Torchwood: Fanfic: Leap of faith

[m_findlow]

Title: Leap of faith
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 750 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for badly_knitted's prompt "Any, any, Jumping off a cliff" at fic_promptly
Summary: Ianto always knew being with Jack would require him to take the plunge

Ianto swallowed hard, trying to quell the urge to panic. He chanced another look over the edge and immediately regretted it, seeing the dizzying drop below. He hated heights.

It was a shame too, because the vista from up here would have been so lovely had they the time to enjoy it properly; the sandy cliffs dropping away into the vast blue sea below them. Down at the base it was remarkably still, with hardly a white top to be seen. That meant that the water was deep, and that the cliff descended far below the water's surface. Had it been shallower, the sea would have slowed and broken over the shore as it rose up to meet the cliff face. Water always looked so soft up close, but from up here it looked like a solid sheet of blue stone. He'd done enough poorly executed dives over the years to know that landing badly in the water hurt like hell.

Everything had been going so well. He had actually been starting to enjoy himself. Then Jack's curiosity had gotten the better of him. He wanted to be mad at Jack, but found he couldn't. He'd meant well. He'd seen the caves and thought that inside might be fire worms. Apparently they were like glow worms but much more spectacular, glittering like miniature fireworks in every colour imaginable. He wanted to impress Ianto, though it wasn't necessary. They had all of eternity to explore and experience the wonders of the galaxy. There was no rush to see and do it all right now. Still, Jack's enthusiasm was infectious and he quickly followed after him.

True to his word, there were indeed fire worms, and they were every bit as amazing as Jack had described them, probably more. Against the pitch blackness of the cavern, it was like standing out amongst the stars, able to reach out and touch them, before they exploded in a spark of colour, fluttering away to rest on another part of the wall.

The problem was that they weren't the only thing inhabiting the cave. They'd inadvertently awakened a nasty beast, hidden in the darkness. It wasn't until it was chasing them all the way to the cliff's edge that they finally got a proper look at it, and nasty was exactly the right word for it. It was all sharp teeth, sharp claws and mangy fur, with vicious yellow eyes.

'Ianto,' Jack said, gripping his hand tightly as they edged further backwards, right to the very brink, the creature creeping slowly forward, blocking them in.

'Jack,' he replied, not sure what else to say.

'Jump,' he instructed. 'It's our only option.'

He looked back over the edge again, cringing. Holy hell it was a long way down. 'Chances of dying?'

'About ninety-nine percent.'

'That's a really bad option.'

'Being brutally, painfully torn into a million tiny pieces by this thing isn't a great option either,' he said as it growled menacingly at the pair of them.

'So we're dead either way. What's the point of jumping, then?'

'Because I'd rather not watch you being ripped apart. If you don't jump, I'll push you.'

'You'd what?' he sputtered, forgetting their peril for a moment.

'I'd rather you die a quick, clean death than suffer a slow, agonising one.'

There was a morbid logic in Jack's thinking, and he supposed if it came down to it, he might make the same decision for Jack. This being immortal business was all still a bit new to him, and he hadn't really planned on trying it out to its full extent yet, certainly not if he didn't have to. Perhaps after a few deaths this sort of thing might feel a bit more natural or commonplace. He'd watched Jack for years nonchalantly throwing his life away for this reason or that, never giving it a second thought, always knowing he'd come back. Faced with the same prospect now, it didn't seem nearly so easy a decision to make.

The creature crept closer, snarling, only a yard or two in front of them, readying to go in for the kill.

'You really will push me, won't you?'

'Without hesitation,' Jack confirmed.

'Okay,' he replied, squeezing Jack's hand tighter, swallowing hard again. 'Together then. If I jump, you jump.'

'Okay.' He paused. 'Ianto?'

'Jack?'

'I love you.'

'I love you, too.'

'I promise I'll make this up to you.'

'You'd better.'

The creature pounced and they jumped off the edge.

Comments

[bk_forever]

Ooooh, rather them than me! I can't even swim! Who knows, maybe they'll survive the jump and can swim ashore. They could get lucky, right?