Title: Cliff Diving
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Speed/Tyler
Rating: PG
Summary: Futurefic. He's still waiting for the world to drop out from under him.

"So are we ready to do this?"

She was way too perky, but somehow Speed managed not to tell her so. He had a feeling he was never going to get used to the cheerleader routine, but this whole thing was almost over and after today he was kind of hoping he'd never have to see her again.

A hard press of Tyler's knee against his thigh let him know that he wasn't hiding his reaction to her very well, but he wasn't really sure he cared. And even if he did, he was positive Andrea wouldn't even notice. She was one of those people who were just…happy, all the time, even if they didn't have a good reason.

Right now, for instance, she was grinning like an idiot while she opened a folder and pushed papers across the table, handing him a pen and turning her smile up a notch before she stood up. "I'll let you get started on those," she announced, smile still firmly in place and Speed wondered if her jaw ached at the end of the day. "Be right back."

He waited until the door closed behind her to shake his head, leaning back in his chair and reaching up with one hand to rub his eyes. "How can anyone be that happy all the time?"

"It's in her job description. She's a realtor," Tyler answered, grinning when Speed rolled his eyes. "Come on, she's not that bad. My dad said she's got a great reputation."

He couldn't really argue with that, because she had found them a house. A house they were about to sign for, and he still wasn't used to the idea of a thirty-year mortgage and property taxes. He was pretty accustomed to the idea of waking up next to Tyler every day, though, and if this was what it took to make sure that didn't change, he'd sign anything he had to.

"So we're really gonna do this."

Tyler laughed, rolling his eyes and reaching over Speed to pick up the pen. "If I sign the mortgage you're going to stop asking me that, right?"

And okay, maybe he'd said that once or twice since they decided to put in a bid on the house. Probably more than that, but it wasn't because he had any doubts. Not about Tyler, anyway, and definitely not about them. He couldn't really put his finger on exactly why he was holding back – mostly he just kept expecting something to happen to change everything, something that would pull the rug out from under them just as they started to think about the future.

He wanted to tell Tyler all that, to say it out loud so maybe he could figure out what was bothering him. But he could never find the right words, so instead he just shook his head and pulled the pen out of Tyler's hand. "Let's just get this over with."

The pages had been marked with little blue flags, and he initialed in all the right spots and then signed in the appropriate places. When he was done he handed the pen back to Tyler, watching as the other man signed under his name. And it was weird, seeing it all there in black and white, permanent in a way he'd never expected to see. He swallowed hard against a sudden tightness in his throat, and this was ridiculous, because he was not getting all worked up about a mortgage.

Still, the sight of Tyler's name next to his own on the page made it all seem real, and for the first time Speed could believe that this was actually going to happen. He'd meant it when he first suggested they look for a house, and he'd meant it when he told Tyler that he was ready to make such a permanent commitment. But until it actually happened there had been that fear nagging at the back of his head, telling him that things like this didn't happen for guys like him.

"I guess that makes it official." Tyler initialed the last box with a flourish, dropping the pen on top of the contract and turning to grin at Speed. As soon as he did his smile faded, and this was one of those times when Speed hated how easily Tyler could read him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Speed answered around the lump in his throat, willing Tyler to drop it before Andrea and her bionic grin came back.

"Tim, come on. If you're having second thoughts you've gotta tell me now."

"No," Speed said way too quickly, reaching out before he could talk himself out of it to close his hand around Tyler's. "I'm not – I'm not. I just…we're really gonna do this."

Tyler glanced down at their entwined fingers, and Speed flushed when he realized what he was doing. He tried to pull away, but Tyler held on tight and when the door opened he pulled Speed's hand under the table to rest against his thigh. Tyler grinned brightly at Andrea, pushing the mortgage back toward her with his free hand. "All signed."

"Wonderful," she said, teeth practically glowing when she grinned back at him. "And that means that these are yours."

She held up a set of keys, and Speed's heart skipped a beat at the sight of them. He'd hadn't felt so helpless or stupid in a long time, but as soon as he thought it Tyler's hand tightened on his to squeeze reassuringly. And he knew what that meant – Tyler understood what he couldn't put into words, just like he always seemed to know what Speed was thinking before he said it. Just another reason to be terrified about what was happening between them, but it was the biggest reason he couldn't walk away.

Tyler let go of his hand to take the keys from Andrea, standing up and shaking her hand. Speed didn't bother listening to whatever they said to each other, but he shook Andrea's hand when she turned toward him and mumbled something he was pretty sure sounded like a thank you. A few seconds later they were outside the realtor's office, Tyler's hand closing around his again and dragging him toward the car.

He slid into the passenger seat and looked over at Tyler, smiling as he held up the keys and grinned like a kid on Christmas morning. "Want to swing by the house and take a look around?"

Speed thought about pointing out that it probably looked exactly the same as it had last week when they did the second walk-through, but he swallowed the words before they could escape his throat. He didn't point out that they should go home and start packing, or maybe think about all the stuff they had to do before they could move in.

"Sure," he answered instead, reaching over to take the house keys out of Tyler's hand. "Let's go look at the house."

Our house. And he was starting to think he could get used to that.