Title: Et la Mouvement C'est la Vie
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Speed/Tyler
Rating: PG
Summary: Futurefic. Dance is movement, and movement is life.

He still wasn't used to pulling up in front of a house instead of into an apartment complex parking lot. He wasn't used to neighbors who stood around in their driveways, pretending to be trimming shrubs or checking the mail just so they could get a glimpse of the new couple across the street. Or maybe they thought he and Tyler were just roommates – Speed hadn't asked, and he wasn't planning to. He'd never gone out of his way to get to know his neighbors when he was renting, and he wasn't planning to do it now.

Tyler, on the other hand – he'd already met the retired couple two doors down, and there was a plate of slightly burnt cookies sitting on their counter to prove it. Then there was the girl across the street, but Speed was pretty sure she'd been disappointed to find out that he came with the package. He shook his head at the memory of her face when Tyler introduced him and unlocked the front door, loud music hitting him full force when he pushed it open.

It was one of those pop/dance/club-type songs that Tyler liked – 'music you can move to', he called it. Speed was more of a rock fan, but he was pretty sure the elderly neighbors weren't going to appreciate any of their music if they played it this loud. He threaded his way through the boxes still lining the front hall, some of them open and half empty, through another doorway and into the living room.

He expected to find Tyler surrounded by boxes. He'd expected the living room to look like it had been hit by a hurricane, and he'd even expected Tyler to be singing along to the music. What he hadn't expected was to find Tyler's hips swaying back and forth, his back to Speed and his eyes closed as he danced.

He knew he shouldn't laugh. It wasn't so much that Tyler looked ridiculous – anyone else would, but he knew how to move and it definitely looked good on him. He just looked so…happy, like this was exactly what he was born to do, and Speed couldn't help grinning when Tyler swayed close to him. "This is what you do when I'm not here?"

Tyler's eyes opened, but if he was surprised to find he had an audience he didn't show it. Instead he grinned and moved a little closer, dancing around Speed and he found himself turning in a circle just so he wouldn't miss a single sway of those hips. Tyler's hand trailed down Speed's arm until he reached Speed's hand, threading their fingers together and pulling Speed toward him. "I can't say no to George. Dance with me."

Speed shook his head, but he didn't put up a fight when Tyler's other hand landed on his hip, moving him in time to the music. "You know I don't dance."

"But you should," Tyler said, smiling and pressing a little closer to Speed. "'Dance is movement, and movement is life'."

"Who said that?"

"Ludmilla Chiriaeff," Tyler answered, as though Speed should know exactly who that was. He thought about asking, but it was hard enough to focus while Tyler was dancing on his own, and when he was this close it was almost impossible.

Speed swallowed a sigh of relief when the song ended and tried to extricate himself from Tyler's grip, but Tyler just held on tighter and shook his head in time to the next song on the CD. The music slowed down, and Tyler was singing again, low and right against Speed's ear. The song was about fathers and love and if he listened to the words it was a little creepy, so Speed stopped listening and let Tyler move them both in time to the music.

"I thought we were going to unpack."

"We deserve a break," Tyler murmured between verses, lips brushing across Speed's neck.

"I just got here, I haven't done anything yet." And he wasn't even sure why he was arguing, because this was kind of…nice. He felt a little ridiculous, though, and he knew there was no way he could ever do this in front of witnesses.

"Just to the end of this song," Tyler answered, hand sliding off Speed's hip and across his ass. He pressed even closer, moving their hips together and Speed felt heat creeping up his cheeks when he imagined how they must look. "I love this song."

"It's disturbing."

Tyler laughed at that, the sound vibrating against Speed's neck. "It's metaphorical. Next time we can slow dance to Metallica."

"You hate Metallica."

"But I like you," Tyler reminded him, and Speed didn't quite manage to swallow a grin. Tyler's face was still pressed against his neck, though, so he gave in to the urge to smile at the image of them dancing to heavy metal.

"I still don't dance, you know."

"Mmm-hmm," Tyler murmured against his shoulder, eyes still closed and Speed couldn't resist pushing a hand through unruly blond hair. Tyler tilted his head up to press their lips together, body still moving in time with the music as he kissed Speed. By the time he pulled away the song was over, and when he grinned and let go Speed was surprised to find that he didn't want to stop. His head was spinning a little and he still felt like he was moving in time to the music, but he stopped himself from pulling Tyler right back up against him again.

"You can't slow dance to Metallica," he said, ducking his head to hide a smile when Tyler glanced at him.

"You ever tried?"

"No," Speed admitted, turning his attention to the boxes of books still waiting to be unpacked. "I told you, I don't…"

"Dance, I know." He could tell Tyler was grinning without even looking – he could hear it in his voice, feel it prickling along the skin on the back of his neck. He could still feel that body pressed up against him, too, and he was looking even less forward now to spending the rest of the night unpacking. "That's okay. I'm sure we'll think of something to do to Metallica by the time we unpack the CDs."

He looked up long enough to register Tyler's expression, the tips of his ears turning red when Tyler smiled. He didn't answer, but he turned his attention away from the books he'd been planning to unpack. It wasn't like they needed to read any of them in the next couple days, and the CDs needed to be unpacked first. Starting with his Metallica collection.