Title: Deep in the Dark
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3, 50ficlets
Prompt: 18, Dark
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Ianto Jones or the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

***

Ianto looked around him, his eyes straining to see in the darkness. He hated this, hated being separated from the Doctor in any way, even when he knew that it was necessary. He felt rudderless, as though he was drifting without any destination.

Of course, the Time Lord was only a few feet away from him; they weren't really separated. But when the other man wasn't by his side, Ianto couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine, the short hairs on the back of his neck prickling with apprehension.

He wanted to say something, to hiss a single word aloud. "Doctor!" But the name wouldn't leave his lips; if it did, there might be someone nearby to hear it, an enemy they wouldn't be able to escape once they were discovered hiding here deep in the dark.

So he clamped his lips closed on any sound he might make and tried to calm himself, waited for the Doctor to be back at his side. He had no idea where in this cavernous room the other man was; try as he might, he could see nothing through the stygian darkness.

He hated the dark. He always had, from the time he was a child. There had been times when he'd been out with the Torchwood team that the darkness had been an asset, but more often than not, it had only been a liability, and dangerous to all of them.

Ianto shivered as he remembered the first time he'd gone on a mission with the team -- and had nearly ended up being dinner for a group of cannibals. No matter how hard he tried to forget those frightening hours, they always came back to haunt him at the worst possible times.

Because of that night, his fears of the darkness were enhanced. He tried to cover those fears, tried to push them back -- and there were times when he succeeded in doing so. But they would always come back to him when he least expected it.

He had to try to push those fears back. He couldn't let them rule his life and make him afraid -- and he had to watch the Doctor's back in any way he could. The Time Lord depended on him, and he wasn't going to let his lover down.

If only the dark wasn't a chasm of nothingness all around him. It would be much easier to push back his fears if there was some sort of light, even the dimmest flicker of illumination for his eyes to focus on, to let him know that the Doctor was near.

Of course he was near, Ianto told himself sternly. The Time Lord would never abandon him here in the darkness; he knew Ianto's fears well enough, and he'd even said that his lover didn't have to come with him to investigate whatever might be going on.

The Doctor would never leave him. Not here, not now. But something could easily have happened to him .... A new fear burgeoned in his mind, dwarfing all of his apprehensions about the darkness surrounding him. Fear for the Doctor's safety.

What if something had happened to the Time Lord? What if he was unconscious somewhere, and he couldn't call out for Ianto to help him? That could easily come to pass; in this darkness, no one would be able to see where they were heading, not even the Gallifreyan.

Just as the thought sent another cold chill traversing down his spine, he felt a hand on his arm, and heard a soft whisper close by his ear. "Ianto, are you all right? There doesn't seem to be anyone else here, at least not that I can sense."

Ianto gasped in relief, then nodded. A moment later, he felt foolish, realizing that the Doctor couldn't possibly see his nod in the darkness that surrounded them and threatened to swallow them up. "Yes, I'm fine. I just .... can't see a damned thing."

"I'm used to this kind of darkness, but I don't think it'll do any harm to cast a little light for you." With those words, a silvery light flared; Ianto blinked, trying to accustom himself to the fact that he could see again after having been in utter blackness for a while.

The light was coming from the sonic screwdriver, a pale, glowing silvery illumination in the dark. Ianto let out a soft sigh; the light was comforting, showing him that the Doctor was indeed right beside him, and that nothing had happened to his love.

"I think we should be getting back to the Tardis now, don't you?" the Doctor said softly, taking Ianto's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "There's nothing much that we can do here until it's light again. And we need to formulate a plan."

Ianto nodded, feeling relieved at the Doctor's words. "Lead the way," he murmured, following the silver illumination of light the the Doctor held in his hand as they made their way through the darkness in the direction of the ship.

***