Without opening his eyes, Christian reached for Syed, putting his arm around his shoulder and forcefully positioning him alongside his own body. Twitching the sheet over them both, he murmured drowsily,
"Why are you so wriggly? Haven't I worn you out?"
"Good effort, must try harder…" Syed snuggled closer, relishing Christian's bare, warm, skin against his own. "…Sorry, can't sleep. I keep thinking about Jane's face when she heard." He giggled and Christian felt his eyelashes sweep, tickling on his chest.
"I know! I thought she was going to wear her jaw out, opening and shutting her mouth like a guppy on steroids."
"With her neck swivelling, gaping at me, then at you, then at me… She does very good hugs. I didn't think she was ever going to let me go. Do you think she likes me now?"
"Nah. How could she? You're vile." Christian yawned widely, showing all his teeth.
"Oh that's nice. Tell me, what is it I see in you again?"
"Charm, boyish good looks and a massive knob. Hope dad doesn't change his mind when he wakes up sober."
Syed lifted his head and looked through the darkness to Christian's face, his brow furrowing with worry at the possibility of potential disappointment.
"You don't think he will, do you?"
Patiently rubbing Syed's arm, half-heartedly trying to provide reassurance and really wishing he could go back to sleep, Christian briefly opened one eye.
"You never know, babe. Try not to stress; I'm sure it'll all be fine."
"Seems too easy, too good to be true. I'm smelling the beautiful flower and waiting for the water to squirt out. Bound to be a booby trap." Syed stared morosely at the ceiling, chewing at his lower lip, allowing his imagination to chip away at his happiness. Christian sensed the shift in his mood and gave him a reassuring squeeze.
"No boobies here. Booby free zone. Jane won't give him the chance, did you see the speed she booked his ticket? Fingers a blur, surprised the keyboard didn't catch fire. We can be happy, Sy. It is allowed. The sky won't fall in."
"Won't it?" Syed's voice sounded small, almost desolate and Christian rolled onto his side, hugging him tightly until he could barely breathe.
"No." He said forcefully. "Everything is going to be marvellous. No jinx, Dad will go home, Mum will get better and join him, you and me will be free to do whatever our little heart's desire, everyone starts a new life. Now for fuck's sake, do me a favour and go to sleep."
Hoping his words were convincing enough, Christian lay on his back and used his free hand, the one that wasn't rhythmically and soothingly stroking Syed's hair, to adjust his pillow. He fought down the nagging fear that Roger might indeed scupper it all with a massive turnabout, denying any intentions of leaving, saying he had just said it to keep the peace with no intention of following it through, and allowed his muscles to relax, drowsiness suffusing him.
"Christian…"
"What now?"
"There's an insect in here somewhere."
"So?" Above the gentle ticking of the clock, Christian ears tuned to a scratching noise, wings battering at the shutters, the irritating repetition chivvying slumber away.
"I need to find it. Got to put the light on."
Christian groaned and squeezed his eyelids tightly shut, opening them carefully to accustom himself to the glare. He watched Syed, stark naked, pottering about the room wielding a piece of paper and an empty glass, and basked in pleasure at the delightful sight.
"Got it! It's a big bugger. Do you want to see?"
Shuddering, Christian pulled away as Syed waved the glass and its grisly contents in his face.
"Is it one of the green fuckers? Noo! Put it outside!"
"Honestly, you're supposed to be machismo incarnate. If only they knew… There you go little buddy!"
Syed drew back the shutter and stood on tiptoes, carefully shaking the insect free, letting it fly out of the open window.
"Now will you stop faffing around and come to bed?"
Obeying Christian's grumpy demand, Syed put down the glass, turned off the light and dutifully slipped in beside him, nestling into his usual position.
"Night night."
"Night gorgeous."
"Christian?"
Rolling his eyes, Christian groaned loudly.
"He's not here. He popped out to find a new husband, one who'll give him some peace."
"Ha! Who'd have him? Don't worry. It'll keep."
"You've woken me up now, so you might as well spill. What's up? Is it you again, you randy mare?"
"No. Could be, if you're offering… I was wondering what we're going to do."
"Do when? Tomorrow? Josef's coming, Esther needs some help with her guttering, which sounds all kind of wrong, you're going to the Mosque, I need to do some training because my arms feel small, one of us has to drive Jane and Dad to the airport at an ungodly hour for the red eye. I'll toss you for the last one. Do you need a spread sheet, filled with pretty colours?"
Grunting huffily, Syed gave Christian a little dig in the ribs with his elbow.
"Who says I haven't already done one? I'd highlight your bits in beige, or puce, you with your twiggy, puny arms. I meant when our visas expire and we have to go home."
"You know that, I thought we'd decided. Go to Birmingham. To be near Yasmin."
Christian had said the last part in, what he believed to be, an excellent Brummie accent. The badness of the attempt made Syed laugh loudly.
"What the fuck is that meant to be? Don't do that again, ever. I meant for work, money, a place to live."
"I'm sure we'll survive somehow." A hazy recollection of his father's words filtered into Christian's consciousness. "Dad was doing some passive aggressive sniping about all the jobs I've had earlier. Made me realise I quite liked most of them, so I'm not fussed. Probably start up Absacadabra, Midlands branch, do whatever until it takes off. What do you want to do, darling?"
"What do I want to be when I grow up?"
Glumly Syed traced his forefinger down the length of Christian's sternum and then around the outline of each pectoral muscle. "Dunno. Could wait tables I guess…"
Christian sighed, saddened by Syed's dented self-confidence.
"Yeah, you could. Or you could find something that really challenges you and your big ol' brainy brain. I fully expect you to be keeping me in a style, to which I have yet to become accustomed, by the time I'm fifty."
"What? So I've only got months then?"
"Piss off. Apart from Amira and Yasmin, do we know anyone in Birmingham?"
"There was the nice lady we shared a table with, in that restaurant in Shoreditch, remember? When you got the hump with the service and the food. Gav, the bald guy who worked on the hat stall, he moved to somewhere up that way… Mum's got a distant cousin that lives there…" Syed shivered, contemplating the reaction if he and Christian turned up on the doorstep, looking for shelter, almost feeling the rush of air as the door slammed in their faces.
"So, we've got a random nice lady we ate cold, overpriced, foul dinner with, dodgy market trader Gav, who's probably doing time, or family. Family for the win! Sorted."
"Really Christian, no. I think me rocking up with my husband would be as well received as a bad case of piles, unfortunately."
Christian tenderly kissed his forehead, the gentle contact filled with understanding.
"Their loss. We'll have some cash left, bound to be enough to afford to rent a studio flat above a chippy."
Syed grinned and wrinkled his nose.
"Mmm, the delectable whiff of battered sausage. Happy days."
"And so many more to come. In our penthouse, or our town house, or our cottage, or our bungalow, or our caravan, or our shed, or our tent…"
"Tent?" Syed raised one eyebrow and lowered his voice. "Sounds sexy,"
"Yeah?" With a quick twist, Christian jammed his thigh between Syed's legs and levered him up to lie on top of him, finding his mouth with his own, breathing into it, "Wet grass, rain lashing on the canvas, wind howling outside…"
"Yesss." Erection pushing at Christian's smooth, taut stomach, Syed's lips curved into a smile and he whispered, "Christian?"
"Syed."
"Are you sure you're not too tired? I wouldn't want to keep you awake…"