The Seven Year Itch (Or Whatever It Is Called)
Title: The Seven Year Itch (Or Whatever It Is Called)
Author:
salmiaggi
Rating: PG-13
Paring: Steven Gerrard/Xabi Alonso, Jamie Carragher/Sami Hyypiä [Again, I KNOW!]
Genre: Romance and maybe the tiniest hint of angst too
Summary: “When we actually do have sex, it’s like a routine for both of us and it feels like there is no real affection in it. We both know each other thoroughly and at some point this seemed safe and lovely, but I guess we’ve got too accustomed to it by now. I miss that feeling of exploring and discovering each other when everything is new and fresh and exciting.”
Wordcount: 1645
Disclaimer: You think this is really happening? Me either.
Author’s Notes: I got inspired and wrote this pretty much non-stop on Monday. I love holidays, I really do! Most of this is dialogue only, but I hope that won’t bother you too much! I’m not too sure with some bits of this and wasn’t going to post at all, but then I started thinking that sod it! My fics are only average at their best and well, posting this probably won’t kill me, so why not do it! So here I am.
Feedback: Sí, por favor! I love it! (:
Xabi finds it hard to talk about him and Steven with his Spanish friends. Pepe, Fernando, Alvaro and Mikel, not one of them is truly comfortable with having a chat over the good and bad of their relationship, let alone giving him advice, especially when his problems considered their sex life.
But somehow speaking to Sami, the tall Finn he has got to know so well over the years, is easy. At first it must have been the defender’s experience that made him open up so effortlessly in his presence, maybe it was their similarity or the blonde’s will to listen. But the fact that Sami wasn’t entirely unaccustomed to the male-on-male relationships, far from it, actually, must have given him the final push. If he ever needed someone to talk to, other than Steven, the Finn was the way to go.
And now he definitely needed a listener.
-
Steven has always been able to talk with his Carra about everything under the sun. Especially after finding out about Jamie’s not-so-very-platonic relationship with his fellow defender, the midfielder has told his closest friend everything, except from his and Xabi’s darkest secrets, which were really too dark to reveal to anyone. Jamie has become something like a confidant to him, although neither one of them would actually admit it being so, since both of them considers having confidants a very female thing to do, and they don’t share their lovers’ secrets with each other or gossip or anything (do they?).
-
Xabi takes another sip of the coffee that Sami has made for them. It’s Finnish, as usual, and he doesn’t actually like it (and that is the understatement of the month), but he’s too polite to tell this to the hospitable blond, he always is. The Basque finds it very hard to believe that Finnish people can actually drink and like this awful liquid they dare to call coffee.
The Spaniard wanders around the spacious living room that he’s very familiar with and stops to take a look at the Finn’s DVD collection. Sami is sitting on the couch, drinking his coffee and looking like he’s actually enjoying it. The name Uuno Turhapuro, which graces most of the DVD’s, gets the Basque’s attention almost immediately. He picks one of the cases with that name in it and takes a look at the cover.
“Sami? Why is there a shabby looking, toothless man here?” Xabi asks and sees how Sami grins as he recognises the movie.
“That’s Finnish comedy. You wouldn’t understand,” Sami replies and keeps grinning.
“Obviously,” Xabi mutters under his breath and puts the case back.
“So, what was it that brought you to my door?” Sami asks, still smiling friendly, encouragingly, and Xabi sits down on the comfy couch.
“Well…”
-
At the same time, unaware of their better halves having the exact same conversation as they are about to have, the two Scousers sit at the bar counter of one of the local bars, drinking their beers in comfortable silence.
“So, what is it that has got your knickers into a very uncomfortable twist?” Carra goes straight to the point, knowing that the bar is empty enough for Steven to tell him what is bothering him. He still sees his captain taking a look around, making sure it really is safe to talk about what he is about to talk about, without anyone eavesdropping on them.
“It’s about Xabi and me,” he tells Carra, after making sure he really can.
“I figured as much.” The defender remarks and rolls his eyes in amused frustration. Steven only glares at him before continuing.
“Well, our… sex life, to be exact.” He says this in a low voice, which is almost only a whisper. The look on Jamie’s face urges him to go on.
“It’s just that... Well, it’s not like it used to be. It hasn’t been for a while, actually.” Now that Jamie takes a good look at the captain, he sees how exhausted and worried he looks. It’s obvious that only a small part of the exhaustion is physical.
“You need to be a little more detailed with me, lad.”
It is Steven’s turn to roll his eyes.
-
“We are not how we used to be together. We are lacking the passion and most of the intimacy too. I know we’re bound to go through some bad times, that’s only normal, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier.” Xabi sighs and looks over at Sami.
“I know it is very cliché of me to say this, but maybe you just need to spice it up a little. You know, bring something new and exciting to it.”
“Well, the lack of passion is not the only problem. It’s the lack of having sex altogether that bothers me.”
-
“We used to shag each other every fucking day. Usually in several, separate occasions.” Jamie pulls his way-too-much-information face (the one he has had to use way too much for his liking with the two midfielders) at this. Steven ignores his friend and continues. “But now we’re both either too busy or too tired to even think about having sex - okay, that’s not entirely true, since I have given it some thought… When did we become an old married couple that only has sex on special occasions?”
“You are not an old married couple. You’re just going through a rough patch and I’m sure it will be over before you know it.”
Steven stays silent for a moment and Jamie takes advantage of the pause to finish his pint.
“I’m sure it’s not even as bad as you say it is. When did you do it the last time?” Carra asks out of genuine concern.
-
“When was the last time you had sex, then?” Sami asks in his innocent curiosity.
-
“Like… a week ago?” Steven answers with a sigh.
-
“Seventeen days ago. That quick blowjob eight days ago hardly counts as sex.” Xabi answers with a shake of his head.
-
“Week’s not that bad. It’s only seven days. You can blame that on a myriad of things. I wouldn’t call seven days a problem.” Jamie smiles at Steven cheeringly, but the midfielder’s expression is ever so gloomy.
“It becomes a problem when the last time before that blowjob last Tuesday - wait, doesn’t that make it eight days - anyway, before that blowjob we hadn’t had sex in… God, I can’t even remember.” Steven sighs again.
-
“When we actually do have sex, it’s like a routine for both of us and it feels like there is no real affection or desire in it. We both know each other thoroughly and at some point this seemed safe and lovely, but I guess we’ve got too accustomed to it by now. I miss that feeling of exploring and discovering each other when everything is new and fresh and exciting.” Xabi takes one last sip of his coffee that is now cold (who would’ve known it could taste even worse than it already did?).
“But you do still love him, right?”
-
“But the most important thing is that you love him, right? All you, or he, for that matter, need to know is that he’s the only one for you. You haven’t cheated on him or anything, have you?” Carra asks, not accusingly, but maybe just a tad suspiciously.
“No, of course I haven’t. God!” Steven looks at his friend, shocked at first, before smiling sheepishly (guiltily) and continuing. “I might have thought of it, occasionally. But only when Xabi wasn’t here and I was feeling lonely and bumped into Fernando on the street.”
“But you wouldn’t do it? I mean - you love him, don’t you?”
-
“Sí.”
-
“Yes, more than anything.”
-
“It’s just a phase, a phase that will be over in no time at all. But maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea to try and shorten this phase by, say, playing a little? Making it a bit more like how it used to be. It can’t be too hard when you both love each other.” Sami says and is rewarded with a shy smile from Xabi. “And why not start fixing this right now, eh?” He adds with a wink and a cheeky grin.
-
“Maybe, just maybe, in stead of moaning about all this to me, you should be talking it over with Xabi, or even better, patching up your relationship a bit less verbally - or well, if verbally does it for you, then I guess you can go with that too.” Carra grins and gives Stevie a brief hug, before watching his skipper practically run out of the bar, almost tripping over in his haste.
-
Both of the midfielders know it can’t all be fixed in a day, one short-lived conversation during the longest elevator-ride either one of them have ever experienced, before stumbling over to their apartment, can hardly be enough to take away all their doubts and fears and reveal all their hopes and desires.
But the bedroom, they find out only a matter of minutes later, is a good place to start the repairing in. The kisses, the exploration of tongues, the strokes, thrusts and gentle bites, all of it is so simple, easy and loving, that it is difficult to remember what was keeping them from doing it more often in the first place.
As they are both sated and already practically dozing off, Steven pulls his lover closer to him, so that he can feel Xabi’s sweaty skin against his and kiss him tenderly on those full, Spanish lips of his.
“I guess we suffered from the seven year itch - or whatever it is called around here - then, but I’m glad we’re not itching anymore!” Xabi announces, smiling, and snuggles up to his lover.
Steven only laughs whole-heartedly.
I remember reading an interview with Xabi talking about Sami and their friendship. But I can't seem to find it (hopefully I wasn't just dreaming. :D) The article containing this can be found
here. (Thank you for the link, peche_melba ! :D)
And Sami does love Uuno Turhapuro movies, he has said so on many occasions. And for those of you who are wondering, here is Uuno (and his wife):
Author:
salmiaggi
Rating: PG-13
Paring: Steven Gerrard/Xabi Alonso, Jamie Carragher/Sami Hyypiä [Again, I KNOW!]
Genre: Romance and maybe the tiniest hint of angst too
Summary: “When we actually do have sex, it’s like a routine for both of us and it feels like there is no real affection in it. We both know each other thoroughly and at some point this seemed safe and lovely, but I guess we’ve got too accustomed to it by now. I miss that feeling of exploring and discovering each other when everything is new and fresh and exciting.”
Wordcount: 1645
Disclaimer: You think this is really happening? Me either.
Author’s Notes: I got inspired and wrote this pretty much non-stop on Monday. I love holidays, I really do! Most of this is dialogue only, but I hope that won’t bother you too much! I’m not too sure with some bits of this and wasn’t going to post at all, but then I started thinking that sod it! My fics are only average at their best and well, posting this probably won’t kill me, so why not do it! So here I am.
Feedback: Sí, por favor! I love it! (:
Xabi finds it hard to talk about him and Steven with his Spanish friends. Pepe, Fernando, Alvaro and Mikel, not one of them is truly comfortable with having a chat over the good and bad of their relationship, let alone giving him advice, especially when his problems considered their sex life.
But somehow speaking to Sami, the tall Finn he has got to know so well over the years, is easy. At first it must have been the defender’s experience that made him open up so effortlessly in his presence, maybe it was their similarity or the blonde’s will to listen. But the fact that Sami wasn’t entirely unaccustomed to the male-on-male relationships, far from it, actually, must have given him the final push. If he ever needed someone to talk to, other than Steven, the Finn was the way to go.
And now he definitely needed a listener.
-
Steven has always been able to talk with his Carra about everything under the sun. Especially after finding out about Jamie’s not-so-very-platonic relationship with his fellow defender, the midfielder has told his closest friend everything, except from his and Xabi’s darkest secrets, which were really too dark to reveal to anyone. Jamie has become something like a confidant to him, although neither one of them would actually admit it being so, since both of them considers having confidants a very female thing to do, and they don’t share their lovers’ secrets with each other or gossip or anything (do they?).
-
Xabi takes another sip of the coffee that Sami has made for them. It’s Finnish, as usual, and he doesn’t actually like it (and that is the understatement of the month), but he’s too polite to tell this to the hospitable blond, he always is. The Basque finds it very hard to believe that Finnish people can actually drink and like this awful liquid they dare to call coffee.
The Spaniard wanders around the spacious living room that he’s very familiar with and stops to take a look at the Finn’s DVD collection. Sami is sitting on the couch, drinking his coffee and looking like he’s actually enjoying it. The name Uuno Turhapuro, which graces most of the DVD’s, gets the Basque’s attention almost immediately. He picks one of the cases with that name in it and takes a look at the cover.
“Sami? Why is there a shabby looking, toothless man here?” Xabi asks and sees how Sami grins as he recognises the movie.
“That’s Finnish comedy. You wouldn’t understand,” Sami replies and keeps grinning.
“Obviously,” Xabi mutters under his breath and puts the case back.
“So, what was it that brought you to my door?” Sami asks, still smiling friendly, encouragingly, and Xabi sits down on the comfy couch.
“Well…”
-
At the same time, unaware of their better halves having the exact same conversation as they are about to have, the two Scousers sit at the bar counter of one of the local bars, drinking their beers in comfortable silence.
“So, what is it that has got your knickers into a very uncomfortable twist?” Carra goes straight to the point, knowing that the bar is empty enough for Steven to tell him what is bothering him. He still sees his captain taking a look around, making sure it really is safe to talk about what he is about to talk about, without anyone eavesdropping on them.
“It’s about Xabi and me,” he tells Carra, after making sure he really can.
“I figured as much.” The defender remarks and rolls his eyes in amused frustration. Steven only glares at him before continuing.
“Well, our… sex life, to be exact.” He says this in a low voice, which is almost only a whisper. The look on Jamie’s face urges him to go on.
“It’s just that... Well, it’s not like it used to be. It hasn’t been for a while, actually.” Now that Jamie takes a good look at the captain, he sees how exhausted and worried he looks. It’s obvious that only a small part of the exhaustion is physical.
“You need to be a little more detailed with me, lad.”
It is Steven’s turn to roll his eyes.
-
“We are not how we used to be together. We are lacking the passion and most of the intimacy too. I know we’re bound to go through some bad times, that’s only normal, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier.” Xabi sighs and looks over at Sami.
“I know it is very cliché of me to say this, but maybe you just need to spice it up a little. You know, bring something new and exciting to it.”
“Well, the lack of passion is not the only problem. It’s the lack of having sex altogether that bothers me.”
-
“We used to shag each other every fucking day. Usually in several, separate occasions.” Jamie pulls his way-too-much-information face (the one he has had to use way too much for his liking with the two midfielders) at this. Steven ignores his friend and continues. “But now we’re both either too busy or too tired to even think about having sex - okay, that’s not entirely true, since I have given it some thought… When did we become an old married couple that only has sex on special occasions?”
“You are not an old married couple. You’re just going through a rough patch and I’m sure it will be over before you know it.”
Steven stays silent for a moment and Jamie takes advantage of the pause to finish his pint.
“I’m sure it’s not even as bad as you say it is. When did you do it the last time?” Carra asks out of genuine concern.
-
“When was the last time you had sex, then?” Sami asks in his innocent curiosity.
-
“Like… a week ago?” Steven answers with a sigh.
-
“Seventeen days ago. That quick blowjob eight days ago hardly counts as sex.” Xabi answers with a shake of his head.
-
“Week’s not that bad. It’s only seven days. You can blame that on a myriad of things. I wouldn’t call seven days a problem.” Jamie smiles at Steven cheeringly, but the midfielder’s expression is ever so gloomy.
“It becomes a problem when the last time before that blowjob last Tuesday - wait, doesn’t that make it eight days - anyway, before that blowjob we hadn’t had sex in… God, I can’t even remember.” Steven sighs again.
-
“When we actually do have sex, it’s like a routine for both of us and it feels like there is no real affection or desire in it. We both know each other thoroughly and at some point this seemed safe and lovely, but I guess we’ve got too accustomed to it by now. I miss that feeling of exploring and discovering each other when everything is new and fresh and exciting.” Xabi takes one last sip of his coffee that is now cold (who would’ve known it could taste even worse than it already did?).
“But you do still love him, right?”
-
“But the most important thing is that you love him, right? All you, or he, for that matter, need to know is that he’s the only one for you. You haven’t cheated on him or anything, have you?” Carra asks, not accusingly, but maybe just a tad suspiciously.
“No, of course I haven’t. God!” Steven looks at his friend, shocked at first, before smiling sheepishly (guiltily) and continuing. “I might have thought of it, occasionally. But only when Xabi wasn’t here and I was feeling lonely and bumped into Fernando on the street.”
“But you wouldn’t do it? I mean - you love him, don’t you?”
-
“Sí.”
-
“Yes, more than anything.”
-
“It’s just a phase, a phase that will be over in no time at all. But maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea to try and shorten this phase by, say, playing a little? Making it a bit more like how it used to be. It can’t be too hard when you both love each other.” Sami says and is rewarded with a shy smile from Xabi. “And why not start fixing this right now, eh?” He adds with a wink and a cheeky grin.
-
“Maybe, just maybe, in stead of moaning about all this to me, you should be talking it over with Xabi, or even better, patching up your relationship a bit less verbally - or well, if verbally does it for you, then I guess you can go with that too.” Carra grins and gives Stevie a brief hug, before watching his skipper practically run out of the bar, almost tripping over in his haste.
-
Both of the midfielders know it can’t all be fixed in a day, one short-lived conversation during the longest elevator-ride either one of them have ever experienced, before stumbling over to their apartment, can hardly be enough to take away all their doubts and fears and reveal all their hopes and desires.
But the bedroom, they find out only a matter of minutes later, is a good place to start the repairing in. The kisses, the exploration of tongues, the strokes, thrusts and gentle bites, all of it is so simple, easy and loving, that it is difficult to remember what was keeping them from doing it more often in the first place.
As they are both sated and already practically dozing off, Steven pulls his lover closer to him, so that he can feel Xabi’s sweaty skin against his and kiss him tenderly on those full, Spanish lips of his.
“I guess we suffered from the seven year itch - or whatever it is called around here - then, but I’m glad we’re not itching anymore!” Xabi announces, smiling, and snuggles up to his lover.
Steven only laughs whole-heartedly.
I remember reading an interview with Xabi talking about Sami and their friendship. But I can't seem to find it (hopefully I wasn't just dreaming. :D) The article containing this can be found
here. (Thank you for the link, peche_melba ! :D)
And Sami does love Uuno Turhapuro movies, he has said so on many occasions. And for those of you who are wondering, here is Uuno (and his wife):