"This is ridiculous!" Napoleon grumbled as he felt around his kitchen for matches to light the candles he had pulled out of the drawer. "It's 1967, why am I sitting in the middle of a blackout? It's bad enough I have to worry about THRUSH, the Red Chinese and the Russians, I have to worry about failing power grids, too? Ow, my toe!" He hopped around on one foot holding the other in his hand. "Dammit!"
"Oh, stop complaining, Napoleon, or the only Russian you will have to worry about is me! We are in your apartment, not the elevator or the dark streets. There is a breeze coming through the windows and we have food, water and alcohol." Illya found a book of matches and lit the candle in his hand and placed it on the kitchen table. He sat down and leaned back in his chair. The candlelight caught his hair and cast it and his face in a golden light. He looked positively serene.
Napoleon huffed and then inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly to calm himself down. He's right, he thought as he sat down and looked first at Illya and then the candle. He allowed his focus to narrow down to the flame flickering in front of him. As he continued to contemplate it, his breathing slowed and deepened; he began to concentrate on tensing and relaxing his body, starting with his feet. I can feel the relaxation moving up my body. Toes, ankles, calves and thigh muscles were made rigid and then he would remove the tension, allowing the muscles to elongate and soften all the while watching the flame. He hunched his shoulders up to his ears and then let them gently drop back down. He pursed his lips hard and followed that by letting them fall open slightly. He felt his body easing back into the chair. My eyelids are getting heavy. I think I'm falling as…
The lights snapped back into life.
Napoleon jerked back into full awareness. His eyes moved to his partner who was still sitting in relaxed repose. "Illya?"
He watched as Illya seemed to "come back" to himself. The Russian smiled and said, "See what happens when you stop complaining and calm your mind? How do you feel?"
"Good, actually. I was about to doze off when the lights returned."
"Excellent. I try to meditate whenever I can. I believe it helps strengthen the mind."
"Smart Russian. I think I'm going to start doing that, too."
The blond laughed, "It is true! An old dog can learn a new trick!"
"Ha, ha, ha. Let's get back to work; these reports won't write themselves."
"You seem to think they type themselves."
"Just like you seem to think food in this place cooks itself."
"Touché."