EastEnders Say it again

_A/N : Just something I threw together... This little scenario's been playing in my head ever since "happy Monday". Dedicated to all those wonderful people at WFCTGIO. _

**SAY IT AGAIN**

Syed struggled to keep up.

"Slow down, Christian...!" he said, but Christian's grasp on his wrist only tightened.  
"We're going home" he grumbled determinedly between clenched teeth, as he continued to stride angrily across the square, pulling the other man along in his wake.  
Syed sighed, and just surrendered. The mood Christian was in right now, he knew there was no point in trying to reason with him. It wasn't until Syed nearly tripped over a loose tile, and just about managed to stay on his feet, that Christian seemed to realize what he was doing. He slowed down, and his fingers around Syed's wrist relaxed as he looked back at him, his eyes softening when he saw Syed's flustered face.

"We're going home" he said again, his voice gentler and calmer now, but the barely contained anger still evident in his clenched jaw and the tensing of his muscles.

Nothing more was said until they reached the flat. It was not one of those easy, happy silences they often shared. Syed had hardly ever seen Christian like this. Yes, of course, he'd seen him angry before. Christian was not the sort of man who hid his feelings. If he was angry at you, then you'd definitely know. He was also very consistent and very honest in his emotions. His anger was never unjustified or petty. If he was angry at you, then you could count on it that you well and truly deserved it.  
Syed knew that. He himself had been the object of Christian's anger more than once, and he had undoubtedly deserved every last bit of it.  
Christian was a really good guy, calm, laid-back, happy-go-lucky, but if you hurt him, or – especially – someone he loved, you'd surely discover a whole new side of him. His unshakable sense of justice was one of the traits Syed admired so much in him.

The silence was still there as they entered the flat. Christian finally released Syed's hand from his grasp, and Syed fought back the urge to rub his wrist.  
"Christian..." he tried, but there was no reply. Syed helplessly looked on as Christian threw his keys on the table with an angry swing, determinedly walked into the kitchen, poured himself a large vodka – neat – and downed it in one furious swig.

With a forceful slam, Christian put the empty glass down on the table, and started pacing around the flat. Syed just watched him; the tension in his shoulders, his jaw working furiously, his hands going through his hair. The pent-up frustration bubbling inside Christian was palpable, as he struggled to keep control. But he finally couldn't hold it back any longer.

"I just can't believe she did that!" There it was. "I just _can't_ believe it"

Syed felt a surge of tenderness going through him, as he walked up to the man he loved.

"Hey... come here" he said, reaching for Christian's hand and pulling him near. Christian gave in. He was still tense, but Syed's closeness and his gentle voice calmed him down a little. He sighed, wrapped his arms around Syed and rested his head on the other man's shoulder for a moment. Syed moved one hand to Christian's neck and gently started massaging away the tension there.

"Shhhhh... hey... calm down, Christian, there's no need to get yourself all worked up about this... Everything's okay" he soothed.

But Christian was having none of it. His head shot up.

"It's not okay, Sy" he said angrily, his eyes shooting sparks again. "She tried to spike your drink, for crying out loud!"  
Syed remained calm, and patiently answered. "You said it, Christian... she _tried_! It didn't work. I didn't drink it. Her little plan failed. I'm fine. Nothing happened..."

"You call that _'nothing'_?" Christian's anger was now back in full force, he pulled back from Syed's embrace and started pacing again.  
"She spiked your drink, Sy! That's hardly _'nothing'_!"

"Okay, you're right, it's not nothing. It was ill-judged, stupid and disrespectful, but it was also just a silly spur-of-the-moment joke, not worth getting so angry about, Christian. Seriously..."  
He walked back up to Christian and took his hand again.  
"In the end, nothing happened, darling. She put vodka in my drink, we caught her out, you gave her a bollocking... end of. I'm sure she's feeling very sorry by now"

Christian rolled his eyes. "Yeah... feeling very sorry for herself, I bet..."

Syed had to smile. No matter how much Christian cared about someone, no matter how much he loved them, he was never blind for their shortcomings, and never made excuses for them. And he knew Roxy very well indeed.  
"She's supposed to be my mate, Sy. Mates don't do that sort of thing to each other..." Christian's voice was still angry, but there was something else in it too. Syed knew what it was. Disappointment. Christian and Roxy went back a long way, and now she had really let him down. Christian was hurt.

"She didn't do it to you, she did it to _me_".  
He'd hardly said the words when he instantly regretted his feeble attempt at humour. He'd only wanted to lighten the mood a bit, but he immediately knew he'd gone about it the wrong way.  
"That's exactly it" Christian snarled "She did it to _you_, because she thinks she can get away with it. Sometimes you're too kind for your own good, Sy. She would never have tried this sort of 'joke' on me. What she did is completely unforgivable. Plain and simple. And I'm not about to let her forget it... I'm _not_ letting her get away with it. Not in a _long_ time..."

"Oh Christian... No matter how much I like you being all protective of me, there's really no need, sweetheart. I can stand up for myself, you know. Do you honestly think I would have let her get away with it? Said nothing... Just smile and carry on?" He affectionately brushed Christian's jaw "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do..."

Christian smiled at last. He kissed Syed's thumb as it caressed his lips.  
"I do get a bit over-protective sometimes, don't I?" he sounded remorseful.  
Syed smiled back "Hmmmm, just a bit..."  
There was a naughty glint in his eyes. "But forceful Christian is... errr... very attractive, you know..."

"Oh, really?" Christian laughed "You like that, do you? Hmm... Let's see what we can do about that"  
Without further ceremony he plunged his lips on Syed's, taking him by surprise, giving him a deep, sensuous, hair-rising kiss. When Christian felt Syed responding eagerly, he deepened the kiss, teasing his mouth with his tongue, until soft moans escaped their lips. Breathlessly, they finally pulled apart.

Christian let out a deep sigh and locked his eyes with Syed's. He smiled, but his eyes were serious.  
"Your distraction manoeuvres are very good, my love, excellent even... " He pressed another quick kiss on Syed's slightly swollen lips.  
"But I'm still angry with Rox. This is not just going to go away..."

"Oh Christian, come on... it's not worth it. Seriously..." Syed tried again to soothe him.  
"She tried an ill-considered, impromptu, non-funny trick on me, and she got caught out.. there's nothing more to it... "  
"I know all that... But I just... " Christian sighed "I just hate the way she treats you sometimes. I really do..."

Syed rolled his eyes.  
"Roxy misses you, Christian... and I can relate to that... The way she looks at it, I've taken you away from her. And no matter what you do, Christian, I don't think Roxy will ever like me. We're just too different. I'm not the out-and-proud party-goer like you are, and I may never be..." He shrugged "She probably thinks I'm cramping your style"

"Cramping my style?"  
Now it was Christian's turn to snort "It's time Roxy grows up, Sy. I love _you_. I want to be with _you_. You're the most important thing in my life now. She's gonna have to learn to live with that... And if she can't understand that, if she can't respect that... well..."  
He made a throwaway gesture.

Syed felt his heart soar. They had been in a strong committed relationship for several months now, and all this time Christian had always been very vocal about his feelings. As he always had been. Not a single day went by without Christian telling him how much he loved him... And no matter how many times Christian said it, no matter how many times Syed heard it, it never stopped Syed from beaming with joy every single time he heard those wonderful words.

But there was also a certain sadness in Christian's words today. The incomprehension of his friend hurt him more than he would ever admit.  
Syed knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the most important person in Christian's life. But he knew Roxy meant a lot to him as well.  
"Christian" he took the other man's hands in his and squeezed them affectionately. "Look at me..."  
Reluctantly Christian looked up. He couldn't hide his turmoil anymore, and Syed wished he could just wipe it away. He hated seeing Christian like this.  
"Seriously, my love... " He caressed his jaw "...all this spiking business... ? It really isn't worth losing your best mate over, is it?"

Christian sighed. "My best mate?" he mumbled. He raised his hand and wiped away a strand of hair from Syed's face.  
"_You_ are my best mate, Sy". His voice sounded husky.  
"Really?" Syed replied... he cleared his throat  
"I thought I was your _life partner_"  
There was a glint in his eyes.

Christian's breath caught at that. He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, and lowered his gaze.  
"Well..." he murmured quietly "That... errr... that sort of... slipped out... I guess"

"Oh, did it then? Syed smiled affectionately, and put a finger under Christian's chin, forcing him to look at him.  
"What the heart thinks, the mouth speaks, isn't that what they say?"

"I suppose..."  
Christian wasn't sure where this was heading. He still couldn't make himself look at Syed. He felt vulnerable, like his heart was exposed.  
He had never in his entire life thought that he would ever have someone at his side that he'd call his life partner. Committed relationships had never seemed to be for him. Yet with Syed, there was never any doubt. Calling Syed his life partner earlier tonight had been such a spontaneous, instinctive act of the heart, it had startled him. His heart had sent the words to his mouth, and his mouth had formed them and spoken them, before his mind had even realized it.  
Yes, they belonged together.  
Yes, he would gladly give up his life for Syed.  
And yes, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this wonderful man.  
_He __is__ my life partner_, Christian knew.  
But wasn't it too soon to use such strong words? _Life partner_. It said so much, it held so much meaning, it implied so many things... He had no doubts himself, but was Syed ready for this yet?

He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't hear what Syed was saying.

"Sorry... what?" he asked  
"I said: could you... perhaps... _sort of_... let it _slip out... __again_?"  
Christian hardly dared to look up, but when he did and saw the radiant smile on Syed's face, he knew.  
This was right. This was so, one hundred percent, absolutely and completely right.  
Syed was ready... oh boy, was he ready!

Christian slipped his arms around Syed's waist, and pulled him close. They locked eyes.  
Christian nearly felt himself drown in those beautiful brown eyes gazing at him, full of pure love and barely hidden expectation.  
He took a deep breath.

"You... Syed Masood..." he started.  
A lump had formed in his throat, as emotions threatened to overcome him. He swallowed, tried again...

"You.. Syed Masood... are my best mate..."  
he could feel a bit of tension ease out of Syed as he giggled a little...

"You are my _bestest_ friend..."  
He planted a quick kiss on Syed's nose.

"My boyfriend..."  
His eyes now gazed into Syed's, never moving away from them now.

"You are my …. gorgeous... stunning... sexy lover"

Christian swallowed again.  
His voice was barely a whisper, as he pulled Syed a bit closer still.

"You are...  
_my life partner_"

There, he said it...  
The emotions brimming in Syed's eyes grabbed Christian by the throat. He gently wrapped his hands around Syed's face.

"_My Sy_" he whispered.

Syed was speechless. He was scared that if he'd open his mouth, he'd start crying, and that was the last thing he wanted. They'd be tears of joy of course, but he didn't want to cry again. There had been too many tears in the past. All he wanted was to tell Christian how much this meant to him, but the words just failed him.  
So instead of speaking, he pulled Christian's head towards him, and their mouths met half way. They kissed tenderly, deeply, and Syed tried to convey in that kiss every emotion he could not put into words.  
When their lips finally parted, Syed had found his voice back.

"My Christian" he whispered, as he affectionately ran his hand along that dear face, locking his eyes with Christian's.  
"My life partner."  
He swallowed.  
"I love you so much"

Christian smiled "And I love you"

They embraced again, and stayed like that for a long time. Just being in each other's arms was enough. More words were unnecessary.

0+0+0+0

It was Syed who finally spoke.  
"I had a really good time at the club tonight, by the way... before it all kicked off..."  
"Did you then...? Well... I'm gonna make a party animal of you yet" Christian chuckled.  
Syed affectionately nudged him "Hm... I dare you to try it... If you want me to go dance on tables... with Kim... you're in for a long wait, my dear!"  
"But it would certainly be worth it... Just the sight of that..."  
They laughed.

"So... Christian..."  
Syed looked up at him with a naughty sparkle in his eyes  
"Here's another dare for you... What about... putting a … fitting... end to a lovely evening...?"  
"Ooooh, I can do that" Christian breathed with a sexy smile. "Any special requests?"  
"Surprise me" Syed mumbled, and he gasped, as Christian's hands possessively grabbed him by his buttocks and pulled him close.

0+0+0+0

Much later, in the depth of night, they were lying close, both wide awake. The only sound in the room was their heartbeats, slowly returning to normal.  
"That was..." Christian whispered at last "That was..."  
"Amazing..." Syed said.  
They laughed, carefree and happy. Their hands reached out for the other, and their fingers entwined. They just lay there and held on to each other.

"So... are you going to make up with Roxy?" Syed asked after a while.  
"I can't believe you sometimes..." Christian said in mock anger "We just had the most mind-blowing sex ever, and you start talking about Roxy...?"

"It's because I care, Christian" Syed whispered.  
He moved closer and put his head on Christian's chest. "I know you hate fighting, sweetheart. You hate being at odds with someone. You're not one to bear grudges. In fact, you hate that too. If you stay angry with her, it's just going to eat away at you, and I don't want that. I want you to be happy. So, make up with her. She's your friend, she's important to you... "

Christian smiled, and leaned in to kiss the top of Syed's head  
"Sy... really... you are just so... amazing..."  
He sighed "Okay... You're right. I hate fighting. I will make up with her. But I'll tell her she has to apologize to you... The way she treats you is appalling, and I'm not having any of it. I know you and her are never going to be best friends, but I want her to treat you with respect. And I'll tell her that and all!"

Syed giggled.  
"Going all protective on me again, are you?"

"Well... I _am_ your life partner, right? It's my job."  
Christian was running his hands over Syed's back.  
"Besides... you said you like forceful Christian..."

"Oh, I do..." Syed murmured huskily "Why don't you show me just how forceful you can be... Mr Life Partner..."

But those last words just disappeared into nothingness, when Christian caught Syed's lips in another breathtaking kiss.  
It held a promise.


End file.

EastEnders, Friendship, Romance