Inktober for Writers, h/c edition, Day 30

Prompt: Shoulder to Cry On

Summary: THRUSH’s new truth serum did not work as anyone expected…

Cross-posted to AO3

It was times like these that Illya was grateful that he
could convince Medical that Napoleon was better off recovering from this new
THRUSH drug at home.  This one in
particular would have been very embarrassing for Medical staff to witness, and
if Illya could preserve his partner’s dignity, then it was well worth putting
up with the drug-induced blubberings that Napoleon was spouting out.

“It’s a truth serum gone horribly wrong,” Illya sighed, as
he gently pat Napoleon on the back as he sobbed into his shoulder.

Napoleon was talking and confessing, alright—but to random
things that had been on his conscience.

“I shouldn’t have taken the family car for a joyride when I
was fifteen!”

“It’s alright, Napoleon…”

“I didn’t even have a
license!”

“I am sure the statute of limitations has long passed on
that,” Illya said, calmly.

“It wasn’t just that; I did all sorts of dumb things when I
was a kid—convinced Takeshi and the gang to play around the old well that
everyone said was haunted…!”

“Youngsters always do foolish things, Napoleon,” Illya
reassured him.  “Don’t forget, my mother
caught me playing cops and robbers in a tree—just before I fell out and bruised
my coccyx…  She addressed me as ‘Foolish
Duckling’ for a solid week…”

“I borrowed your turtleneck without asking once!” Napoleon
blurted out.

“I forgive you.”

Napoleon hugged him now, the drug causing him to be
overemotional and overreacting.

“You’re too good to me!”

“I am,” Illya agreed.
His expression softened.  “But so
are you.  You’ve sat with me patiently
whenever THRUSH drugged me and I got overemotional, so of course I will do the
same for you.”

And he was true to his word.  It was after a few more hours that the drug
wore off and, embarrassed, Napoleon pulled himself together.  And Illya did what Napoleon always did
whenever the situation was reversed—acted as though it had been nothing, never
brought it up again, and omitted it from the mission report.

It was an unspoken guarantee between the two of them, and
just another one of the many factors that made their partnership work so well.