For tumblr prompt: childhood best friends au and roommates au
I don't own Man from UNCLE.
This is the first part in a series called Ebb and Flow.
They first met when he was ten. She was eight. He remembered the day so clearly at the time and for years after, but, as memories are wont to do, they fade into obscurity. At least, until such a time they are needed again.
He remembered her hair, shoved up underneath a cap much to large for her. Her father's hat and wearing grease stained overalls with a tank top underneath. She held a wrench in her had and a face that dared anyone to fuck with her. At that moment he knew he found his best friend.
He didn't know why he was there in East Berlin. His mom was meeting with her dad. They would disappear and talk and he would be left with her. They talked of all kinds of things after that first day. That first day he made the mistake of walking up to the car and pointing out a belt that needed fixing. He got a wrench to the back of the head and a slew of angry German. But over time, bent over engines or under them, they got to know each other.
He found out how much she loved working on cars, how much she hated her step-dad, and how much she hated East Berlin. She was such an independant spirit. Her careless words scared him sometimes, knowing and seeing first hand what could happen if one spoke out against the government. He cautioned her to keep those statements and feelings hidden deep.
He never her told her about himself though. Ever. And when his hand would start shaking he never told her why. He never had to. She would just take his hand and hold it until he calmed down.
He met her 30 times over the course of three years. Then… the meetings stopped. His father got taken, his mother disgraced. He missed his friend, they never even really exchanged names. Never needed too. That was the simplicity of childhood friendship. He called her chop shop girl and she called never called him anything.
Then he got recruited into the KGB. They taught him how to hide everything and bury it. Except his tremors. He still never knew what caused them, just what specific triggers brought them on. When they started getting worse he would go hide and hold his own hand, wishing and remembering he was somewhere else, with someone else. It hardly ever worked, so he worked to make himself forget that memory.
It took years, but finally that little grease covered girl from East Berlin faded from memory.
His career is the KGB flourished. He was their best, and most lethal agent.
Then one day he was given an assignment in East Berlin. He didn't remember why that location caused his heart to speed up. He was to find a Gaby Teller, and make sure she didn't make it out in the arms of Napoleon Solo. He was to kill him if necessary.
The two led him on a merry chase and escaped. He went back to the office expecting punishment but instead found himself the new partner of Napoleon Solo and the new bodyguard/fake fiance of Mrs. Teller. One could argue that was the worse punishment of all. He worked best alone.
His first meeting with Mrs. Teller was at a dress shop. She was stunning… but hideous in whatever get up Solo put her in. He would have to immediately fix that. She also did not seem pleased to be matched with him. Her fire and independence was breathtaking.
He decided to start calling her chop shop girl. Not knowing why, but it just felt right.
Their first moment of undercover work was convincing their tails they were happy, in love, and not spies. He hated having to act like a pussy. His hand started shaking when they demanded his fathers watch. He was going to kill them for this. Slowly. And he would take joy in it.
His hand clenched in a fist. But before he could lift it from his side a small hand grabbed him and slipped their fingers inside. Gaby urged him to focus and give them the watch. He did and still he couldn't figure out why she seemed so familiar.
It wasn't until the next day that he remembered her. They went to meet her Uncle Rudy and she stepped up to the race car to fix it. He leaned in and mentioned that one of the belts needed replacing. She slapped him.
All of his memories, all 30 of them, came rushing back. He excused himself and went to the bathroom. It was all too overwhelming for him and he was shaking from it.
All he wanted to do was wash his face, calm down, collect himself, and sort through and seal away those memories. The young Count and his crew had other plans. He disposed of them quickly, grabbed Gaby and left.
He couldn't escape her. Couldn't erase her from his mind. They were roommates after all for their cover. Not for lack of trying, that is for sure. He played chess while she drank. Decidedly ignored her drunk, adorable dancing. It was clear she didn't remember him and that hurt.
He stood up to turn off the music and got pulled in to her dancing. He couldn't say no to her, not anymore. Just when he started to loosen up he pulled back.
She didn't like that and tackled him, intending to fight. She had him pinned but he had her arms. He could have escaped but he didn't want to. He was so close to telling her, so close to kissing her when she passed out on top of him.
He carried her to bed."Good night, my chop shop girl from many years ago." He kissed her forehead and went to work.
When she was taken his heart stopped. He couldn't let the only best friend he had ever known die. When he found her, he didn't care about the disk or the rest of the mission, just her. He had to see, to feel for himself that she was okay.
He could have kissed her then but didn't.
When Waverly announced that they were staying together as a team he could hardly keep a straight face. They were given their own apartment as a safe location in between missions. It took three missions before he finally told her.
The last mission was in his home country of Russian… Close to Serbia. There was no cover, only stealth. A get in, get out mission that was highly classified. There was a mistake getting out, they were sold out by a contact and they had to flee under gunfire. He only cared about Gaby. He had to get her out. Throughout their time together his feelings for her deepened to more than just friendship.
He ran behind her the entire way, and when he noticed a sniper aiming for her he ran faster and got in the way. He could barely feel gunshot. He knew it landed in a bad shop but adrenaline and Gaby kept him going.
They finally made it to the drop point and onto the plane to take them home. The first thing he did was check her. Make sure she was okay. He didn't notice that his own eyesight was beginning to fail and that Gaby appeared taller than usual.
When he woke up her face was the first thing he saw. She told him that he had gotten shot and was in an U.N.C.L.E. sanctioned hospital. She promptly slapped him and yelled at him for taking a bullet meant for her. She kept saying that it should have been her in the bed, not him.
Her words made him angry and his hand started twitching again. His chop shop girl did what she did best and took his hand and tried to talk him down. At that moment she looked exactly how she did years ago and he knew he had to tell her.
They stayed up all night reminiscing and talking about those years they didn't talk and what led to them forgetting about each other.
Finally, when the sun started to crest and it's first rays peeked into his room he took his chop shop girl into his arms and kissed her for real this time.