1967

Napoleon checked his watch again as he walked around his apartment for the umpteenth time. He knew Illya had landed at JFK at nine – thirty PM and had been picked up by a Section III and brought to HQ to meet with Mr. Waverly. It was Thursday and the Russian had been traveling for almost a week. Napoleon had been on pins and needles ever since he had spoken to his partner last week. He knew he was safe and that the Russian was coming home, but he just wanted to see him. It had been just over a month since he had last laid eyes on his beloved.

He had gone to work that day and even put in a couple of extra hours to make the time pass faster. Before he left for the day, he had asked Mr. Waverly for a long weekend off for him and Illya and had gotten the green light. He came home and made sure there would be something for his Russian to eat and vodka in the freezer for him to drink. All he needed was Illya. He checked his watch again. Midnight. Is the Old Man going to keep you there all night?

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard Illya's key go into the lock. Finally! He walked to the front door just as the blond opened it and stepped through. Smiling shyly, he said, "Honey, I am home!" as he closed the door. Before he could reset the alarms, Napoleon wrapped him in his arms and held him tightly.

"Illya."

Illya heard the unspoken words and returned the hug. "I am here, Napoleon. It is all right. I am here."

Napoleon swayed with the smaller man in his arms silently for a few moments. When he felt like he could speak past the lump in his throat, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

"I just want to take off my clothes and get in our bed."

Napoleon released him and led him by the hand to their bedroom. They undressed silently and slid into the bed from opposite sides. When they met in the middle, Napoleon wrapped his arms around Illya again. "Would you mind terribly, Napoleon…"

"Shhh, it's alright, Partner Mine. I don't want to make love right now, I just want to hold you. I know you're tired."

"Thank you." After a few minutes, Illya said, "I told Mr. Waverly I want to go to Nevada next week for Valerie's funeral. He has agreed to promote her posthumously to Section II based on what Tom Higgins told me about her trying to stop him from stealing files. I talked to her, you know."

"When?"

"During the trip back to South America. I went to where her body was being stored in the hold. I thanked her for her friendship and her discretion about you and me. She was a true friend. And she was, ultimately, a brave and dedicated UNCLE agent."

"We will miss her, Tovarisch." Napoleon continued to cuddle the smaller man. He could feel him relaxing and knew he would be asleep soon. "I have something to tell you. I opened Sergei."

Illya started to sit up, but was stopped by strong arms gripping him. "I told you not to read the letter until I was dead!"

"I didn't, Illya, I swear! I thought about what you told me and I prayed I didn't have to read it. When you called from the ship, I was so relieved, I didn't know what to do. I decided to put my thoughts on paper and after I did, I decided Sergei should be in on it." He reached into the headboard and pulled the little bear out. "See? I very carefully opened him up, took out the letter you wrote, put my name on it, took the letter I wrote and put your name on it and put both of them back inside and sewed him up. Look, good as new." He placed the bear between them. "We have the weekend off. When we go back to the office, I'm taking Sergei with me. I consider him our little good luck charm."

Illya had settled back down on Napoleon's chest. "Do you not think people will talk to see a stuffed animal in our office?"

Napoleon yawned mightily. "I don't care. Now that you're home, I don't need him to share our bed to remind me that you love me. Having him in the office will let me know every day that we share something real. I love you, Illya. I know it, Sergei knows it and I hope you know it. As long as that thing is around me, I will know I am loved. By you. Good night, my love."

"Goodnight, Napoleon, Love of my Life."