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crack_van2007-02-08 10:48 pm
periwinkle27.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2007-02-08 10:48 pm
Entry tags:
The Reciprocity Affair by Graculus (R)
Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Illya/Napoleon
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
graculus
Author Website: The Grotto
Why this must be read:
Once again Illya is captured. Once again Illya is used as bait. Once again Illya is tortured by a psychopath. And once again Napoleon rescues him. Then the story takes an unusual twist.
Something is very wrong with Illya, even though he denies it, and Napoleon is worried. What exactly happened in the warehouse? And what did Thrush do to Illya? To make matters worse, Illya is supicious of Napoleon's actions as they seem out of character. Illya is having trouble remembering exactly what happened in the warehouse, but still, his partner's response to his capture seems unusual. So now both agents are circling around, trying to find out what's wrong with the other, while denying that anything is wrong with themselves.
Not exactly your typical hurt/comfort story. Illya's been hurt, which isn't unusual, but here Napoleon is not only having to deal with trying to comfort him, but also determine what happened to his partner at the same time as he's trying to ignore his growing recognition of just what Illya means to him. And the more he tries to hide his emotions, the more suspicious Illya becomes. And then Illya snaps and breaks and Napoleon realizes a few things about his partner and himself.
A fascinating insight into the mens' brains and their feelings for each other.
As he'd thought about it, running over the events for his report to Waverly, Napoleon wondered just how much of his actions had been fuelled by fear for his partner's safety and how much by a desire for revenge. After all, till he reached Illya's side, Napoleon couldn't be sure his partner was still alive. He'd have let nothing and no one stand in the way of rescuing Illya anyway.
That was hardly the behavior expected of the Chief Enforcement Agent, was it? As he signed the report, Napoleon wondered just what Waverly would think if he ever told him the unvarnished truth about what had happened in the warehouse. That was assuming he knew the truth himself.
He could only think about how he'd felt seeing Illya just hanging there, not that this sight was a completely new one. Nor could he forget the relief that had struck him like a blow once Napoleon discovered that his partner was still alive to be rescued.
But he couldn't write about those, choosing to make his report as bland and unemotional as any he'd ever written, not wanting to give Waverly the slightest crack in their partnership to exploit, one way or another.
Would the old man be critical of any implication that Napoleon's feelings towards his partner had affected the mission? Napoleon knew he would. He might even suggest they placed that partnership in danger, or could prove detrimental to U.N.C.L.E. itself.
If that was the case, Napoleon knew that all the fondness that Waverly held for either of them as individuals wouldn't prevent him signing the order to send Illya back to the labs or even back to U.N.C.L.E. London and giving Napoleon another partner, whether they liked it or not.
How could Napoleon explain such a separation to his partner in a way that wouldn't make it crystal clear just why they were being separated?
Illya would see through any attempted deception in a heartbeat, would know that it was because of Napoleon's weakness that their partnership was being dissolved. He could imagine the look on Illya's face, the comments about American self-indulgence, the scorn he would see there.
He couldn't allow that to happen, couldn't let himself be separated from Illya, even though it was torture to see him like this. To be so close, to spend such a vast amount of time together, knowing that Illya had no suspicion that his partner wanted more from him than just a working partnership.
The Reciprocity Affair
Pairing: Illya/Napoleon
Author on LJ:
graculusAuthor Website: The Grotto
Why this must be read:
Once again Illya is captured. Once again Illya is used as bait. Once again Illya is tortured by a psychopath. And once again Napoleon rescues him. Then the story takes an unusual twist.
Something is very wrong with Illya, even though he denies it, and Napoleon is worried. What exactly happened in the warehouse? And what did Thrush do to Illya? To make matters worse, Illya is supicious of Napoleon's actions as they seem out of character. Illya is having trouble remembering exactly what happened in the warehouse, but still, his partner's response to his capture seems unusual. So now both agents are circling around, trying to find out what's wrong with the other, while denying that anything is wrong with themselves.
Not exactly your typical hurt/comfort story. Illya's been hurt, which isn't unusual, but here Napoleon is not only having to deal with trying to comfort him, but also determine what happened to his partner at the same time as he's trying to ignore his growing recognition of just what Illya means to him. And the more he tries to hide his emotions, the more suspicious Illya becomes. And then Illya snaps and breaks and Napoleon realizes a few things about his partner and himself.
A fascinating insight into the mens' brains and their feelings for each other.
As he'd thought about it, running over the events for his report to Waverly, Napoleon wondered just how much of his actions had been fuelled by fear for his partner's safety and how much by a desire for revenge. After all, till he reached Illya's side, Napoleon couldn't be sure his partner was still alive. He'd have let nothing and no one stand in the way of rescuing Illya anyway.
That was hardly the behavior expected of the Chief Enforcement Agent, was it? As he signed the report, Napoleon wondered just what Waverly would think if he ever told him the unvarnished truth about what had happened in the warehouse. That was assuming he knew the truth himself.
He could only think about how he'd felt seeing Illya just hanging there, not that this sight was a completely new one. Nor could he forget the relief that had struck him like a blow once Napoleon discovered that his partner was still alive to be rescued.
But he couldn't write about those, choosing to make his report as bland and unemotional as any he'd ever written, not wanting to give Waverly the slightest crack in their partnership to exploit, one way or another.
Would the old man be critical of any implication that Napoleon's feelings towards his partner had affected the mission? Napoleon knew he would. He might even suggest they placed that partnership in danger, or could prove detrimental to U.N.C.L.E. itself.
If that was the case, Napoleon knew that all the fondness that Waverly held for either of them as individuals wouldn't prevent him signing the order to send Illya back to the labs or even back to U.N.C.L.E. London and giving Napoleon another partner, whether they liked it or not.
How could Napoleon explain such a separation to his partner in a way that wouldn't make it crystal clear just why they were being separated?
Illya would see through any attempted deception in a heartbeat, would know that it was because of Napoleon's weakness that their partnership was being dissolved. He could imagine the look on Illya's face, the comments about American self-indulgence, the scorn he would see there.
He couldn't allow that to happen, couldn't let himself be separated from Illya, even though it was torture to see him like this. To be so close, to spend such a vast amount of time together, knowing that Illya had no suspicion that his partner wanted more from him than just a working partnership.
The Reciprocity Affair