"Chyort!" Illya thumped both fists on the steering wheel, "we are too far away from the extraction point, it will be dark soon and the wind is picking up."
Illya Kuryakin and Rebecca Andrews had destroyed a THRUSH stronghold after 'acquiring' a film of the testing of a new super concentrated explosive compound, along with a sample of the substance. They had miraculously managed to escape unharmed, but the jeep they were using had taken a severe battering, it coughed and shuddered, slowly grinding to a halt.
Rebecca looked around them; they had stopped not far from a dense forest. Birds were flying above the trees, providing an aerial ballet as they settled into their roosts for the night, any other time it would have been lovely to watch, especially against the rich coloured sky caused by the setting sun, but they had more pressing things on their minds; they needed to find shelter for the night if they weren't to suffer from exposure by spending it outdoors.
"There is a safe house not far from here, we will be fine there." Illya said as they trekked through the forest, the carpet of fallen autumn leaves crunching underfoot. It would be dark in another hour and the temperature had already dropped enough for Rebecca to pull her parka closer around her, trying to trap any body heat she could.
"I didn't know we had one out here, you are a minefield of information."
The Russian grinned, "I like to be useful. I just need to remember the correct entry code."
He glanced across at her as she ploughed on ahead. She was a strong and determined woman; like April, she took everything that came at her, letting nothing and no one put her down. Both women had proved themselves every bit as good as a male agent.
He knew he'd been hard on Rebecca when they'd first met. He'd taken an instant dislike to her when she'd been brought over from the London office to work on an assignment with him and his partner, Napoleon, but by the end he realised he quite liked her.
When she was sent back to England he was surprised to discover he missed her, what Illya found even more startling was, without her, it felt like a part of him was missing.
Napoleon had noticed the change in Illya and suggested to him that he was in love; the Russian snorted and said it was a ridiculous notion, but secretly he began to wonder.
Now she was back and working with him again and being with her, he knew for sure he'd developed feelings towards her. What he wasn't certain of was if she felt the same way.
"Penny for them?"
"Hmm?" Kuryakin snapped out of his reverie.
"Penny for them, or maybe I should really say a cent for them," Rebecca smiled at the confused look on Illya's face, "you were deep in thought and I wondered if you wanted to share them."
"Ah, yes I remember now, it is one of your English sayings," he smiled back, "I was not thinking about anything of consequence."
"It looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders. Hey, I think I can see something over there," she pointed to a smudge of darkness just beyond the trees.
"That should be the cabin; I'll call the extraction team and let them know what has happened once we get inside."
The building looked like it was of a simple log construction, but was in fact made of much sturdier material. As Illya made his call, Rebecca looked around the rustic hut, it was divided into three areas, a nice sized living room with an open fireplace and a small kitchenette, a bathroom and a comfortably sized bedroom containing a double bed, it would be cosy enough if they had to stay.
Illya finished his call and put his communicator away, "they cannot retrieve us now, it is too windy for the helicopter to land safely, we are to stay here and they will come for us in the morning."
"Okay, we'd better make ourselves comfortable then, she looked to see if there was anything in the kitchen. Rooting through the cupboards she found some cans of mushroom and celery soups, chicken chunks, fried onions and packets of rice and fruit among other dried foods; not a very appetising choice, but she felt she could do something with what was there.
Kuryakin looked for some logs for the fire and set about lighting it, soon the living room was starting to warm up and the smell of cooking came from the kitchen area.
"Something smells good," the Russian said as he approached Rebecca.
"Mmm, hopefully it will be."
Soon they were tucking into something resembling a bit like a chicken casserole, the cans of mushroom and celery soup had been combined with the chicken chunks , rice and some water, then near the end of the cooking time, she'd sprinkled the fried onions on top. Followed by canned peaches and pears for dessert, it wasn't the tastiest meal in the world, but it filled empty stomachs.
By then, the fire was blazing away nicely and after the last plate was put away, they made their way to the sofa with a bottle of vodka they'd managed to find. The pair sat gazing into the dancing flames and talked easily about places they'd been and things they liked to do, safe subjects that didn't pry into uncomfortable territory.
Rebecca shivered and moved onto the thick fur rug in front the fire.
"Cold?" Illya asked as he also slid to the floor.
"Mmm, just a bit, I can't seem to get warm enough."
"Would you like a bit of extra body warmth?" He asked as he leaned against the sofa.
He didn't want to force her into coming to him, though he hoped she would, but allowed her to make the move if she wanted.
Rebecca turned, looking into his eyes, she'd been hoping for a moment like this and was overjoyed that he'd more or less invited her into his personal space.
"That would be nice." She moved back until she was leaning against his chest, his arms wrapped around her. She closed her eyes and sighed, it felt so right to be in his embrace.
"Feeling any warmer now?" Illya asked as he closed his eyes and breathed in her scent; unable to help himself he gently nuzzled her neck.
She smiled to herself slyly before replying," I think I need to move nearer the fire."
"The rug does look welcoming; it would be comfortable to lie on."
Moving as one they lay down in the thick fur, Illya pulled her close to him and kissed her lips gently, she responded as he'd hoped she would and they hungrily explored each other's mouths, after a while they came up for air.
Cupping her face in his hands he looked into Rebecca's hazel eyes, "do you want to do this? I don't want you to do something you may regret."
"Yes," she kissed him again as she ran her hands across his chest, "I really do."
Their lips met again as their hands explored each other's bodies, casting garments away as they encountered them. Soon they were lying naked in front the blazing fire, their bodies glowing in the light from the flames.
Hearts beat in tandem while bodies entwined, each feeling the heat of arousal in the other, with great effort Illya paused to look again into Rebecca's eyes, "are you sure?"
"Illya, I have wanted this almost since the first time I saw you."
Looking into those wide hazel orbs he could see the truth of what she said there. He moved atop her and as she arched herself to him, he joined their bodies together, and as one they danced a story of passion and love well into the night.
Exhausted they lay content and tired, but extremely happy before the dying embers of the fire, Rebecca snuggled alongside Illya, her head resting on his chest as he stroked her hair, occasionally kissing the top of her head tenderly.
He'd been with and enjoyed the company of women, though, admittedly, not as many as his partner Napoleon, but none of them had left him feeling the way he did now; he felt complete, like he'd found something he didn't even realise was missing. Sighing he pulled her closer and wrapped the fur rug around them before they both fell asleep.
Morning came far too soon, but they still found the time to refresh their memories of the previous night, two bodies once more entwined together to became one as they were swept away in a passionate and intimate exploration of each other. Questing hands finding the pleasures discovered previously, they brought each other to the very edge of existence before they plummeted over the threshold into perfect bliss.
Panting from their exertions they disentangled themselves. Retreating to the small bathroom they cleaned themselves up and prepared to leave the cabin, they had an hour before Napoleon and the team would arrive to retrieve them.
The helicopter arrived on time and after making sure the cabin was once again tidy and secure they climbed on board and settled themselves on the bench seat together.
Solo noticed a radiance emanating from the pair of them and a certain glow from his Russian partner, "is there something I should know?" he asked, though he had a fair idea what might have happened.
Illya and Rebecca looked at each other, "no everything is fine," they said in unison.
Napoleon grinned and made a mental note to try and prise the details of last night from his partner at a later date.