Lampard/Terry Exchange Fic

[tempered-rose.livejournal.com]

Title: Finding The Right Gift
Characters: John Terry/Frank Lampard; mentions Fernando Torres, Juan Mata
Rating: NC-17
Words: 2,436
A/N: written for Round 12 of the Football Slash Exchange. The prompt was ‘Swarovski crystals’ and the phrase ‘never too late’. I hope you like this, dear, I tried my best :) Enjoy ♥ Set for Frank’s 35th birthday… :)

Finding the perfect gift for Frank shouldn’t have been this difficult; after all, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t spent the past decade as lovers or anything. John should be used to this by now, and yet…this year he wasn’t.

John kept changing his mind over what to get him. He wanted it to be special; Frank was turning thirty-five this year, after all. There weren’t going to be that many more birthdays where they had the excuse of ‘team meeting’ to fall back on. John felt a pang; and if Frank left… No. Stop. He sighed. He wasn’t going to go there, not today and not ever. Frank wasn’t ever going to leave Chelsea. At least, not until he retired, which God-willing wasn’t going to be for another twenty years…at least that’s what John hoped for at any rate.

A watch seemed impersonal; that’s something that the club would give for x-number years of service, or for your contract extension or some nonsense like that. Cufflinks followed the same similar path, except maybe an old girlfriend would’ve been the one giving those instead. Cologne would have been an option, had John not been roped into ‘baby-sitting’ Isla and Luna while they went ‘shopping for daddy’s present!’ and knew for a matter of a fact that Frank’s preferred brand had already been wrapped up by his girls and was hiding in one of their wardrobes at home.

Clothes seemed like something Christine would give him, so that wasn’t likely either. A car was too obvious, and John was trying for a modicum of decorum and sensibility. That fact, too, made it hard to have a ‘romantic dinner on the town’; the papers would absolutely gush in delight to bust the two leading men of Chelsea snogging in a pub somewhere. No thanks, mate, John thought and sighed. A romantic night was something he was considering; he would’ve already made the reservations at a posh hotel if he hadn’t done that for every birthday he’d been with Frank.

John sighed. Maybe gift-giving wasn’t his game. He thought he’d ask advice from someone, but he wasn’t sure who. Never mind the fact he was a married man buying gifts for his lover; never mind he didn’t know who he would ask such a personal question from in the first place.

Frank knew something was going on with John because of the raised eyebrows and the ‘ya alright, JT?’s he kept receiving on his lover’s part. John was working himself up about it and he knew he would have to calm down about it eventually otherwise he’d go mental and muck the whole thing up. John would laugh off Frank’s inquiries with a smart-arse comment, usually along the lines of “I’d be more alright if you were against a wall”, which usually made Frank roll his darkening eyes before running off after given a smirk and a pat on his arse. John loved it when Frank teased him; then again, he also loved teasing Frank.

John sighed with his face buried in one of the plush towels after his post-training shower. He still had several weeks to decide what to get him, but with the season wrapping up, England internationals being called up, and everyone going on holiday, John hadn’t had the time, nor the space to think of never mind get a present for Frank. He sighed to himself, more than anything. Looks like it was going to be another year of a quickie—or if they were exceptionally lucky, all night—in another hotel suite that would be over before John really felt like they’d accomplished anything besides the usual great sex.

“Right, out with it,” Frank said suddenly, making John jump and look up from the towel. “ What’s been rolling around in that brain of yours making you moody and all this other nonsense?”

Leave it to Frank to address the issue, and also to not cut corners to get to his point.

JT loved that in a man.

He sighed, nevertheless.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine?”

“And I’m the Queen.”

“Well…you do look great in that corset and stock—Ow!”

John rubbed his rib where Frank had elbowed him, not gently either.

Frank glared at him, the vein showing his growing temper began to twitch. John knew he was pushing all the right buttons to get Frank to forget about his query.

“Come on, Lampsy. You know that seeing you like that gets me all—”

“John!” Frank pushed at JT’s hand, which had been inching its way up Frank’s thigh, and stood up. “I’m trying to be serious here!”

John sighed. “Why can’t you just leave it?”

Frank raised an eyebrow. “I’m worried about you; you’ve been acting off for ages now. You put the wrong boots on, you put on the wrong kit. You forget half of your shower kit in your own locker every other day. You don’t mess about with your hair like normal… Something’s wrong and I want to know what it is!”

John sighed and shook his head.

“I’m just…having trouble with something.”

Something in his tone softened Frank’s heart and expression. The older man resumed his seat on the bench and pulled the captain close and kissed his temple.

“What’s wrong? Trouble at home? Trouble here? Tell me and we’ll fix it.” Frank’s voice was soft but still rugged enough that the concern present in his tone still was drowned out by other memories of the same tone murmuring his name in the dark. John wanted to distract Frank so that he wouldn’t ask again, but deep down he knew it was pointless. It might not be today, but tomorrow or the day after, Frank would come back to ask and, try as he might, John couldn’t keep him from learning about his problem forever. He’d probably have cracked and been sent to the mental ward by then if he kept it bottled up much longer.

So, with a heavy sigh, he finally released his pent up anxiety.

“I don’t know what to get you for your birthday.”

He felt Frank’s pause more than he saw it. Sparing a glance in the midfielder’s direction, JT watched as Frank tried to figure out the connotation between John’s mood and why his birthday was relevant. When he figured it out a few short seconds later, John felt aggravated when Frank started to laugh. It started as a quiet chuckle before quickly tripping into a full-out laugh.

John pushed away and humphed out a sigh. He never liked being laughed at, not ever. Especially not over something serious like this.

“It’s not funny!”

“It is, it is” Frank returned and then managed to clear his throat and he sobered up, mostly. John was reluctant to give him credit for getting over that much humor in so short a time. “John, my birthday isn’t important to me, you know that. I’ll like whatever you get me.”

“You always say that, and it always ends up being the same thing!” John sighed and his shoulders slumped. “I want it to be special this year.”

Frank’s fingers twitched like they were going to reach out for him like usual, but a burst of laughter from the showers, a sound that was coming in their direction, stopped him. Frank just leaned closer.

“Listen here, JT. I love our nights together, even when they aren’t on my birthday. I love them because it’s time spent with you, and that’s what’s most important to me. Being with you is present enough, and it always will be. Stop worrying.” Frank patted his knee and stood up, turning away smoothly just in time for Torres and Mata to round the corner, eagerly discussing something in rapid Spanish.

John looked at Frank and saw his Adam’s apple bob in time with some deep emotion he felt and finally, John could see it too. Maybe Frank was right. Being alone together was more important than some trivial gift. John nodded as he stood.

He spoke so only Frank could hear, “you’re right”, and then he grabbed his clothes and started to dress.

As the others left the locker room, John had already pulled out his phone and was busy making a reservation.

***

Frank was sprawled on the bed looking more delicious than any man on Earth had a right to be. John considered it excellent that he had made it this far without having come early. Frank’s skin was a contrast to the deep blue in the sheets, sheets that were wrapped barely over his hip, just enough to hide his cock from view but not much of anything else. John licked his lips.

“Why don’t you stop staring and come here?” Frank asked with a quirked eyebrow. John grinned.

“I will…but in a second.” John carried the shimmering glasses of sparkling champagne across the room and handed one off to Frank before he climbed carefully onto the bed. John felt inwardly pleased when he noticed that Frank actually took a minute to look at the glass.

“Is this…?”

John nodded. “Swarovski crystal. I got you a full set to enjoy.” John shrugged, then felt shy enough to add, “as much as you drink, I thought they’d get used.”

He grinned cheekily so that Frank would have to react and he wouldn’t have to feel awkward; you know, just in case Frank hadn’t liked them. Frank moved to swat him, but John moved quickly enough, downed his champagne so he could avoid eye-contact with Frank.

“They’re beautiful. I’d best not break them.” Frank said, sipping his champagne before leaning over to put the glass on the table. “Come here, you.”

John mirrored Frank’s movement of putting the glass on the table and moved closer to Frank. He leaned over Frank’s body and kissed him, hard enough to cause a tent to form in the sheet covering Frank’s body. John smirked against his lips before Frank pulled back.

“Thanks for the present, but I’ve already told you, you’re enough for me.” Frank smiled, not just with his lips but also with his eyes. John nodded.

“I remember you saying that, but I still wanted to get you something for when I’m not around.” John shrugged. His eyes widened when Frank pulled him flush against his body and ran his hands down his back and immediately grabbed his ass.

“I really don’t think you’re hearing me.” Frank murmured quietly near John’s ear, and then kissed the skin behind his ear, and then started to nibble on his earlobe. John groaned low in his throat and braced himself on his elbows. “I will always think of you when you’re not around, I do now and I always will. I don’t want you to feel like you have to prove to me that you’re around. I know you are. I love you for it.”

The way Frank said it, as if it was something so simple and so easy to say as if he’d always felt that way about him made John smile a little bit more genuinely instead of sheepishly. Frank made eye-contact with him before he leaned closer and kissed John softly on the lips. John returned quickly and deepened the kiss as soon as he could.

Frank’s fingertips moved along his spine, causing him to shiver and John pressed their hips together, moving the sheet in the process. Frank groaned low in his throat when their bodies touched completely and John slowly moved his hips to make Frank groan again.

John watched Frank lick his lips and start to speak but John silenced him with a kiss as he fumbled over for the condom they’d thrown on the bed earlier. He managed to find it and even more impressively got it onto his shaft. Frank surprised him by having found the lube without John even noticing, or breaking their kiss. He surprised him more by stroking John’s condom-covered cock with a lubed hand.

“Fuck,” John groaned and bucked his hips into Frank’s hand. “I hate when you do that.”

Frank smirked. “No you don’t. You love it.”

John knocked Frank’s hands away carefully as he shifted over his body and kissed him again. Frank’s leg moved around John’s waist without John having to ask. They kissed deeply and continued to do so until John took himself in hand and pressed slowly into Frank’s warm body.

Frank groaned again, John was excited to hear, and tightened immediately on his shaft. John moved slowly, wanting to enjoy it as long as possible. Frank bruised his skin by digging his fingers into his hips; he pressed closer and urged John deeper, as deep as possible.

“Fuck John, fuck me.”

John didn’t think Frank should have to wait or be teased, at least not tonight since it was his birthday after all…

John braced himself on the bed and using the way Frank was clutching at him as leverage and thrust deeply into his lover. He kept his eyes open for as long as he could, staring at Frank and hoping that he felt the same amount of love and trust that he did and fuck how it just felt so good between them.

Things were perfect, comfortable, and yet they still always had this connection, this intense lust-driven haze that drove them into wanting to touch one another and be with one another in the most intimate, carnal way possible, like this. John groaned loudly and sped up his thrusts so that Frank had to quickly stroke himself to keep up with the maddening pace that John was setting.

With a few loud groans on both their parts, John sent them both over the cliff’s edge and spinning into the chaos that rendered both of them temporarily deaf to the world.

John found himself returning to conscious thought when he realized Frank was holding him from behind and they were under the sheet together.

“Did I…I didn’t fall asleep did I?” John asked, cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.

“No, just too blissed out to notice me cleaning you up and holding you for a few minutes.” Frank smiled, John could feel it, against his cheek. “Thank you for spending tonight with me.”

John held Frank’s hand and smiled. “Always.”

Frank smiled again and this time he kissed John’s cheek and held him closer.

Next year, John thought, I’m going to start planning this better. I’ll start tomorrow for next year, that way I won’t be late or procrastinate.

Determined, John closed his eyes and relaxed into sleep with Frank still wrapped around his body.