A/N: New fandom. New ship. Love this movie. They should not have died. The end. Enjoy!

(Side note: I know this premise has prob been written a million times and I'm way late to the party, but I had to write my own version and didn't feel the need to until now. :P)

*Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

Ash clouds drove hard behind them, barreling down as swiftly as their own heartbeats. Large rocks consumed in fire soared overhead. With every passing moment they prayed to their gods that nothing would touch them, that they would escape unscathed. They'd survived the death of Cassia's parents and friend, the death of Milo's friend, and triumphed over the imminent death of the corrupt Senator Corvus of Rome. To have come through such tragedy with only a small victory and not be long for this world felt too cruel a fate.

So, Milo drove Vires faster, as fast as the loyal horse would go. The white animal trusted both of them, would do anything for them, except sacrifice its own life. Cassia hoped it wouldn't come to that. Both covered in dirt, she clung to Milo, staring ahead at the untouched green of the hills before Vesuvius' wrath consumed it. If she willed her horse to go faster, to be just out of reach, just quick enough to save them, would it happen? Milo must surely be urging the horse to do the same. With their urging and Vires' loyalty and their prayers to their gods who had taken them so far, surely this would not be the end for them.

Lost in anxious, desperate thought, the shock was sudden and frightening when one of those flaming rocks landed nearly in front of them, startling Vires so horribly that the horse reared up on its hind legs, first sending Cassia to the ground and then Milo. Miraculously, the animal did not run off.

The lovers, not far from each other, quickly spotted one another and were reunited. Once in each other's arms, they turned to the approaching fiery cloud. They had lost so much time from the halt, and they were losing still more by watching such horror approach instead of attempting to flee again, instead of trying to live.

"You have to ride him out of here," Milo said, breaking Cassia's concentration. Immediately she focused entirely on him.

"No!" she cried, outraged that he could demand such a sacrifice of her after everything she'd lost.

"He's not fast enough. He can't carry us both. Go!"

"No, I won't leave you!"

"We don't have a choice!"

And she was mad then. She would do anything to prove her loyalty, her love for him. In a moment of recklessness, she turned to her precious, beautiful, loyal horse and nearly urged him to go, nearly hit his flank to run as fast and as far as he could while he still had a fighting chance. But at the last moment, she resisted. It would be so romantic, so poignant for her to die in Milo's arms, nothing tearing them apart any longer. But she wanted to live, and Milo did too. Of course he did.

They couldn't delay. They still had time. If they tried, they might make it. No one would be able to tell her they hadn't tried. And on their death, should they die, perhaps the gods would grant them mercy and bless them in the afterlife.

"We do have a choice!" she insisted, gripping his arms tightly. "We had a scare, but we have to try again. Before the fire comes and consumes us all, please!"

He couldn't refuse her. He was certain they would not make it much farther than they had. He'd wanted to save her, but even the time for that had come and gone with their stalling with conversation. But he loved her. He loved her so much already. If her desire was to die with him, to abandon all hope of living to be with him, and to try to save them both still, he would do as she said.

"Okay." He nodded. "Okay."

He got onto the horse and then pulled her up behind him. With an eager squeeze around the horse's belly, he drove the animal forward.

The clouds of ash and fire were so close now, the streams of liquid heat practically upon them, but still Milo drove Vires faster. It felt like forever and no time at all as they traveled into the hills, always just short of death, just short of the clouds that would burn them to a crisp, that would kill them within seconds. They could hear the vengeance of the mountain behind them, hear how much it wanted to cover them in its spewing hate.

Several more blazing rocks landed around them, but with none of them as close as the first, Vires did not react as he had before. He drove onward, faster than he'd ever gone, and Milo egged him on faster. When they were past the wrath of the mountain, when they could breathe fresh air again – or until they could breathe no longer – then he would ease up. Then the beautiful Vires could be at rest.

There was a time, almost near the end, when the smoke got very close, when it nearly circled around them, and Cassia truly thought this was it. Death would be soon to follow. She'd been a fool to think otherwise. Maybe she should have let Vires run off when he'd tossed both her and Milo to the ground. Maybe she should have taken the time to say her goodbyes to the man she'd fallen for so quickly, because he'd done more for her than anyone else, was more decent than any man except perhaps her father. Maybe they would have shared a kiss. And was there a more perfect way to go than with a kiss from the one you loved?

She shut her eyes, lay her head on Milo's back, and wrapped her arms tighter around him, waiting for the end, for the fires and smoke and ash to impale them, make them nothing, dispose of their bodies and souls because they were not worth saving.

But time enough later, Cassia could still feel her body tense on Vires and on Milo. She could feel her racing heart, hear it in her ears. She could feel the ash sticking to every inch of uncovered skin. And moments later, though her horse had not slowed, she could tell a distinct difference in the air around them.

It was easier to breathe.

"Milo?" she tried, though she knew it was unlikely he'd turn around to see if something was the matter.

"I smell it too," he said, not letting on more than that. "A little further."

She could hear hope in his voice, and relief flooded through her. She didn't dare loosen her grip to turn around and see if the smokes of ash and fire were dissipating. She couldn't risk all their lives by falling off Vires again at the speed he was going. So, she shut her eyes, clung even tighter to Milo as she rested her head again on his back, and dreamt of the glorious city of Pompeii that had been her home and safety for as long as she'd been alive.

The shift in Vires' speed made her eyes flash open. She loosened her grip some then and turned to look behind her. The wrath of the mountain had not stopped, but it had slowed, and its direction had turned away from them. Cassia's heart sped up, daring to wonder if this was real.

"We-"

"The gods have spared us," Milo said. He glanced over his shoulder at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes and on the corner of his lips. "Let us not waste this chance they've given to us."

Cassia could not restrain her own smile, but she lay her head back down, and Milo focused again wholeheartedly on driving Vires. Though not as hard he had before. Within an hour, Vires had slowed to a walk and then come to a stop entirely. When Cassia looked around them, she saw a blue sky and a lush countryside. And in the distance, she saw the faint outline of a small town.

"Milo, look!"

He followed her gaze after they'd set their feet on the ground and then wrapped his arm around her.

"Will we be free there, do you think?"

"I am a wealthy merchant's daughter, and you are the man that saved me," she said lightly, then looked up at him, softening. "But all I care about is that we are together."

He gazed into her eyes, even forgetting for a moment that they had survived a huge catastrophe. She was beautiful and strong and had chosen him in so many ways. Maybe she would in one more?

He dragged a dirty thumb lightly across her cheek, rested it along her jaw, and lowered his lips to kiss her. She melted into him and kissed him back, a hitched breath of happy tears falling past her lips.

"For as long as you'll have me, I'll be with you, and I will protect you."

She smiled against his face and nodded. Then she pulled her arms in to feel more of his warmth, and he wrapped both arms around her. They looked into the distance to that little village and the coast in the further direction and knew no fear. If they had been spared the wrath of the mountain, not a soul on earth could part them from each other.

"Let's go," he finally said, and they climbed once more onto the horse's back.

Loosely, Cassia wrapped her arms around him and thanked the gods for their mercy, praying that whatever lie ahead, it would not threaten their lives as fiercely as this had. That someplace in this world there would be a place for she and Milo together.

When they were nearly upon the village, Cassia heard Milo say her name, and she lifted her head to see what had caught his attention. People were emerging forth with blankets, food, and drink.

Cassia's breath caught in her throat.

"We are saved."

Milo squeezed her hand, still wrapped around him.

"You have saved us."