Another MFU blurb

Written for today’s short affair prompt at Section VII; continuation of last week’s piece.

Summary: Now it’s time to ask about Napoleon’s eyes–and Illya has stories to tell about him, too.

Notes:
There are two versions of this piece.  This is the light slash
version (also cross-posted to AO3).  There is a gen version on my
dreamwidth if you’d prefer reading that.
The two blurbs are around 90% similar.

Asking around U.N.C.L.E. HQ about Napoleon’s eyes gives you
a generally unanimous consensus.
Napoleon is a very popular fellow, and very well-liked and admired
throughout the agency.  Most of the ones
you ask will give you “warm” and “friendly,” and you’re sure to hear “charming”
a lot.

Napoleon does have a few detractors in the agency, however,
but you’ll have to look really hard to find them.  They do exist, though–those jealous of his
popularity and how well he’s liked; they’ll tell you his eyes are filled with
nothing but “deviousness,” “smugness” and “arrogance,” though that is simply
just not true—and if you speak to Illya Kuryakin, he will tell you just how
untrue it is.

Illya is an interesting person to speak to where Napoleon
is concerned—in front of Napoleon, he’s all snark and teasing, and certainly
sees no need to stoke Napoleon’s ego that way.

But catch Illya alone and question him about Napoleon, or
even tell him what those few detractors have said, and you will see the
righteous fury spark in his eyes.  He
will, however, take a look around to make sure Napoleon isn’t within earshot,
and then begin to talk at length about just what rests in Napoleon’s eyes.

He’ll stumble over the first word, since the American
saying is not that familiar to him—

“Streetwise.”  

Illya’s smarts are proven by his degrees—he is Dr.
Kuryakin, though he doesn’t go by that for reasons of modesty.  Napoleon has no titles before or after his
name, but he knows the ways of the world and how to influence people far better
than Illya ever could.  Napoleon has
talked them out of more jams than Illya could ever count—jams that could have
resulted in violence if Illya had been forced to find a way out on his
own.  Even when Illya’s knee-jerk
reaction is to put a hand on his Special, all he needs to get him to relax is
to see a reassuring wink from his partner’s brown eyes, and he knows that
Napoleon has already figured a way out of the crisis du jour.

“Crafty.”

That’s another word Illya will use, but he means it in only
a positive sense.  And he has a memorable
story to back it up.  Being a Russian
living in the States under the global climate of the Cold War, Illya has, alas,
run into his fair share of those who consider him second-class merely because
of his origins or his name.

One memorable time it happened was in a casino where he and
Napoleon had just finished up a mission at.
A drunk gambler had very loudly yelled at Illya as though he alone was
responsible for the current state of worldwide events.  For a moment, Napoleon had looked as though
he was going to punch the man in the nose right then and there, but a moment
later, a look in his eyes had made it clear that he had thought of something
much better.

Momentarily pretending not to know Illya, he steered the
creep towards the poker table.  Illya had
been recovering at the bar with a drink and didn’t see exactly what had
transpired, but he could surmise what had occurred when Napoleon came strolling
up to him an hour later with a wad of cash that he handed over to him, claiming
them to be reparations.

“Dedicated.”

Illya has to admit that for all of Napoleon’s desires to
live the good life, he is very dedicated to what he does—and he is also very
dedicated to Illya, too.  He would never
try to let U.N.C.L.E. or Illya down, and he has put his reputation and life on
the line more than once to protect both, without hesitation or regret.

“Kind.”

It inevitably comes up, just as Napoleon brings it up when
describing Illya’s eyes.  And Illya has
just as many stories about Napoleon as Napoleon has about him, but what sticks
most in his mind is the unconditional trust and kindness that Napoleon showed
him from day one of their partnership.

“Concerned.”

That, as well, comes up, for just as much as Illya worries
for Napoleon, so does Napoleon worry about him.
Illya isn’t usually as lucky as his partner in getting out of scrapes
unscathed, and no matter how many times it happens, no matter how much he
assures Napoleon that he will be fine, Napoleon’s protective gaze will never
waver until he is satisfied that it is so.

Illya doesn’t ramble on like Napoleon does; Illya isn’t a man
of that many words, so he doesn’t waver from the conversation.  It also means that, at this point, he will be
tight-lipped, because he has one more word, but it is not for you to hear.

“Loving.”

He will never tell you how Napoleon loves him, how every look
the American gives him is one of admiration and adoration, how the nights with
him are warm and wonderful, and how he never dared to hope that he would win
the heart of the man who could have won the heart of anyone in the world he
desired.

He will never tell you that.  But if you listen between the lines, you can
hear it—and know that these are truly the two most devoted partners you will
ever meet.