"Ugh. What time is it Sy?"
Syed groped around to find the alarm clock, knocking a candle onto the floor in the process. He grabbed it and dragged it off the shelf, shutting one sleepy eye to try and bring the hands into focus.
"Oops. Ten o'clock. I suppose we should get up."
Christian groaned and rolled across Syed, heaving himself upright.
"Ow, hefty." Syed grumbled.
Christian laughed and bent down to ruffle his hair.
"Sorry. I'll make us some breakfast."
He padded naked across to the kitchen and Syed smiled happily, admiring the width of his shoulders and the smooth curve of his buttocks as, whistling cheerfully, he reached up to rummage around in the cupboards.
"Hmm, slim pickings. We have a tin of ravioli, a packet of Dahl, your popular weapon of choice and.."
He rattled a packet.
"About half a bowl of stale Golden Grahams."
Syed wedged two pillows behind him and propped himself up.
"You'll be off to the Minute Mart then."
Christian pushed the cereal back in and let the cupboard door slam shut. He stretched his arms above his head and arched his back.
"Nah. I really can't be arsed."
Syed opened his mouth wide in pretend shock.
"What? Have the planets shifted? Are we in a parallel universe? Christian Clarke in not racing off to the Minute Mart at every opportunity shock? And there was I, convinced you were having an affair with Patrick."
Christian shrugged nonchalantly.
"What can I say? He's a handsome man. All that eye sex over The Walford Gazette, it can drive a boy wild."
Syed nodded in agreement.
"I know. And the hat! It's the hat that does it for me."
Christian disappeared into the bathroom, calling behind him.
"You keep your hands off. How would Ian feel if he knew you were having un pure thoughts about another man? I've seen you in the café, perving, wanting to caress his pinny."
Syed climbed out from under the duvet and perched on the edge of the bed, yawning loudly. He tried unsuccessfully to rid himself of the mental picture of Ian dressed only in an apron until Christian came back into the room, still undressed, his glorious nudity quickly dissipating the unwanted image.
"What shall we do today? It's the first day off we've had together in ages, shall we do something special?" he asked.
Christian lifted a slat on the Venetian blinds and peered out of the window.
"Definitely. Look, the sun's shining, it's cold though." A draught through the ill fitting wooden frame gave him goose bumps on his arms and he tried to rub them away.
Syed looked absentmindedly around the flat, wondering where he might have put his pants.
"We could go to the park, feed the ducks." he suggested.
Christian plonked himself down beside him.
"Golden Grahams and ravioli, they'll sink. How about we take a trip up the river?"
He spotted Syed's raised eyebrow.
"You on a boat. Maybe not."
Syed picked up Christian's hand and thoughtfully curled his fingers around it.
"We could go to the end of the tube line, see what's there."
"Cockfosters!" Christian declared.
"Same to you. Epping maybe, a walk in the woods."
"Hmm." Syed felt the welcome warmth spread along his skin as Christian edged nearer, his thigh pressing closer.
"Well what can we do? Please don't go jogging for hours and then make me spend the afternoon in the Vic watching you camp it up with Roxy."
Christian shook his head.
"No, no, not that, I want to be with you, just you and me. We should have an adventure. We could steal Patrick's hat!"
Syed sighed.
"And do what with it? Fill it with squirty cream? Hold it to ransom?"
Christian smirked impishly.
"Make it go on holiday. Send him postcards from it."
"It isn't a gnome, and we're not twelve. And we'd have to go with it to write the postcards. You haven't thought this through Christian."
"Damn it, my plan has holes. Let's go to Oxford Street and spend lots of money on things we don't need then." Christian's eyes gleamed at the prospect but he was soon brought back down to earth as Syed reminded him tersely;
"You did that last Saturday, remember. Which is why today we have to do something cheap."
A muscle twitched in Christian's cheek, putting his head on one side he repeated,
"Something cheap?"
Syed looked into his eyes and saw the pupils widen. He traced his finger slowly along Christian's collar bone, pausing to rest it in the hollow of his throat.
"Yep. That we can do together."
"That we'll both enjoy?"
Christian leaned closer and ran his tongue across Syed's lower lip, gently breathing into his mouth;
"Let's go back to bed."