Yusuf hadn't been told, but he knew that his relationship was the topic of conversation back home.

They had returned to London, and Asiya wasn't moving in with Yusuf's family or him. He was the one untraditionally moving in with her.

They had made this decision because it was convenient. It meant they could instantly live together and didn't have to spend time, effort, and money looking for a new place in London, where securing a viewing, let alone a property, was hard. Plus, Asiya loved her flat and wasn't ready to leave it.

"Miss Asiya! Welcome back!" A short, curly-haired man greeted her as Yusuf followed Asiya into her building.

"Thank you, David. It's nice to be home, and I'm a Mrs now." Asiya lifted her hand, and Yusuf watched proudly as Asiya wiggled her fingers and flashed her rings.

"Oh, congratulations!" David's eyes swept over Yusuf before he nodded approvingly. "This is your husband?"

"Yes, this is Yusuf," Asiya chirped, curling her hands around Yusuf's arm.

"Well done. A great choice," David winked.

"I'm assuming then he's the owner of all of these. Shall I send them up?" David asked as he pushed open a blue door behind him.

Yusuf and Asiya tilted their heads to view the room's contents.

The storeroom was overflowing with large cardboard boxes and cheap, plastic suitcases.

"Some men dropped these off about two weeks ago. They said they belonged to Mr Hassan, but your name and flat were listed as the address."

"Yeah, they're mine," Yusuf confirmed.

"I'll radio my guys to take them up," David said before he picked up a walkie-talkie.

Asiya pulled on Yusuf's arm as they walked towards the lifts. "Yusuf, you told me you lived in a house share. That you only had a room."

"Yeah, I did. All of that fit in it," Yusuf said.

"How big was your room?"

Yusuf looked at Asiya's startled face and chuckled. "Did you expect me to live in a shoebox or something?"

Asiya pressed a button in the lift. "I mean, it is London! I imagined you barely being able to move around your bed without crashing into the wall!"

"It wasn't that small," Yusuf said.

"Clearly," Asiya muttered.

They got off on the 17th floor, and Yusuf followed Asiya down a few corridors.

Asiya gripped the handle of a light brown door even though it was already open.

"This is mine," she said while swaying slightly. "I mean ours, now."

Yusuf entered the flat. David's men were already moving through it, craftily placing Yusuf's load in every spare spot of space.

Yusuf kept his hands in his pocket as he toured Asiya's place.

She had kitted it out. Every corner of the property seemed decorated with a piece of her personality. Reflective cobalt tiles were pasted in the open-plan kitchen, colour was thrown over her sofa in different-shaped cushions and blankets, and small pins were punctured into almost every piece of soft furniture.

"Your place is nice," Yusuf complimented.

"It's our place," Asiya reminded.

Yusuf sucked on his lower lip. "It's smaller than I thought it would be."

His boxes cluttered the flat and made it look like a storage facility.

"It's actually quite a big flat for London," Asiya said as she hopped over a box.

"Right," Yusuf said.

"Do you think you'll be able to finish unpacking today?" Asiya asked.

Yusuf scratched the back of his head. "Once we pray our Asr, I can make a start, but I can't promise I'll finish unpacking tonight. I have work tomorrow."

Asiya gave Yusuf a stiff nod.

"Actually, where am I putting my stuff?" Yusuf asked.

Yusuf watched the sides of Asiya's mouth crimp. She scanned her flat quickly before her entire face curled like she was embarrassed. "Erm, let me make you some space now," she said before dashing into the bedroom.

Yusuf trailed after her.

Asiya's bedroom had floor-to-ceiling wardrobes fitted along one wall, broken up by a desk in the middle. The desk was covered with Asiya's makeup products, suggesting she used it as a vanity.

Asiya opened a wardrobe and began snatching her clothes off their hangers and tossing them onto the floor, creating a messy pile. She yanked some drawers open and emptied their contents onto the bed before doing the same to the items in her left bedside table.

In the bathroom, Asiya used her arm to chaotically sweep all the products on a cabinet shelf into the sink.

This is comical, Yusuf bitterly thought as he watched Asiya scatter and disorganise her things.

His mood sank and settled in his stomach. Yusuf moving in with Asiya had been one of the first things they had agreed on, yet Asiya was behaving like he had just turned up and caught her off guard.

"Is that enough space for you?" Asiya puffed after twenty minutes.

"It should be," Yusuf said shortly.

Asiya frowned. "No, don't just say yes. Look around and tell me honestly if it's enough."

Yusuf sighed and picked his way through the room.

Asiya had given him almost half of the bedroom storage available. Yusuf had a side table, a double wardrobe, three drawers, and three shelves. 

However, she hadn't pushed the makeup products on the desk to the side or put them away, so Yusuf assumed he was banned from using it.

"Well? What do you think? Are you happy?" Asiya asked.

Words floated to the top of his throat like a spoilt egg, but Yusuf swallowed them down and stretched his lips into a smile. "Yeah. Thanks. Can I make whudu?"

"Yusuf, don't ask!" Asiya scolded. "Just do it! It's your place, too!"

"Think we may have to start searching for a new place soon," Yusuf said as he entered the bathroom.

Yusuf looked up, and Asiya's reflection was behind him.

Her eyebrows twitched together slightly. "What? Why?"

"This place is small," Yusuf shrugged before starting his whudu.

"My place is fine," Asiya countered.

"Then how do you explain the last twenty minutes?" Yusuf asked. "We planned this, Asiya."

"Yes, but I was also planning a wedding," Asiya snapped. "How could I prepare this place for you when I was hardly here myself?"

"You didn't plan the wedding by yourself," Yusuf said.

"I found and organised everything, and all you did was choose between the options I gave you. What do you call that?"

Asiya's voice prickled into Yusuf's skin.

"It was your day. I wanted you to be happy," Yusuf said.

"It was our day," Asiya corrected as she waved the back of her hand. "You could've brought ideas and helped too."

Yusuf raised his hands in surrender. "I don't want to fight."

"We're not fighting," Asiya said as she folded her arms. "We're just talking."

Yusuf sighed. Asiya's words had a bullet-point rhythm, they were ticking out of her, like the timer on a bomb.

Things didn't come out of Yusuf in bursts like they did for Asiya. Instead, Yusuf's words appeared in fragments, like the so-called Wise Men, who delivered their gifts one after the other.

"Well, let's not talk about the flat now. We need to pray. I appreciate the space you made for me. I know we were both busy in the days leading up to the wedding," Yusuf said.

Asiya shook her head. "No, we don't need to talk about the flat at all if you're happy with the space."

Yusuf chewed on his lip. "Fine."

-

Yusuf fought tiredness and sluggishly tore through boxes, dismantling the box city he had created in Asiya's space for the rest of the day and half of the night. 

He didn't stop until he had emptied, flattened, and recycled every box, and every piece of him had a place in his new home.

Asiya had watched Yusuf for a couple hours after they had prayed, offering him nothing more than curt suggestions before succumbing to sleep.

Asiya's alarm went off at 6:00 am.

Yusuf squeezed his eyes and commanded his body to go back to sleep. He didn't feel like he had slept. He felt as though he had just closed his eyes and blinked.

But even though Asiya was trotting around him quietly, Yusuf couldn't shut his mind off.

He waited until Asiya had entered the bathroom before he propped himself upright against the headboard.

What happened last night? Yusuf asked himself.

Their honeymoon period hadn't just ended. It had crashed and burned.

Asiya had insisted that they weren't fighting, just talking, but Yusuf had felt his mind squaring up because it felt like she was attacking him.

Asiya's tone had sent Yusuf back in time. 

He didn't know how to tell Asiya how her last-minute actions had made him feel without feeling as though he and Asiya would recreate scenes from his childhood.

Prodding at things the way Asiya often did felt like pressing sores to Yusuf. 

The pus that emerged was unpredictable. Sometimes, it was pale, and other times, it mingled with other things, like water. 

The sore could ooze for minutes or days, and when it seemed to have healed, the scab could tear open, causing it to ooze again.

He knew better.

"You're already ready?" Yusuf asked Asiya as she exited the bathroom. He analysed Asiya's face, posture and body language which were no longer tense.

"Yup," Asiya replied, popping the p. "I got ready in the bathroom because I didn't want to wake you."

Yusuf stood up and stretched out the stiffness in his muscles. "I thought we could leave together," he said.

"Aw Yusuf," Asiya cooed. "Maybe tomorrow? I want to get to work early today so I can leave early. How else will I have time to cook the best dinner you'll ever eat in your life?"

"You've hyped up your cooking a lot," Yusuf commented playfully as he approached Asiya.

"Because it's that good," Asiya jokingly bragged.

"Well, you look good. Really good," Yusuf complimented her.

Asiya grinned and twirled. The bottom of her dress lifted and spun in the air as she balanced on her tiptoes. Her smile was so warm and contagious, like a fever, it grabbed Yusuf. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you," Asiya said while curtseying. "You need to send me a picture of your work fit!"

"It'll be nothing special. I'll just be wearing a suit," Yusuf said.

Asiya tutted. "It's your first day back at work as a qualified solicitor. Today is a special day, so the suit you wear automatically is!"

"If you say so," Yusuf sang half-heartedly before glancing at the clock. "What train are you aiming to catch?" he asked Asiya.

"The one at twenty past, I better get going," she replied.

Yusuf closed the gap between them. "Can I give you a goodbye kiss?"

"Of course. I've told you, you don't need to ask," Asiya giggled.

"I do," Yusuf said before cupping Asiya's face. "It's your body, Asiya."

They also hadn't gone that far for Yusuf to feel confident that Asiya was completely okay with him catching her off guard. Their kisses had deepened and intensified, but that was all they had been doing.

"Have a good day," Yusuf said as he pulled away.

Asiya picked up her tote bag. "Thank you, and please don't come back too late. Remember, I'm making you the best dinner ever." 

-

Author's Note: Asalamu alaykum! They're coming along aren't they. They're officially playing house! Thank you so much for sticking with A&Y's (and mine) journey. 🥹. I appreciate you all so much. I hope you continue to enjoy seeing how their relationship progresses! 🤍

I'd be curious to know your thoughts on this situation and whether anyone is at fault...🤨

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Chapter Glossary

Asr: Third prayer Muslims observe in the day.

Whudu: Purifying routine that must be performed before prayer.

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Hadith references for men providing for their families: Sahih Bukhari 7138, Book 93, Hadith 2. (& Volume 9, Book 89, Hadith 252).