eat.”
“S-sure.”
They sat on the couch, and Bowie turned his laptop on to a live hockey game from the states. They both quietly munched on their food, and Raj scooted closer to press their legs together. The jock quickly scarfed his food down, putting the plate on the coffee table. He stared at the screen patiently, consistently making glances toward the blonde’s plate.
Chuckling, the blonde picked up on the gesture, and tried to be faster finishing his food. He gently set his plate down, and turned his head to look at the other. “Did you want to-”
Without warning, the brunette swiftly crashed his lips into his boyfriend’s, one hand on the boy’s hip, and the other holding himself upright. Though he was caught off guard, Bowie quickly was able to match his energy, pulling on Raj’s waist to bring him closer. As his hand moved up to his lover’s cheek, Raj’s tongue lightly licked at the boy’s bottom lip, and Bowie parted his lips to let him in.
As heavy breaths were exchanged in their mouths, Raj climbed over to properly sit in his boyfriend’s lap, their hips practically interlocked. His mind was completely clouded with desire as he moved his other hand to grasp at Bowie’s neck, wanting nothing more than to make them as close as possible. The blonde’s titillating fingertips slid under the hem of his pants, and they parted as Raj gasped audibly.
Bowie watched as Raj’s hands moved toward his white button-up shirt. He took a deep breath as Raj began to unbutton the first few buttons. “Raj, you know that I-” Raj continued to further open up his shirt, beginning to reveal the blonde’s chest. “ Raj .”
Raj’s eyes shot up to Bowie’s, and he quickly realized what he was doing. Embarassed by his amorous nature, his face deeply reddened as he quickly took his hands off and averted his gaze.
“Look at me.”
The tomato-faced boy shyly looked up at him.
“I love you.”
Raj gently smiled. “I love you too.”
Bowie kissed his forehead. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I know.”
Bowie kissed his ear. “I love you.”
“You just said that.”
Bowie kissed his nose. “I love you.”
“I knowwwww,” Raj giggled, trying to cover his face. “Why do you keep saying that?”
Bowie smiled tenderly at him. “Want to make sure you know.”
“How many times are you going to keep saying iiiiit?”
“Until I think you believe me.” Bowie kissed between the boy’s eyebrows.
“I just want you to kiss meeeee,” he bleated, throwing his head back dramatically.
“Needy, are we?” Bowie smirked at him.
Raj groaned. “Let’s just kiss alreadyyy.”
“Hey.” Bowie put a hand on his chin.
Raj gave him a slightly annoyed look. “What.”
“Let me just admire my boyfriend for a moment.” He gazed at him softly.
The jock rolled his eyes. “You can admire me when I am kissing you. Because that is what I want to be doing. Kissing you.”
The performer let out a snort, smiling tenderly at the boy. “I’m really glad I have a boyfriend that brings me flowers at my performances, texts me cute messages all the time, blabs about his favorite hockey teams, and is obsessed with making out with me.”
Raj looked even more annoyed. He blinked at Bowie.
Bowie, however, continued. “I’m really glad you’re here, Raj. I can’t imagine my life without you. Nor do I want to. You mean the world to me, okay?”
Raj’s face slowly softened, and he lifted his hand to touch Bowie’s hand that was on his face.
“And I don’t care if I’m busy, or you’re busy, or we’re both busy, or you’re not feeling great, or I’m not feeling great. That’s not going to change the fact I love you. Even if I forget to say it, I want you to know that.”
The brunette’s eyes began to water, and he lifted a hand to wipe at his face. “Why are you tryna make me cry? I’ve been waiting to kiss you all day ,” he sniveled pathetically.
Bowie smiled adoringly, leaning in to press a loving kiss to the boy’s forehead, his lips lingering on his skin. “I love you so, so, so much, Rajesh.” He leaned back to look at the boy better. “I’m so glad I met you, and I know many people feel the same way.” The blonde smiled warmly.
It was then Raj’s tears really began to fall, aggressively wiping his cheeks to no avail. He let out a sob, then whispering a “Sorry” before taking a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to scare everybody.”
“I know,” Bowie whispered, kissing his forehead again. “But I need to say it. I don’t want you to get into your head about whether I love you or not or you’re a failure, which you aren’t.”
Raj, giving up on wiping his tears, leaned in to press an emotional kiss to his boyfriend’s lips, who gently held his head in his hands. Raj pulled away and looked at Bowie, and the two giggled softly at each other. Bowie brushed a few strands of hair out of Raj’s face, his smile filled with all the love in the world. They stared at each other for a few moments, and Raj’s cheeks began to pinken.
“You’re so beautiful,” the jock whispered. “You looked so… um, amazing on the stage. A-and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wasn’t upset, I just, uh…. really liked your show.”
Bowie snorted, his smile growing. “Is that so?”
Raj nodded.
Bowie’s face hardened for a moment as he gazed upon his boyfriend. “Hey, you’ll tell me if you ever feel like that again, right?” he muttered.
Raj nodded, his voice soft. “Yeah.”
Bowie moved a hand to hold onto the boy’s waist. “How are you feeling now?”
Raj bit his cheek, eyes looking down at Bowie’s chest for a moment. “I think I’m gonna go crazy,” he whispered.
Bowie snorted. “Huh?”
“I’m gonna, uh… explode if I don’t kiss you.”
Bowie chuckled at him. “You’re so cheeky.”
They both leaned in and pressed their lips together once more, Bowie moving his tender fingers of one hand to brush through the shaggy brown hair, and the other tantalizingly making its way toward his lover’s lower back, seductively pushing into the waistband of his pants. The shorter whimpered from his touch, letting his fervent desperation take over as his body heated up and his brain was only a euphoric buzz of thoughts of Bowie. The brunette’s impatient hands frantically tugged at the buttons of the white shirt, and he let his teeth nibble at his lover’s lips as he threw the shirt to the floor.
The following week Raj went back to school and everything felt somewhat normal, even Wayne’s insistent pleas for Raj to come home with him after his half day. The jock had been given a 504 plan— separate from the one he already had for his ADHD— that discussed how he would be gradually given work with later deadlines so as to not overwhelm him, as well as frequent guidance counselor appointments throughout the next few weeks. Though no one had told his team why he had been out of school, which he was glad for, they still seemed apprehensive after the way he had acted at the last game he played. He, however, went to practice with a brave face, and did the best he could. They felt Raj was Raj again, and let it be.
Though the coach would only let him participate in certain drills, Wayne’s first practice back made the boys feel better than ever. The two both sat in the locker room before practice, excitedly cheering that Wayne was back. Raj checked his phone to see a message from Bowie.
Bowie ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️: Are they going to let him play in Saturday’s game? I’d rather not come and see Wayne get killed on the ice.
Raj smiled brightly to himself as he typed back.
Raj: nah don’t worry
Raj: you can still watch me tho 🩵🩵🩵🦉
Bowie ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️: why else would i come ?? I’m not there to see my boyfriend’s best friend
Raj giggled to himself before he heard a voice in front of him.
“Ready, Rajie?”
The hockey captain held out a hand for Raj. Raj grabbed onto it as he stood up. “You know it, Wayner.”
As they walked out of the locker room, neither let go of each other’s hands. They headed toward the ice, ready to face the hectic world together.