This is my little pet project that I started because I was watching an old Christian scene a while ago and thought 'what if Syed was there' and so this weird thing was born. Now the notes and quotes I took from the episodes were a little hasty and I didn't want to go back so sorry if there are any errors. Also if after the next twelve anyone has any episodes they want to be in this then let me know. Also I don't actually know how they are going to get together (but they shall!) and since this is all a bit innocent I won't give this an M rating (yet). So basically Syed never stole and so was never thrown out. I hope you enjoy.

Kuroseed

Part one 10-06-08 (Shabnam is still around and the Masood family work at the post office. This episode is the try outs for the Queen Vic five a side football team into which Bradley, one of Bradley's friends who's name escapes me, Jack, Christian and Masood end up making it into the team. In the original try outs Masood didn't show up but still made the team but since I have already taken licence with this anyway I see no reason why I can't have him there to serve my purposes!)

They were taking a little break and Christian had just stuck half an orange in his mouth when he turned to see a new spectator, a young man in his early twenties. He was gorgeous, lithe frame tucked up into a masterfully cut smoky grey suit with a deep purple tie. His skin was the colour of caramel accented by long dark hair flicking over his forehead and down to his ears and a light brush of stubble over his face. His eyes were huge and heavily lashed giving him an automatically innocent look. Christian grinned at him and the man smiled back shyly.

"Now who is it that?" Christian asked predatorily. Next to him Masood straightened his back. "He is gorgeous!" He purred.

"That would be my son." Masood bit out and Christian smiled contritely. "Syed!" Masood gestured bluntly for his son to join them which he did obediently with little cautious steps like a child who thinks he's about to be told off.

"Hi, dad." He whispered to his father, his hands in his pockets and his eyes down to the ground.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Masood asked suspiciously, missing the deeply appreciative glances that Christian bestowed on every inch of the young mans frame.

"Well I had a half day so I thought I would come and see how you were." His voice was soft, gentle, it suited him.

"Hmmm…." His father looked at him unconvinced and Syed crumbled under the look.

"Ok, so mum asked me to check up on you." He admitted with a roll of his shoulders. "Your father…" He launched into an impressive Zainab impression. "…If he wants to make a fool of himself and prat about with a football so be it!" Syed smiled softly and Christian felt his heat melting at the sight. "She just doesn't want you straining yourself." His eyes pleaded soft.

"If your mother was really worried she should have come herself and not sent her little minion." Masood growled and turned away. Syed looked down at his feet then around to his fathers teammates.

"Sorry." He muttered the excuse then jumped as Christian slung one arm around his shoulder.

"Ah, forget him, stay, why don't you try out? You look pretty fit to me. Or you could watch the rest of us. You can cheer us on. I bet you'd make a brilliant cheerleader." Christian smiled as he watched the young man turn an adorable shade of pink. "It's Christian by the way, just so you know who's name you wanna scream."

"Syed Masood." Shy big eyes greeted him and Christian leered at him like a shark.

"A pleasure to meet you. You don't have to go back to work do you?" Christian asked already knowing the answer but using the opportunity to stroke the back of two fingers down the lapels of Syed's jacket.

"No, I have the rest of the day off." He confessed in a small voice.

"Really…well that's good to hear. So what is it that you do, Syed? Not working at the post office?"

"No I…I work for an advertising firm." He stuttered out.

"You'll have to tell me all about it, tell you what once I make the team we'll all go out to celebrate, eh?"

"It's still try outs. You that confident you'll make it?" Syed asked a little daring in his eyes.

"With you cheering me on, how can I fail?" Christian beamed winningly and Syed shook his head a little disbelievingly but took his place on a near by bench. Christian watched him leave, when he turned around Jack was grinning at him. "What?" he asked pretending to be the picture of innocence.

"I can't believe you just did that to that poor kid." He laughed.

"Oh come on it's only a bit of fun. Plus pretty as he is he's wasted on the straight world." Christian grinned back.

"Yeah it's all a bit of fun until his mother catches you flirting with him." Bradley shuddered he'd had an incident with Mrs Masood not that long ago and was still petrified from it.

"Flirting. That was hardly flirting!" Christian shrugged the idea away but risked one little look to Syed who was staring at his father trying to get his attention.

"Oh please you were practically drooling all over him." Jack nudged him in the side.

!

Despite Christian's many offers of something stronger Syed sat with just an orange juice in the vic after the try outs. His father had motioned for him to follow him but Christian had thrown one arm around him and practically scooped him up and taken him with him. Now they sat in a corner nearly touching each other while Masood glared at them from the other side of the bar for a while before slinking out.

"So advertising? What got you into that?"

"Well I was in real estate, one day I was showing this guy around a flat and suddenly he stops me mid spiel and says I should be selling things for him not to him. A week later he hired me, after I'd gotten the commission from his new flat of course." Syed grinned at Christian.

"Sounds like you're good at your job. So why haven't I seen you round here before? I've met most of your family."

"I work a lot." Syed shrugged. Christian was a little surprised at himself, usually if a guy was this good looking he couldn't care less about who they were but he found himself wanting to know every single thing about Syed. Maybe it was his soft voice, maybe it was the way his eyes sparkled when he smiled, maybe it was the way he flicked his hair out of his eyes, all Christian knew was that he could listen to him forever.

"So what was that business with your dad, Masood's usually so mellow?" Christian asked shifting a little closer.

"Oh just family stuff, you know how it is." His voice was so soft, so unmistakably sad it broke Christian's heart, Christian was two seconds away from putting his arm around the boy when he shook his head elaborately sending little tendrils of brown hair skirting back and fore over his forehead. "Anyway enough about me. What brings you to Walford? You're Jane Beale's brother right?" Christian's heart leapt at the idea that he had known of him.

"Yeah, I came here to get closer to my family. It's important to me"

"Me too. I mean I loved the freedom at university but I missed my family." They talked about nothing for another fifteen minutes and Christian went and got Syed another orange juice until Shabnam turned up.

"Syed, I have been sent by 'The Incredible Sulk' to come find you." She informed him rolling her eyes.

"My mother." Syed filled in for a confused Christian.

"Yeah, she has a list a mile long of very important tasks for you, so you had best get along." She smirked.

"Dad told her where I was then?" He asked sighing.

"Yup and she went ballistic, started raving on about how you were going to start spending all your time in the pub, become an alcoholic and turn to the drugs. Then she went on about how she gives so…"

"Much for me and I don't even have the courtesy to spend any time with her now I have my big career." Syed finished in a Pakistani accent. "But how come I have to go, I just got a drink, can't she ask you to do some of these tasks?"

"She did." Shabnam replied. "I said no."

"And how do you know I won't say no?" Syed asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because…" Shabnam reached over and grabbed Syed's right cheek with her hand squeezing it. "you're the quintessential good Muslim son, not to mention a raging mama's boy!"

"I am not." He scowled waving her hand off his face. "But they'll only be hell to pay. I better go." He turned to Christian and smiled gently. "It was nice meeting you Christian." He fished a small white rectangular piece of card out of his pocket. "If you ever feel like hanging out give me a call." Christian smiled and nodded back. Syed looked to his sister expecting her to join him as he headed for the door.

"Oh don't mind me I might as well have your drink." She grinned and picked his glass from the bar and took a sip. "Straight orange juice! You wuss!" She called after him as the door swung shut. She turned her dark eyes on Christian. "So you and my brother getting matey are you?" She asked.

"Yeah, is that ok with you?" Christian asked a little suspicious.

"Fine by me." She shrugged. "Mum might not be so happy, but at least you're not a girl. She goes crazy whenever some young lady happens to get too close to her beloved little golden boy."

"Have a lot of lady friends does he?" Christian asked.

"Tons, like a bloody honey pot." She grimaces at the thought. "Used to be he had a new girlfriend every week but he's stopped all that now he has his job, besides he'll only ever marry someone that mum approves of." She smiled to herself. "Which means a nice innocent traditional Muslim girl." Christian was a little gutted that Syed wasn't gay, he hadn't been sure and of course it would have been far too good to be true, but he had hoped. Still it didn't stop him wanting to spend more time with the intriguing young man. "It's nice to see Syed having a friend though, to be honest he's a bit of a surface kinda guy, you know lots of acquaintances but no one he's really close to." She lay her hand on Christian's wrist. "It would be nice to see him act a little normal for once." She finished Syed's drink and dashed off.