Title: When Years Have Stolen
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Speed/Tyler
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Futurefic for the Speed/Tyler universe. In which there is smut and discussion of the future.

They'd been at it for almost a month, and it was starting to make sense to him. Tyler had been able to see it all along, but he was the one with the imagination, so Speed wasn't really surprised that he could convince himself a few boxes and some old sheets were the interior of a castle. It had taken Speed hours of painting and building and more carpentry than he'd ever thought he could pull off to see what Tyler had been seeing all along, but he finally got it.

He stood back and surveyed the stage, cataloging each detail to make sure they hadn't missed anything. The backdrops were painted to reflect the inside of a castle, and he was surprised at what a good job the set decorators had done considering they were just a couple moms who volunteered to do the painting. They'd done a better job than he ever could, though, and if he stood back far enough he could almost believe he was looking down a hallway instead of at a flat backdrop.

The 'thrones' he'd built out of donated plywood had been painted to look more or less authentic – as authentic as plywood could get, anyway, and on one side of the stage stood the platform housing piles of old comforters that was supposed to represent the bed the princess would find her pea in at the end of the play. He'd seen the kids rehearse it often enough to know the story better than he ever wanted to, and he had to admit – at least to himself – that they did a pretty good job.

He heard chairs scraping behind him and glanced over his shoulder, his mouth twitching into a lopsided grin as he watched Tyler rearranging the chairs the kids had set out earlier. "And you call me a perfectionist."

Tyler smiled and straightened one last chair before he started down the center aisle toward the stage. "Just making sure everybody's got the best view possible."

He knew how excited Tyler was about the show – it was all he'd been talking about for weeks, and it was hard to believe opening night was only a few days away. Not that he could blame Tyler for being excited considering he'd helped write most of the music and choreographed the whole thing. And Speed was still trying to wrap his mind around the concept of a musical version of The Princess and the Pea, but he'd seen it and he knew it was good.

When Tyler reached the edge of the stage Speed reached out a hand to help him up, his temperature rising a degree or two as he watched the graceful way the other man moved. Everything he did was effortless, and after watching Tyler run through the dance moves with the kids all afternoon Speed couldn't help paying attention to the way he moved. This wasn't the place to be thinking about what Tyler could do with his body, though, so he cleared his throat and nodded at the sets.

"It all came together pretty well."

"Mmm," Tyler murmured in response, his hand landing on Speed's back to trail down his spine. "Looks great. Not as good as you, though. Watching you with that hammer all day…"

Tyler leaned in as he spoke, his words trailing off as he found a sensitive spot on Speed's neck. Speed shivered and leaned into the touch for a second before he remembered where they were and turned to look at Tyler. "We should go home."

Soft laughter vibrated against his neck, Tyler's hand sliding further down his back to rest against the top of his jeans. "Relax, there's nobody here."

And he knew better – he should refuse, move to a safe distance and insist they go home before they started something they'd regret. But he spent the afternoon watching Tyler dancing, and when he wasn't dancing he was laughing along with the kids at jokes Speed hardly ever understood, and after spending the past few hours watching that Speed's resistance was down. Not that he ever had much resistance when it came to Tyler – he proved that on their first date, and he gave up trying to fight it a long time ago.

Tyler's hand was moving again, tugging his shirt out of his jeans to slide his hand underneath, warm against Speed's back and Speed really was easy if all it took was a touch to make him hard. That had been his response to Tyler since the beginning, though, so instead of trying to talk either of them out of it he pulled Tyler toward him and pressed their mouths together. He'd been thinking about kissing Tyler all afternoon, spending his time between putting the finishing touches on the set and watching Tyler rehearse by fantasizing about what he wanted to do when he got Tyler alone. He hadn't let himself think about doing anything until they got home, but Tyler seemed to think it was a pretty good idea and he wasn't going to argue.

When he pulled away Tyler grinned at him, his hand leaving Speed's back to loop through the belt loops on his jeans. He tugged Speed forward, and when Speed realized what he had in mind he blushed crimson. "We can't."

"We have to," Tyler answered, still dragging him steadily forward. "We have to make sure it's stable."

"It's supposed to hold a sixty-pound girl, not us."

"It'll be fine," Tyler said, and it was obvious by the way he was grinning that he wasn't planning to let Speed talk him out of this. "I have faith in your craftsmanship."

"That's your first problem," Speed muttered, but he let Tyler pull him onto the bed he'd made out of plywood and covered in donated comforters. It was softer than he'd expected it to be – he'd never admit it, but he'd been a little worried about the girl who had to climb up on this thing and toss and turn like there was a pea under the comforters keeping her from getting comfortable. He was glad she wasn't going to hurt herself doing it, because she was a cute kid and he'd never forgive himself if one of them hurt themselves on something he'd built.

"See? Nothing to worry about," Tyler said, and Speed knew Tyler hadn't read his mind, but it still took him a second or two to recover before he nodded.

"That doesn't make you any less crazy."

Tyler grinned and tugged his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the stage floor before he reached for Speed's shirt. "I can live with that."

Speed laughed, the sound echoing in the silence of the small theater. It was a little weird to be here all alone, but they'd spent more time here in the past few weeks than they had in their own apartment, so in a way it felt…right. Tyler's hands felt right on his skin, anyway, and when they tugged at Speed's jeans he lifted his hips and let Tyler pull them off.

Any second now he was sure the door was going to open, that someone was going to walk in and catch them, but it was hard to care when Tyler was peeling off the rest of their clothes and pushing him back onto the comforters. He'd spent the whole day thinking about this moment, his hands sliding up Tyler's back and that smile directed at him as Tyler leaned over to kiss him again. He surged up to meet the other man, fingers pressing into warm skin as he pulled Tyler closer.

Tyler moaned against his mouth and shifted his hips just a little, sliding their cocks together and Speed couldn't stop himself from arching up into the sensation. He didn't want to, not after a whole day of keeping his hands to himself. Now that he could touch his hands were everywhere at once, tracing the curve of Tyler's hip and sliding along his thighs, pulling him closer until they were moving together in a slow, gentle rhythm.

He was so lost in the sensation of Tyler moving against him that it took him a second to register when the other man tensed and pulled away, and another second or two to open his eyes and register Tyler's expression. "What?"

"Shh," Tyler murmured distractedly, gazed fixed on a point over Speed's head. And he'd known this was a bad idea, but until that moment he hadn't let himself think about what would happen if they did get caught.

"I told you this was a bad idea. Come on, get off." He pushed at Tyler but the other man refused to budge, his thighs gripping Speed's hips even harder.

"I thought that was what we were doing."

Speed stopped struggling long enough to glance up at the other man, rolling his eyes at Tyler's grin. He couldn't believe he'd fallen for such an obvious joke, especially when the theater was so silent he would have heard a pin drop. Still, Tyler was distracting, and he used that to his advantage whenever he could. "I know where you sleep, you know."

"I hope so," Tyler said, still grinning and it was hard to pretend he was mad when Tyler was looking at him like that. "It's your bed."

"Our bed. I don't know how you slept on that mattress of yours for so long."

"It wasn't that bad."

"These comforters are softer than that thing," Speed said, laughing when Tyler frowned at him. When Tyler suggested they move in together his first reaction had been panic, but it had been worth it just to get Tyler to throw that mattress away. He had no idea where it came from, and he didn't care as long as he never had to see it again. "Wouldn't hurt to have an extra bed, though. We should think about getting a bigger place."

"Yeah? Are there any two bedrooms open? Or are we talking a whole new apartment complex?"

Speed shrugged against the comforters and glanced down at Tyler's chest, suddenly self-conscious even though he'd thought this through and weighed all the pros and cons at least a dozen times. It was practical – he'd told himself that over and over again, but now that he'd actually brought it up he wasn't sure he was ready to take the next step.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep throwing money away on rent. The housing market's pretty good right now, and we could use a bigger kitchen."

For a long moment Tyler didn't say anything; he didn't move, hands still firmly planted on Speed's chest and knees resting on either side of Speed's hips. The silence stretched out another second, then another and finally Speed forced himself to look up, swallowing a laugh at Tyler's shell-shocked expression.

"Are you asking me to…buy real estate with you?"

"It just makes sense," Speed answered, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt. He didn't really think Tyler would laugh at him or tell him no, but there was always the chance he wasn't looking for that kind of commitment. "I'm not planning on going anywhere, so unless you are…"

"No," Tyler interrupted. "I mean yes. I mean…"

That was as far as he got before Speed took advantage of his shock long enough to push him backwards, flipping them over until Tyler was trapped underneath him. He didn't really want to talk about this right now, not when they were still out in the open where anyone could see them. "Can we talk about this later?"

Tyler nodded, head moving up and down against the comforters as he slid a hand around the back of Speed's neck to pull him forward. He murmured something incoherent against Speed's mouth, then again as he trailed hot kisses along Speed's jaw. By the time he got to Speed's neck the words were vibrating against his skin, and he pulled back far enough to let Tyler whisper them against his ear.

And he'd never had much use for romance, but he couldn't ignore the way his heart sped up whenever Tyler murmured 'I love you'. He had a feeling Tyler knew that, because he said it again when Speed dipped his head to open his mouth against Tyler's collarbone. It still seemed kind of stupid to want to hear those words – they were just words, after all, but Tyler meant them and that made all the difference. He knew Speed meant them too, even if he couldn't bring himself to say it nearly as often.

He sucked hard at Tyler's skin, not letting up until the other man was gasping and arching up against him. When he finally did pull back there was a mouth-shaped mark already forming, and he leaned forward to press a soothing kiss against the spot before he moved down Tyler's chest. He wrapped one hand around Tyler's cock, stroking slowly as he pressed hot kisses down his stomach.

Tyler's hands pushed through his hair, urging him faster until he finally gave in and closed his mouth over the other man's cock. His hands pressed Tyler's hips firm against the makeshift bed, keeping him from thrusting too hard and ending things before they even got started. He knew he should hurry, but the theater was still silent and he didn't want to rush this. Instead he took his time, using his tongue to torture Tyler until he was gripping Speed's hair and begging murmuring a stream of nonsense words.

Instantly Speed moved faster, swallowing around Tyler's length, then again until Tyler arched hard against him and came. He waited until the last shudder passed through the other man before he pulled away, spitting into one hand while he pushed Tyler's legs apart with the other. He didn't wait for Tyler to catch his breath before he slid a slick hand past his balls, pressing two wet fingers inside.

Tyler groaned and pulled his knees toward his chest, summoning a reserve of energy that still managed to amaze Speed even after all this time. He pressed down, drawing Speed's fingers even deeper inside and Speed wished the way he always did that they could stay like this forever. Tyler's eyes were closed, neck arched and his chest heaving with the struggle to catch his breath, and Speed was never going to get used to how much Tyler trusted him.

"Open your eyes," he said, voice rough and he didn't even care how he sounded because a second later Tyler was looking at him, eyes heavy with lust and his lips parted.

Speed leaned forward for one last hard kiss before he pulled his hand away, kneeling between Tyler's knees and tilting his hips just so before he slid inside in one smooth stroke. He paused when he was buried deep inside, one hand fisted hard in the comforter next to Tyler's shoulder as he adjusted to tight heat. It seemed almost strange, knowing this was it for both of them, but he knew he didn't want anybody else. He never wanted to go back to the way things were before Tyler, and he was pretty sure Tyler felt the same way. He was willing to buy property together, anyway, and that was as big a commitment as Speed could think of.

When Tyler arched up against him he started moving, slow at first until they found a rhythm. He fought the urge to close his eyes against the sight of Tyler moving under him, his whole body flushed with the effort of keeping pace with the other man. When Tyler pressed up more urgently Speed took the hint, angling his hips to hit that spot that made Tyler gasp and clamp down hard on him. He waited until Tyler relaxed to do it again, moving faster and faster until finally he let out a moan and came.

It was over long before he was ready, and when he finally pulled out he collapsed next to Tyler in a sweaty, boneless heap. The last thing he wanted to think about was getting up and getting dressed again, but they couldn't stay here all night or someone really would find them. Still, they didn't have to get up this second, and maybe by the time he caught his breath he'd have some feeling in his legs again.

He felt Tyler shift next to him, pushing himself up on one elbow to look down at Speed. He could practically feel Tyler's grin before he forced himself to look over, summoning the last of his strength just so he could see that smile. "What?"

"So you've been researching the housing market?"

Speed rolled his eyes but didn't try to get up – he knew they were going to have this conversation eventually, and it would be a lot easier if he just told Tyler what he wanted to hear and got it over with. "I looked at a few listings."

"When were you going to tell me about this?"

"I just did," Speed shot back, although he knew that wasn't what Tyler meant. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been thinking about it – it just seemed like the next logical step. "Look, if you don't want…"

"I want," Tyler interrupted, leaning in to press a placating kiss to the corner of Speed's mouth. "You know I do."

And it was true, but it was nice to hear it anyway, not that Speed was going to admit that. Instead he slid a hand into Tyler's hair and pulled him close, pressing their lips together.

"You think we should wash this thing?" he asked when they came up for air, sparing a glance at the comforter under them.

Tyler laughed, his breath warming Speed's cheek. For a second he seemed like he was considering it, then he shook his head and sat up. Speed watched him climb off the makeshift bed, taking the hand Tyler held out to him and letting him pull Speed to his feet. "I say we take it off and put it on the bottom of the pile."

Part of Speed wanted to argue, but the part of him that didn't really want to go home, wash a comforter, and then drive it all the way back across town when he could be in bed with Tyler finally won out. "You get that side, I'll take this one."