A/N Okay, I'm really sorry for the lateness of this update! This chapter isn't my best, and I've changed it so many times I just had to post it so I can move on writing the next part! Hope you enjoy. Thank you for all your lovely comments so far, you lovely lot. x

"Oi.. you listening to me?"

The sternness of Jane's voice breaks my happy daydream; it disappears like a puff of smoke.

"Of course."

"What did I just say?" she challenges.

Shoot, I don't actually know. I would guess something about Ian and the kids..

"Ian."

"Sorry?"

"You were talking about Ian."

"No I wasn't."

Damn it.

"Sorry sis..."

"What's with you today? You're in a world of your own." She leans forwards and places a hand on my knee, "Are you alright? You seem very distracted.."

Smiling, I place a hand on hers, looking into her worried eyes.

"I'm fine, Jane. Really, I'm perfect! More than that. I'm..." I wave my hands in the air trying to find the words, instead settling for a dreamy sigh.

"Oh my God.." she exclaims, "is it a man?"

Grabbing my drink off the table I carefully avoid eye contact with her.

"Might be."

"Is it Syed?"

I choke a little, my heart skipping a beat at the mere mention of his name.

"How do you know it's him?"

"Me and Zainab have been talking." She mentions casually, flicking some coloured polish off her nail.

"You and Zainab? What?"

"Well what else are we going to talk about? It's my baby brother and her son!"

I cringe.

"What?" she asks.

"That makes the age gap sound way worse."

"Oh who cares! Tell me aaall about him!"

I glare at her for a while before giving in.

"He's..." I spend a few seconds deciding on what best word to describe him. "... gorgeous." I say with a smile.

"Ohh!" Jane claps her hands together excitedly, "Have you slept with him yet?"

"What! What sort of a question is that?"

"I'm curious. Have you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, I haven't."

"Thank God," she says, "Zainab would go mental."

"I didn't think he would have even told her about me..." I mumble, dazed.

"Oh yeah. He tells her quite a lot you know."

"Like what?" I pry, intrigued. She bites on her lower lip like a child, holding back a smirk. "Jane.. tell me!"

"Well... he may or may not have mentioned how much he likes you."

My heart thumps loudly.

"How much does he like me?"

"Now that would be telling."

"Tell me now or-" I stop as my phone vibrates in my pocket. Without hesitation I reach in and take it out. The screen flashes up, and my heart jumps.

1 new message - Syed

"Is that him?" she asks, peering round to look at my phone.

"Oi, eyes off." I bring my phone closer to my chest so she can't see and open the message.

'You still on for tonight? S'

Smiling, I write my reply, blocking out the chorus of 'what does it say?'s from Jane.

'Of course. My sister's nagging me. I need to escape!'

"Did you reply?"

"Yes Jane, I replied.." Rolling my eyes, I can't help but laugh at her excitement.

"I can't believe it... My baby brother's all grown up."

"Shut up."

My phone vibrates again. That was fast..!

'I'm at home right now. Fancy joining me?'

Smirking, I slip my phone in my pocket and peck Jane on the cheek.

"Laters sis."

"Oi! You can't just leave!" she grabs my wrist as I make to escape.

"Ohh please let me go? I miss him." I pull a sad face which works a treat as she releases me from her grip.

"Alright, alright. But it looks like you'll have to get past her first..." She points behind me and I turn on my heel to face a rather grouchy looking Zainab.

"Hi.."

"Hello."

...

Climbing the stairs two at a time I reach the top and knock on the door to his flat. It's been too long since I've seen that beautiful face of his. I crave him. Every second I'm not with him I literally ache for his company. I don't ever remember being this pathetic over a guy, but with Syed it's different. So different.

Footsteps grow louder and the door clicks open, revealing that oh so beautiful face of his. He greets me with a gorgeous smile that lights up his eyes.

"Hey." He says, quietly. Sometimes I laugh at how different we are; me being ridiculously loud and energetic and him being so calm and composed.

"Hello!" bouncing inside the flat I peck him on the cheek, lingering a little longer just to smell that warm, alluring scent of him. "How're you?"

"I'm great, thanks."

"Nice place.." Looking around the flat I notice he's not quite as obsessed with cleaning as I am, yet he's not exactly messy either. His place isn't small. There're a lot of books too. He must read a lot.

"Do you read a lot?"

"Yeah, this and that, you know... Do you want a coffee or something."

Turning on my heel I turn to face him. Something's not right, I can tell by the tone of his voice.

"Are you okay...?"

He nods, wordlessly. Carefully I look into his eyes.

"Syed, what's wrong?" He's silent, staring avidly at the floor. "...Do you want me to go?"

"No, don't leave.." the words come out quickly and he looks suitably embarrassed.

"Hey..." Stepping towards him I place a hand on his arm, "you can tell me ya know. Whatever it is. Maybe I can help?"

A small frown line appears between his eyes - which is really rather adorable actually – while he contemplates the decision. His mouth opens briefly, before closing again. Clearly troubled, he fiddles with the sleeve of his jacket.

A hand reaches up to his chin and I tilt his head to meet his gaze. Stepping closer, our bodies touch and I revel in the warmth of his skin.

"Whatever it is it'll be alright, yeah?"

His unsure nod doesn't convince me that he believes me, so I do the only thing my body is screaming at me to do, I kiss him. Gently, just a little bit, enough for him to know that I care, and I do. I really do. His lips feel so soft and warm against mine, he's impossible to resist..

What I want to know is, who or what upset him? The thought of someone hurting him makes my insides tighten. Who could possibly want to hurt Syed?

Reluctant lips break apart and his head falls to my neck, I pull him close, breathing in that glorious mouth-watering scent. Fingers curl into the back of my jacket as he grips tight. He doesn't seem to want to move, something I find quite unusual. I don't think he's a very touchy-feely person, though I suppose when you need a hug, you just need a hug.

"My Dad..." he mumbles after a few long seconds, bringing me back into the moment. "I saw him today and he looked at me... he looked at me as if I was dirt, Christian. Like I was the most disgusting thing in the world..."

"Oh hey..." I hold him tighter, not really sure what to say."I'm sure he doesn't think that, he's your Dad! He... he loves you..." Soothing hands rub his back.

"..but I am though, I really am."

I push him back a little to meet his gaze, the usual light chocolate brown eyes darkened, brimming with unshed tears of frustration and grief.

"Don't you dare say that about yourself. You are gorgeous."

Unsure eyes stare back at me.

"I've only known you a little while and I can already tell that you're..." Words fail me. "You're lovely." My cheeks grow a little warm.

"But it's not right though, is it? I know it's not right! So why can't I do anything to stop it...?"

I take in the vulnerable man standing in front of me. The poor boy. He truly believes that of himself. Of us. I take his hands in mine.

"What is disgusting, Sy?"

Staring at the ground, he refuses to meet my gaze, yet doesn't let go of my hands.

"...Two men... it's wrong."

"Why is it so wrong?"

"It's against God's will."

"But..." I don't know what to say, I really don't.

"I shouldn't want to do what I want to do.. with you..." he confesses quietly. I smile slightly, bless this poor boy.

"That's your natural feelings; you can't do anything to stop that."

"I can try."

A sigh escapes me.

"I thought you were okay with all of this." I squeeze his hands.

"I thought I was too..."

"Look, this whole thing with your dad has just shaken you a little. Your mum's alright with you though, isn't she."

"Only just."

"Well that's better than nothing. You know I bumped into her earlier and she asked how it was going."

He looks up.

"She did? What did you say?"

"Well, she more threatened me to look after you or else I'd 'not be able to walk straight' for the rest of my days."

"Oh god... I'm so sorry!"

I can't help but chuckle.

"It's fine, nice to know that she cares though, eh."

"Yeah..." he says with a sigh. Poor thing looks exhausted. "Christian, I'm so sorry about all of this, I mean I barely even know you and I'm dumping all this on you when you could do without it and I knew this was a bad idea to begin with, me being so different to you and-"

I place a finger on his lips.

"Syed, shut up. I don't care. All I care about is that you're okay and you're happy." His eyes flutter shut and we stand there quietly for a few moments. "Just try and forget about today, focus on how well you were doing before that." He looks at me, eyes ever so slightly lighter.

"We were going to go out, weren't we." He sighs.

"We can do it another night. I think you need to relax for a bit, take some time out."

"You're not going, are you?"

"Do you want me to?" nervously, I chew my lip.

"No."

I study his expression.

"...Well then looks like you're lumped with me!"

"Okay." He says with a small smile. A genuine, gorgeous smile. I run a hand through his untamed locks, tucking a stubborn strand behind his ear.

"What d'you wanna do then?" I break the tension with a question. "We could be really fat and order take-away or something. Fancy stuffing your face full of crap?"

"Hm," he contemplates the decision, "that does sound rather appealing."

"That's the spirit!"

"I'll put the kettle on. Do you want a coffee or something...?"

"Yeah, I'd love one thanks."

With a tired smile he turns and walks to the kitchen to make Coffee while I take off my shoes and hang up my coat. I watch him for a little while and tell myself something very important. He's vulnerable, and as much as you want it to happen it won't, so don't you dare try anything on with him.

"Do you take sugar?" he asks as the kettle boils, spooning coffee granules into a mug and stirring in the hot water.

"Two... and a half." He shoots me a mock disapproving look through those long lashes. "What?" I ask, looking down at the ground in disappointment with myself. "Don't judge me. How many do you have?"

"None." He says proudly, giving the coffee one final stir before handing over the steaming mug to me.

"Thanks." I murmur into the rim of the mug just before I take a sip, the hot liquid pouring down my throat and warming my stomach. "Mmm."

"Good?" he asks.

"Very."

Tired eyes staring into the distance don't go unnoticed by me, God knows how he's feeling, I just wish I could stop him from feeling so down.

"So what are we ordering then?" he asks eventually, brown gaze meeting mine through unruly hair, blue shirt clinging to his perfectly flat torso, showing off those muscular golden brown arms.

"I..." What, what do I want? I want him. "..fancy you so badly." I say with a sigh, leaning back against the fridge door, bottom lip gripped between my teeth. I'm aware of how stupid that was, but I just don't care. His response is half embarrassed, half amused, his face beautifully flushed.

"Well if it helps.. I sort of fancy you too..!"

"Always good to know." Smiling at him, I hold out my hand. Hesitantly he takes a hold of it with his, questioning me with his eyes. "You going to show me around?" I ask.

"There's not much to see..."

"Show me anyway."

"Alright... but it's not that interesting."

Placing our coffee on the work surface, our fingers weave together and he leads me to a short hallway. It shouldn't be this exciting to hold someone's hand; however my stomach disagrees, flipping unexpectedly every few seconds. Get a grip, Christian.

"This is... the hallway."

"Veeery nice."

Syed laughs, playing along.

"Glad you like it, not much space though."

"Hm, bummer."

"And this... is my bedroom."

We walk into a well sized room with cream coloured walls, the large double bed covered in beige sheets very much the focal point. There's a flat screen TV sat on a chest of drawers by the foot of his bed and a whole load of books on a shelf to the side of that. Dark red curtains fall from the window, and a door left open on the opposite side of the room reveals his rather shiny on-suite bathroom.

"Wow..." I take a few seconds to glance round the room, "This is great.."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"It's my favourite room, I like to keep it tidy."

"I can tell..!"

"I'll be right back, just going to go and get the phone." He says before wandering out of the room. I stare after him in amazement for a few seconds before refocusing my attentions on the room. What a gorgeous bedroom. Wish mine was as nice as this!

...

"So you like Pizza then?" I laugh as he picks up his fourth slice, grinning delectably as he takes a bite. We sit on his bed, a reasonable distance between us. "and I thought I was fat..."

"Hey!" He swallows his mouthful. "I'm not fat."

"Look at all this though.." My hand reaches to his stomach, trying but failing to find any sort of fat on him, instead marvelling over the perfectly toned muscle I find there. "Practically obese."

A 'seriously unimpressed' face.

"Eat up." Picking up his slice I hold it to his mouth, he takes a bite and chews, glaring at me. Laughing is my natural response. "I'm only joking. You couldn't get any more perfect."

The laughter falls to silence. A few more chews and he swallows, eyes studying me. After a few seconds - long seconds – of this scrutiny I busy myself by placing my plate on his bedside table, anything to break the growing tension, sexual tension that fills the room. Why can't I spend more than 10 minutes with Syed without wanting to rip his clothes off and fuck him senseless? Okay, stupid question, but it's more than annoying. He must think I'm some sort of animal who can't keep it in his trousers! I can be a good guy, don't need to prove that by showing him how good in bed I am. I can wait. I'll have to wait... wait until l I can kiss my way down that gorgeous body, press my chest up against his chest, trace my tongue slowly over his stomach and down to his... oh fuck. Oh fuck.

He must know what I'm thinking, sense my desire, because the next thing I know he's pulled me down on top of him, Pizza box with the remnants left unwanted on the floor. I can actually feel the chemistry between us. Oh this isn't good, this isn't good at all. He stares at me for a few seconds, and then his lips are on mine, explorative and so fucking delicious it takes all my strength not to fuck him there and then, and it takes my brain a while to twig what I'm actually doing.

"No... Syed we mustn't...we can't do this.. you said-"

"I don't care" He claims my mouth once more.

"You do.."

"No."

"Just , mm... Syed stop!"

And he does, staring up at me, eyes questioning and confused. How did this just happen...how did we get from harmless banter to practically eating each other's faces off? "Listen-" I stop, my trembling body noticing the deliciously hard warmth pressing against my own. He's hard for me, so deliciously hard..