A/N: This little fluffy one-shot is the product of a sudden flash of inspiration that hit me as I lay in bed last night (convenient, thanks brain -_-). It pretty much wrote itself in my head, and I ended up getting out of bed at 1am to write it down. It's unbeta'd and probably not great, so excuse any mistakes. The title is LAME, but I suck at those kind of things, and it will probably end up being changed somewhere along the line!
This follows on from the Thursday 8th March 2012 episode, where Christian is accepted into the Masood family, and Amira finally leaves. I decided to skip writing about the Khatam, as I know very little about these kinds of events, and I didn't want to do it injustice or cause any offence. So this is set after the Khatam, late in the evening, when Chryed and Yasmin arrive back at Chryed's flat for the night.
Syed attempted to open the door of the flat with one hand, fumbling awkwardly with his keys before dropping them completely. They clattered to the ground, and he cringed as the harsh sound ricocheted down the narrow hallway. In his haste to bend down and pick them up, he thunked the empty car seat he was carrying in his other hand against the front door with surprising force. He cringed again, and Christian sighed in mock-exasperation. He put the bag he was carrying down on the ground.
"Are you trying to make as much noise as possible? Give them to me, Sy", he whispered, holding out his hand and rolling his eyes with a grin. Syed sulkily handed the keys over, and in one deft movement, the door was open.
"It's a good job I arrived back when I did, you clearly can't get by without me", he teased.
"Shhhhh", Syed huffed, nodding towards Yasmin's sleeping form, nestled in Christian's chest.
"Oh don't you worry, this little one is out for the count", Christian mumbled. He entered the front room and found his way over to the sofa, using the dim streetlight peeping through the crack in the curtains. Syed blundered his way over to the lamp in the corner of the living room, tripping over the corner of the table as he did so, Christian giggling at him as he cursed under his breath. Eventually, the room lit up with a warm amber glow.
Syed turned round and paused for a moment to take in the sight before him: Christian sat on the sofa; head back, eyes half-closed, one arm protectively curled around Yasmin. She was sound asleep, buried in his chest, still wearing her pink coat.
His two favourite people in the entire world - together.
"She must be exhausted", Syed commented as he removed his jacket and moved over to the sofa. He sat down carefully, and leaned over to stroke her warm cheek. "She's been flat out for ages now. I still can't believe she slept all the way through the Khatam. Is that normal? Do you think we should wake her? She must be thirsty by now, or hungry."
"Nah, she'll be fine. She's just had a busy day, haven't you twinkle?" Christian muttered, gazing down at her adoringly. "Trust me; she'll wake up when she needs to", he reassured him.
"I guess it's been a pretty long day for her", Syed murmured, as he rested his head on Christian's shoulder. He reached for his partner's free right hand and entwined their fingers together.
"It's been a long day for all of us", Christian replied, with a sideways glance at Syed.
"You're not kidding. I still can't quite believe it actually happened." Syed shook his head in disbelief as he continued - "It feels like a dream. I mean - you appearing in the doorway this morning was amazing enough. But then, mum's bombshell… walking in on you and her holding hands" – Christian chuckled – "all of us, sat round the table, my dad proposing a toast to you, then together as a family at the Khatam... and now us three, on this sofa together. And no Amira." He looked up at Christian and they locked eyes. "It honestly doesn't feel real."
Christian lifted their still-entwined hands to gently stroke Syed's cheek with the back of his hand. "It's real. Mind you, I can't quite believe it myself, but it definitely happened." He paused for a moment to look down at Yasmin, still contentedly dozing on his chest, before looking back to Syed. "So, what really happened with Amira earlier? I've been dying to ask you since the meal."
Syed wasn't at all surprised by the question. He knew Christian had guessed there was more to the story, from the look he'd been given over the table. It was an 'I know something's wrong, I'll be asking you later' look. The confirmation that Christian could still read him like a book (and vice versa) gave Syed a small thrill. After everything they'd come through in the past few months, it was reassuring to know that some things had returned to the way they used to be.
"She's left. For now, anyway."
"Left? Where? How long? What about Yasmin?"
"A couple of days, she said to me. Not sure where she's gone. I tried phoning her a couple of times earlier, to check she's okay, but she's switched her phone off. She's asked me to take care of Yasmin for now."
Christian exhaled. "Wow. So, it was nothing to do with Qadim then?"
"Nope. She asked me not to tell anyone the real reason; she didn't want to cause an upset. She asked me to make up an excuse."
"So… what was the real reason, then?"
"She said..." Syed paused for a moment. "She said she'd finally realised I would never love her the way she wanted me to. She acknowledged that I loved you."
Christian scoffed. "Well, that took her long enough."
"Christian…"
"Whaaat?" he responded petulantly. "I'm just saying." He fell silent for a moment, and squeezed Syed's hand gently."How are you feeling about it all?"
"I'm not sure I even know myself." Syed confessed, shaking his head. "I'm pleased Amira finally understands the situation, don't get me wrong, but I didn't want her to leave like this. After all, she'll always be Yasmin's mother. I don't even know what's happening as far as custody goes."
"Is Amira okay with me being a part of Yasmin's life?"
"Well, she didn't say, exactly. But, she asked me to take care of Yasmin, and I'm pretty certain she knows now that we come as a package deal. So I'm choosing to take that as her blessing."
Christian smiled. "Well, that'll do for me."
They sat together for a few moments in comfortable silence. Syed could feel sleep threatening to overcome him as he lay on Christian's shoulder, and he closed his eyes willingly.
Christian looked up at the clock and shifted slightly. "It's getting pretty late, you know. Shall we put this little one to bed, before we all end up asleep on the sofa?" he murmured, stroking Yasmin's hair softly. Syed made an 'mmm' noise in agreement, unable to muster up the energy to open his mouth. Christian smiled. "And I think someone else needs their bed too, by the sound of things."
He stood up cautiously, trying to avoid disrupting Yasmin, who was still out cold, and he used his free arm to reach down and pull a slightly unwilling Syed up from the sofa. They both made their way over to the spare room, where Yasmin's cot was ready and made up.
Syed could only watch in silence from the doorway as Christian carefully removed her little pink coat and shoes, before gently kissing her forehead and tucking her into bed, Yasmin sleeping all the while. He was witnessing a scene he thought he'd never see six months ago, and it had brought on a sudden wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him.
Christian stood over the cot, and brushed a stray curl out of her eyes.
"Night night, baby girl", he whispered.
Syed tried to swallow down the lump in his throat, and quickly moved his hand to his eyes, trying to brush away the tears that had formed before Christian spotted them. He sniffed involuntarily, and Christian turned round. He winked, and Syed shot him a wobbly smile back.
Christian reached out his hand, trying to draw Syed into the room, a mischievous glint dancing in his eye.
"Care to join me in a bedside song? Rousing rendition of Edelweiss, perhaps?"
Syed laughed in spite of himself. Yasmin stirred at the noise, but continued to sleep.
"Do you want to give the poor girl nightmares?" he managed to say. He tried to sound casual, but his words were thick with emotion.
"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a great lullaby singer, just ask Amy", Christian replied with a grin, before giving Syed a look so caring and tender that he could feel the tears brimming in his eyes again. He looked down and brushed them away.
"Sorry", Syed said, clearing his throat quietly. "I'm just tired and emotional, I guess."
"Hey, that's okay, don't apologise. You're allowed to be, you know", Christian whispered, making his way over to Syed and pulling him into a full-body hug.
They stood there for a while, the silence filled with Yasmin's gentle breaths and the sound of their own heartbeats.
"It's been quite a day, hasn't it?" he murmured somewhere in the region of Syed's ear, still clinging on to him.
"You can say that again", he replied, mumbling into Christian's shoulder. "I'm still expecting to wake up, cold and alone, and realise it was all a dream."
"You won't. I'm here now."
Christian leaned back slightly, and enveloped Syed's lips in a lingering kiss that made him forget his senses for a minute.
"And that was just in case you needed reminding."
Syed's tears were immediately replaced with burning lust. He pulled Christian back into the kiss, putting his hands on the back of Christian's head in a futile attempt to pull him in closer, before sliding them down towards his waist, pulling up his top to get to the skin underneath.
Christian pulled back again.
"Sy - not that I don't want to do this, but shall we step out of your daughter's room first?" Christian teased, grinning in amusement. Syed felt his cheeks burning.
"Sorry. Forgot myself there."
"You need to stop apologising."
Christian moved his mouth back onto Syed's and put an arm around his waist as he manoeuvred them both out of the room, closing the door behind them. They stumbled into their bedroom and fell onto the bed.
"God, I've missed you so, so much", Christian mumbled between kisses. He began to undo Syed's shirt buttons for the second time that day, as Syed fumbled clumsily with Christian's belt.
Suddenly, a plaintive wail rang out. They both froze.
"Uh-oh. Sounds like someone's awake. You better go see she's okay… daddy", Christian muttered against Syed's lips, a grin in his voice. Syed groaned with frustration. "Go, check on your daughter, and then come back to me."
Yasmin let out a louder cry, and Syed got up from the bed. He paused in the doorway and turned to look back at Christian. He was lying on the bed, head propped up with his hand, and the most devilish look that Syed had ever seen.
"You'd better still be there when I get back. I've had enough of sleeping in an empty bed lately to last me a lifetime."
"Sleeping? Oh, there won't be much of that tonight." Christian winked, before his face turned serious.
"I'm not going anywhere, Sy. Trust me."