Christian and Syed's flat was temporarily out of bounds, due to a particularly unfortunate case of blocked drain, which had caused the toilet to overflow and infused their bedroom carpet with the contents of Walford's sewers. They had reluctantly thrown themselves on the mercy of Syed's parents while the insurance company organised the clean up, knowing that sleeping apart would be an inevitable part of the deal. The sofa was perfectly comfortable, the room was warm and Christian was content, delighted even - just to be allowed to set foot in the house would have been unthinkable only a few weeks ago. To be accepted as Syed's partner and to be invited to stay overnight was such a huge step forward, he repressed the slight resentment he felt at being relegated to the sofa like a teenager. Still, he couldn't help his thoughts drifting up the stairs and into the bedroom where his fiance lay, no doubt sleeping soundly, lips parted slightly and eyelids twitching as he dreamt. Christian let out a deep sigh. Was he ever going to get to sleep?
A gentle creak from the door interrupted his thoughts and a familiar shape appeared, silhouetted in the soft glow from the hallway.
"Syed Masood. You're not meant to be in here."
"I couldn't sleep. I missed you."
"Me too. Pathetic isn't it?"
"Totally. Do you reckon there's room for two on that sofa?"
"If we squash up really close."
"I think we can manage that."
After a bit of rearrangement and a lot of stifled giggling, they were soon snuggled together under the duvet, Syed wrapped tightly in Christian's arms, hands and feet entwined.
"Better?"
"Much."
"You do realise if your mum catches us we'll be out on our ears. We'll end up sleeping three-to-a-bed with Roxy at the Mitchells' place".
"Don't worry, I've set the alarm on my phone. I'll be back upstairs before morning prayers. They'll be none the wiser."
A pause.
"I love you, Sy."
"I love you too, Clarkey."
Outside the door, Zainab climbed gingerly up the stairs and back into bed. She watched Masood's chest gently rising and falling in the dark and remembered what it had felt like, those nights when they had argued and he had ended up on the sofa. How cold and empty the bed had seemed; how alone she'd felt lying awake in the darkness. On hearing Syed's soft footfalls down the stairs, she'd tiptoed after him, listening outside the door, ready to burst in at the first sign of untoward behaviour, but nothing she'd overheard had been untoward. On the contrary, it had been the most natural thing in the world, exactly what she had wanted to do on those nights when she lay alone in bed, knowing that in a few short steps she could be once again in the arms of the man she loved.
Her reverie was broken as Masood's open mouth omitted a sudden snort and he rolled over onto his other side. She smiled, then closed her eyes and fell sleep.
As Christian drifted slowly into consciousness, he started to become aware of the sounds of breakfast being prepared - the sizzle of oil, the clatter of plates, the whoosh of water all set against a background of Zainab's favourite Pakistani radio station. He reached for his dressing gown and plodded into the kitchen.
"Morning, mum!"
Zainab glared at him, and gave him a stony "Good morning."
"Anything I can do to help?"
"I think I can manage breakfast, thank you Christian. Just sit down, you're making the place look untidy."
"Right oh. Anywhere in particular?"
"Over there. But before you do, put the kettle on, so there's hot water ready when the others come down."
"Sure. No problem."
Syed paused in the doorway, enjoying the sight he never thought he would see. And best of all, his mother was being as rude and imperious as she always was - no polite formality or icy silence - Christian really was one of the family now, and his heart danced to see it.
"Hey! Morning beautiful." smiled Christian as he noticed Syed leaning against the doorframe.
"Morning." returned Syed, making his way over to give him a peck on the lips. "Morning, ma."
"Good morning. Sit down. Your father won't be long. We won't wait for your brother and Afia - they were at the restaurant until gone two."
As the kettle began to bubble, Christian settled into the chair opposite Syed and their bare feet found each other's calves under the table.
Syed has a mischievous glint in his eye as he asked, "So how was the sofa? Did you manage to get any sleep?"
"Not straightaway. But after a while it got better and I slept really well. You?"
"Yeah, I had trouble getting to sleep at first, but in the end I slept really well too." They grinned at each other.
Zainab, who'd been listening keenly to their conversation while she poked at the food in the frying pan, took a deep breath and turned around.
"Look, I'm glad you both slept OK, but I may as well tell you there's a bit of a problem with the sleeping arrangements."
Syed and Christian exchanged a worried glance which instantly said 'she knows'.
"I've got Denise coming round later and the living room looks like a bomb's hit it. Clothes and bedding all over the place."
"I'm really sorry, Zainab. I'll tidy it all away. It'll take me two seconds. I can stash all my things in Sy's room during the day. If that's alright with you."
"Well, I can think of a better solution. Look, you're both adults. You're engaged. You live together. Tamwar is no longer an impressionable teenager, and Kamil's too young to know what's going on. It seems ridiculous to keep turning my living room upside down every night when there's a perfectly good bedroom upstairs."
Syed and Christian started at each other, open mouthed.
"Do you mean... Christian and I... share a... in the same room."
"Of course that's what I mean. I'm not going to ask him to share with your brother and Afia now, am I? Tea?"
"Er... yeah... thanks. Tea would be great."
"It's milk and two sugars, isn't it Christian."
"Um... yeah, that's right. Thanks."
"And as soon as you've finished it, I want all that mess cleared away."
"Yeah, sure. No problem."
Leaving Syed and Christian staring at each other with stunned expressions, Zainab turned back to the stove and continued to poke at the food distractedly. Had she done the right thing? What if people found out? She hadn't even asked Masood. But he'd be alright, wouldn't he? It was only for a few days after all.
Too busy fretting to hear the chairs scrape on the tiles, she suddenly felt a hand on her arm. She turned round and her worried eyes met Syed's shining ones. He threw his arms around her and squeezed tightly, whispering "Thank you" into her ear. Unable to reciprocate due to the greasy spatula still clutched in her right hand, she relaxed into the embrace, closed her eyes and smiled. She had done the right thing.
Hearing Masood coming down the stairs, she quickly patted Syed's back with her free hand.
"I just can't have my house disrupted like this. Anyone could come round at any time. And goodness knows how long those insurers will take to sort out your flat. Now, go and give Christian a hand and let me get on or none of us will have any breakfast today."
As Masood entered the kitchen, Syed planted a heartfelt kiss on his mother's cheek, then left to help Christian, throwing a cheery "Morning!" at his father on the way.
Masood looked quizically at Zainab.
"Sit!" she barked. Then putting a plate of food in front of him. 'Eat!"