Title: What Doesn't Kill You (Makes You Stronger)
Rating: M (for violence and possible sex scenes later on)
Summary: Syed's in an abusive relationship, but will a stranger be able to give him the strength to fight for himself and his freedom?
Disclaimer: I don't own Christian or Syed. All recognisable characters are property of EastEnders and the BBC.
Sorry it's took me ages to update! I've had a lot going on in RL at the moment, so it's been hard to find time to update! Hope this chapters OK!
"Syed Masood?" a voice filtered through Syed's consciousness, bringing him out of his thoughts and back to reality. He realised he had been staring at his computer screen for the last three quarters of an hour and had not completed a bit of the work he'd set down to do. He raised his eyes from the screen to look for the owner of the voice; he found a tall, broad man standing before him. A beautiful man. He mentally shook himself, switching back to his serious, work mode.
"Sorry, yes, that's me," he held out his hand to shake the stranger's hand and risked a glance to his monitor, thankfully seeing his diary displayed on the screen. "And you must be Mr Clarke, I presume?" Syed had completely forgotten that he had a meeting with a potential new client, and was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on his work. Kaden had beat him again last night, and he had turned in late for work for the first time in 10 years. Syed gestured to the seat opposite, and opened up his client's file on his screen. "So, Mr Clarke, looking at your file, it seems you wish to acquire some land on which you can obtain planning permission to build your own home, is that correct?"
"Christian, please," Christian flashed Syed a warm smile, their eyes meeting briefly before he continued. "But yes, that is correct. I've been looking for a new home for a while now, but I have the image of the perfect home in my mind, and I haven't been able to find anything which I'd be able to easily convert the way I'd like."
"Must be something special, for you to be finding it difficult to find somewhere," Syed couldn't stop his eyes from roaming over Christian's toned body. He clearly took care of himself, and was obviously proud of his rippling muscles, on full display thanks to the vest he was wearing. There was a trace of an accent in his voice, and Syed suspected that he wasn't usually this well spoken.
"I'm a perfectionist, what can I say?" Christian's laugh was deep and booming, and seemed to resonate through Syed, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. "No, I just know what I want, and I don't want to have to settle for anything less." Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Syed felt a jolt of electricity run through his body. It almost knocked the breath right out of him, and he had to fight to keep himself in the right frame of mind. He wondered if Christian had felt it too, before reminding himself that he was in a (albeit one-sided) committed relationship, and was forced to swallow down the guilt which threatened to overwhelm him. He cleared his throat and shuffled the papers in front of him nervously.
"So, Mr - Christian - how many acres roughly are you looking to purchase? I have a number of potential plots which may interest you, but it might narrow down the search if I can have a few more details."
The two spent around an hour discussing the finer details of Christian's wants and needs, and Syed handed him a list of available plots of land which met all of the criteria they had discussed. Throughout the hour, Syed could barely keep his eyes off Christian, his eyes flashing to his perfectly toned abs one too many times. He didn't know what it was about Christian that was drawing him in so much; maybe it was because he possessed such strength when Syed himself was feeling so weak, maybe it was purely a sexual thing. All Syed knew was that he was hardly going to be able to look Kaden in the eyes when he got home later on because of the guilt he knew would be shining there.
"So, just take some time to look over these files, and see of there are any plots of land you'd like to have a closer look at. You've got my card, just call me anytime you'd like to arrange a viewing. I can try to organise an evening viewing if that's easier to fit around your schedule." Syed stood to show Christian out, feeling the older man's presence as he stood. The men shook hands, and Syed held in a gasp as the electric jolt from earlier returned in full force. As Christian left, Syed leant back against the closed door and took a few deep breaths to get himself back under control.
Opening his eyes, Syed was sure of three things. One, that he couldn't wait to see Christian again. Two, that the was going to be eating him up inside as long as he kept meeting Christian when he was still in a relationship with Kaden. Three, he desperately wanted to get to know Christian better. A lot better.