"Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa la la la la la la la laaaaaaaa!"

Illya could hear his partner's slightly off – key singing as he walked up to their office door. When it slid open, it revealed Napoleon Solo standing on a chair attaching something to the ceiling rakishly wearing a red Santa hat complete with a white fluffy ball dangling at the end of it. "Agent So…Napoleon, may I ask what it is you are doing?"

"Illya!" Napoleon said cheerfully, "Surely, you have seen mistletoe before?"

"Yes, while I was in Europe. Why are you hanging it up in here?"

The CEA laughed as he completed his task and jumped down. He clapped the smaller man on the shoulder and replied, "This is the perfect place for it! I know this is your first Christmas with me as your partner, but trust me on this one, Partner Mine. There is no better place to receive a holiday kiss than in our office behind a closed door. The secretaries expect it of me. They'll be expecting it from you, too."

"What?"

"Oh, absolutely. I have it on good authority that women have been flipping coins to determine who is going to bring you your mail between now and New Year's. That means one thing: They'll be looking for you to kiss them when they stand under this mistletoe."

The Russian blushed to the roots of his hair. He stared at his superior standing smiling in front of him in a Santa hat and shirtsleeves still managing to look quite dapper in a get up that would have lesser men looking ridiculous. "Do you expect this of me?"

Napoleon's smile faded slightly as his brows furrowed in confusion. "Are you asking if kissing the secretaries is an order?" When Illya nodded he said, "Of course not! This is all in fun and keeping with the spirit of the season. Hey, you must want to kiss somebody sometime, right?"

Illya shifted from side to side in embarrassment. "Well, yes, but I am a very private person, Napoleon. I do not kiss women indiscriminately and beyond that, I am an atheist. The entire concept is not something that I believe."

"You don't have to believe in God to celebrate Christmas, Illya." Touching his hat he added, "I don't think any of the Wise Men were wearing a chapeau quite like this. This is the time of year to celebrate friendship and family and yes," Napoleon said as he held up his hand to stop Illya from interrupting, "I read your file and I know you have no known living relatives, but you have me."

"We are partners, Napoleon."

"Teamed by the Old Man Himself so obviously, he sees something in us that he thinks will be beneficial to UNCLE and to us. In the ten months we've been partnered, we haven't had a misstep on a mission due to a failure to communicate. It's like I start to think something…"

"And I can finish the thought. I must admit, I have never experienced anything quite like it before."

"Face it, Illya, you like me and we are beginning to become friends, really good friends. And as your senior agent, it's my job to make sure that you enjoy this holiday season. Think about the mistletoe; you might decide to utilize it to your advantage."

Illya checked his watch. "I have a meeting back in the labs in ten minutes." He reached into a drawer and extracted the papers he had come for originally. "Do not worry about my enjoyment of the holiday season. I do not intend to be a part of any celebrations."

Napoleon watched as the blond turned and walked through the open door into the hallway. As the pneumatic door slid closed, Napoleon sat at his desk and prepared to address Christmas cards. We'll just see about that, Illya.