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.
Syed walked into his office feeling positively happy for the first time in a long while. He was seeing him today. Christian Clarke. He'd called last night, just before Syed was about to leave work, saying that he'd chosen one of the plots of land Syed had suggested to him. Today, Syed was taking him to see the plot of land for himself, so that he could make his final decision. Syed's stomach was twisting with anticipation. He didn't know how or why this man had this effect on him despite only meeting him once before, but it was a welcome relief from the constant anxiety and sorrow he usually felt.
The night that Kaden had come home early and had washed him in the shower, Syed had known that he had no affection left for him. But then, after they had showered together, Kaden had been so loving and gentle that Syed had thought it was over. They had had a lovely weekend together, and had talked and laughed and loved like they hadn't done for a long time. But, come Sunday night, Kaden was back to his old ways, and Syed had been on the receiving end of Kaden's punches once again.
Still, despite the fact that he had a rather prominent black eye which couldn't be missed, Syed finally had something to look forward to. Of course, he was still wracked with guilt over the fact that he was strangely attracted to this mysterious stranger. But just being in his presence again would be enough to make him feel strong, Syed just knew it.
After retrieving the paperwork he needed from the office, Syed headed out to the plot; a space which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but was actually not to far from the city. As he heard the car pull up behind him, Syed checked his hair in the rearview mirror, despite the fact that it wouldn't stay down, and tried his best to ignore the bruise over his eye, rehearsing the lie he'd been telling all day. I got mugged on the way home from work one day. It seemed to have worked with his workmates; or they just didn't care enough to question him, he wasn't sure which. Getting out of the car, he smiled the first genuine smile he'd smiled in days, and walked towards Christian.
"So pleased that we found something suitable for your needs, Christian," Syed was saying as he shook his hand.
"Me too," Christian's eyes narrowed as he spotted the bruise on Syed's eye. He reached up to touch his eye lightly, and Syed felt that same electricity that he'd felt on their first meeting. "What happened here?"
Syed met Christian's eyes, and his mind was screaming at him to tell Christian the truth, but he shoved those thoughts aside and stuck to the lie he was so used to telling, that he was beginning to believe it himself. Almost. "Oh, I, er, I got mugged on the way home from work," Syed shrugged his shoulders as though it was nothing, but he could tell from the way Christian's eyes narrowed further that he didn't quite believe him. "Shall we?"
They spent the next hour going over the plans, what could and couldn't be done to the land, what Christian would need permission to do, how he would go about applying for planning permission, and the like. How he managed to maintain a professional guise, Syed never knew. Somewhere along the way, talk somehow turned to their personal lives, and Syed smiled and told Christian all about Kaden; about how he had been in the beginning of their relationship. He acted the perfect lovestuck young man, even though it pained him to do so.
"You know, I run my own gym," Christian told him. "And I teach a self defense class every Wednesday; maybe you should consider it, in case you get mugged again."
"Oh, I don't know," Syed hadn't expected Christian to bring up his 'mugging' again, least of all offer to help him. "I mean, I've tried to build myself up before, but I never quite managed it."
"I wasn't talking about your muscles, or lack of," Christian grinned at him. "With self defense, it's all about the technique. Someone of your build could quite easily take out someone of my build, given the right technique." Syed must have looked doubtful, as Christian continued. "If Wednesday's aren't suitable, I could always arrange a private session at a more convenient time, first one on the house, of course, as a thank you for this." Christian gestured around them at the open space.
"So, you're going to take the land?" Syed asked, more to get them back onto a safer topic than anything else.
"Yeah, it seems like it'll do nicely. Not too far from the city, but far enough away that I can see the stars at night."
"You'll have to keep in touch, let me know how the house is coming on. I'd like to see it, once it's built."
Christian nodded, handing Syed his personal trainer card. "In case you feel like taking me up on my offer of those classes. Look, I'd better be getting on, things to do, people to phone. Thanks again for helping me find this place."
Syed shook Christian's outstretched hand and watched as he got back into his car and drove away. Part of Syed was disappointed that Christian had been able to find something so quickly, but it seemed like he had another reason to see him now. He tucked Christian's card into his pocket, part of him looking forward to a private self defense session with Christian, part of him dreading it, and the guilt which he knew would follow him afterwards.