m_findlow

Title: Eternal flame
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,137 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Juliet316's prompt "Torchwood, Jack/Ianto, slow dancing in a burning room" at fic_promptly
Summary: At the end, being together is all that matters

Jack had the feeling this morning that it was just going to be one of those days where nothing went right. Standing here now, he knew it for certain, and wished that he could have started the day over and made different choices, or at least just the one different choice. There were a lot of things he couldn't change, but he prayed like hell that he could have changed this one.

Ianto held his arm up over his mouth, feeling the thick black smoke tearing up his eyes and choking his lungs. And it was so incredibly hot that he felt soaked to the skin in sweat, whilst the heat served to evaporate it from his skin a split second later.

The factory was well ablaze now, and the place was almost certainly not going to recover once the flames were extinguished.

He felt a firm grip around his hand and even though he couldn't see it, he knew it was Jack, and he squeezed back as hard as he could, letting Jack know he was there, to try and lead the way.

They shouldn't have been in here, but as always they couldn't help themselves. If someone had said there was someone trapped, they'd have gone in after them. If someone said that there was an alien device going to blow up half the city if it overheated in the fire, Jack was always going to be the first person in there, trying to deactivate it and prevent utter destruction.

It was a foolish thing to have let Ianto accompany him, he knew, but the young man was adamant that he couldn't go in there alone. The place was a veritable maze, and there were a dozen ways Jack could've gotten lost if he hadn't had someone there who had memorised the outlay of the building. He only wished now that they could find their way out, and that he'd taken his chances with getting lost.

'I can't see,' Ianto said.

Jack's vision wasn't much better, but he knew he could be Ianto's eyes if only Ianto could be his map.

'Tell me which way.'

'Left, then two rights, then take the second left,' he coughed.

The smoke was thicker and more acrid the further they went. Jack suspected that if anything, they were heading closer to the main source of the fire, even if that was their only exit.

The ceiling in front of them collapsed, sending a shower of flames down in front of them, pouring thick clouds of smoke in every which direction.

'It's no good. We'll have to go back.'

Going back was a bad option, but the only option. There were no exits back the other way. Hunched over on hands and knees they crawled back the way they'd come, finally reaching the innermost section of the large factory complex. Jack threw open a door and ushered them in, closing it behind him. The fire hadn't yet reached these parts, and only a thin layer of smoke was able to creep under the doorjamb for now.

'On a scale of one to ten, how dead are we?' Ianto asked.

'The outer halls have collapsed in on themselves, meaning the upper levels are completely engulfed. They'll never get a fire crew out here in time to put it out before the whole place collapses.'

'Right, so burning to death, that's a ten, yeah?'

'The smoke will kill us first,' Jack stated.

'Good to know. I've never liked the idea of burning to death.'

'You're sure there's no other way out?' Jack knew he shouldn't bother asking. His clever lover would have said something ages ago.

'None,' Ianto confirmed. 'We should really write to the planning council, and complain about the design.'

Jack chuckled. 'I'm sure you'll pen a very firmly worded letter.'

Ianto stood there awkwardly, watching the grey smoke billow under the door. Death was one thing, and now that he was immortal it wasn't so much of a problem. He'd had a couple of deaths, but they'd all been rather sudden or unexpected. He hadn't thought he'd have to stand around and wait for death to catch up with him. It made him a little nervous. Dying was still dying, no matter how you looked at it. Knowing it was coming was altogether worse. Bad enough when he had to watch and wait for Jack to die. Today it would be both of them.

'So now what?'

Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto. 'Hold me.'

Ianto did, and somehow it felt like the only thing in the world that was right at that moment. What else was there to do?

Jack began to sway slightly, left then right, then left again.

'What are you doing?'

'If we're going to die here, I'd like one last moment with you before the end. Dance with me.'

It should have seemed like a ridiculous request, but Ianto found himself moving in time with Jack. It eased the nervousness he felt about what was to come next, and perhaps that had been the point. Jack didn't want him to be scared. He wanted him to feel safe and warm, even if feeling warm was not a problem. He didn't want Ianto to dwell on thoughts that the smoke would slowly suffocate them; that they'd be lying there helpless in death, waiting for the building to crumble on top of them, their bodies mangled and then engulfed in fire, burnt beyond recognition. He prayed that death would come quickly for them, and that they would stay that way until it was all over. There was only one certainty that mattered. They'd see each other again.

Ianto didn't know how long they stood there, swaying to an invisible tune as the black smoke eventually grew thicker, and the sound of burning wood and steel crashed all about them whilst they were still tucked away in this tiny little space, protected for just a few minutes longer than they would be outside, waiting for the inevitable. For a few moments he thought perhaps the building really would collapse first, sending a pile of fire and ash down upon them, burying them and burning them alive, but still the tiny room was holding up, as if by hope alone.

His head was beginning to grow fuzzy. The chemicals in the smoke from the burning plastics in the factory were far more toxic than the smoke itself, and he knew if he closed his eyes, that would be the end if it, he'd be overcome. He hoped that he would dream of dancing with Jack in the space between life and death.

He pressed closer to Jack. 'I love you,' he whispered.

'I'll see you soon,' Jack whispered back, gripping him tightly as he felt his eyes slip shut.